Archive for July, 2011
Sunshine Daaaay.
Our freshly painted laundry room makes me want to sing (and dance and dress) like this:
Yup, it’s bright and happy in there. First I repainted all the trim (with Olympic No-VOC semi-gloss off-the-shelf white) and painted the annoying brown quarter round near the baseboards, so it blended in with the white trim. I applied three thin coats of the same Olympic No-VOC paint (no primer because I used the same method with success in the living room five months back and I’m lazy). Then when it came to the wall color, we decided to use the leftover paint that we used in the adjoining kitchen (remember when we painted that beastly paneling here?). Why that color? To brighten things up and connect the two spaces since you pretty much see the kitchen as soon as you step in the side door in the laundry room.
Since the laundry room is such a small space we knew a different color might interrupt the flow and make it feel a lot smaller than something that would connect slash elongate it. We might add a subtle stencil or some other paint treatment down the line if we want more mojo in there – but once we hang window treatments and a new dangly light fixture and add lots of other stuff (art, storage, etc) we’re not sure if it’ll be too much for the tiny room. So we’re waiting on the whole stencil/stripe possibility.
Bee tee dubs (yes I just spelled out btw, and turned the w into a dubs) the color is called Sesame 381 by Benjamin Moore (color matched to Olympic’s No-VOC paint in a semi-gloss finish). Our small semi-light-filled laundry room has a door and window that let in light from the carport, which isn’t super bright but it’s a lot brighter than our windowless kitchen. So the artichoke-ish grellow (green + yellow) tone:
- is a smidge brighter
- reads a little more yellow than it does in the kitchen
- is so insanely cheerful
We’re psyched. Who doesn’t love a happy little laundry nook? As soon as I started cutting in I knew it would wake up the whole space.
Here’s what it looked like when we moved in:
And here she is now with a slap of how-you-doin’-on-this-fine-morning color (along with some other changes covered here):
Oh and if you’re wondering what that white board is in the pic above and below, we heard setting stacked appliances on a nice thick piece of plywood that goes against all three walls can stabilize the machine for a longer life. So we did it. And I painted it white because when we add shelving to that side of the nook it’ll blend in like chin hair on a mountain goat. Made that up. Think it’s catchy? Nah, me neither.
Some of these photos look a little more neon and booger-ish than it does in real life. In real life there’s zero booger resemblance and it’s definitely not neon. Which is a relief. It’s light and sweet – like liquid sunshine. And here’s why we knew this room could handle some happy color:
- We’ll add a ton of white shelving to temper the color (along with the white washer/dryer).
- It has a window & a glass door as well as a doorway into the kitchen to break things up.
- Eventually when we have wood floors in there it’ll be even more subdued.
Oh and as for that crazy metal fuse box cover that we had going on – remember this?
We just rolled/brushed a few thin and even coats of paint right over it. Didn’t even prime. We did that in our last house to hide a just-as-obvious one in the corner of the den – and four years later it still looked awesome. See if you can find it here. Metal actually takes thin coats of paint really well (like spray paint) so by being sure not to glob it on and opting to do more thin coats (as opposed to fewer thick and globby ones) I got some nice coverage. And it still opens and closes easily (tip: do that a few times between coats to ensure that things still work smoothly and nothing gets gummed up with paint). In short: thin and even applications = the painting holy grail.
Total spent for this phase of the makeover: $0 (thanks to trim and wall paint that we already had leftover from the kitchen). Wait, we did buy a pack of rollers so it was actually $8. Of course we still have plans for adding a ton of function (and a good dose of looks-nice stuff, like art) to the room – and that blank wall in particular. So that painted fuse box won’t just sit there looking, well, painted. We’ll share those details as we go.
As for the to do list, here it is as it stands today:
Paint the odd brown quarter round near the baseboards glossy white
Redo all the dinged up trim (also in semi-gloss white)Paint the walls- Replace our dryer hose with a safer all-metal one
- Add adjustable built-in shelving in that nook next to the stacked washer & dryer <– we can’t unstack them and put them on the long wall since the room is only 3.5′ wide so the doors wouldn’t even open
- Replace the hinges and knobs on the upper cabinetry
- Get a new light fixture <- DIY something? maybe a small chandelier?
