When we moved in, the house had a dreaded boob light in the hallway.  (Update: see the hallway makeover here.) We quickly replaced it with this light:

It was only a few dollars at an architectural salvage store.  (It’s not old though, they are still selling it at the home improvement store for about $75.)  We picked it up because it was only a few dollars and it was better than the builder-grade ugly thing.

I’ve been wanting to replace it for a couple years with something that’s more our style, but haven’t…lighting is expensive! And finding one that’s your style second-hand can take years, literally. 

To tide us over until then, I sanded off the dull, dirty yellow finish it had.

I was hopeful that it was just paint, and it was! So with a very coarse sanding block, I sanded the paint right off the glass fixture.

The sanding took a while, but it was easy of course, and it was a free upper body workout.  That glass piece is a lot bigger than it looks when you’re trying to hold it and sand it.

Just put on a podcast and sand away.

If you test this on your light fixture and find that it isn’t a flat-finish paint as ours was, you can always spray paint the outside of it. Of course, depending on your fixture, you could lose a little of the light that comes through the fixture, but it might be worth it!

Once the sanding was done, I gave it a good wash in the kitchen sink and it looked like it had always been white.

To our surprise, we actually like it now.  As in, we are totally fine with giving up the search for a new one and keeping it. It was subtle, but removing the paint from the light fixture made such a big difference.

We have a thing for making over or making lighting, check out or other ideas here.

The post A free upgrade for a drab light fixture appeared first on Little Victorian.

Following a series of unfortunate events, most of my week has been spent in the kitchen instead of the bedroom.

The fun started when the dishwasher stopped cleaning the dishes.  They wouldn’t just come out still dirty, they actually had more gunk on them than they did when they went in.  So it was being used as a very big drying rack after hand-washing.

Then the fun continued when I found the raw chicken I had on the top shelf of the fridge was leaking…all over the rest of our food.  So most of our food had to be thrown out, and not only did I have a lot more dishes to wash, I had to wash the fridge components as well.

But that wasn’t all.  Before I began to wash the dishes that were taking up the whole counter, I turned the garbage disposal on.  At which point, the pipes under the sink broke apart.  It sounded like a waterfall.  And the cabinet, rug and my legs were covered in dirty, broccoli-filled water.  It took 3 days to get the kitchen back to looking clean again.

But, it did lead to me finishing a small project that had been sitting there for 6 months waiting to be done.  After the Hubs fixed the pipes, of course.

The sink cabinet wasn’t lined with anything, it was just a piece of plywood with no veneer covering.

After I scrubbed it clean, and let it dry, I put down peel-and-stick vinyl floor tiles (similar here).

They are easy to cut with an X-acto blade.  And they only cost $1.20 a piece, so it was less than $8 for a prettier and way easier to clean cabinet floor.

Just start with one corner and stick it down (I started with the front, so that in case I didn’t cut a perfectly straight line, it would be in the back and not noticeable). Then line the next pieces up to the first one. Once you hit the back of the cabinet, you *might* need to trim some off. Just flip the tile over, and mark on the paper backing where to cut.

Make your cut with an X-acto blade or an utility blade (this is my favorite) and then pop it in place. (Affiliate links)

Peel-and-stick tiles are so easy.

And now the cupboard is much easier to keep clean!

The Hubs had the brilliant idea to just take the fridge parts outside and use the hose on them (which actually led to a burst hose in the basement–but he got that fixed too).  And I finally got the dishwasher fixed yesterday.  Everything is clean and sparkly…for now.

The plan for this afternoon is to get back to work on the bedroom.

The post My rotten day at least led to a finished project appeared first on Little Victorian.

Our Roscoe is pretty big.  Even though he is a common breed, he is even larger than most Goldens (85 pounds at his healthy weight–95 if daddy feeds him). 

When it comes to buying things for him, he is considered XXL, which makes things hard to find and expensive.  For our first 3 years with him, we struggled to find him a bed that wasn’t ugly and he could actually fit in.  We went through so many “affordable” beds for him, but they would last about 3 months before getting lumpy.  It was time for a DIY dog bed.

Hover over the image to save it to Pinterest for later.

Actually, this can’t really be called a DIY, because it’s just a re-purpose.  But it’s a far more effective bed for a large dog than any actual dog bed we’ve found: it’s a crib mattress.  Here is our overjoyed model showing off his second, velvety sheet:

At Target, extra-large dog beds start at $80 (lumpy and stinky in no time) and go up to $350 (just, no).  Ours is from IKEA for about $35.  But you can get very affordable one from Amazon too (and if you’re a Prime member, the shipping is free too–if you’re not a Prime member, click here to get a free 30 day trial so you can take advantage of free shipping on something so huge.)

