Quick DIY Project

We have gorgeous built-in cabinets in our upstairs sitting room that flank both sides of a fireplace (non working right now). Since we moved in I’ve been wanting to rip off and replace the dark, dingy wallpaper that the previous owners used to line the back of the cabinets. It kept falling to the very bottom of the list, but when my mom booked a short weekend trip to visit I decided she was the perfect person to help me tackle the project.

I chose a light wallpaper from Home Depot (online) called Leaf Toss. Once activated with water the back was self adhesive. No wallpaper glue or special equipment necessary…just careful measuring and patience since the shelves do not come out.

At first I was a little disappointed that the leaf pattern was so fair, but in the end it looks really pretty and behind our glassware and paned glass cabinet doors. Overall theĀ aesthetic met my goal to quickly and easily lighten and freshen up the cabinets. Unfortunately, the cabinets are not wired for under-the-shelf lighting, so I would like to pick up some of those sticky press lights to turn on when we are entertaining.

Thank you mom for all of your help and wallpaper measurement and application expertise!

In other news, the basement progress has been remarkable. Mike’s amazing drywall mudding and re-texturing work is just days away from completion. Then, we paint! Cue happy dance. I am excited to share some pictures soon.

Basement Decor Concepts

I should post a picture of the basement right now…it’s torn to shreds. Maybe later this week I’ll be brave enough to do so. Until then, let’s stick with my area of interest and leave the plaster patching debacles to my DIY hero Mike.

We have two Pottery Barn glass lamps that will move from the upstairs down to the basement TV room when complete. I think they will fit much better down there, and the earthy, sea glass color (Jade if you click through the link above) is beginning to inspire how I envision the room coming together.

 

The bulk of the room will be white (TV cabinet, bookshelves, office area) and right now I’m leaning towards a soft cream on the walls so that I do not get sick of a paint color in years to come. But cheery, light-catching accents and decorations will be critical for tricking the eye and making the room appear brighter and more airy than it really is given the small sub-ground windows.

I don’t want it to be beachy (no shells) but shades of blue and green/blue are colors I’ve never decorated with before and I feel like they are very basement friendly. I’ll be enlisting my decor GENIUS friend Kimbra to ensure I’m on the right track though.

We’ll be stuck with the bulk of the furniture we have now given budget limitations but I would like to get rid of our black, very scratched coffee table (and matching scratched end table) ASAP and replace those with two side tables in a natural, earthy wood that compliments the white cabinetry. Right now I am loving the table below from Overstock.com.

Source: overstock.com via Alexis on Pinterest

 

I may steer clear of a true coffee table altogether since the space is relatively small.

One area where I am extremely stumped is artwork. There will be one main wall to decorate behind the couch. The wall is the focal point from either way you enter the room (through the guest bedroom or laundry room). We had one big picture hanging there but I think a collage of framed artwork and a few small mirrors may play better given the low ceilings. Inspiration & decor advice welcome ~ just leave a comment below!

 

Pin of the Week: Terrariums

 

I really need to stop pinning pictures of terrariums to my Green Thumb Envy Pinterest board and just make one, or a bunch, happen already. I think a small cluster of three like this one from Lavender and Lemon Drops could look gorgeous in our TV room once the basement facelift is done. Isn’t every room (or at least one) in a house supposed to have something living? We have none.

West Elm has some beautiful options, and I really like the terrariums with a wooden base for an added feeling of “natural.”

Are they easy to care for? Any tips to get started? I’m clueless!

Pin of the Week: Truth

Source: etsy.com via Alexis on Pinterest

 

This picture says it all. Mike and I are both super busy at work and I have little motivation to clean past the bathroom. I cannot stand a dirty bathroom of any kind.

The basement facelift is moving forward but at a slow pace since Mike is tackling it solo at night and on weekends. I admire his after-hours DIY work ethic but wish some extra cash would magically appear in our saving account so we could just hire it all out. All of our furniture has been moved out of the TV room so the rest of the basement is a disaster. Our gigantic TV is now temporarily in our room and I swear I might have a seizure from how big/close the screen is to our bed.

