Lighting

It's been awhile (a long while) and no promises but I decided I needed to start recording these updates on a regular basis again. We'll see how that actually goes...

I've done a few updates to the lighting since I last posted including getting a new fixture for the front entry and moving that fixture to the back entry which made a huge difference.


That being said there is still a long ways to go. I despise boob lights. Could there really not have been a better choice then these jokers?

Capital Lighting

They are builder grade and due to us having a very limited budget while building these lovelies were scattered throughout our house. Now that we are becoming a little more settled (still a LONG way from being comfortable though) I'm starting to become ready to switch them out for more up-to-date fixtures with a bit more character. Although this house started as a 5-7 year house for us, we're already at 4 years and have no plans to even being moving anytime soon....although I did recently list us on Zillow at a make-me-move price about $75,000 over the last estimate of our house. That's why it's classified as "Make Me Move" right?

Here are some updates I'd like to get to eventually. I keep lots of records on my Pinterest boards now but that doesn't record where we've been & the path along the way :).

KITCHEN:
1. It's so dang dark in here, I want to put in some under cabinet lighting operated on a switch.

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2. Again, speaking of the darkness, I'd like to add a semi-flush mount fixture in the center of the room. I loved this one but apparently Ballard doesn't carry it anymore.

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3. I really like the look of little pendants hanging down over the sink. I don't know if this would end up being too busy & I don't know about having to have pretty bulbs but I like this one.

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LAUNDRY ROOM:

This just has your standard boob light which does a good enough job of lighting up the room but I'd like a little more character. Something along these lines but less expensive & smaller.

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STAIRS:

The lights we currently have are good enough but not really my style. I'd like something low-profile but with style, like this, but that emits a bit more than just a "warm glow."

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TIM'S CLOSET:

Poor guy has a straight-up florescent fixture, ugly as can be & awful colored lighting no matter the bulb. I'd like to get him something that gives better light for him & isn't ugly (for me).

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UPSTAIRS BEDROOMS, BONUS ROOM & MASTER BEDROOM:

I know some people don't like ceiling fans but around here the mugginess just sits on you like a wet blanket and without the extra airflow from ceiling fans in the bedroom it just gets to be a bit stifling. That being said, I'd like to have ceiling fans that are attractive and add to the room rather than detract. The upstairs rooms & bonus room currently only have lights in them & we have an ugly ceiling fan with a light kit so I'd like to replace all four with something like this, but not $400 each, yikes!

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FAMILY ROOM:

We currently have 4 can lights & a fan in the den but although the plan was originally to add a light kit to the fan I think I'd rather just replace it. If I couldn't convince Tim to get rid of the fan altogether I'd likely just get the same as what is in the bedrooms but I think some negotiating with putting the fan in the bonus room just might let me get away with getting rid of that one. In that case I think I want a rustic looking chandelier which I haven't seen any of that really interest me just yet.

HALLWAY:

Our upstairs hallway just has can lighting (smart!) but our downstairs hallway still has a boob light. I think that I'd like to replace it with the flush-mount that matches all of our other pieces.

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HALF BATH & OFFICE:

I can't remember if the half-bath has a vanity light fixture or if it has a ceiling mount. I could swear to you that it is a ceiling mount though. I have some big plans for this room (at least for now) which a large light would compete with too much so I think I want something pretty, but low-profile.

The office has the most basic flush-mount imaginable right now with no character at all but I'd like to replace it with this very simple flush-mount that does not look like a boob. (side-note: I'd also consider this for the Laundry Room & for the Hallway).

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MASTER BATH & GUEST BATH:

This is our current fixture in our master bathroom & I'm pretty sure its the same but with a different number of lights for the guest bathroom:

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Nothing really bad about it, but nothing particularly interesting either. I also want to frame in our mirror & put a built-in cabinet between our sinks for more storage so we will need two separate fixtures for that to work. 

For our master bath, I'd like something a little quirky & am willing to spend a bit more since I will be using it/seeing it multiple times each day. Something like this could be fun.

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For the guest bathroom I think I'd end up waiting to see if our first child ends up being a little girl or a little boy because I love both of these (although they'd both be too small).

