Sledgehammers & Dust

What's new at your place? Well... take a look at what's going on at mine!!!


Oh, yes another renovation is happening. I've shown you my pantry remodel, the exterior remodel, the kitchen remodel, and YIKES...I've never shown you the hall bath redo? Well, what kind of blogger am I? I'll show you that real soon!

Things are happening around here... it's the final major interior remodel we have to do in our house. My husband spent a few hours Friday doing the demo and come Monday we'll have a handy man doing the work. I'm pretty excited to get rid of the nasty 1960's tile! Check back soon for progress...

Pantry Redo

When I saw this pantry makeover that Decor Chick did a few months ago I was totally inspired and motivated to get mine done. When we moved in a year ago we did a total rehaul on a lot of the spaces in our home. One of those was the pantry. Five college guys had lived here before us and lets just say the shelves in the pantry were nasty and in our opinion, not worth saving. So my hubby and a handy college student from our church built the new shelves themselves. We'd always planned on painting them and making them nice...but time and money (and energy) ran out and we just lived with the raw wood shelves for over a year. Finally it was time!!!

This is how I was living! (sorry for the poor photo quality but you get the picture, right!)

Oh I am so embarrased to show this to you! It was awful and I didn't mess it up to make it look worse... this is truly how our pantry functioned. Wow... that's humbling. :)

After a coat of paint on the wall and shelves and the addition of the canisters and other organization stuff I'd been collecting over a few months... here it is today!!!

And these awesome lazy susans built by my handsome helper. Seriously... these are awesome and he worked VERY hard on them!

My pantry now functions and looks 100x better!

I got these shelves from Wallyworld to store some of the "what do I do with these?" items.

And these canisters keep our snacky foods

And this basket stolen from the playroom keeps the paper goods that just were cluttered up on top of the shelves before.

I'd had these baskets for a while to hold our bread and chips.

And remember when I showed you the kitchen cabinet makeover? I told you I'd moved the kids crafty stuff to the pantry. Here's their corner. I got these drawers to hold coloring books, stickers, markers, paints, etc. SO much better than the cluttered cabinet.

I am loving the new pantry. My husband has even given me major props! He was once skeptical about all the canisters instead of boxes...but now I'm pretty sure he's a believer. And I couldn't have done it without him... all the painting, wood shelves and trim and Amazing lazy susans are credited to him! He's pretty much the greatest.

Linked here:
Making the World Cuter
Between Naps on the Porch
Keeping it Simple

Living room rearrange

This is my living room. Sad, I know. It's been in this sad state since we moved into our new house, mostly because I can't figure out what to do with it. It's a large room that's lacking personality. We spend 90% of our time in here & it's my least favorite room in the house!

It needs help! Can you help me??

These are the things I DO NOT like about it...

1. Seeing the back of the couch from the kitchen. It's just NOT inviting.

2. Feeling overrun with toys.

3. No curtains, no rug, no texture of any kind.

4. Blank walls. Need I say more??

here are a few more shots...

Sad. Right?? Well, I had had enough of it this weekend. I was determined to do something about it & to do it, without spending any money.

So here we go...

First things first. I moved the couch. It only needed to scoot about 3 feet, but it made a BIG difference. I angled it away from the corner so that it wouldn't be against the wall. I'm not sure why, but I'm just not a fan of couches on walls. I also borrowed these curtains from my guest room. I'll come back to those...

I then stashed the toy baskets behind the couch. They're now out of the way but still accessible to my girls.

I moved the big bulky chairs that were in front of the windows (actually covering the windows) to the opposite side of the room. So while I still have nothing on this wall, I at least now have something over there.

I then positioned these 2 smaller chairs in front of the windows. This red one was in our bedroom, but I think it fits better in here.

Lastly I brought in this old rug from the garage & set it in front of the couch. It's a little bare & a little raggedy, but it will do for now. I moved the kids' table to the end of the couch as a makeshift end table. The kids & hubby seem to like it's new home, so it may hang out there for a while.

And here's the result! What do you think??

Overall, I'm pretty happy with it. It's definitely better than it was last week!

I'm still uncertain about the curtains, the rug & of course the walls!

And that's where I need your help!!

First, the curtains... I love them close up, (with the flowers on top & leopard on the bottom) but from the kitchen you can't see any of the leopard print & I feel like they look very...70s-ish. Am I crazy?? Be honest ladies. No hard feelings!!

Next, the rug. It's got to go, I know, but what do I replace it with? I'm leaning towards something neutral, but I need suggestions!

Lastly, the walls!! Where do I even begin? The one on the left is so big & overbearing, that I feel like it needs to be anchored with something or a couple of somethings..well..that are big..

What are your thoughts??

Seriously. I can't wait to hear some of your fabulous ideas!!

thanks!

Finally! The day has come...

A year ago we bought a house that had been occupied by 5 college renters! You've seen the transformation we did in the kitchen. The exterior had seen its day. They grass was a breeding ground for mosquitos, there were no flower beds to speak of, the entire house was painted the same ugly color as the brick. I told my husband when we bought the place that the one thing I HAD to do was fix up the outside. My feeling about a house is nobody cares what the inside looks like if the outside is still ugly. Right?

So here is our beginning point... After a few years of 5 dudes "taking care of it"

The During... primed and ready to go!

Finished and waiting for the final touches...

We finished up the porch with new light, door hardware & house numbers.

Eventually I'd like to have two rockers on the porch but for now this wicker chair serves the same purpose. The little table is a TV tray which I got for FREE from a sweet friend and I've spray painted it black. I have a citranella candle on it to help keep our pesky Texas mosquitos away!

The final result! I'm pretty excited about how it turned out! I feel like our house is no longer the ugliest on the block! Maybe just maybe it's the best looking one?!

The window to the left of the door isn't normally that bright... obviously I could improve on my photography skills! :) And I think I see another project in my future with our leaning tower of a mailbox.

UPDATE: Thanks to Renae for asking you can now know our paint colors... Brick: Benjamin Moore "Crownsville Gray", Shutters: Sherwin Williams "Tricorn Black", Door: Sherwin Williams "Stolen Kiss" as for the trim... I can't remember...but it was some sort of creamy white.

Thrifty Decor Chick
Nesting Place

Sneak Peek...

I think one of the most exciting things to happen in the last year just happened to me this past week! Okay well maybe not the most exciting...but it has been one of the most anticipated events I've had in the last year related to my house. I can't wait to show you the final results!!! Check back next week to see the before & after of the transformation.

outdoor living

I've been inspired by this picture & The Nester to redo my back porch.

Doesn't this look so inviting?!

This is what my back porch looked like...my unfortunate starting point!

Hopeless, confused & cluttered with toys!

And this is what my back porch looks like now!!

I'm in LOVE!

Aren't you in love??

And this is how I did it. Very simple really.

I went back to the basics.

I de-cluttered & cleared out everything.

First, I added a rug & rearranged the chairs to seem more inviting.

I grabbed 2 wicker chairs from my front porch to complete a sitting area.

I then added drapes to make the space seem more like a living room.

I used broadcloth from Hobby Lobby for $1.99/yd + a 40% coupon!

What a deal!

But the best part...NO sewing!!

I picked up a few plants from Lowes & added those.

Then I "shopped the house" for 2 end tables and other knick knacks.

And Voila!!

A cozy outdoor space that prompts relaxation!! Despite the Texas heat!!

Do you have a back porch that's in need of some lovin'?? Tell us about it!!