The bathroom renovation has started!

It's been awhile since I've gotten down and dirty with a DIY project and I jumped back in big time with this one! It was SO fun! :) 

My whole family thinks I'm nuts by the way. Husband came home from a business trip and son came home from school to this happening...they know by now to expect this. 

I've talked about the changes I've wanted to make in our son's bathroom for years now. I mentioned in January that THIS was the year we were going to make it happen. My plan was to add a window in the back room first, and then determine if I wanted to take the wall down:

But I knew all along I wanted to take it down...I hate it. Loathe. So yesterday I got a wild hair and did just that. Sometimes I'll sit on a project forever until I just bite the bullet and just jump in. I knew I could make some progress on this room and still have it function, so I went for it. 

And man, was it fun! And messy! I loved it. :) 

I knew there was some electrical in the wall, but didn't think there would be any plumbing. I was right...kind of. I started on the toilet/tub side of the wall (in case there was no way to take it down and I would have to patch it up) and made a hole...and immediately saw it. DRATS!:

It's a vent to the roof. I'm not sure if it can be pushed back into the wall, but even if so I don't think the expense is worth it. So I immediately figured out a solution, which I'll show you in a bit. 

I used a flashlight to look both up and down in the wall to make sure there was nothing else to worry about and kept going. 

A professional would be a little more deliberate (clean?) with the way they did this, but I went the easy/messy route. Using a hammer, I pounded through the drywall: 

And then I used a saw to cut through it. I did it in sections so it's not the cleanest of jobs, but it will all be fixed later: 

There are so many drywall fixes that will have to happen in here, I wasn't worried about perfection. I knew how to take down a wall from when we did this in our family room years back. 

Once I saw that light coming into the dark cave in the back I was SO excited: 

The more I removed the happier I was. Whoot!:

It was about here where I realized something -- I wasn't sure I wanted to take the WHOLE wall out. I was planning on it all this time but I really liked the idea of a small pony wall there. So I used (affiliate link) this reciprocating saw to start cutting through the studs, and I liked the idea more and more:

Ignore the sad droopy shower rod. That's on the list. And yes, I left all of the stuff in the room and it was fine. I wiped off the dust onto the floor and then swept it all up. It was actually a quicker clean up than I thought it would be. The mess was welcomed though -- I was so thrilled!

Here's a closer look at the vent...

My plan is to add a stud in front of it and then drywall around it. I may wrap it with stained wood to make it look like a beam -- I'll see when it's drywalled if I want to do that or not. I'm actually not so sad about the vent, because it gives me a good stopping point for the tile behind the mirrors that I plan to add. 

The pony wall will be shorter than this (guessing around three inches shorter) and I'm going to pull the studs out at the end and take it back about five inches:

I didn't want any wall there initially but now I don't mind the idea of a short one. It will still offer a bit of privacy, but again, I'm not sure if that's really needed? I mean, you'll just shut the door. 

BUT I think because we have to keep that little bit on the right, it makes more sense to have the half wall there. It would look odd to just have that small wall going down the middle of the room by itself. 

And I've seen all kinds of great ideas for adding storage in bathroom pony walls too -- I may consider something like that!

It only took me a couple hours to get it to this point! Today I plan to take down the door trim and stud on the left side of the room and I'm excited about that too -- I think that will really complete the open feel. I'll take down the wood on the ceiling too, and I may go ahead and cut down the width of the pony wall so I can be done with this step. Here's a look after I finished cleaning:

GIDDY!! 

The opening will be much larger by the time I finish up today. Can't wait!! My arms and wrists are already killing me so I just want to get this part done. The next step will be getting quotes for some electrical and plumbing work. I'll be sure to share the process with you every step of the way! 

I had to laugh as I looked back at my inspiration photos I shared years back -- this room is set up nearly the exact same way as how ours will be!:

So weird that this is one I shared! Ours won't have the header at the top, but the bump out on the left and the pony wall are exactly how our room will look. And we're adding a window (longer and thinner than this one) to the top of the shower wall. 

