tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70916253918611207652024-03-08T01:22:50.929-06:00Spare Time RemodelingDo-it-yourself remodeling done a little at a time.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-26253968735400718712011-07-22T18:19:00.000-05:002011-07-22T18:19:57.774-05:00Cedar Linen Closet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q-e_eHiNjfE/TioCeGEJxgI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/8mSVEKniTNc/s1600/Cedar+Wardrobe+Outside.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q-e_eHiNjfE/TioCeGEJxgI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/8mSVEKniTNc/s400/Cedar+Wardrobe+Outside.JPG" t$="true" width="260" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>On to yet another afternoon project... Creating a linen closet out of a cedar wardrobe. This beautiful piece has been in our master bedroom for 2 years with very little actually stored in it (because we hung all of our clothes in our walk-in closet), so in order to get more use out of the piece, we decided to make a slight (non-permanent) change to the inside.<br />
<br />
Here's the inside before:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aN1Ce4_Xqrg/TinrSF-F6eI/AAAAAAAAAOI/8PnphZyLyFo/s1600/Cedar+Wardrobe+Before.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aN1Ce4_Xqrg/TinrSF-F6eI/AAAAAAAAAOI/8PnphZyLyFo/s400/Cedar+Wardrobe+Before.JPG" t$="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>What you can't see in the picture is the rod at the top for hanging clothing and the stack of blankets on the floor of the wardrobe.<br />
<br />
This house does not have a linen closet, so we have been stacking linens on shelves in both guest bedroom closets and on the floor of this piece (ie. all over the house!). So to unify everything and bring it all to one place, my hubby added shelves for all of our extra sheet sets, pillowcases, heavier blankets, beach towels, etc. The great thing is that if we ever decide to put it in a guest bedroom in the future (and actually use the rod at the top), it is as easy as taking the shelves back out. Love it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tyAu2TYMXUM/TioDUrUQFHI/AAAAAAAAAOU/skSzbSdF89U/s1600/Cedar+Wardrobe+Shelves+Only.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tyAu2TYMXUM/TioDUrUQFHI/AAAAAAAAAOU/skSzbSdF89U/s400/Cedar+Wardrobe+Shelves+Only.JPG" t$="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So here's the after with all of our linens neatly folded and organized (so much easier to find something when we need it now!):</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fzkTcEcC61o/TioDiKVxrhI/AAAAAAAAAOY/SK5joax2qc4/s1600/Cedar+Wardrobe+After+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fzkTcEcC61o/TioDiKVxrhI/AAAAAAAAAOY/SK5joax2qc4/s320/Cedar+Wardrobe+After+1.JPG" t$="true" width="212" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_laStDcgEEc/TioDvbDZSBI/AAAAAAAAAOc/v0Kx2BTDYpM/s1600/Cedar+Wardrobe+After+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_laStDcgEEc/TioDvbDZSBI/AAAAAAAAAOc/v0Kx2BTDYpM/s320/Cedar+Wardrobe+After+2.JPG" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So what quick projects have you been up to? Have you converted a piece of furniture recently?</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-57562744128460314542011-07-13T17:10:00.000-05:002011-07-13T17:10:57.283-05:00Light Changes So we're still working on Phase Two of the Guest Bedroom Remodel (I really hate painting door trim because you have to be really careful when painting the place where it meets the wall so it's a veeerryy slow process), but in the meantime we have made a few more changes in other places around the house. I haven't posted any pics of our foyer to this blog just yet, but it's one of the rooms my hubby worked on today (along with the hall). <br />
<br />
The foyer was the same orange-y/gold-ish color as the living room (seen <a href="http://sparetimeremodeling.blogspot.com/2011/04/living-room-redo.html">here</a>), so when we repainted the living room Harvest Brown by Behr, we also painted the foyer the same color. We also updated the foyer light fixture after finding a great oil-rubbed bronze light fixture in excellent condition at a garage sale (I believe we purchased it for $10! I love garage sales for that kind of thing!).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9iyIIBtflQA/Th4CbjXwrAI/AAAAAAAAAM8/A7biJiqNwO4/s1600/Foyer+Before+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" m$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9iyIIBtflQA/Th4CbjXwrAI/AAAAAAAAAM8/A7biJiqNwO4/s400/Foyer+Before+1.JPG" width="265" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Su7ywyd5EnM/Th4DLn_GSBI/AAAAAAAAANA/Fl5krt8iDVk/s1600/Foyer+After+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" m$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Su7ywyd5EnM/Th4DLn_GSBI/AAAAAAAAANA/Fl5krt8iDVk/s400/Foyer+After+1.JPG" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is how our foyer looked this morning before we changed the light</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Unfortunately, what we found out when we updated the light fixture was that the light was off-center big time! We just couldn't tell that it was off-center when it had the little bitty original light fixture up there (plus we rarely come into our house through the front door). The light stayed this way for a long while because we weren't quite sure how to move the light over without leaving a gaping hole in the ceiling from the original placement (You can't really patch popcorn ceilings without having to re-popcorn the patch). We've figured it out now, and here's what we did:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V_nHrhfsLhg/Th4DfV5HpBI/AAAAAAAAANE/uzY4G9Y8qFE/s1600/Foyer+After+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" m$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V_nHrhfsLhg/Th4DfV5HpBI/AAAAAAAAANE/uzY4G9Y8qFE/s320/Foyer+After+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1.) First, my hubby removed the current light fixture (after turning off the electricity to this light fixture, of course).<br />
2.) Then he cut a new hole (that was actually centered!) for the light fixture. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3.) To hide the old hole from the original off-center placement, he purchased a white medallion that can be used with pretty much any light fixture (it can also be painted, if needed). He had to measure the hole to make sure that we purchased one that was large enough in diameter to cover/hide the old hole. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4.) To make sure the medallion sat flush to the ceiling, my hubby traced the medallion on the ceiling, sprayed a bit of water inside the traced circle, and then proceeded to scrape off the popcorn ceiling with a putty knife.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5.) He then installed the medallion as well as a new (never-been-used) oil-rubbed bronze light fixture (we also purchased this one from a garage sale. This one was $30 at the sale, but it still had the price tag on it from when it was on sale for $69 and I found it online for $129 <a href="http://www.target.com/Westlake-Semi-Flush-Mount-Rubbed/dp/B000R39KN8">here</a> and $88 <a href="http://marketplace.hgtv.com/Product.aspx?Lid=3555-B000R39KMO">here</a>! Wohoo! Great Deal!)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">TaDa! New, centered light fixture in the foyer:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TtMqchew9sY/Th4FPWWK9RI/AAAAAAAAANI/b05uPEKpsJA/s1600/Foyer+Light+After.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" m$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TtMqchew9sY/Th4FPWWK9RI/AAAAAAAAANI/b05uPEKpsJA/s400/Foyer+Light+After.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Seen from the front door entrance</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(The original installation had the light near the left edge of the medallion! Waaayyy off-center!) </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" m$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RF49cTlCrUI/Th4FrvFGTnI/AAAAAAAAANM/ozFecB-wPho/s400/Foyer+Light+After+2.JPG" width="265" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's the same view as the "before" pictures</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kx3mpCDLJSg/Th4GZDtUR8I/AAAAAAAAANU/4xvTyGe26NA/s1600/Foyer+Light+After+Closeup+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" m$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kx3mpCDLJSg/Th4GZDtUR8I/AAAAAAAAANU/4xvTyGe26NA/s400/Foyer+Light+After+Closeup+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And here's a closeup</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kyDidCkny0o/Th4GJV3UhqI/AAAAAAAAANQ/FErIasx2D0c/s1600/Foyer+Light+After+Closeup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" m$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kyDidCkny0o/Th4GJV3UhqI/AAAAAAAAANQ/FErIasx2D0c/s400/Foyer+Light+After+Closeup.JPG" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And another closeup</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Don't worry, we didn't waste the other oil-rubbed bronze light fixture we had previously hung in the foyer. We just felt that it was a better fit for the hallway since it was shorter (which needed a light fixture update of its own - just not as complicated). Here's the before (this is before we painted the walls Harvest Brown by Behr, painted the trim & doors Polar Bear by Behr, and updated the doorbell chime and actually put a cover on it!):</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rn0hi3EZu54/Th4LOmInUTI/AAAAAAAAANY/J2EW84kRgoM/s1600/Hall+Before+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" m$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rn0hi3EZu54/Th4LOmInUTI/AAAAAAAAANY/J2EW84kRgoM/s400/Hall+Before+1.JPG" width="265" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">and the after:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wKfUhx1UPIY/Th4M8meui0I/AAAAAAAAANg/4YOzvRn2DBw/s1600/Hall+After+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" m$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wKfUhx1UPIY/Th4M8meui0I/AAAAAAAAANg/4YOzvRn2DBw/s400/Hall+After+1.JPG" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jjv6hlpX2OY/Th4NxAkU-2I/AAAAAAAAANo/gU19umLWHkE/s1600/Hall+After+Light+Closeup+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" m$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jjv6hlpX2OY/Th4NxAkU-2I/AAAAAAAAANo/gU19umLWHkE/s400/Hall+After+Light+Closeup+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Closeup of the Hall Light</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Here's the short version of the before's and after's:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mVbUfavnchE/Th4RY8DqWAI/AAAAAAAAANs/PkY8UKm_u6c/s1600/Foyer+Before+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" m$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mVbUfavnchE/Th4RY8DqWAI/AAAAAAAAANs/PkY8UKm_u6c/s400/Foyer+Before+1.JPG" width="265" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Foyer Before</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qVVxnjhkx-g/Th4Wr8-J4LI/AAAAAAAAAOE/heyP2sj7Vdk/s1600/Foyer+Light+After+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" m$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qVVxnjhkx-g/Th4Wr8-J4LI/AAAAAAAAAOE/heyP2sj7Vdk/s400/Foyer+Light+After+2.JPG" width="265" /></a></div>Foyer After</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HeS7A1GoIcA/Th4T6BjbtNI/AAAAAAAAAN4/OHvIlZ-l-jM/s1600/Hall+Before+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" m$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HeS7A1GoIcA/Th4T6BjbtNI/AAAAAAAAAN4/OHvIlZ-l-jM/s400/Hall+Before+1.JPG" width="265" /></a></div>Hall Before</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QGOPwOKonaQ/Th4UM-xe5xI/AAAAAAAAAN8/-83T-5v_tis/s1600/Hall+After+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" m$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QGOPwOKonaQ/Th4UM-xe5xI/AAAAAAAAAN8/-83T-5v_tis/s400/Hall+After+1.JPG" width="265" /></a></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Hall After</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"> Much better! Isn't it amazing how much changing a light fixture can update a space? What do you think? Have you found a great deal at a garage/estate sale lately?</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-88495947563070029042011-07-08T06:20:00.000-05:002011-07-08T06:20:21.973-05:00Show Some Love!Like this blog? Please click on the "We're on the Fence!" link to the right -----> to vote for us at picketfenceblogs.com.<br />
<br />
Thanks!!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-7097472120583471832011-07-06T20:52:00.002-05:002011-07-13T17:45:28.347-05:00Guest Bedroom Phase OneAs you can tell by the title of a few of my posts, most of our projects are done in phases. Why? Because of time and budget constraints. We do not do renovations on loan! We make sure to save up for the cost of whatever project it is we are planning before we begin any phases of it. This requires sometimes breaking a project into parts. We have completed the first phase of our guest bedroom remodel, which was to:<br />
<br />
1.) Remove old carpet (looks like it was original to the house)<br />
2.) Spackle, prime, and paint walls<br />
3.) Lay new wood flooring (laminate in this case - but I will explain why later on in another post)<br />
<br />
Check all three things off of the to-do list of phase one! They are complete! :)<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So here's a before picture from the day we closed on the house:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EMiydA8ZWCg/ThNdrhr-TrI/AAAAAAAAALk/aIIGf2e86Hs/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+0.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" i$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EMiydA8ZWCg/ThNdrhr-TrI/AAAAAAAAALk/aIIGf2e86Hs/s400/Guest+Bedroom+0.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And this is how the room was being used recently (not really as much of a guest room -- more like a pet room/storage room):</div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RknQ3IjrI4E/ThNeB0z_whI/AAAAAAAAALo/mUTdoLCxl04/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" i$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RknQ3IjrI4E/ThNeB0z_whI/AAAAAAAAALo/mUTdoLCxl04/s400/Guest+Bedroom+3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Day One</u>:</span></em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m75u60VwitI/ThUC4n6UXGI/AAAAAAAAAL8/cz9uHdI-UFA/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+Before+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" m$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m75u60VwitI/ThUC4n6UXGI/AAAAAAAAAL8/cz9uHdI-UFA/s400/Guest+Bedroom+Before+1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The very first thing I did was to re-vacuum the carpets to get as much dirt/dust as I could up from the carpet itself. Then we removed the carpets, which was easier than I thought it would be. Starting at a corner, I simply pulled up on the carpet until it unfastened from the strips of wood underneath (Be careful - these strips have lots of tiny nails on them!). I cut the carpet into smaller, more manageable pieces with a box cutter and removed the pieces from the room through the window after removing the screen, of course (I didn't want to track the dust through my house). Underneath the carpet was a layer of foam which I also cut up into smaller pieces before tossing them through the window. Unfortunately, underneath the layer of foam was a layer of dirt, (eww... I think I'll pick hardwood floor over carpeting any day now!) so I swept and vacuumed again to remove all the dust. To remove the strips of wood the carpet was attached to, I used a hammer and a prybar to pull up all the nails holding each strip down. I think this step took longer than removing the carpet and foam combined. Then my hubby removed all the baseboards using the hammer and prybar also. At that point, out came my trusty shop vac to get any remaining <strike>dirst</strike> dust/dirt left behind (Yes, even in the crevices between the wall and the concrete foundation usually hidden by the baseboards!)