DIY Decisions...

Every time the New Year comes around, I get excited to clean out the closets, organize under the beds, and start a new project.  After traveling for 10 of the 13 days of my winter break, I found myself daydreaming while I unpacked my suitcase again.  Two years ago, we started the year by renovating this little house (and here).  It took many months to get to this, and then one year ago we changed up the living room.  This year I am satisfied with the furniture, but I am looking to add a little charm.  Thanks to Pinterest, I cannot escape the DIY inspiration.  This is my latest project:

(Source)

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Board and batten in the hallway! I can't wait to add a little architectural detail to the house and an organized place to put photographs.

This is the hallway connecting two of the bedrooms.  I want to have two horizontal rows and a two-inch shelf on the top.  The hardest part is finding the best distance between the battens and the height of the top shelf.  The attic light and the thermostat won't be moved, so there are only a few ways to measure.  Right now the two horizontal strips of tape are at 5' and 4' high, and the "battens" are 15" apart.  I like that the photo frames will be seen from the living room if I don't make it much higher.  The decision part is not whether to go ahead with the project but if it should just be that one wall, the entire hall, or also doing the adjoining hallway.  What to do?

Randomness

That's right, no posts in August.  Not one.  It's been busy, but here are some random goings on from the past month.

1. A new batch of 17 little nuggets, ready to be trained and molded into the workforce of the future.
2. A million blogs to read (obviously this is an important thing on the list). Here are most of my faves:
• Elements of Style
• Pretty in Pink Megan
• Emily A. Clark
• This Lil' Birdie
• The Southern Eclectic
• Bonjour
• Simply Seleta
• Style by Emily Henderson
• Lila Was Here
• She's {Kinda} Crafty
• Lonny
• Urban Grace
3. Seeing my best friend and meeting her sweet baby!
4. Paint 8 doors, front and back, which takes 1 1/2 hours per side!!! [I officially hate painting]
5. Almost last graduate class.  Yay!
6. Lots. Of. Work.  How can it be that I have done the same thing for so long and it still takes forever?
7. Bags are on super clearance and an extra 40% off at Loft--Look! Only $2.10!
8. New throw pillows in the living room (well, soon-to-be once I get the fabric for the back, the down inserts, and then I actually sew them)
9. Oh yeah, and I put a soaked paintbrush in paint thinner in a red plastic cup on the super light/white part of my granite counter top.  The thinner ate away at the plastic and spilled ALL over.  Since the thinner is acetone-based, it cleaned up with a dry cloth, but the PINK ring from the cup is still there.  In a VERY obvious spot.  AHHHHHH!  So I've googled a million suggestions, tried poultices of baking soda + water, bleach + flour, Comet (DO NOT TRY THIS ONE), nail polish remover, just bleach, Shout stain remover gel, and nothing has worked so far.  I'm  moving on to the hydrogen peroxide + moulding plaster poultice and leaving it on overnight.  If that fails, I'm trying bleach + baby powder overnight.  Way too much stress for a holiday weekend.

*****EDIT***** The bleach and baby powder poultice for 24 hours (covered with Glad Press 'n Seal) worked!!!!!!!!!!!

Just Add It to the List

Yes, something else to add to my list of wants.  I have a bad case of the wants--actually, I've had the wants for a long while now.  In fact, I sound much like a five year old describing her Christmas wish list, but add 20 years and make it an I-want-it-now-even-though-there-is-no-special-occasion pouty face and bad attitude.  Somewhere, somehow, I developed this idea that I should be just as accomplished and have all the haves that the adults in my life already enjoy (i.e. my parents or other 40+ year olds).  Where did this come from?  Well, it's time for the big girl pants because I am quickly realizing I am the poster child for impatience.  I once wanted (and mostly got) the shoes, the makeup, the clothes, then for a while it was the dinnerware pattern, the small kitchen appliances, the flatware set.  Later it was the house, the doors, the granite, the tile, the shutters.  I have since graduated to the things that fit inside my house:  rugs, lamps, pillows, linens, side tables, headboards.

Surprisingly, there is only one more piece officially missing from my home.  It's a kitchen table.  Thanks to craigslist, I have the beginning of the table. (yea!)

