National Dog Day

This is apparently a thing! I'm into it. Love our little guy! 

Easy Art

This past weekend I created some $5 artwork for our master bathroom "water closet". Is that word not hilarious? It's a pretty accurate description for the little room where our toilet is housed off the main master bath. Inspired by something I pinned a while ago, I used a cheap two pack of canvases, leftover craft paint and painters tape to create some art.

First step is tape the canvas in all sorts of directions. Next paint. Let dry. Remove paint. Admire! It was so easy and Scott tells me he enjoys having something to look at in there now! ;-)

My helper

Two pack of canvases from Michael's ($5)

No rhyme or reason to this. Just tape. Wrap tape around the sides.

Paint - any color, any pattern. Paint the sides of the canvas as well.

Supplies.

Ta-da!

Our New Patio Unveiled

Our patio has been done for about a month now but we've just finished up the landscaping in the backyard. We've been absolutely loving the outdoor living space and have been entertaining and dining outside whenever possible. I gave a preview of what the construction looked like in this post, but I didn't share any true "before" pics.

A view from the "upper yard" looking at the sad, sad lawn.

Another view from above, capturing the space where the new patio will live. (Ignore the spray paint project going on!)

Panoramic shot from the old stoop.

Another shot from the old stoop.

I'm going to let the after pics speak for themselves. We love it!

Looking out at the patio from the new stoop.

View from the corner, where our grill sits now, with the lovely green "upper lawn" and landscaping that will grow to cover the green fencing.

Panorama from the stoop.

The game changer! New steps in the retaining wall that connect the upper and lower yards.

A big table for entertaining was a must-have for us.

Comfy seating and fireplace (we usually put the fireplace where the table is when we use it.)

New, wide stairs!

Lawn with a few trees we kept, plus new landscaping.

Wider shot of the trees. The back two are calling out for a hammock I think.

  We chose stained and stamped concrete plus Unilock for the wall work. We're super happy with everything so far and can't wait to enjoy this patio for years to come!

One final panorama before and after, because I'm a sucker for a good transformation shot!

Green thumb? We'll see...

"Aren't those going to die in like two weeks?" - Scott

The hope is that, no, the flowers I've planted around our house will not die in two weeks. But it's a fear! In all fairness, Scott was actually just confirming that the flowers planted outside are not like a dozen cut roses that will look pretty but then hit the trash 10 days later. I assured him that the annuals I planted SHOULD bloom all summer long.

I asked a million questions of my mom who accompanied me to purchase some perennials for our front walk way. With her guidance, hopefully these babies last! I'd love nothing more than to plant these once and have them come back each year. I chose a combo of pink and purple flowers that should widen up as summer goes on. I'm happy with them so far...they haven't grown that much yet but they are looking good. (Please excuse the sidewalk crack!)

I purchased this planter bench a few months ago and it sat, unpainted, on our porch for a bit. Last weekend, I got around to color matching some exterior paint to our trim, slapping it on and then planting these little beauties. They should grow 12-18 inches high and widen up.

   

Finally, to finish up the front yard, I sprayed an old planter with Oil Rubbed Bronze paint and sealed it. This freebie came from my grandma's house and it is about 100 pounds of pure concrete. It was kind of beat up with some chips and stains on the formerly white color. I made sure to use a spray paint that is suitable for masonry (Rustoleum Universal). With it's new, trendy look, it will house some annual flowers in the summer and fall - I'm thinking mums come fall. It's perfect for the tiny space between the walkway and the house...the plant that was planted here previously died and I think it's because of the small growing area.

Growing up, my mom planted petunias every year on our deck. I tried my hand at one small pot of petunias last year but unfortunately Rocco (who was a very curious puppy at the time) ended up causing some serious harm to it. This year I purchased three gorgeous planters at Homegoods and am giving petunias another shot. The planters remind me of Crate & Barrel and I love that the white will let the trailing flowers really pop. I planted Wave Petunias because, according to mom, they are hard to kill - they love heat and hold up well.

This fall I hope to plant some tulip bulbs so we have early spring flowers that take little to no work! What are you planting this summer?

