Something for the Road

Basement Transformation – Merry Christmas to Me

Mike and I got a new TV for Christmas.  We are new to the flat screen thing.  We were very excited.  A couple of months ago we bought a great sectional which is taking up too much space upstairs because we were waiting for a nice TV to move it downstairs and make a real family room.  Hooray!  I was so excited that while the kids all enjoyed the new WiiU we gave them, I snuck down to the basement to paint.  On Christmas.  I have issues.

Here is what the basement looked like when we bought the house.  Pink faux finish and wired to be a movie room.

As usual, I got a little anxious, but I stopped priming long enough to take a photo.  Notice the lovely TV.  This one was a hand-me-down from a friend.  When she gave it to us, it would periodically go fuzzy and we would hit it and then it would work fine.  Nora grew up hitting a TV whenever it went fuzzy.  Eventually we hired a repairman and it has worked wonderfully every since.  I won’t miss it, though.

 

Benjamin Moore’s Winds Breath is exactly what we needed.  So much better.  And our little interior designer has taped off the position of the new TV.

It’s not my final dream room, but much better!  Now I may be able to tolerate watching TV downstairs with the family.  The pink faux finish was just too much for me.  After 4 1/2 years in this house, the faux finish is all gone.  Hooray for Christmas and time and paint!

Repurposed: Hope Chest

My parents bought this chest for me when I got my first job and was furnishing an apartment in Portland.
It has been painted a couple of times, but it is a bit bulky and deep and I just didn’t know quite what to do with it.

So, an idea started forming . . . .

I removed all of the hardware.

Then started taking off the front and all of the “runners.”

Here it is stripped down . . .Removing the front was a lot easier than I thought, but I’m starting to wonder what I’ve gotten myself into.  Here it sat for 2 years.

At Christmas, I decided to finish it and free up some space in the garage.  The front became the shelf.  It still had runners on it, so I just needed to drill some holes and screw it on.  Now it just needs a little trim and a coat of paint.

Paint is Benjamin Moore Marscapone and yellow lockers were found at the Farm Chicks show a couple of years ago.  It is not a premium piece of furniture, but it will serve its purpose and get me by.  A certain satisfaction comes from re-using a piece I thought had lost it’s value.

My New Office

Piping and Pleats is back in full swing  - busy, which is good, and I have moved from the garage into the house.  Just in the nick of time, because it has been a very HOT summer in Spokane.

It has been so nice to be where it is cool and be more accessible to the kids.  LOVE my office.  Mike is now downstairs and it has saved us this summer.

Desk Chair Made New

This chair was left behind and has been sitting in my garage without a base.

I found this one at a thrift store for $10 and the base configuration matched perfectly.

Spiderman put it together for me.  Lucky me.

Now it just needs a cover.  I can do that.

This Joel Dewberry was the perfect ray of sunshine in my family room.  Love it!

A Big Hole for a Good Purpose

See those lines on the bed?  Those are the specs for our new Egress Window.  We are finally moving Mike downstairs and me out of the basement.  Hurray!

Dad is the skilled person running the excavator.  He seemed to like it.

It’s a little bit of a war zone at our house right now, but this does make me happy.  We hired someone to put the window and the well in, but thanks to dad we were able to do the digging and Mike will do the finish work inside.

It’s a thing of beauty, for sure.

Project: African Wallhanging

I got this wool wall-hanging the first time I went to Africa, specifically Lesotho, over 20 years ago.  It has hung in our apartments and homes over the years, on a curtain rod mounted on the wall.  When we moved the last couple of times, I left it folded in our closet, not knowing quite how to incorporate it.  But, I have felt the need to bring it out recently, and although I love my silhouettes, I need to make one for Naso, and I’m leaning toward a more neutral palette.

In an effort to modernize it a bit, I bought a heavy duty stretcher frame from Dick Blick and went to work.

So mom came over and we stapled and pulled and stapled and pulled and stretched.

Now I just need a new, more neutral sofa slipcover – I’m thinking natural, coarse linen.

Project: Nightstand

We bought this night stand the 2nd year we were married at the DownEast Home Outlet in Orem, Utah.
Functional, but not pretty and doesn’t go with my decor anymore.

Fresh with a little help from Rustoleum Furniture Transformations. (I used the leftover from this project)

Fancy knobs from World Market.

Much better with the decor.  I like it, and it was pretty painless.

Project: Work Desk

Found this great table in Dad’s shop and brought it home.  I loved the rough wood top and metal legs.

 

A little sanding, spray paint and varnish and it’s perfect.

Project: Food Storage Room

We have been wanting to make this room our food storage room for a while.  And, I’m checking things off my list, so this seemed to be within my control over Christmas Break.  Keep in mind there was a wallpaper border there also, but I got so anxious to get it off my walls, that I forgot to take a picture.

After realizing that there was more to it than just moving the food, my very supportive husband got on board and we decided to do it right – meaning that we have no intention of moving that food again!

The things that make me excited after 4 coats of wall paint and 2 coats of floor paint.

 

Moving Day was New Year’s Day.  I can’t think of a better way to start the new year.  Everyone helped.

Doesn’t it just want to make your heart sing?  Mine did!

Project: Kitchen Backsplash

Here is our kitchen when we bought the house 2 1/2 years ago.  I really do like my kitchen. But it was blah.

A few months ago, I found the perfect kitchen backsplash at Costco. 
Well, you can’t just wait and think about something when you see it at Costco.   I know, my “family” is falling apart.

I got a little anxious to remove the old tile.  I told Mike that his participation would be minimal.

Oops.  He’s a really good guy.

This was not going how I envisioned it.

But, Mike does have a real talent with drywall.

Now it’s ready for me to put my mark on it.

Before Grout.  I did this.

And this . . . . .

Lighter and Brighter.  This makes me happy.

My “family” isn’t falling apart anymore.  And a quick update with hammered gun metal spray paint was just the thing.