Have A Seat

Since we moved the dinning room in to the living room area, the old dinning room has been in flux. I'm still struggling with a few aspects but here is the in-between state.

The chairs are from Fred Meyer a while back and the table is from Cost Plus. The rug is way too small. I bought one from Urban Outfitters but it was too big so I'm back to square one.

The sunshine has been making picture taking difficult but here is the view looking in from the front of the house back towards the kitchen.

We still need to move the chandelier. We have been ducking around it but now that we are sure we are happy with the new set up I can move it back over the dining room table.

My ikea desk has replaced the buffet that was here. It is a bit too small but it is a good place holder until something better comes along.

A few little changes but I am starting to see what I want this room to look like. I just wish I had a warehouse full of every type and size of furniture known to man so that I could try a bunch of options. Like a staging company but for regular people.

Cheers!

Building Built-Ins

The fireplace built-in project is finally catching speed. We've gone from this two months ago

To this

Sanding and paint is finished. I still need to calk the shelves and re-install the seats.

Look at all that storage! Out biggest hurdle at this point though is finding trim to match the fireplace mantel. So far I can't find it anywhere, so I'm pretty sure I'll have to end up tearing the original moulding out and replacing it all but I have yet to cross that bridge. A few more days of cure time and I can start loading those puppies up with books. Oh joy!

Who loves built in storage?? This girl!

Cheers!

Lock and Key

Completing this project was great in two ways. First, it was nice to check off not one but two TBC items from my list and second, we finally have a door in this house that locks. Praise the lord!

With the change in the kitchen layout our master bedroom door is now right off of the back door. Which doesn't bother me a bit but when company is over it is nice to be able to actually close it. (We actually went about six months without a door at all but I knew that couldn't last.)

Since it was our master bedroom I splurged a bit on a doorknob and went with this brass beauty from Signature Hardware.

It's best feature?

A working lock and key! (My dream goal would be to replace all of our doors with new doors, but for now I've just been patching them up).

It's oh so fancy and a bit extravagant but I think it is the neatest.

So there you have it. Two more items off my list and some well deserved privacy.

Cheers!

DIY Sliding Door

All week long I've been working off of this.

I add things as I see them, and check off the rest as I go. One of the projects I finally got around to completing was the sliding door in my bedroom.

I used this tutorial from Vintage Revivals, but I've seen them all over Pinterest. I followed the directions to the letter and it was about as easy as described. Unfortunately it is a two person project so enlist friends!

I hung the quilt I made behind it and moved the heart art to a different wall. Most of the time the door is open which obscures things a bit but I like the peak-a-boo aspect (and it was the only wall big enough. Ha!).

I did have to take down the original header (which was a bummer) but if your doors have simple trim you should be fine.

As to how I feel about it? Price wise it was perfect- under a 100$. Functionality wise? Well, it is heavy and hard to move and the sound of metal rubbing on metal is really loud. I waxed the pole which helped but even if you get the eye hooks perfectly centered the door wobbles enough to touch them. Also, I don't think the casters it sits on would work over carpet. At some point I will probably try a different tutorial for a sliding door (I want to do a matching one in the library) but since we are the only people who live here, the door is hardly ever closed anyway.

Anyone else attempted the sliding door with pipe? I like the look of it but the sound is just awful. If you've made it work I'd love to hear!

Cheers!
Emily

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Furniture Feature Friday

Dining Alfresco

One of my TBC's that I really wanted to finish was my little bistro area in the back yard.  The original footprint was just a little too small.

September 2011

You could only get two chairs out there and they were always being shoved on to the grass. This year I took the opportunity to move out all of the rocks and put down weed blocker. It took forever but finally we have a useable patio. We've had the chair set forever. I think Costco still carries them though.

My mint went crazy this year!

I love sitting out under the lights and enjoying the evening.

You have to enjoy Seattle summers while they last.

Cheers!

