Sprucing Things Up, Part II: Drop Cloth Drapes

Here is our living room "before". Actually, if you look on the right-hand side of the picture, you can see some of the new paint - - I am really bad at remembering to take pictures before I start a project. See the walls? Boring! See the big, gold-framed picture of red flowers? I got that at a yard sale across the street, the weekend we moved in, because I had nothing to hang on that big, bare wall. I'm happy to say that picture is long gone now. Although the wall is now freshly painted, it is bare again, because I'm in the midst of obsessing about what to hang on that wall. First, I thought I'd arrange my mirror collection. Then, I wanted to do photos. Now, I'm kind of thinking a mix of mirrors and photos. Who knows. I'm sure I'll figure something out eventually.

This gives you a little idea of how the living room and dining room are one big area. When I was looking for paint, I was pretty sure I wanted something sage-y green. When I settled on a swatch, I flipped it over to find the name of the color was "Vintage Find", which let me know it was just the color I was looking for. Depending on the light, it sometimes looks green, sometimes, blue, and sometimes even grey. I just love it.

You'll notice in the first picture, that the front window just had sheers. There use to also be some very heavy-duty custom made drapes, but those met their demise when I decided to wash them, rather than follow the "dry clean only" instructions. Mind you, they were custom made somewhere around 1972, so I wasn't too broken up to see them go. Here are the drapes I wanted for my living room:

Photo: Pottery Barn

Linen drapes from Pottery Barn. However, at $179 a pop, that wasn't going to happen. The main reason being, I don't have that kind of money, but if I did, I cannot imagine spending it on drapes! Anyway, I was pretty certain I could still get the look I wanted, with a little help from my good friend, The Internet. Months ago, I'd read this post over at The Lettered Cottage. Ever since then, I've seen many, many versions of drop cloth drapes, and decided to give it a try. Now before you freak out about using painter's drop clothes for drapes, go ahead and Google them, and check out all of the great posts about them - - you'll be amazed!

My one bit of advice is this: Buy your drop clothes at WalMart. I followed the advice of others, and went to Lowes for mine.

I guess the thought was that the drop clothes from Lowe's were a bit heavier (they were) and that the coloring was better (it wasn't). The real problem was that the drop clothes were comprised of pieced-together canvas - - pieced together with big, ugly seams, mind you. Luckily, we needed a large drop cloth for an awning for the boys' sandbox, so they could still be used.

This is what you'll find at Walmart. $9.87 for a 6'x9' canvas drop cloth. They are fabulous because all of the edges have already been hemmed. No sewing required at all. Just throw them in the wash, dry them, then iron them, and they are ready to hang. I needed a new drapery rod as well, and was able to find just what I was looking for at Target, for a great price. The drapery clips came from WalMart - - they are 100% identical to the ones they sell at Target, but they cost $2.00 less per package.

Here is the finished result. As you can see, I had to bribe Griffin with a video, so that I could write this blog post. You will also see Riley in this photo, doing what he does best, which is licking the cat...morning, noon, and night.

I just love how the drapes look. I love the texture, I love how the natural light filters through them, and I really love how inexpensive they were.

Sprucing Things Up

It has been almost 4 years since we moved into our current home. We purchased it from our next-door neighbors - - a couple in their 80's who had lived here for 35 years. I think my friend Terri described our house best, the first time she came to visit, when she said, "It kind of has a Grampa feel to it". In a nutshell, I think the last time this house got any kind of update was probably about 25 years ago -- it has a very distinctive Brady Bunch vibe going on. Anyway, I'm finally getting around to making some changes.

The one room that has bugged me the most has been the living room/dining room. It is one big space, all walls painted a flat off-white. In my opinion, off white is b-o-r-i-n-g, and flat paint just does not mix well with grubby little boys. Besides that, there were just many things in the room that simply detracted from it reaching its full potential.

So, before getting started, I had to stop and think about what needed changing the most. The walls definitely needed color. The drapes had to go. Dated wood stove needed to be removed. Ginormous 1970's mirror over the mantle...bye-bye! The ceiling fan? Well, it needed to be dragged to a remote location and burned. See for yourself:

Behold, the World's Most Hideous Ceiling Fan

I'm happy to report that the ceiling fan has been removed. We found exactly what we were looking for in a replacement at Home Depot, for less than $20.00. The problem? When Steve removed the old fan from the ceiling, it revealed some sketchy/scary wiring that he wasn't about to mess with. So, here is what the living room ceiling looks like right now:

The good news is, the electrician will be stopping by this afternoon, so we should be back in business pretty soon.

