Ruby Red Desk

When I found this desk on Craigslist I knew I wanted a rich, super vibrant color to update it. 

At first I thought Kelly Green, but I couldn't find the right shade, everything was to Christmas-y. 

So if you know off a great green I'd love to hear it!

So I browsed my paint deck obsessively and finally decided on oil-based, high gloss, Heartthrob by Sherwin Williams. 

Isn't the name of the color dead on?

It makes my heart go ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Or whatever noise your heart makes. :)

Smooth, glossy, vibrant and ruby red.

Little Ms. Ruby Red desk you are a show stopper.

For dimensions and pricing click HERE. 

Conclusion of the ugly lamp story

These "ugly" lamps,

have SOLD! 

They were one of the first things to sell this weekend at a market we did in Scottsdale.

While I secretly liked (OK kind of loved) them, I wasn't sure anyone else would, hence why I asked for you opinion.

And boy did you guys give it! 

With how many of you HATED them, I was ready to make a trip to Home Depot for some paint, but I decided to wait and see. 

And turns out people loved them.

Moral of the story #1:

Sometimes it pays not to be like everyone else.

While they could have been pretty painted and glazed...they wouldn't have been as unique. 

I don't want to be like everyone else; that's why I painted them like that. 

I wanted them to have an Anthropologie look.

I wanted them to look like something your grandma might have, but updated, eclectic and vintage.

I wanted them to be almost ugly so that when you looked at them you couldn't decide if you loved them or hated them. 

Moral of the story #2:

Be strong in your decisions and ideas. 

You are talented, and while we often do need advice and inspiration and friends to help us, ultimately you are the creator so make sure YOU love what you create. 

PS.

I am grateful for the thoughts and opinons you gave. 

And I'm grateful that you felt you could be so honest with me. 

It takes a real friend to do that. :) 

Be brutally honest about these lamps.

Remember the post about these lamps?

Well I'm on round 2 of trying to update them and I am failing. 

At first I painted them in Bon Voyage in high gloss and while the color was pretty most of the details were lost.

(Sorry I don't have pictures of them like that)

So then I tried this. 

To some extent I like them, but I'm afraid they look like a paint by number project.

What do you think?

Be 100% honest, you won't hurt my feelings. :)

Amber Stained Antique Dresser

This dresser was the perfect Craigslist score.

Priced just right.

The family lived just down the street, so I didn't get lost on the way there. 

And it had amazing potential. 

The stain on the dresser was overall in pretty good condition, but it had to potential to GLOW.

The main problems were water marks, a few scratches, and the along the drawers some spots were worn completely through.

Since most of the dresser was in decent shape I turned to one of my favorite products.

I LOVE this stuff.

Danish Oil is tung or linseed oil mixed with stain so it penetrates, stains, and seals all at the same time. 

The main reason I love Danish Oil is because if it gets on the wood that isn't in need of refinishing, it simply conditions it, and doesn't mess with the existing stain. 

It just refreshes it. 

Here are some before pictures of areas that were scratched and rubbed raw.

And here's the after.

Don't the sutbby little mid-century legs add just the right amount of quirkiness? 

The side panels where in almost perfect condition when I picked the dresser up; and when I saw them I knew I couldn't paint over the beauty that was there. 

To me it kind of looks like amber. :)

For more info look in The Shop at the top of the page. 

How to clean a microfiber couch

Welcome to my blog!

If you are coming from Pinterest I'm so glad to have you here!

At the end of the post I will have answers to some FAQ's.

If I don't cover your question feel free to leave a comment and I will do my best to answer it.

However, PLEASE leave and email address with your comment/question so that I can get back to you.

Thank you!

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When Jake and I got married we bought a microfiber couch for screaming deal.

I remember sitting in the furniture section at a local store and raving to Jake how great microfiber would hold up with kids.

Ummm yeah.... apparently I was clueless about microfiber at the time.

Don't get me wrong, the couch is in great shape, but microfiber (at least light tan microfiber) shows stains and water marks like nobodies business.

Case in point:

 (And please don't judge! Last week we had the stomach flu and sippy cups and popsicles attacked the couch.)

Yeah that's nasty. 

So I found a great how-to on Pinterest and thought I'd give it a try.

What you'll need

Make sure you get a WHITE sponge and WHITE bristle brush so that there is no accidental color transfer onto the couch when you are scrubbing. 