- Add a window treatment (maybe a homemade one?)
- Add other functional storage near the door for shoes, Burger’s leash, etc
- Hang some art to keep it cheerful and obscure the giant metal fuse box
Mmm, crisp white trim might also be the painting holy grail. Doesn’t it look so great with warm greeny gold? This photo is probably the most true to life when it comes to the actual paint color and how it looks in there. It’s a little lighter in person, but this is the yellow with a hint of green tone to a T. It’s just like an artichoke heart.
Suddenly I actually feel like doing laundry. Weird.
Psst- You guys were all so sweet about my haircut yesterday. Seriously, I almost got a cavity. And I definitely got all awkward and clammy and blushy. Basically the opposite of cute. Anyway, rest assured that my hair will never look that good again (you know stylists possess some other-worldly powers to create a hairstyle that no one can replicate at home). So stop being so dang nice. It’s making me rashy.
Our 4nniversary
See what I did there? If our 4th wedding anniversary were a movie sequel I’m sure that’s how the title would be treated on the movie posters (and yes, it would be dubbed a blatant rip off of Scream 4). Anyways, as is the tradition, we’re dropping in with our little rundown about how we celebrated four years of marriage last Thursday (see our three year anniversary post here and our two & one year anniversary post here). This year it kicked off, as most days do, with breakfast.
I made this particular breakfast (Strawberry-Orange Stuffed French Toast with Raspberry Butter) as an homage to our so-good-we-took-my-picture-with-it (here) favorite meal during our Alaskan honeymoon. Of course, what I lacked in food presentation (do I get points for my strawberry hearts?) I made up for in flowers in our wedding colors.
We agreed not to do gifts this year (our new laundry project was going to be a joint gift to ourselves), but I broke the rules when I spotted a bunch of bee-themed stationery from Smock Paper. Since Sherry’s an epic list maker and our wedding invite had bees on it, I just couldn’t stop myself from shelling out my credit card digits for a few items. And yes, Smock Paper is a sponsor of ours but no, they didn’t have any part in me buying these. They’re probably finding out about my purchase via this post, actually.
They sadly didn’t have any bee themed big sticky pads, but I got one in the closest color scheme since I knew Sherry was low on office notepads (small sticky notes went unused in our junk drawer, but these big guys are already getting a workout). We appreciate how eco-conscious these wares are in general, but we particularly loved this simple request printed on the bottom: use this to do good.
What I spent in dollars, Sherry matched in thoughtfulness – writing a homemade card listing thirty things she, Clara, and Burger love about me (each of them got ten). I told you, the girl loves lists. And it sure beat the “Love, John” in my card. Oops.
But the day wasn’t about exchanging paper products. It was about doing fun stuff together. So after working the morning away, we ducked out for lunch at one of our favorite casual spots: Sticks Kebob Shop. Yum. And we had a $10 off Groupon for it too. Aw, cheap lovebirds. Or should I say cheep? (Bird joke for the win).
From there we popped over to a local art place called Crossroad Art Center, which we’ve heard lots about but never managed to visit in five years of being Richmonders. It’s basically a massive gallery featuring of lots of local artists, though sadly we couldn’t take pictures inside for ya. One of our favorites was Morgan E. McKinney, but we didn’t find anything in our current price range. Someday.
We did get giddy over these $4 paintings-turned-notecards by Sherri Conley that we thought (once framed with big generous mats) would make for a great little “zen moment” in our master bathroom. So we took them home.
How could we pass up buying something that said “I Love You” on our anniversary? And the photographer’s name is Sherri, so that counts for something too, right? Sherry and I were actually standing in different areas of her booth and each said “this is sweet” at the same time. We reconvened to see what each other had found and we were both holding the I Love You airplane card.
From there it was time to take our annual corny anniversary photo. We’ve got a little tradition of snapping (and later framing) a family pic each year on 7/7…
… and this year definitely proved the hardest. Apparently a 14 month old can’t grasp the concept of “hey, look at the beeping black thing on the funny three-legged stick… and oh yeah, smile while you’re at it.” Guess we didn’t know the blessing we got last year when her 8-week old self slept through the entire thing. But we did eventually manage to get this one. Stacked heads = maximum cheesiness.
