Signs of Spring

Well the weather certainly hasn’t gotten the memo that spring is here, but then again, it never really does begin to look like spring in the Northwest until much, much later.  But with Easter so early this year, I decided to springify (probably not a word, but seems to fit) our house.

I’ve changed out my picture frame, which I’ve been trying to do for each new season/holiday. I had a hard time finding an Easter print that I liked, so I decided that I’d go with this one. You can print one for yourself here.

Next up was a simple bunting for my chalkboard. I’ve been having fun decorating this part of my house for the seasons, as well. Remember Valentine’s Day and Christmas?

This was really fun, and easy, to make!  I was at JoAnn Fabrics one day and they had all of this adorable quilting fabric on sale for $2.50 a yard. I bought 1/4 yard of seven different colors for $0.62 each!  Then I used my pinking shears to cut out the pieces, folded each piece at the top and sewed a simple stitch, and strung it up on some old jute that my grandmother gave me a while back. Whole thing was done in an evening, and for under $5.00!

The song lyric written below the bunting is from one of my favorite songs and is such a great reminder for me, especially at the of the day!  You can listen to the song here.

This is now the second time I’ve done this Easter Egg tree. I LOVE it!  The eggs were given to me by Tom’s family, and I love that each is unique. I love how they look hanging on the branches.

And finally, I made a cushion for the bench on our front porch. This has been a project that I’ve been meaning to do ever since we moved into this house 3 years ago.  Better late than never, I suppose! 

I also purchased some black galvanized planters from Ikea for $10 each, and filled them with some plants. 

This project is not quite complete, as I plan to make some colorful pillows for the bench, as well. I haven’t decided on a color yet. Maybe yellow? Orange? Green?

And there you have it, spring has sprung.

Cheers,

    Melissa

 

A Painted House. Finally!

 

I guess in all fairness it was painted about a month ago, but the new doors just got painted this week.  I think the colors turned out great. And what a change from the old paint job. 

Remember what our house looked like before?

And here’s what it looks like now:

And here is what the windows look like painted. From a distance, they look like we replaced them!

We also replaced the front door and side light.

                    BEFORE                AFTER

 

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Now that the big stuff is done, it is time for the fun stuff. I’m planning to make a seat cushion for the bench in some fun colors. I also am ready to add back in some plants and landscaping into the flower beds.

What do you think?

Painting the House

Here is what our house looked like when we bought it 2 1/2 years ago.  Great bones, but dated. Very dated.

The former owners had painted the house a beige, but the resulting color looked more pink than brown. Needless to say, we have never liked the color of the house and have wanted to paint it ever since we moved in. Well, we finally are.

The first step was to pick a color. You’d think this wouldn’t be difficult. We had a color in mind, so we thought finding the paint would be a cinch. It wasn’t.  In fact, I’ve lost count of the number of times I was at the Benjamin Moore paint store pulling paint chips. And each time I brought a sample home, I was sure it was the one.  As you can see from the above picture, we tried LOTS of different colors. Once up on the house, they looked too brown, or too green, or too much like the neighbors house.  After many weeks of trying, we finally landed on a color.

             

       Siding and stone: BM Chelsea Gray                            Trim and Windows: BM Tapestry Beige

We’re making some bold changes. First, we’ve decided to paint the stone. We know that it kind of a no no to paint stone, but we figure that only applies when you have attractive stone. And we don’t. Ours is very dated. And very pink. So we’re painting it the same color as the siding in hopes that it will give an overall more contemporary, clean look. Second, we’re painting the windows. We have old aluminum windows. We’d love to replace them, and maybe someday we will, but painting them is a much more reasonable alternative. 

The painters have been here all week prepping and painting. Today there will be some big changes as they begin priming. I’ll take some more pictures and post soon!

Paint. Paint. Paint!

I’ve been on a bit of a painting rampage these past few weeks.

First project: spray paint bedroom lamps. I’ve wanted to add some color to our brown bedroom for some time and I thought that the bright green of Krylon’s Ivy Leaf was the perfect punch to do it!

I love the simplicity of spray paint and the visual difference it makes in literally minutes!  This project was a breeze. First, I lightly sanded the metal to give the paint a surface to adhere to. Then, I taped up the cord and top with some plastic wrap. Finally, I gave the lamps several coats of spray paint.

I love how bright and cheery this color is. I haven’t quite finished this project, since I have am still looking for new lampshades. I want simple drum shades that I can cover with a gray and white chevron fabric similar to this one:

I found my fabric at Hobby Lobby on sale, of course!  I will post pictures once I find lampshades and cover them.

