Weekend Update

Happy Sunday! The weather here today has been dark & gloomy - even a brief hailstorm! The above picture was an ugly pail from a thrift shop that I spruced up with some paint! I mostly spent my weekend with the family : ), but there are some exciting things to note on some things I have been working on.

* Nursery- With the tree complete I moved on to finishing up another nursery project. Stayed tuned for details/pictures.

*Bathroom- Remember how I said I wasn't going to paint the bathroom....um, oops. Maybe I changed my mind. Changed it big time. Since I last mentioned the bathroom...I painted the lower cabinet a color called hand cast pewter which is a charcoal gray color. I had thought about painting it black, but chose this instead and I am so glad I did because I LOVE it! The top of the walls and ceiling I painted a beautiful soft gray called partridge gray. The upper cabinet and trim is being painted a white color called cream mist. I absolutely love moulding and was recently inspired by two awesome blogs, Infarrently Creative & Thrifty Decor Chick. They had both done board & batten spaces. I am attempting board & batten in my bathroom space and hoping it will turn out! I have run into a small problem which is that my walls are slightly bumpy which may give me a different look than what I am after. I have a couple ideas so maybe I can correct this problem! I will keep you posted on the progress- keep dreaming design!

The Tree in the Room

It is done! If every time you handle a brush & paint it looks like you've been in battle this project isn't for you. However, if you have some level of painting skill this is a relatively easy, inexpensive project. To do this project you will need 3 quarts of paint; 1 base color, 1 tree trunk/branch color & 1 leaf color. I purchased my paints for approximately $30 total from WalMart's Glidden Better Homes & Garden paint (hey, as often as I paint things I had to stop being fancy with the paint.) For the base color I used In the Garden from their Mixed Greens collection. You may or may not need more than a quart for the base depending on your wall, how many coats you need, etc. I primed the wall in advance and had enough of the In the Garden color for painting a 10 foot wall (there is a small window) once, plus minor touch ups and enough leftover for another project I am working on. My leaf color is Loose Leaf, also from the Mixed Greens collection. Tree color is Tierra Brown from their Savory Spices Collection. First, of course, paint one to two coats of your base and let dry. Second, paint on your tree trunk and branches. You can draw it on lightly with pencil first, if you like, however I just painted it right on. I was going for a look that wasn't too perfectly symmetrical, but not off enough to bug me. I painted two coats for the trunk, one for branches. Don't worry about making the branches perfect as they will mostly be covered up by leaves Next, begin painting on your leaves. I recommend first painting a general outline of leaves and then filling in. I made a alternating pattern of vertical and horizontal leaves in the same shape. The tree at an early stage- Make sure you step back and look at your tree frequently so you make sure it is turning out as you intend. I had to squeeze in time when I could and wasn't checking my work often enough. At this point I was very unhappy with the tree and wanted to paint over parts of it. Everyone in my family was very positive about it so I decided to leave it as it was and begin filling in leaves to see if I liked it any better.

More leaves. I was using a finer brush to outline leaves and filling in just to see how it would look. My intention was to go back afterwards with a second coat on the leaves with a different brush.

A few more leaves...

and a few more leaves....

Victory! I did add a few leaves to adjust what I didn't like, but I never actually painted over anything. Also, I never did a second coat on the leaves. My husband really liked how the green leaves looked over the base coat and said to leave it with the one coat. Since it would save me an hour or so of painting, I went with it.

The work in progress thus far. Sorry about the crummy pictures, the room is only 8x10 and it was had to get a good angle.

The Little Man likes it!

News From the Nursery

I am really trying to get as much of the nursery done as I can. There is a wall behind the crib and I was trying to decide what to put there. Lots of ideas came to mind, but none seemed right. I wanted it to look nice, but not stick out much or be too heavy, keeping in mind the fact his crib would be right there. Also, that the little man will grow and eventually try to rip whatever I put there down! The nursery has kind of a forest theme going on and I had these leftover wall stickies of tree branches from a different project and I tried putting them there. No good. So, somehow I came up up with this idea of painting a tree on the wall. It makes a big impact and can't be ripped down! I will share the how-to and pictures tomorrow. I worked on it in spurts over a period of several days and just finished this evening, so I will take some good pictures tomorrow when the sun is up.

