A glass door…could you do it?

OK, I’ve had an idea runnin’ around in my head for a while now. I think about it EVERY. single. day. lately and can’t shake the thought of it.

Every time I walk by our foyer, especially during the day, I think of how awesome it would be:

(That’s an old pic from last summer, the latest full shot I could find of our foyer!)

For years now, I’ve been wanting a screen or storm door on our front door. The desire for one intensifies 100 fold this time of year, when spring has sprung and I have this overwhelming desire to have light pouring in everywhere.

Our foyer is the darkest spot in our house – we’re north facing so the front gets zero direct light. Even before the interior side of the door was painted black, it was always a dark spot.

Sooo…for years I’ve figured I can rectify that with a screen door of sorts. But I’ve found I don’t care for how they look from the outside. I don’t particularly like most storm doors I see either. I haven’t looked a whole lot, mind you, but I love our front door and don’t really want to block it.

So HOW do I get this light pouring in that I so desperately want and NEED? (OK need is a little much, I know.)

We had a chance to have sidelights put in when we built the house, but you see…I have a problem that is causing a major internal struggle when it comes to my idea.

I didn’t do sidelights because they give me the HEEBY JEEBIES. I do not like to answer the door if I don't want to. (For random strangers, not people I like. As far as they know.) The thought of someone being able to see inside my house creeps me out. And if I want to sneak up to the door to see who’s on the other side without answering, well, that’s my prerogative (they say I’m crazy, I really don’t care…).

But now, for some reason, I can’t get the idea of a front door with glass out of my stinkin’ head:

Can you even imagine all the glorious light shining in that house? I can.

I’m positively drooling at the thought of it:

(source)

I love my black interior door, but this blue door is totally fun:

People, WHAT is wrong with me? I can’t stop thinking about glass doors!!

Sarah had a door company put a glass insert in her front door and it’s gorgeous!:

(source)

Lucky for me, I have a contact for glass inserts. ;) So I could totally do this.

But the full glass door…well, as much as I love it, I just don’t know if I could. I ask you, how do you hide from people with that?!

Maybe normal people don’t hide? It’s just me?

So now I’m thinkin’. I wonder if the door company could just do a smaller insert? Something like this perhaps?:

(source)

Or this? (Check out this gorgeous house from the inside too!):

   

(source)

I think I could handle that. This shot is what I imagine ours would look like from the inside:

(source)

Although I’d probably only do six panes, not nine. Or maybe I could frost them like I did the pantry door?:

So the light would still come in, but it would offer a bit of privacy?

Cause I’m totally in the one percent here:

I’m just saying. At least I recognize my insanity.

Soooo…I MUST KNOW. Do you have sidelights? Glass in your front door? A FULL glass front door like (brave!) Sarah? If you a ninja like me, could you do it? For the sake of natural light?

Do tell! I think I may at least call my contact to see what the possibilities are and what the cost is…I think. It doesn’t hurt to call…right?

Month(s) in review!

Well hello! Sorry of the lack of posting last night – we were enjoying one of our last evenings of spring break and the time got away from me. We just plain relaxed, and it was awesome after a week of getting MUCH done around here. I love that hubby and I are both homebodies and are perfectly happy to putz around our house all week, organizing, sprucing, mowing…I love it!

Anyhoo, since I’m still in vaca mode (I’ve got one more day with my boys home!), I thought I would share a couple (very) late month in reviews. I didn’t even do February and March almost got away from me.

I know you cry when I don’t do these, so I’m just thinking of you. ;)

I kicked off the love month with a display of my loves on our once-in-a-lifetime trip we took over Thanksgiving:

Then we all partied it up and  you all shared nearly 600 (wowza!) projects at the February before and after party.

I shared some inspirational pantry spaces and then how I ridded our pantry of the wire shelves (and made it a bit prettier too):

Next I made some quick and easy Valentines for the Bub to take to school:

Then I showed you my tiny obsession of taking off doors in our house, and how I cover up the hardware holes leftover:

That’s the technical term in case you didn’t know – hardware holes. ;)

We kicked off the basement project by moving some things around, and I found some (wonderful!!) new storage space under the stairs.

Next I figured out a way to use our old island countertop and get some much needed craft storage at the same time:

We partied it up again when you all showed off more than 200 closets and storage spaces in your homes at the February Show Us Your House linky. Awesome organization inspiration!

