charlotte slate accent

I have always referred to this bedroom as the room where all of the extra furniture in our house goes to die. After I moved it around every way and painting it a few times, I knew exactly what I had to do. The carpet had to go! I also decided to paint an accent wall. After the carpet was out, I felt like I could take a deep breath and make this room serene and welcoming to our guests.

Boring...

I changed the mini blinds to wooden blinds, switched up the furniture and painted an accent wall  (Charlotte Slate, found it on West Elm) and now it really feels like a place where our guests can feel at home.

thanksgiving table

While day dreaming about the perfect thanksgiving table I started to realize that with my guest list the size of my table was not going to cut it. I decided to make a new table top with seating for 8-10. Here is the old table.

Here is the inspiration for the new table. I love the color! This little guy is from World Market.

All I did was take the top of the old table off, strip the old stain off, and reuse the legs for my new table

 top.

Yeah! Now everyone can have a seat for dinner.

 Keep checking back for new additions to the Thanksgiving Table.

The chairs are next on the list!!!! I am super excited!!!!

my favorite candles

I buy candles so that my whole house will smell great. The saddest part about candle purchasing. Is buying a dud of a candle. You know the one that when you get more that 2 inches away from it you can't smell it, or the one that burns out in it seems like 3 hours. 


I  have both of these candles in my house at all times.  I promise these little guys guys pack a huge punch you will not be sad about this purchase!

Votivo: Teak and Red Current.

    
Paddywax: Rosemary Sage

new floor...

Since the day that I moved into my house, I wanted to rip the carpet out that instant!  It was old and gross.  Well...now is the time!  It all started with my dad finding some floor at a garage sale.  From there, we have taken the process room by room.  This section is definitely going to be my favorite because it includes the hallway!  


We started with our bedroom.  The next step was the back bedroom and the hallway at the same time, because they are connected.  I planned the installation of the floors in sections so that we could save up for each section instead of waiting to have it all done at once, especially since we put it in ourselves.


I, of course, would have loved to call some floor guys and install some dark wood floor of my dreams, but that is not in the cards since we are young and on a budget.  When my dad told me that he had found some engineered hardwood (laminate) for $2 a box, I knew it was what I needed to start my journey of ridding my home of old yucky carpet.


The floors that my dad found were Trafficmaster engineered hardwoods from Home Depot. They actually are a very close stain to the original hardwoods on the main floor of our house. Hooray.


What you need.....


- flathead screw driver
- hammer
- simple solutions kit (this is what you need to hammer the planks in without   hurting it)
- plyers
- circular saw (at least, a table saw was would be easier, but we got it done without any fancy equipment)
- jigsaw
- underlayment
- laminate flooring
- quarter round




Here a few tips for installing.....


The prep is the worst!

Taking out the previous floor is less than fun.  Staples, carpet pad, and carpet tacking galore was in store for us before we got to the fun part of installing the new pretty floor.


A side note:  I thought the carpet was bad, but I had no idea what I was in store for when I saw the carpet pad!  Gross does not describe my feeling toward this piece of material.


If you have had pets in your home (like I did, from the previous people that lived here), you can paint the sub floor with kilz to kill germs and smell. I also sprayed Lysol for good measure. :)


I also hate the idea of my house being under contruction for a period of time. Since I knew that we would not have 3 consecutive days to sacrifice I decided to pull up the carpet as we laid down the floor.


My favorite part was cutting in the wood for the doors with the jigsaw.  I had never used one before and I loved it!  It takes a little time and creative thinking on how to measure and cut exactly, but I love a challenge!


Oh!  I forgot to mention the most frustrating part of the whole situation!  The hallway was not the same width.  So annoying.  That means that every board that we cut had to be on a slant for the row closest the wall.

Overall, engineered hardwood is super easy to install.  I recommend it to anyone on a budget.  If you want any advice, you can certainly email me.








A little paint down the hallway and TADA...we are done and I could not be more excited to be carpet free!!!!!!! 

another brick in the wall...

 Everyone has an area in their home that they just haven't gotten around to fixing yet.  One evening while my husband and I were chatting downstairs, our fireplace caught my eye.  Initially it seemed like a tough project to tackle, but I started to think about what I wanted it to look like and realized that I had everything I needed except the masonry screws! 

I decided that I wanted it to look a little worn and one coat of paint turned out to be perfect.  We actually had a  2"x 4" that was used to make the mantle.  I attached it with L brackets, anchors, and masonry screws.  I moved a mirror from upstairs, added some cute plants and candles and... Voila!

 

Part of renewing any space is using items that you already own.  Make a list of the home accessories you have.  Try to group them by style, color, or theme.  I had white paint, little white bowls, and a white mirror.  This continuity gives the room a brand new feel.  Start thinking of things you can rearrange so that you can repurpose and refresh your house with a little time, very little money, and a lot of love!