~MIRROR MIRROR on the WALL~

 ~MY GUY DOING HIS THING~

In April 2009 I shared with you a few pictures of the Stairwell in my La Chaumière de Briarwood.  Nothing has changed over the past few years because I still love the way all the mirrors look and don't have any plans to change them out anytime soon.  I may not ever....

~ANCHORS A MUST~

But, with all the makeover stuff we've been doing of late we've had to move things around quite a bit and that has left several decorative pieces without a home.  Some of those things have been taken out to the storage shed we have on our property and a few things have been propped up in our garage (which I absolutely hate!).

 ~VINTAGE MIRROR~

As my Mr. AGPMan and I have worked to de-clutter our home we've happily donated tons of stuff to Goodwill, but the one thing I just couldn't let go of was a very large mirror that was original to our home.

 

~EXISTING MIRRORS~

The mirror once hung over the very large and dated bathroom counter in our main upstairs bath.  But when we remodeled it in 2005 we changed it out to update the look and feel of the room.  The wooden frame was an antique gold color but it sort of greened-out over the years and it wasn't very appealing.  Still the mirror itself was lovely and even a little bit sentimental.  The manufacturer's date was on the back August 16, 1969.  That means this summer it will be 43 years old...

~DRY BRUSHED~

Instead of parting with the mirror we decided to add it to our stairwell mirrors and hang it on the opposite wall.  I love how it looks coated in my favorite Cottage White Paint (Behr/Home Depot).  Dry brushing allowed lots of the original patina to show through, too!

Hanging this big old thing was a huge hassle, but I was happy to get the chance to really clean the mirrors and remove all the dust brought about with so much remodeling!

Hope you Monday is fab!  I'm off to work...

Love to you...

SHABBY CHIC STAIRWELL DECORATED COTTAGE STYLE

Bottom Looking Up

I've shared with you several times that I live in a pretty two story home built in 1970. Decorating this charming "diamond in the rough" has been an exciting experience for both me and my Mr. AGPMan. The house was truly a pretty sad little place when we purchased it in the summer of 1992 and I still grimace when I think about the layers of soot that covered the outside of the fireplace (UGH!). I'll spare you the details in this Post except to say that there wasn't a room that didn't need painting, floors that didn't need scrubbing and windows that didn't need cleaning.

Pretty Mirrors & Light Fixture Repainted

During the past 201 months of living in our humble abode, we've successfully transformed much of the square footage! We've taken down and put up walls, changed nearly all the decorative moldings and trims, carpeted twice, put in new windows, doors, and completely remodeled the main upstairs bath...plus soooo much more! It is a good thing my hubbs and I are "Do-It-Yourselfers", otherwise I'm afraid we'd be broke...worse yet we'd run the risk of pricing our home right OUT of our neighborhood! It doesn't hurt tho' that we purchased our home before the real estate market in our town went totally crazzzzzy....

Light Surround-Once Wall Decor!

One of the biggest challenges we've ever faced as far as decorating is concerned has been our stairwell. When we moved in it was wallpapered with a 1970's print. ACK! The paper was garish, loud and poorly hung, I couldn't wait to rip it down. I re-papered once...the cost and the work almost killed me! After that I opted to lightly texture the walls and just paint. Cheaper for sure but still a pain in the bumm to do!

Over the past week or so my hubbs pulled out his custom made :) scaffolding and got the painting job done yesterday! See those mirrors on the wall? When he was only halfway finished painting he arrived home to see them all hanging right where they'd been a couple of days before. Let me tell you....HE WAS NOT happy with this gleeful little wifey of his! His only comment was "Rebecca! How am I SUPPOSE TO FINISHING PAINTING without knocking those mirrors off the wall? If they fall YOU are cleaning up the mess!" I agreed and the mirrors stayed in place...(none fell either!) :) ....

How It Was Painted
Scary Scaffolding

Anyway, while he was on that narrow tightrope looking piece of wood, I convinced him to take down the light fixture so I could paint it. I also wanted to put up a Light Fixture Surround as well! So...down came the light and after repainting it a soft creamy white and lightly distressing it, back up it went!

Sooooo....

Taaahhhh Daaahhhh again! Another project can be marked OFF The-To-Do-List! And to think that we actually PRAYED to be home owners...hmmmmmm

"Let your patience show itself perfectly in what you do." James 1:4

Blessings for a beautiful Holy Week...Rebecca