{My Home}

After being a renter almost all of my adult life, I finally became a home owner in 2006. We bought this house brand new, so no one had lived in it before us. It was a completely blank slate....no light fixtures, no window treatments, no paint. I quickly set about personalizing it and found ideas and energy pouring out of me from I -don't -know -where. It seemed as soon as an idea came into my head, I was finding a way to get it done. Within that first year, I had done most of what you see here. The bigger stuff took a little longer, things like stripping out all the wall to wall carpeting had to be done over time. As I got one room finished, I would move the furniture around and strip out the carpet, scrub, patch and paint the concrete slab and start again in the next room.  There were many very late nights, lots of frustration, tons of hauling to and fro, and blood, sweat and tears...literally! But in the end, I got exactly what I wanted...a sanctuary that is uniquely me and makes me feel good every time I'm in it. What I'm most proud of is that I did it ALL myself. No help from friends, no help from the husband, no help from family, and all on a pretty strict budget. Just me, my determination and my ever growing tool box, combined with thrifty finds, cheap but creative solutions and tons of sheer luck!

 BEDROOM

My 'Glamazon' Bedroom! This room was featured on The Nate Berkus show, and it definitely has a very glamorous feel. Bold black and white graphic bedding, geometric metal and wood headboard, romantic canopy overhead and mirrored surfaces throughout. Add in wide horizontal stripes in cool blues and touches of shimmer in the accessories and it feels just like the Casbah meets Hollywood!

I found this table at Goodwill....$25. I added the mirror mosaic to the top using a mirror I found roadside, which I cut  into rectangles myself. Glue and grout them in and you have a beautiful, one-of-a-kind, glamorous table!

Christmas ornaments and some wire give a standard Moravian star a little something extra.

My home came with the standard hollow core doors....I scoured craigslist and salvage yards to find french doors that would fit. This door cost me just $12.50 (one of a pair for $25)

DINING ROOM

The Dining room gets a huge hit of color with an over-the-top giant chandelier! The chairs, in a coordinating shade of blue add a modern shape and bring more color.

I scored this chandelier on craigslist for $40!

LIVING ROOM

My living room is an explosion of color, pattern and texture. Cool metal accessories, dark polished concrete floors, vintage finds mixed with industrial pieces, hand painted  floor cloths, and furniture covered with hand stenciled slip covers make for an eclectic, comfortable and family friendly room.

This cute carousel horse was at Goodwill and came home with me for 8 bucks!

I found this table in an alley in my neighborhood.

KITCHEN

In the kitchen, I made the backsplash by gluing on glass craft beads (the kind with the flat back) one by one, and then grouting. This whole project cost me under $100....glass tile would have cost over $500, and I like this BETTER! I also drilled a hole in my kitchen island to place an indoor umbrella/light fixture. This is one of my very favorite things in my home...it makes me smile everyday. Boring, out of the box oak cabinets got painted and faced with galvanized metal on the uppers, for that touch of industrial chic that I love.

The umbrella was $7 in the Homegoods clearance aisle. The light is from Ikea, attached with key rings.

Some of my silver sphere obsession collection displays nicely over the cooking area.

BATHROOM

I stenciled a 'runner' on my concrete bathroom floor. This was the first room I started stripping out the wall to wall carpeting...it was carpeted all the way up to the bathtub. That's just wrong! Every time someone got out of the bath, the carpet got soaked, so out came the carpet, exposing the concrete slab. A little paint and elbow grease later, I have a beautiful focal point.

A small medallion in front of the 'throne' ties in with the stenciled runner.

GUEST BATHROOM

HOME OFFICE/GUEST ROOM/LIBRARY

All those round mirrors on the wall are galvanized metal plant saucers! I just glued plain round mirrors inside and glued some rope to the back for hanging.

GIRLS ROOM

My love of pink definitely shows here! My daughter loved pink when we did this room, but now says she wants a blue room....uh-oh! We'll see ;-)

Almost every mirror on this wall was a roadside find.....crazy but true! People throw away the BEST stuff!

BOYS ROOM

 DETAILS

I  bought this mirror at Ikea for $80, painted it white and glued EVERY. SINGLE. SHELL. on with hot glue and a lot of patience! I think it was well worth it.

Thanks for visiting my home

I'm joining the Parade of Homes over at
http://poppiesatplay.blogspot.com/2011/04/parade-of-homes-linky-party.html