I scored this pretty little thing for just $40 and can’t get over the fact that it is solid oak and constructed with dovetail drawers.  What a steal!  You can’t beat it.  It needs a little bit of sprucing up (all of the drawers need new runners in order to open smoothly, and there are some scratches and cracks on the top) but it is the perfect piece for this little area of the living room.

This dresser is going to pull double duty.  We parked it in the living room to serve as an end table for the sofa as well as additional storage for things like throw blankets and Xbox accessories.  Our coat closet is just to the left of it, so it’s the perfect place to store our winter hats and gloves, too.

I absolutely love the beauty of stained wood.   Ideally, I’d like to refinish this piece in a walnut stain.  Once I fix up the drawers and sand out a few of the scratches on the top, I’ll have a better idea if this will be possible.  Just in case it’s not and I have to go the painted route, I found a few inspiration pieces.  I’m loving the statement these darker dressers make…

via: BHG

via: Design*Sponge

I’m hoping to get the living room painted this weekend (maybe you noticed my partially painted wall).  Choosing a color has been difficult since the only time I see the living room in the daylight is on the weekends.  Here’s hoping that one of the samples I painted last night looks good in the Saturday morning light — otherwise, it’s back to the swatches!

I decided to go with a stenciled feature wall.  I choose the Endless Circles Lattice Moroccan Stencil from Royal Design Studios.  Picking a stencil was easy; the harder decision was choosing a color combination, which left my walls looking a little crazy!

I finally decided to go with Collonade Gray and Crushed Ice from Sherwin Williams.

I started by painting the background color on the focal wall first (Crushed Ice), then covering the rest of the walls with the Collonade Gray before beginning the stencil.  The stenciling was a very slow and tedious process.  I won’t bore you with the details — there are plenty of other stenciling tutorials out there.  :)

At this point I was giddy with excitement and had to drag my headboard over to see how it was all going to come together.  I had ordered this Skyline Furniture headboard from Joss & Main months before we were even considering buying a house, so it was doubly exciting to see it in place.

Of course, the next logical step was to tape out a 8′ x 10′ section on the floor to see how the rug I”d been eyeing on Overstock was going to fit…

With size suspicions confirmed, I clicked purchase, and in 3-5 business days my glorious, plush, Hand-tufted World Classic Bluish-grey Wool Rug arrived!

I went with Tarva chests from Ikea for night stands to help with clothing storage.

I’m currently undecided on how I’m going to finish them, but I’m leaning towards stain.  I framed this card from Rifle Paper Co. and popped it on the nightstand because I thought it was so sweet!

And here’s the view of the other side of the room.  The dresser actually belonged to my grandparents — it was the first bedroom suite they purchased after their wedding.  I had painted in blue about a year ago and was never happy with how it looked in my bedroom at my parents’ house.  I was planning on stripping it and returning it to the original maple finish, but the color works with the rug in here, so it will stay for now.  I have enough other furniture refinishing projects going on right now before I tackle another one…

And that brings us to today.  Robby and I used some early wedding money to go out and purchase a mattress, so we set that up this afternoon…

It’s starting to look more and more like home!

So long as I remember to adjust the height of the blades if the grass is a little longer due to heavy rain or a few missed days of mowing, it works pretty well.  It does a great job on the grass, but doesn’t handle any type of stalky weed and those have to be cut down with the trimmer, or I pull them out as I go along — just more motivation to do some fall lawn treatments.  On a positive note we’re getting some exercise and saving money on gas, so overall we are happy with it.

To kick off our summer projects, we decided to remove one of the clothesline poles to open up the yard a little more.

We kind of decided to tackle this project on a whim, and didn’t realize what we were getting ourselves into. Here’s Robby’s brother Ryan starting things off -

And after several minutes of digging, it didn’t look like we were even close -

Even with 4 men working at it with shovels, digging bars, and just sheer brute strength, the pole remained firmly in its place.

That’s a lot of concrete.  This is a job for Wacker.

It worked, and we were able to finally remove the base of the pole in about 158 pieces.  We filled in the hole and planted seed and called it a day.  There are still 2 more poles in the yard.  It has yet to be decided if they will remain there.

