reveal { susie’s room }

I’ve been painting again.  Anyone who knows me in real life is probably laughing at my use of “again”… I know it seems I never stop painting around here. 

This past few months I’ve painted Mark’s room, an entry and front door, the house exterior (hired out), Mark’s bathroom, Susie’s room and our master.  Phew!  That makes it sound like I have a problem or something.  Anyone else suffer a painting addiction?  Oh, and don’t even get me started on painting furniture!

When I paint I make a huge mess.  Of course the room gets torn apart, but I also take off all the baseboards, door casings and window trim because I hate getting paint on them.  Nobody around here seems to mind my mess…

And when I get started they usually ask why I am doing this?  And then when I’m done, they say “Yay!”  In the case of the hubby, maybe in not so many words.  ;)

Anyway… Here is the happy outcome of Susie’s recent room re-do that had me and her saying “YAY!!!”…

    

    

    

         

    

    

    

    

    

So what do you think?  I’m pretty in love.  Most importantly, Susie said, and I quote, “How did you know I wanted my room like this??”  Score.

 

Some sources:

Wall color: Benjamin Moore’s Palladian Blue #HC144; idea from this pin.  It shows in some of my pictures as baby blue and some pictures as a green-blue; in real life it is more green-blue.  It’s gorgeous.  Painted it in my bedroom too after doing Susie’s room.

Bed: Craigslist score ($40) I painted.  Will share that process sometime soon.

Quilt: Farm Chicks 2012 find ($30 but I had to finish backing and binding)

Framed horse poster: Thrifted ($14)

Horse sketch: My friend, Sarah, drew it for Susie while she was babysitting a couple years ago.

Elephant art: old IKEA.

Ribbons: from my horse-showing days; idea came from this pin.

Ceiling masterpiece: Another dear friend and babysitter made me the tissue paper flowers, the lanterns came from Hobby Lobby and the honeycomb-ish one came from Target.  Tissue paper flower tutorials here.

Drawers on the wall: idea came from this pin.

Crates as book case: idea came from this pin; I still might paint them eventually.

Little blue chair: antiquing find on way home from Farm Chicks 2012, ($10).

Armoire: old IKEA.

Yellow locker baskets: Farm Chicks 2013 find ($10/each).

Play kitchen: Target ($99); should’ve gotten the IKEA one.  The doors always fall off this one and the red paint chips easily.

Art above kitchen: butterfly print is by Katie Daisy, Small paint by numbers were by me and a friend and the larger paint by number was a gift from Sarah. 

reveal { a little bathroom }

Over the past couple weeks I have painted and refreshed our upstairs bathroom.  We have a pretty small house (1060 s.f.), and the upstairs is just a bedroom and a powder room, and a short ceilinged powder room at that.  The definition of tiny.  The bedroom is Mark’s, so he’s usually the only one using this bathroom.

The walls were previously painted Tapestry by Ralph Lauren which is a medium tone of rust with a touch of rose.  It’s a pretty color, which I used in a wide hallway at the MIL’s place and we still love it there, but it was doo dark and intense for this tiny bathroom.  So I added a couple coats of a light gray, and brought in some boy-friendly, simple accessories to finish off the room with some interesting pops of color.

I apologize for the lighting – you’ll see how tiny it is- it’s very difficult to get good shots in here.  I even brought in my flash to brighten it up, but it’s a little harsh.  Regardless, I’m fighting perfectionism, so…  Have a look anyway!

    

         

    

I am super happy with it.  I might be guilty of turning on the light and peeking in just for a glimpse while on my way to the little guy’s room.  And most importantly, he likes it. 

Although I did have to request the smile.  So apparently he’s not excited about interior design as I am.  =)

As far as sources go, here are a few links:

Paint: BEHR mixed to Benjamin Moore’s Rockport Gray HC-105, at 80% (I wish I would have gone 50%).

Medicine cabinet: IKEA Hemnes – discontinued.  They have a more modern version now.

