when life hands you a wood slat wall {paint stripping tips included}

Strip it. Then whitewash it. Then strip it again. Ok, maybe that strategy isn’t the best approach.  ;) You’ve all seen the whole mood board concept, right?!?!  Where people put pretty images all in one spot and use it as inspiration to design and decorate a room.  And then the room ends up looking eerily similar to the original mood board. I honestly have no idea how people do it. I think I have more “mood moments”.  And they can be fleeting.  :) To take you back to when we moved into this house in the beginning of April and there was paneling Ev. Ry. Where. We got busy tearing down all of the paneling only to find drywall (painted pink in spots!) so we took a leap of faith and started tearing down the drywall, knowing there was a chance we would need to just re-install new drywall.  I definitely prayed to the DIY Gods about our work not being a waste of time and money and energy and potentially my sanity. But it was the best decision ever!  Like ever ever, even. We uncovered beautiful wood slat wall after wood slat wall.  And their paint colors even made me a little giddy. I can’t even tell you how many different design places my mind has wandered with these planked walls. How fun would it be to salvage the original colors? But how cool would it be to strip a couple to expose the beautiful wood? What about a dark stain for contrast against light painted walls? Or what about a whitewash for a more nautical/beachy look? And when my mind is shifting through these ideas faster than Kim K is getting press over another questionable pregnancy outfit … I’m just sitting in the middle of the madness. Do you do … continue reading

one of the easiest pallet projects ever

Do you remember the last time you moved?  When you unpacked your things in your new house and all these old memories flooded back of those same things on your old space? I’ve been relishing the nostalgia of it all for about a week.  With every new box I opened I would uncover some of my favorite upcycling ideas or pallet projects.  The palm frond pumpkin made it pretty much unscathed!  And all of the pallet art projects need to find a new home here. And then when I found the diy door trough, one of the easiest pallet projects ever, I thought the tutorial was worth resharing.  This little gem might just happens to be one of the first bits of pretty around here. After I shared this tutorial I also shared how to reverse image and text in Word and make an easy little Welcome sign for your pallet projects.

old door {upcycle} how to make a wood coffee table tutorial

Happy Friday!!  How was your week? I feel like I came back to the island from our trip to the US ‘swinging’, so to speak.  Just ready to get things in order and become more productive and efficient in everything.  And get focused on my personal priorities … which definitely includes learning the ins and outs of our new camera!! So I can take better pictures of our current favorite project, our new coffee table that I made from an old door I pulled out of a dumpster.

restoring {old wood} scrape, strip and sand

I have just finished my second old door project around here, and after my DIY day by the pool with my girlfriends I’ve started looking more constructively at how I work with old wood. It was fun to be with my friends, and showing them new things, and realizing that what seems second nature to me might be new to others.  So, here are some of my thoughts as I work with old wood.  Some are technical, some are personal preference, some are physical and some are mental tips.  Hopefully you find some, little bit of it useful.

how to build a floating shelf

Hey!  Happy Monday!!  How was your weekend?  Mine was particularly wonderful.  Celebrating a birthday was the perfect way for me to end ‘this week {in curacao}‘.  And the beginning of the Olympics … just awesome.  Here are a couple of my favorite gals and their gifts for me on my special day. #bestbirthdayever And for today, we’re starting this week with a bang.  I’m combining a little Blogging without Borders update and ‘Crazy for Color’ project together to gear up for our big link party tomorrow, live here. Link up here and automatically be linked up to 5 blogs.

pallet {word art}

This project comes to you courtesy of my love affair with the world wide web of inspiration. Now, I first have to start out by saying that the outpouring of love and support that we have received in response to our 10 year old puppy going through surgery (more on that here) has been so overwhelming, in the best of ways.  All of the private emails and messages in addition to the comments, and those who have shared your own pet stories … you will never know how much it has helped us through this.  Us pet owners and lovers, we’re a special breed.  Hardeharhar!! Ok, now back to business, when the announcement came out that it was time for the next installment of the Pinterest Challenge co-hosted by Bower Power and Young House Love … and this time with the addition of Centsational Girl and Ten June … it was very fitting that I had been spending a lot of time on this pin board. In particular, I had just pinned this by the very creative Michael from Inspired by Charm. And you all know how I heart a good piece of decorative word art on wood.  So, I thought, challenge = accepted.  Let’s stop pinning for a second, and start doing.  :)

old door {message center}

Well, now that I’ve actually made the door-turned-something-or-other into said something-or-other, it really doesn’t open and close. But, metaphorically speaking, I still like the title.  After all of the contemplation, and many an hour at work on the probably should have stayed in the dumpster found door, I decided to make her into a message center.  And, I am down right smitten with her.  (Thank goodness, because she did not come easy.) I don’t know about you, but I am a lister. If I were a DJ, my name would be Sir Lists Alot. If I were on Grey’s Anatomy, my name would be Dr. McListy. If I had my own reality tv show, it would be called The Real Lister of Curacao.  I know, I know … it sounds riveting.  ;)