Our goal for the summer was to do as much improvement to the yard as we could while spending as little as possible.  We figured we could do this by cleaning up the beds around the house.

Robby did a really nice job with the edging…

And after he finished all that nice work, I changed my mind and decided that while we were at it, we might as well go ahead and shape the beds the way I had envisioned. Robby was really appreciative that I waited until he finished to mention this…

With the help of Robby’s mom, we broke out the extension cord and the line paint, and marked where the new edge would go.

We learned through this project that I am inept at using a flat shovel to dig up the grass. Robby had to take over that duty. I was in charge of picking up the grass clumps and shaking off the excess dirt. Go team.

This project was a huge undertaking since we only worked on it on the weekends. It took us several weeks to completion and before we got to the mulching stage, and the weeds were completely absurd. I mean, this isn’t normal…

Mutant weed roots. Absolute insanity.

But anyway, once the grass was removed and the weeds were cleared out, things were starting to take shape.

As I mentioned before, we were trying to do this project as close to FREE as possible. Some new plants would look great here, but in the name of budget, we opted to relocate a few mums that were already planted around the house. We’ll get to real landscaping over the next few seasons.

And now for the side by sides!

Along with removing the fence, power washing the bricks, and redoing the beds, I think the new roof (which we had put on prior to settlement) makes such a dramatic difference!

And now, our dirty little secret…

Well, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Obviously we still have some work to do, but I think we’re off to a pretty decent start!

Party-planning sisters!

I decided a few weeks before the party that I would make some paper garlands to have on hand, just in case we could use them somewhere.  Our colors for the shower were yellow, blue, and pink, so I found this tablet of border punch strips at the craft store, and finally broke down and purchased a Martha Stewart craft punch, after pining after one for several months.  I’ve also seen these made with paint chips, but I decided to use the paper strips instead because I wanted the garland to be two-sided to make it easier for draping.

I selected several shades of each of the colors, and started punching.  I didn’t keep track of how many I punched; I just went with the theory “the more the merrier”.

I decided which order I wanted the colors to appear, and then laid them out in front of my sewing machine (I use a Brother XL-2600i, which is great for a beginner sewer like me).

 To get started, line up your first circle and start sewing.  Make sure to backstitch the first circle  so that your garland doesn’t come undone.   It’s really easy from there.  Just keep feeding circles into your machine in the pattern you have laid out.

This project can be done as fast as you can feed your machine.  I punched out all the circles on one evening, and sewed them all together the next night.

I really like the way the mixed shades give the garland some more interest and depth.  The one pictured above is an extra purple one I made, just to have on hand for future events.

I wasn’t sure how we would use the garlands when I started out, but they turned out to be the perfect backdrop for the special seating area for our guests of honor, Kelsy and Nate!

The shower was a great success – we are able to surprise Kelsy and I think everyone had a great time.  We’re looking forward to their wedding at the end of June!  Shauna and I had so much fun planning and decorating together!  Be sure to check out her blog for more details on the actual event!

I’ll leave you with this teaser shot I posted on instagram of our drink table.  :)

Anyone else host any bridal showers lately?  Or make your own party decorations?  I’d love to see!

The First Saturday:

Robby and my grandparents got started on tackling the weeds in the beds around the house while I ran to the store to stock up on lots and lots of vinegar for the wallpaper removal inside.  By the time I got back just a few minutes later, things were looking much improved!

We removed the wood posts to tie the two beds together.  Its amazing the difference it makes.  There’s still a lot of work to do — reshaping the beds, edging, etc., but it is a great start and makes for an impressive before and after!

Later in the afternoon, Robby and Pappy also took care of the shrubs in front of the walkway that were past their prime.

There was also a fence in here, but that was gone in a matter of minutes — before I could even think about taking out my camera!

While we’re on the subject of the front yard, let’s talk about a few other issues we had.  There used to be a tree in front of the house (so the neighbors have told us), but when it was removed, it left a large crater in the center of the yard.  There was also a large hump to the front right corner of the lawn that was surrounding a sewage pipe.  The pipe was a little longer than needed, and instead of cutting back the pipe, dirt was pushed up around it.  Robby’s dad came up with his garden tiller and took care of leveling both areas.

