Getting Settled

The first order of business was taking one of the two coat closets and turning it into a pantry. In just a few short hours I was happy as a clam. My new kitchen is about half the size of my old one, but I did a major purge before moving, and I'm finding the smaller space suits me just fine. Of course, I don't have four children at home any longer.

I really intended to live with the walls as they were until spring, but after scrubbing and looking at nail holes where I didn't want them I became restless. Verne knows me extremely well, and told me to buy the paint and we'd get started. I was so relieved!

We have a living room and a family room in our new place, and I thought it would be fun to go kind of bold in the living room. Turquoise bold! I dreamed, and I planned, and I bought paint samples. I was going to keep the walls neutral and have just one accent wall. I bought a lamp, scouted for curtains, and chickened out. Back went the lamp.

I decided to keep things neutral, and I'm so glad I did! The photos don't really give you the feel of the room. The wall color is Sherwin Williams Aesthetic White, only it's mixed in Farrell-Calhoun paint. The color changes throughout the day. Early in the morning it looks very white, but as the afternoon shadows roll in it changes to a soft grey. It isn't cold at all. This was our first time using Farrell-Calhoun, but after Verne talked to the man at the paint store he really wanted to try it. We're both really pleased. (I haven't washed it yet, of course.) Coverage was great, and application was easy.  We were both really pleased that there was zero odor.

This was no small paint job. The foyer, living, dining, and hall are all one area. It took two days to get two coats on. Verne then changed out all of the beige switches and outlets for white. What a difference! He's still working on stripping the grates for the air returns as they had several coats of paint, and we didn't want to add to them.

I looked high and low for curtains. The big window in the living room faces west, and there are really tall tress in the front yard. The room can be rather dark, and I didn't want to completely cover the window. I found two great pairs of panels that I couldn't decide between at Tuesday Morning, and I  bought both. I'll swap them out in the spring. The panels in the dining room coordinate with both.

I've been really enjoying making this new place "home" after being out of my own place for the majority of 2014. I'm looking forward to Christmas!

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint- Chateau Grey

A little over a year ago my friend Lynn expressed a desire to have her bedroom painted, but was going to have to wait over a month to have the job completed. I talked to Verne, and we volunteered to paint it for her. She was hesitant at first, until we agreed that she could make us lunch in exchange. 

In the process of painting, we learned that Lynn was going to kick this dresser to the curb. While it was a sturdy, old piece, she had spilled some fragrance oil on the top of it, and the paint was bubbling. I said I'd take it for my sewing room. 

While it's generally unnecessary to sand when using Annie Sloan chalk Paint, I was afraid that the fragrance oil would bubble the new paint as well and sanded the top down entirely. And then I let the dresser sit. For a year. I knew I wanted to repaint it, but couldn't decide on a color.

Finally, after much hemming and hawing I decided on Chateau Grey. It's slightly green, but extremely neutral. I used two coats of paint, with several more coats on the sanded top and two coats of wax. I did  a little sanding here and there where the wood was distressed anyway, but not too much.

Let me tell you, this dresser can hold quite a bit of fabric!

A New Sewing Space

Because you asked, here are some photos of the room, completely organized. I think these photos turned out well, and reflect the true color of the walls unlike the photo from the floor post. 

Because we homeschool, a table in the room is a must. I can sew while the kids work on their studies. It also comes in handy during the evenings when Verne sets his work computer up, and I can do my thing. (See his computer bag sitting there on the floor?) Together, but each working separately. We're both happy and productive! The quilt above the table is this one. 

My work space consists of three tables. One for cutting, and two for sewing. You know, in case Abigail wants to sew, or I want to have a friend join me.

Verne moved my utility board and my design wall into the room for me.

I thought the walls needed a little something else, and so I'm tackling a new project. I just cut it out yesterday.

For some reason, Lucy was skeptical of the new floor. A pink throw rug was just the thing to lure her in. She happily lays here now.

