{refinished craigslist chairs}

Remember our Craigslist dining room set?

It looks pretty good in that photo, but the chairs were in need of some major TLC. I already covered the seats with a fun Amy Butler fabric which helped to perk them up. My husband has been working on refinishing them and I'm happy to have a finished one to share with you...the difference is pretty amazing!

Just as a reminder, here is one of the chairs right after we bought them with the worn and dirty seat cover...

And here is one after I recovered the seat...

If you looked closely the wooden frames were really dirty and worn, especially on the top...

Are you ready for this after? I'm amazed at how beautiful the wood is!

And here is a little side-by-side comparison {the different in the finish on the legs is pretty amazing too}...

He has finished two of them and I can't wait to see the entire set looking shiny and new. Not bad for a $75 set of chairs, huh? I'm really proud of my husband because this is his first furniture refinishing job. Gotta love a man who can handle some stain and poly! :)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I have some entryway decorating planned for tomorrow that involves a new lamp! Have you done any decorating projects recently? Link them up!

Linking up with Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After Party!

{new pillows}

We splurged a bit over the weekend and got two new pillows from Target for the sofa...

The hubby actually picked out the style, and we chose the color together. He has great taste, huh? :)

Now I'm looking around for some fun fabric to make two more accent pillows. I want to pull in the blues and greens we already have in the artwork and accessories in the room, and also stick with the mid-century vibe we have going on ...

Here are some that I've added to my favorites on Etsy...

And of course I can't leave out the universally loved chevron...

What do you think? Which fabric(s) would you pick? Have any to add that you think I would love?

{playing dress up}

No outfits from me today friends...it has been a crazy work week with lots of events. And to be honest, I'm a little bored of looking at picture after picture of myself. So it feels kind of good to take a break today, and share some inspiration outfits from Pinterest that all include one of my favorite colors right now...coral!

I love absolutely EVERYTHING about this outfit. The top looks super flattering, the chevron bracelet is gorgeous and I love the color palette...

Source: polyvore.com via Mandy on Pinterest

This outfit pairs coral with my favorite neutral, gray...

Source: polyvore.com via Mandy on Pinterest

This combo if coral and mint is so fresh and pretty...

Source: polyvore.com via Mandy on Pinterest

And I would love to wear this outfit for a relaxing day of shopping, magazine reading, coffee drinking and knitting...

Source: polyvore.com via Mandy on Pinterest

What color combos are you loving right now?

{puzzle maniac}

To say that Ben loves puzzles is a bit of an understatement...

He usually puts one together every day...

And one usually leads to two or three or four spread out all over the dining room floor...

I love watching his little mind at work, and am amazed at how quickly he can find the pieces that fit. Love my little puzzle maniac. :)

{wish list}

The hubby and I have had two of these chairs on our dining room wish list for awhile now...

Source: overstock.com via Mandy on Pinterest

They would be the perfect addition to our midcentury set, don't ya think?

This photo also inspires me not only to get those chairs, but also to hang the awesome $1 drum shade I scored last summer at a yard sale over our table...

Source: gallery.apartmenttherapy.com via Mandy on Pinterest

It will be perfect...I can just picture it!

Hopefully we can make those chairs a reality one day, but until then I'm enjoying seeing the hubby work on refinishing our current chairs. He finished one a few days ago and it looks gorgeous. Such a huge difference from the before. I'll be sure to share some before and after pics of them soon!

Happy Friday!

{1/3 of my heart...}

...belongs to these big blue eyes and sweet smile...

{2012 home goals update}

I am SO happy to say that I can finally mark something off of my 2012 Home Goals list!

Drum roll please....

Woot!

I actually marked off 1 1/2 if I'm going to be picky...and that half is a big deal in my book.

Thanks {HUGE thanks} to my parents for coming over this past Saturday and doing about 90% of the painting...the hallway is now finished! Just to jog your memory it looked like this when we bought the house {we had already removed the chair rail when I took this pic}...

And here it is now!

A fresh, clean slate just waiting for some artwork. I'm picturing a gallery wall of some sort.

And the entryway is no longer the light yellow that I despised....

It wasn't a horrible color...just not our style at all.

Now it is a cool gray...like a breath of fresh air {no decorating has been done yet of course}...

I absolutely love how clean the color looks next to the white trim, and how much more modern the space looks already...

Here is the view from the top of the stairs before {when I was still in my shabby chic cottage phase}...

And after...

I have to admit I'm a bit intimidated by the decorating challenge that now awaits me. I have been pinning lots and lots of inspiration pics so now I just have to pick an idea and stick with it. I know that it will definitely include some DIY projects and thrifted items. At the top of my list is a big lamp for the console table. While I love my little owl lamp it certainly isn't big enough for the space. Here are a few images that have really caught my eye...

These two for the light fixtures and colored doors...

Source: flickr.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: simplifiedbee.blogspot.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Love this lamp and the entire table vignette...

Source: involvingcolor.com via Mandy on Pinterest

And even though we aren't big travelers, I really love this big map. The colors are so gorgeous...

Source: designsponge.com via Mandy on Pinterest

It feels great to be able to mark something off of that to do list! Not sure what will be next...but our kitchen/dining room really needs some attention.

Stay tuned!

{pinned}

Some dreamy spaces to share with you on this lovely Friday...

Source: designsponge.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: designsponge.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: tumblr.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Happy almost weekend!