Welcome to THE Dining Room!

What can I say!  The Dining Room project has come to an end and I am sooooo glad.  We finished up just in time to enjoy spending Thanksgiving in there, and promptly began Christmas decorating so I didn't manage to get any photos without the decorations.  I hope you will appreciate a little before and after fun!

Welcome to our before dining room

(the first couple of "before" shots were the ones sent to me via email

 when my DH found the house):



The BEFORE.....



the AFTER!

Another BEFORE...

 and... 



    

AFTER!

Here are more detail changes, before....

I thought we were going to have to replace the chandelier...

but the shades made it a keeper!





These window treatments were re-purposed from our last house.  They were too short for the height I wanted to hang them, so I found a remnant (literally the end of a bolt) of raw silk in just the right color, cut it into 4 equal strips and added it onto the bottom with some coordinating trim.  Presto!  I now have  NEW, custom drapes!  Hot glue is your friend!!!! I also used the drapes to recover the chairs.

Here are a few more  random shots of our "new" dining room!

 We still have a few things we want to add to the dining room...a BIG rug, just to name one, but I will have to find just the right one so that may take a few months!  Now, I am off to tackle more Christmas decorating and to start planning our next project!

Tally:

Primer/paint/Spackle/sand paper, etc. $175.00

Hole Patch kit $ 15.00

Electrical receptacles/covers/supplies $ 30.00

Shades for Chandelier $ 45.00

Curtain $ 79.00

Window Treatment supplies (fabric/trim) $ 17.00

 Total Cost for Project: $361.00

For more fun reads check out:

Linked to Hooked on Houses Holiday Tour Week 1
and

Metamorphasis Monday

Stories of a House: Project Diaries, Volume 12

Southern Hospitality's Top Projects

Guess what I am doing this week?

Do you ever start a project with a plan, knowing just what you want to do and where?  You know...you have made decisions!  Well, that was just where I was at the beginning of this week when I peeled the 1st strip of wallpaper off my dining room wall....now, not so much.....

I promise I had a plan...really, I did. 

But, as I peeled and peeled and adopted the nickname of "Queen of the Strippers" (yes thank you,  dear husband,  I appreciate that) I began to wonder if I should do something different.  My dining room is a big room, (20 feet by 14 feet), so I am looking to warm it up and make it more cozy which is somewhat ironic because it seems in every other house I have had, I was trying to open up the dining room and make it less cozy...oh, the irony. 

Got my 1st wall done!

 

So, my original plan was to use this fabric for the window treatments and chairs and the paint chip (laying on the fabric) for the walls. 

But, as I peeled away the wallpaper a strange whisper started in the back of my mind, "Wallpaper" it called.  "Wallpaper would cover a myriad of wall damage...." and I replied, "You have got to be crazeeee!" but it continued.  Do any of you have these strange decorating voices in your head or is it just me? 

So, after I have heard from several of my besties, and much debate over to wallpaper or not to wallpaper, I thought I would ask even more people so I will have even more voices in my head throw this question out into blogland....

What would you do? 

Memories of Fall...

Homecoming by Bo Bartlett, III

(permanent collection  The Columbus Museum, Columbus, Georgia)

In honor of fall I wanted to share one of my favorite works of art. I seem to never tire of looking at this piece, although all I have is a postcard and that doesn't compare to seeing it up close.    It captures my attention and stirs up the nostalgia of days gone by...both good and bad.  It is a uniquely American experience, and felt no more strongly than in the South. 

A can of paint...

CAN REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE! 

Our new-to-us house had a kitchen redo somewhere in the mid 1990s and we knew before we moved in  that we would need to give it a bit of TLC. 

Fortunately, I actually like the cabinets and they are great quality,  and plentiful, so we decided there was no need to consider changing them.  Eventually, (translated to mean when the $$$ is available)  we would like to have new counter tops. The current ones are solid surface, neutral and in great shape, so we kept those as well, which fit with our budget!  At the point we change counter tops we will also change out the cook top but since it has 6 burners and a grill I am happy with it for now.

This project was a first for us, in that we didn't remove the wallpaper before painting.  After hearing several friends say they had painted over wallpaper successfully we decided to give it a shot.  It worked and you would never know...and it saved us many hours of stripping wallpaper!
 

Before

After:

 

Before

 

After

 

Before

 

After

Before

After

 

Before

 

After

Before

 

After

We decided to have a little fun and painted a chalkboard on the wall so we could include all the silly "rules" that have evolved in our family over the years.  This was a super easy project with just some chalkboard paint and  molding to frame it out. 

I am still waiting on 1 window treatment (for over the sink) and plan to get a new rug for the breakfast area as the one above is one that I put there just for functionality. We used as many accessories from our old kitchen as possible. Of course, there are decorative items that need to be tweaked but I am just thrilled with the results and couldn't wait to post pictures.



Budget for Redo = $0 (well, you know what I mean!)

Results = Priceless!!!

I am participating in the 88th Metamorphosis Monday!!!!

 and Before and After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick

Moving, Redecorating and Project Central...

You know you are about to move into a new (new to you) house when all the flat surfaces start looking like this! 

Yes, it is time to start the transition and planning the projects for our new house.  No, we haven't sold the current (or otherwise known as the old) house.  Actually, it isn't even on the market yet because I just can't live in it while it is on the market, especially with all we have going on this Spring!. 

