An update:

After our garage sale this past weekend, we were finally able to get into the dining room which is something we really hadn't been able to do since we moved in. When we were unpacking, we set aside everything that we no longer used, needed, or wanted -- all the stuff from college, past apartments, things that had been handed down to us, and other miscellaneous items that somehow found their way into our hands. I had been planning to have a garage sale to clear it all out since last spring but things kept preventing me (a huge belly, a newborn, cold weather, etc.) and I just never felt like I had the energy to tackle it until now. But it finally happened. All that stuff is finally gone. And we finally reclaimed our dining room.

Here's what it looked like when we moved in. A whole lot of wood paneling and a whole lot of gross. It stayed this way for a while. And we made it work, although I tried hard not to notice.

And then it only got worse. You can see the start of the accumulation of stuff. After a while, we finally picked a date for the garage sale and got ready but as with most things, it had to get even worse before it could get better. My parents decided to throw some of their stuff into our garage sale and as it got closer to the date of the sale, you couldn't even see this room. It was completely packed with stuff. There was even overflow into our living room.

But then the garage sale happened and our lives improved infinitely. It all got cleared away and we are finally able to enjoy our dining room.

So much better! My mom helped me paint the wood paneling although I'm not sure how much of a help I was since I was super pregnant when we did it. And the few boxes stacked on the left are getting picked up for donation this week. This room is no where close to being done yet but it's already come such a long way and I am very pleased with the progress.

Here's what we're still planning for this space:

1. Clean brick on fireplace
2. Paint mantel
3. Remove ceiling fan and replace with large pendant light
4. Remove other light fixtures
5. Paint paneling
6. Paint trim
7. Add chair railing?
8. Replace laminate wood flooring with hardwood
9. Build built-ins on both sides of fireplace
10. Add sconces above built-ins
11. Find art for above fireplace
12. Build wall with wide doorway to space?
13. Window treatments
14. Find rug
15. Upgrade furniture (farmhouse table + buffet + chairs)

Built-ins:

Our built-in bookshelves are finally done and I'm so excited to get to finally share them with you.

This past fall, we reached out to a local cabinet maker about some built-in bookshelves for our living room. After a few discussions, we reached a deal where we got our built-ins in exchange for Andrew building them a new website. 

So, around Christmas, our built-ins were installed and things went from looking like this:

to this:

Instead of hiring someone to paint them for us, we decided to do it ourselves. So we pocketed the $500 we would have shelled out to a painter and got to it. It took us a while to get things painted because we pretty much only got to work on them during the weekend evenings. So, on a typical Saturday night, you could find us looking like this (the headlamps really help painting in the dark, fyi):

We had a really great system going: put on the 90s jams, get into some gross painting clothes, and split up. Andrew tackled the doors and shelves on the ground while I got started on the actual cabinet. 

Pretty soon, things started looking like this:

And then, once the doors were finally finished, we put them on, loaded it up and officially declared the bookshelves done!

So good, right? I am beyond excited to finally have them finished. I can't stop looking at them. I creep into the living room at night and just stare at them in the dark. They have increased the amount of storage in our house by about 100%. There's plenty of room for all my books (and then some) and the cabinets are perfect for housing all the stuff that we want to keep out of the way. 

So, that's the story of of how we got our built-ins on the super cheap -- just a website and the cost of a few gallons of paint (which were on sale, coincidentally). I have a very special shelving system for my books that I'll explain later. It requires a whole separate post. Look for that later this week. And in the meantime, feel free to continue lusting over those beautiful built-ins. 

The inside story:

Remember our new filing cabinet in the office (see here)? Well, here's the inside story (pun intended).

With the number of projects I've been working on lately (see here and here), my fabric stash has been growing and I needed somewhere to house it all. Previously it had been sitting in stacks and I was unable to see what I had. I needed a different solution. Enter the new filing cabinet. We use the top two drawers for paperwork so I decided to use the bottom two for fabric and other sewing supplies. In order to see everything all at once, I decided to file my fabric. I took file folders, cut them in half, and draped each fabric over the metal hanging part. Now, when I open the drawer, instead of piles of fabric, I see this:

Nice, huh? It's very pleasing to my eye. I love being able to see it all. I love just opening the drawer and looking at it. Sometimes I sit around and reorganize it: by color, pattern, etc.

The drawer above it is reserved for miscellaneous items: batting, interfacing, pins, scissors, scraps, thread, etc. I love having it all in one place, organized and out of the way.

