The Right Shade

After living in apartments for the last two-ish years, and not having our own furniture at all times, we were anxious to be able to pick out pieces for the house that went with the decor. We wouldn't have to settle on something, or attempt to match it to the rental furniture that was provided by Z's company, that would surely change upon the next move. The color scheme is one that we would choose. One that would represent us.

Basically, what I am trying to say is, we are excited to continue to decorate our home how we like and how we see fit. We can take our time to find pieces that fit just right.

One of the pieces that we picked up recently was at Target. While browsing through their lamp section, we came across a beautiful yellow base for a lamp. We snatched that up immediately! While the vision isn't completely clear, I know I want to decorate our bedroom in shades of grey and yellow - our wedding colors. While it has been almost a year since our wedding, I think it is a nice way to remember that day, embrace our styles, and create a peaceful retreat.

We now have this wonderful lamp, but alas, no shade. After spending some time looking through what Target had available, nothing seemed to grab at us, like the base of the lamp did. These were two options that we tried. Both looked nice, but in keeping in mind the fact that we can take our time in styling choices, we are still exploring what is out there.

What do you think would look best on this lamp? Does one shade grab at you?

Not really thinking, at the time of these photos, that they would ever appear on a blog, Z stands patiently in the background! 

-E

Sneak Peak: Men Bathroom

I am sure you're reading this title questioning what it means. Let's just say (for now) that there was a previously dedicated bathroom for the men of the house. We found it amusing and are going with it!

Tonight, we went by Lowes to check out their tile selection for this particular bathroom. After looking at Home Depot, we found some nice ones, but nothing really caught our eye for what we were looking for specifically. However, at Lowes, we found many tiles that would fit the bill perfectly! It was difficult to narrow it down! But, we did!

We chose this tile for the wall. We also picked out other dark tile to create a border around it.

Now, we are trying to figure out the flooring. When Z had worked at a kitchen and bath store, he was given extra tile that would have been discarded. In trying to save money, I am determined to make this tile work! However, I don't know if it will work for this room. It will come down to changing the beloved wall tiles from Lowes, changing the already available floor tile, or just going for it.

What colors would you use with silver subway tiles? What kind of flooring would appeal to you? What paint would you think would be masculine yet modern?

-E

Hidden Treasures

I must admit, that when we moved into our house, I was curious if we would stumble across anything left behind by the previous owner. Now, I wasn't anticipating any gold coins or large sums of money, but rather just any interesting artifacts of one's past. 

And, boy! Have we discovered some interesting pieces! Let's just say that the insulation in the floor of the attic is a graveyard of toys. I regret not taking pictures of everything we have found, like the 1986 adult magazines, but these will suffice. The deteriorating wedding napkins, camouflage beer cans, and "Jake" the dinosaur ornament didn't make the cut - this time. I anticipate more discoveries to come as we do more renovations!

From an air duct in our second living room. 

Discovered behind a wall in the basement.

I have to ask myself. If I moved out of my place, what would I have accidentally, or purposely, left behind? What would the new owners think? I tend to wonder what stories the new residents of our apartment will create about us. Have you found any treasures in your homes?

-E

Decades of Shelf Liner

We closed on our house on a Friday in March, and within days, we were already putting our touches on the house and making repairs! We knew going into the house that it would need some love - and that is what we were looking for during our house hunt. 

One of the first projects that I undertook was the kitchen pantry. I loved this pantry from the first time we walked into this house during an open house! It was enormous! However, it had quite a bit of shelf liner in it. And, by the looks of it, the liner had been there for decades. Easily.

With a paint scraper and razor blade in hand, I was able to peel off every last piece of the sticky shelf liner. This is what I was left with. Dark wooden shelves, particle board with water damage on it (Swifter Wet Jet), and walls that had oh-so-lovely aged, pale yellow tint. 

With my Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Primer in hand, I coated the entire pantry a good two times. I made every attempt to coat all of the surfaces with at least two coats. While this dried, Z helped me put on a new door handle to the pantry. (Originally, we were hesitant about this particular color of the handle, but we saw it at another house and loved the final look! That's a slow process going throughout the house.)

Once the primer had dried, it was time for the paint! I put two coats of Valspar Ultra White to make sure all the walls and shelves were crisp white. I wanted to ensure that they didn't have any tint of yellow, as they had originally.

The final product! The walls and shelves looked so crisp and clean! I purchased white rubber shelf liner (easily removable) to line the shelves. I liked the idea of coating it in that, and giving it a nice, smooth finish - especially where the particle board was rigid from water.

This is one thing checked off on our list! Now, the pantry brightly welcomes food inside of it and on the shelves. On to the next project!

-Z & E

Welcome!

Coming soon....