andreafestefano

[andreafestefano]

My mud/laundry room changes that will add tons of storage

Hello there! I'm still working on the garage purging and organization and I'm excited to show you the projects I've been working on in there! I have a lot left to do, but it's already SO MUCH better. 

I wanted to share what I have planned in our mud/laundry space after the garage is finished -- I'm super excited about this too! If you've read the blog for awhile, you know I get my energy in the cooler months and in the summer I turn into a sloth. I think I'm opposite of most -- the cold temps invigorate me and the warm weather makes me want to take a nap. 😂

We have a joint laundry and mud room and we LOVE it. I designed the space (as far as placement of everything) while we were building. This side of the room looks really good!: 

As you can see, the bench is on the left and the closet I had added is on the right. One of the reasons I designed the room this way so that when we (or anyone visiting) looks into the room, this is the view we'd see. 

I just knew this side would always be cleaner and more organized than what we have around the corner to the left. I know us. Ha!

This is our folding table -- we could have added cabinets underneath, but I didn't want to add that to the bottom line at the time. I also wanted to see how we used this space first: 

We knew we'd hide the kitty litter boxes under there, so holding off on base cabinets was best. 

Well...now I'm ready. Because THIS is how that counter usually looks: 

Ugh! OK, in my defense, it's not usually this bad. This is some residual holiday stuff, and a lot of things from the garage that I need to put away. 

First up, I'll be adding new cabinets underneath that counter. I cannot WAIT! We may replace the countertop too, but I'm not sure about that just yet. I'm using unfinished cabinets again because they are so affordable (see how I used them on my recent entertainment center project here). I have some ideas to make them look more custom that I will share for sure.

My decision to get this part of the room working better started a list of additional projects! I'm SO excited about this because it will add a ton of storage in this space and will make it work so much better for us. 

The easiest project involves the closet in this room: 

I shared the mud room closet organization here -- I highly recommend a closet like this if you have the room! It's a game changer. (I also added an outlet in there.) This is my favorite closet in the house! (You don't have a favorite closet?)

Now that we've lived with it, I know I can make even better use of that space. I have a tricky little way to add more organization that I'll show you soon. 

One of the big obstacles in here is where we would move the kitty litter -- we have two options in mind. One is the basement storage area, but the other is still in this mud/laundry room. I'll let you know what we end up doing!

One of the things I'm most excited about has to do with these cabinets: 

See my review of our LG washer and dryer here!

These would usually be great, but hanging right above a top loader is not the ideal placement. We have to open the cabinet doors, then the washer lid in order to get what we need for each load. 

So I'll be moving those over to above the folding table area -- so that whole wall will just be a ton of closed storage. YES!

With those gone I plan to do a version of this easy shelf above/behind the washer and dryer like I did at the old house: 

I've missed it so much! I thought about adding one a million times here but the cabinets are too low. I have some ideas to add a bar for hanging the clean clothes above the washer and dryer as well. 

These changes are going to fix all of the little things about this space that haven't worked well for us. And the only big cost is in the base cabinets. I can hardly wait to get started on this one!

I'll be sharing more of that process soon -- but first the garage makeover and also another basement project I've been finishing up!

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This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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[andreafestefano]

How to make leather wrapped vases and candleholders

Goodness, I am overwhelmed with your wonderful response to the huge bookcase wall I shared earlier this week! I'm so glad you love it. I'm so proud of how it turned out!

I love how the decor on the shelves came together. As you know, it takes me awhile to get things how I like them. If you try building your own bookcase unit, think about what you want to put on the shelves before you build that part. 

Shorter shelves like in my office are a little easier to decorate: 

These are also better if you have a lot of books you'd like to display. 

I went with taller ones on the basement unit because I wanted a more open feel. Shorter shelves hold more but can feel busier. Since I had more height than usual, I needed to use bigger decor throughout:

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See those tall vases on the bottom? I decided to tackle this DIY when I saw this leather wrapped vase a few weeks ago: 

I figured it wouldn't be too hard to replicate this on my own! I have a bunch of glass cylinder candleholders I've used over the years. (I'll share all the different ways I've decorated them at the end of this post!)

They are super inexpensive and are on sale at craft stores all the time. I've gathered most of mine at thrift stores over the years. 

As I started looking into these leather wrapped vases/candleholders, I found they can be crazy expensive. I'm assuming these are made with real leather, but this set is $75: 

And this tall leather vase is $220!! Yowza:

You KNOW we can do this for cheaper! :)

I got half a yard of faux leather at the craft store for $12 (and another $5 off with a coupon!) -- they had a bunch of options, but I liked this simple brown version: 

I used three glass cylinders for my project -- I found similar medium sized glass vases here and taller ones here. Lay the fabric out and roll your glass vases to figure out how much you'll need. 

Since I knew I'd see most of the cuts, I marked my measurements and cut along a level instead of using scissors: 

I can't cut a straight line to save my life. 😆 A level isn't necessary -- just use anything that is firm enough to cut against. Using the razor blade was quick and easy. (By the way, if you do any crafts, a cutting mat is an absolute must have!) 

Next up was creating the holes. I marked them at every inch with a marker and then use a drill bit to make the holes:

Be sure to hold down each side of the fabric as you drill, otherwise it will bunch up as the bit spins. 

For a couple of these I marked my holes on each side at the same spots and some I staggered: 

Play around with your placement -- you can make them all the same or change it up a bit like I did. 

You can use twine or string for this, but I wanted to mimic the look of the store versions and used some leather cording I had on hand: 

I ran it through and then placed the wrap over the glass so it could be pulled tight before cutting and knotting the cord. 

I had the cord from a previous project, and it's not expensive at all. You won't need a ton -- this leather string comes in four different colors. This brown version would look great as well. 

If your holes are big enough, you can just feed the leather cording through. I found it much easier to use a needle -- I used a long one that I had from my tufted upholstered headboard projects. These needles have extra large eyes so it would be easy to thread that cord. 

I love it! I haven't even put anything in ours -- I like how they look on their own: 

You can see how I changed up how I threaded the cord -- there are so many options!

They would make beautiful vases! I like them grouped together but one would stand alone just fine. 

Mine were just as big as those pictured above and I only spent $7 on the faux leather. I call that a good knock off! If you were doing this I think you could make three for $40-$50. Well under if you use coupons or catch a sale!

I've decorated these glass holders so many ways over the years! Wrapped with old sweaters, cut out snowflakes or birch wrapping paper for winter looks, covered in gold and silver paper for a modern display, or wrapped in gold metal sheeting for a more traditional look. 

These glass vases are a decorating staple! 

PIN these for later with this image: 

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This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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[andreafestefano]

Make a sofa look new with these three easy fixes!

Hello there! I'm SO close to finishing up the huge built ins in the basement! I have a few more details to add, and then the really fun part -- decorating it! I plan to share the whole thing with you next week. It looks SO great. 

I think sofas are the hardest piece of furniture to shop for...well, as least the hardest to pick RIGHT. After we paid off all of our debt years ago, I splurged on a beautiful, expensive sectional for our home, and years later I absolutely hated that thing. 

