Summer’s always a bit slow over at this here ol’ blog since everyone is outside playing with kiddos, at the beach, on vacation, or generally doing warm weather things that snowmageddons don’t allow, so I’ve been getting a bit reflective.
I’m having a bit of a blog identity crisis: a blog-dentity crisis if you will. I’ve been blogging for so long (since 2010!! even if it was just my mom reading back then… Hi Mom!) that it’s time to shake something up a bit, but I’m not sure quite how. A new design that will integrate better with my design business? Switching up the post format a bit? Different features? Just post pictures of adorable cats (wishful thinking)? My mind is swirling with possibilities, but since this blog would suck without you guys, I want you to chime in! Tell me what you love (and might not love as much) and purty please fill out a quicky survey by clicking the button below.
Choose your own DIY!
To thank you for your general awesomeness and for taking the time to fill out the survey you guys get to pick what DIY you want to see on Monday! Leave your choice in the comments:
Vintage Scarf Bolster Pillow
Herringbone Wood ‘Tile’ Headboard
Metal and Chain Picture Rail
Thanks for all the love! See ya Friday for this week’s flip update and check back Monday to see what DIY you chose!
I was trying to hunt through my photo archives for some good “before” pics of my office, but for some strange reason they’re all small vignette images. Ok, not so strange- my office has never been fully photo-worthy so I just tried to show you pretty little snippets and hide the rest.
This one below from when I first switched out the light fixture is definitely the most true: yellow walls from the last owner, cheap roman shade from our last apartment, a delightfully photogenic elliptical in front of a store bought, dirty brown cat perch, in a window with decorative trim that doesn’t match any of the other trim in the house, and an awkward outlet on the wall with several power strips plugged into it for the computer and TV on the wall on the right.
It’s other charming features included coax cable running along the baseboard on 3 walls, baseboard which also did not match any other trim in the house, the hideous old carpet, no real desk space, just a cubby I used to sit in front of,
oh, and a yellow maple closet door that Bear is modeling here: (also note the baseboard and coax cable- sexy)
I am beyond pleased to say that most of the offenses have been remedied and the office is on it’s way to being a gorgeous, functional office/den/work out room. There’s still a ton to go decoration-wise, but the shell is set.
Daisy wanted to be a part of the progress shoot since Charlie (Bear) was in the befores…
No more orange wood closet door and trim and walls both got Ben Moore’s Dune White (Satin on trim and matte on walls).
Once I get the decoration on the office/TV wall set, I’ll put some simple artwork above settee. For the settee itself, I’ll be making several new pillows with pops of color.
My $25 Brimfield chair will get reupholstered and get casters for usability and the TV is going to be getting a fancy shelf unit around it with sliding art to hide the big black box when not in use. I’m still working out those logistics. The window now has appropriate square trim that matches the rest of the house and will (at some point in the nearish future) don a new DIY roman shade.
The new desk was a craigslist find and needs a little love eventually, but there are other more pressing design matters in here. The new IKEA cubby doors will be getting painted gray and get matching handles to their drawer counterparts. As you can see, however, I already remedied the ugly brown cat perch with a custom built one (tutorial coming soon!) which the cats only chose to use a fraction of the time.
The overhead light needs to be replaced again too.
While I still like the IKEA light, the shade shines a yellowish glow on the new white walls.
As you can see my office has come a long way, but still has a way to go and several fun projects ahead! Now if only I could stop working and focus on finishing my office, I’d have a beautiful space to work! That might be a little counter-productive though…..
I hope you enjoy these weekly updates as I learn to navigate through the business of flipping houses. My latest flip house, Dori sports the 3 L’s in real estate, but will need more than a bit of creativity to make the house sellable. You can find more about this house and about my 4 previous flip houses here.
While I’m not quite to the stage of the ‘pretty progress’ which, let’s face it, is the most fun stage to look at, lots o stuff got done this week!!!
This is my favorite view because you can pretty much see everything in the house and how open and bright it now feels!
The smaller, really only notable to me items that make the space feel so much more open were getting rid of the rest of the kitchen wing-wall, and opening up the hallway. There used to be a doorway there with no door and while seemingly insignificant, it visually cut off the house.
The biggest happy dance by far this week is caused by this view.
Previously:
Now:
No more wing wall (where the future breakfast bar will be), a door that actually closes AND lets light in, and oh, what’s that in the back?
Oh hai slider. It’ll let even more light in once the landscapers evict these 2 monstrous bushes, but even as is, it helps to open the space up like crazy. The house honestly feels double the size already.
In addition to the slider and new side door, the front door also got replaced with one with a window (cuz this house needs all the light it can get!!)
I’m on the hunt for the perfect wreath that won’t cost an arm and a leg to put on the door for staging/curb appeal. I fell in love with this faux succulent one from Target, but it’s way to0 small for the new door. sadface.
Cheap, quick fixes are always fun when it comes to flips. In the yard for example, there is a rope swing. It’s been there so long the tree has grown around it so there’s no taking it down, but it kind of looked like a noose…..
So I resumed my side of the road trash picking and found a free tire which, when combined with the noosey rope and a climbing carabiner became a charming tire swing. Much less noose-like.
In preparation for the new windows (most of which are going in today!!), I got started on one of my DIY projects: wood shutters for the front of the house. Nothing’s screwed together yet, but all the pieces are cut. These are so simple, yet their curb appeal impact is going to be pretty immense! Tutorial coming soon.
Next week’s progress will slow marginally while I wait for the drywallers to get started at the end of the week, but I still have plenty up my sleeve. Once the drywall is in, however it’ll be no holds barred with the progress. Paint, plumbing fixtures, tiling, trim….I can’t wait!!
