The grass is always greener

OK

 so we agree my backyard needs some work.I promise it hasn't always looked this bad, when my kids were little I spent more time working on the yard but since then its pretty much just been neglected.   

 

   The other day I found some astro turf being chucked out. That was the find I needed to get  motivated & fix the backyard up.This time into a space for me & hubby to enjoy when the Kids come to visit.

 Astro turf would not be my first choice, I love real not fake but some times compromise is for the best.With all that we have going on in our life we don't have a lot of time to maintain a lawn. I would rather spend the time and money on planting and taking care of veggies and herbs that we can eat.

first I had to weed and get rid of a lot of rubbish,move all those slabs. I have kept them because I'm planing on using them over where the cubby house is nowturnin that area into a nice little seating area. the cubby house I would like to move to the other end of the yard and convert it into a chicken         house but for now on with the astro turf.     

        

so I level off the sand and layed the turf out along side it. It had been folded up so the sun will straighten the crease out of it.    

 After the sun had done its job I moved the turf into place. its looking so much better already.

My yard has a slight rise in levels & the sleeper that was defining them had rotted so I needed to replace it . I used a jarrah 4x2 I had from a patio a neighbor had pulled down. I cut it to size then painted it the same charcoal colour as the rest of the wood in my yard & nailed it in place with iron support rods that go down into the ground.     

I am so pleased we stopped to collect the astro turf  its made such a difference to this space. 

  

the stand hubby put together for me. we found the frame in a skip bin. Marty cut some pallet boards and placed them across it making shelf's for me to use as a  herd & veggie  garden.       

There is still a lot I want to do out here but I think this is definitely a good start.

I hope you enjoyed. Leanne x     

french provincial bedhead makeover

The bed in this room turned out better than I had dreamed it would. Don't you love it when that happens? 

 I was gifted the bedhead  by the owners of a second hand store.They were trying to clean out pieces that the previous owner had purchased but they didn't think would sell.The dresser, tall boy and mirror were the original pieces I saw and purchased.You see them in this post here  latter the owners found the bedhead and foot board in a storage shed. They kindly said I could have it if I wanted as it was part of the set. It was missing the side rails, slats and the foot board was slightly damaged but I can work around that.  

 I knew I loved the set and that painting it would give it a more updated look. I purchased the draws, talboy and mirror in 2014 and was originally doing the set up for a customer, but her circumstances changed and the sale fell through. I was disappointed because I had started working on it but part of me was kind of happy because I secretly wanted to keep it.After that it just sat around half done for years.

 Have you ever done that? put off doing something because if you are honest with yourself you are not really whole hatred about your decision? well that's what I did. I've found that I love doing things for others but find it hard to do things for myself because I feel its selfish and I don't want to be selfish. I am working on that so I decided I would keep it and turn one of my rooms into a guest room. This to me felt like middle ground It was for me but for others at the same time. Well everyone needs to start somewhere I've  been toying with the idea of doing a office/inspiration room just for me maybe i'll do that next.                 

       

Back to the bedhead .The wood had a glossy finish so first I gave it a light sand then painted it with Zinsser Primer for shiny surfaces then in Annie Sloan old white chalk paint last I painted it with Paris grey by Rustoleum. This was the first time I have used this brand of chalk paint I used a spray gun and it worked well. 

    

once it was painted I wanted to add some dimension & definition to the carving so I used a wet cloth and rubbed it back on the high spots and where I thought it needed it. This let the white show through.  

This definitely added the detail I was after. It was like seeing it come to life from drab to fab.   

Here it is half rubbed back I think it makes it pop don't you agree? once done I waxed it with Annie Sloan clear wax and buffed it. 

  

The mattress was a great find that's probably not for everyone. There is a store near us that is closing down so they are cleaning out damaged or returned items. this mattress and base was next to the bin and was in near new condition. We brought it home then realized it was lumpy part of the inside had come lose.        

I decided to unpick the stitching and see if I could fix it.I was a little fearful but its not like it cost me anything so I relay had nothing to loose with that thought I got to investigating.  

sometimes Its good to embrace the child inside and get curious.I was surprised to see how it was constructed. It had these cells in it that were all suppose to be glued down but they has mostly come loose. I lifted them all off and used adhesive spray to glue them back in place. This was a easier fix than I thought it was going to be. 

          

Once they were all glued down I simply put the top back in place and reused the binding and hand stitched it back in place using strong embroidery thread. Can you believe a mattress that retails for $1,200 and was gong to end up in land fill? It only cost me a little bit of  time and work and I now not only do I have a good quality mattress but I have helped do my bit to save the planet. I can tell you that thought will give me a good night sleep.       .   

The quilt is a Morgan & Finch quilt that I found at good Sammie's for $5 I just found it online at Bed Bath N' Table for $299.95  All up not including the bedhead just the mattress,base & quilt if new have a total retail value of $1,499.95 but were now considered to be worth only $5 and landfill and the bedhead cost me a total of $30 in primer paint & wax.What can I say one mans trash + a bit of  creative thinking =  this women's blessing.

Enjoy Leanne x