PSTTT- did you hear?!

Have you guys heard??? 

Restoration Hardware OUTLET is coming to The Shops at Morgan Crossing! 

Opening date is October 22nd! 

(images from www.restorationhardware.com)

A lot of people have asked me if certain pieces from my home are from Restoration Hardware. In all honesty, although I absolutely love that store, no, nothing in my home is from Restoration Hardware. 

Only because I just can't justify spending $900 on a coffee table =P  

$900 should buy an all inclusive trip to Mexico, after I have spent an entire week earning that $900, only to get it reduced to nothing by my taxes, and seriously need to see some sun and a cocktail... not a coffee table that I use to rest my feet and house my remotes.

Which is exactly why I am so excited for the opening of their outlet store at Morgan Crossing! Beautiful furniture and for only a fraction of my Mexico fund- SOLD! 

If you've visited their outlet store in Seattle, you'll know that they often have awesome deals on what usually will cost an arm and a leg. So if you're looking for anything rustic or over-sized furniture for a big family, Restoration Hardware is a must see!

However, if their outlet prices are still a little over your budget, have no fear, there are plenty of other stores out there that will allow you to achieve that high end, shabby chic look. It just takes a little exploration. These are some pieces of mine that have been mistaken for Restoration Hardware buys:

Happy Hunting!
(please note that the sale prices are based on the price I purchased them at and the outlet prices are based on the prices I found them for at the Restoration Hardware Outlet in Seattle.

Junk-Me-Not: Bar Cart and Side Table

Refurbished Bar Cart:

And because today is a waiting around for my flight to Turks and Caicos kind of day... here is blog # 2 for the day!

So as promised, here is a post of our re-purposed bar cart and side table.

I actually found these on the side of the road as I was driving to work one day.
Someone had thrown them out on the sidewalk... why? Maybe because they were old, ugly, and outdated... just maybe.

I'm not sure what it was about these 2 pieces of junk that made me stop but I did. I peered at them from the comfort of the inside of my warm suv. Then in a moment of insanity, I braved the frosty winter air and threw them into the back of my suv. Then I drove to work.

At the end of the work day, on the drive home, I remember plotting how I was going to phrase "Hey babe! I found these pieces of junk that someone threw out and I love them!" in a way that Derek would allow me to keep them.

In the end, we made a deal that I would do all the work myself to refurbish them and if they did not pass his seal of approval, I would drive them to a dump site that very day.

Step 1: I spray painted the already gold legs with a fresh coat of gold paint. I LOVE gold! I have always loved it and you know what they say- why fix it if it aint broke? And gold aint broke so gold it stayed.

Step 2: The fruit had to go! Nothing against fruit art... they just didn't work with my vision. To be honest, I had no vision at this time... I just need a clean slate- so I painted the tray white.

Step 3: I didn't want to put a plain white tray against white wainscoting so I needed to add some color.

Final Product!

I love love love the way this turned out! I left the wheels transparent but spray painted the handles gold. And what is a piece of furniture without it's accessories?

Who doesn't love a gold skull?

Gold Skull: Z Gallerie (Scottsdale Arizona location)
Photo frame, photo albums, and vase: Homesense
Wicker Basket: Superstore
Bar Cart: Neighbor's Garbage ;)

 

After getting the seal of approval for the bar cart from Derek, I moved onto the side table.

Step 1: I sprayed the legs gold as well.

Step 2: I sanded the thick coat of laquer off the wood frame.

Step 3: I white washed the wood frame.

Step 4: We had an old black lamp so I painted the base of  it to match the bar cart trays.

And now they fit so perfectly into our space you would never know they were once another man's trash ;)

Who are we and why are we starting a blog?

My name's Jermaine and my husband is Derek. I've started many a blog in my day but never one with my husband. So this should be interesting..

Our journey started when we were married two summers ago. We purchased a brand new townhouse in the spring before our wedding. We fell in love with the red brick, black shutter facade. Although our wonderful realtor, Liliana Sorescu, brought us to view many other townhouses, we turned our noses up at anything less than the red brick row home we had already begun picturing ourselves moving into. 

 

Little did we know that only two years down the road would we be desperately trying to sell it! And if anyone had told me that I would be selling my brand new townhouse for a fixer upper more than twice the size of my cute, modern, sparkly row home, I would have laughed in their faces! Now, don't get me wrong..this is not an episode of Holmes Makes It Right. There was nothing wrong with our townhouse. It was a very well built complex by a very reputable builder and we got it at a great price! However, for all the sparkly new appliances and shiny new floors, it was still just a 2 bedroom townhouse, with too many stairs, a garage door the width exactly 2 inches wider than my Honda Pilot, and a curb up to the garage the height of a sidewalk! After we BOTH (not just me) scraped both our cars multiple times on the sides of the garage as we had to boot it into reverse to get over the massive curb, we had had it! We had had enough of the too tiny garage, of the too big curb, of the tight and limited visitor parking stalls, of the narrow front entrance, of the two sets of stairs that led up to only two bedrooms. Enough was enough! We were outta here!

 

 After about two months of sweat blood and tears, we ended up on the doorstep of our current home. It wasn't new, it wasn't small, it wasn't pretty, and it wasn't cheap…

So why and how did we end up here? Well follow our blog to find out.

Our blog is focused on giving our readers tips and tricks on how they can do what we do and maybe even a little better and faster. 

How to avoid the mistakes we made, How to make your dime go farther, How to make your fixer upper Home Sweet Home.