The laundry room.... sigh.... one of the only rooms that did not turn out the way I had hoped. We've only lived in our new house for about 6 months, but for 6 months I have hated the way the laundry room turned out. We were in such a rush to move into our house, that the builders got a bit sloppy with it... at the time I was just OVER the construction process and I wanted to move in desperately. So, I did what any desperate person would do, and I overlooked the glaringly obvious problems that were getting left behind. Fast forward 6 months from move-in day, and I am irritated. I should have made the builders re-do their mistakes. I should have made them pay more attention to the final ...
Tagged with: Inspiring
Breakfast Nook Plans
Lately I've been daydreaming of my most recent obsession: Sunny breakfast nooks with bench seating. Yes, you read that right. I've been obsessing over breakfast nooks. And bench seating. It's what I do... my mind is constantly changing, organizing or decorating something. You'd think that I would get tired of it. Actually, it's the exact opposite. I thrive off of it! Honestly, the more that I let my mind wander, the better my ideas get. Does that happen to anyone else? Anyways... Since we have a dining room and a breakfast nook, I've recently decided that I want to make our breakfast nook, well, breakfasty. I want to add a comfy bench with usable storage and numerous pillows, a ...
A Painted Front Door
Who here loves a painted front door? ME! I must say that our original white door looked fine, it just wasn't enough of a statement and not the type of entrance that I had imagined. So, I went in search for the perfect paint color. I wanted something that would give visitors a welcoming vibe, but still look classy with our black rock. We love how it turned out! But just so you remember, here's the before: And here's the after: We painted the front door Wythe Blue from Benjamin Moore and absolutely love it. It's the perfect pop against the black rock. There's still a ton to do with the front porch, but it's looking so much better. Obviously my white pots are empty.... I'm on the ...
Kitchen Progress= Major Love
Hey there! Long time no talk! It's my fault, I know. Let's just say that I've been busy. First we unpacked. Then we washed... everything. Then we put it away. I'm still on the, "putting it away part", but have made some serious progress. The kitchen was my first priority and I was so relieved that nothing was broken during our move. (Big hugs to our amazing family that helped us move. I didn't find a single item that was broken!) And, believe it or not, all of my kitchen/ entertaining items fit inside the kitchen. With room to spare! My family reading this can understand my excitement. I have a lot of things kitchen... After hugging every item that I unpacked, I quickly turned my ...
House Update: Laundry Room
Happy Friday! The laundry room has captured my attention lately. It could be because I haven't used my own washer and dryer in over a year, and they were basically were brand spankin' new when they went into storage. You may not be able to believe it, but I've missed them. Here's a little surprise about me.... I really like laundry. Don't pass out. Are we good? Great. There's something about the smell of freshly laundered clothes and bedding. Especially bedding. It's pretty much magical. Much like the rest of the house, I've put a lot of time and energy into this room. While I wasn't able to get everything that I wanted in the space, I did get most of it. Because I wanted something ...
House Update: Master Bedroom & Bathroom
Hello! It's all about the master suite today! The bedroom and bathroom are turning out simply amazing, it's kind of surreal to see it happen. I know I say it all the time, probably more than it bears repeating, but it's incredible to see a vision come to life. It seems like yesterday we were buying the jetted tub and toilets.... We've come a very long way! Notice the painted window ledges... now all we're missing is the ceiling fan! I picked up the bathroom mirrors at Ross for a complete steal. The only problem is that they're black... it's a little bit too dark for me, so they're getting a fresh coat of white paint very soon. The tile is completely finished, including grout. It's ...
House Update: Kitchen Cabinetry & Countertops!
The kitchen. This could be one of my favorite rooms to talk about. And this was most definitely the room that I spent most of my time on. All that time surfing the internet and sifting through hundreds of inspirational pictures has completely paid off and I am swooning over our kitchen. Let's begin with the cabinets. It was really the first item that we had to pick to set the tone that we were going for. I must admit that I really like kitchens with white cabinetry. My husband on the other hand, really doesn't. At all. He likes wood grain, and I can't blame him. So, we went dark. Totally opposite, I know, but we are in love with the final results! In fact, I can't imagine it looking any ...
