did you think we'd hung up our hats?

We haven't quit! We are still working hard and our hats are firmly atop our heads but as you'll see in a minute, we now have a place to hang them if we ever need a break! We have had some schedule changes lately and it's hard to get ourselves in front of a computer to update the blog but we miss it and have had people ask us what we are up to. Sooooooo we will start with the most recent update and work our way backwards. For those of you that really love timelines and neat and tidy progression, I am sorry! 

Weeks ago we had taken down our existing coat/hat rack in the side hallway to refurbish it/replace it. (Yes weeks, it's taking us a long time to get things done these days!) When we removed the rack we realized that it had been YEARS since anyone had taken it off the wall and that the people that lived here wayyy back when, really loved their splatter-esque paint (we also found the same paint in the bathroom and kitchen!) 

Once we decided that sanding and repainting this area would actually create more of an issue (read: we don't have the same color white and wouldn't that drive you nuts too!? and no we didn't want to repaint the whole stairwell right now) we decided to refinish the rack we already had instead of replacing for something a bit more updated. 

The before was a light wood, four hook rack that is mounted right on the wall. It's not too ugly, we just didn't like the light wood and how nothing else in the house matched. The original plan was to hang stand alone hooks but once we installed this doggy area in the basement we decided that the free hooks were better used there (they are to each side holding the leashes).

After the rack was taken apart by simply removing the screws and hooks, it was sanded and painted. To finish the wood and not leave it "rough," we spray-painted it with a clear matte spray so it was smooth to the touch but not shiny. 

After letting that dry it was just a matter of covering up the speckled wall by using the exact holes that had been used before with new, longer screws so everything would be secure! 

So, for zero money (our favorite price!), we think this is just the update that the hallway needed. A little more modern with the same functionality as before.

Still to come:
We've painted the kitchen!
The basement has carpet!
The living room has been rearranged again!
Baby room is starting to make some progress!
The garden is growing!

Thanks for peeking in, we hope to have another update soon!

seeing how far we've come

We always have an up-to-date list of what we've accomplished so far on the blog, but sometimes it's fun to take a look and compare the pictures of the original house (at move in) with our new and improved look in each room. The first picture of each "series" is the original, pre-move-in look and anything that follows is what we have done to the house! It's exciting to see it put together this way and really see what the differences are - let me tell you, paint is our best friend - i've said it before but it is amazing what a little paint can do!

Front Yard:

• Move house numbers to other side of door
• Re-do porch and walkway
• Re-landscape - Sod front yard
• Move mailbox
• Install flag and hang it
• Repaint the exterior of the house
• Repaint front door
• Repaint shutters

Back Yard:

• Dig out old garden beds
• Weed existing garden beds
• Remove white rocks
• Move hydrangea bushes away from house and to the back yard
• Decided what to do with shed - tear down and rebuild
• Install raised garden beds
• Plant vegetable garden 
• Re-finish swing
• Change fabric on swing and bistro set seats

Living Room:

• Change out curtain rods
• Hang new curtains
• New rug
• Paint living room / choose color
• Create walkway between living room and dining room
• Replace baseboards
• Hang art
• Paint inside of front door
• Add lighting

Dining Room:

• Change out curtain rods
• Hang new curtains
• New rug
• Re-upholster dining room chairs / choose fabric
• Hang art
• Organize closet for more storage
• Change closet door to be a glass "china cabinet"
• Paint dining room / choose color
• Baseboards
• Choose and hang light fixture

Hallway:

• Hang art
• Change the coat closet from a rod to hooks
• Change the shelves in the linen closet - real wood instead of pressed wood
• Paint the ceiling / choose color

Bathroom:

• Take down original shelving behind toilet
• Hang new shelves and decorate
• Hang Shower Curtain
• Re-attach fallen tiles in shower/tub
• Add hooks for towels and robes
• Organize closet behind door with baskets
• Replace sink pedastal with vanity style
• Replace fixtures / toilet paper holder / towel bar

Spare Room / Den:

• Paint den above chair rail / choose color 
• Change out curtain rods
• Hang new curtains
• New rug
• Arrange collage wall
• Hang art
• Add hanging bar to the inside of closet / maximize storage
  

