Wednesday, December 28, 2011

My Favorite Projects of 2011

Well, it's that time when we all look back on our favorite projects of the year. It's actually really hard to pick favorites. And looking back through my photos, I've found that many projects never even make it to the blog - too many projects and not enough time to share. But here are a few I really enjoyed in 2011.

One of my favorite projects is also my most viewed post ever - the weekend my husband and I framed out all of the bathroom mirrors in our get-away house. This was an easy and inexpensive change that had a big visual impact. If you have big boring mirrors, you can do this too, I promise!




In our real house, we had a bathroom that needed more than framed mirrors. We just gutted it and started over. No you didn't miss it. I haven't even had a chance to write a post on this one yet, but here's a sneak peek!




Our biggest project of the year happened in our backyard. If you like rocks (ok, boulders, really big boulders) as much as we do, then you'll love our new wall!



Now most of my projects are much easier and involve paint and furniture. Dressers are my very favorite pieces. No matter the style, they are just so cute and very functional too! This was the year we all tried chalk paint. And although I'm still trying to justify the price, I must say that Antibes Green is a really fun color!



I also fell in love with another shade of chalk paint called Provence. It really made this little desk pop. Don't you love the way paint changes everything? The chair was finished in Old White and I loved the coordinating fabric too.



And here is another sweet cottage style dresser in Provence toned down with a little Old White - a great way to use the last drop of paint in your can. And creating your own custom color is so much fun!



And as much as I love playing with color, it seems I clearly had a fascination with gray this year. I loved this beautiful curvy buffet in a combination of Paris Grey and Old White.



I was crazy about the details on this piece!


And I was thrilled when she found a happy home. Her new owner named her Victoria!


And Megan fell for this color combination too. After she painted this desk, it became the color inspiration for her home office. Just imagine it paired with yellow!


And then I discovered that I could make my own chalk paint! I started with gray, of course. You will definitely be seeing more homemade chalk paint in 2012!




And even with regular paint, I was mixing shades of gray. I found that paint and primer in one can be a real time saver and I was really pleased with the finish. This dresser made it's way to a cute new cafe in town. I can have lunch and visit her at the same time!




And this gray piece just might be my very favorite furniture transformation ever! We took a huge mid-century modern dresser and turned it into a stylish, functional and very thrifty media cabinet.



And it looks amazing in Megan's apartment!


Well, I could keep showing you pictures of dressers, but I think you get the idea. And I did have a few favorite craft projects this year too, including this burlap and ruffles table runner.



Then I went a little crazy with the ruffles and made this pillow as a birthday gift for a
dear friend.


And although I made a whole bunch of wreaths this year, my favorites were for Christmas. Creating a wreath from vintage ornaments had been on my to-do list for years. I think this one was worth the wait!


And last, but not least, this one was special because I teamed up with the girls at Elizabeth & Co. to create this wreath for a local charity auction. Generally we are all working on projects independently (in our garages) and come together for our tag sales. It was such fun to work together! And speaking of our tag sales, we hosted four of them this year - whew! Thank you so much to all of our friends who came out and supported us!




So there you have it, a few of my favorite projects of the year.
Can't wait to see what 2012 brings for all of us!

Happy New Year!
And thank you for spending time here
at Elizabeth & Co.!