What I have been up to...

If you're wondering why it's been so quiet, it's because I have been working on this. I was a little nervous about it first, but then it turned out fabulous! It only took me 6 hours and some creativity. Tutorial to come!

Painting Day II

I finished painting the new guest room today. I love the color! I keep walking back to the room and stare at it for a minute and then walk out. I can't help it. The color and finish is perfect.

Here is the finished room. So purty! I can't wait to change that light fixture.

First things first. Before painting, I had to sand down the patches of spackle I used to fill in holes and imperfections. Instead of using sand paper I use a damp rag if the patches are minor.

See all the crunchy spackle? Smooth it all out with clean, damp rug by rubbing in a circular motion until the patch is flush with the wall.

Viola! The best part about this is no sanding! No sanding equals no dust! For larger gobs of spackle where I have to use sanding paper, I'll hold the sander with a damp rug over or under it to catch the dust. It's just one way to reduce some of the dust.

After I cleaned up the mess Guinness made, I was able to go back to painting. ;)

The previous night, I painted all around the trim, ceiling and in the corners of the walls; a method called 'cutting in'. Give yourself ample room to come back with the paint roller without bumping any of the trim. Also, if you haven't done so already, after you sand down the spackle you have to prime over it. The paint I bought has primer in it, so I just gave the spot a coat.

Next up: Next weekend, we'll put crown moulding and clean the floors. It's always been in our plans, but we were just taking one room at a time. The house already has really pretty moulding and all it needs is some crown moulding to tie it all together. In the mean time, I'll shop for a new light fixture and research how to refinish hardwood floors.

Painting Day

Today, I started prepping and painting the new guest bedroom. I was looking for something light and airy with sophistication. I've been loving the gray color combinations lately, so I went with gray walls. This color is 'Silver Screen' by Behr. I bought the paint+primer combination and in an eggshell finish. But before we start, there was a lot of prepping I had to do.

I always recommend bringing the paint card home and putting it up against your moulding to see what it looks like in the lighting of your room. I have made one too many mistakes, so take your time when choosing your colors. Finishes have a lot to do with the end results as well.

But before we begin painting, there was a lot of prep in the room. First, vacuum thoroughly and dust with a damp rag. Wipe all the ledges down and any areas that are clearly dirty (near light switch, door knob) Then, I went around the room and spackeled any holes (from hanging pictures) or imperfections on the walls.

Old paint on the floor. I wanted to take my time with this room to get it right.

Like many old homes, our ceilings are not entirely flat with straight edges, so I still have to paint it free hand with an angled 2.5" brush. By doing it freehand, I can create the illusion of a straight edge.

My boys sleeping while I work.

ANITA curtains at Ikea

I'm famous!

Inspiration Fabric Shopping

I had a hard time narrowing down the style of the room and since I have to work with the yellow walls, I thought I would look for drapery/home decor fabric first and work around that. I love the gray and yellow combinations, but I don't want the overall scheme of the room to be "too yellow".

Modern Affair at Spool.

Optic Blossom on Etsy by Amy Butler.

Tonic Living

Media Room Ideas II

My head has been swirling with ideas. I have been looking up inspiration for the rooms and researching the things projects I want to do. I'm so excited!

A sofa that can act as a day bed would be perfect for overnight guests.

We priced out media consoles and they are just too expensive for our purposes, so we're going to try to build out own.

We're working a few hours each night to clean out the rooms. We're boxing, bagging and trashing. If we can't use it, it's finding a new home.

Simultaneously, we've been working on the other room. It's coming a long. I'm excited to see what these rooms look like without a large chunk of furniture in the center.

For this room, we're going to build a day bed like this. I had one when I was a teen and it's really easy to build. I'm really looking forward to this DIY. I just need to research how to paint raw wood.