Apparently we pressed our luck by trying to get Burger in the picture. This was our most successful attempt. Hey, at least the adults are looking!
Then we headed off to grab our anniversary photobooth picture (more on that tradition here). The place we always go (New York Deli here in Richmond) has an authentic 50-year-old booth that actually develops film strips (not digital prints, like a lot of the others out there). Sadly the booth was having an off day, so the results were especially smeary (note the fourth frame in particular). We were having a bit of an off moment too, apparently. Yes, Clara cried the entire first strip.
Well, that was actually the second strip because we didn’t even keep the first one. During our first attempt the thing started going off prematurely with only me in the booth, so half of the strip is me looking perplexed and calling for Sherry to hurry inside with the bean. But we got some happy squeals during the third attempt from Clara. Good nuff.
After some in-the-car blog tending (what did people do before iPhones?) it was dinner time.
We ate at Brio Tuscan Grille because it was the site of our rehearsal dinner back in 2007 and, well, we hadn’t been back since celebrating our second anniversary. Meaning it was this little lady’s first trip.
Is it just us or is there something hilarious about a sippy cup, some Goldfish crackers, and a Dr. Seuss book on a carrera marble table? Thankfully those magic items (plus her very own pasta meal) were enough to keep Beansie happy and entertained – even after a long day of celebrating.
And as if we hadn’t shoved in enough anniversary bid-ness already, Sherry followed up this July 7th just like she did four years ago after our wedding: by chopping off a bunch of her hair (you can actually see her with short hair waay back in the 2007 archives here).
Yep, say “goodbye” to the honorary fifth member of the YHL team: Sherry’s ponytail.
Though I’d say it’s a fond farewell, since I think my lady looks mighty sexy this way. Note that she was too shy to pose for photos by me, so she snuck off and took pictures in the mirror because “I made her nervous.” Aw yeah, four years later, I still got it.
Oh and Sherry wants me to add that all is right with the world – she can still pull her hair back into a tiny pony when we paint. How would she know? Let’s just say we’re working on the laundry room rightthissecond. More details tomorrow.
Anyway, as much fun as we had this seven-seven, we must admit that our minds have already kinda skipped ahead to next year’s big five year anniversary. In honor of our Alaskan honeymoon, we thought it’d be perfect to celebrate the big 0-5 by going to Hawaii (since it’s sort of Alaska’s non-contiguous partner in crime). We haven’t really planned much at all, but we figure if we keep saying it out loud it’ll force us to actually make it happen next year. Since we haven’t actually flown anywhere on vacation since our honeymoon in 2007. Better make it happen.
Spray Paint. Again. Who’s Surprised?
I’m nothing if not completely predictable when it comes to spraying my troubles away. I mentioned wanting to ORB (that’s “oil-rubbed-bronze” for those not privy to ridiculous decorating abbreviations) the legs of this old chair in our living room for a while. They’re clashy and red in real life…
… as opposed to the nice dark ORB legs that we addded to Karl The Sectional:
They also didn’t exactly “groove” with the gray-washed beams overhead and the deeper more brown-based wood tones in the console table that we made for behind the sofa (seen fully accessorized here). We plan to refinish the floors someday too – probably in the same hues as the console table – so don’t let those orangey-red floor undertones throw you.
Anyway, back to those legs and my ORB aspirations. First I picked up a can of Rustoeum Universal Metallic spray paint in “Oil Rubbed Bronze” (the same stuff we used to deeply bronze Karl’s legs here):
It took me about fifteen minutes to tape two big black garbage bags around the plushy seat part, poking holes for the legs and using painters tape to ensure that no spray could get through to the upholstery. I also made sure spray paint would get all the way to the top of the wood legs so none of that orange color would remain (like four evil rings that taunted me up near the seat).
