Week 4

WELCOME TO WEEK 4!

Before I begin I have to backtrack a bit. I announced the WINNER from last week's challenge yesterday and completely forgot to announce the prize! Some host I am!!
 DONNA at FUNKY JUNK INTERIORS has won a.....

Personalized Name Frame from TWICE AS NICE LETTERING!

If you think THAT is cool... check out some of the other things they offer!

And you thought vinyl was just about lettering didn't you :)
For more totally awesome and unique things from their store CLICK HERE
and to visit their BLOG CLICK HERE!

 HUGE THANK YOU to the girls at Twice As Nice Lettering for sponsoring this prize!

And now... onto our scheduled programming!!

Our THEME this week is- "WHITE"

CLICK HERE for weeks 1-3

In my personal opinion this is BY FAR going to be the hardest as of yet to choose from! The projects to follow are sure to make your heart sigh and your eyes want!
Good luck only picking 2!!

#1- Shabby Nest- Vintage/Modern Bedroom

This week's challenge is to use the color white. "No problem", says I. I just love white!! Our Master Bedroom has received no love at all since we moved into our house a little over 2 months ago. My plan was to use a large dose of white in this room. Perfect for the week 4 challenge!!

Here is a before photo...and a perfect example of how NOT to use the color white.

No headboard, no curtains, lumpy-bumpy comforter. It reminds me of a bad dorm room...with the exception of the color on the walls. And because we are renting our home, the wall color had to remain...providing a little bit of a challenge, but nothing I couldn't work with.

Now here is an after photo....ahhhh, so much better.

I wanted to use a piece of architectural salvage as a headboard. So off I went to the only architectural salvage store in the surrounding area. I decided to use an old 5 panel door. The problem was the price. Just a little more than I wanted to pay. Enter my dear husband who built me a "5 panel door" headboard out of a bunch of old wood in our storage room. We painted it out in a pale dove gray to match the gorgeous curtain panels I found.

I purchased the panels ready-made from IKEA and actually ended up saving a lot of money over the amount I would have spent on fabric to make the same extra long curtains. I hung them at ceiling height to make the room seem taller.

The bedding is the things that really makes the room and ties the whole color scheme together. I added the tan burlap pillow and the pillow with the crown motif to tie in the color of the walls. The pillow with the vintage french photography graphic ties in both the tan and gray colors while the charcoal pillow punches up the gray in the color scheme. The pretty rosette pillow finishes the grouping. One of the keys to using white in decorating is texture. The lovely coverlet on the bed adds that element beautifully and makes the entire bed seem elegant but comfortable.

The side table was in our basement and was old and beat up. I gave it a coat of fresh white paint and it became the perfect partner to the bed. To accessorize the table, I added a lamp that was previously black metal. I simply spraypainted it in brushed nickle, and it looked perfect. I added a favorite photo of the Hubby and me in a silver toned frame, and for a bit of color some lovely pink stalks in a large vintage canning jar. Finally, to finish off the grouping, I added a painting I made of a stylized damask motif. I found another piece of scrap wood in our storage room and used leftover paint from the headboard and table. It ended up being just what the room needed...a little modern but with a vintage feel.

Now our neglected Master Bedroom is a pretty white retreat to relax in at the end of a busy day! Please join me at my blog, The Shabby Nest, for more information on my shopping sources and the projects which went into finishing this room.

xoxo

Wendy

#2- Welcome to the Turner Farm- White Chairs

This weeks SYTYCD assignment is White. With our old home this would of been an easy assignment. With The Turner Farm House, not so much. With the rooms that are near completion, I could not find one area where white would work. Could we wire, hang sheet rock, mud, sand, paint, and lay the flooring in time for this entry to be submitted. Mr. Norm didn't think so. So what to do?

If you have been following my blog, you know that we have been spending a lot of time at my mom and dad's helping them prepare for the opening of the course.  Ahhh... White!    With the weather as nice as it is, we are ahead of schedule for opening.  One month ahead of schedule!  The earliest opening since 1981.


