My favorite recent projects and posts!

Well hello! Hope you have a wonderful weekend planned!

I'm back with another round up of posts from the past few months today. I used to do this monthly but I don't remember to do it most of the time -- so now you get them in batches of two or three months. ;) It's always nice to look back and what I've accomplished around here and it may show you something you've missed!

I finished up our loft makeover at the end of the summer -- I shared how I made the giant chalkboard for this space:

This is a room that's meant for the whole family so I wanted to make it a fun space. We created a Disney art wall that we'll add to over time. We are going back to Disney World soon and I can't wait to add new memories to this wall!:

You can see how we made that Disney pin art in that post as well! 

I showed you how I made the large desk with butcher block and how I finished it here: 

I also shared my new favorite sanding technique in that post -- it is a SUPER cool trick! 

If you missed the reveal on this room, here was the before: 

And here's a shot of the after: 

You can see all of the before and after photos here and find out sources for all of the projects and items in this post. 

I had heard that Magnolia Farms had come out with a less expensive furniture and accessory line (they already had a higher end line I'd seen in boutique stores). I decided to check it out at our local store and shared the pieces with you:

It sounds like they are available all over the country, just at different stores. I loved the furniture but the accessories were my favorite part! 

I did a little fall crafting with some items from the Target dollar spot:

This post was a favorite -- I shared the MANY ways I've added character to our "builder" home over the years: 

That one is chock full of before and afters, which I love! Seeing the progress we've made over the years is so satisfying. 

I completely made over our mud room and absolutely LOVE how it turned out: 

It went from a dark space to light and bright and it fits in so much better with the rest of our house now. It was a ton of work but totally worth it!

On a recent trip to IKEA I took a side trip to the Ballard outlet and got a fantastic deal on this new light fixture for over the table: 

I'm still obsessed with it. :) You can see the other new flush mount lights in that post as well. 

Barn doors are still the rage and I don't think they're going anywhere! I shared some of my favorite barn door tutorials for both modern and rustic versions: 

It's been four years since we finished our basement and it was time to do something about the carpet down there. It was not the best decision in our house full of animals (and the kid!) to have carpet. 

We put down new water-resistant flooring, moved the furniture around and started the fireplace build:

That space was completely transformed with those changes! We were getting really excited about it. :)

Then we decided the fireplace needed a hearth, so we had that added and the mantel as well:

You can see the tile we picked out and where I got it in the post too. I started tiling and staining (check out my Instagram account for progress along the way) but it's sat about a third of the way done for a couple weeks. I'm hoping to finish up the tile in the next week or so! 

Because we pulled out everything to install the flooring we went ahead and added to our basement kitchenette as well: 

We've been wanting to do that for awhile but waited till the carpet was torn out. As you can see this project isn't done, but we LOVE it so far! It'll be great to have more counter space when we entertain and the beverage/wine fridge has been awesome. 

Our basement is going to be the bomb when we're done with these projects. At least we think so. :) I want to have them all done by the end of this month.

And finally, because we've had such a beautiful fall (although a little warm for me at times), I took advantage of it and spray painted this piece I found from the Habitat Restore: 

I transformed it into the bar cart I had always wanted and LOVE it. It's such a pretty addition to our home. 

There you go -- some of my favorite projects and updates from the past couple of months! Did you miss one? My favorite has to be our loft/office/craft room redo. We use it nearly every day now and before we used it maybe once a month. I'm writing you from this space right now! :) Have a great one!

Our productive (and fun!) summer break

Well hello all! School has been in session around here for a couple weeks now and I am sad to see this summer go. I think it was our best yet. We traveled a ton -- to Iowa for my husband's work, North Carolina for the Duke basketball camp:

This was a fantastic camp, by the way. Our favorite so far. 

Up to northern Indiana to visit Notre Dame for the first time: 

I traveled to Atlanta for the fifth Haven Conference and we took another trip up to north to the Indiana Dunes (just beautiful): 

I swear my child has other outfits. ;) 

We visited the zoo, the children's museum, two amusement parks, our state fair, explored downtown Indy and hosted many friends over the course of the summer. I can't remember one that I've looked back on so fondly. This is the saddest I've ever been to see a summer go -- and you know how much I LOVE fall! :) 

Because our summer has drawn to a close I figured it's a good time to share some of my favorite projects and posts from the past months. I joke that I'm usually a sloth for those three months and most years that is the case. This time I was focused on starting and finishing the loft makeover over the summer so I actually accomplished some stuff. Here's a look back, enjoy! 

My two favorite flowers are hydrangeas and peonies. I think the peony wins out just because of the size, fluffiness and intoxicating floral scent. They are truly beautiful and I shared tips on how to grow them earlier this summer: 

I finished the Konmari purge right before summer and I've slowly been organizing little spaces that need it. Our junk drawer got a makeover and it STILL looks this good, no lie: 

It has stayed this organized because of some simple tricks I shared in that post. 

