It’s that fun time of year again!! Swap it Like It’s Hot, where a whole bunch of us get together and find thrifty randoms and send them to our friends to transform into whatever they can reimagine and I love it! This year my items came from our fearless leader, Charlotte, from Ciburbanity, and I decided to use them to spruce up our bar cart for fall.

Our antique bar cart got a little make over during the One Room Challenge that you can see here but it was time to change out a few things to try and entice fall to head into Texas;)

Charlotte sent me several fun things but I decided that these two were the stand outs to help in my mini make-over. This little tray and a wooden stand.

I actually liked the pattern on the tray, but the colors just weren’t working for me, which is the beauty of buying things and seeing them in different ways! All this tray needed was some black spray paint to get me started… and yes, this may be one of my children completely wiping out in the background of this photo… no children were harmed in the spray painting of this tray!

I used some glossy, black spray paint and gave it a shiny fresh coat! Then I decided to add my personality into the project… a few white stick on letters accomplished that because I got jokes people! My husband may not think I’m as funny as I do but he’s got the rest of his life to figure that one out.

So a man walks into a bar… and he says… can there ever be enough blue and white in a house? No! and that’s not even a funny question! You know I had to have my blue and white but I love the mix with the black and white and peach… yes, peach! I brought some peach accents with my DIY curtains into the dining room and love the soft contrast it brings.  That peach, velvet pillow cover though, was a recent Target purchase (lots of colors) for under $10- you can find it here and you’re welcome… love! 

The wood base was perfect with an old glass cylinder I had.  I simply filled it with these wood beads that once again, I found at Target, and then added some of my little, Christmas battery powered lights for some fall ambiance! So easy but added great texture and interest! For you locals out there, I am not going to lie… there were two boxes at my Target and I snatched them both up- I’m sure they will restock soon but they are on sale online and it is an unbelievably good deal if you compare prices to the wood beads they sell at Pottery Barn, etc, so I suggest you nab them if you can.

Best advice on decorating I can give… decorate for you… this isn’t going to be everyone’s style and that’s why I love seeing what other’s do with similar things because to some a tray is just a tray but to some it’s way to remind their husband that they are funny every time he sees it

And FYI in case I haven’t encouraged you to spend enough moola at Target already, that is in fact a fake fiddle leaf fig tree… and I couldn’t be more proud of a fake plant if I tried.  I actually had to ask our store manager and these will only be sold at some stores so once again, if you can grab it online I would for sure- they are so real looking and obviously for me the biggest plus is you can’t kill it!

So now I get to send you on your way to my friend Laurie over at Vin’yet Etc. who I sent this little group of thrifted finds- I can’t wait to see what she did with them!

And here are the links to all of the participants for today and I will come back each day and add the new participants as this will go on all week!

Monday

| Ciburbanity | Windgate Lane | Vin’yet Etc. | Casa Watkins Living | One Mile Home Style |

Tuesday

| Reinvented | ConfettiStyle | Confessions of a Serial Do-It-Yourselfer | Addicted 2 DIY

|Restoration Redoux | I Am a Homemaker | Maggie Overby Studios | PMQ For Two |

Wednesday

| Two Thirty-Five Designs | 58 Water Street | Create & Babble |

| Dogs Don’t Eat Pizza | Gourley Girl and Guy | The Charming Farmer |

Thursday

| This is our Bliss | Southern State of Mind |

| Two Purple Couches | My Life From Home |

xoxo

B

**affiliate links are included in this post to both ease in the sourcing of materials and Windgate Lane does make a small stipend off of purchases made through click throughs**

The post Bar Cart Styling | Swap It Like It’s Hot appeared first on Windgate Lane.

This framed, hand stenciled quote was such an easy project! And I am so excited that I got to make it for the sweetest family!

