PAINT IT BLACK // GOODBYE COUCH CUSHIONS

Know what I love, friends? A nice, deep couch. Something akin to the size of a twin bed. Nappable. Room for me, Anj & Curtis Loew should we feel the urge to get our snuggle on. We always take the back cushions off of our couch so that this dream can become a reality. And then, we'd put them back on when we were done. But, I said, "Enough!" I took them guys off and stuck 'em under our guest bed. Thankfully, the back portion of the couch is fully upholstered, so there's no ugly, just stiff. 

Enter: lots of pillows. Beauty of this is, when you're sick of them, or they get destroyed by your disobedient dog who chewwwwws on everything, you can just replace them. {All are IKEA, except the tan ones with the pom-pom fringe, which are from a local shop, Crossings on Main. Hello flash sale!}

Nope. No cushions on this one either.

Pillows! Pillows! Pillows!

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I am also all about some fresh blooms in the house. Friends, you do not have to spend a ton on flowers to keep your house lookin' fab. Think outside the box with greenery and branches also. These are clippings from the Dogwood in our back yard. I was going to add to them, but I'm diggin' the branchy-ness.

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As I sat on the couch, surrounded by my new snuggly pillows, admiring my Dogwood clippings, I decided I was so over the shutter closet doors in our entryway. They don't go with our vibe. We ain't exactly shabby chic, and we ain't exactly farmhouse. But - I didn't want to just toss them. For forever, I pondered other ways to use them, and assumed we'd get new doors to go here. But, friends, when you buy a house, there is a magnetic force which surrounds it, and it just sucks money straight out the windows. Soooo, I'm all like, "I'm gonna go downstairs, and use the black semi-gloss that the previous owners left here for us!" 

BAM. 

I feel like the black with gold hardware updates it a smidge, and the contrast is fabulous, friends. No more "I used to be white, but I stay dirty and therefore I look dingy and ewwww all the time" closet doors. I'm happy about the semi-gloss because they will be easier to dust and vacuum than the flat finish funk "white" that was on there before. I would show y'all a picture of the before, but I'm too lazy, and it's just gross anyway. You can see the before funk on my Instagram @shuginboots. Love, love, loving the contrast.

I've pretty much spent the rest of the weekend alternating coffee and wine, and just staring at them in their black gorgeousness.

How do you feel about dark paint? Have you tried it in yo house?! Do tell.

DIY // CHANDELIER TRANSFORMATION

Well, hello there, sugarpies! How goes it? I am currently mid-Diet Mt. Dew and listening to some very loud Megan Trainor and burning a fabulous pomegranate & cedar candle. Now, doesn't that just sound like the loveliest thing ever? 

Anyhoozle. I had a love/hate relationship with the chandelier that came with our dining room. It was like, "Oooooh, look at the chandelier! It's so sparkly and chandelier-y! Who wouldn't love this chandelier?" But, what I think I meant was, "Thank God it's not commercial/generic/warm toned/all-the-things-I-don't-love."

The longer it hung there, the more I tired of seeing the dead bugs who were stuck down in the hardware. Not what I'm trying to look at while I eat. And it was just so .... clear. Plus, the more I saw all these magical beaded chandies online, the deeper in love I fell. Cause, you know, my style is kinda Jungalow, pattern-mix, old-meets-new, happy jumble-ation. You do know what I mean, right? {If you are like, 'What in the blue blazes is she talkin' about?' you can check out my decor obsessions on Pinterest.} 'Kay, good. And these peeps? Love 'em!

Justina Blakeney - The Jungalow

 Edie Wadsworth - Life in Grace

Jamie Meares - i suwannee/Furbish

 So, here is what I was workin' with before:

 The thought of destroying it felt wrong for about two minutes. But, once I got some fresh bright spray paint on the scene, all doubts were GONE. 

At first, I was going to keep the octopus arms and just paint it and add some beading, but I kinda felt like I was poohing out on what I really wanted. But, once I dropped a few of the arms and broke them, that decision was made for me. Don't you just love when that happens? So, here's what I was left with: 

Since the chandelier originally had five small bulbs, we had to change out the socket in order to accommodate two bulbs in the center. I also painted all the "guts" white because I knew that you would be able to see through the beading a little bit. After a bit of brainstorming, and time on Pinterest, I decided to upcycle an ugly lamp shade I already had for the beading portion of the project. I ordered my beads from Shipwreck Beads. To be honest, I just did some measuring and guessing and guessing and measuring and then some finger crossing about how many beads to order. This whole project was 1500 of the natural colored beads, and 150 of the teal ones, and I only had a dab left of each when I was done. 

