Entry Floor

I think it's funny how you can get used to looking at things and not really see them. This incredibly ugly entry floor is one of those things. It's not that I didn't realize it's lack of beauty, I just knew that eventually we would tile it. Well it's been several years, and I was starting to get embarrassed when people would come over. So obviously, I started seeing it and it needed a change...big time. Now, we still plan on tiling this space and our kitchen floor with ceramic tiles, but for now I went with a temporary inexpensive fix. Please keep in mind our wood floors look terrible in these pictures, they really need to be refinished. Yet another project for this summer! In the mean time, IGNORE our wood floors in these pictures.

I went to the Depot and bought grout ready stick on vinyl tiles. I opted not to grout them because when we tile for real, this will be easier to remove. Had I grouted them, I think I would have been even happier with the quality of the final project, that being said, I am still ECSTATIC at how it turned out. The tiles were only 1.08 each, and the seam sealer was 24.00. So $40.00 later I have an entry floor that I am proud of, and one that actually makes me smile when I walk in and see it.

The carpet was placed there to cover the spot where a built in book shelf used to stand. We ripped it out to give us more room, and to cover the area, well... you get it. This lovely stone printed flooring is original to our house, which was built in 1959.

Not sure if this tool is meant to scrape up nasty flooring, but it did the job.

Here is an example of how to get a perfect measurement for cutting tile. You over lap another tile and trace the line. So easy!!!
Then with a straight edge and a utility knife, I made an impression and then snapped the tile.

To give it a more finished look, I installed a seam sealer. There is also some trim missing from where the bookcase was. This trim has been missing from that spot for 7 years! This is why I have taken up doing my own home improvement instead of waiting for my husband. 7 years, really?! @*#!!#!!
I found the trim we removed when we put in the french doors and quickly cut a piece to fit. Took me 10 minutes.

Much better! Hey! Quit looking at my wood floors!

Now I just need to finish painting the closet door and trim.

French Doors

For the longest time I've wanted french doors from our bedroom into the living room. Besides that they add so much character to a space, even more I just wanted our space to feel more open. I would search craigslist for french doors and one day poof! 45 miles away a man was selling his for only $50!! My husband had no idea that morning that he'd be off getting these, nor was he excited, but bless him for doing it. Here is the progression of our little transformation....

Make sure you have someone around who knows what they're doing when removing a wall. Here's that guy, deep in thought. :0

In case you want to see the before again.

Chandelier!

In the words of the late Etta James....At LAST! I bought a thrift store light last December. I painted it and got it looking purty and then it sat hanging awkwardly waiting for Ryan to switch it out with the current one. Well here we are, it's March 2nd, and I still had no chandelier. Repeated requests for it to be hung went unheard. So what's a girl to do? Go to the electric panel and figure out how to cut the power to it and dig in. I've never replaced a light fixture, but I figured if I was careful to repeat what was already done, I would figure it out. I did.

Here is an old picture which shows one of the spaces transformations. Yuck.

In this picture, you can see how it was just hanging there in the corner on a plant hook....I should have hung it in our bedroom 6 inches from his head...

This is a chandelier I found a while back at an antique store. I passed on it because I felt it was way too pricey and I could do better. I believe it was priced at $75 or more.

Then I found my little gem for $10. Woot Woot!

I sprayed it antique bronze and wrapped the candle sticks in a decorative paper.

Here is a look at my little task.

Man my arms got fatigued...

Flip the power back on and pray nothing blows up....

I think I have to do some mantle redesigning. The candle sticks look like they are interfering a bit with the light.

There you have it. Big fat check mark on the things to do list! Won't Ryan be surprised (although I'm sure he'll dismantle and make sure I didn't wire it to burn our house down.)

Happy Friday!

Jewelry Frame

There is nothing I enjoy more when doing a DIY project, than reusing misfit items that otherwise would have been tossed. It's really envigorating and fullfilling. The idea that it cost little to nothing alone is enough to get the excitement reved up. I also strongly feel it is our responsibility as ground keepers of this earth to try to be as GREEN as possible.

Here I started out with an old coat rack. I was originally going to use this again as a coat rack, but my son broke the mirror. That was the start of the cabinet coat rack. It then sat in the trusty garage awaiting trash or treasure.

It was meant to hang horizontally, with the hooks at the bottom.

I had a decorative peice of wood from an old table which I attached to the top to add some much needed detail.

After removing the back and painting it, I screwed in the chicken wire.

This provides a great inexpensive way to attach jewelry.

Total cost: $8 for Chicken Wire, $3 for spray paint.

Junk Drawer

We have a serious junk drawer problem at our casa. We have a few drawers that look like this. It's just EASIER to throw things in a drawer and not have to look at them. But, alas things will start to get out of control. Here's my solution...organized seperation. This is a process. It would take me weeks of free time to get all our "junk" catogorized and placed in "appropriate" locations. SO for now, I will be weeding through the drawers, throwing out true junk, and keeping potential junk. :)

So off I went to Target. I have one rule, I only buy storage containers on clearance. Otherwise, they are way too overpriced. I go after a holiday and buy containers that are for Halloween and use them. I don't care what they look like, they all work the same and if nesessary, can be changed.

Nothing fancy, but damn does it feel good to open this drawer. Now I see this instead of a complete crazy chaotic mess. Junk and unorganized areas of our home can drive us mad, whether we realize it or not. It can be completely overwhelming. Here you can see it only takes 5 minutes, a garbage bag, and a few plastic containers to get a little peace of mind.

Quick clock revamp

Here is our wedding clock. I had to give it a name. Spice things up a bit...

Then the after. A bit more refreshing eh?

Happy Monday!

Entry Makeover

Here is an old picture of our lovely entry. Carpet (pew), green walls, microfiber huge sectional, well you get the picture....

I've been brainstorming ways to make the entry nice and functional. Since the closet was never utilized ( only as storage for coats and shows no one ever wore...) I turned that into a pantry. So I needed something to hold our winter wear and shoes. At first I put 2 of the lockers we had there.

I wanted to trim them out, similiar to the drawing below.

But they were just too big and cumbersome, and they shrunk our already tiny house even more. So while perusing the basement for misfit unused furniture, I found my husband's stereo cabinet.

Yes, when he walked in and saw this, he said, "Is that my stereo cabinet??" And of course it is...and he gave me a look, but figured it wasn't worth the battle ;)

Now, it's not a very impressive piece of furniture, so I needed to give it a few perks. I added contact paper to the shelves, and feet to the bottom. Feet make EVERYTHING more impressive!

Okay, now I have the shoe's covered, I needed to figure out the coat situation. Remember the cabinet below.

I kept the door from when I redid this. I wansn't sure what I was going to do with it, and honestly if it would have fit in the garbage, Ryan would have put it there. Instead, it sat in the garage waiting for a second chance to shine.

After painting it, I was going to make the glass into a chalk board, but instead I decided to add art work from my daughter to add a nice punch of color. I then added coat rack from an old, smaller hanging coat mirror.

ta da!!!!!!!!!