Exterior Entry - Before and Progress

While this might look like a simple before and progress (remember, it takes a while to truly be an "after"), this has evolved since we bought the house. First, I ripped off the storm door before I could even get a picture. And by "I ripped", I mean "I had someone rip". My excuse is that I was 7 months pregnant and in the midst of tax season.

Before I hosted a baby shower this summer (nothing like a deadline!), we had the front door painted and the little jail bars removed from the window.

Most recently, Dad popped off the shutters (yes, "pop" is the proper adjective as it turns out they were affixed with plastic screws), George, our resident electrician, removed the spotlight and put up a new light fixture, and Andy painstakingly put up new house numbers (there are 4 numbers in real life) and a new mailbox.

Kitchen Inspiration

Our plan with the kitchen was to make the best of what we had, but that was a tall order considering what the kitchen looked like. More details on the actual renovation later this week with some before and progress shots, but in the meantime, here are my inspiration images.


top left Tommy Smyth - Photographer: Michael Graydon // top right Coastal Living 2009 Idea House - Designer: Phillip Sides - Photographer: Tria Giovan - Stylist: Heather Chadduck // bottom left Renovator's Notebook: Stunning Kitchen Makeover - Homeowner: Isabella Cairess Favaro - Photographer: Jason Stickley - Featured on House & Home Blog // bottom right House & Home February 2012 - Designer: Stacy Begg - Photographer: Michael Graydon


top left Margot Austin - Photography: Donna Griffith - Via Newlywed Diaries // top right A Country Farmhouse // bottom left This & That Blog // bottom right House Beautiful - Ina Garten 2009 Kitchen of the Year in Rockefeller Center - Photography: Julian Wass

A Fireplace Update

Our sofa is centered on the fireplace in the living room, and we spend a lot of time on that sofa. Eventually we want to do built-in bookcases but that's a ways away, so we needed something in the interim because looking at what came with the house just wasn't going to do.

I already had some ideas but when I saw these two images, I knew we could give our little fireplace a nice and inexpensive facelift!



left Lonny June/July 2012 - Interior Design by Ron Marvin - Photography by Patrick Cline - Art Direction by Michelle Adams // right Erin Gates of Elements of Style

So this is what we had to start with...



And after a few coats of paint and some logs from Michigan (oh, the power of the internet), now we have...



The update was a bit of an evolution. First, Dad ripped up the white wood trim around the hearth. Then when the floors were stained and refinished, those guys patched the area to match. Also, Dad quickly popped off the decorative moulding that adorned the mantle. That's how the fireplace sat for a while. Then Andy took over and finished the job. He painted the mantle Benjamin Moore White Dove, the same color as the trim in our house. Then he painted the brick surround and hearth a glossy black and the firebox a matte black. The different blacks was kind of a happy accident. The interior paint is a super heat resistant paint since we plan to use the fireplace come winter and the glossy paint is also heat resistant but not to the same degree. The happy accident is that it looks great-- the glossy bricks pop while the matte interior just fades away. To finish it off, Mom found some birch logs online (straight from Michigan) and to the eye rolling of Dad & Andy, we ordered those and they look perfect!

Now that's something I can look at every night.

Master Bath - Before & Progress

More than one person have mentioned that the "before" pics of the hall bath "aren't that bad". My dad told me "you're never going to be hired to take 'before' pictures because they look too good". See, I was so excited about the new house, and making sure I documented this transformation that I got really into the before pics. I rented a wide angle lens for my camera, used my tripod and took my time taking the pictures. Well since then, my tripod is covered in dust, the rental lens was returned, and day to day life is consumed by moving, tax season, getting settled and now baby! So the progress shots definitely aren't shining! I guess that will have to wait until the "afters".

In the meantime, let's take a look into our master bath. While it is our master bath since it's off the master bedroom, it's hardly the size of what you'd consider a master bath at a whopping 4' x 7' (that's tiny, FYI). We removed what I called the "torture tub" as it was less than 4' long yet quite deep. Just bizarre. Yes, in a true "what's right for the space" decision, we would have gone with a pedestal sink for space and visual purposes, but we needed a vanity so we squeezed one in. Ok, enough with the chatter...


I could go on and on about this bathroom and I certainly will when I share "afters" but I could spend all day in that shower.

Hall Bath - Before & Progress

You're supposed to do "before and afters" right? Well, if I waited for the "afters" to share of the house, it would never happen. So I think it's going to be before and progress shots with follow up progress shots for a while. Andy said the other night "so when we move in, our living room will have a sofa and a TV on the floor?" Yep, that's about right.

But onto the hall bath. I think my "befores" are a little too kind. This bathroom was just down right bizarre (but not as bizarre as the master!) and ugly, so it all had to go!



