Movin' on Up

So I've changed my mind. It happens a lot. I've decided that the Family Wall I talked about previously in Hallway...well because its easy is going to go up the stairs. (I'll do an update on that for my new & improved plan soon.)

I might make this feature on one wall, maybe on both. I'm still undecided on that point but this will be a long term project as we need a family first. I don't really want an homage to Tim & Jenny heading up the wall and I'm thinking that there aren't a lot of people who would. Maybe my mom, but probably not, ha!

Anywho, back to the real world. Above is a picture of our stairs. There isn't too much you can say about them but there are 2 things beyond the Family Wall(s) that I want to update on these.

Things we have left to do here:

1. Replace the carpet with wooden stairs - When we built the house we couldn't afford to pay for the nice risers as well and to be honest I wondered if it was really worth all of the money. After my repeated struggles in trying to vacuum those bad boys I have decided that they really are worth it and oh so much more. Its become Tim's chore for 2 reasons, for some reason he likes to vacuum and he is much more coordinated and doesn't get the cord all wrapped around him and almost fall down the stairs multiple times. I mean not that anything like that has happened to me or anything. 

2. Replace the sconces -  Don't get me wrong, I think these are great and I'm completely happy with them. I just have one problem, I saw some sconces that I have a huge crush on. Its not that I love the others any less, I'm just completely and utterly infatuated with the new guys. I haven't done a search to try to find out who carries these but I'm hoping that someone has them in an oil-rubbed bronze with some fabulous natural linen shades. 

3. Create a family wall - As I said at the beginning of the post, the stairs are robbing this idea from the hallway, sorry guy. But this time with a spin. I want to find some pretty old keys, get some pictures of some of our ancestors and have a plate framed that Tim's grandmother gave to us just before we were married. I believe it was her grandmother's and came with her from Sweden (although I could be completely mistaken and just have made all of that up - I do know that it has something to do with Sweden, is from one of Tim's grandmother's ancestors and it means a lot to us). I also want to get some of my Gigi's (my great-grandma) handkerchiefs framed and hang them up there. I guess I could put up a picture or two of Tim & I and of course I have to a a silhouette of our sweet furry little friend. Hmm, looks like I may actually have more for this project than I thought I did originally...

King of the Throne

Two days, two posts, two bathrooms. This time I'm showing you the big boy though, the master bath. The configuration of this space along with our closets was the #1 reason for the extensive changes we made to the original plans of our house. We had three main requests: 1. That there are 2 closets; 2. That the entrances to those closets opened into the bathroom; 3. That the toilet has its own room.

Although Tim & I typically have to be at work at the same time we never seem to get up in sync with one another so its nice that we can walk in, close the door and it stays nice and quiet in the room for whomever is still sleeping.

We have a few things done in here, I actually just got the bath mat from Pottery Barn last weekend. We were having issues with having to move our previous mat back and forth to catch the water from us & catch the water from the dripping shower door. Now we've got one that covers both issues in one little package.

The print over the toilet was Tim's wedding gift from me. Its a picture of the campus where Tim was coaching and we met, yes so sweet. The only problem is none of the colors in the picture are actually anything I want in the house BUT I wanted it to be somewhere that we could see it every day. The spot right over the toilet fit the bill perfectly.

Tim's a little bitter in that I got lucky with the size of my closet, it was slightly larger to begin with but there was some confusion when the foundation was poured and it ended up granting me an even larger closet. Unfortunately its still too small. Before I had a house to fill and pay for I used to have a thing for shopping, hence my overly full closet. I do have my mom's wedding dress in there though.

I have plans to paint that dresser & replace the knobs but it took a lot of time to get those drawers in with their special little latches so I'm avoiding that situation right now. All of my necklaces are hung up by thumbtacks so I should probably come up with a slightly more attractive solution. I do have a pretty blue little chandelier in there though. Thank you Pottery Barn Teen.

Tim's closet is a little work in progress, but bless him, he has taken on my sense of organization and kept it up. The kid keeps each type of clothing together and even sorts by color every once in awhile. Sometimes he really makes me so proud to be his wife.

Things we have left to do here:


1. Get some tile - Did we fool you? Thinking their might already be tile in there? It's linoleum but I want slate. The area of the bathroom is pretty small and we've got a great discount tile outlet around here with some amazing deals so I don't think we'd have to invest too much. 

