Industrial-Modern Progress.

After much hemming and hawing (is that the correct phrase?), we finally decided to go for the industrial-style wall shelving unit for the family room. I was ALLLL over the place about it!

Initially, we had decided on doing a full wall built in. Then I started thinking, it would be SO permanent and what if I changed my mind (which is not uncommon for me). So then we thought about using this great mid-century modern credenza that we have, for the TV, and flanking it with two free standing white bookcases. Ehhh, boring.

I had seen a fabulous metal piping shelving unit on HGTVs "High Low Project" and I kept going back to that concept. But then I would get all freaked out about it and move on. So then I started thinking we could do white floating shelves on either side of the credenza. Similar to this.

I still think that is a good idea, BUT, I just wasn't sold.

This space is visible from the large majority of the first floor. Our family room is open to the kitchen, which is open to a dining space, which is open to the playroom. So anything we do on this wall will make a big impact on the rest of the floor. I think we have gone pretty classic/traditional in the furnishings of the family room. I also think that with the white gallery wall, and white end tables, and eventually white kitchen, it just might be TOO much white.

Soooo here we are back at industrial. It will add a modern flair to the space and a bit of contrast with the white. It is pretty unique and I think it will be just the touch we need for the room.

Here is the wall we are referring to.

It is about 15 feet long, and the unit will be about 12 feet. So it will take up a good portion of the wall. The bookcase on the left will be leaving the room, by the way. Here is the sketch of what it will look like. The only thing that is different, is the 3rd shelf from the top, will be moved to be in the center of the space where the tv goes. That will eliminate the two big spaces on either of the side units.

Here is an inspiration photo. Like I said before, the first time I saw it was on the "High Low Project", but this one is another one I liked. Obviously, it is not piping, nor is it attached to the wall, but it is part of where we got our inspiration.

Ours will have dark stained, distressed wood planks as well. They will pick up the dark tones in our desk and post office box on the other side of the room.

Here is a shot of all the materials to make one of the four pieces (We'll get more into the building process later).

A close up of the really fabulous texture of the pipes.

Finally, here is Steve holding up one of the four parts to it.

The wood planks will rest directly on top of each of the metal pipe rails.

So that's where we are now! I am getting really excited to see how it turns out. When we went to the antique mall last month I picked up a bunch of unique, funky pieces to put up, so I can't wait to put it all together. We also have to paint the room still, so that will be coming up soon. We are in a rush to get things done inside before the weather gets nice and we start the work on our new deck. (Speaking of that, I'll be back at some point soon to show two of our decking options so you can help us decide which to go with.)

Oh, before I go, here is a little something Steve made for me. I have been eyeing the big metal letters from Anthropologie, and at $100 a pop, I knew I wouldn't be taking the plunge anytime soon. Steve bought a welder recently, and this was his first project.

That man sure knows what tickles my fancy! Haaaa. You can't see it in the photo real well, but I started adding silver nailhead trim to the bench, and I love how it picks up on that. Just love it. See what I mean when I say our house is evolving? I am constantly changing up that entry way!

Adding A Bit More Playful To The Playroom

After we got a large chunk of the playroom done last month, and living with it for a few weeks, I decided it needed a bit more color. It was a whole heck of a lot of beige-white-neutral, and not enough BANG! THIS is a playroom! I think a playroom should be playful, for goodness sake. It should look very clearly like a room for kids. Colorful, bright, cheery, fun. At the same time, it IS still my home and I also need it to look presentable and not like a box of Crayola barfed all over the place. There is a fine line I think, and I wanted to figure out a way to liven it up yet stay away from that border.

Enter area rug. The room has wall-to-wall beige carpeting that was here when we moved in, and it left the main play space in the middle of the room looking so bare and plain and boring. I wasn't sure how it would go, throwing an area rug on top of plush carpet, but I took the plunge. It just really needed it! I am very pleasantly surprised at the results. It doesn't bunch much at all, nor does it move all over the place. I am planning on buying the carpet pad for underneath it to completely eliminate the wrinkling, but it is minimal enough that I haven't run out to do it yet. Take a peek.





It really defines and grounds the space! Instead of just a sea of beige, it brings a swash of sunny yellow in to center the room a bit. I am really liking it a lot. I purchased it from Home Decorators Collection online. It is 100% hand woven wool and it is flat woven and reversible. Yes! Reversible! So, not only will it last FOREVER being that it is wool, it will also hold up to kids because if it gets too gunky and drabby, I can flip that baby right over. SCORE.

