A Last Minute Laundry Room Project

Hey y'all - Happy Friday!  Hope you've all had a great week.  I've been so busy trying to get lots of inventory built up for when we move into our booth space at Key City Antique Mall and Shops.  Even I'm surprised at how much I've gotten accomplished because I'm usually such a procrastinator - I create better when I'm under pressure or on a deadline.  And I managed to get a lot done despite the last minute laundry room project we tackled last Saturday.

So here's how this story goes....about three months ago, the Hub saw a little sketch I had done of an idea I had for the laundry room and he really liked it, but that was the last mention that was made of it.  I still had it in the back of mind though as something I'd like to do eventually.  Well, last Saturday, the Hub woke up and declared "Today is the day we re-do the laundry room!" - just like that, out of the blue!  Now I'm no fool - I know when he offers to help me with a project, I'd better jump on it before he changes his mind!  So off we went to look for the materials we needed....

Here's the only before picture I could find of my laundry room and of course, it's a bad one.  I guess I just don't regularly snap pics of the dumping ground it had become - go figure?  And as usual, I forgot to take any pictures until we were nearly done painting and rearranging.  But here it is in some of it's mustard-colored glory...

Not much detail, I know...sorry.  But look how cute those fat kitties are!  The room was painted a color that came from the Oops bin at Home Depot.  All of my laundry and household supplies were crammed on the shelves of the baker's rack and it also served as the cat's feeding station.  We have to keep the food up high enough that the dogs can't get to it or they will devour every morsel.  My washer and dryer were stacked on the other side, making for a very tight fit.  It was pretty ugly and like I said, a dumping ground for everything my family couldn't shove anywhere else.  It's not completely finished yet, but I just couldn't wait to show it off!

First, we purchased paint, stain, two unfinished wall cabinets, and a hollow door from Home Depot.  Hollow door, you ask? Why yes - it will make a wonderful countertop since we're doing this on less than a shoestring budget and it only cost $28.00!  Plus, the counter needed to be 33" to cover the appliances and standard counters are only 25 or so inches.  I started by painting over the mustard yellow with the color Rain Wash from Behr. We unstacked the washer and dryer and placed the door on top after I stained it a lovely shade of gray.  I wasn't sure how the stain color would look, but it turned out exactly like I wanted and I love the color with the blue walls. Hanging the cabinets was a challenge because of something to do with the studs - still not sure what the Hub's issue was, but he got it done with the Bub's help.  The cabinets were $75.00 each, the door was dirt cheap, and the only other things I bought were the jars for the laundry pods and Oxyclean and that adorable laundry basket from Home Goods.  All in all, it cost us about $207.00 to do this little makeover and I think it looks pretty good!

So without further adieu...what do you think so far?

Umm, disregard the laundry detergent and cookbooks...the cabinets will get painted this weekend and the doors put on.  I'm not about to have open cabinets in here!  I will be on the lookout for more attractive containers for the pet food - maybe some tin buckets from IKEA.  This still has to be the cat's feeding station and they are having a harder time hauling their fat selves up because it's higher than the old baker's rack. Oh well, they need the exercise, right?  

There are still a few little decorative touches left to do, like the cutest laundry room signs that I'm making. The washboard is a really old one that I've had for a long time. The white tin holds fabric softener sheets and of course, I have to have a little bowl for all the spare change I find - Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers! Also, the tiny lamp is an awesome little night light.  We're thinking about removing the doors altogether now that it's going to look so lovely.  I know I'm going to love having this surface to fold clothes on too and I've warned my family that this is NOT going to be their catch-all spot!  You don't have that problem at your house, do you?  I didn't think so :)...

Have a great weekend, my sweet readers, and stay tuned for final pictures of the project!

