a rescue project

I think it's the change of seasons that is drawing me to colour. As flowers bloom and things generally are getting greener, I have found some great examples of people brightening their homes through bold use of colour and pattern. First up is some of the wonderful work by Clara from The Home in Paradise

 

This charming shelf unit is affectionately named Inglorious Bastid and was given one last chance by Clara. See how she transformed a cheap and dull piece of furniture into something new and fresh in this blog post. I love all the before and after shots and step by step details. We have a similar story for a set of shelves in our home. I had used the shelves for a while but when we upsized our home, they became redundant. They were actually at the front door waiting to be taken to the rubbish when a moment of inspiration struck and I imagined the daggy 'pine' laminate replaced with a gloss white finsh. After a quick trip to the hardware store for primer, paint and some new handles we had rescued our own "inglorious bastid" and it lives on as a gloss white shelf for my cookbooks and magazines. It's actually quite rewarding to tackle a little project like this. You feel a sense of pride in bringing new life to a piece of furniture!

Do you like the look of those magazine holders in the second shelf? Well the crafty Clara has created these from the flimsy cardboard magazine holders from Ikea, but also suggest using cereal boxes too. So clever! I like the idea of putting your own stamp on things, and simple (cheap) projects like these are so easy to take on. Get the 'how to' over here and please also check out Clara's blog . There are lots of great stories and projects that Clara has taken on in her home in the Caribbean. Who knew a keyboard and mouse could look so pretty!