Basement - Part I

I don't have before pictures for this one but trust me when I say, our basement has been sorely neglected in the decor and furnishing arena.  Actually, it's just been sorely neglected, forget about any arena.  Jenna lives with us and uses the basement bedroom which is prime real estate since it's roomy and private and has its own full bath.  The rest of the space was a catchall for whatever wasn't used somewhere else in the house.  On top of that, we've had problems with the exterior doors leaking.  The space was carpeted and with every storm, it would get soaked.  Despite the carpet drying efforts, it just always smelled musty.  Yuck.  So, the carpet needed to go and the doors needed to be replaced. Work has begun!  The builder-beige walls have been painted (Sherwin Williams Versatile Gray) and ceilings painted white.  The smelly carpet has been replaced with a vinyl-coated laminate that looks like hardwood.  The exterior doors are all being replaced and the work is being done by a contractor who knows how to install doors properly!  These next couple pictures are after the painting and flooring.

This is the main room (recreation room?) and the door there on the right leads into a small room (under the sun room) where a mini-kitchen will be installed (more to come!).  The room at the far left is the bedroom and bath.

The patio door is being replaced with a French door.  It was actually supposed to go in before the floor but there was a delay in delivery - ugh - they are still not in yet :(  Hopefully this weekend or next.

Here is a "partial" after!

Here is the "before" of the bedroom.  I almost forgot that this room had been painted a few years ago when Jen was in college.  We were lucky enough for her to be able to live at home and go to school so we let her paint it.  The teal wall was pretty and somewhat unusual because it was metallic (I remember the paint was from Ralph Lauren) but since this is a basement room with only one window, and Jenna's furniture is black, it just felt kind of dark. 

One of the other great features in this room is the huge reach-in closet with double doors.  The sad thing is, for years it has had only a clothes rod and shelf --which did not make use of the space at all!



But look at this!  We painted the room (Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams), wallpapered the back wall of the closet and Dan installed the organizer!  

... and Dan installed lighting:

Jenna is in the process of moving back in.  She has two nightstands and a chest of drawers to go back in but they are buried under her clothing in the store room - LOL!   

One other area is this nook. 

And this is what it looks like now:

Please excuse the litter pan...but otherwise, I am loving this office!  It's all from Ikea although the desk and chair were purchased when Jenna was in college.  The bookshelves are navy!!  I'm crushing on that color big time and have been since I painted the old waterfall buffet (HERE).  Once this space is completed, I'll post an update.  The electrical panel will be covered with a white board.

Besides the doors, the other big deal down here will be the mini-kitchen.  It will feature gray cabinetry, a refrigerator, a microwave, and table/chairs.  The cabinets are from Ikea and here they are, just waiting assembly:

Stay tuned!

Ta Da! The Craft Room Re-Do

Hello All!

I have been dying to share my craft room and I don't want to wait any longer!  My laptop crashed and Dan is in the process of recovering the contents which includes the latest photos of the makeover.  I had started this post before the crash so I'm going with it but I'll be back with more pictures.  If you missed it, here is the craft room BEFORE.   It's been 6 months since I got the itch to re-do the room and it started because of this:

I love the print on this chair! I don't normally shop Pottery Barn Teen - no, seriously, LOL! - but I happened across this snow leopard plush chair and was smitten!    Well, "smitten" is a cute, lightweight word. Obsessed is more accurate!  Unfortunately, the PBteen chair is $300.  Too pricey and it's meant for a dorm room.  Even if I could get past the price tag and despite my young-at-heart attitude, I couldn't get past the fact it was meant for a dorm room.  So...my search began to find something for my craft room in "grown up" snow leopard print.  Look at what I found (Thanks Pinterest!):

Eijffinger Ibiza abstract leopard wallpaper in cream, metallic and beige. I had no idea this gorgeousness existed in the universe.  Once I did, it was ON!   I quickly learned that I couldn't just pop into Lowe's and find this wallpaper on the shelf.  Eijffinger is a Holland-based company and while I could find UK-based websites that sold the wallpaper online, shipping costs were just as much as the paper.  Luckily I found a US company --Brewster Wallcovering-- that partners with Sherwin Williams, and they could special order it for me.  It was a little pricey but nothing compared to the PBteen chair and so much more elegant looking!

Ok, without further adieu, here's my room now:

I have played around with the placement of the chair, ottoman and desk.  They are arranged differently now and I ended up using a different desk.

Here's the wall with the wallpaper!  I love how subtle the print is and the glint of metallic sheen:

The credenza is from Joss and Main.  That thing is a beast.  It's 7.5 feet long.  Imagine carrying that thing up a 15-stair L shaped staircase.  It wasn't pretty folks!   The desk lamp came from HomeGoods.

The Expedit before the doors and drawers were assembled and attached.  The paint is Sherwin Williams, Bravo Blue.

The curtains are from JC Penney's.

The wire shelves came from Home Depot and are by Closet Maid.  I've put another small desk in the closet and it will house my computer and printer.  Dan put up the shelving and installed lighting.  I love how bright it is.

I was able to find this pic which shows the snow leopard print fabric I used to cover the pillow in the chair. The chair came from Ikea years ago.  It's a Tullsta chair and was outfitted in a green cover.  Luckily Ikea still sells the covers so I bought a white one for this room.  I also picked up the ottoman while I was there.  It has storage inside too!