Back Yard Privacy Screen

I ran across a new blog today called Aubrey and Lindsay. This couple did something that I just found completely BRILLIANT! They have a chain link fence which they built privacy screens and planted plants to camouflage the chain link fence. The result is a beautiful retreat.

See their tutorial here. We definitely want to pursue this project this spring/summer. We've always talked about what we should do with THAT side of the yard.

Media Room Ideas

One thing our house lacks that we wish we had was a family room or den in addition to the living room. It would be good to have another room where we could put our feet up, so I am thinking about turning our guest bedroom into a media room/office/guest bedroom. The room has to be multi-functional - The room would serve as a TV room, a guest bedroom, and a place for storage of crafts and clothing.

Here is the room currently: I love it and so do our guests, but it's most unoccupied 90% of the time with the exception that this is where I store my clothing and crafts. I hope turning this room into a media room will give us more usable space.

The bed takes up too much room, so we are going to replace it with a pull out sofa or day bed.

From Decor Pad. This is the arrangement that I think would be more functional.

On the opposite wall:

I am thinking a combination of these two - a TV console/bookshelf/wardrobe.

While in Italy, my friend had a large wardrobe system on one side of her bedroom and it was storage, a closet and also where she put her flat screen TV. I thought it worked very nicely and you could just slide the doors over.

On Pottery Barn, I played around with their room planner and this is how I would like to lay out the room.

The pieces need to be flexible since eventually this room would be a play room or another full bedroom again. We don't want to invest too much in the furnishings, but we do need it to be functional and fun!

Latest Craze

How do you like my new furry throw pillows?

Available here at FBRN.

Work in Progress

Every home owner will tell you that it's a constant "work in progress" and by the time you are done, it will be time to sell the house. That couldn't be more true although I'm not sure I would want to sell and start over after all this work. Our house is in a constant state of "work in progress".

Here is where we are at the end of 2010.

Here's what we need to wrap up or simply start:

Kitchen:

• New granite counter tops.
• Tile back splash.
• Repaint the trim and touch up walls.

Half Bathroom:

• Needs a large rug. The tile is so cold.
• Needs artwork.
• Caulk around toilet base and baseboards.

Dining Room:

• Put up moulding "windows" on walls.
• Install hardwood floors.

Living Room:

• Caulk crown moulding and repaint.
• Sew brightly colored pillows and add decor accents.
• Install hardwood floors.
• Replace/Fix South window.
• Replace steel front door with something pretty.

Stairs

• Install faux staircase moulding.
• Order sconces and hang art work.

Master Bathroom - see here

• Repaint cabinets to white.
• Replace dated medicine cabinet with updated mirror and light fixture.
• Sew new shower curtain.

Hall Closet

• Turn into laundry room.

Hallway Dress Gallery

• Find more art work, frame and hang.

Master Bedroom (#1)

• Get new roller blinds or paint them.
• Replace carpet.
• Paint wall with lattice pattern.

Guest Room (Bedroom #2)

• Remove carpet.
• Turn into media room. This is a major project of its own.

Home Office (Bedroom #3)

• Sand and re-stain floor.
• Touch up moulding.
• Install closet system.
• Turn into guest bedroom.

Enclosed Front Porch

• Organize. organize. organize.
• Remove carpet. Paint floor and stencil with pattern.
• Get new patio furniture.

Back Patio

• Get garden tool organizer or shed.
• Get new patio entertaining set and create intimate seating area.
• Provide shade.

Basement

• Clean out the basement to get it ready to finish it in 2012?

Wow, that seems like a lot. I don't know how much of this we can get to, but wish us luck!

Attic Office

Image from Decor Pad by Michael Graydon

After the new year, my head is always swarming with ideas and possible projects. I started out by looking up inspiration for a home office (bedroom #3) makeover and I came across a million other ideas.

We have a walk up attic that could eventually be finished and turned into an office or playroom. If we finished it, it would look similar to the image above with the sloped roof on the sides and center window.

Zucchini Pizza

I made this for lunch today and it really hit the spot.

