i’ve got a bit of an obsession with stripes. ac had to practically pry my favorite striped sweater out of my hands when it got too shrunken and faded to wear, and i seriously squealed when i saw the colorful stripes in bonnie’s stereo cabinet. so you can imagine my delight when i saw this bench makeover from diana van helvoort in munich. diana found this german 50’s style kitchen bench after the nuns from the kindergarten next door to her house left it outside to be recycled. luckily diana moved more quickly than the recycling truck and convinced her husband that dragging “this brownish thing” home through the rain was a good idea.
diana discovered that the inside was actually made of a lovely scented cedar wood so she stripped the brown coating off and updated with with a fresh coat of white paint and seriously happy-looking colored stripe fabric. and the best part? the bench has built in storage under the seat so now diana’s children have a moth-proof place to store their winter bed linens. great work, diana!
CLICK HERE for jessica’s facade entryway before & after, after the jump!
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July 2nd, 2009 - 01:00pm
i’ve always wanted to find a good stereo cabinet we could use for ac’s old albums and record player, but haven’t found one that was in good-enough shape to take home yet. but this project from bonnie van voorst is great inspiration to try upgrading something that’s in less than perfect condition. bonnie’s husband bought her this old stereo cabinet from a neighbor’s garage sale for $15. it was badly scratched and stained (the previous owner had been using it as a sawhorse!) but after 4 days of sanding, painting and upholstery bonnie updated this yardsale find to create a colorful piece of furniture that is the first thing guests see when they enter her home. great work, bonnie!
(click here to check out bonnie’s previous stool makeover).
CLICK HERE to see megan’s nursery makeover after the jump!
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July 2nd, 2009 - 12:00pm
i love this creative before & after re-use project from designer martina ahlbrandt. martina’s husband found three of these black office chairs in a dumpster and decided that they had potential. so with only some silver spray paint and a few 1×4 boards, martina and her husband turned them into an outdoor bench! i don’t think i ever could have imagined something so cute from a few sad office chairs- great work guys!
CLICK HERE for kelly’s dining room makeover after the jump!
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July 2nd, 2009 - 11:00am
our first before & after post of the day is all about 2 great kitchens. first up is lisa fontaine of picnic. she recently remodeled her berekely, ca kitchen and bathroom with dramatic results. i am loving the tile in both rooms and the clean modern look she’s got now. and all that light in both spaces? i’m so jealous…great work, lisa!
lisa’s bathroom:
CLICK HERE for the second beautiful kitchen before & after after the jump!
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July 2nd, 2009 - 10:00am
alissa and ryan have seriously been knocking it out of the park this week. they’ve shared a great home tour, shop tour, and a delicious drink recipe (which we now plan on turning into a monthly d*s column!) and today they’re sharing a gorgeous sneak peek (into the home of ken and larry from foster’s in philly) and a recession-friendly diy jewelry project. i don’t know where they find the time to do all of this, but we’re so thrilled and thankful to have them on the site this week. click here to check out their new posts for today!
also, i feel like i’m always running around the house opening and closing drawers loudly, looking for a piece of paper on which to jot last-minute notes and ideas. i finished my last oh joy studio notebook a month ago and have been hunting for a replacement ever since- so when i heard from sarah roberto at ‘oh so good‘ i was delighted to find several cute notebooks that would do just the trick.
sarah describes herself as a “toronto-based designer with a borderline obsession for paper.” in her spare time she creates a lovely range of stationery, notebooks, gift tags and cards, all made from salvaged paper and “beautiful little scraps that would have otherwise found their way into a junkyard”. i think her collection is so sweet and affordable, what’s not to love? click here to check out her full series of work online. thanks, sarah!
July 2nd, 2009 - 09:00am
