Last week I posted a few house updates and subsequently started thinking more about how I plan to decorate this place. It’s kind of a big undertaking and having never had the opportunity to decorate a whole house before it’s kind of daunting. I thought it might be fun to post some inspiration boards for some of the main rooms in the house. It’s going to be slow going for a while since I’m cheap and will only buy most stuff second hand, but sometimes that can be even more fun.

The living room is one room that aside from hanging the TV has not been touched. I’m thinking the walls will be a neutral greige color (gray-beige). Since we aren’t getting new furniture its safe to say that navy blue will be one of the main colors since that is the color of the couch. In the previous rentals I went with a blue/green theme, but with our forever place I want to bring in a lot more color and make it a little bit more bohemian, so along with the greens, greiges there will also be pops of red, orange and yellow. I’d really love to get a red/multicolored carpet, and some fun throw pillows. The big bay window will always have lots of plants, but I’d like to add some fun accessories there as well. On either side of the fireplace I want to put shelves so that we can display some art, and hide some electronics. When it’s all said and done I still want it to feel open, but fun and bright. I’ll let you know how that goes.

I’m hoping to give the kitchen a more earthy feel. I’d love to have wood cabinets, grey stone floor tiles, and light green walls. I’m not really sure about counter top colors, but I’m leaning toward a warmer sand stone color. We already have our collection of cast iron hanging on the wall near the stove so that wont change. Neither will the gallery wall that I’ve already started, hopefully I’ll just continue to add to it. We are also toying with the idea of doing open shelving around the sink and window. I think it will add more storage and brighten the room, Chuck is not convinced.

While the master bedroom is well on its way there are still a few more things that need to be done to complete it; white molding around the ceiling, a revamped closet, with lights, and a shelf. I’d like a wooden headboard, and to refinish the dressers in a distressed style. This room I want to feel cozy, and almost wintery. I think the combination of blues, grays, and blankets will definitely help to get that feeling.

And there you have it, my thoughts so far. Keep and eye out to see how it goes!

I like doing these posts, it gives me a chance to show our family and friends everything we are up to, and they love it too. Sorry for those of you who only come around for recipes you can just skip right past these.

Since winter has kind of had a slow start we were able to get a few more things done outside, like finally adding steps to the new slider. The slider was a project that Chuck and his dad tackled the first weekend in November. There are still some things to touch up (obviously) but it’s functional so that’s what matters. I’m completely in love with it. The dining room is at least 10x brighter than it was before, and check out the decor! My mom found us this unfinished wood table for $25 at a garage sale. It will be getting a face lift at some point in the future to extend its lifespan. We also started to put together my beloved gallery wall, it (like everything else) is still a work in progress. I love the challenge of filling it with handmade and found things, it’s beautiful and cheap. Now we just have to do something about getting some chairs and a new light fixture. Sorry powder blue is just not my style.

In the living room we got the TV positioned above the fireplace. This was an interesting project because TV’s are expensive and we were kind of nervous about hanging it, but it ended up only taking a couple hours and being super easy. We used this bracket. It had great instructions and Chuck pretty much did this while I hid in the office, attempting to clean. Having the TV over the fireplace makes the room flow so much better, plus we don’t have to worry about our neighbors catching inappropriate scenes on our TV through the big bay window.

I was able to pick up  a few other pieces around the house as hand me downs from relatives. Free furniture is my favorite. It’s nice to finally have a place to put down my tea cup while I sit on the couch.

There is still a long way to go with this place and we are hoping to do a lot of that this summer. I’ll try to keep you updated as we go.

Have a good weekend!

It’s been a while since I shared any new updates on the house, but we are chugging along pretty nicely on the monumental list of things that we want to get done. The list on the fridge seems to get longer just as fast as it gets shorter, but I guess that’s just the way of home ownership right?

Anywhoodles since the wedding is over we have made the house a priority (right behind hunting season if you ask Chuck), and have gotten quite a bit done since my last update in August.

I moved the few flowers that survived the weed jungle of the front garden into the freshly weeded bed that sits directly in front of the house. I also planted a number of tulip and daffodil bulbs that I received as a wedding gift. I’m so excited to see all the pops of color in the spring.

