As mentioned before, I got a little carried away this year. I had too much time staring at my walls. That paired with too much time on Pinterest was a little dangerous.
First thing, I redid our downstairs half bath! This was completely spontaneous and was like the start of a domino effect around the downstairs. I was looking on Pinterest for something completely unrelated when I came across a picture and stopped dead in my tracks. I forgot what I was researching to begin with! It had to be done. 3 days later I was staring at my finished project with hearts in my eyes. Unfortunately since there's no natural light it's impossible to get a good picture. But here's my best effort.
Before:
After:
Here's what I found on Pinterest:
https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/budget-painted-powder-room-36662413
I fairly recently painted my half bath blue but was not really loving it. I've recently developed a passion for creamy white paint (as you'll see later). Ollie's nursery is Glacier White by Benjamin Moore so I went with that again. It took at least 3 coats to cover the blue.
I was introduced to Fusion Mineral Paint in the link above. I did some research and found that they sell it locally on the Collierville Square (I ordered it online from a store called Southern Farmhouse and they had it sitting outside by the door when I went to pickup- they were still technically closed from the lockdown at this time). I'm kind of obsessed now. It's so much cheaper and (I think) overall better than chalk paint. You don't have to use wax (unless you want) because it includes a built in top coat, unlike chalk paint. $20 gets you a decent size that is more than plenty for a project like this. I used less than half of it.
I chose the green neutral color called Lichen (like in the Pinterest picture). It painted easy and has held up great considering its where my kids wash their hands 8 times a day. I also got new pulls and spray painted them black. Since we were towards the beginning of lockdown and I was hesitant to get out much, I wanted to avoid a trip to Lowe's. So to make the accent wall I ended up getting a sample size of mineral paint in the color Putty. It was TINY but only $5 and the exact amount I needed.
I just followed the advice of the blog above for the accent wall. I made a little triangle template out of cardboard to keep me on track. The whole wall took about 30-45 min. The wall art was originally in my master bath (from Hobby Lobby), but I knew it would go so much better in here. I had the mirror already. It was gray and I spray painted it black. I bought the hanging light fixture a few years ago at Lowes. It was the last one and a display so they sold it to me for just $30!
So that excitement led me to my dining room. I painted it Sea Salt (Sherwin Williams) a few years ago and redid most of the decor. But it was bland and had fallen victim to my kid's quarantine projects. This is where we kept all of the art supplies, activity bins, games, etc. It was always a mess and the chair bottoms were now covered in Sharpie, etc. So naturally I just needed to redo the entire thing.
Before (like a long time ago- peep the baby legs. She's almost 6 lol):
After:
I sold my jute rug on FB resale because I wanted something more interesting. It was basically a blue room with all white details. Boring. I did a lot of Instagram polls to get my friends advice on what looks best. I had a lot of fun putting it together.
I started by painting it Glacier White, like the bathroom. It took almost FOUR coats! I thought I would never be done painting. I bought a rug originally that I loved online but when it came in it was awful. I didn't even unroll it. It looked woven in the picture, but in actuality it was a slick, texture-less fabric with the woven design just PRINTED on it. It was so cheap looking, except it wasn't cheap, so it went back immediately. After that buzz kill I found another rug that was just right.
I was later introduced to CottonStem on Instagram by my MIL. I think this girl is so real and joyful and I got to stalking her account. I come across her dining room and SHE HAS MY RUG! I feel so validated. I later learn that she actually designs rugs and this is one of her originals. Uhh it was meant to be. From there I noticed her dining room fixture and it was just perfect. I really wanted to replace ours with a sleek, bronze chandelier and it was so beautiful. I found it on her blog and it was $400 at Pottery Barn. Ugh. BUT she linked a very similar dupe on Amazon for just $100! (I got it $20 off because I bought it on Prime day). So you should definitely follow her. She might just inspire you!
I had a desk/vanity piece of furniture that I used as my buffet. I've given it lots of makeovers but I was just done with the style and wanted wood grain instead of a painted finish. So I sold it on FB resale and purchased a new buffet I found on Zulily for $200. Here it is for sale on Overstock.
