We Got Carpet, But Saved Our Hardwoods
So, this isn't a very glamorous post, but a while back, I mentioned on Instagram that we got carpet for our home. Several people showed interest...
So, this isn't a very glamorous post, but a while back, I mentioned on Instagram that we got carpet for our home. Several people showed interest in hearing about this, so I'm here to oblige! The kicker was that we didn't want to ruin the beautiful hardwoods underneath with a bunch of nails, so we opted for rugs.
However, I wanted wall-to wall carpet for our bedroom and the nursery - I'm a carpet person, what can I say?! Plus, if I'm being honest, I really don't care for most area rugs and they are often overpriced in my opinion, for not that great of quality. I wanted real carpet that would have a serious will to live amongst a large dog and a baby. This would have been really hard to find amidst regular area rugs (with super specific dimensions and so on), so we decided we'd try the "custom rug" route.
The problem that arises from that choice, of course, is cost.
Or is it a problem...?
That's when Tom started to hunt around.
We wanted wall-to-wall custom rugs for two bedrooms and nearly wall-to-wall in our living room, plus padding. What makes them "custom area rugs" are the finished edges and specified dimensions.
We live in Tennessee, but between Nashville and Atlanta are the big carpet manufacturers, such as Mohawk and Shaw. These feed into stores like Home Depot or even your local carpet-only businesses. We used to pass by their huge warehouses on our way up north, so when Tom remembered they were there, he looked for some companies near them that might work with us, and landed on Myers Carpet of Dalton. Honestly, Tom should really write this post, because he did all the corresponding and ordering, but I'll do my best - haha!
He got in touch with them and had a few conversations with a sales rep about what we were looking for in terms of needs (durable, pet friendly, easy to care for), material (we wanted Nylon for the reasons mentioned a second ago), color (neutral speckled grey), and pile/weight (our last house had such cheap carpet, and we wanted something more luxurious and that wouldn't mat quickly). Most, if not all, of the companies in that area have terrible websites with no pricing, poor filtering of options, and what looks like a limited selection. I'm sure if you know your carpet lingo and have the brands memorized, you'd have a breeze browsing them, but for the carpet novice, they're a bit... crappy.
However, it turns out that they are that way because these stores don't actually have real restrictions on inventory or options. The guy that Tom talked to let him know that if we could find a carpet type/color/weight/company, it would 9 times out of ten be manufactured just down the road from their office. They don't have prices online, because they sell mainly to the carpet stores you have in town, and have to keep that info under wraps for the sake of competition. When we first heard their price quotes for the same types of material we'd been looking at in Home Depot and the other stores, we thought it was a mistake. Basically, the places in Dalton Georgia don't compete with Home Depot, they sell to Home Depot, who then puts their own profit on top of it. The price we'd be paying from them was almost half of what we had expected to find elsewhere because we could cut out the middle man.
Once we'd figured that out, they shipped us a handful of small samples to look over based off of some pictures that the sales rep had texted to us - free of charge.
We took 24 hours to look at each of the samples in all the rooms we wanted them in, and in different light, and easily made our choice.
Then we measured each room's exact dimensions about four times to be positive, and sent our dimensions off to our contact with the sample name we liked and the margin we wanted them to stay at. We wanted a close fit so we asked for only a 1/2" margin from the wall to the edge of the carpet. With that all in hand, we placed our order.
After a few days, Tom got a phone call from the sales rep and found out that they would be out of the exact pile and weight of the carpet we'd chosen. So as not to wait, we chose to go with an even higher pile material, because we fancy, yes, but also because it would only end up adding about $.15 a square foot. Gotta give those toes some luxe.
Was it the most effortless process? No. Were we totally convinced that everything would come out 100% as we'd hoped? No. The phone/text/email back and forth was a little convoluted and drawn out, but our rep, Madison, did a great job keeping us in the loop about where were in the manufacturing process, even going as far as to call Tom a few times to chat with the people actually cutting our carpet to make sure everything was correct.
The shipping also was a bit of a waiting period, but as they make rugs for a lot of different businesses, we had to wait until the Nashville delivery truck was full until our carpet could be sent. This made the shipping much cheaper though, so we didn't sweat it.