Finally having a place to store all of my goodies makes me feel like such a grown up. Having it all in such close proximity to tax documents and medical bills probably helps -- makes it feel much more formal and important.

Storage solutions:

True story: our home office was in serious need of some storage and organization. We had a closet that was severely under-utilized but no real plan for how to use it. I had my eye out for a filing cabinet but didn't want to shell out the cash for a new one and my search for a used one kept coming up empty. 

And then last Saturday morning, I looked out the window and noticed that our neighbor had put one out on the curb. So, I made Andrew go out there in the cold to get it and haul it home. I clean it up and dragged it to the basement where I took some spray paint to it.

A few rounds of sandpapering, a few cans of spray paint, and a little love was all it took.

It's a subtle change but makes a big difference. Over two weekends, A and I took turns with baby duty to sand and spray. We chose white for the cabinet because it's clean and neutral and gold for the drawer hardware because, well, we're classy like that.

Once it was dry, we moved it into its new home in the office closet and set it up. And because I'm a super nerd, I got all excited about organizing the drawers and filling it with all our stuff. I love it -- it solves so many of our storage issues. But my favorite thing is the fact that it only cost us a few cans of spray paint and a few hours. 

Look for the post on my genius organizing job later this week. And in the meantime, if you need me, you can find me organizing my cabinet.

Rug love:

We have been slowly finding pieces that we love to fill our home with. For the past seven months, we've been living with a lot of bare floors, bare walls, and temporary pieces while we acquire new things to make our home feel lived in. It has been an extremely slow process partly because I am incredibly picky (we have a rule that we only bring in things that we really love) and partly because we don't have the budget to do a major redecorating project. We're getting there though.

A few days ago, West Elm had 20% off rugs so we picked up this beauty for the office:

I love that it's a flat weave so it will vacuum easily. We do a lot of living in our office -- watching tv, surfing the internet, snacking, knitting -- and I like that I don't have to worry about food particles and dirt getting trapped in the rug. 

Now I just have to find a nice couch to go in that space. Anyone know where I can find a 65" sofa?

Mini makeover:

My maternity leave days are almost over. And all the things I wanted to get done around the house still haven't happened. So, in an attempt to help myself not feel like a huge failure, I decided to tackle some of the small improvements I had planned with the days I have left. One of the things on my list was to give the front door a makeover.

Since we moved in, our door has been, well, pretty basic. Completely unremarkable. I felt like it was a wasted opportunity. Plus, I have always hated that gold doorknob.

So last week I picked out a color (Valspar's La Fonda Teal), some new fixtures, and got to it. It only took me two naps (the way I measure time now) to complete. 

We are very happy with how it turned out. I love the color. It pops against the white trim and compliments the red brick. And those oil-rubbed bronze doorknob and knocker? In love. Just don't pay any attention to those awful holly bushes in the front. They are the next thing to tackle on my list.

Update:

I have a confession. We've been neglecting our dining room since we moved in. We stacked lots of boxes in there and used it as a sort of purgatory for things that still needed to be unpacked and gone through. We told ourselves we'd get around to it. And then we just left it there. It became the place where we stored things we didn't know what to do with to get them out of the way. We've been avoiding this room and eating all our dinners on the couch in front of the TV, partly because we're lazy and partly because there isn't a path to the dining room table.

Here's what it looked like when we moved in:

And here's what it is looked like in its sorry state:

This room has always kind of depressed me because it's so dark and sad. I mean, look at all that wood paneling. And don't pay any attention to the tape on the floor -- we've been mapping out our new laundry nook/mud room.

We finally decided to do something about it, though. So we picked up some paint, enlisted the help of my mom (I'm only good for the middle portion of the wall these days), and got to it. It actually ended up taking three weekends because we had to do multiple coats and paint all the trim but, in the end, we got it done. I was banned from the second go-round of painting because my back started bothering me. The council took a vote and decided it was too much physical exertion for me, so I was forced to retire my paintbrush.

It's almost done. We just have a few places where we need to do some touching up. We should have some photos to share soon but I am really pleased with how it turned out -- so much more cheerful and lighter. A definite improvement. And even though there are about a million other things we still need to do to this space, I think we will be using it much more often.

