First of all, THANKS LIZ!!! She emailed me a while back with the great idea to put butcher block contact paper on the top of the old rusted freezer so I wouldn't have to mess with the tablecloths and plastic covers. Well, I loved the idea, and while I didn't have butcher block paper, I did have the leftover contact paper from when I lined shelves and redid my pantry last January for the Bowl Full Of Lemons Organizing Challenge (see my sidebar). So, I figured, what the heck. If I hated it, I could always take it off. Well, it looks great and it's so nice to not have to worry about the plastic cover! I had enough left to made two borders go around it to hide all the other rust spots too. It's no where near perfect, but it's sure better than what it did look like.
Now, as for painting, we wanted to get a paint with a built in primer. Lowe's carries the Valspar with primer included, but the reviews for it weren't very good from what I read. I knew we had another locally owned paint store, and found they carry Benjamin Moore paint, so I went to their site and used their virtual painting tool that allows you to try colors on walls and trim etc in photos you upload. We were going to go with a yellow and had picked a few we liked, but never could decide before. Then we saw the yellows on the walls with the photo tool, and hated it. The yellow washed out the antique rich wood furniture and it just clashed with too much other stuff we own already. So, I let my husband play with the virtual painter and he found a paint that we both liked. It's called Tate Olive. I hadn't planned on green, but it just looked so nice in the photo. So, we went to the store and asked for one of the $6 test pints and he didn't sell them. He said he feels it's better to do a larger section of a wall to really see if you like a color, not just a little square. So, we figured what the heck. We had a little money from the budget and got a $13 quart and a nice brush and brought them home. Though I needed to get to bed by then, I wanted to see it on the walls. Y'all know how impatient I am. Christopher started painting, but when it didn't go on like it does on TV he immediately gave up and said he'd rather pay someone to do it. I said it was nuts to not even do the one DIY thing homeowners are expected to be able to do. It's just paint. So, I cut in around the edges and then painted the wall, getting it on nice and thick. Since there was no primer on the wall already, I wasn't sure how it would take.
I just did the section between the front door and the window, then went to bed. We were having friends over that night to play cards, so I had to get some sleep. When I woke up and went out there, I was in love. The color is GORGEOUS! Our accessories and wall art already looks great near it. The old fake paper wood trim even looks good against it, though C wants to paint the trim because he hates it. We'll see.
That night after our friends left and C went to bed, I finished paining the wall and around the door. There's just enough now left in the quart can to do touchups. It's a good way for us to tell how much paint it will take to do the rest of the room as well. 1 gallon will do the rest of the living room easily and then to do the hallway, we'll get a second gallon. There'll be some left over, but I think that's always a good thing. I have a shelf to store it over the washer and dryer as well.
I KNOW I want to do beadboard around the peninsula and the whole wall from the green paint all under the cabinets behind the stove over to the freezer corner. I'm pretty sure I want it white as well. Now comes the hard part. Christopher WANTS a yellow kitchen, and I'm OK with it, but it's got to look ok with the green since it's all really one big open space. We'll have the white beadboard between the two colors on one side of the kitchen, but on the other, it'll be butted right up next to each other. I'm thinking of doing a beadboard wainscotting on that side of the kitchen (even though most of it would be hidden by my sideboard), so maybe I can do some kind of decorative trim where the two colors meet. I dunno. So, anyway, this is a picture of the yellow I'm wanting to get. it's called Hawthorne Yellow by Benjamin Moore.
Isn't it gorgeous? I am wanting those retro green cabinets so bad I can't stand it. I like how it looks here with the white trim and the green of the cabinets, so I think it'll go nicely with our colors even though the green is darker.
But also... I have NO idea what to do with my kitchen cabinets. They're not nearly as ugly now near the green, but soon they'll be surrounded by white with yellow nearby as well. I thought about painting them white, but I kind of wanted the beadboard to pop, not just blend in. So, do I paint them or not paint them? If I paint them, what color??
Another thing we'll be doing soon is a slipshod flooring install. Christopher still wants to cover the nasty looking plywood, but isn't prepared to deal with the plywood underlayment and doing it right yet. While he isn't fond of how the vinyl tiles look directly on the subfloor, he says he'd rather deal with that for now and do the floors right some other time. To do the underlayment and the vinyl and extra adhesive to make sure they stay down and all that will be over $700, and he's not willing to do that yet. So, I'm going to get 100-200 of the vinyl tiles and we'll put them down right onto the subloor (like the ones we have right now are already), and live with that til later on. I'm ok with that. Knowing it will be done right later is what matters.
I've also been looking at dressers. I want one to fit this space OR one I can put in the younger girls' room and take their current dresser and put it in this space.