Little Girl:

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Little Boy (in antique brass):

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Ultimately I think we can all learn a lesson from this...boob lights are not a necessity and even builder basic could transition into something much more attractive such as this. :)

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Updates (Downstairs) - pictures & details to follow!

Front Entry
- Got a rug (HomeDecorators.com)
- Got a new light (Ballard Designs)
- Got a table (Craigslist - $35)
- Got some art (by friends)
- Made some curtains (I did it)

Dining Room
- Got rid of the table & chairs (sold on Craigslist)
- Got a hutch/china cabinet (Ballard Designs)

Hallway
- Got rugs (West Elm)
- Got art (frame gallery fm Target, others custom framed)

Office
- Painted (mixed a few random colors together)
- Built desk & shelf (I did it)
- Built in corkboard (I did it)

Back Entry
- Replaced light (from front entry)
- Got a vase... (that empty area was killing me - Neiman Marcus)

Family Room
- Got a TV (& surround sound - thanks lightning storm - Jeff Lynch)
- Got some art (custom framed & donated by Grandma)
- Got tables (Rug & Home)
- Got couches (Hand me downs, sold the others on Craigslist)
- Got lamp (local antique store)
- Got pillows (Pottery Barn)

Kitchen
- Curtains (shower curtain from Pottery Barn, spray painted rod from West Elm)
- Art (spray painted EAT from Hobby Lobby, frames from Pottery Barn)
- Under cabinet storage (Lowe's)
- iPad mount (gift from brother & sister-in-law)
- Barstools (hand-me-downs)
- Rug (Pottery Barn)
- Trash Can (Bed, Bath & Beyond)
- Added spice rack to lower cabinet (Lowe's)

Pantry
- New shelving configuration (I did it)

Master Bedroom
- Quilt (Pottery Barn)
- New Dog Bed (I did it)
- New buffet (Local antique store refinished by me)
- Bedskirt (Pottery Barn)
- Art (by me)
- New TV (Best Buy Black Friday purchase)
- Bedside lamps (Pottery Barn)

Master Bathroom
- New rugs (Pottery Barn)
- New towels (Belk)
- Updated gallery wall (by me)
- Reconfigured Tim's Closet (by me)
- Reconfigured My Closet (by me)
- New toilet plunger (ooh fancy... - Lowe's)

Half (Guest) Bath
- Storage Cabinet (Pottery Barn)

Laundry Room
- Air Register (Lowe's)
- Art (Ballard Designs)
- Drying Rack (Ballard Designs)
- Rug (Ballard Designs)

No Excuses

There've been quite a few changes in my life recently not limited to a new job, raising almost $15,000 for cancer research, dealing with multiple different courses of treatment for Tim (and about to start a new one), trying to keep a house together, trying to keep my sanity & trying to keep up a social life, but honestly I just got bored of blogging for awhile (pbly bc I've been keeping up with Tim's blog so much). Still probably won't be back full time but thought I'd catch everyone up on what I've been up to lately!

So here are a few posts you can look forward to reading sometime (hopefully soon):

A new dog bed - constructed by me (& my dad)
My latest obsession - Accupuncture!
Dehydrating Food - aka what not to do
Refinishing a buffet - still can't believe I did it
Some things I'm dreaming about right now
Hanging a flatscreen/hiding the cables
New kitchen rug, trash can (& soon curtains)
New hallway runner(s) & art
New bedroom art
Restructuring the bathroom gallery wall
Curtains for the front door
New art for the den & new (to us) couches
San Francisco Trip
Refresh of the pantry
Little landscaping refresh
Garage Clean-out/Basement Organization

And here are some (hopefully) upcoming projects that will be happening at the hizzay sooner than later:

Cabinets in the laundry room
Replace transom in the laundry room (seriously dad...lets finish this one! :))
Staining/sealing the back deck (yep 2 1/2 years later we still haven't done this)
More landscaping...
Master Bedroom curtains
Hallway Art Project
Master Bedroom Art Project(s)
Front/Back Hall Light Replacements (might as well do it at the same time)
Front Hall Rug

....told you I've been busy.

