Living Room Reno Near Complete

And just in time for Christmas!

Before Thanksgiving, the living room had been transformed by the new floors.  We called upon our amazing contractor once again to handle the popcorn ceiling and painting.  Painting is normally something we handle ourselves, but with a two story foyer we figured it would be easier to leave it to the pros.  It was a construction zone for a couple of days...

...but that was it.  2 days after the team started, they were cleaning up and heading out.  Mom selected Sherwin-Williams' Tinsmith, which is a light grey, to paint the foyer, living room and up the stairs.

I love how the paint makes the white trim pop.

Freshly painted living room!

Since mom and dad prioritized removal of the popcorn ceiling, that left little room in the budget for new furniture.  While I know that new furniture will come along down the road, for right now they were able to squeeze in a new rug, TV stand, and a newer modern fan.

Once the popcorn was removed, the team did add some texture to the ceiling in order to match the texture on the walls.

I see some shopping trips in the future to pick out those finishing pieces like a mirror or art for above the fireplace.  My parents still have plans to get a larger TV, and once that comes in they intend for it to be hung on the wall.  The room isn't completely finished, but the major renovations of new floors, new ceiling and paint are complete.  Details and new furniture will be worked on along the way.

And one last before and after of the living room.

You may notice in the after shot that the fireplace looks different.  The team glazed it, and although it may be popular in newer houses to show the detail in the mantel, it didn't really fit in with our house.  Our contractor had no hurt feelings, and quickly sent someone to paint it back to white.

Now to enjoy this room with the family for Christmas! I'll try and pop in before the new year, but if I don't I hope everyone has a very happy holiday season!

This year's holiday card thanks to Tiny Prints

Let There Be Light!

I feel like I say it with every renovation, but what a difference it makes!

This time around we finally got rid of the huge fluorescent kitchen light.

I never really noticed until now, but the fact that it's not really centered over the island kind of bugs me.

Our contractor sent a skilled electrician who banged it out in one day.  Down with the fluorescent piece and up with four canned lights and two blue pendant lights. 

LOVE It!

You might notice the hole next to the pendant on the right.  That was left from the big fluorescent light and will be patched up when the team comes to scrape the popcorn ceiling off.

A nice little close up of the blue pendant lights.

I was surprised that Mom opted for blue (because her favorite color is red and we saw some nice red ones), but it looks really good against the yellow.  

And a nice side by side, before and after of the light change.

One more item crossed off the list of kitchen updates!

Have you changed up the lighting in your house?  Did you do it yourself or leave it to an electrician? 

Out With The Old Carpet

And in with the new wood floors! 

We haven't made it to the complete afters for the living room renovations, but I wanted to show the progress that we have made so far.

Here's a before shot of the living room, old carpet and all.

I had to get one last shot of the tile in front of the fireplace because it wouldn't be making a reappearance. 

Mom and I moved out all of that furniture the night before the team came in to lay down the new floor.

24 hours later and the room just felt so much larger with the new laminate wood floors installed.

We wanted the room painted and to have the popcorn ceiling removed prior to Thanksgiving, but the timing just wasn't going to cut it.  Hopefully before Christmas it'll all get done.  As we were putting the furniture back in the living room, there was one piece that Mom was not at all excited about working back into the space.

See that entertainment center?  It used to hold an old tube TV before my brother Dennis, Chris & I gave my parents a flat screen for Christmas a couple of years ago.  The entertainment center is a large piece, with several places to just hoard things like tapes from the 1996 Olympics.  It just wasn't needed anymore.  So we made use of Chris' truck and hauled that not so light piece of furniture to the Salvation Army for donation. 

Mom and Dad made the rounds to local thrift stores and furniture outlets before stumbling upon this beauty.

It's much smaller and frees up even more space in this room.  Once the walls are painted, the plan is to mount the TV on the wall and get rid of that fake plant that is currently in place just to hide the old Satellite cable and phone line.  Just keeping it real. Dad will finally remove those lines that have not been used since my college days.

Have you purchased any new furniture piece lately?  Did you or your parents used to record anything and everything that they thought would be a once in a lifetime type of event?

In Progress: Renovation Updates

New Paint!  New Floors!  New Fixtures!

We've been busy around the house with more renovations and I'm dying to share the finished products.  Unfortunately, getting to the after isn't as quick as we would like (a money tree would really help out!).  But, we're working it and slowly but surely we'll get there.

The Dining Room

Mom & Dad scored some great oops paint for the dining room, a nice grey with some green undertones.

That ladder is older than me!  When my parents purchased their first house in 1979, the previous owners left that ladder with the home.  After years and years of added height, it was finally time to replace it with a new one.