You can see the now-level tree crater off to the left of this photo, and the drainage pipe area to the right.  We still have yet to seed these areas, but it makes mowing much easier without the humps and craters in the front yard!  Thanks, Gary!

My dad and Pappy teamed up to take care of power washing the side of the house.  It’s amazing the difference it makes!

You can see the dark area in the center that hadn’t been touched yet.  Amazing.

Well, while the guys were busy outside, we started tackling the wallpaper borders inside.

We tried two different concoctions for removal:  I was armed with a spray bottled filled with a 2:1 ratio of vinegar to water, while my Grammy was using a mixture of 1 capful of fabric softener to 1 quart of water in a spray bottle.  Both methods were equally effective (though the fabric softener version was much more pleasant smelling), but required a thorough soaking of the paper, followed by removing the top layer of the paper, then more soaking, and scraping.  By the time we were halfway done with this room, I was craving some boardwalk fries to soak up all the vinegar in the air!  :)

With 4 of us working on the living room, we had it completed by early afternoon and moved onto the master bedroom.  Yikes.  As tedious as the removal of the living room paper was, the master bedroom proved even more difficult.  It must have used a different type of adhesive.

We got about 75% of this room done by the end of the day.  I finished it off on Sunday afternoon.  With the help of my mom, I had the other bedroom and kitchen completed by Wednesday of that week, just by working for a few hours in the evenings.  As you can see, our method of multiple soakings of the paper left some very lovely runs all over the walls.  After removing the wallpaper from all of the rooms, I had to go back and scrub down all the walls with soapy water to get rid of them.  Although the house still smells of vinegar 3 weeks later, at least my walls are squeaky clean and ready for paint!

The Second Saturday:

With all the borders down, I was looking forward to giving my neck and arms a break for this second work weekend where we planned to tackle a different surface:  the floors!  When we first toured the house, the living room, hallway, and 2 bedrooms were carpeted, but the third bedroom had beautiful hardwood floors.  I assumed (based on the age of the house) that the hardwoods continued throughout the rest of the first floor.  We tested this assumption by pulling back the carpet in the master bedroom closet, just to be safe…

Jackpot!  With my suspicions confirmed, the fun began!

It would have been much easier to cut the carpet into smaller strips for removal, but it was in such good condition that it would have been a shame to waste it by hacking it to pieces.   It just so happened that this carpet is the perfect size for the family room side of the basement, so we repurposed it.  You can’t beat free stuff!

We did have one surprise after pulling up the carpet pad in the bedroom — does anyone have any idea what this might be?  It looks like some kind of burn mark, but I can’t imagine how it got there!

Aside from that curious black mark, I couldn’t have been more pleased with the condition of the floors.  They are absolutely beautiful.  After pulling up the pads, it was time to pull up the tack strips and staples.  Armed with pliers, hammers, and a pry bar, it didn’t take Robby and I too long to clear this room completely and move on to the hallway.

This just might be my favorite transformation of the day.  By removing the carpet, the transition from hallway to master bedroom is seamless, and makes the hallway feel so much larger.

Not a whole lot more to say about the process, but we also took care of the second bedroom…

I think the room look so much bigger without the wallpaper border and the carpet!

…AND the living room!

No more borders, no more carpet!

Please excuse our naked radiators!  The covers had to come off in order to pull up the carpet, and I decided it would be easiest to just leave them off until we finish painting.

Removing the carpet did leave us with an awkward transition from the tile threshold to the rest of the living room flooring.  We could probably easily address this with some molding, but I’m not in love with the tile.  I’d like to see it gone completely, but Robby likes it.  (It is a very nice quality tile and convenient for an entryway, but to me it says “bank lobby” and it just isn’t a part of the color scheme I’d like to go with in here).  I’ll be sure to keep you posted on what we decide to do with this area!