We had a number of problems with it -- from the fabric to the cushions. I shared my review of our Arhaus sectional here. 

We later discovered this sofa from Macy's that is my absolute favorite couch ever -- you can see it in our old house here. (It was way cheaper.) We bought it right before we decided (very out of the blue) to move. Since I wanted matching sofas facing each other in our new family room, we sold that Macy's sofa to the buyers. 

I have missed it since! I have a love/hate situation with our current sofas, and I'll talk more about that soon. They are crazy comfy and I LOVE how the look -- from far away. We'll call them the Mona Lisa sofas. ;) 

I've had to come up with some ways to keep them looking decent over the past few years, so I'm sharing my tricks for making a sofa look (almost) brand new! 

We got these from a local store in Indy called Urban Underpriced for a GREAT price. 

First up, a trick I learned years ago that solved a problem that drove me batty -- couch cushions that slide out:

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The soft looked so good back then! 

The easy fix? A non-slip rug mat. It works SO well!: 

You can see more about fixing sliding cushions here!

That stopped them from moving around all the time, next up was fluffing up the back cushions. 

Our dog perches on the back of each couch -- it's his spot to watch for everyone that is trying to kill us. 😄 I didn't look close enough when I bought these sofas and didn't realize the back cushions were just full of batting. 

They get smashed so easily: 

If you have the same you know how hard it is to keep them looking full and not smushed. My fix? Add more batting to fill them up! I've added at least a bag to each back cushion over the years:  

Another tip -- instead of trying to reshape the cushions from the outside -- I unzip and move the batting around inside. I usually have to push it back up to the top and into the corners. 

What a difference!: 

Till the dog smushes them again. :)

If you have a sofa that has more shaped cushion with foam inside, you can add additional sheets of foam to puff them up again. 

And my worst nemesis -- sofa fabric that pills up. Curses!! It happens all the time with ours: 

There's an easy trick for this too! 

Grab a fabric shaver -- they're supposed to be used to remove pilling off your clothes, but they work GREAT for upholstery too!: 

It takes a few minutes, but man...it makes a big difference!: 

My only complaint is we need to change the batteries often, so I was thrilled to find this plug in version. I ordered it today! 

Here's another before of the sofa cushion: 

And after using the fabric shaver: 

What a difference, right? These easy tips have helped keep our worn sofas looking better than they would!

Have you tried any of these tricks or do you have some of your own? I'd love to hear!

This tip for fluffing up a flat ottoman or pouf may be helpful too!: 

See more of our home here. To shop items in our home, click here! Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email. 

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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[andreafestefano]

Best projects of 2020 and plans for 2021!

Hello there! This is always one of my favorite posts of the year because I see how productive I am...even when I don't feel like it! I don't feel like a total sloth after pulling this post together. Especially after this last crazy year!

**Quick note: If you are reading this post via email, you will now have to click through to read my posts. I had no choice but to change it when one of my affiliate companies made it a requirement. Just click the "read the whole post here" link! 

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I didn't think I'd have much to share, but I did plenty last year. They weren't all huge before and after makeovers...but I think I like these even better! Most of the projects are easy to accomplish in a day or two with little money. 

You can see the projects I finished in 2019 and my plans for 2020 here! More on those in a bit. 

Remember that projects around the house are my job...and I love it! I love to wrap up the previous year and hopefully inspire you for your own home. 

My most recent project was a mini-room makeover. I painted the ceiling, added a pendant light and wallpapered the little hallway off our foyer: 

The updates make this little spot so fresh and clean -- love it!

Last year I added a thin and simple board and batten treatment to one of the walls on our staircase: 

My plan year was to continue this on the other two stair walls...but I got distracted. ;) I plan to do that this soon.

I built some simple sliding shoe storage bins for the mud room: 

Then I finally finished painting the mud room -- you can see the whole tour here!

We use our outdoor spaces more than ever this year! I always wanted to string pretty cafe lights out here and we finally got that project done. See how we hung the outdoor lights without trees here!: 

Ahhh...I love them so much! They have held up beautifully through storms and snow!

Later in the year we added these beautiful Adirondack chairs around our fire pit: 

I'm already looking forward to some spring nights there. 

I finished up our master bedroom makeover: 

It's a dark, moody room, but I brightened it up a bit for the summer here. It's now the best of both worlds!

Early last year I made a huge upholstered bulletin board for my office: 

It's the perfect mix of form and function! I'm so glad I went with that fun fabric. 

These floating shelves above our toilet were a quick and easy DIY: 

I shared the first look at our guest room -- a few little touches made a big difference: 

Our kitchen didn't see as many projects as last year, but I made a couple changes that I think made a big difference! I added a DIY wood vent hood and painted the hardware black: 

I've since painted the hood a lighter gray and love it even more! I am so happy with the black hardware -- that's such an easy DIY that makes a big impact. 

Our basement saw a few projects that warmed it up even more. I finished painting most of the walls the dark gray: 

And more recently we added a small wall down there that created a fun new gaming/eating space: 

Those are just a few of my favorite projects of 2020! Did you miss any of them? 

I didn't accomplish much from my to do list for last year -- our finances have been hit hard with schools not being 100 percent most places so we nixed most of them. 

We are hopeful for a better 2021 for so many reasons! Our hope is to address the same spots I wanted to tackle last year...maybe more? 

We are SO SO excited about finishing our basement kitchenette. I purged and organized this spot last summer and now it's a clean slate: 

It's huge for a basement kitchenette! I've started planning out the layout and we are all coming up with fun ideas for this space. I'll share my plans with you soon!

I wanted to tackle our son's bathroom last year but got distracted. I hope to take down a wall in here and add some fun tile to this wall: 

I would also LOVE to wall off a space in our basement storage room -- we've made it into a workout space and I have dreamed of closing it up since we moved in. That would be a BIG project so I'm not sure it will happen. 

Heck, I'm not sure any of it will happen...crossing my fingers! I would be perfectly happy with another year of smaller projects -- we're just so thankful we were able to do anything to our house last year! 

Do you have any fun DIY projects or makeovers planned for this year? 

See more of our home here. To shop items in our home, click here! Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email. 

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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[andreafestefano]

New wall in the basement to create game room spaces!

We just finished up one of our biggest projects so far in this house...and I didn't take ANY progress pictures! WHAT. We hired most of it out and even though it took almost two months to complete, I didn't take any pics along the way. 

I guess because it's just a wall? But it's made a big difference in our basement! I have plenty of after pics to share with you at least. 

We have a large basement in this house -- it's one of the main reasons we decided to buy and finish this home! This floor plan is really everything we ever wanted or needed! We have so much space to work with in our basement, and it's been FUN to figure out how to use and build out those spaces. 

There's a spot down there that we've deemed the "game room" -- mostly for the kids to play or play video games. I shared some of this space a couple years ago when I had this fun art made for our son: 

This space not far from our family room down there though, so as soon as we moved in we wondered if we should have had that walled off. You know...a space for the kids and a space for the adults? 

We decided to live with it for awhile to see if it was something we wanted to do. In November we decided to go ahead with it and we are THRILLED with how it turned out. 

