The Finished Goods.

So these pics are from part of the ongoing basement project.  This is the bedroom.  Don't pay attention to the funky, differing shades of green in these photos....camera operator error. 

It's actually a nice shade of green known as Asparagus and it makes the black and white bedding really pop.  We didn't want to "just" put up mattresses in the basement bedroom, so thanks to my parents for hooking me up with a headboard.  That plus a few cans of spray paint equals not only an economical solution, but a pretty addition to the room.   As for the dresser, once Temple stripped it down, the wood was really nice so we washed it down with a dark, black undertoned, wood stain. 

 I'm so happy with the results and how this room is shaping up.  Plus, it just feels good to do those jobs ourself.  

A little DIY project

You know there are those moments where I think I can actually make some of those projects they show on HGTV, or things I find on Pinterest. And then usually I talk myself out of it before I even begin.  But not so, this time I managed to complete a nice room with refurbished pieces.

 Late this summer, I decided to try out my own project with a "free to me" headboard.  Circa 1978. 

Couldn't you tell by the nice wood tone and thick, bulky posts? Complete late 70's, early 80's all.the.way.  The previous owners...my parents.  

Also up for the redo was this cute little dresser I purchased a couple of years ago at an estate sale in Tennessee.  

A few years back, I was unsure why we couldn't install a pool in the backyard that we WANTED, but my husband clearly NEEDED a huge workshop that was built in record time.

Then I undertake a project like this.  These are the days I am thankful for my husband, his shop, and his stripping skills. Let me clarify, his furniture stripping skills. 

There you have it...the BEFORE's. 
Hopefully tomorrow, I will have the AFTER's posted. 

I know it doesn't look like much now...but I promise the after is worth the wait. They turned out SUPER. Really.

Basement Updates

Several years later, we are beginning to finish out our basement.  Everything in due time, dear.

We started earlier this year, back during the winter months, and boy, did we ever have some terrific helpers.

She works well alongside her Dad....it's the popular Hi-Lo method of painting walls.

Everyone was SUPER excited to be able to paint....it's always exciting to begin with, but sadly, that excitement was short lived. Very short lived.  So, we had some friends come over to help out.....and by friends, I mean men in trucks who own a construction company.  As you will see here, they whipped out the rest of the painting, finished up some electrical work Temple had started, put in the drop ceiling, made me some quaint little arches going from room to room, plumbed out the bathroom, built out crown molding on the windows in the bedroom, etc.

It's still in the process, but I thought I'd document the progress thus far.

Oh, look....a hole in the floor....in the basement floor....which means we can see the earth below our home....wonder if we could dig to China?  Not really, because the workers are here today to fill it up....it's actually the shower area for the bathroom.  Looks great, huh?

So, we'll have a family room downstairs, a kitchenette, a bedroom, a bathroom, a storage room,  my office/library and Temple will have his train room.  The boys are looking forward to helping their Dad out when this room gets finished for sure!

Oh, and I forgot to mention....Baby Girl has her own "secret room" as well. 

Hopefully in the next few weeks I will be able to update even more! We are so excited!

DIY Project---or the fact that I spray paint everything black.

Hi, my name is Kimberly and I have a thing for black spray paint with metallic accents.  Maybe I can find a support group to join, or maybe I'll just keep hunting down furniture to transform. :)

So, I bought this piece from a consignment store for $20 a few years ago.  It's home is in our master bathroom, where it has the VERY important job of holding the extra rolls of t.p. 

I just wanted to give it a little lift, and maybe cover up the water stain where someone left a wet towel laying against it's base for a couple of days.....so out I went to the shop to dig around for the graffitti cans.

Basement Progress....

Yep, we've been making ACTUAL PROGRESS on finishing the basement.....sadly, it's only taken us 7 years to take these big steps.  Hey, you gotta learn to crawl before you can walk, and walk before you can run, right?  Or in better terms, life gets in the way sometimes, chaos rules at moments, we rarely have enough down time to analyze what needs to be done and then follow up with doing it, and no one has died and left me a grand inheritance that enabled my bank account to begin overflowing with extra cash for spending on a whim. 

Needless to say, we are making progress, one little room at a time.  And while the money still hasn't surprised us by falling from the sky, we used our noggins and decided we had free laborers living right here at home.....so they are now working hard in their free time for their own room and board.  What we as parents like to call a WIN-WIN scenario, right?

DIY project...

Over the last few months we've been doing some projects in the house. Some big (finishing the basement hopefully soon) and small, (like mostly painting), remember last fall when I painted the laundry room?  Anyway, we've also been working in the boy's bedroom and even a little in Baby Girls as well.  I intend to post photos as we finish, so you'll see some soon.  However, I did want to show you this recent project I took on last wek. 

This is a secretary desk that we've had for many years. The top of the piece lays down as a writing desk with two shelves inside for storing things and then the drawers underneath are for....well, for whatever you choose I guess. I love the action of the piece, but was not in love with the blah oak color and look. It has moved around the house from room to room, never really finding a solid home.  But search no more dear nomadic furniture piece, I have found the perfect spot for you.....this week anyway.

Here's the before look.

Nice tarnished brass plated handles.

Because I am not patient enough to wait for my husband to sand it down, strip it of whatever, and then begin painting or staining it the proper way.....instead, I go with the popular choice of graffiti artists everywhere:

And a few tools of the trade to help out as well.....who doesn't use a good Reed & Barton silver knife for their DIY projects? 

And voila'!!!

Sure, I'm going to have to take it back out and spray another coat of black on it, and then sweet talk my husband into sealing it for a nice sheen and topcoat.  But all in all, I think it was a marvelous redo! 

I could be losing my mind....if I had one to begin with.

So, a few weeks ago, I wrote this POST, concerning the painted room surprise that awaited my dear husband.

Who, by the way, had no knowledge of the painting, until AFTER it had been done. And then, because I am no good with ladders and such, I left the high spots for him to touch up. I love it when a plan comes together. Hey, that'll teach him to say he doesn't like all the khaki walls, now won't it?

But I completely forgot to post any photos. Forgive me. I know many of you have seen the new paint job, but to appease those who haven't, here's a few shots. Now realize, this is the laundry room. I wasn't a huge risk taker, I started out with a small job, but it's leading to bigger ones, just you wait and see!! Our house may look like Rainbow Brite threw up all over it before long. :)

• The Before...

• The After....

Don't you just love the color??? I do. It reminds me of the beach. I love the beach. I try to remember how much I love the beach while I'm doing the laundry. Because I do not love to do laundry.

T-5 was happy with the color choice, really was happy with the fact that I had painted. I didn't get in any trouble at all. Surprise, surprise. He finished all the trim work, hard to reach over the cabinet spaces, and even hung some art, shelving and a new mirror.

Now, I have to include this little tidbit, because I think it's pretty neat. Do you see that yellow wooden piece of art hanging above the mirror which is above the laundry sink area?

Well, my dear husband's folks brought that to us a few months ago, along with a plethora of other items of interest from their attic/closets. Stuff of his from his childhood, high school and college years. Much of it we kept, others, we did not. Hey, if his mama doesn't want it, why would I?

Anyway, the point is this: That piece of art is from his early college days at AUBURN. He had a class in the School of Architecture where they had to take a simple object and make a piece of art in a wood carving.

Can you guess what it is? Before looking at the photo below? I'll give you a hint, there's a reason why I hung it in the laundry room......



Keep thinking hard.........






How about that? Who knew, way back when, we'd have a little place to hang a wood carving of a Tide bottle?? And while yellow is not my favorite color, I just love that piece. It helps make even a boring laundry room feel like home.