Painted Loos

One of the tasks on our current project list
(see it here)
was to paint both bathrooms.
Big K got on it right after the new year.

This is the Master bathroom.

It's too much white for us,

between the cabinets, closet doors,

 tile and the walls. 

There is no window in the space,

which prompted us to choose something fairly neutral.

Eventually, both of the loos will get a makeover,

but for now,

we just decided to paint.

The plan for the renovation is 

to remove the shower/tub combo

and put in a  tiled walk-in shower.

Neither of us care for the fiberglass tub surrounds

that we currently have.

The vanity seen here will become two separate vanities

with some sort of stacked storage cabinet in the middle.

We'd also like to add a window,

or open up the wall into the next room

to let some natural light in.

The door you see here actually leads to what we call

"the spa room".

It's a funky little space with two beautiful windows,

a jetted tub, and not much practicality. 

It'll be fun to make that a more functional space.

Ah yes, the throne.

The color is very soft, but not too dark in this windowless room.

It makes it feel more finished,
even though we may end up changing the color
once the renovation is done.
The tile will be changed out for sure,
so that the room will have an entirely different vibe.

Here's C's bathroom,
also known as the guest bath.
We have plans to redo this room as well,
but for now, it got the same color treatment.
It's a start.

The outhouse pictures will stay, of course.
Every room needs a bit of whimsy,
don't you think?

A Few of Our "New House Series" Posts:

Bad to the Bone Beadboard
Closet Project
Under the Spell of IKEA

2018 Project List

We bought this house in the summer of 2017,
after our trek from Florida to North Carolina.
It was in good shape overall,
but there are some things we plan to do to make it more our own.

We've done several small projects already,
including:
painting bedrooms
painting living area
adding beadboard to office
installing ceiling fans
installing closet organizers
and
installing new lighting.
Not bad for a 6-month period,
but there is still so much to do.

At the start of the new year,
Big K and I actually sat down 
and talked about our punch list for the house.

It felt good to get it all down on paper,
so that we can see the big picture.
We decided not to prioritize the list,
and just determine what we will tackle next
as we complete each project.
So far, we've already been able to cross two items off of the list.
First, we installed a water filter under the kitchen sink
so that we can stop buying bottled water.
That has been on my personal wish list for a while,
as I am attempting to decrease the recycle bin's contents.
We recycle most of our garbage, and compost as well,
but it feels good to know that we needn't purchase more plastic than is necessary.

The second job we accomplished is painting the bathrooms.
Big K got on that right after the first of the year,
and did most of the work in the guest bath.
We worked together to complete the master bath,
painting the walls and all the trim. 
We will most likely finish out the master bath by
installing a closet organizer 
(the closet is located in the bathroom),
and then purchase the decorative components for the room.
Our bathrooms are going to be completely renovated,
but we know that we probably won't get to that until sometime next year.
Our biggest project for this year will be updating the kitchen.

So, for now, it feels good having a fresh coat of paint up
and having attained two of our projects so soon in the year.

On to the next goal!

Kitchen Sink, Organized

Small projects can make a big impact.
It's always rewarding to improve a spot in your home
that gets heavy use.
Sometimes just a simple tweak can make all the difference.

 

The area under the kitchen sink was annoying me.

It's not that it's jammed packed with stuff,

but I didn't like all the wasted space.

I found an easy solution.

Stacking bins can be used in so many places.

They use the vertical space available

and can be set in cupboards, on shelves or in closets.

This set of three stackable bins was perfect for my needs.

The handles on the sides of the bins fold out

so that the container on top can rest there.

If you decide to use these without the stacking feature,

the flap folds back and adds a bit more stability to the handles.

The first step was to clear out the cabinet.

I knew the fire extinguisher was going to stay put,

so I merely removed everything and wiped it all down,

then replaced the fire extinguisher.
Don't ask me what all the extra hoses are here.
(We plan to update our kitchen next year,
and this will include a new sink.)

Big K had previously installed this wire rack

to house our plastic bags, aluminum foil and parchment paper.

This way, they don't take up valuable drawer space,

but are still easily accessible. 

I dream of the day we don't need to use plastic food storage bags anymore,

but I will probably never be able to give up parchment paper.

At least it's biodegradable.

The cabinet already had this handy-dandy sliding trash bin holder.

Because the pipes were in the way,
the previous owner had cut off the corner of the trash can,
so that it fit properly in the space.
Clever, huh?

Here's the before and after.
The cleaning caddy on the right in the before picture
was relocated to the laundry closet.
The items remaining here are only the materials needed for the kitchen.
Trash bags, dishwasher tablets, nitrile gloves, sponges
and our homemade bug repellents all fit neatly in the bins.
The refill container for my cleaning solution
and the bulky vinegar bottle rest beside them.
I use these two things for most of my cleaning.
It feels so much more spacious, just by adding the stackables.
The more decluttering I do,
the better I feel. 
In a future post, I will feature the laundry closet makeover.

Little changes=big improvements.
The hardest part is getting started.

New House Series:
Moving Toward Bliss
A Fresh Look
Under the Spell of IKEA
Fan-Tastic!
Closet Project
Bad to the Bone Beadboard
Desk Top Project

DVDs,Organized

I love organizing spaces.
It really comforts me to know that 
everything is in its designated place
and that we can find what we need at a moment's notice.
We've been in this house since June,
and it has been a labor of love
to organize our pared down belongings.

We purged almost all of our music CDs and many of our movies.