I am also finishing up another project in there, but weather is not cooperating! I have some things to spray paint outside and every time I have a minute to spray paint it is either raining, snowing or windy.

As far as my 'progress' goes, I feel it will be never ending! I've gotten little done over the past several days other than the basics laundry, dishes, etc. My daughter had dance practice one night & the next she performed in the halftime show at a Bucks game. Then, she had a four day weekend, so we tried to spend time doing fun things with her. Here's my minimal progress update!

Tuesday, Day 4

I tried to get back on my old cleaning routine. The way this worked was I had areas of the house divided into sections and would doing a thorough cleaning of a area on its designated day-this fell to the wayside towards the end of my pregnancy with the Little Man. Anyway, Tuesdays would be the bathroom and the hallway between the bathroom and two main floor bedrooms. This actually went quite well. Bathroom was a piece of cake. It was already clean from the minor updates and was quickly cleaned. Next came the hallway. This also wasn't too bad. There were a couple boxes of toys to sort out from when I cleaned the girls room and since I have already started sorting/separating went pretty nicely. Now all that is left there is my oldest daughter's headboard. She had her own room and had a big white scrolled metal bed. I was going to sell it, but my husband told me not to. It is very pretty and he said his mom was going to keep in her spare bedroom turned playroom and then if we needed it back we could get it back from her. I'm pretty sure this arrangement was made a couple months ago and it is still here. I've decided my husband has through his next set of days off to move it or I'm going to attempt to sell it.

Wednesday, Day 5 I was so tired this day I barely remember it, other than the Bucks game. I did work on the tree in the nursery a little bit.

Thursday, Friday Days 6 & 7 Mostly just out with the family.

Saturday, Day 8 Mainly worked on nursery projects as time allowed.

Sunday, Day 9 Same as above.

Well, check back tomorrow for my nursery pictures and until next time keep dreaming design!

More Progress! Day 3

Got more done than I thought possible. The girls room is almost done. There are a couple drawers I would like to organize a bit better and a couple things that need to be moved out or in and a couple things to hang on walls, but overall an exciting improvement!

P.S. I forgot to mention my big score from Schools Day in my post yesterday! On the way to one of the schools found a pile of old windows next to the road. Went back after the performance and my husband grabbed them. There are five total, two have a broken pane, others fully intact. I'll keep you updated when I decide what to do with them. Until next time, keep dreaming design! : )

The Princess & the Diva

So...I have been very busy the past several days on top of the usual busy. Lots of things going on, both good and bad. Friday I had a mini meltdown. I was exhausted because I never get enough sleep lately and from the day before.
St. Patrick's Day my oldest daughter participates in something called 'School's Day' for her Irish dance. We drive her all over and she and her group dance at the various locations, mostly schools. We had to be at the first stop at 7:30am, plus we drop the two other kids off at Gramma's first. We normally also serve dinner at our house, but there was no way. To avoid the kids being overly upset about it, I stayed up late preparing food so we could eat at Gramma's after the dancing.
Friday I had more things to do than I could ever get done which has become a common theme. I was sincerely trying my best. Then, my oldest got home from school and was crying and freaking out because she had a loose tooth and she didn't want it to fall out before her big cheerleading celebration she was going to-for what it's worth it did fall out, but not before I felt the start of a migraine coming in.
Being in the house is more and more stressful and it is harder and harder to get ready. I am ashamed to admit that it is almost -if not- Clean House worthy. As a hard core neat freak it absolutely makes my skin crawl. At this point trying to clean is is like trying to do a rubix cube. You shuffle things from one place to the next, but nothing gets accomplished, and there is someone constantly behind you undoing what you have done. It makes me feel horrible and feel like I'm 'not doing my job.' So, anyway, as time allows, I will let you know how I attempt to resolve this. As I said, I am ashamed to tell people these things, but I feel like maybe there are others like me and maybe we can help each other.
To start off, I will let you know I generally have very little time to work on this. My husband has been working alot and at odd hours leaving me to care for the kids which takes the majority of my time. Friday I had a major stress induced migraine which carried through till Saturday. I will begin charting my progress as of Saturday.

