our home Archives - Two Twenty One

Home Office Details

March 7, 2013

Thanks for all your amazingly sweet comments yesterday about my home office makeover reveal. You guys are the bomb diggity.

Today I’m sharing some more details about the makeover and where I purchased everything. And you know how I like transparency, so I’m also sharing the approximate cost of the makeover. I’m going to give the prices of things I specifically purchased for the makeover.

Wall color: Voyage by Valspar… $30

Workstation: 6×6 Ikea Expedit shelving unit and Expedit desk… $200 + $50 = $250 (BUT it was technically free to me because I cashed out some credit card points I acquired through paying for our wedding expenses.)

White boxes and magazine files: Ikea Kassett… $55

Pink boxes: Hobby Lobby… $35

Bridal bouquet canvas: Canvas On Demand (Groupon)… $45

Shelves: Ikea EKBY JÄRPEN/ EKBY BJÄRNUM… $25

Clear Ball mason jelly jars: Goodwill… $12

Turquoise Ball mason jars: Yard sale and Goodwill

Bakers twine: eBay (18 spools)

Washi tape: Target

Vintage thread spools: Grandma

Buttons: JoAnn Fabric

Printer cart: Gift

Greeting card organizer: Gift via Amazon.com (read about it here)

Here’s the before and after of the printer cart. I used spray paint to spruce it up a bit.

Chair: Craigslist

Table: Goodwill… $9

Whale: Kohls

Pillow: Home Goods

Blanket: Handmade gift

Curtains: Target… $20

Gallery wall frames: Ikea (full details here)… ~$100

Katie Daisy print: Katie Daisy… $15

Sewing cabinet: Gift… but, the makeover cost around $40 (read about the makeover here)

Pink storage box: Kohls (read about the makeover here)

Apothecary jars: Micheal’s and Home Goods

Pink threads: thrift shop and grandma

Fabric covered faux nailhead trimmed memo board: Upcycled old cork board… $12 (read about the makeover here)

Pink vase: Gift

Personalized lucite tray: DIY project… $15 (read about it here)

Gold polka dot candle holder: Target

Small white bowl: Goodwill

File cabinet: Gift (read about the makeover here)

Calendar: Anne Taintor via Amazon.com… $13

TOTAL AMOUNT SPENT: $651 – $250 (gift card from credit card points) = $401

A room makeover for less than $500? Not too bad.

Who’s itching to go to Ikea now?
Any other questions?

28 Comments · Filed Under: home decor, home office, Ikea, makeover, our home ·

Home Office: Before

March 5, 2013

Tomorrow I’m sharing my home office makeover. You’re on pins and needles, right? Well, today I’m showing you the former states of the room.

When we moved into our house in July, 2009 the every room was painted this shade of beige. Here’s my office before we moved in. Blank slate in my opinion.

I decided to paint my office purple. My inspiration was a photograph I bought at an art fair the spring before we moved into our house. Looking back, I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m going to blame it on being a young, excited, new home owner.

The room remained in its purple state from July, 2009 until September, 2011. Throughout the months leading up to our June , 2011 wedding, the office became my wedding bunker. I stored all of our wedding related decorations and other materials in the office. After the wedding, I decided to purge and reorganize everything before I painted. That meant putting everything in the center of the room– even the contents of the closet.

Hoard, much? I had so much random crap in the room it was unreal. Yes, you are seeing baby toys. No, I don’t have a child you’re unaware of. I work with toddlers. So toddler toys are a must.

Why did I show you the above photo? I’m trying to keep it real. But notice how I didn’t watermark the photo. I’ll share it with you, but I’m not putting my name on that hot mess.

So I cleaned up the room, sold the computer desk and corner bookshelf, and donated the barely recognizable TV stand. Then I got to painting.

Speaking of painting, most of you know how hard it is to find a perfect gray. Oof. I brought home a few samples to try out on the wall. The one on the far left is Gravity by Valspar. Second to left is Voyage by Valspar. I went with Voyage because I thought Gravity was too light. I should have gone with Gravity. The temptation to repaint the room came over me but I was tired of painting so I accepted the color and moved on.

Voyage is OK, but in color tends to look more blueish gray than gray. Darn tricky grays. At least it’s better than the purple.

