I've Been Benched

First off, I need to thank everyone for their input on my last post. There were some really great suggestions, including one that has really started to evolve in my head... so we'll see where that goes!

Now, for an update on the pew. The last I showed you, our bench was looking like this...

Well, I've been a busy bee, taking every opportunity that I can to get out there and strip it clean of the two layers of paint. 

After some stripping and then letting it dry out, B went at it with a random orbital sander and a belt sander to get rid of some of the leftover paint.

What did we discover when B hit some of the parts of the pew that had not been touched by the stripper? The paint would've come straight off really easily had we just sanded it from the start and skipped stripping completely. Yeaaaa.... so had we done that, we would've saved some money AND probably have all of the paint sanded off by now. However, as it currently sands, we still have some work ahead of us to get the rest of the paint off...

I am frustrated knowing that we could be in the refinishing stage already if we (read: I!) had just attempted sanding before stripping.

While sanding B also discovered that the back of our pretty pew is solid cedar - a very nice cedar, and he's intent on staining it. I on the other hand, am not completely convinced. After reading Jen's comment on my last post, I'm pretty sure I'd like to do something two toned (pulling colours from our end chairs at the dining table). Something along the lines of this pew, or this one. B and I will continue to discuss this.

So, with the progress we have made so far I am still hoping to have this project (as well as a few others I have started), completed before our house guests arrive later this month! I also believe that now that we've been in our West Coast home for over a year, I owe you some updated pictures of our spaces! Hope to start snapping some photos one space at a time once I get them cleaned up. 

Have you been working on any projects recently that seem never ending? Maybe you've had a frustrating experience with something you are trying to tackle? 

How I Got My Blog Groove Back

Well... it's been far too long since I've been around these parts. I've just been busy being a Mom, keeping home, doing fun things with the family and small projects around the house. Nothing has really given me that spark recently to write... even when B began building Halle's playhouse in the backyard, or started working on tiered vegetable garden (all of which there will be photos of.... soon). Then, the other week, I was doing my usual craiglist creep when I struck gold!

That my friends is an 11 foot church pew... which I paid $100 for. Yes... ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS! I was thrilled that I was able to score this (and so thankful to our wonderful friend who helped me out and loaded it into the pack of his pickup truck and moved it to our place while B was away). It's going to be the perfect addition for seating at our 12 foot dining table...

The pew will go on the far side of the table where the two blue chairs are. However, I'm still stuck on what to do with the pew. I'm in the middle of stripping the paint off...

I've made some more progress since this photo was taken, but I still have a lot left to do. The wood seems to be in okay condition, but I'm not sure I want to stain it. Even if we use the same stain as we used on the table and light fixture, it would come out a different colour (just like the table and light fixture did). I'm concerned that it will be too many types of woods and tones competing in the space (especially since we also have our wine rack and a new little wood table that I scored at the Salvation Army. 

So, I guess I'm looking for a little input. While I strip and sand this big old pew down, I want to know - What would you do? What do you think I should do? Stain it? Paint it? I'm thinking maybe a cream colour, similar to the light part of the plaid on our head chairs at the table. At this point, I'm leaning towards painting (which would save me a lot of stripping down the line)... so give it to me! What should I do?

A Little Closet Update

Here I am! Still kicking, though my drive to blog seems to have faded drastically. I think a lot of it has to do with my 2014 motto to simplify life. I've been enjoying the little moments with Halle these days. We finished her first round of swimming lessons together, we visit the library weekly, go for long walks with friends and the other day even enjoyed a nice lunch picnic! I've also focused a lot on sorting and organizing our home, and preparing much healthier meals for us.... and I even bake our own bread now! It's so nice and I've been feeling much happier and far more relaxed.

I am, however, hoping to get back on here and share what we'll be up to in the next little while - including our back garden plans and hopefully the built-ins in our dining room (we've been on the hunt for the right cabinets recently). In the meantime, I want to share a quick change we made in Halle's room recently.

I just felt like Halle's closet wasn't providing great storage for us. It had a lot of hanging space, but that big blank floor invited things to just get thrown down there, and the top shelf just collected items that were idly thrown down and then forgotten about. I knew we needed a better solution...

