These shelves are a fairly new product there and you can buy them in a multitude of sizes and really personalize them to what you want.

I wanted them to be a clean white so I simply spray painted them before assembly.  And by assembly, I mean, beat me over the head, have a meltdown, want to throw them out the window, 2 day ordeal.  I say this because I actually take pride in my Ikea assembling abilities.  I know all the little tricks and can read there poor directions like a boss now… but these were a mean surprise because it looked like they would be so so simple! They were not.  I managed to get it done but didn’t end up following any of the directions so I’m afraid I can’t help talk you through it… but I will pray for you! I think it turned out pretty well though and does the job for now.

This is in a corner of our dining room that I will share more of soon!

I’m not bitter at all that the movers removed 2 of the 4 wheels on my antique tea cart and are still no where to be found… not bitter at all.

Dalmation Trinket Dish found here but currently unavailable.

I love that I can enjoy my new collection and that it’s not hidden away anymore! The house is slowly coming along and this is motivating me to finish up the dining room fast

Pin below for sources later!

xoxo

B

The post Ikea Wall Shelves Hack appeared first on Windgate Lane.

It’s that fun time of year again!! Swap it Like It’s Hot, where a whole bunch of us get together and find thrifty randoms and send them to our friends to transform into whatever they can reimagine and I love it! This year my items came from our fearless leader, Charlotte, from Ciburbanity, and I decided to use them to spruce up our bar cart for fall.

Our antique bar cart got a little make over during the One Room Challenge that you can see here but it was time to change out a few things to try and entice fall to head into Texas;)

Charlotte sent me several fun things but I decided that these two were the stand outs to help in my mini make-over. This little tray and a wooden stand.

I actually liked the pattern on the tray, but the colors just weren’t working for me, which is the beauty of buying things and seeing them in different ways! All this tray needed was some black spray paint to get me started… and yes, this may be one of my children completely wiping out in the background of this photo… no children were harmed in the spray painting of this tray!

I used some glossy, black spray paint and gave it a shiny fresh coat! Then I decided to add my personality into the project… a few white stick on letters accomplished that because I got jokes people! My husband may not think I’m as funny as I do but he’s got the rest of his life to figure that one out.

So a man walks into a bar… and he says… can there ever be enough blue and white in a house? No! and that’s not even a funny question! You know I had to have my blue and white but I love the mix with the black and white and peach… yes, peach! I brought some peach accents with my DIY curtains into the dining room and love the soft contrast it brings.  That peach, velvet pillow cover though, was a recent Target purchase (lots of colors) for under $10- you can find it here and you’re welcome… love! 

The wood base was perfect with an old glass cylinder I had.  I simply filled it with these wood beads that once again, I found at Target, and then added some of my little, Christmas battery powered lights for some fall ambiance! So easy but added great texture and interest! For you locals out there, I am not going to lie… there were two boxes at my Target and I snatched them both up- I’m sure they will restock soon but they are on sale online and it is an unbelievably good deal if you compare prices to the wood beads they sell at Pottery Barn, etc, so I suggest you nab them if you can.

Best advice on decorating I can give… decorate for you… this isn’t going to be everyone’s style and that’s why I love seeing what other’s do with similar things because to some a tray is just a tray but to some it’s way to remind their husband that they are funny every time he sees it

And FYI in case I haven’t encouraged you to spend enough moola at Target already, that is in fact a fake fiddle leaf fig tree… and I couldn’t be more proud of a fake plant if I tried.  I actually had to ask our store manager and these will only be sold at some stores so once again, if you can grab it online I would for sure- they are so real looking and obviously for me the biggest plus is you can’t kill it!

So now I get to send you on your way to my friend Laurie over at Vin’yet Etc. who I sent this little group of thrifted finds- I can’t wait to see what she did with them!

And here are the links to all of the participants for today and I will come back each day and add the new participants as this will go on all week!

