a couple of changes/additions...

... to my living room and hallway!!

Remember the wicker vase I got in the trash last week? see HERE
I spray painted it off white, and then painted the metal base and rim dark brown. Love it! Just wondering what to put in it? But it looks good as is anyway!


Where I used to have DH's grandpa's old fireman helmet, I put my kids plaster handprints from 7 years ago. I hung the helmet elsewhere. I love to look at their handprints. They were 7, 3 and 1 then! They're nearly 15, 10 and 8 now!



Remember that metal tray I had bought for a buck? I stands above the archway there! just love its distressed look. And to think DH wanted to polish it back to its normal state! NO WAY!

When you come in the front door, this is what you see first! There was the thermostat there and it was just UGLY! So I put up a shelf (from here) which I spray painted brown, added a frame (also from that same post), spray painted off white, in which I put a cute piece of scrapbook paper that matches my decor. 2 little wicker balls add some dimension.

And the scrolly thing on top? Nope, no wrought iron!
It's a rub-on/transfer from a Canadian company called Skribblz Art, which is also for scrapbooking. Cute no?

My new bathroom...

We have 3 bathrooms in our house.

The one on the second floor is in desparate need of renovations, but we cannot afford to (tiles to be changed, everywhere). But since only our family sees it, i can wait.
But the half bath on the main floor had been driving me crazy. All our guests use that one when we have someone over, so I wanted a transformation!

It's a tiny, tiny space, with the washer and dryer taking up most of it. But i knew it had potential.

I started with a fresh coat of paint. I had half a gallon leftover from a couple of years ago when we repainted the basement playroom. I wasnt sure it was going to be good still, but it appeared fine. So there ya have it. No cost. :)

I didnt want to put in crown molding for 2 reasons. One, the cost, and 2, it's such a tiny space, I didnt want it to be overwhelmed.
But I wanted SOMETHING to finish off the look!
I went to Home Depot and bought some polypropylene rope: 30 feet cost me about 8$. I hot glued that all around the wall/ceiling and I loooooove it! Click on this picture to see it better (you will also see it a bit in the other pics)




On top of the cabinets, I added some milk glass found in garage sales and thrift stores for a quarter to 50c each. I know they're not worth anything for the most part, but I like the look of them together!

Of course, on those melamine cabinet, I also changed the knobs/handles! They were ugly black plastic. Went out to Home Depot and bought these cuties!



On one of the walls, I put up these 2 frames. I had found the frames in the trash last week. They were dark forest green. I spray painted them white, and then added some brown scrapbooking ink to distress them. Then, I was looking for SOMETHING to put in them. Again, I turned to my scrapbooking stuff for ideas, when I found the key and keyhole. They are a kind of chipboard material called "grungeboard". I spray painted them and distressed them, added blue scrapbook paper, and voila!!


On top of the toilet...
A candle holder found for a dollar a few weeks ago at a thrift store.
The box was paper mache. I painted it and sanded it to make it look like old wood. I paid the box a dollar. I'm happy with it: it stores pads and tampons and kleenex, without us having to get up if we need it ;)
And the old handle? Bought it about 10 years at a garage sale for 1$, and it's been used like this ever since. But now with the new bathroom makeover, it looks even better!


This is on top of the medicine cabinet:

Notice the design in the mirror?
ANother find from my own scrapbooking stash! They are ceramic rub-ons from Rouge De Garance! Loooove the look it gives a plain mirror!


A few years ago, DH's aunt gave us this huge mirror with shelf. DH installed it a few months ago and I despise its shape and too modern look. But add the Caro touch, a few accessories and the same rope around it, and I like it now!
Everything on the shelf is from thrift stores, for a total of 1,50.



And finally....
In the little corner of the hall where there's the bathroom door, there's also the basement door, and guests always ask which is the bathroom door.
So to prevent any confusion in the future, here's what I did:


Cute no?
Another scrapbooking find! They are chipboard shapes from Maya Road. I added some brown ink to them to match my walls and voila!!

Today's thrifty treasures (May 25)

Hum, yeah. That's it.
It's not that the weather wasn't cooperating! On the contrary: what a beautiful weekend!
But we had a huge bbq party with tonsa friends on Saturday... Since it went much longer than I thought, I slept in on Sunday. By the time I hit a couple of garage sales in my neighbourhood, there was nothing good left. And anyway, my tummy was complaining of the previous evening's partying so I came home. And then one of my oldest friends came over unexpectedly and we spent HOURS just chatting!!

