kitchen.

i feel somewhat guilty for never putting up pictures of my finished kitchen...

especially before selling it.

so now i feel semi-weird posting the kitchen i updated

which no longer belongs to me.

hm...oh well.

here's the grand debut!

and nothing photoshop-fancy this time,

i got things to do.

before:

hey dad.

in progress!

 new granite & new deep sink!

subway tile backsplash!

 ALL of the outlets were changed in the house.

they were an icky mauve.

now they are sleek, pristine white!

 cabinets painted to Behr: Falling Snow

after

all drawer-pulls changed out to cup pulls.

found those suckers on eBay for super inexpensive!

kitchen walls: stoning ton gray by benny moore,

also seen here in the queen's lair

granite color: i have no idea. i'm very sorry. should have written it down

subway tile: either HD or Lowe's for super cheap. 

24 cents each and they will take back any unused pieces!

some foyer love

before:

that chandelier had to go.

it could have gotten some great love and been restored,

but i wasn't a fan. 

so it found a home at habitat!

after:

walls: abalone by benny moore matched to behr

also seen here in guest bath

flush mount ceiling light: lowes 2 for $20 (i know!)

the other one is on the opposite side of the hall.

would i do it again? absolutely.

i sit in my rental house and think that it's super cute and quaint,

but i also spot several things i would like to tackle.

however -- i also have to remind myself that this is not my house, 

that i will one day own again,

and i can make another masterpiece.

i cried several times as i moved out of my house

and did the final walkthrough.

i saw my house as something that i could restore, renew, and revive.

and at the same time, 

i desperately needed some restoring, renewing, and reviving.

so when i walked away on friday,

i felt like i was leaving who i used to be behind,

and welcoming in who God intends for me to be.

he is so faithful and his plans continue to surpass what i expected my life to be.

now...time to study.

"rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness;

turn your ear to me and save me."

-psalm 71:2

the queen's lair.

master bedroom time.

yikes.

when i pulled the carpet up, dust flew up in my face like a sandstorm.

the lovely mauve trim in here had been painted over with a flat paint.

so the living room beigey - yellow was on the trim in the master.

desperate i suppose.

but don't worry, they left the mauve to surprise you when you opened up the closet.

i guess you could say they lived on the edge.

i need a picture over my bed.

next project.

hello new fan. dad gave it to me as a housewarming gift.

it was sitting in their bonus room for 3 years.

it has a remote that makes me feel cool.

my friend, beth said to me, "everything is automatic in your house 

and it is cool/intimidating."

i told her, "welcome to the jetson's"

icky white vinyl blinds gone.

replaced with fun roman shades.

those things are super easy to hang.

but they lack privacy. 

next time i'll probably look into blackout romans.

the breakdown:

quilt: target

pillow: home goods

throw on bed: ikea

side table: target

little white alarm clock: target

lamp base & shade: target

[are you sensing a theme?]

big long mirror: flea market [told ya here]

square cube storage: target

ceramic elephant: idk, but i love him.

roman shades: lowes

hunter fan: dadster 

carpet: idk the exact color, but it's frieze [aka short shag], and i love the way it feels on my bare feet.

wall color:  stonington gray by benny moore

i loveeee this color.

it's the same color as my kitchen, and one step darker than wickham gray, 

which is in my living room and up the stairs.

almost done with the tour!

master bath.

sorry for neglecting my house update.

to make up for it, i've thrown in a little pizaaz.

ok. 

arrow one points out the obvious jolly green giant that used to live here who needed a high towel bar.

arrow two points out the stripes.

i kick myself a little each day for not taking a better picture of this.

i really think the jolly green giant's jolly little baby painted them.

these things were all sorts of crooked.

and my dad, bless his heart, had to sand several times to get that wall even.

you can take a stroll back in time to remember the lovely mauve trim first seen here

gross gross gross.

ick.

here is my lovely minion sister.

arrow one points out how to save a shirt from getting ruined.

turn it inside out!

crown on head is to make up for calling her out on her fashion faux pas. 

arrow two points to the great work she is doing.

this was the first bathroom we experimented cabinetry painting on.

dad told us it'd be a great idea to paint one and wait to see how it turned out.

we painted all three without stopping and said, "tada! what do you think, dad?"

he loves his life.  he asks for 3-4 movies every birthday/christmas,

but doesn't even watch them because we keep him so entertained.

true story. he really should start a mini dvd rental company.

i hung and wired that by myself! 

my sweet and uber funny friend, Lizzy, was getting rid of two flush mount lights

that were in her brand new home. 

she was gonna drop those babies off at habitat.

she had two, i needed two.  how cool is that?