I am keeping a smile on my face and not inviting anyone over to our house until this is done.

Please pardon our mess, my continued lack of blogging and a generalĀ absence from social media. For the first time in years, chronicling every moment on Facebook, the blog and Twitter is not top-of-mind.

Friday’s Pin of the Week: Crafty

For our wedding I wanted anything but a traditional guest book. At some point in the planning process I stumbled across the idea of having guests sign postcards, which in turn, get mailed to you throughout the year. I never needed a guest book idea after reading that. For the year leading up to the wedding Mike and I collected postcards on all of our trips, and enlisted friends and family to do the same, eventually collecting postcards from nearly every place we have ever been together.

Today, about a month shy of our first wedding anniversary, we are still receiving postcards, which my mom sends sporadically every few weeks. It has been so much fun to read everyone’s well wishes, jokes and lovely advice for keeping the love and respect forever nurtured in a marriage. The postcards can put a smile on my face even after the toughest of days.

But our cards aren’t displayed in any creative way, which is a total waste in my opinion! So when I saw the picture below I thought, that could work for us! Maybe it is something I’ll tackle this summer…

Do you have any other idea for how we can display our guest book postcards?

Source: google.com via Alexis on Pinterest

Dreaming of Decor

“The house” is not ours yet. (Disclaimer: the picture of the house on earlier blog posts is not the one we are buying. Those are just stock photos from Flickr!). Appraisal and financing have to go well and closing – which I keep hearing is going to take all day – has to be perfect.

But try telling this gal to stopping looking at her “If I Owned a Home…” Pinterest boards. Yeah right.

Anthropologie Chandelier

Source: Pinterest

Source: Pinterest

Source: Pinterest

The problem though that I have with so many home decor blogs and photo sites is how expensive everything is that they feature. I am grateful to have found Young House Love and hopefully others that will inspire me to see what is possible and realistic on a small budget over time.

Rome was not built in a day, nor will we have enough furniture in a day to fill all of the rooms. It is actually better that we can’t rush out and buy everything we will need because I do not want a matchy matchy house. I want to collect beautiful things and for the first time, discover our unique style. Not the style of things that have been passed down and packed, then repacked, and displayed since college.

Just some ramblings from a very excited, eager and anxious first-time home owner.

Happy Saturday!

You Spend How Much on Dry Cleaning?

dry cleaning
Mike and I are house hunting. As in, stalking and talking about houses 24/7. That means we are also pouring over our finances to make sure we are in a responsible place to make such a huge purchase…and that means I’ve had to come to grips with every dollar that does out of my wallet. Shoes, wine store purchases, brunch with the girls. We’re analyzing it all.

Um, can we talk about how much I spend on dry cleaning monthly? I won’t tell you the amount, but it is obscene. So I’ve decided that dry cleaning is an area I need to take control of and drastically reduce my spending.

Here are a few blog posts that give me hope about other more wallet (and eco) friendly options…

The last article also led me to The Laundress, a blog that somehow manages to make doing laundry chic and sexy. Who knew that was possible?!

This weekend I plan to explore the joys of hand washing and possibly, using a product like Dryel, to see if I can get a little more frugal in my dry cleaning expenditures.

Do you dry clean everything or choose DIY home cleaning alternatives for some pieces?

Blog Love ~ Nov. 6

UK love
One of my favorite things is when I stumble across a brand new blog that instantly pulls me in and gets added to my bookmarks. This week two sites jumped out at me and I am so happy to have found them.

Fairy Tales are True is a beautiful site written by a woman who has overcome so much. Her travels and incredible fashion sense are addicting.

Speaking of addicting, I have a feeling that when we buy our first home, Young House Love is going to be a blog I obsess over daily. Talk about talented and creative! This couple turned a DIY passion into a full-time career and share dozens of “doable” ideas accompanied by fantastic before and after pictures. My fears about buying a house that needs “some love” subsided when I realized all of the projects we can do (over time of course) to truly make it our own. EXCITING!

This week I also could not get enough of…

Have a lovely Sunday!

 

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