Getting There...

Over the weekend the Mr and I tackled a few more projects around the house. Nothing to earth shattering, but just enough to make this place feel a little more like home. To begin we finally installed all the vent covers, outlet covers, and light switch covers although every time I turn a corner it seems I find one we missed. I have a few long and narrow vent covers that I still need to paint, because apparently they don't make them anymore. So grateful I kept them! We hung a few pieces of art and our chalkboard. As you can see we still have happy christmas on it. Ha. I'll change it up once I buy some new chalk. The Mr painted the door Tricorn Black by Sherwin Williams for Lowe's. It was a game changer. We had the pendant light hung and it's beyond gorgoeus in person. My favorite may be the way it looks from the outside. Still a million more steps to go, but at least it no longer looks like we just moved in.

You can see where we started here.

chalkboard | pendant light | chairs west elm {similar}

Another Not So Exciting Project Done...

I am quickly learning during this renovation process some things aren't the funnest to do or even make the most impact. This is one of those projects. The highlight though is that it does check another thing off my mile long list and it was free. This house had decades worth of tv and telephone wires hanging on the back of the house. They were contained in plastic tubing but it was deteriorating and we simply did not need them. 

BEFORE:

DURING:

My sweet papa has been helping us with projects here and there. He truly was the force behind getting us in the house in time from the very beginning. He came earlier this week to fix a leaky spout that was outside and then we decided to tackle all the hanging wires. Between the back of the house and the basement we pulled two industrial sized garbage bags full of no longer in use wires. I honestly got a kick out of chasing down wires to see what was good or not. I swear I would have made quite the contractor in another life.

AFTER:

So much better right? Such a simple thing to make the house look clean and less scary. Still on my to do list is to pull all the current plants in the around the house planters and add rosemary. I can only imagine what our back yard will smell like then! I am also thinking a tin roof would give me all the heart emojis. I am so trying to remember this is a long term project and can't all be done in a day or year for that matter. Baby steps.

string lights can be found here. We went with the black wire.

PROGRESS - BACK OF THE HOUSE

If you recall the back of the house consists of the bedrooms and two bathrooms. The house is in an "L" shape so through the doors on the left is the yard. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE those doors and windows? So here are the rest of the un-styled as we live currently images...

The Mr REALLY wanted a black wall somewhere in the house. At first I wasn't 100% on board, but decided this would be the best wall to try it out on. I can now say it was the right call. We went with Sherwin Williams Iron Ore and I love the way it makes the dental molding look. I considered doing away with this molding that is only in this hall due to it not going with the era of the house, but it was sooo beautifully done it pained me to tear it out. Now the black wall kind of makes it less formal and more modern. We plan on adding a big piece of art to the black wall that you will be able to see from the yard when we entertain. This house truly melds indoor/outdoor living.

In this same hall is a huge closet we simply did not need. For now we made it into a fun reading/play area for Ellie. My hope is that it will help keep her room neat. We shall see.

Ellie's room went through one of the biggest transformations. It went from feeling dark to light and airy. She choose the design. White walls and fun colored shelves in the mint family. We both agreed on Sherwin Williams Restful. We still need to add some romans in a fun pattern per her request. I was planning on using this wallpaper on the wall behind her bed, but now I am considering it for her ceiling. Her ceiling currently has a bunch of sticker glow in the dark stars that won't come off. I would leave it, but she also has a split in the plaster which needs repairing so something will need to be done. I think the wallpaper could be a fun choice.

KJ's room is two colors, SW eider white with a darker gray which I believe was SW dorian gray. Since this image was taken his trim is back up, but I still need to sand the shine off the doors and drawers to his cabinets so I can add new hardware. I also purchased some bamboo romans per his request and they just came in. Can't wait to put the finishing touches on his space! It's the one room that's so close being done I can taste it.

The tile in here could not go with our old shower curtain any better. After painting the space Alabaster it made the tile less brown and more cream thankfully. In all the bathrooms we changed the seat covers to soft close ones. After doing it in the rental I can not imagine having it any other way. It's life changing really for my germ-a-phobe self.

We painted our bedroom and that's pretty much it. It was a Benjamin Moore color, Duxbury Gray, that we had matched by Sherwin. It is a gray with a hint of green and I could not be any more pleased. While we were moving BOTH of my Ikea Pax wardrobes broke. Thankfully they were able to salvage enough pieces to build one back. For now our bookcase is serving as clothes storage for me, but in the future I will add another full size pax and a more narrower one to fill most of the wall. You really can't beat the organization these pieces bring and this means the Mr can have the walk-in to himself. I feel so spoiled with this house! This is also the room I wanted to add my old dining light in if the Mr can do without an overhead fan. Wouldn't the brass against these walls look amazing?

As you can see we are still in process of putting back outlet and vent covers. We still want to paint all the doors and change all the hardware. I love these, but we may be priced out once I add up all the doors. More than likely I will go with these which still aren't "cheap", but a tad more kind on the wallet. Of course the actual decorating stage still needs to happen, but again we are taking it slow. We plan to be here for the long haul. 

* Have you all seen the new kids line from Target? It is ADORABLE! Can't wait to add a few pieces to the kiddos rooms to pull it all together.