Their dresser is 18" by 54" and would basically sit between those two slats on the wall starting at the green paint line. It has 6 drawers, so R could have the top two drawers, then F the middle two and Z the bottom two. They would hold their backpacks and purses etc. I'd like to get them into the habit of a "tomorrow drawer" as well, and have one of their drawers be a place where each night they'd put the stuff they don't want to forget the next morning, like any papers that needed signed or DS or tablets, or gifts, even shoes etc. They could also pick out an outfit the night before and put it in there to grab as they come out of the bathroom, but I'm not sure that's very efficient. But they could use it for that if they wanted. I am REALLY tired of their backpacks and shoes and coats etc all over the hallway floor, and the tubs they're using are just so ugly. I'll be moving the coat hooks over to the wall next to the dresser.
I'm going to get a nice big mirror to go over the dresser, something with a metallic frame or gold leaf on wood maybe, to match the other stuff in the room. It'll be nice to have another place for the girls to look in the mirror and get ready in the morning since their bathroom space is so small. The top of the dresser will have a bowl or tray for keys and change, and one for mail for the girls (our mail still needs to come straight to my desk). I'd like a pretty lamp on it, but there are no outlets in the hallway. Who builds a hallway with no outlets?? But anyway, I might do a decorative vignette or something, but I don't want the top of the dresser to be covered in junk.
I think it'll look so nice from the seating area, and will really help continue the space down the hallway, which will likely make the whole space look bigger. Well, I'm hoping anyway, because having something that big right there is going to make it a tight squeeze til we get used to it. Guests going down the hallway to the bathroom will hopefully not stub their toe on it or run into it. I don't think anything smaller than 18" deep will work though since there's got to be room for binders and backpacks and text books etc.
It works in my head, I just can't wait to find THE piece to make the space perfect. I have to find THE mirror as well. I know I will, just got to get out there and go shopping. Which reminds me! The IRS updated the status and says our refund will be deposited on the 8th, so HOORAY! I was hoping it would have said it for the 1st, but they got swamped apparently. You'd think they'd prepare for people wanting their money all at once haha. So, anyway, the 8th is still just in time to get the cash advances paid off and not renew them, get this redecorating stuff, get a few other things we need and each of us have some spending money and a nice big chunk in savings. The budget for the refund has had to be tweaked a bit from the one I posted, but not much, and it's still savings-heavy, so I'm happy about that.
Please keep us in your thoughts as February crawls by. Whatever cuts are going to be made at C's job, it'll be this month. Thanks!!
Have a great Super Bowl Sunday! I'll be sleeping and working!
Now, as for painting, we wanted to get a paint with a built in primer. Lowe's carries the Valspar with primer included, but the reviews for it weren't very good from what I read. I knew we had another locally owned paint store, and found they carry Benjamin Moore paint, so I went to their site and used their virtual painting tool that allows you to try colors on walls and trim etc in photos you upload. We were going to go with a yellow and had picked a few we liked, but never could decide before. Then we saw the yellows on the walls with the photo tool, and hated it. The yellow washed out the antique rich wood furniture and it just clashed with too much other stuff we own already. So, I let my husband play with the virtual painter and he found a paint that we both liked. It's called Tate Olive. I hadn't planned on green, but it just looked so nice in the photo. So, we went to the store and asked for one of the $6 test pints and he didn't sell them. He said he feels it's better to do a larger section of a wall to really see if you like a color, not just a little square. So, we figured what the heck. We had a little money from the budget and got a $13 quart and a nice brush and brought them home. Though I needed to get to bed by then, I wanted to see it on the walls. Y'all know how impatient I am. Christopher started painting, but when it didn't go on like it does on TV he immediately gave up and said he'd rather pay someone to do it. I said it was nuts to not even do the one DIY thing homeowners are expected to be able to do. It's just paint. So, I cut in around the edges and then painted the wall, getting it on nice and thick. Since there was no primer on the wall already, I wasn't sure how it would take.
I just did the section between the front door and the window, then went to bed. We were having friends over that night to play cards, so I had to get some sleep. When I woke up and went out there, I was in love. The color is GORGEOUS! Our accessories and wall art already looks great near it. The old fake paper wood trim even looks good against it, though C wants to paint the trim because he hates it. We'll see.
That night after our friends left and C went to bed, I finished paining the wall and around the door. There's just enough now left in the quart can to do touchups. It's a good way for us to tell how much paint it will take to do the rest of the room as well. 1 gallon will do the rest of the living room easily and then to do the hallway, we'll get a second gallon. There'll be some left over, but I think that's always a good thing. I have a shelf to store it over the washer and dryer as well.
