WW: Learning to Sweep with Painter's Tape

Wordless Wednesdays

 

 

Dining Room - Update.

I've shared pictures of the dining room with you and, since we've made some progress, I thought I'd share an update.

We found our dining room set pretty early in the moving process. I love it:

Hubbs delivered it and set it up day one of us in the new place:

Thanks to Sheena and Dom, we had fabulous curtains for the dining room.  I was so excited to have Hubbs hang them:

Once again, this dude has no shirt on.  Whatever.  The job was done.

 

At night, we keep them closed:

During the day, however, I open them to let the sunlight in:

I wanted a mirror and a centerpiece.  I didn't, however, want either of them to be the same color and/or material as the table.  It's a darker wood and, embracing the natural light and the floors, I wanted these additions to be lighter in color and to reflect the light.

Yesterday, I mentioned the large mirror I found at the model home sale.  It's awesome.  Like, really awesome...  Like, my-bootleg-cell-phone-pics-don't-do-it-justice awesome.

You'll formally meet 'the mirror' in the next few pics.

I want to share the paint colors first. 

It's a Sherwin Williams color and I just love the depth of most of their neutral colors.  It's a green-y, gray-y, blue-y kinda gray... I first saw it in some rooms online a few years ago:

I just love how it makes a statement but is very neutral... How it is casual yet formal. This perfect blend seemed perfect for our dining room. Similar to the table's requirements, I wanted the wall color to be appropriate for holiday dinners but not SO formal that it didn't fit the feel of the rest of the house.

The dining room has a chair rail (moulding mid-wall) so I decided to do a color combo with Comfort Gray on the top and white on the bottom.

HAVE YOU EVER TRIED LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT WHITE?

It's a challenge and, after searching for the perfect white, I decided on the white at the top of the Comfort Gray color swatch, Spare White.  It's white but has the same undertones as Comfort Gray.  It provides the contrast I'm looking for without the fear of pink or yellow undertones once on the walls.

I trust Comfort Gray and, if Spare White lives on the same color swatch, I trust Spare White too, lol.

I set to painting...

 

 

I started with the edges first:

I absolutely LOVED how it turned out:

I wasn't quite finished.  The top was done and it looked fab. Now, however, it was time for the Spare White on the bottom:

I was pleased!

 

It was dark out by the time I finished so I decided to hang the mirror and wait until the following day to fully celebrate.

 

Sidebar: I painted so much in the old place that Hubbs and I found the move-in ready tan of the new place to be refreshing.  We vowed to keep the new place neutral so I'm sure Hubbs is surprised that, as time passes, I'm painting.  He's probably surprised and annoyed... I know he's determined not to help me unless I really really need it, lol.  Don't get me wrong, he's willing to help me with decor and hanging and cleaning and some shopping BUT painting?! 

 

"I thought you promised NOT to do that?" ~Hubbs

Whatever. I'm a perfectionist with the paint so I don't mind doing it solo.  Seriously.  By way of example, I painted the walls and noticed the underside of the crown moulding was the OLD wall color.  It wasn't really noticeable but I knew it would drive me crazy.  NOT TO FEAR!  I used my tiny craft brush and a disposable shot glass (event remnants) to paint the bottom of the crown moulding Comfort Gray.  Extra, I know.

Back to the mirror.  I called for Hubbs' help.  He thought I needed him to help paint.  Yea right.  I needed his help rehanging my mirror.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's huge.  Like, 5 feet of pure awesomeness huge.  The mirror compliments the curtains from Dom and Sheena.  O and, speaking of the curtains, the curtains have a circle that is a blue-gray and matches the walls perfectly!  Woot!!

Night shot.

 

Daytime Shot. Why is the light on? IDK.

The mirror works perfectly with the centerpiece!

I shared most of my antique/thrifty finds from our trip to Georgia.  I still have a few fab finds to share.  One of them is the mirrored vase:

Thrift/antique malls have booths that are rented by vendors.  Items have tags with the booth number, item description and price (this helps the cashier track what was sold).  Some items are antiques, some are junk, all are unique.  My favorite booths to visit are those with one-of-a-kind pieces.  Anyhoo, Mom and I were carting our way through a thrift mall when I noticed a mirrored vase.  It was fab, very heavy and, after further investigation, I realized it was a custom piece.  I paid $30 for it.  Sure, that is more than I would normally pay for a thrift store find BUT it was the dose of glam I wanted for our table.