The Challenge: To create a warm welcome to old and new friends.  This is a challenge, as we are busy racking, mowing, cleaning debris, stocking, scheduling, and preparing for opening after a long winter.

The Club House was constructed in 1927 from the stones that once lined the Reynolds Farm.  The Chairs although not that old, sure looked it.

The Solution: The wonders of spray paint and accessories. I have always loved this building.  Inside there is a large field stone fireplace and exposed logs on the ceiling.

My sister had thrown what was a red broken star away.
Yes, I went dumpster diving.

There was still so much this star had to offer.

A Warm White Welcome

 

Come sit and enjoy watching new friends play a round of golf.

Hope you enjoyed your visit with the Reynolds Family.

For more updates with the progress of getting the course open visit Welcome To The Turner Farm and be sure to visit all the beautiful ladies at So You Think You Can Decorate

#3- Funky Junk Interiors- White Trash Bedroom

 
~ Dreams in White ~

I remember this day vividly. I had just signed up to be involved in a town wide Christmas tour featuring all the local artisans. Being a rusty metal junkin' wood fanatic type, I really wanted to try my hand at something white for the showing, to prove I could decorate girly too. :) So on a whim, one week before the entire town arrived, I tore my bedroom apart.

First, I needed a new headboard. And naturally with absolutely NO budget for such an endevour, this became all about making do with what I had on hand.  An old door from a burn pile, a gate found at the dump, and a chunk of metal clad siding from a farmer's scrap pile became the main players for this new creation.

I see that doubt in your eye. :) Will it work?!? Laying the components down on the backyard lawn where space is never an issue, I started building the pieces up like a puzzle gone just abit mad. By golly, I was going to MAKE it work. :)

Next I created a backdrop. Different sized scrap boards spaced randomly became my own spin of a board and batten feature wall, perfect for what was to come.

A few thrifty things gathered over time along with  $1.50 authentic burlap sandbag covers (from the local hardware store)  for pillows ...

... and a crisp white empty battenburg lace duvet cover came together abit by accident. I was trying to figure out what to do with it all and basically threw the works on the bed. And what I saw, is what it became.

Welcome to my little white oasis, which I cleverly titled, the White Trash Bedroom. :)

The rumply crumply look of the bed is an easy to make, cozy retreat. No pillow is tossed just so, no crease is smoothed. The added height from the gate as well as the white feature wall created headboard impact with much more substance. This bedroom wears many shades of white, convincing me that's exactly why I love it. It's the warmest white room I've ever been in.

And, the bedroom was an absolute hit with the Christmas crowd ladies! And the cat.  :)

Much more on how this 'trashy' bed all came together will be on my blog, Funky Junk Interiors. See you there!

#4- Miss Mustard Seed- Music Sheet Dresser

Out of all of the entries so far, this is the one I enjoyed working on the most.  Not only did I relish giving the dresser a new life, but I loved finding interesting and unexpected items from around my house for the "photo shoot."  A naked lamp shade becomes a cloche for books, ironstone, and coral in addition to a display for old photos.  An antique frame painted white becomes a perfect place to feature an antique christening gown and a family letter from the 1880's held in place by a starfish.

I purchased this antique dresser at an auction for $6.00 last fall. It was a beautiful bird's eye maple, so it pained me to have to paint it, but the veneer was chipped and bubbled and beyond my ability to repair. So, I had to come up with a way to cover it. Some free antique sheet music from my grandparent's attic was the perfect solution. Visit my blog for before pictures and a tutorial. 

One of the keys to decorating with whites is to use lots of texture and varying tones of white and neutrals.  I love the texture of this bird's nest against the smooth, bright white eggs, the gloss of the ironstone and the yellowed sheet music.  A feast for the eyes.

