The Color My World Challenge-Week 2- DIY Sink Stand And Laundry Rules Sign

Well we've been busy bee's over here trying to figure out the plan for the laundry room.  This week we're focusing on decor in our colors, either DIYing or buying said decor.  Unfortunately I won't be able to show you the decor in the room since it still needs to be painted.

Anyway,  I mentioned that we are putting a sink on the left wall.  Here's a picture of it.

We got it off of Craigslist and had it reglazed a while back.  It's pretty large, about 42 inches wide, and it doesn't have a base to sit on. We've searched high and low for something for it, but Craigslist and thrift stores around town yielded a big fat zero.   So my clever husband went to a salvage store and bought some legs, a door, and some trim and made what I'm calling a franken-table.

Part of the inset area will be cut out to accommodate the sink.  My husband starting sanding it and soon realized that parts of it would need to be stripped.  Major pain in the arse, but gotta do it.  After stripping we painted it BM White Dove.  So here's the little franken-table in all her glory.  I'm still debating, but I'm probably going to put a skirt on it.

The next project was making a laundry rules sign.  I have a few laundry pet peeves that I felt needed to be put in writing so that they can promptly be ignored .  We bought a piece of poplar wood at Lowes to make it.  Amazingly enough, with all the destruction/construction going on around here I couldn't find a spare piece for my sign.  I already had the paint which is being used in the room.  I primed the wood and then painted it BM Black.  I never realized how many variations of the color black there are.  I don't know why I was surprised by this, but for an indecisive person like myself it was yet another potentially stressful moment.  So I just did the simplest thing and went for straight black.

Then there was the matter of how I was going to do the lettering.  I have a silhouette machine that I've never used which is packed away somewhere, so that wasn't an option.  I found some vinyl letters that I planned to paint over but then realized they were permanent, another option out the window.  When it came right down to it I just decided to use a ruler and my best penmanship while crossing my fingers.  I wrote everything out with a white colored pencil and had originally planned on painting the letters.  Big mistake.  My hand was way to shaky, so luckily I had the foresight to also buy a paint pen.  Much easier to use.  Here's the end result.

Is is perfect, no, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  I plan on putting it over the window in the laundry room.  

I also bought these fabric containers, but I'm not sure if I'm going to use them or not.   We'll see.

We started another project which I didn't have time to paint.  My husband made a DIY laundry drying rack. I'm hoping to get that painted this week and post about it.  It was a crazy weekend so I think I need a little r & r.  Next week is the paint portion of the challenge and I have a big project ahead...sigh.

Anyway, make sure to check out everyone else who's participating in the challenge.

Ange - The Blooming Hydrangea
Anna - A Newfound Treasure
Carmel - Our 5th House
Cassie - Primitive and Proper
Jadyn - Dutch.British.Love
Jessamie - Bird and Branch Redesign
Julia - Black Tag Diaries
Julia - Pawley's Island Posh
Kristy - Hyphen Interiors
Lisa - Shine Your Light
Lisa - Trapped in North Jersey
Maury - Life on Mars
Shaunna - Perfectly Imperfect
Shelley - Crazy Wonderful
Suzy - Saved by Suzy
Tiffany - Living Savvy
Vashti & Jamie - Like me Some...

The Color My World Challenge-Week 1

When Suzy invited me to join the Color My World Challenge I was thrilled.  That was quickly followed by a panic attack.  It's been a long time since I've finished anything, and I'm so indecisive (which is probably why I haven't been able to finish anything- Ha!).  I figured, however, that this is the perfect push that I've been needing.  Or, it could end in utter disaster.  Only time will tell.

So the challenge involves picking a color that you haven't used in your home design that you'd like to try out.  Everyone is picking these amazing colors, but not me.  I'm going with black and white.  Why you ask?  Two reasons.  I've never used it before and I do like me a black and white room.  And, when I first learned of the whole "ghost" debacle (which has been resolved...I think)  we were on our way to pick out tile for our laundry room.  I really couldn't focus at the time and deferred to my husband (something I never do) on picking the tile.  He decided on a black  porcelain tile.  At the time I really didn't care, then I was concerned about the choice, and now I've made peace with his decision.  Black it is.  I know a lot of people are really trying to challenge themselves with their color choices, but I need baby steps people.  This is my first ever challenge and I'm just hoping to not look like a fool.

So,  it's week one.  First I'll show you the current state of my laundry room, and yes, it's rough.

The room is about 8' X 8'.  We're putting the washing machine and dryer on the right wall and a sink on the left.  In addition I'd like to have a countertop over the washing machine and dryer, maybe a cabinet or shelves, a drying rack, and the list goes on.  I don't know if all that's going to get done for this challenge but I'm sure gonna try.  

