Stairs, done!

The stairs have been a big challenge.  They are really steep and skinny, the steps have a downward slope, and they are not safe (I fell down them the first month we lived here).  Everyone has an opinion on how to make them safer and after hours of thinking, we finally came up with a solution.  Paint the steps black with floor paint that has grit added to it.  Seta had seen grit you can add to paint, I did some googling, and what do you know, she didn't make that up:)

you can't see the texture, only feel it which is awesome                              

before

before primed

after

close up after

painted landing, new rug, & one baseboard on the right
The landing still needs baseboards and trim around the bathroom door.  Ignore the nasty carpet on the left.  That will be replaced once we tackle the middle room and our room.

Nursery, done!

art hung

shelf & hooks added

new door & more art

just wanted you to see her adorable dresses:)

Living Room, done!

The living room and kitchen are DONE!  I never thought I would say those words but it is true.  Dub (my dad) came last week to help me hang crown molding, install base boards, and paint the living room ceiling, kitchen ceiling, stairs and stair well.  He was here for a week and we worked the entire time, we Rock!  Since we worked on so much, I am going to do several posts, so first up is the living room.  

ceiling and stair well unpainted

giant mess we created installing molding

cutting & painting molding

Dub working hard

caulk master! 

(ignore that I am 8 mo's pregnant standing on the kitchen counter)

close up crown molding on brick wall

done!

done!

crown molding close up

baseboards close up

Nursery-part 2

Seta(my mom) came to visit and we put her to work in the nursery.  What we accomplished while she was here:
Painted, ripped out old carpet, discovered green linoleum floors, painted the floors, bought a rug, assembled the crib, painted the stairs, and pulled up the carpet in the hallway.  The hallway is still under construction so I will talk about that in another post but here are some nursery pictures!  I still have to hang pictures, shelves and art.

Before

green linoleum

 painted linoleum (lee's brilliant idea)

 new rug with blue hallway carpet that has been removed and notice the doorway has no door.  That has been fixed!

More pics to come.  We have had workers over the past two days hanging dry wall in the stair well/hall and putting up a door to her room.  None of the rooms upstairs have doors, we aren't sure of the reason but thought it necessary if we actually want her to sleep:)  We had a great time putting everything together and I am sad to see Seta go.  She was a big help and kept me sane while I freaked out about the green linoleum.

Nursery- part 1

I have been working on the nursery, trying to figure out the color scheme, what furniture we need and how to keep the tiny room organized.  My head hurts from all the thinking and list writing, but I finally have a plan and have started working on the room.  It has been fun getting everything together but there is still a lot to be done.  Here is what I have so far.

This is the book shelf that used to attach to Lee's desk.  I turned it on its side and added wheels.  It will be the changing table and dresser, the room is VERY tiny so we can't have both.

The bins are for her clothes, diapers, swaddlers, etc.

Can you see her tiny shoes in the green box to the left??  so cute:)

This is her crib, not the bedding.

 These are the fabrics for the crib sheets. 

I had family photos printed that I will hang above the changing table but will do that after I paint.  I still need a few more pictures but here is a preview.

Her picture will go in the middle white frame that I have yet to paint, may leave it white.  And the cutest pictures of all that will hang on either side of her.....

Are we ADORABLE or what:)???

I still have to decide on a chair for the room.  Since we are most likely moving in a year and I want to purge most of our furniture when we leave I am hesitant to buy a new rocking chair.  We have a small windsor rocking chair that would work for now but it's not the most comfy for night time feedings.  I may just use one of our wing back chairs.  My mom is coming in February to help accomplish my list below. 

 I will post Nursery part 2 after her visit. 

Still on the to do list:

1. replace carpet
2. buy a new ceiling light
3. paint the walls
4. hang family pictures and art

(click on the word art to see what I got for Christmas.  Designed and printed by our friend Micah at The Old Try.)

