A Fresh Start

This weekend, we were able to find the time to FINALLY start a bunch of projects that we have been meaning to start for months. I am so glad that they are underway, and can't wait to share the progress with you as they go. First up is our kitchen. It looks like we've either just moved in, or are getting ready to move out. The displaced kitchen items have found homes in the living room (where we're currently testing out a conjoined dining room/living room to see how we feel about it), basement, and even office/guest room. I'm an "a place for everything and everything in its place" kind of gal, and so we'll see how long it takes before the chaos gets to me. But so far it's been 2.5 days, and I am holding up okay. Check back on me in a week.

Above are a few shots of the displacement, and below, the dining room/living room conjoinment... What do you think?

Anyway, we knew that in order to get actually started on the project and not just thinking about starting, we would have to empty out the room so that we could again see what we were working with. We'd have to do this to start, and although we're still trying to figure a few things out first, we feel like we've started and clearly can't go on living like this forever. 

Our plans for the kitchen "renovations" have changed about 17 times, and we are still undecided about just how we want to work the layout. We have solid wood cabinets, which we've talked about replacing, but the truth is that right now, we think we'd regret tearing them all out (both sentimentally and budget-wise). Our plans are to sand them down, patch up the holes, and paint them a coat of crisp, clean white. We're deciding whether or not to move the stove from the middle to the corner of one wall, to remedy the "original stove was larger than current 30" stove and vent" problem with the cabinet above, as you can see in the following shots.

We've also got to figure out how to remove the laminate backsplash that is currently the same as the laminate countertops without damaging the countertops in case we don't redo the counters and sink right away. We know we want to tile the backsplash with subway tile close together and gray grout... it's just a matter of doing things in the right order, which currently we're thinking is: 1) remove old backsplash; 2) paint cabinets; 3) tile.

Our second big project is working on the outside. We have beds the whole way around our rancher, and a few large trees, so lately we've been tree pruning like crazy and this weekend, we cut down all of the flowers in the back beds in preparation for some major work this spring with the rototiller. We have some regrading to do (still working on our inspection checklist) and plan on installing new walkways to the front and back leading to a new stone or brick patio outside of our screened-in porch.  We also have a decent amount of leaves, and filled up 9 compost bags full of leaves and the clippings from our back beds. 

Last weekend, Rob (with the help of our uncle who was visiting from Boston for the weekend) built this ramp into the shed so that we can easily store our tractor and lawnmower in there. It looks great and is SO functional!

With the leftover board from the ramp project last weekend, this weekend we installed a swing from the huge oak tree in our front yard. It adds a little charm, and is fun too!

So, that was our weekend. Have you started any projects lately?

Office Bling

For the past few years, I've been trying to bring a little of home into the office. Not only does it create a comfortable environment in which to work, but it makes the office more welcoming in general. It's all in the little things - curtains, plants, candles, etc. My latest purchase ($1.49 at Ross) will not only be helpful in providing a little more organization but a little sophistication as well. I introduce you to....

... my new paper clip container - which I found on clearance in the "bathroom accessories" section. No longer will the clips be mingled in with the staple remover and white out. They'll have a new little home all to themselves.

Now the paper clip holder is making my pencil cup look a little sad...

Saturday's Project

It's been WAY too long since my last post. Things have been busy, and we've been enjoying the last of summer and settling back into our "school year" routine. We've been working on a lot lately, but unfortunately my follow-through hasn't been good enough to get things up here... my apologies.

This weekend, we tackled the headboard project for our bed. Just before we got married, we purchased a new queen-size bed so that we'd have something to rest our heads on. Two twins pushed together just wouldn't cut it. :) If you've been reading for a while, you know that Rob's grandmother passed away just days after the wedding, and we spent much of the following year helping sort through things to get her house ready to sell. Then once it sold, we helped move everything out, and inherited some of the furniture, including the bedroom set (large dresser and chest of drawers with two matching nightstands and a king-size bed with a brass headboard). The bed was almost brand new, and actually fits in our bedroom with plenty of room to spare, so we moved our queen into the guest room and have been sleeping on a headboardless king bed for the past few months.

With the help of a 40% off your total order at JoAnn's, a little inspiration, and a few hours of work, we crafted a lovely (if I do say so myself) tufted headboard. We purchased plywood cut to our desired dimensions (75" x 30") by the kind folks at Lowe's, drilled 10 holes into the wood for the buttons, then spray glued the 2" foam, covered it with batting and then the linen fabric, made the buttons, attached them to the headboard, attached 4 hooks onto the back of the board across the top to ensure a secure "hang", and then mounted it onto the wall. 

Here's a little photo collage of the process (iPhone pics), plus a few shots of the finished look:

 
So far, we've slept in our bed without worries of the headboard crashing down on us in the middle of the night, so I'd call it a success!

What do you think? What have you been DIYing lately?

Be... our.... Guest!

Finally. We can finally have friends and family over and give them a comfortable place to rest their head in one cohesive space. It feels like it's been years in the making (even though we moved in to our home a little less than a year ago).

While I can't seem to dig up a before shot right now, when we moved in, the walls and all the trim in the room were pink. For the past nine months, we utilized the space pretty much as a dumping grounds for furniture that didn't fit in any other room, random decor, out-of-season clothes, etc.

Now the most modern room in our house, the furniture is not a random mish-mash, and the curtains and simplicity of the decor provide a really calming space... perfect for our guests!

The four poster bed frame was actually one that we had in our master bedroom, but we've recently inherited a king-size bed, and the black frame worked perfectly in our black and white scheme for the room. The windows face the street out front, and the curtains and sheers really bring not only a soft, luxurious feel to the room, but also bring very practical much-needed privacy. We also moved in the black dresser (the one that used to be teal) and kept the dresser, which was my first furniture painting project before heading off to life in my college apartment, originally given to me by my grandparents for my nursery/bedroom as a baby. It's still going strong! I love the Style&co shams, which somehow perfectly are the same hue as the wall color, which I found in a clearance bin at Macy's a few months back.

What do you think? Any artwork suggestions (I have one little project up my sleeve that I am hoping to complete and share soon)?  Want to come for a visit?

Love,