Some Fresh Paint

There wasn't anything particularly painful about the paint in the den, but it was pretty scuffed up, and there were some holes in the walls from the previous owners.  It also wasn't really my favorite color, and I have wanted to paint this room (like every other room in the house) since we bought it two-and-half years ago, and this past weekend I got to it.

I took a gallon of free-to-me (the best kind) blue paint and tempered it down with some white I already had on hand (because the natural light in the den is unreal).

When we first bought the house:

After a fresh, clean coat of paint:

It feels so much more friendly and inviting now.  I also moved the lamp from KatyRynne's room in here for some softer lighting and made a few decor changes I'll share with you later.  For now though, just scroll back up and bask in the gentleness and beach cottage feeling of the blue.

A Much Needed Update

I like for our home to be as clean and bright as possible, and our laundry room was just not cutting it.  It was dirty, cluttered, and the paint was a little too dark for my taste.  I figured if I could make-over Kathrynne's room I could accomplish this small task.  I recently read at post over at Barefoot in the Kitchen where she had painted a small nook in their home with pink.  For those of you who know me well, you know I'm wary of pink and only use certain shades (and very sparingly at that).  But, following in the footsteps of my friend Sarah over at The Redheaded Stepchild, I thought I'd give decorating outside of my comfort zone a go.

Our laundry room is an incredibly small space.  We use the backdoor to come and go, and the entryway  there is even more incredibly small.

Annnnd....We have our befores:

The afters feel so much better.  In addition to tidying up and painting the walls, I also painted the back door with leftover paint from the shutters.

I added chalkboard paint to the cabinets.

Floursack dishtowels for curtains.

A little green spray paint to help brighten.

And a cover for the light fixture made from wax paper and vellum.

Ahhh...So much better!

A Fresh Look for Spring

It started out innocently enough.  New shrubs, new window decor, freshly painted planter boxes, a little decorating of the front door.  But, since I don't know when to stop or say "Enough is Enough," I kept going.

And...I painted the shutters, the door, and the lantern, too.

Finally Fully Finished

It's hard to believe that two years ago, our nursery looked like this:

OK.  So, it wasn't actually a nursery then since we only had one child.  We called it The Office and pretended that that was it's actual purpose.  Occasionally we forgot this and used it as a giant catch-all flat surface.

Then a year-and-a-half ago, we pulled out the carpet to leave us with this:

It still didn't actually look like an office as much as it did a climate-controlled storage unit.

But, when we found out last fall that we were having a girl, I got right to work.

Those are pictures of my mother, grandmothers, and mother-in-law.

I had the room finished by November except for this wall.  

We were originally going to build a floor-to-ceiling bookcase, but in March we changed our minds about the design.

The first portion of the project looked like this:

A bookcase which, with the exception of one $5 stick of lumber, was made entirely from materials we already had (all the way down to the paint).

Blair got this much done and then took a four-day trip to the other end of the state, which turned out to be great because it allowed me to fill it with books and style the top.

Over the weekend, he put up these three ledge shelves, and, with that, not only is this project complete, but so is Katy Rynne's room.

These shelves hold new things and old items.  Some, such as the wooden dishes on the yellow shelf, have sentiment.  My grandfather made those for me when I was a little girl.  The Charley Harper post cards were a gift from my mother for my birthday last year.  Occasionally, I will write Miss Rynne a note on the back of one for her to read as she grows.

The rag doll here was made for me by my mother.  I made the bunny for Katy Rynne, and she is sitting in a rocking chair made by one of my great-grandfathers.

Blair and I love this space now, and hopefully as she grows, Kathrynne will as well.  It's full of love, childhood memories, and room to grow.

Odds and Ends

Odds and ends of things.  That's what we've been working on here.  Blair has a couple of carpentry projects going on outside that he'll be sharing with you here in a few days.  In the house, we've been making things look bigger and brighter, not only with all that fresh paint (here and here), but also by removing a few things.

We took down the door to the hall.  It really wasn't a necessary door to begin with, and with our super cool magnetic wall it was completely in the way.  Down comes the door!

This whole space feels so much larger and more open now!

I put the finishing touches on the front bathroom by adding some curtains.  I used two white flour sack kitchen towels I bought back in November for $1 a piece.  Because they're white, they actually make the room brighter.  It gives a very nice look for basically nothing, with the added benefit of privacy without the blinds.

Speaking of blinds, one of the biggest changes we made in the house was taking most of them down.  The mini blinds we have are really nice wooden slat blinds (custom made for each window), but blinds nonetheless.  I've never been a fan of the mini blind aesthetic (not to mention that having to clean them is a pain).

Oh, and check out my new pendant light!!  Blair got it for me for Valentine's Day, and I love it love it!  It uses one of those really cool Edison bulbs, and I kept meaning to show it off here, and it just didn't happen.

The art wall has seen some rotation.

A quilt is being made.

A certain little boy has learned how to use this!

And a baby gets bigger every day!!

What odds and ends are tying up at your house?  Are you doing any Spring Cleaning?