Room for Improvement Down Below

Our kitchen is pretty efficient for the most part, well except that I don't really know the best way to organize it. I'm starting to figure out what really works for us and know there are a few places that could use some improvement on the bottom level.

The rough sketch above shows our kitchen's layout (the arrow is indicative of the two cabinet pieces linking together with a lazy susan inside).

Here are my plans:

1. These are 2 drawer front facades. I'd like to get the little kits that allow me to pull these out in order to store sponges, etc right below the sink.

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2. I'd love for this skinny little cabinet to have a pull-out shelving system so I can store the non-stick sprays, spices and sauces that are currently taking up precious cabinet space. I know it would be by the sink rather than the stove but spices aren't supposed to get hot anyways and its not like its a long walk for us to reach the other side.

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3. This giant cabinet holds our appliances because we would have zero counterspace to work on if we left these out all of the time. I need a more efficient way to get to them though so some pull-out heavy duty drawer inserts would be fabulous.

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4 & 5. I need drawer organizers for these drawers and some pull-out drawers for the cabinets below to store my pots & pans more efficiently.

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6. The drawer above this cabinet also needs some organization but mainly this is where my baking sheets go. I need some dividers to keep them from crashing down all of the time.

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7. Once again the drawer needs some organization but I'm kind of at a loss as to what I need to do with the cabinet below. Right now it holds all of my serving pieces and in the future I hope that I will have a storage piece in the dining room but for now everything is just slammed in there for now. Oh well!

Drat

I came up with a brilliant idea, well actually I didn't come up with it, I saw it on Knock-Off Wood and thought it could be perfect for the pantry once I adjusted a few things.

I measured, planned and even taped it all out on the back of the door then my dad said the casters wouldn't work on the wood floor and would just damage it. Then I was reminded multiple times by no less than 7 people and an equal number of "are you nuts" looks that this project was not going to work for multiple reasons.

1. The door is hollow
2. Hollow doors can't hold a lot of weight even with special back-up support systems
3. The door is hollow

So the plan was killed but maybe someone without a hollow door and wooden floors would benefit so I thought I'd post my idea anyways. Here you go!

Brainstorming...Kitchen Book Trough

I saw a book trough similar to this one at my friend's parent's house and determined that I HAD to have one of my own.

So I've written up the plans for what I want and am just waiting for my dad to have some availability to help me build one of my own. If I could get this project completed it would free up a cabinet in my kitchen and believe me, that is some prime real estate!

Quick Shoutout to Pops

Here's a pretty little bad-a cabinet my dad made for my mom's kitchen. Keep in mind that this is his first furniture building experiment and my mom has been quite the saint for the three months (possibly more) it has taken him to build this. In my humble opinion its pretty amazing and I'm glad he has the practice in so he will be good to go by the time he gets to our built-ins! Now he just has to reface every other kitchen cabinet and build new doors & drawers for all. Best of luck to my mom's sanity!

Reuse, Reduce, Recycle

Don't get me wrong, I have the reusable grocery bags. I just always remember to bring them into the store right as I'm checking out. I feel terrible throwing away all of those plastic bags and we actually do use them pretty frequently so I purchased a grocery bag organizer by Simple Human.

Initially I placed the organizer on the cabinet door with the adhesive strips.

Failure. Please excuse the below picture as I was trying to get a shot of of its instability as it crashed on me.

First I had to figure out where I wanted to place it inside of the cabinet.

Then I marked where the screws needed to be once the organizer was in its final position.

Next I moved the organizer and got the screws into the wall.

Finally I slipped the organizer onto the screws and filled it up with the grocery bags.

After I pulled out the first bag I realized that I probably should've screwed the screws in so it was tight to the wall and won't shake and rattle every time I pull out a bag. So far I haven't had any initiative to pull out all of the bags, get down there and get it taken care of but I'm sure it will bug me enough to take care of it soon.

Like a Fish Out of Water

So our county has great water, actually some of the best in the country but Tim's chemo meds put a metallic taste in his mouth when he drinks out of our faucet. That in combination with the fact that I REALLY wanted to actually complete a home improvement project inspired me to install a water filter on our kitchen sink.