Today I'm linking to:

http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/

http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/2014/07/welcome-to-184th-masterpiece-monday-and.html

Toodles,

Some Peeks At My Living Room

Hey y'all! I hope everybody had a great weekend. It was rainy in my world, perfect football watching weather and that's exactly what I did! I also did a few little things around the house since both the Hub and the Bub were gone all weekend, but mostly I just relaxed. I was hanging out in the living room Saturday night and thought to myself how I really like what I've got going on in there right now, so I thought I'd take a few pics and give you a glimpse. Enjoy!

This is my favorite wall in the living room. That huge window weighs about 100lbs, but I LOVE the blue glass. It's from a 19th century factory and the chippy finish on it is just splendid. It's a great focal and conversation piece. My proudest purchase for only $80!

I got this cute little lampshade at Tar-jay with a gift card I've had for a few months. I've been holding on to it, waiting for just the perfect thing to buy. I love the blue colors - it looks great with my window and the birds fit in quite nicely too!

This is my beloved orange chair that I got at the Salvation Army store for $40. It was practically brand new and it brought a much needed pop of color to my living room. It's my second proudest purchase! And my collection of antique mirrors looks great on the wall behind it.

Daisy thinks it's the most comfortable seat in the house! Not the best picture, but I had to take it from afar so as not to wake her precious self.

I got this gorgeous afghan at Goodwill the other day for $4.00. I love the colors - browns, oranges, blues. It's hanging on the ladder with my quilts for now.

I got this cabinet at a yard sale for $30 last summer. It was in pretty bad shape, but I cleaned it up and changed the knobs and it looks fine now. I was going to paint it, but I kinda like it dark, so for now it's staying as-is. On top are some beautiful dried hydrangeas that I got back in the fall and the deer antlers are from my Papaw's barn. That's my Dad during his tour of duty in Germany in 1956. He was 22 years old and so handsome despite those big ears! Thank goodness I didn't inherit those!!

And last, but not least is the TV area. The TV cabinet used to be in the Bub's room and is very industrial looking. I kinda like it in here with all of the more traditional furnishings - it makes me feel like a hipster. Besides making me seem all trendy and stuff, it's also quite functional. It holds our printer, DVD's, some candles, a box of instruction manuals, and assorted random remotes. It's been a great storage solution. And, of course, we have a basket of warm throws for when we get sucked into that pesky polar vortex.

I'd give you a close up of the rug, but it's in need of a serious professional cleaning thanks to our swamp of a backyard and the dogs' feet. If I were home all day every day with these dogs, I think I'd go crazy...letting them in and out and in and out, cleaning nasty feets, and keeping those two clowns entertained on rainy days! Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this little glimpse into my living room. A cozy space makes all the difference during these long winter months. What have you done to "cozify" your living room this year?

I'm linking this post with:
http://www.somuchbetterwithage.com/2014/01/give-me-the-goods-43-and-a-giveaway/#more-4947 http://www.astrollthrulife.net/2014/01/199th-inspire-me-tuesday.html#more
http://www.commonground-do.com/
http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/
http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

Toodles,

My Winter Mantel

Hey y'all! Well, I think I have my computer issues figured out. I'm no computer guru, so sometimes it takes me a little while to get stuff straightened out. Since it's so far past Christmas now, I'd thought I'd just skip ahead and show you my Winter mantel. I'm not sure I'm totally happy with it. I think it needs something else. Maybe some pretty white plates hung on each side of the window? I think I need white candles too instead of silver. And the cords that you can see...ugh! I can't get them to stay tucked away. They just have a mind of their own! I do love the little deer babies though. I got them last year at World Market and they're just precious. The snowflake window I used as part of my Christmas decor and liked it so much, I decided to leave it that way through the winter. It was in my entryway and the first thing you saw when entering our house.

Sorry, not the best quality picture - it was taken with my phone.

Aren't they adorable?  And I just love those frosted pine cones too!

