Little update on what I have been doing

I know that I have been MIA for a while now but I just haven't had time to do any kind of decorating.  I have really been trying to paint the outside of our home on the weekends but the weather has not been cooperating.  The first weekend this month it snowed, the second weekend it rained and this weekend it was cold and windy and it only sprinkled a little on Sunday.  I am trying to save us some money by painting the lower part of your house (I am deathly afraid of heights) and have painters do the second story.  I have the back deck area done and all the window and doors on the lower level.  This weekend I was trying to finish the garage.  Here is what the garage looked like before. 

It is hard to tell but the garage doors were a dark reddish brown.  My new trim color is a dark brown and the base of the house is a light beige color.  Now here is the after.

 I didn't get the little peak done on the garage as the roof is a little to steep for me.  I will let the painters do it.

The roof color that the previous owners chose does not go with the brick color to me.  But I thought that these two colors coordinated with the roof color and the brick color. 

Besides the garage I have painted the back deck railings, the deck off of the study, all the windows on the main level (18), all the doors (7) and the balcony off the master bedroom.  I am still working on the ceiling area on the wrap around porch.  I still need to finish the kitchen island inside also.  Here is what I have got done so far.

We added the beadboard and the corbels.  The 2X4's under the corbels will be wrapped with some fluted trim. 

I still need to figure out the baseboard and once this is all done the island will be painted.    I think that I have too many projects going on.  I am still working on the powder room. I am hoping to get it done sometime this week.  Right now the inside of my home looks like a tornado hit it.  We are also  wanting to get the pantry cabinet updated by adding pull out drawers ( which they are all laying in my entry way).  I am so wanting to get all of this done so I can get back to decorating and I need to start getting flowers for the yard and my pots. 

Another snowy weekend

It is another snowy weekend here in Colorado.  I have been trying to get most of the outside house painted so I can concentrate on other projects but the weather is not cooperating lately.  Last weekend I was able to get some done but not all of it. 

We probably have about 4-6 inches of snow in our yard but a least it isn't sticking to the roads or our driveway.  So this weekend I decided to finish working on the powder room and start working on the kitchen island.

So my idea is to remove the trim, add beadboard and some corbels.  Once that is all done I will be painting the whole island white and antiquing it.  I am also redoing the cabinet bases.  The previous owners put new doors and drawer fronts on but only painted the bases.  The color did not match so I am getting some of that done this weekend.

Here is a before section of the cabinets.  Please ignore the bag inside.  I found it when I removed the drawers.  The kickboard is the same color as the doors.  It is hard to see the difference with this picture but the doors are more a reddish brown where the bases are a dark brown.

Here is a picture of the same area after I painted  and glazed it.

Now the bases match the kickboard.  I took another picture of the cabinet next to the drawer section.  Here you can see a existing panel on the right and the painting technique I used next to it.  I think that it matches pretty well.  Again please ignore my messy cabinets.

Now onto finishing the island and the bathroom.

April showers

The old saying is April showers bring May flowers.  Well, that is not true here in Colorado.  This weekend we have had about two feet of snow so far.  With the hubby away today the snow is not getting removed from the driveway.  I can't tell where the driveway is.

The snow isn't as bad on the back deck since I did get it cleared yesterday afternoon but here is what it looks like now.

I can't even walk into the backyard.

With all the snow today I will have to get some projects done inside.  For the past few weeks I have been working on cleaning up the yard and some painting on the outside of the house.  Today I think I might tackle the powder room.

My goal is to paint the walls, frame around the mirror and the cabinet.  I also might work on some painting in the kitchen.  I probably should go out and remove some snow but I don't know how to work our new snowblower yet.  I think I would rather stay inside.

My sitting room is almost done

So the study on the main level has become my sitting room.  The hubby decided to use one of the bedrooms upstairs for his office as he said the study was too small.  Now at first I thought about painting all the woodwork white in here to make it bright and cheery.  Then I came to my senses and said why go to all that work.  So I decided to do an old world theme instead.

So here is the study before (with the furniture of the previous owners).  I didn't get a before picture of it empty since it never really was before I painted it.  I had to work around furniture and boxes.

So I like to remove light switch and outlet plates before I paint.  When I removed the light switch plate in this room I got to see what color the study was before the previous owners painted it this pinkish beige color.

I don't think that I could handle this room being teal and brown metallic.  I think that the original owners were into metallic faux painting.  When I took down the cornice board in the dining room and removed the brackets the wall had been faux painted with gold metallic.

I used two colors on my walls.  The one on the right is the base color and then I took some dark brown paint and applied it to create an old world effect.  I don't do anything fancy,  I just use damp paper towels and applied the darker color in a circular motion.  I make it heavier in some areas to make it look like there are more colors.

I am still need to hang some things on the walls and finish decorating the fireplace mantel.

The piece of furniture on the wall by the door is an old sheet music cabinet that I found at Goodwill for $20.  As you can see in the picture below it needs some work.  Yes that is tape on the left side.  The door doesn't stay closed so this is a temporary fix.  I was thinking about painting it but not too sure.

