PSTTT- did you hear?!

Have you guys heard??? 

Restoration Hardware OUTLET is coming to The Shops at Morgan Crossing! 

Opening date is October 22nd! 

(images from www.restorationhardware.com)

A lot of people have asked me if certain pieces from my home are from Restoration Hardware. In all honesty, although I absolutely love that store, no, nothing in my home is from Restoration Hardware. 

Only because I just can't justify spending $900 on a coffee table =P  

$900 should buy an all inclusive trip to Mexico, after I have spent an entire week earning that $900, only to get it reduced to nothing by my taxes, and seriously need to see some sun and a cocktail... not a coffee table that I use to rest my feet and house my remotes.

Which is exactly why I am so excited for the opening of their outlet store at Morgan Crossing! Beautiful furniture and for only a fraction of my Mexico fund- SOLD! 

If you've visited their outlet store in Seattle, you'll know that they often have awesome deals on what usually will cost an arm and a leg. So if you're looking for anything rustic or over-sized furniture for a big family, Restoration Hardware is a must see!

However, if their outlet prices are still a little over your budget, have no fear, there are plenty of other stores out there that will allow you to achieve that high end, shabby chic look. It just takes a little exploration. These are some pieces of mine that have been mistaken for Restoration Hardware buys:

Happy Hunting!
(please note that the sale prices are based on the price I purchased them at and the outlet prices are based on the prices I found them for at the Restoration Hardware Outlet in Seattle.

Fad Forecasts

Trying something new today- my predictions of upcoming fads for the home!

1) White, gold, AND blue!
We all know about that perfect marriage of white and gold. Introducing "the other color"- blue! Add a little blue- light or dark to your white and gold color scheme and see how much depth it really does add to your space!
(image from Design Darling Blog)


2) White kitchen cabinets AND dark butcher block countertops/islands!
Do not get me wrong! I believe marble is a countertop that is going to stay top of the charts for a while. However, try a butcher block island with your marble countertops.

The contrast of the rich, dark island with the surrounding light countertops will not only give you an elegant balance of color and texture but it'll save you a lot of money!

The average cost of a butcher block countertop is $45/linear foot.
The average cost of a marble countertop is $300/linear foot.
(image from unknown source)

 
3) Modern countertops AND rustic wood backsplashes!
As someone who chose marble countertops, I know that choosing a complimentary backsplash that would match the countertops without going on a marble overload, is not an easy task.

Most home owners choose subway tile. This is a simple and cheap alternative that always turns out great! For our kitchen, we wanted a more "country" or rustic vibe so we decided to go with white beadboard. Although that isn't a traditional material for a kitchen backsplash, there are a lot of paints and caulkings that will keep your wooden backsplash waterproof.

Don't be afraid to get creative with your kitchen! Try an easy to use product like click-lock flooring!
(image from Sarah Richardson Designs)


4) Comfy bed- couches for light and airy living rooms!
Okay, so maybe this is just one for my own to-do-list but if we ever move to a home that has both a living and a family room this is definitely going in my living room!

We are seeing fewer and fewer new construction homes with both a living and family room. I will admit that I never saw the benefit in having two small sitting areas instead of one big open floorplan with one great room. This bed-couch changes all of that!

Keep your guests in awe of your perfectly-clean-home-with-plumped-up-throw-pillows-that-were-not-at-all-fluffed-just-before-they-came-over family room spotless WHILE maintaining your over-sized-throw-pillows-and-cozy-blankets-strewn-all-over-a-comfy-bed-couch living room habitate unstaged!

Tea and book in hand; Saturday morning, don't mind if I do!
(couch from ikea)

Our Kitchen is Complete!

Our Kitchen is finally complete!

We have been here 1 year and have finally made our kitchen feel like home! It was the first room we started and it's the room that has come the longest way.

After a couple coats of grey paint, to enhance the white cabinets, we are done.