Saturday, March 19: As I said, major migraine. Unable to do much all morning and the husband had to work at night. I was able to get some done. I worked on a mural I am doing in the nursery (the nursery is by far the cleanest room in the house, so no major cleaning needed there, just making it pretty.) I decided to concentrate on one section of the Princess & Diva's room at a time until whatever could not reasonably fit would have to go. They share a 12x10 room since the youngest had to give up her room for her baby brother. Day 1 did find me some progress there. It sounds wierd, but for my purposes I started at the wall furthest from the door. Most of this wall has their bed against it. I had recently washed all their bedding, so I got beds cleared off and made, cleared out under the bed and then got to the dresser. I completely cleared off the top. It is a tall dresser that is being used for the Diva's clothes.

Sunday, March 20 aka Day 2: Spent the morning at church and got to spend a little time on progress. Did some more painting in the nursery until the Little Man got hungry. On the girl's room I cleared out another section, not quite as large as yesterday. Today was a little more piddily. I used boxes to organize things that there are larger quantities of, such as dollhouse furn./accessories, American Girl items, Littlest Pet Shop, etc. I'd say at this point we are almost halfway as far as the appearance of the room, but there is LOTS of stuff left in that tiny room! Mondays are usually less stressful as my oldest has school, but no activities that day. Wish me luck!

The Pictures I Promised

Camera is back in service so here are the pics from yesterday. : )


A 'before' pic of the bathroom.



Another 'before' pic. The cat did not want to move. Note the blue formica counter and laminate floors that I'm fairly certain previous owners installed incorrectly. Also, if you know where I can find a replacement vent like that PLEASE let me know!

'Before'

'Before' The cabinet over the sink looks roomy, but in reality only one side opens!'Before'

'Before'
The door knob I spoke of.

This is when I made the final decision on paint staying.

New shower curtain and rug.

The cabinet after I started painting it. Not finished, but so far I like it. I don't know why it is so shiny in the pictures.


The wall in the nursery that is 'in progress.'

Oops! One more before pic.

Ok, so there it is! Until next time, keep dreaming design. : )

No Paint?!

Well, last night was long and I suspect tonight will be, too. My two youngest are really having a hard time with daylight savings and I got almost no sleep last night. On the bright side, they were groggy today so I was able to get more done than usual. I took lots of pictures......but, then my camera battery died mid picture, so will have to add those later. Aside from boring dishes, laundry, etc., I did make a little progress on projects. One thing in the nursery and some things in the bathroom. First, I got it all cleaned up. Next, I took pictures. I did this for two reasons. 1. To show you 'before' pics 2. I like to take pictures of rooms before I redo them sometimes. Why? When you see a room day after day you grow used to the way it looks, sometimes bored or indifferent. Taking a picture and looking back at it makes me able to look at it a little more detached, as if it is not my space.
I had decided I wanted to keep the purple accent, and today I decided to add a bit more. I have a small white wall cabinet above the toilet. It has two shelves and small closed area underneath. I painted the back part behind the shelves in the same purple as before & I love it! Not quite finished with it, but already a huge difference. Next, I was worried about the rest of the wall. I had some leftover paint from another project that was a light beige called cozy neutral, and I had thought about using it here. However, the color already on the walls was looking really nice in the pictures, so I couldn't decide. I took previously mentioned cabinet down and painted the wall behind it to decide for sure and ultimately kept the existing color. I put new rug in which is black. Next, I put the new shower curtain up. I was kind of apprehensive about it at first, but someone had already removed the packaging so I figured I might as well try it out. Pretty nice for $5 I must say. It grew on me after a bit and both girls love it, so it is staying for now. Hopefully in the next couple days I can find something to replace the wall art and get my husband to hang all the things mentioned yesterday. For now, I need sleep, so keep dreaming design!

