THIS is the year

Hey hey! I’m writing today from under six inches of snow – with absolutely FRIGID temps coming next week. We’re talking feels like negative 50 degrees in Indiana. What?? So serious question here – what do you do with a Chihuahua dog who hates the cold already in those kind of temps? I mean, that’s not safe for a person, let alone an animal. We’re trying to figure out what the heck we’ll do to take him out?

Anyway, other than the insanely cold temps, I actually quite LOVE this time of year. It’s one of my favorite times really – it’s a new year and everything feels fresh and new and full of possibility. And I fall in love with my house all over again right about now. I get giddy with all the plans in my head.

I can even stand the cooler temps for about another four weeks. I love being warm and cozy in our house…till about mid-February. Then I’m D.O.N.E.

It’s funny because we’ve been in this house almost ten years and I still have a list a mile long of things I’d like to do. A couple of them are dream projects that I would need help with, but most I can do on my own. And that’s why my head feels like it may explode in early January – my list is long. Let’s talk about future plans shall we?

THIS will be the year that I finish painting all the doors black in the house:

The basement doors are done (well, one more door to go to the storage room) and I LOVE THEM. It is a long process because I’ll have to prime every door, but the end result is worth it. (You can see my latest black door here.)

There are two rooms in our house that are a pain in my rear. I can’t figure out a good set up for either one – the loft/former playroom/craft room is one:

My plan for years now has been to build in storage and a window seat along that wall with the window. I keep saying “this is the year!” and it’s never the year…but maybe this one will be the year. We’ll see.

That room is HARD because it basically has one usable wall. The wall with the windows isn’t really functional, the other wall is a half wall and then it’s open on the other side. I want tons of craft storage but also want to make it a bit more of a lounge space again. We don’t really NEED another lounge space but we’d use it more if it was one. It drives me batty not to make good use of a space so I want to make this room more functional this year.

The other room that gives me fits is our living room. Again, with only one useable wall:

At least one of you noticed in the Christmas tree post that I took the drapes down. You’re good! I’m planning a big DIY project on those windows – I wanted to try and tackle it in the month of December and then got my brain function back and realized this year may be better. :)

A few months ago I made a decision about this space. I’ve hated the sofa for seven plus years and I decided I’m 38 years old dangit and if I hate it I’m not going to keep it. I find it hard to replace something that’s functional but not my favorite thing – I feel guilty, like I shouldn’t spend on something when we have something that technically works just fine, you know? But I think I’ve found a really inexpensive option for this room, I just need to go test it out first.

Of course I will continue my record of taking years to finish a space – this time in the mud room. It’s been half way done for two years now:

I shared the latest paint and floor updates to the room earlier this week. I was planning on taking a trip out to Lowe’s today to start the bench but it may not happen with the snow.

I’ve had BIG plans in mind for our kitchen for years now – and yes it involves painting the cabinets. I know there are so many that love wood cabinets and I do too – but ours have some major wear and tear and there’s nothing we can do to fix it, other than sanding them down and restaining. That’s not happening. So, I have little plans that turned into bigger plans and those bigger plans are what are holding be back from starting the whole thing:

But I think I can move ahead with most of it so I’m determined to make that happen this year. I can see it all in my head – it’s been sitting in there for a while now. ;)

The master bedroom redo will continue this year and when I say continue I hope I mean finish:

There’s only one wall painted (it’s been like that since the summer) and I need to get going on that. The bed will get new pillows (most likely a DIY if I can find the right fabric), the bed wall may get some kind of special treatment and sometime this year I’d like to get new floors in there. The carpet is DONE.

Another project I’ve almost started numerous times is painting the family room and kitchen:

Our current wall color is Sisal from Ralph Lauren (one of the top questions I get her on the blog) and we’ve had it up since the day we closed on the house. I came over with the brand new keys and paint and worked for hours on it. :) I’ve been planning something a bit lighter, but then I see a dark, cozy color and fall in love with that again. So we’ll see.

