I Love You Because...

Construction Zone

good-bye white carpet, Hello pretty! Such a fun birthday present! My Husbandface spoils me! 

what once was...

what once was this... looks a lot less like this...

and now it looks a lot more like this... 

I can't even tell you how amazing my husband is! This project was started because of the PANTRY PROJECT of 2012. I need   want a new pantry space and as part of it there needed to be a way to access the laundry room from the spare room that was off the kitchen. Then we started reevalutating that room. We were already using it like a mud room/laundry room extention.  Actually as much as I love this new house for the last 9 months the one thing I have missed the most about my old house was The Laundry Room and the perfect system I had. So this extra bedroom is now getting a major rehaul and I can't wait to show you how it's evolved and how it will end up! This weekend is all about the new Laundry Room. 

Happy Friday!
J 

 

what once was...

what once was this..... 

now looks like this...

Doug's using his time off and doing a little demo around here. The finished project? it's going to ba AMAZING!!! 

 

The Kitchen - and the BEFORE. The Butler's Pantry (round 1)

I realized after I posted about The Kitchen Island Upgrade last week that I hadn't actually posted about the kitchen originally and since I just got my house cleaned top to bottom, today was a good day to snap a few shots before it doesn't look quite as sparkly. 

The kitchen is one of the things that sold Husbandface. He loved it from the minute he saw it, I had to have it grow on me a little. It's not quite part of a great room but it is very open and the flow is perfect for us and all our entertaining plans. I love the granite counters, the travertine floors (that are addly heated... hello, people? we live in HOTlanta!) and the color they had it when we moved in. 

The view from the living room;

The view as you walk in from the garage door;

See that on the right? The HUGE sink? That is single handedly one of my top 5 favorite things about this house. Let me go on record now, experience one farmhouse sink and it will change your life, FOREVER. You'll never go back. (just sayin'). It's black and while I thought I wouldn't like that part of it, I love it too! 

And the view of the breakfast nook and bar;

You can see a another angle here. I love how much natural light there is and I love the windows going all the way to the floor and looking back on our adorable backyard.

By the garage door there is a pantry.... and the doors to the 1/2 bath, the laundry room and the bedroom/mudroom.... A lot of doors in a little space..... Don't worry, we're going to fix that. 

I show you this horrible picture to inlist your help... Yeah, I'm starting to formulate a new project. (just when that baby list was shrinking, I go on and make a new one....) Right now the pantry space is completely under utilized. The shelves are bad, the wasted space is excessive and the competition for space in a hallway is maddening. So we're planning a semi-big project. A BUTLER'S PANTRY. We're hoping to put it together 100% ourselves (and by we I mean he) and keep the budget to under $2500 while still getting a custom-high-end look oh, and we want to get it done before school gets out in May... accomplishing this with a newborn in our arms. (yes, to answer your question; most of the time we do realize we're slightly crazy.)

I fell in love with Bulter's Pantries when we lived in New England and up there every old house has at least one. Tons of storage, tons of personality... in every single personalized spot! They're hard to find pictures of to explain but, Here's what my first round of reseach has thought up. 

I have no idea how it will actually end up but it should be fun to see where this process takes us! So, any ideas and links you want to share before the demo and ordering takes place? Check out my Pintrest Board; To Plan - Pantry. Feel free to send me any ideas for simplifying, making the most of our money or for utilizing the space that you have? We're open to anything.

Share your thoughts!
Joanna  

 

 

Life Binders - Getting Started

** if you missed the intro to my version of Life Binders you can read that HERE**

Okay another week into my Life Binder project and it's already evolved quite a bit. Besides working on organizing the mountain of papers for Thursday's class and nursing my printer through ink cartridge after ink cartridge, I came up with a main list of categories that are pretty generic regardless of age/family situation.

Emergency, Calendar, Home, Health, Finances, Food/Menu, School, Church, Pets, Personal, Retirement/Legal. Basic enough, right? So that is what the class I'm teaching next Thursday is on. Coming up with your own system and making it work for you. In doing that this last week I learned that I needed to apply that same thought to my own house. The basic idea was perfect as a starter kit that everyone can use but after I organized all my stuff into it, I realized that some sections were out of control too full and others were missing aka; I still had piles of paperwork and information that needed storing but nowhere to put it. This is definately a very personal project so everyone's is going to be different. I decided to seperate mine into three categories/binders.  Family, Finances and Home. 

