Little Steps.

I thought I would take a few minutes and talk about a couple of the little things we've managed to cross off our list this week. Baby steps right? And actually, I shouldn't even say it like that because they aren't baby steps at all really! If *I* were doing them, it would take me the next year to figure out! On that note, here we go.

First off, deck. This past week Steve completed all the deck boards on BOTH decks (WOOHOO!), finished the stairs, and completed the fascia boards on the entire upper deck. YAY! So all that remains of the entire deck project, is the fascia on the lower deck, which only involves two sides. We also are thinking of adding a privacy panel to the one side of the lower deck, but that will come later if we do. Looks pretty darn schnazzy huh?

 

Don't mind the AC unit in the window, we have central air that we added, it's just not 100% ready yet (next project!). We also have the new sliding door to install still. Also, seeing these photos makes me anxious to paint all the trim white, that's for sure! The white railings look so lovely....

 

Up next is the light fixtures. These are the ones that were installed on the front porch (two) and on the deck (one). YIKES. Rusted, corroded brass torches. 

 

My handsome worker bee husband.

Just beautiful right?

ANNNNNND here is the replacement fixture:



Such an improvement. There were a couple of other funky ones that I liked, but seeing as we needed 4 of these (two for next to the garage that we want to install still), I went with a classic set that was less expensive.

Here is another shot of our super low maintenance (read: hard to kill, for when you can barely manage to keep your children watered so your plants take a VERY backseat) flowers.

Oh, I can't wait until all that trim is a nice bright white! Not to mention the porch floor and siding being painted/replaced as well. But let's not get too ahead of ourselves here people.

 Ah and the deck light we replaced as well. I chose a more industrial modern piece that I thought was perfect for the deck. I also think these would be so cool as lighting in the boy's bedroom. At $25 it was super reasonable too. It casts a nice bright light, directing downward, which is perfect. These are all iphone pics too, just cuz I'm lazy like that.
























OK. Onward. Inside we go for a brief moment.

Although we have been totally focusing our time/money/effort on the exterior of our property, I decided to get crazy and make a mark on the dining room. I call it a dining room because a)it has a table in it and b)that is the technical term, BUT we have yet to eat in it even one time AND it has been our storage area for items without a home yet and craft supplies/ongoing projects (talk about run-on sentence!). Oh and it was a greenhouse/jungle for a couple of months with all of my brother's house plants while he was buying a home of his own. So yeah. It has been a wreck. It is in our plans for the future to open the room up and expand our kitchen, seeing as it is so seldom used/needed, but for now, I needed a clean space. I am a super clean freak and it was making me beyond nervous.

Here is the before.

I can't even call these a true before, because these photos were taken a couple of months ago, when I only had a couple of plants (soon the entire table and dresser were covered) and didn't have the console table in there. But you get the idea.

 

GAH! That was a lot of junk.

So, I cleared that sucker out and tossed a bunch of crud, put things away, and also carried the unused wall hangings and furniture to the basement. Here it is all cleaned out! (phone shots again)

Today we moved that HUGE dresser out of the room and back to my dad's too. So now it looks ever better!

YAY! So much better. Here it is RIGHT NOW (I just took this photo two seconds ago on my phone), without the dresser. What a difference, it seems so much larger now.

See those ice cubes on the floor? Yeah those are to remove the indents in the carpet. I moved the table over and the dents were annoying me. Free tip right there for you. Once the ice is melted, just swoosh the carpet with your hand and VOILA, dent is gone.

So there you go friends. The lowdown on things going on around here. The dining room will soon sport a new chandelier (well, revamp), artwork, window treatments, and minor changes until we decide how we will be remodeling. At that point we'll paint, remove carpet, add crown.....etc etc. For now it is just marvelous being cleaned out!

A Random Smattering of Goods.

After yesterday's post, both writing it all out like that, and hearing people's opinions/thoughts, we decided to go ahead with the mahogany. It will contrast nicely with the green when we replace the siding next year, and I think the dark, rich color will be perfect. As much as it will be hot, I remembered that the back of the house is facing north and doesn't get much sun until the evening. So that's good. I know it will show dry dirt and dust a lot, but I think overall, it's an alright trade off. One decision DONE.

Last week I also picked up some new lamps for our master bedroom. The lamps we were using were about a foot too short for our VERY tall bed and just were a pain in the neck to use. I was waiting for a sale at Target (where else), and finally I lucked out with a buy one, get one half off promo! Score. So I snatched up two of these babies (and lampshades of course).

I was trying to find lamps that were feminine & sparkly, yet not TOO in your face girly. I think they add the perfect touch of luxury and girl to the room.

 

Not to mention, they are tall enough for us to actually be able to read at night. Imagine that!

So pretty. I just love 'em. At under $35 a piece for the base and shade, they were a good price and make a big impact in the room.

Here is what the old lamps looked like.

annnnnnd the new! I love the height.

In other news (I'm all over the joint today), one of the next projects up is the dining room. Currently it is our staging room for things that haven't found a home since we've moved in/we won't be using anymore, as well as other random junk. Here is what it looks like right now.

Oh man, why am I showing this?? My brothers plants, random wall art that hasn't found a home, furniture we're not using, an old hideous chandelier, miscellaneous items for the new bookcase. Just craziness.

Yup. Craft supplies. Stuff to return to Target. Stuff to take to Goodwill. Baby carrier.

 I have a long to do list for this room, but mostly it is all quick and easy things that I can do myself. Or with just a little help. Here's the plan:

-Redo the chandelier (I can't wait to show you what I have up my sleeve!)

-Add crown molding (ok so Steve will be doing this one)

-Remove top part of white china cabinet and use it as a buffet instead

-Hang large mirror above buffet (again, that's a project you'll see later)

-Return huge antique dresser to my parents (it was perfect in our last home, but too big for here)

-Remove alll the junk of course (that's #1 on the list)

-Find a home for the bench in front of the window

-Add curtain and shades to the space

-Add wall art to the big blank wall where the dresser is now (again, another project you'll see)

All in all, it's not too bad! Down the line we also want to rip up the carpet and replace the flooring, as well as open up the wall into the entry way. But for now, just a few little things will make a HUGE difference!

The paint color is actually the ONLY color in the house I don't mind. It is a nice light gray. The color scheme for the room is going to be white/gray/black/silver. Very traditional yet with a modern, sophisticated twist.

You'll have to keep comin' back to see how things end up...

Have a great Easter weekend!