We will discuss the vase filler soon enough.  Those little things come from all over and were *literally* hand-picked (and paid for individually) to ensure I loved every one of them!

 

I'm not sure the filler is perfect BUT I love that they all have a story and that they tie in with the circles and the casual elegance I've been pulling together over the years.

If it sounds crazy remember it's for a good cause! 

 

Have you painted recently?

 

Do you have any go-to colors?  

 

Feel free to share yours in the comments.

After all, I do plan to paint more rooms!!  

 

Shh, don't tell Hubbs.

Model Home Sale - The Finds.

I'm a thrifty person.  Not because I necessarily feel like I have to be but more because I truly enjoy the thrill of the hunt.  I also prefer not to have a ready-made house.  You know, ready-made as in everything you see inside is purchased from a major chain furniture store and anyone can have it for *insert price here.*

Our new home will be beauty-full... Full of the things we love... Things that aren't easily found in package deals at the neighborhood furniture store... I'm on a mission to make this house a home we love.

I've been on the hunt for unique décor and the perfect pieces to complete the house.  Some of that comes from stores like HomeGoods, Ross, TJMaxx, Burlington Coat Factory, Pottery Barn, Joss and Main, and many others... Some of them come from my favorite thrift and antique stores and some have came from Model Home Sales.

Yes, I said Model Home Sales.

From my understanding, model homes are only necessary when properties are still for sale in a particular neighborhood.  Once the last lot sells, the builder opens the model home property's doors to the public for a model home sale where amazing designer goods are sold for a fraction of the cost.

Expensive sofas, bed frames, free mattresses, pillows, pictures, plates and more... ALL for a discounted price.

I've been to one or two in my lifetime and was shocked at the quality and prices in the past:

I have a friend who is an employee of a local builder and she keeps me informed of the model home sales.  Recently, I accompanied her to one and got some amazing deals on some really great things!

Kitchen Counter Décor
 

This is from Target and I got all three for $12!  The smallest vase was originally priced at close to $20!

Artwork, Placemats, Napkins and Napkin Rings

Taken before the centerpiece and additional décor.

Large Mirror for the Dining Room

Yes, I know.  The mirror is backwards... It's gorgeous!  I got it for only $60!!  I love it! I'll share the fab mirror in tomorrow's post when I talk about the new paint in the dining room!

I was just so excited with my finds at the latest Model Home Sale that I wanted to share.  I also became addicted to the prices and wanted a means to shop these low model home pieces more often.  After a quick Google search, I stumbled upon a place in MD that sells model home supply furniture for cheap *like* all the time.  The Model Home Clearance Center looks awesome.  Check out the website (here) for more information.

I'm going to check this place out and let you guys know how it is.

 

Cheers to a frugal yet fabulous week!

Gallery Wall - Done. For Now.

Islanders,

Yesterday, I shared the process by which the family room gallery was hung.

IDK why but, when I'm expecting guests, I have a tendency to get things done.  This past weekend, Hubbs' family made our home a stop on their journey further south for their annual vacation.

It was the kick in the butt we needed to wrap up some of the pending smaller projects.  One of those projects was the gallery wall.

O HUSH, I know you just heard about it but, let the imaginary record reflect, it stayed just like that (empty frames) for a month.  REAL LIFE STUFF HERE, Islanders.  Don't judge.

Anyhoo...

It was time to order prints and to call in my reinforcements.  Once again, my boo came to the rescue to help get 'er done:

We taped the photos to the frames to finalize placement.

Then we re-arranged them (Sheena was my personal Vana White):

We removed the frames, inserted the photos and rehung the frames.

I can't get a good pic with my cell phone so we'll just plan for the pretty pics when I break out the fancy camera for the final room reveal (if I ever get the room finished, lol).

YAY for crossing projects off your to-do list when guests are eating dinner in your kitchen, lol.  I love it.  We all do.  We love it so much that we might add another row (or 2).  After all, like Hubbs just said, it's time for some new family photos anyway.