Project two was storage for the bathroom by the rec room. Now that we’ve updated this room, this bathroom is seeing way more use, especially from guests. The bathroom got a new coat of paint and some new décor last year, but it was still in need of some storage. I didn’t want to spend much on this storage, so I was stoked when I scored this old entertainment stand at Goodwill!

It was pretty scratched up, and was missing some hardware, but it was solid wood and a solid good deal at $5.99!

I gave it a good sanding and was able to get most of the visible scratches off the top of it. Then primed it and applied several coats of Benjamin Moore’s Surf City.

And here is the finished product. Not bad for under $20!

To cover the cord holes of the entertainment stand, I modge podged some scrap fabric on the back of it. I used the same fabric to cover some wooden knobs for the cabinet doors.

I’m still looking for the perfect baskets to fit in this cubby, but I am super pleased with the end result.

The last project was one that I’ve been wanting to do for some time. I got a bee in my bonnet this week and got it done.

We were given this great table and chairs from a friend when they moved. They were in great shape, except that over time a lot of the paint had chipped off of them. I had some blue spray paint that I had bought when I did the lamp project, so I put it to use repainting the table and chairs.

In my haste to do this project, I forgot to take a ‘before’ picture, but I found this picture online and it looks pretty close to the state of our table and chairs before paint.

Again, a little sanding (which the boys loved helping me with) and a can of spray paint primer and we were ready to paint! 

I had chalkboard paint left over from painting the back of our kitchen cabinets (guess I never got around to posting this, so see below). I decided to use this on the top of the table so that the kids could draw on it.

And here is what they look like now:

And here is the kitchen cabinets turned chalkboard. Yes, the kitchen is messy. Just keepin’ it real. :)

Paint. Paint. Paint. I just get giddy when I think about the endless transformations that are possible with a little can of it!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

After the rec room remodel, we had some wood left over. I’ve been wanting to plant a garden, so this extra wood was just the thing I needed to build some raised beds and get a garden planted!

I asked around a little and the overall consensus was not to paint or treat the wood because I was going to be growing vegetables in it. That made it easy!  Just a few simple cuts and the use of a power drill, and we had two new garden beds!

The boys had fun helping me dump the compost and top soil into the beds. Can you believe it took 15 bags of compost and top soil to fill these babies up?! And they are only 3x5 feet big!

Then we started to plant. The bed on the left is Emmett’s garden, and Jack’s is on the right. They each planted some carrots, beets, green beans, onions, and lettuce. We did everything from seed, with the exception of some lettuce starters.

The boys could hardly wait for their seeds to grow. I think they expected them to sprout as soon as they put them in the ground, but this garden was a good lesson in patience. It really didn’t take that long for the first sprouts to emerge from the soil, and when they did—EXCITEMENT!!!

Each time it rains, the boys say that it is good for our gardens. And they have found many worms in our backyard that have been relocated to the gardens.

We planted our garden at the beginning of May, and here is what it looks like as of June 17:

Lots of growing happening in those two beds!  We’ve already begun enjoying the lettuce (well Tom and I have). The boys love to help me pick the lettuce, even though they refuse to eat it. :) We also have since planted snap peas in the ledge of the fence, and some basil, mint, and oregano in the pots nearby.  One of my favorite parts of the garden is the random vegetables sprinkled about in the surrounding area of the beds. They are evidence of the boys “planting” seeds all over!

Just behind the garden, I have a passion flower plant. This year I decided to use an old window (man, how I love old windows!) that my aunt had given me as a trellis for the passion flower. Don’t you just love how it is climbing up the window pane?

I have to say that planting a garden has been an extremely satisfying endeavor. The boys have loved taking care of it, and I love having fresh veggies right at our fingertips!

Fireplace Update

We’ve been wanting to update our fireplace screen for some time. The antiqued brass just dated the fireplace and we wanted it gone. We found a great replacement at Home Depot for $200. Simple, black, and modern. We got it home and immediately took off the old, dated screen, throwing it outside. We couldn’t wait to get the new screen on. After nearly 2 hours of agonizing and frustrating attempts, we surrendered and accepted that the new fireplace screen was not going to work. We couldn’t get it secured, it didn’t sit flush with the brick, and for $200 we didn’t want to risk that it would just fall off.  So, we sat back depressed looking at the gaping hold in our fireplace, not certain what to do.

Then, inspiration hit.  I love following home improvement blogs and I thought back to several posts I’ve read on different blogs about spray painting various things in households. Why not spray paint our old fireplace screen?  It might fail miserably, but at just under $5 for the spray paint, I had very little to lose.

I found this tutorial online with a fireplace screen nearly identical to ours and went to work.