Recipe from Giada at Home.

Ingredients: pizza dough, flour, 1 zucchini sliced thinly, shredded mozzarella, olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder, black olives. (I omitted the olives and added sun dried tomatoes and prosciutto which ended up being a mistake because they burned)

1. Preheat the oven at 450F. Roll out the dough on a floured surface.

2. Place the slices of zucchini on the dough, olive oil, season. Bake until edges are starting to get brown (about 12-15 mins). Keep a close eye on it.

3. Put cheeses (and olives) on top of the pizza. Put it back into the oven for a few minutes until the cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

HEMNES side table from Ikea

While I was in Ikea the other day, I also picked up the Hemnes side table. It's perfect for the end of our sofa here where we end up placing all the remotes, drinks and magazines.

Olives and Sun Dried Tomato Vegetables

This was a great way to dress up your vegetable side dishes. The olives and sun dried tomatoes really make this dish! So far, I really enjoy her recipes and I look forward to trying something new each night (or every other night).

Look how beautiful this is!

Recipe from Giada at Home.

1/3 cups of olive oil, thyme, pepper, salt, 1 zucchini, 1 summer squash, 1 red bell pepper

5 marinated sun dried tomatoes (I did not use marinated)

1 tablespoon of pitted green olives (marinated)

1 tablespoon of pitted black olives (marinated)

3 shallots

Combine the oil, thyme, pepper, salt, and chopped olives and tomatoes in a bowl. Set aside and allow to sit. Slice the bell pepper, squash and zucchini into 1/4" rounds. Slice the shallots. Heat up a medium pan on medium to high heat. Add the shallots and cook till translucent. Add the vegetables until soft. Turn off the heat. Put into serving dish and pour the sun dried tomato and olive mixture on top. Serve immediately.

Bon appetit!

Hello Lover!

I'm coveting this chandelier right now. It would look great in our living room where we currently have a ceiling fan, but the ceiling fan is far more useful during the spring/summer months. Maybe I'll order this for my soon to be home office that I'm making over.

Giada at Home

My best friend gave me Giada at Home for Christmas. I love it! It's organized very well with a large selection of recipes using only vegetables. There are lots of recipes that I can see myself using with what I grow in my garden from appetizers to soups. Also, all her recipes are a two step process - just prepare or marinate and then cook. That's definitely my cooking style! Have you cooked anything new lately? Or just eaten anything that you really enjoyed?

Bev's Inspiration Board

My friend Bev needs a little help redecorating her living room. I took a stab at it without knowing her color choices and just threw a neutral warm palette together. Her first priority is storage and organization. She is a busy working mom with 2 young children. Clutter adds up quickly and she needs a place to store things while maintaining a formal living room for adults and entertaining. It has to budget-friendly with maybe some key splurge items.

See it up close here.

Here's a sketch of the new floor plan layout.

Beyond color and style, here's what I would like for this room:

• Define the entry way space from the intimate seating area by rearranging the furniture.
• Double duty - her storage furniture must be versatile. Ottomans for both storage and comfort.
• Creating a focal point by highlighting key items instead of adding more decorative tchotckes.

Things that must stay:

• The micro suede sage sofa.
• The bar that looks like a antique globe.
• The upright piano.
• The gold frame on the fireplace.

Let's get started shall we: [Assuming the fireplace is North]

1. The Sofa - New sofa cover in twill. So that she's not bound to a particular color scheme. By going neutral on the sofa cover, we have a neutral palette for a bold rug, throw pillows or ottoman that won't compete with the sofa. Twill is more durable especially for sticker fingered kids. The corded edge on this cover will give it structure unlike other sofa covers. Throw pillows can be picked up at discount places like Marshall's, Home Goods or TJ Max.

2. Two club chairs - Instead of the love seat, 2 club chairs will add both style and intimacy in the room. I love this chair that I picked out and the price can't be beat.

