officially nesting

The nesting bug has officially hit our house. More specifically, the 'what the heck is she thinking nesting bug.'

R came home from work (basketball, actually) about a week ago and cautiously asked… 'why is everything off the walls upstairs?' Judging by the look on his face, he already knew.

Our main living area (kitchen, living room, dining room, breakfast nook, hallways) all open up to each other in one big area. It's the only area of our home that hasn't been painted (or really even touched much at all) since we've moved in. That's over six years of brown walls everywhere you look. That's a lot. (Have I mentioned our bedroom and master bath have each been about 5 or more colors since we've moved in? I'm not one to commit to colors very long. Six+ years is a LONG time.) When I was pregnant with B I had the major itch to paint upstairs but R talked me out of it. Once B came along, we knew it was too big of a project to take on with a baby. Then he started walking. Then we sort of forgot about it.

So.

I knew when the itch hit again I just needed to dive in get started. I knew if I thought about it logically too long it would never happen. Thus taking everything off the walls approximately two minutes after I decided it was happening. :) (I'm not saying it was a good idea. I'm just saying that's how it happened. I don't recommend that method.)

We've had paint chips for possible replacement colors in the house for over a year now (and I've been mulling them over off and on that entire time). So I had an idea of a color but couldn't commit to one. I eventually did eenie meenie and prayed a little bit and ended up with Modern Gray (Sherwin Williams color but I had it mixed with the Valspar paint + primer at Lowes). It's a super light gray with no blues in it (which is typically my issue with grays).  I asked the paint lady at Lowes for the formula to make sure there were no blues. The formula looked safe so I went with it. She suggested starting with a sample before buying the 5 gallon non-refundable bucket. I went with the bucket. :|

I'll spare you the details on the painting drama. (Long story short we have some touch up work and ceiling work to do…) But it's (basically) DONE! (yay!)

I only cried about it for two days after it went on the walls.

I was in a slight design identity crisis.

I started grabbing random things from around the house and trying them in different spots upstairs. And even started liking a few of them.

Eventually I landed on a new design identity- I'm calling it 'industrial charm meets mid-century modern.'

And things started taking off from there.

We still have a ways to go so I don't have many details to share yet but here are two quick pics from Instagram….

(Sharpie wall tutorial on Vintage Revivals. It is well with my soul canvas was made with the community silhouette and is most definitely grey on gold and not black. For obvious reasons. And I can't wait to show you what's going on the back wall where the painter's tape is. I think it's my favorite thing I've ever made!)

Hopefully I'll have more of the million shades of grey makeover to share soon…

We'll see. :)

Decorating on the Cheap.

Emphasis on the cheap.

I hate spending money on home decor. Especially since I typically get bored with it but can't justify switching it out if I've spent any money on it.

I've never taken the time to figure out what exactly in our house we've spent money on but I do know it's not much. I can count the pieces of furniture we've purchased on one hand. I've been known to pull furniture off of curbs as close as next door neighbors. No shame.

Nearly everything in our house is someone else's junk (and some of it literally from the dump) so I always (always) laugh when someone says our house looks cute. I laugh extra hard when they ask for help decorating.

I would be horrible at helping you decorate.

To prove that point, here are my biggest decorating tips:

1.) Stay alert while driving. 

Yes, it's important to stay alert to watch for deer and other crazy drivers but I'm actually talking about keeping your eyes peeled to the curb. Some of my favorite pieces are off other people's curbs. I get slightly nervous when someone new (usually a photog client I don't know very well) compliments a curb piece as I'm hoping it wasn't off their curb. When I met my SIL's SIL and she told me where she lived I about died of embarrassment because I had recently snagged a couple end tables off her curb. Since getting over that incident, I've taken on a little Garth Brook's attitude (Shameless…) and will go right up to the neighbor's house and grab their good junk before trash day. One neighbor was in our house and complimented a piece I had snagged off her curb. She didn't even recognize it anymore. No shame.

2.) Gladly accept junk with gratitude.

