Pumpkin Spray Paint

First off, I have to show you Roxanne's recent "additions" to our decor. She's so driven to draw these "people," that they have started popping up all over the place...
Here's one on the credenza. I was doing my homework in my bedroom, and when I realized she was being too quiet, I found this. Fortunately, this is dry erase marker and wiped off easily. While she was having a time out, I snuck out and took pictures of her artwork. I mean, it's kind of awesome, right?
These two guys were drawn on the floor, right in front of the credenza. Like, the direct middle of the living room floor... She had more of them drawn on the floor under her work table, but I didn't photograph them. As I mentioned, the dry erase came off pretty easily. But we're working on impulse control...
So this table and desk were purchased at Goodwill. I think they were around $15, but I can't remember exactly. They were a little beat up and kind of an ugly wood color. I did a rather lazy job spraypainting them my favorite pumpkin orange, since I didn't prime or sand, just sprayed on lots of orange layers. But honestly, this furniture, while I think it looks neat with the shapes and lines, is not high quality. I don't think we'll have it in 10 years. Plus, she has colored on the chair and table with crayon so much that it won't come off, and still shows through the paint a little. Oh well. I like the color, and it's a nice fit for this corner. Her little Heyward Wakefield chairs and the other table that we were using here have migrated to the music room.
That picture on the wall is a recent drawing she did. I love these guys. This one is our family, although when I ask her who the fourth character is, she just insists that it's a "baby," but she doesn't know what baby. It's name is just "baby." Sigh. And again, no, I'm not pregnant. Eventually, I want to get some wood pants hangers and hang some more of her art up on the wall. I got the idea from an Apartment Therapy post. We'll see... Add it to the list of things to do.

Music Room

Here's the music room with Justin and Roxanne having fun. It's not the prettiest spot in the house, but it's SO fun. The photo is awkward, since this room is so small, but you get the idea.
Here's Roxanne's cowboy couch, a gift from Mimi. We moved this small expedit into here so we still have four bins of toy storage.
Just to explain, my daughter wears socks on her hands and feet not because we are weird germaphobes, but because she likes to pretend she's a kitty, and she calls these "kitty paws." She's eccentric.
Our kitty BooBoo likes the sheepskin on the new orange chair. Probably because she knows she looks so pretty on it...
Ugh. Flash photography is the worst. But I just wanted to show off the orangey collage here. So cozy.

Since I have a take home midterm to do...

I am fluttering around the house starting and not finishing various projects. Always advisable... Yesterday, we decided that the playroom is wasted space. How it functions is like this:
*We clean the playroom because we are going to have people over who have kids. Roxanne and her buddy or buddies tear up the playroom and pull out every possible toy.
*We say we will clean it up after we get the rest of the house cleaned up from entertaining. We don't.
*Roxanne won't play in the playroom because it's so messy she can't move around or find anything.
*We are going to have people over who have kids, so we clean the playroom. Repeat steps above.

So, we decided it's time to rethink that space. In a house as small as ours, you really want to make sure that each area of the house is being used to it's full advantage. Since I'm not a stay at home mom, it's not like Roxanne plays in the playroom on a daily basis (Just in case you don't know me, I nanny full time and bring Roxanne with me). And a lot of the toys in that room are not appropriate to her age anymore. Justin and I started talking about making it an office, a guest bedroom, or possibly a music room. The problem with making it an office is that it's such a tiny room that you would hardly even be able to fit a desk in there, and if you did, it really wouldn't be able to serve any other purpose. Having a guest bedroom up here would be great for when we have guests, but it's just not that often. And the room is so small that you would be able to have a bed, and NOTHING else.