When I took that first photo I had already cleared out the floor space, so next I emptied that shelf and removed all of Halle's clothes. With everything out, it was as simple as B removing that wire shelf (that I was happy to say good-bye too... they seem to dominate our storage spaces in this house, and this is my first step to rid our home of them!).

Though I had originally hoped to find an IKEA Expedit for cheap to center in the closet, we found something even better. The open Hemnes Bookshelf from our old entertainment unit had found a home in our front hall a while ago, and was just collecting items that didn't have a proper home. The other week I realized it would be the perfect solution to add some extra storage to Halle's room. Along with some brackets (to anchor the bookshelf to the wall) and some closet rods from Home Depot, Halle's closet now has some better storage than before...

Overall, we haven't gained more hanging space, but I wasn't looking to add hanging space (we had more than enough). What this new configuration allows us, is an easier way to organize her hanging clothes, plus find better homes for the items that had previously just been tossed into the closet. We are working on potty training at the moment, so I expect that we should free up another shelf and a half soon and it will be a good spot for some extra toys, shoes, etc.

The top shelves currently home some special books that I don't want her touching without our supervision (like my Beatrix Potter books), and some special teddy bears that are also not every day toys, but my parents had gifted to me when I was younger.

We never did paint the interior of her closet, but down the line we are positive the carpet in here will be ripped out - so we could always paint the closet at the same time. 

This was a nice little project to get us moving again! Our biggest upcoming project will surely be our back garden. Halle helped B to plant all of the seeds in started trays and we have a number of sprouts coming up for our tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers! We're excited to see how this progresses!

What projects have you been working on recently? Or what do you need to get moving on now that spring has sprung? (Well, it's sprung out west at least!)

Our Kitchen's Dark Side

From the first time that we saw our house, we knew that the kitchen here was not exactly our style, but it sure had a lot of potential in there.

One of my biggest issues was the colour of those cabinets. It wasn't awful by any means, just not what we wanted. So, when the people over the The Home Depot got in touch and asked if we would be interested in renovating our kitchen quickly and on our own, we jumped right on board! A few weeks later this big bin of fun arrived on our front door step, with everything we would need to take our kitchen to the next level.

It took us a little longer than anticipated to get started due to both B and I getting sick, but by the time Black Friday hit (yup, it was that long ago that this started) I was ready to get moving! (Just as a foot note, we had to break the rules a little. Our kitchen is quite large and the weather was a little cool, so we had to do half of our kitchen first and then jump to the other half afterwards). I began by sketching out the cabinets we were removing and numbering them all. 

I then used some blue painters tape to put the coordinating numbers of each of our cupboard doors. This part ended up being a little silly. We ended up losing the tape while working on the doors since the tape had to come off and things got a little mixed up. Good thing all of the doors are different sizes, so matching them back to their proper spots was not an issue at all for us! 

Next, B removed all of the doors and I wiped them all down with a green multi-purpose cleaner before bringing them out to the garage for the de-glossing phase. B helped with this. I did the de-glossing and he followed along behind me to wipe off all of the de-glosser. It was a little slow going, but much quicker having two sets of hands (as I would later learn). It was really important here to have lint-free cloths, so I highly recommend you make sure you have those on hand for this project.

Before we de-glossed, B also filled any holes (mostly on the drawers where the new pulls would fit completely different), and drilled all of the holes for our new hardware. We decided to change them all since the knobs were far too small for many of our oversized cabinet doors. They just weren't balanced, and the new chrome pulls we have really help to update the look of the kitchen.

So, with all of our cabinets spread out in the garage, new holes drilled and de-glossed, I got to work on the tinted bond coat (don't mind our garage mess).

{After the first coat of colour}

One important thing I learned during the process was to make sure you invest in some really good quality synthetic brushes. The one's we had kept loosing bristles into this coat, so I spent a lot of time trying to carefully lift them out. Sadly, a few got stuck and are still on our doors, but aren't that visible with the darker colour.

