Spur of the Moment

I had no intention of updating the guest bedroom until next summer. However, my parents were getting rid of an upholstered headboard, so I snapped it up. It was my dream to refinish an old wooden headboard in a funky color, but beggars can’t be choosers. Then while holiday shopping online I came across a sale on a funky comforter with all of the right colors, so I snapped it up.

Before

Here’s a photo before my Dad installed Ikea’s Maskros Pendant Lamp that I found on craigslist.

Don’t mind the mess.

During

“New” Headboard

After

Here’s the bedroom set I bought spur of the moment thinking the busy pattern and bright colors would make up for the lack of wall hangings and wall color.  Now I’m not so sure, but it is a lot more cheerier.

Excuse the box in the foreground.

 

It’s a little busy, and not the room of my dreams, but it’s better than blah.

 

 

Out with the Old

Anyone who has a dog knows that wall to wall carpeting is not the best choice.  I was more than happy to rip it out of my living room.  The section under the couch was in pristine condition, but everywhere else gross.

My Dad and Uncle Jim installed the new Pergo flooring which we bought at the Habitat for Humanity Restore at a fraction of the price.  It matches the floor in the sunroom.  Here are some pictures of installation day.

 

Who Said Doing Laundry is Boring?

The laundry room was the one room that I never planned to touch.  However, since the flood destroyed the carpet, I figured I might have a little fun in there.  Maybe I would have one of those cute laundry rooms like the ones you see on Pinterest. Painting would be easy since I didn’t have to worry about destroying the rug.  As you can see by my photos, I had nothing to lose.

Before

Before

I knew that I had to do something about the dated paneling.  I painted the wall the same grey that I did in the sunroom, BM Revere Pewter.  However, I made a rookie mistake. I forgot to prime the wood walls before I painted them.  Oops.  Too late now.

I originally wanted to do tile on the floor using the insurance money from the flood.  However, my Dad talked me out of it. He gently made me realize that since you could never see the floor in my laundry room because of all the laundry scattered about…it really didn’t matter.  He found some neutral, high quality stick-on tile (Is that an oxymoron?) at you guessed it…Habitat for Humanity Restore .  We painted the floor with paint left over from other projects.  He laid the tile and I ran over them with my rolling pin.  Using a red rolling pin was a mistake.  It left some marks, but they were removed easily.

Like an elf making cookies

After

I was inspired by a photo on Pinterest  (They always have the cutest laundry room photos.) and chose a coral color for the cabinet.   This time I remembered the primer.  I did a few coats and then bought some faux glass handles at Home Goods.  It was a world of difference.  I even purchased a cute basket for the top to hide all of my ugly bottles.

This is actually my laundry room. Not a photo from Pinterest.

My favorite home decorating book suggested that new homeowners hang found art instead of displaying impersonal art found at discount stores or blowing their budget on fine art.  I definitely wasn’t going to invest in real art for my laundry room.  I found these frames at a thrift store (I wish I took a before picture of the frames and their pansy pictures) and used two pages from a cute dog calendar from last year.  Voila!  Found art!

 

 

We still have to lay the rest of the tile, paint the baseboards and install new windows, but here’s how it looks now…

I should frame this photo because it will never look as neat again.

Pane-ful to Painless

When I bought this house, one of my favorite features of this house was the enclosed porch.  I had visions of myself sitting on my porch enjoying my morning tea while reading a book or correcting my students’ work.  The sun shining upon my face, neighbors strolling by and waving hello, my dog at my feet.  I moved in late September and after a month or two of blissful enclosed porch living, my dreams were quickly dashed.

Although this room has heat, as the end of November approached, I soon found out that my favorite room was always freezing.   I gave up and went to live in the rest of the house.  As winter passed, I dreamed of emerging from hibernation and basking in the warm sunlight on my porch. Warm, it was…

One late spring arrived I realized that the old windows that didn’t open would be a problem. Sitting on the porch, was like being trapped in a greenhouse.  Even with the air conditioining vent open in the summer, it was too hot too enjoy.

I had a guy from Newpro come to the house and give me an estimate. After listening to his 30 minute scripted spiel, he gave me a demo.  We put a light up to his sample window and I put my hand on the other side.  I couldn’t feel any heat transferring.  Then I asked him to try it on my windows.  He put his light up to my window.  I ran outside and put my hand on the other side and let out a screech.  My hand was throbbing, but I was sold.  I was ready to buy his windows.

To my surprise, 14 new windows cost more than my Corolla!  Again, my dreams were dashed until my dad came to my rescue.

He found a place online that would be a fraction of the cost.  He and I installed them.

 

And Casey helped too.  Sort of.