Here's the to-do list for this room, in case you're interested:

1. Clean brick on fireplace
2. Paint mantel
3. Remove ceiling fan and replace with large pendant light
4. Remove other light fixtures
5. Paint paneling
6. Paint trim
7. Add chair railing
8. Replace flooring with hardwood
9. Build built-ins on both sides of fireplace
10. Add sconces above built-ins
11. Find art for above fireplace
12. Build wall with wide doorway to space?
13. Window treatments
14. Find rug
15. Upgrade furniture (farmhouse table + buffet + chairs)

For a little bookworm:

From the beginning of time, I've always wanted any kid I have to be a bookworm like me. The adventures I went on as a kid while reading are some of my fondest memories. I hold those books close to my heart. I remember them fondly (see here). They shaped who I am today and I want that for my kids. I want them to experience that joy. So, when we were planning the nursery, I knew I wanted some book ledges to display Baby M's ever-growing library.

[photo]

I liked these from Land of Nod, but at $24.95 each, they didn't really seem cost effective. We planned to have 4 (2 on each side of the window) but didn't want to pay $100+. Not in the budget. So, we used these as our inspiration and made our own.

We went to Home Depot one morning and picked up a few 1x4s and a 1x2 and had them cut into 24" pieces.

Since all our piece were pre-cut, assembling the ledges was really easy. Andrew pre-drilled some holes and we used 2" screws to screw the 1x4 pieces together.

Once that was done, we used 2" finishing nails to attach the front lip to each ledge. And we used a little wood filler to cover the nail holes.

After we let all that sit overnight, it was time to paint. So we spent one morning out in the carport putting a few coats of white semi-gloss paint on all 4 ledges (Andrew actually did this part --  I tried to stay as far away from the paint as possible). We let that sit for a few days, just to be sure everything was nice and dry and then it was time to hang them.

We marked their placement on the wall and measured up from the floor to make sure they were all the same. Then we used a stud finder to make sure we would be drilling into studs so they'd be extra secure. We used a level to make sure everything was nice and straight. And then we just screwed those puppies to the wall.

Then the fun part -- decorating! We filled his ledges with books and a few small toys. I am excited to see how the contents of these ledges rotates and changes as he grows and his tastes and interests change. It will be fun to see how he displays his favorite things -- a map of sorts of his ever-evolving little personality.

Our cost for the entire project? $33.84. And that includes the gallon of paint that we had to buy. That's like a $70 savings. And it was such a quick and easy project. We knocked it out in a weekend. Can't wait to tackle the rest of the projects we have for this space. We're getting so close to being done. Get ready for the big reveal coming soon!

Wall art:

Back in the initial planning phase for the nursery (before we had even moved into the new house), I came across this photo and immediately started making plans to create a polka dot wall for myself (well, okay, for Baby M):

[photo]

I tracked the source to Land of Nod, which I love, but 48 decals (yes, they're actually removable vinyl decals) for $25 seemed a little ridiculous to me and didn't make sense for our budget. I knew I could do it cheaper. I considered making a stencil or a stamp and paint to get the look I wanted but it seemed so permanent and left no room for mistakes.

Then I found this website where you can buy rolls of vinyl super cheap. So I bought a roll of white 24" removable vinyl to the tune of $4. Then I ordered this 3" circle paper punch for $2.92 (I had a $17 Amazon credit). I actually ended up having to order 2 additional yards of the vinyl because one just wasn't enough to get the project done. The total cost for 3 yards of vinyl came to $12.

I spent a evening last week punching out all my circles (I got way more than 48, btw) and last weekend, we spent a few hours putting them up on the wall.

We decided to make a sort of grid pattern. We started with the top row, measuring between dots to ensure they were evenly spaced. Then we worked down the side of the wall using the same method. Once we were happy with the placement, it was just a matter of using those dots on the top and side as a guide to fill in the rest of the wall. 

Andrew took the top half of the wall while I took the bottom. It took a little longer in the beginning because we were still trying to figure out the best method but once we had a system down, it only took about an hour to finish and because they're pretty much vinyl stickers, we can take them off to re-position them or remove them altogether if and when we get sick of them. 

And that's how we made the polka dot wall of my dreams for a whopping total of $14.92. I'm pretty excited to start layering on all the art, shelving, and curtains we have for the walls in here. And our new rug (yep, we finally bought a rug for the nursery!) arrived last week. I can't wait to bring it all together!

The master:

We've spent a lot of time discussing the master bedroom situation lately. As of right now, a bed is the only thing in the entire room and while we'd like to dive right into the whole decorating process, we have been focusing on other rooms (read: nursery) up until this point. Only recently have we diverted our attention to this space where we get our rest on every night.

We've done a lot of debating about what kind of feel we want the room to have and what we envision the room looking like when it's all said and done. I tend to play it safe when it comes to colors. I don't want to do this with our room. So, I have created a palette of deep, calming colors to make the space feel warm and inviting. I really want to be able to relax in this space, especially since very soon, this will probably be the one room in the house in which we will be spending the most time. I want to be comfortable. 