Remember this wall of game and toy storage I created a couple years ago?: 

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It functions so well and looks great! 

To the right of that wall is where we put the new one up to close things off a bit. We ordered double glass doors that open into our son's space: 

They ended up frosting them by accident (we were going to see if we wanted them to stay glass or I was going to frost them using this method) but we love how it looks. 

We had the wall built and then drywalled. I primed and painted the walls and the doors. I had planned to paint the doors black, but we like them in white for now. I still have to caulk the trim and do a few paint touch ups, but otherwise it's done! 

It took a couple months to get this done -- contractors are always crazy busy at the end of the year. And anything to do with drywall takes a bit because of the taping, mudding and sanding. 

We've had the IKEA table that I turned into a farmhouse table down here, but it was small. We sold that and got this gorgeous table instead. It's the Morbylanga from IKEA: 

We are so pleased with it! It's not solid wood, but looks like it. It really is beautiful. 

We're going for a more modern vibe down here compared to the rest of the house, and this is a perfect transitional/modern design if you're looking for that. 

Bonus was that it was incredibly easy to put together: 

It's the largest piece of furniture we've purchased from Ikea and the quickest assembly! 

I've wanted these Studio McGee ottomans for at least a year...and they had two in stock the other day. I used my Christmas gift cards to grab them up: 

I picked out chairs from IKEA for the table, but our son really wanted these from At Home instead. He's been super into this little makeover so we went with his choice. They are SO much more comfortable (the seat is cushioned): 

It was actually a smart choice! The closed backs are a great balance to the open table. He's good. ;)

I plan to add some fun vinyl "game room" lettering for the doors soon. I tried three different art pieces on both sides of the doors, but we all agreed it was too busy. So those walls will be empty for now. I love the simple decor here! 

I wish I had more before photos! This is all I have: 

Here's a similar angle now: 

Our son wants me to show you his "new" space behind those doors sometime. :) I can tell he's getting more into the design of things and it makes me happy! 

You can see how I made those long picture ledges here. They are such an easy and inexpensive way to fill a wall!: 

Our son wants me to show you his "new" space behind those doors sometime. :) I can tell he's getting more into the design of things and it makes me happy! 

You can find that blue and cream rug here! I'll link to the rest of the items at the bottom of the post.

I almost painted the base of the table black, but I think the chairs are plenty. We've already used this table a TON in just a few weeks for pizza nights, Lego assembly and puzzles. 

It's such a wonderful addition down here: 

Here's a before of the wall with just the cubbies:

And here's that view now!:

This was the first big "construction" project we've added in this house and it feels like it should have always been like this. I love open floor plans, but this one was a little too open. I never regret waiting things out to see how we use a space! Have you added a wall in your home? 

Here are the sources if you're interested:

More about the cubbies we used here

See how to build the easy picture ledges

Morbylanga table from Ikea

Sally black chairs from At Home

McGee ottomans 

Blue and white rug

Globes are mostly vintage finds

Art is a mix of personal photos, Hobby Lobby and Etsy prints

Sconces are from Ikea

See more of our home here. To shop items in our home, click here! Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email. 

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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[andreafestefano]

Great tips for holiday storage {that make the next year MUCH easier!}

Hello there and happy new year! I hope you had a lovely holiday season! I didn't mean to take two weeks away, but I've been busy getting the Christmas decor put away and it took longer than I thought. 

I forgot when I was putting it up that I have to put it allll away. ;) Although in general I find putting holiday decor away is much faster and easier than setting it up. This year I bought new storage bins, so I reorganized and the whole process took longer than usual. 

I'm sharing my Christmas decor organization methods and a few tips I've figured out along the way! 

I will tell you off the bat that this won't be one of my thriftiest organization posts. I spend a little extra to make things easier and more efficient when I pull things out for the next year. (But they will last from year to year!) These little tips save my sanity each November when the holiday decor comes back out! 

-- Label your decor for next year --

My first tip is to label as much as you can -- especially the stuff you put up in the same spot every year. I have found over the years that labeling light strands I use for specific areas helps a TON!: 

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You can find my awesome label maker here! This smaller version works great too -- it's just a little more basic. Both are super easy to use. 

I label any spot that uses more than one strand of lights -- both inside and outside. So when I get them out I know exactly how many bushes or trees are covered by that group of lights. I also label them inside, like the strands on our stair garland. That way I'm not trying to figure out how many I used the year before. 

I use a LOT of these remote plugs and switches for our indoor lights -- I store them away with the lights that need a remote, like on our stairs. I just keep them plugged into the light strand. 

If you have more than one set of these remotes, you know the joy of trying to figure out which one goes with which remote. ;) I label the matching sets so we know what goes with what: 

-- Store your trees upright! --

Next up is the trees! We have...uhhh, quite a few. ;) My dream my whole adult life has been to store our Christmas trees upright -- and not take ONE thing off of them each year. Yes...this is the stuff that makes me giddy. 

Well in this house, my dreams were realized, at least for some of our trees! We have a storage room in the basement with plenty of room to store our two basement trees upright. 

I found this stand up Christmas tree bag years ago and it works GREAT! You just place it over the tree and tuck the branches in here and there -- it zips up and then cinches as well: 

You may have to fluff a little the next year, but otherwise everything stays put!

I loved that cover so much, I went to buy another one -- but they were sold out. I looked around some more online and ended up with these plastic tree covers and they work just as well: 

They are made for nine foot trees so are plenty big for our seven to eight foot trees. It's so roomy that it's easy to grab up the extra and tie it at the bottom. To carry them around, one of us grabs the top and one the bottom. You'll be surprised at how much stays put! 

We've stored a couple of our trees like this for years and they look almost perfect when we uncover them the next holiday season. It saves a TON of time -- you just need to have the space. And really, they don't take up much more space than the horizontal bags, you just have to have the vertical storage space. 

-- Designated spot for Christmas decor --

For years we stored all of the Christmas decor in our basement, but I realized a few years in that it was a major chore to get it all upstairs (sometimes two flights). Since then I've stored everything in our garages. 

This year I treated myself to new, clear storage bins for our Christmas decor. I'm a geek -- it made me so happy! Our old bins were covered with paint or busted up. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about seeing everything inside -- I was worried it would feel too messy. 

But I LOVE IT: 

Ahhhh I can't even tell you how NICE it is to see everything! I was going to label each bin, but decided against it once I got everything in there. There's no need really. 

I did a serious purge of all our decor before putting everything back. I haven't really gone through the Christmas decor in years. I chose to use more smaller bins instead of larger ones we had in the past. 

We had similar wood shelves built up to the ceiling in our last garage, and we loved it so much we had them built again in just the second day in this house! 

Up till now this corner has had a mix of holiday and other random stuff, but I decided to make it all seasonal this year. It's mostly Christmas, but I have Halloween and Fourth of July stuff here too. 

By the way, I organize my seasonal decor by item, not room. I put all garland in one bin, extras for the tree in another, soft stuff like towels and pillow covers are all together and general decor is in its own bin.  This makes it easy for me to switch things up room to room every year! 

