STOCK TANK POOL || our backyard pool

We sure have been enjoying some beautiful summer weather (finally!!)  With the lovely weather comes a long list of outside projects we want to tackle!  One of those projects is the back yard. The last few weekends have been spent moving dirt, gravel, adding pathways and rock and I am so excited to finish this space up.  We have been spending so much time out back and it is a super fun space for entertaining too!

The girls are 4 and 6 now and we thought a little pool would be a fun addition to the back yard.  After a little research, we thought a stock tank would be the perfect fit.  No worrying about holes, rips and it's a lot cuter (to me anyways) than a bright blue pool!

We still have a couple of weekends left before we get the back yard finished.  But, I thought I would share a few pictures and some details on our pool in case you were interested in using a stock tank for a pool too ;)

We purchased a 2'deep x 8'diameter galvanized stock tank from Coastal Farm and Ranch.  Matt was able to tie it down and bring it home in the back of his truck, but it's a biggie!  I scoured the internet, so I will save you the trouble!  If you live in Oregon, your best bet is Coastal Farm and Ranch!

We purchased a sand filter pump from Amazon.  It's kept it super clean, it has a timer and it was easy for Matt to install.  We have also been using some pool chemicals from Lowes, but the filter has definitely been the major contributor to crystal clear water!  Matt plans to build a cover/step/deck area to cover the filter and give the girls an easy way to climb in and out.

We are adding borders and 1/4 minus gravel in the back yard, but around the pool we added river rock.  It's nice under bare feet and grass, dirt and leaves don't get tracked into the pool!  We bought a solar cover to keep pine needles out of the water and help trap some of the heat.  I made the mistake of buying a 8' diameter cover, only to find out that's the diameter at the bottom of a typical above ground pool.  Who knew they actually taper in?!?  I ended up buying a 12' round cover and we cut it down to fit, it works great!   

The girls have so enjoyed swimming in their new pool!  We had friends over Saturday night and their two girls swam in it too!  The four of them had so much fun in there together!  It's really the perfect size for littles, and fun for bigger kids and adults too!  I love the depth because the girls feel comfortable in it, it's not too deep but just deep enough that they can still float and swim.  They even had me laying on a floaty with them the other day ;).

It really was a fairly simple project, but I am more than happy to answer any questions!!  Hope you are enjoying your long summer days!

xoxo

A BIG GIRL BED || little girl's room

My sweet Savanna turned 4 in April and will start 2 mornings a week of Pre-School this Fall.  It's hard to believe and for the first time in 6 years I will have a little bit of time in the mornings with out little ones!  Every night after she gets tucked into bed, she comes out and asks if she has to go to school.  She wants to wait until she is 5, she wants to stay home with mama.  Bless.  

So, we gave her room a little make-over and she upgraded from a Twin mattress to a Queen bed..all in preparation for heading to school this Fall. :)

A few months ago I purchased a dresser to paint for the shop, this headboard was part of the package deal.  I just wanted the dresser, so the headboard was basically free ;)  I removed the damaged paneling in the center and painted the piece with Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint (Bergere and Linen).  I sealed the paint with Miss Mustard Seed Tough Coat.

The sweet pink bedding is Pottery Barn kids and I purchased it from a dear friend's garage sale a couple of months ago.  The rest of the bedding was extra from the cottage!  

We did a little gallery wall of some new and collected art and trinkets.  I just purchased the water color from a local artist who had a booth at the Farmer's Market, I love that it ties all of the colors together!  Savanna painted the little fox on the shelf and her little silhouette is from 3 years ago!

The yellow lamp was actually in my stash of extra lamps. Do you have a stash closet?  I do, one with extra pillows, inserts, lamps and such.  If I keep in contained in a closet I don't feel like such a hoarder!  Anyways,  I painted the base with Chalk Paint (Arles) and sealed it with clear wax.  I am on the hunt for a whimsical lamp shade, but for now the white linen shade will do.  I also found these darling baskets with scalloped linens and lids from Ballard Designs.  I love them!!!  I can find places all over the house for them.....yikes!