We just found that they weren't getting that much use

and we donated them to a local thrift store back in Winter Haven.

This is what remains of our collection.

Although we don't often watch movies,

when the weather is gloomy and we just want to hunker down for the afternoon,

it's one of the best ways to spend some family time.

So, it became necessary to get these things organized.

Enter a dreamy enamelware cabinet.

I had been on the lookout for something like this.

I had found some, but they were either too big or too pricey.

This one called my name as soon as I laid eyes on it.

 The top was in beautiful condition,

but the inside needed a little love.

I took some baking soda and went over the shelves with a damp rag.

It did a great job of erasing the rust that lingered there.

I can't tell you how much I have been enjoying this gorgeous relic.

It seemed like the perfect solution for our DVD storage.

At first, the disks were simply housed there,
but I knew I wanted to tidy it up a bit
and make it easier to find things quickly.

 I found these bins on Amazon
and they were the perfect fit.
Four of them fit on the top shelf
and housed most of our movies.

 I created labels for A-L and M-Z as well as
a separate bin for holiday movies and kid-friendly films.

 We have a couple of big box sets that don't fit in those bins,
so they were placed on the bottom shelf.
Also here are blank DVDs, as well as C's music CDs.
The bins were a bit pricier than I expected,
so I only bought one set.
I plan to keep my eye out in case they go on sale,
because they are fairly heavy-duty and really are perfect in this application.

In the two drawers we placed all of our Wii components.
I love having it all out of sight
and yet readily accessible.

The cabinet takes up much less space than the trunk we had there before.
The bonus is that it also now stores all of our movies and music.
In a room where almost all of the furniture is new and modern,
this beauty adds vintage charm.

The streamlined look really appeals to me.
The room is small-ish, so having space around the furniture helps it look bigger.
I'm so glad I was in that thrift store the day I found this cabinet.
I guess I'll have to go back and see what else they've got!

Other organizing posts:
Finally File Storage
Manuals, Organized
Recipes, Organized
Legos, Organized

Bad to the Bone Beadboard!

Our hearts go out to our brothers and sisters in Texas.
May God give you the strength you need to get through this difficult time.
We are all in this together.
Blessings...
~daisy

Welcome back to our home.
We are today featuring a project that is thus far my favorite.
Slowly, we are adding our personal touch
to each and every space.
Each month, we have a list of small tasks to complete.
This month we worked on our office space.

The previous owners used this room exclusively as an eating space.
We knew that it would have to serve double-duty for our purposes.
The picture on the left is how it looked when we first toured the house.
The other photo is shortly after we closed on the house,
before we actually did any work of our own.

We currently use this as an eat-in spot

as well as our office.

Our dining will be done at the island in the kitchen

once we get our new counter tops.

We've never needed a designated dining room,

so we can use the spaces to suit our needs.

Eventually, we hope to have two work areas,

one on each long wall.

One side will house the computer and file cabinets,

while the flip side will have a multi-purpose table.

I'm hoping to be able to do my sewing here,

as the light is amenable to any kind of handiwork.

 

We first painted the walls to match the living room color.

The pastel turquoise shade really opens up the space. 

The next step in our transformation was to add beadboard.

We picked up panels and the appropriate molding at the big box store.

After researching several ways to install the wainscoting,

we decided on panels versus individual boards.

We are SO grateful to all those YouTubers out there!

 

We bought the panels that measured 32" H X 24" W.

We decided to leave the panels at 32 inches,

so that they would sit above the existing window.

The only trimming needed was the width,

which was cut with a jigsaw. 

A circular saw would probably be more efficient,

but we used what we had.

After cutting to size, Liquid Nails was added to the back.

 

The panels were also nailed into the walls for extra security.

The gap remaining to the left of this first piece will accommodate the finish molding. 

We took our time, and the molding went up without much drama.
We left the baseboards in place,
although it is recommended that they be removed before putting in the first piece.
We saved that step and fortunately, the boards look pretty doggone straight.
Big K cut around the electric boxes by measuring from the adjoining panel.

 The beadboard installation itself took only a few hours.
The molding we used on the top and outside corners
were not the ones recommended, 
(hmm, there seems to be a theme here),
but they worked out just fine.
We wanted a clean, streamlined look.

 This little nook by the garage door was a bit tricky.
Big K figured out how best to lay out the panels 
so that we didn't waste any of it.
(A few leftover pieces will be used 
for a craft project I have in mind.)
With a bit of forethought, the job was easy to complete.
With the molding in place,
Big K filled in along the top molding with caulking,
as well as in the inside corners.
The whole kit-and-kaboodle will be painted white,
as it comes primed, but not painted.
We'll get that done this week.

Overall, I'm so pleased.
I've adored beadboard for as long as I can remember,
and it's a thrill to see it come to life in our new home.
I still need to make some cafe curtains for the space,
and I'm working on the set-up for our tables.
Sister brought me two rustic pieces of wood 
that I am thinking will fit the space nicely.
I also want to add some original photography
to the walls (think black and white). 
Having our files organized is something I'm looking forward to tackling.
I live for organizing projects.

The goal was to have this room done by the end of August.
I may not make that deadline,
but I can live with that,
as long as the end result matches the vibe I want to create.
We'll get there,
one step at a time.

Have you been working on any home improvement projects?

New Home Series:
The New Homestead
Moving Toward Bliss
Organized Downsizing
Fan-TASTIC
A Fresh Look
Under the Spell of IKEA
Closet Project