Landing Zone

When we come home, we park in the basement garage and then immediately trek upstairs. The first thing you encounter when you open the main floor door is the kitchen table, so that's where we usually dump all of our stuff. So this is what our kitchen table usually looks like. 

Not optimal for eating. Obviously we needed a landing zone - a place to drop our bags, keys, and anything else we bring in. Somewhere not on the kitchen table. I was perusing a new-to-me blog this week (great blog - go check it out!), I ran across this post & picture. 

Source: Maillardville Manor

I immediately pinned it and an idea started to form. You see, we have a similar black cabinet, right beside the kitchen, that we use as a home office space. Unfortunately, ours was a MESS! 

Although thanks to the doors it was mostly concealed. 

It had been on my "To Do" list for weeks to clean it up, so I jumped in to organize, purge, and clean. It was really dusty. 

Now it's SO much better! I even moved Little Man's coloring supplies so he could easily access them.

Now it was time to add a bit more organization to transform it into a "Landing Zone". The wood is too thin to use screws, so I bought these command products on a lovely solo-trip to Target.

Key Hooks on the inside of the door to help organize the miscellaneous bowl of keys we previously had.

Plus a few large metal hooks...

complete the transformation!

The top basket is for my husband to drop his wallet, keys, & phone. The middle hook is for my purse. The bottom hook is just the right height for Little Man to hang up his little backpack.

These hooks are supposed to hold up to 5lbs. I thought that would be strong enough to hold my purse, but it did fall the other day. Oops! Maybe it's time to clean out my purse.

Now my kitchen table is actually ready to be used for eating!

White Bedroom Insanity

It has been said that the definition of INSANITY is doing the same thing over & over and expecting different results. I think an addendum is needed: putting a white duvet on your bed year after year with a black dog & toddler living in the house. Evidently last year's white duvet fail just wasn't enough for me. I had to try again this year. Let's rewind so I can tell you the whole story...

I love our bedroom. The wall color is a strange green that changes in the light, but it's warm, comforting, and beautiful. I love the deep reds and greens. The plaid curtains salvaged from our old duvet. The quilt. I just love it. 

But it's sort of heavy in color, which I love in the fall and winter. However it left me wanting something a bit brighter and lighter for the spring and summer. Combine these feelings with two recent posts from the Nester (found here & here) and I was ready for a change. But it needed to be cheap. Like the FREE kind of cheap.

So I started by removing every possible from the room: the quilt & pillow shams, the lamp shades, the curtains, all pictures, every other little accessories. I was left with a very empty space. I guess the room was breathing (or whatever). 

Obviously I couldn't leave the room like that, so I shopped the house. Here are the items that were brought back to the room: white sheets & duvet, white lamp shades, two white candles.  Hmmm...that's a LOT of white. 

I knew all that white wouldn't last long, so I didn't even bother to iron the duvet. A mere FIVE days later I was proven right. There are muddy dog prints on the duvet, black fur that is desperately awaiting an upcoming grooming appointment, and so many more wrinkles from a certain little person who loves to "mess pillows" at least 3 times a day.

The room is still bare, bordering on stark, and now a bit dirty, but it has given me a blank canvas. A place to think and get out of my dark red & green box that's been there for the last 4+ years. I would love to find an inexpensive quilt to use in the spring & summer. I think it would be fun & refreshing to have seasonal bedding. We'll just have to wait and see...and bargain shop :)

Such great advice...

I've had this little sign for a while (picked it up at Ross or TJ Maxx, no sure which). I recently moved it in front of my (corner) kitchen sink simply because the colors go well in there. However, it struck me that it's pretty great advice for people (including myself) to remember to leave the kitchen sink & dishes a little better than they found it. 

So, now I wonder if our dishes will end up in the dishwasher or hand-washed a little quicker than before?

Toy Storage Labels

When I was in college getting my degree to become a teacher, we were taught to "Beg, Borrow, & Steal" any good ideas we came across and use them in our classrooms. Well, I'm constantly using that same principal as I run across great ideas on other blogs.

