tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43457974232057453312024-03-14T09:25:26.220-07:00reno-doozinsJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-91760793772696950862012-12-13T12:08:00.000-08:002012-12-13T12:12:46.773-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where did I leave off? With a cutie doozin sitting in the bathroom staring at me?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No, that wasn't it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh yeah, I left off having torn up half the bathroom on a random Friday off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The tearing stuff off the wall thing was easy, it was harder doing the detail work and patching up. It was fairly tedious to scrape the decades old scraps of wallpaper away and smooth out the walls...and admittedly I could have done a better job here. As you can see, there's kind of a border around where the window blinds were - I'm honestly not sure when the blinds were installed, but it must have been a while ago because there was quite a few extra coats of paint surrounding them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I was in a rush to clean things up before Sean got home, so I definitely rushed the next steps. I applied some lightweight spackle in the most uneven areas, but I probably could have spent some more time making sure everything was extra even. And waiting longer than 10 minutes before getting impatient and priming the walls over wet spackle. I am definitely not the most patient DIYer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Anyway, here's what it looked like an hour or two after I began, after a coat of primer, and before Sean came home. Not <i>quite</i> as scary as above:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> That's how I let things sit for a few days before deciding I should probably fix things up. Like I said, I didn't really have a plan, but I did know that I should probably put up some new molding because those windows were noooooot looking pretty. Speaking of windows, the windows in our bathroom are seriously awful. I don't know if you can get windows off of a sketchy clearance rack, but if you can, that's definitely where these came from. They're just awful and cheap looking, not to mention broken so they don't open properly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, I basically headed to Lowe's to wander around because I know absolutely nothing about installing molding. Turns out there's an entire aisle of it, so I wandered for a bit and pretty much randomly picked out a style that looked nice to me. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I knew I wanted a
thicker molding overall - mostly to cover up any imperfections - and something fairly ornate to match the rest of the house. </span>If you'll notice above, the space on the bottoms of the window is pretty narrow, so I had to pick out a narrower piece of molding for down there. I don't know if that's a "thing," but let's go with it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My triumphant return home from Lowes! I also grabbed a gallon of paint from one of the swatches that's been on the wall for several months.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Time to paint!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The paint I chose was called Chinese Porcelain by Olympic. I loved the color on the chip, but it is slightly different in person. I don't know how to explain it, but on the chip it's a little calmer blue, and in person it's more BLUE! I still like it, but it's slightly different than I thought.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The reason I chose blue is because there's quite a few tough shades to work with in the bathroom already - not least of which is the lime green tile. In addition, the wall tile is bright white, while the floor tiles are an odd off-white/beige with a hint of salmon. I wanted something that would look ok with all of these different shades and hopefully bring the color scheme together. I thought either a darker blue or gray would work, but since a lot of our house is gray I went with the blue. I initially envisioned more of a dark navy, but I painted a few swatches up and it was just wayyyy too dark. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Aaaaand...</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The bathroom is super hard to photograph because it's either dark or light is streaming in the windows, but here's the first peek at bathroom 2.0.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To install the molding, I just used a simple mitre box. I've never done molding before and obviously this would have been easier with a power saw, but since I didn't have many cuts to do I just did it by hand. Then I nailed it into the wood surrounding the windows, sunk the nail into the wood with a mini screwdriver (I don't have a nail set) and puttied over the nail holes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I haven't painted the molding as of these pictures (ok, I haven't done it in real life either), so it'll look much better and brighter when I do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You can kind of see in this next photo that I could have done a better job evening out the paint around where the window blinds used to be. Oops. Semigloss paint is also not very forgiving for uneven walls.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As a reminder, here's the before:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And hopefully improved (but still in progress) after:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On my list of future things to do is paint this grody bathroom vanity. Ew.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I also need to add a light over the mirror, but the trick is finding one that doesn't look totally weird with the chandelier. I'm thinking something simple like this (and I just realized the paint color matches the new bathroom...ha):</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">from <a href="http://www.shadesoflight.com/metropolitan-bar-bath-light-3-light.html">Shades of Light</a></span> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> But I'm just not sure. Thoughts?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I actually think the paint works with the green tile...at least as well as any paint could ever work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One of the most random things about our entire house is this chandelier in the bathroom. It's super fancy in an otherwise unremarkable space. However, with the darker blue paint as a background I feel like it kind of...works?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, that's where bathroom things stand as of today. Nothing too fancy, but I think my total cost so far is at about $40 - just paint and molding. Even if we end up re-doing the bathroom, at least I won't feel bad about throwing money into a lost cause.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There's still a bit more to do, like:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Paint the vanity with some bright white paint;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Replace the vanity hardware;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Replace the light above the mirror;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Add matching accessories (new bath mats, storage, etc.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Add storage! </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'll get to it ;-)</span> Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-80758058057375312772012-12-12T01:34:00.000-08:002012-12-12T12:37:24.536-08:00Hello, again.<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I haven't forgotten about this little place. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I guess after February or so I stopped really having the motivation to write about what we've been doing around the house. I think this directly correlated with a couple of frustrating and never-ending projects that were stressing me out for quite a while and making me grumpy...I'm looking at you, crappy interior doors and ugly hallway wallpaper. I also tend to take less photos when I'm frustrated and angry at a project - because really, who wants to document that?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I promise I haven't spent the past 10 months or so weeping into a bucket of wallpaper remover. I'm not going to say I've <i>never </i>wept
into a bucket of wallpaper remover, but it wasn't very frequent. I
really think I just hit a few months of de-motivation (is that a word?
Let's say yes) that coincided with two somewhat annoying projects and
resulted in me slogging through them maybe not as quickly as I should
have.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However, the crappy projects are DONE. Like, officially, finally done, done - all of the doors now close properly, and I spent a few minutes last weekend scraping the last of the paint off the new door hinges. The darkness seems to have passed and I'm (maybe?) ready to start sharing some fun house-related stuff again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Since I finished those two doozies, I've actually been very motivated and had a ton of energy on the weekends to keep on truckin' on stuff around the house. It's looking good. Really good! We're finally getting to a stage where we can have people over without making <i>too</i> many lame excuses..."Just ignore the scary looking cracks in the hall, they're not structural we swear (we think?)"..."Yeahhh, some of our rooms don't have doors and/or door handles...sorry?"..."Of course we're going to pick from one of these 10 swatches of paint that have been in the bathroom for the past 4 months...maybe"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I've pulled all the home-related photos from the past few months off my memory cards and iPhone, so hopefully I can actually share all these fun things with you kids soon. I realized going through photos that I have a TON of scary "progress" photos, and not a lot of fun "after" photos, so I need to take some more afters before all the projects are ready to swear. I promise you would judge me if you saw some of these mid-progress pictures.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">FIRST UP, I guess I'm going in reverse chronological order because it's bathroom tiiiiiiime.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our bathroom has been a sadly neglected area in our house since we moved in almost 2 (!) years ago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you remember, when we first bought the house, the bathroom was a lovely shade of green. At some point of the history of our house, someone had the brilliant idea to install bright green tile. Then, later in time, another genius thought it would be a great idea to color match the wall paint to the bright green tile. Thanks, guys.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />To refresh your memory, this is what we were dealing with:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">These pictures are from our walk through before we closed - I promise I've cleaned the floors since then.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yeah, it was a lot of green.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Overall, the bathroom has some good things going for it. It's a decent size, overall in pretty good condition, and, uh, I don't know I can't really think of anything else positive to say. On the downside, the layout is a weird and seems to waste a lot of space, and the aesthetics leave a lot to be desired. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We've tossed around the idea of a full bathroom remodel, but since this is our only bathroom and someone lives in our guest house, I'm not sure how that would logistically work right now. Not to mention that a gut bathroom remodel seems like it would be expensive, and we don't have the funds saved up at the moment because we keep emptying our home improvement fund on smaller projects.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, the bathroom has just kind of sat there. We, meaning Sean, did eventually work up the motivation to put a few (or 4) coats of white paint over the green, but other than that we literally did nothing. All of the accessories were from our old apartment and we just tossed them into the new place regardless of whether they matched or not (they didn't).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A few months ago I got the motivation to tape up some paint swatches, but then my motivation dissipated. When people would come over I would pretend like the paint chips were haphazardly taped to the wall because I was imminently going to paint, but I think our friends started to catch on as the paint chips hung there, alone and abandoned, for months.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Until Thanksgiving weekend. We had actually planned for our laundry room project (to be blogged) as a Thanksgiving weekend project, but ended up more or less finishing the project on Thanksgiving. With three days to spare of the Thanksgiving break, Sean made the mistake of going to work on Friday and leaving me at home unattended with nothing to do. And lots of energy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And I'd been eyeing the weird window blinds with hatred for the past few months. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Notice the paint chips lurking in the back of this photo... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The blinds actually don't look horrible in photos, and maybe you'll think I'm crazy, but I hateeeeeed them. It's hard to tell but they were super bulky in the room, and hardly let any light in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, I did what any normal person does when they're bored on vacation, and decided to start tearing my bathroom apart without any real game plan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's goin' down, bathroom. I don't know why I took a stud finder out for this project, but I did. Also pretty sure that tool to the right is a gardening tool. That's how we do 'round here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When I say I didn't have a plan...I really didn't have a plan. I'd been eyeing the construction on the blinds for a while but I didn't really know how they were attached or how easily they'd come off. I basically just scored the edges of the paint along the wall, and then started not-so-gently pulling at the wooden boxes until they came off the wall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One down...and probably 5 minutes into the project.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As far as I can tell, the boxes were screwed into the window molding. The downside to this is that tearing them off totally wrecked the molding. Maybe I could have avoided this if I was more gentle...although the way it was attached was pretty haphazard so I'm not sure I could have.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's hard to tell from these next photos, but the construction on these was pretty fab. The boxes surrounding both of the windows were attached to the top of the medicine cabinet with half of an old hinge. Resourceful, I guess?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Things went from kind of fun to kind of scary pretty quickly as I realized I had no idea what I was doing, but I kept tearing stuff out of the walls because it wasn't like I could really stop now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That looks...not good? I also chipped a tile (second from the left) which is currently causing my a great deal of stress. It's not pretty tile, but it looks prettier in one piece.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One of my favorite things about tearing things out of an almost 80-year old house is that there are about 17 layers of wall coverings on any given wall. Tearing up the bathroom revealed snippets of fuzzy patterned (I'm sure there's a real name for this) wallpaper. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Please take a moment to think about how amazing this room must have looked at one point with bright green tile and fuzzy wallpaper. It's just...wow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I should also mention that removing super old bathroom fixtures uncovered a number of what I can only describe as not lovely smells as I disturbed areas that have probably not been cleaned since before these stupid blinds were installed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Blinds off - pre-molding removal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At some point I also decided to remove the old light fixture (which is sticking out of the sink in this photo) and tear out the wood surrounding the medicine cabinet because...well...at this point why not?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This was also the panicky mid-stage of the project. As I began to look around, with dust and shards of wood everywhere, I realized that I had no real vision for how this project was going to wind itself up. And my husband was out, blissfully unaware that I was destroying our bathroom without even mentioning it to him first. Oops!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Anddddd this is where my story ends for today. I can pretend I'm building suspense, but really I'm tired and have to wake up in like 6 hours. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Stay tuned for me hopefully developing a plan about how to fix this scary mess.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Also, here's some of the projects
that are either done (some of which have been done for a while...) or in
progress that I'll try to share soon: </span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We totally re-did our yard! IT IS NO LONGER ALL DIRT. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I replaced all 7 interior
doors and added new hardware (but not before trying to strip and
refinish all the existing doors...blerg)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We finally tore down the
sketchy 70's (80's) wallpaper in the hallway, only to discover the
entirely crappy plaster wall it was hiding</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We re-vamped the previously ignored laundry room area</span></li>
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Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-72429937036147560182012-02-18T12:49:00.000-08:002012-02-18T12:49:44.706-08:00Office Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(does anyone else get annoyed by the odd spacing between paragraphs? I do, but I can't figure out how to fix it. meh.)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You guys are in for a treat today! Ok, not really. But play along with me. You see, usually my posts suffer from extreme delay, because I'm usually only motivated enough to take photos OR write posts at any given time. So it takes me a long time to actually download photos to my computer and write up a post to go along with them. Which would explain why I've had updated guest room photos ready to go for months now without actually showing you the guest room.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But TODAY I am just so super excited about the project I just finished that I'm actually posting in real time!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, as you may remember, when we moved in to this house almost a year ago (!!) our 3rd bedroom/office had delightful mirrored closet doors.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SCgXOJr1-cQ/TWqKS7Z99iI/AAAAAAAAF00/qLi_XBg7ICI/s1600/DSC_0716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SCgXOJr1-cQ/TWqKS7Z99iI/AAAAAAAAF00/qLi_XBg7ICI/s640/DSC_0716.JPG" width="640" /></span></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The rest of the room was also really classy and beautiful. </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QPhh_fRfu1U/TWqKSe2iesI/AAAAAAAAF00/UuxgEMHmHyY/s1600/DSC_0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QPhh_fRfu1U/TWqKSe2iesI/AAAAAAAAF00/UuxgEMHmHyY/s640/DSC_0715.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why yes that IS a doorway leading to the garage, which was illegally converted into a bedroom! And of course the walls are patched with wood putty, what do YOU use to patch holes in plaster walls?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyhow, Sean was so impressed with the mirrored closet doors that he tore them out and threw them in our rented dumpster on the first weekend we owned the house. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, I'm not saying I liked the doors, but this would not have been my personal choice. If I hadn't been off somewhere when Sean was demolishing the doors, I probably would have explained to him that it makes sense to keep the doors in place for now while we figure out how/when we are going to replace them.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, the doors went bye-bye. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And my closet has remained doorless for approximately 355 days. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Brief explanation: since our bedroom closet is teeny tiny and we live by ourselves, Sean took over the guest room closet and I took over the office closet as our personal closets. It works for now, we can just never have kids if we want closet space)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You see, as it turned out, it wasn't so easy to find replacement closet doors. The only stock closet doors that the big home improvement stores sell are: (a) mirrored; (b) super super cheapo plastic fake wood; or (c) frosted glass. None of these were what we wanted. We had in mind plain white wooden closet doors, which are IMPOSSIBLE to find.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I shopped around for a while, researched a lot, and then a year passed. We had a few false starts, like when we tried to special order doors from Home Depot only to find out (a week or so after we tried to order them) that they were discontinued. In the meantime, I hung a curtain in my closet and it was almost as classy as the original mirrored doors.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0KBF2637W7o/Tf6Tle3OGzI/AAAAAAAAGFw/dVQ3qwYZiUs/s1600/DSC_0231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0KBF2637W7o/Tf6Tle3OGzI/AAAAAAAAGFw/dVQ3qwYZiUs/s640/DSC_0231.jpg" width="424" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few weeks ago, I resolved that I was going to make closet doors. A few pieces of plywood, some trim pieces, paint, and we're done! So we headed to Lowes to check out lumber. And somehow ended up in the interior door aisle. And it was there we figured out that we could just buy plain interior doors, buy sliding closet door hardware, and rig up out own closet doors. Durr. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, we ordered doors! They were special order at $120 a pop, which seems a little expensive but who knows, I'm not really in the business of buying doors often. In contrast, cheapo mirrored doors in the same size would cost about $100 for the set, rather than the $240 for the set that we paid. But we got solid wood doors that are exactly the style we wanted. And I had a Lowes gift card from my wonderful and generous Anna Donna which helped. So I think it was worth it!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good lord I'm writing a lot about our closet door search. Hopefully this lets you know what a stress these closet doors (or lack thereof) has been in my life over the past year. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once we ordered the closet doors, this was not the end of it. I won't get into detail, but Lowes totally screwed up our order. When we went to go pick up the doors (which we had to rent a UHaul to do because these babies are 80" tall and would not fit in my petite Honda Insight) they told us only one of the doors had come in. Uh, ok. Then a week later they called us and said oops! We had the second door all along, come pick it up. Except no way I was spending another $40 on a UHaul because of their mistake. So we got them to pay for delivery. FASCINATING STORY, EH?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then once they got here, I had to paint them since they only came primed. This was fun, I guess? I did three coats of our favorite $5 white paint in satin. Maybe I should have done semi-gloss. We'll see.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This morning I had the joy of installation. I will spare you the gory details but of course this wasn't simple and required drilling and re-drilling about 40 holes, going to Home Depot to get a 1x4 because nothing in our house is standard size or even and I had to kind of rig up the track so that the doors fit. And I stabbed myself in the pinky with a screwdriver, and stepped on a sharp drill bit. This project literally involved blood, sweat, and tears.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But now it's done.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And it's beautiful.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o8x7DCnBr3c/T0AC_5mUalI/AAAAAAAAGrk/96Hp8qew80E/s1600/DSC_0206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o8x7DCnBr3c/T0AC_5mUalI/AAAAAAAAGrk/96Hp8qew80E/s640/DSC_0206.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, I whipped out my $10 wide angle lens again because this room is teeeeeeeny.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's shocking how much more this room looks finished now that there's closet doors instead of a cheap curtain nailed to the wall.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2EY88PAt7zU/T0ADV1lRDcI/AAAAAAAAGsM/7Om91dBEaIg/s1600/DSC_0216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2EY88PAt7zU/T0ADV1lRDcI/AAAAAAAAGsM/7Om91dBEaIg/s640/DSC_0216.JPG" width="424" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh, I also re-arranged the office since we spoke last. And bought a rug (<a href="http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=20659470&color=040&color=040&itemdescription=true&navAction=jump&search=true&isProduct=true&parentid=SEARCH+RESULTS">I dig it</a>). And some shelving. And let Ernie's hair get way too long.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vK3FzOnmhNU/T0ADWXXtARI/AAAAAAAAGsU/HLVjS3iFgQQ/s1600/DSC_0217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vK3FzOnmhNU/T0ADWXXtARI/AAAAAAAAGsU/HLVjS3iFgQQ/s640/DSC_0217.JPG" width="424" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also replaced the blinds with the white blinds that were in our bedroom when we moved in. Except I only had two. So there's one ugly wood blind in the office. It's on my to-do list to fix, I promise.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iB73GYGO0xA/T0ADeb9AxkI/AAAAAAAAGsg/2rzUDRYHKns/s1600/DSC_0218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iB73GYGO0xA/T0ADeb9AxkI/AAAAAAAAGsg/2rzUDRYHKns/s640/DSC_0218.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've just thrown things on the shelves so they don't look pretty. Sorry. I also don't know what that mirror is doing there on top but I didn't know where else to put it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I like this photo because two dogs snuck in to it. Oh, you'll also notice that there's no door to the office. That's another project in the works. Hopefully not one that will take a year.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BsOrFRIdfxc/T0ADj6PLA6I/AAAAAAAAGs0/fSuO-mrD7QM/s1600/DSC_0226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BsOrFRIdfxc/T0ADj6PLA6I/AAAAAAAAGs0/fSuO-mrD7QM/s640/DSC_0226.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For some reason this is the only room I hang stuff on the walls in. This is my map art. I don't know if I like the black frames, but I was afraid white frames would look weird with the off-white-ness of the antique maps. Meh. These are all places that we've lived/have special meaning for us (California on the left, Connecticut in the middle, the UK on the right, and the world on top. Duh.)</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IYdzM6Up-sM/T0ADeIwsXwI/AAAAAAAAGsc/H5JVPKbc-hA/s1600/DSC_0220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IYdzM6Up-sM/T0ADeIwsXwI/AAAAAAAAGsc/H5JVPKbc-hA/s640/DSC_0220.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ernie stares off into space a lot. Not the sharpest tool in the shed, this one.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think this covers most angles of this room. I really like how it's turned out - it's still evolving day by day, but overall it's a really useful space that also (I think) looks pretty. I actually work from home a fair amount on the weekends and evenings, and it really helps having a nice, bright space like this.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So you don't have to scroll up, and because everyone loves a good before and after...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BEFORE:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AFTER:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, there you have it. Closet doors. Woo!</span><br />
<br />Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-91772497783132168102012-01-28T23:57:00.001-08:002012-02-12T20:44:49.616-08:00Let there be (new dining room) light<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0A02BWDHuiI/TuUWUQ19ifI/AAAAAAAAGes/ja7285C_nZ8/s1600/DSC_0329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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I have a serious Craigslist problem.</div>
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I have wanted this:<a href="http://www.cb2.com/pendant-lamps/lighting/firefly-pendant-lamp/f5281"></a></div>
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<a href="http://images.cb2.com/is/image/CB2/FireflyPendantLitF9?&$web_zoom$&wid=337&hei=337" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://images.cb2.com/is/image/CB2/FireflyPendantLitF9?&$web_zoom$&wid=337&hei=337" width="320" /></a></div>
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firefly pendant light for-ev-er. Like since before we even bought our house.</div>
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I first saw it on a listing website for a house that we never even looked at (<a href="http://www.redfin.com/CA/Los-Angeles/5311-Saturn-St-90019/home/6904740">here</a> - by the way how awesome is the photographer than this teeny house looks so amazing?) and I knew I needed one in my future home.</div>
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We've been dealing with a fugly big ceiling fan in the dining area since we moved in. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rMK4Nne6-1k/TziJ59cZCCI/AAAAAAAAGp8/Cu2Q-50nKQo/s1600/DSC_0037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rMK4Nne6-1k/TziJ59cZCCI/AAAAAAAAGp8/Cu2Q-50nKQo/s640/DSC_0037.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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We turned it on exactly 0 times. There's obviously a giant sliding door in the dining room so if we want some air we just...open it. So, the fan had to go.</div>
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One weekend I got particularly annoyed and in about 10 minutes, dismantled the fan. The room looked amazingly bigger and more open. Sean was amazingly unphased by the fan on the ground and live wires hanging out of the ceiling. I think he's used to my erratic behavior.</div>
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Since the big hole in the ceiling meant that it was game time, I also finally resolved to buy the firefly pendant to replace the big ugly fan. CB2 was having 10% off at the time so I figured $200 or so with tax was do-able. Buuuut, I figured I would check out Craigslist first, juuuuust in case. </div>
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Aaaaaaaaaand I found a brand new firefly pendant for $150, holla! </div>
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Duh I talked the guy down to $100. </div>
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I started installing it myself, but then I got a little nervous because the wiring looked old and I started having visions of electrocuting myself and burning the house down, so I called a local electrician. It only took the pro 10 minutes or so to install the light, and he only charged me $50 AND he complimented my half-done wiring job. </div>
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I can't even express how happy I am with this light. </div>
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The lighting in the dining room is really awkward whenever I try and take photos. But you get the idea. </div>
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See anything unusual in this photo? </div>
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There he is! </div>
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By the way, I've heard the most important part of a camera is the lens. So I went out and bought a $10 wide angle lens on Amazon. Isn't the quality astounding? In all honesty, I kind of like the effect. You can see way more of the house and I kind of dig the retro looking black edges.</div>
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Is that enough light pics for you?</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">With the new table and the new light, it's starting to actually look like a real dining room! No more crappy ikea table, mismatched chairs, and giant ugly ceiling fan! After almost a year of living in this house it feels like it's actually coming together. Yippee.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By the way, we're totally digging the new table. The benches are surprisingly comfy and easy to push out of the way. I'm still so-so on the buffet with the table, but it works for now. As I'm looking at this photo, I reallllly want to hang some art on the wall to the right of the table. Someday, someday we will hang art in this house.</span><br />
<br />Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-78525706539101747722012-01-25T12:38:00.000-08:002012-01-25T13:57:20.259-08:00Addicted to the flea market<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
I'm becoming seriously addicted to the <a href="http://melrosetradingpost.org/">Melrose Trading Post</a>. I feel like every time I go I end up seeing way too much stuff that I like. Which reminds me, I still have a bunch of empty frames in the garage I need to figure out what to do with. Oops. </div>
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Anyhow, on my most recent trip with my decorating accomplice Marissa, I came home with this darling little...I don't know what to call it. Cabinet? Sideboard? I don't know. </div>
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I did an initial walk by and when the lady told me she was looking for $60 I kept walking. But then I had to drag Marissa back when I couldn't stop thinking about how cute this little table/cabinet/whatever would look in our living room. And I do believe it looks pretty adorable. </div>
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I talked the lady down to $45 which I'm happy with. It's solid wood, with a fairly crappy white paint job. It's the kind of thing I could probably find for way cheaper unpainted at a thrift store or craigslist, but I liked this one enough to grab it in the moment.</div>
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I dig the detailing, and it really fits perfectly in the spot. I threw some stuff on top for now, but I'd love to add something with a little more height. Maybe a vase or something? By the way do you like the dirt smear on the wall? Thanks, dogs.</div>
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It sits in front of an outlet, so I want to cut an opening in the back and use it to store our laptop cords when they're not in use. Previously we let the cords just sit on the ground in front of the outlet which also looked super classy. Note the unpainted interior. Yum! Oh and the blurry Mabel head ruining my shot. </div>
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Bonus living room shot to show how the cabinet fits. I swear at some point, possibly before we've lived in our house for a year, I will hang things on the living room wall.</div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-24110791314101471722012-01-04T22:57:00.000-08:002012-01-05T11:20:00.285-08:00The table...it has arrived!<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
I had this post written up and awaiting photos a few weeks ago, and then it got eaten by the internet. And then we went on vacation. Actually, we're still on vacation, but it's raining in lovely London so I'm inside on the iPad catching up on the blog. </div>
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Last I <a href="http://renodoozins.blogspot.com/2011/11/exercising-my-patience.html">spoke</a> of our new dining room table, I was anxiously awaiting a November delivery date. Then November came and went, and I got an e-mail from West Elm saying that my table was due to be delivered sometime in January. So. Not. Cool. I ordered this table in SEPTEMBER, and the benches had already been assembled and chilling in my living room since then. </div>
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Luckily, a new West Elm store had (literally, that day) just opened in my 'hood when I got the most recent backorder e-mail. I called the new store, and lo and behold they had a Carroll table in stock! I previous had called every store in southern California to no avail, so I was kind of ridiculously excited. </div>
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I drove over to the new West Elm on Beverly the next day, and it was amazzzzzzzing. The new store has a really cool, less preppy vibe than the Santa Monica store, and it's way easier to get to from our house than the Santa Monica location. Maybe it's new store enthusiasm, but the employees were super nice and helpful, and I went on opening weekend so I snagged some free coffee and pastries while I shopped. Best shopping experience ever. </div>
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Better yet, they had my table! And they were willing to honor the online sales price from September, aaaaand since I arranged to pick up the table in store I saved over $100 on shipping and delivery charges. A few days later when the table arrived from their warehouse, I went back to West Elm and was able to cram the entire table (disassembled, duh) into the back of my Honda Insight.
A few minutes of assembly later...and we have a table! </div>
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(and a sneaky little doozin trying to climb on the kitchen counter as I take pictures) </div>
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For some reason the lighting in the dining room is always off no matter what time of day, so the pictures never come out quite right. Boo. I also have a lighting update for the dining room, so I don't want to give it away just yet, so ignore the awkward angles.</div>
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I really like my long lost table. I think it looks more orange than it really is in these photos, but it's a nice medium brown that will hopefully blend well with the rest of the main living area. I'm not totally digging the black buffet in the dining room any more, but it's super functional so I'm brainstorming ways to make it work. The blue chair isn't always at the head of the table, but it kind of works.</div>
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The lines are pretty chunky, and it's a super sturdy table. It's solid wood so I'm hoping it lasts for a long, long time. I'm quite impressed by the quality to price ratio - after saving on shipping costs, the entire set cost just over $900, which is the price of just a table at a lot of mid-range furniture places.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In sum, I love my table. I do not love the West Elm back order, but they came through in the end. I think the dogs like the table too - Mabel thinks it's her fort and can usually be found hiding under it, and while Ernie isn't a huge fan of the benches he usually makes himself cozy on one of the blue chairs that float around the living/dining area.</span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-34322571093736818982011-11-28T23:34:00.001-08:002011-12-08T11:48:53.596-08:00In which I make a really simple table<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ages and ages ago, back when we were still apartment dwellers without any tools or space, I saw <a href="http://thestir.cafemom.com/home_garden/100848/Beautiful_DIY_Reclaimed_Wood_Bench">this</a> DIY reclaimed wood bench online and fell in love. It had to be mine someday. Not this one specifically, but an awesome reclaimed wood bench with industrial-style metal legs. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fast forward a few years, and we were in need of a sofa table. Due to our somewhat awkward living room setup, there's not really room for a coffee table. My DIY side tables work pretty well, but I've wanted a sofa table behind the back of our sofa to get some good use out of that area. We had our old coffee table chillin' behind the couch until we sold it on craigslist, but it looked terrible and was totally the wrong size.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Awkward, right?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, what better solution than to DIY a sofa table version of my beloved reclaimed wood bench? </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This table was freakishly easy. Ok, maybe not entirely, but the concept at least. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">First, I sent Sean to buy a huge stab of re-claimed pine at <a href="http://www.eandkwood.com/">E&K Vintage Wood</a>, here in LA. And I can't say it was cheap. I nearly had a heart attack when Sean told me the price, but he assured me it was a beautiful piece of wood (that's what she said). It's got lots of really quaint imperfections, that scream "I was expensive and not purchased at Home Depot."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The damage was $17/foot for a slab of 2x10x13 Oak, but they only sell in the sizes they have in stock, so we bought 13 linear feet. So we paid $221 for a piece of old wood. I know, I know, we're stupid yuppies, but what are we going to do, we live in LA and we can't exactly drive on down to grandpappy's old barn to grab some beautiful reclaimed wood. They cut it for us into 3 pieces - 1 5-foot or so piece for the console table, and 2 other pieces to sit in the garage until we figure out a use for them.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Then, it was as simple as ordering 4 legs online at <a href="http://hairpinlegs.com/">hairpinlegs.com</a> to complete the materials phase. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The hardest part of this really simple project was sanding down the wood. It was in pretty rough shape, so it took an hour or two with varying grits of sandpaper to get a nice, smooth finish. During which time I'm sure my neighbors cursed me for using my small but incredibly noisy hand sander outside on an otherwise quiet Sunday afternoon. Take that, tuba player in the apartment complex next door. Anyway, I haven't yet put any finish on the wood itself, which I should probably do at some point. I'm just not sure what. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Back to the table building tutorial. Um, then I screwed the legs in. It was really that simple. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here's a picture: </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">...but if you need step-by-step instructions for this...you probably shouldn't be operating power tools. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, now we have a table.</span><br />
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The total cost was $100-somethingish if you only count 1/3 of the wood cost, so it definitely could have been cheaper. But still a decent price compared to some fancy store bought industrial-type consoles I was looking at (see <a href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/furniture/accent-tables/frame-console-table/s503340">here</a> and <a href="http://www.westelm.com/products/raw-edge-console-g451/?pkey=cconsole-tables&cm_src=productsearch">here</a>).</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oh, the cool box? I'm glad you asked.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I bought it at the same time I bought my bar cart at <a href="http://magnoliaandwillow.com/">Magnolia and Willow</a>. They had a bunch of these cool old tool boxes that I promptly fell in love with and bought several of. I think this one was $15, or something. It was kind of grungy, and I'm sure some old gruff mechanic was rolling in his grave as I cleaned out his oil-stained tool box with eco-friendly citrus cleaner so I could use it as a decorative accent. Whatever, dude, I like it. I kind of like having it on display, and I use it to store dog toys and other random junk I want to hide from company.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That's it for the latest living room update. I'm digging it. I was worried the decor was becoming a little too modern with my Crate and Barrel media stand and the new West Elm chairs, so I'm trying to bring it back old school with some more vintage-y type things. </span>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-83830858616898123682011-11-28T22:47:00.001-08:002011-12-05T11:21:19.966-08:00Kitchen Update: Part III<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ok, it's the moment you've all been waiting for! Yep, all 3 of you.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At long last, our mini kitchen re-do came to a close. Putting the cabinets back up and installing the hardware was almost as horrible as taking them down. In all honestly, I am very impatient and often have poor attention to detail when it comes to home projects, and so the detail work on these cabinets was not fun. And I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to screw the self-closing hinges into the wall correctly. And a few of the handles are unquestionably crooked. And some of the doors don't line up so they don't close properly.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But, it's done! Horray! I told myself that I may fix some of the above problems sometime in the future, but I'm not holding my breath.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And so, the after photos. I'm sticking them side by side with the before photos from (sort of) similar angles so you can really be amazed by my handiwork. I'm actually not pleased with how these "after" photos turned out, the lighting was funny and such, but I really don't feel like re-taking them. Sorry guys.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I reallllly like how the wall paint turned out. It's the darkest I've ever painted a room, but I think it works with the white cabinets and stainless steel.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Notice the lack of gross grease stain on the ceiling? Hours of scrubbing. Not even exaggerating. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The off-white microwave looks pretty bad next to the shiny white cabinets. We're casually looking at a new stainless steel one, but it seems a little extravagant since the white one works just fine. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ok so that bottom cabinet is a little crooked and I didn't close it all the way. Oops.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have since hung curtains. I should probably update more so my posts aren't immediately outdated.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our Miele dishwasher has a removable cover thing that we could replace for a stainless steel one, but I think it looks fine just painted white.</span> </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gross story - we thought the glass on this light was off-white. Nope. It's white. It was just horribly dirty. Also don't love this light fixture, but it's fine for now.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Close up of the paint and tile matching. I like it.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, that's it for the mini kitchen update. It's still not perfect, but the total cost was only about $150 for cabinet hardware and paint (and a good chunk of my sanity). The result is SO MUCH better than the kitchen we moved in to, and so if we don't get around to a full kitchen reno soon (or ever), I think we're both OK with that.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the meantime, I've slowly been accessorizing and trying not to go too crazy with turquoise theme - you can see some of my wish list at http://pinterest.com/juliemarianne/kitchen/.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That's all for tonight - I hope you like the (sort of) new kitchen as much as we do!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-13802807944481431852011-11-28T01:03:00.000-08:002011-11-28T01:05:29.280-08:00Kitchen Update: Part II<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Last I left you, I shared some scary "before" photos of our kitchen.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As I said, a dream motivated me to get going on the updates. And I guess Sean didn't have a similar dream, because he wasn't completely behind me on this one. He thought that we should just live with the new kitchen until we save up for a full renovation. So, I was mostly on my own for this project. Which was fine. Except for the parts that I cried. But other than that, totally fine. <br />
