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:

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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?

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: