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rearranging rooms to Create a Sleep-over room for Grandkids

By Lorraine

Moving furniture…

pushing, pulling, tugging, straining, lugging.

From one room to another, up-stairs, down-stairs, to the garage, to the curb.

That is what has been filling my days for the past few weeks.

I have also been purging.

Gone through almost every closet, nook and cranny and parted with everything we do not need/use frequently.

I am not a keeper of things (just sentimental things of which I always have a deep attachment)

I think my house lost hundreds of pounds 🙂

This is what I have accomplished

A few weeks ago, this bedroom looked like this:

Since John no longer works from his home office and we are in need of an additional bedroom, it underwent a transformation. It is now the new room Jared uses and Jill and Brad will use during visits.

See that monstrosity of an Armoire…

I moved that Goliath from the office, out the door, down the hall, into our bedroom and then into our closet.

All * By * Myself!

The guest room that was used for Jill’s visit is now prepared for a special young lady that will be staying with us for an extended time. She is from Spain with a background in industrial engineering and is interning at the same company my husband works for. I was immediately excited when we we were asked if we would consider having her in our home.

Through painted (faux) in 1999, the walls still looked great so repainting was not needed.

We found a full size box spring and mattress on Craigslist in near new condition. I searched and searched but could not find a head board/foot board I liked so we just bought a frame.

The focus of this room is this display of sepia tone photos of our grandchildren.

My daughter, Jamie, gave me a pair of old window panes and I thought for a couple of years what I might like to do with them. They sat in the garage, and yes, I was tempted to pitch them several times. But, I am very happy I saved them for this project.

I had a small white shelf in another room but since it was just the right size, we attached it directly under the window.
The tall, narrow jelly cupboard that we bought unfinished in the 80’s now holds clothes. I thought the swallowtail lamp that John made as a child was a sweet addition to the room.

With six window panes and nine grandchildren, I initially planned doubling up some of the photos. It didn’t looks as good as I imagined. So I scrounged up a few mats and frames for the additional pictures.

I saw on another blog a link to making word generated art and knew I would make one using the names of our grandchildren. I saved it to a .jpg and had it printed to a 5×7.

We still have the crib in the nursery that is also a play room. And when Jill and family visit from up-state New York, if Jared is visiting too, he gets ousted to the sofa or a quilt on the floor along with Ryan, Brenna and Shaela. No place for the inflatable air mattress now, except OUR bedroom.
Oh, I better not mention that, huh!

♥

The Kitchen Budget Re-Do

By Lorraine

So many memories have been created in this kitchen.

As I snapped each shot I was filled with thoughts of days past.

The many meals, the many people, the messes, the laughter, the tears.
The babies bathed in the sink, the Holiday meals from the oven, the many projects created here and the endless loads of clean laundry folded on the counter.
The little ones who readily push up a chair and watch what’s happening or sit on the counter to help stir or help.
The family and friends who filled their plate when the counter performed as a buffet table.
~*~
ha… I just remembered when a 2-liter soda bottle fell from the counter and landed upright on the floor. The cap blew and a fountain of sticky shot so high and with such force it lifted the panels of the ceiling lights and a group of senior high youth group kids stood aghast in a kitchen dripping with Mountain Dew.
(one of those kids became our son-in-law)

♥

Spruced-Up Blogging Spot

By Lorraine

Sometimes seeing something day-in and day-out causes us to not really notice it at all. That is what happened in the corner of the living room where my computer is. Responding to a prompt to post about “Where You blog” gave me opportunity to take a closer look at this oft occupied location. My place was… sad. What to do? Scan the house for inspiration and the possibility of relocating a piece or two of furniture to create a spruced-up blogging spot!

Here is what I came up with.Continue Reading

Foyer Re-Do

By Lorraine

I really loved it…

It was beautiful and looked just like the day I hung it…

…but it was time.

I wanted a new look.

(It is the last area of the house I hadn’t re-done.)

I was hesitant because it’s really high up there.

I wanted to do this for so long.

How happy I was that most of it came off like this.

Abbey and I removed (almost) all of the paper in less than two hours!


Fourteen years ago I had no problem climbing ladders and standing on scaffolding to hang this wallpaper way up in the stairwell.

Today, I’m not so brave.

I still have to tackle this lofty mess,

but look how much I have accomplished!

After stripping the wallpaper and scrubbing the walls, I have spackled and primed the walls, painted the walls and given all of the trim two fresh coats of paint.

A few years ago, we pulled off very worn and yucky carpet and hired someone to do the difficult job of removing the builders paint from the step treads.

We thought of replacing the steps with new treads but the way

this staircase was constructed it was not possible.

John added some molding and I planned on filling all of the

gaps and nail holes and painting them.

I had a vision of what I wanted the foyer to look like but had to wait until

the wallpaper could be removed.

Now I could proceed!

I spackled, I primed and I painted with a white semi-gloss to make them look like new.

At first I wanted numerals but made the decision to stencil a motif on each riser.
But something troubled me with this design.

It reminded me of…

a peering man with a mustache!

Yup… there goes my crazy imagination again.

I couldn’t live with twelve angry men looking at me each

time I went up the steps.

So…

I covered this sinister fellow with primer and two more coats of semi-gloss paint. Waited for it to dry, re-measured center and stamped this…

Much better!

