The state of things - one week out

I'm going to be embarrassed to show these pictures, but I figure if I do, it will give me the swift kick in the butt I need to get something done this weekend :)  To be fair, I was sick earlier this week and last night is the first time I felt up to tackling anything, but the boxes are starting to get to me.

Garage - Right Side

• Take broken BoFlex and empty boxes to dumpster/recycle center
• Setup Shelving
• Unpack "garage boxes" that have our miscellaneous tools

Garage - Left Side

• Bring the rest of the boxes into the house

My Office - I'm horrified by this room

• Purchase Expedit Shelving and baskets
• Unpack - most stuff will go into baskets and file cabinet (which is currently empty)
• Setup Computer
• Neatly stack remaining items

Dining Room

• Center dining room table
• Hang Light fixture (box in back left)
• Purchase quilted plate holders
• Wash & Pack China in quilted plate holders (part of china seen in front right of room)

Guest Suite

• Get last set of curtains up
• Hem curtains (from IKEA have iron-tape for hemming)
• Get bed re-made before Nan comes to town

Master Bedroom

• Get upholstered bed into room and setup
• Put blackout liners behind curtains
• Get rest of boxes unpacked
• Get lampshades for the two brushed steel lamps I have (not shown) so each bedside has one

Living Room

• Hang Curtains
• Bring speakers upstairs
• Put misc tools (cordless drill, level, etc.) back where they belong - the new shelves in the garage!

Pantry - it's scary I really don't know what I can accomplish this weekend

• Unpack china (top shelf)
• Come up with a game plan!

Let's see what's done come Monday morning.  What's on your list??

We're living in chaos ... but we're living in our house!

Last Thursday Erik and I closed on our first house!

Our realtor was amazing; I can not speak highly enough of how awesome she was!

When we got to the house the movers were already there.  As were a couple of unexpected gifts from our builder. 

This was "the state of things" on Friday morning, approximately 24 hours after we closed.

Our master bedroom.  My dad is bringing the headboard, and the base of the bed this weekend, as we'll be assembling it in the room.

... and yes, we got really classy, utilizing cardboard boxes as window treatments.

Bedroom #2 ... also known as storage room #1.

Bedroom #3 ... also known as storage room #2.

Bedroom #4.  We'll be using this as a second guest bedroom, and I will eventually be refinishing the bed and dresser that Erik utilized through his high school and college years - some new hardware is also in order.

The guest suite.

So far, the only moving "casualities" I've found so far are to the furniture in this room.  Luckily, they can be fixed.

My slatted sleigh bed, which was my first "grown-up" funriture piece. After seven years and six locations, not too bad.

And my great-grandmother's secretary desk.

I think I should be able to straighten up the metal rod to fix this.  I also want to strip and restain this piece, as it's lost it's luster over the years. 

This piece, out of all of our furniture has the greatest meaning to me, as my GG used to hide things in the drawers for me to find when I came to visit.  At one point I did some research, and it was built in either the 30's or the 40's.

The guest suite bathroom:

The loft

My office ... which looks a lot more chaotic looking now that I brought the rest of it over from the apartment.

Our dining room, prior to cleaning out all the empty boxes and bringing in the table and chairs.

And our great room.

Saturday we got some visitors, and the weekend was devoted to spending time with family, specifically our niece

and Erik's sister

The battery on my camera died shortly after they got here, and I just unpacked the charger today, so I'll have to take updated pictures soon.  In the meantime, we're loving that there's no one upstairs or next door doing step aerobics during crazy hours of the day!

The beginnings of some DIY artwork!

While I was in IKEA, picking up some curtains for our guest room, I picked up three Fjallsta frames.  Looking forward to some DIY artwork in my near future!

Upholstered Bed - Nailhead Trim Success!

Last time I attempted the nailhead trim, I was left with a pile of bent nails.  I was beyond frustrated, and decided I'd order a nailhead trim kit.  I figured I'd still have the issues with bent nails, but at least it would be every fifth nail.

Let me tell you, the nailhead trim kit is AMAZING.  I have no idea why I attempted individual nails.