My uncle is a trash man (among other titles he carries in my small hometown). Once in awhile he will bring my mom straight up trash. I questioned her reasoning behind accepting all of it and she said you never turn down the true junk because they might stop bringing you the good stuff. Words to live by my friends. When people know you love junk, people love to unload their junk on you. Sometimes, it might actually be junk. A few times I've gladly accepted pieces I thought I could work with only to have them sit in project purgatory with no plan working out for them. They ended up on my curb. But you never turn down the junk (even if it really is junk) cause they might stop giving you the good stuff. Along those same lines, I've accepted pieces I had no clue what to do with and those have ended up being some of my fave projects. (Some friends gave us some HUGE windows when they replaced theirs. I had no clue what to do with them so they sat in our basement for years. When I finally had an idea to use them, I was so glad I hadn't gotten rid of them!) We've been blessed with the best junk from people!! I swear nearly everything we get a compliment on in our house is a hand me down from someone else! (Thanks junk suppliers- you're the best!!) :)

3.) Hoard craft supplies.

Some of mine is 10+ years old but still works great. Save those little scraps. Save the ribbons off cute packages (especially the Lisa Leonard ones). Heck, I even save the brown packing paper that comes in the mail. You can use all of it! I swear! (Even though it may take a decade or so to come up with a plan for it.) ;)

4.) Know your limits and stick to 'em.

I have lots of rules on how much I'll spend (or rather, won't spend) on items. My favorite price is free. My second favorite is clearance. I'm not likely to spend more than that unless it's something I really want. If I'm on the hunt for something I come up with a price in my mind that I'm willing to spend on it and I won't go over that price. (That is if I've absolutely exhausted all my sources for finding it free.)

5.) If possible, marry a patient man and move to a house with plenty of storage.

Okay, this one might be too late for some of you but my biggest assets in DIYing on the fly are having a (very) patient man and a (very patient) storage room. DIYing with junk takes time and patience. Time to find the right pieces, time to figure out what the heck the plan is, time to finish (or you know, start) the projects. Time. And lots of it. I wasn't kidding when I said finding the mini trees was like winning a treasure hunt for me. I've been searching for them literally two years. I'm currently on the hunt for Christmassy scarves. If you have some you want to unload and want to save me the two year hunt, I'll gladly accept them with gratitude. ;)

So those are my best decorating tips. Maybe not what you were expecting but definitely rules to live by if you don't mind living in a house full of other people's trash discarded treasures. :)

Beck's Big Boy Room

Once upon a time there was a little boy. He decided he wasn't real crazy about his crib anymore and that boycotting naps was awesome. His mommy and daddy, deliriously tired from the no sleep, decided it'd be a great time to transition him to the big boy bed. The original plan* was to use the crib conversion kit to switch his crib into a toddler bed and to leave mostly everything else in his not so babyish nursery the same.

If you know me in real life, feel free to start laughing now.


Because you know that's not how it went down.


I took these pictures of B and knew I wanted to hang them in his room somehow. Then I had this faux brick walling sitting around that's supposed to go in the studio and craft room... it hasn't made it that far yet so I stole a smidge and we (I mean, R), hung it up in B's room. Once those two elements were in the trim totally had to go so we went with a dark grey (hopefully to last him till he moves out?) and took down all the existing artwork. (It worked out great cause I used it all in other areas of our house. Hello cute mantel.) We hung up a huge wall map (though I really want a 'physical style' one instead... anyone have one laying around?!). And he got his globe back in his room. It was then we realized we kind of had a travel(ish) meets history classroom theme going on. We ditched the idea of hanging the flag above his bed. R spent an entire day building a pallet bed before I realized there was not enough sanding on the world that would make a pallet bed smooth enough for a toddler and I made an impulse purchase of a twin on amazon. (I don't feel too bad about it, it's the first piece of furniture we've bought for B and only the 4th piece of furniture we've purchased ourselves. Ever.) The bed made me realize how much floor space his dresser takes up. We would love to reuse the dresser in a nursery again someday so we went ahead and purchased a new chest of drawers instead (5th piece of furniture now) and that freed up some floor space. Without the navy of the dresser, we needed to tie in the navy in the pouf so we spray painted the bench daddy made and the 'book shelves' (ikea spice racks) on the walls. I still wasn't satisfied so we swapped out the old ikea curtains for new ikea curtains and called it good. Until I realized the space above his bed was still a blank canvas. I'm super weird about hanging anything heavy or glass above the bed (because what if there's an earthquake?!) (just kidding), so we stuck vintage postcards of all the places he's visited there instead. Full disclosure: he only visited Jamaica in utero and Detroit and Denver were both just airport stops. But he's two and needed a little help filling up wall space so we are totally counting them. (We're also hoping to add a few new postcards to the wall later this summer!) With that, B picked out some finishing accessories. He added in some favorite toys (the van was his first 'souvenir' purchase picked out by himself- he bought it at the Denver airport). He even picked out the Pepsi crate for his nightstand (oh yeah- another impulse furniture buy... that's 6). The lamp was a 1st birthday gift from his Uncle Doyle (I think the box said 'as seen on tv'), the quilt made my some of his great grandparents before he was born, and all the other details are just random finds from around the house. Including my big white comforter he likes to drag in to his room for nap time that I was trying to shoot around to get these shots. :)

I'm contemplating putting another one of his 'book shelves' near the pouf to make a mini reading nook? And adding a rug like this to the space. And switching out the maps. And hanging the airplane from the mobile hook. And of course adding more postcards. But otherwise, we're doneso. Finally. Also, I realize it seems like we did a ton more than just switch out the bed but at least we didn't paint. You're welcome, hunny. ;)

Bedroom Redo 2013

It's been awhile since I've blogged and now all of a sudden there's several posts in a row. Crazy, I know but I had two nights of sessions rained out this week so I've been caught up on editing (for now). (This post is set to autopost so by the time you see it I will be behind on editing. Again. But for now.... I'm visiting the Hickstionary!)


It's also been awhile since our latest bedroom redo. The longest while in between bedroom makeovers actually. We built our home five years ago and in those five years, we've had some paint color on the walls! The previous paint color was there the longest. Not because we loved it but because B was born and it's a lot harder to work full-time hours from home and have a baby than I estimated it to be. And to throw in any home improvement projects? Pure craziness. I digress.

It'd been awhile since our last bedroom redo so when R told me for Mother's Day and then again for anniversary... and then on my birthday.... that he would do a house project for me as a gift, I knew what project I'd be picking out. I definitely wanted to redo the bedroom!

The problem was he kept gifting me an 'IOU' but we never saved the money to actually make it happen. Enter: my 30th birthday. And the crazy awesome friends/family that showered me with gifts/gift cards/cash. I haven't gotten that much birthday money since... never. Wowsers. I was spoiled. And I had a plan for those very generous gifts. (Thanks, guys!!!)

The plan was to use the birthday money for the bedroom if you didn't figure it out.... ;)

And so began #bedroomredo2013.

(But first lets look back at the two most recent looks.... yikes.)

And the bedroom redo 2013:

The breakdown:
-White down comforter, coral pillow cases, bedskirt, grey ombre dip died curtains, top drawer mercury glass knobs (on mint dresser): Target.
-Grey pillow: Kohls. (And I still have $30 in Kohl's gift cards to spend... any ideas?)
-Headboard: made from 1x8s.
-Sconce: cordset from West Elm (wrapped in scrap fabric), bracket made from scrap wood.
-Dakota's dog bed: Pet 360.
-Mint dresser: neighbor's curb (then painted).
-Flooring: Shaw Rustic Allure Delavan Pine (Menards)
-Paint colors: Walls: Timeless Ivory. Mint: Coral: (all from Menards)
-Wood stump nightstand: R brought the trunk home from working tree service. The plan was to use it in B's 'big boy' room as a night stand but we realized our existing nightstand wouldn't work in here so we 'borrowed' it until B's room is ready for it.
-Printables: found online (with modified colors) or {cb}h printables.
-Wood folding chair: my MIL got a set of them from a church that was getting rid of them.
-Everything else: found around our house.



What I love:
-The lighting in this room. We have some big windows on this side of the house and get some awesome light a few times a day but before the walls were painted 'white' most people wouldn't have known it.
-The flooring. It's just not possible to feel like carpet is clean with you have a dog and a toddler. (Yes, they both hang out in our room.)
-The white bedding. (Hello, bleach!)
-The mint dresser (It was a great find on our neighbor's curb! It needed a little TLC but is now a lovely shade of mint.)
-The coral pallet arrows. (Super easy-and free! project but adds a lotta punch.)

What I'm not crazy about:
-The coral painted nightstand and sconce. (I painted the nightstand coral first and thought the sconce would balance it out and tame it down. It did the opposite and added enough coral to make it look like a preteen bedroom instead of a master bedroom. Yikes.)
-The headboard. (We had planned on making it out of barnwood but that didn't happen. We found cheap 1x8s and went that route instead. I planned to stain them but R said they needed painted. They started out bright mint. I attempted to tone that down. It's less nautical than it was in it's beginning stages but still not quite where I want it.)


What I'm going to try/still need to do:
-Tame the headboard down with some driftwood stain.
-Paint the nightstand. Again. (But what color?!?!)
-Paint the sconce bracket grey (of course).
-Find a paper mache ampersand!!!!! The plan was to put 'R&H' on the headboard but for the life of me I can't find that '&.'
-Find a replacement nightstand for when I need to move the 'wood stump' to B's room.
-Paint the bathroom. (That blue you see peeking out.) I always get hung up on a bedroom color because I always feel like the bathroom should match. We hate painting the bathroom (there's a lot to it!) so we've yet to do it. I'm thinking a light grey maybe? Anyone wanna help? :)


What I've thought about but wont likely get to:
-An art gallery wall where our caricature is.
-An area rug.


So overall, it's a huge improvement from before! We're loving the walls and the floor so hopefully those things will stay put for awhile. A little paint on the nightstands and headboard will make it super easy to change out this room as soon as I get sick enough of the coral color to do it.

What about you? Any home projects your way lately? :)

splish splash

I'm really good at saying 'more on that later' when I think I'll whip out a post about something. I'm also really good about never getting back to the 'more' once it's 'later.' Good thing you guys are really good at reminding me. :)

By request- the rest of the guest bath. It's the room I spend the least amount of time in. Other than making sure the door is shut each morning (so B doesn't wander in), I pretty much forget this room is even there. Since I'm rarely in this space, it gets majorly neglected. 

When we moved in, we used the same bathroom stuff that we had in our apartment circa 2005. Is it just me or is that a long lifetime for a shower curtain?? Fast forward 8ish years and it was time for the shower curtain to go. (You know it's bad when R throws it out without being asked.) So with a starting budget of $0, I set off to redo the guest (and client) bathroom. 

Knowing we needed a new shower curtain, I knew the $0 budget wouldn't cut it. I thought about turning an old sheet into shower curtain but sitting down and getting anything done at the sewing machine is next to impossible these days. (Have you ever played the 'don't sew the toddler's fingers' game as the 1yo investigates the needle while you sew? It's even less fun than it sounds.) 

So I saved my 'fun money'* and headed out to Target. This bathroom is tiny and there is no natural light so I knew I wanted something light. White wouldn't work since all the fixtures are cream so I was worried my options would be limited. They were- there was only one cream shower curtain in the place. Thankfully, it was (almost, basically) exactly what I was looking for. I liked that it was completely off-white (with no pattern/color) but loved the little detail at the bottom. Shower curtain: Check. 

Next on the list- new towels. I know that doesn't fit the $0 budget either but for the last two years, I've turned the Christmas hand towels around in there and used them year round. Obviously, it was time for a change. I went to the cheapest section of towels and found the perfect color: hot coffee. I'm not a coffee drinker but I think coffee is black whether is it hot or not. These towels are not. They are more like a mix between slate and brown. Hot coffee with cream and sugar maybe? Towels: Check.

Once I put up the new shower curtain and towels, it was obvious our old artwork** and print wouldn't work. I didn't have anymore 'fun money' I was willing to part with for the project and I was too impatient to make anything artsy. I shopped the house instead, searching for off-white anything that might work. I had two major nail holes I wanted to hang something over so two items were on my 'shopping list.' I found the off-white 5x7s in the kitchen and snagged them. However, they were holding pictures of my niece and nephews cooking in the kitchen. Not exactly bathroom art. Fresh off my 'they see me rollin' art, I ran off to the computer to whip out another printable. 'Splish.' 'Splash.' And matching the towels and shower curtain perfectly? Perfect! I also stole another Lollywood Frame from the {cb}h studio. It held a picture of B but with the muted colors in the rest of the space, his bright picture wasn't cutting it. Back to the computer, this time on a hunt for picture of B splishing and splashing. I ran a 'hot coffee' action on it (yep, I just made that up) so it too matched the other colors perfectly and the art cost a total of $0. 