Looking back on our kitchen reno journey, there were so many times we wanted to pull all our hair out. Often, we felt that all the compromises we had to make were going to result in a kitchen that was better than the kitchen that we started with but by no means our dream kitchen.

We looked at countless DIY blogs for ideas on how to cut costs but always found other bloggers' ideas of a "tight budget" was about 4 times the amount of our $7000 budget. At one time, we were told by our contractor that our entire budget was half the price of his other clients' floor budget =P Sorry Dave, only $1000 for our floor please and thank you!

If you want to know how we cut costs and puled off this kitchen reno on our tight budget, check out our Tell All Thursday: Kitchen Renovation blog post.

We tried to paint the trim around the sliding doors but they had been previously painted or stained with something that caused our paint to peel/crack. Also, we toyed with the idea of putting the same bead board ceiling in the kitchen but the idea of standing on a ladder, holding bead board to the vaulted ceiling, 15 feet high, seemed like a recipe for disaster. However, we really needed to cover this discolored patch that was left from removing the florescent light.

So since we are hiring a professional painter for the exterior of our house, we're going to get him to paint the trim and our kitchen ceiling as well. 

But for now, all reno on our part is at a halt becauseeee we have done all that we can do. On our part, our kitchen is complete! A little bittersweet but it's finally off of our Home Sweet Honey Do List.

Check Out Our Home Tour

Excited to announce that we finally have a  Home Tour
on our blog!

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Read more : http://www.ehow.com/how_8761185_make-words-clickable.hton the blog!

 

We'll be adding pictures of our progress as we check things off our honey-do-list.

 Follow us along the way!

Tell All Thursday: The Skies The Limit

Our hallway transformation:

So here's our hallway on moving day- July 2013

Here is our hallway almost 1 year later- April 2014

We added baseboards, added trim around the door frames, and added wainscoting. We changed out the light fixture and painted away the red walls. We also created a frame wall.

Here is our hallway today- September 2014

Spy the differences? We painted our walls- Derek's decision. Some times he has good ideas =P This was one of them.

An even better idea was MINE =) I got the crazy idea to cover up the popcorn ceiling. Seems easier to just cover it up instead of scrapping it off right? hmmm somehow I convinced Derek that this would be easier and totally worth the entire day of our manual labor.

Please note that there are still a couple frames still missing from the frame wall =P Clearly I get side tracked easily..
However..how right was I? Best idea ever! Look at that ceiling!

All you need are:
-nail gun (and a very long extension cord)
-jigsaw
-table saw (maybeee)
-stud finder
-2 ladders
-sheets of bead board
-the same trim we used for the top of the wainscoting
-paint, paint brushes, rollers
-caulking
-a helper that has very strong arms

The steps are:
1) Decide which way you want the lines going on the ceiling.
 
2) Pre-measure your ceiling before going to the hardware store because bead board often comes in large sheets. You'll want to ask the friendly gentlemen at your local hardware store to pretty please with a cherry on top cut them to size for you. 

3) If you don't ask nicely enough they may just cut them to fit in your car and you will then need your table saw to cut the bead board to size yourself. 

4) We have a light fixture and smoke detector that we had to take into account; so we had to make sure the light and smoke detector would not intersect with the trim. We removed the ceiling fixtures and used our jigsaw to cut a hole where we could thread their wiring through.

5) Then we used the stud finder to mark (you may just mentally mark this) where we could secure the bead board to the ceiling without it crashing down on us. Keep your stud finder handy even after marking the ceiling. Try to remember their general vicinity.

6) Then came the hard part- one of us would hold the bead board to the ceiling. This would cover up the markings we made to show us where the studs were. Run the stud finder along the bead board where you remember making the markings on the ceiling. Then finding the stud, use your nail gun to secure the bead board to the ceiling. (**Note to the partner with the nail gun- remember that your helper is standing on a ladder holding the heavy bead board in place while you search for the studs so please hurry and offer many words of encouragement =P **)

7) After the first bead board sheet is secure, repeat the same steps for the rest of the sheets. Do not worry about matching all the seams.

