We made four little updates around here, so I thought I’d smash them all into a quick recap post for ya.
First, we have been meaning to convert our bathroom toilet to a dual flush version for a while (we already did it to the one in the hallway and the one in our first house – seriously we LOVE this upgrade!). Sadly when we attempted to use this kit that we bought on Amazon (here’s the affiliate link for ya), it turns out that our new toilet isn’t compatible. Apparently the angle/shape of the bottom of the tank kept it from attaching correctly.
So we padded down the hall to the guest room and installed it there instead. Oddly enough, that tiny toilet that is most likely original to our 60’s house worked just fine with it.
Now at least we can save water when our guests come to stay (and a dual flush button helps that small outdated bathroom feel a smidge more modern – haha).
Another little easy upgrade that we did was that we finally (only 20 months after moving in, har-har) found a place for our shredder, which had been cluttering up our closet forever. The solution? Our built-in desk cabinets. Except we had to figure out how to make it fit in there (we really wanted to keep that storage drawer on the bottom).
So our first order of business was to remove the pull out shelf, which just came down to removing the tracks and the drawer itself with a screwdriver (they were held in with simple screws along the track).
Then we drilled a hole right into the back of the cabinet, so the cord for the shredder could be fed through the back of the cabinet without having to come out the side or the front or anything wonky.
Bada bing, bada plug.
Then we shoved her in there on her side.
Oh and at first we worried that it wouldn’t work well on it’s side, but before we went through all this drawer-removal and plug-drilling trouble, we laid it on it’s side and used it like that for about three weeks before committing to “building it in” to the desk that way, and it worked like a charm. One tip would be to empty it pretty frequently just so the shredded stuff doesn’t build up around the front since there’s not as much gravity to pull things down as there is when it’s standing up. But other than that it seems to work great so far. And the best part is that with the door closed it all looks nice and organized. Hooray for hidden contraptions and fewer messy-looking wires.
Another little update that we finally got around to was rehanging our kitchen mirror on two super strong hooks (they each have 100lb capabilities) since a few kind folks with professional framing backgrounds commented on this post about hanging it on a wire (they said that over time a wire – even a heavy duty one like we used – can slip or lose strength, so two hooks used individually with something strong (like a heavy duty screw & anchor ensemble) would be best. Pardon the weird duct tape (more on that here).
So we just added a heavy duty anchor system on each side of the wall to line up with the new hooks that we added to the back of the mirror…
… and hung things back up. Now it should be nice and strong for the long haul. Oh and you might notice that I got some bird friends from HomeGoods for the mantel. Yes, more animals. Our house is a veritable ark these days.
And our last little thing was that John brought home some pretty yellow tulips when he went grocery shopping. Isn’t he sweet?
I put them at the table in the living room since I see them every time I walk through that room (and also get to enjoy them whenever I’m sitting on the couch and Real Housewives of NY makes me roll my eyes, which is surprisingly often).
Close up. Bam.
There you have it. Four things. What little updates are you guys up to around the house? Any toilet-pimping, shredder-hiding, mirror-re-hanging, or flower-enjoying going on in your neck of the woods?
Psst- We’ve gotten a bunch of questions from people about how Clara’s liking preschool, so there’s a post over on Young House Life all about it – complete with the way we’ll be documenting her first day of school each year. Aw shucks, they grow up so fast.
Good for you guys for saving some water!
Since you guys weren’t able to change your toilet to the dual flush version, you might consider putting a water bottle in your toilet tank instead. Use a 1-2 liter bottle, put some rocks in it, fill it with water and put it in the tank. Similar to the old brick in the tank trick without any damage to the plumbing (bricks can partially dissolve over time).
You’ll of course want to try this out before making it a permanent change.
Love that tip!
xo,
s
Last weekend I bought a few items from the Patch NYC shop at Target. New pillows for the couch, a rug for in front of our entry table and the cutest animal coasters! Seriously Sherry you would love them so much. I have my eye on a few more items so we’ll see what else I add.
Sounds like fun!
xo,
s
Sometimes, the little things can make the biggest difference. I think that has been my favorite part of home ownership…I can do whatever I want whenever the desire happens. Since Hubby tells me that I’m not very patient, I kind of like that whole instant-gratification thing!
Have a happy weekend. I love your blog and can’t wait for the book version to come out. Only another month and a half!
Aw thanks! Happy weekend to you too!
xo,
s
It’s nice when you can tackle a few projects in a little bit of time. So far we have only converted our master bathroom toilet over to your awesomely recommended Dual Flush system and have 2 more to go. What? Hello $9 water bill!!! For reals, thank you for that recommendation. We know it will just go down even more with the additional upgrades. I finally got to paint (it dried up later in the day) and wouldn’t you know it? The finish is wrong AGAIN!!!! (Hulk yell!) The 3rd times a charm I guess in this case. We just set our housewarming party date and so now the pressure is on…haha.
