{around the outside}

we made a concerted effort to do a bit of yard work this weekend.  raking, edging, weeding and scott's step 1.  (my dad swears by the stuff.)  it felt good to get our hands dirty for the first time this year.  all except maybe that giant blister mike got raking.

i wish you could smell this viburnum.  it is seriously out of this world. 

i could look at this white bleeding heart all day.  the detail on this thing...totally spectacular.  nice work God!

i wish these things bloomed all year.  they make me happen every time i see them out the kitchen window.  (now i should just clean that filthy window...i bet they'd be even prettier!)

and although this may look like a whole lotta nothing, our little costco blueberry bushes have fruit buds.  not bad considering we thought we killed them. 

it rained all day today and i swear the yard already looks greener...after one day.  is that even possible?  maybe that scott's is all it's cracked up to be!

{progress: the guest room}

i feel like i have hardly left this room lately.  so much painting to do!  covering the wood paneling is taking 4 coats (1 primer +3 coats) and i have to use a brush to get into the grooves.  the room is small, but the ceiling is high and sloped so it is up and down the ladder quite a bit.  ooh...and did i mention the closet doors and doors to storage under the eaves are all louvered?  i have had white paint in my hair for weeks!  ;)

but...this week i have pretty much finished up all but the touchup on the white and moved on to the floor.  all the nasty hot pink shag was pulled up and i sanded the plywood subfloor.  because we didn't want to spend any money, i used the same paint as the playroom floor.  score!

the door to the room was in rough shape.  the previous owners must have had a dog (i can only assume) that was locked in that room at somepoint.  there are HUGE hunks missing from the bottom of the door.  and if that isn't enough, it is an ugly flatpanel door from the 60's/70's. nothing wrong with that if your house was built then, but ours is 100+ years old.  it just looks so out of place.  (there are many doors like this in the house and i would love to replace them all at some point with pretty raised panel doors.  just not high on the $ priority list.)  i used wood filler to fill in the bites out of the door.  there was seriously so much putty in the door mike told me at one point to just go buy a new one.  it is far from perfect, but i'm pretty sure no one will notice.  (except those of you that come visit because now you know what to look for- ha!)

i went ahead and painted the flat panel door with chalkboard paint.  in my mind, at least then it seems more purposeful- being flat and all.  again, i already had the paint so no dinero.  i am thinking it might be fun to do something a la shanna murray like this on the door to welcome guests and write them love notes.  i also like the idea of using japanese washi tape to add photos and add a gallery of sorts to the door.  maybe hand draw some frames for pictures???  feels a bit playful to me, but not over the top.

come visit us when i'm done and your cute mug can be one of the first on our door.  how's that for a bribe?!

{diy: my version of the overdyed rug}

i have had this throw rug in front of our door for like 12+ years now.  the size is great, but i am so over the color.  the washed out green went great when we had a vibrant area rug in the adjacent family room, but now that the rug there is neutral, this rug makes me snooze.  it just is boring.

since the rug was from the crate and barrel outlet and wasn't expensive to start with, i wasn't too afraid to try and update it a bit.  i keep seeing over-dyed vintage rugs all over the place and thought the same concept might work for a rag rug. 

aren't these rugs gorgeous?!  they are a bit bright for my taste, but i love the concept of redeeming and rethinking vintage rugs.
 

from abc carpet and home

and here is a dip dyed IKEA rug via Martha Stewart

the color turned out a bit greener than i had hoped, but SO much better than the original.

for round 2, i bought rit dye again in navy blue.  this color is better, but has some purple undertones i could do without.  i am still really happy with it though.

i may run back to joann's (coupon in hand) for another box of denim dye.  maybe just a bit more of the green would make this my perfect blue.  i can be a bit neurotic like that.  or maybe i will try out this new motto...HA!

print from dorothy jeanne goodswww.dorothyjeannegoods.com

{guest room-to be}

we have decided to switch out the office for a guest room.  truth be told, it was always more of a dumping ground for things without a home than it was an office anyway.  (i think we dubbed it the office since the desktop and printer lived there.)  i don't think anyone will miss the office.

