Neighborhood Housing + Junior League = Great Home Decor



 





 

 

I had the honor of helping Junior League of Great Falls and Neighborhood Housing with a decorator home for a qualified first-time homeowner-  a single woman and her grandson.  This home was built in an older neighborhood so they added extra trim at the windows, stylish doors and  cedar look shakes to the exterior, along with a cedar rail porch across the front-like so many other homes have in that neighborhood. 

 

 

EXTERIOR


We were given a budget of $2300 (a combination of JuniorLeague and Neighborhood Housing monies) to only be used for decor.  The homeowner had a bed for herself, her grandson, a newer sofa, and dining set.  The other information we had was that her favorite color was blue, preferred lighter color combinations, and she didn't like alot of clutter. 

Bedroom set donated by Feather Your Nest store

 

 

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Pillows and Bedding for Master Bedroom

A bedroom set was donated by the generous owner of a new downtown store, Feather Your Nest.  The set included a king headboard, side table for the bed (both shown) and a long dresser with mirror.  Other donations included pillow forms for the 8 new pillows sewn, the fabric for the pillows, and some of the wall art. 

When I said "we", I meant Robin Madison and myself.  Robin, a new Junior League member, was relentless with searching out furniture, sending photos to the homeowner and myself, to get approval. She found some great prices and even contributed her own artistic talent for the artwork in the grandson's room. 

Storage and Artwork for grandson

Additional Items for grandsons room

Bathroom decor

Bathroom decor

The clear glass lamp in the living room(shown below) could hold objects-so what did we do, but put some of the shells inside.  (We also "plugged" the bottom of the lamp with a fabric covered board so that the homeowner could move it around.)  And/or she can change out the shells for a holiday-how about some ornaments for the Christmas season??? 


Livingroom Decor

Livingroom Seating & Ottoman

 

 



We did purchase some white faux wood blinds for all windows and a lace curtain for back door- and filled the bathroom with towels, a shower curtain, and rugs.  We created a "color story" by carrying a blue color throughout the home.  You can find bits and pieces of the blue in ALL of the rooms.  The human eye has less trouble moving from room to room by having this "color story" and it can make the entire space feel larger just by using similar colors throughout. 

Accent wall in livingroom

Even though the home was designed with large closet spaces, we tried to give the homeowner some added storage: her round leather ottoman opened up, 1 of the end tables had storage, the shelving and baskets on the accent wall and in the grandson's room.  Who can't use a spot or a place for everything?

This home shows that you can have a comfortable, stylish space using an economical budget!  Thank you to Kapri Byrne for the photos, the other League members who helped hang artwork, assemble furniture AND Thank you to Junior League of Great Falls and Neighborhood Housing for asking for my expertise!

Metallic Tree Stump Tables

Finished  END TABLE

So, what do you do if you have a pine tree to cut down?  Maybe the tree was dying from that darn pine beetle that has moved across our forests...or it is right in your own back yard...well, I begged(and pleaded) with my husband and his friend to cut me a couple of logs, at least 25" tall and about 30"circumference.  Amazingly he did- and I got 2 huge logs with which to create an end table or two.

BEFORE the transformation...

Here are the steps I used to create the end tables.  One will be a silver metallic log of "awesome-ness"(I am sure that is a word)- the other will have its bark stripped off, then given a clear top coat. 



Log to left is silver, log to right is clear coated

First off, is the log level?  If not, you can have a wonderful bonding experience with your husband and a chainsaw...Let's just say the "leveling" process was a little rustic...we used a marker, tape measure and a chain saw for the first leveling.    The table with the clear coat was sanded a little on the sides as well. (We used a belt sander to be faster and more productive.)  Next up, use a brush, blow dryer, or leaf blower to get the "dust" off and you are ready to paint or seal.  I used spray paint as it is easier to get into the crevices..and there were lots of crevices when the bark is left on.  I did spray the bottom first and let it dry for several days, then sprayed the sides and let them set for several days as well.  (We had discussed putting a small piece of rubber/foam or wood disc on the bottom to protect floors further, but ended up spraying the bottoms to prevent any kind of mold or other odd growths...) 

Total cost of project was 3 cans of spray paint: silver table was $21.84, the clear table was $11.61, with an additional cost of a 2 pk of sanding paper for the belt sander@ $5.97

I have included a couple of other examples of tree stump tables and my finished product.  Easy project with a big reward...HAPPY LOG HUNTING! 

P.S.  Of course, you don't have to start with such a big specimen...you could group several together...we tried to think of a way to make them a little lighter, but couldn't come up with a way to do that easily or without the logs splitting.

Photo credit to flickr.com

Photo credit to mydesignsecrets.com