My best, Lynn
A $9 water bill is amazing!!
xo,
s
Can you share the source of your white table and chairs? I’m looking for something similar for my kitchen. Do you think the table top scratches easily?
The chairs are from eBay about ten years ago and the table is from a thrift store (we replaced the old square top and painted it).
xo,
s
I’ve been looking around for those hooks you used to hang your mirror, but I’ve had no luck. Where did you find them?
Also, I didn’t realize how much water those dual-flush buttons saved! Thanks for the tip, definitely picking some up next time I’m in Home Depot.
The hooks were from Home Depot, where we also got the dual flush thing!
xo,
s
Feels good to get so many things done, amirite?
Speaking of updates, some of your uber-crazed fans wait impatiently for the monthly Clara pic to be updated. And, ah, ya know, today is the 21st. Ahem. :)
Haha we’re so late! Today we hope!!
xo,
s
We are in the middle of an attic renovation – seems like it has been forever since we’ve been doing it. It’s been re-insultated, refloored, and now we just finished hanging the drywall. I’ll be glad when it’s done, just because it’s so massive!
Wow- that’s a ton of work! Congrats!
xo
s
I must have missed the post when you put that great white pedastal table in the living room! Love it, where is it from?
That was from a thrift store about six years ago! We replaced the old square top with a 36″ round of wood from Lowe’s and primed and painted the whole thing!
xo
s
toilet-pimping = my new favorite word.
Funny thing, when I visited a friend in England, she had a dual flush toilet. After a few days I realized that when I used the #1 button it wouldn’t flush completely, so I asked her whether I was doing something wrong. She said she didn’t know because she never uses that button; they pay the same fee regardless of how much water they use, so there is no incentive to use a dual flush or even a low flow toilet.
No way! That’s so random!
xo
s
I’ve been enjoying my bouquet of flowers from my hubby that came to my place of work for my birthday yesterday. Always nice to have something colorful and pretty smelling at work. But they will come home with him tonight for the weekend. :)
Totally random but did you guys see the graphic art on One Kings Lane today? The maps made me think of you guys. I am OBSESSED.
I want the gray one that says “EXPLORE”
Ooh so much fun!
xo
s
Looking at the lovely flowers I couldn’t help but wonder how you use that little table in the family room. Do you ever sit there? There are so many other places in your house now to sit, in your kitchen and office.
Oddly enough we sit here when we’re into something on TV and we want to keep watching it but are eating something too messy to sit on the sofa with (ex: saucy spaghetti). Haha!
xo
s
You’re not alone in the ceramic animal department! I just bought two new owls at TJ Maxx today. They’re both cute, but one is so adorable with his wings covering his ears I want to name him. My 4yo asked to hug him, too. I’ve been on a shopping frenzy lately so the question is what haven’t I bought. Eek!
Cute!
xo,
s
Around here, I just made some striped art and some fall decorations. Nothing like a day off of work to get it all done!
ps…please tell me you guys have found the Pocketbooth app…it’s a photo booth for your iPhone!
So fun!!!!
xo
s
Put a penny in your tulips and they’ll stand up straight for days! :) Enjoy!
Love that tip! Already in practice ;)
xo
s
Unrelated post question… KITCHEN cabinets
how did you decide to paint your cabinets white versus white on top cabinets and a color/gray or gray-green on the bottom?
I don’t have stainless steel apliance–black oven and dishwasher and white frig but the builders oak cabinets and an island. I know sometimes an island can be a different color. small kitchen that is open. I love green kitchens but have never found a nice paint green for the walls.
I saw a home show where someone did not like white cabinets with the stark black appliances. do you think a gray green on the bottom would be better?
any great color choices you could recommend for cabinets? I guess I could try to paint a bathroom cabinet first– they used 2 kitchen cabinets together in the master bath of that oak wood.
also have been scared to stain cement stairs so when you decide to do your front porch — I can’t wait for the steps!
have a nice weekend! clara’s so cute in front of door on her first day!
We just went with white since we had two tall cabinets that might have looked weird if the lowers were a different color (the cabinet around the fridge and the tall pantry on the other side of the room) so we went with all the same color. But if you have a bunch of lowers and uppers without those double-height cabinets that might muddle things it can be an awesome look. I love the idea of a gray green on the bottom! Hope it helps.
xo
s
I bounced over to the mirror post to get the back story on the duct tape (which cracked me up!). In the comments someone suggested a “houseplant tour.” I would love to see that! Did this happen yet? Plants seem so simple but really make a house a home!
Love your work!
