The Journey of a Dining Room Makeover

Our dining room has been a work in progress that is now pretty much complete (minus some artwork I want to create to hang in there, I mean, are we ever really finished with a room?!). When we first moved in, this is what the room looked like with our stuff in it:

Not terrible, just dark & boring...kinda blah!

Well, the first thing I wanted to do was lighten up the space by redoing the chairs. Our dining room table & chairs were a yard sale find before we moved to Jackson. Ryan did a great job of refinishing the table, but the chairs were really a little too beat up to be worth the effort of refinishing them. However, the beat-up look was perfect for the distressed look I wanted to accomplish! Plus, the more beat up they get, the better they look-perfect for a household of boys & dog!

So here's the chairs before & after:

I found the fabric in the remnants pile at a local home fabric store & fell in love. Obviously a white background is not kid or dog friendly, so I decided to cover the fabric with vinyl I purchased at Hobby Lobby. Granted, it's probably not the coolest thing to do (I know, a little reminiscent of Grandma's vinyl covered sofas from the 70's), but every time I wipe down the chairs after a meal of spaghetti, I inwardly give myself a pat on the back for being willing to go there with the vinyl.

The next step was to find a green for the walls. This was not an easy task. In our former house in Georgia, one of our bedrooms was yellow and the kitchen was green. I was unsuccessful in choosing the right shade of yellow & green the first time around for both of those rooms. Beware! Greens & Yellow are tricky! It seems they always appear much brighter on the wall than on the sample! To make matters worse, when we painted the nursery in our house here in Jackson a soft green, I also chose the wrong shade the first time. So, you can imagine my paranoia about choosing the correct color for the dining room after three previous failed attempts to choose the right shade. Plus, it's one of the first rooms you see when you open the front door. Oh the pressure!!

So, that history explains why 7 samples later, our wall looked like this:

See what I mean? Greens can look so different! Believe it or not, all of these shades seem to coordinate with the fabric on the chairs. So maybe it seems like a lot of trouble to buy that many samples, but it was worth it to me because I felt completely confident about my choice. I LOVE the final result!

So, here's the after shot:

One of my favorite additions to the room is the floor to ceiling curtains I found at Ikea during our trip to Atlanta over the holidays. They were $24.99 for a pair! What a deal! A great trick to make a room seem taller is to hang the curtains just under the molding (thanks Nate Berkus for that tip!).
All in all, I am very pleased with the outcome!

Bathroom Reno

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the house we live in, our church's parsonage, has been getting a bit of a face lift this year. After having the exterior repainted and some minor repairs made, our house's sole bathroom was next on the agenda.

The Before:

As you can see, it had a lovely mauve countertop in a unique swoop design and a huge mirror. Also, it might be hard to tell from the pic, but the counter/sink, it seems, was designed for the vertically challenged. Ryan and I had to squat to wash our face (although it worked out nicely for Evan, our 3 year old).

And now...ta-da!
The After:

Quite a change, huh? It doesn't even feel like the same space! I feel like I'm in a spa now :). The new vanity and wall cabinet came from Lowe's, and I was super excited to find the mirror at Kirkland Home for only $39! I think the mirror totally makes the room and it coordinates perfectly with the fabric i picked out from a local fabric store to make some curtains. Check it out:

Now to learn to sew or research a way to fake it :). After that, I'm going to try to create some artwork to go on the wall when you first enter the bathroom. I'll post a pic when all that's done (and I have no idea when that will be!). A big thanks to the deacons of Redeemer for approving all this work to be done on the house. We are definitely enjoying the upgrades!

Extreme Home Makeover

Okay, so maybe our house in Jackson didn't get leveled to be replaced by a four story on our half acre, but it did get a facelift with new windows, paint, & shutters! Thanks to the deacons for approving some much needed home improvement projects on our house (which the church owns and is located right behind the church's property). I had fun picking out the colors and am quite pleased with the results!

Who doesn't love a little before & after?!

Before (taken in the fall when we first moved here):

After (gray paint & new shutters!):

Next week the bathroom is getting a facelift, so I'll be sure to post pics of the transformation!

Moving on Up

It's hard to believe, but Levi's E.T.A. is just four weeks away, so we've been busy preparing for him. Part of that process has been getting Evan's new room ready. Today was a big day because he took his first nap in his big boy bed! It truly is a big boy bed, as you can tell from the pics. It's the same antique bed that my dad refinished when I was young. Don't worry, he has a guard rail to keep him safely on the bed!

At first he wasn't sure about me leaving him in the bed alone at naptime today, but once we got a few more of his stuffed furry friends to accompany him (besides just his loveys) he felt much better. My little boy is growing up-it's bittersweet!

Check out his new room below. We got most of the decor from Target and Ikea. All that's left to do is for mommy to paint some pictures of a car & a truck to hang on the wall (I think that might be a post-baby project at this point!).

Calling All HGTV Addicts: You Know You Want a Room Makeover!

I admit it, I'm a recovering HGTV addict. Recovering because I have almost weaned myself off of it--except for Candace Olson's Divine Design. That girl is just too good to let go of...
Anyway, many of you may have heard by now that my sister is an interior designer (so I have access to free design advice--it's wonderful!), and she is giving away a free room design board--no strings attached--to promote her new web business. You can live anywhere and still participate. The giveaway deadline is this Friday, April 30th, so hurry up and check it out at Erica's Inspirations.