Long over due

So, It has been a while since I lasted posted to my blog. Whoops! Life has gotten in the way. I took pictures of every project I did so that I could upload them to the blog and just never found the time to upload them. BUT, I am going to start posting all of my projects and work on my blog from now on.


Since October we have:

1. Finished our fireplace
2. Had the whole house freshly painted
3. Built & installed our walk in closet
4. Installed our living room hardwood floor
5. Built our own dining room table
6. Built a paneled wall in our hallway
7. Got a puppy (Leo)
8. Hosted Christmas Eve
9. Added an attic entrance and created storage
10. Stenciled my bedroom wall
11. Refinished our banisters and spindles

I will stop listing our projects and just show you.

Fireplace Inspiration

Our fireplace is finally being worked on and is in the process of being finished! YAY! I am so happy with how the fireplace is coming out. Right now it looks like this:

 

 

 

We are putting our TV over the fireplace, I am not sure of the over mantel yet. We held the TV up to get a glimpse of what it will look like. This picture was taken before we closed the wall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fireplace Update

The fireplace has been the main project of the house. It was huge, ugly, and outdated. I really wanted to update it and was extremely excited to start ripping it apart.

 

Read more about that here:Fireplace Reno

 

This is what the Fireplace looked like before ripping it apart:

 

It doesn't look that bad, but it was not up to code, the inside was cracked and the hearth was HUMUNGOUS!

 

 

We ripped it apart until it was just a hole in the wall:

 

 

 

We want a gas log fireplace so we has a masonry come in and build us a brick insert:

 

 

 It then looked like this:

 

 

We finally have closed the wall and the fireplace is starting to take form! Our fireplace mantel has arrived and we leaned it against the wall for the picture...I am so excited!!!

 

 

 I LOVE IT!!!

 

Walk in closet progress

I got a quote for our walk in closet...$3000.00! Insane!! I decided I was going to draw my own closet and build it myself. I drew it up and priced it out and it ended being sooooo much cheaper. I am waiting for the last coat of spackle and it is ready to paint!!!

 

 

Yay!! I cant wait to put start building my closet!

 

Here are the plans I drew:

 



Opening up the Archway

We finally removed all the stone in our archway and placed the wires in 2 separate junction boxes. It looks great!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wall is also closed in the living room. ( We opened it and realized it was stone! See here)

 

We sheet rocked and now it is ready for spackle

 



Dining Room Chandelier

I was so nervous to purchase a chandelier online but I couldn't not find anything I liked in the stores so it was becoming my only option. I went on Overstock.com and searched for a chandelier that was under $300.00. I found this 6 Light Curved Iron and Crystal Chandelier which I instantly was attracted to.

I also loved the fact that you don't have to use the lamp shades and you get a completely different look.

The chandelier came super fast, took about a week to get it. It comes in all separate parts so you do need to put it together but you don't have to be handy to do it. I put it together with my father which took about an hour. Some of reviews said it took people 3 hours to put it together, the holes didn't match up, and they were missing parts. I didn't have any of these problems.

This is what it looked like when we put it together, I just started to hang the crystals.

I put the crystals on and plopped the lamp shades on and made my father hang it from the electrical wire just to get a feel of what it will look like. The chandelier is not hung properly, the plastic is still on the shades ( and they are crooked) but I am so so happy with this purchase!!!

I love this chandelier and can't wait to see what it will look like when it is lit and when I actually have dining room furniture.

Building our own Walk In Closet

It is really important for us to have a functional walk in closet. We have one now and we completely outgrew it. I have clothes spilling out of baskets and you can barely see the floor.

 

I had ClosetFactory come over and price out a closet for us. She drew up the entire closet and I was so excited about it! She did a beautiful job but when she told me the price...I was taken back.

 

 

The closet that she drew up for me was $3,347.00. Then she took off a discount for us which came to $3047.00. This is without crown molding and fancy hardware, this was just for a normal standard closet.

 

I am convinced I can do my own closet for $1000.00 or less.

 

These are just book shelves from IKEA with hanging bars attached.

 

And how cute is this organization idea!

 

 

I am off to IKEA now...I am excited to design my own closet and save money!!!