My House on Houzz!

I'm super excited today to share some really good news. My humble abode is getting some love over at Houzz! I had the pleasure of working with staff writer, Vanessa Brunner throughout the process and she was awesome.

See?...there it is! Can you believe it? (Big green arrows, in case you were wondering)

Want to know how it all went down? Well, it all started 4 score and seven years ago in January when Vanessa contacted me about a series she was putting together about DIY design projects. She had somehow run across my diamond wall and asked if she could feature it. I was quick to tell her, "No, don't bother." Yeah right, and you're c.r.a.z.y. if you believe that! Of course, I said yes and she gave me the date it should run.

Well, that date came and went and I thought I had missed it somehow. Houzz is a huge site and I figured I just didn't know where to look to find it. So, I sent her an email and asked for a link to the article because 'I'm the dummy who missed my own feature.'

Vanessa responded and told me I didn't miss it and that her editor had seen my house photos and thought they could possibly do an entire house tour instead of just the diamond wall feature. Holy moly! Too fun!

She asked me to create a professional profile and upload my photos. Well, wouldn't you know it that my pictures weren't the right size. Picture sizing might possibly send me to an early grave. Here's the main reason I say Vanessa was such a pleasure to work with...she didn't make me feel stupid once, even when I kept sending the wrong sizes to her. Finally, I had to contact the photographer and luckily she hadn't deleted my photos. Problem solved.

Next, Vanessa sent me this list of interview questions:

Where is this home located? How long have you lived here?

-How many rooms/square feet is your home?

-Who lives here? (Just yourself? Any pets?)

-What inspired you when designing your home's decor?

-Where do you like to go to find product? What inspires you when you decide to make something yourself?

-Are there any pieces of product in this house that you are really excited about?

-What is your favorite room in this house?

-What sorts of challenges did you come across?

-How did you go about choosing your color palette?

-What is your favorite part about your home? 

-What's one thing you wish you could change about your house?

After the personal questions, then you have the sourcing questions. She basically went through each room and asked for paint colors and where products were purchased. I had to stretch my brain a little on this one and pull out the archives!

So 25 emails later, it's all in her hands. She creates the 'tour,' sends it to her editor and we wait for it to go live. She was kind enough to send me an email last night to let me know it was up.

Ready to see the finished article? Just click here. You might even want to leave a comment and tell Vanessa what a rockstar she is for having the patience to work with me!

Have a great weekend, friends!

Don't forget...I'm chopping at the bit to help you with your house. Read all about your options right here.

Random Act of Kindness #25

Happy Thursday friends! I just love 'deals,' don't you? Well, today's deal is a 2-for-1 special. All you have to do is click here and you'll get yet another post to read this morning. I'm guest posting over at Kara Paslay Designs this morning as part of her 'Inspire Me' series. Guess who was her guest last week?...Oh, I don't know, someone named Sherry, you may have heard of her little blog Young House Love. Sweet Kara must be trying to hit both ends of the spectrum if she has me following Sherry! ha!

Ready for your RAK challenge? Good. Let's jump right in.

Random Act of Kindness #25: Plant a tree in someone's honor.


This may sound major but it's not. Below are a few ways you can complete this challenge without even picking up a shovel.

{Tree in a Box}

These little guys are really inexpensive and would be perfect for your friend with a green thumb. They'll get to start from scratch!

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{Trees for Pets}

Have a friend who's lost a pet recently? You can have their pet memorialized by planting a tree in their honor. The Arbor Day Foundation will plant the tree and send your friend a certificate that let's them know about your RAK.

{Trees for Care Providers}

Here's a great idea. I really like acknowledging those who 'serve' us, especially those whose job might not be so pleasant. You know, people like care givers who give 100 % of themselves for little to nothing in return. Well, for just $5 you can plant a tree and acknowledge them in a way that makes a worldly difference. 

I know I've mentioned before how much I love trees. The irony is that our house sits on a lot with sad, little Charlie Brown Christmas trees. There's even a dead one out back right now. So sad! I think it's fun that today's RAK would not only benefit the recipient, but will beautify the earth at the same time.

If you're visiting from Kara's blog and new to Make Them Wonder, then it'd be awesome if you jumped on board and started following along with our Random Acts of Kindness! Here are a several of my favorites: here, here and here.

Now friends, go out and be kind!

Clearance find + fishing line= Bedskirt!

If you've read this blog for any time at all, you know that I'm all about a bargain and figuring out a way to 'do it cheap.' Well friends, this is a good one! I had been looking for a bedskirt but couldn't find a color I was loving. Then one day, while shopping at Target, I ran across this...

 Here's the conversation that went on in my brain (might of even said some of these words out loud). Yes, fellow Target shopper, I'm the crazy woman talking to herself at the end of the aisle! "Ummm, that's the perfect color and I'm lovin' the price. Shame that's not a bedskirt. But wait...could I make it work?"

Here's a sneak peek before I show you how I did it...

 I was a little bummed when I got home and realized there was only 1 panel in the package. Even though it clearly said this on the package, I had been so distracted by that killer price that I didn't even notice. Oh well, there's a chest at one end of the bed and the other end is against the wall so I really only need the sides to be covered. Let's make this work...

I laid the curtain panel out and folded it in half.

 Hemmed edges make this project even better...no sewing on my end!

 Cut the panel in half.

 Yea, both sides of the bed will have clothes now! Ummm, how am I going to get these to stay in place since they don't cover the entire bed?

 Fishing line is logical, right? Okay, maybe not logical, but it worked! Since the material is linen-like, there were spaces in the fabric that lent itself to pushing the line through without even having to cut a hole.