My sewing cabinet makeover was the next big thing to hit this room after the new coat of paint on the walls. All of those gray paint samples came in handy. I used one of the samples (Grey Porch by Valspar) for the accent color on the sewing cabinet.

My file cabinet also received a makeover in preparation for the room redo. Again, all of those gray paint samples came in handy. I used the Gravity sample to stencil the file cabinet. Paint samples, people. They’re your friends.

And a few weeks ago I finished my gallery wall. No paint samples were needed for this project.

Now that I’ve teased you with a few projects I hope you’re excited to come back tomorrow and see the room in its entirety.

Have you ever painted a room a color and later on thought “what was I thinking?”
Do you hoard paint samples so you can use them on future projects?
Plan on coming back tomorrow?

29 Comments · Filed Under: home office, makeover, our home ·

2013 Home Goals

January 8, 2013

I’m sharing my 2013 home goals today in order to hold myself accountable for getting stuff done around the house this year. It’s like those people who resolve to lose weight and tell you to slap the donut from their hand if you see them indulging. Seriously, I need to be held accountable. Slap the proverbial donut from my hand.

Now, onto the goals.

Goal #1: Paint the bathroom vanities.
I’m over the honey oak. The end.

green and blue bathroom

Goal #2: Revamp our master bedroom walk-in closet.
We want to move the current clothes racks higher and add some lower clothes racks and extra storage.

Goal #3: Finish the kitchen make-over.
I painted the kitchen in August. Now it’s time to paint the cabinets and island and add a back splash. I have some other ideas floating around in my head, but I can’t share them because I want it to be a surprise.

mint kitchen

Goal #4: Organize our pantry.
Seriously. It’s a hot mess.

Goal #5: Get the dining room section of our great room together.
This includes finishing the 7 piece dining set I’ve been working on for four, yes, FOUR months. I’m the worst at starting projects then going all ADD and moving on to another project. Maybe this should be one of my New Year’s resolutions– get a handle on my DIY Project ADD. I also need to move my late grandparents’ antique buffet into the dining room (it’s currently in the garage with the dining set) and decide if I want to paint it. Like the kitchen, I have some other ideas but they will remain a secret. Here’s a before photo of the dining set.

dining set before

Goal #6: Add shelving in the laundry/utility room.
Now that we have a new water softener, there’s an empty space in our laundry/utility room where the brine tank for our old water softener used to be.

Goal #7: Finish my home office/craft room.
Uh, I’ve been working on this room for well over a year now. I’m telling you, I have a severe case of DIY Project ADD. But seriously, I’ve been working on this room the past couple days. I’ll hopefully finish it by, hmmm, May. Here’s a before photo of the room. Please don’t judge me.

home office before

Goal #8: Add additional shelving in home office/craft room closet.
I need more storage for all of my sewing, craft, and home decor stuff.

Goal #9: Freshen up our master bedroom.
I don’t want to share my idea because I’d want it to be a surprise.

Goal #10: Paint the great room.
I would have done this a long time ago if I didn’t need scaffolding. With the vaulted ceilings, the walls are 12-13 feet in most places. Anyone know how expensive it is to rent scaffolding? I’m afraid to use a tall leaning ladder because I don’t want to risk damaging the walls.

So there you go. My lofty goals for 2013. I figure I have a year. But we’ll see how much I can get done. Feel free to tweet or Facebook message me and ask me if I’m doing work. Just don’t be annoying about it.

What are some of your home goals for this year?
Do you suffer from DIY Project ADD? We should start a support group.

26 Comments · Filed Under: DIY, our home ·

Living Room Picture Ledges {Picture Ledge}

January 7, 2013

I’ve said it before, I love the vaulted ceilings in our great room, but they plague me. It’s hard to find the right wall art or furniture to fill the large sections of wall. Well, score one more for me because I figured out another area of wall– the space above our love seat.

A few months back I saw some picture ledges in a magazine, and I was all “Oh, I can make those.” Then, on my last trip to Ikea I spotted these 45 inch, white Ribba picture ledges. For $15 each. Sold. Sometimes it’s easier to pony up the cash than to do-it-yourself. If I would have done this project I probably would have spent close to $30 on the wood and paint. And not to mention the 2-3 hours of work I’d have to put into them. There’s a little DIY cost-benefit analysis for ya.

ikea ribba picture ledge

Before we get into all the details let me show you what I was working with before. The before and after image made me laugh because it totally looks like one of those weight loss before and afters.