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bir3bibgFMM/ThUDDqKBfRI/AAAAAAAAAMA/ocb_ErgI9ro/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+Before+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" m$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bir3bibgFMM/ThUDDqKBfRI/AAAAAAAAAMA/ocb_ErgI9ro/s400/Guest+Bedroom+Before+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPCa5foyBvI/ThUEuMTJJvI/AAAAAAAAAMI/az2MfZDuMP4/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+During+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" m$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPCa5foyBvI/ThUEuMTJJvI/AAAAAAAAAMI/az2MfZDuMP4/s400/Guest+Bedroom+During+1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CtV4Mav-Xmk/ThUE7TBViQI/AAAAAAAAAMM/IYlyY33ssEU/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+During+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" m$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CtV4Mav-Xmk/ThUE7TBViQI/AAAAAAAAAMM/IYlyY33ssEU/s400/Guest+Bedroom+During+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-47Hse-GyaW4/ThUFMfVk4gI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/L-gCMzBzb14/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+During+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" m$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-47Hse-GyaW4/ThUFMfVk4gI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/L-gCMzBzb14/s400/Guest+Bedroom+During+3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Days Two & Three</u>:</span></em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">At this point, I didn't want to install the floors until I had painted the walls so as to avoid paint splatters on the brand-new floor (no plastic visquine required!). The room had already been primed, so all I had to do was put up two coats of paint. We decided to use the same paint color as we did in our guest bathroom which is right next door to this room. The color is Restful by Behr. Perfect name for a guest bedroom if I say so myself! This process took two days because of drying time (we had lots of spackling to do as well as two coats of painting and cutting-in). </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TpY0MPYfXu0/ThUFdo2fmEI/AAAAAAAAAMU/3tj91SDrUuY/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+During+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" m$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TpY0MPYfXu0/ThUFdo2fmEI/AAAAAAAAAMU/3tj91SDrUuY/s400/Guest+Bedroom+During+4.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">While I painted the room, my hubby sanded down the baseboards, primed them, and repainted them Polar Bear by Behr (the color of our trim in every room of the house). This reminds me that painting the trim of the doors needs to be added to Phase Two's To-Do List (should've done that before the floors were put down) . . .</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><em><u>Days Four & Five</u>:</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M7rl2K4-EEI/ThUGh19SfhI/AAAAAAAAAMc/GnmwYgSGu_k/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+During+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" m$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M7rl2K4-EEI/ThUGh19SfhI/AAAAAAAAAMc/GnmwYgSGu_k/s400/Guest+Bedroom+During+5.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">This is the tool my hubby used to cut the door trim so that the wood flooring would fit underneath. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We finally put in the flooring. Similar to carpet, laminate flooring requires a layer between the floor and the concrete foundation. Some brands of wood flooring already have this attached to all strips of flooring, but ours did not, so we purchased two rolls (which was almost the perfect amount for the room and the closet - we had very little leftover). The kind we purchased already had an adhesive (like double-sided tape) on it, so all you had to do to connect the pieces was to pull off the plastic layer on the outside to expose the adhesive. It was very easy to cut with scissors or a box cutter, so either tool would work fine. We made sure to read all instructions on this layer and the flooring before even beginning to make sure we were doing things correctly. My husband put in the flooring itself (which were made to connect so there was no gluing required). It was much less of a mess than the tiling project we tackled in the den (seen <a href="http://sparetimeremodeling.blogspot.com/2011/02/den-room-drama.html">here</a>) and took less time. I would say the part that took the most time was measuring and cutting the pieces when needed. If you need help installing wood flooring, there are some great videos from Lowe's and Home Depot (do a search on their sites or on YouTube to find them) as well as directions on the packaging itself (this may differ from brand to brand, but the kind we had had easy-to-understand directions with pictures).</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V26NSw5rjbk/ThUHAVRxrvI/AAAAAAAAAMk/-87lBteetPk/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+During+6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" m$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V26NSw5rjbk/ThUHAVRxrvI/AAAAAAAAAMk/-87lBteetPk/s400/Guest+Bedroom+During+6.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">There's the first few rows going in!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zmi2XYn09Ao/ThUH5jzbgFI/AAAAAAAAAMo/dhR3-IQNYb4/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+During+7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" m$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zmi2XYn09Ao/ThUH5jzbgFI/AAAAAAAAAMo/dhR3-IQNYb4/s400/Guest+Bedroom+During+7.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's a close-up of where the new floors meet the old floors (in the hallway) at the door. The grains look similar, but the new floors are a little redder in color (but not by much - I don't think most people will notice it). </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">To get the best match, we brought home samples of the flooring that we thought would match our current flooring the best (some samples are free, some stores charge a little under a dollar per sample but it's worth the money to check on color, grain, and size).</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Then my hubby nailed in the previously sanded and painted baseboards and changed out the off-white outlets and light switches to white outlets, switches and covers for this wondefully updated look:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5M1Dqz2TfoI/ThUIdus-fKI/AAAAAAAAAMs/-O-Npgg-Z-s/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+After+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" m$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5M1Dqz2TfoI/ThUIdus-fKI/AAAAAAAAAMs/-O-Npgg-Z-s/s400/Guest+Bedroom+After+1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VJwBx2RAwcE/ThUIv80GaoI/AAAAAAAAAMw/M9YY5bWXO0U/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+After+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" m$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VJwBx2RAwcE/ThUIv80GaoI/AAAAAAAAAMw/M9YY5bWXO0U/s400/Guest+Bedroom+After+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4e2r2SE2a88/ThUJFuZ7J1I/AAAAAAAAAM0/oAAnJ7C-eZQ/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+After+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" m$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4e2r2SE2a88/ThUJFuZ7J1I/AAAAAAAAAM0/oAAnJ7C-eZQ/s400/Guest+Bedroom+After+3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7z4Mo29iCp8/ThUJWY0bBKI/AAAAAAAAAM4/sxJht2CwVHo/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+After+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" m$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7z4Mo29iCp8/ThUJWY0bBKI/AAAAAAAAAM4/sxJht2CwVHo/s400/Guest+Bedroom+After+4.JPG" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(This is a pic of the inside of the closet.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And just because we love a good before-and-after comparison, here's the before again:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m75u60VwitI/ThUC4n6UXGI/AAAAAAAAAL8/cz9uHdI-UFA/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+Before+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" m$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m75u60VwitI/ThUC4n6UXGI/AAAAAAAAAL8/cz9uHdI-UFA/s400/Guest+Bedroom+Before+1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">. . . and the after! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5M1Dqz2TfoI/ThUIdus-fKI/AAAAAAAAAMs/-O-Npgg-Z-s/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+After+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" m$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5M1Dqz2TfoI/ThUIdus-fKI/AAAAAAAAAMs/-O-Npgg-Z-s/s400/Guest+Bedroom+After+1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Our "To-Do" list for the room is still quite long, but at least now we can throw in a bed, desk, etc. and actually have people over if needed! Yay for progress! :)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Next to come for this room (this should happen within the next two weeks):</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><u>Phase Two</u></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1.) Installing new blinds (already purchased)</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2.) Painting trim around the doors (Polar Bear by Behr)</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3.) Painting doors (Polar Bear again)</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4.) Moving furniture back into the room (for now we will put in a queen bed from the college apartment days and some furniture from my youth, as well as possibly a desk . . . this hasn't been decided for sure just yet). This furniture & bedding will be "for now" while we build back up the savings account and decide on the decor plan for the room.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5.) Buy & Install new light fixture (This step will possibly end up in phase three)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
<u>Phase Three</u></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1.) Curtains</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2.) Pictures/Artwork</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3.) New furniture (or possibly update/paint the furniture we have already)</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4.) New bedding</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5.) Maybe a large rug?</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6.) Decide on a closet layout & install</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7.) Any other projects that I may not have thought about here<br />
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So what do you think? Any suggestions for curtains/artwork/bedding? I'll definitely be searching through TJ Maxx, Marshall's, Stein Mart, Target, etc. and maybe even a few online sites (and possibly taking another drive out to Ikea like we did <a href="http://sparetimeremodeling.blogspot.com/2011/03/sectional-set-up.html">here</a>). We're pretty happy that this room has been brought from the 80's into the present. Keep checking in for updates . . . Phase Two is right around the corner!<br />
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I've linked this post up to <a href="http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2011/07/before-and-after-goodwill-table.html"><img alt="beforeAndAfterButton" border="0" height="225" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-vWJtYZJbaFE/ThuQPgLflZI/AAAAAAAAOFg/NX4TXZDPVFw/beforeAndAfterButton_thumb1.gif?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="beforeAndAfterButton" width="146" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-86251649067780457092011-06-28T12:16:00.000-05:002011-06-28T12:16:59.367-05:005 Easy Steps to a Great Garage Sale!Thought about hosting a garage sale? More and more people are as budgets tighten and closets burst at the seams with all of the "stuff" we accumulate over the years. When the hubby and I moved in to our first home, we still had plenty of college furniture and supplies. We've slowly replaced, upgraded, or decided we just didn't need some things anymore. In the past, we've simply donated EVERYTHING we didn't want to our local Goodwill (except for our sofas, which we found a buyer for). However, during my most recent purge of our house (and I still have another room and closet to go through!) the hubby and I decided that we would try our hand at having a garage sale of our own. Since we live in a pretty quiet neighborhood, we paired up with another couple (who just moved into their first home) who lived on a very highly traveled road (yay customers!) to co-host the garage sale. Besides, they had lots to get rid of after moving to the new home also and it helps to have more than just one or two people working the garage sale.<br />
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So here's what we did, as well as what we wished we did, in order to have a successful garage sale:<br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1.) </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><u>Advertise</u></span></strong> - This may seem to be a given, but it really does help. Not only did we put an ad in a local advertising circular, but we also made lots of signs to put on the closest major roads. Another nice thing about co-hosting our garage sale? We got to split the price of the ad and the signs! I made our signs from very brightly colored posters from the Dollar Tree (50 cents each), which I cut in half. I listed only the most important details (Garage sale, address, date, time, and an arrow in the direction needed to travel to the home). I wrote this information as clearly as possible and as BIG as possible so that it could be seen from the road without having to pull over. Make sure to list your larger items in your ad so that they will hopefully catch the attention of customers who are shopping for a few particular items (we had plenty of people who showed up specifically for one of the listed items in our ad who probably wouldn't have come to our sale otherwise).<br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2.) <u>Price/Label</u></span> </strong>- Since we were co-hosting the sale with another couple, we needed to be able to keep track of how much of each sale went to each couple. Our fix: color coding! Instead of purchasing the garage sale tags most people use, I purchased a few large packs of colored labels which we cut to size, as needed (it ended up being much cheaper this way too!). While I couldn't find any boxes with just two label colors, I did find a few boxes with four colors, so each couple had two colors that they could use to price their items. This way, when someone checked out, they didn't have to seperate the items and check out twice. When someone was ready to purchase items, we simply wrote down the two subtotals (subtotal one: couple one's items and subtotal two: couple two's items) under the correct heading on the notebook we had ready and then gave the customer a final total. In order to more easily remember which couple had which color, we put some labels by each name at the top of the notebook page, which made for easy checking. And, of course, label your items with prices ahead of time, if at all possible. If you end up pricing an item too high (people keep looking at it, but no one buys it), you can always re-label it as the day goes by. We went down on a few of our prices towards the end of the day just so that we didn't have to take them back home or take them to the local Goodwill. <em><u>Sidenote:</u> </em>When you are pricing your items, picking increments of 25 cents (if it's under a dollar) and then dollars from then on, helps when you check out items. By doing so, you also only have to get quarters, 5's and 1's when you get change ahead of time from the bank instead of pennies, nickels, and dimes too. Make sure to write down the amount you started with so that it can be removed from your total before you figure out your profit for each couple. <br />
