Our Guest Room (and the beginning of The Nursery Chronicles)

The only room I've never shared on the blog is our guest room. Aside from paint, molding and new closet doors, this room has been pretty much looked exactly like this for the last 3 years.

For a long time, this room also served as my office. My father-in-law built me the desk (above), and we installed a a shelf to hold supplies for Bella Carta. Last year when it became apparent I'd need a little more room to work, we decided to make a new workspace in our playroom.

The rest of this stuff? That's what we're cleaning out. This little room will soon become the twins' nursery.

Oh yeah, this room is teeny. 10x9.5' to be exact....
And it needs to fit not one, but two babies.

For a long time I thought we'd move A in here, and make his room the new nursery. But after some more thought, I think it makes more sense for A to have the bigger room. For one, we've worked really really hard to get him to sleep through the night, and I'm not really sure I'm ready to risk changing that for the sake of the nursery. Also, A actually plays in his room... which means that once I move the big IKEA chair out, there will be room for some more of his toys...

from the living room...

Because we also need to make room down there for some baby paraphernalia. You know, swings, bouncers, etc.

Moral of the story? Lots of cleaning out & moving around is happening around here. I have some ideas of how to make this room work with two cribs, and a plan for the rest of the changes we need to make (to prepare for the craziness that will ensue in January).

Hope to share some progress, soon!

Happy Monday, friends! Hope everyone has a wonderful week.

A Few Dining Room Updates

Hi, friends! How is it Monday?! Hope you all had a great weekend! We definitely did. Even after a horrid Friday (because I decided to bring A to work with me... BAD idea).... but the weekend quickly turned around and ended up being great!

One of my very first "Home Tour" posts (almost a year ago) was about our dining room (part one & part two). In fact, our dining room was the first room we renovated in our home.

This spring when I started moving some things around, I decided to move the large mirror from the dining room into our bedroom. Leaving this big wall completely blank.

Then I started "shopping our house" and decided these big frames, previously in our bedroom and living room, would look great down there.

 

 

 And here's how the dining room looks now, with some "new" frames and pictures from A's 6 month photo shoot.

I think they fill the wall so much better than the mirror... and who doesn't want to see semi-nekkid baby pictures while they eat?!

I'd say this room is pretty much done - for now. I'm still thinking a big jute rug would look great under the table, and would help brighten up the space. This room is on our lowest level, and doesn't get a lot of light (and also tends to be pretty cold in the winter), so a big rug could solve both those problems.

I'll be sharing how we changed up the bedroom, soon! Sometimes the smallest changes make the biggest difference.

Next Kitchen Project: Painting the Exterior Doors!

Next up on our project list: painting the inside of our exterior doors!

When I shared our kitchen updates on Monday, I had cropped out the door to our deck.
Why? Because its dirty, and is in desperate need of paint. It doesn't match the trim, and recently it occurred to me - why not paint it a fun color?!

I'm considering using Annie Sloan Chalk since I think it will sit well on he metal door, and comes in some great shades!

So here are our three options: 


1) Annie Sloan French Linen

2) Annie Sloan Graphite

3) Annie Sloan Paris Grey

So... what would you guys pick? I'd love for you to weigh in, especially since I'm going to buy the paint this weekend: :)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Kitchen Updates

Happy Monday, friends! We had such a great weekend, I'm so sad it's over. A and I have been miserably sick since Wednesday, but by Saturday morning we were both feeling well enough to enjoy the beautiful weather. We spent every waking moment outside, and loved every second of it!

A few weeks ago I mentioned we were planning to make some updates to our kitchen, including a new paint color. I'm loving how bright our kitchen feels now (just in time for spring!).

The day after A's birthday party, I went on a kitchen cleaning frenzy. You know those days... the ones where you need a room (or the whole house) to be immaculate? I had one of those days. And what better day to take pictures of the space, right? Looking back at these gives me a little inspiration to go put some more stuff away ;)

Here's our hutch updated for spring: 

And a close up of the new artwork...
These pictures are of Times Square and E 41st Street in Manhattan. My in-laws found them in C's grandfather's house after he had passed away, and thought that I'd like them since NYC is close to my heart. C and I met in the city, and I have worked there for the last 10 years. I had the printed matted, and bought distressed black frames from The Rusty Roof. I'm obsessed with these pictures. The larger one (not shown) is dated from 1937, so I assume the entire set is around 75 years old!

 
And as a reminder, here are some of the "before" pictures:

SO much brighter!

We have one new project for the kitchen coming up soon, and I might need some help from you guys in making the decision of what to go with. I'll be sharing this week, so be sure to check back soon!

Linking up with:
Saavy Southern Style
DIY by Design
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Liz Marie Blog 
Thrifty Decor Chick
A Stroll Thru Life
City Farmhouse

Our Finished Bathroom

 It has only taken 6 months, but I'm happy to report that the bathroom is finally complete!

And a few before & afters...

I'll be adding sources soon {which could mean next month}, and some of our suggestions on how to renovate a bathroom on a budget.

