Sources for our Living Room Revealed

I am VERY PROUD to say that our living room is 80% complete. We still have a few finishing touches to go -- possibly some wall art, curtains, and a new bench beside the fireplace, and maybe one day built-in bookcases --- but the progress so far has been Room-Changing. The best part: everything purchased was either clearance, final sale, or a Craigslist steal. I love a bargain! And I believe this is proof that you don't have to compromise quality or taste when you are looking for a deal. So here is the reveal...

but FIRST, a look at how this room has progressed. 

During the House Hunt: 0% Progress

Move-in Day: 0% Progress

Post-Painting: 30% Progress

Post-Sofa Purchase: 40% Progress

My favorite part about Craiglist purchases is the story behind each one, and getting to meet other avid craiglisters. For example, the couch is a CUSTOM-MADE sofa by Bassett  from a family of three with one on the way. They live right down the street from us, and recently went through a MAJOR home reno as well. They were the kindest couple, and gave us more than the couch (which turned out to be too big for their space once they got it home!). They passed along contractor names, paint colors, and upholsterers. Things you just can't put a price on.. and their home is breath-taking. Couldn't have asked for a better experience. 

Ty and I found this side table in Addairsville, GA at a thrift store on our way back from a wedding. 

Cost? only $35 for a solid wood table with leather top. SUCH a steal! The matching mercury glass lamps were purchased online at Target.com - they had a deal for 15% off home decor when you spent $75 or more (and I just happened to already have the perfect lamp shades). I would have spent 15% more if these had been purchased in-store. 

Those perfect pillows...

Usually I am a huge fan of buying fabric and making my own pillows, but when I saw these at Restoration Hardware on FINAL SALE right after I purchased the rug on Craigslist, I KNEW they were too perfect to pass up. I love how the medallion print on the pillows mimics the print on the rug. Speaking of, the RUG was another craigslist deal. The rug retails for over $1000 but we were able to get it for a fraction of the cost because a lady's chihuahua was allergic to the wool!  The other white sidetable we already owned - you may remember it from the guest room in the condo. 

The matching nailhead sidechairs are the latest addition to the room and the final touch. These were originally from a boutique in Buckhead, GA called BEE. Lucky for me, the lady who purchased them changed her mind and she put them on Craigslist. My in-laws were sweet enough to scoop them up and haul these giant wing chairs back to Nashville on their way to visit last weekend. 

Living Room: 80% COMPLETE! 

This week I showed you our living room steals, but next week we will go into the dining room (which you glimpse in this photo) to see how we got the look for less!

Prepping the Brick Exterior for Paint

We are preparing to take on our biggest project yet: 

Painting the Entire Exterior of the House!

Although you can't tell from the picture, the exterior brick paint is in desperate need of a refresh. 

We chose to brighten up the house with Sherwin Williams Dover White. It was SO intimidating picking out a color for the ENTIRE exterior. When we went to get the couch for our living room, I LOVED the color of the seller's home and I asked her what it was: DOVER WHITE. I was sold!

Lucky for us, the house is already painted so we get to skip the major priming.

 The house does need a thorough cleaning prior to painting, so we used a bottle of Simple Green disinfectant and sprayed it on with our garden hose.

We let the brick drive for 24 hours, and the painting began.

Right now, we are two coats down and painting the grout lines with a brush. That's a lot of cracks to fill!

We will then do a quick rolling of the house for the third and final coat. And then its onto the trim!

Here is what we have learned about painting brick...

 It is HARD WORK!
and 

 If you have brick with deeper grout lines, invest in a sprayer and spray the paint on.

It is messier but way more effective. If we painted our brick again, we would use a sprayer.

I can't wait to see the finished product!

Patching Holes & Removing Old Switches

If you have or do live in an older home, you may be familiar with this lovely wall decor... Seriously, I can't even begin to figure out what does what in the morning without at least a cup of coffee.

It is a little overwhelming, confusing, and just plain ugly to look at. Well, this wall decor is in EVERY ROOM - Yes, there are 9 walls with the old heat box and switch! Before we moved in, we asked that the former owners have a licensed electrician make sure that these were disconnected and non-functioning. This made it easy for us to dismantle both switches. 

