July before and after!

Hey hey! Hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend!!

I’m back today with the July before and after party but first I have to share the progress on the the family room expansion. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you’ve seen this photo:

I’m already SO SO SO happy we did this. As soon as it was down I told my husband it felt like the room should have always been like this, which I figure is a good sign. I can’t believe we didn’t do it sooner!

I’ll update you more on the progress and the plans this week since there’s more happening as I type. :)

Now, on to some of your beautiful spaces and projects from last month that are nice and clean and finished. ;)

Bear with me because there were a ton of GREAT kitchens this time – I had to share a few of them. I am obsessed with all the pretty details of Kathy’s kitchen:

I absolutely LOVE it. I love how the open shelving isn’t overwhelming – sometimes I feel like it can get to be too much. And her combo of the horizontal beadboard and subway tile looks so good.

Emily’s wainscoting looks so good -- I really wanted to share it with you all because so many of you ask me about this treatment on textured walls:

She gives a great, detailed tutorial that you’ll want to check out if you’ve wanted to try this. It turned out beautifully!:

Another kitchen redo -- Tasha made her kitchen look completely different with a few inexpensive changes that made a big impact:

The painted cabinets are a big change but she also painted the backsplash and stenciled the floors – I LOVE them. It all makes a huge impact for not a lot of money!

Jennifer shared a few of her recent garage sale finds and how she transformed them with small changes. I love how she’s using this tray now:

If only I could get my butt out of bed early enough to garage sale. ;)

OK, I told you there would be a few kitchen transformations and when you see this one and the before you'll know why I had to add it in:

Kaylor’s kitchen is stunning! OH my goodness. The furniture, the colors – all of it is lovely. Go check it out!

Here’s another small project – Christina fell in love with a Target bench and recreated it on her own:

She even sewed it and made a real cover – this wrap and staple girl is impressed. ;)

And finally, I had to include just one more kitchen. Gretchen’s DIY outdoor kitchen for the kids is adorable and so inexpensive:

Her son LOVES it – so sweet. My boy would have loved this outside when he was little.

Alrighty, that’s just a small taste of the awesome projects that were linked up last month. Let’s see what you’ve been up to since then! Please – no house tours that are not your own or that you haven’t worked on. If you’d like to be considered for next month’s round up, include a link to TDC or this button/code in your post: 

 

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You can link up your posts here. Have fun!:

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June before and after!

Hello everybody! It’s time to kick off June (can you believe it?) with another before and after link up. I so enjoy looking through all your projects and homes – blogs are pretty awesome. :)

I’m sharing a few that caught my eye and then we’ll see what you’re up to this month. I was SHOCKED when I saw the before photo of this sofa:

It was a Craigslist find and Cheryl had incredible vision (and a great upholsterer) – it just goes to show that a good quality sofa can be transformed. I absolutely love the new look.

There were two kitchen redos that caught my eye – first up was Laura’s before and after:

Can you believe the difference? Amazing! She shared a whole before and after house tour, be sure to check it out.

Michelle shared the progress her kitchen has made over the years as well:

Her kitchen table is gorgeous too!

I love a good knock off and I love a lighting knock off even more – Tasha’s take on a West Elm light fixture was brilliant:

And Carrie’s fixture was so simple it’s just ridiculous:

I have one of those orbs and the thought never even crossed my mind!

Haeley shared one of the easiest, cheapest tricks for large artwork:

Her whole master bedroom turned out beautifully, check it out here.

So inspiring, all of you!

As always, if you’d like to pin these projects, please do so from their respective sites. :)

Now let’s see what you’ve been up to over the past month! If you’d like to be considered for next month’s review, please include a link to TDC or this button in your post:

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Here you go!:

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Showing off Magnolia Homes

Hello and welcome to the almost weekend! I’m doing the local Dirty Girl Mud Run with some friends tomorrow – anyone ever done one? It looks like fun, should be interesting. I just hope this cold snap breaks.

So I have a love/hate relationship with HGTV anymore. I wonder, where oh where did the decorating go? There are only so many “Hunter” shows I can take. :) I miss the regular decorating shows.

There are some that are a combo of renovations and decorating and I like a few of them – but I’ve found a new favorite. It’s called Fixer Upper and it has a horrible time slot of 11 p.m. on Thursday evenings. (C’mon HGTV, move them up!)