Once it was sent to a carpet store in Nashville, that place called us up and set up a delivery time. Tom talked to the rep at that store, and it turned out that our white-glove delivery price was about half of what it would have been had we gone straight with them. It ended up costing a little more than what we had been quoted by the manufacturer, but it was still much less than we'd have paid otherwise.
And guys...
It feels AMAZING. Literally the thickest carpet we've ever had. So thick that Tom has to vacuum for me because our vacuum can barely get through it. Not because it's tall, but because it's just... so..... dense. I never realized how much I inadvertently cringed each night when I'd roll out of bed to use the bathroom in the night and touch the cold hardwood. The first night we had the carpet, I actually smiled in the dark because I felt so quiet and cozy! Anyways, yeah, everyone under this roof is pretty dang thrilled about it... including Hondo, who is glad to not be sliding from room to room. But I'm happy to expand on it more in a message if you wanted more detail on anything!
To recap:
We ordered (nearly) wall-to-wall carpet for three rooms, using custom dimensions, high pile/high quality Nylon material, with finished edges, fast turn-around, white glove delivery and install (meaning, they moved all of our furniture and laid it), padding, and no sales tax (because it was out of state) all for....
$1,730
Now you might think this sounds steep, but take into account that the particular carpet we chose would have cost upwards of $8.50 per square foot from anywhere else. That's just the carpet. We got EVERYTHING listed above for around $5.50 per square foot.
Oh and if you saw this awesome barn door hardware on my Instagram this past week, we got it from Wikibuy which is a website and Chrome extension that finds you the best prices online! This was gifted to me, but I love using their site. We had been dying to get a sliding door put in, because our master is small and we wanted to remove the area a swinging door took up. We are SO glad to have it!
Plant Themed Nursery Tour
We haven't done what I'd call "decorating" since we moved into our new place. Mostly it's been getting used to new storage spaces and...
We haven't done what I'd call "decorating" since we moved into our new place. Mostly it's been getting used to new storage spaces and settling in.
But the nursery? Well, those silly ol' nesting instincts kicked right in. There are so many cute nursery ideas online and even just within those few baby aisles of Target, but the more I looked at them, the more my mind wandered to my own ideas.
Enter: The plant theme
I naturally gravitate towards cool colors - greens and blues - so creating a neutral boy's nursery was honestly pretty easy for me. I settled on a plant theme so it would have a sense of life to it, outside of animals and whatnot.
I also have to admit... I hate how baby things always look so... well... BABY-ish! My mom keeps giving me a hard time about this, but I can't help it! A baby doesn't know the difference between a teddy bear theme and a plant theme, so why do I have to put baby animals all over?! Haha - this is by no means a dig at anyone else's preferences. It's just a style decision I made that certainly won't hurt the child's development, and won't make me feel cringey every time I go in there. I can honestly say, I lovvvvvve the look of this nursery and it feels super cozy and cohesive to the rest of our house.
Once I landed on the theme, I decided to watercolor the prints myself (because I had a picture of how I wanted them to look). I'm not super talented with drawing and painting, but I figured if they turned out crappy, I would move on to buying them. But I actually like the amateur look of them and they totally make the space!
If you're curious where things in this room are from, I'll list them below the photo tour. Oh, but the Bernese Mountain Dog is NOT for sale ;) Ugh. He's so photogenic.
Item links
From Amazon:
From IKEA and others:
Crib
Crib mattress
Fur rug
Dresser
Drawer organizers
Frames - Wal-Mart and spray painted gold
Mobile - various items from Hobby Lobby
Laundry basket - HomeGoods
Easy Garden Box
Happy Monday, friends! It is almost May, and with that, I thought I'd share our garden with you today. We've been in our house for nearly...
Happy Monday, friends! It is almost May, and with that, I thought I'd share our garden with you today. We've been in our house for nearly two years now, but the great majority of that time has been spent working on the interior of our home - working room by room. The kitchen was our last big project and it was finished almost a year ago, but we've spent the last several months just enjoying the state of things before perhaps updating some bathrooms or flooring. Not to mention having added a puppy to the mix, we've been adjusting to having him in our space as well.
