Beginnings of a Fireplace Makeover

I didn't mean to take the summer off, but between visiting family, my 29th birthday and the beautiful Seattle weather not much has been getting done. I have however managed to get a few more projects a little further along. This one is shaping up to be one of my favorites.

Here's the fireplace right after we moved in

and here's how it is looking today

 We are still working on matching the trim on the mantel but that should be getting fixed shortly (famous last words right?).

The rug is from Urban Outfitters. I love it.

We have plans to add some tile around the fireplace, replace the screen, and replace the hearth so I'm starting to get plans together. I'm thinking something art deco but in neutral colors.

This little sitting area is my favorite place in the house. It is the first thing you see when you enter so I love that it is fun and silly. It sets the tone for the rest of the place.

I'd love to recover the chair and eventually get the poster framed but i'm not in a rush.

So there you have it. A start of something great I'd say.

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!

TBC- To Be Completed

I have a problem. I like to start projects and then not finish them. It has gotten so bad that I currently have 14+ projects that are half done. So, in an effort to make myself accountable here they are. I'm laying it all out there. Don't judge people.

Or the trim in the kitchen Complete! 7/19/2013

This sliding door project for the bedroom? Nope, not done. Complete! 7/18/13

Apparently I don't like painting around trim. COMPLETED! 3/27/13 

Ceilings aren't much fun to paint either. 

That hole in the ceiling has been there 2 years.  Complete! 7/10/13

We moved the chandelier. Never patched that hole either.  Complete! 7/10/13

That's supposed to be a light switch (in my defense, this is a Daniel Project) COMPLETE! 6/2/13

I started the built-ins. Got hung up on sanding. 

My new porch gate still needs paint. COMPLETED! 3/21/13 

We never finished fixing the crack in the kitchen ceiling. 

The hood still isn't vented (**cough, cough 8 months later cough**)

I never installed the trim around the cabinets in the kitchen. 

I never actually finished painting the kitchen cabinets. 

Our bedroom door doesn't actually close. We should get on that. Complete! 7/19/13

I have a new light for this room that is gathering dust. 

I need to add more rocks to my newly expanded patio. Complete! 7/17/13 

I never got around to installing that rain barrel I bought last year. COMPLETE! 5/29/13 

Daniel and I have made a pact to not start anything new until everything else is finished. Things are going to get pretty boring around here for a while. On the plus side This is all slated for after the bathroom is finished (since that is number one priority) so you still have a few pretties to see coming up! 

Someone tell me I'm not the only one with a house full of unfinished projects. I swear, there has to be a support group out there for this. One that comes with people willing to paint.

Cheers! 

Project Peek

I've been mostly taking it easy but I do have one fun project in the works



I had hoped to finish up this weekend but my back just wasn't having it. Alas, my beautiful bookshelves will have to wait until next week. I'm off to visit family back east. Lucky for me it looks like it is going to be a beautiful Spring weekend. See you when I return!

Cheers!
Emily

Living Room Curtains

It all started with this picture:

Via who knows- the pin just links back to an error message for inappropriate content :(

I wish I knew where it came from. Is that not the most gorgeous living room?
Update: According to Emily A Clark (who happened to post the exact same picture today) the room above is from Style at Home
I had been trying to sell Daniel on putting curtains in the front room for a while (for texture not really for function) and this picture sold him. All I needed were the perfect curtains that didn't require selling any limbs. Of course it is never that easy.

I searched high and low, scoured fabric stores and the good old web until I stumbled on this pair from West Elm. 

ironwork flocked

scribble

Honestly they were a total tie but in the end we went with the Scribble panels. Not only were they basically half the price of the flocked ones they seem a little less formal and I hope they will fit in to the space better (plus I hemmed and hawed for so long they gave me 15% off). Only downside? They are back-ordered until July. Boo. 

I still need to share pictures of what we've been up to in the living room but that will have to wait until construction is done.

So what do you think? Am I crazy to wait four months for curtains? I figure it locks me in and I have time to change my mind if I want to.

Cheers!

Have I Shown You...

My reading nook?

It cozies up to the fireplace nicely.

It is in no way finished though. I'd still like to reupholster the chair in a plush velvet and DIY a new footstool (that one is too tall for the chair) but it sure is nice to have a place to sit close to the fire. As you can see I'm pretty fixated on the living room. As things get darker it is nice to feel like our home is cozy. What is that you are saying about finishing the kitchen? Oh, that. I'll get to that one of these days. For now, I'm going to cozy up in my nook.

Cheers!

PS I've been working on slowly updating the house tour page. Some of it is still out of date but it is much closer to how things are really looking around here.

VITTSJÖ Hack

Daniel and I have what I think of as an unorthodox way of decorating. We tend to sit on ideas for a long time only to radically change plans and then go on a shopping spree. It sounds crazy but it actually works for us.

This is the story of my ever evolving living room.

It started out like a normal weekend. We made a list of things we wanted to work on and settled in to our plans only to find ourselves taking an impromptu Ikea trip and spending the day making this.

This hack was quite literally that.  We started out with this shelving unit (x3) and took some measurements.

See too tall. So we got out the trusty hacksaw and got to work (though the hacksaw was later abandoned for the multi-max for the sake of our arms).

Many many hours later we had successfully modified and built our shelves. We decided to cut down from the top (leaving that little half shelf) because it required the least changes to the overall structure of the unit.

Then I got to move all my books up from the office and style (probably my favorite part). The giraffe helped.

I love this little vignette. My thrift store Asian art and wooden bird cage (i'll show you how I put that together later), the cute little pig from my childhood and my favorite pictures of my parents.

Here's the view from a bit further back. I don't know how I want the seating arranged so that will probably change.

The living room has been my biggest design dilemma because it is so long and narrow with the front door dumping in to one side and the dining room cut out of the other. It is rarely used and so has until now been sparsely furnished. Now I actually like sitting in there! There is still much more to be done but we are making little tweaks at a time. I've already tackled the nook by the fireplace and have some ideas for seating so there is more to come!

Cheers!