Since I wanted to add color I did some more home rearranging. I bought this big painting on Target.com for $50 1.5 years ago. It had been living at the top of my stairs. It matched my rug perfectly so I just switched the original big mirror with the canvas. The big mirror now lives at the top of the stairs. I got the watercolor lamp at Target. I added a snake plant and I like it better already. The plant on the floor is a combo of 2 different fiddle leaf figs that were both on the verge of death. However I combined them and stuck them in the window for a while and they are THRIVING! Growing new leaves and everything. Figgy Azalea, you fancy, gurl.
I recovered the chairs (since that's what started this whole thing) with a gray, textured fabric I found on clearance at Premier Fabrics. Not super exciting but looks alot better than the stained fabric from before.
For the front wall I got this wooden criss-cross decorative piece from Hobby Lobby. The white plate collage was already there before and I kept it because I like it. It gives me Southern Living vibes. I bought the sheer curtains and iron rod a few years ago at Tuesday Morning.
My friend Olivia took some sweet pictures of our family and I was excited to display them in my dining room. I found these gold gallery frames on Blick.com for $20 each. They have plexiglass instead of glass but you really can't tell. They look very high end at a very affordable price.
LASTLY, the china cabinet! We bought this piece at an estate sale my summer after college. I want to say we paid less than $100 for it. When we were leaving someone came up to us and offered us double! But at that point I felt like I had found a real treasure and was too excited about it. It was green with a gold finish with a gold interior. When we moved to this house I painted it white and the interior a brown/beige color (Big Spender by Farrell Calhoun). I really wanted it to be navy. I was especially inspired by some pictures I found on Pinterest. I seized the opportunity to get more mineral paint! I chose Homestead Blue and used the Fusion antiquing wax on top to deepen the color and add depth.
SO, now that my dining room is different, my entry hall doesn't flow. Guess I gotta re-do that too!
My entry/stairs/upstairs hallway was a yellowish neutral most of the time we lived here. I really liked it. Then I painted my whole house that yellowy color and I HATED it. A few months later I just had to fix it. I settled on Balboa Mist by Benjamin Moore. It's a wonderful color. I wanted something that could go both gray or beige and it does both. So I went crazy and painted everything: Entry, living room, kitchen, laundry, master and kid's bathroom. But for some reason it was really splotchy and discolored in the entry/stairs area. I guess I didn't stir it good when I painted at some point because every time I tried to touch up scuffs and, ahem, marker art the color dried much darker. So basically it was a mismatched mess and driving me nuts. I seized this opportunity to just paint the whole thing again.
But another huge buzz kill..the paint store didn't mix it correctly and I didn't notice until it was dry/basically done. It's less gray than its supposed to be and more beige with pinkish undertones. I'm sure no one will notice or be bothered by this but me but I don't think I have it in me to paint it all the same color AGAIN! Thankfully the tone is even all over so I fixed one problem.
Before (with the yellow color):
After:
So it's not the color I'd like but I'm living with it. First world problem 100%. I'm embarrassed that it even bothers me. Since I moved the art around in the dining room and changed the color scheme the entry didn't flow like I wanted. The window hanging on the wall was too similar to the crisscross wood thing that was right next to it on the other side of the doorway. I was going to replace it with something bright and cheery but couldn't get inspired. I bought a few different things at Hobby Lobby, hung them up, but none of them spoke to me. So I just left it blank for a while instead of settling for something I didn't like.
Then one day it came to me! And my brother is an excellent woodworker and just so happens to be my neighbor. I knew he could help me.
BOARD AND BATTEN!
It looks intimidating but it was so easy. I got the measurements then went to Lowes to buy the wood. I got pine boards in a few different sizes. It was about $50 for the wood.
My brother cut the pieces for me and I attached them myself. I just used a hammer and thin nails to hang the boards. After that I used a nail punch to make the nails sink deeper into the wood so I could putty over them to make them smooth. After that I did a lot of sanding and caulked around the boards. Once everything was attached and prepped I just painted it with my trim paint! I got the cute farmhouse-esque hooks on Amazon. 10 for $10!
I also wanted to tone down the brick floor a little so I whitewashed then sealed it. I go back and forth on whether I like it or not. It's growing on me. My dad installed these pavers when we moved in almost 7 years ago. It was our first home project here. I still love the brick! It definitely looks alot better than the broken up Italian marble that was there before. I got the new runner from Rugs USA.