Now, however, we feel like it's about time we start showing our outdoor areas some love. We have been good about clean-up in the fall (we live in a forest... just imagine the sheer volume of leaves we have to clean up), and we try our best to keep shrubs and things well groomed, but it has gotten to a point where most of our backyard has gotten away from us. So much has become overgrown and as two people who wouldn't exactly call themselves 'green thumbs,' it's been a bit of a struggle. Right now, about 2/3 of our backyard is a muddy, tilled mess. We are hoping to get it all fertilized and seeded for grass, but because of all the rain we've been getting, it's mostly just a sloppy, goopy, mud pit. Good thing I've got my Hunters!
While we try to get our yard ready for grass, though, we thought we should also take this opportunity to add in a garden box. Why not, right? Everything else is a mess, might as well do it while we're already dirty!
Thankfully, it was incredibly simple thanks to some sand, cement blocks, planks of wood, and some dirt. Here's how we did it:
- We dug out the perimeter and made spaces for the blocks and planks.
- We placed some planks in the slots to be sure they'd come up even with the tops of the blocks. Then we evened things out with sand at the base and made sure our blocks were level with one another. Tom also used some metal poles to put down the center of the blocks and into the ground to keep them in place.
- Tom cut the planks to size and we made sure everything fit just right before filling the sides in with dirt.
- We layered topsoil into the box and planted our little seedlings in orderly rows.
Here are a few photos! We are so happy with the results and it only took us a Saturday afternoon to finish. Isn't it pretty?
Here is a link to the cement blocks we used - these were such a help!
So far, everything has been growing beautifully. Here's a list of what we have growing:
- Large tomatoes
- Cherry tomatoes
- Strawberries
- Rosemary (not doing so hot, though)
- Dill
- Thyme
- Basil
- Bell Peppers
- Cucumber
- Green onions
- Yellow Squash
- Snap peas
I also thought I'd also include some affiliate links of products that might come in handy:
So what do you think? Pretty simple, but cute, right? We're excited to start reaping the rewards of this little patch of land, and we're hoping our grass comes in just as nicely! Let me know if this garden post was helpful or inspiring for you! Do you have a garden at your place? What're you growing?
Happy Spring, friends!
What They Don't Tell You About DIY Renovations
So I realize this is a really specific kind of post, but as we are now close to the one year anniversary of our finished downstairs renovation...
So I realize this is a really specific kind of post, but as we are now close to the one year anniversary of our finished downstairs renovation, I started to think back to life in those two months without a kitchen.
It also reminded me of all the other rooms we updated one by one and how it affected our everyday life. I wouldn't have changed a thing about the process because we learned so much, and strangely it proved to be fun, but there were definitely some surprising revelations of renovation life.
Here are a few things you may not think about or realize the reality of before starting a renovation adventure:
1. Weird shower schedules
Say you wake up in the morning and start doing some messy labor (painting, demo, etc..) That afternoon you have a meeting or a function, so you shower. Later that night you do some more messy labor. You don't want to crawl into bed covered in sawdust, sooo... shower again. Then do you shower in the morning before work? Maybe, maybe not... There were lots of showers going on.
2. Mistakes, mistakes, and more mistakes
Going in, I think we figured we would be super detailed and never let something fall through the cracks. But it happens. I couldn't tell you how many times something was measured incorrectly over the course of our projects. Or how we didn't spend enough time sanding, leaving terribly obvious mudding on our drywall. But you know what? We learned. A LOT.
3. You'll question your intelligence
On the same topic of making mistakes, you'll also feel like a complete idiot sometimes. The mistakes you make will often times have been totally avoidable had you paid more attention or double checked your measurements. Tom stayed up late into the night after he made a particularly bad mistake that almost wrecked the whole plan (but of course ended up working out fine) and he wallowed for hours just going over where he went wrong. So if you ever feel like a total moron, you're not the only one.
