Home Office Makeover

My office/craft room is currently undergoing a full makeover. I've been dreaming up a couple DIY projects and pinning inspiration. But, as per usual, it's been a little slow going. I definitely have the "vision" and pieces are starting to take shape.

We already painted the walls, which made a dramatic difference (as you can see above). No more teal! The new color is "revere pewter" a taupe/tan with a twinge of gray undertone. Here's a look at the old wall color. Just not my taste anymore.

Next on the list is replacing the carpet (which is quite old, worn and an odd color). I can't wait for that! 

I also hope to "build" a long desk with two cabinets for storage, inspired by this Young House Love DIY project. There will be enough space for my computer, printer, sewing machine and supplies, all in one work station  (instead of having 3 different desks/tables like I currently have).

There is work to be done, but I'm very excited about this office makeover. The chaos and lack of organization while I'm in "office limbo" is driving me a little crazy. I can't wait until everything has it's place and I can craft and design to my hearts content! I'll be tackling a few smaller office projects in the meantime, so stay tuned. 

Living Room Makeover 2012

Our main floor living room/sitting room makeover is complete! I am absolutely thrilled with the way it turned out. It's been a couple months in the making and I'm excited to share the results. After living in our home for 5 years, I decided it was time for some new style. I wanted to start fresh, pick out a new couch and chairs for the first time, and design a room like the ones I salivate over in decorating magazines. New paint, new furniture, a new rug, window treatments and a new arrangement completely changed the whole space. I love walking into my living room, relaxing on the couch and feeling like I'm in a new place! 

The wall color made the biggest difference. I had my heart set on the perfect grey-blue. Finding the right one proved to be the biggest challenge of all! We finally landed on Home Depot's BEHR paint in "Gray Plank". It took a couple test colors before we got it right. 

The new couch and arm chairs are my favorite part. Picking out furniture is both exciting and nerve racking at the same time. Color, fabric, comfort, shape, size - it's a lot to consider, especially when you can only test it out in a showroom and you can't exactly return it if you change your mind. Aside from the fact that our cats like them a little too much (and I'm paranoid about spilling on them), I'm very happy with our selections.

Another nerve racking decision was ordering a rug online for the first time. It turned out to be perfect for the room - and it was on sale on black-Friday and arrived quickly. It's an indoor-outdoor rug which is thin and very easy to maintain. 

I'm accenting with pops of yellow and orange. I found a super soft yellow and white chevron throw blanket, which I use all the time. I made new lumbar pillow covers for our new chairs. 

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like our sitting room now. It used to be green, then we painted it brown, and now it matches the rest of the living room. There's much better flow now. Switching the window treatment and simply arranging the furniture differently makes it feel more purposeful and cohesive. The slipper chairs are acting as a little loveseat/bench. It might be time to re-cover them again in a fun new fabric...

The wall art also adds more personality to the room. The natural light makes it feel so bright and airy. 

Another pop of yellow with my spray-painted mirror. I'm still incorporating pieces from my milk glass collection. They look even prettier against the grey. 

I really like how the walls look with white trim as well as the wooden staircase, floors and furniture.

We also have the addition of my husband's bike on a stationary trainer, for riding indoors during the winter months. Not exactly the type of living room accent I was looking for, but after all the hard work Andrew did to make this room possible, he deserves to enjoy it too! 

I am so very happy with my new living space! I'll be sharing more of the makeover process and steps along the way. You can see what my living room used to look like in this post. And what my sitting room used to look like in this post. What home makeovers have you found created the greatest results?

Sources:
Couch - Ruby Gordon
Arm Chairs - Value City Furniture   
Rug - Ballard Designs
Paint - Home Depot BEHR, Gray Plank

Before & After Home: Master (Mini) Bathroom

We have a "master bathroom" off our bedroom. I use the term "master" very loosely though, because it's a tiny little space (as in closet sized). I am so thankful that there's actually room for a shower, toilet, sink and storage space! Having two bathrooms is a must if you ask me. Having two showers/bathtubs is an extra bonus! Our house was originally built as a ranch style home, and the second floor was added later. They had to be creative when adding this handy little bathroom.

When we moved in, the "master bath" was blue. Navy blue. As in almost black, blue. Talk about trying to make a room feel smaller. Especially with a slanted ceiling. I guess the goal was to match the floor tiles? Interesting tactic. I couldn't stand the way it was. It felt so dark and gross.

