House Update 2016

New year, new resolutions, right? There are some things in my house I've been itching to change and I've been binge watching Fixer Upper (I'm currently obsessed just like the rest of the world) which has made things a lot worse (or better?). So I thought NOW IS MY CHANCE! Start 2016 with a clean, fresh look. I got mostly money for Christmas this year (dat adult lyfe) so I decided to dedicate some of it to those (un)necessary house fixer uppers I've been dying to try. I know, before you go judging me for redecorating after only 2 years of being in this house (btw we moved in exactly 2 years ago this week. CRAZY), styles and trends do change way too much. I think I like one thing then a year or 2 later I'm bored and I'm ready to try something new. Being self-diagnosed OCD and obsessed with crafting and home decor paired with being a stay-at-home mom where I'm staring at my house all day every day makes things a little worse (well worse for my husband, better for me ;)). I promise I stare at my baby too. She's almost ONE and I can't believe it. I'm completely in love with her and still can't believe she's all ours (PS 1st birthday post to come within the next few weeks).

Here are some pictures of her LOVING Christmas. SO many prezzies! And more to come with her birthday being in January.

I redid my dining room entirely, my kitchen mostly, and my living room a little bit. I did all of this in less than a week because I have a problem. I had a little help from Presley's grandma's some during the day but I mostly did it after bedtime until like 12-1 AM. Matt says I'm impatient (which is completely true) but I like to refer to it as motivated.

First came the dining room. I had previously painted the dining and kitchen/half bath/laundry Sand Dune by Benjamin Moore. It really was a great neutral color but I got so bored with it after a while. I needed something more interesting. I also had made burlap curtains that I loved but I didn't like them up next to the wall color. Another thing that bothered me was that my entry hall next door is painted Wool Skein also by my bff Benji Moore. I absolutely love that yellowy neutral and still do but I thought it clashed with the Sand Dune. I wasn't thinking when I picked them out and it has bothered me ever since. My living room as well as our master bedroom is painted Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams (good ole Willie) which I'm a huge fan of. I was dying to paint the dining room that color as well. I love the white molding in there and thought the blue would look great with it and be a nice contrast. So the first thing that had to go? All that PINK! I loved my coral, yellow and green gingham fabric that I built the room around but, again, I got sick of it fast. I was ready for an upgrade.

Here's the original before when we bought the house. The whole house was painted this peachy neutral:

Here it was it looked like as of a week and a half ago painted in Sand Dune. Click here for my post on this version of the dining room:

Here's what I changed:

New paint (Sea Salt)

Recovered chairs, removed window valence

New curtain rod

Painted buffet furniture

New mirror 

This really wasn't an expensive change at all (about $150 total) but it looks totally different. 

July 2016 UPDATE Plate Wall:
I've always loved the idea of a plate wall. All of my Pinterest dreams came true when it finally became a reality. I found plates in all shapes and sizes from Target, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, etc. I used simple $2 plate hangers from Lowes. Once you collect all of your plates you just figure out a design and go for it. I love its Southern Living-esque charm.

The mirror and curtain rod came from Tuesday Morning. The mirror is actual wood and was only $80! At Pier One it would've been like $500. I was super happy about this find. The curtain rod is made of iron and came with extenders for windows up to 120 inches. It was only $20. I love that place. They have so many weird little finds. I got the greenery in the middle of the table there last year. The cute little preserved boxwood plant on my buffet table came from Pier One for only $15. I'm obsessed with preserved boxwood and want it all. Is that a weird thing to be obsessed with? Don't care. I love the pop of green it adds to the space.

I actually spray painted the buffet furniture. They have chalk spray paint at Hobby Lobby (Krylon Chalky Finish in Classic White). Did you know that was such a thing?? Life changing. It's usually on sale for 30% off but if not you can use your 40% coupon. It's usually around $8-9. It's not exactly the same but it looks very similar when dry. I used 2 cans. I ended up painting the top using my leftover Big Spender by Farrell Calhoun. I painted the inside of my china cabinet (on the other side of the room) this color and wanted to tie them together. Plus it would've been way too white with the it being up next to the white molding on the wall. I spray painted the handles with an oil rubbed bronze spray paint.

The chairs I covered in a fabric from Premier Fabrics. They also have other coordinating fabrics you could alternate with. I stuck with 1. I got 2 yards and it covered my 6 chairs perfectly with not much to spare. The 2 yards were $20 total. Not too bad!

In my previous dining post I talked about my dining table my dad helped me transform. Still love it so much. 

That was it! Not much to it but made a huge difference. I love the cool, fresh look it gave the room.

2017 DINING UPDATE (I know I have a problem)

At the beginning of every year I have this longing to redecorate my house. Or at least fix the things that bothered me throughout the year. I loved my 2016 dining makeover but a few things started bothering me: The chair covers and the plate wall. 

