I asked, you answered, and now we are embarking on a journey of sorts. Well, a journey for me because this is the opposite of the way that I usually do room reveals. I am going to attempt to show you in real time just what happens when I overhaul a space. Hold on to your hats, friends, because this is as close to TV magic as it gets.
Let me start off by saying that the beautiful precious souls that make up the other half of our loving family of 4 (that would be my daughters) are staying at their Grandma’s for a couple of weeks. Which means, I can project my ever lovin heart out and not need to stop unless I want to (yes, I just used project as a verb.) This fact alone is cause for a celebration of epic proportions.
Some of the posts will be tutorials, some will be shopping and craigslisting sneak peeks, some will be moments of frustration, but one thing is guaranteed. You will be along for the entire ride. The plan is to get the room done over the course of the next few weeks (I do have a few other posts to mix in with it).
But here is what I need from you.
I need your cheers, I need your feedback, I need you to make me feel like this is THE BEST THING EVER. Otherwise I might die. Posting in real time means no back up, its sort of like I am doing SkyWire, but in blog makeover form.
Ok lets pause that thought for a small heart to heart. When I started Vintage Revivals 3 years ago it was a COMPLETELY different world. There was no Pinterest. Which meant every shot did not need to be a money shot. You could post a picture of your dresser in your driveway and it was FINE. Now? Notsomuch. Everything needs to be staged and shot and vingetted till the cows come home. Its just the way it is.
SO. I am totally going outside my comfort zone posting JUST a painted wall. And nothing else.
Hives people. Hives.
I need your ooohs and ahhhs over a painted wall job. Mmmkay? Otherwise I just might go AWOL and pop up a few weeks later with an entire room full of projects and money shots.
Now comes the really fun part.
The Plans.
Do you remember 2 years ago when I announced that my living room was going Southwest and everyone thought I had inhaled too much spray paint?
For some reason you guys pictured this:
Also please enjoy the master bedroom:
When it actually turned out like this (and it admittedly a little less southwesty than planned because of the stencil fail, but was totally not going to turn out like the above.):
So here are the plans for my Master Bedroom.
This is what it looks like now…(on a good day)
The makeover plans include:
An uber dark green wall somewhere along the lines of Hunter Green. Did you cringe?
A swirly wicker headboard from 1978.
And roses.
All I have to say is…
And just like Mr. Nik Wallenda I am working without a safety net people. Hopefully I make it to the other side and not fall to my design death. But even if I do, its bound to be entertaining.
Also?
If I did fall to my design death, it would look a little something like this:
And yes, that picture was intentional, I just didnt think it would be THAT bad. 19 cycles of America’s Next Top Model did nothing for me.
The whole point of this? I hope that you are inspired by these daily doses of DIY and start tacking the projects in your home that are giving you the itch.
ok, lets do it!!!! im excited!!!
You’re gonna rock it girl! Everything is more exciting without a safety net. Just exhale, and leap.
Cant wait!!
Can’t wait. Love the picture of you on the rope. Looks you’ve gained some weight. 🙂
Oh good! I need Master Bedroom inspiration! It’s gonna be fab!
yer awesome. i love following you, and i think you (anyone) grow(s) from “failure”. that being said, i am inspired by even your fails. project-on girl!
Work it girl! I’m cheering you on!
Oh I can’t wait!!! Seeing it come together in bits and pieces is awesome! It’s how I approach most of my home projects. I like seeing how one or two small changes can affect my vision for the room. It also helps me realize that it doesn’t all have to be done all at once but that it’s okay to do a little at a time, as budgets and time allow.
That’s a unique twist on Southwest. I like it!
Yeah… when you say ‘southwest’ I picture Indian Artifacts. Dream Catchers. Etc.
~ Hey, that’s my husband in the jeans on the Cavender’s ad on the right —->
For real! 😀
I’m super excited for this!!! We moved into a new and much larger home last year and I had a baby. I’m just getting my feet back under me and have realized we have a huge, brand new house with absolutely NO decorating of any kind. Yikes! But I’m super overwhelmed. I’m excited to see how it works in real time. Also, how do you get Grandma to take your kids for a couple weeks? I could use a tutorial on that!
