glossed over

I was forced to watch way too much football last weekend. (If you call Thursday-Monday the weekend) This weekend we're planning on having a nice, quiet two days at home, with more football at sure. So I'm thinking, now is the time to bite the bullet and paint the front door and maybe start with the interiors.

I love the front door in this commercial.

I told ya I've been watching too much football.

I love this door and this cute little couple.

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But my sister said no. Maybe she's right. I'm not that "hip".

This door blows my mind.  LOVE.

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I really love love love high gloss black doors. I've posted about black interior doors before, but I think this weekend we'll actually get the ball rolling. I'm kind of hesitant to begin because I can't decide whether or not the door needs some molding detail first. (All our doors are flat and currently painted to match the previous wall color. Can you say cream?? ick) I don't know if the high gloss draw too much attention to our plain doors. But I'm not really wanting to take all the doors off the hinges to properly DIY add the trim. I'm thinking I go ahead and paint, and if they need the extra trim, I can add at a later date.

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And a few more..

Janice painted her front door a deep navy. I think she plans on doing the rest of her interior doors this same color. What do you think?

One more yellow door and I'll let the dream die :)

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kitchen storage

Our kitchen has newer cabinets and counter tops, but there was this extra space that wasn't really being used. I wanted to find some kind of metal dresser with wheels to put there and use as an island, or to find something that could provide storage but also be functional. Well, as you all know, funds don't always allow for the "perfect purchase". I was given this dresser when I moved into a house, senior year of college. We decided it would do for now! I could use one drawer for paper items, one drawer for koozies, one drawer for dog items and...well you get the idea. I needed something to hide all the clutter.

I used the paint we used in our office. Also, I didn't prime. (I'm lazy (and cheap). And I'm not really concerned about it getting beat up or looking perfect.)

**WARNING: Messy kitchen counter ahead!

If we leave this in the kitchen for awhile, I will for sure be replacing the knobs. But, right now, it works! What do you think?! It's been great having the extra counter space and drawers. I'm having trouble filling them all!

csn stores giveaway

If you aren't following Life Begins at Thirty, Right?, you should be. Janice and her husband have been doing some wonderful redos at their home in Toronto. I'm dying to copy her doors.

And she was so kind to share her method with me. Can you tell thats a deep navy? love.

Anyway, Janice reached 53 followers and it so psyched she's hosting a giveaway for $50 at CSN stores. Enter the giveaway and check out their blog!

a lot can get accomplished in a 3 day weekend!

My body's still trying to recover from all the work we did last weekend. The fourth of July festivities didn't help much either :)

Saturday it rained in the morning, so I started taping the dreaded office. THE.WORST.ROOM. EVER to tape.




I did a lot of complaining.



And  recieved a little sympathy..



3 1/2 rolls of tape (and 24 hours) later it was completed. And the trimming began. And more complaining.



I forgot what the color's called (Mark Twain's something?? By Valspar) but it's a  dirtier, browner grey looking olive then in the pictures. I really love it. I didn't want to be too brown because of our new desk (post to come) and I didn't think a bluer grey was the way to go. I can't wait to add some white drapes and a nice white chaise by the window.

I didn't literally spend 24 hours taping. It did take a huge chunk of my time. I took some breaks to help Preston in the yard Saturday afternoon and Sunday. We both really love being outside; I would prefer not being outside pulling weeds, but at the time, it was more appealing than taping.

So after all the tree trimming, yard cleanup, flower planting, mowing and three trips to Lowe's, we had a beautified yard.


I planted some cilantro in this old owl tea pot I had. I'm in dire need for herb markers. Does anyone have any homeade ideas? I struggle to remember what's what, and only have the store labels for a few.


Sans paint job. Preston liked him the way he was.

On Monday, after painting the final coats in the office, and cramming all the boxes and junk back in there, we somehow found more to do around the house. We hung blinds in all three rooms and our bathroom. Trimmed more trees. Preston fixed a leaky faucet, changed a door handle...He's pretty handy :)

I have some exciting projects started to hang in the office! Can't wait to share. Hope everyone had a good holiday! I know we're looking forward to having this weekend to recover!

seeing stripes

I unfortunately have to work on Memorial Day but Preston and I have a growing list of to-do's for our weekend staycation. One being to finish painting the dining room.

We've decided to forgo the punch of blue I was dreaming of and cover the butter color with the Woodrow Wilson's Putty we painted the rest of the house. To add a little separation between the living and dining room, I'm thinking of doing stripes. There are so many different ways to do stripes, I don't know how I'm going to decide! There is a white chair rail currently, which we love, so it stays. As far as the other walls, they all have windows--one into the kitchen, and two to the outside.

