Refreshing the living room

Hello there! I hope you had a fantastic weekend! It was a good one here – I got SO much done. And had some fun. Just the right mix. ;)

I’ve been making some changes to the living room over the past year or so and I am really loving how it’s coming along. I know living rooms are typically more “fancy,” but I don’t really want fancy in our house. It’s a big, open room so we spend quite a bit of time out there. The Bub plays in the living room more than he does any other room downstairs, so it needs to be comfy. Even though I don’t want fancy, I do like this space to have a little flair.

As some of you know, we got new hardwoods last fall, courtesy of a fridge leak and great insurance. (It so would not have happened otherwise.)

The floors made a HUGE difference in that space, but I’ve really wanted a rug all this time. I’ve been looking for MONTHS and I finally found the right one. I started with a cream rug back in January from World Market, and I loved it – but once I put it down I knew it was too small (6.9 by 9.6 I think). And the day I got it, a visitor came in with shoes on and I had some major sweats. I didn’t want to live worrying about the dirt that would show.

So it went back, and the floor has been bare again. :) I decided I wanted to go with a natural material like a jute, because it would hold up well and I love the look of them. But it was the feel I was worried about, so I researched a TON, read a lot of reviews and tested a few out in the stores.

And then I waited for a sale. ;)

Last week I got the ONE:

I went with the 8 by 10 size and it was on sale for just over $400 – one of the best deals I’ve found!

I loved that it was the natural look, but had two different colors and had just a slight design to it:

I was afraid a full jute rug would be the exact same color as our sofa and wash everything out, so when I got home with this one I realized it was a good call:

I have a very confusing relationship with that couch – I love that it’s nice and deep and the cushions are oh-so-comfy. I struggle big time with the color and the fabric. I would have had it recovered by now, the the back cushions are sewed on. NICE. I may still do it, I just need to check out my options.

AnyHOO…lately, I’ve decided to just work with the color, not against it. And that’s another reason I really, really like this rug. It pulls in the color of the couch and makes it not stand out as much.

It’s way softer than sisal, and softer than most jute rugs I’ve looked at. It’s not baby butt soft or anything, but it’s not bad at all to sit on (which is good for the kiddo):

And it’s like a little foot massage when you walk on it. :)

I love that keeps this room from getting too serious – the fringe on the ends helps with that:

The 8 by 10 size is perfect for this space – at first I had it running the opposite way, and it wasn’t right. It’s amazing how switching the direction of your rug can make a HUGE difference in a room! Try it. ;)

I like that it goes under the sofa just a bit:

You can see I don’t accessorize our coffee tables. (This one is from Garden Ridge.) Around here, a flat surface is a Lego surface, so really, there’s no point. :)

I put it under the sofa a bit because I didn’t want the rug to go under the desk chair on the other side of the room:

I don’t think I’ve shown you this desk yet! I got it about a year ago at HomeGoods and luuuuurve it. It’s such a pretty little piece. I have a plan to change it up a bit, but I’ve had that plan for almost a year now and it hasn’t happened yet soooooo, I’m showing you the desk. ;)

For years, a chair that went with the sofa sat in that corner. Lately I’ve wanted to try and create more “vignettes” in this space – it’s a big room with soaring ceilings and it didn’t feel cozy to me before. Now it feels so much warmer – I adore this desk and how different it makes the space look!:

I did a tiny bit of rearranging by moving the round table over in the corner:

For no other reason than I just wanted to move something around. ;) I never move furniture in our house, so even a little table feels like I did something BIG.     

So this space is one of my favorite before and afters. Early on it looked like this:

We really loved it at the time, just like everything in this house. I love (most) changes every step of the way, but it sure is fun to see how different the same room looks years later:

A couple of winters ago I started the process by adding new window treatments (that I made myself) and adding a dresser (that was in the Bub’s nursery) to brighten it up a bit:

And now it’s really come together:

It’s taken a few years of waiting for the right pieces and I’m SO glad I've been patient. Sometimes it’s a good thing it takes me forever and a day to do anything.

There’s still a BIG project I want to work on next, and it involves the walls. And ladders. OH MY.

I think picking out a rug is one of the hardest decorating choices, hands down. Do you? Part of it is the cost issue, but it’s also because they make a HUGE statement in a room!

**You can see how I made the terrariums on the desk here.
**Check out the DIY Pottery Barn pillows on the cheap here.
**And more about the bookcase here! 

I think I have a problem

Do you ever have one of those days/weeks/months where it seems like everything in your house/life is a total disaster? Not relationship-wise, but clutter and crap-wise?

Like you go to look for something, and for the fifth time in one day, you can’t find it because your closet/car/desk is a total and complete and utter DISASTER?

