Glass Thrift Lamp Revamp - Wood Stain & Why

A few months back while out thrifting, I spotted a lamp. I let it go, but couldn't stop thinking about it. Chancing it, I went back to the thrift place (Faith Farm- Ft. Lauderdale), and it was still there. When I see stuff like that, I take it as a "sign" (it was meant to be!)and get it. What made it even more spectacular though was it was 1/2 off that day - so it was only $5. I had shy-ed away from it because it was blue, but I loved its shape and look. I thought I'd probably find some way to change its color, but keep the look and I did. Paint would have been too opaque - It would have highlighted the texture - but not let the glass peek through the hatching. Using a wood stain in ebony did the trick!

Loved the bamboo detail, and the glass peeking through the hatching...

Using the wood stain - it captured the texture, but not the glass...

The only thing is: I guess because the humidity is high in South Florida, it takes a while for wood stain to dry. Having the ceiling fan on helped...

I also had painted the shade - I did take a few pics, but it was with the other phone that was giving me trouble. I spray painted it, and it looked like a solid black linen shade when the light is off... but when the light is on, it has an amazing textured / worn look....

The little B&W vase in the back corner I picked up thrifting in Ft. Lauderdale, probably back in March; it was only $2. The table it's on I thrifted back in the 90's for my apartment. It originally was all light wood _ironically as light as the Ikea baboo platters I hung behind it!). It was such a good price (only $9) and I needed a table, I bought it and painted it two toned. I painted the bottom black, and just used Old English furniture polish to make the top a little darker. It's been with me for about 12 years. It could probably use a quick coat of stain on the top...

Both stacked books were gifts: The bottom book is actually the box cover to the Ralph Laren book my old boss gave to me when I set the launch for American Living (by RL) for the store. The top book, our previous neighbors gave to me after we had a garage sale about 2 years ago...

The thrill of thrift... mixing old and new for a little afternoon redux...

So that's my "Wood Stain and Why" and so glad I gave it a try!

(I think it's going to be my next "go to" remedy for a redux.)

 Thanks for stopping by!



Touched With Gold - Mirror Makeovers & Accessory Updates

Although I'm keeping our Fall decor a little more simple this year, I did take some time to update some accessories, mirrors, a lamp and even refinished a buffet. They were all experiments I tried out, and I'm loving the updated looks! One look I actually had started to admire last year was adding in GOLD. So this year, to balance out our living space, I added in a few more gold touches by updating the finish on a few existing pieces like these mirrors...

Before

Light, bright & crisp in silver, gray, black & white

Adding in some gold helped to warm up the look of the wall, and help transform the mood of the room from Summer to Fall...

I used both, a touch of Rust-oleum's metallic gold, and a little lit of RL Aluminum I had...

This was a good way to still mix metals in the space...

but still mainly focusing on the addition of the gold...

Since I already had painted the mirror black

(about 4 years ago - It was mahogany and attached to a dresser we had, but donated)

Using the chip brush added texture. Keeping in as a dry-brushed look let the black show through a bit... and relates to the other black pieces in the room...

I also painted over the other silver mirrors on the gallery wall...

(thankfully our first floor is tile, which makes it so easy to paint inside!)

The REALLY funny thing about this though is the other mirrors on the wall WERE gold when I first got them (like back in the 90's lol) and I wanted NO PART of anything gold in the new Millenium! Funny how everything old is new again :)

I thought this may look "too gold", even with the silver showing through... so I tried something: I layered over the metallics with my Jacobean wood stain...

I used two brushes: One to apply the stain - the other was the chip brush to give it a hash texture...

A little more work than spray painting last year... but easy enough to do in an afternoon,

and no over spray! YAY!

Again - I laughed when I was painting this mirror last year - from silver to gold - because it was gold originally... To change its look, I had not only sprayed it silver, but I had added a few pieces of silver leaf. Thankfully, the Rust-oleum Gold Rush spray covered it evenly, so it did show through...

Read more about GOLD tablescape transforamtions

at last year's Sneak Peek for Thanksgiving.

