DIY - Old Door as a Headboard

I must admit... I am MOST excited about sharing this DIY Project with you! There is nothing like a great headboard when you walk in to a bedroom. While thinking of new ideas on how I wanted to "re-design" my bedroom on a budget, the most obvious answer was a DIY headboard! :)

While on my quest for furniture for my loft, I had taken a special interest on the new look of using old doors as pieces of furniture in your house. I came across a few tips online and fell in love with the idea of finding an old door to use a headboard. Here are a few sites:

HGTV

Country Living

Martha Stewart

I quickly learned that finding an old door was going to be an adventure. Not only are they hard to find, but when you actually do find them, they are EXPENSIVE! I obviously did not want to go to Home Depot and get a new door as it would not have the character that I was looking for. So I hit the road and started looking at consignment shops. I GOT LUCKY! The first store I went to, The Blue Building, had my headboard. As soon as I pulled up, I knew it was destined to be mine. Price was a reasonable $35. That was the best price I had seen yet, so I jumped on it and loaded it up. I recruited my handy brother, Zeke to help me with getting the look I wanted for the door. This is what the door looked like before the refinish.

The door already had a worn look, which is what I wanted, but there were obvious signs of multiple layers of paint. The paint was also chipping which is something I wouldn't want falling on my head every time I slumber. Zeke and I immediately started sanding it hoping to get the chipping paint off of the door...

We had a cheap hand sander and it ended up not working out so great. We eventually decided to go to Home Depot and purchased some paint thinner to start really stripping it down. TIPS AND TRICKS #3: When dealing with old doors, or any piece of furniture that is older, make sure you wear masks as you could potentially be exposed to lead paint. :\  (For Tips and Tricks #2 click here.) SO, after purchasing some paint thinner, masks, gloves, a paint scraper and polyurethane... back to work on the door.

Gloves are a MUST because paint thinner is something serious! I wanted to get down to the natural color with only a little of the paint still showing. 

After one round of sanding and three rounds of thinner, I got what I was looking for! This door was once sea foam green, light blue, AND antique white. After washing the door with wet rags to get rid of any extra paint thinner, we added two coats of polyurethane. This gave it a little shine and protects it from chipping off anymore color.

As you'll notice in some of the links I posted, you can add wood trim and/or postings to spruce up a door as a headboard. They are all great ideas... I just wanted something a little more natural. The entire project was less than $75.00! How exciting is that?!?! I can't wait to get it in my new room and do a Room Reveal for you! Does anyone have any good tips on how I should hang this monster? *Remember, it is an old door and weighs A LOT, so I need to hang it as securely as possible. 

My next post will be a DIY on refinishing my two "new" bedside tables. Yay!

LoveMyLoft,

Casey

DIY Football Burlap Sign

One of the most important things you should know about me is that I am a DIE HARD Auburn fan. I love everything about that University and I received my Marketing degree from there, so I'm pretty partial. WDE!

My mom took notice to these cute burlap football signs that were starting to pop up all over town. Here is an example of one that is on sale at https://www.auburnart.com/auburnfootballburlapwallhanger-p-3336.html for $39.95. Well, we decided to get crafty and make one on our own! We think they turned out pretty cute and look great on front doors or back porches for football decoration. Don't worry, I will give you the run down on how to make them. Here are the supplies you will need:

1) Dark Brown burlap and scissors (and an artists hand and by artist I mean someone who can draw a half moon) to draw the shape of a football. You will need two footballs... One for the front decoration and one for the back when you glue them together!
TIPS AND TRICKS #2: Fold the burlap in half and draw half a football so your football will be symmetrical. If you are anything like me, you demand perfection and symmetry is a MUST! I got Brooklynn to model for me while I took pics. (For TIPS AND TRICKS #1 click here)

2) Puff Paint. You can use any color you wish, for any team or for any sport! They make cute gifts too! You can purchase these at Hobby Lobby or Wal-Mart.

3) Ribbon, hanging wire and tulle in the colors of your choice. 

Next I started out by writing War Eagle, just as I normally would, then made the letters thicker by continually going over my original writing. Puff paint is very flexible plus it adds texture to the sign, which is absolutely precious! I then took white puff paint and added some polka dots on top of the orange.

Then make the sides white, to replicate a football, and add the laces at the top. TIPS AND TRICKS #3: Instead of globbing up the puff paint, get your hands in there and rub in the paint to make it look a little smoother. 

Add some polka dots to the sides. Plain white wouldn't cut it for cuteness now would it?!?! :) I also outlined my orange War Eagle and the outside of the football with navy to give it a little extra pop.