Oh yeah that’s still on the list- would love to get to that soon!
xo
s
Speaking of Real Housewives of NYC – What are your thoughts on the Aviva vs Ramonja bid-ness? Ramona is cray-cray, but Aviva fully expecting a red carpet and a parade when she arrived is a little ridiculous!
Yes! Ramona = crazy but she knows it (and can be quite entertaining). Aviva = haughty and entitled. I’m Team Ramona… which I never thought I’d say. Hahah!
xo
s
Question on the dual flushers….Do you know if it’s true that they don’t work well on older toilets? I considered getting one to put in our bathroom (our brick ranch was built in 1958) and the guy at Home Depot said that usually the older toilets don’t do well with dual flush systems because the pipes aren’t the right size? I’d love to put one on ours, but don’t want to have to flush multiple times since that would be defeating the purpose!
Ooh…also, this weekend, I’m painting my living room curtains! Painted the kitchen last weekend (with paint I already had…hooray for free projects!). Here’s some pictures:
http://inglewoodgardener.blogspot.com/2012/09/painting-kitchen.html
Oh no, they seem to work really well on our older toilet in the guest room (it might be original to our house) so I’d give it a shot. You can always return it to HD if it doesn’t work. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Today I start my big sun room overhaul. Hopefully it will make all the little changes I’ve been making in there look a bit more cohesive. Wish me luck! :) I’m excited it should be brilliant.
Lots of luck!
xo
s
You guys make me feel really unproductive! ha. Total sidenote, Sherry, I’d be surprised if you haven’t heard this before but you are a dead ringer for Emilia Clarke, actress on Game of Thrones http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3592338/ Seriously!!
Oh yes I totally see it! Most of the time when someone says I look like someone I don’t get it, but I think she’s my secret sister.
xo
s
We use the same dual flusher and had a similar issue when trying to install it in our guest bath. It’s now in our master and we love it! Hope you do too!
did you ever think to build a sort of “pie-piece” so the shredder sits on a downward angle in the drawer?? at least it will be a little bit more gravity then where it’s currently. :o)
A few other folks recommended a wedge too! Such a good idea.
xo
s
We have the same flusher, and we like saving the water. Unfortunately, we always forget to tell our guests how to do it, and we often find that they’ve tried to turn the whole thing. I finally just wrote a little note and left it on top of the tank so that they don’t get stuck in there unable to flush. It seems self explanatory to me, but apparently not.
Smart! We always try to tell people beforehand but something they’ll call through the door for instructions! Haha!
xo
s
Not sure if anyone else has mentioned this yet, if so sorry for a repeat.
While in the process of doing our bathroom, we decided to keep our older toilet because it is a 3gallon flush, and it worked perfectly fine. I asked two professional plumbers, and was told to NOT convert it to a dual flush. The reason is because the internal configuration of the toilet is built to have 3 gallons of water flush the solid waste. If you use less water than that (which the dual flush will do, even on the solid waste flush), it can cause build up inside the trap of the toilet and result in loss of functionality, and eventually failure of your toilet.
I had actually bought the very same rebuild kit you did, and took it back, because I did not want to risk ruining my toilet — or my bathroom if I had a water issue and ended up with an overflow accident all over our new floor.
So — I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, BUT I would much rather that you keep your bathroom functioning and safe. :-) You might want to pass it by a good trusted plumber you know and see what he thinks.
Great job on the rest of your projects!! You are so crazy talented!!! :-)
Thanks for the info Lizanne! We’ve heard this although we’re not sure it’s true (a few of our pro plumber friends disagree, since when you have solid waste you get a full flush as usual – you just get a lighter flush for non-solid waste with this system) so we just go by what we personally have experienced. We had one for a few years in our first house as well as one for over a year in our current hall bath (which has an older toilet) without any issues. Thanks for the tip though! It definitely pays to consider all the info out there for anyone thinking about it!
xo
s
We have the same bath mat – ha! Yay! Mine’s falling apart though…
So funny! Hope ours holds on. Haha.
xo
s
What are your recommendations for throw pillows for the couch? I’ve used regular stuffed pillows, the cheapo ones from Ikea and also down pillows and I’m not really happy with any of them in the long run. The down pillows are fine as far as holding shape, except that the feather poke out after a while. What do you use and how do you keep their shape? BTW, we have almost the exact same couch as you, but ours is two separate pieces. Out of all the wonderful, genius, innovative things that Ikea does, they do not offer a converter kit to make two couches into a sectional. Sigh.
We love HomeGoods and Bed Bath & Beyond for affordable pillows. Hope it helps!!
xo,
s
I think placing the shredder inside the desk cabinet is a great idea. My big question is: have you put a lock on that cabinet door so Clara has no access? I lived in fear that my grandkids would stick their little fingers in the shredder slot and suffer injury to their little digits. I asked my husband to unplug the thing when not in use and to not leave it on automatic start. I’ve read that many children have accidents with shredders. BTW: I pre-ordered your book and can’t wait to get it. Love your blog and it’s the first thing I read.