but a guest room...now that sounds useful to me.  the air bed sprung a leak and so any guests that now stay over bump the boys from their room to aiden's floor.  (which they do not mind in the least.  they are huge fans of sleeping in "nests".)  it's just that the boys have a queen-sized bed that they share and it is really the only logical place to put anyone.  but...they have recently become way too squirely to share a bed.  and their mattress is shot and needs replacing.  and our awesome neighbor recently moved and gave us a double mattress in great condition that we can use in the guest room.  (yes a double is a bit small, but snuggle up people, it's not forever.) guest room it is!

since the room is technically the attic and is finished off in some *lovely* wood paneling, i am hoping to make the space feel a bit more open and airy.  i have gone through way too many cans of white paint and the albeit-it-tiny room is already feeling more spacious.  i am trying to go for a bit of cottage meets beach house.

our room has a window and ceiling slant just like this.  i ripped down a small ceiling that someone had put up and so we now have a few small beams like this showing as well.

Source: cococozy.com via Karen on Pinterest

i have some oil on canvas auction finds i may consider hanging in there similiar to this.  i will also need to paint the subfloor and this floor looks like it may be painted as well.  trying to decide now if the floor should be white to blur the lines of this super small room, or if i should paint it the same dark blue/green (benjamin moore narraganset green) as the playroom to help ground the space since the ceiling is high in there. 

Source: alifesdesign.blogspot.com via Karen on Pinterest

i really like this neutral palette with small touches of black.

Source: honeyhouses.tumblr.com via Karen on Pinterest

so here's the latest dilemna in the space.  we are going as cheapo as possible up there.  i found two great light fixtures (at lowe's of all places) that i think will look nice above the door.  this is the only place there is wiring for a light and so i need a sconce of some sort for there.   both of these are about $25.  (sweet, price right?!)

do we go for the barn light inspired sconce in galvanized metal?  (which is already cool looking but may look good painted up all glossy)

or the more nautical inspired fisherman's light that speaks to the wall mounted lights next door in the playroom?

playroom lights from pottery barn kids

whatever sconce we pick will probably also go outside the door in the hallway to downstairs.  (the 70's called and they want their brady bunch looking light back.)

so...what's your vote?  which light is your favorite?

{thank you mom & IKEA!}

the fam was at IKEA recently and i spotted this headboard on clearance.  it is a padded headboard that mounts on the wall.  and the best part is that the striped cover is a velcro slipcover.

Badalen headboard from IKEA

we have wanted a new setup for our master since our headboard and footboard take up alot of real estate in our tiny bedroom, but it just wasn't high on the priority list.  but for $30 bones, i could not pass this up...it is on the website for $299!

so when my mom was here recently, we hit the fabric store in search of something that might work.  i found some organic cotton in a gorgeous blue color we went with.  i wanted to stick with something pretty neutral that i wouldn't tire of anytime soon.  mom sewed this thing up in day (a long day, but a day!)  it turned out so fantastic!  she is an amazing seamstress. 

funny sidenote story.  i get home from picking up the kids from school and she is sewing away in the sweatshop (aka dining room.)  it is like 90 out and the window a/c is barely keeping her cool.  she asks if i can run grab her a chocolate donut from dunkin for a little sugar high.  the kids and i hit the closest drive-thru.  i ask for a chocolate donut and i am told they are out.  ok...we'll go with a second choice.  out of that too.  and the third choice.  the man then proceeds to tell me they are out of donuts, can he get me a coffee instead.  WHAT?!  isn't this dunkin donuts?  foreals?!  what's next...no burgers at burger king?!

the good part is that living in new england there is literally a dunkin like every quarter mile.  we hit another one and got our second choice there.  they also had a large sign outside saying it was nat'l donut day and you got a free donut with every coffee purchase.  it started making sense.  one would  have thought that the employee at the first dunkin would have mentioned that. 

so...back to the slipcover.  it still needs to be attached to the wall, but it is "in".  what do you think?  i need to figure out a way to visually balance out that crazy window since there is only one. 

