The first time I went with Jesse to visit his warehouse, I saw an abundance of pallets just sitting around collecting dust. Ever since that trip I have been googling images for pallets to see what people have come up with and there is some pretty amazing stuff. If you haven’t heard of Pinterest, I suggest you click here and check it out. After you have browsed all the categories and figured it out, try searching for “pallet” and look at all the amazing ideas. Here are a few of my favorites:

A pallet turned shabby coffee table…love it

Can’t afford a headboard? Try a few different stains on an old pallet and hang it on the wall. I especially love this picture because they used Ikea furniture for the nightstand and lamps. A completely affordable bedroom!

Never thought about using a pallet for a planter, but what a great idea! I could see a couple of these stained really dark and leaning against a blank wall.

Two pallets put together for a litle sleeping alcove. Love the colors, love the concept!

And now for my own pallet diy…

I took inspiration from the images above and made this coffee table for our living room in RI. I stained the wood and had a piece of glass cut for the top to protect the stain. I also added a piece of 2 x 4 to the corners of my pallet to give it some extra height. Overall, I couldn’t be happier with the outcome and I think it really pulls the space together.

Next time you come across an abandoned pallet,  think twice about passing it up!

I tweeted last night that my apartment smelled like Herbs de Provence, which is one of my favorite spice combinations. I wanted to share my roast chicken recipe, because I feel like people don’t use Herbs de Provence and this is such an easy and delicious recipe. Step one, buy a whole chicken large enough for everyone attending dinner. If you have never cooked a whole chicken, don’t be scared. If I can do it anyone can. I like to buy an organic chicken and I usually buy one that is around 2 1/2 to 3 pounds. If you don’t have a roasting pan that’s fine. I used to roast mine in a pyrex and it worked great!

The chicken after I washed it and removed the little bag in the center with all its insides.The hardest part for me is washing the chicken and getting him clean under his wings…it makes me feel really guilty.

After I washed the chicken, I stuffed his insides with lemons and rosemary, which makes the skin very fragrant and lemony. You can choose your own stuffings depending on what you have to work with in your kitchen.

Oh yeah, preheat the oven to 375 degrees

I also use some lemons and rosemary around the outside edge, which just makes it look prettier After I have it all situated in the roasting pan, I drizzle olive oil, salt, pepper, and Herbs de Provence and bast it with my brush.

The finished product! Now, just pop it in the preheated oven and roast for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Cooking times will vary depending on the size of your bird. Unfortunately I don’t have an after picture because Jesse and I were starving by the time it finished cooking and we immediately started picking at it right when I took it out of the oven. A simple and delicious dinner. I paired mine with broccoli, rice pilaf, and a fruit salad for dessert!!

Please share any recipes that you may have for roasting a chicken!

Well, despite running through the Atlanta airport twice, Jesse and I made it home safely on Sunday night. We had a wonderful trip to Alabama and I got to spend time with my niece, Harper, which was amazing! How could you not love spending time with this little bundle of joy:

My little muffin

On another note, my office was closed yesterday, so I met with one of my design clients and stumbled across a great fabric store. There used to be a fabric store in Hudson called Zimmon’s that I would always use for fabrics, but they closed that location and are only in Lynn now, which is a bit of a drive for me and not my favorite part of Boston. As we were catching up, she mentioned that the old Zimman’s was now Artee. We both wanted to check it out, so we took a trip and it blew my mind. The staff is friendly and unlike Zimman’s, they work with the trade, which is an added bonus. We ended up hiring them to make some beautiful custom curtains for the bedroom in the au pair suite, which I am so excited to share with you! It’s about 30 minutes from Boston, but if you don’t mind the drive I would recommend going and I guarantee you will find something that you love. If you know of any other fabric stores in Boston, please share!

For those of you that follow me on twitter (paigeofdesign), you know that I scored a campaign dresser on Craigslist a few weeks ago and have been refinishing it for the vacation home in Tiverton. The fist step was removing the hardware on the dresser, and let me tell you, that was hard. I don’t think the hardware had every been removed and it was almost rusted onto the frame. It took lots of prying and nail breaking to get the pulls off. After that, I sanded the piece with a couple of those sanding blocks and then dusted it off. I primed it first with a layer of white primer and then painted 2 coats of Behr – Turtle Dove. I love the way it turned out!! See the photos below for the before & after.

The before photo of the dresser was taken on my iphone and when I first picked it up and put it in my car, sorry for the picture quality.

After 2 coats of paint! I love it and I am sure that as we move from house to house it will take on a few different faces, which I am excited about. I see a really bright color in its near future!