Farmhouse Floor

When we moved into this house eight years ago, Autumn immediately chose this room as hers. I have to admit, as nice as our master bedroom is, I was jealous of that window, and all of the natural light. When Autumn moved out, Abigail thought she wanted this room, but has since changed her mind. Now, it's mine! My sewing room is being moved from the back of the house to the front where the sun shines brighter. The cathedral ceiling makes the room super inviting, too. 

We replaced the worn out carpet with this wonderful wide-planked farmhouse floor, following the directions from Frugal Farmhouse Design. We couldn't be happier with it. 

Now to get all of that fabric lugged from one end of the house to the other, and organized neatly. This is not the fun part. I can't wait to sew in here. 

Design Wall

When discussing re-doing the sewing room, I told Verne I wanted a way to hang quilts and a design wall. I love the clever hangers at the local quilt shop, and asked him to duplicate them for me.

I explained what I wanted, but suggested he make a trip to the shop to see just what I was talking about. He didn't disappoint me. A simple pine board, painted the same color as the walls, with attached clothespins spaced about every four inches can easily hold a quilt.

Or a flannel-backed tablecloth purchased on the clearance rack after Valentine's Day. Seventy-five cents  was a bargain compared to this one.

An Organized Sewing Room

The sewing room got a new space when we exchanged rooms with the boys and the old sewing space. A bit more room for sewing, but a fair trade because it placed them in a room with a bathroom, too. New paint was in order. No, I didn't want Steelers fatheads on my sewing room walls, thankyouverymuch! The new color? Sherwin Williams Comfort Gray.

Most women who work with fabric can tell you just how quickly their sewing areas can become a mess. I'm trying hard to keep everything in its place, and this pegboard painted to match the walls is just the thing to keep rulers and scissors organized. A brilliant design, if I do say so myself.

The new, larger room afforded plenty of space for a school area, too. Now, I can sew while Abigail and Collin complete their lessons- and the dining room table is used solely for its intended purpose. Well, and game playing, of course!

And by night? The sewing area makes an excellent recording studio for a certain college student home on spring break. I don't mind sharing one little bit.

A Whole New Room

When we bought our home seven years ago, the rooms were all painted beautiful colors and the trim was white. I loved this look, especially with the hardwood floors. We bought the home brand-new, but didn't have it built. I thought it had more character than most new houses, but after being here seven years I've realized how dark the house is. With a covered front porch, the living room doesn't get all that much light. This is what the room looked like in January before we started building a new fireplace.

We'd been discussing painting anyway, but the fireplace construction made me realize that we need to get the painting done sooner than we might have otherwise. And so, we've been busy, first building the fireplace, and then painting, and installing a chair rail, and more board and batten. I love this look! It's the best of both worlds for me. Color on the top in a rich, flat finish, white on the bottom, in an easy to clean semi-gloss.

And here's the room this afternoon. So much lighter. So much more character! I feel like I live in a cottage now! The colors? Sherwin Williams Roman Column on the bottom, and Sherwin Williams Hardware on the top.

I've added a few houseplants this evening, and I need to pick curtains. I'm trying to decide between these and these. I have samples of both on the way. I think Chester likes the new look. I know I do!

Still Painting

I feel like I'm in a bit of a blogging slump, which is very easy to fall into when all you're getting accomplished is paining, painting, and painting some more. Oh! But it's going to be so very pretty! It's amazing what some fresh paint can do for a room. It feels so cottage-y, and I can't wait to show you the finished product.

Painting

Moving, and painting, and rearranging, and cleaning. Not one room. Not two, but three.  And a hall. A large hall. One room is nearly complete. And the hall, too. Meanwhile there are household objects and furniture scattered all over the house, nearly everywhere but where they should be. My knees are getting awfully sore from crawling on the floor to paint the baseboards.

A Second Fireplace

Last winter we transformed a corner of the dining room, and built a fireplace where there had been none.  It was hard work, but we've been so pleased with the results, and have enjoyed it so immensely, that we decided to add another fireplace to the living room. 