We painted her closet door and added some polka dots....the room was starting to feel a bit too 'grown up'.  She is very much a fun, spunky, full-of-life 4 year old so the polka dots help add a bit or whimsy to her room.  She also got new bamboo shades!  I love the warmth and texture it adds to the room.  Her original blinds were broken and the window is so large, it caused me too much drama every night when I would go to close them!  Eventually I would love to add more bamboo shades, but we have nice white blinds that were here when we bought and I just can't justify replacing them at this point.

That chalk board wall is a really fun part of her room too!  The girls love to draw pictures and Addilyn will leave little hand written notes for Savanna, it's pretty sweet.  The chalk dust does get a little messing, but nothing a wet rag can't clean up!

If you have any specific questions, please email me or ask in the comments, I am more than happy to answer!

Happy weekend friends!

removable wallpaper || little girl's bedroom

So, I have wanted to add some wallpaper to Addilyn's room for a while, it's just been low on the priority list.  Well, I finally pulled the trigger and on Sunday afternoon, the girls and I installed the sweetest, removable wallpaper.  Can you believe that?!?  It's removable.  No messing up the walls when you want a change and pretty easy to install!!

I have slowly collected and painted things for her room, all things that match her striped Dash + Albert rug.  It's just the sweetest rug with cheerful, fun, girly colors.  I wanted the wallpaper to match what was already going on in her room.....

The girls are at such a fun and sweet age.  We sure have fun together!  Even hanging wallpaper....although we had our moments ;-)

This is Ted.  Matt gave Addilyn Teddy Bear for her first Christmas.  She sleeps with Ted every night, so sweet.  Ted is quite worn and very well loved, and wears some pretty dresses....

I just love how bright and cheerful her little room is.  In case you are curious....

Dresser: painted with Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint, FLOW BLUE.  Lightly distressed and sealed with clear wax.

Stool: vintage

Metal Bed: vintage.  Painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, 1 part OLD WHITE and 1 part ARLES.  Sealed with clear wax.

Writing Desk: vintage. Painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, OLD WHITE and SCANDINAVIAN PINK.  Lightly distressed and sealed with clear wax.

Chair: vintage. Painted with Miss Mustard Seed LUCKETTS GREEN.  Lightly distressed and sealed with clear wax.

Night Stand: painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, OLD WHITE, lightly distressed and sealed with clear wax.

Wallpaper: removable wallpaper from WALLS NEED LOVE, LOTUS print.  

painted metal chairs || CHALK PAINT® decorative paint

I have received a lot of emails and some FB messages about my painted metal dining room chairs.  I thought I would post just a short "how to"!

I had purchased four metal chairs from Overstock last year.  I like that they are durable, inexpensive and I just like the look.  When we refinished our "new" table, I purchased four new chairs as this table can seat 10.  As soon as Mr. UPS delivered the chairs, I realized the brown color wasn't working for me in the new dining area.

Here is a photo of the brown chairs for the kiddos table at Thanksgiving.

Here is a photo of the chairs painted.  One of the many reasons I love, and use Chalk Paint® decorative paint, is that it goes over virtually any surface.  If you have ever tried spray painting metal chairs, you know what a pain that can be!!  The Chalk Paint® works beautifully on metal!

1.  Scuff metal using fine grit sandpaper (I used 220) or steel wool.
2. Clean metal with warm soapy water, rinse with warm water and dry completely.
3. Apply two coats of paint, I used OLD WHITE.
4. If you want a distressed look - once the paint is dry, distress the paint by sanding the edges and places where the chair would naturally wear.
5. Apply two coats of Annie Sloan lacquer to seal and protect.

I love the look, in this dining room, better with the white chairs.  I will probably paint them again in the future, and that's just another reason I love this paint :-)

STENCILING A CONCRETE FLOOR || our dining room

We have been in our home for almost two years now.  The time sure does fly!!  We have some fun remodeling plans in the future and one space we would like to remodel is the dining room.  However, that won't be happening for a few years, so we decided to spruce the room up until we save up enough money to do our major renovations.

