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.

She-Woman

So a LONG time ago you may remember that I won my choice of fabric from Tonic Living from a contest held by Aubrey & Lindsey from Aubrey & Lindsay's Little House Blog. Well I ordered the fabric & then it sat for awhile...as in about 3 months while I tried to figure out what to do & how to do it.

I finally decided I would use it to build a bench for the end of our bed. I wasn't finding anything I was particularly crazy about & there wasn't anything that was exactly the size I needed. I measured everything & went to Lowe's to get some 2x4s cut down to size.

I hammered in 2 3-4" nails attaching two of the short pieces to the long pieces making a long rectangle (yes, I know I'm very descriptive). I also use a square to make sure the corners were square, somehow I actually managed to do that in my first attempt.

Next I added in the 3rd short piece to the middle, just slightly off-center as my original plan was to tuft this beast.

Now was the real test. Since I had been using my dad's equipment to put all of this together I had yet to see if this was even going to fit beyond my one-time measurements which I'm not really know for being accurate about.

Success! It fit perfectly, actually even better than I had originally planned. Then it sat there as a frame for about a year. That's right, I put this together about 9-10 months ago...

Fast forward to 2011...& get your imagination all fired up because I forgot to take pictures for awhile during these next few steps.

I bought six table legs from Lowe's 15 1/4" Country Pine to be exact. I stained them with some leftover Minwax Jacobean and did about 3 coats, letting them dry for 24 hours between each set & not wiping the stain off after applying it. Once they were the color I wanted I used some WaterLox to seal & protect them. Once they were ready I took them & the frame over to my dad to drill through the frame & legs before bolting them on with 4 3" bolts for each leg. We wanted to make sure they weren't going anywhere.

After they were attached the fun began. I purchased jute webbing from a local upholstery store & borrowed a serious air-powered staple gun from a friend of my dad's. I first stapled them lengthwise before going back width-wise as I wove them between those length-wise strips.

Once I completed the entire bench I took a long piece of batting & split it into 2 pieces. It came apart pretty easily, I just had to be careful not to pull too much from one side or the either so it split evenly. I took one of the halves and stapled it around the webbing so the cushion wouldn't slip through the small holes between the jute.

I then cut a 4" piece of dense foam to be roughly an 1" wider than the bench on all sides.

I stapled another piece of batting over the top of it to help smooth it out since as you can see the edges are not exactly clean to say the least. Finally I stapled the fabric all around the bench folding the corners as neatly as possible on the edges. At this point I was slightly burnt out on this project to say the least so I kiboshed the tufting idea and loaded that sucked up in my little car for the drive back home.

Finally got the bench home & in its rightful place which has really helped the entire room to feel just a little bit more homey.

Lay Your Weary Head to Rest

Our bedroom is my favorite part of the house so far. I think that is in part due to it being the closest room to being finished but mainly I think it is due to my love of sleep. Poor Tim has not only had to adjust to me taking over the majority of our king sized bed but also has to deal with me poking, prodding and nudging him as he snores his way through the night. Apparently I also have a slight issue with breathing a little louder than most but that didn't happen until earlier this year when Tim tackled me in the snow resulting in a broken nose for me and a lifetime of guilt-trips for him. Note: apparently when you are being tackled you are not allowed to lift your head without expecting to get a broken nose.

Anyways, as I digress, Tim's parents gifted us a King sized mattress last Christmas and with some of the money we were given for our wedding we were able to get a bed frame. 

                                     

We got the majority of our bedding as wedding gifts from Pottery Barn and the Biltmore Collection from Belk. Their sheets and comforter are so comfortable. 

                                     

Recently I was at a Pottery Barn outlet and found two of the nightstands I've been wanting so of course I snagged those right up. 

                                               

We've got a bed for our sweet little girl on the floor next to me which she loves and typically will go straight to when she gets back here from daycare everyday (my parents house). Although a few days ago I walked into our room to see a sweet little beagle with a guilty look on her face poke her head out from the covers on my bed. 