4. You'll be behind schedule
If you stay on schedule and meet EVERY deadline you've set for yourself, you deserve a gold star. But likely, you'll be a day or so behind where you'd like to be. You'll hit a seemingly small roadblock, and suddenly the timeline goes catawampus.
5. Get used to your scrubby renovation clothes
Besides your 9-5 work clothes, it feels like you live in your renovation clothes. Sometimes you don't even wash them until they meet a set standard of filthy. Between work clothes, renovation clothes, and jammies, those renovation clothes somehow feel like the thing you wear the most.
6. Every time you think you got everything at the home store, you didn't
I swear Home Depot was our home away from home. A paint brush would break, we needed more sanding sheets than we thought, we didn't have the kind of screws we were positive we had, etc... Get used to multiple trips to the home store every other day.
7. Cooking? What's that?
Regardless of whether you're doing a kitchen reno or a bedroom reno, nobody feels like cooking after a day filled with drywalling and painting. So when you're preparing your budget, make sure you include "eating out."
8. The cost will surprise you
Honestly, I think we were almost always really under budget, or really over budget. There weren't a lot of times where it costed exactly what we had thought. Either way, it was always a surprise... obviously one was a better surprise than the other ;) But don't sweat it. It'll even out eventually.
9. Does the (literal) dust ever settle??
It does... eventually. If you've done any sanding or demolition at all, be prepared to find a layer of dust throughout your house for a while. Good ventilation will help, but it's not always available.
10. You'll feel immense pride when you're done
Dawwww of course I had to end on a high note. If you DIYed this project, that feeling of accomplishment and pride is amazing. Seeing what're capable of is priceless. Revel in it an enjoy a hard earned break!
Have you done a renovation? What did you learn? What took you by surprise?
My Best Decor Deals
Do you ever peruse Pinterest and see posts about how people made some amazing piece of furniture or decor for pennies on the dollar? Does it...
Do you ever peruse Pinterest and see posts about how people made some amazing piece of furniture or decor for pennies on the dollar? Does it sometimes drive you a little crazy because you don't actually have the skills/tools to try your hand at it? Like everything they make for cheap is super pretty, but unattainable for you?
I'm gonna let you in on a secret...
You don't have to be "crafty" to be good at DIY. You just have to know what to look for so that you don't actually have to do much to an item to make it work in your home. Be thrifty! Be picky!
Here are some of my best decor deals - some are used, some are new, but they all serve me well!
Living room carpet: $16
It was brand new from Restore by Habitat for Humanity, and even though it's not the color or pile I'd normally choose, it has served its purpose well and I'll never be upset when it gets ruined because it was so dang cheap!
All our curtains: none are more than $40 for a pair
$30 Master (IKEA)
$20 Wood room (Target)
$20 Guest room (IKEA)
$40 Living room (Tuesday Morning)
Honorable mention: all our curtain rods from IKEA. Cheaper than anywhere and simple.
All our mirrors: none are more than $30
$30 Vanity (IKEA)
$19 Entryway (thrift store - originally priced at $230!)
$15 Guest room (Home Goods)
$10 Full length (Wal-Mart)
Monet print: $6
A Goodwill find, of course! We just cut off the bottom part and framed it.
Large canvas in our Master: $20
Goodwill again. It was a canvas print we didn't care for, so we primed and painted it into a piece that suits our style. It's about five feet wide and was perfect for the large wall in our bedroom.
Guest room side tables: $11 for both
Goodwill. Yes, again. Solid wood... and with some sanding, a couple coats of paint, and some new hardware, they added the perfect flare to that room.
Blanket basket: $25
Home Goods is always a winner.
Vases: $2 or less
For vases, I think old canning jars of varying sizes are the simplest and prettiest. I'll spread a bouquet across two or three jars of varying heights and sizes to create a fun centerpiece and Goodwill almost always has more if I need them.
There you have it! Just a few of my favorite finds! I'll also tell you that TJ Maxx and Home Goods have the best prices on soft, cozy throw blankets than anywhere else, and you'll be surprised what kinds of gems you can find at Goodwill that need nothing more than a coat of paint. Never be afraid of thrifting!
