2 Sneak Peek - August Issue of Inside Out Magazine

We just got a sneak peek of August's new Inside Out Magazine coming out this Thursday (July 24th) and once again it's filled with beautiful interior shots and great features to keep you inspired.   Managing Editor, Lee Tran Lam gave us the low-down on a few of the highlights.  To start,  Inside Out Magazine is opening the doors to one of the homes in the issue! How cool is that?  As Lee Tran tells us, "It's the inaugural 'Open For Inspection' feature we're running. Thanks to Circa Home, readers will get a chance to step inside this eco-friendly family home in Melbourne, as part of a tour led by our editor-in-chief Claire Bradley and our styling expert Lisa Koehler!" Styling by Ruth Welsby. Photography by Martina Gemmola. 

 Also, there's a Best Buys feature on cushions – these cushions are always a nice way to soften up a room. Anything that adds a shot of personality to a room and aids comfy TV-watching or DVD nights can not be a bad thing! Styling by Joseph Gardner. Photography Amanda Prior.

A Kid's Room inspiration story – this one is for a little daydreamer. So there are lots of patterns, pictures and resting spots for books – all good kindling for the imagination! Styling by Jessica Hanson. Photography by Jessica Hanson.

A feature on 'Creating A Mood' – recommendations for music soundtracks, candle selections, petals and greenery, and lovely pieces to get the atmosphere just right. Styling by Heather Nette King. Photography by Mike Baker. Flowers by Fleur McHarg.

The August issue of Inside Out Magazine is out Thursday and is available at newsagents or digitally via Zinio, Google Play, iTunes & Nook.

2 Before and After | Vintage Cabinet from Shabby to Chic

Guest post by Nicole of Visual Heart

One thing that really bothers me is when someone takes a Mid Century style piece of furniture and applies a shabby chic paint finish to it. Modern + shabby do not mix! This vintage cabinet was one of those disasters, lightly brushed with a weird green, the door had been removed on the right side and the notches for the hinges were left behind. Ugly white hooks were added to the side for functionality and that green paint had dripped down onto the legs ruining the brass finish. The only cool thing this cabinet had going for it was the drawer, the inside was crafted really well with an area to hold pens or utensils.

I started by removing the hooks on the side and patching all the holes. I lightly sanded the entire cabinet and Andrew aggressively sanded the face of the drawer right down to raw wood. We had to be careful because it was a really brittle wood veneer on top of plywood. The legs were also sanded down to raw wood and a danish oil was applied to both the legs and drawer front in several thin coats.

Since this cabinet was so tall it was calling out to have some shelves made to make it more functional. So we got some MDF pieces cut to fit and drilled some holes to place in some shelf clips at the desired height.

The cabinet was primed with several thin coats to build up a nice base, this was a very dry and brittle cabinet, the primer just soaked right in. Once it was primed, the interior of the cabinet was painted with Benjamin Moore High Gloss Advance in Mantis Green and the outside is Snowfall White.

I replaced the rustic style knobs with something more clean and modern, these tiny knobs are actually from an old Ikea Expedit unit, they’re the perfect size and scale for the drawer. They no longer carry them, but they have other options.

Check out the transformation from shabby to chic:

The shelves were purposely placed at the right height to create a bar cabinet or a record cabinet:

Editor note:  We recently found out Nicole sells her "before's and after's" after we asked what she did with all of her pieces.  You can contact her HERE if you wish to inquire about buying them, or in general she has a gallery of her amazing furniture projects listed HERE.

About the contributor:
Nicole Phillips is a Vancouver based Graphic Designer and blogger.
You can learn more about her at visualheart.com or follow her creative side:

twitter.com/visualheart
pinterest.com/visualheart
instagram.com/visualheart

http://visualheart.com/2014/07/18/vintage-cabinet/

6 Capree Kimball's Bathroom Makeover

What's black and white and brass all over? This beautiful bathroom makeover by Capree Kimball!  When we first spotted her reveal earlier this spring on instagram, we had to ask her if we could share some of those images here. 

First a little peek at the before:

And now the after!

Isn't it amazing? As you can see they kept the cast iron claw foot tub (of course) but wanted the floor to be a statement piece as well as adding brass as an accent throughout. Because the bathroom was small, they wanted a modern looking wall-mounted sink and ended up going with the Reve series by Kohler for both the sink and toilet. The result is a gorgeous, modern and dramatic bathroom that looks much larger and fresh.  Check out more images below. 

To find out more source info, etc., check out Capree's post about the reno here.  Thanks for sharing Capree!