Then, there are the things that I'd like to change, but that will just have to wait for now: New carpeting. New furniture. Refinished hardwood. New chandelier. These things will come in time, but in the meantime, I'm making all kinds of changes, without breaking the bank. It can be done!

Come back tomorrow and we'll talk drapes, paint, and random decor.

The Dog Days of Summer

The heat took a bit longer to reach us this year, but boy is it here now - - over 100 degrees these past two days. We've officially moved down into the basement for the next couple of months, as of tonight. Steve , smart man that he is, slept in his office last night (in the basement), but silly me thought our bedroom would be just fine. It was about 90 degrees in there, and needless to say I tossed and turned until after midnight, and then smartened up and moved out to the couch where it was a little cooler. All in all I didn't get much sleep. So, the basement it is. All I can say is, I am so thankful that we have a basement to move to!

In a nutshell, here's what we've been up to:

Swimming lessons!

Playing in the mud

Swinging

Playing with the garden hose

Building with Lego's

Tackling more wood paneling. I'm starting to wonder if there are any surfaces in this house that aren't covered in paneling. This just so happens to be my "secret hiding place" - - for the past two years it has been storage space. It use to be a root cellar when this house was built over 50 years ago. Mr. Haney (the previous owner) put in a floor (and some wood paneling) and used it for storage. He use to call it "the fruit room". I'm convinced that I am going to turn it into a beautiful, peaceful, secret hideaway. Stay tuned.

Making simple, cold summer salads. This one was made with quinoa, one of my favorite things right now. Yum!

A trip (Griffin's first) to the Naughty Chair, which, it just so happens, was hand-crafted with love by an inmate from the Maine State Prison in Warren. Griffin seemed to think the Naughty Chair was a fun game - - he probably would have sat there and giggled all day if I'd let him.

Sneak Peek

This kitchen makeover is taking much longer than I had anticipated. That would probably be due to the fact that I have two busy little boys at my feet at all times. It is coming along though, so that is good. I have one more valance to make, and a few more cupboards to paint. My goal is to wrap all this up by the end of the week, but this week is a very busy week, so we shall see what I actually end up accomplishing.

I am loving my new table and chairs, and the bright colors in the kitchen. Remember the crazy yellow light fixture, above the table? Well, when I painted the walls, it looked just awful and didn't match at all, so my dad scrubbed it and painted it bright red, which turned out to be a great accent color. I also found the most perfect cherry print material, and proceeded to dust off my sewing machine and make some valances.

The telephone - - I had Steve move it down to cover the unsightly hole that I'd discovered beneath the paneling, but soon it will be going away for good. I've found a great looking retro desk phone (in red, of course) that will look perfect on the little telephone stand...must hurry up and order that.

Here is the original kitchen, for a little comparison. I do not miss that wood paneling at all. Or the wall paper, for that matter.

Kitchen Makover: Part One

Yesterday, for some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to start tearing down some of the wood paneling in the kitchen. I've purchased the primer and the paint I need, so I'm getting a little anxious to start my kitchen makeover. If I was smart, I would have waited until my parents arrive, but, well, there you have it. Here is what the wall that was completely covered in wood paneling looked like, before:

Ick. Besides being ugly and outdated, it makes the kitchen so dark. While we have a lovely, large window, I generally have to pull the shade around lunch time, because the sun shines right in and it gets hot - - especially during the summer. So, with these dark walls, it sometimes feels like a dungeon in here. My goal is to lighten and brighten.

That being said, I should have known that it wouldn't have been as easy popping the paneling off, slapping on some new paint, and going about my business. No, instead, I wrestled with the beastly paneling, and discovered that it had been glued to the wall:

See all those brown splotches? They were thick, old, and a bit like cement. I spent the better part of yesterday, trying to chisel and scrape them off the wall, while trying not to damage the wall any more. One thing I discovered was a rather large hole underneath that ancient telephone there - - looks like someone made a bit of mistake with their measuring, when installing it eons ago. I'll need to figure out how to patch drywall, I guess!

