Home tour: Living Room

Wow, this has been a long time coming!!! I took this photo this afternoon from the same vantage point as this photo from the Zillow listing.



This room has actually undergone way less renovations than every other room in the house. Mostly what has been tricky about it for me is the furniture placement--it's a very long room with a picture window at one end, a fireplace 1/3 of the way along one wall, the wall opposite the fireplace is open to other rooms, and the end opposite the picture window has French doors leading to the sunroom. It's too big to arrange furniture in a single conversational grouping, but not quite big enough to function entirely as two separate rooms. Here's another couple of listing photos that shows how the previous owners broke it up...



And here is the very first photo I ever took in this house--we moved in on October 27th and I took this shot of Neil after we got home from trick-or-treating on Halloween.



The first month that we lived here, I didn't do anything renovation-wise other than painting all of the trim white around the big picture window. Mostly I was just busy ordering furniture. ;-) I knew I wanted two big chesterfields, and then Isaac and I had one very fun afternoon at West Elm buying pillows and rugs and throws. So my initial layout had one chesterfield in front of the window, and the other facing it about six feet away. In this photo, you can see the unpainted trim + the old curtain rods (really wish I had a good picture of those, as they had enormous finials that led Neil to nickname them "the staff of the Mushroom King"). The curtains were in the living room in our previous house, and I replaced them pretty quickly as well. (The first three months that we lived here I spent SO MUCH MONEY on furniture/decor...we were still rocking the same couches we'd purchased before our wedding, so we were loooong overdue to replace basically everything.)



Here's that same view this afternoon, minus the cute little Abigail.



So mostly this room looked the same for the first year or so that we lived here. I kept moving things around because I could not get the right furniture arrangement...it was fine for Christmas because we all wanted to hang out by the tree, but the rest of the time it felt like the couches were shutting off the fireplace part of the room.



Cute little Matty...oh man I miss his fluffy hair!




































And one more because I have been so terrible about blogging and I don't think I ever posted this...so here is Christmas 2017.



We did a ton of other projects over the next few months (repainted the entire basement, built cabinets in the laundry room + redid closets downstairs, redid the upstairs hall bathroom and the downstairs bathroom just off the laundry room, and repainted the dining room). Then we went on vacation and when we came back I literally took a hammer to the built-ins on August 5 (2018) on either side of the fireplace one night because I just hated them SO much and did not want to look at them for one more second. Neil was very very skeptical and so I just stood there doing it by myself while he was like "I think you're going to regret this" but I KNEW they had to go. (When it got to the lift-the-heavy-cabinet-out part he started helping.)



There was a ton of wiring back there so the drywall looked terrible & the carpet was missing underneath the built-ins, but I still thought it was an enormous improvement!



A week later Neil hung new drywall & taped and mudded everything...



And then I started on the next part of my vision which involved whacking out all the straight-line mortar that was left (straight line because of the built-ins going right up to the fireplace whereas I wanted a more organic look). This made an ENORMOUS mess and was very very time-consuming.



Here's the straight line version...I just did not love it.




So after I chipped out all the mortar I had a lot of giant cracks and holes, so I used refractory mortar to patch everything up. This also made a giant mess and took forever.



Then I waited for Doubting Neil to go out of town and started painting. Fortunately he is not unused to finding all kinds of DIY surprises when he gets home. I was super happy with how this turned out--basically I mixed latex and acrylic paints with water until I was happy with the consistency and color, painted it on, wiped it off, etc. I used probably 3-4 different shades and then would go back over the lighter shades with darker splotches and vice versa--my goal was to not have it look like painted stone but to look like it was the actual stone's original color. And somewhere in there I painted the walls to match the original shade (except then I spattered them with gray paint from the fireplace, so oh well...I'm planning to repaint the living room this fall anyway).


And here is what it looks like today.



We left the fireplace mantel-less for three months or so...I really loved the clean-lined minimal look of no mantel, but then as soon as we started getting out Christmas decorations I was like no way must have a mantel. In this time gap we also completely redid our kitchen (I was painting cabinets for a month straight!), Neil had a million work trips to very interesting places, and everyone did fall sports and it was CRAZY TOWN.

So eventually Neil built this one out of pine (I wanted it to look like it was just one giant barnwood beam). It was actually a super complicated process that involved a lot of engineering and jigsaw skills so that it would look like a single piece whereas in actuality it couldn't be solid because of the weight, plus it needed to be cut just right to accomodate every individual stone so that the mantel would fit snugly with no gaps. We hung it on December 2...just in time for stockings!

I can't remember what color I stained this, but I do remember how delightfully fun it was to whack it with a chain and a bag of screws while I was distressing it to make it look more like barn wood.





And ta-da! Christmas 2018. As I said at the beginning of this post, this was BY FAR the most minimal changes we've done to any room, so it seemed like a good one to start the ball rolling...

