NEW BAGS!!!

Be sure to check out our new bags on website today!!!  www.nnekasaran.com

We're Expecting! TWINS! :)

Hey guys! I know I haven't updated in awhile but I've kinda had alot going on. Namely, my husband and I are expecting twins! We are over the moon happy and excited. And we feel so blessed. It wasn't an easy or quick journey getting to this place but thank God we kept the faith and trusted God would bring our hearts desire to pass. I am currently 19 weeks preggers now and looking forward to crossing the finish line in April!

I wanted to do a creative announcement so after doing an internet search to get some inspiration, we came up with this announcement. All of our family and friends really liked it :)

Stay tuned... you know I will definitely have plenty of new baby projects to post soon!

DIY Mirrored Dresser TUTORIAL

I lovveeee mirrored furniture! Every time I see something mirrored in stores, I just drool.  But most mirrored furniture can be pretty pricey. Even at Home Goods, you are usually going to pay at least $249 for most sizable pieces. So I thought there has to be a way to make my own, right? I needed 2 nightstands for my bedroom so I decide to give the Rast dresser from Ikea an overhaul!

I have two small disclaimers before we begin: I did not take enough pics as I was doing this to really give a  good visual of every step BUT this was a really easy DIY project to do so I think it will be fine. Also, its kinda hard to take great pics of mirrored furniture because you can see everything in the reflection lol. The pics don't really do the finished product justice, it looks wayyy better in person,  but you get the idea.  I didn't really think about getting back into blogging until after I was done lol. Nevertheless, here goes!

Materials Needed:

Rast 3 Drawer Dresser from Ikea - $35
3 cans of Spray paint of your choice- $12
Custom cut mirrors (from your local glass/mirror shop )- $77
Mirror/Mosaic adhesive (can be purchased where you get mirrors made) - $9
Knobs/Pulls to replace wood knobs - $9
Nailheads (optional)
Drill

Time to Complete:
1 Day project (once you have all materials in hand)

Steps
1. Assemble your RAST dresser. It takes about 30 min if that... its very easy to put together. Don't bother adding the back piece to it yet or the knobs on the drawers.

2. Measure the areas that will have mirrors on them so that would include the top of dresser, front of drawers, and sides if you choose. Don't measure from end to end... leave a little bit of room on each side so it wont be exacly the same size. This will prevent any issues with closing the drawers.  Once you have your measurements all set,  go to your local glass shop and order your mirrors.  My shop took about 2 days to do them for me. Also unless you plan to add your own holes, you have to request holes put in your mirrors as well. My place charged an extra $10 per hole.  If you want to use the measurements I took to my guys, here they are:
TOP (1): 23" X 11 1/4" (Thickness of mirror - 3/16") Top piece is thicker since you will be sitting things on it
DRAWERS (3):  22 3/4" X 7 1/8"  (Thickness of mirror - 1/8")
HOLE SIZE for drawers: 1/4" Hole in center

3. Once dresser is assembled, spray paint your dresser to your desired color. The wood is very porous and  it kinda soaks up the paint.  I originally bought 2 cans but ended up using 3 cans. It prob also depends on the color you go with too. I went with Rust-Oleum Silver and I found myself having to spray alot to get an even finish.  But remember you only need to paint the outer edges of the drawers. For the base of the dresser, you only need to paint the edges of the top. I cheated and did not put mirrors on the sides of the dresser so I had to fully paint that but if you choose to add mirrors to the sides, you only need to spray paint the edges of sides as well. See below:

4.  Next step is optional, I love nailheads so I decided to add them to my dresser.  You can order a roll of nailheads online. They are super easy to put on...just make sure you use a rubber mallet and not a regular hammer to put them on.  Here is how the nailheads look once I finished putting them on. 

 
5.  Now its time to take out the mirrors for your drawers, the ones with the holes.  Place the mirror over the drawer and mark on the drawer where the hole is. Remover the mirror and drill your hole.  Repeat process from the other 2 drawers.  Once thats done, its time to glue the mirrors on.
Take out your adhesive and spread over back of mirrors...but sure not to put glue too close to the edges so it won't ooze out on sides. Once you glue all the mirrors on, get a few heavy books and place them on top of them and sit to side. Normally, they suggest at least 24 hours for glue to cure but its usually cured before then. But to be on safe side, give it at least 12-24 hours to dry.

6. Once everything is dry, add your knobs or pulls onto the drawers. BUT, be sure not to make the mistake I made on one of drawers. If you twist your knob on too tight, you can crack the mirror.  I made this oops on the 2nd dresser I did so I was little bumbed but you really can't see it well unless you really look. So hopefully you don't make that mistake. See below:

7.  Once you add the knobs, put your drawers back in dresser and you're all done! Not bad for a DIY project huh? I was extremely pleased with the way they turned out!

Thrift Find!

I really love to thrift but just like regular shopping, its a hit or miss. Well, about a month or so ago, I lucked up on some GREAT finds for a steal!

Check out this chair I got for $15! I plan to paint it white and reupholster it in a pretty fabric. Stay tuned for that!

 And check out this sofa I scored for only $35!!! The bones are soo great on this! Cant wait to reupholster this one too! I just have to figure out what fabric I want to use!

I LOVE Grasscloth!

I can't say enough about how much I love the look of grasscloth! It really adds richness to a room, don't you think? If you are unfamiliar about what it is exactly, its a textured wallpaper. You can often find it in real nice hotels.  I knew when I started working on my bedroom revamp, I would definitely incorporate it somewhere.  But when it was time to choose what to go with....it was sooo hard to figure out what to get. I wanted something to contrast my grey headboard but I didn't really want to be too matchy matchy. Also, ideally I wanted something that had a little shimmer in it. And of course, lastly I didnt want to spend an arm and a leg on it.

Well I didn't end up finding what I was envisioning in my head. After months of going back and forth with different options, I ended up going with a similar color in the room. I purchased it from Sherwin Williams with a discount code and ended up getting two double rolls for a total of about $180.

Here is my grasscloth (btw it looks much better in person):

 

Next up is hanging it. Im a little nervous based on some people online saying how difficult hanging grasscloth can be but being the DIYer I am... Im going to give it a shot and pray that it turns out good! Wish me luck! Stay tuned for how it goes :)  

Here are some other examples of grasscloth being used in diff areas of a home:

Monica's Beautiful Baby Shower

Check out these beautiful pics from Monica & Shannon Brown's baby shower for their little girl on the way! Love love love it!

Pictures from http://celebritybabies.people.com/2013/08/26/monica-baby-shower-daughter-laiyah/ &
http://www.blackcelebkids.com/2013/08/26/monica-and-shannon-brown-have-a-princess-shower-for-laiyah/

Ikea RAST Overhaul

Hey guys!
I know its been awhile but Im back to blogging now! I gave my blog a new look too if you've noticed! So remember to stop by regularly as I'll be updating with different things!

Ive recently been working on a number of projects. One is a DIY project with the Rast dresser from Ikea. This dresser is only $35 or so and you can really do so many different things with it! I chose to turn it into a mirrored dresser. Stay tuned for a tutorial and how the two I did came out! 

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/75305709/

BEFORE & AFTER - Chaise

Unfortunately,  I don't have a tutorial of how I did this Before and After but I purchased this ugly chaise from Marshalls for $100... regularly $299.   I bought this fabric from Mood Fabrics in NY and reupholstered this piece. It took a little time to finish it because I ran out of fabric but I loved the way it came out! Check it out!