What fun to end the week with a Before & After Friday.  Today's
post features a mix of furniture, front porches, and fabulous rehabs.

 As much as I love natural wood:

. . . . this after table really is adorable:

Design Dazzle

The laminate on this high boy

was damaged in several spots:

So, why not paint it?

Altar'd

I get where they were going with the paint

treatment but it's a tad bright for my taste.

Do you prefer the painted hutch to the wood finish?

houzz

This affordable Craigslist dresser was

a great beginner's painting project: 

Design Sponge

Oh, dear.  This dresser was quite dreadful:

Cozy Cottage Cute

Adorable now, isn't it?

Centsational Girl

Two 'unrelated' thrift store pieces were brought

together with a little paint.  Darling.

Here is another example of combining two different
style pieces to make a fabulous new treasure:

 plus

equals:

Link


Paint and upholstery gave this $10
chair an extended, useful life:

Link

I adore this faux French Provencial vanity makeover:

Decor Hacks

Thrift stores are literally teeming with outdated
armoires and entertainment cabinets:

Vintage Key Antiques

Enough great furniture fixes.  Let's take a look at some larger projects.

This breakfast nook had potential but was too dark:

Design Sponge

What a difference a coat of white paint can make!

Look how inviting this porch is now:

A Beautiful Mess

This sweet cottage upped its cuteness factor:

Front Porch Ideas

The front of this house definitely needed an enhancement:

Link

And, boy, was it beautifully enhanced!

Wish they could relocate the satellite dish : (

Your eyes aren't deceiving you.

It is the same house in both photos:

Link

Completely amazing renovation.

Did you know that the State of Washington awards

grants for the restoration of historic barns?

Before:

After:

Link

Unbelievable.  Simply unbelievable.

I hope you enjoyed today's Before & After projects
and were inspired to take on a project of your own.

Just remember -

It happened.  Yes, it did.  The family

spent the day at the Minnesota State Fair!

What was the most fun?

It wasn't about the food . . . . . . 

Pronto Pup corn dogs have been served at the fair every

year since 1947.  Tradition is a beautiful thing.

Okay, maybe it was about the food a little bit . . . . . 

It wasn't about the rides . . . . . . . 

. . . . . well, maybe it was about

the rides a little bit . . . . 

 It wasn't about the farm animals . . . . . . 

. . . although, they were amazing:

From the back this chicken looks like a bunny:

And, from the front, she looks like a poodle!

We tossed this handsome fellow some

corn and he looked at it suspiciously.

Darn, we came on the wrong day.  Wish

we could be there Friday morning!

It is kind of mean to have the Turkey to Go
food booth outside the poultry barn.

The Butterfly House was enchanting.

And, at last, we found our way to the Fine Arts Exhibits.

 Beautiful paintings

 A welded Spider Chair

Contemporary 'sculpture' - looks like
a key suspended in honey to me.

 A hand blown glass skate board


Mixed Media:

Gorgeous carving 


Bet you can't tell me what this is:

 A contemporary ash tray!
(Yeah, I couldn't tell, either.)



There were other one-of-a-kind creations that stumped us:

 A beautiful handmade hat comprised of feathers
created by Jean Hawton of Redwood Falls, MN.
(In a glass case because it was too delicate to touch.)

Emily Taylor's framed original painting won the competition
for the official 2014 Minnesota State Fair Commemorative
Poster.  The photo really does not do it justice.


So, what WAS the highlight of the fair?

Why, the Funnel Cakes, of course!