New Mantle

I have lived in my condo for almost 8 years and I have always wanted some sort of mantle above my fireplace.

You all have heard about my stack of barn boards and how we used some to make a shelf for my parents house.

Well, now it's my turn! I used some left-over shelf brackets from my parents (hee, hee...free!), painted/ sanded them and bought 2 small L-brackets and screws for a few bucks.

In the background above is the board that I am using. Below is a closeup of the bark that is still on the board...love it!!

My dad and I started with the 2 small L-brackets resting on top of the fireplace trim.

Then we hung the big end brackets. I did not want to move my sparkly mirror, that is anchored to the wall, so we hung the mantle as low as we could.

Here are the brackets before the board.

I still need to paint the small L-brackets to blend in with the light blue walls.






To be honest, I will play with the look of the mantle for the next few weeks...but I had to arrange something on it right away!

I want to something tall for the 2 ends, this arrangement is too much of the same height.

I also think I want a longer board...but that can wait for now. I just want to dream of hanging stockings at Christmas for now!!

New Dresser

My mom and I have both been looking for a new dresser. She needs one in one of her guest bedrooms and I would like a bigger one for my bedroom. Not "new" new but new to us. We both would like to paint or refinish an older dresser.

While taking pictures for my Home Tour, I never took a picture of the wall with my small "bachelor chest" on it. I guess I never really liked how if looked and therefore overlooked it. You can see it on the left side of the photo below. My TV sits on top. You can see just how small the chest is...the TV takes up the whole top!

(Here is a close up of it all cleaned off and ready to leave!)

As we were running errands a few weeks ago, we spotted some furniture on the side of the road for sale. We literally threw out the breaks and pulled over to check out a brown, wood dresser. It was marked $55, we handed the man $40 cash and it was ours! Now, the plan was for Mom to put it in her guest bedroom. She painted it a golden yellow and sanded the edges for a beautiful weathered look. However, I took one look at it finished and HAD. TO. HAVE. IT!!!

I do not have a before picture (yes, I am kicking myself!) but doesn't it look great? I LOVE IT! It was just what my room needed...it fits the wall better, adds some much needed color and offers more storage.

See how little the old one was.

It's not perfect, but it doesn't need to be!

I love the color and the wood showing threw.

The drawers were cleaned out good but still needed a little help.

I lined them with my go-to-shelf-liner.

(Don't worry, just socks and scarfs in the shot!)

Much better!

Tomorrow...new mantle!!!

Marking off that To-Do list!

Parade of Homes Tour--House # 20

Welcome to House #20 on the

Parade Of Homes Tour

hosted by A Bowl Full Of Lemons!

My name is Amy and I live in Nashville, TN.

I bought my condo 7 1/2 years ago and little by little

have made it a home for my daughter and I.

Come on in... let the tour begin!

Let's start at the front door.

First we have the foyer with the coat closet on

the left and the kitchen on the right.

I hung a clear shoe storage rack on the back of the door, that I got at

the Dollar Tree, to organize all of those little items.

Off the foyer, we have the kitchen. I painted the yucky wood cabinets

cream and painted the top doors with chalk board paint to give a little interest.

I tiled the backsplash all by myself...the first big DIY project after moving in.

I have also replaced all of the appliances.

Past the foyer is the living/ dining room.

My brother-in-law made my benches for the dining room table.

I love my Pier 1 capiz chandelier.

The sparkly mirror was a garbage-on-the-curb find that I

painted with glue and Martha Stewart silver glitter.

The hallway to the right leads to the bedrooms and hall bathroom.

The door on the right is my daughters bedroom

and the her bathroom is straight ahead.

We recently got rid of her loft bed and are planning to

build a Pottery Barn-inspired storage bed frame this summer.

To the right of my daughter's bathroom is the short hall to my bedroom.

Past this hall shelf, with a few DYI projects, is my room.

My headboard was my latest DIY project,

thanks to plans from Ana White's blog.

The door above leads to my bathroom.

My brother made me this jewelry tree.

I have too many necklaces...wait...you can't have too many necklaces!!

And with that, we come to the end of my home tour.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you visit again soon.

Enjoy the rest of the home tours...

If you would like to start at the first home, click the link below!