Here is the paint that I used. It cost only $4.34 at Home Depot!

 

After a few hours of work, here is the finished product. Not too shabby for under $5!

Laundry Room Makeover

 

I’ve been wanting to fix up our laundry room for some time. We did some initial work when we moved in to convert an old closet into a pantry, but had pretty much left it alone after that. Our laundry room is more than just a place to clean our clothes. This room is also home to our pantry, the door to the backyard, and a walkway to our rec room. Because it is a small space that needs to serve all these purposes, I needed it to be more functional AND attractive.

Step 1: paint

This is almost always my first move when updating a room. Paint is inexpensive (especially when you can use a color that you already have, like I did in this room) and makes such an immediate impact. I also repainted the ceiling. Although you don’t often notice that a ceiling is in need of paint, it ALWAYS makes the room feel brighter and cleaner.

Step 2: remove the ineffective shelving and add cabinets

When we initially added shelving to make our pantry, we used some of the leftovers to create a shelf above the dryer. We didn’t think this through very well, and while it added some storage space, it was difficult to reach anything and was unattractive. So, I took it down and Tom installed cabinets on either side of the window.  The cabinets are great!  They have so much more storage and hide all of the unattractive laundry supplies. They anchor the room, as well.

Step 3: a matching washer and dryer

In all honesty, this was completely unnecessary. But it is ooooh so nice! We had to purchase a new washing machine right after we moved in because the one that came with the house overflowed and died on us. We did not purchase the matching dryer because the old one worked fine and it was an additional expense we didn’t want at the time. So for the first year we lived with a front load washer and a top load dryer. This wasn’t a big deal, except that it made the workspace on top of the machines a little less usable.

When we began this project, we debated whether to get the matching dryer. What we discovered as we began to think about it further is that in the year since we had purchased our washing machine, two newer models had already been released. Both with slightly different dimensions and looks. We decided that if we wanted to have a matching dryer, we had better buy it quickly before we were no longer able to find it. We found our dryer’s model for a great price from a clearance appliance store in Colorado. It had a couple of blemishes, which is what made the price so great, but we were able to inspect it before accepting it and it has turned out wonderfully.

Because we now had two machines of equal height, I asked Tom to create a folding station for me. He did a little internet research and came up with this: a piece of countertop from Ikea ($39, baby!) and quarter rounds on the ends to keep it in place. We put some drawer liner (the cushiony, rubbery kind) on the machines to keep it from scratching and VOILA, we had a place to fold clothes!

Step 4: a laundry sink

The room actually already had a laundry sink, but we removed it when we moved in. It was old and the galvanized faucet that came directly out of the wall was hardly usable, and covered in paint. It sat unused for a year. When we decided to makeover this room, we went back and forth about whether or not to reinstall a sink. It took up precious space, but was also a bonus for washing out heavily soiled clothes, shoes etc. In the end, we decided it was worth having it. Tom took apart the old galvanized faucet, repaired the giant hole in the wall, and installed a new laundry sink. While we could have lived without it, it is so nice to have a place to throw VERY dirty stuff until I am ready to deal with it. There are just some things that you don’t want to wash out in your kitchen or bathroom sink. Enough said.

 

Step 5: a drying rod

Because it is a small space, there isn’t room for a drying rack. I’ve seen wall units that have arms that fold out for drying clothes, but even these would take up too much space since we need to be able to access our pantry. So my ingenious husband rigged a shower rod between the two cabinets for my drying rack. It is a perfect use of what would otherwise be unused space and it doesn’t limit our mobility in the room. I love it!

Step 6: update fixtures

This was easy. New overhead light and a new brushed nickel doorknob and we were one step further away from the 1960’s. Every little step helps. :)

Step 7: accesorize

I dressed the window with a simple valance using some striped home décor fabric that I had found on clearance at JoAnn Fabrics.

The hooks replaced an older set of hooks, which were incredibly ugly. The new ones came from Ikea and are helpful for holding miscellaneous items.

Earlier this year I scored several signs at Goodwill. “Bless this Mess” just needed a little distressing and it was ready to be displayed. Not bad for $1.99!

The laundry definition came from Sprik Space. She offers lots of free printables. I just saved it and printed it out at my local copy shop. I think it cost less than a dollar for the color copy. The frame was one I already had. I spray painted it white and then distressed it by sanding it and dragging it along the concrete in our backyard. Very technical stuff. :) I made the burlap mat by cutting a piece of burlap and taping it around the mat that came with the frame. Pottery Barn has frames with burlap mats that sell for $39. No thanks—I’ll make my own!

And there you have it, our new laundry room!