DIY Centerpiece Box

For some time now, I have been wanting to either find or build a wooden box for our dining room table. I've seen a lot of smaller planter boxes used as centerpieces around the blog world and really loved how cute and functional they appear to be. It wasn't until recently that I decided to make one using some left over scrap wood we had stored in our garage. 

I actually just used some 1x4's we had left over from a picture frame I made years ago...it was falling apart and I ended up saving the extra wood after taking down the frame. Glad I did because it saved me a few extra bucks! Since we already had everything on hand to create this project, it cost me nothing but time. My kind of project! :)

I had my little helper available to hammer the nails to the board. She really loved that part and did a good job!

Once it was put together, there were a few areas that still needed to be stained. Thankfully, I had some left over Espresso stain from a previous project (used to make those picture frames). 

I also decided to add some handles to the side using pulls we already had.

I simply love how it all turned out! Now we have a place for all of those Mason jars I've collected. :)

If you are looking to spruce up your table, give this project a try! It's super simple once you have all of the materials and it's totally functional as well!

Some Large Photographs for the Dining Room

Recently, I found out that Staples not only does B/W engineering prints, but they also make engineering prints in color! I was pretty ecstatic to hear about this and had to give it a try!

One day last month, my family and I went to Colonial Williamsburg. The weather was a little bit overcast and windy, so we didn't stay too long. However, I was able to snap a few photos while we were there and decided to try a couple of them out in the colored engineering prints that Staples offers. 

I have to say that for the price, you can't beat this! The photos might not look 100% clear and may be slightly fuzzy, but you wouldn't really notice unless you look up-close. I don't think anyone will be looking that closely at these pictures in my house. And if someone notices, they can get a cookie. ;)

Also, I paid around $7.00 for BOTH of these prints which is pretty fantastic given the size ordered- 18"x30". That's a pretty good price for the size if you ask me!

To give these prints a little bit of that "canvas" look, my daughters and I shopped around the Dollar Tree, of all places, and found a large poster board that I cut in half. 

This is what the poster board looked like after it was cut in half. The size was what we needed for each print.

Regular ol' tape did the job of keeping the prints attached to the poster board.

I just used a few small nails to hang up these pictures and that was it! I haven't decided if I am going to make wooden frames for these like what we've got in the stairwell yet. I think they don't really need them, but it might make them "pop" a little bit more among all of the neutral colors.

Although, flowers do help add some color!
My husband bought me these beautiful red tulips and I love how much they add to the room! :)

If you decide to give these engineering prints a go, let me know what you think! Overall, I'd say it's worth a try if you are looking for large prints at an unbeatable price!!

A Few Shots of Christmas Decor Around Our Home

When my in-laws were visiting last week, we decided to let the girls put up the tree with their Mema and decorate it. We also decorated the house right after Thanksgiving. This was a fun process and something I think we all enjoyed! 

I always say every year that we need I'd like to get a few more Christmas decorations, BUT once I see all the bins we have after they are taken down from the attic, I quickly change my mind. We have been using the same decor for years now, aside from a few new things the kids create at school and church, and it's served us well. Maybe one year I will decide to change things up a bit, but for now, we're using what we have!

One of my little helpers is "hidden" behind that recliner in the corner munching on some M&M's that my Dad and step-mom sent us. She was also listening to some music we picked out from the library- which is no surprise! She loves to sing and dance. :)

We've had the pillows on the couch for a while now, but I did recently buy some new red fabric and pretty light blue/gray fabric to change things up a bit. Plus, I think the red pops of color make things a little more festive. 

The nutcrackers were purchased from Sears a few years ago- I got them during an after Christmas sale, so they were marked down pretty low. My husband doesn't think they will live to see next Christmas because the girls love playing with them and can be a little rough sometimes. The ballerina's hair has been falling out a little since they last played with her, but I don't want to get rid of either one of them- not any time soon at least!

For the decor in the dining room, I kept things pretty simple. 
I added some garland and a Charlie Brown Christmas tree my Dad gave us a few years ago. It's still holding up!

I also added some garland and pine cones to our banister- I think it's probably one of my favorite spots to look at throughout the day.

We decided to put our Christmas tree in the living room this year, and I think we did that last year too, but the year before it was in the family room.
I just hung up our stockings and added a few other small Christmas touches to the family room.

The tree was decorated by our girls and their Mema.
Our son has only tried a few times to take off some of the ornaments and use them as a baseball. ;)

I hope to take some more pictures of the living room and get a post up soon about it, but for now I'll just share more of our family room and kitchen.

I also added this large chalkboard wall to an area of our kitchen. Before, I had alternated between hanging pictures or chalkboard frames here, but decided a painted chalk wall would be the best way to utilize the space. It's great for reminders, grocery lists, calendars, and the like.

I have other parts of the house decorated as well and hope to get to those sometime soon. 

Happy December!

Dining Room Refresh

Ever since painting the main part of our home in BM's Gray Owl, our dining room felt a bit out of place. 
The color we painted the dining room (before painting the rest of the house) was a bolder color called Intellectual Gray by SW. It's actually one of Joanna Gaines' favorite colors...so I figured I would give it a try (we also used it in our master bedroom and liked it). 
It usually reads as a dark muted gray, but because of the lighting in our dining room, it read more as a dark green/sage- which wasn't the color I was hoping for in that space. Intellectual Gray does have a slight green tint to it, but depending on lighting and how you decorate a room, the green undertone can be more obvious- which was the case for our dining room. Undertones in colors can be so tricky sometimes!!

After living with that color on the walls for almost 2 years, I thought it was time for a change. I had been eyeing a beautiful light blue/gray color from Benjamin Moore called Wickham Gray for a while. It's a gorgeous color you guys! 
So I went ahead and purchased a gallon (which I had mixed at Lowe's) and used it not only in our dining room, but also our guest room. Thankfully one gallon was all I needed for both spaces! 

With all the rain we have been having, painting during the weekend was pretty easy.

And our buffet table will go right under the two B/W photos of the girls- which means, yes, I did some rearranging in here as well. :)

Here is a shot of what the older color looked like.

Intellectual Gray doesn't look too bad standing alone, but it did not flow well with the rest of the houses colors- and I wanted that.

And now we finally have better flow between the adjoining rooms and a much lighter and brighter space!

As an aside, I highly recommend both BM's Gray Owl and Wickham Gray. I'm sure there are plenty of photos online you can look through to see how beautiful these colors really are. They are worth a try if you are looking to brighten and update a space.