Thriftstore Finds: Door Pulls

The fastest way to update a piece of furniture or cabinets is by adding new hardware. I enjoy shopping for cabinet hardware but the cool ones don't come cheap and if I can't get a deal I don't want to buy it. For instance, my desk has seven drawers with two knobs each. If I left the holes as they are I've have to buy fourteen new knobs. If they cost a minimum $3 each, that's $42. That's more than I paid for this solid wood desk. So whenever I find a deal on hardware I take it. The trick is finding enough pieces so that you don't end up with a bunch of pieces you can't use. 

All of my pulls were $1.50 or less. The latest group I found are these. They are very heavy and solid and probably would have cost $6 to $8 a piece.

My thought was to use them on laundry room cabinets and combine them with a similar door knob. Since I could only find four I will likely use them on the drawer fronts. 

I also love these red pulls. I don't know where I will use them yet, but it will reveal it's self eventually. 

I wanted to use these silver knobs on another set of cabinets I have but I only found nine and I need ten. I may have to combine them with another pull type unless I find one more at the Habitat store. 

Also, I only  bought 1 of this gold pull because they had a ton of them and I don't know if I would use gold pulls for anything. I have to mull it through, but for $0.75 each, I may just grab a few and hold on to them. 

B.

Home Office Ideas

I spend a lot of time in my home office. I work on my blog, pay bills, surf the net, shop, watch a little TV, you name it. Right now it's just a place where I have my desk, laptop, TV and sewing table but I want it to be much more than that. It should be a place I want to be in everyday whether I am relaxing or working. 

I initially thought I wanted an office like this from Candice Olsen but now I am not sure.

Elle Decor

I also really love this yellow and white office from Sarah Richardson. Just plain lovely.

Sarah Richardson

I also love the warmth of this office by Brian Kucharski:

House and Home

How could you not be energized in this light and bright office by Kelly Deck. Check out the pop of pink. 

House and Home

On Sarah 101 it looked as though they painted their office a shade of lavender similar to the curtains in this office designed by Roger Thomas. It really caught my eye and has given me food for thought.

Elle Decor

This is a soothing shade of green chosen for an office designed by Ray Booth and John Shea.

Elle Decor

This office designed by Tommy Smythe features a warm camel wall color, crisp white trim and bold chevron curtains. 

House and Home

This office designed by Git Gustavsson has beautiful, rich, chocolate painted walls. 

House and Home

Suzanne Dimma's seafoam green painted office is just so pretty.

House and Home

My home office has been a somewhat tired shade of green for at least five years. That I haven't painted it by now has got to be some kind of record. It's time for a change.  For the life of me I cannot decide what color I want the room to be. On a dime I can switch from wanting a warm cozy office to something bright and cherry. My thought is to rearrange it to make it more usable for now. Get the plan right and the decorating will come later. So here is my initial plan:

1. Move file cabinet downstairs
2. Paint
3. Paint desk (maybe)
4. New Lighting
5. New or revamp window covering
6. Replace Closet door
7. Paint sewing table
8. Improve storage
9. New Chair

The first order of business is to have a little purge party and get rid of what I don't need. Check out my progress in the coming weeks.

B.

Living and Dining Room: Color Scheme

I may have landed on a color scheme for my living and dining rooms. I've thought about it quite a bit and decided that I wanted to go cooler. Notice I said cooler, not totally cool. I have no intention of buying all new furniture so I will need to work with the warm tones of my existing sofa and dining room set. I also know I want to use a neutral paint because I like to change things up often. By keeping the background neutral I can change the accessories as often as I want and get a whole new look with very little cost or effort. My son will be happy to hear that. Just ask him home many times he's had to paint my living room.

The walls of my living and dining room are going to be gray. There are a thousand different shades of gray that are either cool or warm. I decided on a warm gray because I felt that the cool grays were looking too blue and that was not the direction I wanted to go. Here are the paint choices I've been looking at. 

And here is what I chose.

I think this will keep the room light and will complement my furniture well. For the floors I haven't decided yet on a dark walnut or a light wood like maple but am leaning light. I don't want my furniture and floors to blend together so I am concerned about using a mid tone wood. I also have to keep in mind that my pug sheds a lot and a dark wood would show a lot of hair but light wood might more easily show wear. All things to keep in mind when I shop. 


As for the color scheme I want to find fabrics that are cheery, bright and cool. You can probably tell from this picture what direction I am going in. 

Yep, the bubble glass bottle. I found this gem at Salvation Army thrift store a few months ago and fell in love with it. I thought about using green, coral, light blue or lavender as an accent color but this aqua blue feels most comfortable to me. So that's it. My living room will be shades of tan, white, light gray, and aqua. 

Now I am on the hunt for fabrics. 

Living Room Redux: The Plan

I'm determined to make my first project for 2013 redecorating my living and dining rooms. It has been all shades of earth  tones ever since I bought the house and it is need of refreshing. Here is how the living and dining rooms look today. 

So here is the plan:

New Curtains

Replace carpet with wood

Paint 

Buy two matching end tables

Find two matching lamps

Accessorize with what I have at home

Freshen up existing furniture with paint or stain

Make Roxie a new bed

Also I want to give my house a little something special and add a few architectural details such as:

Crown Molding

New taller baseboards

New Door Hardware

Replace the tile Floor

Pot Lights

Add an entry light 

As always, I like to do things on the cheap so I'll shop my thrift stores seeking out bargains. When I find a deal I'll grab it even if I am not ready to use it. Somethings I will be able to tackle myself. Other projects such as adding a new light are best left to the professionals.

I am so ready to get started. Year 2013 is going to be a banging year. Oh yes.

B.

Happy Holidays

This has been a tough year. If you decide to blog I have to tell you that it is far from as easy as it looks. So I lost the battle of staying with it through the end of the year, but I have not given up the war. I said all that to say, I'm back and raring to go. 

Hope you had a great Holiday Season. Looking forward to welcoming in 2013.