And that's just what happened. We ripped it all out to the studs. Since our total renovation was originally a fairly small scope, we did not move any plumbing, not that there are that many options in a 5'x7' bathroom (although the master bath is even smaller!).



It was amazing how fast they built it back. The original plan was for a tub but as we got into the renovation, it became apparent that there just wasn't room. I was a little concerned for a bit that the babe would have a deprived childhood of a life without a tub, but I got over that pretty quickly-- he can just go to his grandparents house!



Sources and more pictures to come as we finish up the bathroom. This is one room that might just get finished! But in the meantime, you can find me going gaga over the plumbing fixtures.

Hall Bathroom Inspiration

Our original "cut-off date" was before Thanksgiving. If we didn't find a house before Thanksgiving, we were going to put the house hunt on the back burner and focus on how to rearrange the apartment to make it perfect for our soon-to-be family of 3.

Well that was the plan but that's not what happened. Oops! Realistically, would I really be able to put the house hunt on the back burner if the perfect place came on the market? Nope. So instead we went under contract a few days before Christmas with a closing date in mid-January. Knowing that the beginning of the year is already the busiest time for me with work and add to that planning for the arrival of the babe, it was going to be a tight schedule, especially because we had renovations to do before we move in. So I started gathering inspiration ideas and here are what I had in mind for the hall bath.

Stay tuned for later this week for the before and progress shots of the hall bath!

first row, left Editor Zim Loy's Master Bath featured in House Beautiful's Unique Bathrooms - Cool and Creative Bathroom Design Ideas - Photo by Jonny Valiant // right Real Estate Listing for 305 Sea Lane in La Jolla featured on House of Turquoise // second row, left Liz Caan Interiors // right Bailey McCarthy's Austin Home via Design Sponge - Photos by Paige Newton // third row, left b.home interior design by Tracey Butler // right Kohler's Tresham Collection

Home Inspiration

Babies and house renovations have been on the brain constantly (oh and taxes but I won't bore you with that!). We closed on the house on a Friday in mid-January and the renovation started the following Tuesday and has been going full speed ever since. Due to the condensed timeline with a firm end date (baby's going to come whether we're ready or not!), we had to do a lot of planning before we even closed (made me a nervous wreck! I don't like to count my chickens before they hatch.). One thing I tried to do was come up with an overall tone for the house. It's not a big house, so I wanted a cohesive look and these are some of the images that inspired me.

first row, left James Michael Howard // right Lonny Magazine Jul-Aug 2011 - Photography by Patrick Cline - Interior Design by Lauren Gold - Art Direction by Michelle Adams // second row, left House Beautiful April 2007 - Designer by Barbara Westbrook - Photography by Pieter Estersohn // right Thom Filicia Inc - Vogue Living // third row Design by Lauren Liess - Photography by Helen Norman & her assistant, F.J. Hughes // fourth row, left Justin Bishop via Desire to Inspire // right Mara Roszak and Alex Polillo's Home featured on Apartment Therapy

Jewelry Organization

Next up, organize my jewelry collection.  I did this back in 2007, and it turned out great.

But since then, it has become bit disorganized as my collection has grown (remember? I'm trying to accessorize more), and it has started to fall apart.  So I want to revamp what I have-- make it more substantial (no more nails falling out) and better suited for my current jewelry collection (more bracelets!).

Here are some images that are my inspiration.  Like I said, I am working with the black shadow boxes that I originally bought from Michael's but hope to incorporate some of the design aspects below.

1 // Towne and Reese via Young House Love // Love the linen canvases.  Such a clean look.  But I do think I'd miss having a little shelf to stash some things on... although maybe it would be a good thing not have one!

2 // Better Homes and Garden // Great idea to use a radiator grate!  I love just being able to hang my earrings on the fabric/mesh backing of my current boxes.  This is another way of being able to do that.

3 // Martha Stewart // Love love love this but won't really work for my current, wall hanging system.

4 // Better Homes and Garden // Love the drawer pulls!

Bookshelves - Before and After

So I finally finished the bookshelf styling project.  I use the term "finished" lightly-- is any home decorating project ever really finished?

Before

Most of the same players returned, but I added many more books and the lamps got a facelift.  I did refer back to my inspiration pictures quite a few times as I was rearranging everything.  I definitely realized that it's much easier to style a bookcase if you could go out and buy all new, coordinating accessories and books, but I was doing this project with an as close to $0 budget as possible.

After

Right after I finished rehabbing the lamps (new, shorter harps and a warm yellow paint job), I found an old to-do list dated November 10, 2010 that said "buy yellow paint and new harps for lamps".  I guess better late than never!