Master Bathroom Reveal

I've been wanting to publish this post for a few weeks now. Just waiting for the right opportunity/light to snap some photos. 

In the interest of time, I've spent my "prep" time for this post re-sizing images, so warning, this post is basically wordless. I'm going to do a separate post on sources for this bathroom reno.

Enjoy!

Here are a few recaps of the process:

Before

Planning

An Update

Thanks for touring our new master bathroom! Like I said, I'll be following this up with a post dedicated to sources, colors, what we learned, etc. If you have any questions, please tell! I'll answer them in the follow-up post.

What do you think? Is there a bathroom renovation in your future?

We're thrilled to have this complete. Yes, we need a window covering still, and a TP holder, towel holder, etc but those will be hunted down after the holidays. We're still on a much needed no-house-projects break.

If you like this post please let me know by leaving a comment or liking my Facebook page. You can also follow along on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Let's stay in touch!

Living Room Updates

I can't quite call this one a reveal just yet. But there has been a ton of progress in our living room. It's the last room we've worked on. It's always been functional (except the fireplace), just not exactly our style.

We're working on it. It's getting there. And I think the finishing touches may happen over time - I'm totally cool with that.

A peak at the to-do list:

• Paint walls - clean up the thousands of nail holes - after spending an hour cleaning up the paneling, walls were painted SW Ivory Lace
• Paint ceiling and trim
• Reupholster couch
• Add an area rug - post here
• Add shades and curtains
• Hang art
• Spray paint gold frame left from previous owner (moose print)
• Upgrade coffee table
• Arrange mantel
• Get accent tables for the chairs
• Add more greenery

As you can see, there's still a lot to do in this room. But just the upgrading paint color alone did wonders. I'll be keeping my eye out for accent tables, a new coffee table, window treatments, and greenery. But I'm in no rush. We're pretty mentally and financially exhausted from the past five months. We'll be hibernating for the next few.

Sources: Table lamps - Homegoods / End tables & couch - family / Coffee table - family / Moose Print - Society6 / Area Rug - Overstock / Chairs - Ikea / Floor lamp - Target / Mirror - Homegoods / Fiddle Fig - Ikea / Console table - Made by J

What do you think?

I'm thinking of upholstering the couch in something dark, navy perhaps? I'm thinking navy as the pop of bold color in this room. Possibly use it in the curtains too. And more creams/whites for sure too.

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Master Bedroom Reveal

I've shared a few pictures of our bedroom already, I know. But mostly to showcase the carpentry finish work we've had to do. And remind myself of how far we've come....

It cracks me up to look back at the befores. At the time, I was a wide-eyed, ambitious, new home owner. But now I totally understand why some people, our parents, thought we were a bit crazy. If I'm being honest though, it really wasn't as bad of a process as it might look. We never felt too overwhelmed. Maybe we just got used to spending our weekends working on our home? I don't know. But if I had to do it again, I would. 

That's not to say we aren't pumped that it's done! Please, sitting on the couch Sunday, enjoying a cup of coffee, and catching Elf on TV...ya, that was awesome. And had yet to happen in the 5+ months since we moved. 

You might recognize these pictures from my old gallery wall in our condo (here). I love having these in our bedroom now. The curtains were an amazing deal from Kirklands, bamboo shades from Home Depot (I am a huge fan of the cordless ones).

We keep it simple with linens. White comforter, white knit blanket, white sheets. Sometimes I get crazy and put dark greys sheets on the bed. But white is easy. The coral pillows are covers I made a couple years ago & the purple pillow is a Homegoods find, also years ago. Repurposing items from our condo is the best! The throw at the end of the bed you may recognize from this post. It is so so soft. 

A post for another day (soon) but we finished the Ikea Rast night stands finally. Woo hoo! And those lamps are from Homegoods. I scrolled back up in this post to see if there was anything I missed. Of course there was....the huge mirror we have is also a purchase from....take a guess. Homegoods ftw. The berber rug with the mirror is from Building 19, the runner rug in the hall is from Target, and the shag rug under our bed is another Homegoods find. Can you tell we've had some luck in there? ha. No, they have no idea who I am. I wish.

Anyways, how'd we do with our to-do list?