First things first.  I pulled the fabric taut while my dad stapled from underneath.

Next we laid down coated newspaper (i.e. the ads from the middle of the Sunday paper) so that we could unroll the nailhead trim and figure out where to make cuts.  The nailhead trim has SHARP edges, both on the bottom part of the trim as well as where there are cuts.  Laying down the coated newspaper helped prevent pulls in the fabric (yes, I got a couple).

After we made cuts, we used a metal file to "smooth" the cut edges)

Regular nails are your friend.  I used an inch and a half nail to space from the edge of the headboard.  The tip of the nail was the center of the hole.  To help the nailhead trim go in easier, we created a starter hole, by using a regular nail.  We gave it one whack, pulled it out, and it was enough of a starter hole for the trim to go in easily.

I missed the action shot, but the nailhead went in like butter.

Forty-five minutes later, the trim was done.

On to the bedframe - which we will be building in the actual bedroom, as it would be a tight fit to move it through the door.

Some tips

• When it comes to the corner, overlap two "holes, and use one "finish" nail in the corner.
• You most likely won't end with a hole falling where it should.  In the upper left corner (near my dad's hand) we pre-drilled a hole.  It's slightly raised higher than the other nails (the normal nails with "holes" are a little lower, to account for a finish nail)

Hopefully this makes sense.  Let me know if you have any questions I can attempt to answer :)

Nailhead Trim = epic fail

I had great aspirations of using these beautiful brass overlap nailheads on our upholstered bed.  Nailing them in proved to be a giant pain.  I'm not sure if it has to do with my nailing into a 2x4, but the nails would bend as I nailed them in. 

After going through approximately 20 nails, I have given up on the brass overlap look.  I love it, but we close in 2 weeks and 2 days, and I want to sleep in my bed the first night our king size mattress makes it to Florida.  It's been in a Massachusetts storage unit for too long, and while I love my husband, I don't love how we roll into each other in a queen size bed.

So, I'm ordering the nailhead trim kit and giving it one more try.  I still have to nail into a 2x4, but it's 20% of the hammering ... and a whole lot less trying to make sure I have a straight line!

 If this fails, nailhead trim may be something that gets put on the backburner for awhile!

Inspection Day!

We had our inspection yesterday; with the exception of a seal that needs to be installed in the air handler closet the house is "very solidly built" ... which is music to my ears!

Since the last time we were there, the backsplash has been installed as has the stove and dishwasher.  Unfortunately, the dishwasher that was installed was not the one we ordered (hence the open binder of all the documentation I keep on me at all times!).  The builder will be swapping that out for us in the next week.

The cabinets look naked to me, but I'm still undecided about hardware.  In our condo, I went with plain brushed nickel knobs on all doors.  I know that I can always install hardware, and swap it out at a later date if I decided I didn't like it - but I worry about drilling holes for pulls and deciding I really wanted knobs.  I know, I'm a geek!

Other things I've been thinking about is the foyer.  I want to have some form of entry table, but it seems much too narrow to me. 

Originally I was thinking I could put a really tiny table here.

Realistically the bump out is only about 12 inches by 7 inches.  That would be a tiny table, with very little space to put flowers, key trays, etc.  My new thoughts for this narrow area is a subway roll with all the addresses Erik and I have lived at (separate and together). 

So I'm thinking the wall across from my office may be a better option.  I think it will give me enough clearance when I come around the corner with groceries from the garage.  As an added bonus there would be plenty of room to hang the large mirror we got from Erik's grandmother. 

My last stop after leaving the inspection was Bed, Bath and Beyond where I saw the yellow stickers that make me happy.  I figured these rods would be good for our living room (especially since they've started construction on the house next door and there are workers not far from our living room windows, so window coverings in this room and our master our my priority!) I was hoping to find two rods that were 28-48 inches, but alas there was only one.  I figured the Bed, Bath & Beyond near our rental would have one more rod, but a quick trip over there at noon proved this to be not the case.  I guess I'll have to check another Bed Bath and Beyond on the way to my parents this weekend ... and if I fail I guess I'll use them in another room and come up with plan B for the living room!