{around the house} master in progress.

i finally got around to taking a few quick pics of head board redesign i did just after moving. as i mentioned here when we ordered our headboard a little over a year ago, i loved the style but have since regretted my decision with going for a red headboard. at the time i wanted to add a pop of color but have since realized that a pop of color should be left for pillows and decor not something as permanent as a headboard.

and for you new folks, here is my original inspiration board i created before moving in.

here are pictures i took back in our condo. i never showed them because, i was not satisfied with the look.

so the first project i wanted to tackle was covering up the red. so i broke out the staple gun and went to work.

and ended up with this.

and yes, i know i need to iron the pillow cases. but i figured by the time i get around to that, you all would have been waiting, for a very long time. oh and don't you love our chandy. i love it.

next up is the duvet cover. though i once loved our current simon duvet from pb it is just not working for me anymore. 

so my next master bedroom purchase will be this duvet cover from restoration hardware. i went to check out the fabric sample the other day in the store, which i am so happy i did because orginally i was leaning towards "fog" but now i am loving "prairie".

prairie on top pacific in the background. also great but to blue for the look i am going for.

what do you think? still not perfect, but on its way. i am excited for it to be done so we can sit back and enjoy!

{sneak peak} headboard redesign.

happy wednesday. since i am too exhausted to speak, i wanted to share with you a sneak peak at my most recent project, our headboard redesign.

i have to admit, i made a mistake when thinking i wanted a little color in our master bedroom a year ago when we i (i take full responsibility for this failure) ordered our scroll headboard from west elm. i love the headboard, hate the color.

so i finally bit the bullet, as part of our new master bedroom and recovered the headboard. the new fabric will tie in so much better than the red!

and it is always nice to have a little helper during big projects : )

more details and photos on our headboard redeisgn to come!

 

{weekend warriors} amazing what a little paint can do.

i hope everyone had a great weekend and monday! do anything exciting?

we spent the weekend laying flooring in the basement and putting a second coat of paint on our new master bedroom walls. things are looking AMAZING! and i can't wait to share more details. this weekend we will finally start the process of moving all the furniture, which i am excited about/dreading at the same time.

but luckily despite all the work over the weekend we got to wake up to this face.

enough said. don't you just want to squeeze him?!?!?

but sadly, we didn't get to spend our mornings sleeping in with our little man. instead we started laying new flooring in the basement.

there used to be carpeting down, which was disgusting and we were happy to rip up a few weeks ago. after painting the walls and ceiling 2 weeks ago the room already looks a million times better. and with the new vinyl wood flooring down it is awesome. (once it is done, i will share more pictures)

here is a sneak peak of the work in progress, thankfully the hubby and his brother volunteered to do the work...

so i could do more important things like take pictures : )

it is amazing how paint and flooring can transform a room. i think we walked around all day saying over and over again "it looks amazing", "it is like a different room"!!

i promise more pictures coming soon!

home-spiration update.

happy monday! i for one limped into work today, who needs to work out when they can paint a room. seriously my legs, arms and shoulders are killing me. but oh it is so worth it.

we are still putting the finishing touches on the room, because like i mentioned here we needed to paint the ceiling, prime and then finally put two coats of paint on the walls this weekend. not to mention still squeeze in seeing the hunger games (AMAZING- go see it now!) and various other things.

we decided to go with benjamin moore's edgecomb gre, we are thrilled with the color.

Source: ayearofmarriage.com via Alisa on Pinterest

but now with fresh paint on the walls the trim is looking.... well terrible to be honest.

so yesterday i picked up, glidden trim and door paint in bright white. i am excited to try it. and i became even more excited to try it after being stopped in the check out line by a lady who was just raving about it! it is oil based paint, so the wonderful lady recommended buying cheaper brushes to throw away after. i will let you know how we like it!

stay tuned for the big reveal later this week!

xoxo
caitlin.marie

entry redesign.

if you have been following my blog for awhile you may have noticed i have a tendency to be slight crazy about organizing and cleaning here and here. well with the holidays and everything else going on the past few months, i have not done much besides the bare minimum in terms of keeping things organized around our place.

and now that the christmas stuff is finally packed away (the last of it was boxed up last night) things just feel empty and bare in our entry. since we moved in almost two years ago, we never really paid much attention to that area so it is long overdo for something anything to happen.