Not only is it perfect for kids, but it was a great deal. I snagged this 5x8 beauty on sale (HERE) and with a coupon for $125, normally $200. PLUS I got free shipping. I was nervous buying it because it looks very bright and saturated online. I figured though, it was a great price and I could always return it if I didn't love it. Thankfully, it arrived and it was the perfect shade of mustard. PHEW!

As you can see, I also added that turquoise mirror above the play kitchen. I'll post more on that tomorrow actually. I have a bit more to do on that wall, but for now, it adds a Narnia-esque feel to the space. Which is very cool.

I also added a matching turquoise lamp and white garden stool in between the leather chairs. That space really needed a jolt of color because of all the neutral and white. It still needs a bit more, something. I am thinking about doing fabric roller shades (right now they are plain white cruddy plastic ones), but I have yet to find the exact fabric I am looking for.

Anyways, yes. I found that great lamp at Target on clearance (it was the last one!) and the drum stool/side table I picked up at Home Goods for $40. I LOVE it, but it makes the lamp a smidge too short for the chairs, so I might switch things up a bit.





















I like how the turquoise pieces are opposite each other in the room. Coordinating, but not TOO matchy like if they were right next to each other.

I am happy with how things are coming together here. Very kid friendly, yet still grown up enough to be the first place people see when they walk in. I still have a couple little things I want to add to the wall with the mirror, to display the kids artwork and possibly a few books, but we'll see.

Among some of the other recent happenings, Steve switched out the ceiling fixture in the entry way for me. It was previously looking like this (this is before we moved in, clearly):

And here it is NOW:

It is a clean & simple, drum shade flush mount. Found HERE from Ikea. I love the texture, and at $29.99, you can't really go wrong. Steve was GENIUS and figured out a way to retro-fit it to the existing light fixture. So all we had to do was remove the glass on the old one and attach this one. No rewiring at all! Bonus.

So things are coming along well here. Adding bits and pieces all over the place. The nice weather the last week has had us focusing a bit on the exterior of the house, which has it's own to-do list. Tomorrow I'll be back to talk a bit more about the transformation of the mirror in the playroom. It went from hideous to cheerful for under $5!

Table To Bench DIY

Today I worked on the entryway a bit. I wanted to make our old Ikea end table into a little bench for the kids to put their shoes on and off from. It is one of the very few things we have left from when we first got married eight years ago. It was previously living in the playroom in between the leather chairs. Before that it was in our bathroom for five years. It has experienced the variety of life and is ready for it's next adventure!

Here it is before:

Tired and ready for a change, no?

I finally found something to use as pad yesterday. I was trying to think out of the box a bit, since I didn't want to have to buy foam. I knew there HAD to be something I could use. I took a tour of the house, in hopes that something I hadn't thought of would jump out at me. Well, something did. In the linen closet. Honestly, it is irritating that I didn't think of this earlier because I specifically bought this to use as padding a couple of years ago:

Yes sirree, a mattress pad. I bought this for $4 on clearance from the college section during back to school time. I don't remember that, but, it still had the clearance sticker on it. Perfect!

Let's get started. Oh and let me just say this. This "tutorial" of sorts, it is not coming from the mouth (fingers?) of a pro. I have recovered a couple of chair pads in my past, and every time I think to myself that I should have looked up a YouTube video on how to do it even better. That said, it worked for me! I am not a craftsman, and when I do a project, I don't like to over invest in something. I don't want to spend more time on something than it is worth to me. It doesn't have to be PERFECT to be nice enough. Onward we march!

Supplies:

Stapler ($13 at Lowes), Staples, Measuring tape, Scissors

You also need a table of some sort, fabric, and a pad of course.

Step 1) Measure your table top and cut the foam to size.

Step 2) Cut your fabric, allowing room for it to be stapled under the top of the table.

Step 3) Turn the table over, with the fabric and foam underneath it.

Step 4) Pulling your fabric tight and taut, start stapling. I do the short edges first, then corners, & then long edges.

For my corners, this is what I did. First I folded in the short side and held it there.

Then I folded up the long side, trying to make the seam right on the corner.

I think they came out pretty decent!

Keep stapling around the fabric. I made them pretty close because I didn't want too much puckering or bunching. Speaking of fabric, I used Premier Prints, Chipper Twill, in Storm. It was $7.48 a yard and I used less than 1/2 a yard. You can buy it HERE.