• Install floors - Installed Bruce solid hardwood planks in Oak - Saddle
• Paint walls - Alpaca by Sherwin Williams
• Paint ceilings - standard white ceiling paint from HomeDepot
• Add baseboard molding, window trim - In process done!
• Add door jam, trim, bi-fold doors to J's closet - carpentry work done, now on the lookout for the perfect door done!
• Add trim, pocket door to my closet done!
• Buy/refinish nightstands - Ikea Rast nightstands ftw. done!
• Mount TV done!
• Add relaxed roman shades - example Went with bamboo shades instead, done!
• Hang artwork, photos photos hung, but looking for something to hang above our bed still

This summer, I was getting mani/pedi's with my sister-in-law, prepping for weddings we both had. I remember saying how I couldn't wait to just feel settled. And we both agreed it probably wouldn't happen for a while. 

Well, it's happened! Hosting our housewarming party this past weekend really solidified how much work we've done and how little there's left (in terms of big projects). We'll be spending the rest of this year relaxing and enjoying our home. No mas projects! for now...

What do you think?

I'm in no rush really, but I'd love to add some artwork above our bed. I'm also trying to figure out what to do with the rest of our room - by the mirror. Eventually I will probably put a nice chair over there but who knows. Any suggestions? 

If you like this post please let me know by leaving a comment or liking my Facebook page. You can also follow along on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Let's stay in touch!

Guest Bedroom Reveal

I'm back! Not 100% refreshed just yet but getting there. It was one hell of a week over here. All leading up to a housewarming party in our new home this past Saturday. I couldn't be happier with everything we accomplished leading up to the event, or how many great family and friends came over. 

Now that they've had a chance to take a peak at our progress, I'm excited to share more of it on the blog. First up, our guest bedroom. Remember where we started? It's hard to believe it these days!

By July when I shared our to-do list, the guest room was looking a little better...

And, today.

The guestroom got finished last week, finally! It felt so strange, and so great(!), to walk by our guestroom and see furniture in there. 

• Install finished floors - Installed Bruce solid hardwood planks in Oak - Saddle
• Paint walls - Westhighland White by Sherwin Williams
• Paint trim - standard white trim paint from Lowes
• Paint ceiling - standard white ceiling paint from HomeDepot
• Add an area rug - very, very happy with this one
• Add window treatments of some sort
• Add a bedframe, night stands, bureau inherited from family
• Add a ceiling fan installed last Friday
• Hang artwork and a mirror Artwork - Michaels / Mirror - family
• Create a closet space, currently not even a hanging rod

Doing pretty good with the to-do list if I do say so myself. As mentioned above, all of the furniture was inherited from family, my grandparent's house to be specific. We are incredibly grateful for this.

Since the bed frame was from the 1950's, or earlier, its box spring was ancient. But without it, there were no support slats across the bed frame. Post for another day, but we spent a night cutting new slats to fit the bed frame. I am in love with this spool bed.

The artwork in this room is so simple and I love it. These were clearance posters at Michaels, $3 each. As I scanned the aisles of poster size frames, nothing caught my eye. They were way too bulky for the space. Until I stumbled upon these $2.50 poster hangers. They're nothing special really, but also perfect. You know what they're similar to? Those plastic clips you'd slide over a book report back in the day. Nice and light weight. 

On the bed you might notice two printed pictures. We made a point to print out the disasterous before photos in many of the rooms to showcase the works we've done over the past few months, aka justify our delayed party.

What do you think?

The bed linens are from Homegoods, blanket from Ikea, and my mom made the knit throw. I'd love to add in some color/patterns to the bed next. Any suggestions?

Treading Water

Just popping in to say hello! 

I need to take a break from blogging this week....we're hosting some family and friends this coming weekend so in true Tracey fashion, I've loaded up my to-get-done list. And then decided I wanted to get the living room and family room painted too. Oh yes, nothing like a little pressure! And some late nights...

I have so many house updates to share in the coming weeks. But have decided to keep them off the blog until our family and close friends get the first glimpses this weekend (plus I just don't have the time right now to share).

Here's one sneak peek....the nightstands! We went with option 3 from this post. In the essence of time, keeping the frame of the nightstands as is was the most logical choice. And we're totally in love with the finish! 

Have a great rest of the week. See you Monday!

DIY Time: Nightstands

Within a few weeks of moving we purchased nightstands for our bedroom. Those nightstands were the ever famous Ikea Rast and embarrassingly enough, they still stand unfinished. They function quite well as is!