**In my Family Binder I have tabs for...

Emergency, Calendar, Home Info, Health, School, Pets, and a tab for each member of our family, including Baby Cameron (his in fact is bigger then anyone else's who knew an unborn child chould have so much paperwork!) 

**In my Home Binder the tabs are a lot less serious but still contain that information I'm constantly looking up and that is always cluttering my desk top...

Blog, Online, Cleaning, Food/Menu, Church, Holiday/Christmas, Entertaining, Travel and Garden.

**In my Finances Binder the tabs are...

Accounts, Monthly, Yearly and Past Budgets, Debt/Loans, Mortgage, Utilities, Insurance, Automobiles (I have one for each vehicle), Medical, Medicaid, Bethlehem Property, Tithing, Credit Reports, Taxes, Retirement, Manuals/Warranties and Goals. 

 

I'm sure I'll be adding to these in the future or maybe taking things away but for me the tabs were decided based on how I seperated my papers on my cluttered desk. Which is looking better if I do say so myself! I think I saw the actual desk yesterday for a fleeting moment. ;)

If you're looking to do a Home/Life Binder to keep your papers under control, check out a few free downloads I've put together to get you started, they are just categories or section ideas with a list of things you might want to put in them to keep track of it all but it's a great starting place to see if this type of a system might work for you. 

Download LifeSuggestions1
Download LifeSuggestions2
  Download LifeSuggestions3 

and here are a few more really helpful resources. I didn't use all of them but the info in them was invaluable.

simplify 101 - 10 great organizing printables.
design finch - 20 weekly planners, menus and cleaning checklist printables
blooming homestead - has a great home binder system with lots of daily logistic printables.  
evelyn kate designs - this is the cleaning calendar I put in the Life binder class. 

Trust me I have lots more downloads to share when everything is finalized for the class but if you'll excuse me, I have a paper jam that needs my attention...

J

 

Kitchen Island Upgrade.

Husbandface and I have an on going list that we started around Christmas time.... TO DO BEFORE BABY. It's a huge list and on it are things like Order Cradle, Detail the Van, Pay OB/GYN, get car Seat/Stroller, Shelves up in Ethan's Room, get windows cleaned, Paint the dining room, Pick up diapers/wipes and lots more. While making the overwhelming list we decided NO MORE HOME PROJECTS until after the baby is born. Time is running out and we need to get focus on crossing as many things off the list as possible. So on Saturday afternoon we headed over to our local Lowe's to pick up a few things that need to be done before Cameron shows up. A few little shelves, a couple nuts and bolts to put up the crib, you know the standard $30 list. 

It shouldn't surprise you that 30 minutes and $200 later we walked out of the store with a new project that wasn't on any list before then. Stacked Rock. 

BEFORE--- 

In our kitchen there is an extra high bar/ledge that we love. We use it for entertaining, the kids pop up there to do homework while I make dinner, Owen and I eat lunch up there and it's one of the most used spots in the house. The problem? That pretty wall right where little feet are always kicking and climbing and scuffing. Doug and I both have to scrub the wall multiple times a week from little toes making it so dirty every time they we up there. We loved the space but logically it wasn't working for us. We thought about bead-boarding the space, then maybe painting it with a higher gloss paint so it was easier to wipe? Nothing we could think of was a good idea. 

As I said, we're walking through the store, minding our own business and checking things off the list, feeling really productive and suddenly we see it. The new display at Lowe's for Air Stone. Doug was sucked in and before I knew it a new project was underway. While I was hesitant because it's so close to my due date, Husbandface promised it would be done quickly and look great. We got home, put the kids to bed and Doug got to work....

Seriously, let me just tell you how awesome this stuff is! First, it's super light so there is no need for a backer-board or mesh behind like traditional stone or brick facade. Second, the project needs only 2 tools, a putty knife and a hacksaw (I love it when I don't have to buy tons of tools for a DIY project). Third, it cuts super easily making the project come together quickly and without any major mess.

