I finally found kitchen pendants lights to go over my island!
My kitchen has a lot of windows. You would think that it would be light and airy. You would be wrong! For years we had a pot rack that hung over our kitchen island. It didn’t hold anything but dust, so I had the brilliant idea for the Hubs to put in pendant lighting.
Remember when I shared my patio cover and new lights this year and you could see part of a “crop circle” in the photo? The crop circle is the pad for my redneck pool. ( It’s only redneck because I thrive on super tacky pool decor!)
I am a water dog. Texas summers have three temperatures – hot, humid and hotter. Some days I feel more like a lizard on a rock rather than a water dog. So a pool is high on this girls priorities. We plan on moving in the next couple of years so an in the ground pool just doesn’t make sense financially. So I did the next best thing, I bought a above ground redneck pool. The Hubs hates it. He really does. It is big, takes up a ton of room and it is a big gray blob that I decorate in the tackiest way possible. The first year I put plants all around it and about 25 pink flamingos. I didn’t think the Hubs could hate it more, but I was wrong!
Somewhere on Pinterest a long time ago, (I wish I knew who to give credit to!) I saw where they wrapped the pool in reed fencing. No more gray blob. I ordered the reed fencing on-line from Home Depot and wrapped that baby up! The reed fencing was taller than my pool but it was super easy to cut it off with scissors. It took four panels to go around the pool, we tied them together using jute twine. That’s it. It was just that easy. 
I had also seen on Pinterest where they had made a shelving unit using two pallets and a board. A girl needs a place to put her drink, towels etc. No pallets here at the castle, so The Hubs built me one using pressure treated lumber. I added some fun lights and we were in business!
Of course you know I wasn’t gonna leave it like that! I was at the Dollar tree and found these super cute and colorful tubs. Score! Michaels had their spring flowers on sale 70% off which made these about .30 each. The 1.50 bin had these chalkboard tags. Really cute bins for just under $2.00!
Just tie the tag on…
And hot glue on the cute flower!
They are perfect for all of the extra pool stuff. And they are super cute!!!!
I also bought this super tacky hula girl. She makes me smile! Solar powered, she hulas all of the time.
Here is the finished pool area. I love it. Does The Hubs love it? No. But even he admits that it is a little less of a redneck pool.
This is the perfect pool for me right now. Cool, wet, fun with just enough tacky to make me happy!
It even has a nighttime light show – I love my redneck pool!
Until next time….
Apparently, shopping runs in my family! Who knew? My sweet seester T shops for shoes – a lot! If you were looking at all of the shoes in her closet you would know that she’s really good at it. My sweet seester D always finds exactly the right present for everyone. Me? Y’all know I shop for all things home decor. Lately, my seester D has found some amazing home items at really awesome prices. One of her most recent finds was a chandelier -which she gave to me to give it a little makeover. I can’t wait to share my DIY chandelier before and after with you.
This is it.. not bad as it was, but lately I have been seeing chandies that have been painted with bling added to them. I just had to try it.
This baby was going shabby chic, so y’all know I was going to paint it!
I always get so excited at the beginning of a project that I almost always forget to take the “before” photo! I had the chandy taped and ready to paint before I caught myself!
TIP: To spray paint this, it was easier to hang in the tree for the spray painting part – yeah… just my kind of crazy! I know the neighbors thought so. The only tree that had branches low enough for me to hang it from was in the front yard! ( Don’t tell the HOA!)
Here it is after spray painting it white and a light sanding to distress it for that shabby chic look. Now to add the bling!
Woo hoo! Here it is with all the bling added. Not too shabby! ( as I write that I hear Adam Sandler’s voice singing the Hanukkah song! I can’t help it!) The hardest part about adding the bling was deciding where I wanted to put it. I was scared to drill the holes to hang the bling from in case I changed my mind where I wanted to hang the bling. I quickly got over that and decided to just go with it. You know what? I like it!
