diy: trunk transformation

I have been struggling with this little trunk for almost a year. Initially painting it black and spray painting the trim and hardware gold, it never looked quite right. I had been using it as my coffee table, but felt too heavy for the space and the rest of my décor. When I moved back home, I had used it as a place to keep my parent’s stereo, and was shoved into a corner in the dining room and forgotten about. 

This weekend my sister, brother-in-law and two-month-old nephew will be moving in for the summer. My mom and I have been busy transforming the basement (which had been my office/homework space) into a bachelor pad for the little family. 

We installed a wall-to-wall built-in, rearranged the furniture and made several trips to the Goodwill (drop-offs only, no more shopping allowed). We were smart about everything we brought into the room, opting to keep pieces the pieces that were practical, functional and small-scale. 

When it came time to choose a coffee table, I wanted to bring back the trunk. It was compact and there was an opportunity to refinish the inside, and use it for storage (something I had always meant to do, but just lacked the time). That same week while perusing Instagram, I spotted a room Emily Henderson had styled for Target, and noticed that the coffee table she used was a white trunk. Fast-forward a few days later, and my old trunk is now sporting a crisp, clean shade of white. Light and airy, it matches the tone of the room, and blends in perfectly. 

The rest of the room is very close to being complete, but still in need of a few minor tweaks.

**For both versions of the trunk I used a matte wall paint from Para. Hardware and trim was spray painted, and have held up perfectly. 

summer reading series: good bones, great pieces

Summer Reading Series: Good Bones, Great Pieces: The seven essential pieces that will carry you through a lifetime.
By Suzanne & Lauren McGrath

Mother-daughter design duo, Suzanne and Lauren McGrath, take readers through several stunning and unique spaces that incorporate each of their seven essential pieces. With an array of eclectic rooms, seamlessly combining new and vintage furniture and accessories, there is something to inspire the traditionalist, modernist and everyone in between.

Each chapter dedicated to its own piece of furniture and readers are given a brief history lesson, what to look for when sourcing, price ranges (affordable pieces exist and are featured), proper naming conventions and small tidbits of information behind their clients and their room’s inspiration.

Hailing from New York, Suzanne and Lauren have gained the praise of Martha Stewart, been featured countless times in Domino magazine and run a beautiful blog, as well as a successful business: Suzanne McGrath Design. This book will leave you itching for a garage sale, second-hand store or even a dig through your basement looking for those old tables you can now impressively refer to as ‘demi-lunes’; because you will know that beautiful, comfortable spaces are created with a combination of pieces that range from cheap and cheerful to top-of-your-budget, and by knowing the rules, you can masterfully choose those that will carry you through a lifetime.

floral shelf DIY

A few years ago I had picked up a set of three metal shelves from Urban Outfitters. Marked down so low that they were practically free, I grabbed them all without knowing where they’d wind up. Fast forward a year and a bit and my new room had an empty patch that was screaming for a set of three metal shelves ;)

I’m terrible at documenting projects with photographs, but covering the shelves was fairly simple. I traced each side of the shelf onto the wrapping paper, cut them out and pasted them piece by piece onto the shelf. For the top ledge, I used a slightly larger piece and folded the excess bit over to the underside of the shelf for a clean edge.

Gently smooth out the air bubbles as you lay the pieces of paper flat—this is probably the most important step to achieve a clean and smooth finish. Easy peasy.

The final product is now the perfect place to showcase an eclectic mix of books, pictures and mementos that had previously been cluttering the dresser.

Up next: deciding on a colour to paint that pink table!