Outdoor Inspiration

I'm a bit slow...
I have been on Pinterest for a while now, but this morning I finally sat down a tried to work out how to add my inspiration photos from Pinterest to my blog.

Turns out it is not that hard.

So, that all done, please sit back and enjoy some pretty inspiration photos for our outdoor area.

I love the hanging pendant lights inparticular.  I also love the "outdoor room" feel of this space.

Source: decorpad.com via Sarah on Pinterest

I love the whole space

Source: google.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Source: egywater.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Source: None via Sarah on Pinterest

ooooh love the idea of shutters...

Source: southernliving.com via Sarah on Pinterest

...and curtains

Source: None via Sarah on Pinterest

I love the pallete furniture.  I feel a project coming on :-)

Source: x4duros.com via Sarah on Pinterest

 Ok, I better go.  I need to do less looking, and more doing.

Patio Improvement - Planning stages

As the weather starts to warm up, I am finding myself heading outside more and more.

Sadly our undercover area is lacking the love.  Which is a pity, as this is our outlook from the kitchen and family room.

And as you step outside it looks so much worse...



So I have set myself a budget of $500 again.  And because it worked so well with the study, I sat down with hubby and we talked about what we liked, didn't like, and what we wanted.  This time we were fairly agreeable, that doesn't happen much, which it was a nice change.

What we like about it:

The large space

...hmmm and that is about it

What we don't like:

It's messy - not enough storage for things like shoes.

It's dusty and dirty

the unused gym equipment

The dog bed

What we want in the space:

more seating

lounge

bigger table

storage

fans

better lighting

cafe style blinds - for weather protection.

heating for winter

I can't wait to get started.  I just need so time off from work (shame I need to work to get money to pay for this).

Until next time

  

How everything came together in the study

This is what I started with

I really didn't know where to begin.  But I was going to get rid of the desk and paint the bookcase.  So I found some mistinted paint at the hardware store and got to work on the bookcase. Moving it closer to the opening of the room, gave me more room to play with (so I could fit a bigger desk in).

Looking much better already. 

But, this is some of what I pulled off the bookcase...

Where did it all come from?? ?
I needed somewhere to put all this "stuff".  So I put up 2 rows of shelves.  Just 4 planks of wood on brackets.  Then painted them same colour as the bookcase.

In the meantime, I came across a filing cabinet and bedside cabinet to use as a base for the new desk.  These were painted the same colour as the shelves and bookcase.  And had new handles attached.  The desk was from the top of our old entertainement unit, and fitted the space next to the bookcase perfectly.  This was just lucky, I hadn't done any pre measuring.

Next came the chalkboard calander.

However the other side of the room still needed some work.

While I waited for the ideal desk to jump in my lap, I started to improve and purchase the accessories.

The second desk did "jump in my lap".  You can read about that here. 

And I have a study that I enjoy using, love looking at, and is a vast improvement on the eyesore we once had.

The Desk I Built

Or maybe I should call it the Chameleon bedside drawers??

These bedside drawers started off like this -

And Finished like this -

Not such a dramatic change I hear you say.  But wait.

The original drawers were a freebie from a member off my local freecycle group.  And I was chuffed when I picked them up as the only description was - brown 4 drawer bedside cabinet to give away.  That description could have described just about anything.  I did have to fix the back left corner, as part of the top had chipped away.  I just squared off the chip and ironed on some veneer (which I got from the hardware store)  The veneer wasn't the same colour but I was going to paint it anyway.

I enlisted the unpaid help (who always seems shows up when I have a paintbrush in my hand :-) ).

And set about decoupaging the top with a cute saying by Audrey Hepburn

To finish up with this

errrgh...
I had painted the drawers pink as I was going to put it in little angels room, but wasn't happy with the look.  The ink ran (as I just printed off from our ink jet printer) and the top was lumpy.  A bit of distressing later...still not happy.

So I stripped the top and found some better quality wrapping paper.  Again with Mod Podge and...

Hmmmm.  No, it still wasn't working for me.

On to plan B

Repaint cupboard, add new handles and a piece of board I had from pulling apart our entertainment unit, and tadaaaa

I see a new desk.

I stripped the top of the "table" and added the legs to all four corners of the table (the cupboard was a bit short, yes I know I could have shortened the legs, but I wasn't so sure I could cut them evenly).  A lick of paint to the legs and a splash of stain to the table top, plus I added so moulding to the edges.

The below picture shows where I patched up a dirty great big hole.  I just used the same stuff you patch walls with (not a wood specific product) and stained it.  I think it came up ok.

 And the final product I am very pleased with.

The legs were bought from a hardware store and I attached them to the top using a base plate that the legs then screw into.

I love the daintiness of it.  This is going to be my little sewing table.  I keep forgetting to remove that plastic flooring, I only notice it in the photos.

I am proudly linking to:

The Study Part 2

I have finished the study to the point where I am happy to reveal.  Of course there will be some adjustments, but I am happy for now, and can move on to another project. You can see part one here

Did I keep it under $500?  The answer is yes, with a fair bit of change in my back pocket.

Sample pot	$2.50
Paint	$39.60
Brackets	41.8	(10@$4.18)
Pine Boards	37.92	(4@9.48)
Filing cabinet	29.99
Cabinet	20
Brackets	25.08
Door handles	25.16
Door handles	7.98
Jig Saw	34.9
Roller	3.2
Sale of Shelves	-20.5
Sale of Desk	-79
Chalkboard Paint	22.36
Masking Tape	12.87
Baskets	59.85
Baskets	4
Furniture legs	42.68
Door Pulls	25.16
Bunnings Gift Voucher	-50
Liquid Nails	3.9
Nails	4.94
Pine Moulding	23.08
Total Spend	$317.47

$182.53 left over.  Plus I still have a desk to sell.

Here are the Before and Afters

I had forgotten how bad it was before.  But I love it now.

Tomato Plants

I have dabbled in growing a vegie garden over the last several years.  I get all enthusiastic at the start, and put in a lot of TLC.  Then, I think I get side tracked, and move on to other projects.  The garden struggles on,  doing what nature can, but the hot summer sun finishes it off the lack of care it receives and I end up without much yield.  So, this year, I wasn't even going to bother.  (Un)fortunately, I was given some tomato seedlings from my father-in-law, a few weeks ago.  Therefore I did the right thing and planted them up.

I decided also, that I wanted some more colour in the back yard.  So I painted the tomato stakes yellow.  I thought this would contrast nicely with all the tomatoes spilling out of the pot.  Yes, I am putting them in a pot, so I can see them from the kitchen window (to remind me to water them), plus they will be protected from the hot northerly winds we get through the summer.

Any way, I digress.  So I found some old tomato stakes and some yellow poster paint I had in the cupboard, and organised unpaid help to paint them.

Meanwhile, I planted the tomatoes, and some other flowering seedlings into 2 galvonized containers (after I had drilled a few holes in the bottom).  The flowering seedlings I think are Petunias, but I really don't remember, and as long as they sprout lots of flowers, I really dont mind what they are.  They could also be Pansies.

Flowering seedlings of some description

Tomato vatieties (they don't look well though, do they??)

Well, I am proud to say, that a month down the track, look how my garden grows (I am saying this with a puffed out chest and a big grin on my face)

Flowering seedlings

flowering seedlings

Tomatoes



Tomatoes

and just because I can, here are the before and afters

Before

and After

Maybe I will follow through to the end this season??  Only time will tell.