These are the bins I used -- all of them have latching handles. I used this small clear bin for most of the decor: 

I already had some of these, then got more. THEN I found out that these are $4 cheapereach! Argh. 

This medium storage bin is the perfect size: 

And this bigger one is great for bigger stuff like our outdoor decor: 

Somehow I ended up with way more room than we had before! I am determined to NOT fill that!: 

It's killing me a little that those two bins on the left are different. Ha!! We already had those so I didn't want to replace them for basically the same thing. But...

We had these shelves built to fit the big parts of our giant family room tree -- if you build something similar, make sure to measure your bins and then build your shelves so you can stack numerous bins on each one. 

Do you do anything specific with your holiday storage that makes the next year easier for you? These tips help me a ton -- especially the stand up tree covers!

See more of our home here. To shop items in our home, click here! Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email. 

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

This industry information is provided by ThompsonsComfortConnection.com.

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[andreafestefano]

Our 2020 Christmas home tour!

Hello my friends and happy Christmas week! After this publishing this post all I have to do is wrap some presents...and then I'm done! Are you ready for the festivities? 

This Christmas means more than ever...because #2020, of course. I think we can all agree, even with the good this year (and we've had a lot of it) -- it's been rough. We're ready to celebrate this season in a big way and then say SEE YA to this year. 

I haven't mentioned it here, but a few months ago my sister and I lost our mother. We had a difficult relationship with our mom for most of our adult lives...but for most of our childhood she was an incredible mother. She truly was my hero. 

The loss has made me hate this year even more, and yet extra thankful for our blessings. My word for this year...bittersweet. 

I went nuts with the Christmas decor (at least for me), because I wanted to really celebrate the season. I finally got the house cleaned up and took a ton of pictures. Bear with me as I share it all with you! 

I hope you enjoy and get some inspiration you can file away for next year! (You can easily pin any of the photos by hovering over and clicking the blue "pin it!" button.) If I have sources for items and projects I'll share those under each photo. 

Enjoy!

DIY picture ledges / rug and chairs

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coffee tables / DIY grid on fireplace

board and batten wall on stairs 

surround tile / fluffy mantel garland

gray grasscloth wallpaper

bamboo light fixture / upholstered bed 

faux leather bench / light bedding

giant chalkboard how-to / black interior doors

blue and white floral wallpaper

Christmas basement tour 

built in window seat with bookcases

console table / similar lamps / rug / easy board and batten wall

easy printable art / green built in bookcases / wood desk

open shelves how-to

DIY hood cover / black stools / black brass pendants

island makeover / adding character to end of cabinets

kitchen runner 

I hope you all have a safe, happy and magical holiday!! I'm so thankful for you all and grateful you return to follow along project after project. :) 

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[andreafestefano]

TONS of easy and fun holiday wall decor ideas

I think one of the easiest ways to add some festive touches around the house is with art -- of course they look great on the walls, but some holiday frames layered on a countertop, bookcases or picture ledges also goes a long way! 

I've shared a ton of ways to do that for really cheap over the years, but I made some new ones this year so I figured I'd do a round up of all of the fun ways to make Christmas art. 

I shared a few of them last week -- those involved glitter and that was super fun! Some of these are even simpler. :) 

Gift bags (cloth or paper):

It doesn't get easier and cheaper than making holiday art with gift bags -- especially if you shop the after Christmas sales! 

I just take any pretty gift bag -- this one was less than $2: 

And figure out the best size for my frame. 

The Sannahed and Ribba IKEA frames work great for this because the design is simple and both are shadow-box like. Plus, cheap! This one was $5: 

I spray painted it a gold color and cut the front of the bag to fit: 

I've done this for years! It's an especially easy and fun way to decorate a kid's space. 

I found this one in my wrapping stash: 

And just threw it on top of another photo that was already in this frame:

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That's the great thing about these -- you can buy frames specifically for them, or just cover the photo in the frame and take it out when you're done. (Or put it behind for next year!)

You can see the ways I've used fabric Christmas bags in our decor here!

Free printables: 

I know, I go on about these every year (all year!) but here we go again. :) Free printables are such an easy way to change up your seasonal decor. You can see some of my favorite round ups here and here. 

I made these myself years ago -- they always stayed in these frames, I just pulled them to the front for Christmas: 

I always like to print some out for our kitchen frames: 

This year I looked back on an old printable post and found some that I loved for my office. I have these botanical prints framed currently: 

I downloaded some free holiday patent printables (these are featured about half way down that post) to use this year. 

I sent them off to the drug store to be printed so I get could a heavier, glossier look (and all that color would have used up our printer ink): 

LOVE them! I paid more for these, but I'll have them for years. I just hung them with gold washi tape -- no need to even take the frames off the wall!

I think there are nine patent prints available, but I used five of them (two each) for this display: 

Chalkboard holiday art: 

Chalkboards are FUN! Take advantage of them during the holidays and do something creative! It doesn't take a lot to add a little something. 

I shared my simple snowy chalkboard art with you last week: 

Years ago I showed you this super easy image transfer trick -- if you aren't artistic at all you can use that to copy images you love onto your chalkboard: 

Chalk markers in different colors make this even easier! 

More crafty holiday art ideas: 

I shared how we display our holiday cards on a door years back -- it's a fun way to show them off: 

I was ransacking shopping the Target dollar spot last month and found a cute tea towel. It was only a buck, but was almost too cute to get dirty. 

So instead I flattened it out and framed it!:

It helps to iron it first and then I use a quick layer of spray glue to get the towel flat. You can reposition easily. 

I sprayed the mat on that frame the green color from my Thanksgiving tablescape -- it matches the green in the towel perfectly! What a fun addition in the kitchen, right?:

One of my favorite Christmas crafts was the framed "snowglobe" art I created a couple years ago: 

They make me smile big when I pull them out every year! It only takes a few bucks worth of materials to make some really adorable snow art. 

Wood cut outs from the dollar spot or dollar store make for easy art too. I showed you this glittery version last week -- I glued it right on top of gift wrap and framed it: 

The dollar store had some really cute window clings this year and they got me thinking: 

I used that same wrapping paper as a backdrop and stuck the window clings on -- well I tried. ;) I quickly realized they're only supposed to stick to...windows. 

I improvised and used spray glue instead. It worked like a charm!: 

I just lightly sprayed the back of the clings before laying them down on the paper. 

I didn't realize till after I had stuck the first one that it would have been even easier to frame the window cling as is! I could have just cut the edges off and that's it. But if you want to fit a certain frame size, the spray glue makes it easy to make this art. 

I placed most of this year's projects on the long DIY picture ledges I made for our basement last year. You can see that and the easy game and toy storage here. This is where we put our Christmas village as well -- it's such a fun spot!: 

Most of these easy art ideas cost less than $10 each and are such a fun way to dress up your walls for the holidays! I just love them! 

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[andreafestefano]

Elegant $2 DIY candle holders {using dollar store items!}

I'm continuing my dollar store candle DIYs with this beauty! You can see the snowy candles I shared earlier here. 

This is such a good one folks...I actually made these years ago and I can't believe it's taken me this long to make them again! One of them broke a few years back and I never got to making a new match. 

