Front Yard Plans

So, I've been saying this for two years now but hand to god, we are actually finishing the front yard this year. Know why? We hired someone to do it. All of it. I know, not very DIY of us but sometimes you just have to decide what you are willing to do yourself and what is just not worth your time.

It will be going from this

to this

Work starts Monday and I'm excited to see what paying people to do all the work is like. We seriously thought about doing it ourselves, but just know that with the baby it would take longer than we would like. I've been waiting two long years for this front yard to be done and I'm glad we are finally getting on it.

Be back Tuesday with an update!

Cheers!

Nursery Walls: This or That

Decisions, decisions... 

Do you like it better with dark walls?

Or a dark ceiling?

The dark walls contrast nicely with the floors and give a good grounded feeling to the room but... the dark ceiling would look fantastic with the brass chandelier and gold stars I was originally envisioning.

Think this room with a dark ceiling instead.

Nursery Inspiration

Nursery planning. Probably the things I've been looking forward to most since learning that I was finally pregnant (besides, you know, the actual baby part). These are my favorites.

1. Birch and the Bird 2. Dahl House 3. The Hand Made Home 4. Elie Hails Interior 5. Woodside-Homes 

Sherwin Williams- Color Visualizer

Paint and I have not been friends this year. It isn't that the colors look bad, they just never seem to be exactly what I wanted. However, I will not be deterred! I have things to paint dammit! Lots of things. The stairs are my next victim.

Now that we have beautiful floors downstairs my stairs were really looking bad. And I mean BAD. 

When I painted them white I foolishly thought "but we don't wear shoes inside, they will stay clean." Obviously that was a lie. While we don't usually wear shoes inside, we do a lot of construction- which clearly leaves a lot of dirt. The scrubbing was getting old.

We finally found a runner that I liked (this one from Urban Outfitters) so the paint was all that was holding me back. Do I try to match the floor color? Do I go bold? Black? Gah! Technology to the rescue! 

If you've never used Sherwin Williams Color Visualizer tool it's a pretty simple thing. You upload a picture of the space and use the capture tools to select the bits you want colored. I started with this picture of the stairs with the runner placed on them.

Then, I used the tools to try out two colors: Caviar and Fiery Brown. I'll let you guess which was which. 

Obviously it is not something I'd hang on the wall, but it does give me a good idea on which paint color I like better. Fiery Brown reads more rustic and old world to me and Caviar is more modern. Caviar is my top choice but my mind isn't made up. 

Have you used the color visualizer? Or something like it? I feel like it would be great for big blank spaces but it would be a bit choppy around furniture and what not. I still plan on getting paint samples before biting the bullet. I just don't trust my computer screen that much.

Cheers! 

Baby Blanket Round-Up

Baby needs a blanket! Here are some of my favorites:

1. Love the colors and pattern in this hex-quilt from Blueberry Park. Her stitching on the solid pieces is beautiful.

2. Super simple and very baby blanket from Needles. Maybe with brighter more modern colors?

3. This one was from Etsy by Mulberry Patch Quilts.  So far it is my favorite. It is no longer available for sale (boo!) but I think it could be replicated. It would be a great stash buster quilt.

4. You & Mie's Sunburst quilt is adorable.  She lays out the tutorial pretty clearly, but it still seems harder than the rest.

5. Mod is all the rage right now and this is a great design. Another cute Etsy find from Peace Love and Quilts.

It's been a long time since I quilted but I'd love to make something for the little one. I'm definitely leaning towards #3. It looks like a good beginner quilt.

Any quilting tips from all you quilters out there? I'm not hopeless but I'm not great either.

Cheers!

Pin-Organizing! Pinganizing? Pinizing?

In an effort to get through my unfinished project list, and just corral my 2,179 pins, I've decided to create a Pinterest board just for things I'm currently working on. Rule is, no new business, just pins I already have.

This also helps me from losing pins. Do you have that problem? You find a pin, think it's great, and then go to find/do it only to forget where you actually put it? Yeah, it's a problem. So I've condensed down to things I'm actually going to do. Maybe not all this week, but they will get done. Then I will move on to new things.  See how this works?

Here's the whole board if you are interested in following my progress, but here's a sneak peek at what is in the queue.

