And the light came through!

One of the great pleasures of having an outdoor space is to be able to use when good weather comes around. Not at Maison MY, until now! 

What a difference some light makes!

See it by yourself bellow:

Before:

After:

I'm back...

Hello again… Sorry being MIA for almost two months, but I had my reasons: a baby girl was born just two days after my last post, a terrible flu that went on for almost four weeks, and oh the wonders of living with a newborn attached to your hip!
One of the outputs of a short lived springish weather was to paint an eye sore of a lamp I got for free a couple of years ago at a Fells Point thrift store that was closing down.

The before:

And the nicer after:






Resources: SW trim paint leftover.

Before & After: the dining room semi reveal!

Finishing the roman shades for the dining room felt like a big weight was lifted from my shoulders!
Last weekend I had my baby shower, and I felt bad with those ….."nice" paper shades.
Well, goodbye paper shades, hello gorgeous roman shades!

The current state (not totally the after, as a lot is still left to do/buy):

Resources:

Fabric: Sharon Kessler, Pheasants Cotton fabric, for Concord Fabrics

Wallpaper used under the chair rail: Thibaut 

Linking up at Thrifty Decor Chick

Before and After: Blue and white…. and some color blast

I have been, during the last couple of weeks, in hardcore nesting mode.
I can go in labor any minute, and every minute counts to finish my huge list of to-do's around the house!

When I came back from Brazil I found the house covered in a thin layer of dust due to the renovation work done in the family room and basement, until recently…
With the dust cleaning done, I went on a finishing decor tasks galore: dining room roman shades, nursery roman shade and chair pillows, entry hall and family furniture changes and new layout, new curtains for the master bedroom, and the list goes on…

The piece that has inspired my family room decor is a nice American Heritage chest of drawers that I bought two years ago from Craigslist. It needed a lot of TLC, and a new color.
Inspired by the fabric of the bench makeover, I took a sample of the fabric and had Benjamin Moore's folks to do a custom blue color.
And the rest is a blue and white color history….

The before:

The after sanding process:

 And it's reveal as the junk/toys guardian in the family room:

Linking my before and after at the amazing Miss Mustard Seed FFF

Before & After: Snowstorm output: a bench cover

I'm still happy that we have just returned to Baltimore from Sao Paulo. With the soaring temperatures behind, all the cold and snow is a very welcome blessing! Don't think I am crazy! Just imagine having to endure temperatures over 100F everyday, with very limited AC, 8 months pregnant… Not something I would wish to my worst enemy, if I had one!
Returning home with an almost 3 years old has it's disadvantages: everything is new to him, and a danger is at every corner of the house, plus he drags food all over, playing with the dog.
We did plenty of changes and renovations (again!) during this last year. Some furniture arrangements were made, and I just realized that my house is not prepared for a very energetic toddler, plus a baby.
Today was the perfect day to put in action some plans I had put in the back burner for a while: do a slipcover.
This past weekend I stopped by my favorite Goodwill to drop off some donations, and with a 20% off coupon in hand I got a few "necessary" items, such as $2.25 Threshold fretwork border window panel. Immediately I knew what I wanted to do with it: a cover for our bench being used as coffee table in our family room. The colors, tan and coral, were a perfect match for the new white walls.
In just a couple of hours, and with the help of the amazing Miss Mustard Seed video tutorials in how to make a slipcover, I just got a "protection" for sticky dirty hands and feet!

The curtain panel fabric:

 THE BEFORE:

 The AFTER:

Linking at Miss Mustard Seed FFF!

Resources:

Target Threshold fretwork border window panel, bought at Goodwill for $2.25

Bench, from HomeGoods

A family room being mended

When we purchased our current house, one of the rooms that just "sold it" was what we consider our family room.
Our neighbors informed us that it used to be an office and and mud room. Currently we use it as the breakfast and TV room.
Unfortunately, the work done previously was blotched and just made to look good. Fast forward  a couple of months, and a huge crack from one side of the wall to the other one, including the ceiling, appeared and made it look very unsafe...

Well, unsafe no more...
Work is under way!

Sorry about the pic, but it was taken using the Xfinity security camera! Love this stuff!

Drexel: a world of changes

The pictures speak by themselves: what a coat of paint can transform a simple piece of furniture:

Original state:

Black lacquer:

Or the blue version:

Pics source: 1stDibs, and Maison MY

A room fit for a wanderluster

Recently, I got to know my baby's gender: It's a girl!
Growing up I was a tomboy, and never had a tendency for choosing pink, say over blue!
The nursery room is under TLC, as due to some leaking gutter got some water infiltration damage.
I have decided to go with vintage navigation maps and blue and white stripes with details in white and coral.
My inspiration board came from these pictures found on pinterest.