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<a href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/Price-Label-Kit-Pink/16622159">Ready-made (but more expensive) Garage Sale Stickers</a> <br />
We used Avery Color Coding Labels (76 count 1 1/2 x 2 3/4, Sorry! I couldn't find them anywhere online!) and simply wrote on them with a permanent marker and cut them into smaller price tag size pieces.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">3.) <u>Organize</u></span> </strong>- We planned ahead by scrounging up tables to use to display our items (borrowed from family and friends as well as few we already had) and had them at the house the day before the sale. You should also box like items together (all clothing together, all knick knacks together, another box of books, another box of pictures, etc. etc.) so that when you unpack in the morning all like items are together on the tables. By putting like things together, you have made it easier for shoppers who are looking for something specific - which they usually are - to find lots of the same item (It will be on my to-do list next time). We also talked about how things would be laid out beforehand (although we didn't set up until the morning of because we didn't want to worry about anything being stolen). Along with the tables, we created an area to hang clothes by putting up straps between columns under the carport. When clothes are hung, people are more likely to look through them unlike when it's simply stacked on a table or in a box. If you do this, make sure to have plenty of hangers you are okay with letting go of as customers usually want to keep them also. Put all of your larger (advertised!) items near the front so that they are easy to see (and mark them with a "SOLD" sign once they are sold if the customer will pick it up later). Give yourself plenty of time to unpack (if you said your sale would start at 6AM, be ready for the early-birds to show up as early as an hour beforehand - 5AM! so you should start unpacking around that time or before it). Oh, and have some plastic bags (from grocery or clothes shopping) or boxes available to help customers take home their finds. <br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">4.) <u>Negotiate</u></span></strong> - Most likely, the reason you are having a garage sale is to not only make a little money but to also get rid of lots of "stuff" that has accumulated over the years. Therefore, if someone offers you a lower price (within reason) for items, you should consider taking it. If you are set on a price, write "firm" on the price tag so that people will be less likely to offer you lower. Otherwise, be ready to make some deals in order to sell your items. If you aren't open to many deals, be ready to schlep the stuff back home or to your local donation center (it <em>is</em> a garage sale - people are looking for a price break and you are looking for more room in your home).<br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">5.) <u>Prepare the Items</u></span></strong> - If your wine glass collection has been sitting on a shelf in a closet for years untouched, when you take the glasses out to sell they'll most likely be dusty. Taking the time to rinse and wipe dry the glasses so that they shine (with no watermarks) is a step towards making them more likely to sell. If you are selling a clock that runs on a battery, make sure it has a working battery inside. Customers do not want to buy an item if they aren't sure whether it works or not. If you are selling a game console, have a TV plugged in nearby that you can connect it to to show that it works. Same idea for lamps or any other items that require electricity. Usually plugging it in and turning the switch to show that it works will finalize the sale and put you one step closer to your goal.<br />
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In the end, remember that any money you make is more money than you would have made just throwing the items away. If you have items leftover (I haven't had a garage sale where this did not happen), consider donating them to your local non-profit so that they don't end up in your home again and you've helped out a good cause. If you have leftover building materials (doors, tile, windows, etc.) or furniture, consider donating the items to your local Habitat for Humanity Restore. They sell the items and the profits go towards Habitat for Humanity projects. (We shop our local Restore often when remodeling)<br />
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So are you having a garage sale soon? Had one recently? What worked or didn't work? Any additional tips or tricks you'd like to share?<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-1851230831719092302011-06-23T17:23:00.000-05:002011-06-23T17:23:56.216-05:00Bad Bad BloggerSo like the title says, I've been a bad blogger. :( It's been over a month since I've posted anything on the blog. Now that I'm off of work for the summer and back from vacation . . . let the blogging begin! The hubby and I have big plans for our annual summer remodeling project and I have a few other types of posts in the works as we speak, so to help you whet your appetite, here's what's to come:<br />
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*Updates on the closet project we began <a href="http://sparetimeremodeling.blogspot.com/2011/05/closet-redo-phase-one.html">here</a><br />
*Plans, shopping details, and how-to instructions for our summer project, discussed <a href="http://sparetimeremodeling.blogspot.com/2011/03/upcoming-projects.html">here</a> (we've decided to go with the guest bedroom makeover)<br />
*Before and after pics of our friends' new home (their first also)<br />
*Garden updates and recipes I've learned that use the produce we've grown<br />
*Organizing tips and tricks (it's the time of the year that I really get into the organizing and purging projects around here)<br />
*Tips for having your very own garage sale (ours was Saturday and I'll tell you what we did to prepare, and what worked as well as what didn't work)<br />
*Before and after pics of our biggest remodeling project yet - our guest bathroom remodel (last summer's big project)<br />
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So how's that for making up for lost time? What posts are you looking forward to? What would you like to see more of?<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-14250498013559239232011-05-15T14:33:00.000-05:002011-05-15T14:33:47.819-05:00Closet Redo Phase OneSo we actually worked on this project towards the end of the Easter break, but I simply haven't had time to post pictures yet (plus blogger has been down). Please remember that this is only phase one (we still have lots to do in here!). This closet is the smaller of the two guest bedroom closets. The hubby and I are trying to slowly consolidate our belongings into the closet and get rid of the excess as we go along. Trying to fit my dresses and coats along with his coats, suits and some of his hunting gear into this small closet was a feat in itself. <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Here is the orginal setup:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I7lWT5BwFeY/TdAgOzY6wuI/AAAAAAAAAKY/CqdSufF8bSc/s1600/Closet+Before+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I7lWT5BwFeY/TdAgOzY6wuI/AAAAAAAAAKY/CqdSufF8bSc/s320/Closet+Before+1.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The shelves were this height on both sides originally, but when we first moved in, my hubby raised the shelf on the right so that I could fit a few formals, bridesmaid dresses, and my wedding dress:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oSwodL3ha6Y/TdAgVx1secI/AAAAAAAAAKc/TNJZeCrVEjw/s1600/Closet+Before+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oSwodL3ha6Y/TdAgVx1secI/AAAAAAAAAKc/TNJZeCrVEjw/s320/Closet+Before+2.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>This arrangement worked for a while with my dresses on the right side and a stack of linens on the other, but once we tried to hang clothes on both sides, there wasn't much room left to walk into the closet nonetheless take something off of the bar and remove it from the closet without taking down a few other hanging items with it (oops!), so a design change was essential. We began by removing all the shelving and rods from the wall, which left us needing lots of putty for all the dents/scuffs/holes etc. left in the wall:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UhL3BwIhe4c/TdAgsp09a_I/AAAAAAAAAKo/F2CZhzlm-h8/s1600/Closet+Before+5+Putty.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UhL3BwIhe4c/TdAgsp09a_I/AAAAAAAAAKo/F2CZhzlm-h8/s320/Closet+Before+5+Putty.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>I even made a few dents myself when I first tried to remove a few nails (they were in the stud that was in the corner, so when I used the pry bar, I was actually putting the pressure against the drywall - hence the dents). Here was my solution to the problem:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2XjpaM7rgno/TdAhBx1UFjI/AAAAAAAAAKw/xs5PMQSiqAU/s1600/Closet+Before+7+Removing+Nails.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2XjpaM7rgno/TdAhBx1UFjI/AAAAAAAAAKw/xs5PMQSiqAU/s320/Closet+Before+7+Removing+Nails.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Paintbrush with a wooden handle! Fair warning: after using it to remove all the nails (some were quite stubborn!), the handle did eventually crack and break in two, but it was okay because it was an old paintbrush.<br />
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I even had some extra sanding to do because apparently the previous homeowners did some painting once the shelves were installed, leading to this being left behind when the shelves were removed:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_MXYJwwXFPw/TdAg3MFlH_I/AAAAAAAAAKs/o1v2e_Mw3pQ/s1600/Closet+Before+6+Paint+Putty.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_MXYJwwXFPw/TdAg3MFlH_I/AAAAAAAAAKs/o1v2e_Mw3pQ/s320/Closet+Before+6+Paint+Putty.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The lighting in this picture isn't great, but you can see the bubble of dried paint that outlined the metal piece that the shelf and the rod sat on/in. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another future project is to run this cable line correctly through the wall instead of having it come through a rough hole in the ceiling....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o8UqT91q7Ho/TdAgc6KqaiI/AAAAAAAAAKg/D76jr_yY8wM/s1600/Closet+Before+3+Cable.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o8UqT91q7Ho/TdAgc6KqaiI/AAAAAAAAAKg/D76jr_yY8wM/s320/Closet+Before+3+Cable.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">... and ending up going through the wall into the bedroom (along with a mess of too much slack line):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tIzC1thOLfo/TdAglukX_uI/AAAAAAAAAKk/v1lbW9dhu9s/s1600/Closet+Before+4+Cable.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tIzC1thOLfo/TdAglukX_uI/AAAAAAAAAKk/v1lbW9dhu9s/s320/Closet+Before+4+Cable.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For now it has been pushed back up to the ceiling, so during the summer we will fix the problem (we don't have a TV set up in that room right now anyways, so it's no rush).</div><br />
We also removed the baseboards, sanded them and primed them before re-installing them. When I gave the carpet a good cleaning, I realized that the room's carpet was originally pink, not beige (since the less-used closet carpet was still pink). I guess it is older than we thought after all. Good thing we plan to replace it!<br />
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Once all the prep work was done, it was on to the design. In order to add more room, we removed the two shelves and racks from the wall, my hubby cut one in half and then we put them back up in this arrangement on the center wall instead:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gPH1RNb6zes/TdAnGutTUJI/AAAAAAAAAK0/wAxRuts_K5o/s1600/Closet+Phase+One.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gPH1RNb6zes/TdAnGutTUJI/AAAAAAAAAK0/wAxRuts_K5o/s320/Closet+Phase+One.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We always re-use what we have when we can. All we had to do with the pieces was to sand them and prime them. Instant facelift that makes them just like new!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-07APQLq9yv0/TdAnR1YQdwI/AAAAAAAAAK4/8va6FwNYRVs/s1600/Closet+Phase+One+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-07APQLq9yv0/TdAnR1YQdwI/AAAAAAAAAK4/8va6FwNYRVs/s320/Closet+Phase+One+2.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><br />
What do you think of the change in the shelves and rods? Phase two includes adding more storage, which my husband is currently making as we speak ...<br />
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Phase Two pictures coming soon!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-11194300096978336362011-05-14T16:21:00.000-05:002011-05-14T16:21:20.567-05:00Growing GardenI'm a little late on posting these pictures (the garden has grown <em>so</em> much since these were taken about a month or two ago), but I still think it is worth a look design-wise.<br />
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I've shared our garden design in our own backyard (two raised beds with a skinny raised bed along the back for cucumbers) which you can see <a href="http://sparetimeremodeling.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-does-your-garden-grow.html">here</a>, but my mom's garden (seen below) is a creative way to incorporate the garden into the patio. What do you think of the layout?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4ZdVYS8Ygy8/Tc7xYDlWj3I/AAAAAAAAAKM/PYYer2shJ8s/s1600/Patio+Garden.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4ZdVYS8Ygy8/Tc7xYDlWj3I/AAAAAAAAAKM/PYYer2shJ8s/s320/Patio+Garden.bmp" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Having the pavers in between the raised beds is not only pretty, but also functional because it's easier to reach the plants in order to weed or harvest.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rpadpDBU3l8/Tc7xY5BGXSI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/nIhATZrRJ5I/s1600/All.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rpadpDBU3l8/Tc7xY5BGXSI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/nIhATZrRJ5I/s320/All.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