My hubby and father-in-law worked tirelessly on this bathroom: 3 consecutive weekends of work, including 1 long weekend, and installing & reinstalling the tub after the tile had been grouted {story for another day!}. ALWAYS read the reviews on an item you are about to buy. If more than 1 person (or all 11 reviewers) have the same problem, chances are you will too. Lesson learned.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Linking up with:
DIY by Design
Savvy Southern Style
DIY Showoff 
A Bowl Full of Lemons 
Liz Marie Blog
It's Overflowing 
Thrifty Decor Chick
A Stroll Thru Life

{Home Tour Friday} The Kitchen

I've never shared pictures of our kitchen before...
and since we repainted it last weekend, it's about time I did!

Our kitchen was remodeled before we bought our home in 2009, and aside from hardwoods, paint & new trim, hasn't been touched since. The cabinets aren't my favorite (if you follow me on Pinterest, you know I'm a white-kitchen girl), but they were seriously brand new when we moved it, so I feel like I can't paint them (yet).

A's "cheese" face, and the outlet with spackle on it. This was taken the day before we started painting. Just keeping it real ;)

Had to share one of my favorite IKEA purchases from a few weeks ago - these chair pads. So cute, and they are washable. For something to come in our home nowadays, that's pretty much a requirement.

Not long after we painted the living room & kitchen, I started to hate the paint color. It was too dark, and semi-gloss, and I couldn't stand the reflection the walls had. Fast forward 4 years, and my sweet hubby agreed to repaint before A's birthday party. Just waiting on some new artwork, but I'll be sharing the new kitchen, soon!

You can see all of our other Home Tour Friday's, here:
Dining Room
Foyer
Gallery Wall
Living Room
Nursery
Toddler Room
Bathroom
Master Bedroom
Laundry Room

{Project Playroom}: Part II / Inspiration

As I shared on Monday, we've started working on our big playroom makeover. Our goal is to have this room function as a playroom, office & guest room - on a budget.

Of course, once we decided this was going to be our next project, I turned to Pinterest for some ideas. You can see the whole board, here, but here are some of my favorites.

Source: comfortwool.blogspot.com via Jillian on Pinterest

Source: unclutterer.com via Jillian on Pinterest

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Jillian on Pinterest

Source: decorpad.com via Jillian on Pinterest

Source: georgianadesign.tumblr.com via Jillian on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Jillian on Pinterest

And finally, here is the mood board I created to keep me on track when shopping for this room. Some of the items you see we already own, but I wanted to make sure they would still work in the new space.

I hope to be back next week sharing some of the progress we've made!

Linking up with Debbie Doo's!

Long Overdue Christmas House Tour

I know, I know. I'm SO late. What can I say? I was busy enjoying the holidays!

So without further ado, our Christmas Home Tour!

All the decorations came down this past weekend, and I have to say, I'm loving the extra space back in my living room! I love having them all up, but after the 1st, I'm ready for them to be away.

Happy Wednesday, friends!

{Project Playroom}: Part I / Current Playroom

Hi friends!

Welcome to our newest project - Project Playroom!

When we first looked at our home in 2008, the bonus room was a huge selling point. Without a basement, we knew we would need all the extra storage we could get, and this room kind of sold us on the house. Not many split-level homes have this extra space on the 4th floor, so we knew how lucky we were!

Unfortunately I don't have a "before" picture, but suffice it to say this room was a mess. Faux wood paneling, a moss green Berber carpet that had definitely seen better days, and years worth of dust & dirt in every corner. For 2 years, this room served as our attic, until little A (Baby P back then) was about to make his entrance. This room was the last big project before our little guy was born, and we're so SO thankful to have this usable, extra space in our home.

Here is our extra space looks today: part guest room, part playroom, part office, part storage.

I'll be sharing our home goals soon, but we have some big plans for this room in the new year!

Our goal is to turn this space into a true playroom for our little guy, and a permanent office for both me & C. While our office needs are different, we thought it would be best to share this space. I currently work at small desk in our guestroom, and it truly is perfect for me. But since we hope to turn that room into another nursery (one day!), we figured it would be easier to make the transition now while we are reworking the space upstairs. This space will also continue to function as a guest room, since much of our family, and almost all of our friends, live out of town.

Here is our project list - we can't wait to get started!

Playspace:
• find a new, plush (kid-friendly) rug
• add an additional large basket for toy storage
• replace blue bins on 2nd shelf
• child proof TV with anti-tip brackets
• create an art area (maybe a chalkboard & a rotating gallery for A's artwork)
• add a gate at the top of the stairs
• find a way to keep toys organized, and easy-to-find

Office:
• create/build a two-person desk in the dormer
• add shelving for storage
• make a functional/fun message station for reminders & invitations
• find 2 desk chairs
• create a functional filing system for household paperwork

Guest Space:
• add wall-mounted sconces near the bed
• update bedding
• add throw pillows along wall

Also...
• add/make window treatments
• build a closet door for small storage space
• add a closet rod to small space for off-season jackets
• add artwork to stairway

I'll be sharing my Pinterest inspiration & a mood board, soon. Seeing it makes me even more excited about this space!