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,
Ripping Old Carpet Off The Stairs
We’d love to claim these before and afters as our own, but most of you know that our house is a one story ranch by now. Bummer. Anyway, this is what the stairway at my best friend’s Washington DC townhouse looked like this morning: And this afternoon: Let’s give the girl a hand! Amazing transformation. I’m never one to endorse covering up gorgeous wood flooring- and this gleaming staircase is no exception. Doesn’t it look much better naked? Of course she has some painting to do on those toe-kicks, but that’ll be quick and painless. The good news is that no sanding and restaining of the once-covered floorboards is necessary. Gotta love it when carpet
How To Warm Up A Living Room That’s Feeling Stark
While the majority of America seems to love hoarding and clutter, John and I are lone mice. Or whatever the opposite of a pack rat would be. But there’s a fine line between clean, uncluttered spaces and cold, stark rooms. It’s not an easy assessment to make on your own. But I was able to make an honest evaluation by photographing each of our rooms and then comparing each room in our house to rooms in decorating magazines and favorite furniture catalogs like Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel and Ballard Designs. I quickly realized that while our rooms were clean and simple, they were severely lacking in the design department. So of course I was
Blast From The Past: Part 2
Is it painfully obvious that we’re trying to keep everyone entertained while holiday celebrations are distracting us from working on the house? We thought so. Now that you’ve seen my little space in the big city, it’s time to show John’s Apartment on New York City’s Upper West Side. It’s second in the series of videos I shot for Kitty, my BFF who lived in Iowa at the time. John actually edited this one down a little bit so you don’t get to see the living room. That’s because it was only a living room for a few days before they had walls built to create a third bedroom in order to accommodate a third
A Brown Area Rug From JC Penney
I am rarely excited by anything from JC Penney, but we just got the most amazing area rug for the living room. It has this great pattern (they call it “honeycomb”) and it’s real wool, which makes me feel like such a grown up. It was a steal for around $200 (the detail, the quality, and the coloring is totally reminiscent of a thousand dollar version I saw a while back- yessss). Plus since I ordered it online, I was able to use a promo code to score an additional 20% off AND free shipping (tip: google the name of the store along with the words “promo code” to save a bundle of cashola- in
Our Guest Room Is Ready For Guests!
We got our second guest bedroom ready for its close up just in the nick of time (we’re hosting some family tonight). A few days ago we showed you the new daybed and reading corner, but now we get to share some pics with more personality thanks to a bunch of punchy accessories. Much to my surprise, John okayed two fuzzy leopard pillows (he’s not really crazy about animal prints in general… now that’s love). The addition of a woven basket of books, some furry leopard slippers, and a splash of turquoise (in the form of a throw on the chair and a book on the ottoman) made the room practically scream “be our guest”
Hanging A Family Photo Grid Over The Couch
We gathered favorite photos that we took and turned them black and white. Then we hung them in a grid on the wall to create a collection of art that looks elegant and chic.
Adding A Daybed To The Guest Room
The third bedroom (also known as our second guest bedroom) has finally come together. And not a minute too soon since we’re hosting a gaggle of guests on Friday night. As a reminder, this is the former dining room that we converted into a bedroom by closing off the doorway that connected it to the kitchen (we didn’t miss the dining space since we moved it into our jumbo living room). Lucky for us, the old dining room already had a closet, so other than ripping down the chair rail and switching out the light fixture it wasn’t much work at all (after the doorway was closed by a professional). Here’s a picture of the
Our New Living Room Sofa
The PB Basic is a nice couch, but it’s more expensive and less attractive than the much more affordable versions from Rowe. Hopefully you’ll learn from our mistake.
Oh Christmas Tree
Our house has never looked more festive. We decked the halls (well, more like the living room, the den, and the front door) with all things sparkly and even though it was 82 degrees yesterday (!) it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Our silver themed tree came out really well, and a few strategically placed silver balls made other objects around the house feel totally Santa-ready. My favorite new ornament holder is a giant clam shell from Z Gallerie that John surprised me with for my last birthday. The different toned silver ornaments inside twinkle like oversized pearls- but glass balls also look great in vases, on platters, and even hung from fishing
We’d Like To Thank The Academy…
What better way to ring in our five month wedding anniversary than finding out we won five grand? As many of you know we entered the Remodel, Blog & Win contest by RemodelingMySpace a few months ago. But never in our wildest dreams did we think we’d actually win the $5000 grand prize- especially when the competition was so fierce (there were 46 other blogs in the running). In fact, it seemed like such a long shot that when I requested that we put dinner on hold until the winner was announced, John gently suggested that I shouldn’t “get my hopes up.” So I wrestled to keep them down until the phone rang. And the rest
Our Kitchen Cabinets Are Installed!
And they’re like Brangelina… so gorgeous it’s unfair. The cabinets came a long way today. In fact our installer is done with everything except for that reversed corner cabinet which is in the process of being reordered (and the baseboard, which he’ll put in once that cabinet arrives). He hung the microwave, put up all the doors and the brushed nickel hardware, and added all the crown molding- which really was the icing on the cake. Bellisimo. But enough chatter. Here are the pics. This is the view of the kitchen from the doorway that we widened in the living/dining room: And here’s the right side. We especially love that glass door in the corner-