Well, you know me. I HAVE to have *something* new (well, er, OLD) every week.

So of course, this morning bright and early, I went out to look at what people had thrown in the trash, on the curb.
I guess I'm not the only one who does this. I saw 4 other people going around the streets as well. LOL

I first found the old wooden sleigh. I remembered seeing a few wall decor ideas using them so I picked it up right away.
And then I found the other thing, not sure what to call it. It has several coats of oil paint on it (enlarge the pic, cause in the smaller size, it looks to be melamine, but it's NOT) but of course, I'm seeing the potential, there's wood underneath and I'm hoping it can look distressed and old...

I found nothing else this time, but that's ok. Trash day in another neighbourhood close to here is on Wednesdays, so maybe I'll score more!

And stay tuned later hopefully today, for photos of my main floor's half bath makeover!

Head on over to Southern Hospitality for posts from other bloggers showing off their thrifty treasures!!

Thrifty monday!

(click to enlarge!!)
Above is my loot for this weekend!!!

Get this. I paid a total of 3.50 for this!
What, how? you ask? Read on....



I have a summer place in Vermont, and was looking forward to hitting some yard sales. But, for the second weekend in a row, it RAINED!!! I did manage to find like 3 garage sales. This is where I bought the milk glass (bottom shelf on the pic) for 1$, and the nice rectangle 'pot' (upper shelf), also for a buck. I then hit a cute little second hand store in upstate NY and found the tiny wooden shelf for 50cents, and this *awesome* small antique tray from Japan for a dollar for a dollar- i fell in love with it! (it's on the chair).

I found another garage sale where everything was overpriced it was ridiculous. But there were some "free" boxes and I found a couple of things in there: 'Cars' movie cars, littlest pet shop animals, the cute thing on the middle shelf (ok, sorry- no clue what it's called... you see, i'm french! and sometimes just forget these things LOL), the old meatloaf pan, and the SHOES!! Adidas shoes, perfect condition but missing one of the laces! They were my second son's size! Score!!!

And the rest, you ask?

Curbside finds from this morning, back home!!
I'm always amazed at what some people will just *throw away* in the garbage!!

Since it's a holiday here, and it's sunny, I decided to check around if there was some garage sales, while keeping an eye on the trash, since it's trash day. Boy did I ever score!

First up, I found 2 dressers (not pictured, they're still in the trailer). One of them is the same size as the one I found last week, but better quality, so my daughter will get that one instead. And a narrower one, also for my daughter. Both need makeover: paints and hardware, but I will love doing that!!

Then I found the wicker shelf unit, perfect condition, just needs to be cleaned and repainted! Perfect for my bathroom (which I want to redecorate NOW)

The small table, I actually found on thursday. It doesnt look like much, but it's gonna look fab soon! And I was just looking for an end table for that couch on the right, so it's perfect! woohoo!!

Then I saw THE chair! That old rocking chair that looks like it's seen better days. I did not hesitate and put it in my car. LOVE all the detailing on top. This chair will need a LOT of TLC. 2 of the bars on the back are not originals, one of the legs is no longer glued to the bottom rocking piece.
the hubby says it cannot be done! What do you think?

On the same street, I found that huge wicker vase, the frames, the teddy bear (my daughter collects teddies) and that old sewing box!! The frames have nothing interesting in them, but the frames are pretty cool and will look great painted and repurposed!!

So go on over to Rhoda's Southern Hospitality blog to see more Thrifty finds by other bloggers. I love mondays, when i can just browse all the thrifty goodness everyone's found!

My new living room

Hum... I will have to dig for a 'before' shot, but let's just say it was terrible!! We hadn't painted in 8 years... It was a light blue colour that DH had chosen then and I'd always hated it! I've been wanting to paint it brown forever! So I got my chance this month and I LOOOOOVE it now!
We painted, added crown molding... the whole living room, entrance, hall and stairs. (plus we have 2 gallons -different browns- leftover, so I will be repainting my bedroom as well, woohoo).
ANYWAY!!
I've loved the brown/offwhite/aqua colour scheme forever, so I went with that.

Apart from the paint and crown molding, the rest was all very very cheap!
Oh, I do have to admit that we got that bookcase for full price, which I never really do, at Ikea: but @ 99$, it was good!!

