Hall Makeover: The Beginning

I came up with a hair-brained scheme for an improvement to the hall right inside the garage door of our house. There is a coat closet right there for jackets, shoes, etc.; but with toddlers and backpacks and church bags, a rack of hooks seemed like a good option to get everyone (yes, even me) to put their stuff away upon coming inside. Besides, the little boys are too short to hang up their own coats. But according to my plan the hooks are actually the last thing to go up.

Look at me getting ahead of myself. Here is a concept drawing for my plan. (Okay, "concept drawing" might be a bit of a stretch.)

Phase 1: Paint trellis

Phase 2: Paint white below trellis

Phase 3: Paint gray above trellis (and the adjoining wall to the left)

Phase 4: Install chair rail

Phase 5: Make and hang hook rack

Last night I finished phase 1. It took a week of painting (stretched over a month), but I finally finished it.

Remind me to show you what brushes I used to paint it sometime. (Hint: they were tiny.)

Just the Way You Are

If you haven't heard of them yet, there is a group called The Piano Guys, and I'm a fan. This is a little bio from their YouTube page:

Our vision is to create music and videos that inspire people. We want to take that music to the world and make a difference. We have something different to offer from any other YouTube channel. We like to put a new spin on classic stuff and a classic spin on new stuff. Whatever we do, we put our heart and souls into every note and frame.

Okay, now that you've been introduced, watch this video of their cover of Bruno Mars' Just the Way You Are.



I love a good piano piece. *sigh* But that isn't even the best part. Did you see those centerpieces!?!

As evidenced by this post, I have a thing for those bare branches with crystals and candles.

Pinterest

One of these days I am probably going to break down and make one for myself. I'm thinking it will go on top of my dresser or bookcase. We'll see. I'd actually have to make it first! In the mean time, feel free to check out more of The Piano Guys videos and music on their YouTube channel. Happy Sunday!

Dangerous Ideas

I have been on a gleaning-ideas-from-my-fellow-bloggers kick lately. First, there was the rug. Then there were the owls. (And honestly, I think we can all admit that most good ideas were first thought up by someone else, anyway.) My most recent idea is perhaps one of my most dangerous. I can totally see myself going crazy with this one.

I read, "My refrigerator looks sad but unfortunately it's a built-in one so I can't use magnets. But I guess I could take some vinyl decals and decorate the whole kitchen :)" here. I could feel the lightning bolt hitting my brain.

A long time ago, there was an episode of Color Splash where David was doing this Asian/contemporary kitchen and he painted (or stained?) flowers on the upper cabinets. I thought it was a fabulous idea to decorate the doors like that. In a kitchen with wall-to-wall cabinets like mine (and many of yours, I'm assuming), there isn't a lot of wall space for decorating. Putting decals on the doors is like the best of all worlds (especially if you are like me and do not have designer cabinets with the varying heights and depths, etc. to make them interesting).

My Kitchen

If you do an online image search, you can find plenty of examples of other people doing this. But this one took the cake. Oh my gosh! Black, white, contemporary, flowers, circles--this is so beautiful!

http://www.womanlypage.com/coloured-kitchen-cabinets

I'm so grateful that Darin got Santa is getting me a Silhouette Cameo for Christmas. I can't wait to try this!

(PS. You can see a few other designs be clicking on the link under the photo.)

Bud Vases, Anyone?

I've been wanting some bud vases for a while now, but they seem so expensive! Okay, so they aren't actually expensive, but they are more than I am willing to pay. The style I am looking for is something streamlined with a narrow neck, like these vases from Z Gallerie, Crate&Barrel and Ikea, respectively, only smaller.

Lithe Aubergine Vase | Z Gallerie

Cooper Tall Vase | Crate&Barrel

SALONG Vase | Ikea

This leaves me with two options: wait for a killer sale (not likely), or DIY a substitute. Guess which one is more likely to happen? Yeah, that's what I thought.

There is a DIY solution (there always is) to my problem that is apparently a common problem for many a thrifty DIY home decorator. The most popular fix is to collect some glass bottles, dress them up with a little puffy paint, and spray paint them in the color of your choice. The first time I saw this done, it was in white and reminded me of a Johnathan Adler piece.

Jessy of Fairytale Frosting put together a tutorial of how she upcycled some used bottles into chic vases on her blog here. Check it out!

Fairytale Frosting

Since no one around here is likely to have a drinking party anytime soon ever, and I don't want my vases branded with 'IBC' (although it would make a good conversation piece), I think I'm going to start scouring thrift stores and clearance aisles for good bottles with nice silhouettes. Or I may just break down and buy the cute little white ones at Michaels with 40% off coupons. Not likely, but stranger things have happened!

Appliance Awesomeness

I was browsing the blogsphere for a Christmas card idea, actually, when I stumbled upon this.

kevin {&} amanda

Someone used their Silhouette Cameo to make vinyl decals for their washing machine. Can I just say that my mind has been blown by sheer awesomeness. One day I hope to be cool enough to think of doing something like this on my own. In the mean time, I really need to get some pink and black vinyl to dress up my laundry room appliances!

Anyone else dressed up their appliances lately? Are you scraping your jaw off the floor, too? Want to open a pool to bet how long it is going to take me to actually get around to doing this?