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| Gee no wonder I liked the color, I had already picked it for my curtains last year. I had no idea they were the same color til it dried. Since the curtains are sheer and crinkly, they don't just fade into it too much. We love it. |
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| I love how the color makes the metallics pop in this frame and just makes the art so much richer. |
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| pardon the dirty dishes in the sink |
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| I should have turned on the living room light, sorry it's a bit dark. |
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| It also happens to be the same green as in my tablecloth. Go figure. |
I KNOW I want to do beadboard around the peninsula and the whole wall from the green paint all under the cabinets behind the stove over to the freezer corner. I'm pretty sure I want it white as well. Now comes the hard part. Christopher WANTS a yellow kitchen, and I'm OK with it, but it's got to look ok with the green since it's all really one big open space. We'll have the white beadboard between the two colors on one side of the kitchen, but on the other, it'll be butted right up next to each other. I'm thinking of doing a beadboard wainscotting on that side of the kitchen (even though most of it would be hidden by my sideboard), so maybe I can do some kind of decorative trim where the two colors meet. I dunno. So, anyway, this is a picture of the yellow I'm wanting to get. it's called Hawthorne Yellow by Benjamin Moore.
 |
| Found at zimbio.com with no photo credit. Holler at me if it's yours. |
But also... I have NO idea what to do with my kitchen cabinets. They're not nearly as ugly now near the green, but soon they'll be surrounded by white with yellow nearby as well. I thought about painting them white, but I kind of wanted the beadboard to pop, not just blend in. So, do I paint them or not paint them? If I paint them, what color??
Another thing we'll be doing soon is a slipshod flooring install. Christopher still wants to cover the nasty looking plywood, but isn't prepared to deal with the plywood underlayment and doing it right yet. While he isn't fond of how the vinyl tiles look directly on the subfloor, he says he'd rather deal with that for now and do the floors right some other time. To do the underlayment and the vinyl and extra adhesive to make sure they stay down and all that will be over $700, and he's not willing to do that yet. So, I'm going to get 100-200 of the vinyl tiles and we'll put them down right onto the subloor (like the ones we have right now are already), and live with that til later on. I'm ok with that. Knowing it will be done right later is what matters.
I've also been looking at dressers. I want one to fit this space OR one I can put in the younger girls' room and take their current dresser and put it in this space.
Their dresser is 18" by 54" and would basically sit between those two slats on the wall starting at the green paint line. It has 6 drawers, so R could have the top two drawers, then F the middle two and Z the bottom two. They would hold their backpacks and purses etc. I'd like to get them into the habit of a "tomorrow drawer" as well, and have one of their drawers be a place where each night they'd put the stuff they don't want to forget the next morning, like any papers that needed signed or DS or tablets, or gifts, even shoes etc. They could also pick out an outfit the night before and put it in there to grab as they come out of the bathroom, but I'm not sure that's very efficient. But they could use it for that if they wanted. I am REALLY tired of their backpacks and shoes and coats etc all over the hallway floor, and the tubs they're using are just so ugly. I'll be moving the coat hooks over to the wall next to the dresser.
I'm going to get a nice big mirror to go over the dresser, something with a metallic frame or gold leaf on wood maybe, to match the other stuff in the room. It'll be nice to have another place for the girls to look in the mirror and get ready in the morning since their bathroom space is so small. The top of the dresser will have a bowl or tray for keys and change, and one for mail for the girls (our mail still needs to come straight to my desk). I'd like a pretty lamp on it, but there are no outlets in the hallway. Who builds a hallway with no outlets?? But anyway, I might do a decorative vignette or something, but I don't want the top of the dresser to be covered in junk.
I think it'll look so nice from the seating area, and will really help continue the space down the hallway, which will likely make the whole space look bigger. Well, I'm hoping anyway, because having something that big right there is going to make it a tight squeeze til we get used to it. Guests going down the hallway to the bathroom will hopefully not stub their toe on it or run into it. I don't think anything smaller than 18" deep will work though since there's got to be room for binders and backpacks and text books etc.
It works in my head, I just can't wait to find THE piece to make the space perfect. I have to find THE mirror as well. I know I will, just got to get out there and go shopping. Which reminds me! The IRS updated the status and says our refund will be deposited on the 8th, so HOORAY! I was hoping it would have said it for the 1st, but they got swamped apparently. You'd think they'd prepare for people wanting their money all at once haha. So, anyway, the 8th is still just in time to get the cash advances paid off and not renew them, get this redecorating stuff, get a few other things we need and each of us have some spending money and a nice big chunk in savings. The budget for the refund has had to be tweaked a bit from the one I posted, but not much, and it's still savings-heavy, so I'm happy about that.
Please keep us in your thoughts as February crawls by. Whatever cuts are going to be made at C's job, it'll be this month. Thanks!!
Have a great Super Bowl Sunday! I'll be sleeping and working!