Habitat For Humanity | Sheila Zeller Interiors

Container Water Gardens

June 11, 2012

Water gardens.

Pink Lotus

Source: What’s Ur Home Story

I’ve never had one. How about you?

I’m loving the idea of a water garden in a container.

Source: Horticulture Magazine

And from what I’ve read you can use just about any watertight container for your garden’s home.

I’m into the look of this rusty blue tub.

Source: Pinterest

And this wooden planter.

Wooden Container Water Garden

Source: Great Home Interior

For a wooden container, just make sure you insert a liner to contain the water.

Glazed ceramic containers are also a great choice.

Water Gardening in Glazed Ceramic Container

Source: Aquascape Inc Blog

But there are so many decorative options out there, it might be hard to choose!

What do you think about this gray container?

Faux Stone Plastic Container

Source: Design Scouting

Were you able to tell that it’s actually a molded plastic pot?

I love this water garden displayed in the terracotta saucer.

Source: Pebble Path Gardens

If you look closely you can see a black liner, but if you can’t find a liner for your porous container, just be sure to seal the inside of it with a water sealer.

Wine or whiskey barrels. They are by far my favorite!

Source: John Glover

And the great thing is if they’re in good shape, they’ll already be watertight. But if not, you can also find liners for half barrels.

I’ve always thought water gardens were pretty cool, but have never entertained the idea of making one for myself. That is until now.

Source: Water Garden Guide

If I give this a go, I’m heading over to Fresh Home Idea’s tutorial to help me out.

Creating a Container Water Garden

Source: Fresh Home Ideas

And for more information I might also refer to master gardener Sandy Metzger’s tips in this article.

Creating a Container Water Garden

Source: University of California

I’d love to know what you think about water gardens. If you’ve made one, do you have any tips to share?

Today I’m supporting Habitat for Humanity’s 5th Annual ‘Before & After’ with my chandelier makeover.

Pop on over to OPC’s The Better Half, so you can join in to lend your support, too!

THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO STOP BY!

Home… it’s all about creating a special place that tells your story!

If you would like a little help with your space contact me here.

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TaggedContainer Water Garden, Curb Appeal, DIY Container Water Garden, Exterior Styling, Gardening, Habitat for Humanity, Home Exteriors, Water Garden, Wine Barrel Water Garden Filed UnderArticles 11 Comments

A Chandelier Makeover Lights Up Our Life ;-)

April 16, 2012

I’m not sure if it was the sunshine, or just the sheer determination to see this DIY project through to the end this weekend, but our ReStore chandelier is off the project ‘to do’ list! If you missed the ‘Before’ post, feel free to catch up on it here.

This is where we started. The chandelier exactly as we bought it from ReStore.

Wrought Iron Candle-Socket Chandelier

Plans: to spray it out black.

And here’s a quick look at my trusty spray booth ready for the spraying action.

Spray Painting A Chandelier

Well, my semi-booth…

And in my eagerness to get started, I almost forgot to protect the candle sockets, but luckily remembered just in time.

I cut painters tape to fit inside the opening – that’s the green you see.

And finally got the first coat sprayed on.

I was trying to be light-handed with the paint, but some areas got a little extra love on this round.

I learned that I probably should put some sides on my booth in the future. I got away without sides in other projects, but… let’s just say hubs was very understanding with the spots that accidentally hit his car.

I know they’re a little hard to see here (they are, right?), and from my perspective that’s a good thing Whew, most of these have come off! He must really love me now

Especially since this next part was where he stepped in.

Down with the old… remember to switch the breaker off to the light’s power source before messing with the wiring!

The new hole drilled for the chandelier…

And a swag hook with a butterfly anchor installed.

This part always makes me nervous :-{

The new chandie had to be rewired with longer wire…

And a new black chain installed, too.

It all looks pretty messy, doesn’t it?

But then we finally got to test the new wiring out.

Breaker on, and…

It all works!

The final step, to decide how low to hang the chandelier, then cut the wiring and chain to the right length.

We went back and forth on the height. This space has a 9′ ceiling, so we started with 30″ above the table, but it felt a little too low to hubs, so we adjusted it to 32″. We don’t have a dimmer switch… yet, but that’s been added to the ‘to do’ list!

What do you think?

Now that we’re happy with the light fixture, we can shift our attention to the rest of the space! We actually have a larger farmhouse trestle table that hubby made. We want to swap it out with this one, but just need to give it a quick refinishing before we do.

Here’s a little re-run of the before and after:

Before

After

Before

After

And remember when I mentioned the clock was one of the reasons we wanted to paint the chandelier black?

Before

After

We think this chandelier is a better fit.

How about you?

It’s amazing what a difference a little tweak like this can make. And the process was fun as well. In the end making changes to your space that put a smile on your face are worth the effort involved… and especially when you can support a great cause like Habitat for Humanity in the process! This was a perfect way for us to end our weekend. I hope you had a good weekend, too!

I’ve linked this makeover in support of Habitat for Humanity’s 5th Annual ‘Before & After’.

Pop on over to OPC’s The Better Half, to see other supporters, too!

THANKS FOR READING!

It’s about coming home… and home is a remarkable space that tells your story!

If you would like some help with your space contact me here.

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Photos: Sheila Zeller

TaggedChandelier Rewiring, Colour, Decorating, DIY Project, Habitat for Humanity, Interior Styling, Lighting, Painting, Refinishing, ReStore Filed UnderArticles 19 Comments

Oops, I Did It Again!

April 12, 2012

Okay, I’ve been trying to tackle my project list instead of add to it, but this project is one that I’ve been dreaming of! And when the iron is hot… well, you know how it goes So… surprise, I’ve added another!

When hubby and I were visiting our friends in Sooke last weekend we stopped into the Langford ReStore on our way home. I always like to drop in when I’m in the area. You never know what DIY is just waiting to happen, right? Cruising through the lighting section is how I begin my tour… And there it was! My DIY waiting to come home with me.

But let’s back up for a moment.

This is our dining area.

5-light Builder's Standard Chandelier

And this is another view.

Misaligned chandelier to dining table

Do you notice anything wrong with this picture? Besides the builder’s standard, not-so-attractive chandelier, how about it’s placement?

Right. What were they thinking? The chandelier is centered in the room instead of over the actual dining area. And yes, we’ve had more than one tall person unsuspectingly hit their head on it.

Since we don’t own this home, it’s not in our best interest to reroute the light, and then have the ceiling repaired. Notice the textured ceiling? So, I’ve been wanting to find a swagged fixture to replace this one, and ‘swag’ it properly into position over the table.

And this is what ReStore had in store for us…

Wrought Iron Candle-Socket Chandelier

It’s a brand new fixture with one tiny flaw in it, which you’ll never see once the chandelier is hung. And I like that the candle sockets are wrought iron instead of plastic… and all at a ReStore price!

My plans are to spray it out black so it works with the rest of our decor.

This is what you see from the dining room.

Steam Punk Clock

Notice the clock?

That’s one of the reasons I think we need to go black – both pieces are accent features, so I think they need to compliment each other. And then of course, there’s the black fireplace to keep in mind, too.

So tomorrow I’m off to pick up my paint and get the spraying part done. And barring any mishaps, we should be able to get the chandelier hung up this weekend.

This is one thing I’ll be happy to have in place!

How about you? Are you looking for something key to change up your space?

It’s always so great to find a bargain, but when I find my bargain at ReStore it makes me super happy, because I know the money is going to support a great cause. And I like the fact that I’m working with the 3 R’s – reduce, reuse, recyle – that’s where the real value is in the bargain!

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!