(I used a light brown sponge because that's what we had on hand and it matched to color of our sofa; so you could go that route as well. )

Pour the rubbing alcohol in the spray bottle and SATURATE the stained area.

I know this seems counterintuitive, but rubbing alcohol evaporates much faster than water so it won't leave a water mark.   

Take your sponge and start scrubbing the area.

Don't be afraid to use all your muscles and scrub hard. :)

You'll start to see the dirt coming off onto your sponge.

Ewww!

If your sponge get's really dirty before you are finished, switch it out for a new one to avoid rubbing old dirt onto clean areas.

Let the areas your sprayed dry. They will look darker than the rest of your couch and will feel kind of hard to the touch, but don't worry about it. 

That's what the bristle brush is for.

Once the couch is COMPLETELY dry, take your bristle brush and with swirling motions, refluff the areas you cleaned.

 Seriously, I was getting ready to try and convince Jake to let us get a new couch, but it looks NEW.

God bless rubbing alcohol and sponges. 

 I promise the results are so awesome you won't want to let a sippy cup within 3 feet of your couch. :)

UPDATE: Our soon to be 3 year old took PEN to this couch and the same method as above got it out!

Click HERE to see more.


FAQS:

Will doing this effect the warranty on my couch?

I have no idea. Every warranty is different. The best way to answer is call the store you purchased from or the provider of the warranty.

Does the alcohol smell make my couch smell like alcohol?

No. The room your couch is in will smell like alcohol or about 15 or 20 minutes but just ventilate the room as much as possible while you are cleaning and after.

How often can I do this to my couch?

I do this about once a month and there hasn't been any damage to our cushions.

It didn't get all the stains out. Why?

I'm not a stain master so this is just my thought. Stains like grease or food are much harder to get out. My son wiped his hands on the arm after eating french fires and I had to scrub 2 separate times to get it out and even now there is a very faint mark.

If you don't get it all out the first time, wait a day or 2 and clean it again. And don't forget to really scrub and REPLACE your sponge when it gets dirty. Otherwise you will just be rubbing old dirt onto new places.

Does this work on other colors (still microfiber)?

Yes. I wish I still had pictures that people sent me of their before's and afters, but I've seen it done on dark microfiber and red microfiber etc.

Does this work on other fabrics or materials?

I haven't tried. If you are curious try it on an inconspicuous spot.

There is a ring were I sprayed the alcohol. Why?

More than likely you didn't scrub/dry that spot adequately. Remember even though the alcohol evaporates very quickly it is still a liquid. You want to saturate your area but not drench it.

If you are left with a ring, spray the area like you would a stain and scrub it out.

How long does it take to scrub and dry?

This really depends on how dirty your couch is. It took me about half an hour total to clean ours but now the monthly spot checks take 10 minutes max.

How soon can I sit on the couch after I clean it?

Once it dries and you use your brush to fluff it you can it on it.

I hope this helps! Again if you have a question I didn't answer please leave a comment with your EMAIL address so that I can get back to you. :)

Ribbons and Bows Dresser

Remember the sneak peak of some ribbon I showed you last week?

Well here's how I used it.

Sweet little bows.

Sweet little keyhole. 

And don't you love the lamps?! 

Thank you Hobby Lobby. :)

The bows are removable so it could look like this as well. 

Here's the before, minus one drawer. 

The dresser is painted in oil based Marigold by Sherwin Williams in high gloss.

The hardware is stained in Minwax Mission Oak (I LOVE this stain on the wood knobs from Home Depot. It gives the wood a beautiful tortoise shell finish.)

For more info look under the The Shop tab at the top of the page.

 PS I'm sharing the tutorial for the removable bows over at Embracing Change tomorrow so make sure to stop by and check it out! 

Sometimes I love ugly things

Like these lamps.

I mean let's face it, the orange color makes them look like they should be on Carol Brady's nightstand,-but they've got a beautiful soul. :)

When I saw them at Goodwill I knew I had to have them. The detail work is elegant and a little funky and the best part is there are no tropical birds on them. 

(For some reason our local Goodwill seems to have an abnormal amount of lamps with parrots and flamingos on them.)

I just don't do tropical birds, 

And the second best part was that the lamps were just the right price for me.

Despite how much I actually do like the orange color, I am going to redo them. 

Suggestions? 

I have a few ideas but I'd love to hear yours!