Duck Egg Blue Kitchen Table Transformation

To see an updated kitchen tour, click here!

I have been madly running around our barn, half dressed with coffee spilled down my sweatshirt and furniture wax on my face, trying to add finishing touches to our home. The funny thing is, my home will NEVER be done...EVER and I like it that way. It shows that I am growing and will be constantly building our home. Our home will be a place where we collect all the beautiful memories from our adventures around the world.Your home should reflect your favorite moments.
We wanted our kitchen to be a reminder of one of our favorite cafes in Colmar, France, and we have made some changes to remind us of that wonderful, beautiful place.
Below is a picture of what I am still trying to forget...

 We acquired this lovely kitchen set from one of my very best friends who got it as a hand-me-down and wanted to get rid of it. I wish I had picture of it with the green, stained, plaid chair covers, but that was from B.B. (before blogging). Over the years I have changed them quite a bit, most recently by painting my own fabric to make covers that you can see here. This dining set, has been through a lot and traveled a lot... A year ago, one of the chairs broke and we have been "carefully" sitting on that chair so it doesn't snap. Yeah, that got old quick. I decided I wanted a more "collected" look and was going to get rid of the broken chair and mix in some mismatched chairs that I already had and paint the table Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue (my favorite color). I love how it turned out!

The best part is, it reminds us of the blue and red color scheme from the Theater Cafe in France! The cafe totally has the look we were going for, eclectic, vintage, rustic, mismatched, glamorous, and industrial.

Painting the table blue drew out the duck egg blue in our red and blue rug seen in the image below! This rug also ties in the red fireplace we have in the kitchen (which I can't change because this is a rental). I have added little pops of red and blue all over the kitchen to make it an official color scheme... I still have accents of the other colors in the rug, but red and duck egg blue are the main colors.

I distressed the table so that wear and tear would only add more character...distressed table-tops are a great solution if you have kids...husbands...friends... It technically can't be ruined.

I even painted the door in our niche to go with the table! 

All we need now are some zinc letters or a marquee light up sign. Oh yes, and also a butchers block from France that I have been eyeing (it is the same as one I saw in Napa as a little girl, and always wanted). Have you ever met a little girl who drooled over a butchers block? Yup... that about sums me up.

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Affordable, Removable, Easy, Peel and Stick Tiles! Say What?!?

That's right...You heard me... I stumbled across this awesome product through Pinterest and I had to share it with you all! It is perfect for those who own or rent, it's easy, affordable and removable! Awesomeness! I am going to have to use this in my rental since I plan on staying here a while, but don't want to mess up what my landlord already has! Yipee! check the site out for more info!

This product is perfect for those of us who change our minds frequently...ahem...moi. 

Click here to see what options Smart Tiles has! By the way... I am not getting paid to promote this (although I should be)... I just thought it was pretty majestic!

Ciao!

DIY Epic $2 Removable Wallpaper and Paste

Whether you live in a home you own, or reside in a rental, it's always a good idea to have none damaging wall treatment options. In our last home, I did a book page wall treatment in our sunny recycled hall and completely fell in love with it! Since I only got to enjoy it for two weeks before moving, I just had to do it again...

Because I don't own these homes and I change my mind about things frequently, I needed to be able to wallpaper with a paste that would come down without any damage to the wall but would stick to the wall like I had used a heavy duty paste. The best solution for this treatment is liquid cornstarch, it works with fabric as well! I was reminded about this incredible and removable paste by one of my lovely readers and can't wait to use this trick all over my home with fabric, old recipes, sheet music etc. Be sure to not choose a fabric that will bleed on the wall. I searched high and low for liquid starch and couldn't find it anywhere so, because I am stubborn and NEEDED this wall, I decided I would make my own using this recipe...

Liquid Corn Starch

2 Tbs. Cornstarch (I actually used a little more)

1/4 Cup cold water

3-3/4 Cup tap water

Bring 3-3/4 Cup tap water to a rolling boil.

While the water is boiling you are going to mix the cornstarch with 1/4 cup water until it is completely dissolved.

Once the water comes to a complete boil, you will mix in the cornstarch mixture.

Remove from the heat and let cool.

Take a champagne break and get ready for your wildest wallpaper dreams to come true!

To Apply

With a lint-free rag, paintbrush, or paint roller roll the liquid cornstarch on a small area of your wall. Once you have applied the liquid starch, you will place your book pages (Pick a book that you like and know has good content) or fabric on the wall making sure to smooth it out... It is totally fine if your wall is textured, the finished treatment will just be slightly textured and it looks pretty rad. I used Shakespeare on both walls and the texture makes it looked aged.  I like when the book pages and or sheet music is torn, layered and overlapping each other. It will give the end treatment more character. Apply another coat of liquid starch over your paper or fabric and wait for it to dry.

Shazaam! That's it, it is really that easy! It only took me an hour to mix the cornstarch up and paper my wall! The end result is subtle, yet has a huge impact!

Here it is in our summer beach themed living room, to see that, click here!

To remove...Peel the paper or fabric gently off the wall and if it sticks, use a sponge drenched in water to get it off. This may work best on a paint that is not a flat paint but a paint that can be wiped down.
To see an updated review on the removal of the paper, click here.

Below is a wall a girlfriend and I did in recipes for her kitchen/ dining area! I am completely in LOVE with it!

To see our sunny recycled hall, click here!

To see our barn living room transformation, click here!

Toodles!

WARNING: I am NOT held responsible if your walls or fabric or paper or cornstarch are different than mine and this doesn't work for you... It worked for me and this is a suggestion for you to take at your own risk.

Barn Living Room Re-Reveal

To see more updated versions of our barn's living room, click the pictures below!

Classic- Contemporary

To see a more colorful, bohemian version, click the picture on the left. To see a shabby coastal version, click the picture on the right.

   

And now for our original post...

I am covered head to toe in paint, corn starch and, furniture wax...I have been de-doing my entire house and am so elated to share the updates with you all! Because this post is so incredibly picture heavy, I am going to keep the writing short and sweet! I wanted to invite you to tour the re-reveal of our barn family room! This tour is complete with book page wall paper, shutters, and a few other detail changes.

Below is a reminder of what this room looked like before...

I loved the book page wall we did in our last home so much, I just HAD to do it again...

This time I did it with home-made liquid cornstarch so I shall share a tutorial on that with you all soon!

Here is our completed living room and we are loving it... It is a blend of shabby, urban, coastal, European, glam and eclectic. It is completely relaxed  and a great place to enjoy a cappuccino by the fire.

I am truly in love with these colorful Polish bicycle plates!

To see how we created the fireplace click here.

To see the before of our t.v. stand click here.

To see how to create a pallet table click here.

To see how to make the tree stump side table click here.

To get a tutorial on our epic $2 removable wallpaper and paste click here

Thank you for stopping by, and I look forward to sharing more updates with you soon!

To see our more colorful Bohemian Version, click here!

Ciao Amici!