Monday

| Ciburbanity | Windgate Lane | Vin’yet Etc. | Casa Watkins Living | One Mile Home Style |

Tuesday

| Reinvented | ConfettiStyle | Confessions of a Serial Do-It-Yourselfer | Addicted 2 DIY

|Restoration Redoux | I Am a Homemaker | Maggie Overby Studios | PMQ For Two |

Wednesday

| Two Thirty-Five Designs | 58 Water Street | Create & Babble |

| Dogs Don’t Eat Pizza | Gourley Girl and Guy | The Charming Farmer |

Thursday

| This is our Bliss | Southern State of Mind |

| Two Purple Couches | My Life From Home |

xoxo

B

**affiliate links are included in this post to both ease in the sourcing of materials and Windgate Lane does make a small stipend off of purchases made through click throughs**

The post Bar Cart Styling | Swap It Like It’s Hot appeared first on Windgate Lane.

I see old shutters at thrift stores all the time, but it wasn’t until I was sent some by Jeanie, at Create and Babble, in our Blogger Swap Group, that I realized what a pretty lantern they could make!

Our fearless leader, and organizer, Charlotte, from Ciburbanity, got us all set to swap our $10 or less thrift store items with each other and off we all went! I received a few things but really narrowed in on the shutters and now all I can think is to look for more!

At first I was leaning towards white, but decided a fun green, spring color would be better.  Spray paint was a must for me because of all the nooks and crannies I didn’t want to have to do with a brush.  I knew I would probably spray some touch up once I was all done, but figured it would be easier to get the inside before I attached it all.

I measured and cut a piece of scrap wood to attach to the missing side of the shutters and used L-brackets to hold it in place.  I decided to leave the bottom open knowing that I wouldn’t be moving it around much and placing a flameless candle in it for safety with my little ones.

I wanted to attach some kind of handle but debated on what kind.  I considered wood and metal but finally decided a braided rope would be fun and give it a bit of spring and summer feel! I simply braided three separate strands and then braided the three together to give it a thicker look.

I should caution you though, that if you are going to be using a real candle inside you should not use any materials that would become a fire danger.  I had some string like this on hand that worked out great!

It was an easy project but I couldn’t love it any more! The pop of green with all of my blues looks really pretty and it’s just perfect on our mantel!

and yes, everyone should keep a disco ball in there home, I mean what if you need to dance?!

This whole week will be filled with fun blogger swap projects which I will come back and be linking here, but for now hop over to Jess at Gourley Girl and Guy and see what she did with this fun stuff I sent her!

Have a great week and don’t forget to check back for more links every day! Oh and pin here for inspiration later! –>

xoxo,

B

Monday Swappers

| Windgate Lane (you are here!) | Gourley Girl and Guy | Dogs Don’t Eat Pizza |

| Hearts and Sharts | 58 Water Street | I Am a Homemaker |

| Prim and Propah | Create and Babble |

The post Old Shutters into New Lantern appeared first on Windgate Lane.

During my master bedroom make over I had hoped to find some pretty white gourd lamps for our nightstand.   Turns out they aren’t  1. Easy to find and 2. Cheap.  Time to dig in and figure out a plan as one does when they are obsessed with finding a cheap gourd lamp!

I found these at HomeGoods, which is always an amazing source for lamps, and decided that they were a good shape and size and had the potential to work as is… but we all know that’s not how I roll.  So she got taped up and spray painted a gorgeous glossy white!

They came with a very standard lamp shade and of course in my eagerness I only snapped this picture but here is the shade prior to it’s make-over!

And what you see right there in front of the shade is my new secret weapon! I decided to go dramatic and wanted black shades- but wasn’t going to buy them when I had two perfectly fine ones.  I considered trying to spray paint them, fabric paint, and even rewrapping them in black fabric- but then the wheels turned one more squeak and I thought… what about a screen print ink? It’s for fabric, it has great coverage, and dare I say, affordable?