This room is right off of the kitchen.  It was a sunken living room and we have decided to turn it into our dining room.  Eventually, we would like to tile the kitchen and dining room space and add French doors to open to the outside.  Until then, paint is our best friend!

After painting the walls, we scraped, patched and cleaned the concrete floor.  I have always wanted to try to stencil,  I thought this would be a great time to try!

Here are the details on stenciling the concrete floor...

-We scraped, patched and cleaned the concrete floors before painting.

-We applied (with a roller) two coats of Chalk Paint® decorative paint, the color is OLD WHITE.

-We purchased the stencil from RoyalDesignStudio.com.  We opted for the "professional" size and I am so glad we did!  The stencil was easy to clean and very easy to use!!  I highly recommend their stencils.  They have some beautiful designs.

-We used Chalk Paint® for the stencil paint as well, the color is PARIS GREY.

-We applied (with a roller) two coats of Annie Sloan lacquer.  It's a water based lacquer with a matte finish.  It seals the floors beautifully and makes cleaning the floors very easy.

Overall, I am very happy with the results.  With less than $400 worth of supplies, some time and a lot of elbow grease, we transformed our concrete floor.   The space feels cozy and clean and now I am contemplating painting and stenciling my ceramic tile in the laundry room.  ;-)

SEASONS CHANGE

I know I am not alone in this....but I LOVE Fall!  The cooler weather, the Fall colors, the desire to make my home warm and cozy, the list goes on and on!  This is the view out our bedroom and living room window....

aren't those trees amazing?  It's inspired us to plant some maple trees along the new pasture fence.  We need a little Fall color down there!

In 'family' news, my sweet pea started Pre-School this year!  She is going two mornings a week and she loves it!  I am really cherishing this time with my girls....2 1/2 and 4 1/2, it's such a fun age.  They wear me out but they soften my heart every day!

In 'work' news, in less than two years, we have already out grown our work spaces on our property!  Matt builds cabinetry in the barn,  and he turned what was going to be my studio space into a spray booth.  This is what the front of the barn looks like....

multiple trucks and trailers as he moves cabinetry form the workshop area to the spray booth area and then up to the garage when they are finished.  And here is how my garage looks now....

full of finished cabinetry, furniture pieces waiting to be painted and custom pieces that are finished and waiting to be picked up.  I am definitely not complaining, just amazed at how we continue to grow!

Over the past year, we have been looking for a commercial spot in downtown McMinnville to move the retail and design side of the business.  Nothing was a good fit and I wanted to stay working from home to be with my girls.  Well, the perfect spot became available!  It even has a huge basement that we can use for storage and a huge play room/creative area for the girls!  It's just darling!  Escrow closes January 5th.  We plan on about one month worth of renovations, and plan on opening February 2016!  I can't wait to share the plans we have for the space!

In "home" news, not much has been happening in the way of projects.  Matt has been working 14-16 hour days, 6 days a week.  Since he is the "brawn and talent", not a lot has been happening!  He did finish the screen on the basement cabinetry and I love that it's finished! ;-)

I have also started to slowly tackle the laundry room and basement bathroom.  It will be a slow process because, big surprise, I need Matt's help.

But, over the past 6 months I have found contentment in my home.  It's not finished, and we have a lot of projects that we want to do.  But, it's a warm, cozy and beautiful place to raise a family, share life with friends and make memories.  And that's what's important to me, the rest is just the icing on the cake!!

painted oak vanity || Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan

We haven't been working on too many projects at home lately.  Work has been extremely busy, which is good but makes for very little time to do anything else!!  We did sneak away to Pacific City for the day to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday.  We love Pacific City because we can drive right down on the beach and just camp out for the day!

At home, we have put together a plan to try to finish the basement space this winter.  We have to make my office space and finish the laundry room.  Mostly cosmetic and a lot of fun!  It's just finding the time to do it!

We have a small bathroom down in the laundry room.  It's the 4th bathroom in the house and it has served as a storage room for me every since we moved in ;-)  I finally cleaned it out and decided it's time to spruce it up!!