But they're an eyesore. And they've been on the to-do list for far too long. Don't judge - renovating a bathroom, painting trim, painting walls, etc were just a tad more important. But it's time we start finishing up the smaller projects.

I've gone as far as purchasing wood conditioner, stain, and poly. Yet these nightstands are still unfinished! Somebody send me some motivation puh-lease.

Here are a few ideas I have for the nightstands. I can't make up my mind. What do you think?

1. What I'm currently thinking (with Miniwax's new Honey colored stain - a little lighter than Jacobean)
2. What caught my eye a couple months ago (I even bought the burlap)

via Get Home Decorating / via Centsational Girl

3. My original inspiration, and much easier than the first 2 options
4. Or go with color? How fun is this?!

via Little House Blog / via Love Live Dwell Repeat

Help! I must make a decision this week and get these nightstand finished this weekend. Don't even get me started on hardware, that's another can of worms. So many options!

But it's time to check #46 off the 101 in 1001 list.

Which makeover would you undertake?

If you like this post please let me know by leaving a comment or liking my Facebook page. You can also follow along on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Let's stay in touch!

Choosing a Paint Color: LRV Number

Update: Gooooo Red Sox! What a game. Tired today but totally worth staying up to watch the post game highlights. Warm up the Duck Boats, it's time for a parade! :)

Well, I'm stumped. I'm looking for the right shade of a gray/beige/neutral for our bathroom. I know it must exist, I'm just having the hardest time finding it!

It would make life a lot easier if I just went with something colorful. But you see, that's not how I envision our new bathroom. And while I can usually warm up to a change in plans after reworking them in my head, this one is truly stumping me. I know a warm, light blue would look great in the space. But I don't want a blue bathroom. I want a grey/neutral bathroom. So the search continues.

Some of the colors we've tested include:

Chelsea gray was a little too dark. Rockport gray ended up being way too brownish in our space. I've looked at more grey's on Benjamin Moore's website than I ever knew existed. And 5 samples later, we may have a winner. Stay tuned...

But there's something that J and I found SO helpful (and saved us money from testing even more samples). The LRV number. While we are no experts over here, looking at the Light Reflective Value of the paint color really helped us narrow down our search. What is the LRV you ask? Well, it's the percentage of light reflected from a surface. The higher the LRV, the brighter or more reflective the color. White has an LRV of 100. A really dark color, like Hale Navy has a LRV of 6.98. And this information is listed for each color (at least on SW's and BM's websites)

The LRV of Chelsea gray is 22.81. Another color we originally tested (but that I don't have a pretty picture of) is Sherwin Williams Grayish. This color has an LRV of 61. And we had decided that it was too light in the space.

So as I searched for the perfect color, I ruled out anything lower than 35 or higher than 55 immediately. This really helped narrow down the search.

It's funny, this is probably the only room we'll be able to use a "darker" color in - it's on the south side of our home and gets plenty of natural light. As I mentioned previously (here), we have low ceilings. Any rooms on the front (north) side of our house do not get enough natural light so the dining room color, which is as dark as I would go in that room, has an LRV of 57.11. I find it really hard to tell just how dark a color is online, so reviewing the LRV really helped me visualize the space better.

How do you find the perfect paint color?

I turned to Pinterest and Google images to get an idea of what a paint color might look like, but in the end, the LRV number really was the most useful tool for us.

Happy Halloween!

If you like this post please let me know by leaving a comment or liking my Facebook page. You can also follow along on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Let's stay in touch!

Bathroom Reno Sneak Peek

I think I've teased you long enough. Honestly, I was hoping it would be done by now. So close though.

Let's remember what we started with, shall we. First reaction, no way. Second thought, hmm this could be fun. Here's my first post with our ideas.

We decided we'd take care of the painting ourselves. What were we thinking? Kidding, sort of. But I've taken on this task and I warn you, it is tedious.

