Monday, March 25, 2013

Coming along

We got a lot done this past week at the house.  Most of the time was spent cleaning up after all the sanding Rob and his dad did last week.  It looked like there was a sandstorm in the house.  I was honestly shocked at how much dust there was.  We got the downstairs 100% cleaned up and got the first coat of finish on the floors.  Here is a sneak peak (taken with Rob's phone).  I'll have more pictures later.


Rob and I spent a lot of time this weekend talking about the kitchen and planning what we want to do. We're hoping to make an Ikea trip within the next week or so and want to be prepared for what we need before we go so that we don't end up spending more money than we need to.

We've been planning on making an island for the kitchen, similar to what we did in our kitchen now, but probably not as big.  It will actually come out from the wall that is in between the two windows in the kitchen.

We have been looking on Craigslist, trying to find something to use for the base.  we don't want to spend a lot of money and were even trying to figure out if there was a way to use our current MALM dresser that is in our spare room.

Yesterday when we were driving to church, we found some cabinet pieces on the side of the road.  They were in excellent condition and we quickly swiped them up.  The one piece is a set of drawers (which we desperately need because the current kitchen cabinets have none).  And the other piece is a large cabinet that is probably from a wall cabinet.  So, it is a little shorter than the drawers.  Rob has the idea to do something like below since they aren't exactly the same height.  He's so good at this kind of stuff!


One thing we are definitely getting from Ikea is this cute little cart.  When it came out in the new catalog this past year, I loved it and was hoping that some day I would have a place to use it.  I realize it's everywhere and everyone seems to have one, but it's just such a great design!  We're gonna tuck it next to the stove to store lots of cooking things.  

 I'm getting really excited about moving into the new house, which we're hoping will happen in about 3 weeks.  I am hoping to get the foyer and kitchen painted this week.  It feels like things are really coming together.  After last week when I was very sick and feeling pretty depressed about the state of the house, I'm feeling much better this week.  Even though it's SNOWING on March 25th!!!  I'm not letting that get me down.  

I'll be back with more pictures this week.  Happy snow day!


Tuesday, March 19, 2013

House update

I think we are about due for a house update, don't you?  The past couple weeks have been crazy.  Not to mention the kids and I have been sick off and on.  On Friday I was so sick I actually thought, "this is the end!".  I know, I can be dramatic, but it's been years since I've been that sick.  Thankfully, other than some congestion, I am feeling pretty good.  I am blaming it all on this blasted weather.  I mean yesterday I came out of the Y and it was icing, on March 18th.  I mean, c'mon.  I would also gladly skip over spring and all the allergies that come with it.  I said it before and I'll say it again, I love summer- the hot, the sweat...I'll take all of that over this stuff.  Ok, I'm done my rant, I swear.

Rob and his dad basically almost killed themselves this past weekend getting the floors sanded at the house.  They did it in 2 days, and it looks awesome.  Even though there is about a half inch of dust everywhere, it looks amazing.  I am so thankful for a husband (and father in law) that are so handy and willing to work so hard.  I'm also thankful for my mother in law who took care of the kids those 2 days since I thought I was on my death bed.  SO thankful for family.

Here is a corner in the boy's room.  I'll take more pictures this week once we get in there and clean things up.  We're not planning on staining the floors, and I'm still a little unsure how they will look with just the clear finish, but I think it is the way to go and more what we like.


Before they started the floors this past weekend, we took a couple of shots of the house to show the progress we made.  The boy's room is done being painted, walls and trim.  It's amazing what paint can do!! There was lots of prep in all the rooms before we could paint, like spackling, sanding, taking down borders.  Rob and his dad did most of that prep.



Before


The living room also got done.  We decided to use the color in our current kitchen now, Seashell Gray from Valspar.  Trim also got repainted.  



Before


And, maybe you noticed in the one picture above that that horrible green is gone in the foyer.  We got 2 coats of primer in there and it is just waiting to be painted a fresh white.  Hoping to get that done before we move in, but we'll see.  