Fourth, it has it's own adhesive the dries really fast so there's no need for a multi-step process. So while I was really worried about how much time it would take away from my honey-do list, it was all in vain. It also has lots of variety in the packs and gives you a lot of flexibility so the project is 100% custom to your space.

Doug honestly worked on this for about 2 hours Saturday night then finished it up Sunday morning, only spending a total of 5 hours on the entire thing! It was wonderful and everyone here loves the result. Another bonus? It's super affordable. We spent less than $200 in supplies on this entire project.

So, Thank You Husbandface for not only coming up with amazing *affordable* projects and talking me into them but for finishing them in an instant! I can't wait to strat the next project you thought up..... You ROCK! (yeah, that might have been a little too corn-y, even for me.) xoxox

J

Want to check out more of Doug's amazing handy-work? His Loftbed is still Ethan's favorite project and in the old house the Scrapbook Room he game me was a dream come true. He's amazing, that husband of mine.... A-MAZE-ING. 

And want to see more before and after inspiration from all over the web? Check out Thrifty Decor Chick and her Before and After Party... if that doesn't inspire a new project... nothin' will. :)  

'Sheet' Music aka- Bedroom Make-Over Part 1

Since I'm not exactly working on decorating Little Miss Lorali's room (because of last week), I decided to move on to our Master Bedroom.... We haven't focused on it in 10 years and things have changed for us a little bit in that time so we were ready to look around and re-evaluate. First, I had to talk Husbandface into giving me complete control over the room. I don't know about you but my DH not only has opinions on decorating, he actually has a pretty good eye but sometimes he just can't see my vision so I end up compromising to his eye. The bedroom project was one agreement. I had 3 months to re-do our bedroom, if he hates it he has to leave it for 3 months and then we can re-do it together but for 3 months I can slowly turn it into my dream retreat without him saying a negative word. So I started with the one thing he wanted changed the most... the cornice. (yes that is a live wild bird on my window treatments... long story to post another time.) 

Doug gladly pulled the cornice off the wall and I hesitantly took apart the bed skirt from our brand new bed set. (I have another idea for that space... more on that later.) After a bit of measuring and a few staples even Doug had to admit it was an improvement and step-one of my 'plan' went off without a hitch. 

I decided not to show Husbandface what I had ordered because everything I showed him in narrowing down the choices only brought odd looks and heavy sighs from the distrusting man full of his own decorating thoughts so this was his first peek into the new bedset. Basically Doug's thoughts on decorating our new house are very formal compared to my more down to earth-simple style. Both are great but combining them sometimes causes us a few headaches and forces us to compromise on almost everything. Knowing this about him/us the direction I am going for in the bedroom combines my lived-in simplicity and his formality.

I bought a pretty formal bed set but wanted to soften it a little and 'rough-it-up' a bit. The colors in the room are very simple. The walls are a home-y tan and everything in the room will be black, white and tan (with punches of green, to come later). I took a few throws and made some covers out of burlap and muslin for the tan contrast and then I moved onto making the sheets match my added elements. I decided to 'embellish' them with a little tan muslin but that wasn't quite enough. Then I came up with my SHEET MUSIC idea and I knew I would love it! I've found over the years that my favorite home decorations are ones that are deeply personal so when I was deciding on decorating the sheets I had Doug choose one of our favorite songs that had to do with the bed, sleeping, night or rest... his choice? The Beatle's A Hard Day's Night. It was perfect for what I had in mind. 

I wrote out all the lyrics on the edges of the pillows and the top of the sheets. Just enough personalization and just enough casual to an otherwise formal bedroom set. 

When Doug saw me working on them he just couldn't keep keep his end of the keep-his-mouth-shut bargain and broke our deal, vocalizing that he thought it was too rustic looking... little did he know how un-rustic the finished bed would look. I'm still looking for a few special pillows but, it's a start. 

We're just the end of step-two for the bedroom makeover and he loves it and is now excited to see how I re-vamp rest of the room with fun little touches and changing up the space. I love that I've turned my skeptic husband to my point of view.... now if only I could do that in every aspect of our marriage I'd be set.  