problem number one, our coat closet is about 30 feet from our front door, so coats always end up draped over chairs (yes i am talking to you matt) or thrown over the coach. this drives me insane, like seriously drives me mad.

so i can finally retire from coat check girl (and matt can stop hearing me complain about coats) we need some type of coat rack or coat hooks closer to the door.

problem number 2, shoes. at first we had nothing for shoes, and then we bought a shoe tray, which i have learned is useless, and only encourages peoples (matt and i) to leave our shoes on said show tray instead of putting them away. the number of shoes by the door has now only doubled since the shoe tray appeared.

so we need some type of shoe storage, that is attractive and conceals are shoes.

problem number 3, currently we use a short bookshelf as our "entry table" it is the right height about 33'' but is not long enough and feels weighted down compared the the right side of the room.

i won't be able to tackle everything this weekend, since our day tomorrow is dedicated to wedding appointments. but i plan on trying to make some changes this weekend, since my parents will be here next weekend and then trying to get everything finished by the end of the month.

here are a few of my inspirations, (thank you pinterest!)

Source: la-belle-vie.tumblr.com via Caitlin on Pinterest

Source: katie-d-i-d.blogspot.com via Caitlin on Pinterest

Source: houzz.com via Caitlin on Pinterest

Source: la-belle-vie.tumblr.com via Caitlin on Pinterest

Source: iheartorganizing.blogspot.com via Karen on Pinterest

Source: ikea.com via Sally Christina on Pinterest

this weekend i plan on tackling the coat situation, and hopefully start brainstorming ideas for shoe management.

next week i will share with everyone what i came up with! have a great weekend and stay warm!

xoxo
caitlin.marie

{weekend recap} weekend warriors.

happy tuesday! today i am excited to reveal our fabulous lighting makeover, which i mentioned here and here. this weekend we spent all day saturday working around the house and completed two projects that have been on my two do list for some time.

when we took down the old light that hung above our dining table on friday evening i was giddy thinking this was going to be a piece of cake. well with any DIY project around the house, many projects are never as simple as they seem.

the old light did nothing for the space, or give off any useable light at all. so down it came, we saved it, so whenever we move out or sell our condo we can take the other light fixture with us and put this one back up. i have heard mixed reviews about doing this, but since i am so obsessed with my new light fixture i can't imagine it not coming with me, it is my baby.

after turning off the power, taking down the old light fixture was a snap. and thats when matt looked at me and told me we had a problem. the hole for the old light fixture was larger than the new light fixture base (clearly i don't know the technical terms) in layman's terms, we had a hole in the ceiling.

as you can see it was only about any inch on each side but there was no hiding it. so the base came down, and for the evening we had no light fixture. on friday morning matt began, patching the hole, it took hours of spackling, sanding, spackling, sanding until the hole was perfectly patched to the right size.

once the ceiling was touched up, it was time for me to put down the camera and help out. i held the light, while matt did the electrical and secured the light. let me tell you my shoulders were burning by the end.

after the metal frame was hung, i set to work hanging the over 200 glass links to the metal frame. to my surprise, i only managed to drop and break one (luckily it came with extras for people like me). and in the end it was worth all the work.

the light glows

next up, swapping out the wood shelves for glass ones, rethinking wallpapering the backs of the shelves, i am wondering if the geometric wallpaper will be too busy, so i am thinking a nice accent color will make the light and glass shelves really pop.

and while matt worked on the light, i didn't just stand around and watch, i worked on repainting the bathroom for a third and i am happy to report FINAL time! the color is exactly what i wanted, thanks to glidden's palladian blue (not in stores anymore but they will be able to color match it for you). it is a perfect contrast to all the white tile, vanity and medicine cabinet (not my choice but we are making it work).

 i love our anthropolgie hooks, a gift from our awesome wedding photographers at eyewonder photography.

the color is a perfect blue grey and i am in love with it.

now that i finally got the color right, i am dreaming of floating dark walnut shelves above the toilet and changing out the light fixture for something more modern.

have you tackled any projects around the house lately?

i am off to start prepping for thanksgiving, check back tomorrow to see a glimpse at what is on our dessert menu this thanksgiving.

xoxo
caitlin.marie

{around the house} fall project update.

since i posted about my fall project list here, i have been doing a lot of brainstorming, idea bouncing and make decisions on what i plan to do to our dinner nook area.  here are the materials and fixtures i plan on using in the space.

my original plan went something like this... remove wood shelves, repaint trim a clean bright white, wallpaper back of shelves, add new glass shelves, tackle/refinish our current table, purchase and hang new light fixture.

i already knew the light fixture from west elm i wanted, and had been eying it for over a year but i just couldn't justify purchasing it just yet, and plus that was at the end of the to-do list.

yesterday however my plan went out the window.

