Before and After- Gray Chair

Before and After-Chair

From this...

This...

 To go along with this....

That started out as this....

Here is where I went into more on the desk.

in full disclosure- the before picture if the chair is a matching chair from the same set.  I forgot to take a before shot.  oops.

House Tour- Bathrooms

Luckily, we were able to get a home with more than 1 bath.  They are small, but they function.

Our main floor half bath is all of 4'x4', so sharing pictures of this space is challenging. (please forgive me).

This particular space is one that just kind of found its way to its present state.

Here is how it started, with a teeny tiny mirror,

lovely borders and a very boring color (same color as the master bedroom, yuck)

I was so happy when I found a gallon of oops paint, in what I thought was a pretty sand-like color.  And this is what I ended up with.

Yep, the new paint color is almost exactly what I just painted over. Err, but at least the border is down.  I was not crazy about the color, but maybe I could live with it.  

I found this decal on clearance at Ikea for $1 (I bought 3). I thought why not just out them in the bath and help liven the dreary color- hint, it didn't work.

I put the decal up in the summer, when we should have had the air conditioning on (I was being stubborn).  Needless to say the decals did not stick.

So then I thought, why not just paint over the decals and have the silhouette look.


Now I don't have a picture of this stage, but when I took the decals off, I was left with a pretty outline, but I still had that ugly color.

My next trip was to the hardware store to buy sample paint and fill in the silhouette.  It had me working in this tiny bathroom in the summer with no air for days.

Here I am doing the detail work.

I added the birds back and here is how it ended up.

 

It is hard to tell, but there are 3 trees in the room.  In total, including the new mirror and all the paint- I spent around $50 for this update.  In the end I am very happy with how it all turned out.

Our upstairs bathroom (the kids bath) has gotten a very quick and basic paint job.  Again I was able to use some oops paint.  It is not my favorite color and will most likely be changing, but for the time being, it works.

Here is the MLS photo

We also have the master bath, but I have already talked about it here.

House Tour- Main floor

Welcome, Come on in....

 Take a look around.

The main floor is fairly open, so I will include the living room, dining room, entry and kitchen.  There is also a small bath on this floor, but I will save that for later.

First you enter in what I guess is our entry, however, it is very small and does not have much room.  You look down a long hall into the kitchen.

To the right is the living room and to the left is the stairs.  I am dreaming of the day when I can replace this floor.

 I am hoping to get rid of the large TV cabinet someday, which I hope will balance the room.  I am not crazy how the fireplace and the cabinet are right next to each other. 

The living room is a difficult space to fit furniture in, and since we were unable to buy new furniture when we moved in, we are working with what we have.  The sofa was inherited from the previous owners.  I am dreaming of a new white slip covered beauty.

Here is how it looked (MLS photo)

Now I will be the first to admit, accessorizing is not my strong suit.  I have a hard time committing to accessories (I know- it is strange).  I do love rocks.  They seem to find their way into every nook and cranny.  Here are some close-ups of my few accessories.

I love my Dala horse.  When I was growing up, my mother and grandmother always had them on display.  This one was my grandmothers.  It is one of those special pieces.  His ears are broken, but that just makes it all the more special.

 

The Dining room is a work in progress.  I am not extremely happy with anything right now, but I will show you anyways.

The children's art wall.  Right now it is all from my daughter, my little man is just starting his art career.

Now here is the MLS photo- the previous owners were much more formal than us.  You really see it here.

Next we move right into the kitchen.

and before

Thank you for stopping in, next up bathrooms.

Kitchen windows

Since the window and the sink are what you see when you enter the house, the fabric and curtains are very important.


I have an image of what I want in my mind.  The question is-can I make it? Here is the fabric I have on my mind right now.

With a little bit of this

And a little bit of this

 

peacock fabric-etsy, red & white fabric-etsy

Desk facelift

I finally got around to giving the roll top desk the love it needed.  This desk was given to me by the most wonderful and loving woman, my grandmother. In taking the back panel off, I unearthed this photo, from 1990. It is my Grandmother and her 5 granddaughters (I am wearing the white tank dress in the back).

