catching up on projects

Decorating is never done. Especially when... you're me.

I made my headboard a few months ago. Our bedroom is almost complete! I'll be posting final pics on that soon.

Light Makeover #1

Here was our living room.. it was coming together except for this dang light.. which you can't even see really well but I've always hated it. The style just wasn't right and Aaron wasn't stoked about me spending a lot of money for a new light.

So, I went to Habitat for Humanity Restore a few months ago, looking for potential gems.

I found this really ugly, broken chandelier for $15. Really I should have asked for it for free, and I think they would have given it to me.

This thing first got spray painted black... but it looked too spooky-Halloweenish. So then I sprayed it light blue. I didn't love it. So I went back to gold. I wanted no shades, and I wanted round bulbs to make it more modern.
I like it, I don't love it, but hey... $15? To be honest, I've been thinking about spraying it magenta (!!!) Or orange.

 Light Makeover #2

When we moved in, there was only builder-bland lighting, of course. These pendant lights were simple, not exciting, and they hung way too low! Like anyone taller than Aaron or myself would smack their face on them if they leaned into the island! They had to go...
But it wasn't a "need" and I couldn't find a good enough deal to justify brand new pendant lights.

Enter IKEA. Brand new line... and they were $25 a piece!!

And they had gold touches. My favorite

 But I wanted more gold (duh) so I spray painted the inside of them gold as well. Unfortunately you can't really see it from this picture. But they were a pretty sweet (and cheap!) upgrade ;)

 Bathroom Project

Everything in our master bath is BEIGE. Floor to ceiling, and it drives me nuts. One day Aaron pointed out to me that there's an outlet for a light fixture about the tub, and wanted to know if I planned on getting one. Uhhhhh..... is that an invitation?! So I ordered a little chandelier, and decided to paint the curve above the tub. I originally wanted horizontal stripes, I thought it would look really cool with the curve. So I painted it white (with the intention on white and mint stripes) and then went to measure things out. Using a level on a curve to measure straight lines is IMPOSSIBLE!! I gave up after 3.5 minutes.

I remembered a cool abstract paint job I saw in a bathroom once. It took literally 20 minutes and ended up being pretty cool. It looks better in person, because the lines photograph all wonky. I'm probably going to end up painting the rest of the bathroom the same color.. once I get to that ;)

 As if I didn't have enough to do, I've also been trying to get Mason's room decorated =) Here's the plan, and it's almost all done, and looks pretty close to this! It's almost all DIY and on a small budget.

This was my little sugar plum admiring the snow a few weeks ago. He was so confused but then kept trying to catch it. So cute

Onto the next project.. Operation Office

For some time now, I've been intrigued by grasscloth wallpaper. It's a natural texture that adds a lot to a room.

 This turquoise is amazing. The seams kinda bug me, and I thought- why wouldn't they line those up right?? But every strip is different, so it's near impossible.

So I decided I still appreciate the look =)

 LOVE the gray. I love that the texture can make it elegant but still masculine.

 Insert our home office- the way the people before us had it.

BRIGHT GLOSSY RED

I don't hate red.

But I'm not a fan of such a dark red (which screams 2002 to me) right when you walk into the front door. 

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So I've taken it upon myself to makeover this office, using faux grasscloth wallpaper. I know, it doesn't look that exciting, but it's 80% done and it is amazing. It's subtle but so pretty. 

I did my research and decided on faux, 1- because it's cheaper. By a lot.

2- It's much easier to put on. Real grasscloth is just that- natural, real fibers, that if you get glue on the front side, you're kind of screwed. It does not come off easily, and let's be honest. I am not that tidy when it comes to my projects ;)

3- Real grasscloth absorbs smells. Luckily we are not smokers or pet owners, and I'd like to think my house smells pretty normal and good. But it also holds onto stains were one of my children to spill on the wall ( that would NEVER happen right?!)

So anyway, I will post the "after" pictures asap!