After this, I painted mine white, to match the frames and mirror and trim in the entry. I also bought silver nail heads to add all around, but I haven't quite decided if I want to use them.

Here it is in the entry. Notice, we also decided to go with the coat hooks. For guests. I really like what they added to the space! All we did is pick up some primed MDF from Lowes, as well as some hooks. Then we screwed the boards to the wall and added the hooks. We still need to paint the MDF, but you get the gist.

Nice! It is the perfect height for the kids, yet still usable for adults. It also isn't too high, so as to interfere with things hanging on the hooks. Just what I was looking for!

In other happenings, I am working on the roman shades for the master bedroom. Here is a peek at the fabric I am using, it looks great with the gray walls. Which, Steve painted last night. Trim tonight!

Tomorrow I will be featuring a tutorial for a West Elm reproduction. Come back to see what it is!

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Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho It's Off To Work We Go.

Lots of fun stuff in the works here this week! I think I'll start it off by rambling on a bit about the random things we have our hands on currently. We are ALLLL over the place for sure.

First on the docket. Master bedroom. Steve primed it last night and tonight the actual paint goes up. WOOOHOO! No more green and gold! The primer was tinted so I have a pretty good idea of how it is going to look and I am in love. Love love love. It is just the most perfect shade of gray that I was looking for in this space. PHEW! I was so nervous. I didn't even look while he was priming because I was so afraid I was going to hate it. I was already starting to feel bad that I was going to have to ask him to repaint it. When he told me I could go upstairs and look, I held my breath when I turned the corner and..... AHHHHHHHHHHHH LOVE! It is lovely. Now, it looks a little wack-a-doodle because the trim is still green and gold, but Tuesday night that will go too. Later this week you should get to see it in all it's pretty glory.

For now, here is what it looked like just before he started priming:

Alrighty. Next up. Entry way progress. Going well. What I am working on now is a bench for the space. I am turning our old Ikea end table (one of the few things left from when we first got married) into one. Today I am making the pad and tomorrow I will be painting it.  Right now I am scrounging around for something foam or foam-ish to use for it. Have you ever tried to buy a piece of foam from Joanns or Michaels? NOT cheap. They mark that junk up like 500x I think. I *know* I have SOMETHING I can use, somewhere. I am brainstorming. I found two kneeling garden pad thingys yesterday that I thought would make a nice firm pad, but they were a couple inches too short. Then I thought of using one of our wicker chair pads (and not worry about what I was going to do about replacing it), but that too was a couple of inches too short. Grrr. Now I am looking for foam packaging in the basement, and I stumbled upon my quilting batting. So I am going to try that and see if it is squishy enough.

Oh, so I took that Ikea table from in between the two leather chairs in the playroom and put the taller, smaller one from the entry and put it there. So I swapped the two tables. I am going to try to paint the one for the playroom this week. I am thinking white with some sort of fun yellow pattern on top. Stencil magic or something. Not sure. I picked up a really playful turquoise lamp to go there this weekend too. I was feeling the need to add a swash of color to that space, since it was so brown and beige and white. Just with the lamp it looks so much better!

Here is what it looked like before, and there is that little table, soon to be bench:

What else, what else.....ah yes. I decided I am going to stain the sunburst white. I want to keep the variation in shades but I don't want it plain because the wood tone doesn't match anything in our house. So I think white stain will give it a nice soft look with a bit of dimension still. I also feel like it will be easier than painting it too. I am fairly certain it will be going above our bed so we'll see how the cards fall. I might add some silver to it somehow as well.

My fabric arrived on Friday for our bedroom and hopefully at some point this week I'll find an hour to make a few pillow covers. I'm planning on doing a little quick tutorial on how I make them, so watch for that if you are in the market for that sort of thing.

Steve is so awesome and has been spending a lot of his evenings working on the doors for upstairs and I am happy to say they are DONE! All 13 doors have been replaced. Now we just have to paint them all, then we can reveal. I can't believe the massive difference they make. I'll talk a bit about the process of doing them, and the cost breakdown (which wasn't bad at all), later this week. That guy is so good to me (besides the fact that he tells me I'm pretty everyday). I love that we both really enjoy DIY stuff! It would stink if he wasn't on board with all my ideas and projects. It is such a fun hobby for us to do together.

