Happy Swap Day!!

It may be Hump Day, but today is also something even better- it's Swap Day!! Swap it like it's hot!

If you're visiting from Designer Trapped in a Lawyer's Body, WELCOME!  Kick off your shoes and make yourself comfortable.

Here's a quick recap of what it means to #swapitlikeitshot: 40 bloggers went thrift shopping with $10 in their pockets.  We all sent our treasures to another blogger for them to re-envision, revamp, and DIY.  All week, different bloggers will be sharing their projects (all the links at the bottom) and it's already a pretty epic week with the projects I've seen so far!

For my project, Tasha (Designer Trapped in a Lawyer's Body) sent me a head scratcher.  Not literally of course, but I was pretty stumped for several weeks.

Until finally a light bulb went off.  Pun totally intended, because I turned it into a lamp!

I started with the wood object (?), a dowel, 2 IKEA SEKOND cord kits, and 2 IKEA VACKERT candle holders.

First thing first- I used my chop saw to trim the bottom of the wood object so that it would sit level on the table.

I also used the chop saw to cut the dowel to size and stain I had on hand to make it a similar color to the base.  Once that was dry, I drilled a hole in the top of the object handle so that I could screw the dowel on.  A piece did splinter off as I was doing this, but I was able to glue it right back in place.

Next for the lamp part, I needed to cut a hole in the bottom of the candle holders.  I was really hoping I could use a hole saw and it would go swimmingly and be happy ever after, but the hole saw was not the right tool to cut through this- it got stuck the second it touched the metal.  Instead, I drilled a series of holes, then connected the dots by cutting with my metal snips.

This needed some filing after, but still was effective.

Then it was time to put it all together!  I wanted it to be rustic and casual, so I tried to tie and drape the cords onto the newly created "T" base.

The cord kits were still a bit stiff because they're straight out of the package, but I imagine they'll relax a bit with more use.    I was afraid it would just look messy in the end, but I kinda dig the outcome.  It's playful and a bit industrial.

It has a fun glow when lit too.  These candle-holder-turned-shades were definitely the right choice, I love how the light plays in the slats.

Pop on over to White House Black Shutters to see what Ann Marie made with the objects I sent her!  Thanks Charlotte (Ciburbanity) for organizing this great event yet again!! Also, check back here Friday to see the first part of Dori the fliphouse's FINAL REVEAL!

Tune in all week to see the crazy items this talented group of bloggers has been making over! Search the hashtag #swapitlikeitshot on social media to follow along with all the fun or check out our Pinterest Board.

MONDAY

That's My Letter / DIY On the Cheap / Run To Radiance / The Gathered Home

Two Thirty Five Designs / Chaotically Creative / Decor Adventures / Homemade By Carmona

TUESDAY

Thoughts From Alice / Reinvented / Confessions Of A Serial Do-It-Yourselfer / Restoration Redoux

Always Never Done / I Am a Homemaker / Black and White Obsession / Windgate Lane

WEDNESDAY

Town and Country Living / brepurposed / The Charming Farmer / 58 Water Street

Designer Trapped In A Lawyer's Body / Year of Serendipity / White House Black Shutters / Desert Domicile

THURSDAY

Two Purple Couches / Like A Saturday / Finding Silver Pennies / Artsy Chicks Rule

Something to Be Found / Shades of Blue Interiors / Simple Designing / Our Southern Home

FRIDAY

Evey's Creations / Dragonfly and Lilypads / Weekend Craft / Ciburbanity

A Designer At Home / Polished Habitat / Blue i Style / Addicted 2 DIY

Experiencing the World..

Market!! guys Guys GUYS Cost Plus World Market is OPEN in Massachusetts!!! Let's get this party started!

At their Grand Opening on Thursday, I frolicked around the store and somehow managed to only fill one cart.  I'll have to try harder next time.  First lets talk about what I didn't take home with me (yet).

These marble and wood cake stands are what dreams are made of.  I will own one of these in the near future, but before I adopt one, someone needs to purge serve-ware that doesn't get used.  This will be the winter of purging!  With you as my witnesses!

Hunting for some Anthropologie-esque knobs at a lower price point?  I bet you could find something here!

I totally have a plan in mind for these copper frames, but there are about 17 projects on the personal to-do list before them, so they'll have to wait.

CHAIRS!!  No I didn't hoard buy any.  But they're pretty.  Very pretty.

This daybed is pretty darn classy too and it has a classy price to go with it.  $299.99.  I'm swooning for the turned legs and detail on the back.

See, I'm swooning.  Luckily I had a delightful settee with patterned fabric buttons to catch me.

So what did I take home?  In addition to some consumables like wine and gnocchi, and a few other random things, I upgraded what sits on our bedroom side tables.

There are several more bedroom upgrades needed, but these new lamps make me grin ear to ear.  The cord may need wrapping with something a bit more exciting in the future, but can we just take in the shape for a moment?  Geometric brass?  Ooo lala.

It's World Market's Diamond Brass Table Lamp Base with the Crinkled White Paper Shade.  The shade adds just a touch of texture and the lamp is a larger scale without being heavy like our old lamps.

The wood slice is also a World Market adoptee and currently smells like bacon.  Not sure why, but I'm not currently opposed to it.

After the headboard upgrade and now the lamps, the rest of this room needs to step it up.  I may have a few ideas, but they'll have to wait until I can put my "done" stamp on Dori the fliphouse.  SOON!

disclosure: this post was sponsored by Cost Plus World Market, but all giddy dorkiness and opinions are 100% my own

Dori the Flip House: week 14

I hope you enjoy these weekly updates as I learn to navigate through the business of flipping houses.  My latest flip house, Dori sports the 3 L’s in real estate, but will need more than a bit of creativity to make the house sellable. You can find more about this house and about my 4 previous flip houses here. *Blink* How did Friday happen?  Better yet, how did October happen?? The dining room floor is all repaired thankfully, but I still have yet to finish my own tasks in this tiny house.  I'm pretty sure the To Do list multiplies when it sees me pull into the driveway.

The big thing this week was the dining room floor.  Luckily, my contractor was able to jump in there and replace the sub-floor and repair the structure and my flooring guy installed a new floor on top.  It wasn't as bad as I was afraid of- I had visions of the entire structure being riddled with old termite damage or rotten away, but luckily it was just the areas of the sub-floor that we already knew about.  It cost extra to fix this right with repairing some questionable construction and replacing some insulation, but now I know that I'm not selling some dubious structure or handing a problem over to the future buyers.  Being a heartless flipper would be so much easier on the wallet.

  As far as my week, I painted more.  I painted trim, I painted doors, I cleaned a bit, I organized a bit, and I finally got started on tiling the kitchen backsplash.  It's about time!

  

Admittedly not my favorite backsplash that I've ever done, I'm actually quite partial to subway tile (like I did in my own kitchen), but I can't do that in every house- gotta switch it up!  This tile will definitely be a fun backdrop for the kitchen, though- I'm looking forward to styling/staging in here.

Now that pretty much every single thing in this little house is fixed or brand new, we'll be listing at the beginning of next week!!  Which means that a week from today will be a nice, long post with the REVEAL!

Have a wonderful weekend!!