The music room idea is vastly appealing for us. Justin's music equipment is always in limbo between the basement and the living room, since playing music down there is not all that fun. And now that Roxanne has a guitar and a baby grand piano, it would be awesome to put Justin's guitars and amps, her instruments, and my keyboard and keyboard amp all in the same room and allow us to have family music time. If we can configure it correctly, maybe there will be room for a small table and or desk for me to use as a work space. Justin likes having his computer/sports TV on the computer time in the basement, so that will work well for his man room down there. I bought a storage shelf with bins for Roxanne's room at Target yesterday evening, and it was kind of expensive, and I don't love the way it looks, but it's the right colors and the right kind of storage. I also like this type of shelving because she can easily see into the bins and know what's inside. At work, Ben's playroom has the cubby style shelving, and the stuff that is not visible basically is either completely ignored, or dumped out and then ignored. So far, she loves it. Here it is next to her bed. And yes, that's her in her bed. I took this right when she went down for nap... I'm a jerk.
For now, we are in the process of sorting through everything else that was in there and doesn't fit in the bins. I filled a garbage bag with baby toys that we want to keep (in case another baby comes along...but don't hold your breath) and stuck it in the play room closet. I also put her Weeble village in there, but we left out the individual Weebles, since she loves playing with them and they fit in her bins. She has been playing with her toys SO much more, since they are organized and she can see them. Since we took the changing table out of her room, there is enough space for her to have this perfect little corner to play in. It's so cozy. I kind of want to get her a tent for her room, but I'm not sure if the room could handle it. But I did put the Hello Kitty one on her Amazon wish list. Maybe we'll have a chat with Santa... One thing about being a mom to a toddler... You just have to get used to clutter and messes. Roxanne's favorite things are teensy and include lots of teensy pieces. Oh well. She also likes pulling all of her clothes out of the drawers (um, yes, that's what is happening in the lower left hand corner).
The expedit in the playroom is going down to the basement. We will fill it with toys again (probably) at Christmas/birthday in December, but this way we can rotate what goes in her bins in her room. For now, I stuck the expedit in the hall, so Justin will be forced to help me take it to the basement... I'm kind of a jerk. That's one of the ways where Justin and I differ. He blames caffeine. Once I decide on a house project, I want to start it immediately. I don't always finish it quickly, or at all, but you can be sure I'll start it. He likes to talk about it for a while. Then wait for me to start it. :) Aren't we like an old married couple? At least we are usually in agreement on house stuff. Here's the expedit in the hall. And for the record, it's now in the basement. Win for me!
Here's some artwork Roxanne did on the wall of the playroom this morning. For the record, we don't let her do that. She told me she couldn't find her coloring books. Which were on the floor under this part of the wall that she colored on. Sigh. Those are people. See the eye/nose/mouth? It's bad when you are impressed with your child's drawings on the wall. Makes punishment that much harder... Or in this case, virtually non-existent.
Here's the spot on the wall where the expedit was. It's nice having it open.
I'm thinking we'll put Roxanne's tiny sofa on this wall (which is to your left when you open the door).
Here's the pile of stuff we have to sort now. Yikes. And someday, I'll get around to changing this light fixture... Someday.
You guys, I realize my photos are so bad that I should probably just not post them, but I don't have time to fancy them up, and I'm not a professional blogger (obvs) so this is what's here. Just know that I am mildly embarrassed about them, and that they are mainly here so you know what I'm talking about (or have a dark/fuzzy/grainy/poor quality idea of what I'm talking about). Maybe eventually I'll sell a kidney, buy a nice digital camera (SLR?) and take a photography class so I know what I'm doing. Right after I finish graduate school maybe.

