A Great Estate Sale Find, Used to Stage

One of my favorite finds this past year were these leather couches and matching leather recliner chair. We found them at an estate sale. We paid more than I normally would but we used them to stage a house we renovated and we plan to stage with them again. The pictures below are in our home.
 

Railing Makeover

This is the railing of a house we are renovating. We thought the railing would look sharper if we changed the color. We prefer dark wood tones and the cabinets are dark as well.
First, I sanded the whole railing down.
Second, I cleaned it all with Shaklee Basic H.
3rd, I used a Minwax Poly Shades (it has stain and polyurethane in one) on the top rails, bottom rails and large posts. (two coats)
4th, I primed all the thinner posts.
Finally, I painted each of the spindles an off white. (I color matched the trim color of the baseboards and door casings.)



This is what it looks like now.

We are now in the process of putting hardwood floors in. We will show you that soon.

Do you like dark or light wood tones?


I linked up to Twice owned Tuesday
                       Before and After Party

Spray Painting to Update and Refresh Lighting

I have used spray paint to refresh and update many things. Here are a few of the things I used them on. The first couple here are out door coach lights. The first one I used Rust-oleum Satin Black. The next one I used was a Rust-oleum, Metallic Aged Bronze.










































After I take down the lights the first thing I do is unscrew the little nuts and take the glass out.
Second, I wash the light fixture and the glass well with Shaklee’s Basic H.
Third, I use a metal primer, shown below.
Finally, I spray it the color that I want, and you have a new looking and updated light fixture.
 
These are low voltage Malibu lights that were new but I didn’t think the color went well with the house and the coach lights, so I primed and sprayed these as well.
 

I really like the way out door lighting adds to the house’s appearance and security.

I like everything to match so I also sprayed the house numbers.













Have you ever spray painted outdoor lighting?
I am linking up to:

Christmas Decor

This year for Christmas we decided to decorate with our trimmings from our Red Twig Dogwood bushes, a Mugo Pine bush we no longer wanted, and pine cones from our yard. We also used candles, some berries (I got at a garage sale this past year), and only a few of my decorations I used in the past. We haven’t put our tree up yet because we are considering buying a real tree this year. It will be the first time we ever had a real tree in 27 years. Does anyone have any suggestions on the best type of tree to buy or tips on caring for one?

This is our kitchen.

Here are the Mugo Pine and Red Twig branches piled in our garage.

Here are some close ups of the branches and berries on top of the cabinets.


Some of our candles, branches, and pine cones.

 
This is our Living room.
 

The picture on the right has real pine branches tied together with twist ties.
 
This is our fire place.

  
More branches and candles. The right picture is in our powder room.
 
This is what we have in our foyer.







































We will have to show you our tree and stockings when they are done. Don’t forget to let us know what kind of tree to buy.