Boys' Bedroom {Before & After}

I promise, I'm not as horrible at life as I am at keeping a blogging schedule. Well, maybe a little right now. There's been five swimming lessons and we have yet to make it to one, I still haven't gotten the newborn clothes out of storage (16 days to due date...)and ate hard boiled eggs for lunch...and dinner.
Either way, I'm still a firm believer in the saying "You'll never have more time than you do today" so, trying to suck it up :)

On to the fun stuff - before and afters!

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Basement {Before & After}

I want to apologize for the half-heartedness of this post right off the bat. I am knee-deep in my #powersheets (and loving every second) and working on a few of my monthly and weekly goals like:

• trying to create and implement a time management system
• learning to set some boundaries with work and the kids, 
• and blogging more often.

I haven't quite got it all figured out just yet but, I'm working on it!

So, our basement. I didn't take many before pictures because this was one of the first areas we conquered and I think I was trying to block the whole situation out. I've since come a long way and have learned to embrace a good challenge but, this basement was a holy hot mess. There were cats (one of which they claimed to be the grandparent of Jinx from Meet the Parents...?! I can't make this stuff up) and birds...and a tanning bed.  

We started by ripping out the blue indoor/outdoor carpet and refinishing the floors (which I talked a little bit about that and the office HERE). Everything was a disaster down there and had to be re-done. Walls, trim, baseboards, ev-er-y-thing.

I'll start with my favorite room. Mostly because it's a long narrow room and we really had to be creative with how to best utilize it. It was originally a "media room". 

and who even has physical "media" anymore? Not me but, I do have wine. Lots and lots of wine.

Isn't that a much better use of the space?! Obviously, if you agree, we need to meet because we're destined to be bff's.

The wall color. Oh, the wall color. It's Sherwin Williams Ethereal Mood and although it's in the gray family, it pulls GREEN. I mean really green. I'd definitely do a different color if I had it to do over again, just because I'm not a huge fan of green on walls (unlike the previous owners) but, I chose this color off of a swatch instead of a sample on the wall. Big mistake, people. Huge. Rule #1 when choosing a paint color. Put it on the wall!

The racks came from Wine Racks America. They were super reasonable and great quality. I highly recommend them, if you're looking to do something similar in your home. The countertops are green onyx and I LOVE them. They are definitely unique and don't appeal to everyone, or look good in every room but, we wanted to add some character to the basement.

On to the living area.

I didn't get an after shot just like this one, because of the way the room is now put together but, you get the idea - hot mess city.

The after is actually shot from where that TV is.

{that couch and chair. another one of the husband's pre-marriage purchases...}

We opted not to paint the brick, like we did upstairs since I thought white would kind of compete with the floors. We sprayed the fireplace surround black and that looks about a thousand times better than brass. And you may recognize the built-ins. We repurposed the shelving in the media room and installed them out in the main room. They were sprayed in Sherwin Williams Dover White and the wall color is Sherwin Williams Useful Gray. I LOVE this color. It pulls a little tan (?) but it's a really great neutral gray that works in a lot of different rooms (It's also in the nursery upstairs that I'll be sharing later this week after the closet system is in). 

Here is the basement "bedroom" - which after shooting these, I realized that it looks a little more like a prison cell than a bedroom. This was a storage type room up until last week so, I've never spent any time making it into a true guest bedroom. I promise it's not this bad in person. Well, the rug is. I'd like to blame the husband but, I think this was a pregnancy brain purchase about 5 years ago. It's a king bed so the room is actually pretty big, but it was kinda hard to capture. Wall color is Useful Gray as well.

I will tell you, I am LOVING everything Nate Burkus at Target right now. #idie over these sheets.

The bathroom proved to be difficult to capture as well but, you can see the detail in the onyx a little more here. Isn't it dreamy?! The wall color is Agreeable Gray and this is another favorite. It pulls a little tan/green but, it's still gray. Definitely one you want to sample first, though!

So there you have it. The finally finished basement! Will be sharing some more #powersheet (are you guys sick of hearing about these yet?! Sorry, they are seriously just that amazing) awesomeness and my 5 goals for the next 6 months, as well as, my mission statement...that I've been meaning to actually come up with for oh, I don't know, 2 years now. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on it!

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Pantry // Mudroom {Before & After}

Excited for the group that's getting ready to start their 24 Day Challenge. Email me if you haven't received your stuff!

Now, on to some more before and after's. The pantry was one of the only things that I actually liked about this house when we first looked at it. Coming from a tiny little closet and seeing the rest of the house, this is all I had to hold on to...

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Main Floor {Before & After :: Part 1}

I found all the 'before' pictures of our house from when it was on the market (I apologize that they're not the best quality) before we purchased it. Get ready, it's....well, it's interesting. We'll just leave it at that.

So here we go!

What we have here is the sunroom. This was honestly the best room in the house, at the time.































And here it is today.