After taking down the hardware, we covered the wires with electrical tape or those plastic twist-connectors. The plan is for the electrician to pull all of the excess wiring up through the attic, but this will keep them safely behind the wall for now. Our first step in covering these eye sores was cut TINY pieces of sheet-rock and to place in the existing opening. Then we put joint compound over the sheet-rock to hold it in place.

We let that dry for over 24 hours before sanding each spot and then spackling over the areas to make them smooth. 

 After the Spackle dried, we sanded one last time. Then we painted over the spackled areas to reveal a perfectly new wall without an eye sore. All in all, this project took about 30 minutes a switch for a total of 5 hours. But, we had to wait for dry-time, etc so we did it slowly over two weeks, one switch at a time. 

TA-DAH!

Honey Do UPDATE!

Time for an update...
you remember this enormous list we had in the beginning right? Well, we are two months into living in our new space and we are beginning to chip away (& add to) this list. Come take a look at where we are at.

Let the planning begin!  

I have probably written out a million lists in my head, 

and dozens more on scrap sheets of paper since we first put a bid on the house, 

BUT now  I can officially do one of my favorite things, so here it goes,
a running list of honey-do's for each room of the house (well, part 1 of that long list at least)!

A very good place to start... 

The Entryway!

In the entryway...





Exchange hanging fixture for a flush mount one. The lantern hangs too low and anyone over 5' will hit their head.


Paint walls... Rockport Gray!! 
errr..Mindful Gray. but check!


Paint area under chair rail white to match trim.

Reverse coat closet (behind front door) to be used in Master Suite (more on that later!)
New Plan: Maintain coat closet in the entry!

Living Room:

• Paint Walls Revere Pewter with a white(ish) trim. 
• Update Fireplace (aka get rid of the yucky outdated brass) View that here!
• Add built-ins with a place for the TV

Dining Room:

• Widen doorway (far back left) to create a more open space between dining room & kitchen We nixed that idea week 2. The doorway is plenty wide and the kitchen feels really open.
• Update fixture
• Tear out wallpaper circa 1980 & replace with wainscoting panels
• Paint Walls & Trim

Here is the look we will be going for in the dining room except we will probably use a round dining table and go a little more casual with the fixture. Oh my, I just can't wait!

                          

                            Traditional Dining Room by Minneapolis Photographers Spacecrafting / Architectural Photography

Kitchen:

• Right now there is some crazy wall paper adorning the ceiling -- that's got to go!
• Replace fan with a flush mount fixture & pendant lights over bar seating
• Update Replace kitchen cabinets and countertops (after further inspection these need to go!)
• Paint kitchen trim and walls
• Pray there is hardwood under the linoleum! Rip up linoleum and refinish hardwoods (lucky us...there ARE hardwoods! YES!!!!!)
• Refinish/Re-coat old farmhouse sink & replace hardware
• New plan: Add granite countertops & a smaller undermount sink (current one is 4 ft wide)
• Demo old cabinets and hang in garage (oh yes, we are BIG fans of the "use what ya got" mentality)

Loving this look for our future kitchen!

Sunroom/Back Entry:

So many windows!

• Fall in love with wood paneling. Paint said paneling a neutral color.
• Replace door to garage (one on the right) with a fire-safe door  
• Update fan with three-light ceiling fan (say goodbye to brass!)

View from the Back door into the sitting area of the "sunroom"

This is where the home remodel gets real! 

We are ditching the old bathrooms,

 and creating a Master Suite for ourselves, 

but to be really impressed you'll need to see what it looks like now.

First up, the all important BLUE hallway bathroom! 

Nothing a little demolition won't take care of!

NEW PLAN!

• paint existing tile OR demo tile and replace with beadboard
• if replacing beadboard, retile shower
• replace tile on bathroom floors
• install new vanity
• consider glass for shower door
• new shower hardware, towel bars, faucet
• install new light fixture & mirror

Bathroom #2 (& current Master Bath): Built for Tiny Tim

NEW PLAN:

• learn how to replace a shower pan and retile this shower OR make this into a half bathroom
• Install pedastal sink to make the room feel bigger
• repair and refinish tile in necessary areas
• install new toilet (at a minimum, replace the cushy toilet seat)
• consider glass for shower door
• new shower hardware, towel bars, faucet
• install new light fixture & mirror

The Plan: 

• Demo BLUE & TINY!
• expand current white bathroom into a more spacious guest bath, accessible from the hallway
• create an en suite Master Bathroom with two vanities, and a luxurious shower

OR SCRATCH ALL OF THAT!