Last year I hung the gold painted round mirror in the dining room for Fall.

For Holiday, I had moved it back over the bookcase in the living room, and it's stayed all year. I might move things around (a bit) while cleaning, but when something works well in a space, I usually will leave it.

Having the round in the room helps worm the space because round is more approachable...

 

(Round mirror - JCP -- Lamps - HomeGoods)

For my Fall Transition, I relocated some of the accessories around the mirror, and painted them as well...

Sephora REALLY loves these Salvaged Stools, and they helped bring some red over to this side of the space...

No white after Labor Day!

I refinished my white accessories with shades of black (more about that shortly - so stay tuned!) My lamps (this one from Homegoods), I changed shades from whites to greys and blacks. (Grey linen shades from HomeGoods).

The black and the gold textured mirror frames and some silver gave a great mixed look to the revamped space for Fall...

And painting the 10 year old thrift buffet was another small change

 (done in one afternoon) that made a huge difference!

More about the red redux on the buffet in another upcoming post...

GALLERY WALL 2010 - Collected over time (from thrift, JCP, Ikea & HomeGoods)

Ironically, the day I was painting the mirrors (and also painted the buffet that day), Robin Baron of Simplifying Fabulous had used this photo in her post about mixing mirrors and art for a gallery wall...  READ ROBINS: Translating Trends

The lamp was a (thrift) makeover too...From navy to black (including the painted vintage shade!)

This side of the room just never got any love (except maybe on the buffet) ... now it's feeling loved. The red leather pillow cover (a Pottery Barn find) relates back to the red painted buffet. To play with pattern (relating fashion & decor) I paired a B&W classic stripe pillow with a zebra fur throw (both from HomeGoods!)

One other GOLD charm in our living room is the thrifted faux bamboo coffee table I refinished back in February. You can see its transformation at:

From Thrifted To On Trend (for Spring - but GOLD is so on trend even more NOW!!)

I really enjoy experimenting and trying out some new finishes or techniques in our home. I take it as a form of training myself and hopefully too, inspire you! - Hopefully sometime before the recession (finally) ends, I can pick up few more local clients to help out around here, and apply some of these techniques & trends.

What projects have you been working on for Fall?

Closet clean ups? Gardening? Painting outside? Patio or deck fix-ups?

Send me your pics and a little write up (or link back) and if I get enough of them,

I'll post about it!

Enjoy your day & thanks for stopping by!

LINKING POST TO:

Under The Table and Dreaming - Sunday Showcase

The DIY Showoff - Project Parade

Between Naps On The Porch - Metamorphosis Monday

HomeGoods - Happy by Design Pinterest Board

A Last Splash: Summer Salads & Nutrition Tips

Since we're nearing summers end, I thought I'd share some simple summer salads I enjoyed along the way. I'm no Foodie by any means, but they're easy to make and taste great too. And since recently, I've been chatting nutrition with a nutrionalist friend of mine over in Texas: Bonnie Faske, I thought I'd share some of her tips to tweak my dietary intake. Maybe you too eat some of these foods. First up, here's the simple summer salads - you can really eat at any time of the year...

Egg Salad

Eggs, mayo, S&P, some croutons, deli pickle slice and a chilled glass of apple juice.

Tomato Salads

Served either with basil, balsamic, EVOO, S&P, and sliced mozzarella

Or served as a slice with S&P on a bagel with either cream cheese or egg salad.

Grilled Steak Salad

Skip the potoes and slice your grilled steak on a bed of romaine lettuce. I added some crumbled Feta and ranch (just not too heavy on the ranch) This also is a great alternative for a burger: slice it up and serve on a bed of lettuce.

Mixed (bag) Salad

Topped with raisins, walnuts, and raspberry vinergaette!

YUM...

Chopped Chicken & Grapes

I literally threw this together one day - and loved it!

I chopped up some left-over rotissarie chicken (breast), and only added grapes & feta cheese - no dressing & it was DELISH! To drink, I had chilled Cran-Grape juice.