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I won't go into the cabinet handle and hinge selection process, because it was an amazingly long and hideously boring process. The executive summary is that we paid about $64 for all the handles at <a href="http://www.kitchen-cabinet-hardware.com/">Kitchen Cabinet Hardware</a>, and about $53 for the hinges at Home Depot. Just know that there was a near mental breakdown on my part involving driving around LA looking for the right hinges, only to end up using the ones we bought at Home Depot to begin with.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Anyway, after we picked out all the hardware, I got to the fun part - cabinet dis-assembly:</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That's a lie. It was fun for about a minute, after which it started hardcore sucking for the entire weekend.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Step one was to remove all the cabinet doors, and take off the old, rusted hinges. This went kind of terribly, because a bunch of the screws holding in the hinges were so old that they just snapped off half way or totally stripped. So I ended up having to drill out the centers of a bunch of screws just to pry the hinges off. So. Much. Fun.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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Bag o' hinges</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MDYDnZcFAVg/TqI90YYeWJI/AAAAAAAAGWE/F1hoJYzI6v0/s1600/DSC_0114.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MDYDnZcFAVg/TqI90YYeWJI/AAAAAAAAGWE/F1hoJYzI6v0/s640/DSC_0114.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
Pile o' doors<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">At least it was a nice weekend, so I did as much of the work as I could outdoors.</div></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I also removed all the old handles and saved them in a zip lock bag...I'm not sure why. I have no idea where that bag is now. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then came the sanding. This was almost definitely the worst part. First I had to fill in all the old cabinet holes with wood filler (since we were putting on a whole new type of handle, the old holes wouldn't line up) and wait for that to dry. That part wasn't too bad I guess.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bad part was sanding the surfaces smooth. Since the horrible yellowy brown paint of death had a texture to it, I wanted to sand it as smooth as possible before adding my white paint. This took absolutely forever and was horribly messy and loud and everything else bad. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used a combo of my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-QS900-Filtered-Collection/dp/B001K31KOQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1321755355&sr=8-5">Black & Decker</a> sander and a hand sander, and it was really atrocious. We have 8 tall cabinet doors, 10 short cabinet doors, 8 wide drawers, and 2 small drawers. That's 28 surfaces that needed to be sanded. By yours truly. This took a good chunk of a day, and it was pretty miserable. By the end I was super achey and sore from hunching over cabinet surfaces sanding for hours on end. There's not really many pictures of this step because I tend not to take pictures when I'm miserable. I was honestly ready to give up the project at this point, if not for the fact that our entire kitchen was dis-assembled.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cabinet doors, waiting to be sanded.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then it was on to priming. I bought a gallon of Kilz primer for about $19. I can't remember if it was oil based or water based. All I remember is that I accidentally bought the opposite of what I was supposed to. So, if it was supposed to be oil based, I bought the water based. Or vice versa.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xZ43svjmkQQ/TqI9yshZqnI/AAAAAAAAGV8/rfOvU4tK4cY/s1600/DSC_0116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xZ43svjmkQQ/TqI9yshZqnI/AAAAAAAAGV8/rfOvU4tK4cY/s640/DSC_0116.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I covered all the outdoor furniture with plastic drop cloth and started priming the surfaces outside. It wasn't until I started painting that I realized for the first time how many leaves randomly rain down from the sky in our back yard. Crazy leaf action. I soon realized that unless I wanted some kind of leaf-effect cabinets, I should move the operation indoors. Boo.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1CY34wwZDnw/TqI97GfW4-I/AAAAAAAAGWM/zT9taYvEWUs/s1600/DSC_0117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1CY34wwZDnw/TqI97GfW4-I/AAAAAAAAGWM/zT9taYvEWUs/s640/DSC_0117.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you can hopefully see, it was pretty exciting how much better the cabinets looked after just a coat of primer. I think this was probably the only thing that kept me going.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since the leaf conspiracy thwarted my plans for outdoor painting, I covered the floor of the guest house (which was luckily unoccupied) with a plastic drop cloth and moved the whole operation indoors. The cabinet doors and drawers really covered almost every inch of the guest house floor, so I left myself aisles and just scooted around on my butt from door to door painting.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2LwEgApAYas/TqI-EUKnbpI/AAAAAAAAGWg/o-PWxLQaR0w/s1600/DSC_0118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2LwEgApAYas/TqI-EUKnbpI/AAAAAAAAGWg/o-PWxLQaR0w/s640/DSC_0118.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
As far as painting technique, I played around a bit to see what would get me the smoothest finish. I ended up using a paintbrush first to tackle the corners and molding, then used a small foam roller for the flat surfaces, and to smooth out any brush marks I could. I used this technique for all my layers and it came out well, if I say so myself.<br />
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Our paint search led me all the way to our garage, where we have a stockpile of Fresh Aire paint in off-the-shelf white that we bought on clearance for $5 at Home Depot. I'm positive this was not the best brand of paint to use and I probably could have researched something better. But it was $5. And we have a ton of it. So on went 2 coats of Fresh Aire in semi-gloss over the top of the primer.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q50qiIzF5kM/Tshn0HtqgsI/AAAAAAAAGdU/yq_OTY6dDH4/s1600/photo%252811%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q50qiIzF5kM/Tshn0HtqgsI/AAAAAAAAGdU/yq_OTY6dDH4/s640/photo%252811%2529.JPG" width="478" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then we just waited for the paint to dry. Super exciting. I think we waited about a full week. A few days probably would have been fine, but I think I needed a week off from painting for my sanity.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the meantime, Sean decided he wanted to help, so I asked him nicely to sand and paint the cabinet boxes for me, because I really didn't want to use the sander again for a good long while.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t4mVT0P-p24/TqI-ENsvDqI/AAAAAAAAGWc/ChpDbsG86Y4/s1600/DSC_0119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t4mVT0P-p24/TqI-ENsvDqI/AAAAAAAAGWc/ChpDbsG86Y4/s640/DSC_0119.JPG" width="424" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm sharing these photos because it cracks me up how Sean taped up the dropcloth to block dust from coming out of the kitchen. Really? I feel like a few long pieces of tape would work better than 40 short ones, but hey, that's just me.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_uoCNKZs89k/TqI-JPGqTFI/AAAAAAAAGWs/deMqujNduSo/s1600/DSC_0120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_uoCNKZs89k/TqI-JPGqTFI/AAAAAAAAGWs/deMqujNduSo/s640/DSC_0120.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I should probably mention that smart people probably would have tested their ancient kitchen cabinets for lead paint BEFORE sanding them down. Somehow this thought didn't occur to me, and I only started panicking about possible lead poisoning <i>after</i> I'd spent a good part of the weekend inhaling paint dust. So, I ordered a fancy lead paint test kit on Amazon, which I think arrived after the kitchen was almost done, and we discovered that the paint does not contain lead. At least according to the $10 kit I bought. Yay!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UZj0MpuNqmc/TshnznJnQoI/AAAAAAAAGdQ/vx4cQNBBSLs/s1600/photo%252810%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UZj0MpuNqmc/TshnznJnQoI/AAAAAAAAGdQ/vx4cQNBBSLs/s640/photo%252810%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is what our kitchen looked like post-cabinet box painting/pre-kitchen wall painting/pre-cabinet rehanging.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8kpj5ZbaOlU/Tshn34nH3hI/AAAAAAAAGdg/4yy6FyBOTIs/s1600/photo%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8kpj5ZbaOlU/Tshn34nH3hI/AAAAAAAAGdg/4yy6FyBOTIs/s400/photo%25284%2529.JPG" width="298" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have a really random assortment of photos from the kitchen update. Here's some paint swatches! I decided to go crazy with the kitchen since the cabinets are so white, and paint the walls a color that wasn't beige. Ooooh!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JUFi2Ka6ZP0/Tshn5hw-xPI/AAAAAAAAGdo/Bp3mfPcYYgY/s1600/photo%25285%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JUFi2Ka6ZP0/Tshn5hw-xPI/AAAAAAAAGdo/Bp3mfPcYYgY/s640/photo%25285%2529.JPG" width="478" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wanted a paint color that would tie in with the stripe of teal on the wall that I absolutely hate, so it would look like we actually planned everything...instead of the reality that we're too cheap to tear out all the tile so we're just working around it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stay tuned for some damn sexy kitchen pictures, coming sort of soonish or whenever this case I'm working on decides to stop destroying my life.</span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-86179711112710889962011-11-15T11:15:00.000-08:002011-11-15T11:15:02.837-08:00Kitchen Update: Part I<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's no secret that one of my least favorite parts of this house <strike>was</strike> is the kitchen. It wasn't <i>horrible</i> (especially considering some of the kitchens we saw house-hunting...eek...talk about weird smells), but the paint job was just atrocious and it had obviously not seen a lot of love with the previous owners. It's actually a decent size, but the layout is awkward and I don't like how it opens right through to the laundry room.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We've been going back and forth with what to do with the kitchen. Down the road, we'd love to do a total kitchen renovation - new cabinets, counter tops, blow out some walls and close off others - the works. However, given that this kind of reno is way outside our scope of expertise, it's not going to come cheap. We've very conscious of the volatile housing market (we bought our house for $245,000 LESS than it sold for at the beginning of 2007), and we're almost certain this is not our "forever" home, so we're constantly weighing how much money we want to put into particular projects. <br />
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We realize it's important to love the house we're living in, but it's also important for us to not spend all of our money on renovations that may amount to a sunken cost. Given that the kitchen is functional as-is, we have to really make sure we're going to get at least a partial return our investment before we blow a few months salary on a full kitchen renovation.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That said, in the first 6 months or so we lived here, we've been toying with the idea of doing a kitchen face lift - new cabinet hardware, a coat of paint, and some easy fixes. We already got a shiny new faucet when the old one <a href="http://renodoozins.blogspot.com/2011/03/work-in-progress.html">crapped out on me</a> during some late night painting during our first few weeks of home-ownership, so that was already $450 down the drain in spiffing up the kitchen - although I must admit, the new faucet looks MUCH better.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I sound like a crazy person, but one night in July I had a dream that we re-finished the kitchen cabinets, and it convinced me to move forward. Somehow a dream was all I needed to kick my butt into gear and get moving. <br />
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I'm going to be blogging about the kitchen facelift among a few posts since there's a lot of pictures, so I thought I'd start with the obvious - before pictures:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9FKTcG1riOE/TqI8auyhqXI/AAAAAAAAGTo/RC2NCTwwvHg/s1600/DSC_0093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9FKTcG1riOE/TqI8auyhqXI/AAAAAAAAGTo/RC2NCTwwvHg/s640/DSC_0093.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm not sure if these cabinets are original to the house, but they're pretty old. And, the previous owners decided to paint them with a horrifyingly ugly paint treatment. Thanks guys. I tell people this and they never believe me from the pictures - but the paint was BAD. It made me never want to go in the kitchen - I seriously didn't cook a meal in this kitchen for the first few months we lived here. Oops.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AHPzKxZCoEA/TqI9dTU1obI/AAAAAAAAGVc/GoPTvyt9uq4/s1600/DSC_0110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AHPzKxZCoEA/TqI9dTU1obI/AAAAAAAAGVc/GoPTvyt9uq4/s640/DSC_0110.JPG" width="424" /> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The glass knobs were also just really not my style. Plus they were super dingy. Yuck.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gtoX7vI3AC4/TqI9U4gzUKI/AAAAAAAAGVU/dHMs1eugJhg/s1600/DSC_0105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gtoX7vI3AC4/TqI9U4gzUKI/AAAAAAAAGVU/dHMs1eugJhg/s640/DSC_0105.JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We <a href="http://renodoozins.blogspot.com/2011/02/lets-get-started.html">bought the fridge</a>, which we love, at a great discount before we moved in, but it looks just a little out of place in the otherwise icky kitchen. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The tile floors actually seem pretty new, so I don't even want to imagine what the floor looked like before that. The tiles aren't totally my style, but they've decent. Oh, and if you want to be really grossed out, shortly after this photo was taken I realized the floor grout isn't actually black, it's light brown. It was that dirty.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1PxTGxuy630/TqI9UqxEj3I/AAAAAAAAGVE/ezDJLhViCoE/s1600/DSC_0106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1PxTGxuy630/TqI9UqxEj3I/AAAAAAAAGVE/ezDJLhViCoE/s640/DSC_0106.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The old hinges were just BAD. Super rusty and half of them were bent so the cabinets didn't close properly.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TemcoJ1zH1Q/TqI8_mI6IqI/AAAAAAAAGUs/MYQMR3onuSw/s1600/DSC_0101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TemcoJ1zH1Q/TqI8_mI6IqI/AAAAAAAAGUs/MYQMR3onuSw/s640/DSC_0101.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jxW_7YfQMj8/TqI9GpIVs7I/AAAAAAAAGU0/XnKS2JEBTT8/s1600/DSC_0102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jxW_7YfQMj8/TqI9GpIVs7I/AAAAAAAAGU0/XnKS2JEBTT8/s640/DSC_0102.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Can you sense the hideousness of the paint?? Can you??</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NYzv45P40-M/TqI9U7Cd4bI/AAAAAAAAGVI/KtjmTIQfID0/s1600/DSC_0103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NYzv45P40-M/TqI9U7Cd4bI/AAAAAAAAGVI/KtjmTIQfID0/s640/DSC_0103.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q-RhmI6iw4g/TqI9Ks13pbI/AAAAAAAAGU8/N-g4HOMkAK0/s1600/DSC_0104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q-RhmI6iw4g/TqI9Ks13pbI/AAAAAAAAGU8/N-g4HOMkAK0/s640/DSC_0104.JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qvAq4xxU81Q/TqI8yhziZAI/AAAAAAAAGUQ/wNxOP81l8J4/s1600/DSC_0099.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qvAq4xxU81Q/TqI8yhziZAI/AAAAAAAAGUQ/wNxOP81l8J4/s640/DSC_0099.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">See the new faucet? Fancy pants. Also, you can totally tell that we put NO effort into this kitchen. Thus the mismatched plant pots and crap all over the counters.</span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qmgRLIkIPio/TqI8uq6r35I/AAAAAAAAGUI/E9gjtUkmSlc/s1600/DSC_0098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qmgRLIkIPio/TqI8uq6r35I/AAAAAAAAGUI/E9gjtUkmSlc/s640/DSC_0098.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ca75TPzYw2o/TqI86zBBXMI/AAAAAAAAGUg/aLzcLkt1AJk/s1600/DSC_0097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kHoqHuZif_s/TqI8mpxClpI/AAAAAAAAGUA/tDS-vpoOcbY/s1600/DSC_0096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kHoqHuZif_s/TqI8mpxClpI/AAAAAAAAGUA/tDS-vpoOcbY/s640/DSC_0096.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LGAWxPXb3Zo/TqI8kQquNjI/AAAAAAAAGT4/wqYoItxRf1U/s1600/DSC_0094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LGAWxPXb3Zo/TqI8kQquNjI/AAAAAAAAGT4/wqYoItxRf1U/s640/DSC_0094.JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The over the range microwave doesn't vent properly, so you can sort of see the giant grease stain on the ceiling. Seriously so gross. The old owners I guess liked to cook with lots and lots of oil, and there were greasy drips all over the cabinets that took several hours of scrubbing by yours truly. And see that bottom right cabinet? The hinge was f-ed so it just refused to close. Great for my OCD.</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That's it for the "before" photos. I'll be back soon with the progress and stunningly beautiful and life changing (this may be an exaggeration) after photos.</span>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-24548007109702536712011-11-12T12:19:00.000-08:002011-11-12T12:19:14.621-08:00More living room fun<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I last shared some <a href="http://renodoozins.blogspot.com/2011/07/living-room-update-and-more-craigslist.html">living room updates</a> back in July, and we're being doing lots of shopping and tweaking since then. You've seen my beloved new bar cart, so I thought I'd share some of the other new additions. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xLhpy_ULKTs/TrdPeR-r7FI/AAAAAAAAGX0/NNkMDWbgqxQ/s1600/DSC_0014_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xLhpy_ULKTs/TrdPeR-r7FI/AAAAAAAAGX0/NNkMDWbgqxQ/s640/DSC_0014_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I've been searching for something to put over the fireplace forevah. The room looked super bland without something there, but I'm horribly indecisive. I was going back and forth between some kind of art/print, or a mirror. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My mirror hesitation was that I've heard you should always have a mirror reflecting something interesting, and all that's across from the fireplace is our entertainment center, which is not interesting. In any event, obviously the mirror won out. I found this big antique gold mirror at the </span><a href="http://www.melrosetradingpost.org/" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Melrose Trading Post</a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> for $60. I've been hunting places like Ross and TJ Maxx for a big mirror, but the Trading Post had an amazing selection. Ooooh actually, I just realized I have pictures of the other mirrors on my phone from texting them to Sean...lemme upload those right quick... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here are the runners up that I texted to Sean so that he could text me back that he didn't care, just pick a mirror already.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MCYGB53PtpE/Tr7NEldAJpI/AAAAAAAAGcE/rEGrVbWWJ9g/s1600/mirror3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MCYGB53PtpE/Tr7NEldAJpI/AAAAAAAAGcE/rEGrVbWWJ9g/s640/mirror3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IVh8fSbpHjQ/Tr7NJFkdnxI/AAAAAAAAGcU/MxJs9vlWAkA/s1600/mirror2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IVh8fSbpHjQ/Tr7NJFkdnxI/AAAAAAAAGcU/MxJs9vlWAkA/s640/mirror2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Ok this is actually the one I bought, in its natural habitat.