Basement Photos

So, we did lots of hard work this weekend, and we are getting ever closer to getting the basement bedrooms done. The guest bedroom is the first set of photos. It's not totally done yet, but it's getting much better! And please keep in mind that it's mostly being done with odds and ends we are pulling together from other parts of the house and/or leftovers. Photos are tough because the room is so small, but you get the idea.
Standing in the corner looking at the door of the guest bedroom. See the pretty wall color? And the pretty floor color? We are washing the sheets/duvet for this room. Red flannel sheets and a white duvet cover with a fairly traditional red floral pattern on it. It's from IKEA, and definitely not our usual taste, but it looks comfortable, and that's what we are going for.
New pillows! And this is a big map... mainly being used to cover up the holes in the wall where I took down a wall shelf that seriously wouldn't fit in this teensy room.
The little closet with the cute little puppy picture I've been dragging around for years.
A messy bed.
My favorite little corner. I've been collecting these thrifted pictures that are different types of needlework. My mom found a few of them, too. I love them! The curtains look weird, I know. But I had the blue velvet, which are great at blocking the cold air from the old windows (two) in this little room. But I only had two panels (I bought them in the as-is section of IKEA years ago). I think the addition of the white panel looks better than when it was just one blue per window. We just need the warmth of the velvet curtains, but I can't pay $120 to buy four new velvet panels for in here. We found this super comfy rug at IKEA.
I love these bird prints, but Justin doesn't. They are from my family, and I am so glad to use them somewhere.
Justin's man room with the paint all touched up. Again, this white floor paint is a Drylok concrete floor paint. It's wonderful.
This is the only window in the man room. We found perfect curtains at IKEA. Coming soon...
The closet in the man room. One of the bi-fold doors is down right now. I think Justin hates those doors...

Updates...

This morning, my mom called me from a yard sale in Alpharetta. She had found this super cute orange chair for only $20! She sent a photo text of it and asked if I thought it might work for us. I immediately told her it was perfect. And it is! The only drawback is that the foam inside is deteriorating, so it's really dusty. But for $20, we'll keep it until we can afford to get it reupholstered and filled with new foam. It shouldn't be that much on such a sweet little chair, and I'll have time to search for some perfect fabric. I'd like to stick with this dark orange color though. Maybe a boucle. Nubby and soft.
One of my other favorite thrift finds this week. Roxanne LOVES it. It's a Schyller Baby Grand, and they retail for around $130 or so. It's missing the sheet music and the little stickers for the keys, but it's in great shape, sounds amazing, and Roxanne loves it. I paid $35, which felt like a lot, but Roxanne's Grandma Lilly had sent a $25 check for us to pick something out for her, so I felt like this was perfect, and I could justify $10 of our money for it. In the background, you can see I was working on the table last night...
Here it is all sanded and ready to be cleaned. I realized during the sanding that some of the stains were just too dark to be sanded out, and that this table probably does have a veneer top. There's a fairly small issue with the veneer on one end, where it has warped/bubbled a little, but it's hard to notice now. I figure I'll just put a coffee table book over it and call it a day.

The dream chair, and the table after it's first coat of Danish Teak Oil. I followed the directions from the tutorial on working on vintage wood furniture on The Brick House. So helpful! I love that blog...

Here is the table as it is now! Three coats of teak oil... She was thirsty. I haven't waxed it yet, but I will tomorrow once the oil is completely dry. Already, it looks so much better, and the damage just gives it character.
Beautiful! I went ahead and cleaned and oiled the Danish chairs, too. The wood on these and the wood of the table are a very close match. Also, Murphy's Oil Soap might be my favorite smell ever.
I'm not sure if I'll keep these Danish chairs, but I feel like with the chair and the table, the room looks much more finished now. More like a real room.
View from the hall (yeah, I left in the mess). The vinyl seat chairs are going back down to the basement. I just had a headache from all the teak oil and didn't feel like doing it today... Oh, and the hutch has my pom poms I'm working on for Halloween decorations on top. I realize they look weird up there... I'm planning to arrange them better soon.
Another view.
Jeepers, my photos are the worst lit EVER. Sorry.
Standing by the dining room table. Like I said, I'm not sure if I'll keep the rope chairs there. It's a little cramped. I just love how they look with the table, so I hate to take them out altogether. Suggestions on where to put them are welcome!

Stuff Stuff Stuff

OK, sorry. It's been a while. And I still don't have basement photos. We went to the beach and did some other stuff so things are still where they were at my last post in terms of the basement. BUT, we have been making some changes in the living room/dining room. Mainly as a result of my thrifting/Craigslist addiction. It's starting to feel more finished in there! Yay! There are still lots of things to be changed, upgraded, etc., but we are closing in on being in our house for a whole year, and for our budget, I am totally happy with where we are. I think Justin is, too. One of the best parts about having to do things slowly is that you really think decisions through, and you learn how your house functions best. So the changes we're making seem to really make sense.