I started over with two this time and they are so pretty! You'll need two things from the dollar store -- a glass candlestick and a glass cylinder candle holder: 

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You can use any glue that will adhere glass. There's a few out there so just do what is easiest. This time I used this aquarium sealant I had from a past project: 

Just few put a few little dabs along the top of the candlestick holder: 

And center the larger candle holder on top. Leave it alone to cure for the recommended time -- my sealant said 24 hours so even though it was sticking fine within 20 minutes, I left them alone for awhile. 

There are so many possibilities with these candle pedestals! I threw a few together to show you the different options for Christmas. I used cinnamon stick filler and nestled a glass votive inside with a tealight candle: 

I love the simple look of some glittery berries too: 

This is where I must say -- remember to never leave these unattended! If you want to use something like these berries I'd recommend a battery-operated candle -- I was using what I had to share these options with you.

I had some pretty glittery strands that I put in the bottom: 

This simple one with a few sprigs of greenery is a favorite of mine!: 

I love the fake snow in the bottom -- how pretty would that be with red candles? I wish I had red!: 

I ended up using some gold sand I've had stored away -- it's so pretty!:

I felt like the new stacked stone fireplace needed some candlelight and these are perfect!: 

These are super pretty with just the candle too! No need to add more -- but it's fun to dress them up for the holidays. 

At two bucks a pop you could make a ton for a beautiful centerpiece on a table or buffet! They really are so pretty: 

This is one of my favorite dollar store DIYs! You can do so much with them! They'd be pretty and simple gifts too. Do you have any dollar store decor hacks you love?

Here's an image to pin if you are interested in saving this project for later:

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This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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[andreafestefano]

Our comfy and rustic Christmas basement tour!

Hello there! I'm joining in with a few of my blog friends to share one of our favorite rooms dressed up for the holidays! If you are new to TDC, welcome and if you are coming back, thank you! 😃 You can see more from each of the ladies joining in at the end of this post. 

I was super into decorating our basement for Christmas this year! I've painted the walls in here a cozy dark gray, and I kept going with that comfy vibe with the decorations. 

We have a huge, SUPER comfy sectional down here that's the centerpiece of the space: 

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Do you think we have enough pillows? I'm not sure. 

I mentioned those faux leather pillow covers in my favorite things post this year -- I got them for our family room and loved them so much I got a couple more for down here as well. They look so good for the cooler months especially. (I'll link those and everything else at the end of the post.)

This room was the perfect spot for my DIY Santa hat cones: 

That cute craft went nuts all those years ago when I made them. They still look great ELEVEN (whoa) years later!

I shared the tree last week -- it's my favorite one in the house. I especially love the adorable berry and popcorn garland: 

I have BIG plans for that side of the room -- I've known what I want to do since before we moved in. Just need to find the time... and money. ;) 

That cute reindeer and Santa garland was from Michael's and I thought the map was the perfect spot to hang it!: 

Here's a better look at our stairs down to the basement: 

You can see more about that gallery wall here and the inexpensive wood planked wall here. 

This is our view as we walk down the stairs: 

That bamboo table was a second hand find that I fixed up -- we used to use it as a bar cart. It may turn back into that eventually. 

I plan a to add some more details to these walls next year, but the dark gray has really made a big difference in here. We love it!: 

That giant IKEA map art is one of my favorite finds ever. Unfortunately they don't see this one anymore, but they still have this version. (I'll include a couple other options below as well.):

The nine prints on the wall are all Disney art. They have a retro look that I love: 

If you missed those adorable fluffy trees on the table you can see how I made those here. 

We spend most of our evenings down here from November to March. It's our little cocoon away from the world!: 

I'm so very thankful for this spot, especially this year. I hope you enjoyed it as well. :)

Here's more info on some of the items and you can click on the photos to get to links as well: 

House on coffee table is from Walmart but I sprayed it red :) 

All of the tree decor here

Black red gingham pillow covers

Details on the sectional here

Snowflake pillow covers

Rug is from HomeGoods (years ago)

Drapes are Sanela from IKEA

Faux leather pillow covers

Wood and metal side table I fixed up

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Be sure to check out these talented bloggers and their beautiful spaces. I can't wait to see their tours!: 

The Crafted Sparrow

Just A Girl

Lolly Jane 

The Craft Patch

Stacy Risenmay

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This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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[andreafestefano]

My must haves {for home, kitchen and more!} this shopping season

Hello my friends! I hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable holiday week planned. We were supposed to be in Disney World this week but had to cancel our trip...we are so sad not to be there. I'm looking at the bright side -- at least we are able to relax this week and I will get all of the Christmas decor finished earlier than usual. 

I have a tradition of sharing some of my favorite things on this week in preparation for holiday shopping -- which looks a little different this year for some! It's the same old for me because I haven't gone OUT to shop on Black Friday in...well, ever? ;) 

I have some of my "old school" blog friends joining in with me and you can see their lists by visiting their blogs (at the end of this post). We've all been blogging forever and have known each other for more than a decade!

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Here we go -- this is a round up of home, kitchen and personal items that I absolutely LOVE and use all the time! Some you've seen before here but most are new. 

This LED garage light is a game changer! I've used two of these in our garage so far and want one more. I want it as BRIGHT AS THE SUN in there: 

Seriously, they give off SO much more light and probably use less electricity than a regular bulb. It's also more of a daylight effect. They are so helpful in there when I'm working on a project. (I'm thinking of adding one to our basement storage room too.) You just screw them in light a light bulb! 

I found this lighter at a friend's shop a few weeks ago and it is awesome! We get so frustrated when lighting candles with the regular click lighters. They seem to run out of butane so fast and I'm always searching for another one. 

This solves all of that! It's an electric lighter -- you charge it up and push a button: 

I giggle every time I use it -- it's just so cool. (There's a safety by the way, it has to be switched on.) We used it for a week before it needed recharged and that took maybe 15 minutes. It turns on every time and lights the wick super fast. I LOVE this thing!!

These faux leather pillows are my new favorite thing in our family room:

I'm very pleased with the quality -- they are super soft and have already held up great to animal claws. And they just look great! You get two in the package...love them!

I'm getting old...my feet hurt all the time! Ha! I splurged on this foot massager because it had such high reviews and it. is. awesome!!: 

It's really powerful and you can turn up the pressure to your liking. I love the setting where it squeezes my  feet. :) It even has a remote so you can control heat and the settings. My husband has basically stolen this from me already and uses it more than I do! 

Our Loloi family room rug (you can see a peek of it above) is another favorite -- I talk it all the time because it's just that good: 

I talk more about it here (with more photos). It is super affordable and looks fantastic! I love that it incorporates so many colors but also stays neutral. 

These Seche nail products are game changers: 

The top coat is especially awesome -- I use it right after painting my nails and they dry incredibly fast. I ca  do normal stuff around the house within five to ten minutes no problem. I highly recommend if you like to paint your nails often!

I shared this adorable gingerbread house baking pan a couple weeks ago but it's worth mentioning again: 

It's the cutest and makes making a sweet little edible Christmas village with ease! See how cute it turned out (and a few tips for perfect cakes) here. 