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8dWTqkGL5Hs/Tr7NCKFjzfI/AAAAAAAAGb8/80d6TaKKgMM/s1600/mirror4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8dWTqkGL5Hs/Tr7NCKFjzfI/AAAAAAAAGb8/80d6TaKKgMM/s640/mirror4.JPG" width="478" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1h1sqpqFzgQ/Tr7NGkv2xpI/AAAAAAAAGcM/Jjt5wUkffS4/s1600/Mirrors1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1h1sqpqFzgQ/Tr7NGkv2xpI/AAAAAAAAGcM/Jjt5wUkffS4/s640/Mirrors1.JPG" width="478" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I talked to the guy making these cool window pane mirrors about making a custom size for above the mantle. Obviously I went with something else, but I think I need one of these in my house anyway. Oooh maybe in the window-less guest room. Great idea, Julie!</div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I ultimately decided that a heavy rectangular mirror was more earthquake-friendly than a round one that might roll off the mantle. And plus some of these sold in the time I was wandering around.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Enough about mirrors, here's some more living room pictures.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LIbVLFQ86OM/TrdPg1dc4LI/AAAAAAAAGYE/Ub7oTvOjIRY/s1600/DSC_0016_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LIbVLFQ86OM/TrdPg1dc4LI/AAAAAAAAGYE/Ub7oTvOjIRY/s640/DSC_0016_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fireplace area taking shape. I also recently snagged <a href="http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?isProduct=true&color=027&navAction=jump&parentid=A_FURN_PRETTY&id=21049374">these </a>votives on a naughty insomnia-driven online shopping spree at Urban Outfitters:</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://d30opm7hsgivgh.cloudfront.net/upload/508352532_l1kSEeNr_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://d30opm7hsgivgh.cloudfront.net/upload/508352532_l1kSEeNr_c.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I dig them since we love lighting candles and don't have any cute candle holders. HOWEVER, my biggest complaint is that they are called "Brass Lotus Votives" so I put a VOTIVE candle in them and left them unattended. However, I guess you are only supposed to put tea lights in them, because everything in a 3-foot radius of these candleholders (floor, curtains, walls) was splattered with bright red candle wax after an hour. Dammit.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Moving on...</div><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WjTri-xt2_s/TrdPm0Ej7JI/AAAAAAAAGYg/RpBCpM33des/s1600/DSC_0024_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WjTri-xt2_s/TrdPm0Ej7JI/AAAAAAAAGYg/RpBCpM33des/s640/DSC_0024_2.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Mirror detail and a blurry shot of my messy frizzy weekend hair. I was actually originally considering painting the mirror, but I'm kind of digging the gold. It's different from my normal color pallette which is good, I think.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W8eh3LnCFVQ/TrdPhappvnI/AAAAAAAAGYI/YvnU25F_IBE/s1600/DSC_0019_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W8eh3LnCFVQ/TrdPhappvnI/AAAAAAAAGYI/YvnU25F_IBE/s640/DSC_0019_2.jpg" width="424" /></a></div><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Zoomed out view, with Mabel doozin.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Dit3IuhJyw/TrdPjXGUmhI/AAAAAAAAGYU/IfkHiMKqpMU/s1600/DSC_0020_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Dit3IuhJyw/TrdPjXGUmhI/AAAAAAAAGYU/IfkHiMKqpMU/s640/DSC_0020_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oh yes, I also purchased these chairs recently (actually, months ago, but I last blogged about the living room in July so as far as you know it's "recently"). They're a slightly older version of the <a href="http://www.westelm.com/products/curved-upholstered-chair-f814/?pkey=e%7Ccurved%7C7%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C3&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH%7C%7CNoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-">curved upholstered chair</a> from West Elm. We were in desperate need of some chairs for this area of the living room, so in true Julie fashion I waited until West Elm was having a sale and then showed up to harass the sales people in Santa Monica with a handful of coupons and made them price match the cheaper online price. Long story short, they were $127.49 each, down from the original price of $199. I still can't get over how expensive chairs are. Eeks.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That's all the living room updates for today. This is the room where we spend most of our waking hours (watching TV and snuggling with the doozins), so it's great to see it finally coming together.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now if only my dining room table would arrive...the West Elm website still says "expected delivery by November 14, 2011" but since it's November 12, 2011 and no one has contacted me about home delivery on Monday, I'm thinking that is a LIE.</div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-31793080260368379052011-11-08T11:23:00.000-08:002011-11-08T11:23:52.709-08:00Side effects of watching too much Mad Men<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I recently started watching Mad Men on Netflix, and proceeded to blow through the entire four seasons in a just a few weeks. Sean hates it, so I became best friends with my iPad and started watching an unhealthy amount of TV at every waking hour.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Then, after a few dozen episodes of watching the characters swill drinks and chain smoke in their awesomely retro 1950's offices (not to mention their mostly super cute 1950's clothes), I made a super logical conclusion - I NEEDED to find a bar cart. Stat. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's honestly a little weird how much I started fantasizing about my bar cart. I had a picture in my head of the perfect mid-century bar cart, stocked with all sorts of sophisticated liquor that I, a sophisticated grown-up, would consume. Forget girly drinks, I was going to start drinking fancy aged liquor on the rocks. People would look at me and bask in my sophisticated adulthood. I'd have friend over and throw cocktail parties, where we could sip martinis and talk about...grown up things. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If I could only find the right bar cart, my life was going to change. I was convinced.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, in between Mad Men episodes, I started <strike>browsing</strike> obsessing the internet for the perfect match. Here's a few examples of my inspiration:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/76450374/arko-bar-cart-by-jeff-studio?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=bar+cart&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://img2.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.252556474.jpg" width="301" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">via <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/76450374/arko-bar-cart-by-jeff-studio?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=bar+cart&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade">etsy</a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">$650</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.ebayimg.com/t/BRASS-GLASS-OVAL-Bar-Cart-Wheels-MID-CENTURY-MODERN-/23/%21C%21Q25TwBGk%7E$%28KGrHqV,%21lMEz+4%28R+8CBNCQU%29,%29g%21%7E%7E_12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i.ebayimg.com/t/BRASS-GLASS-OVAL-Bar-Cart-Wheels-MID-CENTURY-MODERN-/23/%21C%21Q25TwBGk%7E$%28KGrHqV,%21lMEz+4%28R+8CBNCQU%29,%29g%21%7E%7E_12.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">via <a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRASS-GLASS-OVAL-Bar-Cart-Wheels-MID-CENTURY-MODERN-/180601339421?pt=US_Tables&hash=item2a0cadbe1d">ebay</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">$1099 </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.ebayimg.com/t/ANTIQUE-VINTAGE-ROLLING-TEA-TROLLEY-BAR-CART-STORAGE-TABLE-2-TIERED-/00/s/NjgyWDEwMjQ=/$%28KGrHqUOKpgE6V%21JdT%29jBOrbCdd%29ng%7E%7E60_3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://i.ebayimg.com/t/ANTIQUE-VINTAGE-ROLLING-TEA-TROLLEY-BAR-CART-STORAGE-TABLE-2-TIERED-/00/s/NjgyWDEwMjQ=/$%28KGrHqUOKpgE6V%21JdT%29jBOrbCdd%29ng%7E%7E60_3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">via <a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-VINTAGE-ROLLING-TEA-TROLLEY-BAR-CART-STORAGE-TABLE-2-TIERED-/120806955068?pt=Antiques_Furniture&hash=item1c20a7d83c">ebay</a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">$190<br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">All of these options would have worked perfectly. Problem is, there's no way I was going to spend $1,000+ on a bar cart. Or honestly, even $100+. We have too much else to do and buy for this house, and a bar cart is just not something in the "need" column, despite what my inner fantasies might tell me.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, I did what I do best and started obsessively trolling craigslist for the next best thing. My searching was largely unsuccessful at first - things were either too expensive, or too hideously ugly. I had a few "almosts" but nothing I felt strongly enough about to venture out and see.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
Then, one day, I came across some craigslist ads for a vintage store in Long Beach called <a href="http://magnoliaandwillow.com/">Magnolia and Willow</a>. Score. Their pictures weren't that great, but the prices were very reasonable and they seemed to have a decent selection, and I just really had a good feeling about what I might find.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My first free Saturday, I tore myself away from the iPad and headed South on the 405 to check out this little hole in the wall. And I'm definitely glad I did. They had a really tremendous selection of all things vintage, and the prices were overwhelmingly reasonable. I thought things were much more fairly priced than at the flea markets in the area, where people tend to know when they have something cute and price it ridiculously. <br />
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The lady who runs Magnolia and Willow was SUPER friendly. I found out that it's actually kind of a vintage superstore, and a bunch of sellers sell their stuff at the store, and the owner just collects commissions. I overheard the owner talking to someone else about how running a store like this was basically her dream and she worked hard to make it a reality. Very cool. I think there's actually a few other vintage stores in the Long Beach area that I'll have to check out, but on this particular day my car was already filled with stuff. More on that later.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As you might have imagined, I found a cart! Actually, I found a few - there were 2-3 carts at Magnolia and Willoe that would have done the trick, but one in particular caught my eye. It was a super retro kitchen cart that was covered with a bunch of vintage tool boxes tools, so the lovely owner helped me unbury it once I made my selection.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The price? A super amazingly reasonable $29. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The problem? It was a little rough. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p0Q_XEOE9Uo/TrdQNbWgcJI/AAAAAAAAGbc/DbHkZjdjAOg/s1600/photo%25281%2529_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p0Q_XEOE9Uo/TrdQNbWgcJI/AAAAAAAAGbc/DbHkZjdjAOg/s640/photo%25281%2529_2.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Excuse the picture - it's an iphone shot in the backyard in fading light. As you can see, my quaint little cart was just a tad beat up and rusty. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wGfYsi_qo_U/TrdQQ-sryPI/AAAAAAAAGbo/3rywpAj3Uic/s1600/photo%25283%2529_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wGfYsi_qo_U/TrdQQ-sryPI/AAAAAAAAGbo/3rywpAj3Uic/s640/photo%25283%2529_2.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I originally thought I'd rock the rusty chic look, but Sean wasn't buying it. He doesn't always share my creative genius, and he thought this looked like something I pulled out of the garbage (um yeah, I WISH I pulled this out of the garbage).</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Plan B = rummage through the garage for some spray paint. I had found a can of white spray paint and a can of oil rubbed bronze (both Rustoleum) in the garage, and after deliberating for a bit on an all-white cart, I decided to try some kind of two-tone look.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I was so excited and impatient about my purchase that I actually did all the work on this the same afternoon I bought it - thus the fading light in the pictures.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Since the paint was chipped and rusty, I sanded the whole thing with some fine-ish sandpaper to smooth it out, wiped it with a damp cloth to remove the dust, then went to town with a few half-empty cans of spray paint. I honestly just winged this whole project and it took a total of about an hour. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My only in-progress picture is this incredible example of my perfectly taped off legs. AKA, I found some newspaper and taped it on the legs in the sloppiest way possible.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SLHW-eQjOSk/TrdQQaTs0WI/AAAAAAAAGbk/XVnaOhB5br4/s1600/photo%25282%2529_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SLHW-eQjOSk/TrdQQaTs0WI/AAAAAAAAGbk/XVnaOhB5br4/s640/photo%25282%2529_2.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I then did 4-5 coats of verrrrrrrrry thin paint. I think I'm actually getting the hang of this spray painting thing. When people say thin coats they mean THIN COATS. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Through the magic of the internet, and after a day or so drying outside and a few confusing trips to the liquor store, here's what my $29 cart turned into:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yNVhcuWR2Sw/TrdPc5k3gHI/AAAAAAAAGXs/v-cvS5JBfBM/s1600/DSC_0004_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yNVhcuWR2Sw/TrdPc5k3gHI/AAAAAAAAGXs/v-cvS5JBfBM/s640/DSC_0004_2.jpg" width="424" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Horray!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The top looks black, but it's actually the lovely oil rubbed bronze, so it has a subtle metallic shimmer, like so:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f6LaZbVev80/TrdPe0joCjI/AAAAAAAAGX8/oxBK29ek_Co/s1600/DSC_0009_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f6LaZbVev80/TrdPe0joCjI/AAAAAAAAGX8/oxBK29ek_Co/s640/DSC_0009_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It actually needs another coat of white, but my can of white spray paint ran out and I haven't gotten around to buying more. </span><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, that's how my bar cart dream became a reality. Thrilling stuff. And, for the record, it's totally turned me into the sophisticated grown up I imagined. For example, I'm currently writing this post from the couch, wearing sweatpants that are covered in dog hair, the button down I wore to court this morning that I am too tired to change out of, and drinking a Corona. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A girl can dream, right?</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-15856023521876440692011-11-01T23:49:00.000-07:002011-11-01T23:49:42.851-07:00Exercising my patience<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-YxuAUS9dLVQ/TWSsQBb0y4I/AAAAAAAAFck/up1x6e1HddI/s800/DSC_0624.JPG"></a><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am a horribly impatient person. Just ask anyone who knows me. I'll routinely jam insane amounts of furniture into my car just to avoid waiting for home delivery, and Amazon Prime with free 2-day shipping is one of the best things to ever happen to me (although one-day shipping would be even better).</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Where am I going with this?</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We've been living with the same, slightly sad, Ikea dining table (seen <a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-YxuAUS9dLVQ/TWSsQBb0y4I/AAAAAAAAFck/up1x6e1HddI/s800/DSC_0624.JPG">here</a> in our old apartment) since we moved to LA more than four years ago. This table has actually been awesome and held up remarkably for the price, but I just kept feeling like it was time to move on...and maybe, I don't know, buy a new table that actually has chairs that match.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, since we got the house I've been scouring all my favorite furniture store websites for a table that would fit the bill. Our dining area isn't huge, so I knew it couldn't be too big and overwhelm the space. I also wanted something that was made with real wood (not veneer), and that was fairly chunky and not too modern. Sean also digs benches instead of chairs, so the perfect table also had to have a matching bench option.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Enter the West Elm Carroll table</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.westelm.com/weimgs/rk/images/wcm/products/201139/0188/img23b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" ida="true" src="http://www.westelm.com/weimgs/rk/images/wcm/products/201139/0188/img23b.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I kind of dug it. And, at $499 for a 66" table, the price wasn't bad either. But of course, I'm cheap. Super cheap. And I know that West Elm tends to cycle through sales, and it couldn't be <i>too </i>long before they had a 15-20% off dining sale, right? So I waited. And waited. And waited some more. Until finally - literally 6 months later - my dream came true and West Elm put all dining on sale for 20% off. Yayyy!</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Like a true nerd, I dragged Sean to the West Elm in Santa Monica the day the sale started, bribing him with promises of dinner. I wanted to check out the table in person and make sure it was really what we wanted, since it's one of our biggest furniture purchases yet for the new house. It was great in person, buuuuuut unfortunately I discovered that they don't carry the table in store, so I couldn't just grab the table that night and run. SAD FACE. Not just that, but we'd have to pay the insane shipping and delivery charges. DOUBLE SAD FACE. And it's on major back order. BOO. I tried to convince the West Elm employees to sell me the floor model but they weren't going for it. They said my only chance of finding one was if someone returned one to the store, so I gave them my name and number, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. I find the employees at that store to be incredibly apathetic, so I feel like they might have just thrown away my number as soon as I left the store.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Anyway, after a little more deliberation, I placed the order for everything online. I tried everything I could to get an extra discount - including calling the 1-800 number but no dice. I did end up signing up for a West Elm credit card (something I never do) to get 10% back in West Elm dollars. Not too bad I suppose. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The grand total for the set was $1156.01, which was a little shocking for a cheapo like me. It was $424 for the table, $228 each for two benches, a whopping $183 for shipping, and $93 sales tax.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So now I wait.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.westelm.com/weimgs/rk/images/wcm/products/201139/0131/img54b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" ida="true" src="http://www.westelm.com/weimgs/rk/images/wcm/products/201139/0131/img54b.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I originally wanted to do half modern chairs and half bench like the pretty picture above, but Sean wasn't down for that idea. So, I compromised and did 2 benches and no chairs.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The estimated delivery date for the table is November 14, but I've literally been checking the West Elm website every day to see if they change the date. Dork. No changes so far. We actually got the benches a few weeks back, so they've been chilling in our living room awkwardly, waiting for their table.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm super excited about how the new table will transform the whole living area, so I'll be sure to update once the table is (FINALLLLLY) delivered. I also have my eye on a new light fixture for above the table, but the cheapskate in me has to recover a bit before dropping the money on that... </div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-36991469526298046132011-10-25T22:50:00.000-07:002011-10-25T22:50:47.637-07:00Whoopsie.<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am a terrible blogger. I know, I've said it already...too much work...too much other stuff...too much laziness...blah blah blah.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, let's just catch up where I left off. I checked out the last pictures I took and there's already so much that's changed since then, buuuut let's just pretend it hasn't! You'll never know. Unless you're one of our friends who have been over the house lately. And in that case, just pretend to be surprised.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I mentioned in one of my last posts that the other weekend (in June) I went out of town and Sean </span><a href="http://renodoozins.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-husband-rock-star.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">did an insane amount of work</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> on the house.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first thing I saw when I got home was the newly stained fence. When last we left off, we had a beautiful but kind of stripe-y redwood fence, like so:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-cqAsDvsMY6I/TfG6VbqfE9I/AAAAAAAAGDw/ieOeEN7THGI/s640/DSC_0132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-cqAsDvsMY6I/TfG6VbqfE9I/AAAAAAAAGDw/ieOeEN7THGI/s640/DSC_0132.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I got home, I saw this newly stained beauty - he even picked out the paint color all by himself!</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zhtKaxwvOEU/TqeeF37FCaI/AAAAAAAAGXM/V-kb65wLwnk/s1600/DSC_0071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" ida="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zhtKaxwvOEU/TqeeF37FCaI/AAAAAAAAGXM/V-kb65wLwnk/s640/DSC_0071.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He also painted the silver fence support thingies with oil rubbed bronze spray paint, so they look like fancy iron instead of shiny galvanized steel. Since then we've also added a mail slot cover...and some landscaping...which you'll see eventually, I'm sure.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Random note - the spray paint said it wouldn't adhere properly to galvanized steel, but we tried it anyway and it seems to be working fine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fence wasn't the only part of the house that got a fresh coat - Sean also painted the office, including the trim.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't have any before pictures that fully express the dingy grossness of the office paint before, but it was bad. Plus we had the little issue of the new dry wall that kind of stuck out a little:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-dtUd0IKgtsc/Tf6TfCy5fEI/AAAAAAAAGFs/3BvoVVoq0s8/s640/DSC_0223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-dtUd0IKgtsc/Tf6TfCy5fEI/AAAAAAAAGFs/3BvoVVoq0s8/s640/DSC_0223.