Great Finds - bloggers, projects and rooms oh my.

Hi there! I just returned back from a one month long trip to Denmark. Denmark is the county I left behind with my husband more than 13 years ago, to go on an adventure here in the good ole' US of A or United Bluff as it is occasionally called overseas - in a totally loving way of course. And a great adventure it has been indeed. And it still is.

We had such a great time in Denmark and we started out our school year there with, count them, 16 field trips. We visited friends and family and even attended a wedding. I also completed a couple of crafts while I was there, all of which I can't wait to share with you.

Today, though, I want to share some fellow bloggers, projects and rooms. Some of them will be familiar to you if you have read my blog for any length of time, some will be new and fresh because I just stumbled on them myself.



Here we go.

First up is this gorgeous bench that Kelly from View along the way made with her husband. It's a headboard turned bench, and what I particularly liked about this one was how they completely deconstructed the headboard before building the bench so that it is truly a custom bench for their space. Love it!


View along the Way - Headboard bench

Julia from Cuckoo4Design had this clever idea to customize some plain bar stools by painting them. I think the turquoise rim on the seats is particularly brilliant. The rims are singing a little song to the hexagon pendent. Can you hear it?


Cuckoo 4 Design - bar stools made over

Sometimes I wish I lived next to a small forest where no one would notice that I went to cut down trees for various projects. Then I would make a stack of logs for our fireplace just like this one that Emily from Go Haus Go made. For me, that takes this whole design to the next level. Consider the I's dotted with log ends! Love it!


Go Haus Go - Logs in the fire place

Next up is this DIY sewing table by Michelle from Decor and the Dog, or as I call it: Ike's blog - Ike is Michelle's adorable dog who is always keeping taps on Michelle's latest projects and he is not camera shy. At all. Love the crib mattress springs that have been turned into a photo display over the beautiful new table.


Decor and the Dog - DIY desk and box spring frame for pictures.

Amber and Nick at Wills Casa are building a new house. Have you been following along? They are sourcing all sorts of fabulous fixtures and finishes at the moment while also brewing on baby number 2. This is one busy couple. Oh and if they ever give up their day time jobs, they should consider being floor plan designers for a living. You know I love a good floor plan and this one that they came up with for their new home blew me away. I want this floor plan for my next house.

Wills Casa Floor plans for the new house

Are you pregnant and looking for a rocker and all the ones in the stores are butt-ugly? Been there, done that. I eventually gave up on finding one but Mackenzie of Interior by Kenz is no quitter! She came up with this brilliant way to transform the beautiful IKEA Strandmon into her very own rocker. Love it.


Interiors by Kenz - Strandmon turned rocker.

I love it when a brand new idea hits the bloggosphere. Like this door upgrade. Inspired by the TV series Big Bang Theory. Caitlin from Desert Domicile found some wooden knobs that she added to her door, then painted the door this rich velvety dark blue color. Lickable, right?


Desert Domicile - Big Bang Theory door

That wall color, with that chandelier, with that table, with those chairs and that bench. Oh and finish it all off with the perfect mid century side board that Cassie at Primitive and Proper re-finished and made into a two tone style by painting the shell white. Love, love, love.
 

Primitive and Proper - Mid century two tone side board

So you know I am all over home made flowers, right? This is a DIY I have to try. The peachy pink flower on the branch is made out of fabric and the edges have been burnt to create a crinkled effect. What a perfect 3D touch to this gallery wall by Kelly at A Swell Place to Dwell. This picture doesn't do the flower justice, but I just loved this gallery wall so I wanted to show you. Click over to see a closeup of the flowers.


A Swell Place to Dwell - DIY wall flowers

Check out this DIY farmhouse table that Gretchen and her husband dreamed up over at Boxy Colonial.  I love this design and the worn over time look they achieved by staining it. You wouldn't think that the wood they used is brand new, right? Gretchen's blog is filled with DIYs and fabulous thrift shop finds and her four terrific kids.


Boxy Colonial - DIY Farmhouse table

This is just magazine worthy, isn't it? IKEA built-ins done right if you ask me. I love it that lighting was integrated into the design and even some speakers too. The wide trim between each book case looks so great! Kristin over at Bliss at Home hit it out of the park with this one. That cane chair in front: genius!


Bliss at Home - Built-in library wall

I am a sucker for fabulous upgrades to builder basic kitchens. Here Caroline, the DIY Nurse removed the upper cabinet doors and painted the upper cabinet frames white. The styling is superb. Check out how the yellow stool under the counter so perfectly plays with the yellow in the cabinets. I would not call myself a green counter top lover, but here she totally made those work too! I am a big fan of this makeover.


The DIY Nurse - Cabinet makeover

John and Lisa over at Our Home from Scratch made these fabulous concrete counters themselves. This is a project I really want to try sometime. Something with concrete. Anything with concrete. I think it is such a beautiful material - especially in a white kitchen such as this one.


Our Home from Scratch - DIY concrete countertops

Oh, oh, oh... Guess who is moving into a barn? I wish I could say:ME!!! It's not. It's Kim over at Newly Woodwards. Isn't she lucky? They built this barn and plan to live on the second floor while building their real house later. I can't wait to see them first build out the second floor, then move in, then build another house. So many floor plans, so much inspiration! Maybe I can rent the barn when Kim and her family moves out...


Newly Woodwards - Living in a barn

Fellow IKEA hacker alert! Ainhoa and her husband over at A Little Bite of Everything are always finding new ways to update things they find at IKEA along with coming up with one fabulous DIY project after the other. This is their kitchen where they just recently covered their old counters with a concrete overlay product creating a concrete counter top look but for the fraction of the cost weight. I love how it looks.


A Little Bite of Everything - IKEA hacks around the home

So much inspiration! - feeling inspired!