2. Get a rug by the sinks - I'm not a huge fan of oranges but I think these are faded and sparse enough that I could live with them. I also really like the unusual shape. Slate floors can be kind of cold so it would be nice to have something a little cozier to stand on while getting ready and I think this rug from Anthropologie would make all the difference.

3. Put art above the towel rod by the sink - I'm at a loss as to what we should put here. I do have a few of my great grandmothers old handkerchiefs that I'd love to be able to group together and frame but I'm afraid that all of the moisture in bathroom may damage them.

4. Get some sort of towel storage furniture - Right now we don't really have a great place to store extra towels and I'm not really sure if we should find something to hang on a wall or get a piece of furniture  and figure out where to place that. I'm leaning more towards the shelf and putting it above the tub but still need to measure it all out. 

5. Get closet organizers - I love anything that is organized, but an organized closet with a place for everything and everything in its place? That is heaven to me. The summer before my freshman year at college I had some of my friends over to get together before we were all separated that fall. I had some boxes labeled and sorted ready to go to school and my lovely friends decided to switch labels as well as the contents of those boxes for me. They all enjoyed my frazzle as I tried to figure out how to get everything back the way it was.

Excuse Me While I Powder My Nose

Powder Room, Half-Bath, Water Closet. There are lots of names for it but when you really think about it none seem to truly fit. Anyways, meet our guest bathroom.

Its got some good bones, pretty basic but it does its duty. The trash can & toilet paper box were my birthday gifts from Tim's mom and yes, they are from Pottery Barn. The candles and holders were a wedding/housewarming gift from Tim's parent's neighbors. They fill up that empty spot and the candles are vanilla scented which is pretty awesome because you can smell them each time you walk by.

Things we have left to do here:


1. Get a vanity sink - When we first built the house we had the option to do a vanity sink then but didn't have the money. This is still a long term goal but I like the idea of having a place to put some stuff without worrying about it falling into the sink. Restoration Hardware has one, for an insane $2,000 on sale, that I will be using as a reference point to find one for us. They even offer the Crema Marfil Marble which matches the hearth of our fireplace.

2. Get a rug - Yet again, not surprising, but for two in a row I have found them other places than Pottery Barn. This one is on sale for only $14 at Ballard Designs, think I'm going to take the plunge and get this for sure.

3. Get a snazzy new faucet for the pretty new vanity - All of our accessories are oil-rubbed bronze so I want to get something to match. I found a vintage looking one I'm a pretty big fan of over at Delta.

4. Get some art - I love these prints from Ballard Designs. I'd have to wait until they actually arrived to decide if I'd put them over the toilet or on the bigger wall to the left of it. I do like the way all of them look together though so I guess that means I need to buy the set.

Micro-Management

I have to have a workstation, somewhere to put the printer, store the files and get my head around all of our bills. To be perfectly honest I'm too lazy to be running up and down the stairs for that sort of thing so when we saw the opportunity for a little closet under the stairs we went for it and asked for a light and an outlet. The only thing I wish we had added was a cable outlet for our "network".

I got the pictures from Garden Ridge back in the day, the organization baskets from Crate and Barrel and the furniture is leftover from Tim's childhood days. My long-term plan is to build a desk for the space but in the short-term I'm planning on spray painting the desk, chair and drawers and finding some fun knobs.


Things we have left to do here:

1. Paint the walls? - Don't get me wrong, I love how the slightly off-white color actually makes the space feel less crowded but I've seen some really cool treatments where people have done some tone-on-tone horizontal stripes. I have some amazing topcoat paint from Sherwin-Williams that would make some excellent shimmery stripes but I haven't committed to that idea 100% just yet. John & Sherry from Young House Love (what inspired me to get all of my ideas down on this blog, and what made me believe that Tim & I actually have a chance to become DIYers) did it to their guest bathroom and it looks amazing so I may just suck it up and make this happen.

2. Get a rug - anyone surprised? No? Didn't really think you would be...I want something fun and bright and cheery and a little different from the rest of the house. I found one at Company C that fits the bill, I know, for once it is NOT Pottery Barn, what a shock. They actually had a lot that I'm a huge fan of but this ended up being my favorite.

