House Beautiful

Archive for the 'DIY' Category

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Last Minute Mother’s Day, DIY Style

What’s up kids??  Happy Friday!  So, Mother’s Day is this Sunday, and if you’re anything like me, you still haven’t made brunch reservations, haven’t made it to Hallmark yet, and are just now thinking about what to get Mom yet this year. #whoops.  WASSUP, Jayne!

My mom just told me she’s coming in town this weekend, and I’m stoked!  It’s been awhile since Sister Christian and I have kicked it, so I’m looking forward to a mini-girls weekend. I’m sure she’ll get hopped up on 1 glass of wine and say some super hilarious, inappropriate stuff…  I can’t wait.  Anyhow, in addition to prepping a lush little guest room for her (which we’ll talk about next week), here’s what I’m DIY throwing together in the 11th hour to pamper my Ma.

Can’t go wrong with taking Mom for a mani-pedi!  Pretty sure Jayne let out a little pee when I told her this was what we’re doing when she gets in on Saturday.  If you really wanna kick it DIY, you can give mom a pedi at home.  But unfortunately, I don’t own a chisel or a belt sander, so we’re gonna have to go out.  Bahahahahha.  Just kiddin – love you mom!

Stocking her room with peonies, which are just now coming in season.  I found mine at Whole Foods last night and the upstairs already smells like heaven.

Yo.  I may be 32, but that doesn’t mean I’m too old to make a homemade card.  I pin so many gorgeous abstract prints and paintings – like the above by Luli Sanchez – so why not print one of those on card stock at home and scribble a nice diddle in the middle??

I default to quiche, always, for a.m. entertaining.  It’s JYEST so good, it’s easy to make ahead of time, and you can throw whatever you want in there.  It’s like a party (!) So, the photo above is from Smitten Kitchen’s Over-the-Top Mushroom quiche which…  if I had the time…  I would totally make.  That girl has NEVER led me astray. But in the interest of saving time, I’m going to use my old faithful Martha Stewart quiche recipe as a base:

Then, follow Martha’s directions below…

And OBVI, have some mimosas at-the-ready when everyone arrives.  I’m going to add a few sprigs of mint as a garnish.  Super fresh and makes it look like I worked harder than I really did.

It’s Spring, and everyone loves basil…  right??  Why not pot a few basil plants in pretty containers – like vintage tea tins – to use as centerpieces?  They can double as party favors for guests to take home after you stuff ’em fulla quiche and mimosas. Whatwhat.

Happy early Mother’s Day to all of you!

xoxo,

Photo Credits:  Miles Redd & Oscar de la Renta Tabletop | Pedi Pic | Peonies | Bubbly Bar | Tea Tins (Clockwise from top left) 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 |

Emerald & Awesome

I had a few people inquire about the dresser re-do and green paint color I used on this bad boy featured in Monday’s post:

I snagged the piece at a sweet little neighborhood shop here in Columbus called Fernbird last fall, which is owned by an even sweeter gal named Laurel.  I wanna say I paid about $100 for the dresser.  And listen, I love a good steal, but I thought that price was KILLER for what I got:  a dresser made of good, solid wood…  clean lines and an unfussy shape (aka gender neutral)…   drawers that slide in & out, easy peasy…  and it also has little organizer/dividers inside each drawer.  Holler.  Sherwin Williams was nice enough to do a custom color-match for me…  though if you need to gander at a sample, it is close to their “Vegan” (SW 6738), but what I used is a teeny bit brighter with a tad more aqua.

Hosting Thanksgiving last November and the potential of having overnight guests lit a fire under my yay-hoo and got me to bust a move and finish this for the guest room…  and like a real slampig, I moved it straight to my room shortly thereafter.  You can see from the 2 drawers and from the chest what the original color was like…  a light buttery wood that was made slick-as-snot shiny with about 14 coats of laquer that I had to sandblast off.  (Do y’all own this yet?  Cuz you should.  Vroom vroom.)  I didn’t prime it – tsk tsk – because I get impatient and can’t wait to start slapping paint on stuff when I do projects like this.  “Impatient” also might be code for “lazy.”

I did about 4 coats of this lovely, joyful, verdant green (which I roll on with a small roller to spread the paint evenly, then quickly go over with a foam brush for a sleeker texture).  After all that dried, I did a few coats of Polycrylic with a foam brush (the water-based version of Polyurethane…  Polyurethane tends to leave a yellow-y residue that I don’t like.  Polycrylic’s is clear.)  Et voila (!)  Here she blows:

That dresser makes me a *little* bit happier every time I look at it, and perks up an otherwise subdued, feminine room.  And who knew that shade of green would be the Pantone Color of the Year for 2013??  Opa, yo!  I’m clairvoyant.

xoxo,