The blue clashed a little with my wall color and I could never find the inspiration to bring more yellow into the room so it felt out of place. I covered them again and sold the blue/yellow fabric on a Facebook resale site for $10. The new fabric was on sale. I needed 2 yards and it was $2 off a yard (originally $10/yard) at Premier Fabrics. So with the old fabric sold this update technically only cost me about $7. Totally worth it since I found this new fabric I'm obsessed with that couldn't match my blue walls any better.

Now my plate wall was buggin me. All I did was take out the color and make it more neutral. I love how it matches the chairs so well.

KITCHEN! 

Again, although a great color, I was sick of the Sand Dune in here as well. I really wanted to go light gray. My craft room and our upstairs guest bath is Agreeable Gray by Willie and I love it. It didn't turn a weird color when painted (like green or blue) and it was just agreeable (for lack of a better word). I decided to do this in the kitchen as well. It's still a neutral but it's a lot more interesting, in my opinion. I painted the walls and then guess what happened..I hated it against my ivory-painted cabinets. The previous owners painted the cabinets to put the house on the market and they looked good but it has always bothered me that the cabinets and trim were painted a drastically different white. I got new cabinet hardware (hinges and handles) for Christmas (more of dat adult lyfe) and thought this was a good time to paint my cabinets since I have to take all of the hardware off anyways to change it out. I was super pumped about my new hardware actually. I didn't like the previous bronze hardware. Most everything in the house is brushed nickel including the light fixture in the kitchen. It bothered me so bad that they didn't match. I know this is like a true first world problem and I'm embarrassed admitting the things that go through my brain on a daily basis. I put these new nickel handles/hinges in the living room when we painted those built ins 2 years ago so I knew they'd look good. I wanted the cabinets more of a pure white that was the same as the trim. I had it matched and went for it. Not something I was planning on doing but I'm so glad it happened. It also just heightened my hatred for oil-based paint. THE WORST!! I really love the outcome, though. I painted the cabinets in the kitchen, bar area in the living room and the cabinets in the laundry room. 

Original before:

Here is the before as of about a year ago before we redid the backsplash. Here are those posts:

Chandelier, kitchen chairs, coffee station

Overall kitchen

Backsplash

What I changed:

New cabinet paint and hardware

New wall paint (Agreeable Gray)

New curtains + spray painted curtain rod + diy curtain tiebacks

New After:

Ok so it's not a huge difference, especially in pictures, but I'm so happy with the change. I love the freshness the purer white added to the room (fresh is apparently my word of the day). 

I got the hardware and curtains on Amazon (both panels for $22). I made the tiebacks with leftover fabric from my window cornice/chair covers. I'm currently obsessed with the shop Printable Wisdom on Etsy. They have the cutest lyrics, Bible verses, etc printables available for around $5 for an instant download. I got the verse on my coffee station above from there. It was $5 and I sent it to be printed at Walgreens in whatever size and framed it. I got an 8x10. I got different ones for my bedroom and living room as well. Now I have them saved on my computer and can use them for gifts in the future as well! All they need is to be printed and framed. Definitely worth the whopping price. And they're so cute!!

I painted the laundry room and 1/2 bath Agreeable Gray as well.

Before:

After:

I did get a new rug and door pulls for the bathroom. The pulls are mercury glass and came from my favorite place, Hobby Lobby for just a few dollars a piece (I only buy them there when they're 50% off). The rug, like everything I buy these days, came from Amazon. 

So lastly, our living room! 

I didn't change much but I feel it made a big difference. I did some rearranging and changed the mantle decor as well as painted the backs of the shelving with leftover cabinet paint (which was a trim/shelving paint match). Before they were blue (wall color) but I wanted them to look more like built ins and not shelves in front of the wall. Plus the gray shutters I added didn't look good right next to the blue because they're similar in color. I love the brightness the white added and now my shelf decor looks alot better than it did with the blue. Everything matches white! Lastly, I made pillow envelope covers for the couch pillows. I got both fabrics at Joann.

Original before:

First after. And here is that post.

And currently!

SHE'S SO CUTE!! (sorry had to)

I absolutely loved my painting I had in here. It was a wedding gift painted by my friend Lisa. It's beautiful and I can't tell you how many compliments I've received on it over the years. It was the exact colors of our last house and looked awesome hanging above our couch. I did some rearranging and ended up moving the poppy painting from my previous dining room into the living room because the colors matched so perfectly. To even out the space I added 2 shutters on either side. 

The shutters were actually 1 big shutter that I got at Sheffields. I think it was an antique because it looked pretty old. Well, I asked my brother and his sweet girlfriend to redo it for my Christmas present. They did an awesome job. They cut it in half, sanded it and spray painted it light gray. 

Before:

After:

More from Printable Wisdom!

I love how these little updates have changed our home. Most of them aren't super noticeable but they made a big difference for me. Hope you enjoyed!

UPDATE!

I'm so excited about these new beauties: Our new washer and dryer. Having new appliances makes laundry fun! Is that even a thing?