Sneak Peak

Drum roll please...here's a new 2014 sneak peak at our new bathroom....
We tried to stay true to the 1924 feel of our house.  Before pictures to come later.

Before and After: Chair and Door

Remember this post?  Here is what that dusty old chair has turned into.  I cleaned off all the years of dirt and dust and then painted it with the same outdoor paint we painted our front door with.  Much better against our white house!

Also, this summer I got tired of staring at our old white door...and decided it was time to give that smudgy door a nice update. You can see from the picture above, that it has turned out quite nicely!  It took about 3 coats of this very heavy duty paint to finally cover it up!

For the Love of Your Neighbor

This is a public service announcement: 

Please folks, do not put wallpaper up in your house!

B working hard at scraping!

B and I are starting a bathroom renovation and spent a good portion of a week scraping off wallpaper.  Yuck!!  It's just not worth it! 
By the way, you can find lots of great stencils if you really want a pattern on your walls.

Before

The Uglies.

When we walked into our house the first time, we knew it was the one.  It might not be perfect for any other family, but we really feel that it is perfect for us!
So, as we've been living here now about 1 1/2 years, we have decided the that previous owners had HORRIBLE task in decorating and more specifically in light fixtures.    After staring at the horrible light fixtures over the landing on our stairs, we decided to call up our "resident electrician" and install a brand new fixture.  Check out the pictures.  Don't you think it is an improvement?  We decided to go with a vintage-feeling fixture that is not flush with the ceiling since it is such a high space.  Definitely the correct fixture for a 1920s house.  The old one was really horrendous!

Fall and a Burlap Wreath

I made a super easy wreath this year from burlap and a wire form.  I found the idea on pinterest and was so surprised on how easy it was!  The hardest part was actually finding the roll of burlap, which you can buy at Joann's Fabrics or Michaels.

As you'll be able to see from the below pictures, I made quite a mess as I was putting out all of my fall decorations.  B just chuckles to himself as he watches me sqiry around and try to figure out the best place for each of my pumpkins :) 

Getting ready for fall this year was fun because the colors seemed to be so vibrant!  One day I came home from school and saw that one of the big trees above our house has turned and so I tried to get a quick picture of it.  We definitely had quite a few leaves to rake this year, but B and I always say that having trees around our house is definitely worth it when we need their shade in the summer!

Kitchen

Before..I strongly disliked these wall colors!

B getting lessons on how to install a new light fixture.

After, a much better color!!

So, our kitchen is not big by any means, but it really is perfect for us.  As a bonus, we even have a pantry and a built in china cabinet, which is something we didn't even ask for!
 
When we moved into our house, the walls in the kitchen were this horrible 70s goldish color and as I stared at them day after day, I started to hate the color more and more.
 
Choosing the color wasn't terrible, I had my sister-in-laws and mother-in-law vote on a color and the final was a light yellow called 'Banana Pudding.'  The paint, I believe, is Dutch Boy Refresh paint.  The paint guy at the store recommended this paint especially for kitchen because of the odors that can be aborbed into walls.  I think it is pretty good at fighting those odors!  I found some crisp white lace curtains to just act as a very faint window accent and it has come together really nicely. 

I repainted all the cabinets and trim this summer and we are currently working on hardware for them.  You can even see in the picture that there is a little door to the left of the stove and that means we have access to our laundry shoot (love it) from our kitchen and that is a huge life saver!

House Updates

What a boring post title...I know, but I couldn't think of a better one!  Here are some updates that have been going on here lately.

Before...

During...

Before...

Just a little paint (gray of course) can make a bit difference!

And after!

Stairs Before and After

Here is a picture our stairway before...

and here it is after. 

 Not too many changes, just something for the wall and an orchid to boot!  What appears to be just a normal wall hanging above the orchid (through the photos you can't really tell) is really a redone vintage ceiling tile that B and I bought on our 1st wedding anniversary trip to Galena.  Of course I thought it was too expensive to buy, but B said go for it and I'm sure glad he did!  The orchid was an anniversary gift from my parents.  I have always wanted an orchid and finally I have one! 

House Before

After many promises to finally update and post with new pictures, I am trying to start and follow through finally!

As many of you know, we bought our first home in August 2011.  5 days after closing, I started school and so it has been a very busy time since then!  Our house in a 1920's Dutch Colonial style home.  We are absolutely in love with it!  Due to some time constraints with work, we've done a few little fix-ups around the house since we've moved in, but nothing major thus far.

SO, I've decided to post some pictures of our house "before" and then update with the "after" pictures as we go along.  The pictures below are a bit out of order, but I think you'll be able to have adequate tour of our home all the same.  Enjoy!

bathroom

backyard

garage

stairs

stairs #2

upstairs hallway

bedroom #1

room #2

room #3

looking from back door into backyard

basement

basement #2

laundry and B's shower

our first night at our house

storage area and laundry shoot (yay!)

front door (with all our cleaning supplies)

kitchen #1

kitchen#2

pantry

back door, stairs leading to basement

 

looking into the dining room