Creating An Inspiring Home Office
Do any of my readers have home offices? Whether you work from home or just have a desk dedicated to bills and management of your personal...
The products in this post are c/o Social Print Studio.
Do any of my readers have home offices? Whether you work from home or just have a desk dedicated to bills and management of your personal finances or life events, it's important to feel a sense of order in these places. As someone who works from home, I must admit that using my desk/office area has been a bit of a struggle. The bed is warmer and cozier, and being able to just sit up after a night's sleep and hit the keyboard is convenient.
But...
It's not very good for me.
Someone please tell me you work from your bed too?! Please? So I don't feel like such a bum? Not only is it awful for my posture and generally just lazy, but it also breaches the boundary of use for our bed. The bed is a place for rest and is shared with the hottie I call husband, so to use it for work is a little unnecessary.
We don't currently have a room that is dedicated as my home office, but I've been in need of a place to comfortably do my work for some time. You've seen the renovation of our whole house over the course of this past year, yet somehow creating a home office got overlooked! For the new year, I decided I needed to tackle this problem and I've had get creative in making a portion of our master bedroom an office until we can perhaps transform one of our spare bedrooms into a joint space for both of us.
The thing is, this desk area doubles as a vanity for doing my hair and makeup, so it's important for me to be able to hide my beauty stuff so as to create a productive area for work. Over the last year, it's definitely felt like more of a vanity and less like a desk, but thanks to the help of Social Print Studio, I'm feeling so much more confident in using this area as my office! In fact, full disclosure, this is probably the first post I've ever written in its entirety at my desk and not elsewhere. Winning already!
When creating an inspiring home office for yourself (even in the confines of part of another room) there are a few helpful tips to keep in mind so it works for you specifically and will make you want to use it.
A proper desk for you
Though you may like the look of a minimal desk with no storage, will you find yourself in a disorganized pile of papers and odds and ends without a place to stow them away? Think about what you'd really need in a desk and what sorts of storage you might need for yourself. I don't personally have a lot of papers (I do everything electronically), but I need a couple drawers for my camera lenses, laptop sleeve, flash drives, and of course my makeup.
A comfortable, supportive chair
This seems like a given, but have you seen some of those office photos with bizarre, clear or oddly shaped chairs? Typical office chairs on wheels can be good in terms of support, but I was looking for something minimal, soft, and good for my posture. You might grimace looking at the white fabric, but it's a washable cover and it stays pristine. Figure out what sort of chair you'd most likely be able to spend several hours in and wouldn't leave you with a backache.
Decor that inspires
Do you have some favorite quotes or catchphrases that motivate and inspire you? Maybe even some photos that remind you why you do what you do? A candle that offers a refreshing scent? Images that give you a sense of peace or purpose? Put them somewhere prominent or in a place you might glance up to in between thoughts. This was a big one I had been missing, so I'm loving the wood prints from Social Print Studio. One with a Bible verse that reminds me to do what is good. As writer, it's a great reminder for me to put forth words that are truthful and pleasing to God. Another is a quote from Winston Churchill. Solid mix, am I right? God's Word and Winston Churchill - haha! Winston's words remind me to be brave and stand up for what I believe, even if it's something not everyone will agree with. Being brave in my writing is a personal struggle for me as we live in a world that's constantly offended. I don't want to be offensive, but I also don't want to always work with my tail between my legs. The truth takes courage. As for photos, I chose a wedding photo as a reminder of... well, need I say more? Tom is my number one fan, and I couldn't do what I do without him. The other photo, of me holding a vase of eucalyptus, was just a photo that brings me good thoughts and calms me when my mind goes off track. The wood prints I have are the smallest ones they offer (4x4), but they go all the way up to 16x20. Another bit of decor that I think adds a lot with a little, is some sort of plant life. Don't forget a candle (if that's your jam) to warm up your space and put off soothing scents. All of these pieces add not only to the aesthetic of an office, but they fit into our room and home with ease.