Back to the Bathroom

Okay, okay, that title does sound pretty bad. I will explain. Awhile back I wanted to do some work on the bathroom, but a leaky window lead me to the kitchen. Window is repaired and I am back to fixing up the bathroom! Stay tuned for my new room designing checklist challenge!

A Roller Coaster Kind of Day

Ugh! Another crazy day. Got my oldest off to kindergarten & a bit later had a drs appointment. Most likely nothing serious, which of course is good. Next off to an errand. While wrapping up, they called about our car. Guess what- needs a new engine and will cost about $2400 to fix. Big bummer is an understatement. Most likely will be putting kitchen reno on hold, I say to my hubby. After this he takes me to a Goodwill I haven't been to recently, raising my spirits by feeding my addiction! Well, let me tell you, it was a fun time, aside from waiting forever for a parking spot because some lady was trying to talk on her cell phone and park her truck at the same time. Anyway, my spoils *Pottery Barn Large Footed Bowl w/retail sticker for $38 still on it *Small Pottery Barn Bowl from 'Seaside' line, *cool framed flower print, *cute little canvas that says 'strawberries and cream, *cute metal and glass rose tea light holder, *cute picture frame, a new in pkg Lang Easter puzzle (most likely for an Easter basket) *gold candle holder thingy and finally *big wooden thing with hooks and spots for pics. I will add pics and updates as I get to these things.

After this, I come home excited about our little shopping trip, get in the door and find that it got warm enough for the kitchen window to start dripping again. This was the worst it has ever leaked, I had to clear off both sides of the counter (window is above the sink.) So frustrating. I couldn't do much else as my daughter was home & it was time to take her to cheerleading. I didn't want to make dinner what with lack of counter space and all, so we picked up some chinese take out. We almost always stop at this same place if we're hankering for chinese food, but it is made to order so it takes a bit to get your food. While my husband waited for them to make it I walked over to a nearby store and got the latest issues of Romantic Country & Traditional Home. Now husband is out, girls are in bed & baby is sleeping. I can't decide - work on crafts or read my new mags. I will have to let you know how it goes!

Above is my 'thrift store find.' These were wooden candlesticks that my husband said were too ugly, but he wouldn't stop me from buying them. I sanded, painted with a few coats of paint, sanded again and sealed and I personally think they are amazing! I don't think I would put candles in them, I just like how they look. Ok, off to do whatever I decide to do - until next time keep dreaming design!

Fun Valentines idea for Little Writers & Thrift Store Find

Today is a bit better than yesterday. We were able to get the car towed for free and borrow a car while ours is in the shop. Hopefully tomorrow we will find out what is wrong and even more hopefully find it is something minor. Girls are both on their meds. Hubby is at work.

Here is something fun my oldest daughter and I have been doing that I thought I would share. She is in kindergarten and is learning to write. She loves to practice. Now that Valentines is approaching, craft stores have tons of little mailboxes. I purchased two little mailboxes, one for my daughter and one for myself, and also pulled out a small pad of paper laying around the house. My daughter loves it! She is always writing me sweet little letters. Not only that, but her writing is getting better and better. I plan for us to decorate the mailboxes, just haven't gotten a chance yet. Maybe I will get another pic up once they are decorated.

These gems, pictured above, are my thrift shop find. They had the numbers 1957 stamped on the back, not sure if that was the year or meant something else. They were a wood color around the picture. I painted the wood surrounding the picture with a couple of coats of black acrylic paint. Next I gently sanded for a distressed look. Finally, I sprayed these with a coat of matte sealer. Love these! Until next time, keep dreaming design!