I was basically trying to work with what I had. But as you can see, it definitely wasn’t working. To say I love the ‘after’ is a definite given. The white ledges and frames and the colorful prints brighten up the space. Even the throw pillows I swapped in made this small area more fresh and less dated.

living room picture ledge before and after

Securing the ledges to the wall was pretty easy. Each ledge comes with three pre-drilled holes. We managed to get the middle screw into a stud, and we used drywall anchors to secure the other two screws. If you plan to install these ledges I highly recommend getting your middle screw into a stud. I don’t think the ledges would hold if they were installed with only drywall anchors and screws.

living room picture ledges

Putting up the picture ledges was a breeze. Styling the ledges was another thing. You wouldn’t think it’d take much time but it did. My need to create visual triangles can be time consuming. So pairing my perfectionist ways and my will to include only images that have some sort of meaning to us resulted in an hour or so of switching photos around.

ribba picture ledges 1

Here’s a breakdown of all the photos I used, in case you’re interested.

1. Sketch of Jack I created in Photoshop.
2. Reprint of watercolor painting I picked up in St. Martin while on a cruise we took in 2008.
3. Wedding print (where we got engaged and had our first look).
4. I made this custom monogram on the Wedding Chicks blog.
5. Black and white photo of a street sign– it’s where Brad and I met in Bloomington. Well, not on a street corner– Brad’s fraternity live out house was at the corner of 18th and Lincoln, so the house was always called ’18th and Lincoln’. Unfortunately, we don’t have a Pretty Woman love story.
6. Wedding print (again, where we got engaged and had our first look).
7. Wedding photo of our rings with Scrabble tiles that make out the word ‘love’. Awww.
8. Our wedding guest book tree. I flippin’ love that thing.
9. Black and white photo of Jack as a pup.

All of the frames are from Ikea.

white picture ledges

In the end, I spent less than $75 for the entire display. I haven’t figured out how to secure everything to the wall yet. But we’ve had this up for over a month and nothing has fallen off. I’ll get around to the securing part eventually. But if you happen to come over and sit on the love seat, you’ve been warned.

What do you think about the picture ledges?
Have you ever purchased a piece rather than doing it yourself?
Who watched the Downton Abbey premiere last night? Thoughts?

48 Comments · Filed Under: great room, home decor, Ikea, living room, our home ·

Card Catalog Styling

October 17, 2012

I did a little switcheroo in the living room area of our great room this past weekend. I gave our dinky bookcase, that housed our DVDs, the boot and replaced it with the card catalog, that was living happily in the dining room area of our great room. And so far I’m loving the bookcase eviction action plan.

I didn’t think to take a before picture, so I scoured my computer in an attempt to find a photo. Here’s the best one I found of the bookcase… lightly decorated for Christmas 2009, our first Christmas in this house. Doesn’t it look sad and alone? I’m happy to report that the bookcase is enjoying its new home in our closet, where it’s housing my shoes. (Can you spot the lazy dog?)

The size of the card catalog is perfect for this area of our living room. We have vaulted ceilings in our great room, so the card catalog provides good height. It’s going to be hard to take down this set up when I get around to redesigning the card catalog, but I’m already planning the card catalog’s replacement in this space.

Most of you know that I scored the card catalog for $85 from Craigslist (read about that here and here). I also purchased the blue chair from someone off Craigslist for $40 almost two years ago– a little pricey, but it’s a great chair and was barely used. Buying from old people has its benefits: they take care of their stuff. I stole the chevron pillow (purchased from Home Goods earlier this year) from our guest bedroom.

I adopted this adorable elephant from Home Goods yesterday. His name is Percy. He was free to me because I used a gift card, but he came with an $8 price tag in case you’re wondering. The Readers Digest book was a Goodwill Outlet find from yesterday ($.69). The pink and white book is a thrift store book I covered with fabric leftover from my fabric covered message board.