Finally, I wanted to have a few clean wash cloths. As I mentioned, it's the client restroom and I wanted to give clients the option of not having to share my husband's hand towel (which you can see I didn't take the time to fold up nicely again before pictures...oops). With literally no counter space or shelves, the back of the toilet was my next option. My MIL gifted me this cute little drawer at Christmas time so I grabbed it and stuck some wash cloths and lotion in for clients and other guests to use. Ta-da! There's our complete bathroom redo for almost $0 (other than that shower curtain and towels of course). ;) 

*My 'fun money' is not a real part of our budget. It comes from client tips [and my awesome hubby that sells his body (he donates plasma)]. So big shout out to my big tippers last month that helped me finally redo the bathroom! :)

**Our old artwork was a print with Galatians 5:22-23 on it. We've had it as long as the old shower curtain (approximately 8 years) and during that time I noticed at least 3,298 other people I know have that same verse in their bathroom. Is that strange to anyone else besides me?

I wish I had a before picture for you but if you've ever been to our house, you know this is a huge improvement for the little effort it took.  Have you been working on any home projects lately? 

Holiday Tour Blog Hop

The Holiday Tour of Homes is over on Kelly's Korner today. The last time I participated in this link up was in 2009 and as I'm looking at that post, a lot of our Christmas decorations are the same. I don't mind though- since they're only out one month a year, I don't get sick of them!

Here are the few updates:

My favorite new decoration this year are the stockings. Last year my friend got B his stocking from Pottery Barn. This year I splurged and got R & I matching ones. Poor Dakota still has his tiny stocking that looks even smaller now that ours are so big.

The little wooden drawer on the kitchen counters is a new addition from my MIL. I stuck the candy cane jar in it and added it to the line up of Christmas goodies. I love the little Christmas tag on it. The giant star is just painted yard sticks glued together. It covers a lot of space for a project that cost less than $3!

Our entry way chalkboard isn't a new addition but I was inspired to add a little wreath to it (you know you've seen the many chalkboard examples on pinterest!). The Merry & Bright is on the same chalkboard banner that said 'Happy Birthday' for B's party and 'Give Thanks' for Thanksgiving. I love how it can be changed all year long! It's c/o What's Your Sign Designs. Go check it out on Etsy!

Our little trees with our personal ornaments are getting more and more ornaments each year. This year's newest ornament was hand picked by B. He is SO into tractors this year so this was the perfect ornament for him. He typically leaves all the tree ornaments alone... except for this one. He loves it!

We've also added a few decorations in the basement family room since the last tour but getting good pictures of those would require me to pick up all the toys and keep them picked up while I shoot. That's hard to do with the B meister around so here's the only shot I have of our downstairs tree.  And the little sweetie hanging out by it. 

Merry Christmas, blog hoppers!! Hope you are all having a great Christmas season!

You can check out our 2009 tour below and the 2012 Tour of Homes at Kelly's Blog!

Christmas

Kelly's "Show Us" on the 18th is Christmas decorations. I LOVE the sights and sounds (especially the sounds) of Christmas. And in honor of a snow day today (12/8), I decided to participate in Kelly's "Show Us" (it's been awhile since I last joined in!). Welcome to our house, with a little Christmas O'lishious thrown in.
(I know.... I can't believe we don't own a nativity scene either. We only buy Christmas decorations on clearance and I've yet to find a nice, clearance one).

Merry Christmas!

Under construction

When we moved here we were the only ones living on the street. Slowly more have moved in and there are currently 7 of us on the block. There hadn't been anything new up in over a year. It was kind of nice not having a muddy street from construction.
This week though four lots were marked off for building.
Four! And one is our next door neighbor. Aka right outside the baby's window. I thought he'd have fun watching them excavate yesterday but when I showed him he got really sad and kept shaking his head no. I don't blame him. I felt the same way. But I put on my mommy face and told him it was fun. He wasn't 100% convinced but clapped anyway. Then proceeded to watch for over an hour. He was the happiest once they were done.
Sad about it or not, I think this could provide hours of entertainment in the coming months so we'll take it.
And if your looking for a new house (and your good neighbor quality of course) come to our street! Looks like there will be plenty available soon!

