Adding some COLOR to the kitchen!

Hello all! Hope your weekend was wonderful! Our weather continues to be oddly warm and is supposed to be near 70 this weekend! I can't remember a weirder winter in Indiana. It's been awesome, but I do wonder if the winter weather is going to hit in March. 😬

I've mentioned a few times I've slowly adding more color into our home lately. I was craving it in the new year and have been making small, easy changes to do just that. One spot in our kitchen was calling out for it -- the window seat (one of my favorite spots in our home):

You can see all of the details on how it was built here. I have dreamed of a window seat in my home for most of my life, and now we have two! :) 

As you can tell, I love the color blue. I knew this would be a lovely spot to add in a little something more. I went shopping, not sure exactly what I was looking for, but I knew I wanted more color. I wish I had the patience to order fabrics online -- if I planned better I think I could do it but most of the time what I do fall in love with is CRAZY expensive anyway. 

SO. Went shopping. And found a combo I loved: 

The left is called Cove End Palm (Robert Allen) and the right is Gem of the Sky Indigo (P. Kaufmann), both from Calico Corners. Although the print still had a lot of blue, it had plenty of other colors to pull from too. I wanted to mix in one more fabric as well but didn't find anything I loved.

When I got home and got the pillows finished up, I realized two sets of the previous pillows worked great with the new ones. I ended up keeping all of them: 

The blue stripe was previously a larger pillow and I cut them down and made them smaller to match the rest. 

When I saw them all together I was in love! I still have my blue but with some more color thrown in too:

And I can easily add something else with more color if/when I find another fabric I love. Pillows are SUCH an easy way to change up your decor -- whether you make them or buy! I think they are one of my favorite decorating accessories. 

I also love having more pillows on the seat -- it feels like I should have always had this amount because of the size: 

Their similar size works much better too. I know many of you want me to put a cushion on here and I will eventually -- it's definitely the plan. A friend was going to make it but with the shape of the seat she didn't feel confident. She recommended someone else but I know it will be an investment. Now I'm considering trying it myself. We'll see. :) For now I don't mind it without. 

I had to laugh because when I made the first few pillows for this seat years ago I had green mixed in. The fabric was slightly more modern and I used lumbar pillows, so I ended up switching to the square sizes. I absolutely LOVE green and blue together! It's such a lovely combo! 

The blue with the pinstripe is fabric from Joann's (they still carry it) and the white with the large stripe were made from West Elm napkins. Here's a photo with our Valentine's banner up. :)

New throw pillows are an easy way to update your space, don't you agree? When I'm craving a change that's my first stop. 

I've shared a bunch of easy pillow ideas over the years! Check out the link below each picture to find out more!

Easy and inexpensive seasonal pillows

Pottery Barn pillows for cheap

Basic pillow sewing tutorial

DIY placemat pillows

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How to easily organize awkward pans above the fridge

Hey there! It's Friday, the sun is (kind of) shining, the weather is supposed to warm up (a little) and we have a fun weekend planned. It's a good day! 

This is organizing project is something I've been meaning to tackle for months. I think of it every time I reach for something in the cabinet above our fridge. I've never organized it because I wanted to see how we used it first:

When I built that cabinet over the fridge I initially planned to DIY something to hold our long and awkward pans and items. I thought I would want something with wood at the top and bottom of the cabinet to make slots I could slide everything into. 

But because we have extra storage behind this cabinet (I left our original cabinet up and reused our doors -- see that post linked in the paragraph above for photos) I thought I'd want to use that back space behind it for rarely used items. I wanted to make it easy to access things back there if needed. 

Fast forward to this week when I finally decided to tackle this project -- when I cleaned it out I realized there were plenty of items (some that were pushed all the way to the back) that we just didn't use or need: 

Do you all have those random metal shelves from the refrigerator (or who knows where else?). We haven't used them and years and never will. :) 

I got rid of about a third of the items and decided to grab this Variera organizer from IKEA I've had in storage for awhile: 

Years ago I used it for a DIY rolling rack in our island, but since then we've purged/organized them differently and I removed it:

What I love about this organizer is it's like an accordion -- you can pull it out for larger items or push it together for skinny ones. I wanted it to hold a lot and span the whole cabinet so I pulled it out pretty far:

And what do you know...everything fit perfectly!:

The area off to each side was the perfect size to slip in another item. WHY I waited so long to do this I have no idea. It took all of ten minutes!

When I used this before I secured it to the bottom of the cabinet to hold it in place, but I've found that with the weight of the pans it stays put just fine. It's super easy to pull things in and out:

This little rack is only $6 and totally worth it! If you don't have an IKEA nearby you can find it here online too. 