Kiss My Brass

The door handles in our house were a mix of brushed nickel and brass. You can probably guess which I prefer. Enter spray paint.

Spray paint party in our yard!

The after, re-installed.

How to:

1. Remove all hardware. I recommend labeling which handles came from which door if yours are left/right specific like mine are.
2. Wipe down with a coat of liquid deglosser (near the paint thinner at the store).
3. Stick all the parts in styrofoam or cardboard, including the screws. 
4. Using Rustoleum Universal Metallic Paint + Primer in One, spray 3 light but even coats with 10-20 minutes of dry time between each.
5. Flip deadbolt locks back and forth between coats. 
6. Let them cure for 48+ hours; the longer the better. We lifted that table and carried it into the garage for safe drying.
7. Re-assemble (make sure you do the screws lightly and by hand so you don't mess up the new paint job) and enjoy!

This update is totally a personal preference detail. I do think it immediately updates the look of your home since most new homes use nickel or oil rubbed bronze vs. brass these days.

We have one lingering brass handle and that's the front door. It will be taken care is this summer when we paint the door though! Adios brass!

Budget Decorating: Our Guest Room

We have a lot of extra rooms at the moment. I'm sure one day they will be filled with adorable, well-behaved, exceptionally smart children. ;-)

For now, we wanted to make our guest rooms feel welcoming without spending a fortune on them.  The upstairs guest room is my favorite of the two. Decorating the whole room cost about $150  including paint. We painted this room when we moved in (as the room had 60+ sailboats stenciled on the wall in paint) and I love the color we chose. It's a soothing beige with hints of a grassy yellow/green.

The bedding was a super clearance find from Macy's Martha Stewart Collection. The entire set with all the pillows was $60. I actually chose the whole color scheme of this room around the bedding. We had the bed skirt, lamps and old IKEA furniture from our apartment. We also had the drapes...I tried to make them work in the city but they didn't. They are definitely too long for the height of these windows but they are hidden from the doorway - out of sight, out of mind.

I found a few accessories at the thrift store or at Homegoods. I love this green vase and throwback college pic. We had the tall "green sticks" as Scott calls them and a black mirror (not pictured above).

I created the canvas artwork with a wooden "S" letter from Michael's with an old canvas, some super glue and a can of spray paint. Super simple tutorial: Glue on the letter, spray paint, hang. Voila.

And, of course, these guys have to live somewhere in our home so this is their room. :-)

Master Suite Before & After

Continuing the celebration of our one year house-iversary...the before and after of our master suite.

One of my favorite rooms in our house is our master suite. I guess it's technically two rooms but there is no door between them. Our bedroom has huge windows overlooking the yard and forest preserve and vaulted ceilings. Our bathroom has the same vaulted ceilings and is open to the bathroom. The toilet is tucked away in its own room which was a huge selling point. I don't know if we can ever go back after having this luxury. I think it's essential for a happy marriage.

We knew the master had a lot of potential when we viewed the home but the color was so dark and the way the furniture was organized blocked a lot of light from the windows. Here's the before with a dark, wine colored paint.

And now for OUR space...light and bright blue paint with an accent wall (Martha Stewart's Peacock mixed at Benjamin Moore), all our bedding we registered for at Macy's finally broken out for our king size bed and rearranged furniture. And a Casablanca ceiling fan (a gift from my parents) which is amazing.

Wedding day photos were printed poster size and inserted into IKEA 20X20 frames.

The woods look amazing in the summer and fall!

Playing with the panorama function on our camera - the entrance to the master bath is the opening on the left.

The master bathroom was brown. So very brown. Brown paint, brown shower curtain, brown floor and light brown cabinets. Oh, brown towels. I guess they liked brown. And lights from the 90s.

Here's our new master bathroom. I painted the cabinets using Rustoleum's Cabinet Transformations Kit in Espresso (big fan!) and we updated the light fixture. We chose to use the same paint color as the bedroom since these rooms flow into each other. Throw in a new shower curtain, rugs and towels and it looks like a totally different room.

Ahhhhhhhhhh!

Art from my Bachelorette Party which matches the bathroom perfectly

 We love it!