So spring is officially here! Not that you would guess it by the weather. Spring cleaning is already well under way in my house. I’ve chosen to love a frugal life going forward so I am either selling or binning everything that I don’t really need. It’s crazy when you start sorting though things how much stuff you accumulate without even realising.
Are you doing any spring cleaning this year? If so what sort of stuff are you getting rid of and what are you keeping? I would love to know.
So we’ve been at it again! This time the kitchen was in the firing line! Those dated wooden cabinets just had to go! They were bringing the whole room down! Since we moved in back in 2016 we have slowly added our own touch to every room and this was one of the only ones we still weren’t happy with!
Eventually I want an extension which will house a new kitchen and I would rather save the new kitchen feeling and the money for when that happens so for the time being we decided to refresh what we had with some cabinet paint.
We had already done a fair bit in here at this point like painting the ceiling which was the same colour as the cabinets and we also painted the tiles which had a speckled brown finish with ducks on them. Nothing seemed to look right together when it was like this.
After a full day of prep work which solely consisted of sanding off the sheen and years of general kitchen grime off the cupboards and then we began painting. Dan has had his air line and compressor set up in the garage for years and only this year started using it so everything was sprayed to get a more even finish. Because it was sprayed we managed to keep the grain effect which I love!
I had some real trouble trying to decide on new handles for the doors and drawers. I didn’t want anything too fancy looking we were were going for a minimalist look. They had to be silver to match all the other kitchen accessories and I also didn’t want to pay the earth for them as the idea of this was to refresh the kitchen on a budget! Eventually I found the ideal ones on Amazon. They were £10 a pack so I ordered two packs of the shot ones and one pack of the long ones and have a load left over as spares.
I am so happy with how this little diy project turned out. There are a couple little things we still need to sort but they are quite hard wearing as out dog has a lovely habit of stretching against the cupboard doors and none of them have scratched so that’s great.
If any of you are thinking about painting your kitchen but worried about the durability of this I would say as long as you make sure you lacquer them once painted you should be ok.
I would love to hear about your experiences of painting furniture and anything you would do differently next time.
Have a great day everyone!
All my love, Mel xo
It’s that time of year again when we pack away our Halloween decorations and spend a month in limbo before the Xmas decorations come out!
I like to take this month to finish off any home deco projects that need seeing to before the carnage that is Christmas descends! Most of my projects will involve a fresh coat of paint so it’s nothing major.
We celebrated Halloween at home this weekend due to the latest lockdown. We had pumpkin carving which got real messy but the results were worth it! 
Sienna was really excited for Halloween this year so it was a real shame that we couldn’t take her trick or treating! But because we couldn’t take the girl out for Halloween, we brought Halloween to the girl! We had a little party with buffet style food and music, and we danced around our living room like lunatics 😂 it was great!
After what can only be considered as a year to write off, the little things like bonfire night, which I will be enjoying with my family at home, is really something to look forward to. We have got some little fireworks from our local shop and we intend to have our own little display.
I hope you are all keeping safe and making the best of a bad situation!
All my love, Mel
During lockdown I’ve been reassessing the decor in my home and giving everything in sight a freshen up because while your stuck at home what else is there to do.
This week the on the agenda is the bathroom. Because it’s tiled from floor to ceiling there’s not a lot I can do with the walls without completely destroying the room so I figured I could change the blinds to give it a tweak.
At present we have a white roller blind with a suede flower pattern in black in there and I’ve never really liked it since I put it up but at the time it was better than what was there when we moved in.
As I’ve been looking to modernise the house bit by bit I find myself torn between two options, Venetian blonds with ribbon or day/night blinds.
I love them both which is why I can’t decide so I’ve taken to Instagram polls to see what the masses think.
Hope your all staying safe! Have a great weekend!
I had a new carpet fitted in my bedroom over the weekend and with this being the only component left to modernise the room from the old lady style decor of the person I bought the house from I felt that I wanted my night stands to match the room but I didn’t want to buy new ones just yet. I decided that vinyl wrapping them would hide the ugly worn marks that they had and bring them in line with the new colour scheme of the room.
Here is how they turned out. The first one took a bit longer and as really ain’t a pro at this it did take some time to get them right. I am really pleased with the finish and it was the perfect project for a rainy day.
I started from the top and worked my way down the cabinet. The top drawer was the trickiest because of the frosted window in it but after some perseverance I got there in the end! The handles were removed to give a professional finish.
Here are some half way through pics showing the progress I was making. It may have been very slow progress but I was progress non the less! perseverance is key when it comes to vinyl wrapping. It really isn’t for those with a short temper.
Cheeky one down, one to go shot!
I was really pleased with the difference that a clean finish made. Almost makes them look like new.
I would love to know you thoughts on this upcycling project and I would like to hear about your projects.
New home / new family “Our Nest” vinyl wall art. New item in the eBay store. Why not head over and check out some of my other items. XO
#vinyl #wallart #homemade #homestyle #diecut #instaart #instalike #instadaily #picoftheday #pictureoftheday #vinylwallart #vinylvibes #wallartdecor #customdesign
Check out more posts on XO Mello Instagram or check out my eBay Store
New wall art added to our eBay store today.
Why not head over and check out some of my other items. Link in bio. XO
#vinyl #wallart #homemade #homestyle #homedecor #diecut #instaart #instalike #instadaily #picoftheday #pictureoftheday #vinylwallart #vinylvibes #xomello #wallartdecor #customdesign #vintagestyle #arrows
Check out more posts on XO Mello Instagram or check out my eBay Store
New item for sale on my eBay Shop. Compass style wall art. Perfect for any room in the house. Why not head over to the store and check out some of my other items. More items being added daily. XO
#vinylwallart #homestyle #diecut #instaart #instadaily #picoftheday #pictureoftheday #vinylvibes #wallart #wallartdecor #vinyl
Check out more posts on XO Mello Instagram or check out my eBay Store
There is a vast range of indoor plants that would look great in any style room. A few of my favourites are below:
Succulents
If you have a tendency to kill every plant you have ever owned, like me, then these are for you. They are a very low maintenance plant and are ideal for the amateur gardener. They are fantastic at retaining water so they don’t need to be watered as often as most plants. They are best suited to window sills, shelves or tabletops and are a great addition to any room.
Cacti
These plants come in a full range of different shapes, sizes and colours so I am sure that you will be able to find something that suits your room. All cacti have the ability to flower so if this is what you are going for then they would need to be watered regularly during growing season. Cacti can give your home the California touch which paired with modern, minimalistic décor.
There are a load more varieties of hard wearing plants that you could choose. Why not share you thoughts on what you would like to see in your home this coming year.
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