Kitchen:

• Paint jars and cubby
• Build butcher block table
• Install new cooktop
• Hang pot-rack
• Install new hood
• Tile behind cooktop
• Hang art
• Paint underside of cupboards 
• Add shelf above cooktop
• Add knobs to cupboards

Finished Basement:

• Replace carpet in basement
• Remove carpet from stairs and re-trim
• Paint basement / choose color
• Complete ductwork that connects to living room vent

Laundry Room / Unfinished Basement: 

• Clean existing shelves
• Build laundry organization
• Create shelves for Rob's tools / work bench

Upstairs / Bedroom:

• Strip the carpet from the stairs
• Refinish stairs with a pallet wood look
• Hang curtains
• Organize closet
• Replace carpet upstairs
• Hang art
• paint ceiling
• paint walls
• new bedding
• create a bed platform

Thanks for keeping up with us!

Until next time,
Lindsey 

looking up

Painting the ceiling is a task, let me tell you! It's not easy being upside down and edging in (even with my favorite paint brush).

 

We thought painting the ceiling would be a nice way to break up the monotony of all the white in the hallway. We didn't want to paint the whole hallway, not because it would have been hard but it would have looked heavy. The way the walls are, with lots of corners, doors, and molding, we were unable to hang much art in the hallway to add interest. Enter a beautiful, lush color that makes a definite impact: Phantom Mist by PPG. 

 

This Manor Hall Timeless PPG paint was the $10 gallon that I scored on New Year's Eve! It's so nice to work with high quality paint, especially in this dark of a color. Coverage was great - only two coats with the paintbrush on the edges and three with the roller. This is great considering that I didn't prime and was applying to a pure white ceiling! 

 

After edging in, it was clear that this small and inexpensive change was going to make a beautiful difference! The color offset the white walls perfectly. 

I used a foam roller brush to apply the paint to the majority of the ceiling. Because of the type of application it took three coats to get full coverage with no streaks. 

  

 

Top left: foam roller and paint - that was all the paint I needed for the whole ceiling. Top right: first coat. Bottom left: second coat. Bottom right: third coat / final product!

We are so happy with the result! It makes the hallway, which connects each room of our house, cozy and keeps all the rooms feeling connected!

  

It's fun to see the pop of color from the adjoining rooms!

Thanks for following along -
Until next time,
Lindsey

ding dong

Well here's the truth, we have a door bell that doesn't work at all. I don't know when this happened or if the people before us disconnected for a reason unknown (crazy dog, annoying noise, etc) or if one day the door bell just stopped working... all I know is that it surely doesn't work now.

This isn't a post to tell you how we got the doorbell to start working - hopefully one day we will be able to figure that out - but instead how we made the inside pieces a little more bearable to look at day in and day out!

When we moved in, the door bell was exposed in the hallway with no cover. After looking through all the closets and basement shelves, we did find the cover but it was discolored just like the thermostat we just replaced.

We figured that it was a silly thing to have missing but also silly to re-buy since the one we found in the house was perfectly useful, but unfortunately suffered from being the wrong color.

Nothing a little paint can't fix!

In retrospect, we should have taken a picture against something white because the cover doesn't look that bad here, but you'll have to believe us that it was ugly! Lindsey just used white acrylic paint and a sponge brush to paint over the plastic cover. It took about three coats for it to be smooth, without streaks.

Here you can see the difference between the top that Lindsey already painted and the original color on the sides.  She was using some old mail for her drop cloth since sometimes she says her actual drop cloth creates more of a mess than it's worth.

After three coats it was looking mighty fine and dried very quickly because she used acrylic paint; we always suggest going with acrylic for quick and easy projects - cuts drying time in half!

Once the cover was dry, all we had to do was hang it back on the wall. It simply hangs on the black chime box (as seen in the first picture) so it was no trouble at all to hang. Boy, what a nice change for the chime to be "hidden" on the wall instead of an eye-sore.

So simple and free, our favorite type of project!!!

Just a simple task that changes a wall.

Until next time, Rob and Lindsey