Walk through

We finally added trim to the walk through that divides the kitchen and dining area.  Its also known as the wall I spent hours stenciling.  It looked terrible for so long because the corners were not sealed and you could see the rough dry wall edges.  So here is a before and the afters. 

Nasty Corners

Beautiful Trim!

It is amazing what a little white trim, finishing nails and caulk will do.  Lee had to take the caulk away from me because I couldn't stop.

2 new additions to the family

I flew home in October for two reasons:
1. to meet my parents new puppy, Louis
2. to tell my parents we are having a baby

This is the awesome video that captured their reactions.  I love it!!!

sorry the quality is so poor, iphone.

This is Louis:

Blog Cheater:)

I blog for my job at Su Casa every Monday and this is my latest post about rugs!

http://designtips.pad-furniture.com/rugs/rugs/

Take a look and enjoy learning about rug placements...you're welcome.

"wall"paper

So I finally finished my wallpaper/stencil.  I know it seems like it took forever but actually it wasn't that long.  I've worked on it from time to time since I last posted.  I had done a lot when I first started but slowed down cause I was busy at work.  Anyway, you are to ignore the following in the pictures below.
1. the blurriness, i used my iphone, sue me
2. the unfinished drywall ceiling above the wall
3. the lack of crown molding
4. the unfinished drywall corners in the walk way to the kitchen, we are putting white corner trim there.

Behold my awesome creation:)

Sorry I couldn't do a whole wall picture, the iphone stinks in that way and if I step back too far you can't see the design.  Do y'all love it?  I'm in love and I cannot wait to have the crown molding and corner trim up.  It'll look so purty!!!

Sunday Funday? More like Sunday Awfulday

Today was one of those days that you never want to have.  Where the second you wake up bad crap starts to happen.
The two doozies of the day:
1. Lee and I tried to hang our new ceiling fan in the kitchen and that was a disaster.  We couldn't get the electrical box in the ceiling stabilized, we finally fixed that and started mounting the fan, only to realize we had forgotten the medallion that covers the nasty gap around the electrical box.  We undid everything that had taken 30+ mins, put the medallion on, and started again.  All said and done, it took 4 hours to do something that should have taken 30 mins.  Nothing ever goes as planned when working on your house, unless you're Bob Villa.
2. We got free Tickets to the Grand Prix in downtown Baltimore.  We have been excited for weeks about going and today it had come.  So after our terrible morning with the fan, we needed some fun.  We get on our bikes to ride downtown and about 1/4 of the way my front tire blows out.  And when I say blows out, it literally exploded.  It sounded like a car back firing!  I was so furious.  Lee had to ride back home, get the car and come get me.  Once we got the bike in and we were headed downtown, he asked "Where in the harbor do you want to dump that piece of ----?"  Im getting a new bike!!!!

On a more exciting note, I have started my "wallpaper" in the living room.  I bought a stencil on etsy and a gold sharpie paint pen.  It looks so pretty, I can't wait to show you the results...not finished:(  Here is the stencil I chose(Im only tracing the lines not filling it in with paint) and the wall before.

stencil

wall (sorry so dark)

AND HERE IS A PREVIEW!!!!

that's me trying to stencil into the corner:(

Kitchen

Not only did we work on the backyard while the M-I-L was here but we also worked on the kitchen. Im really excited to say that we finished the drywall, painted, and I built a bookcase for my cookbooks. Here are those pics.

The big things left to do are pick out base boards and crown molding, install those, sand and paint the ceiling, and hang our new fan. Im not big on having a fan in the kitchen and would rather a good looking fixture but our kitchen gets too hot with the oven on. And as I keep reminding myself...this isn't our "forever" home.

I am really excited about my next project in the living room, I cannot wait to show you. Im going to "create" wallpaper, using a stencil and gold sharpie on the painted wall. I know it sounds crazy but its gonna be super cool and you all will be jealous. Im currently searching for a good stencil that isn't too busy or too small. Anyway, stay tuned.