Here is the vanity cabinet after one coat of Old White Chalk Paint.  Before I started painting, I  wiped the cabinet down with warm soapy water, scuffed it with 180 grit sand paper, and started painting.

I painted two coats of Old White Chalk Paint®, lightly distressed the edges and applied one coat of Annie Sloan clear wax.  It was such an easy change and it really lightened the room!  I have some more projects for this space and hopefully with the weather changing I will have a chance to get to them ;-)

outside || our home

Oh I know it's been a while since I last posted!  Since summer is upon us in all of it's sunny, warm glory, I thought I would post a few pictures of little projects I have been working on outside.  Matt has been so busy with work (like he wakes up at 3:30am to start working, comes home for dinner around 6/6:30, and then some evenings even goes back to work in the barn!) that we haven't done any projects around our house.  But our 'to-do' list continues to grow, so hopefully this winter we can start back up on some of our own projects!

Our 'back yard' is were the girls play ride bikes and kick the soccer ball around.  We had this long stretch of artificial turf from when the previous owners had a batting cage.  I have been stumped as to what to do with this space!  We thought about a big play structure, but we couldn't find one that would fit right.  We thought about a soccer field, trampoline, the list goes on and on.  I finally figured an herb garden could be great there and go with our overall outdoor plan!  Plus, with artificial turf, I wouldn't have to mow the grass or worry about weeds ;-)

We measured and laid out the beds.  I started cutting holes into the artificial turf and filling it with compost and soil, it took a while!

I still have a lot of work to do, and eventually Matt will build a fence around it.  But for now, I enjoy having my herbs so close and a pretty view out my kitchen window.

We still have a lot of work to do on the barn this Fall!  Matt needs to build a barn door for the front entrance.

He also needs to build a large barn door for the bottom entrance.  You can also see we need to get the retaining walls and gravel in before the rain starts!

The girls and I have been enjoying the garden this year!  The girls wanted their own cutting garden so they could have fresh flowers in their bedrooms.  These girls crack me up!  Anyways, the zinnias and sunflowers are just starting to bloom...

The girls and I just made our first batch of home made cucumbers!  Can't wait to try them!!  Have a lovely weekend!

painting a new door + making it look old

One of the many things I love about our home, is the potential to never run out of projects!  In the next couple of years, we hope to do an extensive kitchen remodel.  Until then, when the 'itch' hits to change something up in the kitchen, I usually resort to paint ;-) We have a fir door in our kitchen, it's in pretty good shape (except for where the dog scratches when he wants to go out to play…..)  When we remodel, I would love to replace the current door with a dutch door, similar to this...

For now, paint will have to do!

(first coat ~ FLOW BLUE)

I used Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint for this project.  I applied one coat of FLOW BLUE (no bonding agent).  After the first coat of paint dried, I rubbed corners with vaseline.  The vaseline causes the next coat of paint to resist, it makes for great distressing!  I then applied two coats of SHUTTER GREY.  I distressed the door and finished it off with two coats of clear wax.  The picture isn't a very good representation, I feel it looks much better in person!

Just a fun and easy project that I was able to complete in an afternoon!

I hope to have a lot more pictures to post soon!!  Matt and I have both been super busy with work and I often forget to take pictures. ;-)  Plus, I am soaking up every summer minute with my girls, 2 and 4 years old is such a fun (and exhausting) age, I don't want to miss a second of it!!

hand made growth charts

It must be the time of year, a few weeks ago I received requests for 4 custom growth charts, all within a two days.  The last time I made a growth chart was at least 4 months ago, it's so funny how things ebb and flow!

I know that there are a gazillion growth chart tutorials online, but I thought I would share the way that I make them, and hopefully inspire someone to make their own growth chart!  They take a few hours to complete, but I break mine up into stages and the results are so worth it!!

Supplies Needed:

~ 6' pine board, (the width can be whatever size you prefer)

~ paint and wax (I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® for the white growth charts (Pure White) and Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint for the dark growth charts (Curio).  I used Annie Sloan clear wax for both growth charts.