Speedball Screen Printing Ink is what I went with and I am thrilled with the outcome- especially for $6.  You can find several colors here or I have seen them at local craft stores- just ask for screen printing ink.

I was unsure at first on how heavily to paint it on- but realized quickly that it goes a long way and using a bit more actually just gave better coverage and then I wouldn’t have to go over spots a second time.  You can see in the above picture that there were a few areas that I had to go back in and paint some more.  (I used a disposable brush so I wouldn’t have to worry about cleanup)

After making sure it was covered well, I decided to add a fun accent.  The fabric on the inside of the shade was covered with thick, smooth paper, so I decided to give it a little pop with Martha Stewart Metallic Silver Paint!

I debated on gold or silver for awhile and my natural pull was towards gold but because I have more silver accents and cooler colors in the room, I ended up with the silver.  I did two coats and here’s a tip- I did the first coat just painted straight strokes- but the second coat I did in half moon shapes to give a more silver leafed look.

It doesn’t look pretty until it’s all dry and the light hits it- then you will smile like a fool just like me! And don’t think for a second that you won’t see some other lampshade in my house with a gold interior soon

This was pretty big departure for me and I questioned myself every step of the way but I am so, so happy with how these turned out!

You can read about the details and sources in my Master Bedroom Here.

I just love the glimmer of the silver!

I’m excited to have this room pulled together!

If you are looking for my other go to Craft Supplies and Tools, you can head to my Amazon store which will have links for them all Here.  Hope you are having a wonderful day!

xoxo

B

**Affiliates present**

The post Painted Lamp Shade appeared first on Windgate Lane.

Even though we are all spread out around the country, my partner was actually a friend here in Texas- Heather from Queen of Everything! And she informed me after a couple weeks that we would need to meet up for her to give me my swap item because it was too large to ship… I immediately assumed it was a car… because that would be awesome!

But because I don’t know how to tow another car behind mine, I was actually relieved that it was an Awesome Mid Century Modern Side Table!!! That she and her sis scored for…. wait for it… $10!!

Now clearly she needed some work.  I have named the former owner… Hard Worker… because he or she put a lot of work into this.  Like, a lot of modpodge over that sheet music… a lot.  Like, so much that it seeped into the wood below and completely damaged it:( Like, so much that only tiny bits and pieces of the sheet music could be pried off.

So things weren’t going as smoothly as I had hoped.  But it just inspired me to take it in another direction! I knew I didn’t have room for this beauty in my house, which was annoying and I considered buying a bigger house but my CFO once again frowned on that idea, so I decided to just have fun with it and maybe I will find it a home in the future!

After getting as much of the paper off as I could, and scraping off the black caulking that the ‘Hard Worker’ had put around it all  I did a quick sand and wiped it all off with some mineral spirits.

Next was one coat of Rustoleum white spray primer and then another coat of white spray paint.  I only did this on the legs and edges though because I had a plan for the tops.

I found this fun, green wrapping paper with little white foxes at Ikea and it was the perfect touch this table needed!

And why not throw in some gold rub and buff dipped legs?! just taped it off and quickly did it- such a fun little thing to do but adds a nice punch to any table or chair.

So who wants to buy my ‘What Does the Fox Say?’ Table?!

Here are the links for all of the other amazing swap projects!

2 Little Superheroes | AKA Design + Life | A Chic Little House | The Chronicles of Home | Ciburbanity | Decor Adventures | Desert Domicile | Finding Silver Pennies | Gourley Girl & Guy | The Happier Homemaker | Hearts and Sharts | A Home Full of Color | Makely Home | Making Lemonade | My Passion For Decor | Primitive and Proper | Queen of Everything | Rooms For Rent | Shades of Blue | Stone Gable | Thoughts From Alice | Town and Country Living | Two Purple Couches | While They Snooze | White Buffalo Styling Co. | Windgate Lane

And for even more fun-

 Loading InLinkz ...

xoxo

B

The post Flea Market Swap |Mid Century Modern Table| appeared first on Windgate Lane.