This letter not only displays beautiful penmanship, but the age of the paper looks lovely against the crisp white frame.  It was written to one of my ancestors and references her survival through the siege at Petersburg, Virginia during the Civil War. 

I love old christening gowns and baby dresses, so this was the perfect time to show one off.  The antique wooden hanger balances gracefully on the edge of the empty frame.

Make sure you visit my blog to see more pictures and a tutorial on the sheet music dresser.

#5- Flea Market Trixie- Vintage Window Sign

Our theme this week is white. I love white and all tones of white, but since we're allowed to interpret each challenge, I had to add just a bit of color, my favorite color. So here you have my view of white with just a hint of color.

I found this vintage window at a garage sale for a $1.00. I just love how simple and unique it is, and having only one pane of glass made it very appealing to me. When I bought it, I had no idea what I would do with it, but for a dollar I couldn't pass it up.

I thought turning into a vintage looking sign or advertising label would be neat. I used an old frame graphic and changed it up a bit by adding a crown, floral motifs and then added in my own text.

 Can you believe the entire window project cost only $2.50.

To find out more info on how I made this, please visit me HERE

#6- All Things Thrifty- Vintage White Nursery

"White...is not a mere absence of colour; it is a shining and affirmative thing, as fierce as red, and as definite as black...God paints in many colours; but He never paints so gorgeously, as when He paints in white." -- G. K. Chesterton

Once upon a time, a long long time ago, I had a vision for a little girl's white vintage nursery...my little girl's nursery if I were to ever have one. One day Brooke waved her magic wand of ideas and an old vintage wedding dress came into play. From that point on the rest is history and what transpired from there

is...Magical!

Our "Days of White" nursery was inspired by some of the most beautiful, memorable days in our lives. For us there is nothing more beautiful than a glowing happy bride and nothing more pure and innocent than that of a newborn baby. White is the symbol of purity, innocence; and in the decorating world, white represents a new beginning. What better way to represent this week's theme of white than a nursery inspired by the beautiful days of white in our lives? So without further adieu, here is our "Days of White" nursery.



In going along with our theme, Brooke found an old vintage wedding dress at the local thrift store. Its cost was $25 dollars. With that dress, the bed skirt and three of the pillows were made.

{click on image to enlarge}

The flower arrangement above the crib is my actual wedding bouquet that
my neighbor specially dried and gave to me as a wedding gift.

The mobile is made from Styrofoam Christmas ornaments found at my local thrift store for $1.25.

This white nursery represents not only new life but also wonderful memories of the past. What a great combination! For more details on how this room came about come check us out at All Things Thrifty. We would love to have you!

#7- The Feminist Housewife- White Dining Room Furniture

Paint it White!

Our kitchen table was passed down from my parents. I spent many years with my crafts spread across this table as a child, and since I was three or four, I've thought of it as "mine." So when I got married, I was more than happy to claim it as my own. However, the 1980's oak just wasn't working for me. I stained the top a Red Mahogany, but that didn't fit either (so I never stained the bottom). 

The sideboard is a Craig's List find that I got for $50. It's a 1930's piece that had been sitting in a basement for 20 years. I was excited to transform it's "good bones" into a beautiful dining room piece.

After

The sideboard is functioning as our bar table.

 The pedestal table as said goodbye to the 1980's, and as claimed it's own cottage charm. I topped the table with simple, elegant, white hydrangeas.

 

This simple transformation has taken my dining room out of the 1980's, and using crisp, clean, whites has added cottage charm, and a modern, yet timeless look. My entire dining set only cost me $50 plus $30 in paint supplies and new hardware.

I used Valspar's Honeymilk, Minwax Dark Walnut stain, & Polycrylic Satin finish.

For this and more projects visit me at The Feminist Housewife

See what I mean?!?!

Now scroll up to the top right corner and VOTE FOR YOUR FAV 2!! Seriously...... I have no idea how you're all going to narrow it down to only 2 this week.

I'll see you Wednesday for another Contestant Q & A!