Are You Guilty of Wanting What You Don't Need?

Here's what I don't need this week.

Raleigh CraigsList

It's a hutch topper from CraigsList. 

I have a storage room busting at the seams with furniture...

Oh how I love the arched top with the crown, the design below it, the cubbies, drawers, and glass doors....oh my! It is illuminated too.

I really don't have room for it in my house....

I fancy placing it on my desk. 

It is probably so deep it would swallow my desk...
 
If I was talented in the restorative arts with chalk paint and waxing (Heather), I'd really do her justice. Heck, even I can replace the knobs with something Anthropology-like.

The lady selling it just moved.  She wants it out.  She'll contact me this evening with dimensions.  She is asking $150.

I know I could get it for less.


 I really don't need this hutch topper....

What do you think?  You will be doing me a service to talk me out of it. 

Thanks,

Sunday Musings: Mind Your Mind

VJ Wedeen, LL Wald, Martinos Center for Biomedical

Mind your mind. Did you know you have over 60,000 thoughts a day?  And, the majority of those thoughts are not new.

Mind your mind.  Be conscious of your biggest thought-wasters:

self-deprecation

seeking control

anger

guilt

judgment

trying to interpret the actions or motives of others

Mind you mind.  You can't afford the luxury of a negative thought.

Mind your mind.  Our thoughts are sacred and the only thing we really have control over.  Everything that you are, have been or will be is the result of how you think.

Mind your mind.  Go to your happy place.  Dream big.  Appreciate. Compliment often. Love deep. Pray. Nurture your needs.  Feed your soul.  Listen to your heart.

Love,

Entertainment in a Tiny Bath

Karen Reynolds-Champagne Home Staging

You can find a plethora of Entertainment Centers on CraigsList.  Entertainment Centers became dinosaurs when flat screens became hot.  Get Thee to an ATM and pull out $150 for an attractive and voluminous storage unit.

The repurposed Entertainment Center is brilliant in this little bathroom.

Everything in this bathroom is perfect: the black claw foot tub (sporting silver toes!), the updated fixtures, the patina of tin panels, and the seamless enclosed glass shower. The owners did an outstanding job updating this historic house.

This house, in Wendell, NC, just went on the market.  Buyers are drawn to an old home with modern updates. 

Happy Friday, y'all!  I think it has rained everyday for the past 6 weeks.  Mr. Meteorologist is calling for Flash Floods today and tomorrow.

Break out the Wellies!

Tumbler

Vision Can Take a House from Drab to Fab

I had a consultation at a house that looks really dreadful.  I venture to say that it will have little appeal to a potential buyer.  It shows as dark and dated.  Most buyers don't have the vision to take it to the next level.

I've had the privilege working with Maria Killam (Color Me Happy blog) since I first considered writing "An Affection for Staging".  She is one talented gal. Maria moved last year and readers followed all the changes she made to her 'new' house. The house I consulted on, had an similar floor plan (no fireplace, though) and design.  I recalled the spectacular job Maria achieved on her similarly dated house.  Maria's renovation is FABULOUS.

Maria Killam's Living Room "AFTER"

 Compare Maria's beautiful rooms to the house I consulted on.  Can you visualize the update?

StagerLinda

StagerLinda

Remove the railings, install laminate wood flooring throughout, a fresh paint color and the house takes on a whole new vibe!  Steal Maria's superb decorating details and you have a Show House!

It simply was not in the budget for the seller's to update. Wish there was an app for guiding buyer's on how relatively simple these changes would be to make. 

Tres Petite Maison

Happy Monday!  Hope y'all had a glorious 4th holiday.  Over the weekend, I inadvertently staged my kitchen (more on that later) and started the arduous task of painting trim in an upstairs bedroom. 

This morning, I read a story in the Huffington Post and have to share it. Holy Lilliputian, these pictures are rooms in a dollhouse.  Maria Sviatko of, The Shopping Sherpa blog, is the dollhouse designer.  Check out her attention to teensy-tiny detail.  Her work would be praise-worthy on a grand scale.  It boggles the mind to think of the time dedicated to these designs.

Amazing, no?

Precious. Precious.

God bless America and our good fortune to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. 

We are going to a grand fireworks party at a friend's house.  It rivals the Capitol display!  Lucky us.

Repurposing a Headboard into a Bench?

I am so hungry to do something creative.  This is dangerous territory for me.  I become inspired and move forward at warp speed.  No concern have I for details.  I want results.  No time to research or make a plan--I dive right in.

Then the project bombs.

I throw a pity party after I re-read DIY blogs and lament "Why?" "Why, oh why can't I DIY, dammit!"

So I'll throw my inspiration out there for you my friends. Come along for the ride in fantasy Linda-Land.

I stumbled upon this bench on J.Waddell Interiors blog.

Joan Waddell- J.Waddell Interiors

This is in the dining room she designed for the Bellarmine Show house.

Here is another angle of the bench in the foyer before the room is loaded.

I'm not in love with the white upholstered seat. It's a great concept for design.  For staging, it would be better to have a wooden seat and add pillows.

OK folks, this is all I've got.  This headboard is what started my old, rusty wheels turning,"Ohhhhh, I could make that headboard into a bench!"  I took this picture for Craigslist many moons ago and then didn't post it.  (ADD? Correct-o.)

(Disregard the funny feet on the posts.  This headboard was used in a staged house and it needed a lift. Of course, the funny feet were hidden).

I am open for suggestions:

"bail", "you are cra-cra", "take it to a professional", "easy-peasy", "go to Home Depot and buy furniture legs and get a board cut for the seat", "get an old interesting piece of furniture and break it down for parts", "you DO have special saws, a workbench, tools, and a professional paint gun, right?"

Thanks for your input!