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Butler's Pantry Done!

Okay so I think it's been almost a full year since I posted Round 1. This project has been on the top of MY Honey Do list since the day I posted that, but alas Husbandface just couldn't see the vision and it didn't make it to the top of HIS list until after the new year. After a lot of saving up and research on pintrest, and pricing out and even bringing in a kitchen specialist to design a space of us we decided that what we wanted was to utilize the space but not make everything matchy-matchy with the rest of the kitchen. So Husbandface decided that if what I wanted was so customized then he was the only one he'd trust to touch the project and a bonus? It saved us a lot of money that we had budgeted for this project and instead we got to use on something else just as amazing (I'll post that project soon!). After all that waiting and deciding and going back and forth between ideas and options and designs this is exactly what I wanted and I'm soo glad we were patient enough to wait until we could come up with an idea we were both on board with because I love, LAH-VE the finished product!

So I'm not much of a step-by-step instructions girl but, I do love to look at how other people bring everything together so I'll post a few picts of 'the process'...

JANUARY 2013- 
removing the door... a hole in the laundry room/looking into the kitchen. (Have to admit I was a little nervous at this point... 

FEBRUARY 2013-
 building the base and adding the stainless steel subway tiles (have to say these were my favorite part! Soo easy to stick on and work with, you can get them at Lowe's)...

putting up the 'floating' shelves, sanding and finishing up the tiles...

of course Husbandface gets bored when he's working on projects and always has to find a way to goof with what he's doing ... 

Then it was time to paint, stain and start organizing...

(I got the crates ($10/each) and plain chalkboards ($2) from JoAnn's then just stained everything and glued the chalkboards on the fronts.) 

So there you have it, another amazing "Honey-Done" project that makes this house a little more OURS.

Now we're on to the next thing!

Joanna

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What once was...

Life is nothing is not ever changing. I've realized as an adult I don't deal as well with change as I used to but, to be honest, I'm going to have to realize that the new normal is ever changing.... Even the things that are 'new' situations in our life are changing faster then we could have ever dreamed. First, we have a new student here at school.... 

She's very excited and *mostly* focused. She is woking hard to finish all 2nd grade work so that she can catch up to Ethan and be in third grade. She's most excited to learn cursive. I love having her home and watching her learn... LOVE IT! 

Because of the ever changing situations in our family we seem to be in a constant state if change in regards to not just our schedules or time or age but also our home. We moved in 20 months ago and would never have thought we'd need more space but here we are in desperate need of a home office for Husbandface, a schoolroom for the homeschoolers and a craft space for me.. so let the projects begin. 

Our piano room is now turning into the school room... because we needed to make room for more books and students while still being close to the heart of the house for Cameron. Imagine built-in bookcases all along that wall.... it'll be a thing of beauty I tell you!

Our Master Closet is getting a facelift... so we can be a little more organized and maybe I'll be able to find my pre-pregnancy clothes. I'm going for a French Laundry styled space instead of a laundry piled up styled space. 

Doug's temporary office is now in our bedroom... so he still has space while we get started on his basement office. Because, ya know, the college dormroom darkroom look just wasn't cutting it. 

and the Laundry Room is entering it's FINAL PHASE! While the Dream Pantry Space is is entering phase 1... What once was THIS is now this..

Hopefully everything will come together just as fast in real life as I have it planned in my head.

Happy Wednesday! 
Joanna 

 

 

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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  

 

 

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 

 

Owen's Room

7 months after moving in and I'm finally getting around to the tour of the house, sorry about that. Owen's room has been done since the week we moved in but I guess actually uploading pictures proved to be a bigger task then I thought. I promise I'll be better. 

This room has been in the planning since I was pregnant with Owen but in the old house there was no actual room to put him in. BUT... It's not like that stopped me from collecting just the right accent items for the last 3+ years and frankly, when we moved in, it all paid off.

The first thing you see when you walking is the Hudson Bay Quilt I posted about last week. I love it with the red bed frame and since I hate the look of the box springs underneath and I'm not a fan of bedskirts, I plan on trying out THIS fun idea I found on Pintrest sometime this spring. (it's on my to-do list.) This room is the smallest room in the house at 12x14 so it's all about the little details. Like the dead,  stuffed animals on the 'trophy' wall.  

(we have the Elk, the Bear and the Deer... now I'm thinking a Buffalo or a Mountain Goat would be fun to add but since I got these three cuddle-y touches as a gift I'm not keen on the price tag for more.)

On the other wall we have a fun kids map that we got on one of our travels years ago and then we foam board mounted it and framed it. (I think in our last house it was in the Ethan's Therapy Room)

Of course no canadian rocky mountain inspired room in my house would be complete without a picture of The Prince of Wales Hotel, a cute bear statue Owen picked out in on a trip to the N. Georgia  Mountains and some great books about Bears....

I really wish I had a 'before' picture of that dresser. It was my brothers 20+ years ago and stained so dark it was practically black. Doug and I have had it since we were married but a few years ago Husbandface and I stripped it, sanded it down, refinished it and added fun rustic handles. It took FOREVER but it was so worth it. I love the knotty look and the clean lines.... LOVE IT! 

Then a few more perfect Waterton touches that make me happy everytime I see hear it, like this fun TeePee Cuckoo Clock.

and the Indian Head door stop? Yeah, I love it. (That apparently my 4 year old thinks is a weapon... and since it's cast iron? it kinda is!) 

Okay, two rooms down and 6+ more to go. Thanks for caring!

Joanna