Winners and project FAIL

Howdy all! First of all, the two lucky winners of The Rusted Chain giveaway are…

Kaitlindsay from Brighter than Sunshine and Kristine from Random Robb Stuff.

Yahoo! Ladies, please email me at thriftydecorchick (at) gmail (dot) com and I’ll get you in touch with Beki. :)

Well, all of my projects are not peaches and pink flamingos and fluffy clouds. Some fail miserably, and I try to show you the good and the bad along the way. (Coral and aqua cake anyone?)

:)

Anyhoo, I was SO bummed the other day, because one of my most recent (and favorite!! Pout.) transformations had turned into a total FAIL. And I knew I had to show you so you could avoid a similar fate. (Sniff.)

Remember my beautiful Goodwill pitcher?:

  

Well, I went to empty out the tulips and water the other day, and when I grabbed the handle, something crackled.

Crackle? What the heck? I looked down and saw a bubble. I touched the bubble and this happened:

DUDE! I was so bummed out! My initial thought was that I could sand it down and respray it.

Then I looked some more and found these:

Little bitty crackley bubbles ALL OVER it. It looked like it had the mumps. :(

Like that wasn’t bad enough, I happened to put my hand under it, and noticed it was a bit damp.

Looked at my beautiful butcher block and it looked like there had been water sitting in a couple spots.

Curses! Shakes fists in air!!

I thought there had to be another explanation for it it, so to test it out, I placed the pitcher (filled with water) on a paper towel for a day. When I lifted it up to check later, I found this:

The darn thing was LEAKING. On my wood island countertop – for a week. Oh, you gotta be kidding me.

Thankfully, a little sanding and drying time and the spot on the butcher block is gone.

But now I know why the pitcher was at Goodwill in the first place. (SAD FACE.)

I primed that thing within an inch of it’s life, so I guess ceramic just doesn’t take it well in general. Any experience with this?

And of course, by then I was completely loving the idea of a pretty white pitcher on our island, so I was on the lookout for a new one. I found a HUGE selection at HomeGoods:

So many beautiful options! Aren’t they pretty? All were $9.99 but were about half the height that I wanted.

And then I remembered that a reader had mentioned one she found at Target. I don’t need to be told twice to take a trip to Tarjay, so off I went. And I scored this beaut:

She’s not as wide as the other one, but she is taller. And still has a graceful handle that I love – all for $13. :)

I have now checked underneath it about 95 times, but all is well:

So…sometimes – once in a while -- thrifting bites you in the butt. But I’m willing to keep taking my chances. :)

Speaking of a trip to HomeGoods, last week I met two readers while shopping  – Valerie and Carolyn. They were just the coolest, and it was so fun to chat with them:

Well, that’s me and Valerie. Carolyn was taking the picture.  ;)

We ended up talking for a while, and it was absolutely insane what a small world it is…I graduated from the same high school as Carolyn, and turns out her brother was in my class.

SO CRAZY.

Carolyn wrote about our meeting over at her blog here. (They crack me up.) And I’m warning you – you’ll be swooning over her bathroom redo. Here’s a peek:

Ack! Gorgeous! (Jealous!!)

So fun. So if you think you see me shopping at HomeGoods in Indianapolis, come say hello!!  :)

The Organize It Party will go up Monday evening, so get those posts ready!:

 

Have a fantastic weekend! I’ll be thrifting with some girlfriends at my very favorite spots in all of Indy – Midland Arts and Antiques. Can’t wait!!

P.S. Thanks to Click Studio for finding my linen closet light bulb! :) You can see it here.

P.P.S. I am working on finding out more info about the fabric I used in the living room. I’ll let you know next week!!

 

Do you love Pottery Barn and Ballard Designs?
You’ll LOVE Knock Off Decor!

Design House Progress

First I just want to say THANK YOU to all of the amazing comments you left on the last post.  We're definitely not alone and it's nice to know that.  I nodded, laughed and even teared up at some of your comments from yesterday's post.  Each & every piece of advice is awesome so if you didn't get the chance to read the comments, check them out. 

On a totally unrelated note, things have been progressing with the DC Design House.  In case you don't know how it works (I didn't until just a couple of months ago) I thought I might explain the process.  In December, just before Christmas, the house was open for two days so that designers could drop by, choose a room and measure & photograph it.  (Like I've mentioned before, the house is amazing.)  I was seriously nervous.  It's an interesting feeling to be in a room with other designers, measuring the same space.  Everyone was really nice though & there were no reality-TV drama moments or anything like that. 

