A Long Time Coming. Or, How Mel Became Room Inspiration.

About two trillion years ago, I decided that I wanted my studio (or whatever you want to call it) to be the next space that I tackled in the house.

So I bought a huge comfy chair (that could easily fit two people) and the ottoman (that you could lie flat on for a nap, it's huge) at Salvation Army. It was a great brand and I got the chair/ottoman set (nearly new) fifty percent off the Salvation Army price. We loaded it onto and into Old Red and brought it home.

That was last summer.

For about six months I was stuck deciding on a color. Then, over winter break, I decided on blue.

But I couldn't choose a blue. None of them looked right. And I bought probably six different samples:

This is not even all the blues. More blue crimes were committed after this photo.

 I seriously hated them all. Plus, Jeremiah had gotten me two prints - one as a graduation present and one for Christmas. And I didn't like the way either of them looked in my room against those blue samples. So I decided that blue was out.

And then Mel walked in the room. In case you have forgotten, Mel looks like this:

I swear, she poses. This is her thoughtful pose.

Anyway, I was like, brown. Hmmm...and then I remembered how much I love the brown room at my parents' house. And I was like, brown...some more.

So I found one sample, just as a trysies.

I was sold. I didn't even need to try any other browns. This one was PERFECT. It was a darker brown with some greyish/purple-y tones.

 After one coat I was loving it, but I was also frightened. I did NOT want to have to do ten coats of paint, and with the horrible textured walls that exist throughout the Southwest, I thought there was a good possibility of ten coats coming true. All those raised bumps make it really difficult to get the low-lying spots.

After two coats, however, I was good. I will need to do some light touch-ups in some extra-textured areas, but other than that, all is golden.

 

And I love it. It's not a large room, and I know some people are into the whole "Small rooms + Dark colors = No" but I don't think it makes it feel any smaller. The high arched ceilings probably help with that.  Also, the room gets constant light, from sunrise to sunset. So it never feels cave-like.

I went back and forth on whether or not to paint the ceiling and trim white. You might remember that EVERYTHING in the house is a horrible creamy color. Everything. Even door hinges, vents, and outlet covers. Finally I sucked it up and Jeremiah painted the ceiling my go-to white (Delicate White, Olympic Paint) and I tackled the trim. It looks SO much better. I'm glad we did it. It makes the brown pop and feels clean and fresh in the room.

I am also happy because the cats love coming in and sitting in the window and watching/scaring the pigeons. Now that the room is finished, they can actually do that again. Plus, we rigged little doggy gates so the cats can have free range upstairs but the dogs can't. Which is good.

What can I ruin in this empty room? The blinds, meow.

Since the pictures were taken, we've cleaned all the carpet in the house with a rented carpet cleaner and then transferred most items into their respective rooms. Two of the rooms (my studio & one guest room) look quite messy right now. So no more pictures for a bit.

I can tell you, however, that I already have spent numerous evenings sitting in my cozy chair with a cat or dog, covering myself with a handmade quilt from a dear friend (Sara!) and read. Oh, how I love it.

Oh, and for the rest of the colors, I'm thinking of more creams, tans, whites, and browns. Like Mel in Siberia.  I might switch out some accent colors seasonally. Not like Mel.

What's still to come in the studio?

• Curtains/blinds
• shelving (I already know what shelving I am getting. For free. Under the cover of darkness. Shh...)
• Art (Already have it all. Just waiting for the shelving so I know where the art will go.)
• Bookshelves. Oh, I love the bookshelves. They need to be sanded, primed, and painted. We got them from Borders when they went out of business. 
• A rug (already have it, taking it to the laundromat to clean it in one of their large washers).

That's what's up in our house. I'm hoping that as we wait for the studio to come together, I can get Jeremiah to help finish painting the walls along the stairs.

Anyone else doing any painting? Anyone else take their inspiration from their cat?

P.S. This weekend Jeremiah and I volunteered for Odyssey of the Mind. It was a really fun time and it was great to see students challenging themselves and getting excited about doing it. I didn't see Jeremiah all day, but afterward he said he had a great time and would judge again next year. You don't have to be in education to assist/judge/coach, so check it out! Or get your child involved! Next year, because you've missed this year.  So sad for you.

Shhhh...

Don't move or you'll scare it.

It's the ever-elusive kitchen shot. Complete with refinished cabinets, new hardware & sink, new paint, back splash, and a curtain. All done by us. Every.Last.Drop.of.It.

We're just a *bit* proud.

Anyone else working on something around the house? We still have some things we're finishing in the kitchen - the light over the island and some beadboard, so you'll see those pictures when we finish...which will be who knows when.

Oh, Look! It's a Craft!

While I was in Michigan (yes, again, I know that I'm behind) my mom showed me some cool fruit fabric that she had. My mom is multi-talented. She's got skillz. She can sew, photograph, whatever. She MADE her wedding dress. Can anyone else boast that fact?