A few more pics from today (still working on the furniture layout, but this seems to work best so far). The main issue I have with this room is that it has very little natural light and only has 4 can lights in the ceiling, so it always feels super dark to me unless I walk around turning on all the lights. So naturally we gravitate to spending more time in the family room...so my goal is to figure out the lighting issue and make this a room where we spend more time as a family.

Someone gave us a free piano five or six years ago and I still haven't replaced it...yikes! My plan is a baby grand because I think it would be gorgeous in front of that window, but there are so many other things to spend money on...so my stop-gap solution was refinishing the piano face earlier this summer. I'm happy with how it turned out (and one of these days I reallllly need to replace the mismatched bench).

So I've basically tried to create a conversation zone around the fireplace but then also left it open at the side to try to continue the flow over to the other half of the room. I don't love this particular layout, but my kids do spend a lot of time curled up in the armchairs reading, so it's working for them! And of course the piano is going pretty much nonstop until bedtime. 

This little zone here almost invariably has a kid curled up with a book...these two bookcases are dedicated to picture books (and my half-finished paintings).

And a sun room sneak peek to take us out!

I love cakes and Lukes

I feel like I have a lot that I want to write about, but it's more private journal type of stuff than blog stuff. But I do want to write a little bit here too...just random things.

1) I have been reading a lot lately about mothers that I admire. Right now I am reading up on Maria von Trapp and Lillian Moller Gilbreth. I have a big stack of biographies & autobiographies about the two of them on my nightstand right now (and of course I do love The Story of the von Trapp Family Singers and Cheaper by the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes, all of which I have read and reread dozens of times, but I am loving reading much more in depth about the mothers who headed these families). My favorite out of all the ones I've read so far is this.

2) Kind of on that same note, I have been revamping my feed reader lately to include some new-to-me blogs that focus on mothering. My new favorite is this one. Any good ones you'd suggest?

3) Last Saturday I ran 20 miles. Just in case you hadn't realized it, that is a lot of miles. It was kind of crazy but also awesome in a crazy kind of way. I am running my marathon in 2 weeks and 2 days and I can't believe it!

4) I've been working on our house again a lot lately. I have been doing the 40 bags in 40 days clear-things-out-thing (yes, I do realize I'm not Catholic, but I have always loved the idea of Lent as a time to clear my mind and my heart). Along the way I have been selling off things, donating a ton of things, and freshening up our spaces (thanks to the cash influx!). My very very very favorite thing about this is that I finally found some beautiful wingback chairs to replace the papasan chairs that I have passionately loathed for years. This would be a good place to put a picture but guess what, if I put off this post until I remember to take a good picture the post will never get published.

On the other hand, I have (mostly) finished the boys' room as well, and I did take a picture of half of it. Finishing this room entailed finding new curtains (I was planning to sew these but couldn't find any fabric that I liked in the right price range--I randomly saw these curtains on clearance at Hobby Lobby which I still need to hem and rehang but oh well), painting over the lavender walls and brown molding, painting the bookcase, sewing all of the reading floor pillows, finally hanging the rhino head (Isaac and I made it of paper mache earlier this summer and I then Mod Podged scrapbook paper all over it), painting that little photo frame, and then turning a piece of scrap wood into that reading sign (I painted the words on and it is definitely kind of wonky-looking but it was really fun to paint). Anyway, the rest of the room is done and decorated too but I just didn't bother to take a picture yet. And the lighting is really yellow-green...in person it is much brighter. Oh! And I almost forgot--Neil spray-painted the rhino head with glow-in-the-dark paint, so that is kind of weird but also sort of awesome (I just hope none of my kids end up in therapy because they're convinced a Baskerville-esque rhino is after them).

5) Spring is almost here! Our crocus (croci?) are up and blooming in the back, and the tulips are poking through in the front. Take that, pellets of icy rain/snow that were falling all morning! It has been a loooong winter and in some ways I am SO ready for it to be over and in some ways I am dreading the summer (please don't be wretchedly hot!). I must admit that this kind of winter definitely has its perks in terms of feeling like it is way too cold to do anything other than lounge in front of the fire in our pajamas. My favorite kind of days.

6) Speaking of which, I am starting to think about summer plans with the kiddos. This is (hopefully) our last summer here, which means there is SO much that I want to pack in, and Neil will be working like crazy so I want to just do lots of adventures with the kids. I have really been debating and struggling lately about what I should do with the antidepressants--it has been an awful rocky month--but ultimately I ended up getting a renewal of my prescription because I want to be 100% present this summer, and I have not been able to do that this past month with a lowered dosage. I want to be full of energy and fun and excitement and perseverance rather than feeling defeated by the simple question of what's for lunch (okay, sometimes that is not all that simple. Have I mentioned lately that while I used to LOVE cooking I have decided that I do not always love cooking for my kids?).