This last fall, I was invited by Charlotte, at Ciburbanity, to be involved in the furnishing of a Habitat for Humanity home.  It has been such a neat experience and I loved working with a special group of ladies and fellow bloggers to make this happen! The primary room I worked on was the master bedroom.  Because all of this was taking place in Connecticut though, I primarily concentrated on what we needed to buy rather than what had to be made.  Charlotte at Ciburbanity and Jilliam at I Am Home Maker were my amazing partners and bless them for the amazing build projects I will link to below!

After traveling out and meeting the family last fall with Charlotte, I was struck by the sweet Momma’s quotes all over her home.  All about love and family- and it was crystal clear that those are the most important things in the world to her.  So it occurred to me that I could create a larger version of one of her favorites for her Master!

“The best thing to hold on to in life is each other.”

I lucked into finding a perfect frame at the thrift store!  The family loves a county taste in their decor and the existing wood frame would tie right into that.

It originally had some birds on it so I primed it with Zinsser first to get a clean slate.  After that, I found some 1 inch letter stickers and placed them on, traced around them, peeled them off and took a black sharpie to color them in!

A fresh beginning for such a precious Momma and her family!

(photo cred Ciburbanity.com)

I’m so excited to keep sharing more and more of this project with y’all! There was so much heart in this that the outcomes in each room were just overflowing with love.  We have also been so lucky to have HomeTalk and Wayfair sponsoring this with amazing donations, not to mention RugsUSA with some of my favorite rugs!  If you would like to follow along with all of the projects, hop over to Instagram with the hashtag: #bloggershearthabitat.  And I will be back soon to share more inside looks and sources.

And to see all of the other amazing rooms, you can jump to all of these amazing women!

LIVING ROOM:
| Jaime from That’s My Letter  | Laura from Finding Home Farms

DINING ROOM/ DECK:
| Kris from Driven By Decor | Annie from Most Lovely Things |

MASTER BEDROOM:
| Jillian from I Am a Homemaker | Charlotte from Ciburbanity | Bee from Windgate Lane |

KIDS ROOM:
| Kristin from A Thrifter in Disguise |

GUEST ROOM:
| Evey from Evey’s Creations | Lynn from On Fern Avenue |

FOYER/ MUDROOM/ BATHROOMS:
| Sarah and Nick from Nestrs |

TEEN ROOM:
| Michelle from Weekend Craft | Stephanie from Sandpaper and Glue |

xoxo

B

The post Framed Quotes: Habitat for Humanity Projects appeared first on Windgate Lane.

If you are just joining this craziness, welcome to the One Room Challenge! You can find details here, but the quick story is I am trying to finish a laundry list of items in not one, but two rooms in my house in just six weeks! So each week you will see two posts on Wednesdays, one for my master bedroom and one for my dining room.

The dining room is moving along.  Do I wish I could cross off more on my to do list, yes, but I’m happy with what I accomplished this week! I started gathering all of the art work I want to use for the feature wall and am pretty happy with my little collection.  I may hit up some more antique and thrift stores this week to find a couple more, but I would be ok with what I have.

The big project I finished this week was refinishing my antique tea cart.  I got this years ago at a garage sale and of course had no idea what I would do with it, but loved it to much to leave it!

I loved the gold, but it was the gold with the black veins running through it that I didn’t love.  So I decided to correct that with some simple rub and buff.  Super easy and took about 5 minutes.

Next I needed to replace the glass.  It was the thinnest piece of glass I have ever seen and I was constantly afraid it would break under any pressure, so I decided to go with plexiglass.  Cost effective.  Strong.  And waiting for me at Lowes! Take your measurements and they will cut it to size for you.  Perfect!

Last but for sure not least… is the fun I needed to add! I have been in love with Society Social’s Bar Carts for forever! The caning and the different pops of color with the gold are so fun.  I still had some caning (you can buy some here) that I found in a thrift store left from this project, so I simply cut it to the size of the perimeter, used some painters tape to make it into a square and then spray painted it.  I went back and forth a million times on which color I wanted to do because there was room for several different accent colors, but a beautiful blue won out!  And I can always just take it out too so it’s the best of both worlds.