3. Build in a desk - I want something custom, L-shaped, with drawers and high enough that my knees don't touch my ears when I sit in it. I want pretty little knobs from Anthropologie and some impressive detail work but most of all I just want it done. The office works as it is, for now but to be honest I can't last too long in that little chair before I start to feel all of my 20-something years creeping up on me.

4. Upgrade my chair - Yep I'm back to my old friend, Pottery Barn. I love the caned back and the rosette details on this, plus white and tan really fits into the color scheme of the house oh so well. But the best part, I can sit up properly, it doesn't get much better.

5. Get some wall art - I saw these when they were on sale at Target a few months ago and wanted to get them then but couldn't think of where I could put them. The other day it hit me that they would look great coming as a little cluster down from the point of the ceiling over the pictures. I love how you notice them through the shadows they make upon the wall rather than as the objects themselves. They'd also be a great little stocking stuffer this Christmas in case anyone such as a sweet little husband I know were to read this.

Behind door number...

This is our back entry aka the hallway of doors. We keep a lot of them closed in order to corral our curious little pup and sometimes forget to open them up when guests come over. On one hand I feel bad but on the other it is kind of funny to watch people turn every which way trying to process which they should open.

Things we have left to do here:


1. Once again...get a rug - A common theme and once again I found one I love at Pottery Barn and once again it sold out before I could buy it. This time I forgot to get the name of it before it was gone though so I think this one really may be a goner...

2. Move the light fixture from the Front Entry to the back - This entryway just has a standard light fixture and since I'm replacing the one in the front, you can check it out in Not Too Much of  a Welcome...Yet, with something for a little more pizazz, per say. But I do love that light fixture and want something a little larger in the back entry so it ends up being a perfect fit.

3. Get some built-ins made -  My dad is claiming he will do this for us, currently he is rebuilding the kitchen cabinets for their house so its really going to end up being a race between if we save up enough money before he actually gets the kitchen redone. Looking at his track record and the current progress I'm thinking we will be hiring someone to do it for us. I want a place to keep keys, cell phones, my purse and all of the other stuff that gets dropped randomly around the house when we come in. I also want more storage and a place to display some of the wedding gifts we got. Below is an example of what I like but perhaps with a little more decorative glass. 

As crazy as it sounds I want some chicken wire glass, I love new things that look old and think that goes right along that route, plus it looks really neat. Below is a piece of furniture with that glass my heart is so fond of!

I also found these knobs at Anthropolgie that I'm pretty sure don't really match but I may keep my eye out for something similar...or with my rug being sold out maybe I'll just base everything on them. Too many decisions for this girl to make!

Eat, Drink and Be Merry

Tonight its all about the Dining Room, the least used room in our house. When we started to build the house we opted out of an eat-in kitchen for the simple fact that we typically will just plop down on the couches in front of the TV and hang out while we eat. We do have a table and chairs in the dining room right now but those are leftover from Tim's college days (aka they are covered in marks from many games of quarters). It is convenient when we have parties to put the food on and have people easily walk around.

I do love our light fixture and that will most definately stick around. The table and chair have got to go though. Half of the rungs are missing so Tim & I are always trying to make sure guests don't sit in them and end up on the floor by the end of dinner.

Things we have left to do here:


1. Get a rug - I want something thats pretty tough like jute but still is soft on your bare feet, enter the chenille jute basketweave rug from Pottery Barn. It even has the same color scheme I like through the rest of the house.

2. Get a china cabinet -  Sorry for the fuzzy picture but I saw this at a store called Dutchman's when Tim & I went on our mini-moon this year. They were the perfect mix of Anthropologie, Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware all in one, my dream come true.

3. Get a table -  I found this one while my cousin and I were out furniture shopping at Bassett one day and love the concept because when it expands it doesn't become an oval. You add the additions around the edge so it becomes a bigger circle. Not a huge deal but for some reason I just don't like oval shapes. Yes, it is weird, I know...

4. Buy some chairs we aren't afraid of letting our guests sit in - Pottery Barn, surprise, surprise, has some that I've had my eye on. I think I want to get 8, six to stay around the table and two extras I can store in the corners to either side of the china cabinet for extra guests.

5. Cover the tan - Obviously this room has the same issue as many of the others in the house with its overabundance of neutral.  I want to get something to add a little color to all of that so I need to figure out some artwork to go in there. 


6. Get some curtains - Once again just to finish off the room I'l like some curtains over the double windows. Plus its extra protection from our friendly peeping house-hunters.