If you're wondering why the side tables are a little bare, it's because I have the wildest two year old on the planet. He, like his father, cannot be trusted with small, breakable items.

*Pretend you don't see the driftwood stool by the door* It belongs next to the media console but, pregnancy brain forgot to move it.

We spend quite a bit of time in this room and I love, love, love looking at the gallery wall. I think everyone should have one in their home somewhere. Those fans however, not a huge fan of them, but they were last on our to-do/budget list so, they're there for now.

The wall color is Sherwin Williams Gray Clouds. To me, is the quintessential, perfect 'gray'. It doesn't pull blue, green, purple or brown (at least not in this room). We still have to switch out the patio (?) door hardware but, have yet to be able to find any. Seriously, does nowhere carry these?! I like to think that I can track down just about anything but, these. These are scarce. If anyone knows where one might get their hands on some, drop me an email!

We also chose to leave the ceiling and window casings in their original colors. It gave a room more character and depth. I think white would have made it too sterile but, maybe not. Erin, over at Sunny Side Up has a similar style and her new house is amazing so, it may have been fine but, I actually like the contrast.



Ok, moving on to the kitchen. Get ready for these...

Do you hear angels singing?! I did not when we first walked in. Thankfully, the husband, despite his aforementioned annoyances, has quite a design vision.

No words here, people. No words. I'm actually a little surprised I don't see the League of Their Own framed movie poster hanging in here that the previous owners gifted us (that and the table you see here...). The fact that Tom Hanks stayed in this house while they were filming was their main selling point. My only thought was, "wtf, Tom. I expected you to have better taste than this".  Never thought quite the same of him since.

And here it is today.

We basically gutted everything in this area. During which, I was confined to living in the basement making meals only in a crockpot and washing Charlie's sippy cups in the bathroom sink...8 months pregnant. If I could give you guys one piece of advice, don't do this to yourselves. I had more breakdowns than I can count and this is probably the time I developed the twitch I have now anytime I see a crockpot.

I have the boys' artwork hanging on the backsplash so, not sure if you can tell that it's white subway tile. I'm sure our realtor will suggest that I take it down but, not happnin'. I love looking at their sweet handprints and scribbles. Especially when I've got my head shoved underneath the cabinets trying to regain my composure after Breaker threw an egg at me while standing on the counter (true story).

If you look closely (or probably not even closely), you can see where I attempted to brush out a mop I left behind the chair in the sunroom. And that friends, is why I am not a graphic designer.

The husband built this table and I love it. We looked everywhere for a long, skinny table to no avail so, he found some barnwood on Craigslist and, handy little devil, built one himself. We put a piece of Absolute Black granite with a honed finish down the middle to put hot dishes on and the chairs are Restoration Hardware Remy Side Chairs. They're still on sale so, if you're in the market, snag these babies up!

Lastly, here is the living room. You guys, I can't. I just. can't.

Like what?! I don't even know here.


And here is the same view today.

Oh, no. It doesn't stop there.

Ladies, can you imagine your husband taking  you into this and saying, "yep, this is the one, Honey." I thought he had ingested some sort of a hallucinogen and lost his mind. I've since learned to keep a much more open mind but, initially this was tough for me.

I'll hopefully be back this week with more before and after's but, we'll see what the kiddo's and husband have up their dirty little sleeves :)

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A Few of My Favorite Things

I am so ready for warmer Spring weather. Cold makes me grumpy so, I like to remind myself of the countless reasons I have to be happy. In that spirit, here a few things that I'm totally into right now :)

1. This stage

I love that he looks like "Elf" crammed in that little ride

The happiest little boy I know

This is what I get when I say "smile!"

2. Mally Makeup

Particularly her Volumizing Mascara and Evercolor Starlight Eyeliner. They stay on all day long - even through really tough workouts.

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3. Naptime

Need I say more...

4. CrossFit

Seriously. If you haven't tried it. Please. Find your local box and go try it. It will change your life - or at least your body. 

5. Yoga

Yoga is such a necessity for me. You can do it anywhere (thank you Yoga Paws). It brings me back to center and calms my soul. It gives me a stronger mind and body.

6. Viva La Lovely

Josie is the most ah-maaaazing designer. Her style is impeccable. I recommend her for any design work you need (invitations, printables, etc.) Here is her Etsy shop. She's done several things for me but, here are just a couple of examples:

7. The Color Navy 

Period. Anyone else totally crushing on this color? I have always loved navy. It's so preppy and 'American'. A little tidbit of trivia about me:: I had an accent wall that was a Tommy Hilfiger logo when I was in high school. Yes, and ENTIRE wall. I'm sure the people that bought our house just loved painting over that.

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8. Black Front Doors

So classic.

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9. The Clymb

A fitness gear sale site that has a great yoga and shoe department. All kinds of great deals to be found. I just bought a pair of Inov-8 shoes for $32...super pumped about that buy.

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Those are just a handful of mine. What are some of your favorite things?

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