10 of the Most Popular Posts of 2014

Wow, it's hard to believe we're bringing 2014 to a close!  Here are a few of the most popular decor and craft posts from House Revivals this year.

While my vintage book page projects, especially the woven stars and snowflakes, are my most popular posts from year to year, these are the most popular new posts from 2014:


17 Pretty Ways to Decorate With a Brown Sofa was the most popular new post of 2014.

Another hugely popular post was Super Amazing Ways to Up-cycle Filing Cabinets.

Painting Interior Doors Black is another post that has been popular this year.


Five Reasons to Shop at a Thrift Store Right Now has been a big hit -- if you've read my blog for long, you know I'm a fan of up-cycling, re-purposing, and living a creative lifestyle on a budget.


How to Make Gorgeous Pendants With Dollar Store Supplies was published in December, but it has already become one of the most read new posts on House Revivals this year!

I made a lot of paper beads in 2014, and got really sore hands and wrists, so I devised a way to make a Paper Bead Roller with supplies most of us already have on hand.  How to Make Your Own Paper Bead Roller is a reader favorite!  I still use my bead rollers all the time, and they have saved my wrists and my sanity!

Apparently I'm not the only one who must live with dated colored bath fixtures! When timing or finances or life situation is just not right for a remodel, sometimes you just need to work with what you have.  Decorating With Colored Bathroom Fixtures should help you through your bath decor dilemma!

You were all interested in How to Dress Up Those Plastic Nursery Pots!  I simply do not have the storage space to keep lots of decorative pots and vases, so I turned to one of my favorite materials for this five-minute fix-up!

The Barn Door Hardware Guide started out when I was researching hardware for one of my own projects, and has been a favorite with my readers.

Earlier this year, I found a leather recliner on Craigslist.  It was the wrong color, so I researched DIY leather furniture dyeing. Ultimately, my husband decided he didn't like sitting on leather -- it was too cold and slippery in winter, and too hot and sticky in summer, so that recliner is now headed for the Goodwill. This is why we opted not to spend the big bucks right away on a new leather recliner or on a professional dye job -- we needed to know if we liked lounging on leather. I shared my leather dye research in this post, How to Dye a Leather Sofa or Chair.

These were your favorite House Revivals posts from 2014. Thank you all for visiting this site this year! Your comments and emails are so important to me.  If you had a favorite post that wasn't on this list, let me know in the comments!

Thank you all for sharing links to my posts on your favorite social media platforms in 2014 -- you are the reason House Revivals exists.  If there is a design, art, craft, or decor topic you would like to see covered in 2015, let me know in the comments.

Here's wishing you all a safe and happy New Year, and a fabulous 2015!

How to Weave a Rush Seat

A few months ago my beautiful mother-in-law passed away very suddenly.  She had many beautiful pieces of furniture -- mementos of her travels and of a life well lived.... aaaaand she had a few not so beautiful pieces.

In the days before her funeral, her seven children flew out from every corner of the country and began the heart-breaking task of sorting through her belongings. The children took turns selecting items they wanted to keep, then they decided which items to donate and which items to put in the huge dumpster that had been delivered to the house.

High Chair Makeover

Several months ago I found this little wooden highchair at a local thrift store.  We do a lot of entertaining at the beach house, and our guests often include babies and toddlers, so a good sturdy highchair has been on our list of things to get.

When I saw the price of this highchair, I knew it was coming home with me.  Are you ready for this?  It was $4.99!  I loaded that baby into my shopping cart!

Reviving A Pair of Stodgy Old Chairs

About a year ago, I wandered into a thrift store and saw "them". A pair of slouchy, stodgy, old club chairs from the eighties. They were awful! The upholstery was in great condition, but it was just soooo ugly. I had to have them. A quick peak at the label under the cushion confirmed they were old Drexel Heritage chairs. *Nothing* sits like a Drexel. I turned the chairs over and pulled back a little bit of the dust cover to make sure they had eight-way, hand tied springs. Then I sat in them. They were fabulous. Fabulously ugly, that is. I loaded them up into my mini-van, and never said a word to husband about them--just drove around with them in the back of the car for a couple of months. I kept my fingers crossed that he would just assume they belonged to a client!

When a local fabric supplier had their semi-annual warehouse sale, I bought twelve yards of fabric at the ridiculous price of five dollars a yard! Then I called our upholsterer and faxed him some sketches. I had him rebuild the chair backs so they were about seven inches taller, beef up the rolled arms slightly, ditch the frumpy skirt, and trim out the backs and arms with beautiful bronze tacks. Voila! "New" designer chairs at a fraction of the cost of buying the same quality new! Reupholstering is definitely not inexpensive, but it can be a great value if you are redoing a quality piece.

This post is linked to a blog party at Thrifty Decor Chick. Come see lots of great ideas here. We've also linked to the furniture project blog party over at Mustard Seed Creations. Stop by here for some inspiration.