The Interior DIYer
Uncategorized

Kitty corner

This weekend I gave some special attention to our kitties. To wind it back a bit, it all started with a cross stitch. I’ve wanted for years to create a little something for our cats and hang it down low; for their visual purposes only. All the fancy stuff doesn’t have to be hung up high for human benefit.
Their previous feeding spot was a bit meh. They had some cheeky bowls which I heart very much, but they didn’t fit in with anything and it was time for a change. I set my budget low, and aimed to makeover their space for under €20.

I picked up this frame for €8 from Dunnes Stores, a little serving tray for €5 at Tesco, two vintage glass bowls for €1 each at the Merchants Market and I had an existing white water bowl which was a perfect fit. I will be the first to say, the above looks incredibly cute and I wouldn’t mind keeping them like this {I know Maria and Janine will agree!}, but I wanted more of a bespoke feel, and you know me – I can’t leave anything alone.
I spray painted the frame with my all time fav, ‘winegum’ spraypaint from Montana. The tray got a lot more attention and was a challenge I set myself. With some Montana goldchrome spray paint, a bit more winegum paint and a Sharpie, I was able to magic up a pimpin’ leopard print tray. Perfect for any inner wild cat.

I’m really happy with how this little project turned out. And all for under €20. All kinds of winning. And more importantly, kittehs approve. xx A
Uncategorized

DIY Friday – blackboard shopping list

I will start off by saying I’m not claiming to have reinvented the wheel. This weeks DIY Friday is not groundbreaking, but it is something that we’ve had in our apartment for a couple of years, is painfully simple and gets use every day. For those very reasons I can’t help but share our blackboard shopping list … 

Way back in 2011 I fell for the
blackboard fad, and I fell hard. I bought a tin of the black stuff, woke
up early one morning and attacked our living room with it. I was in love for a couple of months, but all that black began taking its toll. I Brazilian waxed our blackboard wall and trimmed it back to a strip above our shelf, but it wasn’t long before I painted over all of it. 
But one patch survived; the patch I painted in the kitchen. We’ve found it so useful. We’ve gotten in the habit of snapping a picture of the list whenever we head out so we know what to pick up on the way home. It’s really been worth its weight in paint.
Let’s be honest here people, tonic should be on the top of the list. 
Exciting stuff will be going on all up in here next week! I think I’ll treat this weekend as the calm before the storm. All that’s going on next week will be a massive bouquet of excitement, fear, and a big bow of stepping outside of my comfort zone. But all of which a step in the right direction. Light a candle for me folks. xx A
p.s. Today’s DIY Friday was going to be a little something involving washi tape but the fab and uber creative ladies at A Beautiful Mess beat me to it. Mad props ladies! My hat is off to you. So is the life of a blogger.
Uncategorized

DIY Friday – I love lamp

Ah, Friday. You are here at last, which means I can share my DIY Friday! This weeks DIY is a lamp revamp to {hopefully} convert those of you who may be a bit paint shy when it comes to DIY. Don’t be scared. I got your back. 

As I hinted earlier this week, I sorted myself out with a small work space in our living room. I immediately started day dreaming about decorating my new desk space, and one of the key pieces on my list was a statement lamp. I preferred the idea of DIYing one, so I took to the streets of Dublin and below is what I found. Behold, the ‘before’ picture. Take it all in … 

I spotted this green giant in Age Action for €25. I immediately knew it would be perfect. Once I got home I was a bit uncertain with what I wanted to do with the lamp. I knew I wanted a black lamp shade, and that’s about it. So I took to Photoshop to design my lamp revamp without tearing my hair out and having to go back and repaint anything copious amounts of times {I know Maria will appreciate this level of design planning!}. 

I edited the above image and here are the options I came up with … 
1 – My usual favourite ‘Winegum’ spray paint popped into mind, but I thought slight overkill. I spray everything with that colour, and I also wanted something a bit more uplifting / less dark for my desk. 
2 – This time with white. Better. I liked the idea of keeping the original gold base and keeping the gold fixture at the top. But it was still a bit blah …

3 – All white for the sake of my Photoshopping spree. A bit too boring for me though if I’m honest. 
4 – I then focused on the lampshade and added a bit of sass. I like where this is going.
I then combined my two favourite mash ups {2 and 4} and thought to hell with it. Why not add my favourite winegum hue? There was no better place to use it than to cover up the current Exorcist-pea-green-soup cord. And here is what I came up with … 

Yeah. I got a bit carried away with Photoshop on the cord there. That’s what happens when you’re stuck at home sick for a couple of days.

I was very happy with my result and got to work. I taped off the gold base, the gold light fixture at the top, as well as the plug at the base of the cord. I used masking tape and tin foil to cover all the important bits. 

I gave the lamp two coats of ‘Sh. White’, and the cord one coat of my favourite ‘Winegum’ hue {both Montana brand spray paint}. While that was drying, I tackled the lamp shade. I had picked up a black lampshade from Dunnes Stores for €8 and while I was housebound, I e-mailed husband some ‘man instructions’ and sent him to Hickeys to pick up one meter of black bauble trim {he did so well}. I used extra strong adhesive to fix the bauble trim to the bottom of the lamp shade {pictured drying upside down} and used paper clips to make sure it stayed in place. I let both the lampshade and lamp base dry overnight. 

Then all I did after that was assemble it. I’m quite proud with how it turned out! If you keep an open mind it just goes to show what can be done on the cheap. You don’t need an unlimited budget or a mountain of supplies. If this makes you tick, I would strongly suggest visiting Pat’s totes amaze blog – In My Wheele House, which is full of fab furniture DIY’s that will have you running to your nearest antique or junk shop.

Early next week I’ll be sharing my new little office space so keep your eyes peeled! And with that I’ll leave you with some of my favourite Dublin graffiti, which is quite apt for today’s post. An oldie but a goody. Happy Friday, homies! xx A