Mended Furniture - All White

 

 

 

Annie Sloan's Old White, that is. My friend, Johnny's mom asked me to redo a small table she had, so I (of course) accepted. It came to me a little beat up and kind of a funky dark green. It wasn't bad at all, but I knew I could make it even better. Per her request, I'm only using one color - Old White. Last night, I started applying all the waxes, and hopefully I'll be sharing the finished product with you tomorrow. Keep reading!

Deck the Vases with Boughs of Faux Holly

Colder weather is upon us; unfortunately that means that flowers are freezing to death (too morbid?) and I don't have any more fresh flowers for my house. Sure, I could buy them, but it's always a hassle. I either have to make a special trip to the florist with in my nonexistent free time or pick some up when I'm at the grocery. The only problem with the grocery is that I try to strategically get them at the very end of shopping so that they're not out of water too long, but I ALWAYS forget to go back and get them! So what's a guy gunna do?

Try using the holly you can buy at any Hobby Lobby, Michael's, or even Walmart or Target. It doesn't die, you don't have to change out the water, and you don't have to throw them out! Plus, as long as you're keeping it simple, they'll look surprisingly chic.

Thanksgiving Table Ideas

I Certainly cannot claim this as my own - in fact I completely stole the leaf idea from Pintrest, but I'm still super excited to pass it on to y'all! Let's start with the napkins. This is great, especially if you're cooking for tons of people, because you won't have to run out and buy a million napkin rings. Simple take a square napkin, pinch the middle and pull up (you'll have all four corners dangling). From here, lay it down so the middle, where you pinched, faces you and the four corners face away. Finally, tie a simple bow using a piece of hemp. Done!

The leaf with the name written in gold paint pen is one of the best ideas ever. Certainly handwriting names on a card or getting them printed is also a great option, but this is just so unique and unexpected...and basically free (just the cost of the paint pen). Based on experience, your Thanksgiving guests will absolutely love it! I hope you like these ideas. Enjoy your time off from school, shortened work weeks, and time with friends, family, and loved ones.

Photography - U.S.S. Constitution

I stumbled across this picture while looking at my friend, Katie Rose's pictures on Facebook, and I couldn't help emailing her and requesting that she send me the image so I could put it on The Mended Nest. I didn't realize photography and pictures moved me so much, but they really do. I've truly been enjoying taking the pictures for the blog, and it's always nice and refreshing to get new inspiration. Well, this picture of the USS Constitution, taken by Katie on her iPhone, has really inspired me to get out and get creative with my camera. Not every week, but moving forward, I want to start including interesting, unique, or unexpected pictures on the blog. Hope you enjoy. Thanks, Katie Rose - I may even frame it!

Before and After - Living Room

So we haven't done a "before and after" of our house in forever, so here we go! There are so many after pictures that I wanted to share with you guys, but I wanted to keep it consistent with the before pictures that I took, so the images are a little limited. As you can see, Beau and I had quite a bit of work cut out for us - notice the new fan installed by yours truly! It was hilarious, although not at the time, but when I finished installing it and flipped the breaker, something was wrong and half the house lost electricity (including the a/c). This was in the middle of summer after a long day of work. I was NOT happy. However, the biggest challenge (for me) was repainting. Since the original color (aka baby blue) was painted in a semi gloss, I was forced to prime the walls (twice in some areas) THEN apply two coats of our paint. Nonetheless, I couldn't be happier with the outcome. 



To keep it consistent, except for the bathrooms, we went with a pale gray called Madeline Steps (Valspar). I'd recommend this color to anyone, just be careful! Depending on your trim and floor color, different colors in the gray will be brought out, and it could seem like the wrong color. For example, in our old house with more yellowish/antique white trim, this color came out a nice shade of...purple. At first, we though it looked off because we were painting at night, but when we go back the next morning, it was STILL purple. I almost died.

Just a Little Something

Last night, Beau and I had one of out oldest and best friends, Ryan over for some
homemade pizzas to thank him for watching dogs this past weekend while we were at the wedding in Lake Charles. Poor Ryan - that weekend couldn't have gone more wrong (to NO fault of his own). Sunday morning when he came to let the dogs out, he realized that their barks weren't coming from their room, but from the front door. When he opened the door, his assumptions were realized...and then some. One of the dogs (I'm blaming Cooper) peed all over the floor twice at some point in the night! As you can imagine, it got everywhere since (I'm sure) both dogs ran through it and then walked all over the house. I literally laugh when I think about Ryan's face when we walked in to all of this. Poor thing. Of course, we wouldn't have know the difference if he hadn't told us. I think the floors were actually cleaner after he got done than they were when we left.