I’m also contemplating a large built in unit where our entertainment “dresser” currently sits:

I’m pretty sure I think I’m five people instead of one, cause I don’t know how this girl (who works like molasses) will be able to accomplish all of this in a year, but it’s fun to daydream, right? I’m hoping to get most of it done!

AND I told my husband the other day that THIS is the year our closet will become a spotless, organized, magical place where stars burst out of your eyes when you walk in. If you could see it you’d know why he laughed and laughed and…laughed some more at me. But it will happen. You can’t see the before pictures though – not until I clean it and even then you’ll be mortified. And when I say that I’m so not being all, oh it’s kind of messy and I’m acting like it’s horrible. NO. It’s horrible. So, there’s that to look forward to. ;)

So do you love this time of year as much as I do? Do you have any fun plans for your home, or at least ones you daydream in your head? Any organization projects you want to tackle? Do tell!

I’ll be back next week and back to a regular posting schedule! Have a great weekend and stay safe if you are getting this weather too!

Decorating the mantel

Hello everyone! How your week going? We’re supposed to get some nasty weather this weekend – ice and snow I think? And of course today it’s supposed to get up to 60. Such is the life of a Hoosier.

I haven’t started decorating our fireplace mantel just yet for the holiday, but I’m planning on keeping it fairly simple this year. Simple for me still means LOTS of poufy greenery, but whatever. Simpler. ;)

I still say the mantel is one of the most difficult spaces to decorate – don’t you think? I think surfaces in general are hard – bookcases, sofa tables – those kinds of spots. That’s why when I figure out something I like on one of those areas I tend to leave it like that for eons.

Over the years I’ve a method that works for me when it comes to decorating over the fireplace:

I’m sharing a few of my tips today over at True Value’s blog, Start Right Start Here. (Unfortunately the link may not work for mobile users, they are addressing that now. Until then those of you using tablet or phone can see some of my tips on this post as well.) They may help as you tackle that space for the holidays and beyond. Hope you find them useful!

I’m off to tackle more Christmas decor – now I’m inspired to work on the mantel! :) Have a great one!

 

I was one of the bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program as well as writing about my experience. I have also been compensated for the materials needed for my DIY project. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.

The new family room (rug)

Hey everybody! How are you? How was your weekend? I worked my TAIL off on the garage – decluttering and cleaning it out. It was years past due. I still have a bit more to do and then a big DIY project in there but it’s so so SO much better! My body is feeling it right now though.

But let’s switch gears, shall we? I’m tired of looking at dust and dirt and spiders (!!) and need to focus on soft and pretty. So the last time I shared our family room (I think it was earlier this year), it looked like this:

I got that rug from RugsUSA about a year and a half ago and it was holding up pretty darn well. The color of it is off in that pic, it was really more of a charcoal blue, not a navy blue.

I LOVED the design but it was so intense. It made decorating the rest of the room so hard. Pillows were impossible to find (the ones I had here were never quite right, they were from years back) and the drapes never worked with it. I looked forEVER for a new drapery fabric and nothing worked. These are what you called #firstworldproblems.

The graphic design was just too much for this room. At first I didn’t mind it but over time I just got tired of fighting with it. And earlier this year I was starting to think that we could really have a larger rug in there. This one is nearly 7 by 9 feet, but it almost looked dinky when you walked in the room.

Sooo…I’ve kind of been looking here and there over the six months or so. Nothing intense, just flipping through the rugs at HomeGoods when I went. Well, a few weeks back it was finally there…the one:

I was worried it was too big though – 9 by 12 compared to 7 by 9 is quite a jump. I got it anyway and figured the worst scenario was that we’d need to return it.

We moved everything out of the room (and cleaned under the sofas…what. in the?), laid it down and both my husband and I were drooling (well, more me, but he liked it) – it was SO pretty. And my goodness, so soft!