Here is some forward thinking...

Future Master Bathroom (minus the tub...it just won't fit!)

Inspiring look for the Guest Bath

Let's wander down the hallway to our sleeping rooms.... 

this hallway will also get doused with Revere Pewter  

& updated with a new fixture

Bedroom #1: 

The Green Room AKA The Back Bedroom 

i.e. Future Master Bathroom

Here is what I am thinking...

To Do:

• Create a doorway between Master Bedroom & Green Room
• Turn Half of Green Room into the Master Bathroom by adding drywall, appropriate plumbing, shower, two vanities, and tile
• Turn other Half of the green room into the third bedroom....the other part of this bedroom will be where the current BLUE bathroom is  

NEW PLAN: This room will either become the Master bedroom with an en suite Master bathroom addition OR we will keep it a lovely guest bedroom/office. Either way...

• paint walls and trim
• replace light fixture
• replace closet doors (if we decide against the bathroom addition)

The FUTURE Master Bedroom (makes me just peach-y!) 

 To Do: This room is our beautiful guest room

• Reverse Closet: Drywall work & Closet door installation NOPE!
• New fixture
• Paint walls & Trim. I am thinking a calming blue/green color like this: I went with SW Sea Salt

Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue

Bedroom #3: Purple Haze

To Do:

• Paint walls & Trim. 
• Replace Light Fixture
• Replace Closet Doors & add shelving inside closet 
• Drywall space where current entry to TINY bathroom currently is (the new guest bathroom will be accessible from the hallway) NOT PART OF NEW PLAN

We have made it to the end of the honey-do's, and we are finishing strong with some great ideas for the exterior of the house, the yard & the garage space. 

Up first, the facade of our home by the creek:

TO DO:

1. Paint Brick a gorgeous & inviting creamy white with a correlating white trim

2. Paint shutters a deep navy blue

Here is my inspiration & SOON-TO-BE color scheme for the exterior. 

I am always amazed at what a little paint can do...

FRONT PORCH

TO DO:

1. Brighten up front door with Benjamin Moore's Wythe Blue 

2. Remove Storm Door

3. Add lantern-like fixture

4. Paint & Re-seal steps to front door

FRONT PATH (now!)

TO DO: 

Add Blue Slate Pavers....to create a more ordered look like this!

BACK DOOR

TO DO:

1. Remove Storm Door (it is broken) Repaired!

2. Paint back door the same Wythe Blue as the front door

3. Replace/Repair flood light fixture above door (purchased not installed)

4. Repaint & Reseal back steps

On edge about this HEDGE....

There's a creek somewhere behind there....

TO DO: 

1. Go to work with a trimmer and cut back the hedges, 

overgrown weeds and limbs around the bases of trees (basically, Clean it up!)

2. Mulch around the existing flower/tree beds.

WISTERIA HYSTERIA 

All we need to do here, is trim the wisteria back from the roof line and shape up the bottom.... 

more work for the trimmer! (Oh, and that large crumbling cement fireplace has to go as well.)

Herb Garden & Flower Bed

TO DO: 

Demo Flower Bed. 

So sad to have to remove this but it holds water against the side of the house, so we are going to replant the beautiful herbs and roses in an alternate location.

Last but NOT least.....THE GARAGE (exterior)

The Garage (interior)

TO DO:

1. Add electric garage door openers (YES!! Can't wait!)

2. Dismantle loft (it is only held together by 2 - 2x4s hanging from the rafters -- yikes!)

3. Create a laundry room area (unless we follow through with the addtion plan which includes this)

4. Dry wall garage walls and ceiling and remove black tar paper

5. Seal & StainConcrete Floors.... I am thinking something shiny like this...

We are so excited to be in our home at last, and to start ticking away at our honey-do list!

Still have lots to go, and our minds and plans are changing all the time. We are having a blast working on projects together, and brightening up this home!