{See the balcony?!! Looooove this house... and this room.}

We had a couple of weeks to put together a design proposal & board for the room we'd chosen.  We scampered around making phone calls for donations and getting everything just right.  We had an artist do renderings of our proposed space and we submitted the board and portfolio to be reviewed by the Committee.  That was on January 7th. 

We had to wait until January 31st to find out if we had been selected or not.  Twenty-four days doesn't seem like a long time, but by the last 3 or 4 days I could barely stand it.  I got a phone call that I had been selected (eeeek) and then it was time to get to work.  I got a different room from the one I had submitted a design for (I am thrilled with my new room!! :) so I had to change the design a bit.  (The room determines its design just as much as what someone wants to do with it.)

I got the chance to measure the new room and meet there with our contractors.  The new room needs something a little different than the what the first room needed, so I tweaked the palette and of course reworked the floorplan & furnishings to fit the new space.  Here's a quick pic of the original board being torn to bits as we tried to salvage the pieces of it that we are reusing in our new room:

{Don't get too attached to anything other than the Peter Dunham Fig Leaf fabric you see in the pic}

I created a new plan for the new room and we finished up the board today.  It'll be shown on Bare Bones Day, which is when people can tour the house to see it "before."  I'll be there and if you live in the area & are free, you should come check it out!  (info here)  We've spent the past couple of weeks sourcing the pieces that will go into the room, finalizing plans, and securing donations from generous companies & contractors.  It's been crazy because it's not a normal house you can just go to whenever you need something.  There are specific times you can go & meet with contractors and everyone needs to be on the same schedule. 

{design house room before}

The Bare Bones Tour is next Saturday and work begins the following Monday.  Our rooms need to be finished by March 31st.  Press Day is April 1st and the Design House opens on Saturday, April 8th!! 

I'll keep you posted as our room progresses.  First up is removing the current wallpaper!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Best Classically Modern Home Design

This classically modern, 3400-square foot home is designed by Kim Lavacot of Bennett Lavacot Architecture, while it’s interior is designed by Robin Chell Design studio. The house is overlooking Lake Washington and maximizes the expansive water views and encourage the interplay between the indoors and outdoors with a lush and expansive courtyard. The interior is done in natural and honest materials, including exposed concrete, natural stone, blackened steel and sustainable hardwoods. The combination of such natural materials, contemporary furniture and modern appliances looks really good and livable.

Axor Bouroullec Bathroom Collection

The latest bathroom furniture and sanity ware collection for Axor is designed by french designers, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. The Axor Bouroullec consists of 85 bathroom products, including: mixers, wash basins, bath tubs, solutions for shower areas, and so on. The main point of the collection is to allow home owners to create very personalized and individual bathrooms that will suit all their needs and wishes. Even individual elements like a wash basin could be personalized – you can locate the mixer and handles almost everywhere around it. The whole collection is an excellent, good looking solution that gives enough flexibility for everyone.

Axor Bouroullec Bathroom Collection

The latest bathroom furniture and sanity ware collection for Axor is designed by french designers, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. The Axor Bouroullec consists of 85 bathroom products, including: mixers, wash basins, bath tubs, solutions for shower areas, and so on. The main point of the collection is to allow home owners to create very personalized and individual bathrooms that will suit all their needs and wishes. Even individual elements like a wash basin could be personalized – you can locate the mixer and handles almost everywhere around it. The whole collection is an excellent, good looking solution that gives enough flexibility for everyone.

The Luxury Interior Design Ideas - Mixing Old And New

Some ideas for you who are looking for luxury interior design as in some of these images, a new inspiration for you. Luxurious interiors and beautiful, can become the focus stunning interiors for guests who come to your home. On the island paradise
of Majorca, Spain, Casa Son Vida is a luxury villa that’s a little piece of heaven in itself. The modern architecture of the building by tecARCHITECTURE, described by At Casa as a “triumph of straight lines and rounded surfaces,” became a source of ideas for the luxury interiors – a stunning interior design by Marcel Wanders that "mixes old and new, distorts sizes, and enhances the contrast". The signature style of this Dutch designer shines through in every piece of furniture, artfully designed and composed for a dramatic whole.