Daily Living Room

Our Past Four Years…

Published on June 21, 2010May 25, 2011 by Our Humble Abode1 Comment

We have done quite a bit to our humble rancher since Ben bought it back in 2004. Most you can see, like paint and trim, but others are a little more difficult to notice-if you can see them at all. So, here’s a little recap of things Ben did before we were married:

Cut out and installed egress windows in basement bedrooms and the office.
Drilled a well.
Installed wood burning fireplace.
Removed siding to add insulation all around the house.
Replaced all upper level windows, enlarging the bedroom windows by one foot.
Replaced the kitchen linoleum with tile.
Knocked down the kitchen wall to create a half wall:

8. Closed ½ bath and created ¾ master bathroom.

Changes we’ve made since we’ve been married:

Added trim to the 3^rd bedroom and repainted.
Added trim to the guest bedroom and repainted.
Repainted living room and built an entertainment center.
Gutted and refinished main bathroom.
Added oak floors and trim to master bedroom. Repainted.
Installed a new glass back door.
Finished 1^st basement bedroom.
Installed a central vacuum system.
Added trim to the dining room and repainted.
Removed the chain link fence and built a new painted white fence.
Planted 17 fruit trees, boxwood, roses, peonies, lilies, and other flowers.
Installed a larger electric panel and moved it to the laundry room.
Built and hung new shutters and window boxes.
Dug a trench to install the geothermal system:

15. Gutted and unfinished master bathroom.

16. Installed a new front door.

17. Finished office, including built-in bookshelves and cabinets.

18. Finished basement living room with painted trim and built-in entertainment center.

19. Finished basement bedroom with trim.

20. Finished basement bathroom, complete with 6 foot jetted tub, open vanity and soon to be steam room.

Of course there are several smaller projects we’ve finished, too.

Good Things, Martha

Published on June 16, 2010September 9, 2010 by Our Humble Abode3 Comments

I’m here to show off some more recent finds.

I ordered a new light fixture from CB2 and stumbled upon this little cutie for $9.95:

It was just too cute to pass up. And the shipping cost was the same for both. Win-win.

I also found this great entry rug at Ross for

…wait for it…$10.99. It has the rubber backing we need to prevent sliding and damage to the hardwood beneath. I love the added pattern and the colors are great for our space (and hiding dirt).

I’ll share my really great deal soon. Here’s a teaser-dining chairs.

What about you? Any great finds recently?

The Curtain Call!

Published on June 7, 2010May 25, 2011 by Our Humble Abode5 Comments

I’ve been wanting to add some color to our living room for quite some time. Repainting is out of the question for now due to small children and lack of time. So, what else makes a big impact while being cheap? Curtains, of course!

I considered sewing curtains, but decided to look for a pre-made set first. First stop, Target. And guess what I found? Two sets that I liked. Target rarely lets me down.

Option number 1: The first set is made be Fieldcrest. A navy blue with a lovely overlapping circle pattern and lining. Perfect for blocking light and adding privacy.

Option number 2: The second set are from Target’s Home line. The faux silk has the texture of real silk, but unlike real silk, these curtains can be machine washed and dried. Perfect for homes with kids with sticky jam hands. And the color is great.

I bought both sets to get Ben’s opinion. He liked the navy curtains becuase the color would help hide dirt. BUT, the sea green color, texture, and airyness almost matched the dining room curtains I sewed last year.

So, number 2 it is. They seem happy in their new home, right?

We’ve Been Framed

Published on June 4, 2010May 25, 2011 by Our Humble Abode3 Comments

I think I have some form of seasonal depression. When spring finally arrives, I feel compelled to make everything light and bright. I make new artwork. I sew new pillow covers. I clean like crazy. I still have a few changes on my list, but we checked one off this weekend.

We (when I say we, I mean Ben) painted some of our picture frames. Most were black before, like this set of family photos in our hallway:

And this in my office:

A few (7) cans of white gloss spray paint later and we have this:

The hall frames weren’t the only ones to get a facelift. The remaining frames hung on the living room walls got the same treatment.

Here’s an action shot:

Add some high gloss brown and my office frames look like this:

I really love the gloss finish. It makes everything feel more chic and polished.

Living Room Phases

Published on May 28, 2010September 9, 2010 by Our Humble Abode6 Comments

It seems our living room has made some dramatic changes every year since Ben and I got married in 2006.

When I met Ben in 2005, our living room looked like this. Fortunately, we have made some improvements. I moved in (with a love seat and some accessories) and the living room looked like this in 2006.

Ouch. Not much better. We still had the 80’s hand-me-down entertainment center, cow rug, mismatched furniture and a lot of clutter. Oh, and we didn’t have trim around the windows. Ben was recovering from knee surgery, so we also had a total gym upstairs.

2006 became 2007 and we found a black leather couch and love seat set in the paper for $800.00. It wasn’t the best looking, but at least it matched and fit our budget. We repainted the trim white and the upper color became a darker beige. We donated the entertainment center and built cabinets. Ben also cased out the windows, so we had a more finished looking room. But, we were still waiting to build the bookshelves until we got a new flat panel TV.

2008 was a much better year for our living room. That was the year we got model furniture from the builder I worked for. Now we’re getting somewhere. The couch and chair matched, but we still had the rocker. I bought a new rug from Flor. It added some style and warmth. I made some throw pillows to add more color. At the time, the scheme was blue and red.

We got our new TV and finished the bookshelves. What a big difference that made! A few accessories later and we had this:

Ben’s boss gave us a little desk. Nothing great, but it works. We finally got some framed pictures on the walls, too. Notice I said some.

Fast forward to 2009 when we bought two side chairs and side tables from Target. We moved some furniture around and changed up the color scheme to blue and green. I sewed a few pillow covers and made some artwork to add more color.

Green and white books, silver picture frames, candles and new artwork and photos revamped the entertainment center. I also switched out the door hardware for a more modern feel.