When we put the furniture back in we were a little shocked at how big it was, but about three minutes in were talking about how much bigger it made the room feel. It was crazytown:

The color works so much better! It’s a bluish gray and the design is an aqua color. It’s not too aqua that you can’t pull in other colors though, which I like.

My corner fireplace (shakes fists in air!!) continues to haunt me because it keeps the rug from working perfectly in the room – it could really move a lot further back if it weren’t for the fireplace placement. Ah well, I’m over it (lying):

Another thing that helps is that I took the little coffee table out earlier this year. I love that thing but this part of the room just wasn’t big enough for it. I tried taking it out one day and it was like we could breath in there – made such a big difference. (It’s living with my sister right now cause I couldn’t bear to totally part with it just yet.)

Funny how putting a much larger rug in there makes the room feel bigger, not smaller. The room isn’t small, but it was originally set up so that the family room part is supposed to only be that area by the fireplace. This is how it used to look:

Here’s how that area looks now:

You can see how fireplace was transformed here.

And the area that used to be more of just a walkway off to the side:

Is now our entertainment area:

This room functions SO MUCH BETTER this way. Before was cozy for sure, but it was cramped. This layout is much more open, which helps.

I actually love that the furniture all sits on the rug now, I think that’s what helps it to feel bigger:

The rug is wool, so at first it was shedding a ton. Not too bad, but when I vacuumed it would fill the container. But over the last six weeks or so doesn’t do it nearly as bad. It’s worth it to me for the softness of it.

Just for giggles let’s look at the how the room looked early this year:

And now….ahhhhhh, so much calmer:

The rug was WAY cheaper at HomeGoods than I would have paid anywhere else, but still a big purchase for us for sure. I’m glad I waited till I found “the one,” and that the budget allowed for it at the time. How often does that happen? Hardly ever.

I think picking out a rug is one of the hardest decor decisions in a room, do you? In my mind it’s as big as the paint color – it’s just such a large item in the room.

Welcoming a baby boy

Hello all and welcome to a new week! I’m recovering after a busy but lovely weekend. You know all that decluttering I’ve been doing over the past six few months? Well I wanted to get it done before the holidays just so I’d have some peace of mind, but I also wanted to have it done for a very important event at our house.

On Saturday we celebrated the impending arrival of my new grandson! I mentioned our news a couple months back but haven’t talked about it much, just because I feel like this isn’t my story to tell, you know? I try to be conscious of what I share on the blog, at least when it’s not about me. But when he comes I’m sure I’ll talk about him all the time. ;)

My stepdaughter is 23 and yes I’ll be the youngest grandma EVER at 38. (I know I’m not the youngest ever but let’s pretend. It feels like it.) This weekend a few of her closest friends, her grandma, her mom and I threw her a beautiful shower at our house.

She wanted a nautical theme (it matches his nursery that we’re working on – it is being done very similar to my boy’s room) so we went with that of course. Here’s the thing – I consider myself to be a creative person, but I’m NOT one to go all out for birthday parties or showers or whatever. I don’t get all crafty and crazy. I think there’s something to be said for simple touches.

The only decorations were balloons and some tissue poofs and…food. Lots of food. :)

We had 50+ people in my house so I knew I’d need to be smart about space. I didn’t set up any extra tables – we used my sofa table for the plates and cups and all:

I didn’t go too themey with all of it – I got whale napkins and pulled the colors (navy and aqua) out of those. So it wasn’t super traditional nautical, more baby boy nautical. ;) The colors were so cute together:

I used candy as decor (using Goodwill glass containers) too:

One of my stepdaughter’s best friends did most of the planning and made these:

Get it – a lifesaver for the nautical theme? Adorable. THIS is the stuff I don’t do but I’m so glad she did. :)

I always have straws as a staple now just because they’re so cute:

The little candy cups were from Pick Your Plum and were actually from a Fourth of July-themed set. The blue was perfect.

I was relieved to find out the girls didn’t plan many games – there were just too many people to do a lot. They did a diaper raffle (bring a package and you’re entered to win) and bingo that attendees played while my stepdaughter opened her (many) gifts:

It was simple and low key and easy – just the way I like it!