Here's a photo of the "book nook." I know, it's terrible to take a photo with boxes in it, but oh well. These are to go in the trash, full of my flood-ruined books. :( Although some of the further back books are new/old ones my Grandma passed to me, including her The Bobbsey Twins collection! I can't wait to put them in a prominent spot up here. I can't tell you how much I love having books out like this.
Here's Roxanne's little corner. The little shelf back there is a record shelf, but it will do for her odds and ends for now...
I put the couch back under the map. As much as I feel like it eats into the room this way, it just works better for now. None of the seating in here is quite right, but I love the pieces we have. They aren't the perfect solutions, but I really do love them.
Here's the Danish rope seat chairs. We want to get a roller blind for this window and take the curtains down so we can lighten the space up, but to order a roller blind for this window, it would be at least $150... Ugh. I've been searching high and low, but this stupid window is at least 92" long, which means custom. Which means expensive. Stupid expensive. And here's my sassy new surfboard table. I'll explain that later (and yes, I plan to repair the top).
Another view of the coffee table and two more chairs. Again, I know they aren't ideal, but it really does feel kind of cozy in there... Isn't this table so nice! It's HUGE!
I love the legs on this beast. And the way the edges curve up. I bought it this morning at Goodwill for $25. And it's not veneer, so I'm fairly certain I can sand the top a bit and treat it with some Danish Oil and get it looking pretty. A lady followed me and asked me if I'd sell it to her for $50. She said she had a friend who was a buyer for City Issue (my favorite dream shopping store I can't afford). I told her no thanks. But it definitely reinforced that I got a good piece. After I made it clear I wouldn't sell it, she gave me advice on the refinishing. She said I should get the Walnut Rose color of the Danish Oil. I might take her up on that... I don't know what kind of wood the table is, or what color would look best. I've never done any refinishing. So I'm nervous. But I think it will be worth it!
Here's how it's constructed on the bottom. It's missing two screws, but it is solid as a rock.
Here's the only mark on the bottom. Anyone have any ideas about where it's from? Or who it might be by?
Here's our other new addition. We went and picked it up on Friday night from an EXTREMELY bad neighborhood. The guy was nice who we bought it from though. I found it on Craigslist, and I fell in love with the photos. I was able to talk the seller down to $85. Still a bit more than I would have liked, but I think the metal is perfect with our cafeteria style pieces (in terms of our table and chairs I mean). Justin and I both love the handles. It's a little cheap feeling, almost like file cabinets, and the plastic pieces in the top look kitschy, but I think I might try and get some plexi-glass cut to take their place. They are just so cheap. But I think the size and look of the piece are exactly what we needed. We'll have no furniture budget for a while, but I think this was worth it.


Here's a closer shot of it.

I also found these canisters today at Goodwill. They are by Everedy. I had to call my mom from Goodwill and ask her to google them for me. I thought they were too shiny to actually be vintage. And the label on the bottom is beyond kitschy, so I assumed they must be reproductions. But nope! They must have just been used very little. I love them. I walked right past them, and then a woman banged them really loudly into her cart, and continued banging them as she was taking them apart to see all of the pieces (they were all nested inside each other at the store). Thankfully, she put them back. I scooped them up for $12. Not the steal of the century, but they are perfect on the new hutch.
Just wanted to show our new roller blind for in here. Again, we wanted to lighten this area up, so we took down the curtain and bought this very inexpensive roller blind from IKEA. We both love it. It feels much cleaner in there now. We bought a set of 3 to try and do the big 92" window in the living room that I mentioned before, but it's such a GIANT pain to screw the brackets into the metal window casements, we want to make sure we want to put the three pieces in before committing to it. A single big long one would look SO much better. But like I said: stupid expensive.

I should be reading The Scarlet Letter. I'm stalling.

