New Kitchen Light

I have had my eye on replacing the fan in the kitchen for a while now.  It was old and pretty dated.  Plus, it was grossing me out how much dust it was collecting...and blowing around...right over where I was cooking our food.

So, on a totally random night and trip to Home Depot, I found a replacement for it.

Just as I expected - this house use to have popcorn ceilings!  Scream!!

And the new one.

I was going for understated.

Truth be told, the kitchen lighting needs a total overhaul.  I'd like to see can lights in there.  No more fluorescents.  But, thats another day and a bigger dollar.  For now, I'm tickled to not have that big fan looming anymore.  It's like my ceiling in there just got taller!

New Front Door!

I've been on a door kick lately.  The drafts and the bugs drove me to it.  But I love love love the changes!  Not only the back door - but the new front door!

Weatherstripping coming off.  This was probably the third strip that had come off like this.

Gaps in the door.  This wasn't as bad as the back door - but still bad.

Old door - front of the house

Old door - front walk

Old door - porch view

Old door - inside

Install!  (Big Wy could not help himself - he just had to fake hammer right along with the guys!)

New door - front of the house.  I love how it added instant contrast

So much better!

I love it!!

James' Room - Makeover

A long time ago in a ranch house far, far away a little boy dreamed of a Star Wars room.  Enter a Grammy (pre-baby trip) and a gander through Home Depot and an idea was born!

Too bad it took the pregnant lady a few months post delivery to make things happen.  But it has all been well worth the wait!  The room turned out better than either I or James imagined.  It is super cool!  

Furniture, but no fun.

The beginnings of something cool!  (The Light Saber Wall!)

He helped me choose what light saber should be which color.

Tape off - now time to edger and finish her off.

This baby looks so much cooler in real life!

After the painting was done - it was time to get decorating!  We had got some Star Wars wall decals FOREVER ago.  Finally James was able to get them out and put them up!  Wyatt and Isabel helped too! 

I painted some ordinary white frames with the red I used for the light sabers.  Then I framed some of James' latest art work.  I am a huge fan of his "Angry Birds Star Wars" drawing!

Vader - the new Fish

The New Back Door!

Two weeks ago we had the back door to the ranch replaced.  Can I just say - it couldn't have happened soon enough!!  

The old back door was ... well ... OLD!  And all the weatherstripping was missing and torn away.  And the door was warped and wouldn't close properly.  And the drafts were coming in.  And the bugs were coming in (that was really the last straw!).  

So I had it replaced - and it has changed that side of the house tremendously!  Not only does the new one look 100% better - but the drafts are gone and the bugs are less!

See those nasty 1980's blinds?  They were always breaking!  No amount of super glue could save them from the in and out traffic and slamming that is my kids.

Then there is the lovely 1.5 inch gap that lets in the air and those bugs I was mentioning.  Do you need a reminder what kind of bugs we have out here?  

And I just didn't like the way it looked.  Besides all that.  The word was BORING.

And cracked and OLD

Make-shift weatherstripping.  Yeah - you know who loves to peel that stuff off?  Kids and dogs and kids.

New shiney door!!

New shiney door with some spiffy paint on it!  Yay!  

The Baby's Room - Makeover

The piano room will double as the nursery for the next year or so.  Previously, the piano room has been doubling as a guest room.  That worked... ok, but it wasn't ideal.  The nursery, however, fits much better in the space.  I'm actually plesantly surprised with how much room I'm left with for the crib etc.  

We used the same beautiful pale blue that we did the master bath with.  Not because I happen to think Quatro is going to be a boy, but because I ultimately want this room to be blue.  I thought it would look beautiful with the wood wainscoting that is in the room.  And, it does.  I'm very pleased with the way it turned out.  Cute for the baby, but potential for elegant down the road.

BEFORE:

My sweet husband going to all angels to paint behind the piano.

AFTER:

Master Bath - Makeover

To keep with the retreat calm, the master bath also had to be done.  It's so ... white!  And it was sad to see it neglected when the bedroom was so fabulous!  

I decided instead of matching the walls to the gray we did in the master bedroom, that I would instead use the accent blue on the walls and then carry the gray and white through with the decorations in the bath.   Turned out so nice!  I still have a few things I want to do with this space, but overall it's wonderful!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I have big plans for these hideous mirror lights.  This is the only part of the room that I still can't stand.  I plan to rip these babies down and replace them with sconces and beautiful single mirrors.  

Master Suite - Makeover

I'm totally nesting.  In the past 2 weeks, JL and I have redone 4 rooms in the house!  It's been fantastic! Some of the things I've been dreaming about for the past year have happened!

The front runner being our master bedroom.  What a great room!  I loved it when we first saw the house.  It has a magnificent wood beam running right down the center of the ceiling and there is space for days in there!

I went with a gray for the walls, accenting with the pale blue color that I love so much from my bedding and a white to brighten up the space.  This room is our retreat, so I also decorated using pictures from our cruise a few years ago.  I love to relax with the beach reminders all around me.  I think it turned out great!  So great, that I am in that room a TON more now!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

One of my new furniture pieces - a blue chest, which I LOVE!

One of my new favorite accessories.  I found this gray lantern and thought it would look nice on the blue chest.  I filled it with shells to keep with the beach theme.

My second new furniture piece - a blue settee

Fantastic addition!  It fills the space and ties in the blue color for this wall.  It is also really comfy to sit in and/or lounge with a book in!

Tah Dah!