                                    

The only other furniture in our room is a TV cabinet leftover from my college days with a TV my parents gave to us when they upgraded to a flat screen. The TV seems to be a little too heavy for the cabinet because I've noticed lately that the side of the piece is pulling away from the support shelf. I'm thinking that we should put a few extra screws in there so the three of us don't get a rude wake-up call in the middle of the night with everything crashing down. 

                                               

There are three things in this room I'm most proud of:

The first are the silhouettes over our bed. The ones on the edges are actually each of us from our wedding day and the one in the middle was taken right after Tim asked me to be his girlfriend a few years ago. The fun part is that they actually hang about the spots we sleep. I didn't mean to do that but kind of neat that it worked out that way. I minored in photography and had to take a graphic design class and just applied a few of those rusty skills. These aren't exactly 100% accurate but I'm pretty proud of them anyways. I took some random frames I found at HomeGoods and spray painted them green and was done.

                                          

My next favorite is the drawing just inside the entrance of our room, which is one that my dad did when he was a freshman in college. I'm still amazed at how talented my dad is/was. He on the other hand was not as impressed that I hung up his picture, the look was more of "Greeaaaaaatt." Oh well, I like being able to see it as I walk back and forth everyday.

My third favorite are the pictures of our parents and grandparents from their weddings. I'll be replacing the picture in the middle with one of ours one of these days so we have a full collection.

Things we have left to do here:

1. Get a quilt for the foot of our bed - Tim likes to freeze me out with the air and heat usage and on top of that he loves to wrap himself like an enchilada with the blanket at night. Not only would a quilt help to finish off the bed and add a little more color to the room but it would help me stay a little warmer. The Pottery Barn Colebrook Quilt is one that we registered for but it sold out in record time so now I'm on a search for a replica.

                                                                     

2. Replace the center picture in our wedding assortment with one from our wedding - the simplest and cheapest project, yet somehow I can't seem to complete it. One of these days!

                                                 

3. Get a new armoire/tv cabinet -  there is much discussion in our house as to whether or not you need a tv in every room. I say no, Tim says yes. Guess who is winning...I can't deny that I haven't used it a good deal as well but I'm still not a fan. Oh well, its my turn to compromise. I want something that looks weathered and well-loved but still looks clean and fresh. Here is an example of the idea I have in mind.

                                                 

4. Get a bench for the end of the bed - Neither of us have a place to sit and put our shoes on after we get dress so it always ends up being a selection of the lesser of two evils. Sit on the floor or put the shoes on the bed. A bench would be great for that purpose and would help fill the space of our very large master bedroom. Btw, whenever you build a house make sure you measure out each room to make sure you get a better feel for how big it really is. Ballard Designs has a great classic turn-legged bench where you can select your own fabric to match the rest of your home.

  

                                                

5. Put up curtains - I didn't really realize how much curtains can complete a room until Tim's brother & sister-in-law got some put in their den. It makes such a huge difference. I want to get some heavy fabric, almost like a tapestry weight and have them made (I'm not crafty enough for this project...yet that is) and some of those nice thick wooden dowels to hang them on. 

                                              

6. Get a bedskirt - This goal actually has a deadline attached to it. We registered for one I really like and have a discount to Pottery Barn & Williams Sonoma through November so my goal is to finish off everything I really want by then. I was going to get my parents to buy some of that for me but apparently my car has to have some kind of specialty tires that are insanely expensive so those have now blossomed from my birthday gift to my birthday/christmas gift. Growing old is oh so thrilling.

                                            

7. Get some bedside lamps - There is nothing I hate more than stumbling through a dark room, yet somehow I end up doing it just about every night. This is why we need some lamps on either side of our bed but I hate how much room they take up on the nightstands and at some point I always end up knocking them off. Pottery Barn to the rescue again, they have some awesome bedside lamps that install on the wall but they actually plug in so you don't have to worry about making sure everything is wired. These even have an upgrade in that they swing around so you can bring them closer or move them further away based upon how much light you want.

                                         

8. Do something with the giant blank walls - I'm not someone who is a fan of blank space. I understand not wanting to overload a room with stuff but then again I always feel like a room is missing something when there are large expanses of wall without anything on them. I feel like we need to either add something to either side of the new armoire or we need something on the two large expanses of wall to either side of our bed. This is probably a project I'll take on after I get the rest of the house finished up.