Chalkboard: chalkboard vinyl.  Review: The IKEA chalk that I have is very scratchy on the chalkboard vinyl.  Maybe I need better quality chalk.  I would be mad if it were for a surface that I wanted to change often, but am happy with it for this project.  I like the option to peel it off and revert back to the wood later if I wanted to; which I probably won’t – this is my favorite thing in the space!!

Lantern: IKEA, Morkt Lantern

Larger globe: thrifted.  This is my favorite globe in the entire world. The colors are perfect.  Someone painted on it “CHRIST FOR THE WORLD, MISSION FUND” which is very fitting for my little man that wants to be a missionary.  <3

Smaller globe: Target pencil sharpener.

Trash can: Target basic.  It was black, I spray painted it Rust-Oleum Marigold Yellow

Red lantern: garage sale.

Soap: Meyer Lemon Verbena liquid hand soap

Brush and bowl: thrifted.  Don’t worry, the brush was a new item, not used.  =)

Mirror: I don’t know!  There’s a similar one at Target.

Light fixture: Lowes Portfolio Dark Sky Outdoor Wall Light ($30!!).  I spray painted the shade Appliance Gloss White

 

And last but not least, the towel holder.  Which is a very functional and handsome (dare I say so myself) DIY.  Because homeboy does NOT know how to use a towel without dropping it and leaving it wadded up on the counter.  This one actually holds onto the towel really well – no more wadded up towel!!  This was the inspiration.  My version is a bit more rugged.  Like my boy.

It just required some simple tools… 

Materials

Wood hunk of your choice

Sisal rope from the hardware store

Eye hooks with holes slightly larger than the rope diameter

Drill with a bit slightly smaller than the threaded portion of the eye hooks

I used the index card as a template for the placement of the eye hooks

Means of hanging the whole thing (I screwed mine straight to the wall; more later)

Instructions

I simply used my index card stencil to drill two evenly-spaced holes to help the large eye screws go into the wood.

Then I screwed them in.  They can’t be sticking out the back it won’t hang straight to the wall. 

I put the ends of the rope through the eye screws, tying knots to hold it in place and cutting the excess off. 

Then, being the magiver DIYer that I am, I screwed it directly into the wall using 2.5 inch long screws, placed behind where the towel hangs, so they’re hidden.  I screwed one into a stud and used a sheetrock anchor for the other one.

That’s it!

    

 

That’s all I got today!  Time to do some painting with a friend.  Paint by number.  Pray for me.

More posts coming this week – I am determined.  God Bless!

belated before + after

I am beginning to feel like this blog should be renamed “the Friday Farmhouse blog” since it seems those super quick posts are the only ones I am getting around to lately!  With a legit post here or there in between.  Well this one is a hybrid – quick and legit. 

It’s pretty simple.  See way back when I had my little getaway to visit a friend in Cali, we had planned on me sprucing up her sad little back patio with tons of potential for little greatness while I was there.  Not that she doesn’t have great taste – she does – she just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.    But instead we fixed up a little corner of her kitchen. 

Here is said corner in its time of need…

Leah’s little old house is pretty tiny and as things change over the years, houses like that end up having some awkward spaces in them.  This one has no dishwasher, so it has the variety which you roll across the kitchen floor and hook up to the sink.  Right next to a stove, standing alone on a wall.  Right next to an awkward empty corner.  And then the fridge.  It’s like our American need for appliances for everything just expanded this kitchen right in to mayhem, with crowded countertops and cabinets on one side and an empty wall of appliances, an unused door and no counter space on the other side. 

Leah thought bringing in any other furniture items would just make it more cluttered.  I insisted it was not so and pulled out my Type-A on her hiney.  We went to Ikea. 

And the after…

     

…that little corner is FUNCTIONAL!  See, awkward spaces, if left empty will be seen as “darn, that’s an awkward little corner”, while if finished off would be seen as, “that’s a good use of that space” – all mention of awkwardness GONE!

The little Ikea fix brought in some color and style and brought her cooking utensils closer to the stove instead of their previous location across the kitchen.  Totally completed that little corner.  Win-win.  That schoolhouse chalkboard kills me – so adorable.  And I think Leah was happy in the end.  So maybe my Type-A isn’t completely horrible.  Just maybe.  I still have a complex about this discovery regarding myself.