And finally, the kitchen…

Okay, so I failed at getting a shot from the same direction, but by removing the border, I think the ceilings appear so much higher.  We also moved the large refrigerator out into the garage to make room for the new appliances to be delivered.  In doing this, I got a glimpse of how the kitchen will appear with the new layout, once we are ready to move onto that renovation.  Having a clear line of sight from the garage door to the living room will make a huge difference, and makes the kitchen so much more spacious!

Whew — so that wraps up our first two family work days!  I’m so thankful for all the help we had and I’m looking forward to getting some paint on these walls to start to make it feel like home!

You may have guessed from the title that the house is finally ours!  We settled on April 12 and enjoyed a busy work weekend with family getting started on some projects (update forthcoming).  Thanks for all your thoughts as we waited out USDA.  I think it was worth the wait!

Our keys! Finally!

So, without further adieu, let’s continue the rest of this “Before Tour” (here’s Part 1 if you missed it).  A little refresher of how things are laid out… and then we’re off!

We left off in the kitchen, so the next stop is the garage.

It’s pretty basic, but it has a nice shiny floor, finished walls, and natural light.  My car will love it in here!  (Robby graciously deeded the garage to me in exchange for the basement, haha).  Not having to scrape ice and snow off my car on winter mornings is going to be amazing!

The laundry has its own fancy separate area in the garage.  I have big ideas and plans for a new use of this space!  If you look back to the floor plan, you’ll see that the master bedroom shares a wall with this space.  I think this laundry area could be transformed into a master bath, by closing up that wall to the garage, and moving the laundry facilities to the basement.  Of course, this won’t be happening for many years — which gives me lots of time to dream, plot, and plan!

When you come back into the house from the garage, the steps to the basement are straight ahead.

The fireplace can’t be used in its current state until some issues with the chimney are resolved.  As much as I love an authentic wood fire, I’d like to convert this to a gas fireplace.  The doorway leads to the unfinished portion of the basement with all the guts of the house – hot water heater, oil tank, etc.

I think Robby wants to have some kind of a bar area under the stairs.  As much as I would like to get my hands on this basement, all decorating decisions will be left up to him (let’s face it, I’ll get the rest of the house).

Now, back upstairs!  Head down the hallway to the right and you will find the one and only bathroom in the house.

 I believe that the pink and blue tile is original to the house.  And look at how they sparkle!  It’s evident that this house has been well cared for.

And here is the little vanity area.  For now, it’s totally functional.  We will need to add a GFCI outlet in here so I can use my hairdryer, but it will work in its current state.  Eventually I would like to have the tiles re-glazed to something a little less… pink.  I have a thing for white bathrooms.  And with the existing black tile, somebody tell me that this would not be absolutely perfect for this space:

(source)

Actually, don’t tell me that, because I’ve already made my mind up that it is!

And now for the bedrooms…

Next to the bathroom is the third bedroom, which I plan to use as our office.

And the guest bedroom

And the master

Lots of borders and carpet to remove in these rooms.  The right side of the back wall is where the door to the future bathroom would be.  I’m also dreaming of replacing the windows with french doors, leading out to a charming patio area with a place to enjoy a cup of coffee.  Hey, dream big or go home, right?  Which I can do now that I own this joint!  :)

Hope you had a lovely weekend!  I’m definitely enjoying the laziness of this rainy Sunday after a busy demo day yesterday.

Sources:  1. Atmosphere Interior Design  2.  Sarah Richardson Design  3.  Joss & Main

So dreamy.  And I decided I must have one for myself.  I almost bit the bullet on ordering that sassy Sausalito pendant from Joss & Main, but with a nearly $300 price tag, I couldn’t make myself do it. Lucky for me, I found this little number at Lowe’s the next week for a much more reasonable $89.

It’s a pretty good look-alike other than the fact that it had an aged pewter finish, so I took a cue from Janell @ Isabella & Max and broke out the Rub ‘n Buff.  Seriously, that stuff is magic in a tiny tube.

I started by squeezing a small amount of the paint onto my finger, and applied in a small, circular motion.

This is how I came to be known as Goldfinger.

A q-tip worked well for the smaller areas.

I wasn’t able to remove the drum shade (that bolt would not budge), so I used foil to protect it from my clumsy fingers while I worked on the base.

