Makely

Let's Make Life Awesome

You are visiting: Home » Decorating/DIY » Page 168

Your China Cabinet Doesn’t Have to Hold China

by on 1,662 Comments

Since the day the furniture delivery guys brought it into our house, my china cabinet has displayed the beautiful china and crystal that we received as wedding gifts.  I absolutely love our traditional patterns, but the display was feeling a little too stuffy for me since I don’t have a traditional decorating style.  I considered adding a few things onto the shelves to give it a little bit more of an eclectic feel, but I couldn’t come up with anything that didn’t feel too contrived.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I was desperately trying to find a place to hide the gifts Santa was bringing for the kids.  I remembered two big boxes of books we had stored in one of our closets.  They were the perfect size to store the toys and would be easy to get out on Christmas Eve, but where would I put these books that were deemed too special (mostly by my husband) to be donated or sold to Half Price Books?

Ding! Ding! Ding!

I took the china and crystal out of the display hutch and stored it in protective boxes behind the cabinet doors.  I then pulled all of those books out of the boxes and put them on the display shelves.  I added a few other goodies, such as the monogrammed silver napkin ring collection from my husband’s grandmother and my favorite vintage dog paint by number.  Instant storage solution, and better yet, instant color.  Oh, how I love decorating with books!

But, I still thought it needed something else to make it not look so much like a traditional china cabinet.  I found some beautiful hand-painted knobs at Hobby Lobby for just $2 a piece (they were priced at $3.99, but their knobs are ALWAYS half off), and replaced the plain silver knobs that came with the cabinet.

I added a few turquoise pieces that I had elsewhere in my house to the top of the cabinet and hung a champagne starburst mirror above it to create a little vignette.  The owl and birdcage look much better here than they did in their previous homes.

And that mirror?  Oh, that mirror!  It’s so stunning.  You’ll definitely want to come back tomorrow so I can tell you all about it.  That’s a big fat HINT, folks.  😉

Do you have anything other than china displayed in your china cabinet?  I’d love to hear about your display!

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad {Color} Wolf?

by on 1,959 Comments

I am always surprised with the comments I get on my blog after I post photos of a boldly painted wall or brightly painted piece of furniture.  For the most part, I hear the oooohs and ahhhhs that I say to myself when I finish a project.  But sometimes, I hear, “I love it, but I don’t think I could pull off a bright yellow dresser.”

Why not?

How many of you feel scared to add color to your home?  What if you paint a wall blue and don’t like it?  Well, what if you paint a wall blue and love it?  It’s just paint after all.

So, for all of my friends who are a wee bit nervous to take the dive, Glidden has created a new online community called My Colortopia.  Today, I am pleased excited overjoyed to announce that I have joined a field of jaw dropping home decor bloggers in contributing color inspiration and how to ideas on the My Colortopia blog.  Seriously.  It’s the big dogs –  Centsational Girl, Brooklyn Limestone, Ana White, Making it Lovely, The Inspired Room, In My Own Style – and little ‘ole me.  My first how to, Choosing the Right Brushes and Rollers for your project, has just been posted to the blog.

The folks at Glidden have big plans for My Colortopia.  Right now, the site is a fabulous blog.  Very soon it will transform into a source of inspiration, a community of home decor enthusiasts, and a place to get your color and painting questions answered by people like me who never can never seem to get all of the paint washed out of their hair.  Go ahead and bookmark it now.  I’ll let you know when the fun goodies have gone live.

So, tell me about you and the color choices in your home.  What’s the one color you’d love to add but you feel nervous about it?  Blue?  Pink?  Orange?  Charcoal Gray?

I have partnered with Glidden/ Akzo Nobel Paints to participate in the My Colortopia program but the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.