(still need to learn how to make the bed)

i also got some fabric to make a pillow for the bed.  stay tuned...

{my IKEA Rast hack}

mike has been asking for a night stand for awhile now.  it seems about time since we have both resorted to dumping things that should go in the night stand on the ironing board.  (yeah...i think that thing is actually supposed to come down when not in use.)  anyway...

i jumped on the IKEA Rast hack bandwagon and came up with matching tables for us.  although maybe not initially my first choice, the $29.99 price is really hard to resist, the storage is great and the creative options are endless.

here are a couple of the images i found inspiring as i decided how to tackle ours.

via aubrey & lindsay

from left on amelia via urgan grace

i decided to paint our drawers BM super white and then do a color wash of BM duxbury grey.  i went with the colorwash option for a couple reasons: i had the paint already, but not enough for two dressers, i liked the transparency of it...a bit of grain shows through but not too much, and it helped hide the flaws of being ikea pine...mainly lots of knots and fingerjoints.  i put one coat of white glaze over the top, polyacrylic and waxed the white door fronts and am happy with how it turned it.  it has alot more depth than just a solid coat of paint would have had.  kind of driftwood like. 

i went with the same lee valley hardware as the inspiration pics.  i really liked it and didn't feel the need to get creative just to be different.  i like how the circles play off our coverlet.

here are some more of my favorite hacks.  these would be awesome in kids' rooms!

via pinterest

via knack studios

via designsponge on pinterest

now i need to come up with a paint color for the walls to go with~

{chippy chair makeover}

i scored this chair awhile back at the auction house for $5.  technically, it was $2.50 for (2) chairs, but the other one wasn't worth taking.  a good price regardless.

post sanding pic

i thought this was a great chair to add to the playroon for the kids work table.  i think it is probably an old library or courtroom chair, but with some fun, curvy lines to it. we have two chairs up there now that i also got at the auction, but that still leaves one kid on the floor.

so...after a coat of green paint and a whole lot of distressing, i am loving the character of the finish.  the original poly had an alligator finish in some places and was pretty worn.  i only lightly sanded this piece before painting in hopes of keeping some of the texture and then finished it off with a coat of clear wax.

(let's just pretend there aren't huge hunks out of the blue wall.  what the heck!)

love me a quick, cheapo makeover!

{going green}

sights from around the yard...

this viburnim smells so fantastic!

love me some white bleeding hearts

ugly chainlink fence blueberry bushes from costco.  we got 3 and i hope they hang on. 
the kids would love to pick fresh blueberries from these!

astilbe waiting to bloom.  our nephew's handprint stepping stone in the background.  he is almost 16 now!

and on the porch...

attempting basil from seeds.  aiden will eat this right out of the pot.

the seed cap still on a tiny sprout

cilantro growing towards the sunlight in a pot the kids painted. guacamole, yum!

i can hardly wait for they hydrangesa to bloom.  they are my favorite!

{decorate}

truth by told, i am a little addicted.  a little addicted to anything design...magazines, blogs, books...anything with pretty and inspiring pictures.

so, when one of my fav design blogs authored a book, i couldn't NOT get it.  i used some of my Christmas money and pre-ordered it sight unseen.  (i never do this.  i always check it out at barnes & noble first and give books a test run to make sure i am ready to plop down cold, hard cash for them.  i just knew i would love this one and i totally do!)

so much eye candy in here.!  some favorites are...

i love the colored frames & unexpected white one

the color & texture on that cabinet is divine!

aiden would love that hugs pillow. 

and these pillows would be fantastic in her room too.  gorgeous color!

i could see my entry table painted like this

cute decorations for vases...doilies, bakers twine & washi tape

i gotta get me some of that tape.  ;)