Love this! I’m excited to see the transformation. In other news, that last picture is priceless! So fun.
-Becca
Ladyface Blog
Can’t wait to see what you do. I’m sure it will be amazing!
Sounds interesting. My bedroom is a very dark Ralph Lauren green that my family cringed about but turned out beautiful . Go for it. Work without a net.
That last picture is amazing! haha!! Can’t wait to see the progress 🙂
Go Mandi Go! This is going to be awesome to watch!
Totally excited. Will you do me a huge favor and clue us in on your thought process and why you reject certain options? Sometimes I see a beautiful room and think, “That looks awesome. How did she know to put the painting *there* and not *there*?
Ditto to this! Usually I end up hanging it *there*, thinking it looks stupid, moving it *over there* and still not loving it, but I can’t find the hammer and I’m out of nails, so it stays *over there* for three years, mocking me. I’d love a peek inside your thought process and decision making!
I totally love your first two pictures. When Husband and I got married we rented a condo from some family friends that was fully furnished and that is exactly how it looked. We were only supposed to live there for one year, it turned into 4! It was a blessing but I am so grateful to decorate to my own whims now 😉 love the projects!
I’ll admit that I did cringe when I heard the makeover plan…but I know it’ll have some Mandilicious twist that will make me want the EXACT same thing! (how, I have no clue.) And I loved the fall picture…totally made me laugh out loud! Can’t wait to see it all! 🙂
wow – can’t believe that you want to change that bedroom – but i am up for the journey and can’t see how it turns out!
Cheryl @ The Creative Me and My McG
You got this.
Ugh just love…can only imagine what it will look like next. Adding you to my blog list…www.soiledrotten.blogspot.com
Happy Creativity!
I’m so excited ! I can’t wait.
Oh yeah, I’ll be cheering that single painted wall post!!!
For the record – I always had faith in your southwestern theme! And I have faith that hunter green, wicker, and roses will somehow be a fabulous combination as well!
Also. I love your guts just for posting that crazy picture. The crazier you become the more I think we could be great friends =)
Oh, I love this idea! I can’t wait, and I’ll definitely be cheering you on!
I like what you did!! What’s funny is, my parents totally had the four post wooden southwest bed and dresser. Just not THAT much white wash but it was pretty terrible, like most things in my house now that I think about it. Maybe that’s why I have an interior design degree, hmm.
Love what you did, love what you are doing, keep it up!
Looooooove this! Can’t wait!
I can’t believe you’re giving up that beautiful brass bed! It’s seriously one of my favorite pieces that you’ve shown us!
Even though your bedroom is straight up gorgeous right now – I’m excited about what you’ve got planned. It’s going to rock, I know!
I can hardly wait to see each aspect of your projects. Hooray!
Oh, this will be exciting!!
I’m one of your fans, and I’m soooo looking forward to your new posts about your bedroom makeover. I’m super interested on how you’re going to take the dreaded Hunter Green and make it hip and fabulous. (Like you always do!!)
I’ll be here cheering you on!!!
Christina
While I will admit that the living room looks way better than I expected it to and I am sure the master will as well, I’m confused because you just premiered that master bedroom not that long ago. At this rate your family will have new updated rooms every 2 years? You gotta be kidding me!?! It is time to bite the big bullet and go into business as a decorator and mess up other people’s homes. They will pay you for this you know. Like you get to do the thing you like the most and do it all with someone else’s money. You are missing the boat here Mandi. Good luck, can’t wait to see it.
I seriously love how your living room turned out. Not so much the typical South Western style but you nailed the colors. I’m not so sure about that dark green wall, though.