Beauty & Efficiency in a Tiny Space?-Kitchen

I have been and planning for awhile to get one room in my house absolutely perfect, but it never quite goes to plan. I was determined for a room to be complete, or at least as complete as money would allow. There are always three forces against me. 1) Money 2) Time 3) Husband - he does not want to hire outside help nor does he want to do the work himself. I was so set these last few days to come up with a room and plan and somehow overcome the odds. The room farthest from my choices? Kitchen - too time consuming, too expensive & my husband would never go for it.
That brings me off topic for a second, but I will return. Yesterday we got a ton of snow. My husband was at work, so I shoveled the driveway. We also have a 'roof rake.' If you are in a warmer climate, I will tell you it is exactly what it sounds like. It is this enormous rake like object for getting snow off of your roof to prevent water damage in your house. My husband usually has it somewhere in the garage that is hard to get to and also I have a heck of a time manuvering it. I shoveled a path to the garage so that he could do the roof raking when he got home. I told him this. He didn't do it. In the morning he says, 'I know you are paranoid about the roof, I will take care of it tonight when I get home, even though it shouldn't be a problem.' In response I reply, 'Well I'd rather worry and take care of it now than take care of a problem after damage has been done.' I drop my daughter off at school and when I arrive back at home- guess what- water dripping in through the kitchen window all over the counter. I break all the icicles outside by the window, I manage to get out the roof rake, but it is missing part of the pole so I am too short to reach anything. I think about trying a ladder, but my husband says not to and to leave it for him. So, drip, drip, drip, all day. Finally, when I got home from my daughters cheerleading practice it stopped as it is too cold and everything froze again.
Back to the orginal topic, I suppose I will now have to choose my kitchen, which I really didn't want to do, as previously mentioned. About my kitchen - It is very small 10x10 and has to be to be an eat-in kitchen as there is no formal dining room. It had been remodeled shortly before we purchased the home, but not a very good remodel. I don't think function was well considered. My camera died recently, but I hopefully will be getting a new one tomorrow, so I will post kitchen pics in the next week or so, along with more details and ideas.
If anyone has gone through a kitchen remodel in a small space I would love your input. I would like to know things such as;
1) What were your top priorities when creating this space? Were you able to accomodate these?
2) What typy of layout did you use? Does it work well for you?
3) Was there anything you skimped on and later wished you hadn't or splurged on and later felt was money wasted?
4) What things did you do yourself? Did you hire any of the job out?
5) Any money saving tips?
6) What would you consider a must-have with space in mind?
Please feel free to add. I will be updating as things go on. You can comment to the post or send email via dreamingupdesigns@yahoo.com. Also, there is my facebook fan page! Until next time, keep dreaming design!

Getting it Clean: The Bathroom

We are into June now, how is your spring cleaning coming along? I am one of the crazies who looks forward to spring cleaning. I love spring, everything coming awake and alive from its winter slumber. The first fresh warm breeze I feel I am popping open the windows, picking up the first cleaning product I can reach and getting down to business. Ofcourse, I am aware that the majority of people do not feel this way. I am going to walk you through some cleaning tips to get you on the way to a fresh clean bathroom.

Let's get started!

1) Set aside time for this project depending on how messy the space is and if you have more than bathroom you plan to tackle. It is always better to overestimate so you can ensure the project will be completed.

2) Take a look at your bathroom in general. What does it look like? How does it make you feel? Also, get some supplies together such as garbage bag, cleaning products, etc.

3) Remove all visible garbage.

4) Remove all visible dirty laundry.