The prizes were these adorable art pieces her friend made:

I thought they were vinyl at first but she actually painted those on, can you believe it?

Her mom and grandma made all the food and it was good and plentiful:

Like I said, we had more than 50 people to feed! We couldn’t believe that we had some leftover at the end.

For drinks I had the staples like soda and tea, and I loved this cute touch in the punch:

Fishing bobbers – how cute is that?

I made my sangria as well and it was a hit – cause it’s GOOD.

Another one of her best friends made and decorated the red velvet cupcakes:

They were SO yummy. I was tickled that they ended up matching the colors exactly.

A simple printable glued over toothpicks for each one:

We still have our old round kitchen table in the dining room/library so I went with my standard poofs (see the DIY here) for above the presents:

They are easy and cheap and make a big impact – love them!

She was truly “showered” that day:

It was exhausting but I’d do it all again 100 times over. I am beyond words proud of her.

I was reminded of how loved she is – her lifelong friends were all there and so many of her college friends too. She is a good, sweet, loving soul and deserves every bit of this joy.

Of course her little brother had to help with the presents (his favorite part):

Yes, she looks like she’s 16. She’s not. ;) I can’t even believe all these girls are growing up and getting married and having babies and they were just in my house around the kitchen island eating pizza and talking about boys.

My heart is full. :) We have a grandchild coming in December – it is a wondrous thing.

Like always, I didn’t go overboard with decor for the shower, but it was lovely all the same. I think in the age of Pinterest we think everything needs to be decorated to the hilt to entertain and it’s so not needed.

Do you enjoy entertaining? It was a little intense having that many people in our house, not gonna lie. Who knew we could fit 50 bodies in here? Most of everyone stayed in our kitchen and family room too – they didn’t really spread out into the house, so that makes it even more of a feat! (Those are not big spaces!)

And now my house is clean and decluttered and for the first time in a long time I feel ready for the holidays…bring it!

**If you're interested in any of the printable items or the invites that matched this theme you can email Courtney at courtneywalshwebdesign (at) gmail (dot) com.

Home tours, part 2

Hello friends and welcome to the (almost) weekend! I’m back today to finish up the homearama tours I first shared with you earlier this week. Have you been waiting? :)

The last two houses were the ones I liked best – the third was my favorite exterior and the last was my favorite design/decor. Let’s take a look shall we? You all said not to skimp on the photos so I’m including more this time. Sit down with your coffee or Pepsi and enjoy!

The third home had a huge front porch – I was smitten:

Loved the big wide steps and the glass doors! I’m still trying to get up the guts to do this to ours:

This house had a different layout. You walk in and could go straight to main living area or go off to the side to an office that then continued on to a flex space. That could be used as a guest room I guess, or an in laws suite. There was a full bath connected and then a long hall down from that:

LOVED that hallway with all the windows and the wood trim. Delish.

Off that hallway was the laundry room, which was wayyyy far away from the bedrooms. Not only that but you have to walk through a few rooms and down the hallway to get to it.

But I did love the countertop they used – it was a laminate (whuuut?):

And it looked like linen. It was actually very cool and pretty in the laundry room:

I mentioned before that one of the things you notice about this type of construction are the doors – they are thick and heavy and beautiful:

Down at the end of the hallway you turn and go past some closets and the powder room and enter the family room. I loved this space:

But when you turn around it got very modern:

It’s gorgeous, don’t get me wrong. It just felt out of place in what is a more traditional home. It was just crying out for a big beautiful fireplace with a thick mantel. I guess this is OK too. ;)

The outside area was awesome, I don’t know why I didn’t get a picture! You can see some of it through the family room window above. But I LOVED this idea – it looks like they added another garage door (to the back of the garage) that opened to the patio:

Um, I think that’s brilliant. It would be so easy to put stuff away for the winter, kids could use riding toys and easily put them away – I just thought that was so cool.