Anyway, I still might "jzush" it up a little more over the weekend. It's going to be rainy here, so I'll be stuck inside again. I'm always open to suggestions, so leave them in the comments if you like - I read every one! By the way, "jzush" is a word a friend of mine and I use - it means to fluff it, bling it, enhance it in some way. Kind of like how "skootch" over means to move over a little bit, ya know? Us southerners tend to make up a lot of words, don't we? I reckon we do!

Have a great Friday y'all and stay warm!

Toodles,

A New Rug and a Small Pop of Color

Hey y'all! I hope everybody had a great Labor Day weekend. It was nice to have an extra day off of work, for sure. I was SUPER lazy and really didn't do a whole lot except enjoy the beginning of a new football season - both high school and college. The Bub is in the marching band at his school, which is my alma mater also, so we went to the game. We were playing our arch enemies and that game is always fun. We NEVER beat them, which is not the fun part, of course. The fun part is hoping we DO beat them, trading jabs, and fantasizing about celebrating and storming the field when we finally do! Oh, what a glorious day that will be!! Now, the Hub works for a local university in the Sports Medicine department and their season starts tomorrow night on national television (Go Rams!!), so there's been lots of preparation leading up to that. It's an away game, so I won't be able to go, but I'll be watching and I can't wait for the first home game. Yes, I'm a football widow come September, but that's okay - I always spend every weekend watching football anyway! Even if I'm not sitting right in front of the tube watching, I just love having the game on in the background - it's so soothing to me when I cook or clean or work on projects. My dream would be to have a screened in porch where I could watch football in the warm afternoon sun. Who am I kidding? I'd be asleep in about five minutes!

On to the issue at hand...I thought I'd give a small sneak peek at some redecorating I've been doing in my living room as of late. I admit, the LR had gotten pretty bland. When the Hub complains that the room is "too tan", you know it must be bad! I'm not afriad of color at all, I've just always liked to keep the LR neutral so I can change pillows and accessories whenever I feel like it. So, I decided to go about finding ways to bring some color and variety to the space. My first purchase was a gorgeous chevron striped rug from Ballard's in a really pretty blue and ivory combo. I had a credit from something I had returned to them back in the spring, so the rug was relatively inexpensive. It lightened up the room so much. I was unsure about having such a "trendy" pattern in my home on such a big scale - the rug is 7'x10' - but I absolutely love it and I think it makes the whole room.

But then, I found the piece de resistance! It was a totally unexpected find and I surprised even myself by buying it, but I'm so glad I did. One morning a couple of weeks ago, I walked into the Salvation Army Thrift Store and right inside the front door was a really cool orange chair. Yes, orange, but not a bright orange. A really soft orange, like a terra cotta color. I walked around it several times, then went on about my business. Came back and sat in it. Really comfortable. Hmm...I just don't know...it IS 50% off today. Ultimately, I left the store without it. Hours later, when I couldn't stop thinking about that dang chair, I went back on the off chance that it might still be there...and it was! I immediately paid for it and waited for someone to help me haul it to my car. Just as we were getting ready to load it, a monsoon (seriously, a MONSOON) came and I had to wait an hour before it was safe to take it home. I sat in it the whole time and five people tried to buy it out from under me! The Hub was already home when I got there, and he was like "Oh Lord, what are you dragging in this house now?!" Once he saw it in all it's glory, he was actually pretty proud of me for buying it! Yes, finally some bold color in the LR and now I can't imagine what took me so long. So without further adieu...here she is...

I'm making some throw pillows that will tie in the big dark blue pillow, the blue in the rug, and the orange from the chair. By the way, the big blue pillow is a Pottery Barn pillow I got at Goodwill for $3, no kidding. I shopped around and found lots of throw pillows that I liked with all the colors I wanted, but they were anywhere from $30-60 each. No way, Jose! I bought a shower curtain at Home Goods for $16.99 and I can make all the pillows I want for next to nothing. I'm almost done with the LR makeover and I'll post a room reveal when I get it perfect!

Thanks for joining me today. What pops of color have you added to your home? Tell me about it in the comments.

Toodles,
Marie