<3 I’m new to you, and I Love.Your.Spirit. Can’t wait to see the ever-loving projecting. #boldygo #inspired #hashtaggingforthesakeofit
I love that you’re going to be posting in real time, even if it’s nothing but a painted wall! I will totally cheer you on. I actually prefer some of the more “boring” pics, so that everybody can see that real life isn’t all big reveals on short time frames. Sometimes, as DIY-ers, we mess things up. Sometimes the only progress we make in a day isn’t photogenic. I know; I’m in Month #7 of a kitchen remodel, and sometimes, you just have to admit that the second coat of drywall mud looks just like the first (even if it represents 3 days of work). Thanks for showing us the real thing! It will be amazing!
-Sarah
I love the idea of showing the process as you go. The big annoying thing about “reveal” pics or before/after pics is that it doesn’t really show HOW.MUCH.WORK went into each detail along the way. It really bugs and it makes busy Mommas/housewives/cub scout leaders/piano teachers like me get overwhelmed because we think we can’t possibly make a room look like that in a day when really it takes weeks/months to pull it all off.
Tristie
I love following your blog, and am excited to see how things turn out as you do them. I don’t usually comment, but that last picture made my day 🙂
Yay for real time posts!!! I’m excited. And I wish the picture I just got on my Costco card was half as cute as your design death pic. Then I wouldn’t have to black it out with Sharpie.
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I can’t wait to see what you have in store! I am still laughing over those southwest pictures. Seriously that looks like my grandma’s house!
I’m excited for a new room but this is going to be painful to watch… I love that bedroom so much!! Can you just bring all the décor over to my house when you’re done?? 🙂
I’m pumped and definitely shaking my pom-poms for the slow progression… mostly because sometimes when you post before/afters it almost doesn’t feel real, and I think this will add even more personality and reality to the blog! Go Mandi go!!
I think the interwebs is sorely lacking in “realness” right now exactly due to what you said about Pinterest and Etsy and so many other blogs. I live in the real world, living my real life, and I love seeing other real life out there, not just the staged and edited and perfected final result! So, thanks.
I’ll be glad NOT to see the “money shots.” They are too finished, too staged, and NOT real. I like the way you think outside the box and do things other people don’t do. You march to the beat of a different drummer–no magazine page perfection for you. You inspire me to do the same.
(pompoms raised cheering you on)
Haaaaaaahahaha okay you are seriously the best. I am LOLing over here and I hardly ever do that when I read blogs. I am usually not a commenter, mostly because I don’t have anything witty to say and figure the blogger will skip my comment haha, but I just wanted to say that YOU ARE MY FAVORITE! You have THE coolest style and put things together that I would NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS think would look cool but some how IT TOTALLY TOTALLY DOES…..so I think we can all say that, yes, we most definitely trust you! Go Girl! I’m pumped to read these new project posts and see the whole process as it comes. Thanks for sharing your genius with us!
Love everything you do. I wish we were best friends because like everyone else I want to see how you create all the awesomeness. Totally excited to follow day by day 🙂
Let me just say this miss Mandi…I just spent an hour of my life looking around at new (to me) blogs looking for some new inspiration that wasn’t from a foreign country..and I gotta tell ya’ it all looks the same. Don’t get me wrong I jumped on the paint it with Annie Sloan and sand off the edges bandwagon too…but it got old…FAST! You wanna know what I did when I got tired of looking at all the whitewashed slipcovers? I said ” Let me go see what Mandi’s doing, she’s always got it going on” Your like my design cornerstone! I still can’t decide which living room I like better! If you’re gonna do a makeover at Sherri and John pace…I’m gonna watch every little decision…You definitely stand out from the crowd girl, and I doubt I’m the only one who can’t wait to see what the process is along the way to fabulous…oh and will your Mom take my kids too? I love your guts
I just read another blog where the blog author asked if people loved all the current perfectly beautiful and styled pinterest photos or if they looked at those pictures and felt like punching someone in the face. Ha! I don’t need to see someone’s messes to know they live in a house (although it does crack me up when kids write or draw all over the walls–makes me feel like I’m not alone!), but I am also really tired of seeing perfectly styled photos. They tend to be over the top, and instead of inspiring, they make me feel deflated. Show me a painted wall, Mandi!!
Where did you get that compass rug? Love that!!