From Drab to Fab (again)

Although I am not a huge fan of Pinterest I was intrigued by this idea and it did not seem overly difficult. Here is the link to the original website which was featured on Pinterest.  http://www.thekitchn.com/things-weve-never-thought-of-hanging-whisk-tealight-holders-201816 Overall, this project was easy and I thought it turned out pretty well. Photo by C. Scharton The only draw back? Uhm, it IS a total fire hazard. The solution? Battery powered tea lights and foil. As you can see in this picture I put the battery powered tea light in the whisk on the left and while it doesn't make as much light or look quite as cool, it does the job and won't burn the apartment complex down. In this picture I had not wrapped the tea light in foil because I only had two battery powered tea lights as I bought a 2 pack at the dollar store. Later I went to Wal-Mart, they have an 8 pack of battery powered tea lights for $2.50.

So one of the drawbacks to living in an older apartment is old appliances. Over time they seem to yellow and look disgusting. I had originally thought about doing a Post-It mosaic to cover the ugly beast, but on second thought neon colored Post-Its don't really go with my apartment. Then I had the brilliant idea to wrap my refrigerator in wrapping paper or at least the front. There are a couple of things: my "before" picture kind of sucks, I didn't take an intentional before picture, I just happened to have this one on my computer. But you get the gist of its former glory. I initially taped on the wrapping paper with Scotch tape. I then sealed the edges with black Duct tape. I mod podged only the colored surface (because I did not want to cover the refrigerator itself with mod podge) of the wrapping paper to make the surface waterproof, not a good result. The mod podge made the paper wrinkle. Because the paper did wrinkle I don't know that I am completely satisfie...

What could be better to start a conversation than a lovely table center piece? My mother never really kept flowers on the table that I can remember. But if you ask her that's because we have always had cats that knock down and destroy everything. (Perhaps there will be a future post about dealing with cantankerous kitties). Anyway, a cute little center piece can make a bare kitchen table look warm and inviting plus they are super easy and cheap to make. For this centerpiece I used a vase I had on hand, a bunch of flowers I purchased at Michael's for about $5, gem rocks (which I had on hand), and pearl beads (which I had on hand). I am a pearl fanatic, I thought it would be neat to mix them in with the gem rocks and voila! A no mess centerpiece. Plus, these fake flowers will never die. In this centerpiece I used flowers purchased at Hobby Lobby (these tiny flowers were $1.99 a piece full price. I bought 5. My advice is to watch for their sales!), a milk jug, a ribbon remnant, an...

I am a huge fan of thrift stores. Mainly because they are cheap and if you check often enough you can find some neat stuff. Not only that, but thrift stores are much more prevalent in Kansas than IKEA. Here are my latest finds... I kinda like this piece because it's jazzy and unique. All the people are headless. I will admit most of the artwork at thrift stores should have been left in the 90s but this piece stood out to me. And it was only $5.99 at Goodwill.  This little beauty is pretty neat. It has 3 leaves that turn down so you can make the table fit in your space better. It's solid wood and it was a bargain at only $12.99 at Goodwill. I haven't had the motivation to paint it yet and I don't know if I will, for now it works well as is!  Photos courtesy of C. Scharton

We've almost all, at some point, experienced a difficult neighbor... whether you've had the pleasure of living next to an obnoxious person or simply having to sit next to them in class. Today I have created a podcast on dealing with those extra special people. However, I will say, on my own I have never truly experienced really bad neighbors. But I also think as young adults many times we may be perceived as the really bad neighbors.   In this article featured by HGTV Rental Girl gives more advice on dealing with less than perfect neighbors.

'Tis the season of back to school. My eyes always light up when I see the fun and colorful patterns of the Twin XL bedding selections in stores. While I won't be decorating a dorm this year, I can share with you what made my dorm one of the most social rooms on campus. -Buy an egg crate mattress cover. They are cheap and can give your bed an extra cozy feel -Floors are dirty. Sweep and then put an area rug down if you don't have carpeted floors -See if your bed is loftable and to what degree-with most dorm beds you can loft them at a number of different heights. Make sure to plan out how you want the bed lofted. Consider bunking the bed with your roommate and dedicate the opposite side of the room to social or study space. For rooms short on closet space, hang a closet rod under your bunk.  See example -Instead of having two TVs in the room, consider a compromise to have one larger TV. HDMI cables enable users to stream anything from the internet and display it on the telev...

