One room, mastered

Sometimes, despite all of the renovation progress that we've made, I have trouble seeing the progress, and still focus on all that I want to do before the house is "done."  One of my goals for the summer (post-work and pre-baby) was to go room to room and finish a lot of the little things that have been on my mind for a while.  The master bedroom was the first to get this treatment (and, besides the nursery will probably be the only room that I completely finish before Anna's arrival).  The little changes have made me fall in love with this room, and its much cozier and functional.  The nursery transformation obviously required that my sewing table be relocated, and incidentally I like my new space even more than the designated "sewing room."  But - I should back up, since the last time I shared pictures of the master bedroom, it looked like this:

It's embarrassing to admit, but since I was never completely happy with the room, I never got around to blogging about it - even a progress post!  So, let's go back to the beginning!

Here's the room when we bought the house:

It wasn't the worst of all the rooms (that honor is difficult to bestow, but most likely would go either to the kitchen or upstairs bath).  Basically, it was a poorly painted and dirty big box.  With lots of little issues, like random neon splotches on the ceiling, a taped-over and painted-over junction box that should have been a light switch, and NO storage.

 First things first, Justin built a closet (still one of his projects that has impressed me the most) for Christmas 2010:

Then, we fixed the many problems with the drywall, primed, and painted:

Had carpet installed:

And made some curtains (the last you heard a peep about this room!)

Somewhere along the line, we purchased some grown-up furniture.  ("Grown-up" meaning that it was not only a step up from the mattress-on-the-floor solution, but also came from a legitimate furniture store, and isn't made of particle board).  It was exactly what we wanted - and also on clearance (thus the thumbs-up!)

And....now's now:

I made the quilt for Justin when he was a bachelor.  I have another quilt in-progress for our room, and that will eventually become our summer-time quilt (the flannel one is a bit much for the warm weather!)  For now, though, I really like this one.

Sewing machine AND Jo-Ann the fish relocated as part of the nursery transformation.

Art between the windows is an original painting (of a house and bicycle built-for-two) from Justin's great-aunt.  She gave it to us as a wedding gift with the sweet note saying "There, now your house is all done and you can enjoy!"  I recently got the console table at Pier 1, and had fun decorating with finds from around the house, including our wedding cake topper.

The art above Justin's dresser are pictures he took at his family farm.  You can tell who's the more talented photographer in the family!  Incidentally, the farm was home to his great-grandmother, who is pictured in the framed photo, bottom right.  Although she's no longer living at the farm, she is still living - and 101 years old!  We can't wait to get some 5-generation photos once Anna arrives!

Our room is still door-less (and thus my behind-the-door jewelry board is still functioning as basic decor!)  Once we can find another suitable door (we purchase them used to maintain the same look throughout the house), we'll get one up.  Until then, it's an added perk that we can see Anna's crib from our bed!

So, there she blows, the first room we've completely "mastered."  I'll leave you with one final before and after reminder!

Keep checking back; I feel like I'm on a blog roll now, and have several more posts planned (and even photographed already!)  I'll keep putting them up until it's baby-time...no promises after that :)

It's easy being green

In the past few days, I've gotten several hints (some subtle, many not) that a post was long overdue.  I also realized that the blog is probably 3 months behind the house in terms of actual improvements.  There are lots of "done" things that haven't been photographed, uploaded, narrated, and posted.  In an effort to catch up, here's a post I wrote several weeks ago.  I didn't take the final pictures until tonight.  Hopefully this update will tide you over until I finish my secret sewing room project I hinted about here.

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Kermit may disagree, but I'd say it's easy being green.  At least, it's much easier on my eyes, now that the living room walls are green.

As much fun as mauve walls coated with 20+ years of cigarette smoke can be..

....I'd say a nice fresh coat of green is much nicer!

Thanks to Maura's spring break project, the beadboard was already painted, so it just took me a Saturday afternoon to paint the top half of the room.  This was my first experience with flat paint.  Typically, I choose eggshell for a little extra sheen, and a little protection from smudges.  However, due to the sheen, eggshell also shows some of the imperfections of the walls.

Given that the walls of the living room have the topology of a mountainous region, less sheen was definitely a perk.  We could get away with the risk of smudging, because honestly it will be a bit of a challenge (yet a challenge I imagine we'll somehow accomplish) to smudge the wall four feet off the ground.  The flat paint was easy to paint with, and the difference in covering imperfections really is incredible.  I am pleasantly surprised at marks that were highly evident pre-paint are now nearly invisible from a distance.