We also got the vegetable garden beds started. I’m trying the lasagna method in these new beds. Basically you just layer organic materials in the fall to create a raised bed of soil for spring planting. I’m about half way done right now, since my injury a couple weeks ago stopped me from lifting anything heavy for a while. I just have to finish filling the last two and mulch the area that I planted garlic in.

As far as the interior of the house a lot has happened there, although it may not look like it. First and foremost check out my new sliding doors to the back yard! (I originally wanted french doors, but they didn’t work in the space)I’m so excited about this, not only does it allow us access to the back yard from inside the house (instead of the garage), but it lets in so much more light!! Right now it’s kind of just a dangerous drop off, but we hope to put some stairs in before winter hits. in the spring or summer we will start work on the deck and patio. Eeek I’m so excited to be able to entertain outside!

There was hours and hours worth of organizing done. It’s a constant battle right? I wish that I had taken before pictures of my closets to prove how bad it was before the wedding.

We got the majority of the guest room complete, hanging the last shelves and removing the extra boxes we had in there. Now I just have a few more decorative pieces to add and I think it will be done.

The master bedroom is another project that we have been working on. The brown walls have been replaced by a beautiful blue-grey color. We ordered a new rug for around the bed and finally put the new lamps that we got as a wedding gift in place. We still have to put molding around the ceiling, add curtains, finish the closets, figure out a plan for the dressers since this set clearly doesn’t match (and needs pulls), and add some decoration to the walls. You can see the original color of the room in this post.

Now I have a question for you folks. How on earth do I dress these stubby little windows? I originally planned on long curtains, and I might still do that, but with the furniture there it seems really cluttered. Any advise?

As we head into winter I’m happy with all the projects we were able to complete, and I’m excited to get started on some more interior projects. I know the house is probably always going to be a work in progress but it’s a process that I really am enjoying.

So a lot has been happening with this little house of ours and a lot of people are asking about it’s going on so I thought I would write a little update post to fill all interested parties in.

First thing is first. I painted the bright orange bathroom. This came with some controversy, because a number of people really liked the color. Hell I actually liked the color. However being a redhead with an orange bathroom makes for a very distorted look in the mirror when you are trying to get ready. The bathroom contains the only mirror in the house and I have no idea what I’m doing with make up so when I do need to put it on the last thing I need is a distorted complexion to make the whole thing harder. For those of you in the orange camp I’m sorry, but green is so much more fitting for Chuck and I.

I chose dark sage for the bathroom. It’s a really rich beautiful color and I think it goes really well with the foe stone linoleum floor and mostly white bathroom. Next on the list for the bathroom is a medicine cabinet, and some floating shelves. A tub will probably also come fairly soon, because I’m really missing my tub time, and my lower back is really missing the heat treatment.

We (and by we, I obviously mean Chuck) tackled the massive vines that had taken over the back corner and were wrecking the fence.  This was no small task let me tell you. Actual repair of the fence will probably be next year’s project since it’s holding up for now.

Recently we also received a large composter for a wedding gift. I’m totally excited about this and put it together almost immediately. It’s new home will be where the massive vines used to be inside the fence.

While Chuck was pulling vines I was working on the boxes along the fence. My mom scored us some free pavers to edge gardens with. Yes free! And the ones you see here only make up a portion of the stack we have (her neighbor had them by the road woot!). We have to figure out the electrical situation with that log before we move it (yeah there’s a random telephone pole with a working outlet on it in our backyard, totally safe right?) and I extend the boxes a further down the fence. I plan on doing the same thing on the other side of the fence. On side will be for peas and the other for flowers in the spring.

Unfortunately my container garden did not take the move so well nor did it handle the neglect of the last few months well either. I’m happy to report that I was able to still put up a couple jars of sauce with the tomatoes that we have, but the neglect has caught up with me and the yield is looking bleak. Next year is a new year, and we already have a really good start on making it great.

We have plenty more projects to tackle before winter hits, but for now I think things around the house are going to slow down until after the wedding. I’ll be sure to update you all as changes come of course.