Pumpkin Pizzazz {Fall Decor} and a Dilemma

I'll confess: the nailhead pumpkins floating around the blogosphere this fall speak to me.  I first spied this one on Houzz several weeks ago.

by StrictlySimpleStyle

I added it to my Fall Decor Ideabook right away, (check out the entire ideabook in my sidebar), thinking this would be a cool and easy DIY.  I even went so far as to purchase and spray paint my victim pumpkin for the project.

Remember this larger pumpkin I scored at Wal Mart?

As the weeks ticked by though, I was seeing tons of monogrammed pumpkins all over the blogosphere.  I still liked the idea, but now I wanted something different.  This is where being a preschool teacher {with access to all kinds of die cuts and stencils} comes in handy. :)

Here's what I landed on, and I absolutely l-o-v-e it!

I used a die cut maple leaf, traced around it with a black pen and popped the silver upholstry tacks in place following my outline.  How simple is that?  At first I was worried the silver wouldn't show up against the caramel latte metallic paint, but it's the perfect amount of contrast.

I'm also loving the stem that I left as is: hints of green and a teeny bit of orange.  Try to ignore that little drip mark I missed somehow!

And here it is on it's perch, right at home. 

This little guy was part of set of three I scored at Target a few years back.  Only two have survived...actually one and a half.  This would be the one-- the only one that's fit to be seen at 360 degree angles.  One of the pitfalls of a house full of boys and men.  The antique books belonged to my grandmother.

The pedestal is a retired Southern Living at HOME product-- and a workhorse!  The silver tray was a gift from long ago.

My Fall coffee table vignette.  Simple but perfect.  Someday, I'll show you the whole room, but it's not quite there yet. :)

As for my next decor dilemma, enter my kitchen table.

 Speaking of workhorses!  I've had this table for almost 13 years.  It's the perfect size and shape for my breakfast are and it has a wonderful aged iron open bottom.   Sadly, the finish is in dire need of attention!

Yes, a certain little boy {who shall not remain nameless} practiced writing his name here.  With a somewhat sharp object.  He was also known as "Picasso" for a time when he was mastering his letter J with a crayon on the stairwell to the playroom.  Have one of those in your family? :-)

I've considered painting it, but I think I'll attempt a refinish first.  My kitchen wall color is about to change from a dated Tuscan gold to a nice neutral greige and I'm now thinking the (refurbished) wood finish will be perfect. 

I think a small part of me will miss the little gouges, initials, and craft paint smears.  I'm pretty sure there's some glitter embedded there, too.  A veritable scrapbook of the last 12 years in my kitchen. :)  What's your latest decor dilemma??

Linking UP!

Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest

Happy Decorating!

A Little Bookcase Love

Bookcases are hard.  If you're like me, you hit on a look you like and then eventually you start tweaking it a little here and there, until suddenly, you're not happy with it anymore.  Something's missing, or maybe there's too much?

For several months I've been considering painting the inside of my family room bookcases.  I have lots of wonderful decorative pieces and books and they just weren't popping against the white.  Now, to be honest, it's not just about the paint.  These had gotten a little chaotic for me, too. 

So last weekend, I cleared them off, took all the shelves down, pulled out some leftover blue paint from the kids' bathroom and ...

That's an electrical outlet in the back of my bookcase.  Nice to have for lighting, but a challenge, too.  The paint color is Behr's Tide Pool.  I decided to go with this one, because I thought that the Martha Stewart blue on this desk would be too bright.

And I've introduced pops of blue on the mantle as well.

I'm really loving the blues, tans, browns, and creams together. I have metallics in there as well: gold frames, silver serving pieces, and my caramel latte metallic pumpkins.  Blue was definitely the right accent color for the bookcases.  But did I get the right blue?

You tell me...

With everything off the shelves, it was much easier to "cull" the contents.  All of my paperback books have a new home stacked in my bedroom (for sorting at a later date!) and I turned some of the books spine inward to keep an overall neutral feeling -- there are plenty of pops of color from other sources. Bonus: I love the exposed page edges! This isn't qutie finished but I'm MUCH happier with these after adding color, culling some books, and even losing an entire shelf (the beauty of adjustable shelving!).  I made the sides symmetrical and it has a much cleaner look.  So here's another look:

Before

and After:

Okay, so your turn to weigh in... should I have gone brighter or darker?  I'm still on the fence to be honest.  But that's the great thing about paint-- it's easy enough to change for not a lot (if any) money.

I'll live with it for a bit, I think, and then decide. :)

Linking up!

 and Tutorials and Tips Tuesday at Stories of A to Z

Mirror Transformation

Happy Monday, gang! I hope you had a productive but relaxing weekend. :) I don't know about you, but my fall nesting is kicking in.  I feel the autumn chi beginning to flow, but I still have a way to go!  A couple of weeks ago, I came across this mirror in a basement closet.

It's one of those bought-inexpensively-for-a-purpose-that-never-manifested-itself things.  Don't we all have one of those lurking in our basement closet?  This one's been lurking for about six years now, but my DIY lightbulb went off when I found it this time.

I've been longing for a mirror in my dining room for some time now but haven't found the perfect one at the perfect price.  Well, this baby had the perfect price (FREE!) and could become a little closer to the perfect one with a little help from Martha.