And here is where I would upload a photo of our new Grecian Gold light fixture hanging in all it’s glory in the hallway, but our settlement (which was supposed to be on Friday) was delayed again!  Consider this post to be continued…

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter holiday, celebrating and rejoicing with family and friends!  What projects did you tackle this weekend? (Any gold Easter eggs out there?)  :)

I was completely prepared to share the rest of the house tour with you tonight (in fact, I have the draft saved), but after talking with my mom I have decided not to.

You see, up until tonight I had not even considered this house to be anything but ours.  I have fully committed to it, dreamed about it, and fell head over heels in love.  But this house is not ours.  Not until we sign those papers on a yet to be determined date.  And until it is ours, it is not my right to post someone else’s home on the interwebs.  Sigh.

This picture from my first birthday describes how I feel right now perfectly:

I had my pointy party hat on and was ready to celebrate… until chocolate cake on my fingers and an elastic strap digging into my chin had to ruin all the fun (or in this case, the long and drawn out USDA loan approval process).

Until next time,

Alyssa

So, in the meantime… how about a little tour?  Let’s begin with the floor plan (always my favorite part) so you have an idea of where we are headed…

(House tour photos are courtesy of Hess Realty and my Pappy, because I didn’t think to take a camera other than my phone with me when we had our showing.  Thanks, Pap!)

Enter through the front door and you’ll find yourself in the living room.  (Helloooooo huge window and lots of natural light!)

View from the hallway, looking towards the front corner of the house. (Oh, hey dad.)

View from corner, looking towards front door and kitchen.

Our short-term plans for this room include removing the wallpaper border, painting all the trim white, pulling up the carpet to reveal the (what I hope are in great condition) hardwood floors, updating the window treatments, and adding some paint to the walls.  Oh, and furniture.  We’ll be needing that.  Eventually I’d like to open up the space between the kitchen and living room by removing that wall, or turning it into a knee wall.

To the left of the front door you will find the kitchen and dining area:

The dining area

View of kitchen, from the dining area

What you can’t see from this photo is the pantry.  The door is just to the right of the refrigerator.  It has a smart design with additional storage tiered above the basement steps (unfortunately, the only photo I have of it is a blurry phone shot from the day we first saw the house).  All of this extra storage makes my organizing heart so happy!

View of the garage entry, from the center of the kitchen.

Oh, this kitchen.  Although it may not be my style, the great news is that everything is in excellent condition.  The short list includes paint, and lots of it.  Paint for the walls, the trim, and the cabinets.  We’ll also be removing the wallpaper border.  I see adventures ahead for learning how to use that portable dishwasher!  We actually have new appliances (a wonderful early wedding gift from my parents), but won’t be able to install them with the current layout.  They will be sitting in storage until we have the funds to tackle a remodel, but that’s a post for another day!  So many ideas and possibilities!

Well, that wraps up the tour for the front half the house.  We’ll continue with the rear and basement tomorrow!

After a long 2 weeks (err, it was more like 2 weekends) of house hunting, we made an offer on the perfect-for-us house… and the next thing we knew, it was ours!  (Okay, it wasn’t quite that simple, but pretty darn close!)  Robby commented to me just after we signed the offer, “you know, you bought a house faster than you bought your car”.  And it’s true.   But I knew what I wanted, and this was just too good of an opportunity to sit on for any length of time.

This house had so many things on my checklist, plus a few extras!  I’ve always pictured a ranch style house as my first home; I just really love the ease and convenience of their floor plans.  This one happened to sit on a very nice quarter acre lot, with mature evergreen trees in the backyard, a finished basement, attached garage, and a shed.  Bonus, bonus, bonus, bonus, and bonus.  I realize that we are incredibly fortunate to have found a house in such great condition, in such a short amount of time, and to have had the process go so smoothly.  I count my blessings daily!

In the weeks since we’ve signed the agreement, my brain has been constantly spinning.  I have so many ideas for projects, I don’t even know where to begin once we get those keys!  We can’t wait to transform this house into our home.

I’m excited to finally join the blogging community after following dozens of other  incredibly inspiring bloggers for so long and look forward to sharing my journey in home renovation and design with you!