The first step was to lighten up the place! This is the only room that I can take credit for painting. Primarily because it's only about 5x5 feet and I am not the best painter. We used Sherwin Williams paint in "practical beige," leftover from our kitchen. It's a nice beige that goes with everything.

If you notice in the "before" photo, the window trim was painted white but the original wood was left inside. The house has these beautiful dark wood windows, and the previous owners went around and painted them all white. Not cool. I attempted to strip the paint off but didn't get it all off completely. I think it looks better than it did half white and half wood. A project for another day. Or year.

The sink area before and after. Bye bye dark depressing navy blue! Switched out the switch plates and towel ring too.

The toilet area (or throne, whichever you prefer), with an over-the-toilet shelving unit added much needed storage and made use of wasted wall space.

There used to be a "closet" with handmade, unevenly and widely spaced shelves enclosed by a hideous pull screen. I think I got rid of that screen out the day we closed on the house. I ripped out the shelves shortly after. It wasn't worth having a door behind a door in such a small space. I purchased a tall metal shelving rack to put in its place. It's not the most sightly thing at times, but it keeps everything organized. A quick storage solution.

And a standup shower with a reversible shower curtain that I love. Flowers on one side, stripes on the other. There are two rods, one for the plastic liner and one for the decorative curtain. It was a height issue and I didn't have double-sided hooks like in our other bathroom. Gerbera daisies are my favorite flower. The farmed art was a long narrow poster that I cut into 4 pieces and framed. A metal rack from Marshalls holds towels and extra toilet paper. Gotta have extra TP!

That's a look at our master (mini) bathroom and how I turned it from dark and dreary to light and cheery. Anyone have a tiny room project they're proud of? Any tricks you'd like to share for making the most of a small space?

Before & After Home: Guest Room

Since I can't reveal photos of my nieces new room yet, here's a look at our guest room, which is pretty much a replica of my teen bedroom from the house I grew up in. I took my furniture with me when I got married (thanks Dad and Mom!) and it has been in our guest room ever since. I still remember when I got that daybed. It has a trundle bed underneath, which is about the coolest thing ever. One overnight guest? Here's your bed. Two overnight guests? Here's your secret bed hiding underneath.

The previous owners had twins, a boy and a girl, and their shared room was green and yellow, with a white chair rail. Here is a look at the BEFORE:

It is a long narrow room, with two windows and a pretty big closet, which makes furniture arranging a little challenging. We kept the chair rail and painted the room periwinkle on top and lilac on the bottom. I like color, what can I say? We also added closet doors. Two years ago. Which still need to be painted white. And the knobs need to be installed. On my to do list... Here is the room AFTER:

Isn't it cozy? Reminds me of my old bedroom. So much so, that it's hard to tell the difference in photos! MY OLD ROOM:

Same three framed photos above the bed. Same pillows and duvet. Almost the same wall color. Is that weird? Ah, memories. Makes me want to put on an over-sized flannel shirt with some baggy jeans and make a mix tape. A lot of time was spent hanging out in my room, listening to the radio, talking on the phone, reading and always making stuff. 

Who can spot the photo of my husband and I when we were just dating? Hard to believe that was about 6 years ago!

Tween Room Makeover Bargain Finds

As soon as I got the green light from my sister, I started looking for items to include in my nieces bedroom makeover. My mission: to find great accessories and furniture for the lowest possible price, that coordinated with the comforter pictured above (and the existing carpet, but that's a whole other story). Did I mention we are working with a budget? The goal is to spend as little as possible. I rise to the challenge of searching for bargains and getting a deal!

The Roxy brand comforter set (pictured above) is where we started. I like to select a main piece to build a room around. If something is multicolored or has a printed design, the other elements in the room should be less-busy and compliment the main piece with similar, like or neutral colors. But not be "matchy-matchy." Our favorite phrase. Lisa purchased the bed set on-line from Overstock.com, and I believe she saved $40. It was the biggest investment for the room, but it's the main piece and will (hopefully) last Emma into her teens. Emma wanted green and pink in her room, and these polka dots fit the bill for being colorful, yet not too foo-foo-girly.

