Tag: Home Improvement

Affordable ways to update your home.

Living Room Phases

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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.

That’s where our living room is now.  What is going to happen in 2010?

Yes, Master (Bedroom)

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We’re back to show how we transformed our master bedroom.  Yeah, it’s much better now.

Ben ripped out the old carpet and installed the Pergo floor shortly after he bought the house.  So, we ripped out the Pergo flooring (we both hated the hollow sound it made when we walked on it).  We came up with a simple 12 inch grid pattern for the trim and added it to the walls using MDF.  We also added crown moulding above the doors and windows.  Ben had the brilliant idea to add recessed rope lighting (on a dimmer) inside the crown.  AMAZING!  Then we sprayed all of the trim the same white that we used in the other bedrooms.  (Behr’s Vermont Cream color matched in Wal-Mart’s Colorplace brand). 

Then we painted the room Behr’s Squirrel.  I loved it, Ben hated it.  Soooo, we painted the walls a lighter version of Squirrel:

Yeah, neither of us liked that one.  Maybe a pale blue?  NOPE!  It was baby blue!  Ben wanted red.  I HATE red bedrooms (or rooms in general), but I was sick of painting.  We agreed that the bedroom could be red if Ben painted.  The red didn’t stay long.  We finally agreed (and LIKED!) Restoration Hardware’s Bay Laurel paint color. 

Then we got down to business!  Installing 3/4 inch thick, solid red oak flooring to match the rest of the house.  Here’s an action shot:

Yes, that is my talented husband.  After the floors were installed, we filled all the holes and joints. 

Here is what the room looked like at that stage:

Then Ben sanded the floors with a rented sander.  Feel the power.

We coated the floor with Waterlox Original Sealer.  We chose an oil finish to allow touch ups to be made.  Here’s the after shot!

So, that’s how we (Ben and a very pregnant Amanda) installed our red oak floors in our master bedroom.  The floors really enhance the bedroom and tie it in with the rest of the house.

Basement Progress: During

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We’re back to show the progress of our basement.

First, Ben framed in the walls and moved the duct work.  It ran through the middle of the ceiling and tall people hit their heads when they walked down the stairs.  Next,  we started hanging, taping, and mudding the sheet rock. 

The Framing Process:

SHEETROCK!!

Then, Ben laid 20″ square tiles and 6″ square tiles in a pin wheel pattern throughout the basement living room, office, bathroom and landing area.

After Ben (with some help from his brothers) finished sanding the sheet rock, it was time to start adding trim.  Miles and miles of glorious trim! 

We decided to extend our staircase to open up the landing area. 

Basement Progress: Before

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WARNING: What you are about to see is ugly and messy. 

Basement Living Room Before:

Every living room needs an ugly green couch and punching bag. 

My Office Before:

Small Bedroom and Laundry Room Before:

Large Bedroom Before:

As you can see, our basement was almost completely unfinished.  The large bedroom was the first finished room in the basement.  It was completed back in August 2007.  We figured we would need another guest bedroom before V was born.

Our First Finished Room

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Remember the before?

Well, here are the very shortly after photos.  This room has since been converted to the nursery.

First thing Ben did was install new, larger windows.  Then we trimmed around them and added decorative trim to the walls.  We threw our bed in (without a frame) and some of the furniture we had, which was very little.

Then we got real furniture…

And the man dresser stayed.  You’ll notice there is a shelf atop the white trim that wasn’t there before.  That’s because I can never leave pictures where they are for very long.  The shelf prevents a million and one nail holes while giving the trim a more finished look.