Monday, January 3, 2011

Before & After, Baby!

I hope to be doing a LOT of these posts here - I LOVE a good "Before & After"... 
especially when actually did it. It's so inspiring to look at other peoples' projects and see the possibilities... 
It's really a thrill to get up off your duff and make it happen yourself!

Something I have really become passionate about is "creating" a beautiful home for myself, 
not buying it off the shelf. It's easy (and expensive!) to go into Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware and buy "the look". And there was a time when I wished I could do that. But I have noticed a shift in me over the last few years - I no longer want to go buy it, I want to "make" it!

My style is no longer directly reflected in a store's latest line. Now I get really excited about prowling thrift stores, yard sales and consignment shops for *treasures*. And sometimes, it's a diamond-in-the-rough, and I get to pay a few pennies for it, bring it home and make it into something fabulous!

This is what really makes me giddy these days. So, I plan to make this a regular feature, 
showing off  what I found (which is half the fun!), and what I turned it into (the other half)!
Today I want to show you one of my favorite B&A's, from last summer. 
It was actually a really simple one, but with a big impact, I think. 


I was at one of my regular haunts, a local church op shop 
(right across the street from Trader Joe's - woohoo!), 
and I found this "ugly duckling"...






This was early on in my B&A escapades, so, although I thought I saw her potential, I didn't show anybody until AFTER she was done and I could say I was right! But I just knew that what all that busyness needed was a "shabby" -not perfect- coat of white paint to turn her into a gem. 
I just used some house paint we had hanging around and.............








 Here she is! 
I lovelovelove her. 
She's become the perfect backdrop for all my whites and a real focal point in my home. 
Cheap chic, baby!





These shots were taken of her at Christmastime. 

You'll probably be seeing a lot of her around here.....

Her look changes with the seasons, but she's always dressing up the house now!


More soon,

oneshabbychick




P.S. I'm linking up to these Linky Parties... check 'em out!


Domestically Speaking
Show and Tell Green











       

and also......


ThriftyDecorChick        The Shabby Nest         My Romantic Home

Finding Fabulous         Fingerprints on the Fridge









27 comments:

  1. I don't know if I would have seen the potential in that one :) The after looks great, though, and I love how a mirror always brightens things up!

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  2. Saw your link on Thrifty Decor and had to come visit...who can resist a good before and after?

    I find this project totally follow-worthy. Love it!

    Blessings,

    Alison
    Stuff and Nonsense

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  3. I feel the same way you do about decorating. Our homes are so much more "us" and creative if we do it the thrifty way. It's also much more fulfilling than just going to the mall. Your mirror looks great. I'm jealous of your forced paperwhites. They look so great in the vintage dish. Love it!

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  4. Yes, so much more fulfilling! and cheaper, too!
    Thanks, Upscale Downhome!

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  5. Love this! I would not have looked twice at that mirror BEFORE! totally inspiring. xoxo

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  6. Love the transformation, Great eye! Thanks for sharing, can't wait to see what else you do!

    xoxo,
    Ellen

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  7. That is gorgeous!!! just discovered your blog via My Romantic Home.

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  8. Good eye! I just love painting things :) it's amazing what a difference it makes, isn't it?

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  9. You are right, it is fabulous! I am curious as I see mirrors often and wonder how they would turn out painted. What is the frame on this mirror made of? Wood? Plastic? What kind of paint did you use?

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  10. i love your mirrors and the vignette just lovely! perfect! happy PS!

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  11. what a pretty mirror...turned out amazing!

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  12. Looks so much better white! Beautiful! HWW

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  13. Oh, I love it, what a find, she looks so good with the white dishes! I'm visiting from Faded Charm! I hope someday to find one or close to like her!
    I'm a follower now, love white too!

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  14. Thanks for stopping by and for all the wonderful comments! :-}

    Michelle, this frame is cast in a rather lightweight material, not sure exactly what. Either plastic or something similar. I just used leftover flat white interior paint from a house-painting project.

    Cheers, everybody! Have fun with those projects!

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  15. So much better!!! It is amazing what a coat of white paint will do!

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  16. Gotta love what a little vision can become.

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  17. It sure was an ugly duckling before. What a difference white paint can make. It looks beautiful!

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  18. Wow! Total change- I love your display, the mirror really pulls it together!

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  19. This is absolutely incredible. What a wonderful journey you are on, Mrs. Shabby!

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  20. Lovely.... I have done the same with some of my mirrors (in white too), but always have the hardest of time trying to avoid painting the mirror ;) What's your trick?

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  21. Hooray for white paint! CIELO, I actually do have a trick to share - Woohoo! When I painted around the frame, there was just enough room to stick a scrap of newspaper between the mirror and the frame so that I didn't get paint on the mirror. I just kept sliding it around in the groove as I went. It worked!

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