SO. MUCH. BETTER. And I'm still kicking myself for not doing it sooner:

Have you used this rack in your home? It can be used for so many things in the kitchen -- lids, pots, pans, plates (I use another one for dishes in our built in storage in the library). 

Here are some other helpful posts on projects from this area of our kitchen: 

DIY soft close doors

Building cabinets to the ceiling

Building in the refrigerator with cabinet on top

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How our least used room has become the most used and organized!

It's been about six months since I finished up our loft makeover and I have to say, beyond our kitchen and basement projects over the years, this redo is the smartest and most used in our house. I LOVE that because we barely used this room before. 

I gave up my office when we took down a wall and extended our family room years ago. For a couple years I didn't mind not having a true work space and would just sit on a chair and work from there. But I was starting to crave a dedicated office again, but I wanted it away from our living spaces.

This unused space was a PERFECT fit...we didn't realize how perfect until after it was finished:

My husband has a studio set up in the basement but craves natural light during the day when he works (I don't blame him). So now most days both of sit at the big desk together and work. I love it! The desk has worked SO wonderfully. This morning I took a pic of it covered with stuff to show you -- he had his keyboard and computer there and I had my sewing machine and fabric all over, and we still had plenty of room. (I accidentally detailed the picture, dangit.) 

Anyway, this room works smart for us and I promised months ago that I would share more about the awesome storage and organization in here. First up, that huge window seat that serves double duty:

It spans the whole wall and when it was built I had them break it up the inside into three sections. 

One I use for wrapping needs like boxes, bows, bags and the like: 

I found the bins at the dollar store and they hold smaller stuff like bags and boxes. 

The middle section is where I store my sewing machine and extra fabric:

And the last one is for toys, games and gifts that I buy when I find them on clearance or duplicates we get as gifts: 

I had gathered so many little gift items over the years -- and didn't realize it because I had everything stuffed in a drawer before. Now I'm trying to get this section emptied out and I'll used it seasonal pillows and inserts.

I have found that window seats are such a lovely combo of form and function -- they look so good, give you another place to sit and offer so much storage inside!

Another area of this room that we are LOVING is the huge DIY chalkboard:

We use it for lists a lot -- I'm a visual person and need to see my list in front of me. Back when I finished the room I drew a calendar on the wall with chalk, just to see if I'd really use it. 

Turns out I love having it so visible so I went ahead and used my level and a white Sharpie marker to make it permanent: 

Now I can write in the dates and appointments on the calendar and when I erase the calendar stays put. It's such a little thing but it really has helped me stay on top of things. 

By the way, I use a cup pull turned upside down to hold the chalk. :) I just hot glued it on there:

I had the sticky letters for years in my craft stash and thankfully there were enough to add the days at the top. 

The wall of cabinets (kitchen cabinets are crazy versatile!) gives us a ton of storage for craft and office supplies:

I've had these bins forever -- they are just the canvas square storage bins you can find at most stores. I have craft stuff organized by topic -- glue, Christmas, fall, wood, paint, etc: 

I had a bunch of wood tags I used years ago (when this was the Bub's playroom) and spray painted them with chalkboard paint: 

I just glued them on the back of the cabinets and I can erase and change the name if needed. 

I LOVE that I have empty space in the cabinets: 

As you can see, I configured the cabinets so that the doors under the desk open the opposite way. I put seasonal stuff in these and don't have to access them often -- even though they are still easy to get to. 

We have our extra office supply stuff down in my husband's studio but I'm thinking I'll move it all up here since we have plenty of room. The bookcase at the end of the desk holds more craft storage and office supplies: 

And for stuff that we need to reach for while working (things like tape, stapler, notepads), I use a tray to corral it all: 

That plant was looking sad when I took this...we hadn't had sun for what felt like weeks. We had three days of sun this week and he's looking so much better. ;) 

I think (other than the kitchen) this room is our hardest working in the house. That kind of blows my mind because we didn't use it much before! I take forever to tackle and finish rooms in our home but I know it works in our favor. Our rooms function so well for us, which is worth the long makeovers! :) 

To see some cute craft storage pretty enough to keep out, be sure to check out this post. Have you incorporated any of these ideas into your work spaces? I love to hear how people organize! 

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Amazing before and after projects (and link up your own!)

Well hello! Hope you had a wonderful weekend! I'm back today with the Before and After Party for the month of February and have some awesome projects to share with you from last month.

I invited you all to link up your favorite projects from 2016 and you guys did not disappoint! I found a ton to share with you today. You can link up your recent before and afters at the bottom of the post.

Lisa found a dark wood table at the consignment store and shares how she transformed it into a beautiful farmhouse table instead:

Pam shared her spring tour (which has me ready for green grass again!) from 2016, and I always DROOL over her gorgeous DIY vent hood:

She links to how they did that project in the post. I just love it!

