tobacco drying basket into a light?

A beauty isn't she?  Lets backtrack a bit.  We are in base housing in Texas.  The lighting is some form of cheapest thing they could buy in bulk that holds one 40 watt bulb and gives off enough light to make you go blind.  We have changed out most of the lighting so we all don't need glasses.  For the dining room I had a tobacco drying basket that I bought at The Depot at Gibson Mills in Concord, NC.  Now if you have not been there you have no idea how much wonderful-ness you are missing out on.  It is one of my favorite places to shop.  
Anyway, I bought this basket - it came with a tip and also a stand.  I was told it was used to dry tobacco.  When I saw it I knew I wanted it for a light fixture but I didn't buy it.  When I went back a few weeks later it was still there and still calling to me- so of course I had to get it. 

Now we moved to Texas and we moved it with us.  I began a search for a fixture to put inside.  I was looking at a very girlie one with lots of crystals but chose to go much simpler and cheaper. 

I bought this ugly brass - been in every builders home imaginable.  But it was getting ready for a transformation. 

Oh yes..nothing a can of oil rubbed bronze spray paint can't take care of. The globes were thrown away because they were hideous. 

The next step was hiding the chain and wires - did not want those to show.  So, burlap to the rescue.  I just took a roll of burlap ribbon and sewed up one side to make a sleeve. 

The last step was adding some beautiful Edison bulbs.  I love how it turned out.

our NC dining room reveal

Again sparse as realtors like it that way for showings and photos.  It is a huge room - I guess the people who built this house in 1929 had a large family.

Are the windows not to die for?  I used to put the buffet where the blue desk is - until I added the chalkboard to it.  Then it was just too tall.  The blue desk is not normally in here- just for the showings.

This room has a fireplace - doesn't every dining room?  haha You will notice the butlers pantry off to the left.  This room is huge I say.  We are contemplating when we get back in 3 years of moving the kitchen to here or turning it into a family room.

Thought I'd just share the spring-y table centerpiece.  I love nests and birds.
Hope you enjoyed the tour..
tammy

a formal menu chalkboard

Every dining room needs a chalk board to put pretty menus or sayings on.  My dining room is no different.  But I wanted a different chalk board.

It started out as an old dresser mirror frame.  The mirror was missing so circa-man cut a piece of thin plywood for me.  I painted it with chalkboard paint.  And painted the frame white.

I love it.  Right now I have one of my sheet music wreaths on it.  I added a graphic from Graphics Fairy to the center as a medallion.  If you ever need a graphic- Karen has anything you could possibly think of. Seems too pretty to write " frozen pizza" on it but I'm not proud. :)
tammy
linking to:
Home{work{ Wednesday - Worthing Court, The Everyday Home, Atta Girl Says, Marty's Musings      Sizzle into Summer- Its a Party - DIY by Design
Amaze Me Monday -  Dwellings    Tuesdays Treasures - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

a dining room buffet

I'm not a formal gal.  Not at all.  Casual is my way of life.  But in our NC home we have a formal dining room.  Not just any room but the largest room in the house is a dining room.  It has given us many things to ponder as it only gets used maybe 6 times a year.  Not being formal doesn't mean I don't like to set up vignettes.  So a buffet was needed to have somewhere to display fun items.

Notice we sanded the top for it and then one of the front legs was broken so circa-man took them off and used the good one to make two new ones and put them back on.

Once painted with Annie Sloan pure white Chalk paint and then waxed with her dark wax it was complete..

I love her..what do you think?  Is she ready to be used in Texas for a few years..?
tammy
linking to:
Better with Age - Give Me the Goods    Boogieboard Cottage - Masterpiece Monday     Between Naps on the Porch - Metamophisis Monday   Alderberry Hill - Make a Scene Monday   Dwellings - Amaze Me Monday

a love of an old table

Our living room has two leather sofas and that is a great deal of dark color in my - I wish it were white and neutral- room.   I needed a table to go between them and had a dark table.

 Nothing paint and a pattern can't fix.

I painted the base with my go to paint- Annie Sloan chalk paint in Pure White.  Then I taped off the top with FrogTape in a checkered pattern of natural wood and paint.

This is what was achieved:

New glass knobs were added and then we introduced this lovely to the living room..

Please ignore the electrical cords..I have no idea how to "make them disappear" so I'll just keep it real.
Do you like it?
tammy

a new - old entertainment center

WE all love the new flat screened TVs but the decorators in us hate them over the fireplace or on the walls most of the time.  Enter a piece of furniture to put the TV on.  And it couldn't be any old piece of furniture- it had to be an old piece remade for today.

It all started out as an old broken piece of furniture we found at Clines in the back of a barn in the dark:  ( If you ever want a fun day full or junkin' and finding great deals head on out there)

We had to make a new top and then add some shelves inside for the media components hubby insists we need.

First it got a nice paint job with some Annie Sloan chalk paint in pure white.

Notice all the lovely details the piece has on it:

We also used Annie Sloan clear wax on the top of the unit to give it a clean fresh look.   We decided against hardware, going with rope handles instead.

It came out wonderful.

What do you think of it?
tammy

night stand - grain sack also

I enjoyed doing the grain sack on the dressers so much I then had to carry it to the night stands.

Basically it was the same technique.  But this was more intensive prep as it was a mess when we found this nice little cabinet in a BARN.

It was missing almost all of its hardware.  It had gunk on the top that really needed some sanding to get it off.  Don't ask me what it was - I really don't want to know.  And the bottom of the drawers were missing all their "bottoms".

Yea I like it.

So what do you think?  Does it inspire you to try a grain sack look?
tammy

grain sack inspired dressers

I love:  painted furniture, the color grey, vintage grain sacks and monograms.   Combine all of them and what do you have?

These two dressers were my moms when she was little.  They were oak and after using them forever they really needed an update.  Since we are moving and need dressers in our new to us base house  ( our home has builtins) I thought what better time to update them.
Hubby's is the taller one:

I painted it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Paris grey.  Then I taped off small grain sack like stripes with Frog Tape Delicate Surface to paint again with Annie Sloan  Pure White chalk paint.
 

After the white stripes were done it was time to find a cross stitch pattern to use for the initials to complete the vintage grain sack feel.  For the final touch I painted most of the knobs grey to match and then bought some wonderful glass ones for the top drawer from Hobby Lobby.  Can't go wrong when they are 50% off
My dresser is the wide one.  Again it was done with all the same paints and techniques.  It had to be that way to make it work within the small room we are moving into soon.

Notice the painted initials on the dresser- yep those are mine.

I love these dressers.  Because they are old and have memories but also because now they can live longer and create more memories.
What do you think of them?
tammy
*** joining Give Me the Goods Monday - and Home{work} Wednesday #10.   hop on over to see many fun things. ***

Its here. The pink-a-palooza room is complete.

The whole room makeover started with blue two toned walls.  Then it went to pink bunk beds, blue hombre dresser and a pink and blue desk.  Here is it all finished.

Hope you enjoyed it.  Sophie loved this room.  I am hoping we can recreate it once we get our house in Texas.
tammy

a small desk for the pink-a-palooza room.

The Sophie room is almost done..she needs a desk to finish out the pink bunk beds and the blue ombre dresser.
We started out with this tiny dresser.  It is a dark, bleeding wood.  I had to prime it with grey paint first to keep it from bleeding through.

It all worked out well.  It looks good.

What do you think?  Stay tuned, next post is the whole room..
tammy