Operation: Reupholster the Dining Room Chairs (AKA: Overcoming DIY Fears)

The Lovely Side partnered with DecoratorsBest for this project post.

All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

The blog hasn't been super busy lately—and for that, my lovelies, I apologize. But we have been busy here in our old house. Peeling wallpaper. Repairing plaster walls. And taking on first-time DIY projects, like this one. I reupholstered my dining room chairs!

How I hemmed my curtains in 5 minutes - no iron, needle, or thread!

Our beautiful old house as thrown a few design challenges my way. I recently tackled one of them. We had some company a couple weekends ago, and I really wanted to spruce the guest room up into something comfortable. Most of it was easy: fresh bedding, some vintage decor, a pretty new lamp, and patterned curtains. But those curtains - in fact, all the curtains upstairs - have had me trippin'. Literally.

Even though our second floor has the exact same ten-foot ceilings as the main floor, the windows are positioned lower on the wall. So on the main floor, my standard 84" curtains hang a couple inches above the floor trim, which I'm okay with. But on the second floor, the same curtains sag about six inches. See what I mean about trippin'?

My Spray Paint (Still) Brings All the Boys (err, Men) to the Yard

I can't believe that it's been almost four years since I published one of my favorite blog posts: My Spray Paint Brings All the Boys to the Yard. Back then, I was living in that lovely attic apartment down the street from favorite bars and hangouts in my college town. That day, a couple guys were drawn to how "I be killin' it with that paint." One even said that my "antiquing got swag." Still one of my favorite compliments to this day.

Upcoming DIY Inspiration: Old Door Desks

See this tall, skinny, old door? It's 80 inches tall and 24 inches wide. It's covered in a layer of dust and dirty. And it's totally destined for greatness. 

I've had this project on my mind for a while. Since I'll be working from home in our new house starting next week, I need a really good desk space. My current setup involves a little turquoise writing desk that's as uncomfortable as it is adorable. I can't sit there and work for eight hours a day. So... this project popped back onto my radar.

Chair Makeover Featuring Chalk Country Chalk Paint

I'm so late in getting around to posting about this project! (I did this DIY on a humid, 98-degree day... and today it's a rainy, dreary 58.) Earlier in the summer, I nabbed this lovely dining chair from Goodwill for about $10. I had the perfect project in mind - using the chalk paint Chalk Country sent me to review. But before I got to the chalk paint, this chair's seat needed a makeover, too.

Old Screen Re-Purposed as a Jewelry Display

One of my favorite things to do on the weekends is stroll the Czech Village -- specifically, the adorable antique shops there. One of my favorite vintage stores is The Copper Alligator. It's a go-to place for old suitcases, vintage clothing, and retro things. I always find something unique there.

DIY Cat Barrier for Under $100 (See-Through, Climb-Proof, and Too-Tall-To-Jump)

ICYMI: I gave up Cotton after deciding that after trying so many things, my two adopted cats Dahlia and Cotton were just never going to get along. Long story short: I missed her. And Cotton's back. And Dahlia's not going anywhere. My heart is big enough to keep trying. And my apartment is big enough that if I need to keep them separated long term (or permanently), it can be done.

I'm going to write-up a separate post about some of the solutions I've tried, how they worked, who they worked on, and what I'll be trying next. But in this post, I wanted to share the main 'piece de resistance' of having both cats in my apartment: an un-climbable, un-jumpable, see-through barrier to separate Cotton and Dahlia.

$20 DIY Inspiration Board (AKA: How I turned a funeral home display board into my office inspiration board)

I've been on a roll when it comes to decorating my office / library lately. And for good cause: I spend a lot of time in here. On the weekends, G and I find ourselves in the kitchen and living room a lot. But on the weekdays, I come home from work, eat a quick bite, and often end up blogging or novel writing at my desk before retiring to the bedroom. So I need this office to be pretty. Stat.

On the Un-Lovely Side | A DIY Project Fail (Alternate Title: Always Use a Level)

I promise my house isn't this crooked!

I like to post photos of my apartment and projects when they're in pretty, pristine, ready-for-their-closeup condition. But I'm all about honesty here. And when it comes to decorating and do-it-yourself projects, it doesn't always work out. Sometimes I make a mess. Sometimes I outright fail. And sometimes my DIY project ends up in the trash. This is one of those times. (Though, I'll be re-purposing the materials rather than throwing them in the trash. More about that in tomorrow's post.)

So, funny DIY fail story...

Painting Doors & Restoring Antique Hardware | Weekend DIY Project

On Sunday, the boyfriend and I spent a good portion of our day binge-watching Rehab Addict on Netflix. Nicole Curtis is my hero. I love her approach to restoring old houses, her mission to keep things as original and era-appropriate as possible, and her belief that everything is worth saving. I'd love to renovate my home someday, but for now I'm a renter. Luckily, in my current rental residence, I'm allowed to make some changes. 