Dining room before (before it was OUR's!)

I'm pretty sure my Craig's List wicker lamp will be hung in this room. Once I figure out if it should be painted..or just cleaned. Maybe dark, dark navy? Anyway, back to the stripes. There are so many different options - horizontal or vertical? Same size or varying? Subtle or bold?

Horizontal Stripes

Apartment Therapy

Elle Decor

Home Goods Open House

Apartment Therapy

Veritcal Stripes

Apartment Therapy

Apartment Therapy

Varying Size Stripes

Apartment Therapy

Apartment Therapy

Subtle Stripes

You can gain this effect by having differing paint finishes. This may not be enough bang for our buck. But I do love for a bathroom or smaller room.

Apartment Therapy

Apartment Therapy

Material Girls

Bold Stripes

I love this look.

 

 

Apartment Therapy

Elle Decor

Which one is your favorite? Would you dare to stripe? I think the last picture is my favorite..the army green is so lovely. But to play up our chair rail, I think vertical may be better? (sis, are you reading...help. The green would tie in our neutral rug!)

loose ends – furniture, new legs and a book

It has been raining since I left work Friday night but Preston and I have definitely taken advantage of the perfect indoor weather! I finished up his nightstand.

From this:

To this:

  He loves. Said it looks brand new :) Yesterday I went to a few antique stores with my mom. We ended up spending most of our time at the second stop because the guy had to pull out the antique jewelry. We had a lot of fun trying on rings (that my fingers were too fat for!) After my $9 successful trip to the Salvation Army last week, my eyes were hurting from normal antique prices. I was in owl heaven though.

 

 

 

 

Back to my price tag shock- I found a few tables I really loved. But I honestly feel like I could find the same kind of love on Craig’s List for a lot lower price. And if a little refinishing is needed, I’m ok with that. So, I came home empty handed. (No owls at.all. That place had $50 owls?! Not my kind of owl.)

Aforementioned tables:

I also found a metal dresser that would be really special for a possible island or extra storage in our kitchen.

Have you ever seen a metal dresser?! It was really neat. White with pale yellow stripes. I’m not sure if it would go but it was cool. It really inspired me to find my own metal dresser to redo :)

   My legs came in Friday! They are just as amazing in person as they are in the pictures and they got here super quick! My mom had found some wood restore stuff and I thought I would try it on the piece before succumbing to restraining. Let me tell ya, it was magic. Scratch 3 isn’t perfect, but it’s a lot better.

Scratch 1 Before the magic 

Scratch 1 After the magic

Scratch 2 Before the magic 

Scratch 2 After the magic

Scratch 3 Before the magic

Scratch 3 After the magic 

After the restorer and two trips to Lowe’s for the right screws, Preston was eager finish ‘er up.

 

LOVE THEM. I’m still working on rigging the wires, but the tv is temporary so I’m not sure what we’ll end up doing with the cable box. Nonetheless, the legs are perfect. Just what we were looking for!

I know you can’t really see in the mirror, but I’m wearing this Gap sweater I was lusting over a few weeks ago. My mom knows me so well, she picked it out for me last week. I also got these jeans half off at JCPenney’s and am in love. They do stretch a little. I could’ve gone down a size probably, but the length and fit is perfect. (OMG self pant portraits are awkward, check back later and this picture may be gone.)

This morning P and I were up and finished painting the kitchen before lunch time. I won’t bore you with more “did they really change the color” pictures. But it looks just great :)

Thursday I finished “The Art of Racing in the Rain” by Garth Stein. I’m a pretty quick reader, but I finished that book in a week! It was SO.GOOD. The dog narrates the story of his life with his owner. It’s so good..and yes-it is like every other story with a dog, so be prepared. (If you’re not catchin’ what I’m throwin, shoot me an e-mail and I’ll fill ya in!) The owner, Denny, goes through some tough stuff like losing his wife and almost losing his daughter. It’s an easy quick read. Short chapters (<—love that). Either way, I highly recommend this book. The story’s uplifting, thoughtful and poignant throughout. I’m not sure what I’m going to read next. I think something girly and light. After “The Help” and this guy, my heartstrings are sore. Has anyone read “Chasing Harry Winston”? I’ve read all the Jennifer Weiner’s and Emily Griffin’s so I’m looking for a new chick lit author.

Well, I had this blue sample left when I thought we were doing the office blue. I put some up in the dining room, but I think it’s going to be too dark. I can’t decide. I’ll keep ya posted :) (See inspiration pics here.)Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, wet or dry!