Maybe you noticed the crazy-looking bright yellow light fixture hanging above the table? I've always wanted to get rid of it, but now I'm realizing it will go perfectly with my new table, so it will stay. As for the rest of the kitchen:

There's a bit of this. I really do not like wall paper. This paper is very old, vinyl, and it is not the type of wall paper that will simply peel off. It needs to be steamed off, but there isn't too much of it, so it would be more effort to do that then it is worth. I'm opting to be lazy and paint over it. I'm quite sure nobody will ever be able to tell when I'm all finished, so don't tell.

I've got quite a few days of prep work ahead of me - - more scraping, lots of patching, priming, and taping. I haven't decided whether or not to paint the cupboards yet, but I'm thinking it would probably be a good idea. So, stay tuned to see the progress!

Oh! I found this great kitchen clock last night, while surfing the Internet for funky kitchen decor - - I love it and think it needs to go in my new kitchen:

More house pictures, etc.

It has taken me a long time to start posting pictures of the house. No real reason other than my head seems to be in 50 different places at the same time right now. Here is a shot, looking into the living room/dining area, from the front door as you enter the house. There is a door at the right of the dining area that leads to the kitchen, and there is a hallway to the left, that leads to our bedrooms, bathroom, laundry room, and the stairs to the basement. We are excited to start using the wood stoves this winter - - you can see that there is one in the living room, and there is also a great one in the family room downstairs. We need to have the chimney inspected first, and need to order some wood. I love wood heat, and I'm excited that we have it in this house.

This is to the left, when you walk in the front door. I'm anxious to paint the living room a warmer color (it is a very bright room), but won't be getting around to that until next spring, most likely.

This is looking at the living room, from the dining area (obviously). Steve mentioned last night during dinner that it is so nice to be living in a house that doesn't really need any work. Some of you faithful readers are quite aware of what our old house was like - - what it is still like - - it has a lot of work left to be done on it (before it can be rented) so whenever a weekend rolls around, Steve feels like he needs to be working on it. Once it is all done, it is going to be wonderful to have "nothing" to do on the weekends. As I've mentioned before, our new house has a bit of a "'70's" feel to it - - it has been a long time since it has been updated. Some of it works, some of it doesn't. I'm amazed what a new coat of paint can do, in terms of changing the entire look of a room. Once I get settled into a new routine with the boys, I hope to get some major painting done. We think eventually that we'll remodel the upstairs bathroom, as well as the kitchen, but for now they are just fine and there is no need at all to do anything drastic.

Camden and I will be heading to Meridian this morning, for my final OB appointment. When I see my doctor next Tuesday, I'll be strapped to the OR table, ready to have Griffin! Hard for me to believe right now - - I just cannot wait to see this baby. My folks arrive around lunchtime on Saturday, which is great. I'm glad they will be here a few days before he is born.

Steve is as busy as ever at work. This coming weekend is a drill weekend, so he we won't see much of him until Monday. He found out yesterday that he will have to be out of town the week after Griffin is born, but thankfully my parents will still be here.

Riley has decided he prefers to be outside, rather than inside, which is a welcomed change. He stayed out all day yesterday, alternating between lounging under the big tree, and barking at squirrels. He's a little stiff this morning, and I'm thinking I need to give him a little pain medication, as he wasn't too excited to climb up the stairs to go outside. It is hard to see him getting old - - it doesn't seem possible to me that he is almost 10 years old. Sadie is actually a few months older than Riley, but she doesn't act old yet, she just acts crazy. I wish I could give her a pill that would make her act like a normal dog, but alas, no such luck.

House Tour: Camden & Griffin's Room

Thought I'd post some pictures of Camden and Griffin's new bedroom. This first picture is what you see to the right of the room, when you walk in the door. Griffin's crib is directly to the right of the doorway. Here is looking through the doorway

Looking back toward the doorway

Camden's reading corner

Lots of closet and storage place. When we first moved in, Camden was convinced he wanted his bed in the closet.

Thar' She Blows!

