Chair Facelift

Back when Jon and I moved into our first house, we bought a table and chair set from Value City Furniture. The set came with a 5th chair, which we put in our office. Because, really, we don't even need the 4 to begin with considering we eat in front of the TV (don't pretend you don't do it, too!). Here's what the chair looked like before:

The quality of the chair is pretty good, but the fabric is a dark green, fake velvety number. Then, I found this beauty at Joann's. It was on sale for $6.99 a yard. I only needed a little more than 1/2 a yard for this project.

My friend lent me a staple gun (remind me to ask for one for my birthday...I love it). I was able to recover the seat pretty easily because I just covered right over the existing fabric.

I also spray painted the wood in a glossy warm yellow, which matches perfectly with the fabric.

I love the finished project, which is now tempting me to redo the other four chairs in our dining set. Jon is concerned that the wheels are a-turning....

Sincerely,

Megan

Spring Cleaning: Part 3 of Many

I have a serious issue with jewelry storage. I tend to buy things that I think I need, but it turns out I already have something similar. For instance, for 3 months, I kept buying pieces of gold jewelry because I thought that I didn't have enough. Maybe the reason was that all my jewelry was in 60 different places (earrings on the coffee table, necklaces on the dresser, rings on the nightstand, etc). I have tried and tried to get my jewelry issue under control buying things like this:

But, nothing fits in those neat little pouches. And, why try to fit it in there when I can just throw it on the dresser? Did I mention I am a complete slack ass when it comes to putting stuff away?

So, I saw this idea on one of the many blogs I follow (Can't remember which one!). I bought a piece of $5 peg board from Home Depot, and I bought a bunch of cheap hardware sets from Target.

I spray painted the board a turquoise for funsies.

Then, I took an inventory of my jewelry to figure out how to lay out the hardware (Seriously, how many long necklaces can one have?!?). The only issue was I had to buy shorter screws because the ones that came with the hardware were too long.

For all the items that don't have a spot (i.e. stud earrings, rings), I bought a plastic ice tray that I keep in my closet to chunk them into.

For now, my jewelry issue has been solved in a very stylish addition to my closet.

Sincerely,

Megan

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things: JC Penney Edition

Welcome to the third edition of “These are a few of my favorite things” (Click here for part one and two). In this series, I am featuring my 5 favorite things from a few of our favorite places to score stylish home décor on the cheap.

JC Penney online has a great clearance section. Anytime I am looking for something in particular, I always check online to see what they have available. We have gotten quite a few pieces of furniture from them including our entertainment center and our entryway table.

1. I love this red kitchen island. It would add a great pop of color without having to commit to wall or cabinet color. And, with a couple added baskets at the bottom, it would be a great place for extra storage, too.
2. This hurricane would make a great addition to a dining room or entryway table.
3. This bed reminds me of a Pottery Barn piece. It would be great for a bedroom with storage issues.
4. I love the neutral pattern on these placemats. They would be great to use year-round.
5. I also like this small desk, which would be great in a place where you have to have your desk in your bedroom or a corner of your living room (i.e. if anyone else is obsessed with Guiliana and Bill, Guiliana got one like this for their Chicago digs). Also, you could use it as a vanity, if needed.

Sincerely,
Megan

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things: Target Edition

Welcome to the second edition of “These are a few of my favorite things.” In this series, I am featuring my 5 favorite things from a few of our favorite places to score stylish home décor on the cheap.

Target is a favorite at The Southern Nest. Target is one of those stores where you walk in to get paper towels and walk out with a DVD, a picture frame, and a patio set. We literally live 2 miles from Target, which means we have to limit ourselves to only a couple trips a month.

1. Turquoise is such a hot color right now (in fact, it was rated Pantone’s color of the year). So, you have probably seen turquoise everywhere. I love this vase because it adds just the right pop of color. You could use this vase as a centerpiece or display it on some bookshelves.

2. If you have read my blog much, you know that I cannot pass up cheap baskets. I use them for everything from storing magazines to toilet paper.

3. This votive holder would look great on a bookshelf. Or, you could use it when entertaining on a buffet line for toothpicks, sauces, etc.

4. You could always put a simple candle in this hurricane, but you could also use it to display different seasonal items like our spring-themed hurricane.

5. As I stated before, I love the Dwell Studio line. The prints and colors are so fresh. This pillow is one of my favorites from the collection.

Sincerely,

Megan

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things: Overstock Edition

Like most of you, money is tight around The Southern Nest. We might look like we do a lot of renovations and decoration, but most of the posts you see have happened over a period of a couple of years. In fact, we really didn’t start decorating our house until a year ago. We did major structural work over the course of three months when we first bought the house, then we sat out for a year from doing anything to the house.Something about major home renovations really deflates your motivation (and budget!).

Once we got back into the game, we realized that we couldn’t (and didn’t) want to buy crazy expensive accessories.Some of our favorite places to score deals are Overstock, Target, JC Penney Clearance, Etsy, TJ Maxx and Pottery Barn Outlet. In honor of our cheapness (aka inability to spend an entire paycheck on home décor), I am featuring my 5 favorite things from a few places.

Overstock is a great place to look because the inventory is constantly changing. Oh, and shipping is CRAZY cheap (like $2.95 for your ENTIRE order).You might remember that we got our bed and memory foam mattress from Overstock when we first moved.

1. This 5x8 rug will run you a little over $200. Even though you could probably find another rug cheaper, I like that the pattern would make such an impact in a small room.

2. This shower curtain looks white in the picture, but it is actually a subtle zebra pattern in a neutral, light gray. Jon has a serious hatred of animal print, so you won’t find this in our house. But, if I were a stylish bachelorette, I would totally be rocking this shower curtain in my bathroom.

3. I love these drinking glasses with their emerald green rims. To get the most bang for your buck, I would probably use them as little vases throughout the house to showcase some small arrangements. Or, you could use them as votive holders for year-round utility.

4. The print on this comforter set is graphic without being completely overwhelming. I like the blue the best, but they come in a bunch of different colors, including brown, green, black and spice.

5. And, finally, I love this contemporary glass computer desk. I don’t think it would fit in our home décor style, but I do love the look of it. It would work great in a small space where a wood piece might overpower the room.

Sincerely,

Megan

Spring Cleaning: Part 2 of Many

Happy Easter, Y'all! Spring has started to sprout in Memphis. The weather is starting to get nicer, so I have been adding a few springy touches to our décor to freshen up things around The Southern Nest.

While on my blogging hiatus, I hosted a Southern Living party and received lots of goodies, including these hurricane displays. I bought the eggs and moss from Hobby Lobby and went to town filling my new display pieces.

Then, I switched out the wintery flower for these spring pieces in our entryway.

And, of course, I updated our chalkboard wall with some spring touches!

Sincerely,

Megan

Spring Cleaning: Part 1 of Many

We have a couple of closets in our living room next to our kitchen. We use one of them as a utility closet for cleaning supplies, tools, light bulbs, etc. The closet had such shallow shelves that everything always ended up on the floor.

So, we unloaded everything from the closet into our living room.

Here is a glimpse of the closet beforehand.

Jon and I removed the shelves and pulled up the tile that was coming up already.

I mixed a bunch of extra paint we had leftover from other projects, and we painted it a beige. Then, Jon picked up some peel and stick tile from Home Depot that I laid down.

We bought the shelf from Target and put it together. It is the perfect size for all of our extra stuff and leaves room for our vacuum cleaner and brooms.

And, you know I love a good after shot...

We now have PLENTY of space for all of our crap! And, isn't that what spring cleaning is all about?

Sincerely,

Megan