And of course, there are lots of good sheets for under $10. You can use a solid one, but obviously, the patterns are much better at hiding the fur and prints from dirty paws.

(Affiliate links above.)

Not only is the size of the mattress way better than most dog beds, it’s far higher quality, it’s not ugly and it’s so much easier to clean, since it’s covered with a machine-washable fitted sheet.  For extra protection, a mattress pad is only a few dollars more.  Another benefit of the inexpensive fitted sheets is that it takes about 20 seconds to put it on the bed.  Putting covers back on actual dog beds usually took me forever (or 20 minutes, whichever happens first)–pretty annoying when you’re washing it weekly.

So, there you are: a quality, non-DIY large dog bed for under $40.

The post Our non-DIY, DIY large dog bed appeared first on Little Victorian.

Back when I had the Etsy shop, I had to store shipping supplies in my little office.  To store those boxes and such, I hung 3 of IKEAs ($4!) metal napkin holders on the wall and put the supplies inside them.  It worked very well, but since I’m no longer selling physical products, I didn’t need the boxes any more.

This week, I finally emptied them out and filled them with things that kept cluttering my shelf.

You can go back and read the original post for more details, but it’s pretty simple: level your napkin holder on the wall and screw it into a stud!

Ever since I cleared my desk of everything but a tiny tray and my lamp, I could never go back to having anything else on my desk.  So these little wall shelves to hold my planner and papers are so helpful.  Now I just need a few cute file folders (some black and white ones to match my day planner would be nice) and it’ll be perfect.

The post Turning napkin holders into wall organizers–again appeared first on Little Victorian.

A few years ago when we were in our rental house before we did much DIY, I had a paper chandelier from IKEA that was plug-in and I wanted it over the dining room table.  The Hubs told me it was easy to convert a plug-in light to a hardwired light.  But I knew less than nothing about electrical work back then and just the thought of that to me was scary.

There really is nothing to be afraid of though.

You’ll just need three things:

1. Your plug in light-fixture
   (This light fixture is just a spray-painted simple, $8 utility lamp, similar to this $215 version.  Read how I transformed it here.)
2. A utility knife

   

3. A pair of wire strippers

   

   
   (Those are affiliate links.)

Here’s how to turn a plug-in light into a ceiling light:

1. Measure how long you’ll need your cord.

Hold your light fixture up to the ceiling and measure the length of cord you’ll need from there.  Then add about 6 inches to that length and cut your cord there.

That’s it!  Your plug-in light should look exactly like a hard-wired one.  (See the comparison in the last photo above.)

I’m not going to tell you how to actually install the light, because that has the potential to be different with each house.  Stephanie at Brooklyn Limestone has a great photo tutorial for actually replacing the light.  But I will add one tip: before you disconnect the old one, get your phone out and take a picture of how the wires are connected, especially if you live in an old house (you never know if something is wired in an…unconventional way).

One major benefit of turning a plug-in light into a hardwired one is that a plug-in is often far cheaper than a ready-to-go hardwired one.  They are way more customizable too, and it only takes about 5 minutes to transform the fixture!

You can see this one in place hanging from the ceiling here.

The post How to turn a plug-in light into a ceiling light (and save a lot of money) appeared first on Little Victorian.

As usual in our house, a small project turns into a big one, then a huge one.  We were going to simplify and organize our junk in the basement…now we’re water-proofing and pouring concrete (among many other things).  Because of all the extra work we’re doing, we’re not even close to finished yet, but we can show you another one of our simple projects that has made a really big difference.

Remember last year when we fixed up our basement door?  Well, the other side still looked like this:

Adding a light to the hallway was the first thing we did in this simplify-the-basement project.  Then we worked on that ugly wall.  It’s kind of important for this area to not be hideous, because when we have the heat on in the house, we need to keep the basement door open, and the basement door is in the dining room.

We had purchased some faux brick panels and painted them white for another project, but we didn’t end up using them.

So we used them to cover the ugly basement wall.

(Sorry about the photo quality, it’s a dark and dreary day here and I still need to learn how to use the camera.)

Before and after:

The post How about another basement sneak peak? appeared first on Little Victorian.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we’re doing some major simplifying around our house.  One of the problems we’ve had over the years is stacks of paper.  Junk mail and non-junk mail and magazines will be piled up in at least three different places in the house.  Those stacks will get combined and make a giant stack that we’ll put off going through because it will take an hour.

Pin it for later.

 
When I made the mail holder from a cereal box, that became our bill organizer, so when bills come in the mail, they go directly into it.  We still had a problem with the rest of the mail and papers though.