Didn't think so.

So anyway, she thought it'd be cool to make potholders. More for me. It was a beginner project. So far I've made a pair of jammy bottoms, curtains for two rooms, and pillows. I can rock a homemade pillow, for sure.

And now potholder. Yes, I made one. I got slightly frustrated at one point and ended up taking a time-out while my mom undid some stitching.

But let's start at the beginning, shall we?

First we gathered the materials. Fruit fabric for one side, the middle stuff (stuffing? batting? I don't know.), and jeans for the back. Plus some stuff that goes along the sides. Trim?

Please notice that I'm not calling this a tutorial. I'm just detailing my adventures. I'm a fly by the seat of my pants, cross my fingers, hope it works type of girl.

Anyway, here's what I/we used:

 Um, and then I was supposed to cut stuff evenly and straight. I suck at this. But for this it was extra important because the trim needs to cover all three layers so the whole thing doesn't come undone.

 Here's the finished product. I thought it best to leave out the shots of me crying and pouting after I made an oops (which my mom turned into an Aha!).

I thought it'd be cool to use the pocket part of the jeans (lots of jeans on hand because my mom makes RUGS. On a LOOM.) so I could slip my hand right in there while I used it.

 Blueberries!

I think it is pretty and I'm getting to the point now where I can use it and not think of how I had some stinky moments while sewing it. I did NOT like the trim.

Anyone else got crafty skills?

Sur La Table

Hey.

Remember when I used to post? Those were good times, weren't they?

Well, I am still in the midst of my travels. I'm cooking up some stories to share, complete with pictures.

For now, though, I have a table to share with you. For the life of me I can't find a before shot, so picture a table with this color wood:

Ooh, I just got the shivers. That's some ugly lighting. The table looked the exact same, wood-wise. Jeremiah bought it from the neighbor's yard sale for a couple bucks. I was so excited that I clapped. I clapped. I clap a lot. Because I knew that the table would start to look like this when I stained it:

That's after several coats. It started out looking really red and I was a bit nervous, but all is well.

Here's the finished product:

Not too shabby for a couple bucks and some Minwax. The dish was a buck from Salvation Army, and I love it.

What do you think? Anyone else traveling? Woodworking?

Tease

So...how've been lately? It's been so long since we've last chatted. Love the shirt your wearing. Really brings out the color in your eyes.

Wait.

Wrong kind of flirting/teasing.

I really just wanted to share all the things that have been happening at Chateaux Leaky. That's our house. We thought it would add an air of elegance to name it. The leaky castle.

Anyway, the first picture is of Mel. She now comes and visits us downstairs. And sits in my basket (which has crocheting stuff in it, but oh well).

 Are you ready for the next one? Tile. On the walls. Exciting, right?

 I'm not doing a whole kitchen/tiling post until I seal the grout and we get new light plate/fixture covers. But we love. There were some high fives being done after this.

 Plus, Jeremiah took off part of the light cover (fixture?). We are getting ready to redo the lighting over the island. I'm so excited I could pee. Just a little. And NOT in the pool.

 Here's the part of the light that Jeremiah took down. Wow. I like stained glass, but not like this.

 And lastly, I've been staining tables, legs, and chairs in the garage. Sadly, I was the one who had to move the car. We've discovered that my Subaru can withhold being parked in the sun while Fordsies can't. One point for Subaru. Or not. Because that sun is hot and fades paint. Poor Subie. Anyway, the table is looking good, right? The original color was like the wood in the frame for the light right above.

Those are just a few of our projects. We are having a BEAST of a time finding handles/spout made specifically for a tub and not a shower/tub combo. It's killing me, Smalls. I want to take a bath and seeing the tub sitting in the bedroom is vicious.

So how've you been? Seriously. I miss these talks.

Tile. Because I Can't Think of a Cutesy Title.

I've been waiting to add a tile back splash since I painted the downstairs. You might remember that the living room and dining area are two shades of greenish greyish blue. One is slightly darker and was used to create a more in-depth feel in the hall, fireplace wall, and dining area. I wanted glass tile the same shade to be used for the back splash. I thought it would tie together the beige that is in the front room nicely with the blues in the back of the house. Plus, it would really make the white cabinets look crisp.

And then I saw a house that was professionally decorated (on the shores of Lake Michigan, what are the odds?) almost exactly the same. As what I wanted. And it sealed the deal. I began a search for these tiles. And guess what? Those little stinkers weren't cheap. And they weren't available anywhere except by special order.

Son.of.a.biscuit.

So the tile went on hold. Because we need a roof, as you know. And a furthered education. And cars.

And this is where we say, "Annnnywaaaays..."

We went to Goodwill on a whim. A whim, I tell you. And while I was contemplating the necessity of a giant mailbox as storage for a guestroom, I looked down. And right by my feet? Two boxes of wall tile. The exact.freakin.color.that.I.wanted.