Tie it directly onto the bed frame and you're set!

Would you know if I hadn't told you? Not at all! Next time you're in a pickle, think outside the box friends. There's always a way to make it work, you may just have to stretch your brain a little!

I'd love to stretch my brain while helping you decorate your home, contact me and let's get started.

Transparent Tuesday

I offer to pray for you guys at the end of each Transparent Tuesday post. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Prayer is an essential part of life and I feel it goes hand-in-hand with transparency. I'm so excited today to be able to share this story with you and after you read it, I hope you'll completely understand why I feel the way I do. 

I not sure I can do this story justice. I feel inadequate to even share it, but it's definitely a story to be shared.

Last weekend by father-in-law and his buddies were getting together for their annual weekend at the coast.  Immediately upon arriving, one of the men was almost in tears. He told the others he had to share something with them before they did anything else. 

Three weeks ago, he had heart surgery and at one point, wasn't expected to live. He's body was shutting down and they were preparing to start dialysis. His wife was feverishly asking others to pray for him. He began saying his good-byes and fully did not expect to make it. 

He shared with his friends that he "had a vision." He said he saw a body laying on a table and a man sitting next to the body. He also saw sparkly lights surrounding the body. He watched intently as the man next to the body began gathering the lights in his hands, rubbed his hands together then sprinkled the lights over the body. After watching this, he realized there was an angel next to him. He asked the angel, "Who is that and what is he doing?" The angel informed him that the man was Jesus and the lights were prayers.

Jesus then looked at the angel and said, "Is that all?" The angel said, "No, there's still more coming." The man realized he was looking at his own body laying on that table and Jesus was using the prayers of his friends, family and even strangers to heal him. He shared with his friends that he felt a sudden feeling of peace.

Are you ready for this?...
He awoke the next morning and was fine. The doctors ran tests and confirmed that there was no reason to start dialysis, because there was nothing wrong with him!


Just 3 short weeks later, he's at the coast with his friends just as planned. The only difference was his deep emotional gratitude for his buddies as he shared his vision and thanked them for being the ones who prayed for his healing!

Do you believe in prayer? I do! Are you in need of prayers today? I'd be honored to have this privilege. Leave me a comment or send me an email: dfrieling1@gmail.com.

$4 Pottery Barn Chair Makeover

Good morning, friends! It's spring break around here so I'm up early getting a post ready so my kiddos and I can play the rest of the day. Or should I say, so I can play chauffeur/ play date coordinator the rest of the day?! 

Nonetheless, here's the breakdown of my $4 chair redo. For the cost of a can of spray paint, this chair went from 'clashing in the new room' to 'making a statement in the new room'!

I had posted this picture earlier in the week and loved the cute little stools. So when I was thinking of painting Miss Pinky, this idea seemed like a no-brainer!

{via}

So, here's what you'll need if you're planning on doing a similar project:

           1) painter's tape 2) trash bags 3) spray paint

 Cutting off the top of the trash bag helps you slip it right over the top.

 Decide how big you'd like your white space to be then mark it with the painter's tape. I tried measuring, then got fed up with the curves making it difficult so I ended up eyeballing it.

 Cover the bottom of your chair. Looks like it's ready for a haircut, right?!

 I used a flat finish for the white portion, only because that's what I had on-hand already. I would recommend covering the entire chair with a gloss finish. The flat finish left a gritty feeling, but since it's only at the top, I didn't worry about it.

 Give it a little spray. Two or three coats should be sufficient.

 Now peel back your tape and enjoy the first part of your handy work.

 Looks cute like this, but pink doesn't match anymore remember? So bring on the green!

 Now, cover the white and the base of the chair.

 I used grey primer for the next step (because I had it already), but I'm not sure it's absolutely necessary.

Give it a quick little rub with a fine grit sandpaper, then spray with your gloss finish color of choice. I used Ivy Leaf for those of you who were wondering.

So friends, there ya have it...a new chair for just a few dollars. I love saving money, don't you?!

If you'd like help updating things in your own home, contact me. I'd love to work with you!

Linking to:

Primitive & Proper

The Shabby Nest

Out of the Woods!...Woodland Room Reveal

Can I get a high-five?...It's done! My toughest client to date has approved this project and signed off. We transformed her girly pink room to a forest fantasy. Go fill up your coffee and get ready for lots of pictures...

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Quite possibly, the best feature of the room...a hammock chair!

"Mom, it's like I get to have a campout every single night!"she said.

A little furniture rearranging and styling is all this space needed.

A daily reminder as she takes a peek at her pretty self!

Shell fascination. This jar is the home of special rock and shell treasures. It's sure to fill up fast!

A curtain rod and clips are a great way to display your hardware...medals, that is!

My favorite part of the entire room. Little chipmunk perched on his mushroom with frog friends near by.

This Pottery Barn chair was pink just a few days ago.  Details to come, friends.

Remember my Habitat Restore find? It finally found a home.

Let's take a minute to appreciate that $25 Craigslist bed frame again, shall we?

The birds have been named and enjoy daily story times as Bryn sits in her hammock and 'talks' to them. 

So you can truly appreciate the Woodland room...here are the creatures.

Artwork by my favorite artist...my daughter!

So what makes this room so perfect? It's the epitome of what defines Bryn. It only takes one second to walk into this space and know exactly what she likes. It's comfortable and functional. Now, if money were no object, of course, there are things we'd do differently. But, there was a budget so, it is what it is!

Thanks for sharing your time with me, friends. Drop me a line and tell me your favorite part!

Need help designing your child's room? Let's get started...right here!

Linking to:

DIY Project Parade

c.r.a.f.t.

Funky Junk Interiors