Kitchen Back Splash Teaser

I've been wanting to do something with my kitchen back splash for a while now. (Since before we moved in, actually.) Darin and I agree that tile is the way to go. Something like this, but in this pattern.

In the mean time, I've decided to paint something to hold me over until someday is today. I've probably been considering it for a year, but the right inspiration hasn't caught my attention. Until yesterday.

John and Sherry of younghouselove.com (love their blog) posted their office makeover stenciling project, and I was totally floored. They did such an awesome job.

Photo courtesy www.younghouselove.com

It sent me off on a Google image search of stencils and creative back splashes. I found this and was totally inspired. (Did I just use the word totally twice?) I seriously considered recreating something like it, but the thought of cutting out all of those circles was not appealing.

I also found this while looking through my "art inspiration" folder. I like the pattern and play on tones, but I'm afraid it would be too retro girly-girl.

I printed both of these images and stared at them for a while before going to bed. The next morning, they were still laying on the table. I considered them over breakfast, then I had an idea. If I was a cartoon, there would have been a lit light bulb over my head.

I'm hoping to get started on my new back splash tomorrow. Today, I am taking the kids to Ikea (so they can't make any more messes like this).

Stay tuned!

***UPDATE***

Too late.

A Little on Light

When we built our house two years ago, the builder decided in their infinite wisdom (and tight purse strings) to fill our home with what I call "mushroom lights."

*Shudder* I despise mushroom lights. In fact, I can sum up my basic philosophy on lighting with, "Mushroom lights: bad. Nearly anything else: good."

I wasn't terribly fond of the light they put in the breakfast nook either, but at least it was tolerable.

I am slowly fixing these affronts to the lighting industry.

I replaced the light in the breakfast nook with a coffee filter pendant. (You can see one version of how to make this light here, but I did mine slightly differently. Writing up a tutorial on how I did mine is on my to do list.)

And the parlor didn't come with a light--at all. The original house plans only had one switched outlet for a lamp in that room. Are you kidding? So we had the builder install the wiring for a ceiling light. After staring at the empty ceiling for two years; fruitlessly searching stores and the internet for a light the right size, style and price; I came up with a way to construct my own drum shade. (Writing up a tutorial for it is on my to do list as well.) I wasn't sure if it was going to stay in the parlor or if I would finally find something to buy that I liked, but it has really grown on me, so I'm going to shorten the chain and leave it for the next several years.

The dining room is another matter. As I mentioned in this post, I haven't even started on the dining room. It currently looks like this. Much more office/greenhouse than dining room.

See that light fixture? 

Yeah, I'm not a fan. I am planning on replacing it with one of these beauties one day. I'm waiting for a sale price to agree with my allowance. There is also a version that Z Gallerie makes, which is less expensive, but it just doesn't rock my socks like the this one does.

I could go on (and on and on and on) about what fixtures I would like, but this is enough to be getting on with.

Did you recently replace a light fixture in your home? Any fixtures on your wishlist? Do you share my distaste for mushroom lights? Leave a comment and tell me about it.

A Curtain Conundrum

I was reading a guide on color and looking at my completely not-even-started dining room, and inspiration struck. I have a plan!

You would think I would be shouting 'eureka' or something, but there are always snags in any design. (Get used to it, Heather. Just get used to it.)

I was doing some online "window" shopping at Ikea (I mentioned I'm on a budget, right?) and I found these Henny Rand curtain panels.

They seemed absolutely perfect. The colors I wanted, grommet topped, and it even mimics the pattern of the curtains in the parlor. But, alas, there is always a catch.

My ceilings downstairs are 9' tall. These panels are only 98" long. (That's 8'2" for those of you without a calculator handy.) That is a whole ten inches of wall I would rather not see. Running one's curtains from ceiling to floor makes the space appear bigger and less closed in. People tend to enjoy larger spaces (or at least the illusion of one) because it feels more open and less like they are trapped in a tiny space.(My apologies to anyone with claustrophobia. I know, I'm one of them.)

So, back to my curtains. Do I shell out more for different curtains that are the appropriate 108" length from another store? Nope. I never spend money I don't have to. (Do you hear that, Dear?) I still intend to get these for the reasons mentioned above (i.e. price, color, pattern, style). Besides this could end up being a blessing in disguise.

Since I am putting these in a bay window, I needed a way of hanging them that would conform to the shape. That pretty much left me with making some custom rods, spending a lot on custom rods, or using Ikea's Dignitet system.

It may not look like much, but it seems to be working great for Javamom. (Click on the link to see pictures of her bay window and review of the Dignitet system.)

Are you wondering where the blessing in disguise part comes in? That extra ten inches from the top of the curtain panel to the ceiling could be just the excuse opportunity I need to try making a pelmet. Will I most likely end up with the curtains, wire hanging system, and ten inches of wall? Yes, but that is the beauty of being a home owner on a budget--there is always something more to do. If there wasn't, I'd have to find a new hobby. I'd really rather not do that.

I'm sure I'll keep you posted on what I end up doing, but I do like the option of dressing up my bay window for less than a hundred bucks. For now, I save my pennies and keep dreaming the dream. Sometimes I even get to live it. :)