I’m pretty smitten with this project and it’s definitely helping motivate me to get the rest done.  So excited to see it all come together!

Check back next week to see more progress and jump over to the Master Bedroom to see what’s been ticked off the list there this week too!

xoxo

B

The post |One Room Challenge| Dining Room Tea Cart appeared first on Windgate Lane.

While I have seen the baskets styled in more of a farm house fashion- I love them because they are grand in size and are so beautifully crafted as they were used to carry heavy tobacco leaves to markets.  Originally made from Oak wood, they held up very well!  I eventually would like to have several to use on the large vaulted staircase wall.  But here is an example of an original version!

I laid out a pattern that I liked and then wove the wood together.  I then hot glued any overlapping pieces.  And yes, I did do all of this on my good Persian rug because that’s where I landed and time was limited because the kids always want to be picked up from school for some reason

So to recap…

1. Buy soft wood (mine was Balsa wood from Hobby Lobby)
2. Lay out your boards and start weaving them (I used two different sizes)
3. Use hot glue or wood glue to attach in some spots to add stability
4. Glue thicker pieces along the edges to frame it out
5. Stain in the colors of your choice (I varied between several stains to get a worn look)

Hope y’all are having a wonderful day and let me know if you have questions!

xoxo,

B

The post DIY Tobacco Basket appeared first on Windgate Lane.

We have established that if something holds still long enough, I am going to paint it or change it in some way, yes?  So I had stared at my pretty little duck egg blue dresser for several years and decided that it was long overdue for a change!  It was a bit lost over in a corner and I decided that a two tone look could help tie it in with the end tables I did here.

Before:

It was cute and had lasted a long time in comparison to many furniture pieces in our home… so up first was stripping the drawers.  Not my favorite thing by a long shot but I was motivated by it only being the four drawers.  I used Citri-Strip and it worked great! I think the last time I used it I was out in the garage and while the temperature outside was cooler, I just don’t think it was cool enough.  But seemed to work like a charm this time!

It was like pretty magic!  Several layers of paint and poly- took a couple of layers of the strip but came off easily with a plastic scraper (make sure it’s plastic not metal so it won’t gauge the wood).

After they were done, I grabbed my gorgeous black Velvet Finishes paint called Luxurious and with out any prep work, just started painting it on the dresser.  I can’t tell you how easily this paint goes on and how it self levels.  I didn’t have any rollers so I had to brush it on and there is not one brush stroke to be seen!  And with that I will stop yapping and show you the finished project

I have to say… the new knobs… they make me swoon! I am keeping the old ones because usually original hardware is my fave, but when I saw these at Hobby Lobby, they had to go somewhere and fast!

And can you see how amazingly smooth that paint looks?! Don’t forget- I brushed it on! I did also do a quick protective coat with the Velvet Finishes top coat and it also went on very smooth.

And how about a bit of a peak at how it flows in the room… the mantel is in transition to fall decor but I don’t hate it.  And yes, maybe you are wondering why I have a crystal ball on display but for $2 at the antique store it needed to be mine and is going to be fun with fall and Halloween decor!

The room is coming together… I say that a lot though… and then I change something else… but let’s just appreciate it for now, shall we?

 **Product was provided for this post by Velvet Finishes but all rave reviews are my own**

*Affiliates are present*

I hope y’all have a wonderful day!

xoxo

B

The post Two Tone Dresser appeared first on Windgate Lane.

I have seen tutorials and others do it and it always looks so simple and gorgeous!

I headed to Lowes (call ahead to make sure they can cut it down for you if need be) and found the sheets of acrylic.  I knew what size I wanted so I had them cut them down and then headed home with a false sense of confidence!

| Source (affiliate) |

I say false because I planned on measuring, taping and drilling holes in the acrylic in order to attach and frame… well that went something like this…

I may have used some choice words and then regrouped with a new game plan.  I searched different ways to ‘drill’ through acrylic and finally came up with my own modified idea.