She even has an automated watering system set up throughout each raised bed, which seems to be working wonderfully since the plants are producing lots and lots of veggies. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SdvAJFbW5Xc/Tc7xZt8zWTI/AAAAAAAAAKU/d5h7wKUkMM8/s1600/Zuchinni.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SdvAJFbW5Xc/Tc7xZt8zWTI/AAAAAAAAAKU/d5h7wKUkMM8/s320/Zuchinni.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">Mom, I'm sure you're reading this - please add any info/details I may have left out. :)</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-83408014237539667012011-04-25T21:39:00.000-05:002011-04-25T21:39:48.795-05:00Baskets Galore!So you've seen plenty of pictures of the cabinets in our den, but I've never taken pictures of the inside of the cabinets. I did that on purpose, of course, because only one set of cabinets was actually organized and neat. The rest were dumping grounds and hiding places when company came over (with items sometimes never coming back out once they were placed in there!). <br />
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The hubby and I are off of work this week thanks to Easter Break, so I figured today would be the perfect time to take everything out, organize (and purge!), and put back in order using baskets.<br />
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The one set of cabinets that were already organized had been through this process already (hence, no before pictures):<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4rPEG3SXl-w/TbYoz1QAvRI/AAAAAAAAAJc/JNgNa2nyuFE/s1600/Before+2+One.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" i8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4rPEG3SXl-w/TbYoz1QAvRI/AAAAAAAAAJc/JNgNa2nyuFE/s320/Before+2+One.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The longer baskets on the top and the bottom hold the DVD's that the hubby and I decided to keep, out of all the ones we had from college and before. (Yes, they are in alphabetical order because it's easier to find something when you need it that way). Behind the longer baskets are smaller baskets. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ua3JvaKt1Wk/TbYpLRsVW4I/AAAAAAAAAJk/RpGRQv53IeY/s1600/Before+2+two.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" i8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ua3JvaKt1Wk/TbYpLRsVW4I/AAAAAAAAAJk/RpGRQv53IeY/s320/Before+2+two.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Some hold CD's, some hold Playstation (2 & 3) games and some hold computer games. Behind the long basket on the bottom shelf are two rubbermaid containers full of cables, speaker wire, power strips, etc., and then there's my old printer which still works, but has been replaced by a printer/copier/scanner (love it!).</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SU8pB4TwdXI/TbYo9Qd4_II/AAAAAAAAAJg/osxPSY3TV8I/s1600/Before+2+three.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" i8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SU8pB4TwdXI/TbYo9Qd4_II/AAAAAAAAAJg/osxPSY3TV8I/s320/Before+2+three.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zxlTNI_YCW4/TbYonGzAydI/AAAAAAAAAJY/vvgUAwhxO5I/s1600/Before+2+four.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" i8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zxlTNI_YCW4/TbYonGzAydI/AAAAAAAAAJY/vvgUAwhxO5I/s320/Before+2+four.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>(The black dots you see are paint scuffs </em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>from removing and putting the baskets </em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>back - still trying to figure out what I </em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>need to do to avoid that)</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So today I tackled the other three sets of cabinets. I hesitate to show you these pics, but it's part of the process, so here are the before's:</div><br />
Here's the cabinet all the way to the left.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5sS27knfM2Q/TbYqXZ51ZbI/AAAAAAAAAJo/9wylmODM_2Y/s1600/Before+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" i8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5sS27knfM2Q/TbYqXZ51ZbI/AAAAAAAAAJo/9wylmODM_2Y/s320/Before+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Here's the cabinet second from the right.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C6jVeMFpVBM/TbYrE1ztaLI/AAAAAAAAAJs/ysLsTrpG4bs/s1600/Before+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C6jVeMFpVBM/TbYrE1ztaLI/AAAAAAAAAJs/ysLsTrpG4bs/s320/Before+3.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>Here's the cabinet all the way to the right.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kc2h8MCeSf4/TbYrZNlgjwI/AAAAAAAAAJw/kAANzvzO1f4/s1600/Before+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kc2h8MCeSf4/TbYrZNlgjwI/AAAAAAAAAJw/kAANzvzO1f4/s320/Before+4.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><br />
This is the process I used to organize everything:<br />
<ul><li>Take everything out of all the cabinets so that you can see it all at once</li>
</ul><div></div><ul><li>Save all items that had simply been misplaced/not picked up (Extra paint rollers, tools, papers that should have been filed, office supplies, etc.). Put them in their correct "home" this time so that you do not find yourself picking them up again later! </li>
<li>Throw out any trash that was found (old magazines, papers with once-important-but-no-longer important information/phone numbers/addresses, random screws/nails, broken items, etc.)</li>
<li>Decide which items are no longer used, but could be donated to a place like Goodwill (put all of these in a box dedicated to donations)</li>
<li>Group like items together </li>
<li>Decide upon basket size for the items depending on how big the group of like items was (larger items or groups needed larger baskets and small items or groups needed small baskets). I purchased baskets from Tuesday Morning and Marshall's (also check TJ Maxx, SteinMart, Ross, etc. for great prices!)</li>
<li>Place things neatly in their corresponding baskets and fit all the baskets into the cabinets (try not to leave unused space)</li>
<li>Step back and enjoy the organized view! :) (and decide what should go in the now-empty fourth set of cabinets!)</li>
</ul>Here are my after pictures:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2tpOsOql8XA/TbYrq2NDAXI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/dkvtj8b-nIw/s1600/After+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" i8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2tpOsOql8XA/TbYrq2NDAXI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/dkvtj8b-nIw/s320/After+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Cabinet all the way to the left)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yW2tLtL8cPY/TbYr3PXhXDI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/coWurfls7-Q/s1600/After+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" i8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yW2tLtL8cPY/TbYr3PXhXDI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/coWurfls7-Q/s320/After+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Cabinet second from the right)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CKEghQfxO3Q/TbYsBMVIXRI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/EE8lC0rMP1E/s1600/After+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" i8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CKEghQfxO3Q/TbYsBMVIXRI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/EE8lC0rMP1E/s320/After+4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Cabinet all the way to the right)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fd3DA4Ufx8M/TbYsMGG_CVI/AAAAAAAAAKA/H_9q9GCE8tk/s1600/After+3+and++4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" i8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fd3DA4Ufx8M/TbYsMGG_CVI/AAAAAAAAAKA/H_9q9GCE8tk/s320/After+3+and++4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Finished Product!)</div><br />
So much better! You can also see that so far I am using the extra set of cabinets for bulk purchases of sale items with room to spare! There are even a few empty baskets in one cabinet so they are available for future use. Some of the basket-groups I ended up with were art supplies (markers, color pencils, hot glue gun, paint, paintbrushes), batteries (all sizes, charger for the recharge-able kinds), crocheting supplies, fabric remnants, scrapbooking supplies, etc.<br />
<br />
So the next organizing project is already on my to-do list, but I'm done for today. Do you have any areas that need to be organized? Do you have a system that works for you? Share your tips!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-45200757035841890322011-04-18T18:55:00.000-05:002011-04-18T18:55:31.964-05:00Houseography Link-Up PartyNew week, new link-up! You can find a link to my site at <a href="http://houseography.blogspot.com/2011/04/house-tour-room-by-room-link-up-party.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Houseography+%28HOUSEography%29">Houseography</a> (and you can check out the link-up party by clicking on the button on the right side of the screen ---------------------->). This week dining room posts are featured. You can see my dining room <a href="http://sparetimeremodeling.blogspot.com/2011/02/post-from-past.html">here</a> and <a href="http://sparetimeremodeling.blogspot.com/2011/02/happy-belated-valentines-day.html">here</a>. Check it out!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-77659408212886578052011-04-17T12:10:00.000-05:002011-04-17T12:10:56.054-05:00Best Snack Ever!Now that our garden has been planted, I cannot wait for everything to begin producing. The one thing that grows pretty quickly for us is the basil plant (we have two so far this year). It is much cheaper to buy a plant than it is to buy a pack of basil leaves from the grocery store! Anyways, we first had this snack at someone else's house about 3 - 4 years ago and it is, by far, our favorite summertime snack (when we have fresh basil leaves available from our plants).<br />
<br />
The best thing about it is that the "recipe", if you will, is simply to stack everything on a cracker.<br />
<br />
<u>What you'll need:</u><br />
Roma Tomatoes (regular tomatoes work too, but we are finicky eaters and don't like regular tomatoes)<br />
Fresh Mozzerella<br />
Fresh Basil Leaves<br />
Triscuits<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lrcjoX6Mqng/Tasc_Iv9MLI/AAAAAAAAAJI/uXNXO_kGNwQ/s1600/Supplies+Needed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lrcjoX6Mqng/Tasc_Iv9MLI/AAAAAAAAAJI/uXNXO_kGNwQ/s320/Supplies+Needed.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>1. Place as many Triscuits on a plate as you want snacks (or as many as fill the plate if you are me lol).<br />
2. Cut your tomato into fairly thin slices (you need one slice for each Triscuit if you are using a Roma Tomato, or half a slice for each Triscuit if you are using a regular tomato) and place them on the Triscuits.<br />
3. Cut the mozerella into slices about the size of the crackers and place on top of the tomatoes.<br />
4. Pick enough basil leaves from your plant, rinse, and then place each leaf on top of the mozerella slices (if the leaves are really big, tear them in half instead).<br />
<br />
Here's the final product:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sTP6enWFAcs/TasdMadxbZI/AAAAAAAAAJM/ZCPLbqi9rvg/s1600/Closeup+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sTP6enWFAcs/TasdMadxbZI/AAAAAAAAAJM/ZCPLbqi9rvg/s320/Closeup+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q4yz1nw59KE/TasdZ0RRvWI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/P5GX6NyK2pI/s1600/Finished+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q4yz1nw59KE/TasdZ0RRvWI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/P5GX6NyK2pI/s320/Finished+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hj3oBCCVcEI/TasdpXqAbgI/AAAAAAAAAJU/Uh01Xd3YtmI/s1600/Finished+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hj3oBCCVcEI/TasdpXqAbgI/AAAAAAAAAJU/Uh01Xd3YtmI/s320/Finished+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Enjoy! :)<br />
<br />
<br />
Oh, and if you have leftover mozzerella, you can try this recipe (I plan to at some point this week, just haven't yet) : <a href="http://cleverlyinspired.blogspot.com/2011/04/baked-mozzarella.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Cleverlyinspired+%28cleverlyinspired%29">Baked Mozzerella</a><br />
<br />
Did you try it? How was it? Anyone have another recipe that calls for basil or mozzerella? Please share! :)<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-26932945943801725092011-04-13T20:59:00.000-05:002011-04-13T20:59:51.349-05:00Check out this Blog!So lately I've been following a blog about saving money when you shop for groceries. Who doesn't love a good deal? It is written by Heather, and she not only provides couponing and shopping tips, but also includes useful links along with recipes that you can cook ahead of time and freeze for those super busy evenings. I'm honored to be mentioned in one of her latest posts! Check it out here: <a href="http://budgetmenus4couples.blogspot.com/2011/04/in-kitchensit-longtalk-muchlaugh-often.html">Once a Month Shopping for Couples</a>.<br />
<br />
Thanks again Heather!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-29238561033725982222011-04-12T18:02:00.000-05:002011-04-12T18:02:55.847-05:00How Does Your Garden Grow?The hubby and I finally found a free weekend to plant our garden for the summer. Last year we had great success for it being our first time having a garden. We ended up with lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, banana peppers, and a few bellpeppers and eggplants. We planted lots of the same things this year, but we do have a few things we plan to do a little differently than we did last year (learning from experience!). These are a few pictures from the process of creating our garden last year:<br />
<br />
This was our yard in the morning when we started:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_JXP507inn8/TaHxySLKfGI/AAAAAAAAAHw/-byYq-nR2l0/s1600/Yard+Before+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_JXP507inn8/TaHxySLKfGI/AAAAAAAAAHw/-byYq-nR2l0/s320/Yard+Before+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rozfDIgmi1A/TaHyExYCQSI/AAAAAAAAAH0/VHVppTXukj4/s1600/Yard+Before+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rozfDIgmi1A/TaHyExYCQSI/AAAAAAAAAH0/VHVppTXukj4/s320/Yard+Before+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