Summer Fruit Salad Alfreso for Sunday brunch

Here's the little list of the foods I eat most frequently, with some of Bonnie's Tips to Tweak for a healthier diet intake...

Rotisserie chicken - Fine to eat, just make sure you eat white meat more than dark, and take that skin off before eating!



Chicken Cesar Salad - Trade it up to a Mediterranean salad with dressings on the side. You get more nutrients (more color=tons more nutrients) and it's about half the calories of a Caesar salad, since the dressing is always mixed in.


Soups - Stick with clear or broth-based soups, and you can eat as much as you want!


Yogurt (Activia) or occasional Pineapple Cottage Cheese - Trade the Activia for a Greek yogurt (I like Fage brand, but Chobani is good too). Greek yogurt has three times the amount of protein, which will fill you up without adding sugar or calories. Make sure the cottage cheese is fat free, and you are good to go!


Pretzels / Popcorn / Crackers (something to crunch) - Popcorn (sans butter!) is perfect. Look for Emerald brand almond crackers. They are AMAZING and much better for you than the traditional crackers/pretzels.


Brussel Sprouts - YAY!


Broccoli - WOOOHOO!!!


Pasta - Always, always, ALWAYS whole wheat pasta. This is a rule I tell every single person. I don't care what it is in, always make it whole wheat. More protein, slower digesting, higher fiber, lower calories, more filling, heart healthy...I could go on and on.


Rice (white) - I wish I had The Price Is Right buzzer right about now. NO!!!! Same rule as above with pasta--brown is better, for all those same reasons. I know it's not as tasty, but you can find varieties that fluff up just as white rice does. PROMISE!! :)


Black Beans - Great!!


Grilled Pork / Steak / Ribs / Chicken - As long as you go with the lean meats rule I talked about earlier, have at it!


Shrimp - Perfect!


Tilapia - Not bad, but not really a nutritious fish choice. Fish such as mahi mahi, cod, salmon, etc. have much more nutrition to them, although tilapia isn't a bad choice.


Salads - Fabulous!


Carrots - You can always have these for your "crunchy" snack with a little FF ranch dressing!


Mushrooms - Awesome!!


Tomatoes (I LOVE on a bagel w/cream cheese and black pepper or eat as a salad with fresh basil) - Wonderful!!!


Granola Bars - Limit the processed ones, if possible. They can contain a ton of extra sugars and preservatives that aren't the best for you. I can actually send you a really good high-protein granola bar recipe that you don't even have to cook, just mix and freeze, then cut and eat!


Wine, coffee, Coke (1 can a day) - In moderation, perfect.


Lipton Raspberry Diet Ice Tea - Fine by me!!

And as for water, I don't drink as much as I should. Here's what Bonnie recommends: "As long as you are drinking at least a bottle or two of water a day, that would be best. The tea is actually a great substitute because it's mostly water, just with a light amount of flavor to it without the calories added in."


Bonnie also recommends: "Start making small changes when you are the one cooking. Even if your husband is a big high-fat meat eater, start buying the leaner meats. That's one of the biggest little changes you can make, no matter who you are. When you eat lean meats versus high-fat meats, your intake of protein increases, saturated fat decreases, and you will eat less because of the amount of time it really takes to digest the large amount of protein."

Nutrionalist

Bonnie Faske Lynn



Bonnie is so incredibly enthusiastic about starting her new Nutrition Consultation business. She not only studied Nutrition and has a degree from Texas A&M, but it is Bonnie's passion to "help meet their highest potential."  She's building her website now, but in the meantime, if you'd like some tips to tweak your nutrition for a healthier lifestyle, email Bonnie at bonniefaske@att.net. When the site is up (can't wait!!) I'll change to link it here.

I use to be all into health and fitness... but over the years, I got away from it. Teaming up with a buddy (or at the gym they would be called a "spotter") is a great means of motivation to help get you to a healthier lifestyle - without the restrictions of some fad diet or dangerous pills. I've been having some severe headaches lately. Hopefully some of these changes will also help them go away.

Thanks for stopping by!

and enjOY your long weekend!

LINKING POST TO:

504 Main - Tickled Pink Friday