It was a great surprise.  She loved her family very much, and to see her so happy surrounded by family made me very happy.


Here is the desk in its before state.

Yes, you are seeing correctly, there is a big hole in the roll top

 This hole is the result of a massive brain-fart.  We wanted to drill a hole in the back to clean up computer cords.  Unfortunately we spaced the fact the the roll top laid down the back of the desk when opened-  We had the top open when we decided to drill.  Ooops.

I wanted to try a very light gray paint on this piece.  I used Nebulous White (SW7063) then simply sprayed the current hardware flat black.

And to deal with the hole, I purchased one of those wood thingies from Home Depot and used Liquid Glue to hold in in place.

And the photo....


I placed it back in the desk when I put it together.  I think my Grandmother would appreciate the gesture.  Maybe, down the line, some one else will open the desk and see the original owner.

How I kept busy during the blizzard- Ottoman

I have been snowed in with my family.  Cabin fever has set in.  So to keep busy I pulled out a project I have been putting off.

A yard and a half of white twill, some left over foam and legs from a failed project- and voila.  A new ottoman.

posted at DIY Tuesday

 

Thinking of my next big project- painted floors

I just realized that my window to do the dining floor is coming up.  I think I better start planning on what and how I am going to do this.

The problem?  Cream, Ber-ber, carpet in the dining room.  One question? Why?

Now, if we had the budget, I would be considering hardwood flooring for the whole main floor.  Since that is not an option, I need to come up with a solution to my problem.

I love painted floors, always have.  I just have never had the guts to actually do it.  But I am going to give it a try.

Some inspiration pics.

I love this floor- it is so glossy and pretty.

  sunny paints

 Design Sponge 

 

Coastal Living.com  

I just need to decide the color to use.  

Fun, Fun

http://www.ehow.com/how_2126321_paint-subfloor.html

House Tour-Master Bedroom

If you had spent any time around me after we purchased the new house, you would have heard me talk about the soul sucking gray that lived in our Master Bedroom.  Here is the MLS photo.

And actually, it looks like they had a great photographer to bring in some light.  here it is when we moved our furniture in....

Blah, Blah, Blah.  I swear on my life that the light in that room got sucked right into the paint.  It was a black hole for any light that dared to show its beautiful, sparkly self.

Initially, I wanted to paint the room a dark peacock blue, but again this room gets absolutely no light. So instead I decided to use a pretty aqua blue.

Personally, I've tired of the over stuffed, fluffy bedding.  I seem to gravitate to the hand crafted, quilt-y look.  And luckily, husbands Grandmother was a fantastic quilter, and we've had the quilt she hand made for him for years, but I was never able to really use it, until now.  I confess, I was not happy with the colors. 



The colors were just too harsh for my liking. We also had this amazing crochet coverlet his grandmother also made, it was just sitting in the hope chest for years.  I spread it over the quilt.  And I am ecstatic on how the coverlet makes the quilt look; like a kaleidoscope of colors. And it is all from his grandmother.  Now truth be told. I still need to get sheets and a bed skirt, but all in time.

The room still has a ways to go, but the light has found its way back in.  And I am a much happier gal.

The bath off to the side is tiny, but functional. Here is how it started off...

Of course I needed to add a bit of color, so in came the blue.  I am still not sure this is the right shade.  I think I want to go even lighter, just a barley blue shade of white. It is the debat I have every morning as I shower.

I realize that the mirror is a tad large, but it beats the teeny tiny mirror that was left and this is what I had on hand. Also, since the vanity is pushed right up against the wall, having the longer mirror gives us more room for elbows in the morning.  This is a case of function over form, And I am OK with it. 

I love this little sign that my Mother-in-Law brought back form Paris.  Its the small details that makes me happy.