True Friendship Part TWO: The Reveal

Alright, so you've read all about the renovation process, right? If not, go here. Now, for the reveal photos. There are a few things that are left to complete, but we accomplished so much with such a limited budget and an even tighter timeline.

I don't want to clutter up with a lot of pictures of the before - and quite honestly, there aren't a lot of before pictures anyway. But, if you want to compare - go here, and get a glimpse at where we started.

 Are you ready!?? 

One of the biggest changes in the dining room came in the form of color. The room used to be a deep, barn red and now is a light and fresh taupe with crisp white trim and built-ins, which we added. The old Ikea chandelier was thrown out, and replaced with this beautiful fake crystal chandelier. Honestly, people, they're fake! Want one for yourself? Get it here!

The new built-ins are home to lots of decorative stuff, but also store all of Allison's entertaining china, crystal, silverware, tablecloths, and napkins. They also are home to baskets of gloves, and scarves. They are standard kitchen cabinet depth, since we used kitchen base cabinets to create the bulk of the unit. So there is plenty of room up top for my favorite dining room display: the bar in a basket!

The side table and mirror here used to be in Allison's foyer, where the new doorway was created. So we moved it here, only for the time being. Eventually, this wall too, will come down and the dining room and kitchen will become one large space with a center island. For now though, it was great to have a spot for its reuse. Two captains chairs flank the table, and are perfectly positioned to pull up to the table when it extends from round to oval. I gave Allison these chairs, and she recovered the chair seats with a Waverly blue and white fabric here.

Here you can see the decorative rope braid trim that we added to the top of the counter surface, and to each of the shelf fronts. The case pieces have shelves that can be adjusted, and still need the crown molding, which we're waiting to install until it can go around the entire open space. That'll happen after the wall between the kitchen and dining room comes down.

Most everything on the shelves came from the attic of Allison's house, or from the basement at my house - which I was all too happy to give her. You can see the boho beads I used to sell on Cross Bottle Guy draped over a beautiful gilt column base. Allison's oldest daughter Grace was kind enough to model those beads for me when I first made and sold them - so I gave these to her as a thank you.

Isn't she beautiful!? I don't know why I stopped making these. They really are beautiful and so versatile. Perhaps they'll make a come back at Christmas.

The curtains are not custom, another cost savings; but they are back-tabbed which gives them a much easier fold back and a nicer look than the pole top curtains. They just kiss the floor, and are made from a synthetic silk. Allison knew she wanted purple, olive, and blue in the room - but couldn't figure out how to get them all to work together. I think we did it here, with splashes of purple in candles, and books in the case pieces, olive curtains, and blue and white fabric on the chairs. We've kept the room otherwise neutral for easy shifts to any color changes she wants to make.

For color, we spray painted the bindings of paperback books with gold and purple spray paint until we got the look we desired. We then tied bundles of them together with jute twine, and they made for really wonderful shelf filler. Allison is an avid collector of my cross bottles, so there are several of those in the dining room, too.

Allison also collects blue and white porcelain, as I do, and many of you. So a lot of it ended up in her dining room, including this little garden stool - which I've been told has become some sort of desk chair to that little console table for her youngest daughter. SO cute!

Here you can see the need for that crown molding, but again - one project at a time. We all know how that goes, right? The heavy wool rug with the bold, rich colors was replaced by this seagrass option with a fawn border. The whole room feels so much bigger, and brighter than it ever did before. We added light to the inside of the case pieces, along with 5-outlet strips to the top of each piece for Allison to be able to more conveniently plug in things - like crock pots, etc..

I love the top of this table, which was a honey oak before Allison stained it with an ebony and then walnut stain.

The case pieces have brushed nickel bin pulls on the drawers, and crystal knobs on the doors, to help tie in the crystal door knobs on the french doors, and the chandelier. The shelf styling, done by me, was really a lot of fun. I just went from room to room, and picked what I thought would look best. Sure, it left the rest of the house in shambles, but we can work on that later!

The room has really gracious windows, and gets a ton of natural light - which floods the room and adjoining foyer with a beautiful glow. We reused Allison's curtain rods, and just hung them higher to accommodate the new curtain length.

So there you have it. A BIG change from where we started, right? Alright, alright. Here's a before:

Told ya!

... Fun Vignette Time ... 

I hope you enjoyed this little story of friendship and renovation. All of Allison's family LOVES the new room. She has hosted several family dinners with her extended family since we finished the renovation, and she and her family eat there every night. I told her that we'd have to wait a year before the kitchen wall came down if she wanted me to help - so, while it won't be anytime soon, keep your eyes peeled for more photos and stories of friendship and renovation!

My Figurative Backyard ...

Many of you know that CDLV is just minutes from the brink of Niagara Falls ... one of the most beautiful waterfalls in all of the world. Of course, just like those people who live in Washington, D.C., near and amongst the many monuments and world class museums, I take it for granted, and rarely go. Scott and I used to walk their daily with the dogs, and would run to catch the nightly fireworks display. Now, we walk the dogs around the block, and simply see the 'boom' of the fireworks as an indication that it's 10PM.

While my mother and my niece were here, however, we did a lot of the touristy things, including the Maid of the Mist boat ride, which is the only way you can understand the scope of the falls, their size, and the sheer magnitude of their power. My mother and niece were in awe ... and I thought you might be too. For those of you who follow me on Instagram, this might be a bit of a refresher ... for everyone else, enjoy!

My niece, Mikayla ... patiently waiting her turn.

A Little Art'sy' Fun ...

I was so excited to be asked to be a part of the "Wearable Art Fashion Show" this evening at Wine on Third in Niagara Falls. When I was asked, initially, I thought - what? I'm not a fashion designer! But after some not-so-strong arming, I said ok, and got to planning.

The idea of the show is to make, or in my case build, a garment for the runway out of beautiful but unconventional materials. My photos didn't turn out so great - but my friend Tina took some amazing shots of many of the looks. Wanna see?

My dress, or rather, skirt - made from playing cards layered on a difficultly molded base of poster board and duck tape! My model, the beautiful daughter of my best friend, was the PERFECT beauty for this piece of art that took me weeks to build. You think I have a future in dress design? Ha!

Here, you can see the silhouette of the dress ... it took about 900 playing cards, which I bought 2/decks for a $1.00 at Dollar Tree. Some packing tape, hot glue, and frustration later ... we were in business!

Mar-Jon beauty school students did her make up and hair, and I opted for a skirt with a super high waist rather than a full dress. We used a boys dress shirt, popped the collar, and rolled the sleeves up and voila. Fashion!

Here I am with my model and the dress, trying my absolute best to mimic the same pose.

The dress will be on display in the dining room of Wine On Third, the site of the fashion show, for the next month. Along with many of the other dresses and skirts from tonight's big show. I of course have to give full credit for this brilliant idea to Mary Grace O, who asked me to be a part of the show, and dreamed up this outstanding event then with passion and creativity made it come to life!

Here's my friend Andrea, whose other half took all of these photos, with her model sporting the BLT dress. Andrea is a brilliantly gifted pastry chef, and wanted something that involved food. In one day she made this fun and creative piece that smelled so delicious!