Two of the most inspiring business women and decorators are Amie and Jolie Sikes, the Junk Gypsies! They are native Texans with a knack for turnin' trash into treasure. After setting up booths at flea markets for 16 years they opened a store in Round Top, Texas in 2014 and also have an online store. You can watch them on the Junk Gypsies and Garage Sale Wars on HGTV and the Great American Country channel. Check out this video clip featuring the southern sisters WeBsiTe TwiTtEr BLoG PinTerEst

This past weekend my little darling ate my Macbook charger. There   is no point in having a nice house if you have a pet that destroys things, not to mention it is expensive to replace things. To my fellow decorators and dog lovers out there I would like to share a couple tricks I have learned to deter my dog from destroying things. Dog Eats Clothes à Hampers with lids - After losing several hundred dollars worth of clothes I picked up a large wicker hamper (with a lid) at Wal-Mart for $25. Dog Eats Trash à Trashcans with lids - I can't tell you how many times I have found trash scattered around my house because my dog retreated to the trash for a tasty snack. Dog Eats Glasses/Earrings à Nightstands with drawers - McKinley has eaten 3 pairs of glasses and she's only a year old. On my fourth pair I bought insurance and started being diligent about putting my glasses in the case, until she ate the case in the first week I had the glasses. Whether it be glasses, chargers, or ea...

So, I have actually been in my apartment for about 6 months now. Interestingly enough I threw a lot of my ideas out the window. Working a full time job and going to school keeps me very busy and the cost of home improvement stuff is not cheap, especially when projects turn out less (a lot less) than perfect. So here is what I did to improve the look of my apartment Utilize rugs. While they do not cover up 100% of the dated, ugly laminate, they spruce things up a bit. I believe the two smaller rugs were about $10 at Wal-Mart and the bigger rug was around $40. Wal-Mart does offer some stylish options. Much cheaper and easier than trying to lay down new laminate. These work great for adding a pop to the room. And in the cold winters make for a nice place for the dog to lie.   Here are my chalkboard doors, which I did do. The project was fairly easy. I did have to prime the doors, which is what you see in white. I think overall it cost about $40 for the supplies. I accidentally bo...

Good evening, Well, this is sort of out of order, except for the fact I actually did write my first post back in February but it sat as a draft until a couple days ago. My inspiration for a home decor blog came from one, my love of interior decorating, and two, the fact I couldn't find a dwelling with architecture and interior fixtures I liked in Topeka. I figured I had to get creative in making a place look decent. I will go over a multitude of things from inexpensive fixes to jazz up a rental, organization tips, DIY crafts that are actually manageable (I'm not a crazy Pinterest freak. In fact, I am REALLY bad at following directions so anything I post will be EASY to make :), and where to buy the best priced home goods. Gents, don't put off reading this blog because you don't care how your home looks. I seem to inspire my guy friends to make their pads look better! If you have any problems areas in your home or dorm let me know and I will see what advice I might be ab...

So, I have decided to shift my focus to making over a 1960s drab apartment. After moving back to Kansas from Georgia I was very disappointed I couldn't find a genuinely NEWER apartment complex that was halfway decent. I realize College Hill was built in 2008, but taking into consideration the surrounding neighborhoods I have no desire to live there. I have never been impressed by their presentation, but that is a tangent I will avoid all together. After commuting 30 miles one way for a year and a half I know living in Lawrence is not a feasible or reasonable option for me. A co-worker suggested a complex for me to look at, which I previously didn't consider because the buildings are so old.  I checked them out and ended up signing a lease. I can't really complain, they are a nice size, seem to be in a decent area, and are a decent price… The only draw back is no laundry in the unit. To my surprise the landlord has said I can do some things to make the space genuinely my own...