i said, "trade ya!" and gave her my icky ones.

what a deal!

here's my dad, hanging the "annoying" lights.

i gave him a party hat to thank him for his hard work, 

and because who doesn't love party hats?

lookin' good, sir!

yes! 

i did it! 

and i hung that new shower head too.

and there is a vent cover up now.

not sure where it was hiding.

i snagged this adorable mirror from the flea market.

i got this one and a big one in my room for $80.  

what a deal.

and i hung the towel bar at a more reasonable,

non-jolly green giant level.

white trim, you are beeeeautiful.

shower curtain: target

i saw that sucker february 2010, and bought it.

then i matched paint around it. silly, yes, lovely, double yes.

light fixture:  home depot or lowes, i can't remember

towel bar: lowes

paint on wall:  woodlawn blue by benjamin moore

[first introduced here]

cabinets:  french roast by behr

there ya have it, ladies and gents. 

another successful makeover.

home goods.

on my recent trip to home goods,

my attempt at finding an adorable large white wall clock failed.

when i got rid of cable,

my cable box with the time was also evicted from the home.

so now it's apparently quite confusing

when sitting/standing/entering my living room.

who knew how stressful it could be to not have a clock in a room.

what did not fail however,

was my finding of unusual objects.

enjoy.

thermomoclock face?

i really don't get this.

this brings a whole new meaning to "c(l)ockeyed"

har har.

is this a trophy?

i don't know.

i like it.

for all you die-hard painters out there

in red.

i still don't get it...

this is so weird.

a book end that you can high-five

my dad really enjoys golfing.

but a half-man golfer in the house?

i don't even know if phil mickelson would like this.

andddd i left with a dog toy

that olive seems to care less about

because she can't tear it to shreds or bite it in 384729378 pieces.

success.

they've been flying off the plate.

but this is my first note.

hooray!

i have cookies.

i'm selling my house.

what?!

I know, I know, crazy.

more on that later.

so anyways - I wanted to do a little something sweet for my showings.

and by sweet, I mean chocolate chip cookies.

and they are dressed with cute little tags that have my address on them.

this is an experiment.

i'll let you know the results soon!

i covet your prayers!

guest bedroom

you probably thought I had forgotten.

or you maybe thought that was all there was to my house.

surprise!

there's more than three rooms to my house!

and since you thought I was so good at lying, you probably thought I was lying about the mauve.

nope - wasn't. here it is with the icky carpet that I was also not lying about.

my oldest sister might kill me when she sees that I have 3 out of 4 of her babies on the nightstand. but to my defense, I just couldn't keep up. it's not my fault...she just kept having them. the last one was born in september and he is as cute as a button. and he deserves his own little picture on the nightstand too. ok, it is my fault. i will find a frame for four this weekend.

daybed: daybeds.com

daybed cover: west elm

pillow covers: 2 handmade, 2 ikea

orange throw: ikea

nightstand: ikea

alarm clock: ikea

lamp shade: ikea [sensing a theme here?]

roman shades: lowes

this says progress because it still feels so unfinished...

desk: target many moons ago

chair & cushion: world market

cork square: target

wall flowers: bed bath & beyond

picture frames: target

picture on left: cute card I got in Asheville

you're seeing the outside and not the inside not because it's messy, but because it isn't organized.

the tracks on the wall for shelving is gone, and some pillows and blankets found a home on the floor

and I wanted to show you how great the white trim looked!

wall color: Dune Grass by my boy Ben Moore

lions den.

ok, not really a lions den.

but, the large hairball in the living room makes me feel like a lion did live here.

I will tell you...I was a bit apprehensive about posting these befores.

but then I remembered that I was not the culprit of said mess.

hey dad.

this is the day of the inspection. so inspector's gadget [yes, I went there] is on the table beside dad.

icky track lights above dad that had to go.

didn't get old grungy fan in.

tada!

wall color: Wickham Gray by Benjamin Moore

fireplace screen: Target

rug: Target

coffee table: Ikea

chair: World Market [it's a twin sleeper--hooray!]

orange and white pillow: TJ Maxx

dog bed: Phydeaux [cute lil store in town]

fan: Lowes

this should really say "progress"...

see ya track lights!

I need some wall art and shelves. there is a panting over the sofa, but my walls are still so bare.

drum pendant: Overstock

table: grandma's house

chairs: my other grandma's house

chair cushions: World Market -- except I don't love them.

sofa: hand me down from mom & dad w/ cover from Bed Bath & Beyond

pillows: Target

tray on coffee table: Target

ps: I'm sorry for being lazy and taking pictures with my phone of the afters. It's just quicker to snap and upload. so very sorry but you get the point!