Style with Wisdom: mirror makeover

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Blank Space Turned Cozy Breakfast Nook!

I am always a fan of before and after photos, but my absolute favorite ones are when the before is a completely blank slate! What a transformation!

This is the design inspiration board I did for my client.

Rug

Before the space was just a blank corner. It is a little nook off the kitchen and informal dining room.

My original idea was to use an L shaped couch/bench and have a custom buffet with shelving hutch built. My client even had the genius idea to add a side door into the buffet for a dog kennel! I LOVE when design can be functional and beautiful at the same time!!

This was an old mirror that my client already had and it just needed a little love!

This is the mirror after I painted it and gave it a faux gold finish! I try to incorporate thoughtful details into every space I design. Not everything has to be pre-made or store bought. Shop your home first and see how you can customize pieces to fit your space! Check out some of these other "shop your home" projects I have done in the past!

Doesn't this little nook just make you want to curl up with a cup of coffee and a book?!

Breakfast Nook with bookcase Navy and Orange

I love this unique color palette of Navy, Orange, and Taupe!

Pillows and a throw blanket always add warmth to a space!

I really love styling bookcases. You can have so much fun with books, small décor items, picture frames, color, mementoes, etc. My design rule is to play with quantity and scale until you find a composition you like! Treat each shelf as its own space.

How gorgeous are these sconces?! I love how unique they are and how they help to fill the wall space!

When shopping for bookcase décor, I always like to buy more than I need and after I style the items the way I like, I will take back anything leftover.

Breakfast Nook L shaped bench round table

Decorating with odd numbers will never steer you wrong! 3 pillows, 3 table décor items, etc...

My inspirational find from Michael's, "Do one thing everyday that makes you happy". What a great quote to live by!

Friday, January 23, 2015

DIY Mirror Makeover!

I bought this solid black framed round mirror from Ikea over 8 years ago. It was under $20 and it has gone through many transformations over the years. I am such a huge believer that you can pretty much turn anything into what you want it to be, or at least try before you sell it or trash it!

The very first time I changed the mirror was back in 2009. We had just moved into our first home and I wanted something dramatic in our formal dining room. Of course I didn't think to take photos of our home back then, so this is an image of a mirror that I took my inspiration from...

I bought a ton of tiny wooden dowels from the craft store, hot glued them around the edges, and then spray painted the entire thing gold. It was beautiful!

Then my style changed a little...I wanted a lot more white in my home, so a few years later I changed it to this!

I pulled all of the dowels off and gave it a coat of white spray paint. I then bought dryer hose clamps in multiple sizes and hot glued them around the mirror in an odd pattern. It was finished off with a coat of glossy white spray paint!

A year or so later, I decided to turn my dining room into my office. I removed the circles and left just a clean white surface.

So, now we are caught up to date! We recently moved into a little farm house in the country and my style is much more vintage, shabby chic, and rustic. To say I love burlap is an understatement! After starring at my little round mirror in the garage for 7 months, trying to figure out what I would do with her next, it finally hit me!

I began with a roll of burlap ribbon from Hobby Lobby ($5).

Pick a starting point and hot glue it down. From there you just weave the ribbon back and forth in a zig zag type pattern, gluing each edge down as you go. This part probably took me about 30min.