8) After all the bead board is secured to the ceiling, cut your trim to size. Then simply nail them to your ceiling over top of the bead board sheets. We decided to just install them where the seams of each sheet met. However, you can really create any pattern you like with the trim.

9) Then to hide all the imperfections, use your caulking to close up all the seams.

10) Lastly, after all of the caulking is dry. Lay on a coat of fresh paint.


AND AFTER JUST 10 EASY (okay maybe easier read than done) STEPS- you will have replaced your popcorn ceiling with this beauty! TADAAA!!

Junk-Me-Not: Bar Cart and Side Table

Refurbished Bar Cart:

And because today is a waiting around for my flight to Turks and Caicos kind of day... here is blog # 2 for the day!

So as promised, here is a post of our re-purposed bar cart and side table.

I actually found these on the side of the road as I was driving to work one day.
Someone had thrown them out on the sidewalk... why? Maybe because they were old, ugly, and outdated... just maybe.

I'm not sure what it was about these 2 pieces of junk that made me stop but I did. I peered at them from the comfort of the inside of my warm suv. Then in a moment of insanity, I braved the frosty winter air and threw them into the back of my suv. Then I drove to work.

At the end of the work day, on the drive home, I remember plotting how I was going to phrase "Hey babe! I found these pieces of junk that someone threw out and I love them!" in a way that Derek would allow me to keep them.

In the end, we made a deal that I would do all the work myself to refurbish them and if they did not pass his seal of approval, I would drive them to a dump site that very day.

Step 1: I spray painted the already gold legs with a fresh coat of gold paint. I LOVE gold! I have always loved it and you know what they say- why fix it if it aint broke? And gold aint broke so gold it stayed.

Step 2: The fruit had to go! Nothing against fruit art... they just didn't work with my vision. To be honest, I had no vision at this time... I just need a clean slate- so I painted the tray white.

Step 3: I didn't want to put a plain white tray against white wainscoting so I needed to add some color.

Final Product!

I love love love the way this turned out! I left the wheels transparent but spray painted the handles gold. And what is a piece of furniture without it's accessories?

Who doesn't love a gold skull?

Gold Skull: Z Gallerie (Scottsdale Arizona location)
Photo frame, photo albums, and vase: Homesense
Wicker Basket: Superstore
Bar Cart: Neighbor's Garbage ;)

 

After getting the seal of approval for the bar cart from Derek, I moved onto the side table.

Step 1: I sprayed the legs gold as well.

Step 2: I sanded the thick coat of laquer off the wood frame.

Step 3: I white washed the wood frame.

Step 4: We had an old black lamp so I painted the base of  it to match the bar cart trays.

And now they fit so perfectly into our space you would never know they were once another man's trash ;)

Transformation (sa-)Tuesday: Living/Family Room

Our Living Room Transformation:

It's Satuesday today which means it's actually Saturday but I'm posting a transformation post so it's really our Transformation Tuesday on a Saturday= Sa-Tuesday.

We actually tackled this room several months ago but never found the time to blog about it. It was when I was having my morning coffee in my freshly cleaned kitchen, with the sliding doors to our back deck open for Baloo to growl at the twin malteses in the neighboring yard, that I caught myself admiring how well our living/family room has come together in the last year that we've lived here. So after that extremely run on sentence of a thought, I decided it was high time to share it with the world. 

You may remember our post in March about our kitchen transformation (if not- check it out!) where we had posted this photo of our new- de-walled view to the living room:

 

Look past my beautiful friends, and note our TV stand in the background. 

I had bought an occasional table that was on sale for only $100 from Urban Barn. It had criss-crossed light wooden legs and a mat grey concrete top. It didn't match anything in our house. It didn't have any shelves to store any dvds just the one top for electronics. It didn't even  have a back to hide wires. 

Butttt...I bought it...yeah I did.. Hey! It was on sale-- It was on sale at Urban Barn! 