Anyway, that's all.

making things

I have all these lists and bookmarks on my computer for projects I want to make.  Hand-dyed fabric, hand-painted fabric, ruffled silk pillows, hand-painted rugs (are we sensing a theme here?), adding ribbon stripes to lampshades, spray-painting just about everything possible, making a crib skirt for Isaac (and a comforter, since he'll outgrow his crib soon and it takes me forever to finish a quilt), etc.  There are SO MANY COOL TUTORIALS out there!!!  And I want to try them all in my nonexistent free time with my almost nonexistent decorating budget (hello, inherited fabric stash). 

Problem is...Neil.

Who is generally very supportive of projects that I want to do, but does not see the need for more throw pillows (I don't think you can ever have too many throw pillows, plus they are so fun and easy to make!).  Right now we're Gmail chatting about this chevron fabric, which I want to use to make curtains in our bedroom, and Neil thinks looks like a referee in the process of falling down.  (Incidentally, he deleted my bookmarks when he reinstalled Windows a month ago.  Too many ruffled silk pillows, apparently.)

What do you think?  Would this be too much in floor-to-ceiling curtains in a black-and-white room? 

And what is your favorite online decorating tutorial that you've seen lately?  I'm partial to this chandelier.  Or this ruffle pillow.  And this fabric.

(ps...I still love my husband.  Even if he does think chevron fabric looks like a referee).  

pps--thanks for all your really awesome comments about school fundraising.  great food for thought!!

making it over

went to the home improvement store to pick up some lumber on Saturday--came home with the lumber and some spur-of-the-moment paint.

our bedroom is now blue. very, very blue. not 100% sure if it's the color that we'll keep, but I can tell you this: buying high-grade paint makes a world of difference. it's easily the best-painted room in our entire house. no leaks onto woodwork. perfectly even lines on the ceiling.

it really would be a shame to paint over it. it's just that it's a little brighter than we'd anticipated...

in any case, things are in the works for the Great Bedroom Makeover of 2010. color scheme: blue, black, silver, and white. goal: soothing.

next up: building that bed. and let me tell you, it's going to happen sooner rather than later, because there is a pile of lumber in my bedroom (wouldn't fit in the garage).

image

lots of things

don't you just love spring? and i am so happy that I have all these chives (soon to blossom) to lure the bees. as if the dandelions weren't enough.

Last night when we were praying Neil asked that we could be very productive today. I guess he really meant it, because before I was even awake this morning he had the kids dressed and in the car ready to go to the hardware store (which meant I got to have a leisurely half-hour to myself while I baked some blueberry muffins for breakfast and enjoyed the quiet and the sunlight. And the realization that my last day of class was YESTERDAY!!!).

Then he came home and promptly started installing the new dishwasher that we bought last night (after a year or so of debate! hurray, so excited for dishes that are actually dry, since our old dishwasher a) stopped draining and b) stopped dispensing soap reliably. We contemplated just washing everything by hand, like we used to do back at BYU, but...it was worth it to spend the $$. And I am super excited because we got a tall tub Energy Star, so I can both wash lots of dishes and feel good about my energy usage). Anyway.

So while Neil installed the dishwasher, I bundled up the kids again after breakfast and we went on a baby clothes hunt, which was very successful (Craigslist, my friends, Craigslist). Then we went to the hardware store again to get a replacement piece of dishwasher tubing (the old one had a leak), and then out to the backyard to dig around in the mud/garden.

This is what our box looked like this morning (we put up the trellises later, so now it looks different). As you can see, the peas had quite a few skips, so we replanted those last week and now there are peas popping up all over the place. We put in some more fertilizer today and planted two squares of bush beans (sort of experimental; it may still be too cold) and a couple more of spinach and lettuce. All in all, I'm really happy with the container garden thus far, especially since it is STILL too wet to till the main garden (see the top of the picture). Our plans are to till that this week, if it dries out, and get the first planting in there next weekend if it stays warm enough.



The other thing I really like is how tidy the square foot garden looks. It's very pleasing to the eye and if you have a mathematical or list-making turn of mind, incredibly satisfying to see these tiny little regimented rows in all different colors.

We're planning to dig our first radishes and green onions this week. I'm so excited!

More excitement--every single lily, purple coneflower, and lemon thyme plant that I transplanted from a friend's garden last year have all come up. They look lovely, except I just planted them right in the yard (she wanted them gone right away and I didn't have time to dig a bed before they would have dried out) so there's no picture because I still haven't gone out with scissors to trim all the scraggly grass around them. But it smells divine, and I'm excited for the middle of the summer when the view out my bedroom window is 6-foot high lilies and coneflower, and the patio smells like lemons from the kids running over the thyme all the time (heh heh).