I still have the fireplace built-ins, wall-mounting the t.v., hanging large artwork over the sofa opposite this wall, window treatments, purchasing a new coffee table or ottoman and arm chair to take care of before I can call it done.

Are you overwhelmed hearing about it?  So are my purse strings!

I may be moving at a turtle's pace but I'm moving.

Bright side, people.  Bright side.



Gallery Wall - Reinforcements.

Islanders, I've talked about my boo, Sheena, often.  She's my life's reality check.  For so many people, I serve as a sounding board, I listen to and absorb their issues and, most times, I try to fix their problems...  I have a very short list of people who I call if I have a problem.  Sheena is one of those people.

In the case of my family room, I told Sheena I had big plans.  Some that require major work and measurements... We didn't discuss details UNTIL she called me at work to talk about her plans for her place.

Without knowing it, we were planning to do similar gallery walls in our family rooms.

Wait.

Clarification: I was planning.  Sheena had already planned, purchased her supplies and was awaiting the arrival of her photos; she was doing.

The difference? I over-thought it, got overwhelmed, did some research and became over it.  The time, money and, did I mention, time and money?!

UNTIL SHEENA...  She told me about a buy-one-get-one sale at Michael's.  We discussed my plans and, together, we finalized the number of frames I would need AND, to make sure I was serious, Sheena purchased my frames (I reimbursed her but still...).  DID YOU HEAR THAT?

My gallery wall was well on its way!

That weekend, I had two very special visitors, Sheena and Baby O (my birthdate gift, remember?).  These two ladies came to help kick start the family room gallery wall.

I've been drawn to large walls of fabulous photos since we lived in the town house.  I love Shelly's:

Isn't it drool-worthy?  I really love how the outfits they wore compliment the room's décor.  I also love how some frames are hanging and others are propped on the ledge.

While I will use this for inspiration in another area of our home, Sheena and I refined my vision and we decided to do something similar to this:

The wall I chose is large... Like, really large:

Sheena and I bounced ideas off of each other for a few days.  I was nervous.  Something about making decisions in the new place makes me sick.  I'm not trying to live up to anyone else's expectations... I just want it to be the right decision... One that I will love for a long time.

Luckily, we finalized the gallery wall idea and Sheena arrived a few days later ready to help make it happen.  She's like my life manager, lol.  Just look at her face of determination, she meant business:

Talia's tutorial (here) was the EASIEST to follow; thanks to Sheena for finding it!  The basic process was to use a leveler for hanging and spacing.  How clever, right?!  Basically, if you hang the first picture and it's level, you just place the leveler above/beside/below to hang the next picture and voila! Perfect spacing for the gallery wall.  Here I was calculating and measuring... Stressing and had all-but talked myself out of doing anything.  I was nervous.  Sheena wasn't.  She climbed up on the step ladder and hung the first pic:

The walls didn't cave in.  I didn't pass out and it looked amazing!!!!

EEEEeeEEEEEeeeEee!!! Perfection!

After an hour (we spent more time applying the Command strips than actually hanging the frames), we were done!

I wanted to be done with the project OF COURSE so I could enjoy the juicy baby yumminess that is my Baby O.  I mean, look at those blurry little juicy thighs:

Unfortunately, however, her mini mama, Munch, had other plans.  Once she was out of the carseat, Baby O was Munch's baby. 

Munch sang to her:

 

Told her stories:

Made up silly words:

O and rocked her sleep:

Yes, she thinks she's the baby whisperer.  She pulled out all of her baby supplies to ensure Baby O was well taken care of.

I thought it was cute for all of 5 seconds ESPECIALLY since it was a problem for ME to hold her.

Whatever.

My gallery wall was done.  Sheena and Baby O left and I sat on the sofa enjoying the view:

Sure, there aren't any pictures in the frames yet.

Sure, I don't have curtains in the room yet.

I was excited and wanted to adjust a frame I thought was crooked so it fell and I couldn't get the Command strips to adhere to the wall again so the pic doesn't have all of the frames but... you see it right?

I may have to rehang them all once the pics arrive but can you see what I see?

POTENTIAL.

It's one step closer to being done.

...and loving the process is half the fun!