Living Room/Office Makeover (manda)

Okay, so I know it has been forever since I blogged. I have been bogged down in winter snow for what seems like decades. But the snow has melted and I have begun projecting again. Every President's Day weekend my husband and I tackle another project in the house. This time it was the living room.

These are before pictures of the Living Room. It was nice, but I really wanted to paint and have the space flow and coordinate to the other rooms of the house. The carpet had to go and now that I have new windows the whole room needed to be painted. Basically, I wanted a complete redo and to open up the space.

These are the before pictures with the carpet all ripped up.

The carpet was ripped up and replaced with plank flooring- thanks to my handy hubby. I painted the walls Behr's Celtic Grey and the trim my favorite Behr's cotton whisper. The colors were recommended coordinating colors to match the rooms downstairs. These changes are almost the last couple on my to-do list. It is hard to imagine that I might be running out of projects. I think it is more that I am running out of things that I want to spend money on in this house. We would like to up size eventually. Until then I couldn't be more thrilled we have really started to make this home our own.

These pictures are pretty much how the house still looks. I told my hubby that I wasn't putting anything back in until I had an organized place for it to go. This may take several months. In the meantime my husband, bless his heart, has been a trooper. He spent the majority of last week ripping up carpet and laying new floor. Now if it will stop raining long enough for him to cut wood he can finish it off with the transition strips and shoe molding. I can't wait for the finished project. I will include updates as the space progresses. Stay tuned I have great plans!

Master bedroom remodel (manda)

Before...

Okay so I got lucky the other day at the unfinished furniture store. They were having a 50% off sale. So I was very excited to find a already finished black framed mirror and an unfinished night stand for $140 total. So having found these pieces I think I know have a plan for my bedroom.

I am going to paint the walls Celtic Grey, it is a soft gray.green color. I am going to try and refinish my dresser a nice ebony black stain, with some distressing to match the mirror I purchased to go above it.
I am having trouble deciding what to do about my cedar chest, but the color and hardware will definitely be changed. Any suggestions? I don't want everything black. I like a more subtle mis matched look. As long as they match stylistically.

The bedding I am going to do in cordinating creams and blue grays to match the wall color. I am also going to change the curtain by adding a roman shade to simplify the look and let in more light.

The bathroom I plan to paint a nice creamy tan, I am going to attempt the paint the laminate counter top as well. I know it can be done. I just need to find the book on how to do it. I think I might also change my wedding pictures for something in a nice b&w print, maybe Paris?

When wedding pics are 10 yrs old. It is time for a change.

Please consult my previous blog post of bedroom post to get the idea. I am also going to change the bed hardware but I am not sure with what- definitely a nickel finish of some sort.

Would love to hear comments, suggestions, etc.

So I have been working on my bedroom for a week now and I have a few things done. First off check out my family blog to see the bathroom vanity before and afters. I have successfully painted my bedroom but that was a panic because I got it all painted and thought it was too dark so I spent the next day determining solutions. I poured through faux finishes and fabric ideas and finally decided that instead of painting the darkest wall as an accent ( I was worried this would make it look like I forgot to paint a wall) I decided on what you see here. I am now working on trim and paint the bathroom while my husband helps with furniture and doors. I think I may have a decent before and after at the end of the month. What a project!

The bedroom is done and I know of at least a few people who wanted to see the end result of my hardwork, so here you are. As doing all of this sort of makes me feel like I am on HGTV or something I shall give you the play by play.
I made the pillow shams and window treatments myself with fabric ordered online and from Jo-ann's.
The framed art above the bed is a series work of the Rouen Cathedral by Claude Monet. I framed and matted them myself. The frames are from Micheal's.
The mirror and the wooden nightstand came from the Unfinished furniture store. The nightstand is stained ebony. The dresser was sanded and painted with an oil based primer followed by an enamel acrylic top coat, which went on very smooth and we are very happy with the result.The polished nickel hardware came from Lowe's.
The lamps and the metal end table are from Ikea.
The room color is Cloudy Day by Behr and the trim is called Cotton Whisper also by Behr.