big boy room peek

The big boy room is pretty much complete.  I haven't gotten a chance to take real shots of everything but here is a little peek!

I'm happy to say the transition to a big boy bed has been a smooth one and strangely the room feels larger with a twin bed than it did with a crib. 

Hilary over at My So-Called Home was kind enough to pass along the Liebster award to me.  She is a fellow New Jersey resident and her home has a lot of similarities to mine.  I love seeing her updates and style.  I'll be pack with the answers to the 11 questions she posted so you can learn a little more about moi and I'll work on getting more pics of the big boy room.  Is it just me or are these summer days slipping by at an alarming pace?!

Sigh... here they are

 

Here they are, I'm experimenting with how to "dress" them

 

 

and all naked just as they were completed

 

 

 

We started with this

We have a ton more storage now.  It was one of those projects that went anything but smoothly and was filled with frustration.   Going from the baker's rack you can see here to built in cabinetry is a serious upgrade so I'm trying to move forward from a sour experience and enjoy the end result.  I'm toying with how we'll deal with the back splash area.  We have some left over butcher block material, I was thinking of hanging plates...  I'd love some under cabinet lights.  It will take some experimenting and time to get it just right.  I want it to serve as a command center of sorts so we need an area for a calendar and keys and all that good little stuff.  

I'll be back with more progress and details. 

done?

Are you ever really "done" with a house?  I'm not sure and since I tend to forever fuss and fluff and change my mind I would probably have said no BUT it seems that we are nearly done with our home.  This week is bringing the completion of two projects that threatened to go on for eternity.  The rest of the cabinetry will be installed in the kitchen and we had our flaking and scratched tub replaced.  All of the big projects we seriously considered have been done.  We are in the process of finishing up the quarter round trim and painting the doors.  We are updating our son's room and decorating the guest bedroom so it will now serve as a nursery for the new baby.  That brings us to....   well, done.

Since we moved in about 2 1/2 years ago we:

1.  removed old carpet and refinished wood floors throughout
2.  painted every room
3.  re-tiled bathroom, replaced toilet, sink and vanity, reglazed tub and tile and ultimately replaced tub
4.  painted kitchen cabinets, replaced counters, replaced all kitchen appliances, added dishwasher, added backsplash and added additional kitchen cabinetry
5.  painted and carpeted the finished basement area
6.  painted screened porch floor
7.  re-sided a portion of the front of the house
8.  updated landscaping in front and back yards
9. replaced light fixtures throughout the house

I think that might be it?  Not too shabby for the amount of time we have spent here.  I see us here for another year or two but when we move will depend on lots of factors and I'm trying my best not to get too attached to a particular time frame since we don't know what the future will bring. So perhaps we'll have a year that is free of projects before we move on and begin again. 

I don't think I'm capable of not doing some little changes here or there.  Painting furniture, adding different decor elements... I don't really count that in my assessment of "done"  I'm only counting the big projects and changes and I have to say I'm happy to be done with them for a while.  We had discussed adding a second bath in the basement but we don't think it would add enough value to our home for the amount of money and work it would take. 

It is probably best to save some of our money and energy for our next home because I have no doubt it will require work and updates and since it is our hope that the next home is one we can stay in for a while there will undoubtedly be many things to change over time. 

It feels nice to make peace and decide we are done with big changes here.  I think my husband doubts that I'll be able to control myself and not suggest some other update but my need for change can easily be contented with little decor switches and I'm truthfully happy to just enjoy our little home for a while. 

Here are some of the photos from the original listing of the house

When I look back and see where we started from and then all it took to get to this

and then this

 

and now when I look up from the computer I see this

 

That makes me pretty happy.

And instead of looking at this when I go in the kitchen to cook

I can instead look at this

 

and instead of visiting this lovely loo

 

I can step into this room instead

Not bad.  Not bad at all. 

nursery

I showed you the new guest suite so I thought I ought to show you what is happening in the nursery so far.

 

Not a whole heck of a lot but I have to admit I got excited about it all the same.  I like the striped rug in there and that grey chair we brought up from the basement is so comfortable I will be happy to spend some serious feeding time in it.  I am working on convincing my Mom to make a white slip cover for it.  I offered to cut and pin the fabric for it and she gently told me that my sewing "help" would probably not be all that helpful.  Sigh...  I'm just not a sewer.  

So, imagine that chair covered in white with a pillow in this fabric

Pillow Mio

 

I'm thinking an ottoman in front of the chair so I can put my feet up and if there were storage for toys all the better.

The white floor lamp will stay but I'd love one of these woven shades from Ballard.

Ballard Design

 

You can see my nursery design board here, things are already changing a little.  I'm thinking the white drapes may be a bit blah and perhaps I should do drapes in the same khanajali glacier fabric as the pillow above?  Yes we will be moving the dog crate and I'll have to stop dumping random piles of stuff on every surface available.  What do you do when your guest room/random stuff piling area is inhabited?  I'm gonna need more bins to hide my piles!!!!