I opted to use wire (I used floral wire, but beading wire would be thinner and more flexible). To me, this was the more sane method, because I could create a loop on each end, and keep the beads from coming back off and getting all over the place, and generally causing me to lose my ever-loving mind. 

 I would do ten strands or so, and then wrap them onto the upside down lampshade frame as I went. For the first strand, I just decided on a pattern with the green beads and made sure I'd have enough to complete as many strands as I needed. (1 strand = 3 natural, 1 teal, 17 natural, 1 teal, 3 natural, for example)

Using wire as opposed to string also allowed me to just wrap the ends instead of having to tie a million times.

Once I was done with the beading, I knew I wanted to wrap something around it to hide the exposed wire ends. I had originally planned to use the natural twine featured in the photo above, but once I got to this stage, I wanted something a little more colorful. So, I took some old fabric I had (green with daisies), and cut it into long strips about 1" wide, and just wrapped them around until all the wire was hidden. I just tied the fabric strips off as inconspicuously as possible.

 Once I was satisfied with how the lamp shade looked, I used the same wire to attach the inside of the shade to the metal disc with the circular holes in it (shown in the third photo). This part took some trial and error, because you want to make sure that it's level and not hanging lopsided.

These wires are the primary support for the lamp shade. However, to add some green color pop to the top portion, I tied some strips from the lamp shade frame to the chandelier trunk, as seen below. And, then, finally(!!), the finished project:

I paid about $40 for beads. 

I think we paid less than $5 for the new bulb sockets.

I already had:

 - wire

 - fabric

 - dangling crystals

 - lamp shade frame

 - white spray paint

 - blue spray paint

 - bulbs

I say, win! I am still not tired of staring at it. And it's so much more 'us'! You have to feel comfortable in your space, folks! I think some peeps thought I was nuts for "ruining" the chandelier, but I couldn't stand the sight of it one more day. You gotta do you at yo' own house, y'all! 

Have you done a chandelier DIY? Please share a link below!!! I'd love to see!

Y'ALL COME ON IN! // THE 'MUDROOM'

We finally got our hooks hung! {That sentence sounds weird, right?} So, we had this lonnnnnng 2x4 that was already black and all patina-y looking, but it was too long for this wall, and I ended up deciding I didn't want it all the way across after we got the cubbies up. Sooo, we chopped it down and hung it to the left of the dresser.

We cut the 2x4 down to a shorter length, then I hit it with the electric sander to distress it some. We'd already gotten some random mismatched hooks from the flea market, so we half measured/half eyeballed it, and attached those.

The actual board is screwed into the walls into the studs. Since this is a basement with paneling walls, we decided to just go the more secure route and attach it to the studs, especially since this will stay put for awhile since it serves a "mudroom" purpose.  We knew early on after buying the house that we wanted to create somewhere that "caught all the incoming/outgoing" that happens on a daily basis. With the cubbies, the drawers of the dresser, and these hooks, I feel like everything has a place, and is easy to grab quickly.

We are both pleased with how it turned out! Do you have a system at your house for managing all the stuff that you need to grab & go?

Also, new stuff up in the etsy shop, y'all!

Happy Happy Wednesday!!

WEEKENDING | A DATE, THRIFTING & SOME BLOGGY FRIENDS

How was your weekend? Splendid, I hope. Mine was pretty fab. I requested a date night from Hubs, so we decided to venture out on Friday. Friends, I spent real time on my hair and make up, and wore my most favoritest perfume. After realizing our spot was booked until 9:00 due to Restaurant Week {totally forgot about that}, we headed over to Mellow Mushroom. It's one of my faves because they have gluten free beer and pizza. So, we put our name in, headed over to grab a drink while we waited, and were told that they were out of my gluten free beer. What. The. What, y'all. Sooooo, we placed a take out order, hit the Teeter, and headed home to the couch for snuggle clothes and some Downton catch up time. {We are only in season 4. I totally wonder what they are doing when I go to bed at night. Then, I realize: a) it's only a TV show and b) even so, I am a whole season behind}

Saturday I hit up a local Habitat ReStore for a shopping field trip. I heard these shugs were going to be there, and yes, I can attest, they do exist in real life. {Y'all ever creep on people follow people's blogs/instas and start to feel like you know them IRL?} Anyhoo, these two were totally sweet and down to earth. "Let's get a picture. We love Instafriends!" You can check Jennifer out here and Cheryl out here. I recommend!

And, I am pleased to inform y'all that the Habitat ReStore did not disappoint! I scored some Tobacco Leaf plates & mugs, some vintage books, a milk glass lamp, and a little something for Hubs' birthday next month. 