A few years ago I shared some window candles we love, but over the years they've pooped out. About a third of them just won't light up anymore. I took a chance on these LED flickering candles and LOVE them!!: 

They have a beautiful "flicker" option that looks like real candles and they run on a timer, so once they're set up you don't have to touch them again. I love that they come with suction cups so we don't have them sitting on the windowsills (the old ones would fall when we'd raise and lower the shades). 

These are a bit spendy but seem like much better quality than the other ones we had (and those were more!). They are so beautiful in our windows during the holidays! (I keep them up well into winter as well -- they use so little power the batteries last forever.)

I shared this black and gold cookware recently as well and I'm even happier with it now! I've used it quite a bit over the past few weeks and it still looks brand new: 

And it's just so...PRETTY. I feel so fancy having matching cookware! Adulting. 

I'm a mascara snob -- I used to pay a pretty penny for stuff I liked. I was over paying that much though, so started researching to find other brands people love. I found this Essence brand and you can't beat the price: 

It comes in waterproof as well. Only $5!! It covers so well and the applicator gets every single little lash so they look incredibly long and full. It's good stuff!

This next one is a biggie but I can't say enough about these sofas: 

They are the Radley sofas/sectionals from Macy's (27 percent off right now!) and I'm so impressed with how they hold up. We sold this one (at our old house) to the new owners and it still looks so good! (They are friends of ours and we see them often.) Food and drink wipes right off, the fabric doesn't get worn and the cushions don't get squished easily. 

We got super inexpensive sofas when we moved into our new house and they have worn horribly. 😔 I'm so disappointed. We've been watching to see when the Radley goes on sale and ended up ordering two of them a couple weeks ago. I cannot WAIT to get them!! 

I got these reusable grocery bags last Christmas and I use them constantly: 

If you're an Aldi Nerd they are a must! :) But I use them everywhere. If I forget to bring them in to the store they are still helpful because I can throw a bunch of bags in each one and carry it all inside on one trip. They are great quality and hold up a lot of weight. 

And finally, one more home decor item that I love! Every time I share a photo of our family room I am asked about this lamp: 

It's from Target and I love the cantilever design. It's a classic design that would fit in with almost any decor, plus it has a built in dimmer! LOVE! 

I hope you enjoyed some of my favorites in this year's favorites round up! This is always a fun post. Hopefully it gives you some ideas for your loved ones (or...yourself) this year. 

Now you can take a little blog tour and see what my friends are sharing as well! I always find something I can't live without. ;) 

Sarah (me!) at Thrifty Decor Chick

Chris at Just a Girl

Rhoda at Southern Hospitality 

Myquillyn at The Nesting Place 

Brooke at All Things Thrifty 

Stacy at Stacy Risenmay

Stay healthy and happy my friends! I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving and I will "see" you next week!

See more of our home here. To shop items in our home, click here! Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email. 

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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[andreafestefano]

Two simple and elegant Thanksgiving tablescape ideas!

Hello all! I hope you're staying healthy and happy! 

No matter how you're celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday -- I say do it up right! If there was ever a year to be extra, this is it! I thought it would be fun to do a tablescape since I haven't done one in forever. I did two looks...one more neural and one with color. 

I absolutely love how they turned out! Both are simple table displays that could easily be changed up just a bit for Christmas as well. 

For the colorful look I started with this fall scarf draped over the table and then added everything on top: 

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You don't have to just use table linens for a tablescape, just like you can use linens to make other stuff around the house too! ;) Change it up with a thin blanket or seasonal scarf draped over the table instead.    

I use a ton of dark blue and green in our house and thought it would be pretty to incorporate those colors. I used this chalky Krylon spray paint in the color Anvil Gray to coat a few of the faux, bright orange pumpkins I have in my stash:

I LOVE this color and am trying to figure out where else I can use it! 

I layered up my favorite dishes and added those simple tags to mini cutting boards with leather string. (Found those boards at Hobby Lobby half off -- $2 each!):

I layered my olive branches and a few eucalyptus leaves in the middle and it turned out beautifully! I'll list everything I used at the bottom of the post in case you're interested.

Those brass candlesticks are a staple -- I use them all year round. They are a classic! Mine are vintage but you can find similar brass candlesticks here. 

The "vase" in the middle is a soup crock. ;) You can see here how I added some of the blue and green pumpkins throughout the greenery: 

I had to get a night shot! There's nothing better than candles right?

Here's a full shot of the colorful Thanksgiving tablescape: 

For the softer version I removed the scarf and left the bare table: 

I think the wood shows off the greenery even more!

Have you ever used baby's breath alone? It's so beautiful and so underrated. I've done this a few times over the years and it's lovely: 

Isn't that champagne colored flatware so pretty? They were only $2 each at Target! Perfect when you don't really need a full five-piece set. 

If you're celebrating turkey day with your immediate family or extended, it doesn't take much to dress up the table. Hopefully these simple tablescape ideas inspire you!: 

As I mentioned, this could easily be switched up for Christmas! That greenery works beautifully all year. 

You can save these Thanksgiving tablescape ideas for later by pinning this image: 

What are you cooking up for your Thanksgiving meal this year?

Our table was from a local shop in Indy, but I link a similar one below. Our water goblets are from Goodwill. You can click on the photos to get the sources. :) If I forgot anything please let me know! 

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[andreafestefano]

How to create a super fluffy and full Christmas mantel {for less!}

I've started to pull out some Christmas decor and it's been fun to get it all out! I want to enjoy the twinkling lights even longer this year, and I'm looking to a much slower pace this December than usual. It will be so nice to have it all done in the next week or so!

I decorated our mantel a couple days ago and thought I would share how I get a fluffy and full mantel without spending a ton. 

I've seen so many gorgeous fluffy greenery and garlands shared online recently...but some are one to $200 EACH! I don't mind putting some money into items like this that I know I'll use year after year -- but that's way too much for me, especially knowing I'd want more than one. 

Instead, I shop the half off sales at craft stores this time of year. They've never failed me! I use a few different kinds to give the mantel the fullness and variety I want. (I'll share some pretty and inexpensive garland options at the end of this post!) 

My first addition is this long needle pine garland and I'm pretty sure I found this at Hobby Lobby. They always have a great selection and it's on sale all season: 

I like that it has the berries on it already! 

I use two because our mantel is so long. Because of that I lay them in different directions so they spill off the sides like so: 

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Most of these are made with wire, so you can pull them in the direction you want. I like to fluff them up to give the greenery a little height: 

Next I layered on another one, this time with pinecones: 

I had to laugh because I've never taken off the tags...they disappear when it's all done. That one went right in the middle to build up the center. 

I've used eucalyptus in my Christmas decor for years now and it's such a lovely addition. It adds another layer that looks great!: 

There's really no rhyme or reason -- just stick it in and fluff! I like symmetry so I'll usually add one at one end and do the same at the same spot on the other side: 

Then it's time to fluff it up even more with more greenery picks -- I like the white "snow" on these because it breaks up all that green:  

It seems like a lot, but these are so cheap this time of year! Even better -- grab them after Christmas! A ton of my greenery and holiday decor is from those after holiday sales. 

