January 2013

Another Love{ly} Sale

Published on January 31, 2013January 31, 2013 by Our Humble Abode2 Comments

Valentine’s day is coming up quickly. (Can you believe we’re one day away from February?!) For the most lovey day of the year, we’re deeply discounting all prints in our shop. Today, all 8 by 10 inch prints are only five bucks. Perfect for Valentine’s day and beyond.

Without You:

Love Heart:

Love (or Family) Stump:

Carved Initials:

But, like last year’s sale, the price will go up one dollar per day until back at $15. Think of it as a reverse clearance. You already know the rock bottom price, so the longer you wait, the less time you’ll have to enjoy the print. What are you waiting for? Go stock up at rock bottom price.

And here’s a lovely (limited time) freebie for you.

Blue and yellow Venn Diagram:

Blue and pink Venn Diagram:

Blue and purple Venn Diagram:

Green and orange Venn Diagram:

Organization Strikes Again

Published on January 30, 2013January 30, 2013 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

You know when you’re busy working on house projects and other areas get trashed as a result? I do. Usually our garage and laundry room are the victims. So are we because it takes an eternity to find tools and supplies. Like the electrical box covers for the sconces. First I looked in the laundry room, then the garage, then my office, then our tool stash in the pool house and still came back empty-handed.

Knowing they were in the house somewhere, I brought a chair in the laundry room, dug around the higher shelves and found the bag with covers buried under paint rollers. Right then, I had an organization intervention with myself, vowing to clear the crap sometime this week. We’ve got plenty of storage space, like this catch-all cabinet.

Light bulbs, caulking, batteries, tape, and more. Half used cans of spray paint and test pots.

A variety of screws, nuts, bolts, and miscellaneous hardware.

Across the room, we have a paint cabinet. Not in as bad of shape, still not great.

After sorting through containers of screws, boxes of nails, and moving all supplies to the laundry room, things are easy to find. More importantly, all in one place so we’re not searching several places.

Same for the paint cabinet. Everything paint related is stashed behind one set of doors.

And all paint cans, test pots, and stain stays in the neighboring cabinet (which previously held cleaning supplies).

Speaking of cleaning supplies, I condensed everything cleaning to one cabinet.

Just for fun, how many different brands of laundry detergent can you count?

The answer, seven, plus one sitting on the washing machine. Of which, we’ve purchased only one (number 4). Handy Sammy has a few (1, 5, and 6). Tenants have given Ben the rest when they’ve moved.

For now, everything is grouped and easy to find. Until it gets used, neglected, and we start the process over again. I’m thinking bins would be great.

Coloring Book

Published on January 29, 2013 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

Even though it’s January and we’ve got temps in the high twenties, Ben and I are already thinking, planning, and talking about the exterior of our house. Before we know it, warmer Spring weather will be here, giving us the prefect weather to tackle outdoor projects. Like installing the rest of the house windows and new siding. To help us decide on products, finishes, and styles, I made a coloring book version of our house.

Just a to scale outline of the prominent features. While in Photoshop, I made a few siding styles.

Currently, the front-runner is a combo of horizontal siding with board and batten for the bump outs and peaks, kind of like this.

And fiddled with different features. One big change we’re planning is converting the dining window to a sliding door and extending our deck over.

The garage end is mostly a tall blank canvas, desperately needing some detail.

Maybe all horizontal siding on the bottom with natural cedar board and batten on the peak?

Or painted board and batten with a pergola detail over the garage doors.

Perhaps similar to this one?

At any rate, we need to break up the exterior with at least two, preferably three finishes. Now I’m curious, how many different materials are on the exterior of your home? Do you have a tall house you’ve added interest to?

Sconce Free in 201-Three

Published on January 28, 2013January 28, 2013 by Our Humble Abode2 Comments

In addition to installing trim (more on that soon), Ben made a quick swap that makes me smile. It seems the previous owner had a love affair with sconces. The more traditional, the better. Sconces in the bathroom, the living room, family room, master bedroom, hall, and guest bedroom.

I’ve had enough with the unnecessary sconces. Time for a simple change; a semi-flush mount fixture we took with us when we moved and a few blank covers.

Ben hung the new light, then took down the old hall sconce, covering the wires with a blank.

Not my first choice for the hall, but it was free. And I can hang pictures over the sconce hole.

While he was at it, I asked him to pull out the sconces in the guest room.

A few more blanks and I can finish the bird and feather art wall. Now you see ’em…

Now you (mostly) don’t.

Only two more sconces to completely cut out and two more to swap.

Any quick projects crossed off your list this weekend? Do you have an excessive amount of sconces in your house, too?

What’ll It Be? (and a Winner)

Published on January 25, 2013January 25, 2013 by Our Humble Abode38 Comments

First, let’s take care of business. The winner of the Studio Tullia and Our Humble Abode giveaway is…Kimberly R! Congratulations! You’ve got one pillow and two constellation cut outs waiting for you to customize.

Though the family room isn’t finished, I’m still excited to work on decorating. This four-foot wide nook by the fireplace is kind of tough. Right now we’ve got wood storage, an open space (that we’ll eventually fill with a tv), and a thick shelf for books and art.

Originally, I wanted two shelves at the top for a more built-in look, but chickened out when we built it fearing two shelves would look cramped. To be sure, I turned to Photoshop. Adding a second shelf and tv does fill in the space. If we upgrade the tv in the living room, we’ll put that one in here, like this:

But the 42″ tv looks huge here, so maybe we’ll buy a smaller 32 inch-ish one, like this.

Or maybe just a coat of paint is all we’ll need?

One shelf might look less cluttered…

Then again, two shelves could look like a built-in, adding height to the nook. In the event we add a second shelf, books will primarily fill the shelves. What do you think; one shelf or two?