So - the Tobacco Leaf china - you see, I have a thing for tobacco because I'm from a tobacco county, and my family were tobacco farmers. I spotted this china awhile back, and fell in love with the colors and the design. So, you know. Natch, I had to buy them. I mean, five plates & five mugs for $15? Yes'm. Here's what I did:

I bought some plate hangers and arranged the plates above a painting I did of my great great uncle, Herman. It was painted from a picture my cousin had of Uncle Herman at the tobacco barn. The tobacco sticks on the left were my great granddaddy's, and the tobacco leaves were snatched {with permission} from a friend's tobacco field this past summer. I love mixing different textures, as well as combining old with new. If a piece in a space has a story or meaning, all the better!

Oh! I also scored some new light bulb covers. {I'm sure these have a more specific, appropriate name?} The one on the right is what came with the house when we bought it. These were a bit too curvy and feminine for me. I got four of the one pictured on the left for $2 each. Exciting stuff, friends!

Here is the lamp. I love, love, love me some milk glass. It's vintage, but still workable in a variety of spaces. I love solid white as well. Texture, without being too much. {Those books in the photo were purchased for 50 cents each, y'all! Books are your decor friend!!}

And here's what I did with the Tobacco Leaf mugs. I will use these, but you know me. I thought they were too pretty to hide. So, I got some cup hooks from the Davis General Store, and look how pretty they are just hangin' out. {Somebody needs to get to caulkin' up in that kitchen, don't they? Yikes.}

Here at the Davis Hizzle, we like to roast some nice, healthy vegetables after a night of gorging on beer and pizza. Life's all about balance, you know. We did potatoes, onions, carrots, and brussels sprouts with garlic powder, salt, pepper, olive oil, and some tumeric. {Is it pronounced TOOM-er-ic or too-MAIR-ic?}

Sunday we churched, painted, napped, laundered, you know. 

How was your weekend? What are your favorite thrift spots? Where do you have the most luck?

Y'ALL COME ON IN! // THE BASEMENT

Y'all. We have wood paneling in our basement. I got to a point where looking at it made me feel sick, kinda like the funky food pics in 50's cookbooks. Tuna casserole with pineapple garnish, anyone? Yakety Yak. It pains me to even show y'all these funkalicious before pics:

Woof to the max, am I right? 

The first thing we did was hit the ceiling with some fresh white. Major P.I.T.A. Ugh. Crazy how much it hurts your shoulders to hold a paint brush up in the air. Especially if you're out of shape, apparently. And, it was popcorn ceiling. {Why!? Why?! Why?!} Rather than paint the edges, it was more like, saturate the surface as well as you can without making a giant mess.

And, here, my sweet shugpies, are the after pics, praise the Lord. I am loving how the colors pop so much better now. {I got the floral yarn art from someone local who was selling on Facebook for $10.}

Our couch was a Habitat Restore purchase. Hubs didn't get my vision. {Aka, he was all like, "What the hell is that? It's hideous."} But, I mean, leather. Studs. Come on, now. And, when I saw it, I imagined it against a bright white because I knew from day one the brown paneling had to G to the Izzo. The coffee and side tables were Andrew's grandmother's. I painted the tops and drawers a pale mint. The smaller lamp on the end table was a gift from a cousin. Everything else pictured was thrifted.

PS, I am mildly obsessed with the intercom box that's still in the wall, just behind the floor lamp. Lord only knows how old it is. It doesn't work {right now}, but I love that it's a little nod to the house's era. 

Did I mention how obsessed I am with the brightness of the ceilings against those beams? Swoon.

We wanted to do a bit of a mudroom area on the way into the house, as we use the basement as our main entrance from the driveway. This dresser is great for storage {of random junk, as well as outgoing items such as library books, gloves, hats, tupperware and jars that need to be returned to somebody, etc}. We will add some cubbies and coat hooks soon. But, I wanted to go ahead and show y'all the white walls, because I am so freakin' excited. 

The walls took one coat of Valspar Stainblocking Primer and two coats of Sherwin Williams ProClassic Smooth Enamel Satin Extra White.

I painted all the heat vents white. We still need to replace the black electrical sockets with white ones. While the sockets themselves will be white, I'm going to frame them in unfinished wood outlet covers. We will also eventually add some blinds, and get new windows for that matter. And, I didn't show y'all the other two corners because they are in progress. Mama needs to think on that. And, Daddy wants a new TV. But, we all know, Rome won't built in a day. They probably didn't have a bottomless bank account either.

Anyone else painted paneling? I'd love to see!

I'm off to fix me some lunch. And stare at my white walls while listening to Rod Stewart. Happy Wednesday!!