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's just say it looks a lot better with a coat of paint:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-gFfcvu0D_2A/TqI6MDRGfyI/AAAAAAAAGXI/bIBuQhZhVVw/s640/DSC_0041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-gFfcvu0D_2A/TqI6MDRGfyI/AAAAAAAAGXI/bIBuQhZhVVw/s640/DSC_0041.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the way, have I shown you my new lamp yet? I love it!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eEFIpHoti8Y/TqI6UQLnVsI/AAAAAAAAGQQ/LuN8GaItvPk/s512/DSC_0045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eEFIpHoti8Y/TqI6UQLnVsI/AAAAAAAAGQQ/LuN8GaItvPk/s512/DSC_0045.JPG" width="340" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oooooh!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-xwpD4Coq1G8/TqI6VHyiawI/AAAAAAAAGQY/0gkrFCPtRzM/s512/DSC_0048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-xwpD4Coq1G8/TqI6VHyiawI/AAAAAAAAGQY/0gkrFCPtRzM/s512/DSC_0048.JPG" width="340" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The name of this paint color is...I forgot, but it's the color we were originally going to paint the bedroom before we decided it was too dark. I know it doesn't look dark at all, but for some reason our bedroom makes all paint look freakishly darker than it really is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moving on to the guest bedroom. This room really gets no love, since it basically serves as our dogs' bedroom. Not that we don't love our dogs, but they don't really have a great sense for decor. There's actually been a lot of recent guest room changes but I don't have pictures yet soooo let's just pretend they didn't happen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't have any good before pictures, but it was the same dingy off-white as in the other rooms.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-bRX-zUdI0LA/TWqKRQ-PQ2I/AAAAAAAAF00/ATNtRGytWQY/s640/DSC_0713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-bRX-zUdI0LA/TWqKRQ-PQ2I/AAAAAAAAF00/ATNtRGytWQY/s640/DSC_0713.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This paint color was actually a $5 can we got at Home Depot. It ended up being more than $5 because Sean ran out - don't ask me how since this room is so small, I think someone puts their paint on a little too thick - so he had to go back and color match. We originally thought it was gray but it's more of a blue/gray. It works.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-XKC75MPsnF4/TqI6rYNzClI/AAAAAAAAGQ4/8-vW7BLxiiw/s640/DSC_0056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-XKC75MPsnF4/TqI6rYNzClI/AAAAAAAAGQ4/8-vW7BLxiiw/s640/DSC_0056.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pleaseeee try not to get too obsessed with my decor choices for this room. It's nice, I know.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-aSbjL62llmY/TqI6jmQKhwI/AAAAAAAAGQs/KmzKPrUiuXg/s640/DSC_0061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-aSbjL62llmY/TqI6jmQKhwI/AAAAAAAAGQs/KmzKPrUiuXg/s640/DSC_0061.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's the new headboard against the new paint. Now all we need is a bed. Minor details.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-24uVQ342BH8/TqI6jVQkx4I/AAAAAAAAGQo/bsCcOvHpq9M/s640/DSC_0062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-24uVQ342BH8/TqI6jVQkx4I/AAAAAAAAGQo/bsCcOvHpq9M/s640/DSC_0062.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aaaand with the beautiful window treatments. Oh god this room is so bad.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's move on! Who remembers the BRIGHT GREEN bathroom?!?</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jUujN8uKenQ/TWqKQPk76RI/AAAAAAAAF00/cZDBmo4UFVI/s640/DSC_0709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jUujN8uKenQ/TWqKQPk76RI/AAAAAAAAF00/cZDBmo4UFVI/s640/DSC_0709.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">IT'S NOW WHITE</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Du3zxnnyRIw/TqI7E5BztYI/AAAAAAAAGRo/pDAFKgkdrMU/s640/DSC_0068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Du3zxnnyRIw/TqI7E5BztYI/AAAAAAAAGRo/pDAFKgkdrMU/s640/DSC_0068.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-R4h9z1bQcPY/TqI61VKF0oI/AAAAAAAAGRQ/31I1m5ox288/s512/DSC_0069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-R4h9z1bQcPY/TqI61VKF0oI/AAAAAAAAGRQ/31I1m5ox288/s512/DSC_0069.JPG" width="340" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">YAY! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm still not entirely convinced that this shade of bright white is the right color for the bathroom given the other random colors in there, but it definitely works for now! We're still using up our million cans of $5 white paint, so this was a cheap project as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think that's it for Sean's crazy insane weekend. We're now done painting the entire interior of the house, except for any tweaks or changes we may do...and except for the kitchen which has been painted but you don't know that it's been painted because I haven't blogged about it yet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Time to sign off because I'm sleepy, but stay tuned for my next blog post (in 3 months).</span>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-87560341753894282442011-07-06T10:54:00.000-07:002011-07-06T11:13:38.692-07:00Living Room Update (and more craigslist shopping)<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I realized that I've never really focused a post on the status of our living room, except for some little snippets and of course the lovely "before" photos</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n-xPRbApHQk/TWqJ-hsh_aI/AAAAAAAAF00/Nx8hIF1uBII/s1600/DSC_0676.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" i$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n-xPRbApHQk/TWqJ-hsh_aI/AAAAAAAAF00/Nx8hIF1uBII/s400/DSC_0676.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-olM2GFrFCLo/TWqKAek-DHI/AAAAAAAAF00/mbp2dFR6-4g/s1600/DSC_0679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" i$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-olM2GFrFCLo/TWqKAek-DHI/AAAAAAAAF00/mbp2dFR6-4g/s400/DSC_0679.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ick!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Since then, we've been slowly painting, adding furniture, hanging curtains, and all that fun stuff to make the main living space look less like a house that was on the market for a year, and more like our own space.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DFZFuzGGC9A/Tf6UVvEX4BI/AAAAAAAAGGk/KA7-k1Uf_Es/s1600/DSC_0263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" i$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DFZFuzGGC9A/Tf6UVvEX4BI/AAAAAAAAGGk/KA7-k1Uf_Es/s400/DSC_0263.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our most recent addition is this media center from Crate and Barrel. Our old media stand, which you can see in the picture from our old apartment below, was too short and chunky and didn't fit the space.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zZysWBuhFjY/TWSsOwRGweI/AAAAAAAAFcc/F7J2aah_SdQ/s1600/DSC_0618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" i$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zZysWBuhFjY/TWSsOwRGweI/AAAAAAAAFcc/F7J2aah_SdQ/s400/DSC_0618.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My absolute dream media stand is a custom wall unit like <a href="http://www.the-brick-house.com/2009/09/shelving-unit.html">this one</a> that Morgan over at The Brick House designed, but I'm too chicken to drill into the wall and floors like that. I'm also not sure it would be a great idea since our walls are pretty fragile plaster.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In any event, I had a bunch of the Crate and Barrel Sloane furniture in our old apartment, and I liked it. Not love, but like. It's a good blend of form and function, and pretty budget friendly. Well, if you're like me and buy everything on craigslist anyway. I also love the Sloane collection because it's ridiculously easy to disassemble and transport in a small car.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">When I saw that there was a <a href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/furniture/media-centers/sloane-espresso-44%22-leaning-media-stand-with-2-25.5%22-bookcases/s554408">Sloane media stand available</a>, I thought I'd check it out. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.crateandbarrel.com/is/image/Crate/SloaneMediaCollectionAB10?extend=110,110,110,110&$web_zoom$&wid=598&hei=598" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="http://images.crateandbarrel.com/is/image/Crate/SloaneMediaCollectionAB10?extend=110,110,110,110&$web_zoom$&wid=598&hei=598" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: crateandbarrel.com</span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">My first step was to sell all of our old Sloane furniture on craigslist, since they were all an older model than the media stand and the pieces wouldn't have matched up. I sold 2 of our leaning bookshelves, plus 2 leaning desks and our old media stand, for a total of about $500 cash money - which left us plenty of money to play around with to assemble our new media stand.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Luckily, I found the media stand and one bookshelf on craiglist (in almost-new condition!) for $225. That's almost a 60% discount without even factoring in tax and shipping. Score! We took a nice trip up to Hollywood to grab the loot, and happily loaded everything in my little Volvo 240 (with room to spare!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">After dealing with a lopsided media center for a few weeks, I couldn't find a matching bookshelf on craigslist - or at least not one in my price range that we could snap up quick enough. Luckily, we have mad connections, and we were able to purchase the second bookshelf from a friend who works at Crate and Barrel for around $100,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Between craigslist and discounts, our grand total for the media center was about $325 - or more than $300 less than if we'd bought straight from the store. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">My favorite part about craigslist shopping, other than the obvious cheapness, is that I always feel like if I can sick of something I can easily re-sell it and make my money back. If I tire of this media center and want to try something new, I'm pretty confident I can make my money back by re-selling and move on to the next thing.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So, that's how we got our new media stand.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U5IG8pr1ysc/Tf6UXQZIouI/AAAAAAAAGGo/PZHHWDSZ5lQ/s1600/DSC_0269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" i$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U5IG8pr1ysc/Tf6UXQZIouI/AAAAAAAAGGo/PZHHWDSZ5lQ/s400/DSC_0269.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mabel approves. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(I also don't know if I've mentioned that we put down </span><a href="http://www.flor.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Flor</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> tiles in the living room, which the lovely Mabel is modelling. I have a love-hate relationship with Flor, so I think I'll keep this topic for another post.)</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dP9T6E6oBV0/Tf6UkQlUb8I/AAAAAAAAGG0/seO8BPV1ZaY/s1600/DSC_0272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" i$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dP9T6E6oBV0/Tf6UkQlUb8I/AAAAAAAAGG0/seO8BPV1ZaY/s400/DSC_0272.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We were able to hide all of the cables in a spare box from Ikea, because the clutter was driving me crazy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Translation: I made Sean do this because the clutter was driving me crazy. The amount of wires around our media center is insane, we have way too many gadgets. I worry a little that this may start a fire, but at least there's less clutter.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9Udw-mvHoPw/Tf6UdA1JPpI/AAAAAAAAGGs/IQr7YgHqce0/s1600/DSC_0270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" i$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9Udw-mvHoPw/Tf6UdA1JPpI/AAAAAAAAGGs/IQr7YgHqce0/s400/DSC_0270.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another view, couch included. I literally just threw random things on the shelves after we assembled them, so I'm currently working on making them more aesthetically pleasing.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GsdGfy_XQJs/Tf6UjgQsAKI/AAAAAAAAGGw/bVA_YK4FGyg/s1600/DSC_0276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" i$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GsdGfy_XQJs/Tf6UjgQsAKI/AAAAAAAAGGw/bVA_YK4FGyg/s400/DSC_0276.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">View of the fireplace area, and an Ernie doozin. This room is shaped for an awkward setup, so right now I'm envisioning a separate sitting area near the fireplace, and a TV area where the TV is currently set up. I'm not sure anything else really makes sense but if you have brilliant ideas please share them.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TXHUOOg0fo8/Tf6UwXh9VsI/AAAAAAAAGHA/2AgUi6UyQmE/s1600/DSC_0282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" i$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TXHUOOg0fo8/Tf6UwXh9VsI/AAAAAAAAGHA/2AgUi6UyQmE/s400/DSC_0282.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">View from the dining area. That's our old coffee table currently doubling as a behind-the-couch console table. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's plans in the works for a DIY console table I'm pretty excited about, but it will have to wait for a weekend when I do something other than sit on my butt and read books and drink beer.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gMtMlXH9_pQ/Tf6UtyEbdQI/AAAAAAAAGG8/aYyXr34RPAw/s1600/DSC_0280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" i$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gMtMlXH9_pQ/Tf6UtyEbdQI/AAAAAAAAGG8/aYyXr34RPAw/s400/DSC_0280.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Same view, 100% more doozin. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please also notice the light fixture. When we moved in there was a hole in the wall in that location with wires hanging out, which you can spot in the before photos above. It wasn't a great look. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I probably searched for about 100 hours of my life (that I will never get back) for a suitable replacement. I looked at a million fixtures and couldn't find a single one I liked, or that I thought would look good without a pair - due to the spacing of this one, another light on the other side of the archway would look funny. I found one I liked from Schoolhouse electric (</span><a href="http://schoolhouseelectric.com/fixtures-detail.asp?FixtureID=303&all=0"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">this one</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">), but it was $169 and Sean didn't like it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then, at a lighting outlet on my birthday (I'm cool like that), I found the fixture we ended up buying. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's an outdoor fixture. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was $30. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It also ende<span style="background-color: white;">d the constant strain on my marriage from my inability to choose a light fix</span>ture which my husband could not understand. Perfect! </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Click on the picture above to zoom in on my lovely new light fixture...you know you want to!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fa7X6_9xY6U/Tf6UwSoH8BI/AAAAAAAAGHE/ISLlPmYIqiM/s1600/DSC_0277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" i$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fa7X6_9xY6U/Tf6UwSoH8BI/AAAAAAAAGHE/ISLlPmYIqiM/s400/DSC_0277.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another angle, more doozins. I was going to hang that mirror above the fireplace, then I didn't, so it's just hanging out awkwardly for now waiting for a home. Ignore the dining area, it needs work.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">That's the living room for now! We definitely need to keep tweaking, but for now it's a comfortable space to hang out and we're not embarrassed to have people over which is a plus.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-14527930935579698122011-07-04T19:14:00.000-07:002011-07-12T12:31:10.377-07:00Latest bedroom update<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last time I updated you on our master bedroom was <a href="http://renodoozins.blogspot.com/2011/03/progress.html">back in March</a>, and we've come a long way since then!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you'll remember, the bedroom when we first moved in was kind of a huge mess and required a ton of sanding and painting:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qg1hK-UUn00/TY7D_6gtjyI/AAAAAAAAF2w/AjwqWcCj-qI/s1600/DSC_0077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qg1hK-UUn00/TY7D_6gtjyI/AAAAAAAAF2w/AjwqWcCj-qI/s640/DSC_0077.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We finally got it live-able, but I still wasn't crazy about our bedroom furniture, which we bought at Ikea when we first moved to LA almost four years ago. The very utilitarian Ikea stuff was cheap and we've definitely got our money's worth by now, but I was itching to update it. That said, bedroom furniture wasn't even at the top of my list because we have so much else to buy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Then it happened.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My luckiest craigslist week ever.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I wasn't even looking, but my dream bedroom set came and found me. To give a little bit of back story - a long while back, Sean and I spent the afternoon poking around furniture at the <a href="http://helmsbakerydistrict.com/">Helms bakery district</a> right down the road from us in Culver City, which houses tons of furniture stores like Plummers, Environment, H.D. Buttercup, and other places way out of our price range. If you're a fatty like us, they also have some awesome food like the burgers at Father's Office and some amazing french onion soup at La Dijonaise which is perfect after a day of furniture window shopping.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I digress. On this particular trip, we stopped into Room and Board to check out some of their beautiful furniture. I love that Room and Board is always described in design sources as "affordable," because it's most certainly not, at least not to two cheapos like us. It was on this trip that I discovered the <a href="http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product/detail.do?productGroup=19153&catalog=filter&menuCatalog=room&menuCategory=191&menuSubcategory=179">Calvin bedroom furniture</a>, which I became oddly obsessed with, particularly the night stands. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://s7d4.scene7.com/is/image/roomandboard/?layer=0&src=548514_wood_E&layer=1&src=548514_knob_SS&layer=comp&$truvu1$&wid=630" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" i$="true" src="http://s7d4.scene7.com/is/image/roomandboard/?layer=0&src=548514_wood_E&layer=1&src=548514_knob_SS&layer=comp&$truvu1$&wid=630" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: roomandboard.com</span></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I honestly can't said there's anything special about these pieces, I just loved the look and the clean lines. Not to mention that the craftsmanship is really amazing - most of their pieces are handcrafted and it shows.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The problem is that there was no way I was spending almost $1,100 (including tax) on a pair of night stands. I thought about saving up a few times and splurging, but I just couldn't. It is, after all, just a nightstand.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Then, one day during my normal craigslist trolling for cheapo nightstands for the guest house, I stumbled upon a listing for 2 Room and Board Calvin nightstands, PLUS a 6-drawer dresser.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://s7d4.scene7.com/is/image/roomandboard/?layer=0&src=528579_wood_E&layer=1&src=528579_knob_SS&layer=comp&$truvu0$&wid=500" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" i$="true" src="http://s7d4.scene7.com/is/image/roomandboard/?layer=0&src=528579_wood_E&layer=1&src=528579_knob_SS&layer=comp&$truvu0$&wid=500" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: roomandboard.com</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The price? Not cheap by any means, but less than what we would have spent on the nightstands alone, and less than 30% of retail price.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">You might say I flipped out. I called the guy immediately and tried to contain my glee as I arranged to come look at them that night. It turns out the guy was moving to Brazil (or Costa Rica or something, I was too busy obsessing over the furniture to pay attention) and was getting rid of his entire apartment's worth of beautiful high end furniture. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I originally pondered just buying the nightstands, but the guy wanted to keep them as a set and since the price was so good I figured why not? The guy wouldn't budge on his listed price, but he ended up delivering it for us in his Bronco which sweetened the deal because otherwise we would have had to rent a van and dealt with that whole hassle. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I had dreamed of a mid-century modern dresser for the bedroom but I've never seen anything I like that's been even close to the price of what we paid for this almost-new Room and Board dresser. I'm not sure I love a matchy matchy bedroom, but it'll do for now. Plus, I'm pretty confident I can sell the dresser for almost what I paid for the whole set.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">So, home we came with our Room and Board bedroom set, which was in almost-perfect condition. There are a teeny few dents here and there, but nothing worse than what I'd incur in about 2 months of owning it anyway.</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remember how I said it was a lucky week? Well, only a few days later, I found my dream headboard online. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Similar to the Room and Board set, I've been drooling over the Crate and Barrel </span><a href="http://s7d4.scene7.com/is/image/roomandboard/?layer=0&src=528579_wood_E&layer=1&src=528579_knob_SS&layer=comp&$truvu0$&wid=500"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Porto Bed</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> for a while, but have been too cheap to actually pay for it without some kind of super sale. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://images.crateandbarrel.com/is/image/Crate/PortoBedWLaraTableLampJB09?extend=110,110,110,110&$web_zoom$&wid=598&hei=598" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" i$="true" src="http://images.crateandbarrel.com/is/image/Crate/PortoBedWLaraTableLampJB09?extend=110,110,110,110&$web_zoom$&wid=598&hei=598" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: crateandbarrel.com</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Plus, Sean is totally against the idea of a footboard even though I love the look (and at 5'2" on a good day, a footboard is not really an issue for me). Even just the headboard was almost $400 with tax, so I put it out of my mind and we've been sleeping on our plain metal bed frame for as long as we've had our bed.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Until...you guessed it...I found a Porto headboard on craigslist. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For $50. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Insane, right? I dragged Sean into the car for another night of furniture hunting, and we even managed to cram the headboard into the trunk of my Volvo with the help of some bungee cords. I was dead set on not renting the truck because it would make the $50 headboard deal a little less sweet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It's also a great compromise because I get the headboard I want, Sean doesn't have to deal with a footboard. I'm not in love with the idea of the bedskirt to hide the ugly metal bed frame, but it works. Everbody's happy! Compromise leads to a happy marriage.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, after all that back story, here's some updated bedroom pictures!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6e7sYM6xSDU/Tf6Tww8QiVI/AAAAAAAAGF8/iC29q21G7J0/s1600/DSC_0234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6e7sYM6xSDU/Tf6Tww8QiVI/AAAAAAAAGF8/iC29q21G7J0/s640/DSC_0234.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also snagged a new duvet cover - the </span><a href="http://www.westelm.com/products/organic-cotton-pin-tuck-duvet-cover-and-shams-b340/?pkey=e%7Cpintuck%7C2%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C1&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-Common%20Rule%20Top%20Wide%20Kitchen-_-"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">organic pintuck duvet</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> from West Elm. It totally seems like I'm on a spending spree, huh? Keep in mind that these purchases are over the course of 3 or 4 months, I swear I'm not spending every waking hour shopping. I've had my eye on the pintuck duvet for a while, so I took advantage of their earth day sale on all organic bedding, plus a 15% coupon they sent me, and got an awesome deal (I think the entire set ended up being around $60). You may notice a theme that I never buy anything unless it's wayyy cheaper than retail price. It's an obsession.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hz5yBLgf1-A/Tf6UPmmmoPI/AAAAAAAAGGg/DuosI44WlBE/s1600/DSC_0258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hz5yBLgf1-A/Tf6UPmmmoPI/AAAAAAAAGGg/DuosI44WlBE/s640/DSC_0258.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We still need to do something about the ugly doors, but let's focus on the pretty furniture for now. And the rogue flip flop.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cyRk7BUZfHQ/Tf6UKMmjT3I/AAAAAAAAGGc/QbdRSGNJMJ8/s1600/DSC_0254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cyRk7BUZfHQ/Tf6UKMmjT3I/AAAAAAAAGGc/QbdRSGNJMJ8/s640/DSC_0254.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aerial view - I'm standing on my new dresser for this one, oopsie! This photo actually gives a great representation of our new floor color as well, for some reason it always comes out really orangey-yellow in pictures.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5YTiaRhAamk/Tf6UKAwzbKI/AAAAAAAAGGY/TGG2wG_uapc/s1600/DSC_0256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5YTiaRhAamk/Tf6UKAwzbKI/AAAAAAAAGGY/TGG2wG_uapc/s640/DSC_0256.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another angle - my vanity is still hanging out in the corner.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ndcvnD8B9nk/Tf6T9Z2JC3I/AAAAAAAAGGM/z61Jfq9VFdo/s1600/DSC_0248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ndcvnD8B9nk/Tf6T9Z2JC3I/AAAAAAAAGGM/z61Jfq9VFdo/s640/DSC_0248.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also finally put up curtains! In this shot I'm showing how they wonderfully hide the ugly pull that removes the bars from the windows in case of a fire or some other awful event. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The curtain installation was a total disaster. We have hollow plaster walls, and after waiting months to put up curtain rods, I found that where I wanted to hang these curtains was particularly hollow. Meaning that whenever I tried to screw in the rod, even with a special type of screw, I kept ending up with giant holes in the bedroom wall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's just say this debacle ended with me in tears after several trips to Home Depot, and for the sake of my sanity Sean took over and now we have curtains! After toying with the idea of patterns, we went with the plain old Ikea Vivan curtains.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-udvf7RqoJsw/Tf6T9oFIl0I/AAAAAAAAGGQ/jnw3o49LCbc/s1600/DSC_0247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-udvf7RqoJsw/Tf6T9oFIl0I/AAAAAAAAGGQ/jnw3o49LCbc/s640/DSC_0247.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't usually keep my stuffed animals out, and I'm not sure why I left them in this picture, but they're cute, right? That's Lambie on the right and Noogie on the left.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DmNbd8zFDqU/Tf6UDPOFREI/AAAAAAAAGGU/dcgP0edE5BU/s1600/DSC_0251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DmNbd8zFDqU/Tf6UDPOFREI/AAAAAAAAGGU/dcgP0edE5BU/s640/DSC_0251.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">View from standing on the bed. Luckily when I hung the curtains at ceiling height, they were just long enough to skim the ground so I didn't have to hem them. This is especially lucky because I have curtains in the living room from months ago still waiting to be hemmed.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rO5p0RcFopk/Tf6T7_LHYlI/AAAAAAAAGGI/1ikCvUZ5izY/s1600/DSC_0243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" i$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rO5p0RcFopk/Tf6T7_LHYlI/AAAAAAAAGGI/1ikCvUZ5izY/s640/DSC_0243.jpg" width="424" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another view of curtains, since I'm seriously so glad they're finally up. I think these curtains are just thick enough that we don't need extra blinds, and if not our next door neighbors get a show every time I change.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X-kgYDD1aFc/Tf6T0Fk-4CI/AAAAAAAAGGE/RMexzhawrs8/s1600/DSC_0238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" i$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X-kgYDD1aFc/Tf6T0Fk-4CI/AAAAAAAAGGE/RMexzhawrs8/s640/DSC_0238.jpg" width="424" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where my Room and Board obsession started.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2rvh2Po-1xY/Tf6TySNWYWI/AAAAAAAAGGA/_Cp4fCumWts/s1600/DSC_0235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2rvh2Po-1xY/Tf6TySNWYWI/AAAAAAAAGGA/_Cp4fCumWts/s640/DSC_0235.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, that's it for bedroom updates for now. I don't envision any major changes any time soon, other than adding some wall art and possibly switching out the bedside lamps if I find something I like. For now, I'm loving the bright and airy bedroom, it's really a great place to relax (and sleep!)</span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-90667123757684958712011-07-04T17:28:00.000-07:002011-07-04T18:20:54.604-07:00Creating an Office: Part II<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pardon my absence, after a long weekend away and a loooong week at work trying to catch up on what I missed, I barely had a chance to eat and sleep, nevermind update.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although there's some more recent updates to share (get excited!) I figured I'd finish up our little office update. See the first part of the office progress </span><a href="http://renodoozins.blogspot.com/2011/06/creating-office.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once my desk was finished, the only thing left to do was move it into the room and clean up all the junk that we'd been stashing in the office.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The desk finished product:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vkAwOgy17fE/Tf6TMix1KPI/AAAAAAAAGFc/iqMNAATLzRM/s1600/DSC_0188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vkAwOgy17fE/Tf6TMix1KPI/AAAAAAAAGFc/iqMNAATLzRM/s640/DSC_0188.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not bad, right? The iMac is actually Sean's work computer, but he brings it home for the summer so that he doesn't have to worry about theft. I'd actually love to get an iMac of our own at some point. I'm not the biggest fan of mac computers (even though I have and love an iPhone and an iPad) but I looooove the aesthetics of this computer. Beautiful form, sleek keyboard and mouse, only ONE cord to deal with!? SOLD!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gfN9zVkON_A/Tf6TL5QuXGI/AAAAAAAAGFY/mXHqj6clc_I/s1600/DSC_0203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gfN9zVkON_A/Tf6TL5QuXGI/AAAAAAAAGFY/mXHqj6clc_I/s640/DSC_0203.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A slightly different angle. I stole these chairs from the guest house because they were the only matching chairs I could find. They're not super comfy for long hours at the computer, but they'll do for now. And they look pretty. I love </span><a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60064621#/00064624/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">this</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Ikea Patrik chair in dark gray, but at $149 a pop it's not a purchase I'll be making any time soon.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8pTo_utA2AY/Tf6TbE9u3cI/AAAAAAAAGFo/bHCuyIslZWM/s1600/DSC_0211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8pTo_utA2AY/Tf6TbE9u3cI/AAAAAAAAGFo/bHCuyIslZWM/s640/DSC_0211.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I got rid of our file cabinet a while back because it seemed to take up a lot of unnecessary space, and switched to these file boxes I saw on </span><a href="http://younghouselove.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Young House Love.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I love them! These days almost everything is online (insurance paperwork, mortgage documents, etc.) so the amount of paper that is actually necessary to have around is very low. I think these look way cuter than a clunky file cabinet.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yunfjn-wE-c/Tf6Tau8uwAI/AAAAAAAAGFk/fVgis8_xfzA/s1600/DSC_0213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yunfjn-wE-c/Tf6Tau8uwAI/AAAAAAAAGFk/fVgis8_xfzA/s640/DSC_0213.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I picked up this cheapo </span><a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70087108"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Solsta</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> sofa bed on Craigslist for $40 or so. It's a dead ringer for this </span><a href="http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?itemdescription=true&itemCount=80&startValue=1&selectedProductColor=&sortby=&id=14540793&parentid=A_FURN_FURNITURE&sortProperties=+subCategoryPosition,+product.marketingPriority&navCount=555&navAction=jump&color=&pushId=A_FURN_FURNITURE&popId=APARTMENT&prepushId=&selectedProductSize="><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Urban Outfitters</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> version I've been eyeing for a while, but wayyy cheaper. Normally I shy away from upholstery on Craigslist, but this was formally in a little girl's room in a ritzy house in Manhattan beach, so the ick factor was pretty low. I wanted some small seating in the office, and I loved that this can fold out into a makeshift bed - we've actually already had guests sleep on it and they said it wasn't too bad. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My biggest complaint is the upholstery. There was a few marker stains on it that I tried to get off, which bleached the fabric and made it look way worse than when I started. Probably my bad, but I hate that the slipcovers aren't removable so I'm basically stuck with it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">For $40 I can't really complain, and it's nice to have a comfy place to sit while one of us is sitting at the desk and the other wants to chat. The dogs also loooove this couch (it's very low to the ground), so maybe it's better that it's cheap and we don't really care if it gets ruined!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pk-dsw4fmQU/Tf6TViDTRvI/AAAAAAAAGFg/3CH4hThiEQI/s1600/DSC_0205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pk-dsw4fmQU/Tf6TViDTRvI/AAAAAAAAGFg/3CH4hThiEQI/s640/DSC_0205.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I guess Ikea is the theme of this office. We use our beloved </span><a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40107872#/20107873/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Helmer</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> drawer unit for office storage. We've had this piece for a while and it's perfect for office storage, especially since we've never liked desks with drawers. We have every office supply imaginable (and some random accumulated junk) hidden away from view.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dtUd0IKgtsc/Tf6TfCy5fEI/AAAAAAAAGFs/3BvoVVoq0s8/s1600/DSC_0223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dtUd0IKgtsc/Tf6TfCy5fEI/AAAAAAAAGFs/3BvoVVoq0s8/s640/DSC_0223.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Arial view - since this room is so teeny it's hard to see everything! I think in this photo I'm actually standing on a chair in the hallway. Obviously this room hasn't been painted yet so you can still see where we patched up the doorway to the garage.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0KBF2637W7o/Tf6Tle3OGzI/AAAAAAAAGFw/dVQ3qwYZiUs/s1600/DSC_0231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" i$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0KBF2637W7o/Tf6Tle3OGzI/AAAAAAAAGFw/dVQ3qwYZiUs/s640/DSC_0231.jpg" width="424" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alas, this is the state of my closet doors, still. We removed the beat up mirrored doors as soon as we moved in, thinking "how hard could it be to find plain white closet doors?" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The answer: really f-ing hard. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We found the perfect ones at Home Depot, only to figure out they had been discontinued (thanks Home Depot guy who gave us the pamphlet to take home and drool over). We honestly can't find anything in between cheapo looking plastic doors, and $400 (each) custom made wood doors. Sad face.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RzFh7RgwDnU/Tf6TnLpV8KI/AAAAAAAAGF0/VyGKCK6Yz_4/s1600/DSC_0228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RzFh7RgwDnU/Tf6TnLpV8KI/AAAAAAAAGF0/VyGKCK6Yz_4/s640/DSC_0228.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another view!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4EVB6fp0XeQ/Tf6TLiyw6dI/AAAAAAAAGFU/ty4DRr_bupA/s1600/DSC_0199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4EVB6fp0XeQ/Tf6TLiyw6dI/AAAAAAAAGFU/ty4DRr_bupA/s640/DSC_0199.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aaaaand another! I was playing around with camera settings on my Nikon D40 this day, so I have a million photos of the same thing.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What do you think of our new office? I'm loving it, it's already such a clean and inspiring place for me. I have some ideas up my sleeve for office decor. This was also one of the rooms Sean painted for me while I was away, so stay tuned to see what color we chose! We actually picked the color ages ago when we moved in, so it was a surprise to us, too.</span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-60627774420069793992011-06-28T12:25:00.000-07:002011-06-28T12:51:46.088-07:00My husband, the rock star<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a boring, no picture post because I'm at work (oops, don't tell), but I had to share what an amazing rock star my husband is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I left LA on a red eye in the wee hours of Thursday morning to spend a long weekend in Connecticut and New York for some family visiting and a bachelorette party/bridal shower. Sean stayed home in LA since he didn't finish work for the summer until Friday, and bachelorette parties aren't really his speed anyway.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">When I talked to him over the weekend, he kept mysteriously mentioning a surprise. He had mentioned possibly tackling painting the office while I was gone, so I was cautiously optimistic to see some fresh paint when I got home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Flash forward to late Monday night, when Sean picked a somewhat cranky Julie up at the airport after a long trip and a stressful delay in Dallas where I almost missed my connection. To my surprise, there was a toilet in the back seat of the Civic - in a box, of course. Sean told me that he had planned to replace the leaky and old (and probably horribly inefficient) toilet in the main bathroom, but at the last minute on Monday the plumber recommended switching toilets so it wasn't done yet. He said he was hoping to surprise me with it but it just didn't work out. As a side note, I think it's funny that after 8+ years together and buying a home, a new toilet counts as a special surprise...and it really was, I'm super excited to get a new toilet with separate flushes for #1 and #2. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I also figured that this was the mystery surprise Sean had been referring to all weekend.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Then we got home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">And I discovered that Sean had:</span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Stained the entire new fence a beautiful dark brown color (a job the contractor had quoted us $1-2k for)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Painted the shiny silver fence supports </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Painted the ugly brick hearth in front of the fireplace (an idea I had and thought he didn't like)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Painted the office (including the trim)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Painted the guest room</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Painted a bunch of yellowed trim in the living room</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Painted over the LIME GREEN paint in the bathroom (which apparently took a coat of primer and 3+ coats of paint)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Done an insane amount of nail/screw removal and spackling to complete the above</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Given both doozins a much needed (and much cute) summer haircut</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: Arial;">I was/am seriously SHOCKED. Did I mention his summer vacation only officially started on Saturday, meaning he was literally working non-stop to complete all of the above in THREE DAYS before I returned home from the East Coast. Wow, just wow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I am a lucky lucky lucky girl.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">(and is it bad that I kind of want to book another trip next weekend so I can come home to more surprises?)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Pictures of the above, as well as other updates, to come as soon as I unbury myself from work after taking 3 days off. Blogging right now is not helping.</span>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-38496009325133942872011-06-23T12:54:00.000-07:002011-06-23T12:54:13.806-07:00Creating an office<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After making some progress on the areas of the house where we spend most of our time - the master bedroom and the living room - we're starting to branch out to the other rooms that have previously been ignored, aside from guilty glances.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Toward the top of our list was setting up a functional office. Well, when I say "top of the list," I actually mean kinda toward the upper half of an insanely long and intimidating list, somewhere between "paint over the awful lime green bathroom" and "are we someday going to have a yard that doesn't consist primarily of dirt?"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In any event, having a good work space was important. Even though I'm only an easy 10 minute drive from my office, I end up working from home quite a bit because sometimes it's just nicer to be at home in the late evening or weekend when I have work to catch up on. I consider myself fairly lucky as a young lawyer not to be crazy insanely busy, but a "normal" week still involves logging 40 billable hours - which means I'm actually spending about 50-60 hours each week staring at my boring office walls. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Effectively working from home at our last apartment was just not possible. Since our main living space consisted of essentially one open room, there was nowhere private and quiet to go, especially if Sean was home and wanted to watch TV. There was also nowhere to put a decent-sized desk, so on the off times I worked at home I'd usually be in some awkward position scrunched up on the couch with books spread around me. Not good.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, one of the things I was most excited about in the new house was the idea of having a designated office space. Dorky, I know. We thought the layout of this house was a great fit because it had three bedrooms (a lot of houses we looked at had 2) and even though the third one was tiny, it was big enough for an office or a future nursery/child's bedroom.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, when I say tiny, I mean tiny. This room comes in at a whopping 8'x11'11". It has a smallish closet, which is actually where I keep all my work clothes since our master closet is fairly small. Sean has dibs on the closet in the other guest room, which works great for now.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you've checked out our "before" pictures, you'll remember that the previous owners had knocked a doorway into the wall of this bedroom.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QPhh_fRfu1U/TWqKSe2iesI/AAAAAAAAF00/UuxgEMHmHyY/s1600/DSC_0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QPhh_fRfu1U/TWqKSe2iesI/AAAAAAAAF00/UuxgEMHmHyY/s640/DSC_0715.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's hard to tell from this photo, but having 2 doors in this small, narrow room made it feel like a wide hallway with a closet. It felt much smaller than it actually was.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where did this door lead? To the garage turned 4th bedroom, of course!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xn-tvdYMqqw/TWqKWGvcj4I/AAAAAAAAF00/GYzL2KR-MYU/s1600/DSC_0724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xn-tvdYMqqw/TWqKWGvcj4I/AAAAAAAAF00/GYzL2KR-MYU/s640/DSC_0724.