Living Room Progress: Walls Painted "Pale Plum"

This past weekend, I went to work on another room in my lovely new apartment. The office is Pollination green, the bedroom is Antique Silver gray. And the living room is now Pale Plum purple. Before, some living room walls were painted pale green while the others were white. And the space was full of moving boxes. After fueling up on Mexican food Sunday, the bf and I popped open a couple cans of Schlafly and popped open my gallon can of Pittsburgh Paints Pale Plum.

Bedroom Progress: Walls Painted "Antique Silver" Gray

After a lovely holiday back in my hometown (spent eating good food, browsing antique stores, and binge watching HGTV), I returned home to my lovely little new home - with two days to spare in solitude. Don't get me wrong: I loved being surrounded by my wonderful family for a couple days, but I really savored some work-free, people-free time to myself. I stayed up late watching Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, slept in, wore my paint-spattered DIY leggings, ordered Domino's pizza, and got to work on painting my bedroom because I could not stand staring at those giant lavender diamonds for one more day.

Office / Writing Room Progress: Walls Painted "Pollination" Green!

What a weekend! Now that I'm all moved into my new place, I'm eager to get it unpacked, settled in, and decorated up. The bf and I set aside Saturday as our project day. While he worked on preparing my living room walls for future painting, I got to work in the small second bedroom that will serve as my office / writing room / library.

Using the Bosch GLM 15 Laser Measure to Calculate How Much Paint I Need (Product Review)

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bosch for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

When I was a little girl, I went through a stage where I carried around a graph paper notebook and doodled floor plans of fantasy loft apartments and mansions all day. These days, I'm sketching up floor plans of my real life living space in order to plan my furniture arrangement, decorating, and now painting.

Usually when I'm measuring my apartment to create a floor plan, it's just me by my lonesome because I can't hold off until my bf's weekend visit. Now, measuring furniture or small things with a tape measure is fine. But measuring an entire room or apartment is quite the challenge.  So you'll catch me clumsily struggling with a tape measure. And I've ended up with battle scars and band-aids from accidentally hitting the release button and not letting go in time as the metal tape comes whizzing back toward me. Ouch.

DIY How-To: Paint Ikea Furniture | Mikael Desk Makeover

So I was going through my blog posts drafts and came upon this do-it-yourself gem that somehow managed to escape being published. You've probably caught glimpses of my closet-turned-office in my apartment tour, but I never got around to sharing the process of painting a piece of Ikea furniture. Well, the wait is over.

10 DIY Projects on my To-Do List for the New Place

If you haven't heard the exciting news... I'm moving! In a little over a month, I'll be settling into a lovely main floor, two-bedroom unit in a Victorian house oozing with charm. I'll have more space to work with (and a location super convenient to antique shops), but since I'll be paying more in rent I'll need to be more thrifty and crafty with how I fill up the space. (No more Target shopping sprees.) 

So in gathering inspiration for my new digs, I've rounded up some do-it-myself projects on my to-do list. In no particular order...

$5 Bathroom Vanity Makeover and Re-Organization | My Apartment

I know that I said decorating and organizing wouldn't be part of my Apartment Purge, but last Friday I took on a problem zone that I just couldn't put off any longer. It was part purge, part organization project. It was my mess of a bathroom vanity:

My Hallway Before & After | My Apartment

About a month ago, I told you about a fabulous little typewriter stand I scored at Goodwill for $2 - and my plan to use it in creating a stylish landing spot in my hallway. Here's the decor board I created for inspiration:

$1 Mini-Makeover | Fridge and Bar Cart Turned Cocktail Corner

Before: Bar cart next to a fridge... nothing spectacular and pretty bland.

I recently rearranged my living room (yes, again). And in the midst of it, my bar cart ended up next to my fridge. It was the most functional spot for it, but not the most beautiful. 

$2 Vintage Typewriter Stand + Geometric Wallpaper = One stylish hallway coming along!

There's just one space in my apartment that looks a little sad: the hallway. It's a long, beautiful hallway with hardwood floors, high ceilings, and original wood trim. However, it lacks the color, pattern, and personality that the rest of the apartment is brimming with.

A couple weekends ago, I enlisted the help of the boyfriend to help hang some more of Chasing Paper's renter-friendly, removable wallpaper. (It's the gray and white tri-angled pattern.) Then yesterday, I happened to stop by Goodwill on a whim. Whilst browsing the secondhand furniture section, a little grayish beige beauty caught my eye. I had to push a dresser and pull out a filing cabinet to get to it. Then lo and behold! It was a vintage typewriter stand. For just $4!