I can't remember if I've shared Denise's master closet makeover, but even if I have, it's worth showing off again:

I love some good organization!

If you love it too, you'll have to check out this amazing closet that Samantha organized: 

Wow, it is gorgeous! I'm picking my jaw off the floor. Samantha gives some great organizing tips in that post as well. 

Kris shared her stunning family room makeover:

You have to check out her beautiful TV wall as well! It's all so well done. 

I loved Kristen's eclectic kitchen makeover:

That backsplash tile is gorgeous and I love the wood tone on the island. Beautiful! 

Angela shared her pretty bedroom makeover:

Everything is so light and beautiful...what a lovely space to sleep in!

And finally, Jenny shared a bunch of her favorites from 2016, including her son's bedroom makeover:

You know I love that dark accent wall! Love that "X" detail over the window too! 

See? So many awesome projects! Now let's see what you've been up to so far this year! If you'd like to be considered for next month's round up, be sure to include a link to TDC in your post or copy and paste this code:  

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/" title="TDC Before and After" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/beforeAndAfterButton_thumb1.gif" alt="TDC Before and After" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Now let's see what you've got for this month!

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So I never have to leave my house again...

So I've been wanting to tell you about this little gadget for a while now, but really wanted to see how it worked before doing so. I freaking LOVE it...so it's time. :) 

I discovered the Amazon Dash buttons last year on Prime Day. I had no idea what they were but they kept popping up as I shopped so I did some research. They were super cheap that day (I think a buck each?) so I put a few in my order and decided to try them out. 

Well...as I said, I LOVE THEM. I've found the older I get the less I like to leave our house. I mean, I'm no hermit...we're out nearly every evening for activities and love to go out with friends. BUT...when it comes to running out to the store to grab that one thing we need, we'd rather just stay home. Annnnd now we can. ;) 

We got a few of the buttons and there are a couple we use quite often. I'll show you how to use them here -- it's kind of amazing. We keep a couple in our laundry room cabinet:

(DIY floating shelves tutorial)

No, those cabinets still aren't painted. Someday. 

We keep our Downy and Gain buttons in here -- they come with a sticky back so you can hang or place them just about anywhere: 

When you notice you're running low on whatever the product is...you just push the button. It will flash with a white light (the Downy button on the left) and then when the order is completed, it will flash green (the right):

And then in a day or two your products arrives at your door. That's it! 

I mean. Come on! It truly felt like the Jetson's when we first tried it...I just think it's awesome. 

I love ordering online because I know I spend less. We've even started ordering groceries online occasionally because I can sit with my shopping/recipe list and I only order what we need. No impulse buys. 

Same goes for these items, that I would run into Target for and then just happen to stop in the dollar section "real quick" and then forget why I even went in and come out an hour later with a cart full of other stuff. I hear that's how it goes for some anyway...

My favorite button is the one for toilet paper that we keep in our master linen closet. Down to just a couple rolls? Hit the button and voila! TP to your door: 

A few things to consider: 

- When you get the button you need to set it up for the item/size you'll want to be shipped each time. It comes with instructions and it took just a few minutes for us to set up each one. After that you just push it and you're done. There's actually a Kindle book that tells you all you need to know for these buttons now! It has excellent reviews so there may be info in there I don't know about these little jobbies. 

- As far as I know, you can only set it up to order one thing with one button. So if you use Downy fabric softener and the pellets, you can only use your button for one item. I am pretty sure anyway, I could be wrong. 

- Because I kind of hate how Amazon uses so much packaging for small items, I try to coordinate our smaller purchases with other orders.

- You have to have Amazon Prime to use them. 

- I could have sworn the buttons used to be $3 but now they're $5. But I truly believe we save over time by not running out to grab a few items. Be sure to watch for promotions -- I'm sure they'll do something special for prime day again this year. 

We use the Downy button, Ziploc, Gain button and my favorite, the Cottonelle, but they don't seem to have that one right now. (They do have Charmin!). 

They have a TON of buttons -- it's kind of fun to look through the list. Everything from paper towels to dog food, diapers, trash bags and food products (for those of you with toddlers, Goldfish crackers have one!). They even have a Nerf button! 😂 (Just don't tell our son!) 

Have you tried these little gadgets? We love them in our house and are always considering more. I'm all about anything that lets me stay in my pajama pants a little longer every some days. 

Have a great weekend my friends! 

Affiliate links included for your convenience! 

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Chalkboard wall and open shelving in the basement!

I finally got back into the DIY groove again and it feels great! I usually take a minute (or a month. Two.) and give myself a break over the holiday and new year. But when I'm ready to go back at it...I'm ready! 

I wanted to get this project done back before December, but you know how that goes. I was excited to tackle it and yet again was thrilled to work with Minwax on this because I love their products. LOVE! I'm soooo happy with how this came together. It's just like my vision looked in my head. 