My last additions are inexpensive berries and pine cones placed here and there: 

The cones and berries add texture and color that finishes it off beautifully! (I also stick those berries in our trees.) 

I build it up in the middle and taper things off to the sides just a bit. The end result always makes me so happy!: 

Since we don't have an outlet over the mantel (one thing I forgot when we built!), I use the battery operated fairy lights I shared with you last week. The batteries last a long time because they're LED: 

Last year I added some red beaded garland that I may still put up. I usually add some candlesticks as well, but I'm liking this slightly simpler look this season: 

See how I added that grid trim to the fireplace wall here

I mean, as simple as six layers of garland can be. Ha! 

The mantel is one of my favorite things to decorate every Christmas: 

It really is easy too -- just lay it on there and start sticking in the extras. Fluff it up and tuck in some lights! It took me maybe 30 minutes to set this up. 

This gives me the look of the fluffier garlands from Crate and Barrel or Pottery Barn that run $100 a piece!  Plus I just love adding the layers and textures for more interest: 

I gathered a bunch of similar garlands and berries for you as well! I hope this will help you build the fluffy Christmas mantel of your dreams! ;) 

Check out this post to see some of my staples that make Christmas decorating easier! 

You can click on the photos below to get to them as well: 

Fluffy pine or cypress garland from Amazon

Target long pine garland

Target short pine with berries

Amazon evergreen sprigs

Amazon eucalyptus

Target red berries

Target smaller red berries

Michael's red berries

Michael's dark red berry picks

Michael's winter pine with berries

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[andreafestefano]

Pretty pinstriped foyer reveal!

I finally finished up the little hallway updates I've been working on for a couple months! This nook is just off our foyer and I wanted to dress it up a bit. 

Here's how it looked for years: 

I shared how I added that art light without electricity and how I changed out the recessed light with a lamp shade fixture: 

I also painted that ceiling the same pretty blue as the foyer ceiling. (North Star at 50 percent.)

The biggest part of this project was the wallpaper I picked out for this space. I've now added wallpaper to FIVE rooms in our home and I love it! 

I used a very classic pinstripe pattern in blue and white: 

This is a regular paper that needs to be pasted -- but that part is easy! See my tips on how to wallpaper here! 

It fits in perfectly and is just the look I wanted!: 

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This wallpaper is called Norwall Simply Stripes in blue and it's not peel and stick like most of the wallpapers I've used. See how to install this regular paper at the link above. (It's not as hard as you think!)

The great thing about striped paper is the "repeat" -- which is the design that you'll need to match up as you're installing -- is all the same. Papers with designs will require more rolls because you have to match them up to the prior piece as you install. The stripe was much easier so I used way less than I thought I would need. 

The bad part about striped wallpaper is you need to make sure it's perfectly straight, even if the walls aren't! It took me about seven hours over a couple days, and I'm SO pleased at how it turned out!: 

Those doorways though...the absolute worst! And I had four to deal with. Sometimes I use a full piece of paper all the way down and cut it as I go (more difficult in my opinion), and sometimes I use a piece for the top and then do another long skinny piece down the side: 

Total cheater-non-wallpapering-professional way of doing it, but you can never tell where I do it! ;) You'd have to run your hands along it to feel where they meet up. I'm actually kind of impressed (with myself) because the stripes look dang good! 

The bonus of a more patterned wallpaper is that it's even easier to patch pieces together -- the striped isn't quite as forgiving, but you really can't tell at all: 

I absolutely LOVE the classic look of the pinstripes! It's so fresh and pretty. And it will stand the test of time.

It looks beautiful with our white trim, doors and black accents: 

And ties in beautifully with the foyer right next to this space: 

I'll share all of the projects and resources for this space at the bottom of the post! 

If you have any questions about the wallpaper process, I'm happy to share! So many of you have commented that you've taken down old borders or designs from 40 years ago (I'm realizing as I type that the 80's are now 40 years ago??) and couldn't bear the thought of doing it again. 

But the two more permanent wallpapers I've installed in our house were designs I thought long and hard on and are classics that will stand the test of time. The others are peel and stick wallpaper that should be easy to remove down the line. We will see!

I'm so pleased with how this bright and pretty space has turned out!: 

Again, the name of the product is Norwall Simply Stripes, but there are many that come up when you search it online. The same design is named so many different things, so here are three links of the same design...

Walmart

Overstock

Wayfair -- this is the cheapest of the three!

Here are some of the items pictured: 

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And you can check out all of my other wallpaper projects here!:

Cherry Blossom peel and stick

Navy and gold peel and stick

Gray grasscloth peel and stick

Blue floral wallpaper 

See more of our home here. To shop items in our home, click here! Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email. 

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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[andreafestefano]

Our cozy round patio fire pit {with new chairs!}

I'm so excited to share our finished fire pit area with you! We made some changes big and small recently and now it's ready for nights around the fire! 

We had a backyard patio installed last year and have been updating it since. I gave you a tour of the patio earlier this summer and then later we installed cafe lights over the entire patio as well. (See that tutorial if you don't have trees to attach your lights to!)

Last year I bought clearanced plastic Adirondack chairs to go around the fire pit: 

We started with six and after a few storms were down to four. The plastic was fine for what we paid, but we were always planning on something more substantial long term. 

SO many of you mentioned your love of POLYWOOD when I talked about our plan to upgrade. I looked into them (and with your recommendations), I was sold. The fact that they are an Indiana company and all products are made in the USA sealed the deal!

I was so grateful to work with them to finish up our fire pit area...we could NOT be more thrilled with these chairs!:

We chose the Vineyard Curveback Adirondack chairs in mahogany and they are perfection. They are crazy comfortable and roomy. This option also sits up a bit higher so they are much easier to get in and out of. That is huge detail for us! 

They arrived more than half way assembled -- once I got in a groove it only took about 15 minutes each to get them fully together. These chairs are SOLID and heavy enough that they don't move in high winds: 

The lovely curved back was just the traditional look I wanted. 

Our favorite thing about these is the comfort -- and that they are so solid and don't move around. When we sat in the plastic ones they would scooch around every time we moved. 

We are SO thrilled with how this spot has turned out!:

We had a few evergreens planted this fall, and this is just the start of our plans for trees and plants. Having this big backyard to work with is so much fun and intimidating! We're taking it slow so we don't make any expensive mistakes. 

These chairs (and all of the items POLYWOOD offers) are made of recycled materials -- they use landfill and ocean-bound plastics to make their products. They recycle an average of 400,000 plastic milk jugs every DAY to make this beautiful outdoor furniture!:

They are also made to hold up in any weather -- so no need to put them away for the winter. This is HUGE for us. We may purchase covers for them eventually, but they aren't necessary. They won't fade in the hot sun either, which is important for us because this spot gets all of the elements. 

Last week I added another layer of bricks to the fire pit so that it's a bit more substantial -- the little extra height feels like a big difference! Plus now it's the perfect height to prop up our feet:

See how we built that fire pit safely and the little detail our contractors added to the patio in this spot. 

