How it All Began.....

This whole home redecorating process began back in 2006 - November 3, 2006 to be exact. Countless hours of watching Trading Spaces and HGTV had my head spinning with ideas of what I could do to this house.....mostly by way of new paint on the walls. But is wasn't until Cindy came into town one November weekend, that my plan was put in motion. I told Cindy about my ideas, she got excited and said, "Let's go buy paint right now!" And so we did.

It started with a little paint - a dark brown and light brown in the entry way and front room. Harmless right? No....it created a home decorating monster!!! From there it turned into new furniture for those rooms and fun accessories. Then my sights turned to the kitchen where I painted and got new furniture and more accessories. Next I tackled the bathroom and then onto the master bedroom. Last but not least was the office. Somewhere during the process we got rid of the ceiling to floor church curtains and replaced them with nice honeycomb blinds (or whatever you call them). A month or so ago the real magic happened that brought all of the redecorating together.......NEW CARPET!!! The new carpet ties it all together and brings my redecorating to a triumphant end.

Of course there will always be new and fun accessories to get and started projects to finish but for now......I am done. Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoy living in this cute house!

Front Room

Highlights of the new front room:
*big, comfy new couch with lounging section that I got at an unbelievable price thanks to my sister-in-laws nice grandpa who is a furniture wholesaler
*used piano that I bought a few summers ago so that I can jam whenever my little heart desires
*new window treatments....no more ceiling to floor church curtains.....the new treatments really open up the room and make it feel bigger and lighter. I love them!
*new carpet....not that there is anything wrong with the old green carpet from the 60s, but this new carpet makes a world of difference in the look of the house. If you get sad and start missing the green carpet too much, take a trip to Amy's house because she's got it in her house now!
*shelf, side table, TV table, cube bookshelf and wall shelf thanks to Ikea and WalMart. Gotta love cheap, cute furniture!
*fun accessories to go on the above mentioned cheap furniture.
*new homemade-fabric covered-wooden-box valances. I made those suckers probably 10 months ago or so. I got the 2 smallest ones hung up with no problem....but the big valances to go over the gigantic windows....that was another story! After countless hours, methods, bad words, and tired arms of trying to hang them up I gave up and they layed on the floor....for good I thought. That is until my super hero Dad came into town and figured out a way to hang them on the wall! Hooray for handy Dad's that don't give up until they find a way to get those blasted things on the wall! So please pay special attention to those :)

Front Entry

You old timers out there (I say that lovingly :) ) would, and do, refer to this room as the dining room. Since I don't have a formal dining table, and don't know that I would put it here even if I did, I call this room the....well, I don't really know what to call it. It doesn't serve much purpose except to be the entry room into the house (although I never use the front door) and look cute.

This is the view from the front door (note the amazing new carpet!!!!):

Picture taken from the top of the stairs:

Looking at the built-in shelf and sweet mural:
(Dad - note the red vase on the shelf!)

Looking down the hall into the front room:
(Don't mind all of the painting supplies on the fireplace shelf.... but do mind the new carpet!)

Granddad's Office......My Office/Craft Room

I painted the rest of the house in neutral, earthy colors so I decided to go bold in the office/craft room and I LOVE it! Makes me want to repaint some of the other rooms....but I won't because I like them too and that's way too much effort. So no valances or curtains yet....but someday.....maybe :)

It was hard to find a place to stand to get good pictures of this room, so I did the best I could! This first one is really just to show off the "earthy red" color. I am obsessed with it.

This is the shelf with attached desk that I bought at Ikea. What would I do without that place?!? I LOVE this! Perfect to hold all of my crafty materials - I can showcase some and hide others. It is awesome. And the attached desk is big enough to hold a few projects at once. Love it!

Cindy had Granddad's desk that he bought when he and Grammy were in the care center down there. Since Cindy has redone her entire upstairs (she needs to make a blog to show it off because it looks amazing!) she didn't want/need the desk anymore and sent it up my way. It fits perfectly in the room and has lots of places to hold stuff.

Cookin' Time

Here is the kitchen....complete with a dark blue accent wall, cream colored other walls, new window treatments, new curtains (thanks to my mom's superb sewing skills!), counter height table and chairs, shelf with cute potted plants (thanks Ikea!), homemade fabric covered picture board thing, and some fun accessories.

I would like to take credit for these cute curtains, but after I gave it my best effort and was throughly frustrated, my mom swooped in and saved the day! Hooray for crafty, talented moms!

Master Bedroom

Don't mind the lack of patchwork above the windows, the missing valances, or the unfinished photo hanging....it's a work in progress! Instead, focus in on the new wall color, new carpet, new window treatments and pretty furniture. I love my big comfy bed and nice, big bedroom.


This is the view from the door of the bedroom.











This one is still from the doorway, but show the comfy round chair thingy in the corner as well.



This one showcases my dresser with mirror and my unfinished wall hanging.... sure will look nice if I ever get around to finishing it!




View from the far window looking at the closet.... obviously...





This one is mostly to show off the new carpet. Doesn't it look amazing?!? It feels amazing too - nice and soft!

El Bano

Took down the old, falling off the wall, wallpaper......
splashed up some yellow paint, new green shower curtain, a few accessories and voila!