Thanks for peeking into our lives!
JJ 

 

Making it Work.... Table Refinishing 2011

One of my besties has a great quote that I'm sure I'll get wrong but it's basically this, "Make do with What you have, When you have it." I love it! It was 100% my mantra when it came to this table. We moved in and Doug hated it so much it didn't even get set up, it was delegated straight to the dungeon (aka the unfinished basement) and we ate at the bar or standing up. We thought we wanted to go buy a new table but once we were looking we, I realized that I actually really liked our exisiting table, I just wished it looked different. I decided to re-finish it and it became one of those projects Husbandface hated and was completely opposed to. I figured if I couldn't make it look good, we'd only be out the $20 in paint/stain it took to do it. 

Before; 

We were moved in only 2-3 days before I dove into this project because I was dying to feel 'moved in' and a lack-of table kinda made the entire kitchen feel temporary. I did get it done just in time for July 4th so I was proud it was one of those projects that got done and didn't sit unfinished for months. One great thing about the earlier mentioned dungeon? I have a blank, empty room to do my project uninturrupted in! Doug hated me getting paint on the concrete but, better down there then in his dream garage, right? I started by doing a quick sanding of the top. The legs/aapron I didn't because I was painting over them and didn't care about the exisiting finish. After that I wiped everything down really well with hot water and let it dry overnight. The next day I took a fork, hammer, and metal plate and pretty much beat up the top of the wood table by banging them to add to that worn out look. Then I put a little wood conditioner on the top and let that dry overnight. (brings out the wood grain) 

During;

Now the fun part. I wanted the heritage look but didn't want it scruffed up too much. So, I stained the top a really dark walnut first, making sure that the 'beat-up' parts were absorbed into then I wiped that off (with a dry cloth) before it completely dried evenly/dark across the top. The next day I put on a lighter walnut coat evenly over the top and let that set. Then before I decided it was done I did another coat of the dark walnut to give it that layered, antiqued look. During each of those days waiting and waiting for it to dry in between coats, I spray painted the legs, aapron and two chairs 4 light layers.  Then I pulled out my new favorite furniture refinishing ingredient.... PolyCrylic. This time I decided to skip the spray paint aspect and I rubbed each coat on with a soft cloth, let it dry, then wiped it down between each coat with a new softer cloth, then did another coat. 2 coats for the legs/aapron and 7 coats for the table top (because it was going to be getting a lot of wear and tear). It also helped the top to be even, the polycrylic 'filled in' the gouges from when I beat it up so in the end it still ended up a smooth/level surface on the top. Apparently you can get a tinted polycrylic so I could have combined my staining/polycrylic steps but I didn't learn that until after. Oh well, live and learn, right? Either way, I love the finished product. (and bonus? So does Husbandface... I love proving that man wrong.) It saved me from buying a new table/chairs set. I did buy two benches online but all the sets we could find only had benches sold seperately so we would have had to do that anyway.  Now there is plenty of room for our family of 5 (soon to be 6!) and we can save the money  we would have used on this to put towards other furniture, like a new dining room table! (I'm working on that project now actually.)

After; 

Thanks for checking in....

JJ

 

 

Updating Chairs

This project I've been wanting to post for a LONG time but never got around to actually taking the after pictures until today. I bought this chair at a Bethlehem yard sale for $5 back in June, the week our offer was accepted on this house. Bonus, it was actually a set of two! I knew we'd need a lot more furniture and I had always wanted to learn how to reupholster so I figured for ten bucks I couldn't go wrong. I love the shape and the actual chair was in wonderful condition. 

When I got these home Husbandface was completely sceptical and kinda annoyed 'to haul more crap' in the upcoming move. I promised him they wouldn't be another unfinished project moved around but I'd be done by then. I only had 3 weeks so I knew I better get busy! I started by just taking the thing apart, just to see how it was put together. The original material was an ivory pleather so I knew that had to go but once I was poking around I realized that the batting and cushions were in great condition. SO i decided to keep everything and just add another layer of batting over the existing pieces. 

At this point Husbandface started seeing it's potential and he got involved. While I did appreciate his help, he opinions on the fabric made that process take way longer then it should have. So we started painting. I just quickly sanded the existing arms/legs down with my Mouse Sander, cleaned it with a wood conditioner and let it dry before pulling out the black spray paint. I knew I wanted that professional look and so after a little research talking to my go-to furniture finishing expert (aka my sister-in-law Teri) I put on three layers of PolyCrylic.... First time I used it and let me just tell you? I'm in love. BEST STUFF EVER. If I were you I wouldn't get the spray paint like me though.... too many bubbles and twice as expensive. 

