Vintage Bookshelf



After

 Yesterday I felt quite inspired after browsing a new blog that I found called 'paint me white'. So once I reached home after work, I could hardly wait to get started on my next project. I found an old pine bookshelf that I had stored away in the garage because it didn't match with any of the other furniture and always looked a bit out-of-place.

After a spot of light cleaning and sanding, I started painting it white. Its still work in progress but what a difference!!!. I'll post the completed photos soon, but in the meantime I've posted before and in-progress photos. I had to drag the bookshelf back indoors at night since it looked like it was going to pour! Can't wait to go back home and finish painting tonight!!!

Before

In Progress

Big thank you to Karen, The Graphics Fairy for the lovely flourish design I painted onto the bookshelf as an after-thought. I'm so happy with the end result!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

xox

Rani

Joyeux Noël!

Today we decided its time to put up the 'Christmas Tree'! Our first Christmas in our new home! Im so excited! We went shopping for the perfect decorations.

Glass baubles! Love them so much more than the plastic ones. The antique silver ones are especially nice!

My very first attempt at Christmas Ham! It was delicious! Merry Christmas everybody!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

xox

Rani

My first project !

My first project was to hang a few pictures to start on the French theme. 



www.corbis.com



I did a bit of research and found that actual French posters cost a bomb to buy and even more to professionally frame!!! And since I had a budget to stick to I could not spend it all on French vintage posters. Instead I decided to put the colour printer to some good use. I brought some recycled paper from OfficeMax….ivory or parchment are two good colours to use, to make the prints look vintage! I searched the web for some period prints and came up with a few that were high resolution. (Try to make sure that the pictures/prints are copyright and royalty free! A good website to use is www.corbis.com) Once I had a few pictures that I liked, I printed them out on the recycled paper.



www.corbis.com





Next step was to stake out a few op shops or salvos for vintage wooden frames…..(if nothing catches your fancy IKEA frames are always good). I picked mine up from IKEA, white and black . Initially I had thought of adding a coat of paint to the frames and distressing them to make them look vintage but in the end I decided not to. The black frames make the colourful prints pop and white frames with sepia or black and white prints look divine! All that was left was to frame the prints! Easy! The hardest part was choosing where to put them up. They all looked so good that in the end we decided to make a feature wall.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

xox

Rani

Il n’y a que deux endroits au monde où l’on puisse vivre heureux: chez soi et à Paris!!!

Il n’y a que deux endroits au monde où l’on puisse vivre heureux:  chez soi et à Paris

(There are only two places in the world where we can live happy:  at home and in Paris
~ Ernest Hemingway)

Well said Hemingway! So when my husband and I bought our first home, I knew I wanted a shabby chic theme to bring a touch of French vintage into our lives. My goal: On a tight budget, transform a modern shell into a dream home! Easier said than done!

Thanks so much for stopping by!



xox
Rani