The show follows Magnolia Homes – Joanna and her husband Chip – as they renovate and decorate homes. I LOVE it. Other than Elbow Room it’s my favorite DIY/decor program now.

I’m sharing a few of the photos here but this is just a taste -- you’ll have to visit their site to see the extent of their work. I haven’t watched last night’s episode yet but after these photos I can’t wait! The exterior is just lovely:

And this kitchen!!:

I can’t help it – I’ve fallen in love with white kitchens. Look at all that space!

I love their use of wood and natural elements in each house. The dining room incorporates wood shelves around the fireplace:

Love the pull out wine storage too.

Here are some more chunky wood shelves at another house they did:

Love the little bit of chalkboard accent on the background!

On one episode the house had an odd atrium in the middle. The made it into a cool outdoor eating area – love the lights hanging from the beams:

One thing that always shocks me is the prices of these homes in Texas! I thought our housing was low here in Indiana but there are some great deals down there! I’m sure that is probably just based on location, like anywhere.

Their team does an excellent job at bringing out the classic beauty of a house – the paint colors are always beautiful, the built ins are always spot on. And I love the lighting in each home as well:

Just gorgeous! They mix a lot of new and old in the decor and it always comes together so well.

Their personal home is an old farmhouse they renovated and of course it’s well done as well:

So pretty and serene:

If you like these pics you have to check out their site – you’ll be hooked! :) Joanna also has a decorating blog here. Have you watched this show yet? Do you miss the decorating on HGTV like me?

Have a great weekend my friends! It’s currently sleeting here – seriously??

 

P.S. I have the pin it button installed but ask that you visit their site to pin any images.

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May before and after!

Hey all! It’s the first Monday of the month and that means it’s party time! Excellent.

It’s the day you all share one of my favorite things in the decor/DIY world – before and afters. I can’t get enough of them. I will kick it off with a few of the awesome projects linked up last month.

Cassie did one of my all time favorite decorating tricks – painting the backs of her bookcases:

I always love the look (I think it makes everything pop) and her black color is super sexy. I think it just makes all the accessories more dramatic. (You can see my gray blue background on our bookcases here.)

You MUST go check out Tiffany’s new pantry. Must. It is fantastic:

Drawers people. Brilliant. I want drawers everywhere. (And there’s a little surprise on the sides.)

Bethany’s kitchen has been undergoing a redo and it looks SO good:

I especially love the detail they added to the island and I dig the blue color. (My island is light blue and I still love it.) Her before and after is pretty amazing, check it out here.

Man, I love a bright white kitchen, but I love contrast too. Julie’s black cabinets look so good, and she shares a GREAT, detailed tutorial on tiling your backsplash:

That choice of tile is perfect with the black cabs and stainless appliances. Love it.

Sometimes the simplest project make the biggest impact. Kammy took a regular rug and turned it up a notch with paint:

What a difference! Stripes make many things better. :)

Jaime’s mudroom underwent a little redo with paint and a few little details:

Again, it wasn’t a big reno, but little projects like paint and hooks that make the difference here. Love her door with the window too. You can check it all out here.

Andrea finished off her dining room with new chairs (that are lovely): 

But it’s that stenciled wall and wood starburst mirror that really stood out to me. Such a beautiful, well done space!

It’s always hard for me to pick just a few projects to highlight! 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 add this button:

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I have the pin it button installed but I ask that you pin from each respective site instead of mine if you want to save these projects.

Now it’s time to see what you’ve been up to lately! I hope to see some outdoor projects creeping in. :) I’m finally starting some of my own! It’s about dang time.

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Checking out Laura and Erin!

Hello everybody! It’s a dark, rainy morning here and I’m loving it! I love (occasional) days like this – it’s so dark and cozy in the house.

Today I’m showing off a couple of extremely talented ladies, this time fellow Hoosiers -- whoot WHOOT! I found their blog last year and have been catching up on posts since. I don’t know about you, but finding a DIY/decor blog with tons of great ideas and eye candy totally makes my day. It’s even better than a magazine. (So you know that’s good!)

Laura and Erin at House Envy are sisters who blog together. Awww! And they obviously got a decorating trait passed down from someone because their homes are gorgeous.

First up, Laura’s kitchen. Totally LOVE IT:

That island – it goes on for days, with the stone and the trim work and the storage. And that bench? What? Dying!