Soon it will be topped with some sort of round table, preferably with a dark stain.  Unofficially, I have like 15 more house wants.  Enjoy my recent faves while I work on becoming a better person who is not so materialistic.

two of these

with this sofa

and this painting

a guest room with matching twin beds

darling side tables

and even more darling ruffled bedskirts

with sweet pillows

and fresh flowers

a climbing rose vine

and lush window boxes

this room, minus the child, ANYWHERE in my house

throw in a two week trip to Italy

and a presh presh puppy!!!!!!!!!!!!

 And then I would be the happiest of happy until I found something else new to want. 

PS, if I had more than one person read this blog, I may be inclined to do a better job crediting all of these *borrowed* photos. 

Springtime is Here!

Well this is a smorgasbord post of sorts.  Mostly because I am bewildered by the fact that the last post was 21 days ago!  I'm super-excited the warm weather seems to be here to stay--aside from the weekly tornado warnings and downpours.  Since we bought the house at the end of last year, we've been saying, "Oh, we'll take care of that in the spring."  Well guess what?  Spring is here and summer is coming! April has brought the rain and the azaleas that have since died.  Now I'm ready for the May flowers to come out!   I feel like a broken record every time I think that we've almost finished painting.  Now we only have four rooms of baseboards, five fronts and backs of doors, and this left:

Be sure you know if the existing paint is latex or oil-based.  Our house is full of surprises--different finishes and bases in every room.  Thanks, previous homeowners.

I painted the doorway trim in the kitchen and the pantry and swinging door two weekends ago.  The Sherwin-Williams label says to wait three days for the paint to cure before taping.  Done.  Well I taped it off today to take care of this convenient two inch space of wall between the pantry and the adjacent wall.  Needless to say, I peeled off the blue tape, along with half of the trim paint.  Agh!!!!!!!!!!!  If I keep taping one to paint the other, then this viscous cycle WILL NOT END.  This house is going to send me to the place they keep the crazies.  If there is anything I hate more than painting, it's redoing work that I've already done.  One reprieve was the fact that all of the touch-ups (of wall paint only, obviously) are done, and the back entryway is painted just like the kitchen.  By the way, Meditation by Benjamin Moore is the awesomest gray/green saturated wall color.  I wish my whole house was done in this color instead of my safe, ultra-neutral Powell Buff. 

On a side note, it's time for summer cuts.  I'm thinking something short and piece-y instead of my standard long bob curled under.  When Dear Husband says my hair is getting long, it must be time for a cut--especially since he knows to never comment on my hair unless it's a compliment!

Not my favorite person, but maybe this cut a touch longer.

This looks like it could be perfect with my thin, non-volumized hair.

Even Bear Bear was ready for a fresh cut!

I'm pretty sure he is the most adorable baby ever!

Monitor Madness

Just found out (or rather took the time to notice) the house diagonal from ours and one house down are my picks for perfect blue gray with white trim.  Irritating since the other surrounding homes are natural cedar and ivory.  The booger green has to go.  So I've been using Benjamin Moore's Virtual Color Viewer to preview exterior paint colors for about three hours tonight.  Madness.  All of my masked areas disappear when it says "You must be signed in to save your changes."  Duh, I'm already signed in.  Thanks.   After about six tries with the same message, I'm giving up.  Decided to just Google "exterior paint palettes" and got My Perfect Color's top picks.  Now for the exterior flavor of the day (I change my mind like I change my socks).

The Search is Over

Fact #1: Ninety-four percent of the homes in my neighborhood have this awesome six panel glass storm door.  Fact #2: The door is nowhere to be found.  Until today!  Dear husband and I took the weekly trek out to HD for some Turf Builder and some begonias.  On a whim, we stopped at the Habitat for Humanity store to check out their selection of entry doors.  As soon as we walked in, we saw it!!!  Even better, it was only $70!  We also got a Jeld-Wen fiberglass door for $85!  Best. Day. Ever.

To top off an extra awesome day, we settled on exterior paint colors [temporarily].