House Update: Tile, Carpet & More!
I heart flooring. And doors. And trim. It really makes all the difference in the world. I'm a firm believer that it's all in the details and that they make the biggest impact. It's amazing to see all of our decisions and choices come together. And better yet, to see our completion date get closer and closer. It's long overdo and we are beyond ready! Here's where I left you last: But, now we have our flooring installed! And we completely love it! I talked about painting before, and just happened to forget a dining room shot. Here you go! I love the color. It's completely fabulous and I can't wait to see how it looks with our furnishings and accessories. Love. Anyways, back to the wood ...
House Update: Garage Door
Who knew that someone could love a garage door as much as I love ours? I certainly wouldn't have thought I would ever actually stand in front of a garage door and proclaim my love for it. But, that actually happened. In private. (Without contractors.) First, let me say that I typically think garage doors are blah. They lack personality and character and I generally don't like the window design on the door. I'm weird. In fact, I dislike garage doors so much, that I didn't want to see it on the front of my house. Again, I'm weird. So when I say that I really love our garage door, it's deep. My inspiration started with these beauties: (via) I loved everything about the doors. The hardware. ...
House Update: Drywall Part Three
Excitement is in the air! It's been a happy day at the house. So much progress has been made and the house looks entirely different. I actually walked inside the house expecting to see a few 2 x 4 walls... crickets.... I stopped dead in my tracks! There are no 2 x 4 walls inside the house. Nope, nadda, zilch! They are covered! Except the garage... which should be finished up tomorrow. But, the garage isn't included in the interior portion of the house... so I'm calling the interior finished! Can you BELIEVE this? I'm still in a bit of shock myself. For realz! I mean, a few weeks ago we had this: And then last week I left you with this: But.... this is what it looks like NOW: Notice ...
House Update: Rock is Done!
Hello Friends! It's a happy day! As you've probably already seen from my post title, the rock is finally finished! How exciting, right? I am in love with it's color variation and the general look that it gives to the house. It really is beautiful. And the rock guys were so wonderful to work with! The hubby and I have been busy picking out the stucco colors. It's easier now that the rock is done, but it's still a little scary since it's such a big commitment. Luckily, we already have an idea of how we want the finished product to look and I talked about that here. Here it is! The peak above the door will be stucco. At first we thought that we might have extra rock for that area, but ...
House Update: Drywall Part Two
Whoa! We have walls... with drywall on them! The house looks completely different. Initially I thought that the inside of the house would get much smaller once drywall was added. I'm here to tell you that it didn't happen and it looks absolutely wonderful! Completely wonderful! Outstanding in fact! But, enough chit chat, let's look at some pictures! Just a fair warning, there are lots of them! Kitchen/ Breakfast Area Kitchen Kitchen Kitchen/ Living Room Living Room Dining/ Entry Dining Room Hall Bath Guest Bedroom Office Pantry. Love! It's turning out great.... WE CAN'T WAIT TO MOVE IN! Tomorrow I'll have another happy update! It's a good one! :) ...
House Update: Drywall Part One
Well, it's official! We finally have drywall! It's such a beautiful sight and I could spend hours staring at it. *Sigh* We're finally to the point that I never thought would come. I've felt like we've been waiting 5 years for this, but in reality it's only been 9 months. Practically the same difference, right? Especially to two people who lack some serious patience... We're anxious. We're ready. We're definitely anxious. Oops. I already mentioned that. This week we should see some serious progress. So much progress that my happy heart might actually burst with pure joy! It's amazing how much we're already in love with our home, and we haven't even lived in it yet! It's a dreamy love and ...
Style Board Series: Living Room
The living room. It's one of the most important rooms in the house. Especially since it's connected to the kitchen, dining room, breakfast nook and entry way. It's called an open floor plan. And they can be tricky to design and decorate. Getting the rooms to flow together, but still have a little somthin' somthin' of their own is a tad tricky for me. Especially in the paint department. I thought I had it all figured out, I really did, and then a color named gray happened. I was going to go all soft and creamy, but then I kept seeing inspirational pictures of rooms with gray paint (a faint gray color) and I'm rather enjoying it. My problem is that the kitchen is connected to the living ...