Clara doesn’t go in those cabinets (she can’t open them) but if you think any child can access where it is, leaving it unplugged is a great solution.
xo,
s
My plans for the weekend include putting in dual flushes on two of my toliets, and painting, and changing out my shower head!
Wahoo! Good luck!
xo,
s
I took some inspiration from you and spraypainted an ugly brass lamp in our bedroom. It was way easier than I expected! I’m in the weeds with school now (first year teacher), but I’m looking forward to doing more little changes now that I have a real paycheck again.
http://penn.typepad.com/penn/2012/09/a-little-project.html
I really want to spray paint our doorknob, but we’re hoping maintenance will finally put in a deadbolt. So it might be a moot point. Or I might get to spray paint a deadbolt and a doorknob!
That looks great!
xo,
s
Ah, you’re so great! Can’t wait for your book!!!!
Greetings from Tübingen, Germany!!!
Aw thanks Sophie. Hi from Richmond, VA!
xo,
s
Isn’t it always those little things you put off doing that make you feel wonderful when they’re done? Great idea on the shredder, and love the tulips!
This is unrelating to this post (sorry) but I wanted to let you know you inspired me to do my own monthly photo project with my! I am SO glad I did and so are the relatives. I never would have done it if it weren’t for your great site. Thanks! I did post it to my blog, but I gave you credit for the idea and linked it to your site.
:)
Aw thanks! That’s so sweet. Glad it turned out so well!
xo,
s
I love the yellow and white colors, and the tulips are superb!
Hmm…we didn’t build out the last area between our desks (and close it out) because of (among other things) our shredder. Might have to try the on the side trick. Although we do a ton of shredding (married to a finance dude who does work from home) so we might just have too much volume for it. Worth a shot I think.
I just wanted to let you know your blog is so inspiring. I just started my own blog and can’t wait to try out some of your ideas in my home. Please check out my blog…I am learning as I go…I would love any of your input and advise.
http://projectstay-at-homemommy.blogspot.com/
Thank you!
Aw thanks! Good luck with everything and happy blogging!
xo,
s
This really isn’t related to your post, but have you seen the October issue of Better Homes and Gardens? I took one look at the curtains on page 67 and recognized them as the same fabric on your headboard. I just love that fabric so I think that’s why it always catches my eye.
Yes, isn’t that funny?! Love it!
xo
s
I love when you post about the little things you do around the house! Keep these coming! :)
I see your quote in the Oct/Nov HGTV Magazine!
Us too. Crazy!
-John
Glacier Bay has a dual flush toliet, with the buttons on top. I brought 2 for a remodel and so far so good.
Sounds awesome!
xo
s
A couple weeks ago I switched out an old plastic flush handle for a decorative ORB flusher from Lowe’s… looks soooo much better! Love those little fixes.
The photo of your mantel in the room beside the kitchen (omg, I memorized your floor plan) makes me happy for so many reasons..
The skinny HomeGoods birds, the shadow-box.. the animals in general. <3
Aw thanks Carolyn!
xo
s
love these little tweaks, especially the rolling drawers!
Love tulips! Fresh florals definitely makes a huge statement in a home :)
We purchased the same kit from Home Depot. Did your toilet have a ball in it? Ours does and I don’t know if it’s compatible this way. Thanks!!
Nope ours doesn’t have a ball. So sorry!
xo,
s
My husband had to work this past Saturday, so while he was gone, I headed up to Home Depot to pick up a Duel-Flusher (and a new toilet seat to replace the ugly wooden one that came with our house). I hadn’t really thought too much about the toilet, but I’m so glad I made that change – it saves water AND makes the whole room feel more modern. Good deal. Oh, and it was fun to surprise my husband with a little unexpected home-update while he was out. Thanks for sharing the idea!
So glad!
xo
s
Random question, did you guys build your bull out shelves or did you buy them? I’m having a hard time finding ones that fit our shelves.
Thanks!!
Those were like that! The cabinets were $1 at a secondhand store so we were beyond lucky that they had pull out drawers.
xo
s
It was a really wise thing to do, to strengthen the hanging mechanism of that mirror. You can never be too careful.
Right now, I’m working on lighting in our house – we put two chains of simple white LED’s around the ceiling of the living room and are using that as a general light source instead of the standard lights. It’s really wonderful! Since the light is not bright yet comes from all around, there’s very little shadow, yet it’s soothing. First we considered multicolored LEDs, but then decided against it. Another benefit of this is that we’re saving a lot of power – those two chains consume only around 5-6 watts, but the effect is equivalent to that of a 11-watt CFL.
Oh, and I really like that tulip vase. It looks so serene.