So, a few lessons learned from this project:  1) flat paint is great for covering imperfections in the wall, 2) if you're going to spackle nail holes, do it less than 6 months in advance, because you'll probably grow even more tired of smoky mauve walls if they have white splotches, 3) same goes for paint you scratch off the trim, 4) getting your sister to paint half of the room while on spring break is an excellent idea!

In addition to the new paint, we also bought a couch (hooray!).  In a nerve-wracking, semi-crazy move, I purchased it online, having never seen it or sat on it.  However, the measurements were perfect for the space, and it has a fold-out bed, which was a near-necessity since our guest room only sleeps one.  It turns out that the couch is both comfortable and looks good.  Since it wasn't a bought-online nightmare, I can now brag that I got it for more than 50% off through a combination of sales and coupons!  Woo!

The striped pillows came with the couch, and while they match decently, you know I'm itching to make some more!

We (here the royal we...really, just Justin) installed some beautiful dark wood blinds in the living room and den.

That table was a gift from some dear family friends.  They rescued an antique sewing machine treadle and a tabletop and made that especially for us!  :)

A few other remaining projects in the living room include installing ceiling tiles (the peeling ceiling paint is far beyond repair) and painting the front door.

But while many little projects remain, there is definitely progress around here!

Sewing room progress

Tonight, I spent a fabulous evening in my cozy sewing room.  While hubby did this:

I made this:

Having a cozy chair like Lilly ended up being a great idea.  Even if it did mean I was listening to a sniper movie while I crafted, it was awfully nice just to have Justin close by (can you tell I'm still getting over two long years of a long-distance relationship?!)

Anyway, I have been wanting to make a wreath like this for a while.  I wrapped a straw wreath with yarn, and made some felt flowers

With the ideas from a few tutorials like this and this and this, the flowers were actually very easy - and lots and lots of fun.  I enjoy projects that can be completed in one sitting.  Come to think of it, given our recent renovations, I enjoy projects that can be done sitting down, period!  And these little flowers sure make me smile!

I hung the wreath on the door to the closet here in the sewing room.  It's one more little step towards having the room decorated.

Notice also my fabulous new night stand, which I found at TJ Maxx:

Yes, the book on the night stand is "Everything I Know I Learned from Home Improvement: The Do-It-Yourselfer's Guide to Life."  The drawings are super sweet, as are the sentiments.

With this week's updates, the guest room side of the guest room/sewing room is starting to take shape:

I'm going to work on making an upholstered headboard for the bed, adding a dust ruffle, figuring out a way to disguise that ugly brown lamp cord, and making some pretty pillows. 

So although that corner of the room is taking shape, obviously there's a little more work to be done here:

Right now, this is the dumping ground/storage area for everything craft-related and otherwise homeless items.  I dream of a long dresser something like this:

Image from Pottery Barn Teen

But since I do not dream of that price tag, I'm waiting for something similar to pop up on craigslist.  I found a nice brown one today, and I'm hoping to hear back from the seller that it's still available.  Although I'd probably paint it, the $50 price tag sure beats the $899 (plus shipping) price of the one above!

I am also scheming about how I can decorate the corner that my sewing machine calls home:

I'm thinking some shelves (for decorative storage of things like thread, buttons, etc), as well as a bulletin board.  Also, some obvious clutter control!

I'm debating whether to use this fabric my sister helped me choose for curtains (as intended) or for the cover to the bulletin board. 

I'm leaning towards a bulletin board cover, because I have a few other thoughts in mind for curtains...

so stay tuned for that decision and more!  And, in the meantime, please schedule some time to come stay in our guest room!  We love having company :)

Lilly's in the house!

Some of you may know that since high school, I've dreamed of naming a little girl Lillian Patricia.  My affinity for this name was so strong, in fact, that I used to say that I wouldn't marry someone opposed to that choice.  Well, folks, turns out ol' Justin was just too charming, and he wooed me, despite his lukewarm (if best) appreciation for a beautiful name.

With dreams of a real-life Lilly dashed, is it any real surprise which of the two chairs I was considering (remember this post with the debate?) made the final cut?

Welcome home, Lilly!

Although the name certainly was icing on the cake, the Lilly chair actually won over competitor Addyson (also from Pier 1) for the functional arms - thanks to the many commentors who made me realize the importance of such a feature in a chair!

The first time I saw Lilly at the Pier 1 store, I was concerned the bold pattern would be too much for a small space.  But, now that I have it home, it's not too much, and it does a lot to help the pink guestroom look more grown-up chic and less little girl.