After 15 minutes spent bagging and taping, it only took about five to spray those hot little legs of his (no sanding was necessary since the legs weren’t sealed or glossy, just dry & chalky = ready for paint). Gotta love prep time that takes three times longer than the actual job. And yes it is resting upside down on a recycling bin. I’m like MacGuyver MacGruber. “Quick hand me that recycling receptacle, some metallic spray paint, and two garbage bags! Hurry Chloe, we’re running out of time!” (somehow this turned into my Jack Bauer impression).
Oh and when it comes to spray painting tips, here ya go:
- Skip the cheap $2 stuff in favor of the $6-7 quality stuff (I like Rustoleum’s trigger spray nozzle because it goes on thin and even – and doesn’t get all over your fingers).
- Always keep the can moving. If you’re a-sprayin’ your arm better be a-swayin’.
- Keep the nozzle about 8-10″ away from whatever you’re spray painting.
- You really want a mist, not a heavy wet coating.
- Three thin and even coats are better than one thick and drippy one.
- Spray paint has yet to go no-VOC, so apply it outside with a mask, and let it fully cure as long as the can recommends outside whenever you can (usually 24 hours, we try to double that just to be even safer).
- You can “seal” any spray paint (to limit off-gassing once you bring it inside) by applying two thin coats of Safecoat Acrylacq, which is low-VOC and non-toxic.
Ah, so much better now:
To save your poor weary fingers from scrolling to the top, here’s that before again:
Now those gams blend (with a little subtle gleam thanks to the quiet metallic finish). Which is nice, because although I did call those legs of his hot, they’re not exactly what we’re hoping everyone who enters the room will focus on (kinda like how I hope others will politely overlook my blindingly white mom legs). I’d much rather leave the scene stealing to those purty silver lamps (mixed metals = yes please), or the curtains, or The Karl. Or The Bean. Pretty much anything not chair-leg related.
Eventually we’d love to trade this chair for something a bit more special (think thrift store upholstered armchair or slipper chair with turned legs or castors), but for now a $7 spray paint upgrade did the trick. Well, technically $3.50 since I still have half the can to use on something else – and you know I will. Beware all other objects in the house. I will pull this car over and ORB you.
Psst- I got listy over on BabyCenter today (so many fun summer activities for C, so little time).
Pssst- Who watched Design Star last night? Did anyone else catch when Cathy said “camel tone” and it sounded like something else, or was that just me? Any non camel-related thoughts about the cast in general?
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Fab Freebie: Matchmaker, Matchmaker
***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries – see who won below!***
Our winner, thanks to the willy nilly matchmaking skills of random.org, is… Sharon (who’s hoping to be matched up with a piece of art to finish off a master bedroom renovation). Congrats!
Art.com is full of affordable stuff to help solve Naked Wall Syndrome (like these horse prints that we recently purchased) so we’re psyched that they’re giving away an $250 gift card to one of you lucky folks this week. They’ve launched a new tool called Match My Image that promises to come in handy next time you’re hunting for the perfect piece. You just upload an image – maybe of a fabric that you’re trying to coordinate or a photo that you’re using as inspiration – and it spits out a slew of art in that color scheme/vein that’s available for purchase. Here’s what we happened upon when we uploaded a couple of personal pictures (a photo of the river here in Richmond and a painting that Clara recently whipped up). Fun, right?
- PRIZE: A $250 gift card to Art.com
- TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “MATCH ME!” and…
- BONUS QUESTION: … tell us if you’ve ever tried playing matchmaker? Or has someone else tried to match you up? How did it all work out? Was it amazing? Or should you (or your would-be matchmaker) stick to their day job?
- GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Wednesday, July 13th at 8pm EST
- NUMBER OF WINNERS: One
- PRIZE SHIPS: The United States
- USUAL STUFF: One entry per e-mail address is permitted. The winner will be selected using random.org and announced on Thursday as an update to this post. That’s right, come right back here on Thursday morning for the announcement of our winner. Good luck…
Note: We weren’t paid or perk’d for hosting this giveaway, we just take them on to reward our lovely readers! See our Giveaway FAQs page for more info. Pics from Art.com.