Sometime around 3:00 a.m. today, I awoke to what sounded like (or so I thought) an airplane flying quite low overhead. I lay in bed and thought to myself, "They must be dusting for mosquitoes" (Idaho is currently experiencing a massive outbreak of West Nile Virus, with the county bordering ours at a state emergency level). Then I began thinking that since I had a fan running, I ought to get up and shut it off, so as not to ingest large amounts of "bug spray". After shutting off the fan, I realized that the very odd noise was actually coming from inside my house (that would be the same house that Steve and I just purchased last week). I then decided my father was taking a shower downstairs, but what the heck was he doing, showering in the middle of the night? I began to make my way down the stairs, and along the way, realized it wasn't a shower I was hearing, but a very large amount of water, splashing violently (this is the part where I started to feel like I was going to hurl). I reached the foot of the stairs and immediately stepped into cold water. Here is when I did what any sensible young woman would do - - I hollered for my Daddy! Dad came running out of his bedroom and we both stared at the pantry door for what seemed like forever (but was actually just a second or two). Dad threw the door open, and all we could see was water spraying directly at us, as you would see when a fire hydrant had been opened. Apparently, the pipes that once carried well water (at a much lower pressure, I might add) simply could not withstand the pressure of the *&%$# city water (see my earlier posts on this subject). Without hesitating, Dad shot across the room to the valve and turned the water off, not pausing even though he was clad in just his pajama bottoms and was barefoot. I'd also like to add that there was a very large freezer (full of elk meat) plugged in, sitting in water, but that didn't stop him, either. The water stopped, and I think we were both speechless for a minute or two. Here is a lovely photo of where the pipes blew apart, spewing very expensive city water all over my brand new home. How ironic that Dad and I had chose the day before, to spend hours packing and unpacking my kitchen, placing all of my appliances and pantry food in that very room. Someone was obviously watching over me, because although my beloved kitchen appliances were wet (my bread machine was down there, for goodness sakes!) they all seem to have pulled through. The only food item that seems to have been lost was a bag of flour. I find this completely amazing, because we are not talking about a slight drip here, folks - - this was a massive amount of water. After about an hour of mopping, wiping, and sopping, we called it a night and went back to bed. I called Jeff's Plumbing first thing in the morning, and by 10:00 a.m. the pipe had been repaired and we had running water once again. I am most thankful for the fact that my Dad was there, and that he saved the day. After that, I'm thankful this occurred in the middle of the night, rather than on a day I was at work. Last, but not least, I am thankful that my pantry also has a massive sump pump, for disasters such as the one we experienced early this morning. That sucker was pumping like there was no tomorrow.

Water!

Yet again, Blogger will not allow me to post pictures, so I give you yet another visually un-stimulating post. As of around lunchtime today, we have water at the new house! Yippee!! It was quite the production to say the least, as our faithful city workers dug up a good portion of the road in front of our house, but the deed is done. Even better, Steve's plumbing job in the basement was leak-free. Although we closed on the house last Friday, and received the keys this past Sunday, I couldn't quite get excited until the joint had running water.
My father arrived from Maine on Monday, and has been such a big help already. Yesterday, we got Camden and Griffin's new bedroom painted, and today we moved quite a few things over to the house. Camden really likes the new place. He decided he didn't want to come back to the old house with me tonight, so he is having a sleep-over with his Papa. Our plan is to paint the master bedroom by the weekend, and then move a bunch of furniture on Saturday. Steve leaves for Virginia on Sunday, so I'm extra glad to have my dad here to give me a hand while he is out of town.
I'll check back in tomorrow and see if I can get some pictures posted. Time for bed...

Ditch Digging and Other Fun Things

Uhh.....yeah. So here is what is currently happening with us. The house we are trying to purchase has well water. The Veteran's Administration says that if you have city water available, you must be hooked up to it. The new house has been on well water for at least 32 years, probably longer. The city doesn't actually care if we have city or well water, but the VA does. So before we can sign on the dotted line, we have to prove to the VA that we are hooked up to city water. Unfortunately, making that happen is no small task. Steve spent 10+ hours yesterday, digging a 3-foot deep ditch, from the road to the house, and his job is far from done. The first picture shows Steve just moments ago, and as you can see, the man isn't too excited. The connection pipe is in bad shape, the water meter is old and outdated...not good. Steve assures me this is all going to work out just fine, but it is stressful none the less. I say this, and I'm not even the poor fool in the hole. The kicker is that this is going to be one of the hottest days yet this year. So, if all goes well today, we will be hooked up to city water by the end of the day, the VA will be happy, and we can close on this house next week. Keep your fingers crossed!