Fifty Shades of Grey...


posted by Rhiannon

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Ok, ok. More like one. One beautiful shade of grey to cover up that eye sore that sits in our backyard.  And let me tell you, this new view is almost as satisfying as a three-book mini-series..almost.

I don't have a lot of pictures for this one because there is only so much one can do while to painting outside in the blinding sun while fighting off the spiders and the bees and wrangling two small children that were unusually interested in the the gallon of paint (No!) and sticking their hands in the wet paint (STOP!) and flicking the paint brushes at each other (Dear God Help Me!)

Before



After




But my oldest and I finished it in the span of a day and I couldn't be happier.  And if you care to see where my inspiration came from, head on over to The High Street Market.








Shut the Front Door!


posted by Rhiannon

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Hi everyone!! I know its been quite awhile since my last post.  But please excuse me...I was busy growing a human.   He is here and healthy and its time for me to get back to work on this ugly little box we call our home.

A project that I have had in mind for quite sometime is re-painting the front door and most importantly adding BIG house numbers so that people can find us. I can't tell you how many times we get calls from service companies, friends, and the all-important Friday night pizza delivery man saying "We can't find  your house". And where we live, saying "the ugly house on the left" could describe just about 90% of this town. I digress...

I don't have many step-by-step photos this time because I was so excited to get a paint brush back in my hand after so many months that I just went at it  and before I knew it, the door was done.


Outside.



Inside.

Yes, I even painted the inside black. It looks really good and gives the entry way some much needed detail (and distraction from the wood panelling). I'm thinking about painting the coat closet door, too. But you know how I can get carried away.



And then came the house numbers. This is a stencil I ordered from etsy and it was the perfect size so it can be seen from the road.





Now I just need to figure out what to do with the screen door. Paint it black, too? Get rid of it? Suggestions welcome!!



PINspiration - Bedroom Curtains


posted by Rhiannon

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Hi Guys!  Its been busy around here lately.  Between work, birthdays, a wedding, and a visit from our good friend Hurricane Sandy, I haven't had much time to get things done around here.  But falling snow and a chill in the air put some fire in my rear and forced me to get down and get some curtains made for the boys room.

I found this image on Pinterest and followed it to the instructions on a blog called "The Yellow Cape Cod".  



To make my curtains I used: 4 blue curtains (Thanks Amy), a large tube of liquid stitch, red ribbon, and instead of a heavy linen table cloth as recommended in the original instructions, some canvas duck fabric for the stars.



Since I am no artist, I needed a template.  So, I printed a star off on the computer and traced it onto a piece of cardboard.  Yes...we are VERY high tech around here.


I decided on seven stars for each curtain, so I traced the star 28 times onto my cotton duck fabric with a sharpie.


Whats worse than tracing 28 stars? Cutting 28 stars!!! But after cutting out all the stars, I was almost done.  Using the Liquid Stitch, I glued the stars and the red ribbon trim onto the curtains...and... 


Ta Da - curtains that match the boys bedding!!


It was as easy as that peeps!! The whole project cost me about $10 in materials and an evening worth of cutting and gluing.  I just love an easy project.  (NOTE: The instructions I found online were great and gave some really great tips on how to easily line up the stars.  I won't take credit for that, so I would highly recommend reading them if you are planning on making something similar.)

Finally - this house looks like we are starting to make some progress!!!




New Bathroom!!! It's DONE!!


posted by Rhiannon

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Its Done! Its Done! I never thought I'd be so happy to hug a toilet in all my life!!!

For this project, we decided not to tackle the bathroom ourselves.  The hubs is working too many hours, I am preggo, and with two - soon to be three - boys in the house, we needed the bathroom work done as quickly as possible.  Shout out to our great contractors!!!

Let me quickly remind you what we were dealing with.

1. The toilet.  Aside from the obvious 1980s mobster appearance, this black beauty took almost a full minute to flush and you had to hold the button down the entire time.  That's right - button!  And how many kids do you know are willing to stand and hold a button in for that long?  Not my two!!  Imagine the surprises we found in there daily.


2. The sink.  Black sink = water marks and toothpaste residue EVERYWHERE.  Plus a pedestal sink and that little black shelf were a joke for storage.  According to my husband (who is right but don't tell him) I like to hide everything away.  So we needed a sink with better...ahem....hidden... storage options.

 

2. The shower.  Oh, the shower.  Where to begin.  The soffit that trapped in the steam?  Or the shower head mounted 2 feet too low that was coming out of the wall surround?  Or that it leaked into the basement whenever we took a shower?  Oh no, wait...my favorite...the massive build up of old cigarette residue that dripped on our heads when showering.  Ewww!!!


4. The tile:  Completing the look of the whole bathroom was the institutional white tile and black grout covering the floor and walls.  But look closely my friends and you will notice that that white tile was actually fancy tile with a floral pattern on it.  Sweet!!!


This bathroom was obviously more than a coat of paint could help. So it all had to GO. 

Day 1: Our contractors came in and ripped everything out to the studs. Ahh...looks better already. :)



Day 2 - 10:  This was the only view I got :(  



Luckily, we only ran into a couple of "small" hurdles.  For instance, all the plumbing was bad, the wiring needed to be redone, and when they took out the bathtub there was NO insulation between the tub and the outside wall.  Our awesome contractors took the time to properly insulate and even checked the rest of the house before they left.

Here is a progress shot of them adding insulation before putting up the rest of the bathtub. Yes, I snuck behind the blue tarp and took this picture one evening after they left, muwahahaha



But after two weeks of using the tiny shower in the master (which will be another make over post on here one day), they were done and we had a brand spanking bathroom to use. So without further ado, lets take a look at our new favorite room in the house. 

Toilet: Before & After


Sink: Before & After


Sink: Before & After


Shower Soffit: Before & After


Bathroom View: Before


Bathroom View: After!!!!



I am LOVING my new bathroom.  Removing the soffit, adding vanity lights, and using a larger tile and lighter grout (only on the floor) make our bathroom look a lot bigger.  When in fact, the new tub is actually bigger than the old and the new vanity takes more space.  The illusion of good design, I guess.  Thanks HGTV!!

I couldn't be happier with the new toilet, bathtub, tile, and sink with a place to hide all our bathroom junk.  But most importantly...there are no more cigarette tar bombs dropping on our heads anymore and my kiddos can properly drop the kids off at the pool without me having to walk in on a swimming lesson :)