So there it is. My plan for the week. Sound a little ambitious? Yeah...well, to be honest, it is mostly all small things. So long as everyone stays healthy, we should be able to manage. Check back in throughout the week to see JUST how much actually gets accomplished!

In The Midst

Nothing major today, but I thought I'd talk a bit about the things we are working on.

Last night I made my way over to Michael's to take advantage of the sale they have going on this week for frames. A good portion are 40% off, but there is also a coupon for an extra 25% off your entire frame purchase, sale or regular price. That is a pretty rare coupon to come by, so I figured I would take advantage of it by trying to put together our gallery wall for the family room. Now, the frames I am using for this project are new at Michael's so they weren't on sale and probably won't be for awhile, so I thought this was a decent deal.

So here I am, laying frames all over the floor. Arranging them all around until things fit right. The saleswomen were very irritated looking. They kept looking down the aisle with this lovely look on their face. I mean, come on now. It was 15 minutes before closing so no one was there, and I told them I was going to put everything back. Oh well.

So yes, I have quite the arrangement going on. It was tricky tricky trying to get all the frames into the border I wanted, but I think I accomplished it after trying a million configurations. I then took a couple pictures on my phone so that I could replicate it at home. Here is that shot:

I can't figure out how to rotate the photo, sorry about that.

It is pretty large, about 90" long and 40" tall. Looking at it now, I am noticing most the frames are vertical, but I think it will work out alright. My next step (hopefully tonight) is to get it up on the wall. I have a good system I'll be using, so I think it should be relatively straightforward and simple.

I also grabbed a couple of frames for the entryway. Those ones ended up being under $4 a piece, which is great for an 11x14 with a mat.

Here is the entryway today. I printed out the GPS one again but with a lighter gray chevron background so that you can more easily read the writing. I feel like I need one more horizontal one on the other wall, above the 2 vertical. I also think I will do the coat hooks under there....

I think I might switch up the bottom (family rules) print with a more solid, colored print. It looks a bit too white in that row. We'll see. It is all evolving here.

Steve started on the doors upstairs last night while I was out. One door replaced so far! Can't wait to see how it looks when they are all in. He did our closet door and already our room looks brighter and larger. YAY for progress!

P.S. If you would like a copy of the family rules, shoot me an email and I can edit one for you. Just let me know what you would like me to change. =)

A Bit Of Entryway Progress

As you can see here, my entry is in need of some attention still. Bare bare bare:

So I spent some time in Photoshop and made up a bunch of different printables based off a slew of ideas I found on Pinterest (you can check out all the different ones I have pinned). I just printed them here at home, since we have a new printer full of ink, but I could have just as easily ordered 1 hour photo prints of them too. I made 5 different ones, but I only have 3 white frames at the moment, so that's all I hung so far. Michaels has a great coupon for 25% off all frames (even sale ones!) for this week, so I think I'll be heading over there in the next couple of nights for a bunch. If I am ambitious I might even start working on my gallery wall in the family room too. We'll see.

Here are the 3 I have done already. It won't stay this way. I'll add more to the wall with just the one. Also, we plan to open up the dining room by knocking out the space that the 2 frames are on, so clearly that will change down the line.

I also haven't decided what to do in terms of furniture. I think once we remove that side wall, I would like to put a tall, narrow piece on the wall with the closet. Maybe something with baskets so we can store things like mittens, kid shoes, keys etc. Maybe something like this? (Target)

Although white and narrower even. We'll see what I can find.

Here are some close ups.

The one on the left says "Welcome to" and then our GPS coordinates. Although, the ones you see are not our exact ones. I didn't think that would be a great idea, putting our exact location online. So I edited a bit.

The ampersand I really like because it looks like a fancy E. That line you see through it is just a reflection of the railing. If you haven't noticed, I am trying to introduce a bit of sunny yellow throughout the first floor. With the grays and whites, it gives the first floor a nice connection. Plus it is so cheery and light.

The other two prints I made will be added as soon as I snatch up some more frames. The horizontal piece looks so lonely and definitely too small all alone on that wall.

I have also thought about adding some white coat hooks here. I go back and forth because I think they would look nice, but the thought of people hanging their jackets here makes me cringe a bit. It would be so cluttered I think. I have also thought of adding some board and batten to the entry. I'm just not sure yet. We'll have to wait and see how things end up once the walls are opened up. That chair doesn't fit and won't stay, but for now it is nice to have a spot to park it when you are putting on your shoes.