And here it is in the evening when we finally finished:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g_ZfuPrnI2o/TaHyWOP7BLI/AAAAAAAAAH4/rKTkCqXmTnk/s1600/Garden+After+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g_ZfuPrnI2o/TaHyWOP7BLI/AAAAAAAAAH4/rKTkCqXmTnk/s320/Garden+After+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(My hubby and Parker - our cairn terrier)<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9MdKLlE_gkg/TaHyqi9Jn3I/AAAAAAAAAH8/mUttgQyDcz4/s1600/Garden+After+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9MdKLlE_gkg/TaHyqi9Jn3I/AAAAAAAAAH8/mUttgQyDcz4/s320/Garden+After+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PmOXkVztDzY/TaHy7k3cywI/AAAAAAAAAIA/8iXKYU1nnA8/s1600/Garden+After+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PmOXkVztDzY/TaHy7k3cywI/AAAAAAAAAIA/8iXKYU1nnA8/s320/Garden+After+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We learned very quickly that our little buddy, Parker, liked to dig in the garden. We placed a fence around it to keep him out and he simply proceeded to jump right over it and dig away (and steal a few plants while he was at it), hence the tall fence you see in the following pictures:</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xKvv8cZwOGY/TaH0S5l3k6I/AAAAAAAAAIE/3cGjJgyJrkM/s1600/DSC_0982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xKvv8cZwOGY/TaH0S5l3k6I/AAAAAAAAAIE/3cGjJgyJrkM/s320/DSC_0982.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NTnr9ho7ViY/TaH0k820tlI/AAAAAAAAAII/gaJdfCKeS84/s1600/DSC_0978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NTnr9ho7ViY/TaH0k820tlI/AAAAAAAAAII/gaJdfCKeS84/s320/DSC_0978.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DOj1zsTqKho/TaH0z-dxXeI/AAAAAAAAAIM/8suq7kCH3D8/s1600/DSC_0987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DOj1zsTqKho/TaH0z-dxXeI/AAAAAAAAAIM/8suq7kCH3D8/s320/DSC_0987.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So we are hoping for the same good luck this year (or maybe even better luck!) since I officially do not have a green thumb. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's the "before" condition our garden was in after the winter (lots of weeding to be done!):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zvVX3-8Kfow/TaTMZBKTB1I/AAAAAAAAAIg/KkEyM8GFHd0/s1600/Garden+Before+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zvVX3-8Kfow/TaTMZBKTB1I/AAAAAAAAAIg/KkEyM8GFHd0/s320/Garden+Before+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mTPYZtwh5G4/TaTMoB1M8DI/AAAAAAAAAIk/bkzbUzof4cs/s1600/Garden+Before+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mTPYZtwh5G4/TaTMoB1M8DI/AAAAAAAAAIk/bkzbUzof4cs/s320/Garden+Before+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jbvdMwm1DRQ/TaTM27wEXvI/AAAAAAAAAIo/fEEynJpGB74/s1600/Garden+Before+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jbvdMwm1DRQ/TaTM27wEXvI/AAAAAAAAAIo/fEEynJpGB74/s320/Garden+Before+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's the start of our new garden this year:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rEN3ibZRRBY/TaTTYqoqCdI/AAAAAAAAAIw/6Rg_6gmZEMY/s1600/Garden+After+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rEN3ibZRRBY/TaTTYqoqCdI/AAAAAAAAAIw/6Rg_6gmZEMY/s320/Garden+After+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> (Yes, our neighbors still have their camper parked in the back yard but at least it's clean now!)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wlTCHzn3pwQ/TaTTsErEYcI/AAAAAAAAAI0/vLZ0VXtr0Ec/s1600/Garden+After+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wlTCHzn3pwQ/TaTTsErEYcI/AAAAAAAAAI0/vLZ0VXtr0Ec/s320/Garden+After+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DsD8OphMhDA/TaTT8b16vfI/AAAAAAAAAI4/74XkjLP-3SE/s1600/Garden+After+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DsD8OphMhDA/TaTT8b16vfI/AAAAAAAAAI4/74XkjLP-3SE/s320/Garden+After+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We're crossing our fingers that we will have lots of yummy produce to enjoy and share!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On a sidenote, along with re-planting the garden, we filled in some missing gaps in my planter box where flowers had (gasp!) died. I thought the planter box would get more sun than it actually did, so the only plants that survived were those that needed partial sun (the pink flowers I planted last year). These flowers were made for me because they even lasted through the winter (we had a few freezes) without me covering them during freezes or watering them when it was warmer. Therefore, I bought <em>only</em> that kind of flower again this year and I filled the entire planter box with them. The only slight problem I have with them is that they are not quite the same shade of pink as last year's flowers (although that was the closest pink available at Home Depot). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Money Saving Tip:</strong> Instead of buying 4 individual plants (about the number I needed to fill in the gaps), I bought one hanging planter full of them (for less than the total of the 4 individual ones) and seperated the plants when I got home before planting them. The only downside of this plan was that the plants had started to grow very stem-y and tall because they had very little room to grow out (rather than full like the one from last year - all the way to the right in the pic). I think it will even out after they've been in the planter box for a while, but who knows - I'm no expert on planting.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's the planter box before:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rpdFrSql9hk/TaTW8R1pK4I/AAAAAAAAAJA/edO0FclTx6M/s1600/Planter+Box+Before+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rpdFrSql9hk/TaTW8R1pK4I/AAAAAAAAAJA/edO0FclTx6M/s320/Planter+Box+Before+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> And here it is after:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T3TQgIQu8cY/TaTXOQmp6bI/AAAAAAAAAJE/cNf5dERj4p4/s1600/Planter+Box+After+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T3TQgIQu8cY/TaTXOQmp6bI/AAAAAAAAAJE/cNf5dERj4p4/s320/Planter+Box+After+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">No flowers yet, but they'll be here soon (and often! - another thing I love about these).</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">I'll post pictures of the flowers' and plants' progress as it happens. So have you planted anything yet? What grows well in your area? Do you have any tips for us? Share your secrets please! :)</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-53125111995725973382011-04-10T20:29:00.001-05:002011-04-10T20:30:20.854-05:00Living Room Redo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> So you've seen the dining room, kitchen, and den, but there are a few other makeovers that I haven't shown you just yet. The next room we made over after the kitchen was the living room. I couldn't wait to put some paint up after seeing the gold-ish/orange-ish walls. I'm sure there are lots of places where that color might work, but next to the dark brown beams, light brick of the fireplace, and the light fireplace mantle, not so much. The room needed to be unified. After much deliberation, we chose a Behr color called Harvest Brown (can you tell we are Home Depot people?). I was a little nervous about this color after the snaffu in the den with a beige color. However, this color is gorgeous. It does come across as a beige/brown/tan neutral at some times during the day, but it also has a hint of green in some lights, which was perfect because we wanted to bring in some blue and green accent colors. Here are some before pictures:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HGlHMoS6ANg/TZh7knA_vTI/AAAAAAAAAG0/iSSxkCgir6k/s1600/Living+Room+Before+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HGlHMoS6ANg/TZh7knA_vTI/AAAAAAAAAG0/iSSxkCgir6k/s320/Living+Room+Before+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eS0K5FjXsT0/TZh7VnCMiTI/AAAAAAAAAGw/jitnITa4qKI/s1600/Living+Room+Before+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eS0K5FjXsT0/TZh7VnCMiTI/AAAAAAAAAGw/jitnITa4qKI/s320/Living+Room+Before+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eyZ6VVRLgF4/TZh8I4Ak1NI/AAAAAAAAAHA/XTxE7fCcqh4/s1600/Living+Room+Before+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eyZ6VVRLgF4/TZh8I4Ak1NI/AAAAAAAAAHA/XTxE7fCcqh4/s320/Living+Room+Before+5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EKrUotUrUI4/TZh79rDXxtI/AAAAAAAAAG8/TMIVMdbrhqA/s1600/Living+Room+Before+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EKrUotUrUI4/TZh79rDXxtI/AAAAAAAAAG8/TMIVMdbrhqA/s320/Living+Room+Before+4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> This room was the hardest to paint by far (except for maybe the kitchen cabinets) because I couldn't just use my handy step ladder that I usually use; I actually had to bring in a real ladder to get the higher parts of the wall. Along with painting the walls, we also removed, sanded, and painted the baseboards, painted the doors, and replaced all light switches, outlets, and all covers (we even added one to the cable line since there wasn't one). We painted this room around Christmas time, so we also picked up a few finds on Black Friday. The curtains as well as the painting are from J.C. Penney, which had huge Black Friday discounts in that department. A few months later, we found out that there was a Habitat for Humanity Restore location only about 30 minutes away from us! While that's a post on its own, we did find a chandelier (brand new!) for sale there that fit our room perfectly. So my hubby replaced the old rickety fan that was there (and which, frankly, scared me to use because I thought it might fall of off the ceiling!) with the new chandelier in one afternoon. Next on the list was to sand, stain, and seal the mantle. Thankfully, the hubby took over that job too. It took a while to do it correctly, but it was worth it because it looks amazing! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> First, he sanded the entire mantle until all the finish was gone. (We left it attached to the mantle because of the way it was put up there - not easily removed or replaced).</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wqgwi0PLvCw/TaHZLbi9MnI/AAAAAAAAAHI/KXGzM0RRb7Y/s1600/Sanded+Mantel+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wqgwi0PLvCw/TaHZLbi9MnI/AAAAAAAAAHI/KXGzM0RRb7Y/s320/Sanded+Mantel+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Then, he stained it with an ebony stain (we wanted a super dark brown, almost black).</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6fCb8BiPfNw/TaHZbOxcDFI/AAAAAAAAAHM/m_W0R1CpBBI/s1600/Stained+Mantel+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6fCb8BiPfNw/TaHZbOxcDFI/AAAAAAAAAHM/m_W0R1CpBBI/s320/Stained+Mantel+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Finally, the longest part of the process was to seal the wood, which involves lots of wait time.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RI0Uni5vMFY/TaHZny_EHQI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/efjiznzArPQ/s1600/Stained+Mantel+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RI0Uni5vMFY/TaHZny_EHQI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/efjiznzArPQ/s320/Stained+Mantel+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> (You can see in these photos that we covered the brick with plastic drop cloth just in case of spills)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jaSXqdQeLhg/TaHZ2w4h-4I/AAAAAAAAAHU/hcT03x_Y_LE/s1600/Stained+Mantel+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jaSXqdQeLhg/TaHZ2w4h-4I/AAAAAAAAAHU/hcT03x_Y_LE/s320/Stained+Mantel+3.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">(There's my handy step ladder that I usually use to paint all the walls and trim).</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HCD1X1WrrG4/TaHfW3VOpUI/AAAAAAAAAHg/FRNlJSxIPI8/s1600/Finished+Product.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HCD1X1WrrG4/TaHfW3VOpUI/AAAAAAAAAHg/FRNlJSxIPI8/s320/Finished+Product.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"> Many, many months later, (okay, okay, a year later) we purchased two club chairs from World Market the day before Black Friday (my favorite shopping day of the year!). It ended up being a better deal the day before because they were on sale plus they were offering a 25% off coupon for all furniture that day. The pillows come from TJ Maxx and Hobby Lobby (you have to love the 50% off sales at Hobby Lobby!), which bring in the blue and green I discussed earlier in this post (which also shows up in the curtain).</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"> A few other additions in between the two Black Friday shopping days were a new-to-us fireplace screen and tool set which we grabbed at a garage sale for only $30 for everything. There was a little bit of melted wax on the screen itself, which we just melted off before we cleaned the entire thing and brought it in to the house. We like this screen much better than the gold one that was on the fireplace when we moved in. (It was donated to a family member for their fireplace). Whew, I think I've covered everything we've done in this room up to this point. In the end, this is where our living room stands now:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tv29HkOTTz0/TaJSYSYGbrI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/ZJ4_az0HVA8/s1600/Living+Room+April+11+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tv29HkOTTz0/TaJSYSYGbrI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/ZJ4_az0HVA8/s320/Living+Room+April+11+1.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wO8HZXfq8h8/TaJSj-MupTI/AAAAAAAAAIU/WBpuooJ37Ms/s1600/Living+Room+April+11+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wO8HZXfq8h8/TaJSj-MupTI/AAAAAAAAAIU/WBpuooJ37Ms/s320/Living+Room+April+11+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zqxufWO3voY/TaJSvmOnU2I/AAAAAAAAAIY/1w8FB6G8cHw/s1600/Living+Room+April+11+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zqxufWO3voY/TaJSvmOnU2I/AAAAAAAAAIY/1w8FB6G8cHw/s320/Living+Room+April+11+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iiJI_7u4NVs/TaJS7kpmTGI/AAAAAAAAAIc/aLBPe3tNocM/s1600/Living+Room+April+11+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iiJI_7u4NVs/TaJS7kpmTGI/AAAAAAAAAIc/aLBPe3tNocM/s320/Living+Room+April+11+4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Oh, and Parker's bed stays in the living room too. It's where we usually find him when we get home. :)<br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So what good deals have you found lately? Any garage sale finds? Craigslist? Black Friday? Habitat for Humanity Restore? Where do you shop when you need to get a good price on something for your home?</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
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</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-62502941580696216432011-03-30T21:53:00.000-05:002011-03-30T21:53:07.595-05:00Upcoming ProjectsI'm itching for summer to get here, and --believe it or not-- it's not because school will be out. It's because we always tackle a huge project during the summer. It's the time of the year that we have the greatest amount of our resources (time, energy, and savings), which leads to the time for the biggest projects of the year. Last summer we did a complete remodel of our guest bathroom (except for lighting, that's still on the list), which I'll post about soon. This summer, we have a few options:<br />
<br />
1.) Another bathroom remodel (master bath this time)<br />
2.) Guest bedroom remodel (we have two)<br />
3.) Switching our sliding doors out for french doors<br />
4.) Kitchen remodel<br />
<br />
First of all, I don't know if we will ever get to a complete kitchen remodel in this house (depends on how long we end up living here) so that one is wishful thinking (think: granite countertops, new cabinetry, new layout which includes knocking out a wall to make more room, etc.). I also think it's a little too soon for another bathroom remodel (we love it, we really do, but the amount of work it took is still a little fresh in our minds), so that leaves us with two items left on the list:<br />
<br />
<strike>1.) Another bathroom remodel (master bath this time)</strike><br />
2.) Guest bedroom remodel (we have two)<br />
3.) Switching our sliding doors out for french doors<br />
<strike>4.) Kitchen remodel</strike><br />
<br />
Realistically it will probably be a bedroom remodel because 1) we have yet to do one in this house and 2) I don't know if we can do the door switch-a-roo on our own (contractors may need to be involved - I have no idea how difficult --or easy for that matter-- that change is). So here's a few pictures so that you can see the options we have:<br />
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<u>First Option (Guest Bedroom Remodel)</u><br />
Here's what the guest bedroom looked like when we first bought the house:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EokbxXxeukQ/TZPp1Y-wTUI/AAAAAAAAAGo/xqlinLTyBLQ/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+0.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EokbxXxeukQ/TZPp1Y-wTUI/AAAAAAAAAGo/xqlinLTyBLQ/s320/Guest+Bedroom+0.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Here's what it looks like now as bascially a storage room of sorts:<br />