Last year I fell in love with Make It & Love It's toy storage labeling. It was adorable and so practical. I knew we needed that in this house! Fast forward to present day, we have the Ikea storage units loaded up with Little Man's toys and a Silhouette to make the vinyl labels. Employing on the "Beg, Borrow, & Steal" principal I learned in college, I pretty much copied her project exactly. No need to reinvent the wheel!

Before

During...

After - LOVE IT!

Close-up of the labels

Little Man can easily identify which toys go in each bin by the picture, so clean-up is easy-peasy!

Aside from the cuteness, this is such a perfectly practical set-up for us! The unit is in our basement, so any mess can be contained down there out of sight. However, if we're on the main level we can easily choose one set of toys to bring upstairs. The bin slides right out and we can dump & play in the family room.  Then pick it up and return it downstairs, which helps maintain a bit more order in our main living spaces.

I love when function & form can work together!

Evolution of a Kitchen

Our kitchen is one of the main features that sold me on this house. Thankfully I could see past the current aesthetics and just knew it had potential! It has certainly come a long way since we moved in several years ago...

October 2006 - We moved into a sea of blue floral wallpaper!

July 2007 - Had the wallpaper removed and painted a warm orange to balance out all the white. I love color!

March 2011 - New stainless appliances, granite counters, and wood floors. I'm in LOVE!!

Kitchen Dreams Coming True

Not blogging much lately because we have a new project going on. One that has required a lot of my attention and I'm SUPER excited about it! Remember in my Home Decor Goals post how I mentioned I wanted to update our old, ripped linoleum as well as replace our counter tops and appliances (in my dreams...). Well, my dreams are coming true! 

Goodbye ripped linoleum!

Last week I had wood floor and granite contractors in and out giving us estimates. Now, we've chosen our contractors, ordered our new appliances, and are in the waiting stages. If all goes as planned (which is doubtful in construction), then our appliances should be delivered in the next few weeks, then our granite will be installed by the end of the month, and finally we'll extend our hardwoods into the kitchen and refinish the rest of the wood. I'm so excited! Here's a glimpse of what's to come...

Appliances

We went with the Whirlpool Gold line after reading the reviews on Consumer Reports and checking out similar product price ranges. Ended up getting some pretty great deals thanks to a combination of Lowe's price matching, my Father-in-Law's 10% military discount, and a $400 cash rebate by the manufacturer.

Granite Counter Tops

Ironically, it is the EXACT same as what my parents chose in their  kitchen reno a few years ago. We didn't realize that until I took the sample this weekend and laughed hysterically when it was an exact match to their counters! (small square sample is what we chose)

I don't want anyone to think we're suddenly rich or going into a lot of debt for this. Neither is true. My 95-year old grandfather passed away this past fall. He was so well loved by our entire family and he lived such a rich life. He was such a blessing to us and his legacy continues to be, even though he's no longer here with us. He was so sweet and left all of the grandchildren some inheritance. Most of it is investments which we've reallocated to better suit our needs, but there was a smaller cash portion that we're using to fund most of this reno. What a great gift he's giving us! I know he would be really happy with what we've chosen to do with his generous gift to us.

I cannot WAIT for it to all be done! It's seriously going to feel like a brand new house to me (probably b/c I spend SO much time in the kitchen!). You can bet that I'll be posting "before" & "after" pictures. 

Family Room Updates

I mentioned in my 2011 Home Decor Goals post that I wanted to update the fabric & accessories in our family room. Well, after a bit of time behind my sewing machine, it's (mostly) updated! Just a few new fabrics to replace our curtains, couch pillows, and hearth cover.

Our previous curtains were a dark reddish-burgundy from Pottery Barn Outlet (love that place!).

Our new curtains are a simple quilting fabric from Joann's (on sale for $3.99 a yard!). Tiny white dots on red fabric, which really brightens it up. It's called "Small Dots on Lipstick"

Here's a comparison - new curtains on right, old curtains on left. So much brighter & cheerier!

Our old pillows (under Little Man's head) had to go...