Organization
If your desk doesn't offer built-in storage, how about some bookshelves or stylish filing cabinets? Desktop storage also offers some good options when you need things at your fingertips. What about wall organization? Another one of my favorites from Social Print Studio are their wall calendars. Guys, their print quality is AMAZING and this calendar is not only visually stunning (with my choice of personal photos for each month), but it'll be perfect for me to fill out and be able to quickly glance over the month's schedule. It would go great next to a bulletin or chalk/white-erase board or some awesome floating shelves. If you're like me and sometimes need a more visual overview of your schedule, this calendar is the perfect addition to your office. For whatever reason, computer calendars don't always cut it for me and things get overlooked. Plus, the physical calendar just adds a great pop to my little space and makes me feel like I'm at work.
Healthy sustenance
When working from home, it's easy to grab the fastest, most unhealthy food choices. Chips, sugary granola bars, and soda. But by keeping a few healthy alternatives at your desk, you'll easily make better choices and keep yourself from wandering into the kitchen for something more. I try to maintain a healthy water intake every day, and this little glass pitcher is perfect for refills and looks pretty too. Also, what's easier than fruit?! Keep a little bowl of fruit or nuts near your office and the temptations for the bad stuff will diminish.
Good lighting
Isn't this an obvious one? Thankfully I get plenty of natural light in our house, but a good lamp is essential when that's not available. This one was a DIY project I had envisioned and my husband brought to life. Yet again, it fits in with not only my desk aesthetic, but the whole room.
Thanks to Social Print Studio for collaborating with me on this post. I've been a long-time customer and have ordered several of their products as gifts. You guys know I would never talk about or endorse a brand or product I didn't 100% love, and SPS is no exception. They are super responsive in terms of customer service and their products are truly great quality. Not to mention they make these great business cards I ordered several months ago. I leave them on tables and hand them out to business contacts I come across or potential clients - definitely recommend them.
What do you need in a home office? You better believe that when we create a joint office, Social Print Studio will be gracing the space once again :) Go check 'em out! (These giant photostrips are next on my wish list)
Home Office Inspiration
After we finished our kitchen reno (over a year ago already!), I think the DIY bug felt... satiated? Haha - hey, it was a LOT of work! But now that we've had a break, I've been feeling like our spare bedroom could use a purpose. It's been used as a storage room, a second guest room, and (don't laugh.. okay.. fine go ahead) Hondo's room.
We put up a wood accent wall that I think we are already tired of, but I do like the texture of it. I want to rough it up and perhaps paint it something sort of moody and fill the room with lots of natural wood, white, and functional pieces.
The challenge in this project, is that I'd like it to serve both Tom and I. He works from home occasionally, and I work from home all the time. It would be nice to have a place where our work stuff can gather and we can close it off from the rest of the house. Right now, Tom takes early morning conference calls each week from the couch in the living room and this means Hondo can't be disruptive and I can't make any noise either. So the current situation is not very conducive to work/life balance in that sense.
However, we do use this spare room as second guest room fairly often, so I also want to create a super functional room with desk space for two with the ability to turn it into a welcoming guest room when needed. This will be a big challenge since this is the smallest of the bedrooms, but I think it would be an awesome and unique way to liven up the space.
Here is my office inspiration board on Pinterest. I want to keep the cool tones we have throughout the rest of the house consistent with this room, as well as add our modern/mid-century flare.
My favorite image of the set, is the one with the navy wall, wood shelves, and rattan chairs. It's seriously giving me ALL the heart eyes!
Here is what that room looks like currently (when it's set up for guests):
We liked the idea of the wood wall, but quickly realized it's far too warm for our taste. I want to paint that puppy navy right this second!
To remedy the issue of needing this office to transform into a guest space, I thought it would be awesome to add a sleeper sofa. It would make a perfect spot for lounging if we wanted a break from the desk (and could even give us seating for small meetings) and would help create a space we'd enjoy working in.
via IKEA
I think with a couch in the room, we'd have to get a little creative with the use of space in terms of desks, but it would a fun challenge. I thought perhaps lining a couple of the walls with fold down desks would be nice for stowing them away when guests came to town. Or placing them just so, so they'd become side tables for the bed.