Now for some accessories. I found this adorable brown pillow with a big pink bow at Kirkland's Home, on clearance for $3.18. That's right. 

Also at Kirkland's Home, this stylish vanilla scented initial candle, in pink and green, for $3.99. 

A green picture frame from Marshall's, on clearance for $3. 

A hot pink trash can from Marshall's, on clearance for $4.  

A cool piece of initial wall art for $6.

A pair of wall canvases, on clearance for $8. This isn't a great photo, and they're still all wrapped up until we decide if we're keeping them, but aren't they cute? My niece likes dogs, and the pink and brown would tie in nicely. Gotta love Marshall's.

I found these cute little metal containers in three sizes at Goodwill. They had tons of them and they were brand new. I love the scalloped edge. They were marked $1, but when I cashed out, they ended up being 50 cents!

The only problem: they were yellow. So I spray painted them white. Presto change-o! 

I can picture these cans being filled with pens, pencils and markers, sitting on Emma's future desk. Perfect for organizing art supplies! 

Are you ready for the best bargain of them all? My sister found this 9 drawer white dresser, on Craigslist, located just 10 minutes away, for...drum roll please...TWENTY DOLLARS. I couldn't believe it. We had both been stalking Craigslist looking for a dresser like this. She gets mad props for this one. Do people still say "mad props"? I am old. I get mad props for agreeing to go pick it up with her. At night. In the rain. Then shortly after, the Lifetime movie "The Craigslist Killer" came out. Made us think twice about our night time furniture pick-up adventure. We were FINE. I know God wanted us to have that lovely $20 dresser, so He kept us safe. I have bought and sold many-an-item on Craigslist, so I don't have any complaints. 

We also scored a tall narrow white bookcase off Craigslist for another $20 buckaroos and a white wicker trunk for $25. Sorry, no photos of either. You'll just have to wait for the big reveal. 

I put together a basic floor plan so my sister could see the furniture arrangement I had in mind. We actually did a test run and moved things around to see if it would even work. Here is the plan:

There is still a bit of work to do:
• Paint existing desk from the basement white OR find and purchase a white desk 
• Paint bedroom walls 
• Purchase storage baskets and bins
• ORGANIZE STUFF


I can't say when exactly the room will be done, because we're doing a little as we go. And it depends on when they can paint. I'll keep you posted. I think the fun part is looking for accessories and envisioning it all coming together. I'm as anxious as you are to see the end result!

Tween Room Makeover Challenge

My niece Emma turned the big 1-0 last month. Her Mom (my sister) wanted to makeover her room as part of her birthday gift. I was like, "Sign me up!" It was all I could do to help myself from buying stuff at every store and day-dreaming up a beautiful room for her. Visions of curtains, wall art and fluffy pillows danced in my head.

Before I share some of the crazy deals my sister and I found, and I mean ca-razy deals, I'll share with you the horrifying unsightly before. Now, I must warn you, what you are about to see is not pretty. The following photos were taken on a random afternoon when no tidying up had been done. But in all honestly, I don't think tidying up would have solved much. Sorry Lisa, don't kill me for showing these. That's what's so great about a makeover! The worse the "before" photos are, the better the "after" photos are! Brace yourself...

 

I especially like the Sponge Bob poster. How can one little girl have SO MUCH STUFF? Yikes. This will certainly be a challenge. I can identify with Emma and her creative 10-year-old mind. For I too, once was a hoarder pack rat. Every paper, marker, shoebox and string could be needed for a future art project or held sentimental value. These things are hard to part with. That, and the 714 stuffed animals. That's not the actual number, but that's what it felt like, as I pulled stuffed animal after stuffed animal out of her closet. No wonder she can't find her clothes!

Behold, our inspiration:

This is the comforter set and inspiration for Emma's room. We have already made tremendous progress. I am excited to share more of the juicy details with you, but you'll just have to wait on the edge of your seats for a while. I'm running short on time lately, but I promise to share more about our tween room makeover as we go.

So, what do your kids or nieces and nephews rooms look like? Are they neat and tidy like our inspiration photo or are they more like disaster zones? What DO you do with all their toys? Our biggest challenge is storage space and finding room for all the barbies, puzzles, doll houses and STUFF. Without a playroom or storage space, you quickly run out of room. I welcome your suggestions.