2013 goals update-the office

At the beginning of this year,

 I wrote a post documenting my home project goals for the year.

It's pretty clear that I won't be accomplishing very many of these projects 

but I have actually been working on a couple of them.

One of those goals was this:

#9 redo office: "We did the office about 3 years ago in the style my husband wanted.  

It had a lot of green and a lot of wood.  It was a bit manly let's say but nice.  

It was so nice that my son slowly started taking in his music equipment bit by bit and before we knew it, the office became his recording studio.  Do you know how neat and tidy and careful young teenage boys are?  Let's just say the office isn't so nice anymore.  My son has moved his equipment to his room upstairs now so the office is ready to become our home office again.  Yes, I have everything I need for this room too and I might have the will to do it.  I just need to pick a paint color." Jan. 2013

We cleared out the office and here's a bit of what we had left.

So, we have dark green walls which my husband loves

but I don't.  

We also have a dark green antique chair that's okay.  

Then we have an old, but not old in a good way, huge stained 

(supposed to be there wood stain and not supposed to be there soda stain) 

computer desk and shelves. 

The desk has a place for a computer CPU and a pull out keyboard

all of which was really nice 12 years ago.  

My mac laptop doesn't need that much space.

Oh and yep, that's an old Victrola in the corner.

I want this office to look completely different. 

I want it to look bright, fresh and clean 

with vintage and industrial touches I like

but also incorporating my husband's favorite green color

and love of cycling and our alma mater.

Luckily, we went to the University of North Texas 

and the university's color is green.  

So, this should be easy.

We've done quite a bit but the office isn't quite finished.

I thought I would give you a sneak peak anyway.

I've gathered things around the house that are green and 

bought a couple of inexpensive repro green metal things for storage.

A few years ago, I picked up these "look old but I don't think they really are"

french maps that are vintage looking paper on linen.  They are super cool

and remind my husband of the stages of the Tour de France.

A green metal locker basket on a white shelf will be great storage.

Picked this up for next to nothing at Hobby Lobby a few years ago.

Looks like a great little holder for notepads.

This vintage cycling poster is huge and was already in the office.

It will stay there.

Found this huge old green windmill base hiding in someone's garage.

Denis, who writes the blog, RubyGrace's and is a dealer at our antique mall

posted pictures on Facebook of his newly organized garage.  

I spied this windmill base in his pictures 

and he let me take it off his hands at a really reasonable price.

Thanks Denis!

I have big plans for it.

Remember this?

This is the old windmill base turned floor lamp in my dining room.

We're going to turn the green one into a slightly different

floor lamp for the office.

This is an old salvage piece of green metal that will be a magnet board.

We have a pair of authentic mid-century butterfly chair frames.

These were my godparents' patio chairs and I inherited them.

The covers were worn out but we will be getting new cream colored

replacement covers for them.  Love these!

This will be the office chair.  It's been in my living room just

sitting in a corner waiting for the perfect spot.

It's a little old wood, leather and burlap

and will bring a bit of warmth to the space.

We've also painted the walls a creamy white.

This office could be finished in a quick weekend if I could

just do one thing....

...finish painting that bookcase.  I started, stopped, started again, stopped

and just can't make myself finish it.  

Someday I'll get it done because I just can't wait for this office to be finished!

What do you think?

Do you like the direction this is going?

Its the Simple Things

If you are ever in the north Texas area, you must visit 

Simple Things Furniture Company.

They are re-opening their store this week

in a brand new location and it is amazing!

I asked them if I could share the news and

some of the pictures here on my blog because 

you just have to see this place.

This isn't just a regular furniture and home decor store 

where you walk in to see the merchandise.

It's an experience. 

   How many stores do you go into and actually marvel at the walls of the building or notice the ceiling and the floors.  

The place is a beautiful structure.  

You'll want to move right in. 

Can someone put these floors in my house please?

Once you get past the stunning architecture of the building

 (which they created from a generic warehouse space),

get ready for your jaw to drop.

Here are some pictures of inside Simple Things.

Those seltzer bottles are not just any bottles.

See the tag?  It says Joe T. Garcia's which 

is a restaurant icon around here. How cool.

This is so me.  Love the pop of red!

Not only will you want to buy everything,

but you will be inspired with decorating ideas.

I know.  Your jaw dropped.

Close your mouth before you drool.

Are you wanting more?

Get ready to blow up your Pinterest account.

Click here to visit their blog and see more pictures

of how they built this store and more of what is inside.

Better yet, visit them at 

7401 W Vickery

in Fort Worth, Texas.

What do you think?  Are you in love with this place?

What did you pin?

My first 2012 project is ginormous

We have this huge blank wall in our main living area.

We've lived in our house for 10 years and that wall

has always been an unfinished project.

We've tried to decorate it but nothing looks right.

A few mid-sized pieces just don't work.

We added an old door but again, it just wasn't right.

I think it either needs a wall of framed prints or one huge statement piece.

What would be cool is a huge old chalkboard 

that looks like this smaller one in the entry.

Where would I find one of those?

How much would something that big cost?

I'm guessing not much...if you make it.

We bought a huge piece of plywood (I think it's 4'by8').

I sanded it down to make it smoother.  Plywood can be kind of rough

so it certainly wasn't a perfect surface but that works in my plan.

I used a black matte spray paint to give it a base coat.

Then I sprayed a coat of the chalkboard spray paint.

I switched to a can of chalkboard paint and used a brush 

to paint thick coats.

Then we added simple moulding.  I stained it with an uneven finish

so that it looks a bit worn with age.

There we have it!

It's one huge chalkboard.  

We attached it with screws, putting one in each corner which

adds to the industrial effect.

We hung the clock on it because I love that clock

and it covers a huge defect in the wood.

I added some of the lyrics from our family song.

Over time, we will find just right the things

to write on our chalkboard that will become 

permanent artwork.

In some of the pictures, you can see cracks and imperfections in the wood.

I love that. I think it makes it look older.

Isn't that cool?  Those cracks make it look like an old schoolhouse chalkboard.

Now, I know that little dresser underneath it is too small

sitting there all alone under that huge thing.

Either something longer will go there or

that dresser will get some company.

What do you think?

Do you like the "vintage" huge "schoolhouse" chalkboard?

a bit of jealousy

Remember this chair?

Well, it's jealous...

'cause I found this one!

It's a beautiful chair...a little rustic, a little industrial 

with burlap, weathered wood and nailheads on vintage leather.

I bought it from the same person's booth 

where I found the first chair.

It's the awesome booth "Bountiful" 

at our Lonestar Antique Mall.

So, I put this one in a corner of my kitchen 

and moved the other one

next to my kitchen table island.  

They're a perfect combination.

A few weeks before I found the chair, I found this pretty little thing.

beautiful weathered wood and sparkly old crystal door knobs

Somebody made it and I got it for a steal, 

less than the cost of one of those knobs.

I hung it on the wall...

...under my old cabinet that holds 

my collection of vintage silver and glass 

salt and pepper shakers...

...and above that new chair.

It's a great place for someone to sit and join me

while I'm in the kitchen.

We've got a couple of giveaways coming up.

The first one will be up on Monday!