Quick Room Makeovers...I did it in 10 minutes...

Okay, by now you know that one of my favorite hobbies is to make things pretty. I like painting, rearranging, re-purposing, sewing, what have you. Crafting is delightful. It's my "downtime." A lot of my home inspiration comes from The Nester. Oh, wonderful Nester.

Nester has been doing a fabulous series on 10 Minutes to a Room You'll Love. Her philosophy is that It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful. So there you have it:

My imperfection + short time frame to keep my attention= beautiful and fun progress!

I used her ideas in How to Tablescape with what you already have . I leaned the frames against the wall, rather than hanging them. And kept the arrangement tight. I used black and white with one hit of color...a flower arrangement, using all the same type of flower. It's not perfect (and it's not supposed to be,) but it makes me smile!! Success #1.

Her kitchen post tips were wonderful, but you'll have to go read all of them yourself. A few that I was able to incorporate immediately (meaning that day, in ten minutes): I cleaned off the fridge. I usually keep the front fairly clean anyway, because I like my vinyl shapes, but I did have to take down some old notes I had posted.

Then I uncluttered. All extra knickknacks. Deleted. Not gone, just put into sweet hiding spots where I can see them and smile. I open a cupboard and a little froggie peeks back at me from the corner. Another smile-inducer. Not only are my counter tops clean, but I'm not just overlooking my sweet treats anymore.

Yes, you see that sign by my vase? It says "Please do not put anything on this counter!" I have to train them. The extending counter between the living room and kitchen practically begs for stuff to be set down.

Okay, so I really just had to sweep things into a tub, and go through them later. That was the only quick way to get it looking spotless. I DID go through the stuff and get it all put away. :-)

Another tip, short version, is to incorporate fabric to soften the look. So I did. Meet the chair covers that my Mom gave me. She had two extras, so I decided to use them. They look nice with my window mistreatments, too.

And you see those plates? They were already there, but it's yet another Nester inspired idea.

Okay, and consider lighting. She suggests a lamp, and I do love that idea, but all of my "extra" lamps are too large for the area. The one that would work is already being used in my bathroom makeover. Soooo, I gathered a bunch of white candles and arranged them on a platter for the kitchen table. (Don't look too closely, it wasn't thoroughly scrubbed before I took the picture! Heh.)

Next, the bathroom. Okay, I went backwards, in case you haven't noticed this, from Nester's site.

So, bathroom. 10 minutes:

First biggie: hide the Crest. Check. I keep the toiletries under the sink in a tub. And I have another tub for hair products, another for lotions, and another for my plug-in thingies. (And another for the personals.)

Next listed was fabric. I have some rich brown fabric to mistreat my shower curtain, but I haven't accomplished that yet. My new sewing machine is undergoing a royal check-up. It's a grand machine and I love it, but there were a few little quirks with the fabric not feeding right... So, anyway, I borrowed my mom's for now, and I'll take on the fabric job after the kids are in bed sometime this weekend.

Now, I did bring in my "something pretty" to spa up the place. In fact, my something pretty is the same as hers. And I bought the wire rack cheap at a yard sale last summer. It was just wasting away in my cupboard, awaiting a greater purpose. This took less than 10 minutes.

And here is the top of the toilet cage and my bird/nest narrow shadow box. Already had them both, just moved it all around a bit.

What would a bathroom be without gentle lighting? I mean, who wants to look into a harsh fluorescent reflection first thing in the morning? I found this little bitty lamp for a buck a few weeks ago, and didn't know where to place until I read this post of hers. Plug in and go. Check (da-ding) on lighting.

This little light (of mine, I'm gonna let it shine...) doubles as our nightlight.

Just a couple of other pictures.

It's nice to look around and see the sweet gifts I've received.

The bird picture was from Julie.

Yeah. I frame everything.

Oh, I just realized that I totally missed the master bedroom makeovers. That must have happened when I was out of town. I have some catchin' up to do.
Here are a couple of random pictures. She posted about art, so I'm throwing this in. I love bright vintage art. Makes me happy. They're all laughing, scarves blowing in the wind, adorable outfits. What's not to love? And there I go with plates again!

A bird thrown in a cloche jar for good measure. Two yard sale finds, that are being re-purposed... the idea of a little white bird next to my adorable children. sigh. Such sweet things in life.

There you have it. I've been giving up pretty much ALL evening reading time to clean and move things around. And it is so worth it!! I love to read (always!!) but fixing up our house in "happy ways" just energizes me. And it makes me even more grateful for the things I've been blessed with. It also helps me part with the things that need to move on to another life, outside of my home.

Okay, so you've been given the inside scoop to one of my most inspiring decorators. What are you gonna do now? :-)

Remember, make the time short. Don't burn out. And use what you have. Or buy things cheap. Yes, I'm all about cheap. Must be worth it, smile-inducing and never bank-breaking.

And I'm learning, slowly but surely, to clean while I decorate. Thanks to Adelia for reminding me of the Messie's Manual. I can be a Sentimental Messie if I'm not careful. There are good places for sentimental things, but they don't have to be everywhere.

Night all!