Here are my inspiration pictures.  Not all laundry rooms, but you get the idea.

contemporary laundry room design by other metros interior designer Atmosphere Interior Design Inc.

laundry room design by orange county design-build Spinnaker Development

via google (source unknown)

via Crosby Street Hotel

via House and Home

This last picture is actually blue, but it looks black to my eyes so I'm using it!

So now it's the mad dash to try to figure out what else I'm going to do with my colors in the room besides a black floor.  I'm having a serenity now moment so I gotta go.  Please do check out the other lovely ladies taking part in this challenge.  I know I'm excited to see what colors and vision everyone has for their rooms.  

Ange - The Blooming Hydrangea

Anna - A Newfound Treasure

Carmel - Our 5th House

Cassie - Primitive and Proper

Jadyn - Dutch.British.Love

Jessamie - Bird and Branch Redesign

Julia - Black Tag Diaries

Julia - Pawley's Island Posh

Kristy - Hyphen Interiors

Lisa - Shine Your Light

Lisa - Trapped in North Jersey

Shaunna - Perfectly Imperfect

Shelley - Crazy Wonderful

Suzy - Saved by Suzy

Tiffany - Living Savvy

Vashti & Jamie - Like me Some...

Maury - Life on Mars

Starting On The Master Bedroom...Again

So when we first purchased the house we had a different sucky contractor who tore our house apart with wild abandon and then kind of did nothing but waste our money.  The master/bath was the first thing that was started.  Once he was fired we kind of moved our focus to the kitchen addition since it really was the biggest thing we were doing to the house.  Now that the kitchen is in deathstar mode (operational but not finished) and we have a toilet and a place to hang out we've shifted our focus back to the master (and the laundry room and my daughter's bathroom and the porch.  Maybe focused is not the appropriate word).  

So as a little reminder, our master started off as a smallish room

Yes the lighting is bad.  What can I say, photography is not my forte.  Then we knocked down the wall between this and the room to the left of it.

This half will actually be our bedroom and the other half the sitting area.  We'll have pocket doors in between in case one of us wants to watch television.  This is our compromise.  I hate to fall asleep with the tv on, my husband loves it.

So here's what the rooms look like today.

This is the master bedroom now and that is going to be my closet.  

This is the closet in my last house.  So now we have a bigger house, yet my closet has shrunk.  Oh well.

And this is the sitting area.  The room has shrunk a bit from the original so that we could enlarge the bathroom which was miniscule.  

So, can you say Kaboom!  You really have to see it in person to appreciate what a nightmare it is.  We're doing baseboards and trim work in the room now.  That and paint will make a huge difference.  Now I just need to figure out how to stuff all my clothes which I don't fit, shoes, and purses into that closet.  I have a feeling The Goodwill is going to love me.

The TV (Eyesore) Placement Solution

Well all is now right with the world.  We've taken the tv off the wall, which was in itself a huge improvement, and moved it to the left wall.  The room isn't nearly finished and the furniture probably isn't staying and it's not neat, but it is what it is.   Actually it doesn't look too bad in the pictures because I hid all the toys and crap on the other side of the room that you can't see.

This is the view from the couch.  You can see where the apparatus was and how high the tv was placed.  No bueno.  Ignore the stickers that we have yet to take off of the new windows.

And here's how it looks with the tv on the left wall.  The piece of furniture we have it on is a bench we had in another room, but it works for now.  The chair and nesting tables used to be in our bedroom and may return at some point.  We have a sectional that we separated so one part is facing the fireplace and the other is on the right wall facing the tv.  That takes care of the two focal points.   Eventually I'll get my husband to take that thing off the fireplace wall and we'll put up a mirror or a piece of art.  Anything would be better really.  So, not perfect, but a hell of a lot better.  At least we won't be suffering from neck injuries while trying to view the tv;)

A Week Off And I Missed My Blogiversary

I've been MIA lately since my in-laws were in town.  I decided to take a little break from all things that plug in and just enjoy the weather and the company.  That and I was obsessively reading The Hunger Games series.  Anyone out there read it?  I finally succumbed as I needed something to occupy me while I was waiting for my car to get fixed.  I have to say that overall I really enjoyed it.  There were parts that lagged, but that didn't stop me from giving everyone I know the Heisman until I finished it.

So since then I've been trying to catch up on my favorite blog reads.  I also realized that I missed my blogiversary.  I can't believe I've been doing this a year and still don't have a finished room...exasperated sigh.  I have to say though that despite my being a sucky blogger, I've really enjoyed becoming a part of this whole other world that I didn't know existed until last year.  "Meeting" new people and reading about their amazing talents had been so much fun for me.  I think I've learned a thing or two along the way which is  a huge bonus.  

Anyway, before I get too mushy, things are moving along in the house. The upstairs laundry room and bathroom have walls which is a plus.  And this arrived last week.