Our outdoor pergola finally got stained so we added a new rug and then moved the table and chairs up to create an outdoor dining space. We've used it all summer: 

I also refinished the potting bench my Dad and I made together (I had neglected it) and it is so so gorgeous now: 

That table does double duty -- I use it for planting and also for entertaining. Love it. 

We finally had our outdoor lights hung over the patio: 

We are so stoked for fall evenings out here! 

After years I have FINALLY conquered the paper clutter in our home and I shared how I've stopped tons of paper from coming into our house: 

If you feel like you're drowning in mail and paper these are easy and helpful tips that will help tremendously. 

I made over our back patio doors and LOVE the beautiful blue color: 

The pop of color was just what the back of our house needed!

I shared my top ten Amazon finds earlier this summer, including some that you can't find in stores. Everything I used to add accent lighting to our kitchen cabinets was found there: 

For the most part my focus was on the loft makeover this summer. I'll link to each post when I reveal this space in a couple weeks but these are my favorite updates so far. I was so thrilled when the large planked wall went up and then with those awesome sconces: 

And the beautiful window seat that is totally dreamy (and has tons of storage!): 

I still LOVE my DIY gift wrap station -- this was one of the easiest projects I've ever done: 

And last but not least, I shared how to add the shiplap look to your walls (for less than the real thing) and how the walls and farmhouse door trim came out (I'm obsessed): 

YES! I was productive! Whoot! 

We are saying farewell to this wonderful summer and preparing for the fall -- the Bub and I purchased our first fall craft project yesterday. ;) Are you ready for fall or holding on to summer as long as you can? 

Have a GREAT weekend! 

A Recap of My Favorite Projects

Hello there and happy Friday!! Hope you've had a wonderful week. So this is a fun day in TDC history because it's the eighth birthday of Thrifty Decor Chick! This is officially the longest job I've ever had -- ha! I cannot believe I'm starting on my ninth year of doing this -- what a crazy and absolutely wonderful ride it has been. :) I think I'll have a cupcake to celebrate.

I'm back today with a recap of projects from the past few months. I like to do this every so often (I used to do it every month but you know how well that goes) to share what I've been up to in case you missed something. Can't have that. 

I'm picking my favorites from February, March and April to share with you today. Enjoy!

This Disney pin art is seriously one of my favorites ever: 

It's still holding up great -- I LOVE it. See how we created it at the link above. 

Our guest room has undergone some changes over the past year and it's so close to done. I changed up the color of the accent wall, added some new nightstands and showed you the new art in the room (it's adorable):

Our master is almost done too. Earlier this year I finished the painting, added new bedding and then made new pillows for the bed:

I adore this room -- it's so soothing and pretty but the darker accent wall gives it some drama. (Still need to finish those nightstands!)

One of my favorite redos I think I've ever done was my son's nautical bathroom. The difference paint made was truly astounding: 

You have to see the yellow before to really get a good idea. Plus the new daylight bulbs make a HUGE difference in here. 

I shared my top five decorating essentials and how I use them throughout the house: 

I had to laugh when I wrote that because I do really stick to a lot of the same items, just different versions of them. They work!  

I finally finished up the upper cabinet lighting in the kitchen and shared the tutorial for that and under cabinet lighting: 

This is such an easy project -- I promise! It looks difficult but it's not. I share all the items we used with links to everything in that post. 

We got the news recently that there's an IKEA coming to Indiana (WHOOT). There are a few staples from that store that I love that cost less than $10: 

I use most of them every day and they've all held up great. And you can't beat the price!

I went a little off topic when I joined in with some friends to share my favorite makeup: 

I use that Gimme Brow all the time -- love it! This was a fun post for this DIY girl. :) 

I've always wanted a blanket ladder and you'll never believe what this one used to be: 

I love reusing something that was headed for the trash!  

I have been purging our house for months now and I'm thisclose to done! I've shared how I organize some of our closets, including the linen closet: 

And the coat closet: 

As well as one of my favorites in the house -- our cubby toy storage: 

I've been following the Konmari method and it's truly changed my life. I'm not kidding, it has rocked my world. Our house is cleaner and more organized than ever. 

In April it had been 12 years since we built and moved in to our home -- another milestone because before that the longest I ever stayed in once place was four years and that was a long time for me. I'm so in love with our home and feel so fortunate to live here. I shared the before and after photos of the rooms in our house to celebrate and one of my favorite transformations is our living room: 

Again, you really have to see the before to see how far it's come. Some of the befores are pretty amazing. :) 

There you go! A recap of the past three months all wrapped up in one post for you. Of course there were many I didn't include but I know you've got stuff to do. ;) 

Have a great weekend my friends!!