A Little Explanation

Earlier today I posted some little lovelies from photo booth. Some felt those needed an explanation. (You're right, there are some scary ones in there!)

From top to bottom:

1. Me today. Straight from bed with only the eye goobers wiped away. Good thing you can't smell my breath.

2. Me apparently trying to show off a freshly cleaned house with only a laptop and remote on the couch. (Notice the much more interesting background from when this baby was upstairs.)

3. New hair cut. (I think it was during March Madness because R's buddy is on the couch and I wasn't hanging out with his wifey so she must not have been here.)

4. A 'beauty' treatment. ;)

5. This was the contraption I set up to hold ice bags over my face (so I could still work) after my wisdom teeth came out. Ouch.

6. Apparently I was doing a self X-ray before the wisdom teeth came out?

7. A view from a different angle. When we first got the Mac, I thought the kitchen bar was a good place for her. I was wrong and apparently not happy about it by the looks of this picture. :)

These pictures are almost making me want to decorate in the basement now so my self-portrait sessions aren't so boring for y'all. :)

The 'What is That?' Spot.

We built our home three years ago. (I don't use the term built lightly like many do. I'm talking about doing the actual, physical building. Yes, I think there's a big difference.)

Since we moved in, we've had this little niche by they back door. I always had big plans for it but it sat empty- or full of boxes, storage tubs, bags, shoes, etc, etc, etc. It was a sad, lonely, unfinished, brown niche. Most people that went through our house would ask about the odd little space and what it's purpose was. And the truth is, it really didn't have a purpose.

Until today.

All I wanted for my birthday was for R to do something with the niche. He's been putting it off for one reason or another (namely blaming his finishing carpentry skills) for quite awhile now but finally decided he would give it a try.

One of the nice things about always having a project going on is that you always have odds/ends materials for new projects. The total cost for this project was $20 and only because he was 5" short on plywood.

The breakdown:

-I made a cardboard template for R to copy and he used the ($20) plywood to build the desk part. He trimmed it in with trim pieces we already had in the basement. We painted it with existing trim paint (We always have this color on hand- it's Sherwin Williams 'PATIENCE.' Don't you love that?)

-We painted the wall with leftover paint from the nursery trim (Sherwin Williams 'Drizzle' color- looks more blue here but it's aqua). Yes, it's trim paint, not wall paint. We improvise on a lot of projects around here.

-The post box was a hand me down from Holly. I painted and ruffed it up.

-The post box holds storage for stamps, post its, pocket change, business cards, etc.

-More storage is located on the back walls (that you can't see). There are also EIGHT outlets on those walls (I originally planned to use this as a charging station).

-We have no idea what the 'In' and 'Out' board is from. I actually pulled it out of the basement garbage and hot glued the scrabble letters and clothes pins on. This will hopefully work great for us because I have a lot of outgoing mail with {cb}h and R is often the one to do the post office run. I often check the mail and things he needs to go through sits on the counter until he gets to it. (Yes, we have the back of the pantry for that purpose but he would forget to check there for it. Hopefully this works better!)

-Bucket next to the pen jar is a 'To Do' bucket. Was hoping to keep it empty but there's always something to do.

-Mustache mug is from craft night (more on that later), courtesy of Jill. Isn't it perfect?

-The pink canvas is taped to the wall while I figure out what to put there. Likely a similar canvas project (with the letters going the correct way obviously).

-Chair I bought from The Shabby Tabby for $5 awhile back. It's a photo prop but this is the perfect place to store it, dontcha think?

I know it doesn't look like that big of a deal but I really wish I had the before picture so you could see what an improvement this really is. Hopefully it serves its purpose well and keeps the kitchen counter clutter free! Thanks for working on this today, R!

PS- He still has over half the plywood left and thinks it's enough for the nursery storage bench so the $20 is going a long ways!)