                                       Source: westelm.com via Caitlin on Pinterest

                                      Source: westelm.com via Caitlin on Pinterest

while checking my email i cam across a 20% coupon to west elm, trying to be a smart shopper i ignored the coupon (but of course didn't delete it). a few more emails down the list i came across another west elm email promoting "new sale items", my self control buckled, i gave in and clicked the link to sale items. i figured, it wouldn't hurt to just take a peak.... you have no clue how excited i was when, i came across MY light fixture?!!? on sale?!?! in the year and a half i have been lusting over the glass link chandelier on west elm, it has NEVER EVER been on sale and what are the chances that i also got a 20% off coupon the same day?!?! it was meant to be.

well folks, i am sure you see where this is going. without hesitation, i purchased my light fixture. kind of out of order i know, but i couldn't pass up the awesome deal. after making said purchase, i promptly texted matt nervously to tell him we had a new light fixture on its way....and oh yea it weighs ten pounds and can you install it when it gets here?

so now i anxiously await its delievery, which i am sure will be in pieces and i will have to assemble all those little glass links. but it will be so worth it people. i sort of, got out of order on my to do list, but am hoping this amazing jewel will inspire me to complete my dining area redo in record time, maybe before christmas so i can host a holiday cocktail party/dinner (matt is rolling his eyes at this very moment).

so the NEW dining area plan is:

• install new light fixture
• remove the current wood shelves
• paint the trim a glossy white paint to match rest of molding
• wallpaper back of shelves with this grey trellis wallpaper
• add new glass shelving
• style shelves/ create a liquor display area
• refinish our dining table

i can't wait to share lots of photos of the installation of the new chandelier once it arrives.

xoxo
caitlin.marie

{around the house} fall project.

happy tuesday! it was great having the day to relax yesterday! we had our first cake tasting at this fabulous pastry shop in alexandria that has wonderful cakes and there wedding cakes didn't disappointed either. we were really happy with everything we tried but walked out with two top contenders. for once i was so happy to have a vendor tell us to take our time and we have plenty of time to make a decision before securing them. i was shocked (in a great way) normally with wedding planning it has been my experience that if you find a great vendor book them, before someone else does. so i am glad to know we found a great option who assured us they would be available on our day and to take our time.

we plan on checking out  tasting more cakes : ) at a couple of more places before making any final decisions, but it is safe to say there is some tough competition.

since we have a few free weekends this month (yipppee!) it is time to address a project that has been on my mind for awhile... our built-ins. our "dining area" has these nice little built- in shelves that currently display pictures, decorative accessories and a few books (that have been laying on their sides since the earthquake in august). the white paint on the shelves, is not true white and needs a fresh coat of glossy white paint.

when we first moved in the thought was the shelves needed to be framed out more with molding, but after of coming across these inspiration shots i am starting to dream big!

                      Source: bellemaison23.com via Caitlin on Pinterest

                                  Source: bellemaison23.com via Caitlin on Pinterest

 

                            Source: la-belle-vie.tumblr.com via Caitlin on Pinterest

so the new plan is:

• remove the current wood shelves
• paint the trim a glossy white paint to match rest of molding
• wallpaper or stencil back of shelves
• add new glass shelving
• create a nice bar/liquor display area
• swap out the light fixture (i already have my eye on the replace for the less than desirable one there now)

color change.

when we bought our condo back in march 2010, i loved the colors (and i still love the colors) throughout the rooms. i wish i had the names of the colors to share but i don't. so i will do my best to describe them; the living room is a golden yellow, the kitchen a terracotta brown, hallway clean  sterile white, guest bedroom (which they used as a child's room) was blue with nemo fish painted on the walls, bathroom soft grey and the master bedroom a sage green. since moving in we have painted the guest bedroom (within days) to a dark blue (matt's pick, i am still having a love hate relationship with the color), the bathroom has now been painted twice, first a dark green (we both hated it, but didn't change it for months) and currently it is what was supposed to be a soft blue-grey but reads like a bright light blue, and lastly the master bedroom which we actually painted a color in our previous room so we know we loved it (the only room which i still love the color).