Getting the tinted bond coat was quite a tedious process. Each door needs two coats front and back, and you can't forget the edges of the doors either. I had a hard time getting around the small edge of our recessed panel doors, so even after two coats I still had to go back and do some touch-ups before the next step. Honestly, this part would have gone a lot faster if I had an extra set of hands, but it was always me going solo since B needed to watch Halle. It also meant not accomplishing much during the days while B was off at work. This meant the project stretched on much longer than it would normally take if two people were able to give their full attention to it!

Once all of the doors had two coats on each side, we approached the decorative glaze step. At first, B and I were convinced we needed to do this in order to get a more professional look. So, when I headed out to the garage to attempt this coat I started by putting a bit of the glaze on the back of one of the drawers and seeing how it turned out. Just as the instructions stated, it was subtle... VERY subtle. Actually, so subtle that neither B or I could see a huge difference on our dark cupboard doors. With the amount of time required for this step and the subtle change, we opted to skip the decorative glaze and move right onto the protective top coat.

The doors and cupboards only required one application of the top coat which was nice, but at this stage of the game it's the drying process that takes the most time. You need two hours for each coat to properly dry, but they recommend waiting 72 hours before using your cupboards regularly! The waiting game was long but by the end we had a good rhythm and I was lucky to have B taping off the cupboards since he was a lot more precise than I would be. It all took longer than we anticipated (again, because I did the majority of it on my own during the Christmas season), but it was very much worth all of the extra effort!

Here's the side by side of our kitchen on our second walk through and how it looks now:

Here are my top tips for a successful kitchen transformation with the Cabinet Transformation Kit:

1. Measure! PLEASE Measure! We had one kit to start and after B took all of the measurements (as per the kit instructions), it said we would need two kits. This is important because you need to mix all of your tinted base coat together to ensure a consistent colour on all of your cabinets! We're glad we got the second kit because although we didn't use a lot from it, we did need it! We also have some leftover now that we can use when we put in a seating bench in our dining nook!

2. Make sure you have two people who can devout their full attention to this project! If you can do that and give yourself a few days to do EVERYTHING at once (not broken up like we did), you can have this project done really quickly!

3. Invest in GOOD brushes and make sure you have lint free cloths! These will ensure that your cabinets look their best!

4. Be very careful when applying the topcoat. Make sure you aren't stingy when applying the top coat to the door fronts, but also be careful on the edges of your doors. I missed a few spots where the top coat dripped and collected and we had some bubbled edges we needed to sand down and touch up! Not pretty and very annoying. To go along with that, I found it worked best when I applied the top coat to the backs of the doors first and once those dried, I did the front of the doors and edges of the doors at the same time! At least if it dripped a little, it wasn't on the front (and most visible) part of the doors!

5. BE PATIENT! The project can feel tedious at times, doing the same thing over and over, but it's well worth it in the end.

Yup, it took us much longer than we expected BUT the best part was we never lost of the use of our kitchen! Yeah, the doors were off for a while leaving us with our "behind the cupboard door mess" visible to all of our house guests, but it could've been much worse! We never had to pack anything into boxes or not have use of the sink or stove! We could still cook at home and wash our dishes no problem! We could not thank the kind folks over at The Home Depot enough for giving us the chance to try this kit out - and we hope our experience encourages you to try it out as well! It was nice that this update cost us nothing (thanks to The Home Depot, and a friend who gifted us those nice new pulls), but even if we had paid for the kits and supplies ourselves, it wouldn't have cost us much more than $350!

Have you been making any big changes in your home? Anyone else thinking of trying out the Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformation Kit?

The 2014 To-Do List

Well, it's been a while since I've been able to put together a to-do list for our home! The last one I put together was in early 2012, but we didn't get to tackle most of it as we began preparing to move in early February. So, a new year is upon us and after tackling a few projects in my office, the kitchen and Halle's room last year, 2014 proves to be exciting! Here's what's on our list:

The Exterior

Details: Top of our list is a railing for our front porch. We'd like to build our own that looks like this, between the two posts on the front porch, and along the side.

