February 20, 2009

The Little Red Cupboard....

I have a before and after that I am really proud of. I bought this blonde, boring looking wood sideboard for $100. The woman was selling it for $200 but I went in for the kill and asked if she would take $100 off the price and to my astonishment she said that "I could have it if I picked up tonight". SCORE! Always barter peeps.

It was perfect for the space I needed it for and the purpose I needed it for. I had this bare, empty wall that was sad and lonely and needed some love. All I had to do was get to work revamping the cupboard.

I could kick myself that I didn't take a before picture. In all the spray painting excitement I forgot. Yes, I said spray paint. I took this lil' cutie and stuck her in my backyard and plastered her with 5 cans of Walmart's 98 cent spray paint cans. Gutsy...I know.

It turned out great don't you think?

The next step was to personalize it a bit more. My hubby is from England and I lived there for 10 years, heck our first born, was born there. Needless to say we love anything English and we needed to show it in our house abit more. We needed a Union Jack..well make that two. The doors had a cross on it that made it perfect for my plans.

Here she is in all her glory. I LOVE how it turned out. I went and found some big branches out back to go in my HUGE old Mason jar that I found at an antique store for $5 bucks. I added some lil' birdies and voila. I absolutely adore it.



I bought a cheap lamp at Walmart that was black and painted it to match the blue I used in the flags on my doors. I also took an old brassy, chintzy looking mirror and white washed it.


I now have storage for all my little girls toys that were always floating around the house.




I hung another gift from my awesome MIL on the tree. Look how sweet this little crystal heart is. I just love how at night, it sparkles and spins. It adds the last little bit of magic.



This little bird is sure happy she found such a good home. Annabelle, my 18 month old, kisses her and talks to her every night before we ascend up the stairs.



I just sit and stare at the whole vignette at night. It makes me happy to look over at it while I watch Tv or sit by the fire. It brings depth and warmth to the room.


One thing that I haven't had the time to finish is the handles. Now this is my dilemma. Do I go the easy route and get some glass knobs, or do I glue some old English coins on the knobs ??? What do you think?


I will update with pics when I finish it. I also just bought some beautiful butterflies that I put on it for spring. I'll post pics of that later. I will change the decor up with the seasons. LOVE this piece and had to share ;)

xoxo Emily

24 comments:

Kristina P. said...

You are amazing! It looks like something out of a magazine.

Emily Anne Leyland said...

Why thank you girl!!!

Alyson | New England Living said...

I LOVE the union jack touch! AHH, just love it!

This is yet another way you and I are alike. I'm always picking up pieces when they're a good deal and painting them to match my look. WE ARE LONG LOST TWINS! Only I'm a couple of years older. ;)

Got your email and loved it. Will get back to you today. Love ya!

Emily Anne Leyland said...

We really are aren't we :) Glad you liked the email. I had so much more to say but just wanted to get it off ;)
Take your time- I am taking the kids to see Coraline...whoohooo. I can't wait!!!

Anjeny said...

All I can say is "WOW".

You should enter this in the magazines. You really are gifted with creativity. I just love what you did.

Ginger said...

A beautiful job well done. Makes me want to finish mine.

Jen of MadeByGirl said...

WOW - great job Emily! : )
I'm always amazed when people do a BEFORE & AFTER of a piece of furniture they rescued... Will add you to my blogroll...thanks!

Jen Ramos
'Cards & Prints You'll Love...'
www.madebygirl.com
madebygirl.blogspot.com

Heather said...

This is SO cute! I am so jealous of your find, and I love the red. I think ceramic knobs would be so pretty, I've seen so many awesome ones around lately. Anthroplogie has some dazzling ones....saw some at the craft store too! I envy all your new storage space...

Jessica Jane said...

Wow, I LOVE red, but I've never done red furniture. It's wonderful! I love that you were so brave, it turned out great!

Emily Anne Leyland said...

Anjeny-Thank you so much!!! I wish a magazine wanted to see some of my stuff ;)

Ginger- thank you and what did you start??? Do tell.

Jennifer- thanks girl! I love before and afters too. Thanks for adding me to your blog roll...sweetness!!!

Emily Anne Leyland said...

Heather- yeah, it was a long time to find just the right one. I tell ya...I LOVE Craigslist. The storage space is so nice. I am about to redo another piece for my entry. I'll have to post about that too. Go look in your area on Craigslist. You'll find some great stuff.

Jessica- thanks and yeah- I must admit I was scared to do it and then just went for it. It just adds so much to my room now. Be brave. The red is awesome!!!

Darci said...

You are one talented woman. I love how everything looks together. You are inspiring me to be brave and giving me some great decorating ideas. Thanks Emily!

Ben said...

Number of times you mentioned yourself: 28

Number of times you mentioned your brother and all the hard work he did under your direction to make that cupboard a reality: 0

But I'm not bitter. Not at all. No siree. Not one bit.

Emily Anne Leyland said...

Thank you Darci. Be brave woman!!! :) Show us what you do if you do any cool decorating.

Ben...oh Ben. I did forget how you helped me lift that outside and spray painted it with me while we laughed. How could I forget such a memory. Sorry :) Miss you dude. Love ya, now hurry up and come back.

binks said...

How very lovely.
I am so boring -I don't think I would ever be brave enough to paint something red.
I just tried a crackle project this weekend and I am not so thrilled with the results. Can I send you the photos for your very talented opinion?

Anjeny said...

Hi Em,
I did a photo tag last Friday and you're one of the people I tagged. I wanted to see if you have more of these amazing deco pictures so please check it out. Thats a great way of showing off more of your creations, just saying. Thanks.

purplecat said...

I think it is GREAT, love the colour and how you dressed it. lovely.
Thanks for stopping by my blog x

The Crash Test Dummy said...

OMGOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can I just say OMGOSH!!!!!!!!!

You and Melanie are twins. She is so good like that too. You would go crazy at her gorgeous house. I love love love love love it. I love red furniture. And I love all the touches.

YOU have a gift, girlfriend.

Too bad we're not related. ;)

The Crash Test Dummy said...

One suggestion.

You should have called it The Little Red Cupboard that Could!

Would you believe your verifier says:

ARe you read for this?

Artmat

Your verifier always freaks me out. Your pad truly is an artmat.

mary.liz said...

Aren't you excited to decorate that new house in Raleigh-Durham area? I can't believe you've already been commissioned for that. Those are lucky owners who get you to do ALL their decorating.

I'm excited for you! :)

Jami said...

It's lovely. I vote for glass nobs.

Becky Farley said...

Such a clever idea! It's very nice!

The Haley Family said...

It looks amazing! Great job, and I love spray paint too! Great furniture and fun decore!

Kristina P. said...

I am coming to tell you that you don't post nearly enough!! I always love your creativity.