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I decided to go with a dark brown – Martha Stewart’s Brooke Trout, to be exact. I used the same color in my kitchen and loved it, plus I had enough left over so I went ahead and used it on the porch.

Here are a few before pics…

The old colors – Martha Stewart’s Weimaraner and Tortilla.

First, the floor had to be repainted. I choose Martha Stewart’s Arrowroot.

The new dark walls with the great orange accent lamps I found at TJ Maxx.

A new rug from Ballard Designs…

and some cute accent pillows…

I haven’t finished the other side of the porch yet. Photos to follow, soon!

MyColortopia offers a fabulous new color inspiration tool called My Image Inspiration. What better way to get color inspiration for your home than by uploading one of your favorite images and having a color palette selected for you?

I’m a big fan of the color pink so I simply used a photo of one of my pink orchids, uploaded it using the My Image Inspiration tool and got a fantastic color palette to work with!

You can take almost anything – a piece of fabric, your favorite painting or piece of jewelry, upload the image and voila! you’ll have a custom paint pallet right before you that you can print, share, and even take to the paint store with you!  My favorite thing about this tool is that it takes the guess work out of finding colors that compliment each other. Try My Image Inspiration today. You won’t be disappointed!

 I have been sponsored by Glidden brand paint to write this post but the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

For me, choosing a color is a bit easier because I have access to a multitude of idea books and color swatches. I often get the urge to change a room color when I see a color scheme I like in a trade magazine or home decorating magazine and every so often I am even inspired by the color of a simple object…such as a piece of beach glass.

When helping customers pick a paint color I like to simplify it by asking them two basic questions:

What is your favorite color and what colors typically makes you feel good?

Now, homeowners and designers alike can use Glidden’s MyColortopia which helps take the guess work out of trying to choose the perfect paint color!

Take the quiz below and find out what colors fit you and your lifestyle!

The views provided in this review are the personal views of Nifty Thrifty Girl and are not the views of AkzoNobel or any other company. I received compensation in return for this article.

the retro dresser I found at the local thrift store and made into our tv stand? What are the chances that I would find another dresser just like this one? Apparently, pretty good because I found another at our local thrift store…exactly like the first one! This dresser wasn’t as pristine as the last one but it was marked down to $17. YES, $17!!! I knew I could work my magic for that price. In typical Nifty Thrifty Girl fashion, I was so anxious to transform the piece that I forgot to take some before pics to show how ugly it was. I did snap some photos of the drawers so you can get the idea of its gold/yellow ugliness…

And a shot of it primed…

And…the finished product…

Our new dining room buffet. I thought the original drawer pulls & knobs were pretty cool so I painted them with a satin nickel spray paint and re-installed them.

Not bad for a mere $17, eh? I spent more on the paint & spray paint than I did on the dresser!

Have a project you’d like help with? Don’t hesitate to contact me!  Stay tuned for more re-dos that I will be offering for sale.

All these photos and more can be found on my Flickr photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/niftythriftygirl/

When decorating, I typically like to make use of my collections or items I have on hand in the house. I knew exactly where I was going to do my Halloween display and had an idea of what items of my own I would use. All I needed was some Halloween inspiration and I found it at my local Family Dollar store.

Some purple lights, some witch garland…and a couple of bags of candy and…

Ta-da! Halloween display complete.

You can always decorate for less when shopping at Family Dollar.

I am happy to announce that fine art prints are now available on my photography website!

http://sharongollnitzphotography.com/fine-art-prints/

Click on over and check them out. They make great gifts!!

Stairs make up an integral part of any home and are important in determining the impression your home gives off. Whether you want your home to be classic and rustic or  chic and modern, you do have to keep your staircase’s image in mind. This article will give you a few things to think about when it comes to stairs.

Appearance

As stated above, the way your stairs look is very important. A staircase will often dominate the room or entire section of the house it is located in so you just can’t afford for it to look anything less than perfect. There is a massive selection of designs of stair parts to choose from to suit any home. Balustrades are a great way to make a dramatic difference to the appearance of your stairs at a very low cost. A balustrade is very easy to construct by yourself as there are often instructions detailing what to do enclosed with the parts.

Materials

When you’re in the market for stair parts or new stairs you have to ensure that the parts you buy are of premium quality. Your stairs have to put up with the daily strain of people walking up and down them every day so clearly you need wood that won’t suffer under the pressure. Furthermore you can always tell poor quality wood by its cheap looking appearance.

DIY

When you want to make improvements to your stairs then preferably you want to be able to do it all by yourself. When you start hiring professionals that’s when the costs start to skyrocket. Luckily most stair parts and balustrades come with detailed instructions telling you exactly what to do. If you get stuck then usually the suppliers will have a support team you can contact who will point you in the right direction.

Cost

As the stairs form such an integral part of the home its worth spending some money to make sure they look the best they can. However that doesn’t mean that you have to spend a fortune to get the look you want. The best way to save money when it comes to stairs is to shop online. These online stores have a far more extensive range than their high street alternatives and can often beat their prices by a substantial margin as well.

So when you’re looking for stairs or stair parts then make sure that you bear all the above points in mind. Perhaps the most important thing to remember is to purchase the parts from a reputable supplier so you don’t get any unpleasant surprises.

vintage yellow tin

bottle brush trees and misc ornaments

mid century modern dresser

I also, finally, got my new pendant lights up in the office and dining room. Here’s a shot of the new office light…

Thank you, O.co, I LOVE my new lights!