* Mud

So the mudroom project is done. Here's how it went:
To refresh your memory this was my inspiration.

Below is what the little 2' x 5' entry area from my garage looked like before:

And following is the end result (hope to get better pictures coming):

I received the bench that I ordered from Ebay. It was pretty cheap - $80 with shipping and all. I decided on the distressed mustard finish which is a little bright but I like the way it adds that yellow from the pillow and chair in the inspiration.

I ended up mixing up some paint from what I had in the cupboard (hello, unemployment) so it's a little more grayed than the original aqua but I like it. I was trying not to spend money on the floor but I admit I did break down and look for doormats in a few discount stores. I couldn't find anything appropriate in any of them. Then I remembered a piece I bought in Ikea a few years ago that I used to use as a table cover! When I moved to the condo I switched to the round table so I had packed the runner away. I found it and - with a little discreet folding and placement - I think it works great!

I really like the way these came out. I assembled the frames with double sheets of cheap glass sandwiching the seed packets to approximate the look of the original gallery frames. But the lighting is low and the glass gave them an ugly gray cast so I switched to aqua blue textured paper backing. It's really pretty scrapbooking paper from Michael's, with a linen texture and a little iridescence.

And that's all there is to it!