Here is a closer look… the only thing that I am thinking of changing is the white sleeves below the bulbs. The faux “burnt” look kinda bugs me… They came this way new. I know that they are suppose to be shabby chic, but this feels a little too shabby to me. I’m gonna live with it awhile and see if it grows on me.
I can’t wait to try another one, only this time I want to do it in a really bright color. Turquoise? Red? Kelly Green? I also think this chandy would look great with the round bulbs that are trending right now. Change the bulbs, change the look. Really the options are endless. Which I totally love!
This was a really fun project for me. It wasn’t too difficult and didn’t take me but parts of two days. If you are thinking of making one yourself, don’t be scared like me – just drill away!
Until next time…
A few months ago I gave my laundry room a mini face lift. Added some paper to the back of the shelving, new baskets, new rug etc. At the time I was looking for a chandelier for the room but had’t found one that was the right size or the right price. Today I am so happy to say that I finally found the laundry room light that I love!
The hubs and I were in Lowe’s on a Friday evening – yep we are the exciting couple! Of course I check out the main cross isles because that’s where they put all of their sale items – especially late Friday before the weekend. You just never know what you are going to find.
This time I found my laundry room light! I was looking for a chandelier. But the ceiling height is 8 ft. and the room is narrow and small. With two doors that swing into the room. So it had to be just the right scale. If I found the right size, it didn’t put out enough light. Or if I found one I loved it was like $500.00! Ouch! Not in my budget.
When I saw this light I knew it was perfect even if it wasn’t a chandelier! It had tons of real crystals and it was only $25.03!!!! Woo Hoo! It had been $159.00 – a special order someone had returned.
I started by putting on all of the crystals…. which wasn’t too bad about a half an hour. Sorry about all the clutter in the background… I couldn’t wait to put this baby together!
And then the hubs hung it for me! YES! Sorry about the picture quality… It is so hard to get a good photo of lighting! But I think you can see most of the detail here… Pretty! yes?
My beauty all lit up….
One last quick look at the completed laundry room….Girl Squeal! So darn excited to have one room done. Well… for now.
Until next time…
I HAVE A NEW DINING ROOM CHANDELIER! TA DA!!! So excited!
For some time now I have been drooling over this chandelier at Ballards. The Claire for $399.00. But the price???? Not so much. It’s not terrible expensive in the lighting world but there wasn’t really anything wrong with my old one.
Here is my old one. It came with the house when we moved in 9 years ago. I didn’t LOVE it, but I didn’t hate it either. So I continued to drool.
And then I spotted this chandy on Ebay. I hardly ever go on Ebay, something just said GO! So I did.
And I found this chandelier originally from Home Depot. It is the Hampoton Bay six arm Tuscan Chandelier in Copper originally $369.00. The Cost on Ebay? $150.00!!!! Now I know it isn’t exactly the same chandy as the one from Ballards, but it is one that is less than half the price of Ballards. I good with that!
I couldn’t wait to get it. I was a little worried about the color. Copper? I was hoping that it was more like the photo on-line and be closer to a dark oil rubbed bronze. And it was! Woo Hoo! Only one issue with it. The “candle” sleeves. In the on-line photo they are white.
These are what came with the chandy. They looked like something that should have been on a chandy in a slasher movie. Eeewwww! Too yellowed. And the antiquing? A purplish black. Ummm… NO! But that was an easy fix.
Spray paint! I quickly tossed them into my small paint booth ( a box ) and gave them a light coat of white. MUCH better!
Here is what my new chandelier in the dining room looks like. Pinch me!! I LOVE it. This room is finally shaping up. Now if I can just find a rug that makes my heart sing like the chandelier…….
Until next time!
If you have been following along with my many on-going projects you know that I have been working on the kitchen dining area for awhile now. Well, I am so darn excited because: It is almost done!!!! For reals! Well…almost. The thing is- I am so close to being done that instead of posting on Friday like I usually do, I am going to post on Saturday. Give myself a little time to go over the tiny details now that I have the big ones ironed out. Here are a few teasers for you, until I get it all put together for your viewing pleasure~
My new lighting….