After you have finished with the puff paint, let it dry. I let mine dry over night just to be sure. Once it has dried, get the other side of the football,*remember, you cut out two, get your hot glue gun heated up and start stuffing the football with polly fill. This can be found at Wal-Mart as well. Start gluing from the bottom and work your way up. After you are done gluing your football together, have fun making a super cute bow to go with it! I used tulle (because I'm pretty obsessed with it) and regular ribbon mixed together. Once you add the ribbon, get wire and clasp it to both sides to hold it together for support when hanging! And voila... you are done! This sign was made for less than $20!

Let me know if you have any questions and I will try and help you! Get ready for my next post! I am SO EXCITED about it... It will be a DIY on how my brother and I turned an antique door in to my new headboard!

LoveMyLoft,

Casey

I HEART WorldMarket!!!

Take notice of the ALL CAPS I put on the word heart. If there was a better enunciation on my keyboard it would have been put on that word which still pales in comparison to the true love I have for that place. Furniture, home decor, WINE GALORE, beer, worldly/weird foods (they even sell Kinder German Chocolate <which was my mom's fav when she lived in Germany>), jewelry, accessories, a little bit of clothing, paintings, bath linens, baskets, rugs... I mean SERIOUSLY?! Now you have Casey's explanation of how I go in there and spend hours of my time... sigh.

In this post I am going to take you on my journey through my recent purchases from WorldMarket, aka WM. There is nothing better than finding a deal, especially when you can buy brand new. With that being said, you need to become a "World Market Explorer"and sign up for their explorer program. Not only do you get notifications of the weekly deals, you get a 10% off coupon for your next purchase, AND you get family and friends 25% coupons every now and then too. TOTALLY worth it because World Market is the best and their products are extremely well made. Go here to become an explorer with me!!!

Casey's TIPS AND TRICKS #1 - SHHHHHH... this is a secret, so don't go telling too many people about this, because I don't want WM getting too smart and finding out about me. I recently have made quite a few big purchases from there, and one day while I was shopping about to check out the friendly cashier told me that I could "double up as an explorer." All you have to do is use a different number (Your explorer ID is your telephone number), you can even use the same email address to get an additional 10% off coupon. I know, I know, you may be thinking that this is cheating the system or deceitful but I figure if a WM employee told me about it, then it must be safe and I must share it with my followers! P.S. - I've only done this twice and I don't plan on doing it again unless I really really really need it, so please don't "cheat the system" every time you go buy a bottle of wine. ;) 

Within hours of the purchase of my loft, I was on the computer for DAYSSSSS searching new home decor. Here are a few of my favorite places to look for ideas. Most of these stores are over my price range, so they are mostly for brainstorming, unless I can find a deal. Duh. 

www.potterybarn.com

www.restorationhardware.com

www.westelm.com

www.urbanoutfitters.com

www.anthropologie.com

www.pier1.com

And most obviously www.worldmarket.com

One of the very first things I fell in love with were some bar stools from Restoration Hardware. They have the industrial look, which is SO IN right now, and would look perfectly with the lofty/industrial look in my new home. 

Then this picture had me sold that I wanted these in my loft at my kitchen island...

BUTTTTT, they are $349.99 EACH at Restoration Hardware. Um, no way jose! Then one day my mom calls me and tells me, "you are never going to believe what I found at WM....."

Oh yeah baby, those are from WM!!!!! And they are originally priced at $109.99. I still had a hard time justifying spending  $330 on 3 new stools for my island, but being WM, they went on sale one weekend for $99 each. Lo and behold, I used my first Explorer coupon and spent $267 on three brand new industrial bar stools compared to what I could have potentially spent at Restoration Hardware, $1,050. THAT'S A $783 SAVINGS! They have great reviews online and I personally think they are even cuter than the ones that cost about a month's worth of mortgage. 

Another thing I quickly fell in love with was a floor lamp from Pottery Barn. 

This lamp is a hefty $319.00 + $69.99 burlap drum shade. Once again, WM pulls through and comes out with a "mix and match" campaign of new lamps and shades they released this fall. I stumbled upon a floor lamp and burlap drum shade that looks almost identical to the Pottery Barn version - at a fraction of the cost. $99.00 for the base and $29.99 for the drum shade. THAT'S A SAVINGS OF $260.00!

One thing that I knew I would need for my loft was a nice dining room table and chairs. I currently have a small pub table, and in my new space it would not work. I plan on posting the table to CraigsList (eek) to try and sell so  I can make a little extra moola. After searching and searching, I decided on a table from WM, the Sourav Collection! It has been around for years, is handmade and even comes with a bench, which was a dream list item for my new table. I never pay full price for anything, so I used a 25% off family and friends coupon to make this table affordable. I'm thinking about putting it with two of the Sourav chairs, and then two tufted, cute fabric chairs on the end. What do you think?

This picture does not do the table justice, but I will be sure to post my own pictures when it is up in my loft and I do "Room Reveals." This is an idea I stole from my college bestie, Sybil (see her blog). 

