Lots of folks are worried about the future of bees, especially considering

their diminishing numbers over the last couple of years.

Here's an idea for your garden or back yard -

a honeybee watering station:

Bees need water just like we do but often they drown in open water.

To make a bee watering station you can use a pet fountain, above, or

simply fill a small dish with marbles or rocks and add water.  The

rocks are important because it gives the bees something to land on.

Honeybees are the under-appreciated workers who pollinate 80% of flowering crops,
i.e., one-third of everything we eat.  A Cornell University study estimated that
honeybees pollinate $14 billion worth of seeds and crops in the U.S. every year.
You can read more about these tireless little workers here.  It really will amaze you.

Keep on buzzin', little guys.  We really do
appreciate all of your hard work.

It's been such a hectic week that I almost forgot today is Friday.

And we can't end the week without Before & After projects, can we?

Our theme today?  There's not one - it's a smorgasbord of projects!

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One word:  Wow!

Here it is from another view:

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This small bathroom was transformed with

just a coat of paint and new accessories:

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Laundry rooms rarely get included in a decorating budget.  This one

needed less than $150 to become one of the cutest rooms in the house:

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When a young couple decided to move their laundry room to another

part of the house, they turned the space into an awesome pantry: 

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What a luxury of organization.

Who says you can't turn a painfully plain

family room into a sophisticated retreat?

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This den had several architectural features that needed an extra tweak:

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I love that they painted the beams in this den:

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A teen was ready for a more sophisticated room:

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Lovely.

You're hardly going to believe the change in this bedroom:

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Amazing, right?

Maybe you have an area that needs perking up?

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Molding, paint and new hardware made
this cabinet look brand new.

What can you do with a free (pitiful) cabinet?

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Turn it into a Mid-Century Modern beauty!

Prepare to have your mind blown:

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What's truly outrageous about this thrift shop treasure is that
is was spray painted!  It's true.  You can find tons of how-to videos
on YouTube that show the step-by-step procedures of spray painting
instead of traditional brush painting.

Here are a few ideas if you're thinking

of updating an old dresser.

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We're going to end today with some larger exterior projects.
Not only did these renovations improve the curb appeal of
the houses, they greatly increased the property values.

 A porch was added to the front of this

rancher and changed its style forever:

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Who knew that such a precious bungalow

was hiding behind the overgrown shrubs?

This small cottage had so much personality waiting to be revealed:

Three words:

 Landscape, landscape, landscape!!!


This beautiful manor was lost in the crowd of same-color homes:

Outstanding.


The porch of this house was just wrong:

Now it's so right. 

Blue Heaven!


The improvements to this house were subtle but effective:

All this house really needed was to
have the shrubs and trees replaced:

 (Remember "Landscape, landscape, landscape?")


This historic New Orleans cottage had stunning
mill work that needed to be emphasized:

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A new color and imaginative landscaping made

this house the showpiece of the neighborhood:



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We saw some really amazing makeovers today, didn't we?
Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.

One interesting aspect of old houses and buildings
is that you never know what you'll uncover.

A California couple recently purchased a 1930's bungalow and made an

amazing discovery when they pulled up the carpet in one of the bedrooms:

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That's right - a previous owner had painted a Monopoly board on the
hardwood floor!  Unfortunately, the game theme didn't coincide with
the new owners' decorating scheme so they painted over the unusual
art.  I'd have left it and decorated the room with vintage game boards.

A Bel Air, California, couple purchased an early 20th century
bungalow and discovered that the wall above the fireplace held
a beautiful secret - a pair of antique stain glass windows: 







In the late 1950's, a London underground tube station below Notting
Hill was sealed off.  Advertising posters were left on the walls:






  
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These photos were taken inside an abandoned
farm house in rural Saratov, Russia:

When the house was built in 1910, the owners expressed their
artistic urges by painting murals on the walls and ceilings.

Let's fly over, dismantle the house board-by-board, bring it to
America (specifically, my backyard) and reassemble the house.


Hubby and I are gutting the attic studio of our Mid-Century
Modern money pit house down to the studs:

I got excited at the prospect of uncovering vintage treasure.

Unfortunately, the only thing we've found hidden behind the walls is a flip-flop.