now that we have lived there for awhile and i have gotten a feel for the space, i want and need to repaint. when i told matt this i thought his head was going to explode (no joke). he just doesn't understand painting is the easiest and most affordable way to transform a room (he needs to start needing more blogs people). so here is the plan for fall/winter; repaint every room, expect the master. don't get me wrong i L-O-V-E color, but in a condo where space is limited, having every room a different color, is making the rooms feel disjointed, and making our condo feel smaller than it really is. along the way i want to repaint all the trim with fresh glossy white paint, and then work on transforming our built ins in our "dining area" (more on that another time). for matt's sanity i am not doing this over one weekend, but plan on doing it over a few months and hopefully finishing before christmas (because christmas is about christmas trees, lights and decorations who cares about wall colors when i have a christmas tree!).

so over the weekend while matt was at a bachelor party, i was given the green light to paint the hallway. before it was white, not an off white or something amazing, it was just plain old sterile white. the beautiful crown molding blended into the walls and ceiling, it was very uneventful and blah.

see i wasn't joking, like i said sterile and VERY white. in the picture above you can also see the terracotta color that transitioned into the kitchen, which i also decided needed to go.

these pictures were taken before we moved in, so the glimpse of the green wall in the master bedroom is now glidden's dapper tan, or as matt and i affectionately call it "dapper dan".

so before matt left, i bought samples, and happily painted squares on the walls, my thought once the paint samples are up he has to let me move forward with painting (i am sneaky i know). we ended up going with glidden's sandy white which i am now obsessed with and highly recommended. it is amazing what a little color can do to a space, in my case our hallway. 

 the wall to the left is the same color but the shadow has it reading a share or two darker here.

i also moved this mirror, from our bedroom to the hall. it was just screaming for more attention. and yes, that is a picture of buckley in sunglasses, what can i say he is a rock star.

i would officially say my weekend painting was a complete success! i was so relieved  that when matt came home he loved it as much as i do, and agreed it was such an improvement. the only problem, if you would call it a problem, is that i love it so much it really makes me dislike the rest of the paint colors that remain from the previous owners. so i plan on continuing my little paint-a-thon one wall at a time until we have officially repainted everything to my our liking. next up, painting over the rest of the terracotta paint in the kitchen with the same sandy white paint used in the hallways.

project organize: update.

happy monday all! since it was unbearably hot outside this weekend on friday i took a trip to the container store which is organization heaven in my mind and picked up some essentials for organizing our kitchen "junk drawer" and office/guest room closet. 

i began with the more manageable project of the drawer in the kitchen on friday and think it came out great. everything has a compartment now! i meant to take a before picture but was so eager to get started i completely forgot (but it was your typical drawer filled with everything and anything that didn't have a home). i used this kit from the container store and once i got a hang of the measuring and cutting went together quickly. my advice would be to plan everything out first before starting.  what do you need compartments for? how many compartments would you like? etc.

finished "junk drawer"

on saturday, next up was the closet.  matt got a jump start on me and emptied the closet before i could take my true before pictures of the full closet but i did get some once it was emptied and the old shelf and hanging bar had been removed (which we guessed was original).

empty closet before paint

this picture really doesn't do the gross interior justice, again we don't think the closet had been painted since the place was first built. it was showing its age.

painter matt and project manager buckley

a fresh coat of white paint was a must, buckley supervised the project for the morning.

buckley wondering why i am not working, he runs a tight ship.

after we finished painting i was in shock at how much better the closet looked already. it is amazing how paint alone cane make such a difference.

freshly painted

 once the paint dried we were ready to start installing our this ClosetMaid system we had picked up at our local home improvement store the night before. we ended up getting this one because once we use it for awhile and decide how we like it, we can add and remove shelves and adjust the distance between shelves easily.

full closet

new shelving

i also bought a few archive boxes at the container store on friday and plan on going back and buying a bunch more now that the closet system is in and i have a better idea of what needs a home.

i would say this closet is still in progress, since taking these photos we added an iron/ ironing board mount to the far right wall, put the doors back on the closet, and began adding things back into the closet. i still want to get an ironing board cover, organize the files, get more archive boxes, set up a wireless printer in the closet (and get the old on out from under the desk) and find something to hold wrapping paper.

hope you enjoyed seeing our projects! have a wonderful monday!