I shared some of my flower arranging tips:

And then my new favorite room in our house. And it didn’t even have walls. ;)

I added a little something (in the form of a stripe) to our living room drapes and I LOVE how they turned out!:

The framing started in the basement and we started to see the potential for the space:

I had been keeping my eye out for a settee for a long, long time, and finally I found the one when I wasn’t even looking:

You all linked up 600 fabulous projects at the March before and after shindig here, and then I updated you on how a few of my big projects and purchases from the past year or so are holding up.

Dad and I started the process of building the built-ins for the dining room using kitchen wall cabinets here:

And I shared some of my very favorite Craigslist finds in this post:

I’ve found some beauties!

I shared a bit more about me (and I’m not as weird as I thought, according to some of you!):

Next, you shared your kitchens and it may have been my favorite house party yet! (See 230 inspiring kitchens here!)

I found a couple Goodwill chairs I just couldn’t pass up, and transformed them into a totally fun and funky after:

I shared the lighting layout for the basement in this post, and showed you some of the lights I’m considering for the space. I can’t wait to get the stage where we can actually hang them!!

At the end of the month, I created a couple different looks for the front door – the grassy wreath here, and the more au natural (and free!) look here:

And we finished up the month with the Spring Fling and hundreds of spray paint projects:

Whew! I need a nap. :)

As always, I hope that maybe a little something I do inspires you in some way!

I hope you and yours have a lovely and blessed Easter!!

Dining room transformation, part 2

Hello all! I feel like everything around here is in a state of in between – so many fun projects on the horizon, but some dirty (and not as fun work) that needs to get done first!

I am NOT complaining – I’m just trying to be patient, and it is not my virtue. ;)

One of those projects is our dining room turned library that I first told you about in January. My plan was to get rid of the never-used dining room and turn it into cozy library-type space that we would actually USE.

My inspiration came from Emily’s wall of bookcases:

Wowsie wow, that is is awesome.

It’s been slow going so far, and even though I whine about it sometimes, I actually like taking projects like this at a snail’s pace. It helps me to figure how out I want things along the way.

The first step of this transformation was to get the bases (I wanted closed storage at the bottom instead of shelves like Emily’s). But we couldn’t do much with those until a big step was done – and that got done today! WHOO!

Over the past few weeks I wasn’t able to do much else in here, other than take down all of the moldings:

I ended up taking down pretty much every bit of it – the crown had to come down anyway (it will eventually wrap around the top of the bookcases) but I took down other stuff as well. I want to redo ALL of it.

I took the IKEA butcher block to get cut down a few weeks ago at a local lumber place. They cut the piece down the middle and in half:

The one piece is the PERFECT size for the base of the bookshelves (after it was cut down). That was awesome.

I plan to sand them down and stain them the same color as the floor. Once we get the cabinets installed I can get that step done!

Today the BIG project was completed – the one I had to wait on. My plan all along was to add more light to this room (we have only had the overhead light and a couple lamps in here). Because the buffet and lamps are gone, I needed to figure out a new additional light source.

I decided on four lights that will hang from the fronts of the bookcases at the top – shining down on the fronts of them. In order to do that, our electrician had to help out:

I know. Don’t you want to visit right now??

And this is how I feel like our whole house has looked for the past two weeks, as we work on the basement:

I’ve given up on cleaning until the basement is drywalled. There’s no point in trying until then. :)

Anywhoo, it looked much better by the time they were done – the guys doing all of our work are GREAT. They put everything back and went ahead and installed temporary lights so we could use them and get an idea of how they would work:

The lights are set up to hang at the middle of each bookcase – there will be four total. They will come forward a bit and the new fixtures will hang from the front of each one.

I LOVE it!! Ack! They are bare bulbs and I am already so excited.

The guys also got rid of the outlet behind the cabinets and installed two above instead:

Perfect for future Christmas decorations! And the rest of the year, they will be hidden behind books and accessories.

It’s coming together now! We’re still a long, LONG way off, but I feel like there’s been some real progress:

On a side note – I cannot believe how big this room is without that massive table! It’s HUGE.

Next up – I need to paint the ceiling. I’m so so so over the dark brown drama ceiling:

I took down the molding that used to be up there too. I want to simplify things a bit. The ceiling is going to be much brighter, but hopefully will still have some contrast with the moldings.

