Workin' Together

Happy Labor Day, folks.

It may be ninety-five degrees outside, but when I see the date "September" on my phone, my mind goes to crisp fall days...even though those are still several weeks away.

I may or may not have beef and barley soup in the crockpot...and a cinnamon candle burning...while the only thing outside that is crisp is my very brown lawn.

Speaking of lawns, we've owned ours now for two months exactly, and we have been wrapping up projects here and there, so I thought I'd let you in on what we've done. Prepare yourself for a big ol' bomb of photos.

I may have mentioned before that DIY projects are sort of our "thing;" some couples go to concerts, some ride bikes, some try new restaurants. Greg and I bust out stuff on our house.

And although we've never DIY'd while on a bike, we have definitely shared a few beers and listened to good music while working (well, it depends on who you ask if the music is "good").

We never really documented too much of our old house, aside from the photos on old computers that were never transferred, etc., so as we put our stamp on this house, we wanted to make sure we were keeping track of our sweat equity.

Before we begin, let's answer two frequently asked questions.

"Where on earth do you find the time to do this?!" 

Well, my mom moved back to town recently so...our kids LOVE their grandparents! And we do this and that when they are sleeping. I've painted enough rooms now that I can knock one out in just over an hour! 

"Where do you find the energy?!" 

I don't know...we love doing this stuff, and you always find the energy to do the stuff you love. That and sugar free orange caffeine packets you can get at Kroger. :o) 

So. Let's begin--in no particular order.

Greg hated the faded tomato-y red door and forest green shutters (I suppose I did, too, but they didn't bother me to the same degree). So last weekend, after the line at the barber shop was too long for the boys to get haircuts, we looked at each other and said, "Let's paint the house!"

Before. (We suck at taking most "before" photos, so I had to steal this from the county auditor's website--you can still see the hideous bushes...and a car that is not ours, duh, we didn't live here in 2008.)

After. (Black shutters, brighter red door.)

We've also ripped out all but a few original bushes. There are great deals on plants this time of year, so as long as you cross your fingers it all comes back in the Spring, I say take advantage! We decided to forego most of the suburban round shrubs and create a bit of a "butterfly garden" with great color in the planting bed to the right of the house, so maybe next summer that will fill in and make for a good post.

Let's head inside.

As soon as we had signed the paper work, we got into the house and ripped out all of the carpet on the second floor, and painted both boys' bedrooms (Behr's Cosmic Quest for Will, Behr's French Colony & NYPD Blue for Reid).

Will's room before.

After.

Reid's room before (pink!).

After.

What I love most about Will's room is his art, including this etsy find: a Batman print on vintage French dictionary paper (hello!?):

And this etsy find--you know, boy stuff:

(The choo choo names were a gift from a friend, but can also be found on etsy here.)

The laundry room was our next project (day three of having moved in) because we I couldn't handle the original white--and very stained--linoleum floor. This would be the room we walked into after long days, so I felt it important to be somewhat inviting.

We purchased a newer product on the market--linoleum tiles you can actually grout. So, for the look and feel (but not price!) of ceramic, and only about three hours total installation (walkable the next morning!) we got this:

Before.

After.

With a coat of our general first floor paint (Benjamin Moore Moonshine), and some brighter paint (Behr Ultra White) on the trim and door, coat hooks, a magnet board, etc., it looks like this:

Other things I'd like to do:

• new light fixture (maybe recessed lights instead?)
• art work somewhere
• backsplash around the utility tub
• hide things on the shelves with baskets
• new door hardware

The dining room was my next big project, and I was super excited to use this wall stencil I got on etsy. I went bold in color (Stuart Gold by Benjamin Moore), and the final product became this fantastic French farmhouse feel.

Before (a mess always makes for a better "before," eh?):

After. 

I turned my old half-door garbage pick find from the old house into a chalkboard and carried that Frenchy theme with a little menu from the city the Puntenneys hailed from.

(Sorry for the instagram copy but hey--wanna follow me on instagram? There you go!)

The family room was next. Dark blue scared me but this color turned out fantastic (it's Behr Andirondack Blue). (I also love how in this photo you can see the green of the office, the gray of the hallway, and the still khaki walls in the kitchen, which actually fit into the color family nicely.)

The mantle provided a challenge, but for now, this strikes a nice balance.

More things we want to do in here:

• We've got plans for another "Ikea hack" (details below) entertainment center 
• Eventually this room will be hardwoods as well to complete the entire first floor. Lulu, sweet girl, had a hard time adjusting to the new house and made this room her personal, well, potty. Gross. Stinky. #smellslikedogpee #thankgoodnessforsteamvacs
• Lighting. Recessed lighting. 

The foyer has been given a coat of Moonshine, as has the upstairs hallway. Need to paint the spindles (hello, time consuming project) and add a little chest to the front (it's currently holding the TV in the family room). 

And our last project--probably what I'm most proud of so far--is the office. 

Completely empty (well, except for that pretty girl who is confused about the potty).

To this.

The color is starting to grow on me (Benjamin Moore Stormcloud) as we've hung artwork, curtains, and styled the bookcases. 

After finding inspiration online here and here (definitely check out that second link, young house love; we have gotten so many great ideas and tutorials from them!), we decided to do our own "Ikea hack": take the cheap Ikea stuff, and customize it to make it look, well, custom! So we went from cabinets with cubes and a lumber top...

...to cabinets that look custom made with Greg's carpentry additions, and a walnut stained top.

 

Things I'd still like to do in this room:

• hang pendants above each desk area
• get some sort of loveseat for the back of the room
• hire someone to paint all of that dental molding (holy cow is it annoying and time consuming)
• acquire some upholstered desk chairs (those are our old kitchen stools as the unit is more bar height)

We haven't spent much; that office was only the cost of a gallon of paint, two additional Ikea cabinets plus drawers, the shelves, the drawer hardware, and the lumber for the top. We had everything else!

We are on a ridiculously tight budget for at least the next nine months as we become accustomed to things like, oh, a new house payment, etc., so we are picky about where we spend money. Most of our changes have been paint--which, if looking for inspiration, should inspire you to spend $35 and create your own makeover! This winter we may only be tackling the half bath, which is covered in wallpaper and a very outdated sink and cabinet--which (I say) can be made over on the cheap...oooo, or maybe we will paint the basement (the amount of toy storage and play space down there is ridiculously awesome).

Doesn't matter...so long as we are workin' together!

P.S. Like all those links throughout? They take you to the stuff we bought! Go crazy!