In the process of trying to renovate/decorate our home, I need to be able to do things like paint and upholster.
My sewing machines (just a regular machine and a serger)have been in the great room, which is not a great look, to tell the truth. Close by, just through the double doors, though, lies a sunroom. A sunroom that my husband had told me was not going to be a "dump" for my scrapbooking and sewing. Instead, it was going to be where he and the kids watched tv made art projects. And, I put cable in our bedroom, and he never went in there again.
So our seven year old daughter took over. And completely trashed the place.
So, now, a year later, we (he and I) are going to share the space. He'll take part for art, and I'll take part for sewing and scrapbooking.
Now, though, we need to do something with it. It is half painted, with remnants of former leaks peeling off some drywall paper. It has windows everywhere, eating up most of the wall space. There is no closet, no storage.
I need ideas. I'll post some links a pictures here, and then maybe I'll make a decision. Perhaps that is a bit ambitious... Maybe I'll at least pick a paint color.
Home Office Gets Budget Makeover For $1000, a woman made over her space, adding lots of storage. Includes budget breakdown.
Also found a redo your kitchen on a budget article, that might work when I move on to another room...
And
Better Homes and Gardens Quick and Easy Decorating Projects
I love how this seamstress stores notions in jars, simply lined up on shelves.
And sewing supplies hung up on a pegboard. Although, I like this peg board better. Or here is another, with a thread holder attached.
This room has an ironing station on top of a credenza in the middle of the room. With drawers.
And, this one is a metal shelf from Lowe's, all kitted out.
Metal drawers from the Container Store (Lowe's has similar, for less), but overall a bit fussy for my tastes
This one is just beautiful.
And so what did I learn from this little Flickr adventure? All furniture goes together if it is painted white. Walls need color. I just need to pick one and go with it. Hanging stuff on the walls is a good way to get it off the floor and out of a drawer. And might help me use it more often.
Oh, and even really utilitarian stuff looks pretty okay.
I bought a new dishwasher. Even though we're down to one salary this summer and money is tight, our dishwasher was coughing dirt into our dishes that required being scrubbed out by hand. With five people in the house (one of whom is a teenaged boy who eats enough to feed a Bible camp), we have to cook at home. I know people used to cook at home and do dishes by hand, but I am thinking those were generally stay-at-home mom's. I am a phd student. Even when I am not working, I am working. My husband is in graduate school (again) this summer, and heaven knows none of the kids are going to jump right in with dishes duty.
So I bought a new dishwasher. An energy-star, tall tub GE dishwasher that sanitizes.
But to install it, we had to install the garbage disposal, because the one in that came with the house only sort of worked. I brought out the AHS home warranty people once to fix it. That cost me $60 and all they did was clean it out so that it worked that day. Oh, and they told me that the leaking under the sink was from the sprayer.
Right.
My dad came riding in on his white horse to install my dishwasher, disposal, and new sink sprayer. He did, but the sink was still leaking. Why? Because the drain had been installed wrong. As in, where it was supposed to be glued, only half of it was.
Another trip to the hardware store for a new drain.
Then we pulled out the old dishwasher. The copper supply tube was twisted multiple times in a spiral. It is a miracle that *any* water got in and that my dishes got as clean as they did. So we think that, maybe, the old dishwasher is salvageable, so my dad is going to put it in my brother's house. They don't have a dishwasher at all.
Anyway, after two days of work, we got the new dishwasher installed. And it runs beautifully. My polycarbonate pitcher that I splurged on from Pottery Barn fits in the top rack, so I can actually run it through the dishwasher. It holds more dishes than any dishwasher I have ever owned.
And the disposal actually disposes of garbage, instead of taking it for a carnival ride in a circle. And nothing is leaking under the sink. Of course, there is also no floor under then sink. All the drips over the years completely disintegrated the particle board floor. So my dear husband is supposed to be building a new floor for the cabinet. Three days and counting. :)
I love this bathroom. I love everything about this bathroom, in fact. I even love the colors, even though I have never used them.
I am loving the Shabby/Vintage Chic pool on Flikr.
I found this, and this, and this (see the suitcase as an accessory?),and this spice rack.
I also like this before and after refinished buffet.
This is an awesome kitchen.
I love this fabric storage idea!
I thought this was a framed fragment of quilt, but instead it is a mirror propped on a quilt. I think I liked it better, though, as a fragment. I have a couple of quilts that I've picked up at yard sales that have seen better days that have bits of them that could be salvaged.
