We struck through a couple more items on our agenda list. Picture me attempting to dance like Beyonce in celebration. Yes I can do that with my shoulders 🙂 Seriously though, you remember our list:
- to put up roller blind shades in the bedrooms. The amount of light in there can give you a sunburn.
- to put lights up in the dining room &
the guest bedroom. - to switch the tables in the dining room and pull up the old chairs from the basement.
- to stain the kitchen table and get mom’s hand-me-down chairs & the goodwill bench ready.
to get the guest room functional with side tables and a bit more storage.to find a living room arrangement that allows for more room(read about that here) and a way to get lamps in there.
If you are good at reading strikethrough, you will see that we moved some items to the guest bedroom and hung a light fixture. Besides having a bed, it needed help more than Arnold Shwarzaneggar. Here are some before photos to jog your memory:
We needed side tables…for obvious reasons. And the wall opposite the window needed some storage. But like I’ve said a bazillion times…we are trying to keep the cost close to nil, zilch, zero for all rooms.
That’s where the living room move-a-roo came into play. Since we moved a different coffee table into the LR, the side tables that matched the previous coffee table were no longer needed. At least in that space. They were quite needed in this room however. I quickly suggested to Jeremy that we put them in the guest bedroom and that they might actually look quite dashing with the dresser that is close in finish (they both have red undertones and straight lines).
And that big blank wall? Well, a shallow bookshelf (once used in our kitchen for dishes) was just the thing to allow for enough space to walk from the entry door to the bathroom door while still taking up visual space in the room. I think I might do a collection of something above it. Maybe woven fans? hats? perhaps photos of doors? hmmm….
Oh and the light? Yeah, we finally put one in. The previous owners didn’t leave one (or it was perhaps stolen) but either way, this room definitely needed a little overhead lighting. Jeremy likes fans but since we are riding the use-whatcha-got train, we snagged this chandelier to put in there. I kinda LUuuVE it.
Does it look familiar? It was previously in the dining room but now that I see it in action…I can attest that it was dying to be hanging over a bed.
So progress, right?! What do you think? I love how everything is finally finding a home. It helps make me feel a little more relaxed here. I know that I told you all this before but it really isn’t home yet for me. I live here. But it’s not home. Actually when we came back from vacation we walked in the door and it didn’t smell right. It will eventually…but it doesn’t yet. I guess that means we need to invest in Febreeze.
Love all the progress! And that chandelier really does look awesome in there!
If those sconces from your old dining room haven’t found a home yet I think they’d look great in there too!
Looks great! I’m really enjoying seeing you work with what you’ve got. It’s a good reminder that sometimes the best way to spruce things up is to see what you’ve already got hanging around at home.
How lovely to use items you already owned! That is seriously the best feeling ever. 🙂 Even though we are renting, I am having the worst time with our spare bedroom. It still looks like it did over a year ago when we moved in and seeing you has inspired me to give decorating it another try.
I totally understand the “doesn’t smell right” thing. We called the guy who lived there before us Euro-man because he was always wearing man-pris and fancy shoes and saying things like “I don’t use air conditioning because I’m European.” Anyways, that condo smelled like Euroman for way too long but I will always remember the day we came home from a long weekend away and walked in and I said to my husband, “Hey, it smells like us!”
Love the chandelier in the bedroom! Can’t wait to see what you hang on the walls 🙂
I love it! I especially love the pillow on the bed. I bought a pillow in the same fabric from TJ Maxx. I believe the fabric name is Wilmington Multi. I’m hoping to order the matching fabric to make curtains or at least trim on curtains but its a little pricey (for me) and I’m just not sure that I can justify it when we are also going through the adoption process with lots of expenses. I have other priorities right now, decorating is just so fun though!! 🙂
The light fixture looks amazing too!!
It’s looking great! I love the look of a chandy in the bedroom! Our house never felt like home either until I had repainted every single room in colours that appealed to me. Now it’s definitely ‘ours’.
I can’t wait to see more of your progress! 🙂
Arnold Schwarzenegger – not Shwarzaneggar 🙂
Ahnold would like you to spell his name correctly..lol
The rooms look great.
um…yeah. I don’t care.