What do you guys think? Is this a challenge we should attempt? I'm not kidding, I'm ready to take a roller to that wood wall any second now!
Don't forget to follow me on social media to stay up to date and connected. Feel free to message or email me with any content requests, ideas, or collaborations!
Home Tour
Well this has been a long time coming! The way I figure, our house will never be as pristine as it is right now (now that we will have a puppy to muck it up in TWO DAYS), so I whipped out my camera and went to town.
Our style is very much modern, mid-century, minimal. We like subtle accents of wood and plant life amidst our greys and blues and greens. I shared this photo on Instagram a while ago, and it sums up the aesthetic we go for pretty well.
A little about our casa:
- 1,300 sq. ft.
- Split level - kitchen, dining, living are downstairs, and bedrooms and bathrooms are up
- 3 bedrooms
- 2 bathrooms
- No basement - just a crawlspace
- Laundry located in the garage
- 2 car garage
- Built in 1990
Below, keep an eye out for the links to each room's individual posts where you'll find some before and after photos (I'll be going back and updating the photos for those posts soon). Every inch of our home has been updated and the kitchen was completely gutted a few months ago. Without further ado, let me walk you through our home!
Entryway and Living Room
Our entryway was our most recent project. We picked up those black shoe containers at IKEA and added a stained piece of wood to the top to make it look more finished. It's been an awesome "dumping grounds" of sorts, for our random odds and ends. Our living room is obviously one of the main places we spend time. The coffee and side tables were DIY by Tom, and the rest of the room is pretty minimally decorated. It's bright, clean, and functional. Those floating built-ins have been wonderful for electronic storage. They still need tops to finish them off, and we're on the hunt for a different floor lamp behind the couch, but it's a great living area none the less.
Entryway post
Living room post (coming soon!)
Kitchen and Dining
The kitchen that came with this house was the one major vice for us. We knew we'd have to re-do the whole thing, and about a year later, the task was done... all by US (well, Tom). It's added so much to our lives and we absolutely love using our new kitchen. Hidden storage for brooms or mops is tough in this space, but we've managed to make things work. Also, being a shorty, my handy little step stool/ladder is a must :) We still have to add a backsplash, plus some other minor additions, but overall it's done and we adore it.
Hall and Landing
This wasn't a huge task, but it made such a difference to have the ceilings smoothed out and the walls brightened from dark tan to light grey.
Guest Room
Finding a good shade of green for a room can be tough, but we're pretty happy with this one. It's a calm, soft little retreat for our visitors, and every now and then I'll spend an afternoon working from the bed in here. Just for the change in scenery.
Guest Bathroom
The vanity and upper cabinet color matches the side tables in the guest room... just a little touch to bring the guest spaces together! It's a simple little bathroom but comfortable and functional.
Spare Room aka Wood Room
This room is sort of our floater room. We've had ideas or plans for it in the past, but nothing has really come to fruition. So we use it as an extra guest space. But we're also toying with creating a shared home office! We added the wood wall and feel it adds a neat feature to an otherwise small, boring little room. Maybe you'll see a post on this in the coming months!
Spare room post (coming soon!)
Laundry Room
You know, having the laundry in the garage really doesn't bother me. When our water heater died on us shortly after we moved in, Tom bought and installed a tankless one over in our crawlspace to save room in the garage so he could create this little corner for me. I had no qualms with doing this task in the garage, but I was wishing it felt more sanitary. Husband to the rescue! One of the photos shows how it's in its own little oasis away from the rest of the garage.
Also, I had made that piece of art some time ago, and could never find the right place for it. The words are from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing (which holds a special place in our relationship) and I finally realized this spot was better than anywhere. Tom made me this little space, but I do all our laundry... so the words are a sweet reminder every time I do this monotonous task each week to remember how blessed I am to love someone so much.
Master Suite
This room is our escape, so the stark white mixed with hints of green life and grey create such a bright place to wake up each morning. We sip our coffee, talk, and get ready for the day together (my desk doubles as a makeup vanity). Our bathroom is the same shade of green as the guest room. We love our suite and will hopefully be updating our furniture in the coming year or so to styles that suit us a bit more.
