School Bus Yellow... Wall

I have done some work on the guest bedroom and this weekend it involved assembling the new, "girlier" bed frame and painting an accent wall to go with the new coverlet. It is coming together.

It still needs:

• A real side table (not a file cabinet)
• A non-boob-like light fixture.
• I need to paint the other three walls.
• Art on the empty closet wall

It is a small room so it is difficult to get a good photo, but here is a preview:

Progress on the office

A few pictures of the progress in the office/3rd bedroom:

I hung a curtain rod and some navy blue tab top curtains that I have been moving with me since my townhouse in Archdale. I love these curtains and was happy to find a home for them. They still need to be hemmed slightly since they touch the daybed.

I have posted before about my love of reading. You can track what I am reading here. The bookcases of books I have already read are in the family room area. I decided to re-shelve all of the books I haven't read yet in this room. That will allow me to browse to select a new read AND keep tabs on how many books I have bought that I have not yet read. Maybe that will help me keep the book buying in check. Maybe ;-) And the bottom shelf if reference books and yearbooks. They need a home, too!

Lastly, I have hung some art work. I love this painting of birch trees. In fact, most of the art in my house is of nature, but these trees are perhaps a favorite. I also rehung the daisy print I have had for years with a refinished mat and frame. (It was a gilded frame with rose colored matting.) You can also see the freshly painted walls in these photos and even a glimpse of the skylight. The daisy picture was photographed in the evening and the painting in the middle of the day so you can see how the walls change with the light.

The desk is getting some much needed love, as are those built ins. More to come

One thing leads to another

I posted that I am working on the office/3rd bedroom. Step one was painting the office a color called Cozy Cottage. I have used this color on the hall bathroom. (The rest of the main space of the house has been painted the color one shade darker on the paint chip card: Oat straw.)

While painting, I finished the bedroom with a tray full of paint so I decided I would tackle the laundry room. A room I have been putting off since I moved in and for many reasons. Partly because it is dark and windowless (it is a small entryway laundry room between the garage and the rest of the house). It has a built in pantry closet and 3 upper cabinets so it would require lots of cutting in. The biggest reason was that this room is crowded with just the washer and dryer - let alone me. I knew any project in this room would involve moving the machines and climbing around. And, they are heavy!

I started painting, thinking I would just use up the paint in the tray and decide if I liked the color. Hours later the room was all painted except for behind the machines. Here we go, right?

I knew what I had to do. So I slid them away from the wall and EWwWwwwWw! 

How have I been living here for 8 months! 

Seriously, I pulled up that weird piece of wood they had under the machines (what was that about) and scrubbed the floor on my hands and knees a few times. Soooo gross I took a shower immediately afterwards. The dryer vent was clogged, ripped, and patched with duct tape. So after a trip to Home Depot, I had a new $9 dryer vent.

I don't want to leave you on that image so let's add some satisfying after pictures. Freshly painted walls. Shined up appliances. A little Far Side artwork! A motion detecting LED light (because I walk from house to garage all the time with my hands full/dirty so I can't get the lights). And, a rug. 

So much better. I need to go do some laundry.

Making a house a home

Let's talk about the office/3rd bedroom.The room has a desk, a floor lamp, a piece of art and a bookcase, but, truthfully, it has just been storage for items that had no other clear place in the house. It also has some built in shelves left by the previous owner.

I love this room for the great skylight. It is also the room guests look straight into as they head for the hallway powder room. It needed an identity.

The only piece I have purchased for this space is a daybed frame and mattress. It allows me to sleep guests, but also leaves the room flexible as an office space. Even the bedspread is reject. It is a queen coverlet from the master bedroom. It will be cut down to fit the daybed and I plan to use some of the remnant fabric to make throw pillows or bolsters.

Since moving in this room has been also been home to my DONATE box (seen in the corner above) filled with all the things that had a home in my other place, but no longer work or are needed in the new place. You know.. since my new bathroom has a shower door, I don't need my shower curtain anymore. The curtains I had don't fit the windows in the new house. As I unpacked and settled, this pile grew. You will be happy to know that pile was donated this week!

The plan for this room has slowly been coming together and when I found some inspiration in pillows at Target earlier this week, the progress began.  I love them. The combine the blue found elsewhere in my house with the green of the coverlet I am recycling.

More on the room as it comes together. Step 1 PAINT... and lots of it.