Base:  Benjamin Moore Solitude

Trim:  Sherwin Williams Antique White

Shutters and Storm Door:  Benjamin Moore Thunder

An Outsider's View

It's always nice to hear your friends and family tell you "I love it!" but let's be honest, they have to.  Today I put the kitchen on Rate My Space, and 177 people have already looked at it!  That is insanity. My only wariness comes from the fact that I signed over 100% of my rights to my kitchen photos--they have free reign to license, feature, publish, etc. without any obligation to inform me.  I thought that was a little over the top.

The [almost] Finale

Funny how a renovation can jump from the beginning to the end in just three posts.  Not at all like real life, *ahhh* wouldn't that be nice.  We've been working/hiring contractors/painting/tinkering for the last two months, and we are settling in nicely.  The kitchen and baths were the biggest projects, by far, and will add the most value to the house. Drum roll please...

The Kitchen:

*Most Recent Photo!! (minus the awesome roman shade above the sink)

This bump-out into the third bedroom gave us a refrigerator nook with extra storage.

 The Hallway Addition:

Now there is a clear entrance to the third bedroom.

The extra closet is the perfect place for the desk. *Doors still to come*

The Hall/Master Bathroom:

 

The Laundry Room:

The Guest En Suite:

Pretty much everything came from Home Depot, aside from the farmhouse sink and the pedestal sink.  The flooring is red and white oak stained with dark walnut, the beadboard, cabinets, and trim is Sherwin Williams Antique White #6119.  Kitchen paint is Meditation by Benjamin Moore, and all other rooms are painted in BM's Putnam Ivory.  All that's left on the to-do list is finish painting the trim and move to the outside of the house!

The Gingerbread House

Since our home is a 3/2 box with relatively low pitched roof (and therefore, low ceilings), I knew I needed to keep with the cottagey feel.  I looked to my library of favorites and, of course, Traditional Home.  The biggest decision came with the kitchen.  We knew the almond appliances, wood paneling back splash and counter top, and linoleum floors had to go.  We just weren't sure what to do about the refrigerator sticking out all alone on the wall.

I knew I wanted the same white cabinets, carrara marble, dark wood floors, and charcoal walls like Chris Peacock's kitchen featured in a fall Traditional Home.

Beadboard for the bathrooms and subway tile on the walls.

I scoured the Internet for the best deals on sinks, faucets, vanities, knobs, pulls, and towel bars.  The local Habitat for Humanity store had this awesome 18" tile for $20/box:

Southeastern Salvage (a local overstock store) had floor tile for 77 cents a square foot:

The tile for the shower walls and back splash is from Home Depot and was the priciest at 22 cents per piece: 

This is My Little House

Instead of a baby, we opted for another project of sorts, a house.  Our first house.  Before taking a leap of faith and buying a 1955 home, just ask yourself:  Do I have hours on end to tackle the most mundane projects I do not want to pay someone else to do? Do I have the money to double my original $20,000 remodeling budget and not have a heart attack?  Do I want to spend the next ____ months finding more reasons to visit Home Depot every day?  Do I want to sacrifice my love of traveling for the next year+?  If you find yourself feeling excited and wide-eyed answering these questions, you are the perfect person to invest in a remodel!  I was pretty sure I was not that person to begin with, and now I'm very sure. However, I am neck-deep in it!  Let's just start with the befores.

We have been waiting a long time to do this!

I know what you're thinking: Why would you want to change that awesome bathroom?

Or this tone-on-tone-on-tone seafoam jewel?

This gigantic "bedroom" had a door to the kitchen and to the hallway.

One plus: double closets in the master bedroom.

Yes, there are 32 cabinet doors and 8 drawers, complete with wood paneling back splash and counter top.

This house met all of our criteria (how exactly, I don't know!).  Considering there was nothing actually wrong with the house, I guess I could have moved my stuff in and lived with it.  But that's not like me at all.  I said, "All we have to do is change the bathrooms, update the kitchen, refinish the floors, and change the outside!"  With my library full of 1,000 decorating favorites, I was ready to design!  Excitement and hope bloomed in my insides, and I had no idea what was going to follow.  I will just let the love of all things oak and teal/pink settle on you for a little while before unveiling the afters!