Dining Room Revision

Again, temporary.  Meaning cheap.  Disposable even. 

Ok, that might be going a tiny bit too far.

Before

After

The Drona (fabric) baskets are the cheapest IKEA has to offer.  And since I needed 10 to add to the 2 I had, that $6.99 price tag was right.  Combined with the $79.99 Expedit I bought to complete the set, this temporary organization/storage situation cost $150. 

I threw in some black Kassett boxes (lookin' a little grey in the pic above!)...so add $13 to that total. 

The styling is not done.  That fake flower has goodwill on it's name...I just like the height. 

Next up?  Craigslist.  Let's hope someone's searching for some wicker baskets!!!

Dining Room Addition

No, this is not a trick.  We're still moving forward with plans to fix our first floor. 

But until we start the demo, we have to live with what we've got.  And that means dealing with this.

Chaos

With three little kids, I can't have piles of stuff.  But I have no storage space.  George ends up walking into the kitchen with an empty wine bottle, found in a bag shoved under the extra dining room chairs covered in deck chair pads. 

Not good.

But we're NOT buying anything new for the first floor.  So I scour the house. 

Better...

And top it up with more IKEA that can be repurposed in other rooms.

Getting There

This post is less than impressive, because it really isn't showing much of a finished product.  But what I'm proud of is this:  the Expedit organizer on the right is from the big boys' room, using baskets I found in the 3rd floor purge. 

Gold star for shopping in my house. 

And thank you to my husband for having the same idea as me...buying a second (inexpensive) Expedit unit for the left side.  (the poorly functioning cabinet that was there now resides on another floor)  We can never have enough Expedit in this house with so little storage and many kids...I lied, we're stopping at three.

Plus, should we decide to part with them, Craigslist also loves Expedit ;)

My next step is deciding on baskets and managing the stuff sitting on top of the units.  I want to not see anything but pretty. 

Right now, she ain't pretty.  But that nice, clear tabletop sure is...

Thank Grate It's Friday!

This purging has gone to my head.  I can't see straight.  Actually, anything I see, I automatically think: Craigslist, Goodwill, Recycling or Garbage? 

I know what you're thinking.  We still have all 3 children.

I did, however, almost file the guest room grate into one of the above categories, until I remembered it belongs here. 

Before

After

I need to touch up those black screws before I consider the grate, great. 

And I probably need to take a break from the purging to keep from going crazy.

We Found An Extra Room!

Did you ever have that dream?  You're in your house, you open a door and...what?...there's a whole other room or floor or 2ND HOUSE you've never seen before!  (Mine's the latter)

Well, today kinda feels like that.  Not a house, but a room.  For the last few weeks, I've been spending every single extra second purging the 3rd floor.  Although it's been such hard work, I haven't shown one picture of it because it's been extremely slow going. 

With purging, it's gotta get worse before it gets better.  But I'm getting there...

Before

After

This is the front bedroom on the 3rd floor.  In the 9 years of living here, we've never actually used it as a bedroom.  It's always been a storage room.  Mostly because it has a big closet along the shared wall (you can see it in the "before" picture above). 

But when the closet filled up, the room took the overflow.

Before

After

Another caveat to the mess:  this room took the brunt of the all the basement stuff during the dig.  Anyone who's done a major renovation to an entire floor knows that is one of the hardest parts.  Finding a temporary home for everything.

Our problem?  I was super pregnant when we moved the stuff, so I didn't purge before moving.  Since it was just thrown in this room randomly, I didn't know what was there.  And I didn't want to bring ANYTHING back down to the pristine, new basement that didn't belong. 

So temporary turned into permanent...

Before

After

...until now!

Wait.  Yes, I know.  I said I'm purging, but I added a toddler.  Since we booted him out of his room for guests, he had to go somewhere.  And although he shares his room with some old doors and a few bins and boxes, he really likes it. 

Meaning: he sleeps like a champ.

This Is What's Left

I still have to email the Door Store to see if they want those doors - they are main floor originals, but our first floor plans don't include doors - and Steve has to go through those boxes you see in the middle. 

Isn't it crazy that someone's life to date can fit in 4 boxes and 3 baskets? 

That steamer is going on craigslist and those blue bins are next on my list.

There's The Closet

The scariest/craziest/hardest part was clearing out that closet.  I hadn't gone through it since late 2005, before I had Jake!  Let's just say I didn't save anything and now I need to buy a shredder.

That closet is packed full again, but at least I know what's in it.  And whatever Steve decides to save from his boxes, it's going in there, too.  And, yes, I'll still be able to close the door.

So, there you have it, an insane amount of work in 5 pictures that make the room still look bad.  Better.  But still bad.

Just so the October visitors reading this post know, I'm not done yet.  My to do list before guest arrival:
- new blackout roller shade window covering
- no bins, boxes or baskets on the floor
- doors gone

The paint job may have to wait until the 2013 visit.  Hey, we need something to look forward to...!

Not Wasting Any Time

This happened last night.

Bye Bye Highchair

Hello Booster

I feel better already. 

And I'm addicted to Instagram!!

A Day in the Life

I have been purging.  And purging.  And cleaning.  And purging. 

Goodwill, craigslist, garbage, recycling.  Goodwill again.  More recycling.