This is the wall that I still need to hang something on.  I was thinking about putting a corner shelf there and I have a metal container that I thought would look nice in between the bookcases that I could fill with greenery or flowers.  I am still working on my desk area on the right so no pictures of that wall yet.

Linking with
Life on Lakeshore Drive, Pink When, Dwellings The Heart of Your Home, Our Home Away From Home, Coastal Charm,Cozy Little House, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, StoneGable, Aspen Jay, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Beyond the Picket Fence, The Bajan Texan, Oh My Heartsie Girl, A Delightsome Life, The Happy Housie, Rooted In Thyme, 21 Rosemary Lane, Have A Daily Cup of Mrs Olson, Katherine's Corner, Posed Perfection, Mila's Little Things, Imparting Grace, DIY Vintage Chic, Life With Lorelai, Shoestring Elegance, Pieced Pastimes, Scrapality

Spring has sprung in the kitchen

This morning I decided to decorate my kitchen table for Spring.  I thought I would keep with the theme that I used in the dining room using orange and green.  I would have liked to put more on the table but it isn't that big.

I am so ready for Spring.  The weather has been in the 50's and 60's these past few weeks but the forecast towards the end of next week show possible snow/rain mix.  I would rather have the rain since all the snow has finally melted from my yard.  I have that itch to plant flowers but I know better.  The rule of thumb here in Colorado is to what until the end of May.  One year I planted in the beginning of May since the weather had been so nice and then it snowed and killed just about everything I planted.

I love this jumping bunny that I found at Home Goods the other day.  

Here are a few different angles of the table.

I also found the bunny plates at Home Goods the same day.

So here is what the breakfast nook looks like.  Now I just need to get some Spring decorating done on the kitchen island. 

Linking with
Between Naps on the Porch, Tabler Party of Two, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Pink When, Rustic & Refined, Our Southern Home, Dwellings The Heart of Your Home, Coastal Charm, Cozy Little House, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, StoneGable, Our Home Away From Home, One Mile Home Style, Savvy Southern Style, The Bajan Texan, DIY by Design, Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olson, 21 Rosemary lane, A Delightsome Life, Katherine's Corner, Posed Perfection, Rooted In Thyme, Decor to Adore, The Charm of Home, Imparting Grace, French Country Cottage, Shoestring Elegance, Life with Lorelai, Craftberry Bush, Shabby Art Boutique, DIY Vintage Chic, Mila's Little Things, Oh My Heartsie Girl, Pieced Pastimes, Scrapality, A Stroll Thru Life, A Stroll Thru Life

Couple more bookcases done in the study

I have four built in bookcases in the study and I have finished decorating three of them so far.  I still need to finish the other one and get the fireplace mantel decorated.  I still would like to add more things to the walls also.

This side of the room has bookcases above the wainscoting.  The bookcases on the opposite side go to the floor.  I still need to hang something on the wall between the bookcases.  I did do a faux finish on the walls to give it an old world look.


Here is the close up pictures of each bookcase.

Here is one of the full bookcases by the fireplace that I finished a few weeks ago.

Here is what I got done so far on the mantel.  I am still trying to figure out what to put on each side of the clock.

How to beef up a wreath

I was wanting a greenery wreath for my front door so I could just add flowers to it for the changing seasons.  I wasn't able to find anything that I liked at the local stores so I was looking in a catalog and found one that looked like it would be perfect.  It looked nice and full in the picture so I ordered it.  Well needless to say that when it arrived and I took it out of the box I was a little disappointed.  It did not look as full as it did in the picture.  Since I didn't want to return it I decided to "beef it up".

The before wreath is on the left and the after on the right.

Here is a full door shot of the before wreath.

Now the after shot.

This looks much better on my door.  It fills up the space much better now.  All I did was add more greenery that I already had.  Of course I know that most people don't have as much as I do.  I used greenery every where in my home plus I have lots of extra in bags and boxes.   My hubby calls me the Queen of Greenery.

So now I just had to add some tulips since it sure has been feeling like Spring here lately.  I even see some bulbs coming out of the ground.

Looks much better with some flowers on it.  Now if I can just get the porch cleaned up so I can try and get it decorated.


Linking with
Pink When, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Tabler Party of Two, Rustic & Refined, Our Southern Home, Dwellings The Heart of Your Home, Between Naps on the Porch, Julies Lifestyle,  Coastal Charm, Cozy Little House,Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, A Stroll Thru Life, StoneGable, Our Home Away From Home, Elizabeth and Co, Aspen Jay, The Bajan Texan, Savvy Southern Style, Beyond the Picket Fence, DIY by Design, Oh My Heartsie Girl, The Happy Housie, A Delightsome Life, Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olson, Rooted In Thyme, Posed Perfection, Katherine's Corner, Poofing the Pillows, 21 Rosemary Lane, Mila's Little Things, Imparting Grace, The Charm of Home, Shabby Art Boutique, French Country Cottage, Life with Lorelai, Chic on a Shoestring, Shoestring Elegance, Craftberry Bush, DIY Vintage Chic, Pieced Pastimes, Scrapality