Reveal Time!

If you'll remember back, I started with this:

Really not cool.  But after installing a board and batten wall, switching out the front door, creating some diy art, and making a faux marble shelf/table(I didn't blog about this particular project, the lazies got the best of me), it's looking surprisingly adequate.

So...drumroll...my first room reveal...

I bought the rug a while ago off the classifieds for $100. It's available on Overstock for quite a bit more so I was really happy to find it brand new for such a great price.

Also, notice that there is a big empty space still because of the tall ceilings. Right now the light fixture is just an ugly boob light, but I will eventually get a chandelier to fill up the emptiness. I'm leaning toward a sputnik, but we shall see!

The shelf was made with some wood from Lowes and a roll of marble contact paper. I also bought the brackets at Lowes and spray painted them brass colored. 

I also painted the entry in BM's Revere Pewter. It's a nice griege that doesn't clash with the rest of the paint in my house.

I took these pictures with my phone, so the quality isn't awesome, sorry about that. I think it's time to invest in a good camera. 

 All in all, this room cost roughly $400 to make over, including the rug and accessories. Not bad for such a dramatic change!

So...what's next? I'm not sure. I'm considering doing a home tour(it will be the "before" version, because I really haven't done much)! If anyone is reading this, I would love a comment or two on what you are looking to read about, what excites you, etc. 

So...phase one for the entryway is complete! I will be adding a few things gradually, but I'm happy wigr it for now.

I Am Not an Artist

Pretty sure I haven't painted since elementary shool or so? But making some art for my foyer actually ended up being a pretty easy little project...after I figured out what the heck I was doing, because of course I had to screw it up just a little.

I started with a large canvas, since I've got a huge wall to fill. I bought the 30"x40" canvas at Michaels crafts. I went with the cheapest brand, because I had no idea if it was going to turn out and I didn't want to waste a bunch of money. The canvas was $34.99, but I had a 50% off coupon so it ended up being only $17.50.

I bought the paint for $3 a tube, I went with acrylic, simply because oil paint scares the crap out of me. Also a little box of foam brushes. Buy more white paint than you think you'll need, because you go through a lot. I had to go buy another tube.

I used paper plates to mix my paint because I'm a professional. And then I just dove right in.

 HUGE mistake.

 I ended up with this:

Seriously, stop laughing. In the words of my husband: "So it's kind of like a plus sign?"

The vision in my head was sound, but in real life it turned to junk. I took a deep breath and walked away to let it completely dry. Because that's the thing about paint: if you keep trying to fix it by adding more and more paint you'll end up with a blob of brown muck.

The next day, I came back to try again. This time I realized that my coraly-orange color was too overpowering in large doses. Also, the look I was going for needed straight up and down brush strokes only, no swirling. I gave myself permission to relax and in about a half hour I had painted over most of my first painting and ended up with this:

Now it kind of looks one if those heart rate monitor things...I'm cool with that. I think it's ready for the foyer. 

Next up, I'm just going to skip ahead and reveal the final result, because I'm impatient like that!

Entry progress!

Well we are getting there! I decided to combine a couple projects in today's post.

 We installed our new front door, and it looks awesome:

The picture is not the greatest, I had to take it at night, there is too much light coming through the windows! Which is amazing, because it was super dark before. Also, please ignore the scratched up window film, my two year old loves to stand at that window and wait for his dad to come home. And while he's waiting, he also likes to take coins and scratch at the paint…

I was able to find the door through our local classifieds. It's brand-new, with a couple of "defects", which were basically barely visible light scratches that you can only see if you put your face right  to them and squint. It fit perfectly, which was a huge relief. My husband did most of the work hanging it, but I stood around and watched and occasionally held it in place while he screwed in the hinges. I'm definitely the one who is into the DIY projects, but I'm always grateful for his help, which I get whenever I ask, because he's awesome. Total cost for this project: $200.

The second project for today's post, is my board and batten wall, and I'm obsessed. I'm not going to post a tutorial here, because I'm really tired. And there are so many good ones out there already. This is my first time doing any sort of woodworking project and I'm proud to say I did it 100% by myself! 

I started out with some primed 3" Mdf boards and nailed them horizontally. I might have enlisted the help of my 10 and 8 year olds for this part. I just had them hold the lower boards in place while I nailed them in place with my handy finishing nail gun and air compressor. Mine was only $100 or so, and I highly recommend getting one if you plan to do a lot of trim work. We are in the middle of finishing our basement, so we will get a ton of use out of ours.

I did have to do the upper boards myself, which was a little scary at times, but I made it work. It's not fun if there isn't a little danger involved, right?

Next came the vertical pieces. These were much easier to maneuver, but cutting the angles almost killed me. Ignore the hideous boob light please.

A little caulk and paint...

Sorry for the terrible pictures, these were all taken with my phone and I honestly wasn't thinking about the fact that I these would end up on the blog. Better pictures next post, I promise! 

Total cost for board and batten wall: $70.

That's What She said: One Week Room Makeover

I'm a big fan of the design quickie--bang out a room in a short period of time and then sit back and enjoy the results(see post title for punch line).

My house is the very definition of builder-standard, and after almost 5 years here with very little progress made, I'm getting antsy. I tend to go on binges every few months where I churn out a bunch of small projects all at once. This time, I decided to get a whole room makeover done in one week instead of doing a bunch of random things all over the house like I usually do. Hopefully it will give my creative juices the jump start they need to really get flowing enough to motivate me to keep going and eventually finish the whole dang house.

I decided to start in the most natural place that anyone would think to start when redoing their entire house: the entryway, a.k.a. the beige pit of endless boredom.

It's time for a picture:

So. Very. Blah.

So here's how it's going to work: every day this week, I'm going to do a project. And then I'll tell you all about it. Sounds great, right? 

Spoiler alert: the first improvement shall be a new front door. My reasons are threefold: first, I hate my front door. Everyone in the neighborhood has the same front door. It's the cheapest, most boring door that anyone can buy anywhere. Second: replacing the front door will simultaneously improve both the interior of my home, and the exterior curb appeal type situation we have going on outside. Third: I've already picked out and purchased said front door, so it just makes good sense to install it right away. 

So take a good look, tomorrow everything changes!

...and...hopefully someone, somewhere will actually read this. Maybe it will be you. Please let it be you!

Aria's Ruffled Curtains

I have lots of excuses for not posting, but all of them are lame, so let's just move on! I have a help me find it post on the agenda for today, and I hope my awesome questioner isn't too upset with me for taking so long to get to it!

I want to say real quick that my blog is not in any way, shape, or form, a Pretty Little Liars fan blog, despite the fact that I've posted so much about the show recently! But I do love the show, so I wasn't upset at all when I got a question from Rachel, who wanted my help in locating the gorgeous curtains from the set of Aria's bedroom. I'll come clean and admit that this one feels kind of like a cheat to me, since already knew exactly where to find these curtains, and have been coveting them for my daughter's bedroom for months now.

These gorgeous gray ruffle curtains can be found at Urban Outfitters, and they're available in an array of colors too.

The price seems a little steep at $80 per curtain, but my sister just recently found the teal ones on sale on the website for 50% off! I'm crossing my fingers that the other colors will eventually follow suit, so I can finally get the pink ones for myself!
Thanks again to Rachel for submitting her question. If you have a dilemma of your own and you'd like my help, please email me at candacerose(at)gmx(dot)com with a picture and description of what you're looking for and I'll get right on it for you! I'm also hoping to get some great home shots out of ya'll, so don't be shy!