Fun Stuff

Some little fun things around the house! I used the stencil from Jones Design Company to jazz up one wall in my closet.
I picked up this deviled egg plate a few months ago at an antique shop, and then saw in a magazine that someone had used it for earrings and things which I thought was a great idea!
Eventually, my closet will have a wall of jewelry board frames a lot like this one. I have used a jewelry board before and find it really convenient, so I like the idea of having a whole bunch of them!
I got this chest of drawers at a thrift shop for $15, and painted the outside and the inside!
Another find from the antique shop- he looked so much like Mo that I had to have him!
Mo decided to help us paint the other day! There were paw prints on the wall and floor, and his paws are still covered in paint!

In Progress....

Just a quick update on the little jobs that we have been doing at the house!

This was the laundry room when I moved in, and I am in the process of turning it into a walk-in closet!

I still need to add a more permanent storage area where the clothes rack is, and some hooks and shelves, but it's getting there!

The loft/attic is almost a functioning room now, too! Thanks to plenty of paintable wall paper and some elbow grease it went from this...


To this...


The living room has been our big focus in the past week or so. It isn't livable yet, but it has come a long way! We ripped the drywall off the ceiling to expose the tongue and groove ceiling underneath. It is primed in this picture, but not painted. The fireplace needs to be painted white, the floor sanded, and a light fixture installed before I move furniture in.

Decisions, Decisions...

So my hand has been forced and it's officially time to choose paint colours for the house. Really, I only need to paint the little half-bath/laundry room but because it's a small house, I want to make sure the rooms are cohesive to some degree! The two main/semi-open concept rooms are the kitchen and living room and I'm thinking that they will be two shades of the same colour (darker in the living room and lighter in the kitchen).
Here are some of the colours I'm feeling. I'm thinking something warm and beige/tan but not too pink or too grey.

My new obsession... MOODBOARDS!

Well, being a big fan of Young House Love I can't believe it took me so long to become completely obsessed with making these! The site is in dutch, so it's a little tricky, but once you figure it out... watch out! So addictive. While things like plumbing and wiring are going on at the house, I've been busy getting ahead of myself with the "pretty" end of things. I've made lots of these already and they're actually helping me focus (despite the moodboards being really busy and full). There are so many cool ideas in magazines and online that I was feeling a little overwhelmed. Anyway, for those who care... check 'em out!

The Floor plan

Here is the layout of the house as it was when I moved in. I thought a floor plan was a bit easier to understand than a series of pictures.

It is a story and a half so the sketchy little loft bedroom is just above the living room.

Here we go!

Hello everyone! On October 27th I became the (sort of) proud owner of a very old, rundown house! I'm very excited, but have a lot of work ahead of me. It is a big time fixer upper; luckily I have lots of free helpers and plenty of ideas for this house. Mostly it just needs lots of love. Here are some pictures of the place as it was the day I moved in!

The front porch/sunroom- obviously needs a lot of work but is handy to block some sound from the busy road out front. Note the lovely "dusty rose" blinds (the very dusty, "dusty rose" blinds!).

The living room- off of the front sun porch, the colours are horrible but under that ugly carpet is a beautiful hardwood floor. Work has begun on ripping out some of those bricks and eventually they will be painted! Just to the right of the fireplace is a door that leads up these sketchy stairs to this sketchy room. It will eventually be a spare room for guests and an office for me!

The next room should be the kitchen, but I don't have pictures of it yet really because it has had stuff in it since about five minutes after I first went in! This is the best I can do for now... sorry! Perhaps the most unattractive thing ever!

Over MY left shoulder in this picture, behind that door was a "mudroom" for lack of a better word that will become the laundry room/half bath very soon. It was pretty nasty when I moved in- check it out. Connected to the mudroom is a really cool, old built-in cupboard that just needs some love to make it super cool. It will be exposed to the kitchen when all is said and done. Next is the master bedroom, although it's not much of a master. It has a laundry room attached to it now which may end up being a closet. It also has the only bathroom in the house.

Check out the faux bois curtain in my bathroom! Where do you even FIND someting like that?

So that is the house as it was but there are projects underway at the moment so things are changing fast! I'll post some project specific photos soon! What do you think? Do I stand a chance of making this place liveable?