Here's where we landed: I love the wall color (I think it's called black pepper by Benjamin Moore). I think it will warm the space up and play off the wood tones of our bed nicely. For a pop of color, I think painting two small chest of drawers a deep rust/pumpkin color would pair well with the wall color -- maybe do some interesting knobs on the drawers.

I like the idea of having sconces on the wall above the bed but since our bed is positioned between two windows, once the curtains are up, there might not be room. Speaking of curtains -- we have some white sheers that we might reuse but I think I'd like to explore some pattern. Nothing too wild, just a subtle, tone-on-tone pattern to bring some texture into the room. Pair those with some blackout roller shades for sleeping and privacy and we're in business (as far as window treatments go).

I love the idea of a plush rug since our hardwood floors are cold in the mornings. I like this one from West Elm because it's plush and has a pattern while still being neutral enough to not compete with the rest of the room. Plus, look how pretty. I'd like to have some kind of sitting area as well. Maybe a chair or two with a small table. And some greenery. Plants would really bring some warmth to the space as well. We get plenty of light (we have three windows) so I think they'd thrive there. 

For bedding, I'd like to do lots of layers of white and grey -- mostly solids with a few light/small patterns thrown in. And texture. Lots of texture. It would really make that bed inviting. And with a newborn, that's probably where I'll be the majority of my days.

Now that we've got an idea of what we want the space to look like, we need to get to work painting and collecting all the different elements. Easier said than done when my back is hurting so badly these days I feel like I can barely walk. Thank god for online shopping.

The List:

Now that we've been in the new house for a while, we decided it was time to compile a list of all the to-dos that we'd like to see happen in the space. We've broken it up by room to make it easier to follow. So, without further ado, here's what's up next for us on the home improvement front:

Outside:

1. Till yard, add top soil, and lay grass seed
2. Paint front door
3. Replace door hardware
4. Rip out old landscaping (especially those horrid holly bushes) and replace with new landscaping (bushes, flowers, etc).
5. Repave driveway
6. Replace storm doors
7. Upgrade outdoor light fixtures
8. Replace mailbox
9. Buy rolling garbage can
10. Trim low hanging tree branches
11. Add raised garden beds
12. Reinforce weak spots in fence/replace
13. Replace old gas grill
14. Remove metal awning on back of house
15. Remove ivy from brick in back
16. Power wash siding and brick
17. Replace chimney flashing

Living room:

1. Build wall with wide doorway to create separate entry area
2. Remove double doors to hallway
3. Add light fixture to entry
4. Build built-ins along back wall for books/storage
5. Add recessed can lighting
6. Window treatments
7. Find area rug and artwork
8. Upgrade furniture (couch + two armchairs?)

Kitchen:

1. Demo existing cabinets 
2. Remove old appliances
3. Replace flooring with hardwood
4. Remove phone/phone line
5. Demo pantry closet
6. Remove paneling
7. Install new cabinets and countertops
8. Install new appliances
9. Add subway tile backsplash
10. Paint trim
11. Add pendant lighting above bar
12. Upgrade existing lighting to recessed cans
13. Chalkboard wall?
14. Artwork, accessories, etc.

Laundry:

1. Frame out walls with water line/electrical
2. Add pocket door
3. Drywall, paint, and trim
4. Tile floor
5. Install washer/dryer
6. Add floor-to-ceiling storage cabinet beside stacked washer/dryer
7. Run dryer vent to carport
8. Hang coat hooks

Dining Room:

1. Clean brick on fireplace
2. Paint mantel
3. Remove ceiling fan and replace with large pendant light
4. Remove other light fixtures
5. Paint paneling
6. Paint trim
7. Add chair railing
8. Replace flooring with hardwood
9. Build built-ins on both sides of fireplace
10. Add sconces above built-ins
11. Find art for above fireplace
12. Build wall with wide doorway to space?
13. Window treatments
14. Find rug
15. Upgrade furniture (farmhouse table + buffet + chairs)

Hall:

1. Remove laminate over original hardwood and refinish
2. Replace/upgrade light fixtures
3. Remove telephone shelf
4. Upgrade thermostat
5. Change linen closet hardware
6. Add shelving/storage to bottom of coat closet
7. Paint
8. Paint insides of closets
9. Runners?