And check out the fantastic legs - one of my favorite parts:

And the flowers couldn't have played off the pink any better:

Is there any doubt in anyone's mind where I'm sitting to write tonight's blog post??  There are many evenings to come in this cozy corner, and some mornings, too - I just discovered that the morning sunlight streams directly to this corner.  And we all know I love the sunshine as much as I love a sweet someone something named Lilly!

A letter to Craig

Dear Craig,
About that list of yours....I'd been really happy, especially when you hooked us up with awesome deals like Justin's desk and our kitchen table.  But lately, you haven't really been living up to my expectations.  How about an awesome wide dresser for my sewing room?  White would be awesome, but if not, I could always paint it later.  Really, any color or wood will do, as long as it's got the shape I want, and is of decent quality.  I'd just prefer to find a great Ithaca resident selling a real wood dresser (for a great price) than settle for something affordable made of laminate. 

Bonus points if it looks like this (legs are a plus):

Image from Target.

Thanks for your help, Craig.  I know that you'll come through for me once again.

xoxo,

Emily

P.S. For anyone who's totally confused, I'm frustrated that our local Craigslist (online classified ads) has recently been very light in the dresser department.  If you, or anyone else you know, have a dresser similar to the one above, and would like to sell it for me for less than an arm (or leg), please let me know :)

Musical Chairs

Whoops, it's been a while, hasn't it?...finally - a new post!

We're currently using only 50% of our home's square footage (namely, the downstairs half) because all 3 rooms upstairs are under construction.  This has resulted in some interesting furniture arrangements.  Although we've moved on from a bed in the kitchen, we still have a bed in the den and a desk in the kitchen.  Oh, and another bed masquerading as a couch in the living room.  Once construction is finished upstairs, we can begin a game of musical chairs to match the furniture to the intended function of a room.

We are still on track to move upstais mid-February.  In fact, in a crazy spurt of energy last night, we decided that we should finish the upstairs THIS WEEKEND.  Although it's probaby definitely unreasonable to say that we'd be "finished," I think it is reasonable to dream of two painted bedrooms (which would bring the upstairs paint completion rate to 100%, unless you count the stairwell!)  Since I'm not doing so hot on my New Year's blog-o-lutions (especially the ones about updating frequently and showing more pictures), I'll try to make up for it with a "before and after" of our weekend's progress.

At any rate, it's going to be a very happy day when the big game of musical chairs happens and we move our stuff upstairs.  I'm hoping to at least fare better this time around than I did during a fated game of musical chairs in 3rd grade that resulted in a broken arm.  (Yes, someone sat on my tiny little arm and it broke).

Now, if anything, our downstairs furniture situation is semi-crowded.  However, when we spread the furniture over twice the area, we're suddenly going to be looking a little light in that department.  I've been doing a little online idea shopping (no real shopping yet because my wise husband advises against purchasing things we don't yet have a space to use).  Without further ado, some ideas of things I'm hoping to add to our collection:

A hutch (like this one) for the living room.  I want one with cupboards on the bottom (these open shelves are OK with me since the wine rack is removeable) to store things like board games, and shelves on the top to display decorative items



I actually haven't completely figured out what I want for the rest of the living room.  Definitely a comfy couch, a big ottoman or coffee table for board games (hey, we don't have a TV, we love our games!), and some extra seating so that we can expand our entertaining options beyond our kitchen table.  The living room is an interesting space, though - in that it has 5 doors (the front door, basement door, and entrances to the den, bathroom, and kitchen).  I think it's going to call for some creative furniture arrangement to make it comfortable, livable, welcoming, and serve both as a passageway and the primary living space.  More to come on that, of course.

Upstairs, I've put the most thought into the guest room/sewing room.  Of course, my new sewing table will go there, and I'm loving this type of bed (two in one, how cool is that?!)



I also want to get a small cozy chair - my two current favorites are these two from Pier 1:



Any votes as to whether I should chose the bold & fun Liliana or the soft & pretty Addyson?

Either way, I'll probably get a small ottoman like this one so I can prop up my feet and spend these chilly Ithaca evenings knitting (Yes, the evenings we're not playing board games.  Yes, Justin and I are 70-somethings in 20-something bodies.  Yes, we embrace this fact).

My dream furniture round-up doesn't include such essentials as a bedroom set (our one tiny dresser isn't cutting it, and it probably wouldn't be classy to eternally keep our boxsprings on the floor), but I think I'll have better luck searching for these items in person.  Google searches have ended with too many results to look at, and, let's be honest, dressers just aren't as much fun as those Pier 1 chairs!

I'm obviously dreaming of chairs of all sorts - musical and otherwise :) What do you guys think - can we "finish" two rooms this weekend?  And what furnishings do you think we should choose?  Any votes for Lilly or Addison (the chairs!)?