Another item I ran in to today while purchasing my table and bench was a painting that I have been eyeing. My mom originally liked it and it has grown on me over time. It is my second favorite flower, a peony. It was originally $199, then marked down to $99, and I also got to use my 25% coupon to make this 48inx48in painting, $75.00! Now, THAT is a steal! After purchase, we even drove out to the lofts and snuck in to a loft that already had their exposed brick wall up to make sure it would look cute on the wall... we had success!

  

Last item for this lengthy post. Another thing you'll learn about me is that I easily get carried away on things I get excited about. I wanted a cute and funky yet classic chandelier to go in my dining room. When I saw this "3 group pendant" set at WM, it was love at first sight. I purchased it for $59.99 and they even had a mounting kit for $25.00. Out the door with a chandelier for $75.00. Can't beat that!

I hope you enjoyed my WM journey! My next post will be a DIY project! Yay! :)

LoveMyLoft,

Casey

Laying The Foundation... For the Blog AND the Loft

First things first, I must give a shout out to my Uncle Jon for helping me, and by helping I mean pretty much setting up my blog. It has taken me about 3 weeks to get this bad boy up and running. I hope you like the layout! I chose a brick background since I am building a new loft and the cute yellow header because I had to throw in some of Casey's spunky-ness (you will learn that I talk about myself in the first person... just one of my quirks). :) I did learn a lot on blogging though... like coding and adding CSS! WTH is that?! So, many, many thanks to Uncle Jon!

After years of searching for the perfect home, on July 21, 2011 I made the biggest decision of my life (thus far) and put earnest money down on a little piece of land to build a new loft! It's located in Edenton Lofts and it is the CUTEST community. There are rain gardens, common green areas where you can relax or play with your pups (Yay for Lulu and Me!) and so much more! It really is affordable luxury. Click here to see some community pics.

I am so humbled that the Lord has blessed me beyond measure in which I have the opportunity and means to build a house in this economy. It's so hard to explain my excitement watching my house "grow" but I will try to do my best in the live.love.loft. blog!!!!!!!! Since July 21, it has been quite the journey. So much has happened in the past 2 months with the loft. I have been a "smart blogger" by taking many pictures to share with my followers once my blog was up and running, so here we go!!!!!!

I'll start from the beginning...

On the day I signed my contract, I signed with a new home consultant named Laura. She works with Signature Homes (which is who is building/has built my community and they are simply amazing!). She helped me strategically pick my lot, and let me tell you that was quite the ordeal. I wanted to know where the sun rose and set, where the parking spots were, where the trash dumpster was.... you know, a classic example of the Business Consultant coming out in Casey - I must know ALL OF THE DETAILS. Once I picked the lot, we moved on to interior selections. I selected mocha cabinets, a beautiful granite (I forgot the name of it) brown hardwoods throughout the house, light grey wall colors, black exposed beams, wall of exposed brick, metal industrial stair railings and so so so so much more. As soon as these selections come to life, I will post about them WITH pictures! 

After all selections were made, it was time for me to wait. and. be. patient. Casey, patient?!?! My friends and family are probably laughing at this, as me being patient is very hard to witness. BUT I have been patient and the experience of feeling little-girl-giddiness each time I go to visit my loft and see new additions is indescribable. 

I thought I was the happiest girl in the world when I selected my lot, then when gravel was poured, then when footing was put up... 

Then when plumbing was installed and foundation was poured... 

Then with framing being put up and a roof installed... (don't mind the port-a-potty. Ew.)

And now I currently have windows and doors!!!! 

That's insanity and one day very soon, I will get to call it mine! I am hoping to close on November 15th. Please keep your fingers crossed for me.

On the day that I discovered I had windows and doors, I actually did my first walk-through. I GOT TO WALK AROUND IN MY HOUSE! It smelled so new and looked gorgeous, well gorgeous to me, even though it's just a bunch of well put together 2x4's. I even got a quick pic of me on what will be my stairs. I thank Brooklynn (my brother's girlfriend) for this, as how she stated it "She risked her life to take that picture" due to the conditions of all the construction around us. Haha! I know, I look a little cheesy, but remember I get the little-girl-giddiness when I visit my loft...

I want to give y'all a sneak peak of what my brick of my house and trim will look like. Plus, you can see what a semi-finished loft looks from the outside. *NOTE - this is NOT my house, just one of my neighbors. The brick is called "spanish moss" and the wood work will be black with white trim. I AM IN LOVE. It is so classic. 

I hope you enjoyed my first post on the live.love.loft. blog! I am very much looking forward to all of my upcoming posts. NO, this blog won't be pictures of just my house and its progressions. In my "about me" I say that I love DIY-ing and I already have numerous crafts in my back pocket ready to share with y'all. :) I can't wait to share all of my tips and tricks and money saving techniques so stay tuned!

LoveMyLoft,

Casey