Thrifty Finds
At my latest trip to our local thrift/ consignment store, I found some a-mazing items that were just begging for a makeover. I tried to talk myself out of a few of them, but had a feeling that I would totally regret it later. So, I loaded them up. Add that to some items that I had already been collecting, and I am on project overload! Take a look at these beauties and welcome them to our furniture family! The gold mirror is actually from my papa. He recently moved into a new home and couldn't find a place for it or the stack of frames. I graciously offered to show them some love. Here's the awesome mirror. All it needs is a little paint! The frames are for our future gallery wall and ...
House Update: Randomly Awesome
I know several of you have been stalking the site for a new house update. I wish that I had more to show for the past weeks. We've been making a ton of progress, it's just hard to show in pictures. I'll break down what we've been focusing our time on: Plumbing & Electrical is finished! We're just waiting for it to be inspected and approved. Here's what the inside looks like: Notice the blue electrical outlets and the wire? This is looking from the breakfast nook into the living room and entry way. Here's another view: Now we're looking at the back kitchen wall, which will be home to the the gas cooktop (black line) and pot filler (red line)! Remember my love for the pot filler? ...
Style Board Series: Master Patio
I can honestly say that the master patio style board has been one of the funnest to create thus far. I've had a difficult time choosing a couple of the items, just because there are so many awesome things to pick from. Luckily, our patio is quite large and because of that I am able to divide it into two different sections, if you will. On the side of the master bedroom I am planning on expanding the stamped concrete with stone pavers. As an added bonus to the property that we bought, the previous owner left behind a ton of stone pavers, which threw me for a loop in the beginning. I had no clue how we could reuse them, but I was adamant that we keep them. I have found a new place for several ...
Style Board Series: Master Closet
I'm pretty sure that I have closet envy. Yes, it's possible. And yes, it's serious. Right now the hubby and I share a small closet. He has half and I have half. Or he has a 1/3 and I have the rest. Whatever. However you look at it, we've crammed that baby full and the sad thing is, it's only housing half of our winter clothes. No summerness is involved yet. Let me just say that a walk in closet will provide the much needed therapy to get me over my "wecan'tfitanotherthinginthiscloset" phobia. Look it up, you'll find that listed as a phobia. I'm certain. With the house progressing (I'll have an update on that soon. I promise.) it's becoming a wee bit easier to visualize the finished ...
Style Board Series: Master Bathroom
Hey there! I'm back with another Style Board Series Post! Today's focus is on the master bathroom. I can't even describe how crazily excited I am over this room. Like many aspects of our new home, I've never actually had a spacious master bath that has a shower and a tub. Which are separate. Know what I mean? They've always been combined, but not this time! We have a totally separate bathtub from the shower... It's almost too surreal! First, let me say that the master bathroom has been the hardest room to make decisions on. I have no idea what I ultimately want the final outcome to be. That's kinda the problem. There are so many different "looks" that interest me, making it hard to pick ...
Style Board Series- Master Bedroom
Heya!! Happy Friday to everyone and welcome to another post in the Home Inspiration Style Board Series! Last week we talked about the design for my future office (which I'm still loving, but have thought of more ideas) and today the focus is all about the master bedroom. These days it's all about a soothing environment, and since words are the best way to describe how you want a room to look, I decided to put together a little list that fits the image in my head. Here's what I'm thinking: Soft Soothing Comforting Relaxing Luxurious Welcoming Bright Layered Cheerful While picking out items to match up to my descriptions, I kept seeing images of luxury hotel bedrooms pop into my ...
Office Inspiration & A New Series
It's amazing the things we take advantage of. Like a home office, for instance. Before we sold our house and moved, I spent so much time in our office. Between the bills, filing and working from home time to time, my office got a lot of use. Looking back on it today, I realize that it's the simple things in life life that make me happy. Who would have thought that filing bills would have been fun, or heaven forbid, brought me joy. But now, oh ya. I crave office organization. Something fierce, really. Living out of a suitcase isn't for the faint of heart. And cramming an entire office into expandable pocket folders is about to make my organizing lovin' soul go mad. Seriously. Because I also ...