We also had a pretty decent show from the tulips, daffodils, and crocus that we planted last fall. It's a good thing we enjoyed them a lot in the last few weeks, because they got Juliet-ed and now we have lovely piles of petals everywhere. The girls have done such a good job of staying out of the flower beds the last couple of weeks, and so now that the flowers are starting to die back a bit, when I saw Juliet carefully filling the tulip cups with tiny rocks and Abigail collecting each fallen petal (from Juliet's rock-filling) to make little fairy beds, I didn't have the heart to scold them. Plus they had filled my sandals (which I left outside while I was making a picnic lunch) with a totally gorgeous array of petals, and they were so proud and anxious for me to see their lovely little creation "just for you, Mommy!"



We have a million dandelions. The girls love them.

Juliet's speech is ever increasing in length and complexity these days. Yesterday Neil asked her what she had for snack, and she replied "I eat trawbries all gone!" (strawberries). And today she peeled herself THREE clementines in a row, and when I asked in shock, "Did you really eat all of those?" she looked up with big wide eyes and said, "No, Ab-ee-dal did!" (with Abigail, of course, yelling a vehement denial, "I wasn't even in the kitchen!"). And she's getting pretty good at whacking Abigail on the head when she's irritated--running towards the terrible twos with gusto.

Abigail remains our sweet adorable little photogenic child. Glazed eyes, crazy smile, and all (she was so proud of herself in this picture).

I'm sure grateful for these two. And for my husband, who is currently engaged in installing a ceiling fan in our room (summer pregnancy bliss). And for "pocksickle bulbs," as Abigail calls them (seriously: best way ever to use up leftover juice).

No creative title!

Yesterday was a long day!

I was thinking yesterday morning about how frustrated I was after my prenatal class that they didn't address any aspects of actually recovering from childbirth (they just said "You may experience discomfort" which meant "You can't walk for a week" in my case) but how it have been nice/funny to address some of the other repercussions of parenthood.

For instance, by 11:30 yesterday I'd spent an hour at the gym, ate breakfast and read scriptures with Neil, got ready for the day, made breakfast for Abigail, did a load of laundry, vacuumed the house, took Abigail to the library, and spent half an hour at the playground. A pretty respectable morning's accomplishments EXCEPT for the fact that I got up at 5:30 to do it all! It just takes so much longer to do everything now, and that was kind of a shock at first...

Speaking of shocks, when we were at the playground I had this sort of paralytic moment of realization. Abigail was climbing up onto the playground equipment via one of those "nets" made of metal bars and chains, which is just about her favorite thing ever (she would climb up, then run down the stairs so she could climb up the net again. Completely ignored the swings and slides). But she wanted to do it all by herself, and she could with no problem. So I was standing there sort of spotting her in case she fell, and it was weird and scary to realize that this is what
I'll be doing for her for much of the next sixteen years...letting her do her own thing because she's old enough and able enough, but I'm still afraid that she'll get hurt...but I know it's a necessary part of her development to push away from me and do things on her own.

Not that she'll be making any life-altering choices in the next few years, but still...I'm so used to thinking of her as my baby!

For date night we had a shopping spree, which a few years ago would have filled me with delight, but now post-Abigail post-house purchase and in-grad-school was sort of a panicky process. We had to get some more clothes for Abigail, who is growing like the proverbial weed, but we didn't find much, so we're hoping that some extra tights and a couple of shirts will hold her for another few months (I think we'll be going for the mini skirt and tights look for her for the rest of the winter...that kid has the LONGEST legs for her age and all of her dresses are inching up!)

We also went to Lowe's to finish off our 10% coupon, since we needed to buy a lawnmower and various other house things. We found a lawnmower that we liked and then wandered over the cabinetry and storage section, since both of us have been cursing the laundry room setup ever since we moved in. Essentially--there's no storage or hooks in the laundry room for things like detergent, chemicals, coats and gloves, etc. There was a cabinet set that we'd seen two months ago that we really liked, but it was quite a bit more than we wanted to spend, and there was another one that we thought was pretty ugly, but was about $30 less. Well, we noticed that there was only one "nice cabinet" set left, and the box had been torn open so that the exposed pieces were dirty and scratched. So we asked for a reduction, and since it was the only one they had in stock, we got it for 20% off the original price. We were pretty happy, especially since about thirty seconds with a sponge took care of the damage!

So that was our post-date night project last night--Revamping The Laundry Room. It was not the most exhilarating project--we didn't finish until about one in the morning, partially because the silly people who installed the previous lame wire half-shelves in the laundry room used bolts that flanged out behind the wall, so we had to hacksaw the bolts off to avoid ripping out big chunks of the wall. And then when Neil got ready to put the cabinets up, he discovered that the wall was bowed outward.

I am so so glad I am married to an intelligent problem-solving man who takes everything in stride! I now have a beautiful cabinet and hook filled laundry room, courtesy of my awesome husband!