Hey, everybody!!! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE go over and check out my new blog!!!  I have moved!!!!!  Come join us on our furniture making journey mixed with tales of our life here on the Gulf Coast! :)

Tide Life Southern Coastal Living


http://gulfcoasttidelife.blogspot.com/

Pottery Barn Style X Bookshelf Copycat

We have been super busy this past week with lots of projects!!  One was this fabulous copycat Pottery Barn X shaped bookshelf! 

I have to tell you, I was WORRIED at first.  Bless his heart, my sweet Kenny had no plans to go by, just what I drew out for him on paper.  I'm not an artist, nor an engineer, nor a builder.  I was so worried, but he seemed to have it under control.....Good thing I trust him and have faith in what he can do with a saw!!

I felt a little better later on when I was at work and got this picture.  :)

It started out looking like this.....

 

I knew then there was hope when I saw this on my phone, but I also knew it was our first attempt at a VERY TALL bookshelf!!!  I was scared to ask!!

When I came home, it looked like THIS!

WOWIE, WOWIE, WOWIE!!!  I was so impressed!!!  Still haven't decided yet how to finish it.....I'm thinking maybe a simple whitewash.....I still can't believe he can build things like that just out of his head.  I do good to make it to get dinner on the table after work. LOL!!!!!  All of my Pinterest dreams have come true thanks to him!

This little beauty is going to be sold in our business.  I'm on the list to get an X console for behind my sofa!!  Maybe one day when we catch up....LOL!! :)

Please visit our Facebook page to see more of our awesome projects and handcrafted furniture!!! 
http://www.facebook.com/gulfcoasttidelife


We are linking up to several Blog parties this week!!


Inspire Me Tuesday.....one of my favorites!!
http://www.astrollthrulife.net/2014/06/222nd-inspire-me-tuesday.html#more

Another longtime favorite.....Coastal Charm's Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays!!
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Repurposed Heirloom Wood End Table

Remember the heirloom table featured earlier this week on our Facebook page? Well, you won't BELIEVE where this end table came from, so keep reading and follow along on this photo journey we are about to embark on!

The... original table had an extra leaf that wasn't used in the redesign.....so what to do??? The sweet owner wanted something made with it......a bench was our first thought, but the leaf was too small....so now what?? For a "wood whisperer" like Captain Kenny, that's not a problem at all!

In picture one here below, you will see what he started with this morning -- two normal table leaves like many of us have somewhere in the closet or hidden somewhere under the bed (I am sooo guilty of this, and I bet many of you are, too!!) 

 

 He took these simple table leaves and ripped and cut the hardwood remnants to create the base of the table.

 

As you can see, he then took the two decorative pieces that ran the length of the table and ripped these hardwood remnants to create this unique, bold tabletop design.

 If you look closely, you can see how THICK this tabletop is....The top of this end table is 2 inches of thick hardwood!!! We then stained the table an Espresso color to match her dining table and bench.  The thickness of this wood really helps create a very bold statement piece for any room that has a traditional feel but yet is very contemporary. 

 Looking at this totally makes me rethink the pieces I currently have and also regret the pieces I have given away over the past years that I thought there was NO HOPE for. I wonder now what they could have been. How I would love to have some of those pieces redesigned and in my home now.

If you'd like to see more of our handcrafted furniture, please go visit our website at:  https://www.facebook.com/gulfcoasttidelife

We'd be happy to have you stop by and visit for a spell!!! 

I'm linking up to several parties this week......

221st Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Through Life
http://www.astrollthrulife.net/2014/06/221st-inspire-me-tuesday.html
 

Heirloom Table Redo

This week, we are featuring the complete renovation of a treasured family heirloom table over on our Tide Life Facebook page. The precious owner needed this table to be a specific size and wanted a more coastal vintage look, complete with a real wood top. A completely new subtop was created in an oval shape (the previous table was rectangular). Our signature Boardwalk wooden top was then added to the subtop, and the base was totally restructured to fit the measurements desired by the owner. The base was then sanded, painted, and lightly distressed, creating a tabletop and base that is sturdy, solid wood, and fabulous!! We love doing custom orders like this that enable families to continue enjoying their treasured family pieces for many years to come!

 

Please go check out our Facebook page to see our furniture and read about our Gulf Coast adventures!!

 

https://www.facebook.com/gulfcoasttidelife

Hey, y'all!! Run over to our Facebook page and check out all the amazing furniture we are building! http://www.facebook.com/gulfcoasttidelife

New Adventures!!

This past fall was the last time I posted on this blog.  My life has been so very crazy over the past year, I cannot even begin to explain.  I have moved once again, hopefully for the last time.  I became single after 25 years of marriage (but keep reading), and I have changed jobs.  On that life stressor chart score thingy, I figure I am scoring off the charts!!!

