spring/summer projects 2011

We have accumulated quite the list of things to accomplish around our house during the "warm season".

the list goes as follows:

1. plant summer garden.

Jake and I have been reading one magic square  if you have a small space (even large to medium) to garden I highly recommend this book. It gives you great ideas on how to most effectively use your space while still getting the most out of your crops. We found out what plants do well next to each other and where to plant them, thus, the map.

We also planted corn, watermelon and more Armenian cucumbers along the side of our house, not to mention newly planted apricot, nectarine, plum and pomegranate trees.

So much to look forward to this summer, my salivary glands can hardly contain themselves :)

2. take out ugly white carpet and replace with wood.

our carpet is a mess and barely a year in existence. It has seen its fair share of stains the worst being the 4 foot long bbq sauce stain I contributed last summer.  Jake has been bringing me home wood samples to choose from and we decided on a restored wood finish.

Source: beautifulpaper.tumblr.com via Kathleen on Pinterest

My kitchen is a similar grey, but we are keeping the tile and the carpet in the bedrooms. So long ugly white carpet!

3. Finish painting the interior of the house.

We currently have 4/8 walls painted in our living room/dining room/ kitchen area (its really one great room) because I like to change my mind. Jake refused to continue painting (who would blame him we have really tall walls) until I decided what exactly I wanted to do. I've mentioned this before but I have interior indecisiveness. However, I finally decided on something and I am NOT going back.

Source: gallery.apartmenttherapy.com via Kathleen on Pinterest

This is my inspiration.
I decided that it IS possible to have 3-4 different colors in a room, opposed to one monochromatic bland color. Especially since we are dealing with such a large space, I was afraid I would get worn out of the same color scheme.

here are some more pictures that inspired my color choice.

Source: wherethesidewalkbegins.blogspot.com via Kathleen on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Kathleen on Pinterest

Source: nicety.livejournal.com via Kathleen on Pinterest

I can't wait to reveal the end results! (and God bless poor Jake for letting me vocalize my 287 different ideas. HA)

4. Outside patio furniture.

I've always loved the idea of having big comfy patio furniture to fall asleep on on cool summer nights. I stumbled on this really simple idea, and really, there are never too many pallets on my end of town.

Source: vtwonen.nl via Kathleen on Pinterest


 Stay tuned for our progress!

decor, deplore.

You've probably heard me say it before, but I'll say it again. When it comes to interior design I start to feel my blood pressure rise. If you ever run into me at homegoods, Pier 1 or any other home store I'm the woman that is staring blankly at the wall for an uncomfortable amount of time. I just can't decide! What if I made the wrong choice? What if this item isn't really what I want. What if I can get it cheaper somewhere else? What if I go thrifting and find a older, well used, version there? What if I can make it myself instead??

I tend to over think everything I do when it comes to decorating my home. Which is why I have two big VAST walls in my house completely blank. Waiting, just waiting for that perfect inspiration.

Well, I'm here to say today (whoever is really reading this) that in 2011 I will finally (after 2 years) put house together. I will do it. I will do it.

Here is what I have so far (the main room):

#1 I hate those curtains, I want something with texture and pattern. Why haven't I completed this simple task? Well let me tell you friends. Because I can't FIND a texture or pattern that I LOVE. Let me correct myself, I have FOUND a texture and pattern I LOVE, however it is at athropologie and is 120 dollars a curtain. I think I'm going to make the curtains. Seems simple enough, right?

#2 I don't like my TV stand. It was 75 dollars at target. Jake and I are thinking about building a shelves that go into the cut out that way I can have drawers or places to put pretty baskets & ect. But I actually would LOVE to find a vintage apothecary table.  like this (except the stain doesn't look painted on):

#3 Freaking. White. Carpet. NO THANK YOU. This came with the house and has already seen its BBQ stain, tea stains, milk stains, violet's leaky diaper stains. This summers big project is going to be ripping it out and putting in fresh new bamboo flooring.

#4 See that huge-a wall freshly painted with nothing on it. Well, there is another one directly on the other side not painted yet sitting lonely and naked.  I kind of have an idea of what I want to do on the painted wall, a messy diagonal photo collage of some printed pictures I have taken along with some other pictures I have collected over the years. Something along the lines of this:

I also am in the market for an awesome old console record player (I have YET to find) to put on my extra naked wall:

My dad has offered me all  his old records, so this record player has to be fully functioning as well aesthetically pleasing.  But then again, isn't that what we all want?

Any and all input would be much appreciated. I'm sure I could find something in the DSM that could better classify my aversion to home decor.

Happy Monday everyone!

Hello, Monday.

Hello, Monday.

Poor Monday, people give you such a hard time.

You're not so bad,

I'm always glad to have you as the first day of the week,

tuesday tour: the bedroom.

It has been about a year since we have moved into our house. Since we bought our house new, I had a clean slate to decorate. I have been moving very, very, VERY slow on this process. We try to stick to one project a month and our back yard, well... it took MANY months and more dollar bills than expected. I also have very selective taste on a budget. I'm not complaining either. I love sale hunting, and I love MAKING what I want. I have decided to focus on my bedroom the next couple of months or so. Recently I inherited my aunts sewing machine. I plan on making some curtains and maybe even a new duvet cover. Also, some of the furniture you see in your room is old, sentimental (the dresser with the mirror was my great grandmas) and needs a little help. We plan on stripping it, re staining an adding new hardware. Here some some of my basic ideas for our room:

Make your own animation