I’m calling the white wire basket the Goodwill Outlet score of the month. I came across 10 The Container Store elfa wire baskets (5 tall and 5 short) at the GW Outlet yesterday. Score. I brought home 5 tall and 3 short (two of the short baskets were too rusty for my liking). The tall baskets were about $1.75 each. My original plan was to use them in the garage, but I think I’ll put them to use in our master closet.

I filled one of the tall wire baskets with my great-grandmother’s quilt and the afghan my great aunt knitted for Brad and me. It’s the softest blanket ever. I have to fight to keep Jack off it when I use it.

Kroger keeps spoiling me with $.50 tulips. Seriously, who turns down half a dozen tulips for two quarters? I put these beauties in one of my thrifted hobnail milk glass vase. I may or may not have three of these same exact vases.

What do you think of the new set up?

Isn’t Percy adorable? Love that little guy.

Could you say no to fifty cent tulips?

I’m sharing this at the following parties: Home Stories A to Z, Tatertots and Jello, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Tidy Mom, Liz Marie Blog, Craftomaniac, The Shabby Nest, Positively Splendid, Whipperberry, Funky Junk Interiors, Classy Clutter, Today’s Creative Blog, Uncommon Designs, Live Laugh Rowe, Miss Mustard Seed, and Serenity Now.

33 Comments · Filed Under: bargain, card catalog, great room, home decor, living room, our home, thrifting ·

Our Kitchen (During)

August 8, 2012

Thanks for all your nice comments about our former green kitchen. I thought all of you were going to be like, “Are you color blind?! It looks like you threw Gak all over your kitchen walls!” But then I remembered that 99.9% of you are nice people.

I must also tell you that my mom called me on Monday and was all, “What color did you paint your kitchen?” And I was all, “Hello to you, too, mom.” Then I went on to tell her that she’d just have to wait until I post about it. That’s right, friends, I show no favoritism. Even to the woman who birthed me sans epidural. Hardcore blogger here.

You want to see the kitchen, don’t you?

How did I decide on this color? Well, I was minding my own business a couple months ago when the color came to me. Mint. It seemed like the perfect color for our kitchen. I love the color, and I love mints (mmm, Andes mints) so, basically, it was mint to be. Hah! I crack myself up.

I kept the color in my head and picked up some color swatches here and there. But when Sherwin Williams had their recent 40% off sale I took it as a sign. On the last day of the sale I bought two samples, went home, tried out one, knew it was the one, and went back to the store to buy a gallon. I went with the color Mint Condition.

While Brad was at work the following Friday, I surprised him by painting the kitchen. I believe his words were “holy cow” when we came through the door. It was a good “holy cow” though. Then he took me out to dinner. Good husband.

I think the kitchen is going to look amazing when we I paint the cabinets white. Now I just have to motivate myself to get going on that project.

Here’s some side by side before and after photos for your viewing pleasure.

What do you think about the new kitchen color?
Is it what you were expecting?
Are you a hardcore no-mom-I’m-not-spilling-the-beans blogger too?

40 Comments · Filed Under: kitchen, our home, paint ·

Guest Bathroom Reveal and Makeover {DIY}

July 16, 2012

Hey, friends! Get excited because I have a room reveal for you today– the restroom you would use if you were to ever visit me. Our guest bathroom!

I know. Exciting, right?

Let’s start from the beginning. When we bought our house in 2009 the entire house was painted a shade of tan. The guest bathroom was one of the first rooms I painted. I went with a turquoise blue color (Crystal Sea by Valspar). It photographs more blue than blue/green. I had a black and white shower curtain with matching, and oh-so-stunning, tissue holder. Two black and white photographs I took were thrown on the wall, and I called it a day… for nearly 3 years.

I’d been wanting to makeover the bathroom for a while, but I could never find a shower curtain that I loved. UNTIL, a fateful day at Goodwill Outlet. You may remember how I told you back in May in my Thrifting Tips and Tricks (Part Two) post that I scored an epic find while digging through those big blue bins.

That find? A shower curtain. When I first spotted it balled up in a bin, I thought, “Self, that’s a fun pattern. I wonder what that ball of fabric is.” Then I lifted it up and touched it. And I thought, “Self, this is quality fabric, and it’s a shower curtain. Nice.” I was curious and looked for a tag. I’m pretty sure my eyeballs bulged out of my pretty little head when I read the tag.