I was afraid spray paint would give me a too-even finish, and I wanted something a little less perfect.  Enter Martha's Metallic Glaze in Mercury, sort of a silvery shade of pearl.  I had never used this product before, but I figured what the heck?

I taped off the edge of the mirror first (I'm sometimes a sloppy painter) and brushed a thin coat of the glaze on the frame.  Now, this was a little tricky; the brush marks were very noticeable, and though I wanted them to be somewhat noticeable, I didn't want it to look too hodge-podgey.  The look I was happiest with was when I went all around the frame in one continuous swoop and then feathered the stroke off the edge.

It took two coats to get the look I really wanted, and this stuff has a looooong drying time.  I'm not sure if that's the nature of the product or if I was putting it on a little thicker than you would for other glazing projects.  At any rate, if you're doing a second coat, make sure the first is completely dry before you dive in!

So here she is in her new home! I love that it has a pewter-like finish to it now.  It's perfectly imperfect. I'd show you more of the big picture, but you see that mess on my dining room table?  Yes, that's an upcoming fall tablescape in the works!  Oh, and the dark green paint on the walls?  Yeah, that's going soon, too. :) See how I've pulled the blinds all the way up on the window? Because I have a covered front porch, this room doesn't get a whole lotta light.  When I painted the room 12 years ago (!) it functioned as a front "living room" and had a cozy vibe.  Now that it's my dining room (has been for 6 years now!) I want lighter and brighter.  The blinds are going, gang.  I see some great floor to ceiling drapes in my future, but that's another post all together! Did I say my autumn chi was beginning to flow?

The mirror was a freebie and the glaze was around $6 at Home Depot.  Not bad, eh?

Linking Up!

Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday

Home Stories of A to Z Tutorials and Tips Tuesday

Happy Decorating!

Taking a Shine to Pumpkins

I really wanted these.



Sigh.  They were sold out online {which is probably a good thing}.  My decorating budget is slim pickings this year with one in college, but I simply cannot get on board with the warm and toasty pumpkin orange this year.

So I decided to take a few ugly plastic-ish pumpkins and help them get their shine on-- with a little help from Krylon.

The three little guys were in my fall decor stash from God-knows-when, but I picked up the larger one at Walmart for $4.99 because of it's scale and something special I have in mind for it.

I have shiny finish metallic silver and gold spray paint, but I wanted something a little more subtle.  This caramel latte color just spoke to me. :)

I taped off the stem of the large one because I actually like the texture and color as a low contrast to the new metallic finish.  The little guys didn't have much stem to speak of, so I just went for it.

Love this silvery look!  The top of the stem of the small pumpkins retained just a bit of orange from me picking them up to spray the bottoms.  I love how the nubby texture of the littlest really shows up now.

And here's where two of them ended up!

 If you missed my entire fall mantle you can see it HERE.

Wait'll you see what happened to the large pumpkin -- a cool and classy fall touch {coming soon}.

How about you?  Feel like swapping pumpkin orange for another color this fall?

Linking up here:

Tips and Tutorials Tuesday at Home Stories A to Z

Centsational Girl's Fall Crafts Party

Happy Decorating!

What a Coat of Paint Can Do {Family Room Update}

Hey there, everyone!  Whew, we made it to Friday!  It's been quite a week around here and will wrap up with a high school football scrimmage tonight (yes, Friday night lights around here!).  Tomorrow, we take the boys and friends up to Lake Rabun for a last hurrah on the water before school starts on Monday.  I, for one, can't wait to prop my feet up with a chilled beverage, how 'bout you?

Anyway, on to a fun project update!  Remember this forlorn little guy??

I scored this little wooden desk a loooong time ago for a song and he's done good work for me as a side table in our family room.  I couldn't believe all the stuff I found when I cleaned out the drawers, but that's another post all together!

This is a cool little piece, but had some chips in the wood here and there and the top has a nice long crack in it-- all of which adds character and made me feel fine about painting instead trying to repair/refinish.  I also wanted to get rid of some of the BROWN in my family room.  It was a wood piece on hardwood floors, next to a dark brown suede sofa.  Blah!!  So in my ongoing quest to lighten and brighten the family room I tried some left over paint from the kids bathroom redo two years ago. But I knew right away it was too light-- I wanted lighter, but I also wanted a pop of color. 

One coat of Martha Stewart's Salt Water and I knew I was on to something! No, I didn't prime (bad painter/blogger/diyer).  I usually am diligent about that, but I can also be impatient, and I was on a timetable before we were leaving town, soo... no primer.

I also decided to recycle the hardware.  Turns out it was 2 different sets of knobs!

I didn't care-- nothing a coat of brassy gold spray paint can't disguise!

And here's the new and improved little guy...

Okay, sorry about the lamp cord hanging down... (bad blogger/diyer/photographer) but what do you think? 

I turned it with it's back against the wall instead of against the arm of the sofa and that's opened up the space some, too.  I love the way the room feels so much brighter now!!  I have another painted piece under the window that I will match up to this one so that will help, too.

Ahh, much better. :)

Let me know what you think!  Happy weekend, friends... any projects on your list or will you be chillin' like me?

Linking up at Mrs. Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday
and the Weekend WrapUp at Tatertots and Jello
and at Susan's Metamorphosis Monday {Between Naps on the Porch}
and Beth's Tutes and Tips Tuesday {Home Stories A to Z}!