I have been accessorizing here and there.  The butterflies are a thrift find.  Dan found them at the Goodwill Outlet!  He gave them to me because my Grandma Norma loved butterflies.  It is amazing how much I adore them --not only because of my Grandma but because Dan remembered she loved them and gave them to me.  They are signed (not sure of the name!), numbered (34/50),  and dated 1979.  

Here's a closer look:

I'm linking up!

Elizabeth & Co., Be Inspired Features and Link Party #112
The Thrifty Groove, Thrifty Things Friday
From My Front Porch to Yours, Treasure Hunt Thursday #149
Thrifty Decor Chick, April Before and After
Embracing Change, Creative Inspirations Linky Party

Home Office Reveal!

Dan and I have finished the home office!  Well, "finished" is a subjective term LOL!  There are a few things I'm still planning to add, a translucent acrylic desk chair, a few Expedit shelf accessories and wall art.  But those things will take some time; I'm hoping I will be able to thrift some of it :)  But, in the meantime, the room is looking pretty put together. 

I apologize - there are no "before" pictures except for this odd pic - which was actually a mistake - but at least it shows the colors it used to be:

and this one which was actually taken of the telephone table we thrifted a couple weeks ago:  It's now going to be relocated:

Please, come in and take a walk around the room with me :)

The glass door was one of the first things Dan and I installed when we moved in in October 2005.  Right inside the door is this picture:

I bought it from Target (this past March).  It reminded me of a used book store Dan and I used to frequent.  Once inside, and to the left, is the tufted love seat:

The love seat came from Overstock.  I have to say, it was a BEAST to assemble and at one point, we were ready to throw in the towel but I'm glad we hung in there.  The gorgeous pillows came from Etsy store LillieDDesigns --

These were the cornerstone of the color choices.  Oh they are beautiful and vibrant and it was specifically the peachy-melon colors that sealed the deal :)  The rug is from Ikea:

And the main focal point in the room came from Ikea too:

The Expedit shelves ---<3  Dan built a base out of 2 x 4s to raise it above the baseboard.  He then installed a wood strip at the top of the unit and installed these to the underside of the strip:

Once he secured the shelving unit to the wall; I began filling the cubbies :)  It's not exactly how it will be; a few Expedit accessories will be added to the bottom row of shelves.  The desk will hold a lap top and a printer:

A Lucite desk from CB2 was in the original plan but at $379, I went on search for a less expensive alternative.  These came from WalMart.  There were $50 each and shipped right to my door for FREE.  Next, the light.  I wanted a glitzy chandelier; Dan didn't.  This fixture bridged the gap:

Thank you Overstock!  I'm totally in love with it.

And last, but certainly not least, the paint colors.
  Glidden Dusty Miller and  Behr Natural Almond

So there it is!  We're on to the next (knuckle bump) LOL!  <3 Lisa

Beach House...in a Room

***For my blog candy, click HERE***

Hello Everyone!  I hope your weekend has been wonderful :)   I have been away from my craft room for a couple of weeks but not because I haven't been creating - I have been working on our sunroom.   To be able to show you the dramatic new look, I wanted to share what the room looked like "before," but after looking and looking through pictures I have of the house, I didn't have any of the way it looked once we moved in.  All I could find were these pics I took last October of these funny Halloween decorations I made for my porch where the focus isn't even on the room!

So - I apologize for such crappy pics but honestly, the yellow paint in there was so bright, it's a good thing I don't have more detailed pics - Ha!
The yellow paint was my idea and a bad one. I didn't get the shade I envisioned and went with an "oops" paint (paint that's been returned and marked down to $5/gal because someone else picked it and decided against it).  I thought I could make it work but I couldn't!  Then, we had problems with our doors leaking so the room was gutted and the floor redone - ah the perfect opportunity for a re-do - but I had lost confidence in my paint-picking abilities *giggle*.

Sunroom AFTER

I was also intimidated by the fact that the sunroom, kitchen, and family room are all pretty much one big great room, and needed a color scheme that would work for each room individually and together.

And here is what I have come up with!  I am using shades of brown - beige, chocolate, ginger - along with the color shown here which was inspired by my BG-10, cool shadow, copic marker.  I actually took the marker to Home Depot and matched the paint (Behr with primer, "Timeless Tale").  I re-painted the trim and the ceiling too.  The ceiling hadn't been painted before other than the contractor paint the builder used so it needed a couple coats.  UGH, my neck and shoulders are still crabby about that :)

I haven't put the blinds back up yet and I still have a couple of paint touch ups (evidenced by the painters tape marking a spot on the wall in pic 1!).  But after working so hard, I really wanted to see it all together.

The love seat/chaise lounge combo came from Ikea.  It has a machine washable cover - AWESOME - and it is super comfy.  Lily was lounging on it this morning so clearly I have her seal of approval ;)  The table and rug came from Ikea as well.  The rug is insanely luxurious!  It's fun to put your bare feet into - just like sand :)  The lamp and small white table came from Pier One and the small blue table & accessories came from TJ Maxx.

So the next project is a glass tile backsplash in the kitchen!  The colors in the tile are all part of my color scheme and I can't wait until it's finished!

Have a great week!  <3 Lisa