I'm so excited to get this moving -- I have NO idea how long it's going to take me but like always I'll be doing it in smaller increments for budget reasons and so we can still use this room along the way. (Although I've told our boy he can't use the back part until we get that electrical back in the wall -- hopefully soon!)

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How our DIY kitchen renovation is holding up (1 1/2 years later!)

Hey all! Hope your weekend was great! We had so much fun -- family stayed with us most of last week through Sunday and it was fun to have a full house. 

My plan this morning was to take new photos for this post -- but then we had thunderstorms and it looked like nighttime outside. Too dark for pics! So this post is a combination of photos from recently and over the past couple of years -- if things don't match from photo to photo that's why. (And now of course as I write this the sun is coming out.) 😐

I finished our kitchen renovation a year and a half ago and I get a lot of questions about how things are holding up and how I'm liking changes I made. I wanted to follow up again to let you know specifics on some of the bigger changes I get asked about the most.

It's hard to pick a favorite thing in this kitchen...I'm just so pleased with all of it. But extending the island was one of my best decisions for sure. It is SO wonderful to have a larger space to prep/cook/bake on. And when we entertain we can now fit all of the food on the island 😊: 

If I remember right I added about three feet to the island -- almost doubling the size. If you have the room I highly recommend doing this. I built on to the previous island and added wine storage, a spot to hang towels and other items, storage at the end, a spot for the microwave and room for a third stool on the other side.

One of the questions I get asked most is about our microwave in the island and if I like it after all this time: 

I LOVE IT. One of the best things I've done in the house, let alone the kitchen. I love that it's not the center of attention anymore (it used to hang above the stove). It took a little getting used to having it down lower, but now it's no big deal at all. My husband had a harder time getting adjusted than I did -- I loved it right off the bat. ;) 

We look through model homes all the time for fun and microwaves in base cabinets are definitely becoming a trend. A lot of them are actually lower than ours (but are nicer versions with a drawer): 

You can see how I built the island here and how I built in the microwave and allowed for venting here. 

We only updated one appliance when I remodeled the kitchen and this trash compactor in the island  is the only one that doesn't match the rest of the kitchen: 

When we built I went with a combo of black and stainless appliances (wish I gone all stainless) and that's the last black one...and it's still doing just fine. I'm sure it will be years before we need to replace it with a stainless version. You can see more about that trash compactor and why it's my favorite appliance here. 

We splurged on a slide in range -- it had always been my dream to have the clean lines of this type of oven and the hood on the top: 

We bought the KitchenAid slide in and I LOVE it. We've only had one small issue with it -- two times now the display has gone out. The oven works but you can't see what you're setting the temp to without the display. Thankfully it comes back pretty quick (within minutes) but it's annoying when it happens. 

I think the question I get more than any other project I've ever done (EVER!) is about the planked/shiplap backsplash. I used cement boards specifically because we had a slide in range and I wanted something that would be heat resistant. Plus it's a fraction of the cost of tile...and way easier to install. 

I didn't leave much of a gap between the boards because I knew I'd want to caulk between them anyway (who wants grease/food in there). It's sometimes hard to see the boards in pictures but they are much more obvious in person. They are virtually care-free -- splatters wipe right off. They look just like the day I installed them! The only change I may make is to paint the backsplash a lighter color sometime this year. You can see the details you need to know when installing a cement board backsplash here. 

Years ago I thought I may not like a stone countertop but I'm so glad I changed my mind. I love our counters and love the deep sink: 

 

The counters were sealed well and we still haven't had any issues or had to reseal yet. It's supposed to hold up for years I believe. Often with granite you can see that the color changes around the sink over time and we haven't had any problems with that. I wasn't sure I'd like a shiny countertop surface but I immediately loved it when they installed them. The room needed that little bling! You can see which granite we went with and the company we used here. 

I like the look of a farmhouse sink but didn't think the cost was worth it -- especially when we loved our deep sink (the dark gray works perfectly in here). I have mentioned that you may want to reconsider a deeper undermount sink if you are tall. It took some time for me to get used to that (it dropped another 1 1/2 inches when undermounted) and I'm 5'9" and my husband is 5'11".