First mark the spot on your acrylic where your bolts will go.  I found the largest nail I could in the garage- a set of clamps- gloves- my sunglasses, and turned on one of my stove burners.  (it’s all sounding very professional, no?)

Wearing gloves, because the heat will travel and that nail is gonna be super hot, and sunglasses incase anything decides to crack and fly at you, you will clamp your nail and hold it in the flame.

After you have held it there for awhile- maybe 30 seconds, give it another 30 seconds;) and then head over to your marked acrylic.  (side note- make sure the acrylic is placed up off the ground so that you don’t burn through something below it!)   Place your nail directly on your marked spot and it should melt like butter right through it!

I did have to use a couple different nails because after a couple of uses they had built up some acrylic on the nail heads.

Now that you have your holes done- place your artwork between the sheets (I did use some double sided tape on the back to ensure it stayed in place) and then put in your screws, spacers, and nuts.  On the top two, I took out the spacers because I put on a hanger.

Now all you have to do is hang her up! This is a large frame so the acrylic is pretty heavy, so I do recommend finding a stud or using wall anchors.

Simple and lets the art work stand on it’s own.  If you want to learn more about the artwork you can go Here.

And don’t forget to Pin here for later!

I have some acrylic left so I’m excited to make some other smaller frames now too- and please feel free to ask any questions on the process!

xoxo

B

Sharing with:

Think and Make Thursdays!

The post DIY Acrylic Picture Frame appeared first on Windgate Lane.

I can’t even tell you how long my master bedroom has been ‘on the list’.  So when Minted contacted me about checking out their artwork, I was pretty excited to find something to help spruce it up!

I like to find artwork that can be used in multiple rooms because I love to move things around (shocker) and when I started glancing through their works by independent artists, I realized pretty quickly that this decision was going to be hard!

I finally picked three different prints and knew that 2 would be amazing in our bedroom (the 3rd you will see soon in our family room summer spruce up!).  I chose to have one framed and the larger print I would frame myself.

I am in love with the ocean but don’t really want a nautical feel in my decor- so this large graphic waves print was the perfect solution! I love love love it! and then I can’t live without color so this landscape was just a beautiful compliment to the simplicity of the other.

All of Minted’s prices seemed reasonable to me and I love that you have the option of framing or not.  The smaller print that I had framed was done very nicely and included the hanging hardware on the back.  I purchased the Waves print on it’s own because I knew I wanted a very simple look for it.

I will be showing you how to make your own plexiglass frame soon!  It was fairly simple and I’ll give you tips on what to do and not to do I love how it turned out though!

This whole space makes me so happy now! Thanks to Minted for helping me jump start my Master Bedroom make-over – I can’t wait to show you the rest!

| Console Table | Vase, Green Box (bought on a recent trip to KS) |

| Black Tassel Necklace | Cross Benches | Wall Color |

I hope y’all are having a wonderful week!

xoxo

B

**Sponsored by Minted- all thoughts and opinions are my own**

The post Artwork for Any Room appeared first on Windgate Lane.

Recently good friends of our moved into a gorgeous new home and I got the fun job of helping gather some inspiration for a couple of their rooms.  The first was a gorgeous living room right as you enter- as soon as it is all decorated I am excited to show you all how it turns out- but I wanted to share some inspiration boards I came up with!

For this space, they really just wanted a neutral and calm sitting area that looks out  to their pool-  it has a beautiful grand fireplace and chunky white molding which I love!

The Chairs are from Target (links below) and they come in many different patterns!

The other wall needed some hight to balance out the fireplace opposite from it- so I mocked up a long side table and mirrors that will bring your eye up.  They also mimic the widows around the rest of the room.

All of the sources you find below are going to be economical! Most are from Target, and right now if you use the Coupon Code- SPRING10 – you get 10% off your purchase!  I have found that you can mimic a high end look on a budget… just takes a bit of digging:)

Have a great week and you can click on the pictures for sources and pricing below!

The post Living Room Design Board appeared first on Windgate Lane.

