Outdoor Space

This is a picture of the patio of the 2011 HGTV Green Home Giveaway.  It's in Colorado.  I love this seating area, especially the fireplace.

Here's a close up of the fireplace in action.

Built-In Eye Candy

I think I'm developing a slight obsession with built ins.  I want them... all over my house.

Isn't this the coolest thing EVER!  I would love this in my house.  It's like a window seat, but better!  I want one.

Isn't this just adorable?  Each little cubby has a spot for a picture frame. 

Checklist

We've done so much decorating and renovating since we closed on September 30th, 2010 and we still have so much more to go.  I thought if I made a check list, I could appreciate our accomplishments better.  So here goes, room by room....

Foyer

1. Paint We painted BM Natural Element.
2. Replace chandelier
3. Purchase console table or bench.
4. Purchase some wall art.
5. New tiles They look gorgeous
6. Replace closet door Done.  Thanks to Matt's Dad.
7. Decor for plant shelf

1/2 Bath

1. New toilet This was done immediately.  Old one was soooo gross.  We got handicap height.  What a difference.
2. New vanity
3. Paint We painted SW Green Cast.  I really like the color, although most of the time it looks light blue.
4. Blinds This was an immediate necessity too.  The toilet sits directly across from the window.
5. Curtains I found the curtains at the Ann & Hope Outlet in Dartmouth.  I love them.
6. Wall art I hung pictures that used to be in my parents bedroom.  Yay for recycled art.
7. Beachy decor The Ann & Hope Outlet also had some adorable beachy bathroom stuff.  I bought a shell shaped soap dish & a decorative towel with sand dunes on it.  They match perfectly.
8. Get paint stain out of grout
9. Fix corroded pipe under sink
10. Hang towel bar Yay Matt!  Maybe he is a little handy.

Kitchen

1. New appliances We were going to wait a little bit before replacing the appliance, but they were too gross.  The dishwasher smelled so horrible.  We bought SS & love them.
2. New tile The new tile is the same as the foyer.  Love it!
3. Reface cabinets
4. Replace counter top
5. New pendant light
6. Paint We painted BM Pale Smoke
7. New faucet
8. New drawer pulls We bought the drawer pulls from Lowes.

Dining Room

1. New dining table Matt picked out the dining table all on his own.  He found it in the clearance section of our local furniture store.  Good job!
2. Paint The dining room is open to the living room.  It's painted BM Central Park
3. Panels for slider Matt found the panels in the clearance section of JC Penny.  Yay, Matt!
4. Sideboard or buffet table
5. New light
6. Area rug We found the area rug at Building 19.  It was super cheap.

Living Room

1. New TV stand We bought the tv stand at Walmart & had to put it together ourselves.  What a PITA! It's fine for now, but will be replaced as soon as I find something better.
2. Get fireplace remote to work Gas fireplace has a remote.  After replacing the batteries, it seems to be working better.
3. New lampshade Found a great lampshade at Homegoods.  So cute.
4. Need side table next to couch
5. Table lamp for side table
6. New area rug We found this rug at Building 19 as well.  I really love it.  It has different shades of green, cream & brown in it.  It also hides stains well.
7. Art work
8. Mantle decor I found some things to put up there but it's not complete yet.
9. Blower for fireplace
10. Large mirror for mantle
11. Paint The living room is painted the same as the dining room.  BM Central Park.

Office

1. Paint current desk or replace (I'd rather replace)
2. Paint rest of furniture to coordinate
3. New desk chair, not on wheels
4. Wall decor
5. Curtains I bought the curtains at Target.  I love them!  They're so light & airy.
6. More lighting
7. Cork board
8. Chaise lounge
9. Table for crafting
10. Paint I can't remember the name of this paint.  It's from BM & turned out to be a periwinkle color.  It was supposed to be a beachy blue.  But I like how it turned out.
11. Carpet The carpet was so gross when we moved in.  Dog pee stains everywhere.  We got a beautiful speckled gray for the stairs and the entire second floor.  I love it.

Master Bedroom

1. Paint We painted BM Sandy Brown.
2. Carpet Love the new carpet.  See comments from #11 under Office.
3. New bedroom set We got our new bedroom set & mattress from Bob's Furniture.  Love it!  I feel like a real grown up now.
4. Wall art
5. Window treatments I bought canvas roman shades for privacy from JC Penny.  I also bought chocolate brown panels from the Christmas Tree Shop. 
6. Table lamps Matt picked out these really cool table lamps from Big Lots.  He's got pretty good taste.

Dressing Area

1. Replace vanity top
2. Get more lighting
3. Chair for vanity The chair was a Christmas present from Matt.  I had to return the original because it didn't come with the right parts.  I bought a tan parsons chair instead.