 They were replaced by these new yellow & red pillows I made. These are both heavier-duty fabrics, canvas I think, which is great considering they take a lot of abuse. That yellow-stripe fabric came from Ikea and they only charged me $0.99 for the yard! I should have bought more! The solid red fabric is a remnant I picked up somewhere and the polka-dot is leftover scrap from a quilt.

The hearth cover (made by my in-laws & is a safety God-send with a very active toddler) needed to be updated as well. I ran across this fabric at Joann's - it's an outdoor fabric from the Better Homes & Garden's line. Again, sturdy and can withstand the daily abuse. Plus the navy background pulls our navy leather furniture in perfectly.

Here's a close-up, so vibrant & fun!

Little Man also loves it. He immediately made a bed out of it...silly boy!

So the only thing left to do with my fabric update is the curtains for the backside of the room. I have the fabric but need to pick up two short matching rods (from Target - they were out last week). I think it will really tie it all together! 

2011 Home Decor Goals

Last year I went through room-by-room in our house and made a list of things I wanted to change, either for free or really cheap. Some of those things were updating pictures, spray painting various items, etc. I'm happy to report that we checked off almost all of those "To Do's" and even added in some extras, like updating the landscaping (I just realized I never took pictures of the after - shame on me! It will have to wait until spring now).

Well, this year I went through and made a similar list. It's time to spend a little more money on our home, which can be a bit scary but also necessary. For example, we've learned from experience that we need to seek professional help for most major painting projects (especially if they involve wallpaper, which is why the Master Bath says "fix" paint) and we're at a point where it's just time to do something in the painting department. Thankfully, my husband's family is very handy so we will be able to DIY some projects (like tile, hopefully, if I ask really nicely and cook...).

This list may be a bit ambitious and they probably won't all be accomplished this year, but the first step to accomplishment is to set goals, so here are mine! By the way, I've rated on a $ - $$$ scale by how much I think each will cost us. 

Family Room ($)

Update accessory color scheme (cheery red & yellow accents)

Small round side table between recliners
New toy storage for Little Man 

Replace faux wood blinds (that are white to match the rest of our rooms)

Update: Here are some of the changes made.

Kitchen ($$$...maybe I should add more $)

Update old, ripped linoleum with wood floors to match hall & dining room

Granite counters & stainless appliances (oh wait, that's my dream world seeping through...)

Update: Amazingly, we were able to complete the kitchen renovation. Thank you God for the provision of a sweet grandfather who left us some money to be able to accomplish this.

Half-Bathroom ($$)

Remove wallpaper & paint (seek professional help)

Foyer/Hallway/Stairwell ($$)

Paint walls, trim ceiling (seek professional help)

Master Bathroom ($$)

Fix paint (seek professional help)

Replace peel & stick tile with real tile floor (DIY)

Guest Bathroom ($$)

Replace peel & stick tile with real tile floor (DIY)

Remove wallpaper & paint (seek professional help)

Guest Bedroom ($)

Replace faux wood blinds (that are white to match the rest of our rooms)

Convert to Big Boy room if (hopefully!) needed to coordinate with this bedding from PBK that I bought on sale last spring

Ignore the dry cleaning pile.

Laundry Room ($$)

Replace (crappy) bi-fold door...maybe with curtain (?)

Tile floor (DIY)

Paint (DIY)

Relocate extra cabinets from Master & Guest Bathrooms

That's a long list, so here are my top priorities:

1. Wood floor in kitchen

2. Hallway/Foyer painted

3. Family room updates

I think it's important to note that even though I have an extensive list of things I want to update around our house, that doesn't mean I put our life on hold from hosting friends and family until it's all finished. We'd never have anyone over if that was the case! We invite people into our home to enjoy fellowship with one another, not impress them with a perfect home. This coming weekend I'm co-hosting a baby shower and Bunco at my home - ripped linoleum and all!

Example of my imperfect home...that 16x20 frame has been hung in my main hallway & empty for MONTHS! Thankfully I did get a family picture printed this week.

Embrace the imperfections! I honestly think it makes your guests a bit more comfortable when your house isn't perfect because it reminds them of their own home, which probably isn't perfect either!


I'm linking up with the Nester today.