Another project I'm SO GLAD I tackled was taking down a few cabinets and then extending the other ones to the ceiling: 

I'll link to all the before photos at the end of this post but we used to have a few cabinets on the stove wall and I took those down. It opened up this room a ridiculous amount -- such a good move. If you are considering this I don't think you'll miss them:

I built in the area around the fridge and later built the cabinets up to the ceiling. Having them go all the way up makes the whole kitchen feel so much more custom: 

And of course the biggest change was painting the cabinets! I am asked about these a ton too -- and they have held up SO WELL. I'm honestly a little surprised at how well. I did a follow up about them a month after I finished the kitchen and you're considering painting make sure to check that out. You MUST let them cure for a couple months before the finish is truly ready for wear and tear. 

I shared the whole process of how I painted them (and how they look like they were sprayed professionally) in this post. You do NOT have to sand the finish off of your cabinets if you want to paint! Of all the changes I made in this room, painting the cabinets was the most dramatic and the biggest bang for the buck. (I saved thousands doing them myself and they've held up better than some professional jobs I've seen.)

I did take away some storage in this room by taking down cabinets, but more than that was added back in the form of the upper cabinets (I use all of those baskets for seasonal kitchen items), the storage at the end of the island and a ton of space in the new window seat:

I still get the heart eyes every single day when I walk in and see that seat. ;) 

The only project (so far!) that needs to be touched up is our kitchen table -- you can't see from photos but I need to repaint the top: 

It gets a lot of use so I need to sand it down, do a couple more coats of paint and then put a protective finish on it. 

Whew!! I've said it before but it's so true -- living with this space for years before tackling it and doing the reno over nearly a year (I would do one project at a time) really helped us to make great decisions about how this room needed to be set up. It functions so beautifully -- I don't think I could ask for much more. I'm so very pleased with how well everything has held up so far. It's fared better than I had even hoped. 

I tried to touch on the projects that I get the most questions about, but if there's something I didn't mention that you are wondering about, please let me know! 

You can see the full reveal of the room with tons of before and after photos (my favorite!) here and I went into more detail about all of the sources and projects in this post. 

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Another door goes black! (And how to do it.)

Hey all! I'm back today with a quick post about a project that's not so quick. ;) As some of you know, I have painted most of the doors in our home in black. I haven't started upstairs yet (I know it's going to look so good!) and I thought I had finished them all on our main level and basement.

I keep forgetting about a couple -- one in our powder room and one in the basement laundry room. I'm determined to get those done before I move upstairs.

I'm going to try spraying them when the weather gets nicer, but of course this week we have temps in the 20's and snow when the past two months were 60's and 70's. 😡 So...I had to work on it inside.

I think this makes SUCH a big difference and it's not a hard project at all, but it does take some time. I've shared how to paint your doors (interior and exterior here) and you MUST find out if they are painted with oil or latex paint before you start. Most doors are painted with oil so if you paint without primer, it will come off later. Sometimes it will flake, sometimes it will peel. But it will come off and really annoy you. ;)

So I always prime our doors first:

The great thing is there is no need at all to sand -- just clean it well before starting. And I don't take mine down when painting by hand -- there's no need. (You'll need to tape around hinges if you will see that side of the door.)

I go into detailed instructions on how to paint a door in that link above, but this is the primer I use: 

Because I go dark I have this tinted to a gray. This primer is awesome and is my favorite -- it's super thin and easy to apply, but watch for drips. A small quart of this will last a very long time, you don't need much. It also dries incredibly quick so that speeds up this process a bit. 

Our doors are all painted in Graphite, it's a very dark gray instead of super black. I have it mixed in Sherwin Williams paint just because I love their stuff. This enamel paint is what I use for our doors: 

I use eggshell or satin but most prefer shiny doors, so the finish is your preference. 

One coat of primer, two coats of black and some touch ups and it was done: 

I am totally in love with the look of black interior doors. Every time I do this I fall in love with them all over again! LOVE!:

Here's more about the powder room makeover and how I planked these walls (that's what us old folks called it before "shiplap"). We went with hardwoods in here to work with the rest of the main level and I have loved them. 