Upstairs Bath

1. New vanity
2. Regrout tub Matt did this.  Good job.
3. Fix ceiling Matt did this too.  Not bad.
4. Shower curtain I found the shower curtain at Marshalls.  I love it & have received many compliments on it.  I wish I could find another to make curtains out of.
5. Window valance Bought the valance at the Ann & Hope Outlet.  I don't love it, but it's better than nothing for now.
6. Wall decor Matt's parents brought back a couple of notecards from the beach where we got married.  They framed them & they look great in the bath.
7. Paint The paint color is BM Tropical Breeze lightened up 2 shades.
8. Window shade Ordering a top down/bottom up shade was one of the first things I did.  This window is directly across from the shower & sits above the toilet.
9. Bath Mat Plain navy bath mat from Walmart.  Shell mat from Ann & Hope Outlet.
10. New toilet This toilet was installed at the same time as the other.  Much better.
11. Fix rusted pipe under sink
12. New faucet

Man Cave

1. Paint
2. Panels for slider Bought at Target.  Love them.  Will be using a color from them to paint walls.
3. Recliner
4. Small table next to recliner
5. More lighting
6. Hang pictures Matt has a ton of sports pictures that he hung around the room.
7. Paint coffee table We had an old glass top side table that I painted black to coordinate with the tv stand.  It looks okay for now.

Guest Room

1. Paint
2. New drawer pulls for bureau

Laundry Room

1. New washer & dryer We bought a new front loading W/D from the Sears outlet in Fall River.  The washing machine plays a song when it's done.  So cute.
2. Hang more shelves
3. Replace flooring
4. Paint

Countertop Search

Now that the tiling is done, our next major project is going to be countertops.  The possibilities are endless.  Here are some google images I found that might be nice.

These countertops are concrete.

This is concrete too.













Some concrete facts:

Easy to clean. When poured correctly, concrete has very little porosity, which makes it extremely easy to clean.

Don't stain. If you choose a good concrete contractor, he or she will use a sealer and finishing process that guarantees the concrete won't stain.

Don't crack. Typically, concrete is prone to cracking. But if you choose a good concrete contractor, he or she can guarantee your concrete countertop won't crack.

Come in a wide variety of colors. Concrete countertops can be made in any color your wish. Typically, a concrete contractor offers a set of standard colors. If you don't see one you like, ask to have a color custom made.

Can be formed into any shape. Because concrete is poured, concrete countertops can be formed into any shape you can imagine.

Easy to Repair. If you accidentally chip your concrete countertop, it's easy to repair. A good concrete contractor will save your mix design, which is the information regarding the materials used to create your concrete countertop. With that mix design, the concrete contractor can reproduce the finish he initially used on your countertop. While you may still be able to notice where the repair was made, according to Blayde, your guests won't.

Feel amazing. It might be the most shocking concrete countertop benefit, and it's completely true. Concrete feels amazingly soft and smooth to the touch. Once you run your hand across it once, you won't be able to stop.

A good concrete contractor has:

• Experience in the decorative concrete field.
• Previous customer testimonials.
• A showroom with samples of his or her work.
• An open door policy so you can visit at anytime to check the progress of your job.
• Your mix design on file in case you chip your concrete countertop.
• Set guarantees that state your concrete countertop won't crack, stain or warp.

This is honed granite:

Tiles are Finished!

What a difference!!!!  The tiles are done & they look fantastic!!  What do you think?

We bought the tiles at Lowe's.  They're 16" porcelain & used Natural Gray grout. 

Chilly photo bombed this one.

Next big project... Granite.

Tiles in the Foyer!

Woo hoo!  They started laying the tiles in the foyer today!  It looks so good!  What do you think?  They should be done by Friday.  Yay!

Before:

In the middle:

Fabric Covered Lampshade

I just found this 'How-To' on the HGTV website.  I don't know why I didn't think of this before.  Our living room lampshade  got crushed during the move & I've yet to find a suitable replacement.  Now I'm sure I'll be able to make it just how I want it.

Here's the link, if you'd like to do the same.  It seems pretty easy to me.

http://www.hgtv.com/bedrooms/custom-fabric-covered-lampshade/index.html

Here's some fabric I found so far on http://www.fabric.com/ :

This one is on sale right now for $7.63/yd.

This one is $8.98/yd.  I don't know if I want pink in the room or not though.  But I like the pattern.

I think this is the one.  $6.98/yd.

Of course, I love these too, but not for a lampshade.  Maybe for a throw pillow?  Too bad I can't sew.

This might be nice, but I'm unsure if it would go with the curtains since they are also vertical stripes, but additional colors.

This might be cool too.  $8.98/yd.

Things I Like

I found this picture of a beautiful bedroom.  It doesn't fit in my house, but I just liked it so much, I wanted to share.

