When I first started this blog I planned on having lots of how-tos (man they are a pain to put together, hence their absence) and a detailed log of all my home renovations. I figured the whole world my mom would be waiting with baited breath to see the exact color gray I finally settled on, or how high my baseboards were. We’ve been hacking away at this blog for months now but I have yet to share a single renovation image. Poor you. There’s so much I still need to do before our house even begins to resemble my decor fantasy but we’ve already done a lot in the 3 short months since we’ve moved in, I think it’s time to give Matt and I a smallish pat on the back:
Here’s my light-filled living room, I bought the house for it’s high ceilings (the lowest one is 10 feet) and ginormus windows, also because Erin almost fainted from hyperventilation when we first toured the house. So Far I’ve ripped up the carpet, laid white and gray concrete overlay; painted the walls gray; stenciled the big wall with the pretty pattern shown here; and ripped out the old door (to my bedroom) and put in this lovely vintage door on barn tracks. We also installed the floating shelves, which are haphazardly arranged at present. The furniture in this photo does not represent the arrangement I plan to maintain, but it works for now. I also want to paint that door but, hey, one thing at a time.
Here are some progress photos:
the most tedious project of my life. Thank god for beer and ladders.
doesn’t that tile around the fireplace and the band-aid colored paint make you want to puke? Me too, which is why I have photo #2 of Matt ripping the tile off the floor, what a good husband.
the fireplace as it stands today, still needing tile and a paint job. Note: Matt took the tiles off the floor in front of the fireplace but my dear, sweet mother actually removed the heinous offending tiles from the facade. On the left are the lovely 6″ baseboards we installed. I hate wimpy short baseboards and my big-tall ceilings beg for a substantial anchor. I love them.
here’s my couch that I recently painted and recovered. I still need to make bolster pillows. I also want approximately 864 more bright pillows to throw across the back. It’s no dream couch, but for $130 off craigslist, it will do for now. Plus, it’s much better than it was before:
eeeewwwww, my eyes burn.
This weekend I started to move into the hallway:
right: before with band-aid walls, band-aid carpet and my cute husband. left: I’ve ripped out the baseboards and the molding from around all the doors (MYSELF!) and painted it white, the lines are chalk lines I put up last night to mark off where I will be painting stripes. When complete, the hall will have alternating 6″ white and gray stripes. We also took out all the old hollow-core doors and replaced them with these vintage solid ones. They will be painted white along with the new trim / molding / baseboards. New handles too. Which reminds me, anyone have a good handle source? I found a few I like, but at $200 a pop I think I need to keep shopping. I’ll give you the afters once the hall is done.
And just because I couldn’t leave you with a picture of my ugly half-completed hallway, here is a shot of my GOLD panther table. Erin does not lie, I will spray paint anything gold, especially if it is a panther that wants to hold my cocktails.
I chose not to bore you with photos of the dream closet renovation we did, but just so you know we’re not sitting on our fannies around here, I’ll tell you that we knocked out a new door in the wall (on a whim at midnight one night) so we could have 2 closet entrances, installed a boat-load of shelves and rails and hung a sweet globe lamp from the ceiling. Now Matt isn’t even allowed to put away his own clothes, I do it myself so that they can always be perfectly neat and organized, he makes a big boy mess.
So, there you have it, 600 projects down, only a million-gazillion to go.
“600 projects down, only a million-gazillion to go”
I hear you, sister. This is why I don’t post every last detail of every project I have going on in my house at one time, because it would make me cry. I figure I’ll be done with everything right around the time the mortgage is paid off. (In 27 years.)
The barn door looks awesome, and I think it’s great that you’re replacing the hollow-core doors and skimpy moldings. I’m already having trouble guessing what year your house was built (I consider that a good thing)!
What gray paint did you use for the walls? I feel like I ask that question 20 times a day.
I want to see the closet!
Aw, what a nice post for Matty bear’s big boy birthday! You guys have done such a great job with the place, and I can’t wait to see the hallway!!!
Are you painting the doors the same stripe as the walls so they don’t interrupt the flow of the stripes?
Are you painting the doors the same stripe as the walls so they don’t interrupt the flow of the stripes?
Happy Birthday Matt!
WOW – I love your wall – what an amazing effect – looks like great progress!
Anna, oh, I know how you feel! I have so many more projects that I haven’t posted, and even more that have yet to be started. My gray is ben moore harbor gray, for most of the house I had them de-saturate it by 25%, for the stencil wall it is pumped up to 125%
Connie: nope, doors and trim will be white, I’m not worried about them interrupting the flow, the effect will still be there. The stripes are so intense I actually think the break-up will be good
thanks please sir!!!!!!!
Lurve, lurve, lurve-y the barn door! Will it be a pop bright? Or gold? Speaking of, that panther table is totally Dictator Chic. Did you buy it at a Southeast Asian diplomat’s garage sale? AWESOME.
Make sure to have your house professionally photographed when you finish, or as you finish projects, for your portfolio. (Erin mentioned you two were thinking about starting a design studio).
Dictator Chic??? I think I have a new source for inspiration.
I can’t take credit for the term. There’s actually a coffee table book on the topic:
http://www.chroniclebooks.com/index/main,book-info/store,books/products_id,5539/title,Dictator-Style/
SHUT UP. IT LOOKS SO SO SO GOOD!!!!!
I had to hold back the tears of frustration when I pictured myself doing something like stencilling an entire wall!
the concentration and preciseness needed for such a task – I would’ve thrown my arms up and packed it in after 1 row!
Kudos to you for seeing it through! – Obviously worth it as it looks awesome!
that gold panther could hold my cocktail any day. ewww…that sounded dirty. love what you’ve done – the wall especially is fantastic.
It looks bodacious! Also, what is the gold panther’s name?
LOVE the finished look… Great, really…
That stencilled wall is amazing – and the new white version of your couch is great!
WOW!!!! Thanks everyone for all the rad feedback!!!! I have fresh motivation to keep going now
Also, RAINA!!!!! Dictator Chic? Genius!!!! I just ordered the book from amazon seconds ago, I am SURE that I have found my new inspiration.
I’ll keep everyone posted! AND!!!! I would LOVE it if everyone would send me pics of their renovations! We can have a before and after blog party!
Ut, Oh, Nerdy, I forgot to give you the panther names!! I haven’t 100% decided yet, so input is greatly appreciated, but I’m thinking Michael Phelps for one and the other could maybe be Christian Bale
yes but does one of the panthers have a disproportionately long torso and a wingspan that is greater than his height?
no. and it sinks like a damn stone, but it DOES have terrible communication skills, so that’s gotta count for something, right?
I totally want to go Dictator Chic as well. Goes with empire building and all that.