And do you feel like a horrible wife and mom at those moments?

I do. I have them about once a week (on a good week) and those are the moments when I declare to the heavens (sometimes with a fist to the air) that I am going to get my life completely decluttered and organized once and for all DANGIT.

And then I get back in my messy car and go to Michael’s and leave the bags of Michael’s stuff in there for three days and totally forget my cry to the heavens.

Well, not completely. I had one of those moments this week, and today I started on a couple of my problem areas – the dirty clothes in the master closet and the numerous stacks of magazines around the house.

I did four loads of laundry this morning before we left for the day (and put them away – that’s double points or something) and then this evening I started on one of the big issues in our house.

The itty bitty problem I have:

Yep, the magazines. And catalogs. I can’t let go of them, but I don’t have time to read them. So I keep them, thinking that I’ll miss out on something:

I may just shrivel up and DIE if I don’t see that one thing, dontcha know. So I keep them. You know, for that day I dream up in my head where I will have time to leisurely sit around under an umbrella outside with a fruity drink in hand and will go through all of them. Birds will sing. And pigs will fly.

You know. That day.

I do this about once a year, if not more. The piles in the bedroom, family room and bathroom (oh come on, you know you have them there too) get to be too much, and I just have to bring them all to one spot to start the decrapification.

A BIG part of the problem is catalogs. I’m in lurrrve with catalogs. The are free and chock full of inspiration. Like blogs. ;)

This time I found one full of summer inspiration, but it was LAST summer:

That’s a toss. As much as it hurts me. Physically hurts people.

As much as I love Christmas, I tossed that catalog too. But I kept the Halloween one. Because I paid for that one:

It only makes sense. ;) And it’s only five months away you know.

I also found not one but TWO “house” lists I’ve made:

That one is from two years ago I think? The second list I found was one I made after I couldn’t find this one. So that’s awesome.

Tonight I had kind of had it. I needed to get control of at least one out of control thing around here. I did a super fast purge, which included putting every single catalog or beauty mag in the recycle pile:

I didn’t even look at them, I just put them in the pile. My heart can’t take actually looking at them. (Mind you, I’ve already looked at them. I keep them for just in case I missed something I want to tear out. It’s a GREAT process.) ;)

When I get to this point with the mags/catalogs, I always give myself a rule and don’t buy anymore new ones till I get through them. I’m pretty good at sticking to that, but Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, West Elm and IKEA are not. They just keep sending me more.

And that’s as far as I got…for today. I went from 140 to about 70:

I’ll separate them and go through a few at time, when I have time. Some, like House Beautiful or Traditional Home I may keep and place on the bookshelves in our transformed dining room. (Someday.)

But I need to get through them soon, so I can buy some more. It’s almost time for the July issues you know. ;)

So tell me I’m not alone. Do you have those mini freak out moments when you feel like ever.y.thing. is a total mess? Do you swear you’re going to organize your life perfectly every time? Do you hoard magazines and catalogs like me?

Show us your kids rooms!

Hello there! It’s time to share another space in your house! I can’t wait to browse through this party, because this month we’re showing off the fun and pretty spaces that are all about our schmushy faces – the kids:

Both nurseries and older kids spaces are welcome! I’ll kick it off with another little trip down memory lane -- the Bub’s nursery was an absolute joy to create:

*wipes a tear

It was so serene and peaceful and one of my favorite parts of the room were the stripes:

The were three different tones of an apple green that I just fell in love with. My Dad and I did a lot of work on this room together when I was pregnant so it has especially special memories for me. :)

A few years ago I knew it was time to change it up, cause darn it, the child was growing. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed transforming the space:

I am so not a primary colors kind of girl, but it just felt classic and timeless and right.

The walls are navy blue, but all of the white trim keeps it from getting too dark:

That’s a cat in the window, not a stuffed animal. He loves the room too. ;)

Not much has changed in here, I love it that much. We added a duvet cover and the Legos have started to make their way in here too:

Recently I took the rocker out of there to make more space, but I can’t bring myself to get rid of it quite yet. For now it’s in the playroom. :)

It did free up a ton of space by the window, so the window seat is finally going to happen! I can’t wait to get that started:

You can see more about the nursery (sigh) here and much more about the Bub’s airplane-themed space here.

Now let’s see your munchkin’s spaces!