Designer Amy Lau Design

I love this room... everything from the colors, to the rug and the painting.  Beautiful!

by interior designer Jennifer Brouwer
What a beautiful bathroom!  I can just picture this bathroom off the room in the picture above.  I especially love the color, the tiles & the shower doors.  The color is Dunn Edwards' Persimmon.

I just love this little corner couch... okay, there's a lot of things in this picture I like, but the couch is my favorite.  I can just imagine sitting with a friend, drinking coffee, taking in that beautiful view.  Or maybe curled up, reading a good book.  It looks so inviting.  The roman shades are nice.  I love the ottoman & side table & the little plant & the rug.  I'm not a fan of that light fixture though.  I think a distressed white lantern would have been better.

Ignore the picture on the right.  It's the one on the left that got me.  Heaven!

This is a basement!  Could have fooled me.  I love the color combo.

I love this shade of blue with those black & white photos.  It's called Needlepoint Navy by SW.  Beautiful!

Kitchen design by boston kitchen and bath Artisan Kitchens LLC
Look at the spot for the dog bowls & the bone shaped pulls!  I love it.

How cool is this?  The two canvases slide back & forth on a track to conceal the TV.

This is just so cool.

Basement Inspiration

It just occurred to me that I have no basement inspiration pictures in this blog.  That's probably why it's taking a long time to semi-finish the space.  The 'man cave' needs a serious coat of paint.  I can't stand the white walls.  I'd love to paint it this color (according to houzz, the color is BM Mesa Verde Tan).  The throw pillows are close to the color of the sectional, so I think it'll look great.  I really like those mirrors too, but I'd probably put that upstairs.

This wall color is almost the same.  Hmmm.  Guess this is the color.  I like the grouping of pictures on the wall too.

I love the ladder.  What a simple idea.  I could definitely DIY.

This lamp is featured in the 2011 HGTV Green Home Giveaway.  I think it would look great in our basement man cave.

What I learned about lighting

I found a great article today about common household lighting mistakes.  Here it is if you want to read it yourself.  I copied the tips I found most useful.
Common Lighting Mistakes

• By dimming a light, we decrease energy and heat output, and lengthen lamp life.
• Lighting in the bathroom: Standing directly under a downlight, without any light at the sides of the face, creates exaggerated and unflattering shadows. In the bathroom, using a downlight over the sink is fine to accent the expensive polished nickel faucet you've specified, but it's insufficient for tasks like shaving, tweezing, and applying makeup. For this, we need light at the sides of the mirror at eye level to minimize shadows and provide even distribution. This can be achieved with sconces flanking the mirror.

And what's a post without a picture?

 

I love that table lamp... and the rug, and the mirror, and the ottoman, and the tulips, and the desk, and the pillow.  Okay, there's a lot I like about this picture.  I wish it was in my house.

1/2 Bath - ALMOST DONE

I found a bunch of finishing touches for both bathrooms today.  So excited!

How cute is this soap dish?

Matt picked out & hung the towel bar.  I picked out the towel :)

Here's the new panels & rod I bought today.

This picture (along with another that didn't make this shot) used to belong to my parents.  It hung in their bedroom for ages.  The colors are so perfect for this room, I had to use them.  I think I'll paint the frames though.

Here we go, both pictures in the same shot.  I should definitely paint the frames.

Upstairs Bath- ALMOST DONE

Here's our new shower curtain.  I've received a lot of compliments on it saying it has a nice tropical feel.

Here's my favorite find from my shopping trip today.  Although the colors are perfect & the rug is so plush, I think it just doesn't look good with the shower curtain.  I put it in front of the sink, away from the tub hoping it'll look better over time.  Sigh... I don't know.

My sister got us this mirror for Christmas at a cute little shop in Sandwich.  I love it.

Here's the valance I got today.  Not so sure about this either.  It's navy blue (although it looks really dark in this picture).  I thought it might pick up the navy from the shower curtain.

The picture is a framed, hand painted card that Matt's parents picked up for us on Anna Maria Island.

Master Bedroom- ALMOST DONE

Phew!  I few more finishing touches & I'll be happy.  So far, I think it looks great!  We had some company over the holidays & during the 'house tour', I got the best compliment.  She said 'your bedroom looks like a magazine'!!  Joy!!

Here's some details of the room.

Our sheets.  My mom said they look like a chain link fence.  I never thought of that, but yes they do.

One of our new bed side lamps.  Matt picked these out.  I love them.  I think they're very unique.

Here's the window treatments.  I decided on chocolate brown panels & an ivory roman shade.  The rod has capiz shells on the finials.

I think this zebra print bedding adds a little fun to the room while still keeping with the brown tones.  I know, I need a bed skirt still... and some kind of art to hang over the bed.