Repurposed Metal Rolling Cart

That title was a mouth full... Anyhoo, as I've mentioned before, I work in the art department at George Mason University. We are currently gearing up to move into a brand spankin' new building. Woohoo! I'll have a window. So faculty are tossing things left and right, and this cute little rolling cart caught my eye. It was very dirty before with paint splotches and perfect circles where paint cans sat.

Here's the before:


And here's the after:


And a closer look:


Isn't it great!? Well I love it. This way I can roll my plants in and out of the sun as needed. And the total cost of this project? 8 Bucks!

Budget Breakdown:

Metal Rolling Cart = FREE!
$4 or so for the aqua spray paint
$4 or so for steel wool to sand it down a bit

Yeah! Now I can enjoy my flowers and my new plant stand.

New Project idea

Okay, so I'm moving past the unusable office for now until I can actually go out shopping and look around. I like to look online, but I also like to see the furniture in person, sit behind a desk and see if it's a fit.

This is my new project idea. I have this great chair that I stole (basically) from the art department where I work. It was brought in and used for a photo shoot and then left in the photo studio for weeks before it was up for grabs.

I'd like to somehow add nailhead trim to the vertical back and maybe on the arms. Problem is, it's wood. How do I accomplish this? Most people use nailhead trim on fabric, and I imagine this is much easier. Any suggestions?

Here are some pieces with nailhead trim. I love this look. It just adds that extra va va voom!

West Elm nailhead upholstered headboard:

Crate and Barrel Colette bench:

Also, any ideas on where you can buy this trim? I'd assume Home Depot or Lowe's has it. Michael's doesn't--I already checked!

Happy Accidents--DIY Art

I bought a new rug for my hallway, and it had creases that needed to be flattened out. So I grabbed some big art books off the shelf and came across this one that my boyfriend bought me awhile ago.

I had totally forgotten about this book...We have like 8 bookshelves in our apartment. Two poets equals lots of books. Anyways, I started flipping through and found all of these great images. So I promptly starting tearing out my favorites and deciding where to put them. I used existing frames and hung them in different spots throughout my place.





These go very nicely with my other botanical prints (below) that I bought at a store in Fairfax called Circa Home and Garden.



I love these kinds of happy accidents. That book would have just sat on the shelf all by it lonesome. Now the images have a new life! And it's spring (almost) so these prints are fitting!

Changing out artwork is so easy. Do you have projects like this to celebrate spring? Send them my way!

Spray Painting Party!

I had a total crazy spray painting day. I must have been high from all the fumes. Maybe I should have worn a mask. Yes I did all this in one day.

I had all these nic-nacs and other various things in my house that I was not happy with. I loved the shape or the style, but not the colors. So voila, spray paint! I mainly used black and white to make my apartment feel more uniform, more calming. Here are the before and afters. Some I don't have before's, so bear with me.

Candleholders before:

Candleholders after (sans candles, I like it better this way):

Chandelier dressing before (these are just cheap branches with beads I bought at a craft store):

Chandelier after:

Mirror before (I loved the shape of this mirror and the large frame border, but the yellow with the leaves had to go):

Mirror after (crisp, glossy black):

Garden pot before (I also rearranged this hallway with different art, plant, rug, etc.):

Garden pot, celery green after:

Some random afters:

Night light (it was maroon and mustard before):

Bird (it was brown and ugly, very 70's before):

Mail holder (it was brown and had grapes on it before, ugh!):

Whew! I think that's it...I may have missed some. I hope you'll find some love for spray painting, too! And wear a mask.