(We haven't done anything to it except for priming the walls. This is where we store our bulk purchases until used, where Parker sleeps at night, and where we store pet food and pet supplies.)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-daU6P3HuT-c/TZPnduKovtI/AAAAAAAAAGk/MRSoWHvOoKE/s1600/Guest+Bedroom+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-daU6P3HuT-c/TZPnduKovtI/AAAAAAAAAGk/MRSoWHvOoKE/s320/Guest+Bedroom+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Among the many things on the to-do list for this room are replacing the old brown carpet with wood floors. If we pick this as our summer project, I need to start thinking of wall colors and bedding and curtains... Exciting! </div><br />
<u>Second Option (Replacing Sliding Doors with French Doors)</u><br />
Here's a picture of the sliding doors when we first bought the house:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2Bc3Fyo_0yo/TZKA49CJDjI/AAAAAAAAAF4/FBD6lbEcp98/s1600/Living+Room+Before+8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2Bc3Fyo_0yo/TZKA49CJDjI/AAAAAAAAAF4/FBD6lbEcp98/s320/Living+Room+Before+8.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And the view from outside (they lead to the covered patio in our backyard):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qbQUps_ITiQ/TZPQVZ7VJYI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/Mt17XdCWwFA/s1600/Sliding+Doors+Patio.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qbQUps_ITiQ/TZPQVZ7VJYI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/Mt17XdCWwFA/s320/Sliding+Doors+Patio.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Here's how they look as of now (from the inside):</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wAbdqvjI1a4/TZPQiE-vowI/AAAAAAAAAGU/EeeqheLVZPE/s1600/Sliding+Doors+with+Chairs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wAbdqvjI1a4/TZPQiE-vowI/AAAAAAAAAGU/EeeqheLVZPE/s320/Sliding+Doors+with+Chairs.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aoU8w9D2yd0/TZPQHrQhYSI/AAAAAAAAAGM/GvQ2ybeWeZI/s1600/Sliding+Doors+Inside+with+Curtains.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aoU8w9D2yd0/TZPQHrQhYSI/AAAAAAAAAGM/GvQ2ybeWeZI/s320/Sliding+Doors+Inside+with+Curtains.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8PpP4SB_ugs/TZPQxeuIvlI/AAAAAAAAAGY/CHnSy2JzP-c/s1600/Sliding+Doors+with+Chairs+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8PpP4SB_ugs/TZPQxeuIvlI/AAAAAAAAAGY/CHnSy2JzP-c/s320/Sliding+Doors+with+Chairs+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">(Nicely hidden behind curtains)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Here's what I would love them to look like (something along these lines maybe even with skinny windows on both sides and a small one above - we shall see):</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uoFMq39n4Z8/TZPPxvpDloI/AAAAAAAAAGE/z_10PI1kzsk/s1600/French+Doors+1+Lowes.bmp" /></div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">(From <a href="http://www.lowes.com/pd_328361-44176-50FH15LLE+NB_4294858082_4294937087_?productId=3169961&Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl_Patio%2BDoors_4294858082_4294937087_%3FNs%3Dp_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr%7C0%7C%7Cp_product_quantity_sold%7C1">Lowes</a>)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bGU6ys_K6hQ/TZPP1HDz2fI/AAAAAAAAAGI/O3CLqmqv4S0/s1600/French+Doors+2+Home+Depot.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bGU6ys_K6hQ/TZPP1HDz2fI/AAAAAAAAAGI/O3CLqmqv4S0/s1600/French+Doors+2+Home+Depot.bmp" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(From <a href="http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=202024748&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_sku=202024748&ci_kw={keyword}&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googleads-_-30-_-202024748&ci_gpa=pla&locStoreNum=367">Home Depot</a>)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;">So I think I'm leaning towards the guest room remodel. What do you think? Anyone have any expertise on replacing sliding doors with french doors? How hard is it to do?</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-36688736931785522792011-03-20T11:28:00.000-05:002011-03-20T11:28:16.658-05:00Kitchen Update<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">No new projects have been completed around our house lately (work has been keeping us pretty busy with little spare time for remodeling), so here's a look back at the changes we made in our kitchen (the second room to be painted) after we moved in.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Here's the before pictures of the kitchen (taken when we viewed the house with the realtor):</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-bJ4jW7q5lgM/TYYCu_bSazI/AAAAAAAAAFE/05KMdupAe3U/s1600/House+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-bJ4jW7q5lgM/TYYCu_bSazI/AAAAAAAAAFE/05KMdupAe3U/s320/House+10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xkOyY2K6zS8/TYYCNujGSuI/AAAAAAAAAFA/ycNHTFtkB-I/s1600/House+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xkOyY2K6zS8/TYYCNujGSuI/AAAAAAAAAFA/ycNHTFtkB-I/s320/House+9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So we didn't mind the green in the kitchen, but the paint job was horrible (you'd have to see it up-close). Since we decided that we would have to paint the walls, we decided to go ahead and change the color while we were at it. We enlisted lots of help in this room because of all the sanding that needed to be done.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The list looked something like this:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">-Remove cabinet doors & handles, sand, and paint</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">-Sand and paint cabinets</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">-Clean and paint inside cabinets</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">-Buy and install stove</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">-Fix broken floorboard</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">-Remove, sand, and paint molding</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">-Change sink and fixtures</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">-Replace cabinet tops</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">-Replace dishwasher with stainless steel dishwasher </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">-Fix cabinet under the sink</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And then, of course, move in all the dishes, glasses, and cookware.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We had increased motivation near the end of the project because we were hosting supper club at our new house that month and things had to be "company ready," which included bringing over all of our cooking supplies to the new house (we were still in the rent house for a week after buying the new house while we fixed a few things and got things, like the stove, delivered and installed).</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Here's a few more before pics without the cabinet doors (they were being sanded and painted), where you can kinda see the work we needed to do under the sink and definitely see the work we needed to do in the cabinets.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oqa7tSt5_ho/TYYDGNoYj5I/AAAAAAAAAFM/pY4RsRGGybY/s1600/Kitchen+Before+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oqa7tSt5_ho/TYYDGNoYj5I/AAAAAAAAAFM/pY4RsRGGybY/s320/Kitchen+Before+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">First we did a really in-depth cleaning of EVERYTHING. Lots of anti-bacterial cleaner was used! ha-ha I found lots of things left behind by the previous owner, including expired box tops (Save them for your school!), "fountain of youth" water, a disgusting oil spill, matches, and a dead spider (Eww!!) amongst other things. Needless to say, this took a while, but it was totally worth it to know that our kitchen was like-new when we were done. To add to the "freshness" of it all, every cabinet interior was later painted white (much better than the original deep/dark brown fake-wood look). </div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-39K08E7l5Mk/TYYC6eQdxpI/AAAAAAAAAFI/hCpDot3sPAg/s1600/Kitchen+Before+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-39K08E7l5Mk/TYYC6eQdxpI/AAAAAAAAAFI/hCpDot3sPAg/s320/Kitchen+Before+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>Sidenote: The biggest thing to remember when painting cabinets (especially when you plan to put heavy stacks of dishes on it after) is to sand, then prime, then paint, then let it dry <u>completely</u>. If not, you will end up with paint sticking to your plates even though you thought it was dry (it was still a little tacky if this happens). To further prevent this, besides letting it dry, we added in white shelf liners (the kind that keep things from sliding around but don't actually stick to the cabinet - found some at Walmart and The Dollar Tree).</em> </div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Once everything was cleaned-til-it-shined, we started making a mess in the kitchen (such is life) by sanding every cabinet front and side. There were at least 3 layers of this off-white paint that would either flake or peel off depending on which layer and where the paint was. We didn't want this to lead to the new layer of paint also peeling or flaking off, so sanding was a must. After all the sanding, everything got another complete wipe-down. Once it all was clean and dry, we primed everything and then painted the first coat. We painted at least two coats on all surfaces after the primer was up (including the cabinet doors themselves). Lots and lots of waiting around for things to dry. Thankfully, we didn't have furniture in our living room yet, so the living room floor was covered in clear plastic which was where we did all of our cabinet-door painting. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">After the cabinets were all painted, we taped off all of the molding (except for the baseboards - those were removed completely) and repainted them white (to match the white on the cabinets). Again, more before pictures:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-oD88ollSHGs/TYYDTYsxc1I/AAAAAAAAAFQ/2yj-_ROASBY/s1600/Kitchen+Before+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-oD88ollSHGs/TYYDTYsxc1I/AAAAAAAAAFQ/2yj-_ROASBY/s320/Kitchen+Before+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Don't mind all the cleaning supplies on the cabinets - this was a work in progress shot)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-BeAhTtY26nA/TYYDhjevnVI/AAAAAAAAAFU/uFQXvccZ3hw/s1600/Kitchen+Before+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-BeAhTtY26nA/TYYDhjevnVI/AAAAAAAAAFU/uFQXvccZ3hw/s320/Kitchen+Before+4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Another shot of the stove-and-refrigerator side)</div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NTxr9qkVJ-U/TYYDuVt7P7I/AAAAAAAAAFY/cUUQetNuv8c/s1600/Kitchen+Before+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NTxr9qkVJ-U/TYYDuVt7P7I/AAAAAAAAAFY/cUUQetNuv8c/s320/Kitchen+Before+5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">(A sneak peak into the living room - that's another post for another day)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Let's discuss our choice of paint color in the kitchen. I <em>love</em> blue. Enough said. My husband was nice enough to let me paint the kitchen in the rent house (which we lived in before we purchased this home) a very bright blue with white cabinets, but this time we became a little bolder. We painted the kitchen a deep dark blue. During the debate over whether this was the correct color choice, many family and friend opinions included the fact that it would make the kitchen too dark and dreary. However, the hubby and I thought the darkness would be balanced by the fact that there was so much white in all the cabinetry and the fact that there is a huge window that lets in lots of sunlight for most of the day. So we ultimately crossed our fingers and tried it (something we are doing a lot of in this house) and guess what? It worked out just fine. We love the look of it and the cabinets/window totally balance out the darkness. Besides, there is a very small amount of surface area that is blue compared to the white of the cabinets and ceiling and the light wood of the floor. We love it. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Once all the cabinets were put back in place, we purchased a stainless steel stove (and I had to get used to an electric stove - I miss my gas stove!) and put our oldie-but-goodie fridge in place (it's on the list to be replaced with a stainless steel one some day). We also brought our island-on-wheels from our rent house (it was a Christmas purchase the first year we were married) which was perfect because it was white and had the same countertop as the kitchen. Other small projects including switching out the white water sprayer to a stainless steel one and removing the can opener screwed to the bottom of the cabinet (you can see it in some of the first pictures). Since then we have also hung up a few pictures (Hobby Lobby 1/2 price sale - Yay!) and added the Ikea containers discussed <a href="http://sparetimeremodeling.blogspot.com/2011/03/more-ikea-purchases.html">here</a>. We're liking the results. So here's the picture summary:</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Before:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oqa7tSt5_ho/TYYDGNoYj5I/AAAAAAAAAFM/pY4RsRGGybY/s1600/Kitchen+Before+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oqa7tSt5_ho/TYYDGNoYj5I/AAAAAAAAAFM/pY4RsRGGybY/s320/Kitchen+Before+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-HxVa_oe-6Dc/TYYbGxCr0YI/AAAAAAAAAFo/4l5Jme1htJM/s1600/After+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-HxVa_oe-6Dc/TYYbGxCr0YI/AAAAAAAAAFo/4l5Jme1htJM/s320/After+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Before:</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-oD88ollSHGs/TYYDTYsxc1I/AAAAAAAAAFQ/2yj-_ROASBY/s1600/Kitchen+Before+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-oD88ollSHGs/TYYDTYsxc1I/AAAAAAAAAFQ/2yj-_ROASBY/s320/Kitchen+Before+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">After:</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-btUGNsE1Tuo/TYYbTzqK1qI/AAAAAAAAAFs/i0Jp_z7rdhk/s1600/After+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-btUGNsE1Tuo/TYYbTzqK1qI/AAAAAAAAAFs/i0Jp_z7rdhk/s320/After+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Before:</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-BeAhTtY26nA/TYYDhjevnVI/AAAAAAAAAFU/uFQXvccZ3hw/s1600/Kitchen+Before+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-BeAhTtY26nA/TYYDhjevnVI/AAAAAAAAAFU/uFQXvccZ3hw/s320/Kitchen+Before+4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">After: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XaTBEBumjYM/TYYbgl4qehI/AAAAAAAAAFw/RxyaETZ7s5Q/s1600/After+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XaTBEBumjYM/TYYbgl4qehI/AAAAAAAAAFw/RxyaETZ7s5Q/s320/After+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div> Oh, and we still have a projects left in the kitchen -- stainless steel dishwasher, stainless steel fridge, possibly new flooring and cabinet tops, and definitely a new light fixture: <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-c95WMtzfnWk/TYYbwSN0sZI/AAAAAAAAAF0/5S2wqPdP6k4/s1600/Light.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-c95WMtzfnWk/TYYbwSN0sZI/AAAAAAAAAF0/5S2wqPdP6k4/s320/Light.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ugh, popcorn ceilings. (Anyone ever got rid of the popcorn themselves? Advice please!