For reals.

They aren't glass. But in reality, if I waited until I could afford hundreds of dollars for a kitchen back splash, I'd be waiting a long time. Like, grey hair and flying cars. That's how long I'd be waiting.

And to seal the deal? The tile was only ten bones a box. And they were having a fifty percent off sale. So we can tile our kitchen for a total of ten dollars, plus the cost of tile tools, mortar, seal, and grout. Most of which will be used again when we tile two bathroom floors.

Here's the tile. I propped it up so I could see how it looked with the beige paint and white cabinets. The color is slightly off in the pictures, but still give a general idea.

 I like to call this shot "Boxes of Victory". Indeed they are.

Close up of the victory tiles.

And if you look closely, you can see $9.99. Half off. Holy crap.

So next weekend I think we'll be tiling. And that's not the royal "we". I truly plan on partaking in the tiling fun. I'm going to have to wear my good girl pants, because I am not one for team activities. I'm much more a "go ahead, lock me up alone with a paintbrush and I'll be fine. Just don't forget my Ipod." type of girl. So wish us luck on our tiling endeavor. Thank goodness CLH has tiled before. Three cheers for useful boys!

Three Less Cheap Venetian Blinds in Our House

Yesterday while on yet another trip to Lowe's, we found more blinds on sale. Bamboo. Roman. Not just a lame sale, but a CLEARANCE sale.  We had been hoping to replace the venetian blinds (those cheap bendy plastic ones) and were simply waiting for a sale.

So we picked up three, one for each window. Here's Jeremiah measuring something. He was NOT super happy about me taking this picture. He may or may not have given me a dirty look and we may or may not have exchanged words.You can also see in this picture that we ran out of ceiling paint and need to do some touching up - all in good time.

So after he removed the second set of curtain rods (we had originally planned on sheers with heavier curtains, not blinds) and moved the rods lower; I entered the picture with some hemming and ironing of more sheers. And then we hung everything. Here's a picture with the flash:

And here is how it really looks. We are super happy with it. I plan on attaching a heavier fabric behind the roman blinds so they aren't semi-private when down during the day. They'll be completely blocking out the light.

  

We really like the look. What do you think?

Work It.

My mom sent Atticus a Valentine's present. With a face like this, how could you resist?

She repurposed a boy's robe (that she found at a second-hand shop) into this coat/sweater for him.

It fits quite well and Atticus makes a top-notch model.

Isn't he a cutie?

He likesies. He seems to think that while wearing it he possesses super-camouflage powers and can sneak up on kitty.

What do you think? Cool idea to repurpose to old clothes, right?

p.s. Please ignore the fact that our sliding door is covered with dog slobber and paw prints. We like to consider it frosted. And ignore the fact that trim is not up on the wall and you can see the brown paint from the floor. Jeremiah got halfway done with the trim and I decided I wanted a tile floor. So he stopped. And then we got the roof estimate. So no tile floor. Yet.

DIY Framed Board - Or, Hey, What Else Can I Do With This Gorgeous Frame?

This frame was originally silver and housed a very cool (but not fitting exactly with our decor) bird print.  The print came out. We kept it, just in case we wanted to switch things up.

Anyway, Jeremiah spray-painted the frame white (I might be spray painting challenged. But that is a whole different story.).

I bought some super-cheap fabric at Jo-Anne's, as well as some cork board. We did three layers: Cardboard, cork, and then the fabric. Put everything back together, hung it on the wall, and voila! a super chic place to post stuff. It is hanging directly above the desk, sort of tying together our little work area.

I won't be putting up any ugly shtuff like bills and stuff, but nice things, like this calendar that I picked up in Jerome (that I will repurpose by cutting out the images and framing them.). Other things will surely make their way up to that beautiful frame...slowly, orderly, and one at a time.

p.s. The fabric looks like it might have a pinkish hue, but it is a solid brown. It appears to be lost in translation.

p.p.s. The Fixx. That's what we're listening to at this moment.

$2.50 Tables

Remember a looooong time ago when I mentioned that I bought two tables at Salvation Army and I only paid $2.50 total? Hence the title of this post. The tables started out looking like this: Ugly. For suresies. And I am pretty sure that Jeremiah scoffed at my tables and thought they were unsalvageable. He humored me, the tables came home with us. Lucky bastards.

Then when we he sanded the cabinets he also sanded my tables. Still darn ugly.

When he finished, I primed. Oil based primer. It covers just about anything and sticks to the crap that didn't get sanded off.

Then I painted. White. Several coats. The gnome made his way into this picture, too, so I cropped his happy little face right out. Here's a close-up of the table.

And here they are, finished. With my cheap $5.00 lamp.

We like.

Another success!