This is the vanity that's going in my daughter's bathroom.  Lucky girl right?  We got it for a great price so I'm pretty happy.  The tile work is starting this week.  I have a feeling it won't be done until next week though since some things need to be prepped first.  

Lots of work starting this week which is music to my ears.  The dining room floor has been refinished and they're starting on the formal living room this week.  Our master bedroom is getting some carpentry work done, and the outside porch is going to be worked on.  All these things = getting us very close to moving out of the mouse palace and into the house.  It really can't come soon enough.  Three people and a cat cannot live together for an extended period of time in a small room without wanting to kill each other at least once a day.  Actually we've done quite well together, but enough is enough.  I'm hoping for some really good progress to report in the next few days.

Oh, and I figured out the tv placement, but left my camera in my car and am way too lazy to go get it so it will have to wait for another day.  Thanks for all the input.  It really does help/validate my concerns.

The TV (Eyesore) Placement Dilemma

We have a little, let's just say, discussion going on about where the television should go in the family room.  The room isn't big.  It's about 15' X 15' give or take.  Not a lot of options for furniture and such, so originally we decided to put the TV over the fireplace.  This can be a really nice look when it's done right.

traditional family room design by san francisco kitchen and bath Julie Williams Design

traditional family room design by toronto interior designer c3d design

Let's just say that this is not what ours is looking like.  My husband bought this apparatus to hang it on the wall and paid someone to help him put the TV up.  The problem is, it looks ridiculous.  It's making the fireplace mantle, which is already on the small size, look lilliputian.  And it's hung a little too high so I feel like I'm straining my neck looking up at it.  It's like being in the movie theater in the very front row...not comfortable.  Our other option is to  put the TV on a stand on the wall to the left of the fireplace, kind of like they did in this picture.

traditional dining room design by philadelphia interior designer Shoshana Gosselin

Here's the room again (from a while back).   That's the wall I'm thinking of putting the TV on.  

 I'm not even going to show you what it looks like right now.  Picture a sectional that is 10 times too big for the room (our temporary solution until we can buy a new more size appropriate sofa) and a ridiculously oversize TV.  It's like a giant's furniture in a hobbit's room.

I would love this set up, but not going to happen.

eclectic living room design by new york James Wagman Architect, LLC

So what are your thoughts on TV placement?  Above a fireplace, off to the side on the same wall, different wall altogether?  Some people think it's sacrilege to put it above a fireplace.  I personally don't mind it, but it's looking really awful in our room:(  

The Dining Room Gets Some Attention

First off, thanks to everyone for their concern, humor, and advice concerning our broom hullabaloo.  We've decided that it's way too big of a coincidence that so many people on the internet were sharing similar instances of their brooms standing up for ours to be anything different.  My husband must have forgotten that the broom was in the room and he must have went to move it and thought he leaned it against something and then left, not realizing that the broom was standing up.  That's our story and we're sticking to it.  I've since been in the house without any weird feelings and I think I'm over it.  I'll let you know if anything else happens, but I really don't think it will (thank God!).  

I've been feeling a bit under the weather and haven't felt up to posting anything lately, but there has been some minor progress.  The dining room is finally getting a little love.  This room has been used for everything but dining.  It started out as our storage room, then it was home to all things carpentry and now we're finally starting to clean it up a bit.  Here's where it started.  I can't believe this is the only picture I have of the dining room when we bought the house, but it's the only one I could find.

Here's its current state...still before shots.  The only thing that's been done so far is some plaster repairs.

Looking into formal living room

Looking into kitchen.  That door used to be a window.

Looking into butler's pantry across hall

Here's some living room inspiration pics for the room.

Source: thebookofsecrets.tumblr.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

Source: bonesteeltrouthall.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

Source: madebygirl.blogspot.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

I'd like to do something similar to these rooms.  We have the chair rail and I'd like to do some picture molding underneath it.  Ideally I want to do grasscloth above the chair rail, but we're probably going to paint everything for now until we can save up for it. 

We bought a ceiling medallion and a new chandelier which is a huge improvement from the one that came with the house.  It wasn't original and we just weren't feeling it.  The one we bought is an antique and a little more appropriate for the room.  It also goes well with the living room chandelier that came with the house.  That one we're keeping.  

As for dining, we bought a dining room table at a thrift store that needed a little work.  We don't have chairs yet though.  I've been looking at thrift stores and Craigslist, but haven't found anything yet.  I really don't want to buy them new.  Chairs can be so expensive!  

Here' the fabric that I want for the room.  

via Designer Fabrics Online

The fabric looks kind of purple in this picture, but it's a gray background.  I think it will go well with the painting that will be going over the fireplace.  Here it is in our last house.

It's kind of hard to see, but that's the best picture I have of it.  

For now we're painting everything BM White Dove and we're having the floors refinished this week which will be a huge improvement. I guess I'd better keep looking for chairs!