The coffee table was found in the trash by DH *years* ago. I will *eventually* give it a makeover, but it's not too bad as is.

The couches were given to us a few years back by DH's aunt: genuine leather. I'd never pay that much for couches, but I gotta say I love them, esp with the new colours in my room!

We had an old and ugly rug in our 'before' living room and i hated it. Once we painted, we were on the market for a new one. I wanted beige/offwhite. But MAN oh man, rugs and carpets can be so darn expensive!! One day, walking into Zellers (Zellers is a Canadian store which is a lot like Walmart or Target) I walked by the rugs and saw a tiny clearance section, with this one screaming at me! It was exactly what I wanted! And it was only 49$! Not bad, cause what I had seen had been 129$ and up! YAY!!

Now, those empty frames hanging on the wall are my favourite thing EVER!! I loooooooove it, it really is the focus of the room. I'd been dreaming about this for years and was glad to finally be able to do it!
I visited a few thrift stores and bought all kinds of frames, all for under 1$ each!! I took off the glass and backing, spray painted them cream (i love spray paint!) and arranged them on the wall.

The nicer cushion on the couch was on clearance @ Walmart for 3$!! Unfortunately, there was only one. But i loved it!!
The other cushions were all bought at jysk for 3 and 4$ each.

The table in the right corner... Well, about 12 years ago, I found it in my inlaws' garage. It had belonged to MIL's grandmother, and it was a horrible shade of pink. Back then, I was really into mosaic tiling, so I created a random mosaic on top (mostly blues, burgundies, yellows) with old plates. Tons of patterns and colours. The legs were painted yellow to fit my apartment back then.
Well, that no longer fit in my new scheme. So I painted the legs brown. And while I couldn't 'undo' the mosaic, I did decide to cover it up! I bought, also @ jysk, a small tablecloth in the nicest damask pattern (velvety feeling, on a silky type fabric)... for 3$!!! Woot!

The lamp is also brand new. I'd been looking at a ton, mostly at Ikea, but the nicer ones were too expensive for my taste and budget. One day, we head to Rona L'Entrepot . I believe we were in there for the crown molding, actually. We walk by the lights section and I headed for the clearance section. And there it was. I couldnt see a price, so I had a clerk come over. She checked, and it was on clearance for 30$! WOW!! it was originally part of a set, so since it was now alone, the price was incredibly low! I snatched it up right away! At first, I wasnt sure about the lampshade- i thought a lighter, cream colour would suit my living room better. But nope, I really like it now!!



The tv corner. I'm now on the market for a new tv stand, i hate hate hate this one! I would like to find a unit where I could put my stereo also!
anyway... the light/sconce we already owned (from ikea) and the old Firefighter helmet has always been in that same spot. I just loooove it. It belonged to DH's grandfather who was a firefighter in the 30s in Montreal.

I found the urn/vase at Dollarama for 2$. It was green, so I brought out my beloved cream spray paint and transformed it. The dried things were also from Dollarama, just 1$ for the bunch. Voila, for 3$ I've got an interesting deco!

The votive candle holders on top of the tv were just 49 cents each at jysk.

(Soon, I will be re-decorating my kitchen, so please ignore how ugly it is in the above picture!)

See that old school desk? Found it months ago at a thrift store for just 5$! Score!!! My daughter does her homework on it. I have yet to sand it and such, but for now, its colour is the same as the accent colour in my living room, so I dont mind as much, teehee!

The vase... I'd been looking for a big vase to put exactly there. But dang, those things are EXPENSIVE when bought new!! Therefore, 2 weekend ago, i headed to a flea market north of montreal, and found this one. It was a disgusting blue colour with grey and brown specks of paint. But i loved the shape!! I got it for just 6$, came home and spray painted it!!
The dried willow is from Bouclair and kinda expensive at 15$, but it's exactly what I'd been dreaming about so I paid full price and am happy about it!
And so are my birds! Hopefully you can click on the picture to view it larger... you will see my birdies Sifflet and Cali resting on the branches! THey LOVE it!!

and finally, this is the 99$ bookcase we got at ikea. I love it! It holds all my old photo albums (pre-scrapbooking), our CDs (we just got rid of a TON... we had probably 3x that! It feels soooo nice to declutter a bit!!), some magazines in which I was published, our stereo, a fishbowl filled with beach glass (i collect beach glass- my collection is in vases, by colour, in my kitchen), as well as some decorations found mostly at thrift stores and garage sales. The baskets on top hold odds and ends (restaurant menus, etc). The basket near the fish bowl hold my birdwatching boks.