The timeline so far:

• Fill all one thousand plus nail holes with wood filler, let dry
• Sand, sand, and sand some more. And wear a mask because it sure gets dusty. 
• Prime
• Find a few nail holes you missed while getting ready for bed, fill those
• Sand the trim and walls again with a high grit sand paper. I love the sand paper blocks.
• Prime again (on a Friday night).
• Paint the ceiling the following morning
• Second coat on the ceiling
• Prime the top half of the walls
• Take a break and enjoy life
• Wake up Sunday, sand again.
• Paint the board and batten (first coat)

Phew, it's been a lot of work. I have to sand once more and add one more coat of paint on the board and batten. We went with Pure White (Sherwin Williams) in an eggshell finish. I realized last week that if I used the trim paint we've been using in other rooms, the entire lower half of the wall would just be way too shiny. So back to the store we went - Sherwin Williams is running a paint and painting supply sale through October 31st so we took advantage of that. Also - in a bathroom, make sure to choose a paint that resists mold and mildew well.

Then comes the fun part, picking out the color for the top half of the walls!  I threw a few samples we already owned up on the walls - Chelsea Gray (Benjamin Moore) on the left, Greyish (Sherwin Williams) on the right. And have decided ones too dark while the other's too light. But I can't say we don't like the idea of something on the darker side...what do you think?

This project has certainly been a dream (and a major headache at times for sure). I never thought I'd have the opportunity to design my own bathroom this early into owning a home. I didn't think I'd be doing any major renovations just yet! But that's the path we've chosen, and I have learned so much from it. The house just needs a little TLC! ;) The final stages of the bathroom renovation take place this week - installing the shower glass. Then we will be able to finish the room. And I'll share the rest of the details and fixtures then. 

Stay tuned!

If you like this post please let me know by leaving a comment or liking my Facebook page. You can also follow along on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Let's stay in touch!

Just Like New

Hello Monday. Don't you always sneak up on us. This weekend actually went by at what seems like the right speed. If that makes any sense. We were able to get things done around the house, head out to the bar to watch the Red Sox win (!!), and have family over for the Pats game Sunday. And let me just say, how ridiculous was that call?! I don't get it. Players pushing each other had no impact on the fact that the Jets kicker missed the field goal. Missed it! Ugh, how frustrating.

Anyways, end rant. 

When we moved into our new home, there was something we were seriously lacking. Furniture. Sure, we had our bedroom set and living room furniture from the city. But that's about it. And buying everything brand new was not in the cards. 

We have spent a fair amount of time searching Craigslist. Why not? Although it can take time - we've lost out on several items - it can also be totally worth it. For example, our "new" dining room table. I've mentioned it before, I know. But it's probably my favorite Craigslist find to date. 

This is embarrassing, but when we first got the table, I used pledge wipes to clean it. And that's it. Since then it's been wipe downs with a sponge. We rarely eat at it since it's just the two of us. But this weekend, baby got a good cleaning. And wow, what a difference. 

Look at that shine! 

I knew I needed to be careful. I didn't want to use anything too harsh because the table is solid wood, built at least 40 years ago. So after a little bit of online research, I went with with what I had on hand: equal parts white vinegar and Meyers all purpose cleaner, mixed with hot water. And I used a face cloth to wipe down the furniture. I had picked up the Meyers for $1 on a whim at Target one day. Best $1 spent!

I took this photo after the combo worked wonders. And yes, look at that water! Ew.

Another reason I broke out this all natural wood cleaner? J and I have inherited a few pieces of furniture from my grandparents house. We are so grateful for this! If there's anything I've learned since moving and looking at furniture, items built 40+ years ago were built to last. I have a totally new opinion of furniture sold today at some of the major name stores. So you want to sell me a veneer topped table for thousands of dollars? No thanks.

Here's a look at the bureau we brought home from my grandparents house, pre cleaning:

And all of the drawers...

Snagged that awesome mirror at my grandparents' too and am planning to hang it above the bureau.

And after cleaning:

Let me repeat myself, look at that shine!

Would you guess how old this furniture is? It's looks just like new!

I was beyond impressed with this almost all natural cleaner (Meyers' ingredients are at least 98% naturally derived, according to their website) so I just had to share. I will certainly be using it more often. Already have on the sideboard we recently picked up from Craigslist! But that's a story for another day. 

I couldn't stop myself Saturday. I found myself scrubbing all of the kitchen cabinets with this mix too. I love that the house didn't reek of chemicals nor are surfaces we eat off of covered in anything toxic. 

What do you use for all natural cleaners?

White vinegar has so many amazing uses. I use it when washing towels and cleaning our hardwood floors too!

If you like this post please let me know by leaving a comment or liking my Facebook page. You can also follow along on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Let's stay in touch!