And I thought, “SELF! YOU FOUND A POTTERY BARN SHOWER CURTAIN AT GOODWILL OUTLET! GOODWILL OUTLET!” I shoved that shower curtain in my cart faster than you could say “Pottery Barn jacquard tile shower curtain for $.50″. Then I became paranoid, and I thought those around me would know about the treasure in my cart. But luckily no one tried to take it from me, but if they did, they would have had to pry it from my dead, lifeless fingers.

Note: Keep in mind that I found the shower curtain at Goodwill OUTLET. It’s where you pay by the pound. It’s $.79 per pound for textiles. I bought the shower curtain with other things, so I don’t know exactly how much I paid for it. $.50 just sounded like a good amount because I doubt it weighs more than a pound.

So I took the shower-curtain-find-of-the-decade as a sign, and the shower curtain became my inspiration for the bathroom restyle. I mean, who wouldn’t take that as a sign from the Goodwill Gods?

We removed the old towel rack. Seriously, could the previous owners have chosen an uglier towel rack? Don’t answer that. I’m sure there are uglier ones out there.

We put up a new one, which is actually a coat rack. Works for us our guests.

Then I hung my wedding anniversary gift from Brad above the towel rack. Did you know that traditionally your first wedding anniversary gift theme is paper? Brad got me this awesome Indiana watercolor reprint I’ve been coveting for months. I got Brad (and me (I’m a slick one, I tell ya)) tickets to Zac Brown Band. Art print = paper. Concert tickets = paper. We clearly rocked the first wedding anniversary gift tradition. Bring on year 2: cotton.

Then we added a shelf above the toilet. I added some canisters for cotton balls and Q-tips.

The Ode to Outkast print was created by yours truly. Sing it with me now! ”Ain’t nobody dope as me. I’m dressed so fresh and so clean. (So fresh and so clean clean.) Don’t you think I’m so sexy? I’m dressed so fresh and so clean. (So fresh and so clean clean.)” And because I love each and every one of you, I’m sharing the print on Thursday. Oh, stop it. I know I’m awesome.

Who wants to sit on a boring toilet? Not I. So I jazzed it up with some colorful and intriguing books and a blogger must– a blue Mason jar with pretty flowers.

That’s one beautiful commode if I do say so myself.

If you’re a faithful reader you’ve already seen these photos in my fabric covered book post from last week. High five, faithful readers.

Eventually, I’d like to paint the vanity. The honey oak just doesn’t do anything for me. The flooring will remain vinyl faux tile. We’re in a recession, people. So please don’t suggest that we change that. Because it’s not happening.

Click here for the full details on this restyle, like how much cheddar we dropped, and where we purchased everything. Transparency: it’s a good thing.

Click here to get the So Fresh, So Clean printable!

Read how I stock our guest bathroom here!

Tomorrow I’m announcing some crazy ridiculous awesome news! Am I pregnant? Did I make out with Channing Tatum this past weekend? Are Cousin Oprah and I actually giving away cars? You’ll just have to come back tomorrow to find out.

What are your thoughts on the makeover?

Have you ever found something while thrifting that you almost peed yourself you were so excited?

Is Outkast’s “So Fresh, So Clean” stuck in your head now? Don’t worry. You’re not alone.

I’m sharing this at the following parties: Home Stories A to Z, Tatertots and Jello, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Liz Marie Blog, Craftomaniac, The Shabby Nest, Positively Splendid, Whipperberry, Serenity Now, Thrifty Decor Chick, Uncommon Designs, and How to Nest for Less.

51 Comments · Filed Under: DIY, guest bathroom, makeover, our home ·

Knock-Knock.

April 6, 2012

Remember last week when I told you guys how I want to paint our 1995 maroon front door so bad it hurts? Well, I’ve been playing around with some color combos in Photoshop, and I want your opinions.

We live in one of those awesome cookie cutter neighborhoods, and I’m tired of our house looking like every other house in our hood. So I want to paint our front door and shutters.

Lets start with the “before” shall we? Ooh, look at all that maroon goodness.