I’ve had the paint for two weeks and have said every day for two weeks that I’m going to paint the ceiling…and you can see that hasn’t happened.

Tomorrow…really. ;)

Dad comes later this week and we’ll attach the cabinets to each other and to the wall, then install the counters. After that, the drywall finishers are going to fix all of my drywall issues and I can PAINT!

The backs of the bookcases will be a different color than the walls. I have NO clue what color I’m doing yet. I may check out some fabric stores to see if inspiration hits me in the form of drapery fabric. :)

After all that, we can start building bookshelves and then start the superfun process of painting. Oh, and we need to move the thermostat too. WHY do they put those in such odd spots? I’ll be sure to keep you updated as we go!

I am SO excited about this room. And I am so glad we decided to take a chance and make it a space we will use!! Hang in there…hopefully it will start looking like something soon. :)

The case for the basement laundry room

Hello there! How the heck are ya? I’m GREAT cause it’s spring break for the kiddo and the hubs – and I LOVE having them both home. Problem is, hubby does things like go and buy 12 cookies from Paradise Bakery and I cannot resist them.

There aren’t many left, and it’s only been 12 hours.

So anyway, the basement progress is moving along…faster than we planned, but slower than we were told. I know that makes no sense but it will soon. It’s a waiting game now and I’m not so good at waiting!!

More on that soon. :)

I’ve mentioned a few times now that we’re doing something a bit controversial during this renovation – we’re moving the washer and dryer to the basement.

Some of you are like whatev.

Some are all, ohhhh, I love it!

Some of you are FREAKING OUT ON ME.

I know.

A long, long time ago, when the idea of moving the washer and dryer started to form in my head, I planned to move them up to our master closet.

It’s a big closet and I figured we could access the bathroom plumbing to make it happen.

But then I started talking to professionals – three service guys total. They all about had a conniption and said if they could go up or down, they’d all go down to the basement, no questions asked. Every one of them had seen obscene water damage from an upstairs washer and dryer and their stories sceeeeered me.

We’ve never had water issues with our washer…and I’m hoping not many of you have either. But with our luck, as soon as we moved them, something would happen. Mark my words.

So I started considering going downstairs with them…someday. The basement wasn’t in the works yet, and I knew I’d have to wait till it was.

Why even move the washer and dryer you ask? Well, we’ve lived here eight years, and there are certain things you figure out in eight years. Like what works (most of our house) and what doesn’t:

This is called keeping it real people. Keeping. it real.

I have tried and tried and TRIED for years to make a combined mud/laundry room work for our family. It just doesn’t. Did I mention I’ve tried? I have.

Doesn’t work. For us.

The first surface we see when we walk in is the washer and dryer, so that’s where everything gets placed. And it’s where everything that needs to go OUT gets placed too.

And oh yeah, the laundry:

But making room for laundry means moving stuff that’s coming in or out and piling it on each other and then putting the laundry on the washer, but then you need to move it to put it in the dryer, so it goes on the floor, but then you can’t open the dryer and then you can’t open the garage door to come in or go out so it’s JUST A DISASTER PEOPLE.

I know, it’s easy to tell us to just keep up with all…put it away or take it out or fold it right away. Well, we just don’t. Hate us.

We are pilers. Proud of it.

OK, not really. Really, we hang our heads in shame. But we are what we are and we don’t know how to fix us.

This room functions as coat hanging, shoe piling, laundry doing, folding and hanging. A place to put stuff that needs to be returned to the store, the trash piles up to go out to the garage, a spot for the dog stuff and then the food for the animals and every once and a while I like to hang my keys on a hook. And the keys are about the only thing I can find. 

The room needs to be everything. And therefore does nothing well. Forget well, even OK.

Bottom line, this room does very little for our peace of mind. This what we see when we walk in every day:

And I actually cleaned up a bit for you. No lie.

Some of you smarties will notice the message on the two chalkboards in this space haven’t changed in two years. That’s because we usually can’t even get to them, let alone find a piece of chalk in there.

Sooo…the basement it is. It’ll be the room with hearts fluttering out of it:

I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited about a change to our house…ever. I am not even kidding. I cannot WAIT to have a completely dedicated space for the laundry and then just a mud room.