None of the above make for nice pictures. 

So, instead, here's a few of some kids.

Breakfast

Guess who wants to hang with the big boys?  It's near impossible to get him in the highchair anymore.  He goes stiff as a board, back arched, ear-piercing scream. 

Fine with me, I need that highchair out of my life.

KG Pick Up

Our public school doesn't have full-day kindergarten yet.  So with a first grader and a senior kindergartener, I'm at the school 3 times a day.  Tethered.  But George loves it. 

Especially the low bubblers. 

Old Maid

After KG pick up, George naps.  So today, Henry and I played Old Maid.  He l-o-v-e-s this game. 

If only he'd figure out how to hide her in his hand.

This Stormdoor is 10 Months Old

And she finally got her hair did!!

Well, primed around the edges, anyway.  And boy, did she need it...

Before

After

Thank you to my step-father-in-law for installing the stormdoor in November.  Thank you to my dad who helped me talk through the caulking last weekend. 

And thank you to my little man George for napping like a champ today so I could prime my little heart out. 

I am all for back to school.  ;)

Now one more monster naptime and I'll put the finish coat on.  Go, George, Go!

Guest Room - Getting There

They came, they stayed, they liked it waaaaaay better.

What guest wouldn't prefer climbing only two staircases instead of three? 

Here's where I left off before they came.

A little bare.  A little mis-matched.  But bright and cheery. 

Before my mom left for Toronto, I had her run to Target.

Before

After

Much better.  I loved it immediately. 

So much that the old lamp found itself at Goodwill within 24 hours.  Along with half the stuff on my 3rd floor.  Hooray for getting jobs done when my parents visit!!

Small change, but big warm, fuzzy feeling. 

Ready for the best part?

Before

After

Yup, still love it.  I'm noticing here that I lost some height.  But that's an easy fix once I get going on the decorating in this room.  It's the right lamp, for sure.

More work to go, but I have 4 1/2 weeks until the whole family arrives....wait, what....???

Company's Coming...!!??

Probably bit off a little more than I could chew. 

Why not!?

We invited my parents to come visit for a weekend.  So, naturally, Steve said, "Let's paint George's room for your parents so they can stay in there instead."  Sure!  Except...he said that on Saturday.  They arrive today. 

And George's room is red.

Ready for some pictures? 

In Action

I almost didn't get any before pictures.  Steve was so gung ho on me getting to work, he started dismantling the crib immediately.  I managed to grab a few, though not staged.

Window

Other Angle

It's a smaaaaall room.  Smallest in the house.  The double bed that's in there (only because the room it belongs in on the 3rd floor is full of stuff) barely fits in the corner. 

Helping Dad

So let's cut to the work.  We knew the color - BM Cloud White - like the rest of the house.  So I ran out to get the primer & paint while the patches were drying.

Holes

Scrapes

I still had trim paint left over from the basement renovation, so I was able to save money by using that.  Phew! 

Now to prime.

"Helping"

Actually Helping

Action Shot

The red was really red.  Like blue-red.  So I put the primer on pretty thick and crossed my fingers. 

Still blue-y.  Keep crossing.

There were a few other issues in the room.  The 2nd vent (yes, the smallest room in the house has two vents - go figure).

And the light switch located randomly in the middle of the wall next to the closet. 

Gross.

Luckily, I've changed a few of these flippers into rockers, so that's on the list of things I can do...

Back to the painting...

Walls, ceiling and trim painted Cloud White.  Getting there...

I decided to cut the room after I rolled the finish paint just because I was running out of steam and needed to see progress happening.  That and I read another blogger who paints this way and prefers it. 

The verdict?  For me, I think I'm a cut before kinda gal.  Rolling and being done is way more satisfying than rolling and more work.  I did learn, however, that I cut way too wide.  I forget how close a roller can get to a corner.  Which is good to keep in mind - maybe cutting won't take as long for me next time...

DOORS!

The only thing I didn't tackle were the doors.  They are bad, hollow, mismatched doors that are placed poorly -the door to the room is on the right, the closet is on the left- and now look like dirty ivory. 

But, since we aren't moving any walls, they will stay where they are.  I just need to look into replacing them with new matching solid doors...or give 'em a nice, new coat of paint.  I bet Steve will prefer the latter. 

So, let's reveal. 

Before

After

I have to caveat here...I'M NOT DONE.  I just ran out of time. 

Count the things that need to happen here.  Missing a pillow, bad nightstand, wrong lamp, random mirror...keep going...

Before

After

I need a new window covering to go over the this-was-a-baby-room blackout roller shade.

At least the outlet cover is new.

Before

After

Not sure what's going to happen here - there's only enough room for you to walk around the foot of the bed.  Maybe just some artwork??

The vent didn't make it - it's currently drying drying on the porch after one coat of paint.  So close!

Before

After

So there you have it.  Five days of work, completed in six, due to three kids during back to school.  Ahh!!

But the good news:  my whole family is descending upon us in October for Henry's annual birthday celebration.  There will be 11 people sleeping under this roof at once.  Every room will be filled.

So that means I'll get another shot at completing this project before the real event gets underway.  Maybe even another project or two...

As for the guests on the way today, I hope they like it better than before!