Landscaping: We definitely need to work on the existing garden, but we'd like to add more to the front lawn as well... we just need to come up with a solid plan before Spring arrives!

The Dining Room

Seating: We need to find chairs! Two chairs at the heads of the table isn't going to cut it for much longer. I have some ideas of what I would like, but it's all going to come down to what we can afford. The search is on (and has been for a while already actually!)

Lighting: After removing the tiny, builder basic chandelier that hung in this room ages ago, I've spent a lot of time drooling over beautiful light fixtures for the dining room. (My top pick is this beauty from Restoration Hardware). Since my top pick is well over our tiny budget, we've opted to go the DIY route. We've already started to purchase materials, it's just going to come down to finding the time to assemble it all! Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later that we get the chance to shine some light in this space!

Storage: That niche that currently houses our too small IKEA bookcase needs to be addressed! Our plan is to fill it with some beautiful built ins. I'm thinking of something like this, but with some cupboards (rather than drawers) on the bottom.

Paint: The grey is actually quite nice (they picked the right shade), but it's becoming a bit overwhelming in a climate that is generally very grey! I'd like to lighten it up, but it's a matter of finding the perfect colour (I'm thinking cream or pearl), and then finding the time to tackle it. It's going to be a big undertaking and will mean painting a few rooms as the dining room is open to our living space and front entry way.

Artwork: It is quite obvious that we have a huge empty wall glaring at us! I've gone back and forth on how I'd like to fill the wall with artwork. I think I've finally come to a conclusion and would like to put a number of enlarged personal photos from our travels in this space. I just need to decide what I want to use for frames. I have a few ideas.

The Master Bedroom

Bedding: We've been struggling with sheets that do not properly fit our mattress since we first bought it in the spring of 2012. 2014 will be the year to FINALLY correct this!

Paint: I'm thinking a rich deep blue. I think it will really cozy up the room for us!

Storage: Since this photo was taken we've brought two nightstands into the room, but we need to do more! Our tall, narrow IKEA dresser is not really cutting it. We could use the extra storage space, and a longer dresser will fill the wall at the foot of our bed much better. I'm really liking the Emmerson 6 Drawer Dresser from West Elm or the Hendrix Extra-Wide Dresser from Pottery Barn.

Lighting: It's funny that when we first bought our home we said that the light fixture in our master bedroom would be the first thing we would address. Here we are, almost 8 months after we got the keys and the old fixture still hangs in our room! Maybe this year it will finally get the boot for something more our style. 

Halle's Room

Toy Storage: At the moment Halle has a lot of toys in the living room and basement, but I think more should be kept in here to play with. The only storage we have in there at the moment is her dresser and bookshelves. I plan to build some crate style boxes that we can stack up for books that she loves the most and some of her soft toys as well!

Big Girl Bed: We had a double bed in her room at the rental, but it takes up far too much room in this space. After some searching and discussing, B and I have agreed to tackle building her a bed this year... maybe in the spring/summer?

Curtains: We've got the curtains hung, but they are too short. I am still searching for the best fabric, and think I have found a winner - now it's just a matter of ordering it and adding it to the bottom of her curtains!

Lighting: I'm not a big fan of the, uh, FAN in Halle's room but it does serve it's purpose in the summer months. Just like many homes on the West Coast, this place is void of central air conditioning. However, since it really doesn't get all that hot here and the evenings cool off nicely, I'd say her ceiling fan is not entirely necessary and we could get away with replacing it with something much prettier and buy her a fan that could sit atop her dresser or a future nightstand! We'll see how this all goes. This is more of a "nice to change" item.

The Kitchen

Storage: Since we've redone the cabinets (updated photos to come this week!), we've also discussed adding a seating bench in the window nook, using cabinets. We plan on looking at both Home Depot and ReStore to see what we can find. This will not only add some cozy seating, but also an opportunity for some extra storage in the kitchen (and we can make whatever cabinets we find match using leftovers from our Rustoleum Cabinet Transformation kit!). 

Lighting: We've already replaced the light fixture over the sink, and are planning a new light for the dining room, so we'd also like to address this light over our kitchen table. It's not bad, just not really us!