It’s twice, yes TWICE the joy! :)

This, like everything we do, was not without tons of thought and discussion…over years time. The thing is, the new laundry is only a mere 14 steps (stairs) further away than now – not even that really. The washer and dryer will be one level lower, but even closer to the stairway than they were before.

I can handle an extra 14 steps. And if I find out I can’t, I’ll eat my words and let you know. But I don’t think I’ll be eating anything other than some popcorn in the basement while I relax and wait for the laundry to dry. ;)

We have a plan for a little somethin’ that will make this move even more enjoyable – a laundry chute. I’m so stinkin’ excited about it! I think I found the perfect spot for one, but it’s going to take some work. More on that soon.

Until then, I’ll be dreaming of my laundry and mud rooms (separate, GLEE!!) – and the ideas are flowing. This mud room with the hidden shoe storage is a MUST:

(Found this on Pinterest and the link didn’t work. If you know the source please let me know!)

I can’t stop thinking about it! We’ll gain 15 square feet of space in the mud room when the washer and dryer are moved out – more than enough space to build something like this.

Sigh. Patience…I’m doing my best to try it out.

So, I know many of you think I’ve lost my marbles. Do you have a main floor laundry? Upstairs? Basement? Do you love where yours is or would you change it if you could? Have you changed it?

I’d love to hear!

April Before and After Party!

Hello hello! I am back among the computer living! WHOO! My hubby was able to get my computer to work some last week, but then it went completely kaput. My BFF’s husband was able to shine ‘er up this weekend and it’s working awesome now!

I’m so relieved. :) Not having a computer brings on the shakes, I tell you what.

It’s time for the APRIL Before and After Party! First of all, can I get a what what? When the heck did April happen?

Before we get going with your links, I like to show off a few of the amazing projects from last month.

There were a couple bathroom redos I just had to share – first up was Michelle’s powder room:

   

Look carefully – they only changed a few things! The mirror, the sconces and a newly painted ceiling. Sometimes it is very much the little things that make a BIG difference!

I was absolutely swooning over Beth’s powder room redo – it is stunning!:

This dramatic redo was largely courtesy of wallpaper – both the beautiful blue design on top, and the beadboard wallpaper on the bottom. Fantastic!

I am in love with Shelley’s new big girl room for her cutie:

Isn’t that tufted headboard amazing? It’s super thick – I love it. Go here to find out more about this sweet space!

Jaime gives a bunch of details on her top to bottom kitchen redo in this post:

 

They took down a wall to open up the space and it’s so bright and beautiful! Be sure to check out their fun mudroom solution as well!

Yes Virginia (or Squeezie), you can paint laminate. Jessica shows her AWESOME before and after here:

    

Wowza! Some good primer, a little (OK, a lot of) patience, and talk about a transformation! It looks like the original hardware is still on there – and it looks SO good now!

**If you’d like to pin these awesome projects, I ask you go to the source and pin from there!

OK peeps, it’s time to see what you’ve been up to this month! I can’t wait to check them out!

As always, if you’d like to be considered for next month’s highlights, please link to this post in yours. I think I finally have code to grab…faint. I can’t believe it.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.simplehomeinteriordesign.blogspot.com/" title="TDC Before and After" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/beforeAndAfterButton_thumb1.gif" alt="TDC Before and After" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Thanks Beth!! :)

OK, here we go! Link it up baby.

Winners! (And computers hate me.)

Please, someone PLEASE hold me back from throwing the computer in a lake. I’ve fought with one computer all week and now I’m on our archaic one and it’s power cord is jacked so it shuts down randomly while I type.
…like just now.
Technology hates me.
Anyway, I hope you’ll understand the reason for this brief post tonight, and I hope to be back shortly (maybe even this weekend if I can get one computer working) with a new post. :)
I wanted to make sure to announce the four lucky winners of recent giveaways!
The two $50 winners of the Rusted Chain giveaway are:

1. Holly at Hollyprobably AT hotmail DOT com
2. Megan at megankrous(at)yahoo(dot)com
And the two winners of the Antique Farm House giveaway are:

1. Dawn from Dabble with Dawn
2. Kristi at kgirl418(at)gmail(dot)com
…OK I’m back. Shut down again. :)
Whew. I’m not pushing my luck anymore – I am outtie. ;) I hope you have a lovely weekend and may your computers be nice to you.