Horchow Salento Chandelier {our home}

Similar to our breakfast area lighting, I knew it was only a matter of time for the builder's chandelier in the dining room. Paul and my mom didn't have any issues with it... but I did. It definitely did not fit with my style plans for the room so I had been keeping an eye out for the perfect replacement. I wanted something more "cottage chic" and eventually through Pinterest I located it on the Horchow website. The price was reasonable and I loved the style of the Salento 6-light chandelier.

Once I knew that it was the "one", I waited patiently for a sale and eventually a lighting sale came including free shipping.  I really don't like to pay full price for anything, so it helped to push me over the edge and buy it!

Today my handy hubby installed the new light!

The BEFORE...

The AFTER....

The NEXT Project....

Now that I have this gorgeous new chandelier, I am ready to make the next big step and transform the walls of the dining room!!  I already have the room ready for painting to start tomorrow AM.

And check out my inspiration that I found on Pinterest... I LOVE it!  Even Paul likes it and is excited to see it.... although I can't say he was too happy when he found where I had stashed all the wedding glassware.  Oops!  We had to remove all the glassware from the corner cabinets in order to move them away from the wall.  It will be SO worth it in the end when he sees the final product (I hope).

 

Laundry Washer Dryer Stand {home decor}

When we decided to build the Lydia Daybed from the fabulous Ana White website (www.Ana-White.com), I stumbled across this Washer Dryer Stand by Sausha and knew I had to have it!  I really love our front load LG washer & dryer, but I didn't love the price tag of the drawer/stands.  Sausha's design was much more affordable option which I actually liked better and I knew that Paul could build it.  Once we decided to build our current house and it was only going to have a laundry closet (not a room), we knew it was time to start making it.  We were able to construct it prior to our move into the new home which was ideal because the movers placed it and then set the washer & dryer right on (only ONE move)... since the things are SO heavy.  The only thing that I completed after was the text for the basket colors.

Mudroom Demo & Renovation {our home}

The Before....

....this builder provider mudroom was NOT going to work for our family, so of course we demolished it and started over!

We started with a doggy door that would eventually lead to the pups "built-in" dog bed!

I found this cheap cabinet at Home Depot that was on sale and called Paul to meet me and pick it up right away!  I loved it because it was only 18" deep so it would be deeper than the skinny 12" seat the builder provided but not so big it crowded the entry from the garage.  I also loved the bottom that was the perfect size for our tiny pups to be cozy.  I also realllly liked the two drawers because we lost our "everything" drawer in the new kitchen and were desperately hoping to replace it.

Paul used the cabinet as a starting point and built around it with a new deeper but smaller seat.

We added beadboard to the back for style and to cover the wall that we had ripped the previous shelves off of.

We ended up deciding to maximize the storage while we were at it and build the shelves all the way to the ceiling and added some crown molding for extra style.

Once Paul completed the build, it was my turn to paint.  I used my new Graco sprayer so I had to tape everything up to protect from the overspray.

WHAT a mess!  I learned that small confined spaces are not great with the Graco sprayer... and the fumes were overwhelming.

But in the end I was able to sand and touch up the overspray and it ended up great.  We distressed it as well, although you can't see that but we knew it was going to get roughed up with time so why not make it look intentional.  The paint color is one of my favorite's of the Martha Stewart Collection at Home Depot called "Brook Trout".

The After....

We are very happy with the final product.... way more efficient use of space than before!

The dogs are adjusting nicely to there new hideout.  There is a second doggy dog from the inside of the mudroom into the cabinet that unfortunately you can't see.

Fireplace Tile (Part 2) {our home}

About a week later we completed the fireplace tile and surround project.... paint, grout, sealer, etc....

The grout was quite a messy project! Thank goodness for the paper on the floor to protect it...

Grout complete but before caulking the edges...

Caulking the edges with a matching caulk really completed the details and made it look amazing and professional.

In the process we did a little bit of damage to the black paint on the fireplace, so we bought a can of black spray paint for grills at Home Depot and touched it up.... looks good as new!

The AFTER....

Kitchen Backsplash {our home}

Another project that we decided to not have the builder do was the kitchen backsplash in order to help keep the overall house of the project in our budget.  I thought alot about doing a fun morrocan shaped tile in a neutral color and explored lots of the local tile stores.... but in the end we ended up deciding for budget and resale value that a classic neutral subway tile was the way to go.

We ended up ordering  Daltile Rittenhouse in Almond from Home Depot which was very budget friendly at $2.58/SQ FT.  I found lots of inspiration from my new found love, Pinterest!  Here is an example of what was our inspiration:

http://kitchenbacksplashes.blogspot.com/2011/05/daltile-subway-tile.html

Once we had the tile, we consulted our good friend Steve to help up with the technical details of how we were going to complete this installation.  Paul had installed tile once before (bad experience) and I had never installed tile before... so we were in for quite a treat!

Thanks to Steve's advice and the help of the staff at the tile store, we got the right tools we needed and got to work!

We decided to use the premixed mastic since it was a small job and our first time, basically.  It was really pretty easy to use and definitely nice to save a step.

Tile installation complete but no grout yet.

We ended up changing out the switch plate covers to stainless rather that the existing white (which stood out like a sore thumb, see photo above).

About two weeks after we installed the tile, we finally grouted it!  The grout install probably only took about 3 hours with setup and cleanup, so not bad!

FINISHED!  Our kitchen is finally complete and no more moving of everything off the countertop and back!