Last weekend we hung around, literally. We finally hung the mirror in the basement bathroom.
I don’t know what took us so long, it wasn’t a difficult task. But now, I want to paint the mirror. Of course, I could paint it black, white or grey, but a color would be a fun pop. Maybe a blue to tie in with the theater room just outside? We’d love to hear your suggestions. While Ben was working in the bathroom, I asked him to cut down the bolts that hold the toilet down because the cover caps couldn’t snap on. Now, the little caps are tightly in place, not resting on bolts 1/4 inch above the base. After he took care of business in the basement, he went to the master bathroom and did the same thing. That took two and a half years. Riveting, I know. Can you say, ‘Slackers’? cause that’s what we are.
After hanging the mirror, we hung two candle sconces in the theater room, flanking the fireplace.
As you can see, we still haven’t touched up the areas we taped off around the rock wall when spraying the basement a year ago. (Slackers!)
Though, in my defense, I plan to touch up the white areas when we paint the laundry room cabinetry. But, who knows when that will be done. We haven’t worked on it for a few weeks. (Total Slackers!)
Then, I (well, I started, but my bother-in-law saw that I was using a screwdriver and finished the job for me) hung two curtain rods in the small basement bedroom. One behind the bed, by my newly finished $10 lamp.
And the other above the other window.
Now, let me address a few issues.
One, I bought the panels from Target on clearance for five bucks each (wahoo!); I couldn’t even make curtains for that price. The issue here? I could only get two because that’s all she wrote. So, ideally, we would have been able to balance the off centered walls with more curtain panels, but it wasn’t in the cards. That and the fact the window trim goes right to the ceiling with crown molding butting up to the casement. Mounting the brackets would have been a nightmare. It just wasn’t meant to be.
Two, because the windows are so close to the ceiling, the panels look like they’re waiting for a flood. I do have a plan to remedy this, though, just haven’t done it yet. I know, surprise, surprise.
Three, the curtain rods were cheap, like $3 a piece cheap, so features on more expensive rods are missing. Namely, the small screws that keep the rod from sliding around every time the curtains are opened or closed. I did fix this with a few small chunks of sticky tack (you know, the stuff teachers use to hang posters and other temporary items) on each bracket, under the rod. Works like a charm.
In summary, it takes us a year to finally finish something that is super simple. It also takes us a week to post about the weekend progress, making it last weekend’s progress. The good news? Ben cut down trees all weekend at the apartment complex, so we didn’t get any work done around our house. Actually, that’s not completely true, but stay tuned for that tomorrow. (Hint: it involves nice weather) All in all, we’re slackers.
Anyone else a slacker? Do you have simple projects on your to do list for a year (or longer)? Maybe you’re the opposite, the overachiever? I bet you got some work done this weekend. Please share, with links, if possible. We love to see what you do!
P.S. Have you voted yet?
ourhumbleabodeblog.com 
I usually read your posts on Google Reader and the pictures were always too big. The pictures in this post were perfect, though! Yay! I love reading your blog and now it is even easier.
Hi Laura,
So glad to hear that the pictures are perfect! I changed the sizes about a week ago because I heard the same comment from a few other people. Thanks for following along. 🙂
Amanda
Let me guess- you are going to add fun fabric to the bottom of your drapes? I have some curtains waiting for the same floor – they have been waiting for a long time! Can’t wait to see what you do.
I actually did finally finish something this weekend (well Friday evening) – my kitchen! The hubs and I had been working on it for a few weeks now, and finally added the finishing touches! Check it out:
http://refinddesign.blogspot.com/2011/04/kitchen-reveal.html
Finished up cleaning a cluttered corner this weekend, and started on a new project- more about that coming soon. But our dining room is now clutter free:
http://www.mysocalledhome.com/2011/04/clutter-corner-after.html
Loving your paint color!! I also love the board & batten and shelf… great space!!
LOL… I LOVE projects that are so simple, but for some reason get put on the back burner. I think we’re all guilty of this at some point! I know I have a few!!! 🙂
I like the idea of painting the mirror to compliment the rest of the basement. I LOVE LOVE LOVE you basement! So beautiful and serene and GREAT living space, not to mention the awesome wood burning stove!
I have those candle sconces in our master bedroom…I love them! I love all the hanging you did! 🙂
Megan, You guessed right! I’ll share the deets when I actually get around to it.
Thanks, Lindsay for your kind words about our colors and trim!
Ashley, I’m glad to hear we’re not the only ones 🙂 And thanks for your compliments, you’re too sweet. 🙂
Kathy, Aren’t the sconces great?!? I love the hanging, too. The basement is finally starting to look finished, well, sort of. 🙂
A
I’ve got flood curtains too! I hung some simple white ones in my son’s room and am planning on adding a fun fabric to the bottom. Just haven’t gotten around to it.
I had a houseful of guests for my son’s birthday this weekend, so that gave me a bit of motivation to hang a few pictures. It took all of 15 minutes, so I’m not sure why I had put it off for so long! We still have a long way to go though. Lots of blank wall space to fill!
Oh Bethany, I hear you! We’re finally getting pictures hung in our basement.
Debra, at least you have an excuse, right? 🙂
Audra your yard is shaping up nicely. 🙂 Good work!
Amanda
Oh yea…TOTAL slackers here….my husband JUST put the trim around our new windows, actually they are a YEAR old, but it was a tough winter here in New England and we are just opening everything again! 🙂
We did a five hour yard work marathon. You can see it on our blog. http://thehousewiththebluedoor.blogspot.com/2011/04/its-jungle-out-there.html
Also, I have no idea why my previous comment posted all weird and spaced out.
We installed a pot rack in our kitchen and gave a light fixture a makeover…nothing earth shattering, but it makes a huge difference!
http://makingourhouseahome.wordpress.com/
I know your mirror is already framed, but I just wanted to share this shortcut I just found. I’ve been thinking about remodeling my bathroom, but to do it right would mean moving things around, which means mega bucks. While we are saving up to tackle that, I decided to spend a little to make it not so pathetic – we have builder grade everything including a giant plate glass mirror above a double sink vanity. I saw this mirror frame kit on another blog recently: http://www.mirrormate.com. They have tons of frame styles, which is my problem. I ordered a few samples but can’t decide which one I like best. But from what I’ve read it’s easy to install, no screws or nails needed, which sold me! I’ll give you all an update once I put it up.
Hi MirrorMate Fan!
Thanks for the heads up! I’ll check it out, in the event we need it in the future, it is good info. Please do share on our Facebook page when you’ve finished.
Thanks!
Amanda
I am obsessed with double curtain rods… The rods I bought from Penny’s have the screws, but the sets I bought at Lowe’s only have screws on the larger rod- so the sliding smaller rod drivers me nuts! I’m totally going to find some double stick tape to keep them from sliding. Thanks for the inspiration! (PS that room looks great!)
Great idea on the sticky tack. I buy the cheapo curtain rods too and get so annoyed that the rod moves around when we open/shut the curtains.
Also, on your mirror framing issue, we recently bought trim, my husband cut the angles to frame it, I spray painted the frame pieces an espresso color, and we just glued it onto the mirror using mirror mastic glue. We chiseled out places where the mirror was mounted so it can still be removed if someone ever wanted to replace it (without ripping the whole wall down). Just be sure to put the glue on the outer edges and paint both sides of the trim since you can see a little of the mirror image of the back side of the trim!