Painting In The Tub

I was a little bored this weekend waiting for the Sunday afternoon New England game, so I decided to tackle the worn down vanity in our second floor bathroom.

Not a Fan of the 80s Wood Color

Why is no DIY project ever as easy as it should be?  While inspecting the wood doors, I quickly discarded the possibility of sanding and restaining—way too much time for a weekend project—and decided to just paint the eye sore.  Much to my surprise, the vanity came with veneer side panels despite the doors being wood—classy right?

A couple of strokes on one of the panels and I couldn't get the paint to stay on!

 DIY "Oh Crap!"

I'm not the most patient person, but I wasn't about to let a little fake wood stop me from updating that ugly vanity!  In a separate furniture project, I used an oil based primer before painting so I gave that a try hoping the oil base would stick and I could paint the black latex paint over it.

White Primer Tinted Gray

After a few hours of drying, I got down to some creative painting positions

Tight Squeeze

I'm definitely proud of this one!  And I was able to get it primed, painted, and sealed all before kickoff!

LOVE IT!

Next up for this bathroom?  More painting!  

Dollars & Cents:

How much did boredom cost this weekend?  NOTHING!  The paint and brushes used were left over from a previous project!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Minutes

DH can, at times, be the stereotypical guy-- hates chick flicks, avoids malls at all costs, and only buys flowers when he's done something wrong.  So when it came to planning our wedding I never imagined he'd be so involved in every aspect of the process.   I thought he was going to be the typical Fiancé and just nod his way through the process, oh was I WRONG!

From the photographer-- three quit after not sharing his vision-- to the cake--who would have thought a guy from New Mexico could tell the difference between butter cream and fondant-- to the rehearsal dinner --of course, he needed steak. DH not only had a vote on which vendor I chose, but he routinely took the lead and provided recommendations and feedback--constructive and plain criticism--to all of our vendors.  

So it shouldn't have been a surprise that DH would want to add his two cents when I proposed hanging a couple of our favorite photos. During my six month sabbatical overseas, DH found a new love, a love of photography.   When I asked him to pick his favorite photos he easily provided his top 64!  What I thought was going to be a simple "hammer nail in wall" project was delayed by  a few days of life or death photo selection of six photos to hang over our couch!

Lesson learned?  I need to pad our projected renovation timeline.

DH All Over It

Check back soon for the tutorial!

Ski Bunnies

DIYing every evening or weekend can wreck havoc on a relationship, especially during your first year of marriage!  Sometimes couples need alone time and sometimes couples need alone time away from their DIY projects.  

On Vacation!

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

You just can't walk into a home furnishing store without getting giddy over one of these!!

Don't you just LOVE it?!

Not only is our home more than half empty and full of furniture we purchased for our respective first apartments out of college, our walls are bare!  Despite being in love with our gorgeous wedding photos, I don't think a home full of framed wedding photos of DH and I is the most creative route in home decor.

Sunflower mirror not to be confused with Sunburst
via decorpad.com

Whether you have a small space

Gorgeous but WAYYY out of my price range
via andgeorge.com

or enough space to add a sunburst cluster

via budgetbungalow.com

you can't go wrong with this mirror.  So imagine my surprise when I heard from other DIY'ers that they were able to turn a plain round mirror  into a sunburst mirror!  I'm going to have to spend a few extra bucks on upfront costs, I don't own a glue gun (shocking?!), but the goal is to successfully DIY a sunburst mirror I've been drooling over for less than $50!

Hopefully I'm able to report on a successful DIY project and not on how to glue your fingers together.

From Before To After: The Sunroom

Do you have a room that you have no idea how to bring it to the 21st century?  We have ours and it includes blue astroturf.  Ultimately, we plan to demo this room and the kitchen and replace it with an addition, so you can see why DH was hesitant to put a bandaid on a temporary living space. After a pro and con debate and a sale at Lumber Liquidators,  I was able to convince DH that we should spend a little bit of money in the sunroom, especially if it's going to take FOREVER to save for the addition!

With a budget of $200 we took the sunroom from:

Before: Vintage blue carpet charm

After: Warming breakfast nook

A flexible budget isn't the only tool I have in my tool box to convince DH to get on board with one of my many "great" project ideas.  I usually have to sell him on how "easy" the project will be too.  Unfortunately, I'm sometimes over budget and batting .200 on assessing project difficulty. 

We started with the painting.  This is the only room we didn't tape or cover the floors because under the carpet was exposed red concrete which we knew we'd replace.  We painted three of the brick walls a custom green color.  Why custom?  The initial green that I selected was way off mark, and DH called it "neon."  The remaining wall was painted with the semi-gloss paint we had left over from painting our trim (I always over estimate paint quantity needed for a project).  

We then moved on to the floors and spent three painful days trying to figure out how to make them work.   DH and I didn't kill each other, but I'm sure he thought about it.  The locking mechanism of the laminate floors were not as easy as on HGTV!  They wouldn't lock on the first attempt, so we had to use a lot of force to get them to click (please note-despite the excessive profanity and laminate flooring abuse we had zero floor board waste during this project).  

  

    First row took all of day one 

Our cat assisting with the angles

On day two we promised not to get upset, added a kiss for every successfully locked plank, and took a few more breaks--which extended the project to three days. 

Day 2 we got smart and used knee pads

DH spent most of day three with his new toy making the cuts for the round brick benches. 

DH still has all 10 fingers :)

What a difference a little bit of paint and updated flooring can make!  Our previously unused sunroom is now our informal dining area!

After: It's done!!!

Dollars & Cents: 

• Laminate flooring: $150
• DIY Installation: 24 hours,  Handyman estimate $1.50sqf or $180 
• Paint: $33 Behr (I always over estimate with paint!  A gallon was way too much for this space.)

Was saving $180 dollars worth the 24 hours DH and I spent bickering and hugging it out once we finally mastered the locking mechanism?  I think DH would agree that it was. Heck, the kitchen might be next!

Score!

Christmas came early and a few days late this year.  Look what we scored!

Settee Circa 1890s

Needles to say, we won't be painting this white!

Is there such a thing as winter cleaning?  If so, we've definitely made out like bandits.  Last week our friend Jane and her beau gave us their extra bed (congratulations on the co-habitation!!! :) ).  Then our good friend Crysta offered us a chandelier that didn't quite fit her dining room.   And finally, attempting to make space for the new baby, our neighbor gave us an antique sofa that has been in her family for three generations!!!

DH and I are still debating to either outsource the project or DIY the refurbishing and reupholstering.  In the mean time, I'm looking for some inspiration!

I love this mint green fabric

Remain traditional?

I love the cream fabric with chocolate pattern.
Via Decor Pad

Too Busy?
Via ShadesofFlight.com

Or maybe go a completely different direction and go BOLD! 

Too Bold?
Via: Wisteria Bridal Rug Sofa

This yellow makes me happy!
Houzz.com

What do you think?  Should we go traditional or bold?  Have another suggestion?

Happy New Year!

From our family to yours

Image From: Inception Wall Paper