🙂 xo – kb
p.s. I do care that you think the room looks good…so thanks!
I wanted to let you know that I thought of you a alot on my little vacay in the TX hill country. You don’t know me but i stalk you blog. Anywho, i saw the most amazing bacon things at a funny little shop. They had bacon band aids, wallets, bacon flavored jelly beans, it was crazy and those are only a few. Smiles,Katie
I was going to ask about that pillow – I love it too! Katie, have you shared where you found it? I tried the search box and house tours first, I promise! 🙂
Where do you plan to get your roller shade? I need one for my master too. Do you plan to hang curtains on the sides of the window too?
Love the light! I totally feel you on the smell thing. We moved into our fixer upper three weeks ago and it still doesn’t feel like home. Certain rooms are starting to feel like home but our master bedroom and bathroom are still weird. The bathroom smells funny (and not because of people doing their business in their). I’m hoping over the next few months it will grow on me but until then I’m camping out on the den and kitchen.
I so know what you mean about a house not smelling like home. Our last home was a rental that seriously needed new carpet and paint. It didn’t matter that we’d been living here for 3 years, whenever we went away for more than a couple of days, we’d return to an old lady smell. It was so weird. We don’t have a problem with our current house which is all floorboards.
We both just did guest room updates! http://candyskitchen.blogspot.com/2011/05/guest-room-red-red-bed-frame.html Ahhh, synergy.
I’m with ya on the no-money-decorating and I think your room looks AWESOME. I feel those two blue-ish throw pillows really completed it, too! I agree, that light belongs there. With his friends.
LOVE the light fixture over the bed! So what is over the dining table?
Curious! Can’t wait to see more updates!
Lori
http://www.wom-mom.com
We’ve been in our home for 2 years now and I still think it smells like the previous owners 🙁 It’s not a bad smell, just not “our smell”. I thought I would get used to it and stop smelling it after a while, but no such luck. I keep expecting the old owners to come take their house back.
What is the name of the blue paint color on the walls in the guest room?
Love the fixture above the bed! Our house became home after a year or so…but my parent’s house is still home to me too (and I haven’t lived there in 13 years). Their house still smells like home. Oh, and be careful with the smells – I borrowed a travel coffee mug from my brother and sister-in-law for some coffee on the drive home…the next week, I got to work (it’s a cute mug so I washed and used it a few extra times, whatever), I took a sip and I could smell their house! Their house smells nice but I don’t like my coffee smelling/tasting like someone’s house smell. Talk about a pungent scent!
I love chandeliers and different light fixtures in bedrooms!
This post makes me want to start on our guest room reno. I wish our biggest problem was finding storage, artwork, and bedside tables! We don’t even have a mattress or bedsprings (we threw them out because they were so old and nasty after spending almost 3 years in our basement). We have big plans for the room – we just need time and money (don’t we all!?!). But by then, I’m sure our room will be used for #1’s new room as we hope to have a #2 in the picture within a year or so.
Love the light over the bed. We have fans in all of our rooms but I’d love to introduce some fun lighting. Maybe my closet or my daughter’s room …. oh the possibilities! Thanks for the inspiratin!!!
I think you’ve done a great job! I get the smell thing. The previous owners must have microwaved maple flavored bacon daily and for the longest time, it’s all I could smell. I still have a hard time though feeling like this house is our home and if you have any tips on how you are going to achieve that goal as well, I’m interested.
I really like what you’ve done with the room and just love the chandelier in the bedroom!!! It fits so well… I’m currently looking for a similar one for our dining room. Do you by chance remember where you got it from?
My mom got it a long time ago at Goodwill. She picked it up for $15 I think and it was previously cheesy gold 🙂 It’s amazing what a little paint can do, huh? I would suggest looking at a second hand store like that…even craigslist has good deals that just need a good coat of paint!
xo – kb
I second Rebecca’s question!
What is the blue paint color? I love it! It looks blue in some light and greener in others, does it appear that way in person as well?
Thanks in advance!
~M.
I wish I knew! I will color match one day and let you all know. Unfortunately the foreclosure people didn’t know 🙂
xo – kb
I’ll keep checking back! 🙂