DH actually moves into our new house next week.  He will be roughing it on a blow up mattress for a few weeks until we get there.   Yesterday I actually committed to a "movers will arrive" date and delivery date.  Honestly, I guess that is when it really hit me that, yes...indeed, we are moving.  When we decided, several months ago, that we would make this change it seemed so far out in the future and I have been so focused on the kids and their activities that I haven't been real consumed by the coming change.  Well...no more!  Change is A coming!  Get those paint brushes, spackle and all manner of DIY tools ready!!!!!!!!!

Painting Product that we LOVE!

Do you have one of these? If not, you NEED (yep...NEED) one if you are a homeowner! DH and I have done our fair share of decorating and remodeling over the years and, truly, this product is probably what kept DH willing to go along with all my "ideas". It is the Wagner Power Roller. This cool gadget makes painting a snap, snap, snap (well, at least to my DH it does!!!!).

It is pretty cool because you actually attach the roller to your paint can an it keeps a steady flow of paint going and prevents you from wearing yourself out going back and forth to the paint pan. We have also found that it applies a really nice, consistent coat of paint and cuts down on the number of coats required. It is also surprisingly easy to clean up.

This is my adorable DH (in his painting clothes!), just last Saturday repainting our master bedroom (after I announced late on Friday night that I wanted to change the color!) Yep, he is good!!!. He is applying the color to the walls after having used the Power Roller to cover the previous paint (a deep wine color) with primer. Trust me, the Power Roller is the bomb!

http://www.wagnerspraytech.com/portal/wagner_990_spray,43310,747.html

***Note: Because of some new law or some such, I must tell you that I have NOT received one iota of compensation for this product recommendation!

Decorating Delimmas Party...Round 5!

Today I am not going to be tardy to the Party! I am participating in Amanda's Decorating Dilemmas (or in my case, Solution) Party:

http://serenitynow4amanda.blogspot.com/2010/01/decorating-dilemmas-partyround-5.html

NEW HOPE for this CHEST!

Isn't this delightful? In an 80's kind of way? This isn't a photo of my actual Hope Chest (do people still call them that?), as I got all caught up in my project and forgot to take a before photo, but this is very similar to what I started with...except this sad fabric is way, way better than what I actually started with ~ yes, it was THAT bad. The oak finish is the same, and the lovely handles are identical as well, so work with me here.

You may even be wondering why I would bother to redo this chest, but it really does have a deep sentimental value to me as my DH bought it for me one Christmas when we were dating. It is a cedar lined Lane Hope Chest. It currently holds all kinds of memories from our life together and I don't think I could ever bring myself to get rid of it. Although I can't part with it, I was for sure convinced it needed a face lift.

So, I grabbed some fabric, light grained sand paper, wood filler, tack cloth, black paint, natural cherry stain, new knobs, and in 8 easy steps I had a "new" chest.

1. First, I removed the upholstered top and recovered with fabric using a staple gun
2. Next, removed original handles and filled holes with wood filler/Spackle and let dry (the original handles had 2 screws but the new ones only had 1)
3. Lightly sanded the original oak finish to make it adhere to the paint better and to smooth out where I had filled the handle screw holes
4. Wiped it all down with a tack cloth to remove any sanding residue
5. Painted with fast drying black latex paint (2 coats) - let dry
6. Brushed on 1 coat of Minwax Polyshades (stain & solyurethane in 1) of natural cherry satin stain on the lip below where the upholster top, which I wanted to leave wood grain but needed it to be redder than the original oak finish to coordinate with my new knobs - let dry
7. Re-attached upholstered top
8. Drilled holes for new knobs and attached!
   

TAAAAAHDAAAAH!

Cost of project, less than $20! Time, less than 1 day depending on drying time!

Updated bath!

Well, it took us almost 5 years but we got around to it! Yes, this is the same bathroom...see "Ugly Bathroom Photos" http://southerness.blogspot.com/2008/10/real-ugly-bathroom-photos.html#links. DH and I were on a strict budget with this face lift so I was extra pleased with how it came out. Although, the house is only 12 years old I wanted to add some character and was trying for a contemporary cottage feeling.
I removed those yicky shower doors and replace them with a nice curved chrome shower rod and white, waffle shower curtain (don't mind the wrinkles...I hadn't steamed them yet!).

We painted the cabinets, refronted them with bead board, removed the cabinet doors and replaced with white tiers on cafe rods, replaced all the cabinet hardware, lighting and accessories with new chrome fixtures (there was bizarre mix of chrome and polished brass originally), added a wall of bead board and new swivel mirrors, and painted 3 walls a yummy chocolate brown.In our last 2 homes our master bath was designed with a separate water closet but this house was not. Due to the limited budget, time and desire to not do real structural construction I devised a way to create the privacy and illusion of a separate water closet without the work and expense of actually building one.
The folding panels were part of 2 separate folding doors (or maybe a screen at one time) that DH and I found at Lakewood 400 Antique Market http://www.lakewoodantiques.com/. As you can see only 3 of the panels are actually used but they are hinged together so that it can pivot as needed and hinged to the corner to provide stability. I love it and do not miss seeing the toilet when I am enjoying a nice soak in the tub.