We got a few things done ...

I was hoping to get more done before my father-in-law and his fiance came to visit, but sometimes life happens - like an unexpected diagnosis to infertility testing.  Erik and I have had a chance to digest the news, and we have an interesting road ahead of us; but I think there's going to be a lot of projects in my future to help distract me when we go through periods of waiting.

Come Friday we had curtains up as well as some wall art. The wall to the right of the French doors also has a circular metal wall art mounted; the wall behind the couch needs something else - just not sure what yet (suggestions always welcome).   Eventually we'll get another piece or two into the sectional, do something about the end tables, and a ceiling fan up, now that I'm a pro at hanging fans!

The dining room is shaping up.  I'd like to hang a mirror on the wall opposite the pictures (which I finally got straight - which meant installing saw tooth hangers on the back of the picture (and foregoing the wire hangers that came with the frames).  Longer term, we'd like to put in hardwood flooring and area rug, some type of curtains and maybe a tall plant.

In terms of the guest room - it doesn't really look the way I was thinking it would.  Eventually I want it to have a beachy/spa like feel. 

That said, the ceiling fan made it up, and I managed to do it all by myself.  The one in our master took 5+ hours, this one took an hour and a half, and that was mainly because I "lost" a screw in the motor when I was trying to secure the downrod to the mounting bracket and was attempting to fish the screw out without taking the fan off the ceiling.

I painted the IKEA Rast dresser a glossy black, but the pulls are looking a little dinky to me.  We also got some old pictures up, and a rattan trunk into the room.

There's still a lot to be done, but at least I've started to get that drive again, so hopefully you'll start seeing more changes soon.

Our Disaster of a Guest Suite

Last weekend our guest suite looked fairly sparse with just a few pieces in it.  The bed (which was my first grown-up purchase), a rocking chair (that was my mother-in-laws and she refinished when she was pregnant with Erik), a secretary desk and mirror that was my great-grandmothers, and a lonely lamp that Erik had with a whopping 40W light bulb in it - yeah it was dark at night!

Well, I decided the room needed to feel a little more "homey" as my father-in-law and his fiance are coming to visit the house for the first time.  Erik and I picked up a ceiling fan last weekend (that's still hanging out in our living room after a 5 hour debacle getting the one in our master bedroom up).  I also decided the room also needed some side-tables, lamps and art.  Nothing a trip to IKEA and Target can't handle. 

I started out picking up a side table and lamps at Target. I've been eyeing the lamps for a good three months, hoping they'd come down in price, but alas, they held firm on the price, so I bit the bullet.

Next up, an unfinished side table from IKEA.

Add a quart of black paint from Sherwin Williams (working on using the gift card I won in December), and I have a disaster area upstairs. 

I got a second coat on the pieces this morning, I plan to do one more tonight and let it cure for two days before assembling.  Other than that, I'm thinking that I'll do something with the frames in the background, bring up a rattan trunk I have in our living room (to go next to the chair), get the ceiling fan up, and possibly introduce this bedding I originally purchased for our master. 

 Hopefully it all gets done before Thursday evening, so I'm not rushing around on Friday!

Dining Room Art - Taking Shape

Back in January I had mentioned some artwork I'd seen that I wanted to attempt to DIY, five months later, I've actually started the process!

I started by creating a file in Microsoft Publisher; making it a custom size paper - 12x12 (same as scrapbook paper).

I printed the documents, which printed on four pages, and taped them together to give myself a template.

I pulled out my light table, and attempted to trace, but I realized how unsteady my hand truly is.  That's when I busted out a variety of cups as a tracing tool.  This special cup was purchased during Red Sox spring training; not only is it a good template, it also lists important dates! :)

The next step was to "trace" the pencil marks with paint.

Then fill them in.

All three "pieces" as they are today.  I'm going to make sure they're dry, then erase my random pencil marks.   

From there, I'm going to apply some distressing ink to give them an aged look, then pop them in the IKEA frames that have been hanging out in my office for the past four months and finally get some artwork up on the dining room wall.

I'm someone who typically likes clean lines and symmetry; my paintings have neither.  I'm hoping the imperfections will give them more personality.  I guess time will tell, and if over time I hate them, I can always replace them.

Bedroom #4 (also known as guest room #2)

Bedroom #4 will also be our second guest room.  Besides housing all of our unhung wall art, it currently contains a full size headboard and a dresser; items that were Erik's through the high school years.  These pieces are solid wood, however, the finish is a bit dingy, and in need of some love.   

I've considered stripping and re-staining, however, I'm contemplating giving these pieces a new life with paint.  Perhaps something like Layla, from the Lettered Cottage, did on the "Sand & Sea" room at the Screened Inn.

I've also thought of painting one of the pieces a light turquoise, but am still looking for some inspiration pictures I like.

Have any of you done a painted headboard and/or dresser?  Did you use a traditional color, like black or white, or did you do something with a little "pop"?

Dining Room Improvements

One of the first projects we tackled in the house was updating the light fixture in the dining room. 

Before

After

The new fixture is the West Elm Short Drum Pendant.  It comes with a plug, so I bought the conversion kit.  I cut the wire a little shorter than I should, and after I started stripping the plastic to expose the wires, it ended up being mounted a few inches higher than I planned.  Oh well, overall I'm still happy with the look.

I think the direction I want to go is either wainscoting or board and batten on the lower half of the wall.  The plan is to paint the lower half white and the upper half a light blue.  Still uncertain about window treatments and wall art, but I'll figure that out with time!

View - from my driveway.

Unpacking and settling has been going slow but steady.  I was so glad to leave a special gift for the recycling company, and hope to continue these gifts each week until I'm done.

On the Mend

I've been feeling discouraged by the lack of progress I've made on the house.  I've been trying to push myself to get stuff done after work, but by the end of the work day all I want to do is curl up and go to sleep.  After close to three weeks of feeling this way, and Erik asking me if I wanted to sleep on the couch because my cough was keeping him up at night, I went to see a doctor.  Come to find out, I've been battling a sinus infection ... for about 20 days.  I've been antibiotics for about 48 hours and finally feel like a human again.

So what's the biggest thing I've accomplished in recent times?

So the headboard isn't actually attached to the bed frame yet.  I was upholstering the frame when Erik was at a spring training game with his friends and couldn't lift it by myself.  When all is said and done, the headboard will be a few inches higher, and the mattress will be flush with the bed frame.  Now to figure out bedding and a paint color :)