DIY Show Off – DIY Grape Arbor and Gazebo

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Roeshel

The Grape Arbor Transformation in Progress.

I fixed up the bistro set I scored for $15 at a yard sale. It’s painted to match our existing patio furniture for extra seating under the grape arbor.

The cushions we have are brown for the most part except for the swing which has sage/tan and gold stripes so I felt limited by that. 🙁 But, I was able to find a fabric that looks good with everything!

It’s called Magic Carpet (walnut) by Waverly.

I wanted round extra-poofy cushions for the chairs. Goal achieved and then some. Oops! It’s cushion overkill. But, it is what it is. No pattern and my first attempt at round, 3D cushions with piping. Not too bad but definitely Poofy. Tall. Unique. 🙂

First, here was the grape arbor when we bought the house. Quite a rustic eyesore but potential beauty in those old vines regardless and a 50 foot mostly shaded area not to mention tons of grapes!

Before Pictures – Here is what it looked like the day we closed on the house.

Yikes!

Here’s a close up. “Hello Chippy!”

Even at it’s ugliest, it was a beautiful space for my brother’s small wedding in 2008.

And a great space for shaded seating for my sister’s baby shower last year.

Mr. DIY (and talented stepdad, Butch) built up the new wood structure around the old rusty iron skeleton, lifting and shifting the grapes in the process before removing the old iron poles. It’s about 7’x7’x50′ (except for the gazebo area). The grapes survived the stress!

Here are the after pictures with the new bistro set and sheers.

I sewed ribbon to sheers that I got here (very cheap + no fading from being outside for two summers) to tie to the grape arbor to disguise the imperfections…I mean create a romantic atmosphere.

Too windy for candles in the candelier but we do have white lights at night that follow the lines of the gazebo.

And the grape arbor now ‘in progress’

Still a little work with the pavers or flagstone path underneath. It’ll look so much better after staining the wood structure, but what do you think so far? Care to join me for a glass of wine and relaxing under the rotunda? Perhaps with Keanu Reeves from a Walk in the Clouds? 🙂

And some new pillow covers for the existing patio furniture (and the swing fabric that I had to consider with the new fabric).

And my window boxes:

DIY Show Off – Patio installation and makeover

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Roeshel

Back of the House Gets a Transformation:

Still a lot of overgrown landscaping to tackle but our home when we bought it.

Hard to see from the distance, there were two single doors with awnings. Ugly. But I could see potential which is a good thing most of the time, except that “potential” doesn’t happen over night! Right away, we installed two sets of French doors. I love them! It changes the entire look of the back of our house. However, the old sidewalks didn’t line up and we lived with it for 2 years.

And take a look at the old light fixtures. Yuck!

We decided to put in a concrete patio off the back of the house. However – the concrete part wasn’t DIY. It was way too big of an area and required professionals.

Here’s another before shot (that’s the nasty carpet Mr. DIY tore out to reveal hardwood floors):

Before (after installation of French doors, the concrete sidewalk didn’t line up anymore). We also just removed some shrubs from this area which makes it look really messy here:

We got some new furniture (the table/chairs go under the grape arbor when it’s completed). Mr. DIY changed out the lights for me to give it an updated fresh look.

Copper Penny Jar Candle Tutorial.

Again – before:

After:

2011 updates:

We also hung window boxes to help disguise the old upstairs windows to help pull the main level and upper level together. You can’t see the window boxes well in the pictures…but here is what they looked like before they were hung:

My House Number Flower Pots were featured in Better Homes & Gardens 100 Decorating Ideas for Under $100!

{House Number Flower Pot Tutorial}

DIY Show Off – Living Room Before and After Reveal

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Roeshel

LivingRoom Transformation: Here it is when we bought our home. Before, at time of closing:

Lots of strange angled corners to work with.

We repurposed this mirror by taking it down and framing it (more details here). It hangs in our back entry way.

The white walls were painted wallpaper. Fun!

We also tore out the nasty carpet and refinished the wood floors.

Then, I always wanted a red room. So – I painted the room red. It wasn’t quite what I pictured but I really loved it for a little bit. Excuse the mess. Some of these I snapped right before I began painting.

We installed French doors between the living room and family room.

We mounted the tv above the fireplace…I’m not sure if you can tell, but there aren’t a lot of options (wall 1=staircase, wall 2 = entry to hall and built-in shelving, wall 3 = French doors, wall 4 window/fireplace/window). It’s really not too high for viewing. We’ve adjusted to it being there. Our wood burning fireplace isn’t used at this time (another future project). Since behind the fireplace is a brick chimney and the walls are plaster, I currently hide the wires with garland (upcoming project to build up the fireplace surround will take care of that problem). Brick? Someday we’ll replace it with marble and I got a dirty look when I suggested we paint it. Mr. DIY does not like painted brick.

It didn’t take long before I didn’t grew tired of dark red. The room wasn’t getting any light. It just didn’t “feel” like the right color.

Here it is today:

Color is Benjamin Moore Smoky Taupe. It changes color in different lighting.

Mr. DIY’s leather chair has been replaced with another leather chaise. Compromise.

Updated pictures below.

My thrift store find – wine corks.

Vintage French linen pillows – Restoration Hardware

French pediment – Ballard (I plan on adding more trim to the French door to fill in the gap)

It’s weathered and says “Flanders Sweet Shop”

Drapery is from Target and Ebay. I ordered an extra panel to lengthen them. I love them framing the French doors.

I scored a bunch of vintage boxes and crates at an estate sale (3 are the same found at Pottery Barn for $24. I paid $8 ea!). This little box holds the remote controls.

Wall art from vintageprintables.com. Tips for hanging a wall gallery.

My style? You’ll see that I have a bit of interior design ADD. French, vintage, traditional, farmhouse and so on but the thing I love about designing my own space is that I can decorate with things I love and I don’t have to follow any rules. And we’re obviously not minimalists. It’s for us, not for a decorating magazine, right? We love how much taller and bigger the room looks and our mix of decorating styles works for us. I’d love new furniture but it’s not in the budget and this set from the 90s is in excellent shape. It works for now.
A few updated photos/fall decorated…