I used a piece of art our son painted as the inspiration for the room -- the accent colors all come from that art: 

The white door looked absolutely fine, but after some time I knew I wanted it to match the rest of our interior doors. Black doors are a classic and will never go out of style: 

Have you painted your doors a color? I love any color on a door -- blue and gray are another favorite of mine. They add dimension and interest to your home for very little money! 

If you'd like to see what this contraption is behind that black door, you can see it here: 

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Making changes in the family room

Hey all! I'm back to show you some updates I've made in the family room lately! I'm so so stinking happy with them. 

You may remember how we knocked down a wall years ago and nearly doubled the size of our family room. We doubled the length of the room but it is more narrow than it used to be because of that. We didn't buy any new furniture when we made over this space and instead made what we had work for the room. 

We had two arm chairs in the room -- one in this cozy corner: 

And one off to the other side, closer to the sofa: 

That corner by the windows used to be where I'd sit and work every day, but I haven't used that space in quite a long time since I finished our office/craft room in the loft. That corner was such a cozy spot but felt so detached from the room. When we had company of course it was empty because no one wanted to sit by themselves. ;) 

I knew since we finished the makeover years ago that I wanted to add two matching chairs at the end of this room, but it wasn't a priority. So occasionally I would search and see what I could find for a good price. I never found anything that was the price I wanted and the style I wanted at the exact same time. 

Until I came upon the Rotterdam chair from Wayfair a couple weeks ago:

It checked off all of my wants -- classic design, neutral color, simple look -- and the nailhead trim was just the icing on the cake. :) 

I rarely buy chairs online -- I'm not sure I ever have actually. I like to try them out first. But the reviews were great and the price was right so I went ahead and ordered. (Side note -- they were supposed to be two-day delivery but I ordered at 6 p.m. one night and by 8 a.m. the next morning they were on our porch!)

We had a small candlestick table I made there before, but I wanted something a little lighter feeling between the tables. (I moved the candlestick table to another room because I love it.) I found a small side table at HomeGoods on clearance but didn't love the kind of mottled gold look: 

It's hard to see here but it was a bit harsh -- I wanted to tone it down a bit so I sprayed it with gold spray paint. Perfect!!: 

So much better! 

I get asked a lot if it's OK to mix metals in decor. I say absolutely! It could get boring if you didn't: 

I had already moved the floral art down to the basement bathroom, so I hung three frames in this spot instead and LOVE them. This is all in between here so bear with me -- there are not photos inside just yet. :)

We love having the extra seating in here and you can see the TV from both spots. I was surprised how it opened up the room too. You'd think it would feel more closed off but it's the opposite. Having that corner open makes it feel so spacious: 

It's so nice to be able to get to the window shades to open and close them. It's the little things. :) And we have plenty of room behind the chairs to utilize the dresser. The backs on the chairs are low enough that it keeps everything open and airy. 

By the way, you can see how to care for the beautiful fiddle leaf fig here. I brought this one down from our bathroom to fill in some of the space and I love how open and simple this corner is now:

He seems to love that corner. Hopefully he'll love it as much as he did the bathroom! 

Now I just need to decide on a fabric for the pillows. I already had this one but I used the last of my fabric to make it: 

I can get more but would have to buy a yard which is way more than I'll need. We'll see -- thankfully I already have another matching insert for the other chair. 

I have some other minor changes in mind as well, including drapes. I love these but have had them for a very long time and am ready for a different look. They were the perfect height before I trimmed out the windows but now I'd love them to be longer so I can hang the rod a couple inches higher. I'll be tweaking some things as the budget allows but I'm so thrilled with the addition of these chairs! They completely change how the room looks!: 

Oh, and the chairs are great. Again, they are the Rotterdam from Wayfair and they come in a bunch of colors. The fabric is a little bit rough -- not the softest, but so far has been easy to clean. And the cushions are nice and thick and bouncy. You don't fall into them but I know they will soften up over time. The chairs are comfy and deep -- I like a chair I can sit in and pull my feet up and these are perfect. Even with all of that they have a nice small profile which I love. (And if you get these watch for stray nailheads in the packaging -- we had a few extra ones that fell out and I'm glad I found them before stepping on them!) 

