Foam Rollers!

Foam Rollers! Wow they are game changing!  A bit ago I wandering through the paint aisle waiting for my Navy paint to finish being mixed and I saw the foam roller.  Had a “what the heck” moment and stuck it in the cart.  I’d heard that they were great for furniture and trim but I was a skeptic and kept to my non-foam rollering ways.  I redid the dresser for the boys’ room and let me tell you I am an advocate. 

I found a great deal on this dresser at 10$.  It was quite unattractive when we bought it but I was optimistic in its potential.  I decided on Rich Navy by Glidden as the color and I chose a flat finish for two reasons.  The first is because it is forgiving and hides the imperfections well.  The second was because matte navy is beautiful and bold without being overpowering which I thought would be a nice addition to the boys’ room.  

I reused the knobs and spray-painted them black.   I used Rustoleum’s Hammered Black Spray Paint.  It has really great coverage and it’s pretty durable. 

The paint went on smooth and even. Not a brush stroke in sight!

Thanks for reading!

Valerie

The Downstairs Bathroom (Part 2)

After the shower was installed there was still a lot to do in the bathroom.  So I began by patching the sheetrock.  I was able to get all my cuts out of one full piece of sheetrock (it was a personal win ha).  When I put up sheetrock like this I like to tackle the large pieces first and then build out ward to the smaller pieces.  It helps later on when you are mudding as well since the joins tend to be more even.

 Sheetrock is up!

 This is where there had been some water damage.  To patch this I removed all the bubbled areas and then scraped away any small debris.  And it was ready for mud and tape.

  First coat of mud is up

 The first layer I like to keep very thin.  Mainly to attach the tape for other coats.

 Second Coat

 Third Coat

Ready to sand! I like these hand sanders because they are so easy to use.

Thanks for Reading!

Valerie

The Downstairs Bathroom (Part 1)

The downstairs bathroom has been a pain in the neck from day 1.  It was ugly but usable (so we thought) when we moved in. We later found out from a neighbor who had rented the house that the shower had leaked constantly.  Another lovely discovery that the previous owners "forgot" to tell us about... hooray for honesty!  

A week after we moved in there was a horrendous stench in the basement and for the life of me I didn't know what it was.  At this point it was just Spencer and I in the big empty house so we never (and I mean never) used the downstairs bathroom.  So I didn't think the smell could be from there because we hadn't ever used it.  Boy was I wrong!  The stench was because the drain had backed up, leaking kitchen sink contents all over the bathroom floor, laundry floor, storage room and a little in the bedroom.  It was shock and horror to say the least!  To temporarily fix it we had a plumber come and tare out the shower and cap the drain and then did some major scrubbing and carpet cleaning.

Here is what we were left with

We talked to a few different plumbers and tilers (for the shower pan) and the bids to do a shower bath combo or just a shower were actually pretty similar (within 200$).  For that amount we decided to do the bath and shower combo.  To prepare for plumber we had to take the walls back to studs, remove the tile and frame a wall so the unit would fit snug. 

 Tile removed!  I like to keep the work-space clean with buckets 

I use garbage bags as well but buckets are better for large pieces of tile... no rips :)

 Two walls finished (or unfinished haha)!

Wall is framed and ready for the shower unit

Thankfully the plumber came the very next day to get it installed. I love it already! Our bathroom downstairs has been a pain in the neck since the beginning and now it is almost fully functional and attractive it is a dream come true.  It was one of those projects that you want to do so badly but for one reason or another you couldn't get around to it.  More to come!

Thanks for reading

Valerie

Aquarium!

We got an aquarium!  It's something that we have been talking about for a long time and a few days ago we finally purchased one!  By scouring our local classifieds we were able to get a great deal on the tank, stand, equipment and decorations.  There were two filters but unfortunately neither were working when we put everything together. After some frustration we were able to get one to work, so we purchased another.  The two before didn't match and now they do! I do love matching! :)

 Sorting out all the parts and building

All set up and getting the water ready for fish

We decided to go with an aggressive tank mainly including African Cichlids.  Most are babies so they haven't shown their colors yet but when they do it will be a gorgeous rainbow!  I'm really pleased because it has finally given the odd end of the family room downstairs a purpose. It fits the space nicely; with a couch and side tables it will round out beautifully!

 One of the electric cichlids; they are beautiful

Behind him there is our sucker-fish.  He is such a lovely color

 Fish are in and its ready to go!

Basement Family Room

In our basement we have a blessing and a curse: it's our family room and it's enormous! I love that there is so much space down there but it also boggles my mind because you easily have enough space for a fifth bedroom in addition to the family room. But now that the supporting walls are in it would be quite the feat to accomplish.

Before

Before

The family room used to be wood paneled and wallpaper with carpet original to the house.  I decided to keep the paneling and paint it white.  I removed the wallpaper and painted the top half Pebble Gray.  It seems so easy writing about it but it. took. so. long!  I really feel, now that it's all finished, that this room is one of the biggest visual changes.

Down with the wallpaper!

 It took 3 coats.  1 coat of  Kilz primer and 2 coats of Glidden Pure White Semi-Gloss Paint+Primer

 Progress!

Glidden Pebble Gray is up!

I love the way it looks now!

Like a lot of people we are remodeling our home on a budget and that includes the decorating.  Everything that we have purchased for our house has been from a yard sale or severely discounted at the store.  It's great on my bank account but hard on my patience!  It paid off in this room.  We were able to snag the sectional for $40, all the wall decor for another $40, and the TV stand for $15!  