When Tide contacted me to participate in a challenge, they didn’t have to ask twice! Tide Oxi is a regular staple in my house… boys… remember?

I already use it regularly for stains and in my laundry.  It is the only thing that has taken out red dirt stains from my son’s white baseball pants.   I simply make a little paste on the spot and let it sit and then throw it in the washer.  And just so you know, his first season of baseball he slid into every single base… just because.

I wanted to put it to the test in a different way though, so I picked some up at Home Depot and decided to take it outside! Our patio umbrella has seen better days.  It was thrown down in a storm last spring and hasn’t really moved off of laying on the patio since then, which equals dirt, mold, and exposure to all the elements.  It’s hard to see- but it was covered with a nice layer of crud.

I didn’t want to buy a new one, so I decided to see what I could do to freshen up the old one.

First I brought it out to the middle of the yard and carefully opened it.

And by carefully, I mean, I opened it and then ran screaming as bugs crawled out of it!

After I confirmed that I was not actually attacked by bugs, I proceeded to sprinkle Tide Oxi all over it.  I then took the hose and started spraying it down so that the Tide Oxi foamed up and then I just let it sit for awhile.

(Some of you smarties will notice that I made an erroneous mistake and put the product I chose not to use in the original post- after trying several things- Tide Oxi was the winner of the Cleaning Challenge!)

I came back out about 20 minutes later and was pleasantly surprised! It was already looking so much cleaner! So I finished spraying it off completely and then let it dry… which took about 5 minutes since it was 100 degrees.

Now that the umbrella was all shiny and clean, it inspired me to spruce it up even more! You see, in TX, we don’t spend much time outback in the summer, it’s just too hot, but fall is when we can sit out and enjoy the weather while the boys play.  So I wanted it to be a nice place for us to sit, eat dinner and relax.

So with a clean pallet- I was able to spray paint it! and trust me, if it wasn’t clean, the paint wouldn’t have adhered.   I knew that spray painting on fabric was not going to ever look perfect- so I went for an abstract, aztec design that I kind of just went off the cuff with.  I already had blues (big surprise) and blacks on my deck so I just grabbed some spray paint and went to town!

Now I get it- some of you are gonna say- ummm… why?  Well, because it still works- it’s gonna get faded again- and it looked worse before… So I say… Why not?!  Some blue, black, and white spray paint just gave me a fun new accessory out back:)

I am pretty excited for some cooler weather and some fun backyard dinners and listening to my boys play whatever sport is currently on their minds!

Shoot, I even think it looks pretty down!

Do you use Tide Oxi? Share your favorite use in the comments section- I would love to hear them! and if you want to check out some more great uses, you can check out Jonathan Scott, from HGTV’s Property Brother’s, Ideas Here!

I hope you are all having an amazing week!

xoxo

B

*Windgate Lane was provided with product for this post but all opinions and ideas are my own*

The post Tide Oxi Challenge appeared first on Windgate Lane.

The following was one of my very first posts- so many of you will not have ever seen it- unless you are a true, loyal follower and you have read every single one of my amazing posts…
so yeah, most of you haven’t see it it, so here is a flashback to my biggest hit blogpost! Enjoy the ceiling fan excitement!!

Ok- so how many of you have this….

Go ahead… just admit it! It’s Brassy and it’s just eating at you every time you look up at it! OK, maybe that is just me- but it has been bugging me for the last four years we have lived in this house- but it works… so the moola to replace it was hard to justify.
Sooooo…. what to do? take a baseball bat to it Paint it! Why not? ok, what paint… well how about some craft paint and some spray paint and whatever else I feel like using because why the heck not?! can’t look worse in my mind.
So I started by getting up there to see what that fan was all about- it’s not that hard people- it is just a couple screws holding each blade on- so- off the blades came! and then a couple more screws and off the metal brackets off of the blades came!
Took those pieces outside and found my fave spray paint… Rust-oleum’s ORB (Oil Rubbed Bronze) and a glossy white I had to touch up the blades

a couple quick coats…

The post Flashback… Ceiling Fan Make-Over! appeared first on Windgate Lane.