I’ve read lots of suggestions to keep a garbage can by the front door so junk mail can go directly into it, but so much of our junk mail needs to be shredded first.

So, how could we keep a paper shredder at the front door and not let ruin the decor?

First thought, was of course, spray painting it.  But, while it wouldn’t have been as noticeable, it still would have looked like a paper shredder.  So, then I thought about wrapping it in fabric or twine (like this), but then we’d still have the issue of the plastic bag hanging out around the edges.  Ew.

We needed to hide the paper shredder.  A basket!  And just like that, I found this one at the thrift shop.  And it was the perfect size!  

Of course, I was hoping for rattan or seagrass or anything prettier than wicker, but I can’t always have everything.  Besides, it was only $6.  Immediately upon getting home, I spray painted it my favorite cool gold (the same as the lamps).

Now, as soon as junk mail comes in the door, it goes straight into the shredder.

When a catalog comes in, I flip through it right there at the front door.  If there is nothing I’m interested in, it goes into the basket to be recycled with the paper shreds at the end of the week.  If there is something I like, I take it straight to the computer, look up the item online, pin it to a Pinterest board and then recycle the catalog.

We’ve been using it for a week now, and there hasn’t been a stray piece of paper to be seen in the house.  Success!

You can look for similar ones on Amazon. (affiliate link) It doesn’t have to be one with a lid either, you could get one of those big pretty baskets and then just put a pillow or throw blanket on top as if the whole basket were holding pillows and blankets. Like this one:

The post Shred paper clutter, keep your house pretty appeared first on Little Victorian.

This is the little project for the living room that I mentioned breaking.  It’s a 4 foot tall dry erase board.  I broke the glass as I was preparing to hang it, so I had to go purchase another 4’ framed print just for the replacement glass.

Anyway…the Hubs and I really like having a big board to brainstorm ideas and jot notes down.  We considered turning the stair wall into a chalkboard wall, but once we put the texture on the other walls, we preferred it for that wall too.  So, to still be able to write out our ideas, and not cover up the beautiful texture, I made this dry erase board.

It really is an incredibly easy DIY.

Get an extra large picture frame (thrift store: $10-$25).  Remove the picture and the backing, leaving only the glass.  Hang it on the wall.

In our case, I painted the frame with the wall paint so it would blend in even more.

And you can see the wall texture right through it.

Just write on it with dry erase markers and wipe off with a dry cloth.

What’s your preferred method of jotting things down?  Chalkboards?  Dry erase boards?  Paper?

The post A giant, invisible dry erase board appeared first on Little Victorian.

Finally completed another small project: painting the window sashes.

I’ve really been loving the look of black windows lately, especially in a room as light and neutral as ours.

Also, I’m in love with the windows themselves, they are one of the only architectural details the previous owners left intact (they didn’t even keep the original trim around the windows).  But, because of privacy issues, we need sheers on these windows.  Painting the sash dark allowed you to see more of the pretty window even with the sheers on.

The color is not quite black, it’s actually a very, very dark purple.  Martha Stewart’s “Weathervane”.  I plan on using small touches of the color throughout the house to keep it all tied together.

As far as the rest of the room goes, we’re having some minor issues with trimming the front door, but that is the only project we have left.  Well, we still need a light fixture too, but that might take some time.  The plan for the reveal is Monday, whether it’s “finished” or not!

The post Painted windows appeared first on Little Victorian.

About 5 years and 3 houses ago, we purchased the Lenda curtains from IKEA.  I’ve always loved them because they are nice and heavy, sturdy and machine washable.  And the price was perfect back then at $30 a pair.

When we were planning on redecorating the living room a few months ago, I had wanted new curtains, but now that the room is almost finished, I actually really like those old curtains in here again.  The color is great and I like the texture and weight too.

The tab tops, however, were more casual than I wanted.  So I sewed the tabs down to the back of each panel and now they are hidden!

It really is that easy.  I pinned down each tab on the first panel, but found the pinning wasn’t even necessary for the next 5 panels.  Once each tab is in place, sew on top of the seam that is already in the curtain a few inches down.  As long as your thread is the same color as the original, your new seams will be pretty much invisible.

When you’re finished sewing, slip the curtain rod inside the new pocket you’ve made between the tab and curtain.

And just like that, in a couple minutes per panel, we have more tailored and formal “Ripplefold” curtains.

Big difference for such a fast and simple alteration!

Speaking of big differences, I can’t wait to show you the whole living room.  Just have a few more little projects like this one to complete and you’ll get the big reveal with all the before and after photos.

The post Altering curtain panels: how to hide the tab tops appeared first on Little Victorian.