Do you like the painting on the top shelf??
My 9 year old son, Xavier, painted that last year!! Isn't he awesome?!!

Today's thrifty finds!

First off, those are what I found today @ my fave church thrift store... all of this for a mere 3.50$!!!

My 7yo daughter is obsessed with anything SPACE related, so this old space shuttle book is awesome for her. She wants to take a few of the photos from the book and frame them for her soon-to-be-redecorated-in-a-space-theme bedroom!
The shirt was 50 cents (!) ... it's a Paul Frank shirt with all the characters on a rocket ;)

The other book is to build birdhouses and feeders (i'm very into bird watching!) which I cant wait to get started on!

The 2 bowls, well they are the same as one I already had (also found at a thrift store, a couple of weeks ago) that is on my coffee table in my living room, so 3 will be even nicer!!

The thing @ the left of the space book is some kind of metal wall candle holders, to hold those votive candles. They look like bird nests! And the whole thing is a dark brown, so no painting needed, it already is perfect as is for my decor!! It's now hung in my entryway :)





Now... some more junky goodness...

Today was trash day in my neighbourhood. I dont usually go around looking for stuff in trash- i actually dont like that. But it was a beautiful day so I decided to drive around... and boy am I glad I did!!
I first found a great birdbath (hum, forgot to take a pic- it's already on my front lawn and lotsa birds have stopped by!!), it looks like wrought iron, but it's heavy plastic. very beautiful.



I also found this:


I already have one exactly the same for my oldest son's room, LOL!
But my daughter is in need of a chest of drawers, as she still has the old nursery furniture, ick! I've been waiting for a sale @ ikea or sears or jysk... Well i just saved myself 150$ or so!! I rang the doorbell at the house where this was sitting with the garbage, asking the man if he minded if I took it. He said he'd rather have someone take it than for it to head to the trash :) So off I went! WOOHOO!!
I dont have time to do a makeover for it for a while, and my daughter wants it to remain blue. So we'll just clean it well for now.





And now, the most awesome find EVER!! Also in the trash:






How GORGEOUS is that old wooden tool box?!!!! OMG what a score! I was flipping out!! I love that the hardware is rusty and junky! The rest will be cleaned, sanded, painted and distressed REALLY soon! I think I will keep this in my living room :)




Posting for the first time on Southern Hospitality's blog for "today's thrifty treasures" :)
I've been loving looking at everyone's blogs lately, and my google reader is FULL of new blogs now! :)

Caro

May 8th flea market finds

After some searching online, I found this AWESOME year-round flea market in Montreal, that is opened fri-sat-sun. On Friday May 8th, I decided to go... WOW!!! Alibaba's cavern! Tons of interesting junk, antiques... like the biggest garage sale i've ever seen!

I found the most interesting kiosk... lots of junky antiques, just what I love! Stuff that begs 'transform me!' :) ... and that is CHEAP! :)

I got this loot for 10$. The 2 green boxes will be painted and distressed and used as shelves to store tiny jars and other goodies I like to collect.

The junky rusty metal doorknobs and pulls, i just fell in love with! I'd been looking for some of these for a while now. YEARS ago I found a great, big handle, and I've hung it in my bathroom (i'll show it to you soon), to hang hand towels on. I just love the look of old handles and want to find more to make a framed 'gathering' of them on a wall. I will take some of the rust off of these and paint and distress them though.

May 5th Thrift store finds

I visited one of my 2 fave church thrift stores today and this was my loot, for a grand total of 8$ :)
The candleholder is an ugly shade of grey, but will be spray painted either black, brown or off-white to fit my living room: not decided yet!
The tray is awaiting something to be put in it. For now, it is on my kitchen table and holds fruit.
The green glass vase I found gorgeous and it's now on my shelves in my kitchen.
The small wooden tool box, i have no ideas for it but i loved it. It will get a makeover soon though i'm sure!!
My favourite find is the black mirror with hooks. It has a couple of scratches, nothing that cant be fixed. It will hang in my entry way to hold our keys :)