So it's coming along. Piece by piece right?  Anyone have any thoughts on where I should head in this space?

Goodbye Pistachio!

One of the first things we wanted to get rid of when we bought the house was the paint. The last homeowners really had a way of picking colors. I say that with as much kindness as possible. Literally every.single.wall in this house has to be repainted. I find it really hard to believe that they lived with this palate!

Case in point. The entry way/stairway/upstairs hall. Oh heavens. Some called it pistachio. Key lime. Green? Yellow? Puke?? It really hit you in the face when you walked into the house. It changed shades throughout the day all over the spectrum of hideous. Alright. I might be exaggerating a tad. But it really was quite unpleasant and not one person disagreed. Honestly, it is yellow. Yellow is SUCH a hard color to paint a home. Almost no one gets it right. I don't mess with yellow. They clearly shouldn't have either.

We (meaning, Steve) actually ended up painting the downstairs bath before this space because we thought we (again, Steve) would knock out the entry/stairway/playroom wall first, but in the end we decided we couldn't wait for that. We figured, we'll just paint and then repaint as need be when/if we do the wall removal in the future. Thank goodness!

I went back and forth on colors, but after living here a bit we decided to go with a gray color scheme for the house. Not all gray per se, but gray tones. My style is leaning more towards neutral walls and punches of color in accessories and art. I think in the last house, I used more color on the walls (red, chocolate brown, New England blue etc) because I wasn't sure how to incorporate color into our home. Now I have a better idea of how I want to pull off certain schemes, and it's not on the walls.

So, for the hall we chose a gray-green. It had to be something light/bright enough since the same color would flow up the stairs and into the windowless hallway. I also wanted something that would go well with all the adjoining rooms, and this one seems to be it. Now that I've lived with it the last few weeks, I like it even more actually. It is Sherwin Williams Ancient Marble. We had Lowe's color match their Olympic Premium No-VOC paint to that. It is very soothing and welcoming when you walk in and has a modern edge to it because of the gray tone and crisp white trim. I told you about the trim before right? How it's the same color as the FLAT walls?? Yeah.... Hello semi-gloss white!! Love you.

For this project we also painted the black metal stair railing white. When we tackle the opening up of the other side of the stairway into the play room, we'll be replacing it with a wood one. Until then, it looks infinitely better white.

Here is the space before. Don't mind the terrible before shots. I told you, I'm not great with those yet. Getting better though, promise.

So these shots don't make the wall color look bad at all! Here it looks like a normal yellow. Don't let them fool you. These were taken on the iphone at night. Not accurate. But you get the idea. These were after Steve started spackling (he really likes spackle, as you can tell).

     

See that wall on the other side of the stairs? We are hoping to open it so that it reflects the open side. It will really open up the room. It is a load bearing wall though, so we have to decide how we want to do it. Here is a shot of how it will look though, if opened (I realize this is a tangent):

Better huh? That is exactly how our entry looks, with the dining room on the other side. It will make a big difference. 

Back to the point though. Here is the upstairs. We are also planning on replacing those lovely '90s hollow-core doors. They are next up actually! Those and the brass door knobs. Gotta love 1996 (when the house was built). They just make the space seem so much darker than it really is (plus these were at night, like I said). Again with the non-white trim...

                    

        

(I'm standing in the master doorway here)

After priming & painting the walls (satin) and trim (semi-gloss), here it is (try to imagine how nice it will look without that wall!)
 

  

     

Don't mind the lack of artwork or the random chair and wreath. Like everything in the house, it's in progress. Trying to decide what I want to do in the entry. Love the bright, fresh door now (it was cream before).

          

And upstairs (sorry it was nap time so all the doors are closed, making it pretty dark):

Here are some side by sides (don't mind the difference from iphone and real camera, in terms of size):

 

Once you see the after shots, you can sort of see just how bad the yellow was. I love me some bright white trim! It looks nice and clean now.

Left on the to-do list for this area:

-Figure out artwork for entry & stairs

-Hang chandelier above stairs in the big open space (sorry you can't see it here)

-Entry way furniture

-New white paneled doors

-New satin nickel hardware

-New white outlets and switches (bisque now, yuck!)

-Open up stair wall

So much nicer already! Brighter. Cleaner. Fresher.

Up next, I'll show you around the almost-done playroom. We worked on it all weekend and it is really coming along.