And one of you smarties noticed that I switched out our rug when I reviewed our sectional sofa a few weeks back. Our previous rug in here was great but we got it for our old family room. It was so large it covered nearly all of the hardwoods in here. This slightly smaller rug (used to be in our library) lets the floors show and makes the room feel so much bigger! I love how it looks in here too. 

Moving some stuff around and adding these chairs makes this feel like a brand new room and we LOVE it! :) I'm so glad I waited till I found the right chairs! 

Do you ever buy furniture online? It always scares me but I'm pleasantly surprised with these. 

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Where to buy Magnolia Homes farmhouse style for way less!

Hey all and welcome to the weekend! I saw this week that Pier 1 is now selling Magnolia Home rugs and pillows, and they are all gorgeous. And very expensive. 😳 Believe me, I'm all for splurges. But the cheapest pillow I found was $70 and most are closer to $100 each. Yowza. 

I can't help you with their rugs and pillows but I can help with the Fixer Upper style for a whole lot less! I showed you their less expensive line of furniture and decor and where to get it last year. 

They also carry a bunch of beautiful accessories at a good price point at these stores: 

I found some items I loved there and want to go back to see if they have anything new.

You can find the same look for even less if you know where to get it! Hobby Lobby has a new aisle in the store and if you love this style you'll want to check it out. 

This cotton wreath is a good size and is $50:

BUT this stuff is half off all the time. So you'll pay $25. (They also have the stems at a great price.)

I love the cow and large farmhouse prints: 

Check below to see where to find a bigger half windmill for a great price! 

By the way, I LOVE those cute "hi" signs -- just can't figure out where to put one. :)

This aisle was cleaned out the day I went by to take photos, but they still had a lot of great stuff -- it's popular! This distressed cake stand was pretty -- it could be used so many different ways: 

I loved this large glass demijohn as well -- the vintage versions are SO expensive:

One of my favorites from that aisle were the tobacco baskets they are carrying now. From what I've heard from employees they are flying off the shelves. I was able to pick up one a few weeks ago and it was the next to last one -- and they had gotten a new shipment hours earlier that day. 

I LOVE it -- it looks lovely on our fireplace: 

I got it half off, so it was only $9. NINE bucks! Awesome. 

Target is rocking the farmhouse look lately too. I adore this table I found online: 

It's called the Harvester dining table and is on sale right now for something like $350! Gah. Love it. 

I've been eyeing these terracotta hangings planters there for months and months: 

I love hanging stuff but never know where I'd put it! I just love those so much. They have the normal terracotta color as well. 

These wire cloches scream farmhouse style and are on clearance right now! (I found these on an end cap.): 

I found a bunch of farmhouse decor in their outdoor aisle -- they always have the best stuff you can easily use inside. Olive buckets are another one that can be crazy expensive when you buy vintage: 

I keep eyeing these wood birds too -- I just think they're adorable. 

And if you love the look of bread bowls but can't find one, Target has a few versions in their outdoor section: 

If you plan to use them for decor, you could stain them to darken the wood tone. 

I was most excited about these metal wall planters I found in that area a few weeks ago: 

They're the Threshold galvanized wall planter and the last time I went to find them they were gone. And they're gone at most of the stores nearby. 

I'm guessing it's because of this?:

;) These versions are smaller than those you see in the beginning of every Fixer Upper, but they are only something like $9 each. This is another one I want to find a place for...but I waited and now I can't find them. 

If you don't have a Target or Hob Lob, you can look online! I loved the following I found on Amazon. This farmhouse sign is smaller but it's metal and very inexpensive: 

Joanna loves her windmills and this one is nearly three feet wide and only $20:

And these enamel canisters are perfect for a farmhouse kitchen and are less than $20: 

If you look around you can find that Magnolia look for way less. I've heard Kirklands is now carrying a farmhouse line as well but I don't have a store nearby so haven't seen them.

Do you have a favorite spot for farmhouse-inspired decor? I like to use some of this style because they easily fit in with most decor. They add some whimsy and warmth to a house!

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