Spring flips

I was very very busy last week- hence the lack of blog posts (sorry!). But have no fear- I was working on interior design, and I have two big new changes to show you. You may have noticed in the last blog- my floors are different! Not just different but improved. When we bought our house, one of the first things we did was tear up the carpet. The 3in wide pine floors were intact underneath, but had the most bizarre surface I'd ever seen. Someone at some point had been inspired by some world class laziness, and stained the floors a deep messy red shellac- but only around the area rugs that must have been on the floor at the time. So only the outer three  feet of our dining room and family room were stained, everything else was the raw pine- except where there were big smudges and streaks of stain, where that lazy person hadn't bothered to wipe up the excess stain---Anyway, FINALLY that problem has been solved. I rented a sander from Home Depot, sanded the floors in both rooms, stained them dark walnut, and 3 coats of polyurethane later- they're complete! Check out the befores and afters- and some pictures of my new spring decor!

So you can see how some of the floor was stained, some wasn't- And there's that monster of a sander looming in the corner.

Pretty right??? I'm so proud! It was a lot of work- but I think it turned out pretty smashing!

That's right, you can see the reflection of the radiator in the floors, that's how shiny they are!

New display on the white shelves- I just need one more antique pitcher now.

The enchanted consignments sign was a Christmas present from my parents that my dad found up at their flea market in Maine.

So the new addition here is- well the shiny redone floors, but also the tv stand. I got it for free off craigslist and painted it white. I was sitting in the family room a couple nights ago admiring the mirror and had to chuckle- other than the couch and tv- the mirror, at $50, was the most expensive thing in the room. The leather chair, tv stand, side table, and log holder were all free. Everything else was under $10. 

On the front porch. After a lot of thought- I decided this is where the ladder should reside.

See that cool painting under the piano teacher sign? I got that over the summer at the flea market for $15 (a lot for me). On my way out of the flea market I had two offers on it - one for $25, and one for $40. I declined both. I think it's a pretty special piece of folk art. I've been waiting for spring to put it up.

So as much as I liked the pumpkin colored chest in September, I've decided the color only works about 2 months out of the year- which is not enough. I'm going to paint it again tomorrow evening- I'm thinking a springy green- or maybe a pale watery blue- icy gray? I don't know.

That wrought iron armilary is a real antique- probably from 1900-1920. My parents got it for me for Christmas. It's currently my favorite antique I own ever. Every time I look at it, it makes me smile.

Looking into the dining room. I had this great large arched mirror I was going to put between the two doors. I painted it green (and it's not easy to paint a mirror), was all set to hang it, put in the nail and everything-- yeaaaa the mirror's too wide. In defeat, I put back the mirror that's been hanging there for a while. I'll have to save the green mirror for the upstairs once its finished.