So much prettier than before, and at only $1.25 each, quite the steal. Anybody else love to bargain shop? Get any great deals lately?

Holy Ssssshhhhelves!

Hello again, dear friends. And family. I come bearing shelves. Pictures of them, actually. I found this website: Holy Crap This Chick is Talented! and decided that I needed to have several of the shelves. In different lengths. They are for pictures and stuff.

So handy dandy Boyfriend made them and sanded them. I primed them. I painted them.

On a super-exciting note, I have a garage workspace. This is exciting, as I had zero space before. But now? I've got cabinet space. And drawers. Don't be jealous.

Here's what they looked like finished: This isn't the final way it will look, obviously. Any framed pictures on the shelves will be white. And there will be LOTS of them.  The birds will probably stay. So will the candle. But not that bottle. I think I might paint or decoupage it...

But don't you dig my shelves? We altered her design slightly as I didn't want a huge lip in the front. And the shelves are placed lower because they'll be loaded with pictures, so they are eye-level-ish.

Then he made me baby ones for the dining area. Love these. They are higher because they aren't holding any pictures. Just some dishes and my favorite blue jars.

Love. They look great with the constant light that the small room gets.

What do you think? Success? We think so. I just need to collect/spray paint some frames white and find pictures to put in them.

Anybody else building right now?

p.s. Listening to Dead Weather's Sea of Cowards
p.p.s. Please ignore the gnome. That is for a photo project I am working on. 

Bathroom Remodel, Part 2...Now With Pictures!

Hi.

How ya doin'?

I thought I would provide you with an all-access pass into our master bath. I know, it's what you've always wanted. Just don't make a mess (insert hysterical laughter here). I'd be more nervous about it if it wasn't already better than it was before. I hate the master bath. Like I hate squash. Seriously gross.

Here is Jeremiah choosing which tool to use next on his mission destroy bathroom. Using some of my tools. That's right. I have tools. And a hammer. Which I may or may not have stolen from work accidentally. And which I just realized could probably be grouped in with the tools and need not be mentioned separately.

Here's where my new tub will go! Please ignore the dog, scale, and boxes of contact lenses. And there is a HUGE window above the tub. Jeremiah is going to be tearing out the cheap-ass blinds and I'll be frosting the window like I did here: Part 1 and Part 2. I'm excited to get the light and not worry about having people see me tinkle. Or bathe.

Below is the shower. Taken apart. Because we found mold. That we sort of knew was there. So Jer is taking it apart, re-sealing & caulking everything. How fun for him.

I figure that the yellowed strips are probably a sign that they are old, cracked, and not keeping the water where it should be. And that's my hammer.

Some of the damage caused by the leaking shower. Stupid shower. Side note: How do people shower in those stalls? Even the one I had in college was bigger than this. Every time I have to use this I get claustrophobic.

More damage...and a nose-y dog. He's all, "Holy Sheet, thees eeees a mess!"

Seriously, damage. And a question to the previous homeowners: Did you not see the damage? Did you not care enough about your house to FIX THE FACIN' PROBLEM? Okay, so two questions, really.

We're going to be tearing out the floor, too. And all the funky damage underneath, too. This makes me giddy because I DESPISE the linoleum. In the whole house we've torn up linoleum in a bathroom, kitchen, entry, and laundry room. This is the ugliest by far (p.s. If you have this, I'm sorry. It's really not so bad.). And I honestly don't have anything against linoleum. As long as it looks nice.

We're going to put in tile. Ideally I could put in tile planks that look like these: Love you forever, dear wood-like tiles. Unfortunately, I am but a poor school teacher and it isn't in the budget. So we'll do regular tiles in the bathroom - much cheaper. Let me promise you this. Those planks (maybe not that color, but the style) will show up SOMEWHERE in our house. I'd love to have them downstairs or in the other bathroom. Fingers crossed.

Anyhoo, all this is worth it because here is my new tub. In the bedroom. Next to my books and dresser. I haven't been able to wear anything from the dresser or put my undies away for two weeks now.

Here's that sticker price that Jeremiah got knocked down to an even $300. Saved seven hundred dollars off the original $992.00 Whatta man. Whatta man. Whatta mighty good man.

And to top it off, we're trying to decide on paint colors for both the bathroom and bedroom. I'm leaning towards a greyish-blueish-purple. Much more grey than blue. For the bedroom. The bathroom will be lighter. Almost white, but not.

So how are you? You never did say. Working on any big projects at your casa?

p.s. What I'm listening to? Beyonce's Halo. Over and over and over again.

p.p.s. I also want to mention that ideally the bathroom door will be playing a disappearing act and something much better will replace it, as it now smacks into the tub area when it opens and takes up a lot of our bathroom space when it is opened. And blocks the light from the window. The cabinets will be re-finished. The lighting will be changed. Holy Remodel, Batman, that's a lot of crap to do!