~ black paint pen

~ ruler 

~ saw tooth hooks

1. Paint the board, both sides.  Wax with clear wax.  

2. Using a sharp pencil and a ruler, mark the side of the board every inch.  The pine is soft enough that you can press the pencil into the wood and it will mark.  (I lay my board on the work table/counter, it's best to do this with the board horizontal.)   Once the inches are marked, go back with your straight edge and make a line at every inch.  I use the marks on my ruler as a guide.

3. Use a paint pen and a straight edge to go back over the pencil marks.  The paint pen gives crisp, bold marks.

4. Print off numbers 1-6 in your preferred font, I use TIMES NEW ROMAN.  Trace the numbers with a pencil.  Again, the pine is so soft that you will easily see your tracing line.

5. Color in the numbers with the paint pen.

6. Attach the saw tooth hook to the back and your growth chart is finished!

This would make a fun baby shower gift, new mama gift or just a gift to yourself ;-)  One of these days I am going to make some in fun colors!  What color would you choose?

PAINTING CABINETRY WITH MILK PAINT || Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint

It's hard to believe, but we have been living in our home for a little over a year now!  Our first 'big' project for the interior of the home has been our basement.  We turned the 'bonus room' area into a play room for the girls.

BEFORE

AFTER

And we just finished part of the downstairs living space.  We still have a lot to do, but it's clean and now has furniture!

BEFORE

AFTER

When this area is completely finished (we still need to install the fireplace hearth and wire/glass on the cabinet doors) I will post a lot more photos.  However, my sweet hubby has asked that I let him finish the space before posting photos ;-)

One aspect of this little reno, is the entertainment center.  Since my dear husband was not a super talented, MVP, major league baseball player, we didn't have much of a use for a cool trophy case.  Matt modified the existing cabinetry so that it looked more like an entertainment center, we added some new glass doors, open shelves and a space for the ginormous TV.  Once the modifications were finished, I painted it with Milk Paint (TYPEWRITER) and sealed it with Hemp Oil.  I thought I would share a few tips on painting (previously finished) cabinetry with milk paint.

1.  Sand the cabinetry.  It doesn't need to be stripped, but you will have better results if you sand it with a course grit sand paper.

2.  Clean the cabinetry with TSP, Krud Kutter or a degreaser cleaner.  You can also use denatured alcohol to clean your cabinetry.  Once you have cleaned the cabinetry, wipe it down with a damp cloth, and then finally wipe it down with a dry cloth.

3.  Mix your Milk Paint well.  It's important to mix your milk paint, and continue to mix it as you paint.  (I applied two coats of TYPEWRITER.)

4.  Hemp Oil can be used as a top coat and it's  best on porous surfaces, so it can penetrate the surface instead of just hanging out on top.  Hemp Oil is your top coat, you don't need to apply anything on top of it.

5.  For this size of project, I used a brush to apply the Hemp Oil.  You can use a rag, but I feel the brush is easier.  I used the hemp oil to "wet sand" this cabinet.  To "wet sand", I brushed on the Oil, and sanded the entire piece with fine grit sand paper.  Once you wipe away the excess Oil with a cloth, you have a super smooth finish.  I wanted a slightly distressed look, so I sanded the edges with a bit more pressure.

6.  For an even finish, you will need to apply 2-3 coats.  The key with Hemp Oil,  is to only apply what the surface will absorb.  If you apply too many coats, the Oil will sit on top.

7.  While the oil is dry to the touch, it needs about 30 days to fully cure.  You can use the piece during this period, but it might feel a little oily to the touch while it’s curing.  I would recommend not setting items on the piece while it's curing.

I hope this inspires you to paint something!

PAINTED HUTCH || miss mustard seed milk paint

I finally finished painting a hutch that has been sitting in the garage for a few months.  I bought it to use as a milk paint display for the new shop, then things fell through with our downtown shop location so I just let the hutch sit un-finished.  Well, things are moving forward again with the shop space so it's time to get these pieces painted!