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We're still loving the kitchen upgrades as well as the blue walls. :)</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-28074772033709927702011-03-13T20:06:00.000-05:002011-03-13T20:06:11.698-05:00More Ikea PurchasesAll the excitement about the sectional beat out the excitement of a few new pieces around the house, also from Ikea. These accessories were actually purchased during our first trip to the store. We've always planned to replace the black jars we had, but once we saw these glass containers with stainless steel lids at Ikea for a great price, we decided to replace them sooner than later:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a1VCP-y8SCw/TX1X-UxcpaI/AAAAAAAAAEg/j1tQDgQIjxU/s1600/Kitchen+Canisters+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" q6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a1VCP-y8SCw/TX1X-UxcpaI/AAAAAAAAAEg/j1tQDgQIjxU/s320/Kitchen+Canisters+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">When we lined up the containers available, they weren't proportional, so instead of buying various sizes that looked mismatched, we chose one size and bought 3 of them. Here's an older pic of the kitchen, where you can see the black jars we had (leftover from "college decor"):</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nnLj0UnRmQw/TX1YRzmenfI/AAAAAAAAAEo/kMk09MXNTLU/s1600/Kitchen+Canisters+Before.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" q6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nnLj0UnRmQw/TX1YRzmenfI/AAAAAAAAAEo/kMk09MXNTLU/s320/Kitchen+Canisters+Before.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">This is what we have on the cabinet in our kitchen now:</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-O6J9qW-WGVw/TX1YGmVUFOI/AAAAAAAAAEk/jFDEXRZK0k4/s1600/Kitchen+Canisters+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" q6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-O6J9qW-WGVw/TX1YGmVUFOI/AAAAAAAAAEk/jFDEXRZK0k4/s320/Kitchen+Canisters+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Much better!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-U5sl0sefDg0/TX1YdldJ7KI/AAAAAAAAAEs/sfgamu3N4_s/s1600/Kitchen+Canisters+CloseUp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" q6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-U5sl0sefDg0/TX1YdldJ7KI/AAAAAAAAAEs/sfgamu3N4_s/s320/Kitchen+Canisters+CloseUp.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We have flour, rice, and sugar in them and now that we have clear containers, I can tell what is in which jar. We also purchased a taller, skinnier one for pasta:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-asJhdDyw_tQ/TX1YoaO-0qI/AAAAAAAAAEw/UbfLadksFDk/s1600/Spaghetti+Canister.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" q6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-asJhdDyw_tQ/TX1YoaO-0qI/AAAAAAAAAEw/UbfLadksFDk/s320/Spaghetti+Canister.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Our other purchase was this lamp that we <em>had </em>to have once we saw it in the store:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-qxoWGvwL3so/TX1Y_e9_s3I/AAAAAAAAAE4/BieyB6sD7uU/s1600/Lamp+After.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" q6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-qxoWGvwL3so/TX1Y_e9_s3I/AAAAAAAAAE4/BieyB6sD7uU/s320/Lamp+After.JPG" width="184" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Here it is in our house (you may have noticed it in the background of some of the pictures of the sectional set-up):</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9830G1W9cto/TX1ZIp4dgpI/AAAAAAAAAE8/nwt0Le7sgds/s1600/Lamp+After+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" q6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9830G1W9cto/TX1ZIp4dgpI/AAAAAAAAAE8/nwt0Le7sgds/s320/Lamp+After+2.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">(Excuse this pic of it - we only had one bulb that was the correct size for the lamp). We were worried that little Parker may be interested in the lamp and scratch or chew at it, but he hasn't even seemed to notice it. (I think the sectional caught his attention instead - but he has behaved wonderfully with it so far! Yay!)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So what do you think? Any new additions to your home lately? Anyone buy anything from Ikea? How did it work out?</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-90801585920453679442011-03-08T17:54:00.002-06:002011-03-08T18:02:16.415-06:00Sectional Set-UpSo we visited a few more furniture stores yesterday and decided that there weren't many sectionals that we liked (or if we kinda liked it, there was no white, or no leather available). We also found ourselves continuing to compare it to the Ikea Karlstad in white leather. Sooo... we decided to buy it and pick it up all in one day! That wouldn't be such an extraordinary event for one day except for the fact that Ikea is four hours away from us! We woke up bright and early this morning and left around 6AM because the store opens at 10AM. We were there for about 45 minutes to an hour and left the store at 11AM, putting us back home around 3PM. Whew! Did I mention it rained and rained and rained today? Thankfully Ikea packages the sofa parts in a cardboard box wrapped in plastic, so we didn't even need the tarp we brought with us. Yay!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hru9Eg5dRwY/TXa8YKSebWI/AAAAAAAAAEM/hg5T696Ejts/s1600/Sofa+After+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" q6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hru9Eg5dRwY/TXa8YKSebWI/AAAAAAAAAEM/hg5T696Ejts/s400/Sofa+After+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We knew we'd have to put it all together, but it actually wasn't so bad since the leather versions come with the leather already attached (the fabric versions require you to put the slipcover on each part of the sofa before you put it all together). I tried to remember to take a few shots during the process, but I'm usually more of a before and after person, so there aren't many. Scroll down to see the process and the finished project. We do realize that the choice is one of those "you either love it or hate it" kind of things, but we love it! It was a bit of a stretch out of our comfort zone, but sometimes it's good to mix things up.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Here's what it all looked like taken out of the boxes:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_PbTAyWApwU/TXa7cJ7IrQI/AAAAAAAAAD0/0SrP1NffpEg/s1600/Before+Chaise+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" q6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_PbTAyWApwU/TXa7cJ7IrQI/AAAAAAAAAD0/0SrP1NffpEg/s400/Before+Chaise+1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(The Chaise Attachment)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-gsME4R35kuI/TXa7j2hYPNI/AAAAAAAAAD4/vzrci7lLClo/s1600/Before+Sofa+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="336" q6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-gsME4R35kuI/TXa7j2hYPNI/AAAAAAAAAD4/vzrci7lLClo/s400/Before+Sofa+1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">(The Karlstad Sofa)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">First, the legs had to be attached, then (after removing the arm) the chaise had to be attached to the sofa:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-qolZV3HjWPg/TXa7zLEt-sI/AAAAAAAAAEA/Ww5DPMilEjQ/s1600/During+Chaise+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" q6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-qolZV3HjWPg/TXa7zLEt-sI/AAAAAAAAAEA/Ww5DPMilEjQ/s400/During+Chaise+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-DlAAeilNzyg/TXa7pEzHU7I/AAAAAAAAAD8/Eh0msRBriIk/s1600/During+Chaise+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-DlAAeilNzyg/TXa7pEzHU7I/AAAAAAAAAD8/Eh0msRBriIk/s400/During+Chaise+1.JPG" width="341" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vjR3SNTwpK0/TXa7-qwHrtI/AAAAAAAAAEE/sCNyN2EM-u4/s1600/During+Chaise+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vjR3SNTwpK0/TXa7-qwHrtI/AAAAAAAAAEE/sCNyN2EM-u4/s400/During+Chaise+3.JPG" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Aww, look my handy hubby)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Then the arm had to be attached to the chaise. It did not take us long at all, which was the best part because after driving for so long, we were ready to be home and to relax on our new sectional! :)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Ta-da! Finished project:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-4PSJZ-4Wla0/TXa8MOOnWHI/AAAAAAAAAEI/fHw1b103xoM/s1600/Sofa+After+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" q6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-4PSJZ-4Wla0/TXa8MOOnWHI/AAAAAAAAAEI/fHw1b103xoM/s400/Sofa+After+1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hru9Eg5dRwY/TXa8YKSebWI/AAAAAAAAAEM/hg5T696Ejts/s1600/Sofa+After+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" q6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hru9Eg5dRwY/TXa8YKSebWI/AAAAAAAAAEM/hg5T696Ejts/s400/Sofa+After+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-V4iRRTC9d9I/TXa8kjL1AVI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/HqCcive7N30/s1600/Sofa+After+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" q6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-V4iRRTC9d9I/TXa8kjL1AVI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/HqCcive7N30/s400/Sofa+After+3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iBSzj7RVR84/TXa8wVMjB_I/AAAAAAAAAEU/sHWqIMn6pys/s1600/Sofa+After+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" q6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iBSzj7RVR84/TXa8wVMjB_I/AAAAAAAAAEU/sHWqIMn6pys/s400/Sofa+After+4.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">We definitely needed some white to brighten up the room since the walls and the floor are dark and we think this does it. So what do you think?</div><div align="left" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-13505687991099668642011-03-06T10:40:00.002-06:002011-03-06T11:41:32.114-06:00Hello Ikea!So I usually receive catalogs from Ikea, flip through them, and make mental notes for later about pieces I like or decorating ideas I may want to use. However, I've never been to an Ikea store because the closest one to us is a little over 4 hours away. My husband and I both had a four day weekend this weekend, so we decided to make the drive on Saturday to check things out.<br />
<br />
Our main reason for going was to look at their sectionals because I've been pricing and comparing various ones and since their sectionals are relatively cheaper than others I've looked at, I wanted to see them up close before I made a decision (we wanted to see what we were really getting without having to order it, and possibly return it). Wow, all I can say is that store is huge! I don't know if any of you have been to one, but I could've walked through it a couple of times adding to my wishlist each time. We did find one sectional that has made our list, but we still aren't quite sure about it yet. See, we like leather sectionals (think two seats plus a chaise) but we don't really care for a lot of tufting. Ikea's leather sectional that has a chaise attachment only comes in tufted leather. While we are going for a more modern look in the den, the sectional almost looks retro with all the tufting. However, it's the closest we've found to what we want, and you can't beat the price for a leather sectional, so it's made the list, but a decision hasn't been made just yet. <br />
<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ZPRTndUJzRw/TXO6oquYcJI/AAAAAAAAADQ/JXIYIXuYLeQ/s1600/Ikea+Karlstad+Sofa+White+Tufted+Leather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ZPRTndUJzRw/TXO6oquYcJI/AAAAAAAAADQ/JXIYIXuYLeQ/s320/Ikea+Karlstad+Sofa+White+Tufted+Leather.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Here's a link to the picture of it: <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80139098">Ikea Karlstad Sofa Sectional</a> . It also has leg/feet upgrades that you can purchase (the silver/metal ones were really pretty with the white leather). </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Why leather? Because we have a dog that likes to sit with us on the couch and we plan on having kids one day. A leather sectional would make clean-up easy. We were worried about the dog messing up the leather, but we've recently purchased two leather club chairs for our living room and he doesn't scratch them (or have accidents on them) and I don't have to vacuum them constantly to remove dog hair (I can just wipe them down if needed - so much nicer!). We also want to get a white sectional. Yes, white. No, we aren't crazy. :) Hence, the choice of leather. We are crossing our fingers that it will work out since we can wipe up any spills rather than having to try to remove them from fabric, while still having the look of a white piece of furniture to lighten things up in the dark gray room. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So anyone have any experience with Ikea or white sectionals? Any suggestions on other furniture places to shop at? Feel free to share any info/experience/expertise you may have by leaving a comment below. </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-63601054652694273992011-02-20T14:50:00.000-06:002011-02-20T14:50:41.101-06:00Gift Wrap OrganizationSo one of my favorite magazine subscriptions is to <a href="http://www.bhg.com/">Better Homes and Gardens</a> (Along with <a href="http://www.realsimple.com/">Real Simple</a>, and <a href="http://www.housebeautiful.com/">House Beautiful</a>). In their February 2011 issue (Pg. 79), they showed an over-the-door gift wrap station. I love to organize things, but I had yet to create a gift wrap center (although I've always wanted to). For the last few years, all gift wrap supplies (tape, ribbon, gift bags, tissue paper, etc.) were stuffed into a large under-the-bed box in our foyer closet (excuse the closet, it has not received a facelift since we've moved in). <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fGViFHRyp9U/TWF2A66hz2I/AAAAAAAAAC4/u03VmTNA7WY/s1600/Foyer+Closet+Box.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fGViFHRyp9U/TWF2A66hz2I/AAAAAAAAAC4/u03VmTNA7WY/s320/Foyer+Closet+Box.JPG" width="198" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">and the gift wrap was balanced against the wall in a clost in the den. I'm pretty petite, so I couldn't always bring the box down very easily to go through the items to find the one I wanted. Needless to say, I needed an upgrade but wasn't sure what to do yet and I definitely wasn't ready to spend money on something new for it (I have other things I'm saving up for first).</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Well, once I saw the picture in the magazine (along with steps!), I knew I could do this in my own home in the foyer closet. The best news of all was that I had one of those wire-rack organizers already from my college apartment days (used to have it in the bathroom closet for all my hair products/blowdryer/flat iron/makeup/etc.). So I took it out of storage, cleaned it off and hung it up. If you compare the picture from the magazine (I can't seem to find a link - anyone know of one?) to my actual closet you notice that I still need to find a few glass jars for small items and that my last bin (at the bottom) is not quite as deep, but it works. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iP9VV90xgi8/TWF2apLZfLI/AAAAAAAAADA/ENsEOmoKNa4/s1600/DSC_0584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iP9VV90xgi8/TWF2apLZfLI/AAAAAAAAADA/ENsEOmoKNa4/s320/DSC_0584.JPG" width="212" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5HJrV2bM3uc/TWF2NzDzdzI/AAAAAAAAAC8/Wfm2OKWyBCc/s1600/DSC_0581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5HJrV2bM3uc/TWF2NzDzdzI/AAAAAAAAAC8/Wfm2OKWyBCc/s320/DSC_0581.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d-F3dnNKAfg/TWF3ENgzWAI/AAAAAAAAADM/f-VcBg6muz4/s1600/DSC_0575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" j6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d-F3dnNKAfg/TWF3ENgzWAI/AAAAAAAAADM/f-VcBg6muz4/s320/DSC_0575.