We swapped out our normal dining room chairs for a padded leather bench and the effect was charming, multifunctional and chic. See what a difference a dining room bench can really make!
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Making A Craft Space & Gift Wrap Station
I made a wrapping paper station for writing letters and wrapping gifts in an afternoon with things we already had around the house. So easy and so functional! Organization never looked so cute.
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Adding Personal Wall Art
Ok, enough people mentioned that they wanted to see some of the photo collage items up close, so here they are. First of all, how cute was my man as a little man? And now for the other open-mouthed shot. This time I’m the one catching flies: Here’s a close up of the vintage Richmond map (found across the country at a Portland flea market by a friend): And here’s that funny article about the insane popularity of weddings on 7/7/07 (sent to us a few days after our July 7th wedding by my dad): And last, but certainly not least, an amazing photo of my father as an angst-ridden teenager, taken in 1964:
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Puppy Love
This morning as John headed off to work he mentioned that he’d hidden “a little something” around the house and encouraged me to “go on a scavenger hunt.” As I embarked on a journey that I expected to include lots of looking under, over and between objects in every room, imagine my surprise and delight upon immediately finding this huge concrete greyhound statue waiting for me by my desk- complete with a big red bow. You see, my obsession with greyhound statues began eons ago when I spied a pair of white glossy, ceramic greyhound statues flanking a fireplace in Jonathan Adler’s book, My Prescription To Anti-Depressive Living. I then began seeing them everywhere, from
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Adding Ikea Wardrobes For A Built-In Bed Nook & More Storage
We started 2008 with a home improvement bang like no other. We were up at 8:20 am and on the road to Ikea by 9. What would motivate two sleep-deprived twenty-somethings to get up that early on our last day off? How about the thought of gaining not one, but two more bedroom closets?! That’s right, we finally decided that one tiny closet in the master bedroom (which forced John to keep all his clothes in the guest bedroom) was not enough. So on New Years Day we (fittingly) resolved to do something about it. Here’s the New Years Day play by play: 8:20 am- Up and at em’. 9:00 am- Hit the road for
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Royal Bread (John’s Christmas Gift)
That’s what John thought this gift represented when he unwrapped it on Christmas morning. But by around his third guess he’d cracked the code: crown molding. And his gift finally came to fruition this week when our crafty installer returned to hang beautiful 3 inch molding in our living/dining room and three bedrooms. The finished product is polished and purty. And best of all, John didn’t have to lift a finger. He works hard enough around here as it is, so I was glad to let him sit this one out. Here are some detail shots: And here’s the whole living / dining room in all of its crowning glory: It looks just as dapper
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Spray Painting A Round Mirror Bright White
We painted an ugly bronze mirror white for a whole new look on the cheap. Here’s the play by play.
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How To Unclog A Kitchen Drain
Unclogging the kitchen sink wasn’t fun, but we got ‘er done. Learn what we did and what worked for us.
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Our Kitchen Renovation Before & After Pictures
Who would have ever thought we’d be without a kitchen for almost four months? Not us. But it’s baaaaaack. And it’s better than ever. First a shot of the kitchen that came with the house when we purchased it almost two years ago: And now for the dramatic transformation we promised. The granite was totally the icing on the cake. Here’s a shot of the whole shebang as seen from the living/dining room: And here’s a shot of the left side with that sexy hood that we just used while MAKING DINNER. Sorry for the caps, we just haven’t made dinner at home in ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN DAYS!!! Oops, there I go again. Here’s
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Kitchen Confidential
The counters are in and boy are they better than sliced bread. After months of waiting for a surface to dice upon, any old counter would do. But our sparkling new granite is just the bees knees. And instead of revealing the new counters, we’ve decided to make you wait until tomorrow (when the faucet, sink, and dishwasher will be fully installed) and then post the FINAL BEFORE AND AFTERS! Can you tell we’re excited? But the start of the day wasn’t nearly as thrilling as the end. It was full of the usual trials and tribulations of home improvement. First, when the truck pulled up I thought it was some sort of joke. Check
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On The Road Again: Just Beachy
We’re currently blogging from the beach. Now before you get jealous let me just say that it’s about 20 degrees outside and we even got some light snow last night. But we’re loving the chance to relax and recharge at John’s parents’ lovely beach house just outside of Rehoboth, Delaware. They recently purchased the house and it’s amazing how comfortable and homey they’ve been able to make it in mere months. And while we’ve spent our time playing board games, reading, watching movies, and snuggling Burger- we thought we’d take a quick break to share some fun decor ideas with you. First, meet the beautiful beach house (love those starfish in the window above the
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Painting A Textured Ceiling
The sheer equation of gravity + paint = nightmare. But add abnormally absorbent ceiling tiles that are bumpy and uneven to the mix. Sounds like something you’d like to do on a Friday night, right? Well for some deluded reason, it’s exactly how we spent our Friday evening. We’d been meaning to attack the dingy, half-painted ceiling tiles in our den for a while, and we finally got around to it this weekend. We even knew to use white primer instead of white paint for extra coverage (a tip passed along by one of our old contractors) so we thought it wouldn’t be that bad. It was. The whole process involved two gallons of primer,
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