Overdue update: 10€ table upcycling

A long overdue update from our DIY day…I have not accomplished all that I wanted to, but here is a quick win I ca report on:
Ingredients:
– A garden table top in very bad shape. Legs broken, and green paint badly damaged by melted candle wax and the years gone by.
– A 5€ Ikea stool from the cellar
– 4 screws
– 2 coats of exterior paint, here dark grey (“gris orage” from Leroy Merlin)
Et voilà!  This upcycles the old table into a garden ‘coffee table’, perfect for the terrasse’s aperitife corner!
What do you think?

Child Labor, but good

10 AM, I got started, and a few minutes later, came out 2 of the boys: “Mum, I want to help you, can I paint?”
“Mom, can I sand wood?”
First, it freaked me out.
DIY is a one-man (or woman) thing, isn’t it?
Then I reasoned. And started delegating. I let go of personal productivity to spend more time showing and coordinating.
Of course, being kids, they rarely stayed on a given activity for more than 20 minutes, and ended up playing ball next to me for lengths of time. Still, having them help meant there were indeed simultaneous workshops, and that gave the impression of a busy garden factory. Plus Superman was coming and going, he too ticking things off our list, often with the youngest in tow: mowing the lawn, fixing a shower bar and shelves in the boy’s bathroom, cleaning the car…

It was a great day! Smooth family moments. Sunshine, and DIT,…Do It Together.

Before going to see a friend, our 9 year-old told me he loved it.
Whit Monday is off for us tomorrow, so we still have time to make progress…
Report out tomorrow night!

Today is DIM day!

After looking at, and pinning, so many DIYs online, it’s high time I get organized to do a few Myself.
The list is long.
Very long.
The question is: how many, if any, will I manage to do today?
Ok, first, coffee.

Testing WordPress galleries 2: garden, before, during, after

Testing, with more pics and a different format…this time the evolution of the garden

Frames 101, and shuffling furniture

I like shuffling furniture around from time to time. The couch has been around the living room since we moved here.
Last Friday I decided to reshuffle a bit, and also, it was high time, to hang a few frames together. I read a couple of blog posts providing advice and different layout options, and then I went ahead.
Ok, now I have to chose art to actually put into the empty frames!

Testing, testing…

Still work to do!
But that will be enough for a weekend.

Testing WordPress galleries: living room before, during, after

Testing WordPress galleries which I have never used before…
Here with a living room before, during, after, our renovation.
For instance, I wonder can we create a gallery directly with pictures from our phone, or do they have to be loaded on the blog before? I’m not a techy, so happy to hear about your experience with and tips for WordPress galleries.
Thanks!

Painting the old damaged mirror

This old family mirror was quite damaged. Some of the gold and pieces of old plaster were long gone, and it was looking battered.
Superman had bought plaster and a little pot of gold to take a shot at an amateur yet proper restoration.
The missing plaster was replaced and molded manually… And then we changed our mind on the gold and decided to use some left over gris zinc paint from Leroy Merlin.
I’m happy with the result.
On this one, I think a proper restoration could not have suffered our amateur skills!
This was a year ago, but a post on “Our French Oasis” blog just reminded me of this!
Finding a battered treasure, and deciding what to do with it , and then actually doing it (my weakness definitely), is an interesting journey, every time.

Front door, front Dior! Before-After

When I type ‘front door’, the French autocorrect types ‘front Dior’…how very chic!

So here it is, thanks to the ideas, advice, and shared enthusiasm of Houzz users, we finally chose a color, sanded and prepared the door, and painted 3 layers of…. ‘petroleum blue’!
We changed our mind a few times, between teal and dark red, and light grey. In the end, the choice happened in-store, on an instinct… this Teal-meets-NottingHill-blue just felt right.
See before -after pictures, what do you think ?

Now there is another debate on Houzz: painting the living room door… Would you be for or against?
Aaaah the joys of the never-ending to-do list…
Bonne nuit!

Front door, before:

Front Dior :-), after:

Amazing Houzz!

Vous connaissez l’appli gratuite Houzz? Non? C’est dingue. Vraiment puissante la communauté ! Cliquez sur le lien ci-dessous, vous allez comprendre: http://houzz.com/discussions/1158368

I have recently downloaded the Houzz free app. I found it very nice for browsing but I was not doing anything else with it. Today I asked the Houzz community for my first advice…about our front door color options.
In a few hours, I received several replies, suggestions, pictures for inspiration, and even a few photo-montages with different colored doors!
I’m truly amazed at the power of such a community, the collective creativity bubbling there.
Check out my advice discussion thread on houzz.com to see for yourself- http://houzz.com/discussions/1158368
Have you use it before?

Long overdue (IV) seal

Suite des finitions dans la salle de bains: le joint de douche…