We started with a blank wall where our boy's basketball hoop used to be: 

You can see that after years of it hanging there it started to dig into the drywall from numerous dunks.  😉 

I showed you how we reconfigured the kitchenette in our basement so this area that used to be open below now has cabinets and a wine fridge. 

My first step was to patch those holes. The smaller ones I fixed using this method. The bigger stuff I filled in with putty. Not gonna lie, the final result wasn't perfect because I knew it would be hard to see later anyway. And because I can be crazy impatient. 

But I got them filled and while I waited on the compound to dry, I started marking off where I wanted my lines on the wall: 

You can use a laser level for long straight lines, but for a smaller area I prefer a regular level. Just mark your lines with pencil and then you can tape off using that as a guide. 

Our walls are pretty flat so it's not too hard to get a straight line, but I always make sure to push the tape down as much as possible. A flat edge helps a ton:

I started my four coats of chalkboard paint and because I didn't want to run to the hardware store, I improvised with my paint tray: 

I do this quite often. :) I grabbed a box that was going to recycling, put a plastic grocery bag over it (make sure any print goes on the opposite side!) and poured my paint in. Works every time. 

After four coats I was able to peel the tape off -- my favorite part -- and look at those lines!:

Beautiful! ;) 

While the paint was drying in between coats I started on the wood shelving. The wood was the only thing I had to buy for this project because I had the rest of the materials. I love cheap projects! 

One thing that is helpful when you stain, that I don't think I've told you about, is to open up the wood by wiping it down with a wet rag: 

This is called "popping" the grain and it allows the stain to really get into the pores of the wood.

I talk a lot about the Minwax prestain conditioner and how important that is too -- I think it's similar to what water does, but the conditioner also helps to even out the wood before staining too:  

You can stain immediately after using the conditioner and it's really easy to apply, so it doesn't take more than a few minutes. 

I went with one of my favorite Minwax stains for this project, Provincial: 

And with Beauty and the Beast coming out soon, I immediately start singing Belle's song every time I see it. (Cannot wait to see that!) 

I usually use a foam brush for my conditioner, stain and poly application but we were out and again...I didn't want to go anywhere. I didn't want use a good paint brush so I went with a rag, which is always a good option as well:

If you use a rag I highly recommend wearing gloves! 

When the stain had dried (I did this project over a few days to allow dry time for the chalkboard paint and stain) I was able to put a coat of polyurethane on: 

I love the Minwax fast drying poly because it really does allow you to move on much faster. Again, I applied it with the rag:

I love poly because it really brings out the beauty of the stain. 

While that dried I seasoned the chalkboard -- I keep hearing you need to do this and I always have with my boards, but I don't really know if it's helpful or not: 

You just rub the chalk on there sideways and cover the board. It's supposed to make it easier to erase later but who knows. I do it because it just takes a few minutes and I like that it leaves a slightly cloudy, "used" look to the board. 

I hung my shelves with the IKEA Ekby Bjarnum brackets that I had from years ago:

If you use these brackets -- attach them to the ends of your wood first...then hang. Last time I hung one bracket and then put the wood inside and hung the other. WAY more work that way. This time I just put the shelf up against the wall, made sure it was level and then marked my holes for anchors. So much faster!!

I grabbed stuff that we've had in a tray on the counter and started styling. I only purchased the little wood box and a small cutting board -- the rest we had and that's always nice!:

We USE most everything on the shelves that that's a bonus too. ;) 

I LOVE how the shelves look against the dark wall!!: 

I told you here how I think every room needs some black in it and every time I use it I'm reminded of that. I just love the contrast. 

I never wanted to put upper cabinets on these walls because we just don't need that much storage down here. And in our basement with eight foot ceilings I wanted to keep everything as open as possible. It took me awhile to figure out what I wanted to do with this wall because I didn't want to compete (or duplicate) the wood wall I did last year next to it: 

I shared this photo years ago from Magnolia Homes and it was my inspiration for this project: 

I haven't added anything on the chalkboard yet but we will. I think it will be a fun spot to play around with for parties and holidays. :) 

Next I need to trim out and paint the rest of the cabinets. It shouldn't be TOO bad -- there's really only a few small cabinet doors and then two sides. 

We have a toaster oven and microwave to put out here too, but I'm loving the counters so clean!:

Here's a better view of the whole thing as it is now. I want to start painting this week and get this whole thing wrapped up!: 

If you have any questions about anything I used, please let me know! This was a simple project that really didn't take long -- the dry time is what you have to wait on. :) 

Here are some more projects from this spot over the years if you'd like to check them out: 

Stenciling a wall 

Wood planked wall (for cheap!)

Adding to the kitchenette 

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