I mentioned to my daughter, Jamie that I wanted to replace the foyer mirror with a larger one that had a silver-ish frame. She said she had a brand new one she bought for a new house that they decided not to purchase and that I could have it. She got it from Home Goods for a whopping $15.00 because two of the corners are damaged. It measures 41.5-inches x 31-inches. Which means…

the sconces on the wall had to be moved further apart.

John did the electrical part and I did

priming, spackling and painting!

Originally we had a large vent covering the cold-air in-take right in the foyer,

A few years ago John sealed it off and opened one in the family room where our fireplace insert is used.

He left the vent and now was the time to correct it.

He purchased a piece of wall board and filled the area and I did

spackling, priming and painting!

~*~

Now, we all know those bright gold sconces dangling there just don’t work any longer.

So…

I found some pewter color Liquid Leaf by Plaid and painted them!

Along with a lamp that I have had on the foyer table for ages.

This works!

When we moved into the house, the original banister was all a very dark pine. A couple of years ago I sanded and painted the whole thing semi-gloss white. But, it wasn’t long before it looked like this…

So, I have been scraping and sanding and scraping and sanding and scraping and…
well, I’m getting there.
Here is how it looks so far.

This beautiful orchid was a table centerpiece at the wedding of my dear friends daughter.

She was so kind to give one to me!

There are a few more projects I am working on for this area and will share them soon.
But now I have to try and repair my fingernails and hands, get ready for a two week visit from my daughter, Jill and her family arriving Thursday night, Erin’s birthday on Friday, a high school graduation party for Abbey on Saturday, and all of our August family birthdays!

♥

Note: upper Wall color Woodrow Wilson Putty from Valspar

Wooden Bench

By Lorraine

Do you have a woodworker in your family? My guy isn’t super skilled in his workshop but he has finish a few nice projects. John made this wooden bench many years ago and it has found a home in various places around the house.Continue Reading

Guest Room Re-Do from Victorian to Relaxing Neutral and White

By Lorraine

After our twin daughters married in 2002 and moved to their new homes, I converted their bedroom into a reading/garden/relaxing room. I took the plunge and painted the walls a deep Country Rose color and used roses in many accents.

This pretty porcelain clocked fit in perfectly.

We enjoyed reading , talking and having a place that was set aside from the rest of the house.

But, we did not have a guest room for when guests or our adult children came to visit. As grandchildren came along we needed a bedroom again.

Though I enjoyed the vibrant color for a (short) time, my preference for white and neutral colors won out and we were ready once again for those sweet little visitors to snuggle into bed when their little eyes grow sleepy.

This is how the room has looked for the past six years.
So much better, don’t you think?

What a change!

…my heart is lightest around a white pallet
♥

Finished Projects Part 3 ~ Main Bathroom

By Lorraine

Here are pictures of the newly painted Main bathroom located at the top of the steps… the one Abbey uses and shares with guests (which is usually her sister Jill and family).

~ I painted the room with left over paint from our Master Bathroom.
~ The mirror is an old one that once belonged to my nieces dresser. We added wood trim around it to give it character.
~ The sea shells were collected from a trip to the Cayman Islands (our 25th anniversary)
~ The little white chair also belonged to my niece and is used often by little ones needing to wash their hands or brush their teeth.
~ The hand covered box, amber oil lamp, crocheted doily, lilac postcard and jar of potpourri are sweet items I received as a gift from Marie of Spun By Me for her recent give~away. I love the way they all work together in this room!
~ I made the glass bottles sitting on the mirror ledge by printing out a graphic and attaching it to the bottles. You can’t see it very well, but the bottle on the left has Abbey’s name on it.
~ I made a simple curtain for the bottom of the vanity using a piece of fabric from my mom. I have also made patio cushion covers from the same piece.
~ The glass door knob is something I got a while back from Ebay.
~ After removing the builder medicine cabinet we filled the area with a back, sides, shelves, trim and embellishment for a built-in look.
~ Sorry about the three faucet pictures… hard to remember which pictures I had already used. It was was cool to get my reflection in it!

hmmm… think Abbey will keep this room looking like this???

🙂

Finished Projects Part 1 ~ The Hallway

By Lorraine

My trend for the past few years has been toward neutrals and a less busy look in my home. It feels more spacious, relaxing and calming to me.

THE HALLWAY

It had been painted with light green stripes above the chair rail but I re-painted with light tan paint left over from a previous project. I wasn’t sure I liked the wall color as it seemed to have too much yellow in it. As soon as I painted the ceiling, the area brightened and the wall color became more subtle and pleasing.
*
Years ago, we added the wood trim on the bottom of the walls and painted with a bright white semi-gloss. It has held up well and is easy to wipe away smudges made by little and not-so-little hands.
*
The Venetian mirror in the middle of the hall was found at a garage sale long ago. I purchased two old mirrors that had broken and missing pieces but was able to construct one decent mirror from the various shaped parts. It is not only useful, but also adds sparkle and reflects the available light keeping the area bright.
*
For understated interest at the end of the hallway, I painted branches with blossoms and birds in a very light tan. It doesn’t jump out at you but catches your attention as you pass by.
*

The wall grouping on the left is what is seen as you climb the steps. I have been waiting for the right place to hang the heavy iron piece with the urn of fruit, birds and flourishes because it required a molly bolt. (unlike my husband, I like to hang things on my walls with straight pins or the thinnest nails possible, but I had to concur on the molly bolt here.)
*
A dried hydrangea in a glass bottle and a very special little frame, with the word “faith” hand-stitched by a sweet blogging friend is just the perfect accents on the small shelf.

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