Someone asked earlier this week and yes, all the garages were on the backs of these homes, so not visible from the front.

The kitchen was gorgeous:

See how thick that granite is on the island? Big $$$ right there. ;)

I loved that they used the space all the way to the ceiling (I’ve had a plan for years to do the same in our kitchen…someday):

My favorite kitchen was in the first house I showed you earlier this week but I loved the feel of this one too.

The dining room was just open to the kitchen – nothing too formal. Loved the light fixture:

Those bookcases were in more than one of the homes, they must be popular. ;)

The master was a main level one and had a ton of windows and a door to the patio:

A bottom floor master freaks me out and having a door in the room would freak me out even more. I like being up high. :)

The basement was really well done – I loved this bookcase and vignette:

That blue print was awesome. It was just a canvas so I can’t imagine it was too expensive!

The kitchenette was kind of inset and I loved all of that area too:

I noticed in the basements the decorators really used every bit of space – there was a table in the middle of the room in most of them – spaces I wouldn’t typically put any furniture in.

OK, the last house was my favorite – but the outside was different:

It was very plain and from that view above I didn’t care for it much. But it grew on me when I saw it from the other direction:

The builder was going for a farmhouse “redux” look. The roof is metal and I think that’s the part I didn’t care for. That and the gray siding made it look a little cold to me. But I loved the large stone chimney!

The inside though, I loved! The library was the first thing you saw when you walked in:

Ack! Gorgeous right? The lights! The trim! Loved the rug too.

The stairs were beautiful with white risers I believe and wood treads, my favorite. ;) Then you turn the corner to the huge great room:

Most of the house was a very farmhouse/industrial look that I LOVED. I don’t know if I’d do it in my house but man, I sure can appreciate it. :)

There were windows everywhere that brightened up the gray cabinets:

The cabinets lifted up (I’ve seen similar ones at IKEA):

Kind of loved that. And I liked how they used an odd space in the corner with open shelving.

Yet again, the only part I didn’t care for was the ultra modern fireplace:

What’s the beef with a pretty, traditional fireplace people? I could see a beautiful big one with stone and a chunky wood mantel and white trim…it’s so perfect in my head.

Loved the beams though!:

Another detail I LOVED in this house were the black grids on all the windows:

And this wall of black doors/windows was just stunning:

I couldn’t figure out how to open that door, true story. We later realized it’s a sliding door. Who would've thought?

On the way back to the stairs, across from the kitchen was this eating area:

LOVE love love. All of it.

So as you walk to the stairs there was this awesome space:

Again, so cool. Loved the wood wall, the gray, the accessories:

It was a little wine nook. I don’t know how functional it would be for every day, but for a party it would be awesome.

And to the side was a cool sliding door to the pantry:

You see why this was my favorite? Like I said, not exactly my style but so creative and well done.

There was a mud room done in gray as well and it was a little dark:

Sorry for the horrible pic!

I liked this built in charging station idea:

The bedrooms and bathrooms weren’t as exciting to me, but I had to share this subway tile install:

I LOVE that idea of going vertical with them instead horizontal!

The bedroom was lovely, just a bit shiny for my taste:

This dresser was in a flex room and it was one of my favorite things in the house:

Is that not the coolest? I know there’s a way to DIY that thing! So cute!

The basement in this house was my favorite too. More of the industrial farmhouse style:

I liked the simple painted brick backsplash:

I assume they used that thin brick stuff and then just painted it. They had the same on the walls in the wine room:

Sigh. Be still my heart. A room just for the wine. And it had windows so you could look lovingly at it.

Well that’s the tours folks – did you enjoy them? Which of the four was your favorite? As I said, my favorite kitchen was in the first house, favorite exterior was the third one and for interiors the last one for sure.

Hope it was fun to “walk” through with me! Hope you have a great weekend!

The builder for home one was Wedgewood Building Company, decor done by Thomas & Jayne Interior Design.
The builder for the second home was Gradison Design, decor done by Kittles Design Studio.