And here is a fun little girl’s desk!  They are going to pick out the hardware once she is all set up:)

The post Roll Top Revived appeared first on Windgate Lane.

I really did like them and they were nice- but they weren’t maximizing the space, and clearly I was starting to just pile stuff all around them.  I wanted to display items but also have functional storage for all of my craft/ paint/ tons-o-crap stuff!
In a search for new bookshelves, I came across these from West Elm and just loved the clean look of them!

Now at $900… this was not happening!  So I took my cute pink pencil and got to measuring and drawing what I needed! Now I knew exactly what I wanted to do… but with a pretty minuscule idea of how to accomplish it.  This is a pretty common occurrence in our house so I let it marinade for awhile and finally did what I could to force myself into it- I bought the wood and then let it sit in my front hallway for two weeks until I couldn’t stand it anymore!
I thought about cutting the notches with just a hand saw and then decided not to.  I asked my sweet contractor neighbor what his thoughts on it were and we both agreed that a jigsaw might work… I don’t have a jigsaw.  And then finally I dug through my Power Tools kit that I won from Ryobi and settled on the reciprocating saw– (affiliate) grabbed some clamps- and the instruction guide and went to town!
I admit I was terrified and made sure my children were ready to call 911- but what do you know?! It was easy and awesome!!! I want to cut everything now!
Ok- enough with my endless chatter.  You will find a tutorial at the end of my braggy pictures;)

One on each side and I tried to make them a mix of memorabilia and also storage- all of the boxes are from Ikea and I LOVE them! They hold my paints that I can’t leave in my garage because of the heat and all of my crafting goodies.

The post Knock off Bookshelves appeared first on Windgate Lane.

That empty nook in my family room corner had been bugging me for some time- and I finally found this inspiration picture in Pottery Barn Wall Decor Ideas (sorry, won’t let me link) that got the wheels turning for me.

I don’t have that much space there but I liked the idea of having a tall dresser that would be seen over my chair and that could be a pop of color for fun.  So I put my little fingers to work on Craigslist and found this little beauty for $40! Really great accents and even nice hardware (sorry, got excited and forgot to take pics before I started!)

I actually liked the natural wood and I hate to paint furniture when it’s so pretty already- but it wasn’t going to match any of the other wood in our house and I wanted it to look like it was supposed to be different.

Now you may remember that I pulled my back about a month ago- this was during that time- and I had just gotten this baby and was itching to get it all done! So with frustration setting in I decided to do something I have never done before…. ok, well that is an exaggeration, I have done it before, but not on a big piece of furniture…. I spray painted it!! I went and bought some spray Zinsser to prime it and then went to town with the most gorgeous color of teal/blue you have ever seen! It was gorgeous- I almost shed a tear!!

I was doing a happy dance to get her into place once she was dry (takes a bit longer to dry when you spray paint something that big- stays tacky for awhile) and when I put her in the corner…. I wanted to shed another tear… it’s a dark corner…. and the blue just faded to black:(

She was virtually unnoticable!! how could this be?! All I could do was cuss and throw things around pick another color and repaint the whole dang thing.  And it took a bit of time and thought- but finally decided to do an Annie Sloan color- Duck Egg- and distress it some since it takes hits from the boys anyway.

So here she is in all her glory and pretty stinkin cute I have to say…

See- I told you I would share my triumphs and failures on here- and although beautiful- sometimes things just don’t look the way you think they are going to.  And with that knowledge I always either keep my reciept or never spend so much that I will want to jump off the roof if I hate it and want to change it! Ha!

I hope you are all having a fantastic day- and not having to repaint anything!
xoxo

The post What Happened? Craigslist Happened… Again! appeared first on Windgate Lane.