Kitchen organization!

Rain barrels!

The ever present bathroom renovation 

And so much more!

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! 

Bathroom Inspiration Board

So here's what I'm thinking:

1. I love white bathrooms. They seem so clean and crisp and bright (though I'm leaning towards the grout color in picture 2). The floor will be the black and white basket weave (from HD) and the walls white subway (also HD though I'm still on the fence about full 3x6 or slightly smaller).

2. Emerald is Pantone's color of the year and for a reason. I love how bright, yet natural it is. I fully intend to refinish an antique dresser for the space to make it seem more lived in and less "new" and putting in a vessel sink (like this one in #5) and faucet (#6) would keep it feeling like furniture. 

3. I would quite possibly kill for these salvaged shower doors (and that is only slight hyperbole). We'll see what I can come up with.

4. I've wanted a rain shower head since my parent's built their house. It is just so soothing.

I've been working out a budget and all of my choices seem manageable so we are all systems go! I've got a pretty blank slate now right?

So what do you think? The only thing I'm on the fence about is having a painted vanity. But  I guess that will depend on what I find furniture wise. I'm willing to be patient though, I can always re-use the current sink until I find just what I want.

Cheers!

Phase One: Complete!

On Monday I shared with you our plans for getting the Downstairs bathroom/ laundry room renovated. I am happy to say, phase one went off without a hitch. Want to see some super boring progress pictures? (Furnaces aren't that sexy).

To truly illustrate the change, here's the new view from the side.

You can see we managed to get about two feet of space we can incorporate in to the bathroom which is just the right size for a door.

A little something like this. Well, almost. The contractor comes Tuesday to demo the existing wall and frame out the new wall and door. Which is great, because I'm almost done making over my closet and I'll need a new project. More on that to come. Let's just say I'm loving the new changes!

Cheers!

The Time Has Come

I took these pictures of the laundry room on November 19th of last year.

Yikes. It got better at first, but like every room that doesn't have a clear organizational process it quickly devolved. Not any more though. Welcome to our newly cleaned out laundry room.

Come on in.

Straight ahead, the back door.

Look to your Right. Notice the lack of shelving and clutter.

Look to your left. Water heater. Ohh fancy.

Turn the corner to view the newly cleaned off ledge. Junk free is how life should be.

Here's a better view of our server, furnace, and the door to the second bath. Weird right?

For those of you who like visuals, here's an aerial sketch. 

What are we going to do now? How nice of you to ask! Since day one I have wanted to do something about the fact that you have to navigate the Laundry room just to use the bathroom. Add to that the fact that our Laundry room is officially considered "unfinished" space and thus is not counted in to the square-footage value of the house. So, as the title implies, the time has come! 

Here's the general breakdown of the project.

1. Move the furnace
2. Move the wall
3. Demo tile in bathroom
4. Fix shower? Possibly relocate
5. Storage

This might make things clearer.

Not that this is to scale but you can see we'll be swapping a smaller Laundry room for a larger bathroom (which I would prefer). We haven't exactly nailed down the plans for the bathroom since most of them depend on what we find in the demo. After remodeling the kitchen I've learned not to plan around any one aspect until you know exactly what is underneath. 

Much more to come. The furnace guys come on Thursday and then our carpenter will be here next week so we should have a better idea about what we have to work with soon. Until then, I'll keep dreaming about bathrooms. 

Cheers! 

Carpe Carpet

Seize the carpet! Let me just say that I have been dying to start this project since about the day we moved in. All of the carpet in the house was dirty and stained and well, just plain gross. Even though it has been a year and a month (exactly, isn't that weird) since I started my carpet eradication and repainted the stairs I am happy to say we are officially carpet free!

I give you, the office

 And the Guest bed

I'm currently playing with the way things are arranged. I haven't decided what I want to do headboard wise or what the best orientation is but at least it is in one piece again right Mom?

More to come! We are currently having a flooring debate. Since the hardwoods are not likely salvageable we've laid all options on the table. Carpet? Cork? New hardwoods? They all have pros and cons and we are not in a hurry to decide. I'm leaning towards carpet for the warmth but after tearing up that nasty old carpet I wonder how it would look. What do you think about carpet? Love it or hate it?

Cheers!