Construction started two weekends ago when Verne built the box to place the insert in. Late last week he hung the metal lath, and prepared the scratch coat.

Though I didn't get photos of the new love notes he left me, they were very similar to the ones he made on the dining room fireplace. Though they're covered over now, our names are forever under those rocks.

He's sweet like that!

This is where I come in. Up until this point, I stood around admiring the laborer, and made sure he had plenty to eat and drink. I even made his favorite butterscotch pudding.

And then, just like last time, I found out how hard stone masons work. Verne mixed the cement, Collin buttered rocks, and handed them to me. It's like a puzzle, fitting each one against the next. I've worked three 8 hour days on this project, and it's not quite done.

I'm looking forward to the evenings when we can sit and relax by it!

Board and Batten

Three and a half years ago I traded in my signature earth-tones for a blue bedroom. Looking back, I have no idea why I thought this was a good idea. I thought the blue would be soothing, but it turned out to be anything but soothing.

I am an earth-tone girl.

About a year ago, Verne started offering to buy me a new comforter. Turns out, the blue was grating on his nerves too. I started looking, but never found anything that I liked. Not too long ago, I borrowed a steam cleaner from a friend to clean our bedroom carpet. We moved all of the furniture out of the room, and it was then that I noticed how poor the walls looked.

Have you ever read the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie? Mmm, hmm. Sometimes when you start one project it leads to another. And another.

I thought about putting bead-board on the bottom portion of the walls, and painting the top a different color. Bead-board, it turns out, is very expensive. I was looking through different images, and fell in love with board and batten. Verne came home, I showed him a photo, and he was sold. Off we went to the lumber yard.

Rather than real board and batten, which would require covering the walls with wood, we went for a faux finish. We purchased unpainted lattice strips and cut them so that when sitting on top of the baseboard they would be 5 feet high. We used a quilting ruler and spaced them 12 1/2 inches apart. Thankfully, we missed every outlet.

When approaching our first corner, I knew we had a problem. It was going to look odd to finish and then start again on the next wall 12 1/2 inches later. The gap looked huge. Verne came up with the idea of making the entire distance from board to board 12 1/2 inches, so that even rounding the corners, the gaps between boards would be consistent. It looks great!

No matter how flat your wall is, you're going to have small gaps between the lattice and the drywall. To me, this made the project look like cheap paneling.

Enter DryDex. I spackled every single piece of lattice to take care of those gaps. Yes, that was time- consuming!

DryDex goes on pink and dries white. Perfect! I also wiped the wall carefully so as not to have any uneven spots.

Before installing the lattice, we used Sherwin Williams Meadowlark on the top three feet of the wall. We used a flat finish which is rich and beautiful. I figured the walls aren't going to see a lot of wear and tear above the five foot level. The color is like a rich chocolate milk. Verne gave the bottom one coat of Sherwin Williams Roman Column in a semi-gloss finish. He also primed the lattice pieces and gave them one coat of paint.

In hindsight, it would have been better to give the walls and the lattice pieces at least two coats before attaching them. It's much easier to paint them before they are on the walls.

After the walls were painted properly, Verne installed a beautiful chair rail above the lattice. (We were smart and gave this several coats before installation!) We set the nails, gave everything a quick final coat of paint and voila!

The room feels so much larger and more grown up- despite the unmade bed. I started my search for bedding all over again, and came up empty handed. Last week I bought fabric to make a quilt, and I'm scheduled for a class on October 22nd. I can't wait to get started!

I love the new look so much, I'm thinking about incorporating it into several more rooms in our home. Lots of work- but so worth it!

ETA: I should have said originally that after using the DryDex, and having it be so much work, we went with a different option when placed the chair rail on top. There were gaps to fill there as well, but instead of the DryDex we used paintable white caulk. So much easier. If you try this faux board and batten, I'd use caulk everywhere you need to fill a gap- just make sure it's paintable.