Since it will be a display for Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint line, I figured it should be painted and finished with Miss Mustard Seed products {wink}.  I layered, and dry brushed with IRONSTONE, LINEN, GRAIN SACK AND LUCKETT'S GREEN.  I accented some areas with LINEN, distressed the entire piece and finished with with white wax.  I left the original hardware because I liked the look of the brass.  That may change when it gets into it's new space, but for now it works!

We are starting to work on some outside projects {of course, before other projects are finished}!  I am starting to plan the garden, the chickens have spent the winter in the garden so I need my sweet husband to build a chicken coop and a new pen.  Of course we want to add some goats to our little family this summer, so they will need a little place to live, and the list goes on and on.  Plenty of fun projects to keep us out of trouble!

And my little baby is turning two next week!  Time continues to fly and I am always reminded that each day is precious.  No matter how long the to-do list is, I always want to cherish the time spent with family and friends!

behind the scenes work + a dresser

Lately my work has consisted of A LOT of administrative/paperwork type work.  It always happens on the front end of larger jobs.  But, there is a light at the end of my paperwork tunnel, which means I get to move onto the pretty and fun part!  In the mean time, I have been puttering around the house and moving furniture here and there and organizing closets and such.

I painted this dresser a few months ago and it sits in our guest bedroom.  The next room on my 'organization list' is the guest bedroom!  I want it ship-pity sharp for our summer house guests….and it will probably take me that long to get it ready!

** the dresser was painted and wax with Annie Sloan products.  first coat ~ Graphite. second coat ~ Napoleonic Blue. waxed with clear wax and then dark wax **

A FEW HOUSE UPDATES

I thought I would post a few photos of the many projects we have going on around our home.  We have lived here a year now, and I honestly thought we would be  a lot further along on our projects.  But, Matt is working on things as he has extra time and after 12 years of renovating homes, I am finally learning to just go with it!  To love the place I am in, no matter how it looks.  Not to mention that this property is amazing and we feel so blessed to call this place home!!

I finally finished pealing the wallpaper off of the top half of the walls.  One day soon I will post how I removed most of the wallpaper.  I jot an awesome tip from a blog reader and it worked perfectly!!!  My dear husband is going to panel the bottom five feet of the wall.  He is also going to cut an opening/doorway into the wall which will open up to the stairs/entry wall.  The walls are plaster and I did a great job of jacking up the walls with the scraper.  Oopsie!  Matt is going to apply a skim coat of plaster over the top half of the wall.  I will paint it and this room will be finished!

**Just look at that cute face!  We won't mentioned how he has already stained the brand new oak stair treads with doggie slobber….it's a bit of a sore subject**

One project leads to another!  As soon as Matt gets something done in the basement, it leads to something else needing repaired or addressed!  However, he is making progress!  Matt will install paneling on one of the stairwell walls and he is going to open the other wall up with balusters, which will tie in with the dining room and the powder room……and you see how everything leads to another project! Which, by the way, we both love!

And the barn is almost finished!  Matt still needs to build a sliding door for the front of the barn and a garage door for the basement storage area, and of course he has to finished the driveway parking area.  But, this is one project that is almost ready to be marked off the list ;-)

Within the next two weeks we will be starting a home renovation for an out-of-town client so I will have some great 'before pictures' to show you soon!  And hopefully some 'after' pictures of projects on our home ;-)

WALLPAPER ||to paper or not to paper?

The dining room in our home has 2-3 layers of wallpaper.  When we first moved in, I started ripping the paper thinking it wouldn't be a big deal.  After 1 day of that, I stopped.  Well, I got the bug again.  We have almost been in our new home for 1 year!  And the dining room is starting to bother me.  Soooooo, I started on the wallpaper again.  Removing wallpaper is not for the faint of heart!  What an awful chore!  I enlisted the girls help, and that was fun, but they moved on after 30 minutes or so.  (Matt tested for lead and fortunately this wallpaper doesn't have any.)  I am into about 6 hours of removing wallpaper, and this is my progress...