The Living Room

I always laughed at those commercials with the furniture slides, but those things really work!  

Via Amazon

Mom and I were able to move out the sofa, 2 love seats, glass coffee table & entertainment center all by ourselves.

Even with professional cleanings, 17 years of wear and tear makes for ugh carpet 

Now the room is ready for a major upgrade to laminate wood flooring!

In other news, I also had the chance to read through this very inspiring book!

I've have one or two (or 20) projects that I can't wait to try out!

Has your "in progress" phase of a project or renovation taken longer than you would like?

Kitchen Gets A Paint Job

I've always wanted to paint, living in one white area after the next, and the opportunities have not stopped in this house!  After we broke out the paint rollers for the half bath and the laundry room, we moved onto the newly tiled kitchen.

I'm sad that I didn't get a chance to take the best before shots of the kitchen, but these will have to do for comparison sake.

I can tell you there were many trips to the paint department before mom finally settled on Behr's Tangy.  With the new paint job on the walls, mom and dad decided to donate the old kitchen table and chairs to make room for a beautiful glass and leather set that they purchased off my aunt's big move.  Gotta love when Aunt Bunny moves because it usually means that she will be buying new pieces and getting rid of her current furniture at a discount or for free! The dining room set that Chris and I own as well as the set my brother owns are former Aunt Bunny pieces.

The new paint, tile and kitchen set are a huge improvement!

There are still projects on the list before this room will be considered complete, such as new countertops, staining the cabinets, a new stove and some new lighting over the island, but I think it's really coming along!

And one last before and after for the road.

Do you normally test out several paint samples before landing on the one you like most?

Half Bath Reveal!

What started off as a small painting project turned into a half bath renovation that we are very proud of!  We'll start off with the before shots.

We started with this cozy little room that has pretty much been unchanged in the 17 years my family has lived here.  After painting the room we changed out the floor, vanity, lights and fixtures while adding in some DIY art and shelves.  

Are you ready??

Here are the final after shots!

So, so happy with the end results!!

It was really a team effort with painting, shopping for the new fixtures and the mirror, putting everything up and installation.

I love how Chris' shelves turned out!  I think his first project with the new saw was a success! 

What I love the most out of this project was the fact that it spurred a renovation bug in all of us.  Since starting this half bath, we've painted the laundry room, painted the kitchen, purchased some new furniture and are excited about tackling some of the other rooms in this house. And I know mom and dad will be as excited about helping us in our new house as we are helping them in theirs (hint, hint)!

And one last before and after, side by side shot.

So what do you think?  Did we do a good job on our first home renovation project?

Beginning Of The Half Bath Reno

What started as a simple painting project has turned into a pretty nice overhaul of the half bath.  We started with a cozy little room, unchanged since we moved in with the exception of the toilet.  After our initial painting job (from white to Behr Urban Putty), mom decided to go all out changing the light fixture, mirror, sink, faucet, accessory fixtures, flooring and trim.

The room went from 17 year old carpet...

...to beautiful boardwalk laid tiles.

We changed up the pedestal sink...

...to the vanity that set off our battle with spray paint.

And we switched out the builder's "hollywood" lights...

...to something a little less in your face thanks to Martha Stewart. 

We're still working on some finishing pieces (including touch up paint, handmade shelves from Chris and another mirror because the first one looked too small above the sink) but I was too excited to share the beginning of the renovation!  I'll be back with the finished before and after pictures soon!

Have you ever started on a project that grew into a larger one?

Battle With Spray Paint

During the trip to Builder's Surplus that resulted in our new vessel sink, mom picked up a new vanity for the half bath.  Only problem was that it was white and she wanted a darker base.  With a little advice from her friend Mary Ann and the Home Depot guy, we opted to spray paint the base.

Sounds easy enough, but with that thin plastic coating on top and the notorious Texas heat we were in for a battle.  The first round was going along just fine until we realized that the two cans were not going to cut it.  Mom made a mad dash to Home Depot before it closed just to find out that that location was all out.  Determined to finish that night, she headed over to Wal Mart to pick up a couple of cans.  Same brand, but not the same easy to use can which ended with sore fingers.  Nonetheless we finished up and let it dry overnight.

The next day we figured that the doors were dry enough so that we could turn them over, spray them and leave them to dry again overnight.  Sadly something happened overnight with the heat and when we went to pick them up in the morning, the front panels (first painted) stuck to the drop cloth and peeled off some of the paint.

Ugh!

You live and you learn.  We did the best we could to just spray a couple more layers to cover it up and let it dry inside.

It may not have been the best experience with spray paint, but in the end we got it done.  Have you had any issues with painting?