One we had the furniture arms/legs drying and once we finally agreed on the fabric. I started covering the pieces of the chair that I had taken off. Batting first then fabric and just holding it on with staples on the inside.

Doug hated the fabric but since this was a chair he wasn't emotionally attached to he didn't get a say, I told him if he hated it I'd sew a pink pillow or two to put on them and I'd stick them in Lorali's room... He liked that idea and I knew it's beauty would grow on him... eventually. 

After the fabric was just where it needed to be we added the black the bottom to give it that perfect store finished look. At the last minute Husbandface had to admit how impressed he was with them and decided to give it more attention by 'man-ing it up a little' with silver nail heads to the edges front and back, I loved it and couldn't wait for them to be in the new house displayed by my piano in the living room, or creating a sitting room in my bedroom with them, or at dining room table in our new dining room, or.... yeah, I had no idea where I'd put them. I just knew that I was in love. 

We'd bought the chairs for $5/piece at the begining of June. Spent $50 on fabric and batting and staples. Another $20 on paint and then at the last minute Doug spent another $10 on Silver Nail Heads.... Two weeks and $90 later we were pleased as punch with our first official  reupholstery project and packing them into the moving van.

We've lived here what 7 months? and They've been moved around so much we wish we had a set for every room in the house to refinish and update esp. for only $90! Right now they're seperated. One in the entryway and one as my desk chair in the music room. I'm sure they'll be moved over the years alot and maybe even refinished again but for now they're perfect just the way they are. 

Thanks for keeping up with us! 
Joanna  

 

 

 

Bragging on my Builder- The Boy's Cave

I know since we've moved into the new house I've been oddly quiet around here.... not for lack of things to say more for lack of time to say it all. I have barely got the time to sit down by myself and type out my feelings and usually when I do have the precious me-time my prego body usually makes me do things horizontally with my feet up instead of vertical at a desk. Today I'm forcing myself to take a minute and give you a quick tour of one of the rooms in our new house. Hopefully if I do this more often, eventually you'll see everything. Today's peek is into Ethan's Room, probably because it's everyone's favorite room in the house. It's the had the most work put into it and is now the most complete. We all seem to end up there at the end of the day and any time we want to hang out as a family. We call it the Boy's Cave because really, it's just a mini version of a Man Cave and someday all three boys (ekk! Still weird to say that) will be in there. It's Red, Blue, White and Black and as much as I said I'd never do it again... it's themed. But, it's all for the boy in love with Star Wars so I guess in the end as long as he loves it, I love it. 

Ethan's Room.... 

Below - View From doorway... his couches/reading space. Still one of my favorite things in his room? The framed Star Wars pictures of the kids from a few years ago. (This next year, I might have to find a way to add the new baby intothem.) Ethan's favorite decoration? His Star Wars Lego Tree. (another post on that later.) 

He has two of these cute window boxes turned toy boxes under windows that let in light everytime of day... 

Next to the door... His desk, computer and Lego Shelves...

View from the other side.... The TV and drawers. Doug built those last month. We were just sitting in Ethan's room one day and I complained about LEgo's being everywhere and less than 2 weeks later Husbandface had completely custom designed and built them. (Yes, he's amazing) I'll probably do a completely seperate post about what is in those drawers and how it's organized but I will tell there are only 2 things filling up all of them. Game Systems in 2 of them and LEGOs in the remaining 7. 

Looking up... his closet is to the right and yes, there is a giant x-wing kite hanging from the ceiling. (he's 8... and loves it, don't judge.)

Oh yeah, and above the door.... Ethan's Bed. This project came to mind the same day Doug thought up brilliant built-in drawers. Then it was also completed within a month. Ethan accesses is through a ladder in his closet and in it sits a full-size twin mattress. He loves the cozy feeling of the enclosed in space and I love how amazingly talented my Husbandface is with a few power tools. 

There it is! We still have a few more projects/surprises we'd like to add into the room but this is how it is for now and I couldn't be happier with it. I'll post pictures of a few more rooms soon. Promise.