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-32zhJ1DGbc8/TWF20L2OVvI/AAAAAAAAADI/DDonbo0wujk/s1600/Foyer+Over+Door+Organizer.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-32zhJ1DGbc8/TWF20L2OVvI/AAAAAAAAADI/DDonbo0wujk/s320/Foyer+Over+Door+Organizer.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The only issue I've had with it so far is that if I open the door too quickly, the entire rack swings away from the door a little and then slams into it. My husband plans on putting two small screws at the bottom to secure it and prevent any further swinging. This is an easy afternoon project once you have the supplies. I found this over the door wire rack for a good price at Walmart in the pantry organization area about 5 years ago, but I can't seem to find it on their website now (discontinued maybe?). However, they have a few similar products here:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/Neu-Home-Over-the-Door-2-Basket-Unit/9905553">Walmart 2 Basket Unit</a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/Over-Door-4-Basket-Unit/10975461">Walmart 4 Basket Unit</a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10975464&findingMethod=rr">Walmart 6 Basket Unit</a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The important part is that you choose one where you can adjust the shelves to different places so they can accommodate gift wrap rolls, smaller ribbon spools, etc. If you don't have lots of wrapping supplies, you might be able to get away with the 2 or 4 basket unit instead, and I'm sure there are some super shoppers out there that could find something similar at a TJ Maxx, SteinMart, Big Lots, or Marshall's.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Not bad, eh?</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">What do you do for your gift wrap organization? I know there are more elaborate systems out there, share yours!</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-68422519617536156932011-02-20T10:56:00.000-06:002011-02-20T10:56:27.927-06:00Hello Sun!Warmer weather is finally here and I'm soaking up every minute of it that I can get. Yesterday was normal lawn care (cut the grass, raked leaves, etc.) and today is the beginning of re-starting the garden, flowerboxes, and general landscaping. I'm no garden pro, but we did not buy a single tomato, bell pepper, cucumber, or leaf of basil last summer. Here's to the hope that this summer our skills continue to improve. Pics and more posts will follow, but for today, I'm off to soak in some sun and spruce up my yard. :)<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-13011122467912833712011-02-18T06:04:00.001-06:002011-02-18T06:07:48.325-06:00A Post From the Past One of the first projects we completed in our house was to repaint the dining room. We weren't complete "paint virgins" since we had painted a few large rooms in our rent house, but we knew that we had lots to learn. The first thing we did differently this time was to remove the baseboards and the trim from the wainscoting in order to have nice clean edges instead of trying to cut in everywhere. We also made sure that everything got a nice layer of primer first. After all the painting was done, the baseboards and trim were replaced with a nail gun/brad nailer. <br />
<br />
We absolutely loved our red dining room in our rent house, so we went with red again in this house, but with lots of white to help break up the darkness. Beware that with red paint, you will have to paint quite a few coats to make sure it doesn't end up pink. Don't be scared of the inital color of the first few coats of paint. In the end, with enough coats, it will end up a nice deep red instead of pink. We primed with a tinted primer (grey) in order to lower our number of coats of paint, which seemed to help. However, if we would have known about the Behr paint with the primer already in it, that would have been an even better course of action.<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Again, (the common theme in some parts of this house), the dining room started off very brown:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" j6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BpiWOipjyKY/TV5bfhXQb6I/AAAAAAAAACA/_1DOmeJJ5X0/s320/DR+Before+3.JPG" width="320" /></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>(You can even see some of the orange/gold-ish color that used to be in the living room in the first pic)<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f7D8XA-hPoo/TV5bRlxscCI/AAAAAAAAAB8/W2HlyDRfHyI/s1600/DR+Before+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" j6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f7D8XA-hPoo/TV5bRlxscCI/AAAAAAAAAB8/W2HlyDRfHyI/s320/DR+Before+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">We painted all trim, the door, and the wainscotting Polar Bear (by Behr) and the walls red. We also spray painted the metal vent at the bottom of the door (our A/C unit is in there) and switched the wooden blinds out with a set of white ones from one of the guest bedrooms since, luckily for us, they were the exact same size (all of them came with the house). Those changes put us here:</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nucx29O9CTw/TV5brE4pf4I/AAAAAAAAACE/woxrqB_6bDE/s1600/DR+After+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" j6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nucx29O9CTw/TV5brE4pf4I/AAAAAAAAACE/woxrqB_6bDE/s320/DR+After+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Eventually we also hung the curtains we already had and replaced the chandelier with a garage sale find (you can still find this one brand new at Home Depot or Lowe's) which we purchased new shades for (I think from Walmart) in order to give it a different look. Here is another "after" pic (without the artwork we now have and the two new pieces of furniture added since):</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kxSIQ2xvSHk/TV5b4XSItAI/AAAAAAAAACI/mFxnE0j_2_w/s1600/DR+After+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" j6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kxSIQ2xvSHk/TV5b4XSItAI/AAAAAAAAACI/mFxnE0j_2_w/s320/DR+After+4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">We think the change is pretty drastic and we definitely love it! </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-67925150516531710202011-02-16T20:00:00.000-06:002011-02-16T20:00:59.771-06:00Happy Belated Valentine's Day!Since Valentine's Day was on a big Monday night this year, the hubby and I skipped the normal eat-out-at-a-romantic-restaurant thing and decided to spend that money on a few accessories for the house. (Oh, and it didn't hurt that the piece I've been looking for for a while was on sale at Hobby Lobby!). See, I've been looking for a corner shelf piece with a bronze finish to add a decorative touch to my dining room. The room is rather small, so with our large dining room table, we can't fit a big, beautiful buffet (alliteration anyone?) on any wall without making it feel cramped. We have managed to fit a bar, but that's about the extent of furniture/accessories besides the table and chairs. So now we have two more pieces of furniture; the corner shelf:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZPNVNImx51g/TVx9ChOyo_I/AAAAAAAAAA4/_Kc3qpNzkYg/s1600/Corner+Shelf.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZPNVNImx51g/TVx9ChOyo_I/AAAAAAAAAA4/_Kc3qpNzkYg/s320/Corner+Shelf.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">and a side table with a beautiful vase (bought with a gift card to Kirkland's from my girls - Thanks!) which is yet to be filled (still looking for just the right stuff...):</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tjhpaaHTHd8/TVx9awCZ-LI/AAAAAAAAABA/_m7WbmyaAec/s1600/Side+Table+with+Vase.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tjhpaaHTHd8/TVx9awCZ-LI/AAAAAAAAABA/_m7WbmyaAec/s320/Side+Table+with+Vase.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And for those of you who like details, here's a few close ups of the shelf itself (beautiful wood!) and the heart details (perfect for Valentine's Day wouldn't you say?) :</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-beoSKzyEggw/TVx9O8espCI/AAAAAAAAAA8/QQQstQYzcKg/s1600/Shelf+Close+Up.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" j6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-beoSKzyEggw/TVx9O8espCI/AAAAAAAAAA8/QQQstQYzcKg/s320/Shelf+Close+Up.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" j6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p7DlfB3TW0Q/TVx9m1svsnI/AAAAAAAAABE/Oo6-2b_CNn4/s320/Light+Heart+Shelf.JPG" width="212" /> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DxYCYUNG1K8/TVx90yfpkNI/AAAAAAAAABI/UFnyc2Q9f0c/s1600/Dark+Heart+Shelf.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DxYCYUNG1K8/TVx90yfpkNI/AAAAAAAAABI/UFnyc2Q9f0c/s320/Dark+Heart+Shelf.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Don't worry, I still got flowers for Valentine's Day. I just got the kind that will live longer (yay!):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RLSaCQoPQZ8/TVx_s3lyQJI/AAAAAAAAABM/nRszhLSiakY/s1600/DSC_0551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" j6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RLSaCQoPQZ8/TVx_s3lyQJI/AAAAAAAAABM/nRszhLSiakY/s320/DSC_0551.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rFy-dVW9oSE/TVx_5zoaAhI/AAAAAAAAABQ/Mdcr28bA8ks/s1600/DSC_0553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" j6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rFy-dVW9oSE/TVx_5zoaAhI/AAAAAAAAABQ/Mdcr28bA8ks/s320/DSC_0553.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Future project for my flower box pending warmer weather :)</div><div align="left" class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Oh, and here's a picture of my cutie patootie Parker and his Valentine's Day present: </div><div align="center" class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" j6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dB-YY8Wi48k/TVyAISvuAoI/AAAAAAAAABU/5DlWLx8Uw1o/s320/DSC_0556.JPG" width="320" /></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">So how did you spend your Valentine's Day? Any interesting stories?</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-69535079169929167672011-02-14T17:53:00.000-06:002011-02-14T17:53:34.751-06:00Drool...So I've been looking and looking... and looking... for fabric to make my own curtains for our den. The problem is I know exactly what I want but I can't find it anywhere. I've exhausted all the local options (Hancock Fabrics, Hobby Lobby, JoAnn's, some interior design fabric store, etc.) and even ran out of steam searching the internet. Finally, this weekend, I've found it! The perfect pattern! However, the curtains are already made, it's not the fabric itself, and they are waaaayyy out of my budget. So now onto the "find something similar" search. But until then, you can drool right along with me:<br />
<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G7I8TMinSYs/TVm8yajpIRI/AAAAAAAAAA0/3KH15ftUvwc/s1600/Thomas+Paul+Dahlia+Flowers+Curtains.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G7I8TMinSYs/TVm8yajpIRI/AAAAAAAAAA0/3KH15ftUvwc/s320/Thomas+Paul+Dahlia+Flowers+Curtains.gif" width="242" /></a></div><br />
Wouldn't this look awesome? It would pull in the grey and the teal/blue while adding in a pop of yellow that I could incorporate into the room and lightening things up with all the white in the background. Love, love, love these curtains. Now to find a more affordable option that is similar.... <br />
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The curtains and picture are from <a href="http://store.contempocurtains.com/modern-curtains-thomas-paul-flowers-aegean.html">Thomas Paul Curtains</a>. I've been google-ing Thomas Paul since. :)<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091625391861120765.post-22943338037803900192011-02-13T22:02:00.001-06:002011-02-15T15:46:59.230-06:00Den Room DramaWhen we first moved into our house, this is what our den looked like: <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aJIXTG_NLe4/TViePMI44_I/AAAAAAAAAAM/P3w556MN7Aw/s1600/Den+Before+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aJIXTG_NLe4/TViePMI44_I/AAAAAAAAAAM/P3w556MN7Aw/s320/Den+Before+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Lots and lots of brown!</div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ju4cJKngD2k/TVieguH4IlI/AAAAAAAAAAQ/eSbPIf98HkQ/s1600/Den+Before+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ju4cJKngD2k/TVieguH4IlI/AAAAAAAAAAQ/eSbPIf98HkQ/s320/Den+Before+4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div align="left" class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So our first attempt at updating the room was to paint the walls a beige color and one accent wall a burgundy color. Like this: </div></div><div align="left" class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XrBiuPbfbmY/TVijLama1BI/AAAAAAAAAAU/1WCxA7JwLFU/s1600/Before+Tile+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XrBiuPbfbmY/TVijLama1BI/AAAAAAAAAAU/1WCxA7JwLFU/s320/Before+Tile+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(These pics were taken right before we tiled the room)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-siwu2Naq17c/TVijYw1Qs8I/AAAAAAAAAAY/UEPVFtDRKsM/s1600/Before+Tile+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-siwu2Naq17c/TVijYw1Qs8I/AAAAAAAAAAY/UEPVFtDRKsM/s320/Before+Tile+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div align="left" class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div align="left" class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> It was okay at best with the old floors, but then we updated the floors and the color combo confirmed its place on our redo list.:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D6iubjlgPks/TVilRW4GauI/AAAAAAAAAAk/0ytJP_U72FI/s1600/Finished+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D6iubjlgPks/TVilRW4GauI/AAAAAAAAAAk/0ytJP_U72FI/s320/Finished+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wirSi0npXpg/TVilfcJtokI/AAAAAAAAAAo/SkeOZQGUthI/s1600/Finished+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wirSi0npXpg/TVilfcJtokI/AAAAAAAAAAo/SkeOZQGUthI/s320/Finished+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
We moved on to other projects while we considered our choices. After about 4 grey paint samples and at least 5 different blue ones, we finally committed to two finalists, and we haven't looked back since. The blue/teal is called Hallowed Hush and the grey is called Dark Granite. Both colors are Behr Premium Plus flat enamel. Here's the new colors with the new tile floor (these pics actually have the trim painted Behr Polar Bear and put back into place, a new TV - Merry Christmas to us!- and a black curtain which I made):</div></div><div align="left" class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sPrUUCfbmJE/TVimGSQg5sI/AAAAAAAAAAs/Uf1Qzqh_MGk/s1600/Den+New+Colors+05.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sPrUUCfbmJE/TVimGSQg5sI/AAAAAAAAAAs/Uf1Qzqh_MGk/s320/Den+New+Colors+05.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div align="left" class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UIm1wBcd-6k/TVimTefaUdI/AAAAAAAAAAw/Yu9jVlUJfZc/s1600/Den+New+Colors+06.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UIm1wBcd-6k/TVimTefaUdI/AAAAAAAAAAw/Yu9jVlUJfZc/s320/Den+New+Colors+06.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center">Ahhh, much better. Now onto curtains, lighting, and furniture for the room...</div><div align="left" class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div align="left" class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Please enjoy this site, please vote for it here: http://picketfenceblogs.com/vote/3230</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12788456337338306474noreply@blogger.com0