I used to dread hanging a new picture on the wall.  First because I knew I would probably have to patch a hole in the wall and second because I was afraid of hanging it incorrectly.  A drill? Anchors? What? Nevermind!

But now I got this down and I wanted to share my very simple tutorial with you all- and I even made a little video that you can watch to see every single step!

I have had these very sad hooks in my laundry room for waaaay to long- and they were prior to my knowing how to hang something correctly so they had basically broken or pulled out of the wall… so not too functional.

I spotted these hooks at Target one day and decided they would be perfect for the space!  How long did they sit on the floor in my laundry room before I actually hung them? Don’t ask.

The following video will show you step by step how I patched the wall and then hung the new hooks! I will include some sources and steps below- now get to hanging your stuff without fear!

So- now that you have watched the video tutorial- here’s a list of what you need to gather before you start!

1.  An Anchor Pack with Bits- similar to this one

2.  Spackling

3.  Hammer

4.  Drill

5.  Level

6.  Screwdriver Driver

TUTORIAL:

1.  Spackle

2.  Paint

3.  Mark new holes

4.  Drill starter holes with new drill bit

5.  Lightly hammer in wall anchor

6.  Screw your screws into place

7.  Step back in awe of your amazingness!

Pin Here to find this tutorial later!

Hope you are having a wonderful week!

xoxo

B

The post Patching a Wall and Tutorial for Hanging with Anchors appeared first on Windgate Lane.

My desire to have a bright white room and my dislike of my off white moldings finally collided and Painted Faux Moldings were born!

My office is a cave.  Not much natural light to speak of even though it has one big window.  It never gets direct sunlight and also has a tree in front of it- so I started by painting one wall navy blue… makes sense, right? ok, just stay with me here.   Then I painted the remaining three walls white.

At this point, I started taping! I knew I wouldn’t love the bright white with the off white moldings, so I decided to do a faux molding in navy to break it apart.  This required math.  sigh.  But I decided to keep it simple and work in increments of 6 inches- 6 inches down- and then the accents in the corners were 12 out and 18 down.

I was lucky enough to have ScotchBlue provide some of their fabulous painter’s tape for this undertaking and it worked like a charm!  Because of our heavily textured walls, I did do my standard quick base paint coat over the tape lines so that any bleed through is the base paint (the white) instead of the navy.  And guess what? Not one touch up!!

I Love it! So crisp and clean, but still interesting and a fun accent in the room.

After the navy was all done it was time to hang the curtains and some art and get this room back in good working order.  I am going to provide a source list later- but for now- let’s just get to the goods- here is my fun new office!

There will be a tutorial for my DIY cork board coming soon!

That little basket next to my desk holds random paperwork and also my favorite wrapping papers.

You may remember that I built those bookshelves here.

This little sitting area is where I actually wrote this post and could see my boy’s playing outside- made me super happy:) That chair was a $20 craigslist find and I am in love with the lines of it and the cane sides- she is going to have a make-over eventually but I actually love her the way she is.  The ottoman is something I already had but I just threw a $10 Ikea faux fur over the top of it to soften it up.  Work what ya got!

These curtains are from Pottery Barn and while I wanted them to soften the wall, I also didn’t want them to block any of the natural light in the room, so I attached an antique door knob that I had (doesn’t everyone?) up high and just gathered them to the side.

The desk is from World Market and is just perfect for us.  I love that the drawer is a slide out and holds the keyboard and mouse to free up space on the desk top.   And I found the best way to contain cords that I can’t wait to share with y’all soon!

I will share a complete source list with you soon but feel free to leave question so that I can make sure I cover what you want!  Oh and the other side of the room has some fun organizational things happening too, so stay tuned:)

xoxo

B

*Windgate Lane was provided with product for this post but all thoughts and opinions are 100% our own.*

Linking to:

Twirl and Take a Bow

Before and After Wednesday

The post Painted Faux Moldings appeared first on Windgate Lane.