Here is what we started out with:

 Hot & Cold water lines, dishwasher water lines, disposal drain, sink drain, dishwasher drain. Here is the system I got, we don't really need the professional version but that was all they had so I went with it.

First things first, I turned off the cold water. I wasn't doing any work with hot water so I just left that as is.

Next I unhooked the water supply tube from the top and bottom. Ok well technically Tim was out of town so I had to get my dad to come manhandle it for me as I was afraid I was about to twist the copper supply line. I was smart enough to think about putting a bowl underneath to catch any leftover water. Although it went everywhere and not just into the bowl. Thought that counts people, thats all that matters.

Next I put the bracket up against the back of the cabinet to figure out the best spot for it where it would still be easy to change out the filters every six months. I marked where I wanted the screws to be once the bracket was in place and moved to the next step.

Next time I screwed the screws into the wall and popped the adapter for the new water supply into the intake on the sink. 

Next I put the bracket on and this time I was smart enough to screw it in (well actually the directions told me to).

Next I cut the hose to length and followed the little diagrams to pop it into the correct hole on the bracket and up to the sink.

I attached the remaining bit of tubing to the other hole in the bracket and to the water intake.

I popped in the filter and turned the water valve back on.

It worked! Well except for the fact that water squirted from about 3 places under the sink as well. With my dad's help I figured our where the problem was and pushed the connection in a little further and success on my first do-it-yourself project! That I didn't exactly do by myself but its a start!

Chow Time

I've been avoiding showing off the kitchen because it always seems to be such the disaster. We had a shindig celebrating Tim's birthday/being in remission and cleaned the house to be spotless, just in time for about 30 people to come over. I think that I'll just make everything look clean and actually do the real cleaning after from now on. We had a great time and it was really amazing to be surrounded by so many of our friends that were able to make it with such short notice. After parties we both really get into straightening modes and are able to get everything nice and clean. Such was the case after Saturday although I have to admit that I hid quite a few things from the camera's view.

Anyways here is our kitchen. I replaced all of the silver knobs with these aged brass ones from Hobby Lobby. I went during a sale so they were only $2 rather than $4 which really added up with as many as we needed. I love the new look, it really did change the look of the kitchen making it look more vintage at least in my view.

I actually have quite a few knick-knacks around the kitchen but they don't ever seem to get in the way like I thought they would originally.

Both the tray and the Gurgle Pot were wedding gifts. My friend Julie asked what she should get our friend Maggie for her wedding and when I told her I thought a Gurgle Pot would be the perfect gift I never thought she'd get one for me but it was perfect, color and everything. I LOVE it.

This coffeemaker is my savior every morning when I'm stumbling out of bed. The sugar bowl was a splurge from Belk's but I love the eclectic look it gives. I also used a cookie jar from HomeGoods as our utensil jar, its the pretty blue I like so much and is just the right size all around.

The blue is carried on in the cookbooks that were given to us by a great friend as a housewarming gift. It then ties in with the yellows and naturals of the kitchen in the dishtowel from Anthropologie my sweet mother-in-law gave me at one of our wedding showers that we leave on the oven.

Lastly there is the little corner over by our bar where we store wine, our decanter, some pretty frames from Anthropologie and a vase and calla lillies from Smith and Hawken. I miss that store, Target carries the line which is awesome but I wish the store itself would come back for me. Oh well. 

I got the wall rack from Pier 1 for only $10 and its been really neat to watch the constant changing of it as we get various cards and invitations in.  I have to admit that I stole the idea from my friend Christy after she got hers to hold Christmas cards last year. It has been a great addition.

Things we have left to do here:

1. Get some barstools - We need something to allow people to hang out and chat while I'm slaving away in the kitchen, haha. Plus it would just allow for something to make that look a little more finished. The blue version would even match the dining room chairs I like so much.

2. Get drawer/cabinet/pantry organizers - I love things that are cleaned and properly organized and right now our cabinets, drawers and pantry are none of the above. I want to buy some of the pull-out racks to make everything more efficient and easier to use.

3. Get a rug? - I'm torn on this one, do I get a rug in order to protect the floors or is that going to be too much of a pain to keep clean. What do you all think?