I’d love a link back to this post or TDC, especially if you’d like to be considered in a highlight post!:

<div align="center"><a href="http://simplehomeinteriordesign.com/" title="Show Us Your House" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/image34.png" alt="Thrifty Decor Chick" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

And here’s the schedule for the rest of the year:

June (outdoor spaces), July (bathrooms), August (family rooms), September (basements/rec rooms), October (bedrooms, guest or master), November (foyers), December (mud/laundry rooms)

The Laundry List

Hey all! I hope you had a lovely weekend! Mine was jam-packed – we fit in a baseball game, strawberry picking, a Costco trip for the moms (and some kids), a couple naps, two ice cream trips, eating out (uhh, a LOT) and a trip to Lowe’s and the nursery for my Mother’s Day gifts. Oh yeah!

I am slowly but surely filling in the landscaping around our patio and I’m really excited about it. I’ve actually been completely focused on the outside all spring – very little has happened inside lately. Sorry. ;) I’m getting to it, I swear.

I’ll show you the landscaping progress soon, but for now, I wanted to update you on my to do list I wrote about here. I’m doing pretty good with it. Well, OK. I think I've knocked about seven things off the list. It’s been almost three weeks. I’d say that’s pretty good. Or…not?

;)

Well anyway, one of the biggest (and most expensive) projects was one in the laundry room. I’ve wanted to replace those metal utility doors forever:

I don’t have a great pic of the before but they were just awful. I’ve loathed them for eight years now. They were cheap, scratched up, loud and there was a huge gap at the bottom and the top of the doors.

Our HVAC system is inside, so every time the air or heat ran they would rattle. Annoying.

So they needed to go. They were on a track at the top and bottom:

The builder went wild and crazy with the molding too. Sooo fancy. ;) (That will be replaced soon.)

And another reason I didn’t care for those doors was the track on the bottom collected all kinds of dust and yuck. I picked up a couple new doors at Lowe’s with the hope I could just use the track that was already there, at least on top.

But when I assembled the doors and tried it, I quickly realized that wasn’t happening. Of course.

And I realized another issue – the doors were the exact same size, but because the hardware was different, the new doors were way too short for the space.

So I had to grab a couple 1 by 6’s (primed thankyouverymuch) and cut them to size to go right over the ones that were already there on top and bottom:

Please excuse the massive amounts of dust. I don’t clean in there. Or many places lately.

This made the vertical space just a skosh smaller, so the doors would fit. 

I grabbed some drywall screws:

And screwed them in on top and bottom:

The flat head on drywall screws are perfect for something like this because they sink into the wood. I filled each spot and now there’s no sign I did anything:

Other than the unsanded wood filler. Oh well. I’ll just add it to my list. ;)

I installed the new hardware, which is just a track at the top for each door and one little bracket at the bottom, so it’s much cleaner looking.

The doors came with two knobs, but I wanted something a little nicer so I grabbed a few more of the pulls I used on the kitchen island redo:

Because all of the HVAC stuff is back there, we had to go with louvered doors.

I do think I’ll paint the doors when the room gets painted:

Probably the same color as the walls? I’m not sure yet.

It is a HUGE improvement aesthetically, and they are easier to operate and they don’t rattle. Bonus!

This project was a total of about $160 – I think each door was $70 and the pulls were about $20 total. It was the most expensive item on my list, so I’m glad to have it out of the way!

This is another check off the laundry list for the laundry room. (Get it? Laundry list? Laundry room? OK, forget it.) Once we get the washer and dryer moved out, it will officially become a mud room, (hurrah!!) and I can get moving on painting, baseboards, built ins.

At this rate this will happen in 2019. So many projects to do first!

Here’s an update on the to do list I wanted to complete before the end of May:

1. Candelabra in master bath
2. Drapery hardware in master bath
3. Paint second handle on stairway
4. Paint baseboard by fireplace
5. Install small quarter round by fireplace
6. Fill holes in quarter round on stairs
7. Clean up around house – wood, flowers
8. Paint beadboard by fridge in kitchen
9. Paint trim around chalkboard in kitchen
10. Prime dining room
11. Get carpets cleaned upstairs
12. Sand and reoil butcher block
13. Repaint corbel in kitchen
14. Hem (and line?) family room drapes
15. Fill holes and paint spot on loft wall
16. Rehang Bub photo in office
17. Replace doors in laundry room
18. Change out last brass doorknob upstairs
19. Paint trim/fix drywall by back door
20. Figure out how to make powder room presentable.
21. Hang roman shade in guest room
22. Go through shoes in laundry room
23. Fix trim under back door
24. Trim burning bushes
25. Fill holes and seams in crown in family/kitchen
26. Fix chair in kitchen
27. Add trim around basement door casing
28. Paint trim around laundry door casing
29. Paint cabinets in dining room
30. CLEAN LIKE I’VE NEVER CLEANED BEFORE

It’s not going as fast as I had hoped, but it feels good to get some of these things DONE.