3. Ottoman - This ottoman is hinged and opens up for storage within it. Besides being extra storage, the family can prop their feet up while sitting by the fire. It's also extra seating if needed. Throw a tray on top of it and it's a coffee table for drinks and snacks. I would keep my eye out for a tufted ottoman because they keep their shape. Ottomans like the one in the photo tend to sag in the center.

4. Tufted Storage Bench - I love this piece! By the west window where people can sit down to put their shoes on. It's really purty, stylish and more storage!

5. Kid's Cubby Locker Unit - For coats and shoes by the entrance. Kids can come home and hang up their own coat and put away their shoes within reach.

6. Lidded Woven Baskets - These are great for the "spillage" for misc items, toys, blankets, and whatever you want to hide ;) in there before company comes. I like that you can flip these up real quick without losing the lid which is really important in my opinion if you're in a rush to tidy up the room.

7. Rugs -

I picked 2 rug options. One modern, one traditional. I prefer the traditional one because it has warm tones with touches of green, blue and red which makes it very transitional. She can alter the decor of the room down the road without being bounded to the blue-grey rug. Rugs are an expensive item, so I prefer the one that is more versatile. Because it's warm, I think it will really tie the room together and create that intimacy where they can enjoy the fire. She can always go contemporary with the throw pillows.

8. Patterned Curtain Panels -

For the large East and West window, I would like to balance out the room using a pattern curtain panel. For the large East window behind the sofa, I'd like to see patterned curtain panel on the outer sides and a white sheer on the inner side for a romantic look [in other words - pattern, white sheer, white sheer, pattern] For the other 2 windows on both sides of the fireplace, I'd like to use airy solid or white curtain panels and sheers. This keeps the room from looking too heavy and matchy matchy. She has such great natural lighting that it will looks so pretty in the daylight hours.

9. Over the mantel, I would like to see an oval mirror. The frame is really flexible depending on the style of the room. I like the oval shape to smooth out the lines of the very rectangular pieces we already have like the mantel itself, the ottomans and sofa. Some new candle holders can be clustered together or moved around. A trio of bud vases with silk flowers will look pretty as light hits them. By using silk flowers, she can also change up the theme in her room.

10. Green plants - Plants are good. They take in CO2 and produce O2 for you. It's a win win. It gives you something to look at it and something to take care of which forces you to go into a normally unused room. Plants keep us on our toes.

Last, but not least my favorite part:

11. Wrought Iron Balusters - This was a total splurge and wasn't requested by Bev, but I really liked it. Changing out the wooden spindles for wrought iron balusters will really update the house and make it twinkle. There are beautiful options these days in bronze or antique copper/bronze/gold that don't look like the dated stuff from the 50's. We can highlight the metal again in the room by adding a metal fire place screen.

This is what I have for now. Hope it helps!

Upon Reflection

Last month, we picked up this oversize mirror for the living room. I was so happy the mirror fit on center on the wall because there's a light switch there that I was afraid would get in the way. It makes the living room look a lot larger too.

Isn't it purty?

Who doesn't love IKEA

I had New Year's Eve off and my girlfriend and I took a trip down to IKEA. Who doesn't love Ikea? I love browsing the aisles of Ikea for inspiration.

Today, I upgraded the picture frame to house my vintage Burpee Seed illustration. I love the way it looks and the illustration goes with my new rug.

Ribba frame

I have been looking for new seat cushions for a while, so I was thrilled to see these. I like that they are contemporary looking and you can't beat that price.

Ritva Seat Cushion

New Rug

Lovin' this new rug that I scored at Home Goods! I love it. It's thick and the flowers are beautiful and vibrant.

My boy Guinness loves new rugs.

I love it warms up the kitchen and goes with my vintage seeds illustrations.

Here it is with my new roman blinds as well. I love the way the blinds look.

These flowers remind me of the beautiful zinnias that are in the garden.

Guinness approves.