I promise, I'll take basement bedroom photos on Wednesday. I keep meaning to, then missing daylight. The floors are GORGEOUS. Now if we could just keep the stupid bugs out of there... I finished the trim in both rooms, so the very last part of painting will be touching up some spots in Justin's room. The roller with the white floor paint splattered a little on the bottom portions of the blue walls. And I may or may not have dropped a huge glob down one part of the wall when I was touching up the window trim. Oops. The gray in the guest bedroom needs SO much touching up, but we ran out of it, and the big stupid Home Depot is no longer carrying Ralph Lauren paint colors. We could try to get it matched in another brand of paint, but I'm worried it would look bizarre. We did get the bed all put in the guest bedroom. We just need to put the sheets, etc. on it. It's a little awkward because the room is an awkward shape, but we can always move it if we figure out a better configuration. We're both just really happy to have a guest bedroom! Some day we'll redo the bathroom down there (mainly a lipstick on a pig kind of job I think) and fix up the kitchen, too. We have dreams of setting up a sweet little bar area in that basement kitchen. And who doesn't love having a back up fridge??? We already have a stove and microwave and dishwasher waiting to be installed down there. My dad and stepmom passed them to us when they moved. Oh, so much work... But I love the idea that we are building (hopefully) equity on our own. We'll someday have to have professional help with the bigger projects, like the upstairs bath and the kitchen, but I'm trying to convince Justin that I could teach myself how to tile and redo the floors in our upstairs bathroom. I'm not succeeding.
The new project I have urgently waiting for attention is spray-painting a bed frame for our new bed. Our old bed was a lovely wooden bed from Justin's Dad. It's a double, and will live on forever in the basement bedroom as the guest bed. When we got our new mattress (a queen) we bought a bed frame from Costco (thanks Mom) but we can't afford a headboard and footboard. Did you guys know how expensive that business is??? Bananas. I've been reading up on lots and lots of blogs about DIY headboards (Quirky Delight, I'm looking at you) but I just don't have it in me to scour for beds at the thrift stores. And a lot of my favorite thrift stores have been getting CRAZY expensive lately. Boo. So when my boss said she had a black iron canopy bed that we could have for free, I jumped at it. I assumed we wouldn't use the canopy part, but the finnials that fit on without the canopy attachment are SO early 90's that I might try to just test what the canopy would look like. In my mind, I thought the black iron bed would be like this gorgeous Country Living example, which is not altogether our taste, but is so classic and gorgeous, you just can't not like it.
Is there really anywhere this bed wouldn't work? By the way, I love this little room. The shiny white floor, the little stool, and the cowhide rug... So cute. I love this kind of country. Clean and pretty. I'd like to spend a weekend here. And have nice older ladies bring me tea while I knit in that blue chair in the corner. Hmmm. But anyways, the bed we got is more like contemporary, and by contemporary I mean early 90's (at least without the canopy on). It was free, and I am not trying to sound like an ungrateful jerk, just wanting to explain. It has the swirly ball finnials. Ew. It's almost exactly like this:
Sorry, that photo is kind of tiny. But you get the idea. In any case, I have no guilt whatsoever about my plan to spraypaint it red. I have the spraypaint, as well as the gun attachment for the spray bottles. I learned my lesson with Roxanne's dresser about spraypaint finger and the globs that can happen as a result. It can get ugly. We were originally planning to just not use a headboard/footboard for a while, but the bed scoots around a lot, and Roxanne has figured this out. She likes to push it around a little (when she thinks we aren't looking) and if you bump into it after a middle of the night bathroom break, you will scoot it a foot or two. When discussing the paint color for the bed, Justin and I agreed that a bright color would be best, to break up the white blob that our all white curtains and all white bed were forming. I wanted orange, but HD only had one can of the Pumpkin Orange spray paint. Jerks. And yellow just seems a little overdone for right now. The red will hopefully be pretty though. And detract from the datedness of the bed.
I'm loving this color with the gray walls, but our walls are darker, and if it doesn't come in spray form, I'm not interested...