The bushes no longer attack visitors when they walk up to the door:

And the holes in the molding on the stairs are filled:

It only took two years.

You’ll notice the majority of projects I have left to do are PAINTING projects. I would really appreciate it if a gaggle of elves would show up overnight and get that taken care of.

Umkay.

So are you surprised at my progress? In a good way? No? ;) I know many of you made lists when I did – how are yours coming along?

I have gotten a ton more done than just those items crossed off, they just weren’t on the list. And now I may hit pause on it to work on a BIG project in the family room. After I plant a tree and six more plants in the backyard.

I. am. crazy.

And I love it!! :)

Giveaway Weekend!

**This giveaway is now closed!

Congrats to winners:

1. hazelhatcher1(at)aol(dot)com
2. Michelle (carpoolmch(at)aol(dot)com

 

Well peeps, this is probably the most special giveaway I’ve ever done, because it involves one of the most special people in my life – my BFF. :)

And when I say BFF, I mean, my real, true, I’ve known her for 25 years, best friend. (And I had to count that out a few times because, really, there is no way we’re old enough for it to have been 25 years. Yipes.)

I’ve got lots of women I consider to be my best friends – some from high school, some from college, some from work.

But Erin and I have been best friends since 6th grade and have been through everything together. From our undying love of NKOTB since then back then, to marching band rehearsals in high school, her family taking me in and loving me like their own, college years spent hours apart but still close, marriages, babies, the very good and the very bad, she’s been my one:

   

She’s one of the best people I know and one of the hardest working. Erin has been an elementary teacher for about 14 years now and if you know a teacher you know the special kind of person that requires. She’s an ahhhhmazing mommy, an awesome wife and the BEST friend anyone could ever hope for.

She took on a second job last year (told you – she works her tail off) and that’s why we’re here today. :) Erin has been an advisor for Lia Sophia for almost a year now:

I LOVE this jewelry, and now it’s an awesome perk that she sells it. ;) I’ve accumulated quite a few of their pretties and wanted to share a few that I have and a few I may have to add to my collection.

They have EVERYTHING – really. I’ll share a few of the basics -- these bracelets are all super fun (as always, you can click on each pic to get to the item):

I especially love the aqua and magenta ones for summer! How fun! And sassy!

They have a HUGE selection of necklaces – these are just a few of my favorites:

   

 

I LOVE that As You Wish pendant on the upper left! I have the Natural Charm on the middle bottom (love that you can wear it long or toggle it to wear it short) and the Reflection on the bottom right is so FUN and dainty and sparkly.

And of course, there are the earrings. I’m an earrings girl – I can go out with next to no makeup, but I at least like to have earrings on. I’m weird.

I own each one of these:

 

One is for a night out, one is a little more demure and one is just a good hoop. Everybody needs a go-to hoop, don’t you agree? :) (About half of my earrings are hoops, I can’t get enough of them.)

Well because my BFF rocks, we are giving away TWO $50 credits to her Lia Sophia shop this weekend! Yes, I know. She is the bees knees.

How perfect for Mother’s Day! I know it’s too late to arrive as a gift, but ummm, hello? The best gift is sometimes the one you buy for yourself, am I right? So you new mommas, seasoned mommas, grandmommas, soon-to-be mommas, wifes or if you are just plain FEMALE, you deserve it. :)

I said so. So it is true.

There’s an awesome special running this month – if you buy two items (anything!), you get a third half off. And that half off comes off the MOST expensive piece of jewelry. AND, if you take advantage of that offer, you can also get up to three more bracelets or necklaces for half off.

Whooty HOO, that is awesome! If you have any questions, please feel free to email Erin – you can contact her here or using her email that is listed at the top of the web page. (You may need to click on “browse our jewelry” when you first get to the site, then enter “Erin Merrill” to look up the hostess. From there you are able to order easily.)

Here’s how to enter to win $50 to spend as you wish at Lia Sophia:
1. Leave a comment here. What do you have planned for Mother’s Day weekend?

2. Visit the Erin’s Lia Sophia site here. Check out the jewelry by clicking “by catalog” or the type of jewelry on the left. Take a look around, then come back here to let us know the item you love the most. **Again, if it asks you to enter a party hostess, enter “Erin Merrill.”

* You can enter one or both times – it’s up to you! Both options are not mandatory to win.

* Remember if you comment anonymously or you have a private blog, please include your email address in each entry, and spell it out with “at” and “dot” to avoid any spammy emails coming your way.

This giveaway is open to US residents only and will be open till this Monday, May 14 at noon EST.

I hope every one of you, mothers or not, have an absolutely lovely Mother’s Day!!