But....the good news is that what doesn't kill you definitely makes you stronger, I can testify to that one. :)  I am still trying to sing and dance in the rain that falls in my life, and I am learning to live again, really live for the first time.  The past year has offered me many challenges to overcome, but I am overcoming theme one by one with God's help. 

I definitely have a story to share, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that what I have experienced will inspire other women out there.  I just have to know when the time is right.  When it is, I know that I will know.  And what I do know is this....you will be inspired.

Until then, I'm moving forward to new adventures!!  I am engaged to a wonderful man who is truly the love of my life.  It's funny how that can happen to you when you are least expecting it to happen.  God somehow seems to know what we need more than we do, and His timing is perfect.  My handsome fellow is a talented carpenter, a true artisan, and we share a love for everything coastal, particularly Gulf Coastal, the place where we live and call home.  If God had made someone especially for me, I promise you that He couldn't have created anyone anymore perfect.

This passion for the Gulf Coast and vintage coastal living that we share has given birth to a wonderful new adventure, and I am delighted to start sharing that with all of you.  I have MISSED blogging so very much.  Sharing my stories and reading all of yours made my days so much brighter, and I felt a huge loss when I just didn't have it in me anymore to keep up my blogging.  It was like that for a time I didn't have it any me to love or enjoy anything about life any longer.  I am so thankful those dark days are over.  Now, I am looking forward to BOTH of us sharing our stories and adventures in a new blog we both are working on together.  Yes, he is going to join me!!  I have shown him this blog and many of yours, and guess what.....he LIKED all of us! :)

Yes, this is the woman talking who always said she didn't need a man to do anything.  Girls, I have revised my opinion on that.....you do need a man, as long as it's the right one!  I couldn't create any of the things I will soon be sharing with you without him.  He is truly a treasure, and I am so incredibly thankful for his love and support.  I couldn't have made it through the past few months without him.  I am so blessed.

Our new adventure will be called Tide Life: Southern Coastal Living.  Jenn from Munchkin Land Designs is working on our new blog, and I will post on here when we get it fired up!!  Sooooo excited!!  Many of you will be shocked over my new style......so very different, but one I have loved forever.  Now that I have a fella who is pretty darn good with his hands (keep your mind where it belongs, LOL, I'm talking about his carpentry skills!!), I can dream as big as I want, and he makes it come to life.  Who could ask for more!!!

We are creating custom furniture,even making our own chalk paint (we will be selling that soon),  and traveling the Gulf Coast in search of treasured vintage finds and looking for the world's perfect oyster!!! 

We will be posting more regularly now, so stay tuned to hear more about all our Gulf Coast advenures!!!

Sooooo very, very, very glad to be back!!

Fall Mantle

Hello, friends!  I haven't posted in a long, long time.  I have gone through so many changes in my life in the last year, it is difficult for me to even begin to tell you everything that has gone on in my life and how very different life for me has become in just one year.  I would have to say it has been the most difficult, trying year of my life; but as they say, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, and luckily I'm still hanging in there!

One day I would like to share my story with all of you with the hope that it will help some of you out there who are also dealing with the curve balls life seems to hurl at us when we least expect it.  I feel so led to share what all I have gone through.  I am praying every day for the Lord's wisdom and insight on how best to do that. 

I know I'm a little late sharing fall decor, but I still wanted to share my fall mantle.  I used things I had on hand.  Many of the items came from Kirkland's in years gone by and also Big Lots.  Nothing beats reusing and repurposing things you already have!  Helps keep the light bill paid when you do that! LOL

As you will also see, I am living in a different house, also part of the ongoing saga that is my life.  :)

I'm also starting on another new adventure by accident..... creating gourmet chocolate apples!  I made some for my children for Halloween last week, and I shared some with friends.  Everyone loved them so much, I was asked by several friends to make them and sell them.  And, so begins a new chapter!!  I already have a name for my little endeavor.....My dad always called me Sweet Thing, so I thought it only naturally fitting to name it in his honor.

As for the house, here are a few pics of my fall dining room....



As you can see, this house is a very different style, and it is decorated in a soft palate. 

Here's a closeup of my no-cost fall mantle....

 

A bread bowl my great grandfather made during World War I.....

 

 Another view of the fireplace decorated for fall....

 

My dining table centerpiece...I'm ready for some turkey!

And finally, a picture of my entire great room....



I hope to have some more pictures for you soon.  I am trying hard to getting back to being a little more like my old self, but it is quite a struggle every day.  I stopped doing everything I loved in the past year, and it's difficult.  So, today here goes another baby step with this post.

Even though I'm a little late to the party, Happy Fall, Ya'll!!