small projects that went a long way

Here are some fun before and after pictures I found in some computer files I had on hand. These are just some small projects that we've taken on over the years.

This was our third house that we bought. There was this great little den off the kitchen that had been recently painted and recarpeted. It was fine the way it was, but I wasn't a fan of the paneled walls and everything all beige.

We painted all the trim white, as well as painted the brick fireplace white. Then my mom and I hung grasscloth wallpaper over the paneling. Everyone says wallpaper is such a no-no, but if done right, it can really add some texture to a room. I also painted the inside of the bookshelves blue to add a punch of color, and we added a chunkier crown-molding. We left the carpet, because it was so clean and new, but covered it with a wool rug to break up the space a bit. This total project cost us about $1200.

 This was the fireplace in our first house. The tile hearth had been painted black. It never crossed my mind that there might be something better hiding underneath all that glossy black.

It was pretty the way it was, but one day, after a chipping the paint accidentally with the vacuum cleaner, I discovered there was a beautiful original checkerboard pattern hiding underneath! I immediately ran out the door to the local hardware store and bought paint stripper. I did this in one day. I love the vintage color combo of the peach and tan. I didn't care that it we didn't have an single peach thing in our house, it was original. And original is always better. Cost of this project: $8!

 In that same house, we had a little galley kitchen that had some awful-looking cracked white tile on the floor. After about a year, we saved up a $1000 and had all the tiles ripped up, then a layer of linoleum ripped up. We took it all the way down to the original pine floor and refinished it.

It was a huge mess for about 3 weeks. Dust everywhere!

But in the end, I loved it! And we gained about an inch and a half of space from floor to ceiling. It was still very rustic-looking. The pine floor was not in perfect condition. But again, it was original. And I loved that the old floor was seeing the light of day for the first time since the early fifties.

Small projects can make a big impact. I think one small project a year is a great way to keep your space current, fun to live in, and always improving.

Have a great Sunday!

nursery update

We plan on finding out the gender of this little one next Tuesday, but boy or girl, this baby will have toile in its life. Toile is in every room of my house. I love it. I love all versions of it. And I found the perfect baby version. The bumper pad and quilt will be the printed toile linen you see here. And the drapes will be the adorable gingham, to avoid it looking too mature.

The paint color will be striped in tan, antique white, wedgewood gray, and chocolate brown.

For the furniture, I'm going with the classic Jenny Lind style crib. I love it's spindly look. Newer cribs are just so gigantic (and ridiculously overpriced). I like the vintage feel of the Jenny Lind. I went back and forth over whether or not to do white or cherry. White just seems a bit girly, and since this is supposed to be a gender neutral nursery, I figured the cherry might be a safer bet. In the end, after much online shopping, I found one at Overstock.com for $179 and $2.95 shipping. Perfect!

Please ignore hokey bedding. Baby Smith will have none of that! Which brings me to another nursery decor issue. I have a real problem with characters. No cartoon animals, no Disney princesses, no refereces to "Mommy" and "Daddy" on clothing. (i.e., "If you think I'm cute, you should see my mommy"-type outfits). This is a very touchy subject, and one can come off terribly misunderstood. I do not mean for it to sound as tooky as it does. I'm just trying to shelter this child from the evil marketing schemes of the Western world.

I realize baby clothes and bedding are just the tip of the iceberg in this matter. No Dora the Explorer (I'd rather them learn French than Spanish anyway), no Bob the Builder, no Thomas the Train, the list goes on. Then you get into the whole subject of food items that go along with the evil marketing scheme. We will drive past McDonald's without anyone pointing out the window in a fit to pull in the drive-thru. We will not go see the scary-looking Easter bunny at the mall.

Am I terrible? This is one of those I-am-a-naive-new-mom things isn't it. I'd love to hear feedback. Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated!

the power of positive thinking

I might have to try this myself.



when to start a nursery

 As you know, baby deadline is quickly approaching. June will be here before you know it. I remember when we first found out, I foolishly thought that nine months was basically a year. Ha! The last four and a half months have flown by! Even though we are going to find out the gender of the baby, I plan on a gender neutral nursery. So really, I can start on it whenever. The problem? When does whenever start? Is it too soon? I still don't want to jinx ourselves. After hearing horror stories of late term miscarriages and stillborns that have basically ruined certain lives, I'm afraid to jump the gun. The idea of a healthy baby of our very own still seems a little too good to be true. God has been good to me my whole life. Blessings that I don't deserve seem to rain down from heaven on a daily basis. I don't know why He likes me so much.

See this? Yep. I'm gonna lay my future child down for a nap in this room! Eek!

To my understanding, this was the doggy playroom for the little lady that lived here before. The neighbor next to us said that one time she looked over here and in the window used to sit a giant cockatoo! A big white one. Just sitting in the window looking out at the yard. I kind of like that.

The problem with this room was that it had no closet. So my uncle, Saint John, built one for us. Gotta love that man.

We also repainted, recarpeted (After sterilizing the vinyl floors. Ha, you just THOUGHT that was hardwood floor! Don't ask me why the hardwoods upstairs are in every room except this one.) Now it looks like this:

Yes, I bought pink bedding. Do we have a little girl? Nope. But it sure looks like we do when you stick your head in here. I like to pretend that she's sitting around the corner in the floor playing with her books. So you probably think I'm hoping for a girl. I really can't say. I used to think only a girl would make me truly happy, but after going this long with this little baby already one gender or the other, I don't care what the gender is. I'm already completely attached to him/her (literally). I'm just ready to stop calling it an "it". Because it's not an "it". This little baby is the sweetest thing that's ever happened to us. 

Have a great Tuesday. :-) 

replacement

Just judging from this picture, how well do you think this one is going to take having someone take his place in my lap? Yeah, not good. He has no idea, bless his heart.

casting a cork into craigslist

This chair and I have been through a lot. It's lived in the last three houses with me. It is adorably vintage and the colors and fabric are to die for. However, as we make room for future baby gear, it has to go. I listed it on craigslist yesterday to give me something to do during the snow day. I listed it and not 30 minutes later I have had tons of emails from people who love it as much as I do. I have tried to respond to them all. Now I'm just sitting and waiting for the first serious taker to come forward. It's a bit like fishing.

lots of looking

It snowed six inches here last night and I have managed to make an enitre day of doing nothing but looking out the window. It's so beautiful! I have looked out of every window of our house. You are never too old for a snow day. I am just as mesmerized as I was as a child.