The Back Yard

Gardens: Just like out front, we need to address the landscaping in the backyard. Right now it's pretty bland, and we've had some issues with the dogs digging holes. This year we'd like to make some changes and hopefully even include some raised garden beds where we can grow some of our own vegetables.

The Back Deck

The Back Deck

Seating: Our back deck is pretty huge, and a great spot for entertaining. Last year we managed to purchase a pretty nice dining set off craigslist (from a family whose home we viewed and I fell in love with... but it didn't tick enough boxes off of our must have list), but there is plenty more room to fill. Last year we talked about building an outdoor sofa using old pallets to put at the far end of the deck (pictured above). Maybe this summer will be the year for us?

I know this seems like a pretty long and ambitious list (I'm good for those), but nothing on this list really NEEDS to happen this year - most are just, nice to haves and we'll see how well we do! We'd like to make our house a home, but we also want to focus a lot of time on our family and enjoy Halle's littleness! 

Do you have a list you plan to tackle for the new year? What big projects are you hoping to start and/or finish in 2014?

At Long Last

They say that the third time is a charm, right? Yup, most of you probably caught the two times that this post accidentally went up a while back (you'll catch three comments down there from the first two accidental posts)! Well, here's the REAL, FINAL reveal of the wall I hand painted in Halle's room!

You may remember that when we purchased our house in the spring, Halle's room was bright pink...

We wasted no time in painting it. B actually had it all painted before we officially moved in. The walls we painted cream, and I gave the closet doors a dose of bright coral. Things were feeling fun and I was so excited to give her a fun toddler room!

Unfortunately I got a little stuck and after some shifting around of furniture to move her bed into the basement guest room, we were left with this...

Yup, still no curtains and the whole space was feeling very cold and empty. I had been so focused on the wedding and other endeavours previously, that Halle's room (and most of the house for that matter) got put onto the back burner. 

So, as our visitors were getting ready to leave back in October, I began searching for inspiration on ways to pretty up Halle's room on a budget. I already knew I wanted to switch the position of her dresser and shelves with her crib and canvas, and I planned on buying her some curtains using an IKEA gift card I had received for a wedding shower gift. But how could I add some fun to the space without spending anything? Finally, I found my inspiration on the Anthropologie website!

The Coppered Plume Wallpaper was gorgeous, but way out of our price range at $198 a roll. I decided to try my hand at drawing them, so to warm up I drew a few sketches one night after Halle went to bed (my most productive hours)...

The sketches had me feeling pretty confident that I could figure something out on her wall myself. So, the Wednesday after everyone left, I decided to try it out. I grabbed some metallic gold acrylic paint I had on hand, a couple of paint brushes and an old egg carton and got to work.

For my very first go, I started using pencil. I then realized that whole process would take forever, and you would probably be able to see the pencil lines through the gold paint, so I decided to freehand everything. Still time consuming, but totally worth it.

The first plume, was by no means perfect... but really none of them are. The great part is there are so many scattered across the wall and each plume allows for a little imperfection. I found as I went my technique improved quite a bit, which was good - the one's right over Halle's crib are some of my favourite's!

The whole process was still totally time consuming. In a week and half I was barely halfway done the room! I also had to get B's help to move the dresser off of the wall and move her shelves to their new home on the other side of the room so that I could make my way into the opposite corner. I finally finished everything off in here on 7th of this month, which means it took me almost a month and a half to get it all done. But here is Halle's room now...

I need to style her shelves with some special items, but B needs to add a few more anchors to the top shelf before I can do it. I also have some plans for her room that I want to tackle in the New Year (there is a list coming in January!). For now, I'm feeling happy with the progress, and I'm glad I finished painting before Christmas!

Her room is far from finished, but I love the softness that the curtains and feather's bring to the room. A new light fixture and big girl bed/bedding are definitely in the cards for the new year! For now it's come a long way from that pink place we started with back in May...

Have you ever attempted paint anything by hand on your walls at home? Or maybe at somebody else's home? I'd love to hear about your experience! Leave any links in the comment section to any projects you've tackled!