I really want the door to be the focal point of the house. Also, I hate the matchy-matchiness of painting the shutters and the door the same color.

Option One is to paint the door blue and the shutters and window thing beside the door black.

Option Two is to paint the door teal and the shutters and window thing beside the door black.

Brad accused me of being goth when I showed him the pictures with the black shutters. So in case you’re thinking the same thing here’s two non-black shutter options.

I think Options 3 and 4 are bor-ing. I don’t like how the shutters blend in with the house.

Option 5 is more of a rainbow smorgasbord look.

And just to let you know, I’m only painting the shutters, door, and the window thing beside the door. So if you suggest painting the garage door or more, I expect you to help me paint.

Also, almost all of our neighbors have navy shutters so that’s out of the question.

What do you think?
Do you have a different suggestion?

Happy Easter!

29 Comments · Filed Under: exterior, our home, paint ·

Our Boring Master Bathroom

March 12, 2012

Hey friends! I hope you had a delightful weekend. We did grown-up homeowner things like buying and installing new toilets, cleaning, and laundry. The weather was spectacular so I got in some spray painting too.

Today I decided to share our master bathroom with you. I figure you’re probably getting tired of seeing photos of just our entryway. Our master bathroom has perplexed me since we moved in almost 3 years ago. We have a double vanity, shower stall, and a soaking tub. And then there’s the wonky space. It’s that random thing to the right of the soaking tub. When we moved in I didn’t quite know what to do with it so I added plants and a basket with towels.

Now, imagine the plants dead and no longer there. I tried my hardest to save those clearance Peace Lilies, but I managed to kill them. Rest in peace, Peace Lilies. Anyway, imagine a bunch of crap on the wonky space now (basket with towels, makeup bag, nail polish, jewelry holder). I would have taken a photo but I feared that some of you would disown me.

After pondering about the wonky space for some time it dawned on me: we should build a bookshelf! Yes, yes, a bookshelf to take up some of that random space! So I took a photo of our bathroom totally stripped down.

And I edited it in Photoshop and came up with this.

It’s clearly not 100% proportional, and I probably won’t put books on the bookshelf, but you get my gist. The wonky space is 45 inches deep, so I want to add a bookshelf that would be about one foot deep. It will have two or three shelves and a space at the bottom with doors for extra storage. I think I want crown moulding on the top, and the doors to be bead board. I’d like to add a one inch thick piece of wood on top of the wonky space too. Then I would put my jewelry holder and some other random things on the slab of white painted wood. For the wall, I figure I would do a small gallery wall. And I’ll add some fun curtains to the window.

Now, I just have to talk Brad into helping me build a bookshelf. Neither of us have built anything like a bookshelf. I built a wooden puzzle in eighth grade shop class, but that’s about it.

Any suggestions on building a bookshelf? What kind of wood should we use?

What do you think about my master plan for our master bathroom?

Gallery wall or no gallery wall?

Would you add or change anything? Seriously, be honest.

18 Comments · Filed Under: bathroom, our home ·

Why I Hope No One Ever Google Maps Our Address

February 10, 2012

You wanna know why? Because the “street view” looks like this.

Doesn’t it scream “hoarders live here!”? Seriously, all that’s missing is a car on blocks in the driveway and a bunch of rusty tricycles in the yard. Look at those weeds growing in front of the garage door!

I get nervous that someone (friends, family, an Etsy buyer!) will type in our address to see what our house looks like. (Yes, these are the crazy things I think about.) And to their horror they see the above image and think to themselves, “Oh. My. Goodness. I need to call ‘Hoarding: Buried Alive’ so I can get Chelsea and Brad some help” or “Uhhh, I bought a wreath from this place?” or “Uhhh, I bought an ugly Christmas sweater from this place? Hmmm, kinda makes sense.”

So I’m going to petition Google to drive their little Google Maps car down our street this summer. That way, our house will look like this instead of that.

What does your house look like on Google Map’s street view?

What would you think of me if you saw that first photo? Be honest. I can take it.

In closing, here is a photo I snapped of Jack with my phone on our way home from his “Morning of Beauty” on Wednesday. He’s saying, “You’re such a big meanie, mom. You know I hate smelling good and having trimmed nails.”