homestretch

Every day we get a little bit closer to finishing the living room & kitchen.  Although, I will probably never really be finished, especially as far as decorating goes.
I had a mostly day off a couple of Fridays ago, so I got some paint and did the whole kitchen by myself before David got home from work.  Bye, bye green.  HELLO Tropical Splash!

I figured I may as well get it done while the appliances were out of the way.  So far, I really like it.  We ordered a rug for the dining area that will hopefully pull everything together.
I was so excited to have the kitchen back together that I have been cooking up a storm.  I tried one new recipe and it came out great:  peanut butter & jelly muffins.

This week, we are putting down the baseboards, shoe moulding, and quarter round.  Then we can put all the furniture back in order.  I hope to have everything back to normal by this weekend.  I will also be making my own curtain rods for the living room windows.  I have not been able to find anything I like online or in any local store.  Check back for updates on that project, plus COMPLETED house project pics!

slow and steady

Now we are getting to some not-as-much-fun stuff. We pulled the appliances out last night... around 11pm. Today I prep/clean the kitchen and we'll rip out the rest of the tile and extra flooring. And more staples. We are getting to some tricky parts under the dishwasher, oven, and in the pantry. Looks like we will be dining out this week, but thankfully the fridge is still plugged in and we have use of toaster oven and microwave.

appliance invasion. but doesn't the floor look awesome??

I am trying to pick a new paint color for the kitchen... something in a cool tone, in the blue family. Any suggestions? We loved the bold green, but I think we are looking for something a bit softer this time.

bye bye green

I got some FLOR tile samples in the mail and we are trying to decide on colors and textures for a living room rug. We can then use the tool on FLOR's website to design the pattern and size of the rug.

These little squares are so cute... I am going to use these samples (each square is 6 1/2 inches) to make a doorway mat for just inside the back door.

little projects

I worked on a few small & easy projects recently. It was nice to have instant gratification projects while the floors are in progress. All of these were on the cheap too! All three together cost me less than $30.

1. dresser drawers

We got a new dresser from IKEA recently and we actually didn't mind the hardware that came with it. It kind of goes with our grey & white trend that is happening in the bedroom. I got an Anthropologie coupon for my birthday so I got some schmancy new hardware (just over $20)... but just for my half of the dresser. Now it is like a "his & hers" piece. I like that it looks like two different dressers in one.

2. peg legs

We have two IKEA chairs in the living room. I really like the chairs, but was never crazy about their peg legs. I am not a big fan of blond wood, so I had always planned on painting them at some point. Then I came across this post on Design*Sponge. So easy, and $0 since I found some silver spray paint in the shed. A quick little update to the chairs. They look so swank on the new wood floors.

3. succulents

I think I have a brown thumb. I am not a big fan of landscaping, and I've managed to kill all houseplants I have ever had... except for one! I have had this little cactus thing for almost 2 years now and he's still kickin'! So I got a few more tiny succulents (less than $3 each at Lowe's) and put them in various containers we already had. Aren't they cute?

More floor update pictures coming soon!

progress report

This is a big job, but we are making progress! We started ripping out the carpet only 1 week ago. We are pretty much just working in between work... which makes it slightly difficult since our work schedules don't overlap a lot. David works during the week when I have a lot of free time, and I work on the weekends when David has free time. Reid was a BIG help over a few evenings last week, which really helped us get the ball rolling. So we are working on little chunks here and there, and trying to reconfigure the furniture like a giant puzzle.

Here are some progress pictures...

carpet gone. taking out the padding and *ugh* all the staples. THANK YOU ADAM FOR HELPING

first few rows!

loving the color variations

got the TV back on in time for Mad Men

We still have a LOT more work ahead of us. I am dreading moving the appliances in the kitchen. It almost feels like we have a completely new house. We still have the hallway to do (and hall closet) after the kitchen is complete. THEN, replacing and painting base boards, THEN painting the kitchen, THEN finding some window hardware so I can finally get those new curtains up.