Crack Is Still Whack
I couldn’t resist breaking out that Whitney Houston inspired title again, even though we already used it here. Why? Because this is a serious hard-hitting blog about real life issues. Just kidding. This time my fifth grade crack joke is in reference to a giant crack that was running across the side of the ceiling in the laundry room. Here’s the craggy before:
And the much less craggy after:
We had them check that beast of a crack out during inspection and learned it’s nothing like foundation issues (just normal house settling). Whew. And it was nothing that a little paintable white caulk couldn’t fix. Double whew. Tip: always make sure it’s paintable for jobs like this or it’ll never blend in correctly – we like Dap’s white paintable window & door caulk. We didn’t use spackle (as opposed to caulk) because we’ve heard experts mention that it can shrink up and “fall out” of the crack over time, but caulk usually doesn’t shrink or crack as much. Anyway, it was a super easy process. I just:
- Squeezed out a line of it along the crack
- Smeared it with my finger to remove excess caulk
- Went over it with a wet rag for an even smoother look
- Let it fully dry (I waited around 48 hours, mostly out of laziness)
- Touched it up with wall & ceiling paint left in the basement by the previous owners
So if you have a crack in your wall or ceiling and are wondering if you can handle it, I promise you can. Even if you’re 5’2″ and have to stand on a chair while the baby naps and the dog looks questioningly at you as if you’ve lost your mind and gives you the stink eye the. entire. time.
Like this, but picture one bug-out eye and one sinister squinty one:
My mom even recently caulked her bathroom all by herself (after calling me ten times from the hardware store to compare the merits of different caulk guns). So proud of her.
And so (almost) ends our second crack-related adventure. You thought I could keep it short? Do you even know me? Not in real life, I mean via the internet. Anyway, we’re actually sharing this mundane caulking detail since we’ve decided that it’s high time we tackled our laundry room makeover. Woo to the hoo. Cue the fireworks! Strike up the drum line! Watch out for those fire juggling clowns (don’t be afraid, they’re of the friendly and not freaky or nightmarish at all variety).
We’re planning to make a few one-project-at-a-time changes that hopefully add up to a nice refreshing difference when it comes to the look and function of our tiny 3.5′ x 8′ space. Here’s what it looked like when we moved in:
And here’s what it looked like after we 1) upgraded to some new (very on sale) front loading appliances, 2) took down the window shutters, 3) frosted the everybody-can-see-me-breastfeeding side door that looks into the kitchen, 4) removed the shelves behind the side door (opposite the washer/dryer):
We’ve been meaning to add some built-in storage next to the stacked washer and dryer among a few other functional (and just plain purty) things, so here’s the to-do list as it stands today:
- Paint the odd brown quarter round near the baseboards glossy white
- Redo all the dinged up trim (also in semi-gloss white)
- Paint the walls (we’ll be back with color details later this week)
- Add adjustable built-in shelving in that nook next to the stacked washer & dryer <– we can’t unstack them and put them on the long wall since the room is only 3.5′ wide, so we’d only be left with seven inches of space between the front of the unit and the opposite wall if we moved ‘em
- Replace the hinges and knobs on the upper cabinetry
- Get a new light fixture (see the old one in the first two pics?) <- DIY something?
- Add a window treatment (maybe a homemade one?)
- Add other functional storage near the door for shoes, Burger’s leash, etc
- Hang some art to keep it cheerful and obscure the giant metal fuse box
And of course in the long term we’d love to rip out the vinyl tile to hopefully uncover hardwoods that we’ll someday refinish (we’re crossing our fingers that they carry into the kitchen as well). But that’s a waaay down the road thing since it’ll necessitate removing all of our kitchen cabinets to get to it (they rest on the vinyl tile and a layer of plywood with hardwoods underneath- oh the humanity). So for now the focus is on adding some everyday function and storage… and some cuteness while we’re at it. Game on.
Do you guys have any laundry room makeovers going on? Any projects or art or colors that you love in your laundry area? Do you think all clowns are of the terrifying murder-you-in-your-sleep variety? I think there are two kinds. Friendly and skeeeeery. It’s all in the eyes and hair.
Psst- Check out how we hid a big ol’ electrical box at our first house here and here, and how we pimped an old bi-fold laundry closet here and here.