One does not pass up anything at Urban Barn that is on sale for $100! That's like the price of 2 regular priced throw pillows okay?!?!

So without consulting Derek, I paid- agreeing to the fully non refundable cancellation policy, threw it into the back of my suv, dragged it up the stairs of our home, and breathed a sigh of relief as it jussttt fit under the TV. *** Note to all TV console buyers- measure your TV before buying the table ;) ***

And here is a picture of Derek and Carsen playing video games. I thought it was a cute bromance moment, wanted to capture it on my camera, and then when I uploaded all my pictures, I was horrified at the state of my living room! Is that seriously MY living room?! HELLOO buyers remorse!

Wires galore and a side table stacked with dvds and video games! =(

So how do you hide wires behind a console table without a back?

1) do not buy a console table that does not work for your space at all just because it is on sale

2) punch a hole in the wall and run the wires down behind the tv

3) get creative! save your table and save your wall!

Watching trashy TV shows is classy when you have a pretty TV set up right?

Where did the wires go??? We boxed them in! We built a box around the wires with easy access by simply unscrewing a side panel. TADA!!!

Since then, we have also added wainscoting to either side and painted our walls grey. The grey paint was Derek's idea and though I was not 100% sold, I went with it. After all, he wasn't 100% that the wainscoting and 2x6 baseboards were going to turn out as I had planned but helped me turn my dream to reality anyway (thanks hubs). Here is how it all turned out!

And 1 year later...it finally feels like home sweet home; it finally feels like OUR home. 

Baloo's favorite spot is right beside a wicker basket we bought to conveniently tuck away dvds and video games. (Bar cart- turned display shelf will soon be on the blog)

What we love most about this space is how all the different colors and textures really came together and complimente one another- which is something a compulsive clearance buyer like me is very proud of!

 

So even though it took 1 year to get here. It was totally worth all the time and effort it took. A big thank you to Christina, my amazing friend, and my superwoman mother in law for coming over to help us paint! 

There's still so much to do, like actually hanging that painting and mantel above the fireplace, but today, I am happy with how far we have come. I'm thankful for our home sweet honey do list of a home.

Transformation Tuesday: Master Bathroom

Our master bathroom transformation:

Our old-new-townhouse had a lot of things that we did not like but our master en-suite was not one of them.

It was big and bright with tons of counter space and a huge shower. There was no mold, no mildew, no cracked or missing tiles, there was an extractor fan, and the sink drained every time.

When we bought our new-old-house, it also had a master en-suite....

The shower is 3 feet by 3 feet. The tiles moved when we pushed on them. We had to shower with the window open because there was no extractor fan.

First, we ripped out the old, tile shower and installed a new, plastic, shower insert. Since it was summer, it was alright but seeing as how winter was a couple months away, we knew we had to install an exhaust fan so we could shower with the window shut.

The old shelves were slanted, so after our hairspray fell into the toilet for the 3rd time, we decided to replace them with a shelf we found at Homesense and 2 hanging baskets.

We also replaced the old mirror and added some final finishing touches. It was finally starting to feel like our home.

Thennn our sink stopped draining....
We had to use a toilet plunger in our sink weekly....
Yes... we disgust ourselves...

So on the list it went, "HONEYYY!"

We looked high and low and each sink we saw was too small. So I did what I do when all else fails- craigslist it! And low and behold- 22" by 16"! Woot Woot!

 

We went to Ikea and bought a stock countertop and after watching several you tube videos... tada! If you're interested in this project, you will need a table saw to cut the laminate piece to size and a jig saw to cut out the hole for the sink. The sink comes with a template for you to trace a hole onto the countertop. 

Tip: Make sure you cut the counter top with the top facing downward so the cut will be much smoother.

Here is our new bathroom!!! We painted the inside of the shelf white to brighten up the room a bit more, replaced the mirror (yes...again), and bought some baskets to keep extra toiletries under the sink.

Home sweet honey do list- Master Ensuite- Check!