Hall Bath:

1. Clean grout
2. Repair/replace missing tiles
3. Reglaze bathtub
4. Upgrade toilet to low-flow
5. Remove towel rack/tissue holder
6. Remove soap and toothbrush holders
7. Add towel hooks
8. Change cabinet/drawer hardware
9. Upgrade mirror?
10. Window treatment
11. Change sink/tub faucet and showerhead
12. Extend tile in shower to ceiling
13. Hang floor-to-ceiling shower curtain
14. Paint
15. Add artwork

Office/Guest Room:

1. Paint trim/quarter round
2. Install built-in desk
3. Paint
4. Change light fixture
5. Add more shelving/storage in closet
6. Window treatments
7. Find rug, artwork, office organization
8. Furniture (sleeper sofa + desk chairs)

Nursery:

1. Paint trim/quarter round
2. Paint
3. Add wainscoting?
4. Put crib together
5. Bring in dresser
6. Build side table
7. Change light fixture
8. Add more shelving/storage to closet
9. Window treatment
10. Build book ledges and hang
11. Get rug, artwork, accessories

Master Bedroom:

1. Replace ceiling fan (for one without a light fixture)
2. Add more recessed can lighting
3. Replace closet doors with french doors
4. Add closet organizers
5. Add canned lights to closets
6. Remove built-in behind door?
7. Remove cable wiring
8. Paint trim/quarter round
9. Paint walls
10. Window treatments
11. Find rug
12. Furniture (side tables + wall lamp over bed + arm chair)

Master Bath:

1. Change toilet to low-flow
2. Replace mirror
3. Upgrade light fixture
4. Add lighting to shower stall
5. Replace sink and faucet
6. Add electrical outlet(s)
7. Retile floor and walls (subway tile?)
8. Remove shower door and replace with curtain
9. Remove towel racks/tissue holder
10. Remove soap and toothbrush holders
11. Add towel hooks
12. Remove upper cabinet (find other storage?)
13. Remove handrails from shower
14. Upgrade showerhead
15. Replace shower faucets
16. Paint
17. Enlarge shower by taking space from built-in on other side of wall?
18. Window treatment

We've got a few things that need to be done throughout the house too, including replacing the windows, changing out the floor vents, replacing doorknobs, and upgrading electrical outlets and wiring.

It's a big list, isn't it? We're making plans to slowly hack away at it though. We've made progress already.

Nesting:

Last week, we headed down to Lowe's and picked up a new Nest Learning Thermostat. Our old thermostat was on its last leg (I was convinced that it wasn't gauging the temperature properly) so we decided it was time to upgrade. We had heard great things about the Nest and really liked its features, so even though it is pretty pricey, as far as thermostats go, we decided to bite the bullet and get one.

Apparently, the entire city of North Little Rock heard we had decided to make the move and there was a rush on Nest thermostats. Both Lowe's and Home Depot were completely sold out. We had to truck it over to the next town just to find one. And because our search took so long, we didn't get back until after dark. And because we were too anxious and excited to wait until the morning to install it, we did the entire installation in the dark. So, while you're looking at these photos, picture Andrew and I standing in a dark hallway -- him with a bunch of tools in his hands and me with my phone in mine and a flashlight between my teeth -- and Tillie looking at us like we are mad.

The Nest has a really great compatibility checker on their website, so we knew ahead of time that the thermostat was compatible with our system. And they give you everything you need to do the install -- including a screwdriver, level, and screws -- which made installation by flashlight that much easier.

The Nest is actually super simple to install. We took the cover off our old thermostat (after being sure we turned the entire system off first).

Then we took a picture of the placement of the wires and cut the power to the house. Once the power was off, all we had to do was use the stickers they provided to label each wire, disconnect them, and remove the old thermostat. From there you mount the new thermostat, using the level to make sure everything's straight, reconnect the wires, snap the cover on, and give it some power. 

The system connects to your wi-fi and walks you through the setup. It's very simple. I would say the whole process took us less than 30 minutes.

We've been using it for about a week now and so far, we really love it. It lets us see our energy usage over time, so we can see how much energy (and money) we're saving. I love the little green leaf that pops up every time we're being energy efficient. The thermostat has an app that you can download that allows you to remotely control your thermostat. So, if you're in bed and don't feel like getting up to change it, no problem. And if you're out of town or at work, you can let it know that you're away and it will adjust so you don't heat (or cool) a house that's empty. After a while, it learns your habits (hence the name "learning thermostat") and makes adjustments automatically. So the days of forgetting to adjust the settings on your way out the door are over. 

It does about a million other cool things as well. Check it all out on their website. I am looking forward to seeing how much it can cut our electricity bill this summer once the temperatures skyrocket.