Of course, everything has been cleaned again and disinfected since, so it's really easy to laugh about it now. Regardless of how destructive the danes can be, we were going to have Ryan over to thank him for watching them while we were gone (like I said earlier). When he got here, he had with him a little bunch of flowers as a thank you and a sorry for the dogs...which was completely unnecessary. I've mentioned in previous posts that bringing a bottle of wine is an easy, good idea when someone invites you over (which he also did). However, I think flowers send an equally nice message. For me at least, just the though that someone went out of there way for something so considerate means a lot. I think this is a great idea - especially when someone has you over for the very first time. Even if it is "just a little something".

Mended Furniture

Since submitting my resignation at Hello Sushi, my evenings have opened up and allow me to focus on more creative endeavors and DIY projects around the house. As part of the original scope of services we had in mind when creating The Mended Nest, llc, Beau and I now (finally) have the time to offer furniture repainting/refinishing (using the Annie Sloan paint) as part of our repertoire of products. Remember, we also offer custom invitations, announcements, holiday cards, pre-made stationary, etc...PERFECT for this upcoming holiday season!

We will be posting and selling furniture that we've purchased from thrift and antique stores or garage sales and then refinished. However, if you have a piece that you'd like repainted, please let us know! Send us a few pictures to themendednest@gmail.com, and we can give you a quote. We'll mostly be using Annie Sloan paint because it's easy to create a vintage, antiqued, French-country look (that I wish my entire house looked like). Just click on the link in the previous sentence, and you can choose whichever color(s) you like for your furniture! Also, you'll have you choice of wax colors (depending on how you'd like the finished product to turn out). Hope to hear from you soon, and keep reading later posts to see what we're working on!

Friday Finds - Fishs Eddy

Happy Friday! I couldn't be happier for two reasons: 1) Today I'm taking a half day at work because 2) Beau and I are going to a wedding! His cousin, Katherine and her finance, Jimmy are getting married tomorrow afternoon (remember "Our Lake Chuck Weekend" for the shower?), but we're heading in today for the rehearsal dinner, which we were invited to because Beau is singing in the wedding. Yes, he is a man of many talents.

None of that is the point of this post, however. I was told about Fishs Eddy by my aunt and uncle who had visited the one and only shop near Gramercy park in New York City. While I haven't been myself, the store looks incredible, although possibly a little overwhelming, too! With stacks and stacks of dishes, barrels of silverware, racks of stemware, and countless tchotchkes, this place is somewhat a dream come true for me. It almost reminds me of Hoarders...if the person hoarded nothing but chic, reasonably priced, and curiously vintage house/stem/dinnerware.

Since theres only one store in NYC, it look like I'll be ordering from the online catalog. Let me know if you've purchased anything from there. I'd love to hear what you think about the quality of the pieces, etc.! Have a GREAT weekend!

Pictures pulled from Fishs Eddy website

Red Beans and Pumpkins

After using them as table decode for a few months now, I've decided to retire the split peas and introduce red beans in their place. For whatever reason, a few people have commented, telling me that I didn't make this (and some other ideas) up. So, I thought it went without saying, but let me be the first to testify that this isn't my own invention. HOWEVER, I do love the idea for a few reasons. Placed next to a few small pumpkins on my dining room table, it reminds me of fall, yummy dinners by the fire place (if we had one), changing leaves, and Thanksgiving. I like to keep it simple with just the red beans, but you can make it your own by adding, mixing, or layering any other kind of dried bean that has the color palate you're looking for. Also, switch up the vase/container you're using. It can go from plain to more elegant just by using different shapes. Try it out! Besides, who doesn't love cheap, cheap decor? 

Welcome Home!

Welcome to the Mended Nest! While mostly focusing on all matters of the home, this blog is meant to share our experiences, interests, creative endeavors, DIY projects, and perspective on music, food, fashion, and fun. As very green, first-time home owners, we’re looking forward to sharing all of our lagniappe adventures, surprises, and blunders along the way, documenting our every step as we, our two great danes, Duke and Cooper, and our cat, Oliver navigate through on this voyage!