We use one half (the wider part) as a big TV area and reading nook.  And there's another half that is thinner; it has a fireplace at one end which is great but unfortunately it isn't wide enough for a couch set.  I'm still deciding how to arrange the seating area without it looking unnatural with the TV area directly behind.

Thanks for Reading!

Valerie

Finished rooms?! Is that a thing??

It's such a great feeling to have rooms finished! It's been Reno-zone for about a year now and to finally have rooms finished feels like a miracle! They have been partially done for a while but there's still the small things that bring everything together like new white outlets and switches, brushed nickel lights, painted doors, brushed nickel door knobs and hinges, etc.  all the things no one is really going to notice individually but they make the room seem cohesive and put together. 

Thankfully I can officially say that four rooms in our home are completely finished!! Three rooms upstairs and the basement family room. Four rooms! I can barely believe it... I keep going through my list of things for each room to see if I've forgotten something. Haha.

The basement family room has been its own special beast, so I'll save that for another post. But here are the bedrooms before and afters: 

 Kid's Room 1 Before

You can't really see the 40 year old dark brown carpet 

Kid's Room 1 After

 Kid's Room 2 Before

The Photo makes it look not too bad but what you don't see is the sea of mysterious stains on the carpet.

Kid's Room 2 After

 Master Bedroom Before

Again a sea of mysterious stains... 

Master Bedroom After

Yay for new clean carpet and freshly painted wall that aren't the same color as everything else in sight!  Walking into these rooms no longer makes me shudder. haha

Thanks for reading!

Valerie

Oh Windowsills

One of my best ideas to date is the windowsill change.  I knew I didn't like what was there before but I didn't realize just how much until I changed them. haha.  Its a great feeling walking into a room and loving the change.  It has made a huge impact- far more than I anticipated.  

This was the kitchen before

All in all it was a pretty simple change.  All of our windowsills were an off-white tile. I would've been fine with them just in the kitchen or bathroom but nope. They were everywhere!  They didn't look horrible just out of place and boring.  We have these large 5 and 8 foot gorgeous windows throughout the main level that weren't being showcased.  

This was the kitchen after

(I haven't painted the kitchen yet)

I took some 3 inch trim and a piece of wide casing.  Once it was nailed, caulked and the corners were slightly sanded they looked great.   

Thanks for reading!

Valerie

Living Room Flooring!

We did laminate flooring in the living room and hallway to replace the carpet that was there before.  The carpet was in very poor shape (it was falling apart as we were taking it out). 

 See what I mean??

We thought about doing hardwood floors but chose against it for two reasons; the first being that it is expensive and the second being that we liked how durable laminate is against doggy feet.  We didn't want out two dogs to ruin our new floors!  

We chose to go with Harmonics Flooring in Sunset Acadia. I was torn between this and a darker color for a while. We ultimately decided on the midtone for how large it makes the room look and how it compliments our peachy fireplace.  The flooring was pretty simple to install.  It snapped together well once I got the hang of it!

I was in such a rush to put the living room back together that I must've forgotten to take a picture of the floor completely finished.  Look for one in the Living Room Reno!  
Thanks for reading!

Valerie

Upstairs Bathroom Redo

Our upstairs bathroom was an eyesore.  I can happily say WAS!  The bathroom has been one of the first things that I redid.  I couldn't stand the brown explosion that was in there. 

For this bathroom I wanted to do a beachy theme.  And I chose a blue for the walls that was bright enough to feel open but warm enough to make me forget it was ever brown!  I used Glidden Duo in Tropical Lagoon.  This house was completely painted in Almond colored paint and I mean completely: doors, trim, walls, etc.  This was one of the only rooms that had a color on the walls.  I was so pleased to see it go! 

I love it already

 Progress!

  Color Complete!

I wanted to update the oak cabinet as well and I chose to go with a driftwood look that I was able to accomplish with a Rustoleum Cabinet Transformation Kit in white.  I am really impressed with how well it has held up against daily wear and tear.  It was also fairly easy to use; the only frustration is having to wait for the glaze to dry but I'm just impatient! I decided to keep the medicine cabinet because I like having the extra storage. I really love how nicely it goes with the bathroom. I am so pleased with the results!

This is what it looked like afterwards...

To finish the bathroom I swapped out the gold door knobs and hinges with brushed nickle, changed the light fixture and the faucet with brushed nickle and added brushed nickle hardware to the cabinet.  The finished product was such a breath of fresh air from what we had previously! One of the greatest parts of this bathroom redo is that it was pretty inexpensive.  For everything the tab was just under $200!

Thanks for reading!

Valerie

The Beginning

Hello!  

My name is Valerie and this is my blog!  My husband and I took a leap of faith and purchased our first home.  It was a definite change from the college apartment lifestyle we were more accustomed to. When your basement shower decides to flood you can’t exactly call maintenance and have them fix it for free (although I would have much preferred that). You mostly have to look at it in shock and horror and call a plumber, shell out the cash and clean up the stinky mess all while being thankful that it didn’t touch too much carpet!  


Our house is a 1978 beauty with all its 70s (and some 90s) charm.  The previous renters were pretty rough on the house (stained carpet, cracked Sheetrock and tile, the works, oh and don't forget the horrendous smell!).  But we are optimistic in the potential that it has!


Here is our lovely abode right before we moved to it in 2014:

I love to DIY! Which comes in handy with all the work we have to do!  This blog will highlight the ups, downs and turnarounds involved in our home renovation

Thanks for reading!

Valerie