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We quickly converted the garage back into a garage immediately after we moved in. Although the previous owners drywalled and put some carpet down, it was a yucky "bedroom." Not to mention it was all done without permits. We decided we would much much rather have a functioning garage than a 4th bedroom we would never use.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We pondered keeping the doorway open so that we'd have direct access to the garage from the house, but eventually decided to close it off. Although it would be nice to have direct access, it seemed strange to have an entrance from the garage into a bedroom. Plus, as I mentioned before, the door made it look much smaller than it actually was.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, we paid the guy who refinished our floors for us $250 to fill in the doorway - put up drywall, plaster off, etc. This was something I think we could have done ourselves, but with so much work to do and only 2 of us to do it, the cost-benefit analysis weighed in favor of having someone else do this. Plus, we wanted it done quickly so that the house was sealed off from any dust and debris from the garage expansion that would be going on.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once the room was all closed off, it became a storage room for all of our odds and ends and boxes from moving. It was really a mess. I don't think I have any pictures of this stage because it was really just ugly and stressful for someone as type-A as me to look at. Just imagine a small room with a big mess and lots of random crap thrown everywhere that we didn't have a place for yet.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We were in no rush to set anything up because we really had nothing to set up - no desk, no office furniture, nothin'. We had a couple of Crate and Barrel Sloane leaning desks from our old apartment, but they didn't work in the space so we sold them on craigslist. We casually looked around for desks for a while, but with so much else to find it wasn't a top top priority. Our big requirements were that it was big enough to spread out our stuff on, big enough for 2 people to sit at (although we rarely work at the same time), and I we both wanted a fairly simple design.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We saw a few that we liked but weren't crazy about, and I had it in my mind that I'd like to try my hand at building one if possible. I wanted to build our dining room table as well so I thought this would be a good starter project. Still, like I said, this wasn't a top priority so I wasn't even thinking of different plans or designs, and I definitely wasn't anywear near the purchasing materials stage.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then, on a trip to Ikea, I was poking through the as-is section (a dangerous obsession) and saw a stack of HUGE white <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50103604">vika amon</a> tabletops. They were all marked as scratched and dented, but Ikea must be pretty picky because most of them looked perfect. Best of all, they were cheap! Just $20 for a huge 79"x24" tabletop that was originally $45.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WfK2kttJa4s/TfG5O6GYpCI/AAAAAAAAGC4/qfVYU4_whEU/s1600/DSC_0112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WfK2kttJa4s/TfG5O6GYpCI/AAAAAAAAGC4/qfVYU4_whEU/s640/DSC_0112.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As soon as I saw them I started thinking about the desk I could build. I immediately thought of Young House Love's <a href="http://www.younghouselove.com/2010/06/office-progress-deciding-to-diy-a-desk/">DIY desk project</a> and thought the Ikea vika amon top would be a perfect substitute for the old door they used as their desktop. The vika amon isn't solid wood and has a plastic-y finish, but I thought this was perfect for a desktop because it's easy to clean and not easily dented.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I ran to Sean with my desk building idea, and his immediate reaction was to think I was a little crazy. I mean, who sees an Ikea tabletop and thinks "I could totally build something with this!" rather than "gee, I could just go buy the legs that come with this." Ikea does have a wide range of legs for the vika amon tops, but none of them were really what I had in mind. I love me some Ikea but I just can't get behind their desk legs - we had 2 super ugly vika amon tables in our first LA apartment that I ended up hating and I think I'm scarred for life.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyhow, Sean told me that I was crazy to buy a random huge desktop without a plan, and I actually left the store without it...before having a change of heart in the parking lot and running back in to grab one. I'm pretty sure I looked a little crazy carrying a 79" table top out of the store by myself (I'm only 61" tall), but when I put my mind to something I'm pretty determined.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The lovely tabletop home made it home in our little Civic...and then sat in the future office undisturbed for quite a few weeks until I mustered up the energy for my desk build. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The hardest part of the actual building process was finding the right wood. The YHL plans called for 3x3 legs, which I couldn't find anywhere. I went to a local lumber yard, and the smallest they had were rough looking 4x4s. Home Depot was the same, so I ended up buying some 4x4 pine fence posts, which actually measure about 3.5"x3.5". Some of the posts were really rough wood, but a very nice Home Depot employee helped me pick out the best looking ones from the stack. I also grabbed some 1x3 pine boards, which were much easier to find.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The total lumber cost for this project was MUCH lower than I anticipated, I think because I bought the cheapo wood:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 1x3x6 pine boards: $10.96</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 4x4x12 pine post: $12.48</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total wood cost: $23.44</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, I'm not an expert at all, and I'm sure there's benefits to buying more expensive wood grades, but all I could find for the 4x4s was pine. The only obvious downside is that they were rough cut, and also that one leg is now leaking sap through a coat of primer and 3 coats of paint. Hmm. Otherwise, they're great!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had Home Depot cut the 4x4s to size for me, but I kept the 1x3s at their pre-cut length since I needed exact cuts and could easily cut them with a handsaw at home. I decided on 28" for the 4x4s since we have another table about this height and it works. Very scientific.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had everything else I needed at home - my Kreg Jig Jr. for attaching all the pieces, and primer and white paint for the final project.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I got to building pretty much right away, and got almost no progress pictures. I need to start taking more pictures when I'm building, but I'm usually just focused on not drilling through my hand and forget to grab my camera. There were workers at our house building the fence as I was working on my table in the garage, and I think I was entertaining them with my building skills.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a quick rundown of my process:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) Sand down the 4x4s. Since the wood was pretty rough, I spent some time with my electric sander smoothing it down so that the desk wasn't so rustic looking. I didn't need perfection, but I didn't want them to look so funny next to the sleek top.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) Prime all the wood - I think paining is much easier when everything is laying flat and hasn't been attached yet. I primed the night before to give everything plenty of time to dry. I don't think you need this much time, but I thought I'd get the priming out of the way one night after work. I used leftover Kilz oil based primer from the guest house painting (which was a little bit too dry, I think, and actually left pretty bad brush marks).</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k-dMx4fy6rU/TfG5Rr6F5mI/AAAAAAAAGC8/yADXnVqPwRY/s1600/DSC_0113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k-dMx4fy6rU/TfG5Rr6F5mI/AAAAAAAAGC8/yADXnVqPwRY/s640/DSC_0113.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3) Measure out where I was going to screw in my legs. This was a big issue with the Ikea vika amon tabletop, because I'd been googling and discovered that the table top is actually hollow and filled with some kind cardboard. Not exactly conducive to drilling into. However, there are certain re-inforced portions of the tabletop where the Ikea legs screw into, so I figured I could screw my legs into approximately the same locations that the Ikea legs were supposed to go. Each leg ended up being inset about 3/8", which is what I wanted anyway.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4) Figure out which leg was going to face which way. Since my 4x4s were still a little rough and dented after sanding, I figured out which way I wanted them each to face so I could hide the worst defects in the back. I just marked with a sharpie on the bottom of each leg so I wouldn't forget. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5) Pet cute assistant.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u-AAGuKNLPg/TfG5VpCjJcI/AAAAAAAAGDA/IG7k7KlArB4/s1600/DSC_0114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u-AAGuKNLPg/TfG5VpCjJcI/AAAAAAAAGDA/IG7k7KlArB4/s640/DSC_0114.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6) Drill my 4x4 pocket holes with the Kreg Jig Jr. I drilled 4 holes per 4x4 - 2 holes each on the 2 inward-facing sides of wood.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7) Screw the 4x4s into the desktop, hope it doesn't crack (it didn't!). I must have guessed correctly as to where the reinforced portions are, because it seemed very solid.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8) Measure the length I needed for the 1x3s to fit between the 4x4s, then cut to length and drill 2 pocket holes on each side to screw into the 4x4s, and evenly spaced pocket holes on the top inner side to screw into the desk.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9) Screw the 1x3s into the 4x4s, and then into the desk itself. I'm pretty sure at least some parts of the 1x3s were screwed into hollow parts of the desk, but since it was re-inforced by screwing into the 4x4s it seems pretty solid.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10) Start filling in the pocket holes with wood putty. Remember to take some pictures, even though it's getting dark. You can see from the yellow wood putty areas where I drilled my holes. I probably didn't need to fill all of these in because they're underneath the desk and not easily visible...but I'm anal.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IFieq5SVWgs/TfG5hKBz1LI/AAAAAAAAGDE/uet01JCFCLA/s1600/DSC_0119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IFieq5SVWgs/TfG5hKBz1LI/AAAAAAAAGDE/uet01JCFCLA/s640/DSC_0119.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2n4KVJjTdYk/TfG5iQmqOAI/AAAAAAAAGDI/Jxyi9-WKMLA/s1600/DSC_0117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2n4KVJjTdYk/TfG5iQmqOAI/AAAAAAAAGDI/Jxyi9-WKMLA/s640/DSC_0117.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8aML1t4dikA/TfG5iuPKcxI/AAAAAAAAGDM/9nyZXL1sowg/s1600/DSC_0120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8aML1t4dikA/TfG5iuPKcxI/AAAAAAAAGDM/9nyZXL1sowg/s640/DSC_0120.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Putting and sanding was probably the most tedious part, because it required a few applications of putty, then waiting for it to dry, then sanding.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10) Paint all the legs and supports with 2-3 coats of Fresh Aire semi-gloss paint in off the shelf white. I used a combination of a small foam roller and a brush for this part.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The paint application wasn't super smooth, but I decided not to be a perfectionist. I think the primer I used was a little too dry because it left lots of brush marks, but given that my 4x4s were already pretty rough I decided I didn't care.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also realized at this point that the desktop was a different color from my paint, because all white paint is not the same. Again, decided not to be a perfectionist. As I've mentioned before, we got a bunch of Fresh Aire paint for super cheap ($5 a gallon), but I'm not sure if it can be tinted with regular tint so we're just using as much of the white as we can for now. So, I can deal with a slightly mismatched desk for now and pretend like I meant it this way.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've written wayyyy too much in this post already and I need to actually do some work in this office tonight, so I'll save the rest of the office reveal for a later date. Stay tuned!</span>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-76448545063829143832011-06-16T13:37:00.000-07:002011-06-16T13:37:06.054-07:00Eek! Crazy deal alert!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, I've been lusting after the overlapping squares headboard at West Elm for-ev-er.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So cute, right?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">However, I never really needed it, and couldn't justify the price. I considered the ana white DIY version, but it seemed a little tricky and I have more important projects on my list.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, I was browsing online today for some cute, cheap decorate accents since West Elm is having 15% off final sale.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Turns out the headboard was on sale in white, at $129.99 for a queen size. Score! After I added it to my cart, the total was around $150, which included the 15% off, but also a $40 in-home delivery charge. I was a little indecisive still at this price, but it was still a great deal since the original price is $250 + tax and delivery.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Then, I ended up calling the catalog because I had a question about the measurements of a lamp I also wanted to order (remember when I said I was only shopping for cute, cheap accents? Oops).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">(This one, if you're interested)</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.westelm.com/weimgs/ab/images/wcm/products/201109/0041/img8m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.westelm.com/weimgs/ab/images/wcm/products/201109/0041/img8m.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">...and the lady on the phone mentioned that they had an "in-house" special that made the lamp about $55, cheaper than the online price. Score!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, I asked her if there was a special for the headboard.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And get this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The headboard price was $159.99, but with no $40 delivery surcharge, and she said she'd give me the extra 15% off. Howeverrrrr, their "in-house" price is going down to $129.99 tomorrow, so she said as of tomorrow she can refund $30 to my credit card.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So the pre-tax total for the queen headboard I've been lusting after?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$106, including in home delivery. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crazy, right?! Call and order yours before anyone else figures out the deal!</span>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-9130569918992030292011-06-16T00:41:00.000-07:002011-06-16T00:47:55.636-07:00Guest House Quickie Update<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When last we saw the </span><a href="http://renodoozins.blogspot.com/2011/05/guest-house-done-for-now.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">guest house</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, the major work was done but there was a lot left to be desired. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ok, well there's still a lot left to be desired, but we've slowly been working toward completion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So far we've had 2 couples stay in the guest house (on two seperate weekends), and they all left rave reviews. Well I may be exaggerating, but they didn't sneak out half way through the weekend so that counts for something, right?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In any event, one of my major goals was to find a table for the two lonely chairs that awkwardly sat in front of the window.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LR-Quwu1zNs/TcLM7hZHr7I/AAAAAAAAF_o/qjncZk5iikg/s1600/DSC_0063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LR-Quwu1zNs/TcLM7hZHr7I/AAAAAAAAF_o/qjncZk5iikg/s640/DSC_0063.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since we moved from a 1 bedroom apartment to a 3 bedroom (plus guest house) home, we've needed quite a bit of furniture. So far, almost none of our furniture was purchased from an actual store. Instead, I use the handy dandy CraigsPro app on my iPhone to search for whatever item of furniture we're looking for at a particular moment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the benefits to living in a big city is that there's always a TON of stuff on craigslist that is located within a fairly small area. Since the volume of furniture is so high, I'm often able to search for very specific constraints, like the brand and model name of the specific piece of furniture I want. The downside to this is that I'm almost physically incapable of paying full price for anything these days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, of course I turned to craigslist in my table search. It actually took a little while for the perfect table to show up. We wanted something (a) round; (b) small enough to not overwhelm the space but big enough for 2 people to sit comfortably; and (c) cheap. There's a ton of tables on craiglist but it took a while to find one that met all of our requirements, and was located somewhere close-ish so we could go pick it up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Finally, we found this sweet thing in Santa Monica, just a short drive away.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vCfrWCfCd5k/Tfmr0K1DcWI/AAAAAAAAGE0/iM3vk8tmyU8/s1600/DSC_0146edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vCfrWCfCd5k/Tfmr0K1DcWI/AAAAAAAAGE0/iM3vk8tmyU8/s640/DSC_0146edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The table was $40 if I remember correctly, and it came with two bonus wood folding chairs that we're using for extra outdoor seating. It's a pretty basic little table, but it has the added benefit of having fold down leaves to make it even more versatile in our small space. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The table in decent shape - I wanted to refinish it but Sean wants to leave as-is. Given that our to-do list is crazy long and guest house furniture perfection isn't our #1 priority (sorry, guests), it will probably remain un-refinished for a while.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A few weeks later we also picked up the little TV in the corner, which came with both a digital tuner and an iPod dock. We could have gotten a non-flat screen for much much cheaper, but thought this was better for the space (and I think it looks much cuter).</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-znYVAqA1s_c/TfmrtanW-iI/AAAAAAAAGEs/Fe71mn_bihs/s1600/DSC_0135edited2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-znYVAqA1s_c/TfmrtanW-iI/AAAAAAAAGEs/Fe71mn_bihs/s640/DSC_0135edited2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also added a Ikea mirror (from craigslist, duh) above the mantle - I keep meaning to hang it and keep not getting around to it.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UntV6mimBy0/TfmrwyQc3-I/AAAAAAAAGEw/_8zEZz9M3hI/s1600/DSC_0139edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" i$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UntV6mimBy0/TfmrwyQc3-I/AAAAAAAAGEw/_8zEZz9M3hI/s640/DSC_0139edited.jpg" width="424" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Are you spotting the almost hidden dogs in all of these photos?</span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I want to get a cuter piece of furniture to rest the TV on, but the blocky Ikea nightstand was what we had on hand for now. This beautiful piece of furniture was actually pulled out of the trash pile at our old apartment complex. Just when you thought we couldn't get any classier than craigslist.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-axtn3wctUIE/Tfmr0yX26mI/AAAAAAAAGE4/tUCxm3k8mO4/s1600/DSC_0150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-axtn3wctUIE/Tfmr0yX26mI/AAAAAAAAGE4/tUCxm3k8mO4/s640/DSC_0150.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My special photo assistant tried to make sure that the bedding was wrinkled in every shot. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DWsn0uG3rA8/TfmyhDqmniI/AAAAAAAAGE8/WeGqumnleak/s1600/DSC_0184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" i$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DWsn0uG3rA8/TfmyhDqmniI/AAAAAAAAGE8/WeGqumnleak/s640/DSC_0184.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Petunia, by the way. She's a foster doozin from </span><a href="http://perfectpetrescue.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perfect Pet</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> who is staying with us until she can find a family who will appreciate her smooshy little puggle face. She's rarely still so this picture is kind of a miracle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So - that's a quick update on the guest house for now! I'm still on the lookout for some cute replacement furniture, more decorative accents, and replacement blinds, but those will happen...when they happen.</span>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-52345933540184897182011-06-13T21:15:00.000-07:002011-06-13T22:07:16.991-07:00On the Fence - the Sequel<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Forgive the lack of posting, there's been lots of updating going on around here but I've been lacking the motivation to post about it. It actually took about an hour to write that previous sentence after opening this browser window, eek.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You may remember that one of my </span><a href="http://renodoozins.blogspot.com/2011/02/on-fence.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">first posts</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> right before we closed on the house almost four months ago (!) detailed some of the changes we planned to make to the front of the house. Two of the big budget items on our list were replacing the garage door, which wasn't functioning and probably wasn't worth fixing, and replacing that awful front fence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We'd planned to tear down the termite-infested fence right when we moved in, but got a little sidetracked. We definitely wanted to use a professional for this project - although I'm sure we could have figured it out on our own eventually and saved some money, it definitely wasn't worth the hassle when we could hire a trained professional. Not to mention that there was probably about a 70-80% chance that our home built fence would probably have looked super crooked and weird. And installing our own garage door? Yeah, I don't think so.