Here's the ORIGINAL before/after 7 years ago:
After that I loved the overall look but still felt like it was missing something. I started googling and disappeared into a black hole covered in wallpaper. I came across a company in Latvia with the cutest designs. It's called Livette's Wallpaper. And the colors are customizable for no extra charge! The customer service was great and helped me find what I needed. I ended up choosing the Subtle Floral paper and they whitened the background a little more for me (less off-white and more of an ivory). I purchased the self-adhesive paper that just sticks on and peels off. No mess! It was expensive for how much I got (thankfully I didn't need a larger amount) at $140 total including shipping (which was super fast considering it had to come from the other side of the world). But the price was worth it because I really love the final product.
It was easy to install! Just line up the design, stick it on, then trim it to fit!
Tada! Cutest model ever not included.
I faced a similar problem on the back wall of the upstairs hallway. I just couldn't find wall art that I liked (since I rearranged my house this hallway was left bare). Since the wall color is wrong the art needed to distract me from that. I found this pretty floral picture at Hobby Lobby but it was still lacking something interesting. I came across another hand-painted accent wall on Pinterest and had to try it. I already had the paint and did the whole thing in less than an hour. I started by measuring it out then making another cardboard template: Just a straight line in the length I wanted. I used a small craft brush and just went for it.
I might go crazy and wallpaper this wall in the future. I actually ended up with extra paper because the company accidentally sent me traditional paper instead of self-adhesive like I asked. However, they were very kind to correct it quickly and send me the right kind at no extra cost. If it's the right amount I might try it. I haven't measured. Traditional wallpaper scares me with all of the pasting, etc, but I'm always down if it's going to be worth it!
UPDATE:
I did it! I repainted the walls to match the white trim and added a mini-version of the board and batten upstairs. I used the leftover wallpaper and it was super easy, even with the paste.
LASTLY, with my new-found love of wood-working I decided to make a shelf in my laundry room! I found a $15 board at Lowes and that was all I needed. I had my brother cut it into 3 pieces (as seen in the picture) and I screwed the little pieces to the wall. The larger piece just sits on top of those. I stained it with stain I already had. Super easy and makes a world of difference in my laundry room! It's cute AND functional! I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner!
Like, I'm WAY too proud of this sign.
Of course I don't spend ALL of my time re-doing. My 3 kids keep me busy. Like really busy. It was a crazy few months. Or was it a year? I honestly don't know. Time doesn't exist any more. Add in Ollie's hospital stays/health issues and it was incredibly scary and stressful at the beginning. However once we were home for good and things settled down I needed to do something that made me feel like me again. I'd been living in a dark hole and just wanted to do something to make me feel happy. I don't know why but this kind of stuff just makes me happy. Hence why my house is one never-ending project. My husband thinks I'm crazy. So when naptime or bedtime hit, I had my paint brush. And that's how all dis happened.
So these were NOT quarantine projects but I thought I'd give an update on the kid's rooms! They're always an ongoing project as their interests evolve. And let's be real, most of the time they look like they just got through detonating a bomb inside. But hey! The 4 times a year they look like this it sparks joy so that's all we can ask for these days.
Presley's room has been evolving for years. Cats, princesses, etc. It never ends. She now has a fun conglomeration of things she loves, that's age appropriate, within this pastel-y color theme. It's fun and whimsical and just right for my girly girl. She's so proud of it that she keeps it on lockdown. No brothers allowed. Occasionally she will let Oliver in but it has to be a special occasion or something. She is SERIOUS about her stuff.
Leo's room was originally adventure/transportation themed but he has since developed a deep love of Toy Story (hence the outrageous birthday party last week). So I've added some TS flairs throughout. He even got his first big boy bed for his birthday! No more toddler bed for Bud! However, some of these pics are right after he got his toddler bed and was so proud. I had to include them. He loves his room. TRASHES it often. But at least he has fun.
LOL
Ollie's nursery is neutral (we didn't know if he was a boy or a girl) and simple. I love spending time in there. And I'm excited to learn about what he loves over the next few years so I can tailor his room to fit his personality. Right now he's just the sweetest, happiest boy no matter where he is or what he's doing and his room is just right.
I don't think I've blogged our master since I re-did it. It was originally blue with orange accents but it's been evolving ever since (as does everything in my house). Now it's Balboa Mist (the RIGHT Balboa Mist) and mostly neutral and simple and relaxing. Which is just what I need. Here are some pics from our newborn shoot with Ollie.
Well, that's all for now! I'm sure tomorrow will call for another project I'll need to complete ASAP, but until then! As always, thanks for reading!