Home & Garden | Real Southern Living

Sprucing Up The Old Leather Sofa

January 23, 2013 by Stacey@RealSouthernLiving 5 Comments

Our leather sofa is well loved. It holds our entire family while we watch TV and gather together in our family room. One thing I noticed was that it looked like a big brown blob and not that attractive with the wear and tear it takes from real life with 5 kids, a cat and 2 dogs. I started gathering throw pillows and blankets at Ross the past few months and what a difference it made.

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Filed Under: Furniture Projects, Home & Garden, Home Decor

DIY Built-In Desk

November 15, 2012 by Stacey@RealSouthernLiving 8 Comments

We have an out cove in our 2nd story hallway that was perfect for built-ins of some sort and I had always wanted a desk with cabinets. I had a table in the spot acting as a desk but, it just was always piled with stuff and disorganized. So, while I was gone to Be You Be Beautiful my husband put these cabinets in and it was so easy…let’s face it my husband is not a skilled carpenter so anyone can do this.

He bought 2 base cabinets from Lowe’s, cabinet base board, 2 drawer pulls and a piece of Formica counter top. He set the cabinets in place and then placed the counter top on top. Now he did have to have the counter top trimmed to fit the space but, he took it to have a friend help him cut it. Then he drilled holes for the drawer pulls in the drawer fronts, cut the base molding for the cabinets and slide them in place. Everything fits snug so he never did screw or nail anything in place.

He didn’t remove any of the base molding along the wall so there is a small gap but, I love that it all easily can be moved out and changed, painted behind, etc. if needed. He did drill a hole in the center of the counter so my cords can easily run down to the plug.

I also picked up that barstool height chair at IKEA that was very inexpensive and very comfortable to sit at.

So, here you see my blogging spot. I still have a few things I have in the works to make the space more functional but, for now it has been a great comfortable work space…though stuff still gets dumped by the kids when they don’t know where something goes…not sure that problem is fixable.

Linking to: At the Picket Fence, Funky Junk Interiors, Weekend Wrap up Party , Show and Tell Saturdays , Serenity You, Weekend Soiree,Scrappy Saturdays, Six Sisters Stuff,Think Pink Sundays, I Heart Nap Time, The DIY Showoff, Nifty Thrifty Things, It’s Overflowing, Meet Me Mondays, Its So Very Cheri, Made with love Monday, Martha Monday’s, The Dedicated House, Naptime Review, Pink Hippo Party, Motivate me Monday, Craftastic Monday,Making the World Cuter, Market yourself Monday, A Round Tuit, Creative Me Monday,House On The Way, Not Just A Housewife, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Some What Simple,The DIY Dreamer, The Shabby Cottage, 52 Mantels, Savvy Southern, Southern Lovely,Fresh Eggs Daily

Filed Under: DIY, Home & Garden, Office, Projects

Thrift Store Wood Bench

October 30, 2012 by Stacey@RealSouthernLiving 7 Comments

I found this bench at the Thrift Store a month ago and I just love it!

I found the cute ruffle pillow at Ross just hours before I found the bench and knew I find the perfect place for it! So glad I snatched it up while I was there even though I had no idea this bench was in my future.

Let’s be real though…this bench has become a dumping ground but, I am okay with it. I have piles at the bottom of the stairs from the kids. At least it is up off the floor on the bench now and every once in awhile it gets cleaned off so I can admire its old beauty.

Linking to: At the Picket Fence, Funky Junk Interiors, Weekend Wrap up Party , Show and Tell Saturdays , Serenity You, Weekend Soiree,Scrappy Saturdays, Six Sisters Stuff,Think Pink Sundays, I Heart Nap Time, The DIY Showoff, Nifty Thrifty Things, It’s Overflowing, Meet Me Mondays, Its So Very Cheri, Made with love Monday, Martha Monday’s, Naptime Review, Pink Hippo Party, Motivate me Monday, Craftastic Monday,Making the World Cuter, Market yourself Monday, A Round Tuit, Creative Me Monday,House On The Way, Not Just A Housewife, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Some What Simple,The DIY Dreamer, The Shabby Cottage, 52 Mantels, Savvy Southern, Southern Lovely,Fresh Eggs Daily

Filed Under: Home & Garden, Home Decor, Thrift Store

DIY Solar Jar Light

September 11, 2012 by Stacey@RealSouthernLiving 7 Comments

I made these great solar jar lights over the weekend. So easy and fun! Would make a great inexpensive gift or make them for your 72 hour kits.

Here’s what you need:

ANY old jar…think spaghetti sauce or canning jar.

Wire to wrap around as the handle.

Solar yard stake light that is the same width around as your jar. Wide mouth jar you will need a bigger diameter light and smaller mouth jar use the smaller width lights…take your jar with you when you buy the light to make sure it fits.

Wrap the wire around your jar creating a handle and securing it under the jar threads for the lid. Unscrew the stake on your solar light and then place the light on top of your jar. You can tack it down with a little glue to keep it in place but, knowing mine just sit on the table I didn’t even do that.

You could also paint the inside of the jar a color like I did here and make a bunch of different colored ones to hang from your porch. Or you can add beads to the wire…I just kept mine really simple but, I have lots of ideas of how I can hang them from my patio cover without having to have any lights with cords plugged in and also save on the power bill .