Y'all are so sweet. My goodness and what cool photos! I love putting old stuff in my garden. Its a container garden in a little fenced in courtyard. I have old tarnished silver oval platters hung on the wall like mirrors, and I buy old salt and pepper shakers for cheap at antique or thrift stores or on vacation and put a wooden skewer with a paint chip stapled to it in one of the holes and use them as plant markers (Go Sharpie!). They're nifty and some can become pretty cool little garden statues with a purpose. And they're two for one technically! Plus they're cuter than plastic sticks and gives you something to do with all those pretty, colorful (and often waterproof) paint chips you have leftover from that one project. I think putting different items in your garden or among your plants is kind of like jewelry for your garden. Gives it character and makes it fun to look at while you're waiting patiently (or not so patiently...)for the seedlings to really fill in and become plants. Like the post Marcia! Thanks, Sarah

more thinking here..i'm thinking that if you wanted to use TILE on the table top, you could buy a piece of rectangular mdf and some trim and fasten it to the top of the table and tile it ..then it would be spectacular.. i really think your insticts are right to paint the set..you aren't wanting vintage falling apart rattan, been there..you are wanting something beachy and useful to you..so paint it..if you hate it then send it on its merry way. a good spray primer and spray paint will NOT be that difficult to do so go for it..outside..on the beach..sit it on some paper or something and don't do it on a windy day..or it will be beach ..sand in paint..an old shower curtain is great to use as a drop cloth under it when spray painting..if you do it when the breezes are light it should work out well..otherwise do it behind the house if you can out of the wind. if you want shabby, then sand it a little in some areas to show the rattan.. i think your idea was lovely.. as for the round top..you CAN paint it..if you want..use some fusion spray paint on the top that will bond with the formica...but there are other options..you can cover it with other things..just use your imagination, either add squared off wood to tile it, or get a tile saw and cut tiles to curves or break them to mosaics, but then use a bender type board to trim the edges so they aren't rough

Why not a shade sail with a gauzy fabric that would be rolled up most of the time but could be unrolled and tied down when you will be out? In my experience, the problem with temporary gazebos is that they fall apart in the wind. You would have a secondary issue that the shade sail is not engineered to hold the weight of the screen plus the wind the screen walls catch, so it would have to be a light fabric whatever you use (and again, I would suggest something you can roll up). I am going to be adding some cheesecloth-like fabric (not sure what I will use yet, maybe even old lace curtains, thinking "shabby chic") to my victorian kitchen porch so we can sit on it-it will add shade and bug protection. But I will do it so that I can roll it up into the roof if the wind is bad. We had one of those $300 gazebos (I think it was 10x10 or 12x12 when we lived in Illinois and it barely lasted the season before the wind sheared it. I think it was aluminum. Also, have you looked into solar fan options?

Being your first time here, you may not have expected the replies you got about your daughter's two rooms. Don't be offended. We mean well. I tend to agree, tho. And not to get personal, but how do you and your hubby have any intimate time together if you're sleeping in the LR? I would at the most, give your daughter the larger room so she does have room to play, but would take the advice of others to store the toys in the same room. Maybe it's time to go thru them and donate the ones she no longer plays with? Kids only play with half of the toys they own, anyway. Involve her in choosing which ones to give away and explain that she is helping kids who have no toys. Make it fun and help her learn that being charitable is a good trait. I'm sure if you google, there's an article on how to do that because I've read about it. That being said, I think you did a bang up job on the white furniture. That is my taste exactly. Shabby-chic and cottage-y. I am single and on a disability budget and my home is about your size. So storage is critical. I do all my furniture shopping at thrift stores. I bought a dresser that I use as a buffet, yet I keep my tools, gardening stuff, plastic storage bowls and seasonal linens in the drawers. I also bought a tall handmade shelving unit with cabinets below for storage and an old console with cabinet type doors for extra counter space in my kitcken (up against a wall) and storage for my crockpot, platters, bowls, mixer, etc. That one I painted but have yet to paint the other two. Rule #1 - paint before you get it in the house and start using it or you will never get around to painting it due to the dilema of where to store all the stuff inside while it's being painted...lol. I've also found new curtains, quilts, pillows, shower curtains, and even Ralph Lauren bed sheets at thrift stores. Target donates lots of stuff to Goodwill. Most of my decorative kitchen stuff and household knicknacks came from thrift stores. Lamps are always cheap and can be spray painted. They make textured metalic spray paint if that's your taste. Just do a good tape job first. They always have lamp shades, too, and many of them are new. I've gotten wall mirrors and done paint treatments on them to make them look shabby chic. You can repurpose sheets to make curtains, pillows, and even a shower curtain if you're handy with a sewing machine. I also got my two sofas from the thrift store. One for $40, the other a pull out bed for $50. For the first one (red checkered...UGH!!) I bought a white slipcover from Uglysofas.com. They sell Pottery Barn slipcovers pretty cheap (they call them Brand X since they can't advertise where they came from). I guess they're seconds but there was nothing wrong with mine. The 2nd couch was actually in perfect condition. It came from a hotel remodel so there were several, along with club chairs to match. I liked the fabric, so it didn't need covered (but I still do...I like the white better). Do you have a Restore Store (Habitat for Humanity) near you? They have soooo much stuff for remodeling, including paint. I buy my drawer pulls from there (which are very expensive at big box stores). Yes, it takes some digging around to find the quantity you need but they really update older painted furniture. And my store has started a thrift store section with furniture, mirrors, lamps, etc. As for paint color....I like the sage green but that's just me. I see you have a blue and pink pillow, so you could pull off that. However, paint isn't cheap so if you can live with the sage, live with it for now and work on making a sanctuary for you and hubby and a nice new LR. Ohhh...i forgot to mention. Are you familiar with Pinterest? If not, you MUST check it out. I've gotten so many decorating ideas from there. It's all visual. Pic, pics, and more pics. You just type in 'shabby chic decorating' for example, or 'cottage bedroom'. I search by color since i have a beach cottage color scheme. So I type in 'aqua shabby chic.' Just saying....if you are thinking of blue, they use blue in your search. You have to sign up to use it but it's no different than signing up for this site. And there are no ads, no spam, nothing !! It's addictive tho....trust me. Looking at beautiful picture is so inspiring. And then you can pin a pic to your 'board' so you can save it. It's like a virtual scrapbook. I LOVE IT !! Well, I've rattled on long enough. I do love your taste and wish you the best in your decorating !! Bonnie This post was edited by brit5467 on Sun, Apr 20, 14 at 22:00