Friday, August 31, 2012

Spare Bedroom Makeover Part 2

Remember the 3000 pounds of wood?  Well, its now spread across over 700 square feet, and looks wonderful if I do say so my self.  We went with Lumber Liquidators Bella Hardwood Brazilian Redwood.  It cost a little bit more than the Brazilian Cherry but over time it will turn to a rich dark brown.  I just can't get enough of it. 
 


Now comes the fun part.  I just ordered this awesome desk from, you guessed it, Pottery Barn.  It's on back order but I should get it in the next 6 weeks or so.  It is the perfect size and the crisp lines give it the modern, yet classic feel. 

Pottery Barn Ava Desk

I also picked out the Bourdonnais Bookcase from Ballard Designs.  It follows the same X pattern and again is another versatile piece.  I really think I could put this in every room of the house.

Ballard Designs Bourdonnais Bookcase




The final after is still a little ways away, this room has turned into a 5 month project.  But I know the finish project is going to be worth the wait!

 
Oh...how could I forget, look at these floor vents. They sit flush with the floor, pretty awesome.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Herbs?

Aren't these cute?  I made a little herb garden with .74 pots from Ikea and a little chalk board paint.  (What's a project with out chalkboard paint?) These are for the bridal shower that I'm hosting at our house this week, but I think they would also be a great housewarming gift.  Plus they smell great.  I never realized how strong fresh herbs smelt.
 
Now, if I can just keep them alive for the next week, I'll be all set.  The mint was looking a little sad, but hopefully the fresh soil and sunlight will bring it back.



Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Where has the Summer Gone?

I can't believe its almost fall.  Don't get me wrong I love fall, but I'm not sure I'm ready for the summer to be over.  McMahon has had a number of showings so we are very pleased.  The house we wanted went into contract last week, but just came back on the market today again.  So we will consider that a sign that the last deal fell though.  We have our St. Joseph planted in the yard, so hopefully he will do his magic.  We also found a second St. Joseph which appears to be freshly planted in the back yard, so it still a bit of a mystery where he came from but 2 must be better than one.

Remodeling is coming along over my parents.  The crown moldings went up in the bathroom today.  I love it!  Not sure how it was done to be honest, my uncle was the one who installed it.  It's over 7 inches wide, and we got it from Lowe's.  We usually never go to Lowe's just because there 2 Home Depots that are very much closer.  But I forgot how much I love Lowe's.  My dad and I must of spent 3 hours just wandering the store.  We found so many new products.  I can't wait to start my next project. Check out my favorite, its the L.J Smith Stair System Iron Baluster Fastener.  It's less then 6.00 a stair and in about 2 hours you can change all of your balusters from wood to wrought iron with only a hack saw and a screw driver. 
Zoomed: L.J. Smith Stair Systems Iron Baluster Fastener
 

Don't forget the wonderful folks at Cutting Edge Stencils offered all of The Welch Abode readers a 10% discount when placing an order. Use DIYFUN to get your discount today!

For the stencil ceiling how to, click here.

The 3000 pounds of hardwood gets installed next week, so there will for sure be an update on that!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Black Walls

The walls have been painted!  The color is Black by Benjamin Moore. Yep, the name is actually Black.  I am just so in love with the color, I just want to go paint the whole house black.  (don't worry I probably will not) Still not done yet, but much closer to the big picture.  Can't wait for the crisp white crown and base mouldings!

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Chalk Board Champagne Glasses



Along with burlap, I'm also loving chalkboard paint.  I really want to do a chalkboard wall, but I think I'll have to stick to smaller items until our next house I guess.  I always needed champagne glasses, we only have our good Waterford ones in the china cabinet, and lets face it - I don't trust everyone with those. 

I decided to have a Mimosa bar at the shower that I'm holding and I needed about 25 or so champagne glasses, I didn't want a mixed set so I went to Ikea and was about to pick up 6 for $4.99.  Now you can't beat that!  No, literal I check around, even at Dollar Tree they are still $1.00 each.

I thought about putting little tags around each glass, but that can only be used once, so what about a little chalkboard on each one?  Now, that can be washed and used over and over, no more, "Is this my glass?"

I got Rust-Oleum Chalk Board paint from Home Depot.  I've tried the other brands from the craft stores- ONLY BY THIS BRAND!  Trust me, you will have to repaint if you don't!


 So, to begin, Step 1:  I dipped the whole bottom of the glass into the paint can.  (I first tried to paint with a brush, and it just did not look right)


I dipped the glass about 3/4 of an inch up the stem.


After removing from the paint I held the glass over to let the extra drip off.


Then I tipped the glass and rotated it around to get more of the extra paint off.


I tapped the edge of the glass to help the extra paint drip off.  (shout out to Brian for the next few photos)


I then used my brush to brush off all of the extra paint from the bottom and the edges.


Place the glasses on foil to dry.


Now once the top side is dry put them in the box upside down so the bottom of the glasses can dry.



Pop open some bubbly and enjoy with out wondering if your drinking out of your glass!



Saturday, August 4, 2012

What Does 3000lbs of Wood Look Like?

If you every wondered what 3000 pounds of wood look like, well here you go.   It just fit under the 3000 pound weight limit of the Home Depot rental pick up truck.  That's a lot of boxes of wood.  Can't wait to get it installed!