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 It was huge, ugly, and outdated.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!!! 

 

 

 

 



Dining room chairs

I had this idea in my mind that I was going to find 8 beautiful upholstered dining room chairs for cheap at Homegoods. I wasn't worried because I've have seen them a million times when I would go shopping. Of course when I actually go to purchase these chairs...they have none. I went to Homegoods a few days ago and found 2 beautiful dining room chairs.

 

 

 

 

I got so excited and asked if they had any in the back...they said no. So I called EVERY Homegoods and Marshalls on Long Island and sadly...they did not have the chairs. My idea went out the window.

 

So I figured...since I making my dining room table I could just purchase upholstered chairs and then add the nail heads. I went on Overstock.com and found a perfect chair to work with and 8 chairs cost me $574.00.

 

 

 

I will add my own nail heads to dress them up.

 

 



Bed for the Master Bedroom

It takes me forever to make a decision when it comes to purchasing furniture because I get bored of things quickly. I know that I wanted a dramatic headboard but I couldn't decide between a tufted headboard or a headboard with nail heads. I also couldn't decide on color. I save a lot of pictures on Pinterest and when I referred back to it I noticed that all the pictures I had pinned had one thing in common: neutral colors and white or cream headboards.

 

I always saw this picture on Pinterest and loved the bed (below thenester.com), I researched it and found it that it was purchased from Wayfair.

 

 

I found it on wayfair an purchased it in white

 

The bed cost $574 which included the frame and headboard. It is a white velvet with silver nail heads.

 

I researched is a little further and found the same bed for $1249.00 on Horchow.com

 

 

 

I am happy with the price...I just hope I am happy with the bed when it comes!



My obsession with recess lighting

I am not an interior designer but I do know that lighting can make or break a room. I love recess lighting which is why we bought 47 high hats for our house. We want to have the brightest house on the block!! The only high hat cans in our house were in the kitchen, downstairs bathroom, and 4 in the living room. When we are finished they will be EVERYWHERE!

 

I love the lighting in this picture

 

We started putting the high hats in our bedroom and I can already see a dramatic difference.

 

 

We also got to the upstairs hallway and the office. We only have one more room upstairs and then we are going to start the downstairs.

 

 

Finally...LIGHT!

 

We need to patch up a lot of holes in the ceiling, spackle, paint...SO MUCH WORK TO DO!!!!!!

 



Archway Progress

When we bought the house there was an archway which leads into the living room. It is very pretty but just not my style. Also the archway was maybe 6ft, I don't want any of my tall friends and family to be ducking under it.

 

 

 

 

My original plans were to get rid of the whole wall, than we realized that the wall was made of stone (read more about that here)

 

Option 2: Get rid of the arch and bring it up to the ceiling.

 

 

I like it so much better already. It makes the ceilings look taller and from the dining room you will be able to see the TV which is going over the fireplace ( Very Important )

 

That wall is made of stone so we hired one of my fathers friends to come over and chisel it out stone by stone. Best $200 we spent so far.

 

My father also had to put two junction boxes on either side of the entry way because there were wires running across it. A lot of work but luckily he does it for free. :)

 

 

 

We have an appointment with the Jetmore Fire Places on Monday. Hopefully we can start that project and then the floors are next!



DIY Dining Room Table

Since furniture shopping is harder than I thought it would be I decided that I wanted to build our dining room table. I do not want to spend $3,000 on a dining room table that I might not like in 2 years.

 

I have seen a lot of DIY on Pinterest and I think it would be fun if I tried to make my own table.

 

I found this table I loved on Houzz in this picture

 

 

I love this table and I did a little research and found out it is from Restoration Hardware and goes for $2395-3895. That is not including the chairs!

 

 

 

 

I did some more research and seen tables that could resemble this one and I can build it myself for $125.00. That sounds amazing to me!!

 

 This table is from shanty-2-chic

 

 

This table is also from Shanty 2 Chic and she has the directions on her Blog. Isn't it AMAZING??!!!

 

I cant wait to start this project!!!

 

 

 



Oh Home Goods how I love you.

I finally got Sebastian to go to Home Goods with me, and we did some damage!

 

 

We bought pots and pans, silverware, plates, bowls, glasses, draw organizers, and I snuck in some gorgeous candelabras.

 

 

 

I cant wait to display these gorgeous babies!

 

When we got home we unloaded everything because we were so excited that we actually bought some things to put in our cabinets lol

 

 

 

I would of never thought I would be so excited about pots and pans lol

 

 

 

The Halloween decorations are amazing at Home Goods! I loved this pumpkin!!

 

"Keep Calm and Haunt On"



Furniture Shopping

This was my "IM SO EXCITED IM FURNITURE SHOPPING" face

 

 

 

I thought that furniture shopping was going to be fun...but it is actually hard work! There are so many furniture stores that all carry the same pieces for all different prices and it gets very overwhelming. Some furniture is so gross...like this gaudy couch I took a rest on during our furniture hunt lol ( it has tassels!)

 

 

 

 

I am not into "matchy matchy" so I do not want any furniture sets. I need furniture for every room but I am going slowly and only doing one room at a time. I am starting with the living room. I found a couch I liked from a no name brand store in our town. Then we went to Jennifer Convertibles and saw this couch and we both liked it. I realized it was the couch I had found in the No name store so that is the one I went with.

 

 

This is the couch we bought

 

 

and I changed the fabric to a micro suede called Railway Hemp, which is the light tan color in this photo.

 

 

I am so excited for this couch to come. It should be arriving in 4-6 weeks, I hope the floors are done by then!!!