Rug is in place…under my new/old table. So. Excited!
These are just a few of the new things that have undergone some change here at the castle. Hope you’ll come back by on Saturday so that I can show off my new eating area!
until next time…
I recently vacationed with my sister and niece in Las Vegas. Wow. First time to visit there and let me tell you I am still in sensory overload! On my drive to meet up with my girls, I listened to a humorist Jeanne Robertson on finding the humor in every day. Good thought right? So, I decided to see if I could not only find the humor in everyday but also how good design ties in with every day! I gotta say that I didn’t think that I would find much design wisdom in Vegas but, I was wrong! Not only did I find a lot to of humorous things in Vegas, I found a ton of design wisdom too! So instead of writing about “What I did on Vacation” here is “What I learned in Vegas!”
Elton Paid a cool million for his piano at Caesar’s Palace that you see him playing above- well it is a bit blurry but it’s hard to take a picture when your dancing too! Elton knew that you should put your money in your statement pieces. His statement piece is a piano that has pictures scrolling across it and also sounds pretty darn good too! Our statement piece would be a really great sofa with killer lines in a neutral color. LESSON LEARNED: Go traditional, classic, clean lines, neutral color and add some pop with your scenery – Elton did and the result was fantastic!
I gotta tell you that the art there was fantastic! I found this outside of the Blues Cafe. I LOVE it. Would I have it in my home – no, probably not. But I am drawn to the all of the color and texture!
I have a weakness for true hand blown glass. When I walked into my hotel and saw that Dale Chihuly had done the ceiling lighting and wall art I let out the girliest scream ever! My niece and I share a love of his work and we immediately began taken pictures and drooling. My sister kindly asked us to please start speaking in english! Would I have Dale Chihuly in my home? OH, Yeah! Maybe not on this scale but you bet ya!
More Chihuly…
and one more…. last one I promise! Sorry they aren’t the best quality… did I mention that I was drooling????
LESSON LEARNED: Use great art that you love. It doesn’t have to be expensive – but you should love it! ALOT!
You didn’t think I would go to Vegas and not find a crown theme somewhere did you? My point here is they put up the brightest, biggest neon lights not only so you could see but ,to get your attention. And it did. 
Just like this replica of the Eiffel Tower, your lighting should look great when it is not lit….
But your lighting should really make your room look AWESOME when you turn the lights on!
LESSON LEARNED: Not only should you have good overhead lighting for tasks, but also think about lighting at night. Ambient lighting can really set the mood of your room.
This is the only show girl you will find me taking a picture of! But the point is those girls don’t wear much in the clothing department and they get a ton of attention! Sometimes – Less IS More! I think when it comes to decorating there are times when we are tempted to over decorate a room, vignette, coffee table, etc. If you are having trouble with making a look come together, stop and take some pieces out. You just might find you like a little less!
LESSON LEARNED: Less decorating can actually be “more”. Don’t over decorate a room!
Let’s face it, we all look better when we put on a pretty outfit! In the photo above you can see that the business below is just an average building. You probably would just drive on buy without even noticing the building. Except for one thing. The signs. Those signs guarantee that you take a second look! That’s why we add great throw pillows, throws, plants and fun art to our houses. It’s why we wear fine jewelry when we dress up!
LESSON LEARNED: How we present our home matters. Not just to outsiders but to those of us who live in our homes too. Stylize your home. Make it special. Make it your haven. Presentation REALLy does matter!
And my last tip for the day…..
After all of the shows, museums, shopping , walking, people watching, girl bonding, eating, and relaxing I could’t wait to get home. I loved every minute of it,but it gave me a new appreciation of where I live. Vacation recharged me and made me eager to come home and tackle my next home improvement room challenge. And well, let’s admit it – it was nice to sleep in my own bed!
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