5) Take a look in any cabinets you have in the bathroom along with anything sitting out that is not part of the decor. What products are being used on a regular basis? Which items have been sitting for a long time unused? If its been awhile it is likely there are even expired items. First, throw out expired products. Next, sort through what is left. Remove unused items that are wasting space. Throw them away or give them away when applicable. Next, I highly recommend going to a local WalMart, Target or even the dollar store to find small storage bins to organize what is left within the drawers so it stays clean and accessible. Put away everything. If it does not all fit you may need to eliminate more items or find another place to store some items.

6) Next spend time thoroughly cleaning the sink/vanity area, mirrors, toilet and shower/bathtub areas.

7) Sweep/vacuum and wash the floor.

8) Next is the detail work. Clean light fixtures and replace missing light bulbs, wipe walls and baseboards, clean/dust artwork and decor, put out fresh towels, etc.

9) Take a look at your work! The bathroom should now be clean! If budget and desire allow, you may want to go further. For not too big of investment you can replace a shower curtain, towel, rugs or even accessories. You could even try painting cabinets or walls or switching out hardware. These are fairly easy, inexpensive changes that can make a big impact.

10) You don't want all this work to be for nothing! Make a plan. Choose one day a week for deep cleaning the bathroom. If you stay on top of things you shouldn't need more than 15 min for a small bathroom, slightly more for grander spaces. On 'deep clean days' you can empty the garbage, clean shower bathtub, wash floors, etc. On a daily basis, every time you enter the bathroom, clean anything that can cleaned under a minute. Put away/remove any items left out that don't belong, quickly wipe away that blue toothpaste your kids love sticking to everything. It will save you time and stress later. Enjoy your clean bathroom and keep dreaming design!

Weekly Update

Hello! Haven't done too much remodeling work this past week. We will probably be selling our home, but not for awhile yet. The details are still a little sketchy. I am waiting on an approximate date and then will be making a list of what needs to be done when as far as projects to do beforehand. Right now I am going through our storage areas and cleaning and purging. Because of other obligations we had to postpone our rummage sale until probably the end of June. I am finding more and more items so it is not all bad.
We also find out this week we are having a boy! I am already looking at the Pottery Barn Kids website for some nice bedding.
My Ballard Designs items (punched mirror and topiaries) came so that was exciting. Now I am just waiting on the pedestal which is on backorder until September : (
Is anyone else looking forward to the new season of Designstar starting in June? I can't wait!
Back to cleaning I go - Have a great Memorial Day everyone & keep Dreaming Design!

Some Updates

Sorry I have been MIA for a bit. We have been trying to get out and enjoy the weather and been very busy with other things as well. Our curb appeal projects are on hold, I am not sure for how long. More progress was made on cleaning up the massive tree that once lived in the front yard and we enjoyed a nice bonfire the other night from the wood. As far as the living room goes, I received my Medici capitals from Ballard Designs this past week. They are gorgeous! I believe I will use them as a small side table, but we'll see. I used my coupon from there to purchase 2 dome topiaries, a punched metal mirror in cream and a mercury glass pedestal. I can't wait for them to arrive! The topiaries and mirror should come within the week, but the pedestal is on backorder until September 13. I also priced furniture (way more than I thought it would be!) There is one large set that contains couch, loveseat, oversized chair, accent chair, coffee and end tables. I would like to get all the pieces, 2 accent chairs, 1 of everything else, and divide them up between living room, LL family room and master bedroom. That way if we ever move to a better space we have all the pieces to work with. I also looked at bedroom furniture and bedding for my two year old. We are expecting a baby in October and the 2 year old will lose her crib to the new baby so she needs her own special 'big girl' bed. I am holding off buying anything for now, waiting to find out if the new baby is a he or a she. Hopefully we will find out in the next few weeks.
Mainly I have been doing major cleaning and reorganizing, setting items aside for our rummage sale. If weather and my husband cooperate this Friday should be the day. I also found out we may have to move, but will know more within the next week or two which is why some of our projects are on hold as we learn more. Today I will be trying to finish going through the master bedroom and office areas, reorganizing and finding items to add to the to sell pile.
More posts to come soon and until next time, keep dreaming design!