The current state:

A new blank slate for a future baby girl room:

A "tornado" of changes around the house

 The tornado on Monday may have not passed around Baltimore, but the change-bug was pretty alive and kicking in MY Maison.
I had a room, that Mr. Y and I called: the reading room. Is on the second floor, just out from one of our guest rooms, that soon will become our son's big boy room.
The issue we faced was called Siberia cold temperatures during the winter months. We tried everything:  extra heaters, besides the radiators, curtains, winterized the windows, etc. nothing worked!
The last resource was to change the old single panel windows to the modern comfort.
We can see a bit of the difference between the original windows found in the first floor, and the final work being done by our amazing contractor Bob.
Our plan is to transform it into the kids playroom. Today was raining cats and dogs, and while cleaning it up, I really wish it could be my own playroom: books, a nice cashmere throw and tea!

 OUTSIDE:

INSIDE: 

:

Two chairs and an almost tornado

I was welcomed into Baltimore with a tornado alert. Grey skies, wind and rain (this one very welcomed, as my poor neglected garden is fifty shades of brown...).

My first aid kit was to gather some of the chair projects I have on my DIY list.

I got both chairs for $20 at David's. I have a few yards of lovely Kaufman leopard print bought at DeBois, and a lovely green velvet bought at Calico Corner Outlet in Lancaster, PA.

Now my question is the color to paint the chair legs: black or white?

Velvet in the bottom, and leopard print on the top:

The leopard print:

Before & After: The Brutal(ist) change

I have mentioned previously that one my furniture enablers/feeders is the amazing, and fast growing famous, store in Hampden, called David's on the Avenue.
It all started when I rented my tiny apartment, with the best Mount Vernon Place view, I just needed few and small pieces, to receive friends for a drink before going out to the many fantastic restaurants of the area.
At that time I was constantly traveling to Africa, and my roots were pretty loose until my husband, that time still fiancé, and I bought our first house at the Cross Keys Village, and I went from one bedroom to three bedrooms. Fast forward another couple of years and we had seven bedrooms in our hands to fill with more furniture.

When I moved to Roland Park, some furniture was just too small for some spaces, but with a good vision and a coat of paint (I used Gloss White by Rustoleum), and you immediately change that piece!
The original dingy, brown sofa table on the first picture. For a while I had the 2nd photo set up, but the lamps were just too small.
It's located in the landing area of the second floor, between the master bedroom and the nursery.

BEFORE:

MIDWAY:

AFTER:

This brutalist Zodiac mirror is by Original Finesse, a company started in the 60's by two brothers in law. The company was closed in the late 70's. I have two other pieces from them, and is always a piece of conversation as one was bought at David's and the other one through ebay.
You can find two of these mirrors on 1stDibs here.
I paid around $200 for the piece, and I think it was one of the most expensive pieces I got there!

Before & After: Art addi(c)tion!

What a simple addition of art, two prints, and a mirror brings so much warmth to a room!
My twin bed guest room is always in change, but is getting closer to my vision.
Both Carol Gigg's prints and mirror were bought at my local Goodwill store for less than $50.
I had the headboards upholstered, and were $300 both (only work), and I got the linen fabric at Calico Corners for $80.
The duvets and covers are from Ikea: $60. Lamps ($19.99 each) were from Home Goods, and the amazing vintage vanity table , $55, was from a local furniture consignment store that has closed for business, and the rug was bought at an auction ($150).

Unfortunately, I don't have photos of the all whole process when I started, but here it is how it looks now:

BEFORE:

 AFTER:

Before & After: A charming little Varanda in the concrete jungle

On my stays in Sao Paulo, I try to fit some time to go to Bello Quilt and get some sewing classes. So far, I have done pillows (12 and counting) a duvet cover for my son's crib.
Currently, I'm working on more pillows and some roman shades. I will try my best to do some photo tutorials.
Cida, the owner and teacher,  is an amazing teacher and friend, and very perfectionist! Her bags, children clothes, quilt covers are just works of art!

My last project was to replace my Ikea outdoor chair covers for something more colorful and interesting!

Here is the result:                        


BEFORE:

 AFTER:

The fabrics are outdoors fabrics that I bought here in Sao Paulo in the garment/fabric district. I still have plenty left, if anyone is interested it costs $25.00/yard.

Before & After: Small Changes

As many of you can attest (the ones with the decor bug, of course), is that there isn't one day that you don't change something around the house.
Well, today I just did it, and how nicer it looks:

The before:

And the after:

Before & After: Chinoiserie at best!

Before my adventures into upholstery, and with the help of many youtube and blogs tutorials, I decided to put to some good use an amazing Bassett McNab's Tea Garden fabric I purchased from FHG (fabric holly grail, aka, DeBois).

I had already seen the impact and use of the wallpaper of the mentioned fabric:

                 

Room by Gideon Mendelson as seen at House Beautiful

After many theories in how to make a headboard (thank you Rachel and Sara), I decided to take the plunge and go for it:

Add amazing fabric:

Some plywood and MDF:

Et voila! In less than 3 hours (matching the fabric was the most difficult of all tasks):

There is still a lot to do before I unveil the final product: my blue guest room. I still need to use the remaining fabric to do a roman shade for this room, add a rug, paintings, and a nifty chair I just purchased from Goodwill!

Linking my DIY project at The Pink Pagoda