Snazying Up a Boring Refrigerator

Like many people out there I have a boring, white, builder basic fridge.

I could replace it with a stainless steel pretty but honestly, I don't feel like shelling out cash for a new refrigerator when this one is basically new. 

A few dozen photos and some sticky tack later I had this instead.

I've been doing some major closet clean outs this month and I found dozens of extra prints from vacations and what not so I figured, why not put them somewhere I can see them.

Now my kitchen is happy! I love looking at them and reminiscing.

Even if you bought prints it would probably be the easiest, cheapest, and least damaging appliance upgrade out there. 

I've been feeling very motivated lately so things are actually getting done around here! Maybe it is this beautiful summer weather? 

Cheers!

Warning: Front Yard Disaster Area

The horrible truth? I haven't touched the front yard since we had the trees taken down last October. 

The very notion of starting is utterly overwhelming.

But it is starting to attack people who are trying to visit so I'm just going to have to suck it up and start working.

The main reason it has taken so long (besides the fact that I hate yard work) is that we didn't have the funds to landscape last November. That, and I told myself it is best to plant in the fall, which is totally true right?

 Well, fall is approaching and If I want to get any planting done I need to clear this up.

I've decided for my own sanity (and wallet) to only do as much yard work as can fill our 96 gallon yard waste bin a week. So, probably a slow process but at least it is a start.  Thankfully the laurel hedge hides most of this from the street so I don't feel quite so bad about being "that neighbor".

I'll let you know how it goes.

Please tell me I am not the only one who dreads yard work.

Cheers!

Holes? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Holes!

And neither do my ceilings!

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Now that they are off my TBC list I am that much closer to starting a new project! I have to say this has been the best and worst thing ever. I know exactly what needs to be done but I don't always want to do them. However, it is holding me more accountable than anything else ever has. I am itching to start a few projects I have lined up so I have been pushing hard on getting things done.

How well do you hold yourself accountable? I'm terrible (in all aspects of life not just house projects) but I am working on it.

Cheers!

A New Screen Door and Another Check

Ok, so this wasn't technically on the To Be Completed list but it needed to happen. When I fixed the screen door two years ago I didn't actually finish it (yeah, not a surprise really). I never put the trim back to secure the screen and eventually it came apart. So for a year I had a screen door with no screen. Not exactly serving its purpose. This time when I stapled on my screening I actually added the trim (you can see the thin trim on the back of the screen but not the front).

Now the screen will stay put!

I used the same paint left over from the front door (Ben Moore in Wales Green). Originally I wanted to paint it a bright citrus but Daniel nixed it. Oh well, this is fun and cheery too!

 I am also happy to report that my painted rug is holding up quite nicely.  I am thinking of repainting both porches but for now they got a good washing and we are calling it done.

Slowly ticking off the boxes. Now I want to paint the back door. What do you think? Super high gloss black? Deep dark blue? A rich mocha? All I know is I want it dark.

Cheers!

 

Where Do You Put Your Drink?

The less space you have the more crafty you need to be. Our Library is ridiculously small so when I stumbled on this pin I knew I had to try it.

I had some scrap 1X5 boards lying around from door frames so I used what I had. The whole project is super simple. Cut three boards the same length. Nail them together and there you have it. I spray painted mine a navy blue to tie in the pillows.

You could easily do something bright and fun or just stain it if you prefer the more rustic look.

Simple and easy and mostly free. My kind of project.  We've used the cuff a few weeks now and it is very sturdy. Norman can even jump up on the couch and nothing happens (which happens often). Now it makes me want to re-upholster the couch (funny how that happens right?)

Cheers!

Summer Chalkboard

With temps in the high 80's I figured it was time to change out the chalkboard on the front porch. I used this as my template.

I searched quite a bit for a quote or something but this one kept coming back.

Simple, just like summer should be.  Now if only it would get like 10 degrees cooler I might actually be able to enjoy it!

Cheers!