That is wall 1 of 4.  Oh my.

Matt is going to cut in an opening (to go into the entry and to easily go down to the basement) into this big wall and we decided that he will install a wainscoting on the bottom half of the dining room walls.

And I am such a wallpaper-removing-wimp, the thought of this wall and the beam kills me, so he is going to trim out the entire wall and give it a built-in look.  But, I still have a lot of work to do!

There are a few different methods and ideas on removing wallpaper.  Sometimes you are lucky and it comes right off, not the case here.  I am using a product called DIF.  It's a gel and it comes in a spray bottle.  Before applying it to the wall, you use a handy tool to score the wallpaper, than spray on the DIF.  Let is set for 15 minutes and it's easier to peel the paper off.

I have really wanted to wallpaper a few walls in the house.  But now I just don't know if I want the drama of removing the wallpaper when I am ready for a change.  I have looked at quite a few beautiful rooms with fabric walls and I love the thought of easily changing out the fabric with you are ready for a change.

Thoughts?  Have you had a good or bad experience with wallpaper?  Do tell!

PAINTING GINGHAM CHECKED WALLS || how to paint a gingham checked wall

Several months ago I ordered a beautiful taupe, buffalo check wallpaper to hang in our stairwell.  The rolls are still sitting in their wrapper ;-)  We have since decided to panel our stairwell and I thought I would use the wallpaper for our bedroom.  Well, the wallpaper color clashed just enough with the wall color.  Since I didn't have the energy to re-paint the bedroom and attached bathroom and closet, I decided to come up with a different plan of attack!  I have painted stripes before (both in the cottage, and in our last home), but I just wasn't digging stripes for the master bedroom.  I googled "painting gingham checked walls" and a great tutorial from Southern Living popped up.

Perfect!  In less than 6 hours and $50, I had a beautiful gingham checked wall!

If you feel inspired to paint a gingham checked wall, I highly recommend following the instructions posted by Southern Living!  In a nutshell, you are measuring, leveling, drawing horizontal lines, taping and painting (mixing the paint with clear mixing glaze).

Once your horizontal lines are complete, you do the same thing vertically!

It's a subtle change, which I love.  My sweet but very picky/perfectionist husband even liked it and complimented me on the straight lines!

And this was happening as I was trying to snap some photos of the bedroom wall ;-)

One day I may feel inspired to hang wallpaper in the bedroom, but for now I am content with the gingham checked wall!

THE PLAYROOM

A week before Christmas we had carpet installed in the playroom!  It was good to have a deadline and feels so good to have a room finished!  The girls spend a lot of time in this room.  We are so close to finishing our basement living room too…..

Matt is working on the finish work now.  Look at that cool brick we found under the drywall of the fireplace.  We may paint the brick, but we shall see!

Matt is building an archway from the playroom to the basement living room, almost like a secret room. ;-) We plan on having paneled walls through out the house, so this will tie in nicely.  I know it's trendy right now, but we plan on remodeling the entire home and I think it will all flow perfectly.

Below are a few BEFORE photos

And here is the space now.  A little brighter, cleaner and the perfect spot for a playroom!

Matt turned an akward closet into a little book nook for the girls.  He added some shelves for a few of their favorite books and it is one of their favorite spots.  I still need to make a super cozy cushion, but for now this works.

There are still quite a few things I want to do in this space, but for now it works so great.  We sure love this house!  We have a handful of house projects that we should be wrapping up soon, so I will have plenty of pictures to post!

THE BABY KEEPS GROWING || toddler's room

No matter how hard I try, I can't stop my baby from growing!  Some days can be really long with a 1.5 year old, just being honest, but I love her to pieces and really do cherish our time together.  We just moved her into a big girl bed so I thought it was a good excuse to post some updated photos of her bedroom!

We do have the metal/mesh side rails, I just think for pictures it looks better without them ;-)

All of her furniture is painted with various shades of green, I used Chalk Paint® and Milk Paint {surprise surprise}.  One of the many things I love about Chalk Paint® and Milk Paint, is that I can just paint over the furniture when I am ready for a change.  No need to sand, strip or prime! Love the stuff!