And Erin…she’s a girl after my own heart. Just look at her black door:

Did you notice she painted the door trim black too? I’ve always wondered how it would look and I LOVE it.

And the craftsman trim everywhere is right up my alley – check out the windows:

You can read more about her move over to the black trim and this office space here.

Another Laura space -- her mud room is the stuff of dreams:

I mean, really. Love the rust color paired with the blue in the rug too.

And check out the amazing wall treatment in her dining room:

Her ceiling is wallpapered in there too and it looks SO good.

Erin did a graphic wall treatment as well, but hers was done with painter’s tape:

It’s only above the molding on most of the walls and I love how it looks against the white trim. The colorful print on the chair is the perfect accent.

Both ladies do some fun stuff in the kid spaces as well. Laura used vintage crates for her son’s headboard:

They didn’t even have to do anything to them – just hang!

And I adore the colors in this room Erin made over for her son:

Both have such a great eye – see what just painting the walls two colors can do? No trim needed, just some painter’s tape!

See? Tons of eye candy! I hope you didn’t have much to do today cause you’ll be browsing all day. :) Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

 

P.S. I have the Pin It button installed on my photos but I ask that you visit their site to pin these projects.

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Showing off Michelle!

Hello and happy Friday! It’s spring break for us as well, whoot! It’s actually warming up just a bit, right on time. I’m looking forward to spending time with my boys and perhaps working outside a little. We’ll see about that last bit. :)

I’m highlighting another fabulous blogger today, this time Michelle from Iron & Twine! Her home is just lovely and homey and so pretty, I know you will love it!

Her living room is beautiful – love the mix of the colorful pillows and the neutral walls and furniture. It’s filled with personal touches too:

Everything works so well together, right? So well done.

I love her simple updates to regular items too – these were boring cardboard boxes before, and look what she turned them into!:

You can find the how-to here. So many possibilities with that project!

Her kitchen has been transformed with basics like lighting and paint – check out the before:

And the after!:

I have been doing this blogging thing for a long time and I am always amazed at the power of paint!

Her IKEA Expedit project was so simple but brilliant!:

This corner is now the ultimate organized space – love it!

And her mud room/studio had me drooling – it looks like a beautiful antique store, right?:

I love how Michelle effortlessly combines the old and new to create such beautiful spaces. Be sure to check out more of her lovely home here.

Have a great weekend my friends! I’ve got a couple of DIY projects in mind – one big and one small. Hoping to get both accomplished. :)

 

P.S. I have the Pin It button installed but I ask that you visit Michelle’s site to pin any of these images.

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March before and after!

Good Monday to ya! We only got a few inches of snow this weekend instead of the up-to-14 that was predicted, so although the grass is covered once again, I’m OK with it. The sun is shining today and I think this was the last snow of the season.

I cannot WAIT to get outside working in the dirt again!

It’s time for another before and after shindig, and as always I was completely blown away by the projects linked up last month. I hope you enjoy these recaps – I for one love the thrill of finding a new blog to follow. :)

First up, my friend Myra knocked it out of the park with her gorgeous bathroom redo: 

SO pretty right? It makes me want to tear out our bathroom and start over.

I’m a sucker for the light walls in Myra’s bathroom but I am still so taken with a deep color too:

Tasha’s family room looks SO good. I loved all of her choices (especially that paint color!) and her cement fireplace look amazing, you must check it out here.

Lindsey made a space in the basement into a craft room and all the storage has me drooling:

There’s even a hidden door to get into this space. I have a thing for hidden doors/rooms – they are just the coolest.

Cristina shares another fantastic tutorial, this time for DIY pull out drawers:

Which is perfect timing because I’m planning to do this in our closet! 

Speaking of closets – they’ve been on my mind a lot lately. :) Sharon’s gorgeous master closet redo had me drooling:

Wow it looks so good! That stenciled back wall totally glams up the space. Love it!

Elisha knocked off a World Market coffee table that I’ve been eyeing for while:

The girl even welds! I’m totally impressed, it looks so good. And I love her blog name. :)

Brooke restained her oak banisters and the difference is so dramatic:

You’d be surprised to learn that there’s not a ton of sanding involved! She shares the whole how-to in the post.

So much talent, so little blog space. :) As always, please visit the respective sites to pin any of their images.

Now it’s time to see what you’ve been up to lately. If you’d like to be considered for next month’s recap, please link back to TDC in your post or include this button code in your post:

<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>

Here you go!:

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