6 Weekend Project | DIY Outdoor (Heated!) Shower

Contributor post by Emily + Erick of Hello Home Shoppe

This month, Erick and I have been working remotely from my family's tiny cabin the Adirondacks-- thanks to a trusty internet stick and some major hours clocked at the small town library. While our days are filled with our normal workload, it's nice to spend our weekends and evenings outside, listening to the birds and enjoying the quiet. 

Recently, we had the idea to create an outdoor shower for the camp since everywhere you go there's sap or pine needles cleaning to you, plus it just sounded like an amazing experience to rinse off outside after a day on the lake. The only problem was that most DIY outdoor showers are FREEZING since the water come from a spigot--not very relaxing!

In our version, we source the water from the sink faucet--which means warm water! Read below for how to DIY your own--it's surprisingly simple!

 

You'll Need:

-Two, 2"x4" pieces of wood, cut to 30" long each

-8, 3" nails

-Saw

-Smooth stones

-Hammer

-Nearby tree

-Hose long enough to reach from kitchen window to the desired tree 

-Flexible shower head

-Rope

-Adapters for hooking up hose to shower head. NOTE: this will vary based on size of your shower head, so make sure you bring the hose and shower head to the hardware store to make sure you're getting the correct size! For us, we needed: 1 dual male/female 3/4" garden hose adapter and 1 garden hose washer to hook up the hose to the shower head

-Adapter to connect sink to hose. For us this was: 1 garden hose male by 3/4" female pipe thread.

 

 

Directions

1.) First, we are going to make the drainage system where you stand when taking the shower. To do this, measure out 15" on each of your two pieces of 2x4s and mark with a pencil.

 

 

2.) Saw in them both in half where you made the mark (you can skip this step by having the hardware store cut them for you).

 

 

3.) Nail together two pieces of wood so that they form a 90" angle. Repeat on all sides so that you have the frame of a square. 

 

 

4.) Place the frame under the tree where you're setting up the shower and fill with smooth stones.

 

 

5.) It's time to connect your hose to the sink with the adapters you picked out at the hardware store. Also at this time, connect the shower head to the other end of the hose.

 

 

6.) Now that the hose is connected to the sink, guide the hose outside a window to the desired tree. Twist the rope up the tree until you get to desired branch. Depending on how much slack you have, you will have to wrap the hose a few times around the trunk to make sure it's taught.

 

 

7.) Now that the shower head is threaded to desired branch, secure it in place with a little piece of rope. 

8.) Turn on the sink to turn on the shower and enjoy!

 

 

Meet the Contributors

Emily Hirsch and Erick Steinberg are blogging duo behind Hello Home Shoppe, a lifestyle blog with a focus on DIY projects, recipes, and travel. When they're not blogging or working as 2/4 of the creative agency Jolly Bureau, they moonlight as locally sourced sandwich vendors in Philadelphia, PA.

4 Summer Treats! 10 Seasonal Dessert Finds

With all the fresh fruit available in the summertime, and cravings for cold treats, we've been collecting a heap of links for seasonal dessert recipes.  From ice cream cakes to popsicles, here's ten treats that need to be bookmarked. Happy Friday!

1. BANANA SPLIT PUDDING POPS
by The Kitchen McCabe

A yummy recipe using a homemade banana pudding that uses fresh bananas dipped in a chocolate coconut sauce. Click here for the recipe.

2. FRESH STRAWBERRY MOUSSE CAKE
by The Galley Gourmet

Using fresh berries, this treat has all the flavors of strawberry shortcake. Yum! Get the instructions here.

3. RED CURRANT POPSICLES
by Coco Cake Land

A tart, tangy and milky red currant treat! From Coco Cake Land.

4.  MILO ICE CREAM CAKE
from The Sugar Hit

Outside layers of moist chocolate malt cake, a middle of vanilla ice cream filled with crunchy Milo crumbles, and hot malted chocolate sauce poured over the top, before finishing with another pile of Milo crumbles. Click here for the recipe.

5. CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY TART
by Martha Stewart

A simple, decadent tart that will keep overnight in the refrigerator (add fresh raspberries just before serving). Click here for the recipe.

6. FROZEN HONEY CREAM
by Martha Stewart

This no-churn ice cream goes well butter cookies or shortbread. Click here for the recipe.

7.   NO BAKE STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE
by Call Me Cupcake

Marscapone is the secret behind this delicious-looking recipe. Click here to learn how it's made.

8.  SALTED CARAMEL S'MORES
from My Baking Addiction

Summer isn't summer without a s'more! Check out this version from My Baking Addiction.

9. CARAMEL DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM CAKE BARS ON A STICK
by Half Baked Harvest

This treat only has five ingredients! Get the recipe at Half Baked Harvest.

10.  RUBY GRAPEFRUIT SORBET
by Williams Sonoma

A refreshing and light dessert. Get the how-to at Williams Sonoma.