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Once we picked out a contractor it took a few weeks to get a quote and get moving, so we finally started construction a little over a month ago. First on the agenda was the new garage door. Since the old garage door was about 1.5 car size and we own more than 1.5 cars, we decided to expand the opening to see if we could squeeze in a bigger door. Luckily, there was a little room to expand on each side of the door. It looked kinda cute (if somewhat dilapidated), but we thought being able to park 2 cars in the garage would be cuter:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4LE6Vfr1c5k/TfWkTuIiBdI/AAAAAAAAGEc/UC4BdV8NL2M/s1600/garage+sides.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4LE6Vfr1c5k/TfWkTuIiBdI/AAAAAAAAGEc/UC4BdV8NL2M/s640/garage+sides.jpg" t8="true" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Now, I've learned to really not stress out about a contractor's schedule, because things seem to just get done...whenever. The contractor was able to get in right away and start the expansion, but the garage door guy wasn't available until the next week. Why they didn't figure this out ahead of time is beyond me, but like I said, trying not to stress out about these things. So, for a week, this is the lovely sight that greeted us each time we drove up to the house:</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--mPb9BWXoSQ/TfG435tskoI/AAAAAAAAGCo/uw0yEX9QJqU/s1600/DSC_0107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--mPb9BWXoSQ/TfG435tskoI/AAAAAAAAGCo/uw0yEX9QJqU/s640/DSC_0107.JPG" t8="true" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nothing says classy like a plywood garage door!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Same goes with the fence. After the original fence was torn down, they were nice enough to build another super classy temporary fence to keep the dogs in during construction. Once it was up it stayed up for a little longer than I would have liked while they poured concrete for the fence posts, waited for it to dry, and then I think waited a few more days just for good measure.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VzCPP0nFR7M/TfWlclfPK_I/AAAAAAAAGEg/X6QIVoJUw5M/s1600/ghetto+fence.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VzCPP0nFR7M/TfWlclfPK_I/AAAAAAAAGEg/X6QIVoJUw5M/s640/ghetto+fence.JPG" t8="true" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It was amazing what a difference it made to not have a 6-foot fence surrounding the property. I'm honestly not sure we would have bought the house without it. We're on a fairly busy road, and it just felt very open and exposed not having a fence out front. Maybe it's just because we're used to it, because lots of the houses on our street don't have fences and seem fine with it, but it just felt very, very strange. It felt weird that anyone could just walk right up to our house, although I suppose that's how the majority of houses are, I've just gotten used to living in a compound.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">After a few days, the fence builder settled in, along with an endless supply of Christian rock blasting from his boombox (true story), and things started to take shape:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0ZM75fAER1M/TfWldZlN2AI/AAAAAAAAGEk/BI4hf6Yh0wQ/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0ZM75fAER1M/TfWldZlN2AI/AAAAAAAAGEk/BI4hf6Yh0wQ/s640/photo.JPG" t8="true" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And theeeeen - after weeks of construction and tweaking and waiting and more construction...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PN46SchQPeE/TfG6SqGzAQI/AAAAAAAAGDs/ieHQw4HvNyo/s1600/DSC_0129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PN46SchQPeE/TfG6SqGzAQI/AAAAAAAAGDs/ieHQw4HvNyo/s640/DSC_0129.JPG" t8="true" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">We have a new fence and garage! Let's take a look at where we started, shall we?</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DaYBvqhz370/TWdL6011DwI/AAAAAAAAFfA/D54EY1XdZW0/s1600/DSC_0611+edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DaYBvqhz370/TWdL6011DwI/AAAAAAAAFfA/D54EY1XdZW0/s640/DSC_0611+edited.jpg" t8="true" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I probably should have tried to take these pictures at the same angle, oops. I'm also wondering how we managed to let that patch of grass out front die so quickly?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Here's some more redwood eye candy.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cqAsDvsMY6I/TfG6VbqfE9I/AAAAAAAAGDw/ieOeEN7THGI/s1600/DSC_0132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cqAsDvsMY6I/TfG6VbqfE9I/AAAAAAAAGDw/ieOeEN7THGI/s640/DSC_0132.JPG" t8="true" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I actually don't love the look of redwood, but we've been told it's the way to go in Southern California since termites don't like to eat it. I'm hoping it will look less uneven and stripey once we stain it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4AOOSO-Ul_s/TfG6QHYdhtI/AAAAAAAAGDo/4GzmCQXOTAc/s1600/DSC_0131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4AOOSO-Ul_s/TfG6QHYdhtI/AAAAAAAAGDo/4GzmCQXOTAc/s640/DSC_0131.JPG" t8="true" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We still obviously have a look of work to do as far as the super uneven brick and bleak landscaping. There's also a few touch ups left to do on the fence and garage. I want to paint the metal post supports because although they're super sturdy, I think they kinda stick out and look a little too industrial. We also need a mailbox cover slot thingy, so I ordered <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001J2CJES">this baby</a> from Amazon and she's on her way to us as we<span style="background-color: white;"> speak.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh, and we're going to stain the whole thing eventually to a darker color. The quote from the contractor was a little ridiculous so I think we're going to attempt the staining ourselves, and see how it goes. I've read that you're supposed to wait for the wood to...I don't know...settle? a little before staining so I think we'll do that. Plus we've been kinda lazy lately so waiting to stain the fence just seems like a good idea.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">So, that's the biggest update we've had going. We're digging the results. I was a little worried at first because we didn't give the contractor too much guidance, which I think is something we need to work on in the future. I think we're both so used to trying to be nice and accommodating we forget that we're entitled to be picky when we are paying someone a ton of money to work on our home. It's also tough sometimes to make a decision and have design plan when it seems like there's 15 projects going on at once and we want to keep moving forward. The only thing I would maybe change would be to make the supports on top of the fence thinner, although I suppose this is a fairly easy fix. I like the way it is now and it's probably sturdier, so we'll probably leave it as-is for now. I'm hoping it'll all come together when we put on a coat of dark stain and put the finishing touches on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I was just looking back at my original fence post, where I said I was hoping to spend under $1,000 on the new fence. Ha! I've learned that it's totally hard to predict construction prices when you've never done this kind of stuff before. How the heck am I supposed to know how much wood costs?!? The total ended up ringing up at $2,000 for the fence after some haggling. The main fence is about 28 feet long, and I later learned that $50 and up per linear foot is pretty standard for a custom fence. The $2,000 figure included taking down the old fence and removing all the trash, so we're pretty happy with the cost. This was something we knew we'd have to do when we bought the house, so we budgeted for the cost and it wasn't completely unexpected.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">And so ends the first chapter of our curb appeal saga. Stay tuned for more!</span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-86995482957920609042011-05-24T12:44:00.000-07:002011-05-24T12:44:02.944-07:00Window dressing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we moved in there were actually blinds on almost every window. The problem is, they were kind of fug.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n-xPRbApHQk/TWqJ-hsh_aI/AAAAAAAAF00/Nx8hIF1uBII/s1600/DSC_0676.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n-xPRbApHQk/TWqJ-hsh_aI/AAAAAAAAF00/Nx8hIF1uBII/s640/DSC_0676.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They actually don't look terrible from far away, but they were plastic faux wood blinds. Could be worse I guess, but I wanted to try something new.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Shortly after we moved to the new house I ran to Target to grab some curtain rods. I'm super cheap and I'm yet to be convinced that expensive metal rods are better than cheap metal rods, so I thought the Target ones would do. That said, these are definitely pretty cheapo, but I really don't think you can tell unless you're staring at them up close. If you disagree and can totally tell these rods cost $10 from these photos don't say anything.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Putting these up was a huge pain. Since our house was built in 1937, we're blessed with wonderfully crumbly plaster walls. I'm still having nightmares from ripping 800 plastic wall anchors out of the wall and spackling over the destruction before we painted the living room, so it honestly pained me to put more of these suckers into the wall. However, since I wanted to keep my curtains on the wall it was kind of a necessity.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">At the old apartment I hung our curtains almost all the way up to the ceiling because the internet says that's how you make your windows look bigger. Thanks, internet! I thought about doing the same here, but our ceilings are a little bit higher (9' as opposed to 8') so I after some deliberation I thought hanging the curtains too high may look more dramatic than the casual look I was going for.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">For the curtains I used the dependable Ikea Vivan in plain white. I've been really into white lately, probably because I have too many other decisions to make without worrying about a thing like color. Super lazy here. However, since the white curtains are a little sheet, </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">I wanted some extra privacy - that side of our house faces an apartment building and I don't want people seeing how much reality TV we actually watch. So, I stole an idea from <a href="http://www.younghouselove.com/2008/06/curtain-call-2/">Young House Love</a> to pair my boring white blinds with bamboo curtains.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: Arial;">I'll spare the gory details because they're really just boring and involve lots of internet searches for bamboo blinds. Shockingly exciting. Also involved was a trip to Home Depot to buy the wrong size blinds, then another trip to Home Depot to return those blinds, then ordering online at homedepot.com with a $10 off coupon code. The fun don't stop 'round here.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The result is this (I may be a few curtains short and need to take another trip to Ikea, don't tell).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lY1VezrFFKQ/TcLMiDCWrTI/AAAAAAAAF-o/imF28CmNdDk/s1600/DSC_0020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lY1VezrFFKQ/TcLMiDCWrTI/AAAAAAAAF-o/imF28CmNdDk/s640/DSC_0020.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y68OnzHh-lU/TcLMibOBihI/AAAAAAAAF-s/1jJi9PNubBg/s1600/DSC_0025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y68OnzHh-lU/TcLMibOBihI/AAAAAAAAF-s/1jJi9PNubBg/s640/DSC_0025.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AQjAHBlpobM/TcLMlDBtosI/AAAAAAAAF-0/bqJF5p7CIbY/s1600/DSC_0022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AQjAHBlpobM/TcLMlDBtosI/AAAAAAAAF-0/bqJF5p7CIbY/s640/DSC_0022.JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yippee pretty windows!</span>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-4679900811784624682011-05-08T22:42:00.000-07:002011-05-08T22:45:22.562-07:00Little touch ups<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The problem with having so many projects going on simultaneously is that it's easy to get sick of one and start on another...and another.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Painting the living room trim was one of these projects. The baseboard were a mess after we got the wood floors refinished (which I don't think I've posted about, oops). So, one night a month or so ago I taped off all the trim in the dining and living areas with painters tape and got to work. I got about half way through before I decided I was sick of it and would finish it later. So the trim remained half painted for the next month or so. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The evidence:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bq2ONs9_wXc/Tcd6gmOF6ZI/AAAAAAAAGAY/YcCLzPp3spQ/s1600/Oops+trim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bq2ONs9_wXc/Tcd6gmOF6ZI/AAAAAAAAGAY/YcCLzPp3spQ/s640/Oops+trim.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4XolTtEDvLU/Tcd6f35vJvI/AAAAAAAAGAU/MjqOJG2y_9w/s1600/oops+trim+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4XolTtEDvLU/Tcd6f35vJvI/AAAAAAAAGAU/MjqOJG2y_9w/s640/oops+trim+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pKXGh_QgldE/Tcd6fBHI1TI/AAAAAAAAGAQ/ViXvMSvasl8/s1600/Oops+trim+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pKXGh_QgldE/Tcd6fBHI1TI/AAAAAAAAGAQ/ViXvMSvasl8/s640/Oops+trim+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Classy, right? It got to the point that I got pangs of guilt every time I spotted that ugly green tape...but I wasn't actually guilty enough to finish painting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last weekend I had a friend coming over to see the house for the first time so I figured I should probably finish what I started. It literally took about an hour of scooting around the living room on my butt to finish it up, which was pretty embarassing given how long I put it off.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-npW7p97UPdg/Tcd-WRbbE1I/AAAAAAAAGAg/HaAgI7vZ6FQ/s1600/DSC_0033+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="374" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-npW7p97UPdg/Tcd-WRbbE1I/AAAAAAAAGAg/HaAgI7vZ6FQ/s640/DSC_0033+copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b2xV_MWiN4U/Tcd9jsK1_nI/AAAAAAAAGAc/uB6In1fiFKY/s1600/trim+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="574" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b2xV_MWiN4U/Tcd9jsK1_nI/AAAAAAAAGAc/uB6In1fiFKY/s640/trim+2.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Much better, right?</span>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4345797423205745331.post-50215445491881901882011-05-05T09:49:00.000-07:002011-05-05T09:53:03.220-07:00Guest House: Done! (for now)<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since our first guests are rolling into town tonight, now seemed like as good a time as any to finish setting up the guest house.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Painting ended up taking for-ev-er. We had to do 2 coats of white paint, which was fine and totally expected, but the detail work was very tedious. Lots of windows means lots of trim and paintbrush work. Which means lots of me looking around the room at the unfinished trim and wanting to drown myself in a can of paint. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">For the white paint we used Home Depot/Glidden's Freshaire paint, the same stuff we used to paint the trim in the house. We literally have about 10 gallons of this stuff because it was discontinued and went on sale for $5 a gallon. The only problem is that I discovered later that they also discontinued the special colorant to tint the paint, so we're stuck with white for now. Anyhow, as it turns out, it works just fine when you wanted to paint a room white! And $5 a gallon means that I believe this whole painting project cost us under $30 (the primer was full price). We used just about the full gallon of primer, just about a gallon of white eggshell paint, and a bit of semi-gloss for the trim.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I used eggshell finish for the walls and semi-gloss for the trim. Except for an unfortunate incident where I mixed up the cans while doing touch-ups, so there are stripes of shiny paint all over the walls in half of the room. I was going to fix it, then I realized I was sick of painting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So, we finished painting a few days ago, let it air out for a few days (the Freshaire actually doesn't have much of a smell, but just to be safe), and moved the in furniture last night. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I should note that we're still looking for a lot more furniture, but since we're craigslisting it we just have to wait for things to turn up that work. I'd love to get a small round kitchen table for the chairs, and maybe some comfy slipper chairs to round out the room. And some artwork/decorative accents/curtains. It's a little spartan for now but our houseguests this weekend told us they'd sleep on the floor if they had to so hopefully they'll be ok with it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Without further ado:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lDzby1IMVKM/TcLMqcRez1I/AAAAAAAAF_E/-1oPfFLMAys/s1600/DSC_0043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lDzby1IMVKM/TcLMqcRez1I/AAAAAAAAF_E/-1oPfFLMAys/s640/DSC_0043.JPG" width="424" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Excuse the wrinkled bedding, it was in storage.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LR-Quwu1zNs/TcLM7hZHr7I/AAAAAAAAF_o/qjncZk5iikg/s1600/DSC_0063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LR-Quwu1zNs/TcLM7hZHr7I/AAAAAAAAF_o/qjncZk5iikg/s640/DSC_0063.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two lonely chairs ($10 each on craigslist!) waiting for a table to call their own.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HOIVepbZ3xw/TcLMz9qXjhI/AAAAAAAAF_Y/vbUz3OxGpbE/s1600/DSC_0054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HOIVepbZ3xw/TcLMz9qXjhI/AAAAAAAAF_Y/vbUz3OxGpbE/s640/DSC_0054.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd like to replace the old metal blinds with...something else. That something else might just be white miniblinds because they're budget-friendly, but we'll see what I can come up with. Also toying with the idea of curtains.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rp9a_cVR7eg/TcLMuas5IVI/AAAAAAAAF_Q/EnrB6fwBw3g/s1600/DSC_0052+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="420" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rp9a_cVR7eg/TcLMuas5IVI/AAAAAAAAF_Q/EnrB6fwBw3g/s640/DSC_0052+copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bed ($80 on craigslist, mattress we owned already...craigslist mattresses are icky), already owned bedding, already owned nightstands that I'd like to replace with vintage-looking ones eventually.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2jjsMwQujvU/TcLM4G-QhkI/AAAAAAAAF_g/d11ttu1fUgU/s1600/DSC_0061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2jjsMwQujvU/TcLM4G-QhkI/AAAAAAAAF_g/d11ttu1fUgU/s640/DSC_0061.JPG" width="424" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bed kind of blocks the fireplace, but there's really nowhere else to put it that makes sense. Unless we do a sofa bed/futon which we've toyed with.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-afuaOPFic2U/TcLM0Y4BFFI/AAAAAAAAF_c/7Z9l657m4tQ/s1600/DSC_0056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-afuaOPFic2U/TcLM0Y4BFFI/AAAAAAAAF_c/7Z9l657m4tQ/s640/DSC_0056.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kitchenette is pretty much the same.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3XuK2vlMses/TcLNHi-olCI/AAAAAAAAF_0/veiGr_eYMuA/s1600/DSC_0065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3XuK2vlMses/TcLNHi-olCI/AAAAAAAAF_0/veiGr_eYMuA/s640/DSC_0065.JPG" width="424" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This ceiling lamp will also be replaced, eventually</span>.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LHlEZFFn2UY/TcLNHeLjLrI/AAAAAAAAF_w/B5ig1tIl_jQ/s1600/DSC_0066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LHlEZFFn2UY/TcLNHeLjLrI/AAAAAAAAF_w/B5ig1tIl_jQ/s640/DSC_0066.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other side of the room. I'd like to put some kind of furniture in the empty middle space, I'm just not sure what.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bx3VPtda9gU/TcLMqHZOfHI/AAAAAAAAF_A/8bFug5GZR9U/s1600/DSC_0045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bx3VPtda9gU/TcLMqHZOfHI/AAAAAAAAF_A/8bFug5GZR9U/s640/DSC_0045.JPG" width="424" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Bathroom pictures - not very exciting - but Sean was in charge of bathroom design and I'm proud of his choices. The man knows his Bed Bath and Beyond, what can I say.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yII8nw_dk5c/TcLMrnreBQI/AAAAAAAAF_I/JcE2Nz-sibU/s1600/DSC_0048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yII8nw_dk5c/TcLMrnreBQI/AAAAAAAAF_I/JcE2Nz-sibU/s640/DSC_0048.JPG" width="424" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Semi-opaque shower curtain since the shower is kind of small and coffin-like which is not the feeling we'd like to create for our guests.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r03dyATXWwU/TcLMs-hBs-I/AAAAAAAAF_M/zQiUMv1RIP8/s1600/DSC_0049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r03dyATXWwU/TcLMs-hBs-I/AAAAAAAAF_M/zQiUMv1RIP8/s640/DSC_0049.JPG" width="424" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Ooo toilet pics! The wallpaper in here is kind of meh, but we have other projects to tackle before taking it on...like the wallpaper in the main house.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xiea_1j76Q4/TcLMvHyyqbI/AAAAAAAAF_U/LPOPwgLc1l0/s1600/DSC_0050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xiea_1j76Q4/TcLMvHyyqbI/AAAAAAAAF_U/LPOPwgLc1l0/s640/DSC_0050.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Cute vintage-looking light pull Sean picked out. It was previously a ratty piece of string, this is much nicer.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So - that's the guest house! I'm sure it'll evolve from here but I'm super happy with how the painted wood panelling turned out. We're taking our time finding furniture and accent pieces so it may take a while, but I'm very happy to have a nice little space to offer guests for now.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">RIP wood panelling. 1937-2011.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UitU7k1I25o/Ta_ilQAPHhI/AAAAAAAAF8o/AxSQHrQPdfY/s1600/DSC_0008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UitU7k1I25o/Ta_ilQAPHhI/AAAAAAAAF8o/AxSQHrQPdfY/s640/DSC_0008.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00496891407851630869noreply@blogger.com1