One of my favorite details of these chairs is the width of the armrests -- plenty of room for a wine glass or a snack! ;) 

The furniture has the look and weight of wood, but without the upkeep. 

I did my research about POLYWOOD and their product and was honored to work with them. We are so pleased with this product and I couldn't wait to tell you about them. 

Our fire pit area is so cozy and comfortable now -- we have the comfy seating, warm fire and lights for ambience. What more could we need?: 

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These are definitely an investment -- but we after hearing from so many of you and doing my own research online, I found SO many happy customers who all say they are 100 percent worth it. We've had ours for six weeks now and completely agree. 

Plus, they have a TWENTY year warranty. This covers splintering, cracking, peeling and more. It's hard to find that kind of warranty on anything these days!

I already have a list of fun projects for our patio for next year, but for now we will be enjoying this beautiful space: 

You can find those adorable fall pillow covers here. They were a birthday gift from my sister. :) 

P.S. Make sure you visit the actual POLYWOOD site when shopping -- there are many lookalikes out there that don't offer the same quality or warranty. 

I worked with POLYWOOD in exchange for some free product. If you are looking four outdoor furniture I can't recommend this brand enough. 

See more of our home here. To shop items in our home, click here! Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email. 

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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[andreafestefano]

Our THREE year before and after home tour!

Hello my friends! This month marks our three year anniversary in this house! I have had an absolute blast adding my touch to almost every room in our home -- it brings me so much joy. As I do every year, I wanted to share how many of the rooms looked right after moving in, and how they look now. 

Before and after posts are my FAVORITE! So here we go! I'll link to a few of the projects from each space under the photos, but let me know if I miss anything. 

Let's start with our master, since it's one of the rooms I worked on recently. It is a long room with a tall tray ceiling and a TON of windows. Here's how it looked soon after moving in: 

I did a LOT to this space last year -- I wanted it to have a dark and cozy feeling. 

After a lot of work it's become our cocoon away from the world:

Full room tour

Painted tray ceiling with wood beams

Grasscloth wallpaper

Our mud and laundry combo is one of my favorites in our house -- it serves so many purposes and is BIG! Love it. Here's the before: 

And now, with a few details that have added some much needed character!:

Full room tour

Gray shiplap wall

DIY shoe cubbies 

No sew bench cushion

Our kitchen has seen a BUNCH of smaller DIY project that make a big difference! Here's how it looked three years ago: 

And here are just a few of my favorite updates I've made!: 

Extending kitchen island with chunky legs (without changing the countertop)

Spray painting the light hardware to dark

DIY wood hood vent

Adding pretty storage on side of the fridge

Upgrading the sides/ends of the "basic" cabinets

The foyer hasn't received nearly as many updates, but the few I've done made a big difference! When we moved in, I placed the same furniture in the same spot as our last house: 

It was lovely, I loved that blue dresser! 

But I soon realized my style had changed and I wanted a different look:

$15 accent wall with trim

Changing up the decor and painting ceiling

Adding chunky doorway trim 

My office has seen a ton of changes! This is what I started with: 

We extended our hardwoods into this space first (our floors were discontinued right after we moved in 😞 but we were lucky to find some of the last boxes). 

I added a HUGE bulletin board that I just love: 

And built this wall of bookcases that makes a big statement and provides so much storage! I love them so much: 

Huge upholstered bulletin board how-to

How to build a wall of built in bookcases

Our basement looked pretty great to start: 

But I've been warming it up since then! It's SO cozy down there!: 

Wood planked wall on stair landing

Huge gallery wall on stair wall

The gray paint I used in this space

Wall of cheap toy storage and art ledges

Disney art wall (not pictured)

I talk a lot about our great room updates because 1.) we spend most of our time in here and 2.) it's probably my favorite room in the house. 

I don't have a good before picture of this room, so here's a pre-move in photo:

Here's a view after adding some much needed drama!: 

Stair landing updates

Dark and moody blue paint color

DIY built ins by fireplace

Board and batten wall and DIY art ledges on stair wall

Grid trimwork on fireplace wall

I continued that moody color into our dining area, or morning room as it's called in our home plan. Here's how it looked shortly after moving in: 

And now with the dark walls and tons of character!: 

Simple box molding on walls

Window seat build

How I built the skinny bookcases on the window seat

And finally, one of the spaces we use the most! Last year we had a large patio poured in the backyard:

We love LOVE our backyard! It's so big and has so much potential. 

I've done a lot since that patio was installed: 

Full patio tour

Why we went with basic concrete for the patio

How to build a safe fire pit

DIY landscape lighting 

How to hang heavy cafe lights over a patio (without trees)

This is truly our dream house...it fits our family so well and we are so in love with it. It has been SO MUCH fun to work on each space. Of course there are other rooms I've added to as well, but these were the biggies. 

As always, thank you for following along! :) 

If you have questions about any of them, feel free to ask in the comments.

See more of our home here. To shop items in our home, click here! Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email. 

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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[andreafestefano]

Dressing up the stairway landing

Fall is here and I'm back working on a bunch of projects! Feels good to be tackling stuff again. This one is simple and inexpensive fix that may be helpful for a lot of you. 

We have a window at our stair landing that I've wanted to address for awhile: 

I love love love our stairs! The landing just felt a bit bare with the plain window: 

Obviously it didn't bother me too badly as it was -- I've left it like this for three years now. But I've wanted to add some drapes and a little something to dress it up.  

Problem is, the window is WAY up there! I needed super long curtains to make this work. 

Thankfully I already had what I needed. Remember years back when I needed really long drapes for our family room? I found super inexpensive drapes and hardware that worked perfectly: 

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I ended up switching out those gray drapes for lighter ones, knowing I'd eventually use the gray ones later: 

I went back to IKEA for the drapery hardware I used last time -- I needed a really long rod, which is typically more expensive. IKEA's curtain hardware saved the day! I only paid $10 for the long rod and all of the hardware. I've never found rods and hardware for that cheap anywhere. 

I got up on an eight foot ladder to hang them and thought I was going to die. I was sweating so badly I couldn't even use my tools at times. 😂 I am NOT a fan of heights. One hundred percent do not recommend. 

But it was worth it! Our son suggested we add a bench here, which I loved! He's so smart. :) I need to steam the drapes since they've been folded up for years, but otherwise it looks great!: 

See how I make seasonal pillows for super cheap here. 

Our landing isn't huge, but we still have plenty of room. Our upstairs is small with just a few rooms, so not many people go up there:

This is the time of year that I welcome a bit more stuff into our home -- it feels cozy and warm. In the new year I may want a little less...we'll see! 

We love it. It feels so much more finished and pretty: 

Now I really need to get the rest of those walls trimmed out with the board and batten like the bottom wall. 

Colby LOVES it and spends a few hours a day snuggled on the bench: 

The whole family appreciates my projects. :) Maybe sweating on the ladder was worth it! 

This was a quick and inexpensive fix -- I just love those. Be sure to check out this post to see more about the cheap drapery hardware and a link to the drapes I've used. 

To shop items in our home, click here! Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email. 

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

This industry information is provided by ThompsonsComfortConnection.com.

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