Just as she grows, I know her room will continue to change and grow with her.  Of course there is more I would love to do in her room, but for now it works and it's a fun space for her to play in!

xoxo

house updates + thanksgiving treats

I am sure enjoying these days leading up to Thanksgiving, it's one of my favorite holidays!  We are really trying to wrap up some projects around our home before the first of the year.  Come January, we both have some larger work projects and it would sure be nice to have some things finished around here ;-) You know how I showed pictures of our painted kitchen cabinets a couple of weeks ago?  Well, the blue that I painted my little office area just wasn't working for me.  I tried to like it, but I couldn't.  So, one afternoon I just started re- painting it and I am much happier.  It isn't permanent, but now I don't cringe every time I look at it!  I painted the desk with Chalk Paint® {OLD WHITE} and I painted the office chair with Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint {KITCHEN SCALE}.  I lightly sanded the chair to distress it, and added a little antiquing wax to darken it.

Matt finished modifying the basement entertainment center and now it's my turn to paint it!  It will take me a while, but I love to see things starting to change in the basement!  Carpet for the play room is scheduled for December 16th, so we now have a deadline...

And the barn is progressing!  Siding and roofing should happen within the next two weeks!  We keep changing material selections and colors, it really is such a process to build and remodel.  Having an endless budget would make it a lot more fun, but we don't, so we are trying to make smart decisions and still have a barn that has a bit of character.

And here is the neighbor's barn across the street, I love it!  So fun to get to view both barns out of our windows!!

And we are celebrating Thanksgiving with Matt's family.  I really love Thanksgiving and the slow paced day of reflecting on all we are thankful for.  We have some intense family situations on Matt's side and mine, but still so much to be thankful for!  Our contribution for the feast is home made rolls and then these fun sweet treats...

favorite pumpkin pie recipe

seven layer bars

acorn treats

Wishing you a blessed and memorable Thanksgiving with family and friends!

xoxo

OUR KITCHEN || before + after

Last weekend I finished painting our kitchen cabinets.  I got the 'bug to start painting" about two weeks ago and worked on painting the walls and cabinetry during nap times and in between making meals.  One of the many benefits of Chalk Paint® is the ease of use!  I truly was waxing cabinet doors while my little ones sat on the counter top and helped me make dinner.

Above are the 'BEFORE' photos.  Now, in all honesty, we plan to do a major kitchen renovation next winter.  New cabinets, countertops, new walls/laundry room/pantry, etc.  With that, I feel there is extra freedom because if I don't love the colors, we will be changing things.  Plus, I was a little less careful with the painting than I would have been if this paint job was going to last me longer {I didn't paint the inside of the cabinets or take the doors off of the hinges to paint.}

I chose black {Annie Sloan's GRAPHITE} for a majority of the cabinets because we have black appliances in almost every cabinet.  I distressed the edges and applied the dark wax over the entire cabinet.  I am really please how it turned out and the appliances now blend into the cabinetry.

I painted the upper cabinets next to the sink white {Annie Sloan's OLD WHITE} only because I didn't the kitchen to start too feel to heavy with so much black.  I left the cabinets doors off of the uppers and distressed the edges.  I also painted the walls a soft cream, and that helped to lighted the space as well.

We have a little nook area off of the kitchen and that is temporarily housing my computer/home office area.  We took these cabinets from the office of our vacation rental, people vacationing don't need an entire wall of built-in file drawers!  We will build new cabinetry for this area when we remodel, but for now this serves a great purpose.

Although this will all be changing in a year or so, I just needed to give it some color.  I am a firm believer in the fact that our homes should be inviting and reflect our personality.  Not that our homes are perfect or designed perfectly, but that our spaces help to make being in our homes more enjoyable.  By just adding a bit of color to our kitchen, I am enjoying cooking and baking so much more!  Color really does make a difference!

Next week I will post more details about the paint colors and applications I used!  Until then, enjoy your weekend!!