I got 2 samples. and we're going with the one on the right, Pale Bloom by Valspar.  

And then there's the kitchen.  This room is by far the one that has had the most done to it and it looks the worst.  Rob's motto is "it has to get worse before it gets better".  This room looks like a crime scene right now.  We're not doing a major kitchen renovation right now because we don't have the money, but, we are making some small and inexpensive changes that will make a huge difference and make it a great kitchen for a few years until we have the money to do what we want to. 


The one thing we are doing is moving the refrigerator and stove.  The fridge is going in the corner where the stove is.  Wallpaper is all down and the stove is out of this corner.  Plastic backsplash thing is also torn out.  Leaving it to look like this....


Remember, "it has to get worse before it gets better"!!  So, the fridge will go in that corner.  The stove will go to the left of the door where you walk into the kitchen.  We'll be putting some open shelves above it.  I don't have a great pic of that area, but here it is before.  


The kitchen has me the most stressed right now.  We're really hoping to get it all painted and fairly arranged before moving in.  We're planning on making an island, but that probably will not happen til after we move in.  


Ok, so I think that pretty much sums up where we are now.  I admit that I am feeling overwhelmed by all there is to do.  PLUS moving on top of all that and those logistics.  We're moving 2 blocks away and it is stressful, I can't imagine making a big move to another town or state with kids.  The good thing is we have our house rented for May 1st, and that gives us just a little more time to get things done, so I feel good about that.  I think we are both anxious to be living in the new house as soon as possible though.  We figure it might be easier to get some things done if we were living there, like after the kids are in bed at night.  

I'll be back with another update soon!


Sunday, March 3, 2013

New house inspiration

 Over the past couple weeks, Rob and I have had a lot of paint discussions for the new house.  I really don't want to rush into things too much. I want to take our time decorating and figuring out what works best by living there.  However, there are some things we have to make decisions on before moving in.  Like, some paint colors.

I want to get the boys room and the living room completely painted before moving in.  These are the 2 rooms that would be hard to accomplish too much in once we are living there because of the kids.  For the boy's room, we've decided to paint it the same color it is now in our current house, so that everything we already have works.  (We're also working with a minimum budget, so using what we already have is best)

The living room is where we kept running into problems.  We have gone back and forth on whether or not to keep things neutral downstairs or go for a bold color.  Part of me wants to have the guts to paint our living room something like this...



But, I just can't do it.  I think that I may like it for awhile, but I know myself too well and know that I will get sick of it.

I'm aware that I like to switch things up, like, curtains, pillows, etc.  Having a neutral pallet allows me to do that.  There are so many other ways to add color, I would feel better having the freedom to do that with keeping the walls neutral.  Plus, I think the house will look so good with fresh white, or light gray paint.  I'm also really particular about lighting in a house, and until we live there and I get to know the natural light in rooms, or how it feels at night with lights on, I just can't do something this daring.  

The only room we may get a LITTLE more daring with is the dining room.  But, that's covered in wallpaper and has two chair rails, yes two...why have one when you could have two?!  So, we have a lot to do before making any decisions in there.




Here is my favorite house right now for inspiration.   I love everything about this house, it feels more like our style.  I love what Maria says about old houses in this interview,

“I love the fact that old houses have nicks and aren’t perfect; the floors aren’t level, the windows aren’t square,” says Maria. “Old homes are a lot more interesting and forgiving, so your lifestyle can be more forgiving.”


It's so true and exactly why I have such a love for old houses!

I love the kitchen.  I'm all about mixing black and white cabinets and butcher block!  Just check my Pinterest.





I love how this desk space is a little messy but stil looks pretty.  


Bedrooms



And, I just love this shot from the hall looking into the master bedroom.


all images from Vintage Simple blog


I'll share more inspiration along the way, but right now I can't stop thinking about this house and these images.  They just make me so happy!