Jesse and I are leaving tomorrow for a week in Alabama to visit my family. My brother had a little girl in January and this will be the first time I meet her, so I am thrilled. I wanted to share some of my favorite things to do when I go home, such as eating. There are certain places that I just can’t live without and one of those places is

I could eat a number 5 – 8 count with a lemonade everyday for the rest of my life, sad. I have been ordering the same thing from Chick-fil-a since elementary school and it’s delicious every single time. Jesse doesn’t understand my obsession with Chick-fil-a, but he puts up with it when we visit! I have been wanting to show Jesse where I went to college the past 2 1/2 years, but we never have the time to visit. I am going to make it happen this trip, even though it will be emotional for me to see the devastation from the tornados that passed through back in April. This is a picture of the house that I lived in during college that one of my friends sent me…

…sends chills down my back just looking at the picture. I hope that we can make it down to Tuscaloosa, because I haven’t been back since I graduated in 2008.

Have a great week!!

As mentioned in my last post, I have some big news to share! Well, it’s big news for me because it has been a topic of conversation for about a year between Jesse (my boyfriend) and I. We have finally made the decision to get a puppy. She is a pure bred Brittany Spaniel and she will be ready to come home on September 4th. We are so excited, but nervous because we have to drive 7 hours to pick her up and traveling back with her may be a bit of a challenge. We already have a name picked out, Sadie Belle. The picture below was taken right when she was born.

Adorable, right??!!

I have been shopping for collars and I remember seeing some really nice nautical one’s on OKL (One Kings Lane), but I can’t find them anywhere. Does anyone know what the brand was? Also, I would love some advice on being a new pet owner!!

Now that you have all seen what I am up against in my current project, I thought I would share some of the most recent pictures of the living room and kitchen. I still want to add some accessories, but it’s so much better than what we started with, so have fun looking!

This is the living room currently. I got the 2 couches and chair for $300 on craigslist…that’s right, $300. They are Ikea Ektorp and are actually pretty comfortable. I bought all new covers from Ikea and they are perfect for us. I splurged on the pillows & rug from West Elm because I wanted something nautical, and I feel pretty good about my purchases, no buyers remorse at all. The best part of this room for me is the coffee table, which my boyfriend and I made in one day from a pallet.

This view of the living room shows the crates that we bought at Brimfield as our entertainment center. As I mentioned in the last post, our budget is extremely limited, so we are trying to be as creative as possible. We also scored that antique oar from Brimfield this year for $15. I don’t think the man selling this knew that oars were trending and that he could’ve easily sold this for $50 or more…lucky us!

Really the only thing that has changed in the kitchen so far, is the parson chairs, which I slipcovered in a white linen to soften them up a bit. Our color theme is navy and lime green throughout the whole house, which I love! I found 2 really cute pictures that you can see hanging in the far right corner on etsy that match our theme perfectly and are great for a beach house. See close up image below:

It’s a butcher diagram…so cute. You can customize the colors and buy them here.

I would love to hear some feedback, so please share and stay tuned for tomorrow’s exciting news!

I don’t know where to start. It feels weird just jumping back in and posting a year later, but I guess I have to start somewhere. My boyfriend and I have had an amazing opportunity to barter design for a free vacation home this summer in Rhode Island. The house needs some major TLC, but I feel like I have made some good progress and wanted to share some before and afters with you. My budget has been extremely limited, so craigslist and etsy have been my best friends. Enjoy!

The very first picture I took when we first drove to see what we were getting ourselves into…it looks much nicer without all the snow.

What your thinking right now is exactly what I thought when I walked in the front door. Holy oversized furniture. Just wait till you see the guest bedroom located below…

The butterflies hanging on the wall are actually puzzles that were sealed. I took those down immediately and destroyed them so that they would never surface again. No wonder the house has been on the market for 2 years.

The last photo that I am going to post for today is the kitchen. The windows and amount of natural light is amazing, but come on, those parson dining room chairs are outrageous.

I have my work cut out for me that’s for sure, but stay tuned for the after photos tomorrow and be sure to share your thoughts!

I was wondering around Apartment Therapy this morning, when I came across this image from a home in Manchester, NH. I think these coffee sacks are so cute and a great inexpensive way to add an organic textural element to your space. What are your thoughts on these window treatments??

Coffee sacks found on Ebay.

Today I came across a great website called Nesting Newbies. This is an online publication similar to Lonny Mag and it has so many wonderful things to share, and the best part is it’s free! From great recipes…

…to amazing interior photos…

…and last but not least, DIY ideas!

Check it out. After all, there is nothing better than free publications!