Finns room

I wish that I had thought about how many walls were in my sons room before I told him I would paint stripes, not just 4 but 8 walls. I will make sure I think about that before I do it the next time. But Finn had been wanting his room painted for a few months now so I thought I would have him pick out a color (with a little guidance of course) but I should give him a lot of credit, he picked out a great shade of blue that matched perfectly with the colors in his quilt, Whipple Blue from Benjamin Moore. I picked out Hale Navy, also Benjamin Moore, to go with it. 

Thank goodness for my laser level, as if it is not time consuming enough to get your lines straight but with an old house it always creates a bit more of a problem when all your walls are slightly different heights then the other. Overall I don't think anyone but me can tell that one stripe is a 1/2" or so lower on one side then the other.

 I love how it came out, his walls went from a very pale yellow to fun blue stripes. Usually darker colors can tend to make room look smaller but his room almost looks bigger as you follow the stripes going around. I still need to hang a few more things up and ignore the mess with all his stuff in the one cabinet. The wall hanging you see there was something I did for him a couple of years ago, it is an old kitchen cabinet door that I turned into a place for him to hang things. I got three ball finials from the hardware store and painted them like a traffic light. We also have a stop sign that we found in our garage a few years back, that will go over his bed. In the dormer area I am going to use the one side of the wall and paint a chalk board square for him. One of these days I'd like to paint his bed and chop down the posters and put some ball finials on, but that might not happen for quite awhile.

 He loves his new walls, it really changed the whole room and is a perfect transformation for a boys room. 

Upcycled Home Decor Series: Part Three {organization}

Guest Blogger: Liz Ohsiek from Liz Ohsiek Designs 

Happy New Year! Have you been making resolutions? I make the same ones every year. Eat better, exercise, get organized… But this year I mean it. Really! I found some fabulous upcycled items on Etsy to help you organize your homes, created from some amazing materials. Have you ever seen records, bed sheets, and license plates look so functional (and stylish!)?

Vinyl Record Storage Container by retrograndma

Handmade Upcycled Catch All Basket by sosorosey

License Plate Wall Organizer by SaraRene

Thanks Liz for your blog posting today, I love the license plate wall organizer! Hope this gets you inspired to start getting organized in a creative way.

fresh start to a new year

It doesn't take long until we are saying, out with the old and in with the new, that is, old Christmas tree that is loosing all of its needles and the greens that have been sitting around collecting dust for the last few weeks. As quickly and the Holidays seem to come- they are gone, but there is something strange when all the decorations are stripped out the house, it takes awhile to get used to the naked spaces left behind. Spots that were adorned with Santa's and greens on the mantle are now looking a little lonely. But at the same time there is something refreshing about putting all the holiday decorations away until next year. Bringing in the new year with a clean slate, starting fresh, putting all of the craziness of the Holidays behind us and thinking about maybe starting a project...
I have a few projects that I can't wait to get started on, but which one to do first. I started chipping away at the out dated tile in our kitchen the other day, but didn't make it very far. Then there is our powder room, we need to get a 300 lb. original cast iron tub out of there. We would like to put our washer and dryer in the space. There is also a shower in the bathroom as well that we would like to get rid of and build a nice pantry.  We have a much larger project that is much more involved. We have plans up on our third floor to turn the space into our master bathroom and bedroom, it is a great space with about 900 square feet and some exposed brick walls. The master bedroom project is a longer term project that will be great to get started, but I think is last on the list.
Stayed tuned for a new year with new projects of my own, our house and my new Etsy shop,  and some new projects I am working on with clients. Right now I have been working with a client on her new home and helping design her kitchen. I will start sharing photos and stay tuned for my powder room project- as soon as that tub is gone!! Happy New Year and happy new projects.