Home Improvements

This post has been long delayed, sorry my life is just busy. (Yes, mom...I'm finally posting it.)

So, for those of you who didn't know, by husband took all the kids and traveled to Arizona for almost 2 weeks and left me home alone. Oh, it was wonderful! I decided since I wouldn't need to clean the house a million times a day, cook numerous meals and change diapers that I would have the time and energy to do some projects. Not to mention that with little people out of the house, I could delve into the projects that wouldn't fare well with them here.

So about a week before my husband left, I sat down and made a list of all the things I wanted to get done while they were gone....it was a sheet of college ruled paper filled front and back. I didn't get all of my projects done (partly because he came home a day early and partly because I had started the House of Night series and couldn't put it down.) but I got the most important ones accomplished.

I took "before" pics, but to be honest, I have no idea where they went. I'm thinking my husband transfered them onto the main computer and erased the memory card. So sorry, you get no "before" pics. Maybe one day I will find them and post them, but by then you won't care. Plus my whole house was painted with a color I loving call "Oatmeal" just imagine all the now colorful walls to be uncolorful...

First and foremost....the Living Room needed color. My loving "interior decorator" and neighbor Andrea and I spend many a day conversing about the painting of the room and selecting the perfect color. We decided again a maroon color fearing the room would look too busy. Blue was obviously out because of the couches, so we settled on a nice "Milk Chocolatey Brown." Once I got the room painted, I enlisted Brian, my BIL, to put his handyman skills to work. We put together this beadboard and molding frame-thing. Then I hung my family pics on it....still working on what is going in those dead spaces, but it looks good. Notice the adorable red and white pillow my mother sewed while she was here. I also spray painted my curtain rod white and got new maroon curtains. (and yes, spray paint is now my new BFF). I need to finish a tray for the coffee table, get pics in the photo album and figure out what I'm putting on the end table.

Here is a shot of the "peninsula". I painted the arch over and the wall beneath. And left the columns that "oatmeal" color. Ignore all that stuff on the the peninsula...school just started and I'm working crazy hours so I haven't got to cleaning.

A shot of the walkway arch which also got painted.

The kitchen. Here is my new buffet. I still need to paint it black and get some hardware to replace that ugly 80's gold junk. There is my wall art I ingeniously assembled from stuff around the house. They are still a work in progress...I've got ribbons and pins and word-art to add. I forgot to get a shot of the awesome damask curtains mom and I did. (And I'm to lazy to get up and do it...another post when I finish the kitchen.) Now I just need to stencil the walls, add a few pops of color, and finish the tray for the island. Oh, the vinyl says "Holding you, I hold everything." My kids sure make that saying true.

Ah, the laundry room.
I figure I spend enough time in here that I should liven it up. I decided on a lilac-y purple. Mom sewed the curtains. I made some wall hanging with inspiring quotes for this wall.

The wall hangings on this wall say "Believe," "Hope," and "Endure". I've got a friend who is going to cut vinyl that says "All things" to hang underneath. I also have her cutting "Loads of Love" to hang above my washer and dryer. (Ignore all the junk on the counter...that's on the to-do list.)

Here is the kid's bathroom. Painted a nice minty green. I totally love it!

Here is the other wall of the bathroom. Notice how the pics pop off the wall.


Ah, the family room and the surprise purchase. While Brian and I were trying to move my old entertainment center (the one I hated, BTW), he commented that it probably would not survive. At that point I decided to ask forgiveness instead of permission and get something else. Along came my "$35-delivered-to-my-house thrift store find," a nice little dresser. Sure it needs new hardware and a little TLC, but at that price it doesn't get much better. Also notice my new painting. For my birthday, Steven got me this lovely picture of the Savior. "Gentle Healer" I believe it is called. I'm just trying to find the perfect accent pieces to go on the sides. But I'm in no hurry....

So there you go. Lots of fun, messy, time consuming projects out of the way. Now there are just some little things here and there to do. Slowly, yet surely. But I'm certainly loving the way things are coming together.

And sorry that the pics suck, but it gives you a small idea how things turned out....You know if you really hate the picture quality you could just pop in for a visit and I'll gladly give you a tour.