This cloudy nasty rainy week has made me remember that I need some more of this…

And maybe a little more retail therapy – Cali style. 

 

Blessings!

entry uplift

 

My color schemed entry has been bugging me for a while now.  And it wasn’t just any color scheme… the same maroon/orange/yellow/green I had going on in my kitchen for the longest time.  What was I thinking?  Okay, I know a couple friends and family thought I was crazy.  Sometimes that means I’m doing something edgy, or at least unique and unexpected.  Not so much this time.  It got old fast the latest T-Swift song (except for Trouble, that one never gets old). 

Well recently I have made strides to overcome this most undesirably outdated scheme.  Or schemes in general, really.  I like the vintage, colorful, anything-goes, free-flowing carefree style now.  I’ve made changes in the kitchen, though I’m not sharing yet because I’m contemplating further changes still. 

But I have the entry pretty much where I want it.  I made a couple recent changes, adding to some accessories in there that I still love.  The Entry got (half) repainted, a chalkboard wall, a new rug, some new linens on the door and the cabinet doors… and so far, I’m loving it so much better.

I’m not going to hurt your eyes with the before pictures.  But here are the after shots…

That old tennis racket is supposed to have a mirror in it like in this pin, but I called a local glass shop and they said it would be $60.  Um, must keep looking, I guess.

 

When we get some nice weather that little window will get trim in the style of the door trim.  It is really bothering me!  I wish I could do every window in the house.  And the floorboards.  And crown molding.  :/

I blogged a long time ago about the buffet, which is an old Ikea craigslist find, painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in “Old Ochre” and clear wax.  I distressed it quite a bit because I knew it would take a beating.  It has.  And it’s taken it well.

 

Yes we have a BB gun hanging in our entry.  I need it handy because I am an avid hunter of neighbor dogs that poop in my yard.

And that farmhouse in the picture is my DREAM farmhouse.  Simple.  White.  Plain.  Symmetrical windows.  <3

 

I usually have a little doodle on the chalkboard wall on the left hand side, but the other day I got crazy and wrote out my favorite Bible verse all over the whole wall.  It takes people a long time to read it when they walk in – it’s a little awkward.  But writing this verse was my initial idea when I did the chalkboard wall based on this pin.  So it’s there for now.

 

The plate arrangement needs more colors!  I’m hunting!

 

I’m loving the buffet now with these flour sacks in the doors (hiding my canned and surplus goods, onions and potatoes).  Plain, dark maroon used to line those windows, and it was so dark and drab.  I love the subtle vintage lettering on these flour sacks.  They were a Farm Chicks find last year.

 

The glass jars in the background hold gardening gloves, twine, labels and sharpies and seeds, for grabbing on my way out the door on the rare sunny day when I get a chance to work outside.

 

     

I made the door curtain from a vintage queen-sized sheet.  I used the top trimmed edge of the sheet as the bottom edge of the curtain, and made the curtain the full width of the sheet, so it is very full and fluffy when it’s not pulled back to the side.   The tie back is simply a piece of neutral twill ribbon (saved from some packaging), the center is literally tacked to the door, so it’s always easy to grab and tie.  Works for now.

 

They key hanger was another Farm Chicks find from last year.  Actually I suppose it is not called a key hanger… I don’t really know what it is supposed to be.  But it’s useful and old and chippy and I love it.

 

The numbers over the door (more numbers and letters for sale in my shop) are actually going outside above the door after we paint the house white this summer.  At that time I may repaint the dark green in this room to be a medium gray (between the chalkboard wall and the wall color) and either carry that onto the outside of the door (which is dark green) or I  may do just the outside of the door a nice dandelion yellow.  But either way I have to wait for warmer weather, so I have some time to decide.  Good thing; I obviously need it.

 

So that’s about it.  A quick freshen up. 

 

I think the only things to source are:

Rug: World Market, on sale for $64 with coupon

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint: in Old Ochre $40 for a quart (which will cover multiple furniture projects)

 

Have you freshened up any rooms lately?  Or is do you have a room in dire need of a freshen up?