Globe Lamp Re-do

I hate when I'm feeling crafty and don't have any of the supplies I need to carry out the ideas.  So, I'll share this one with you until I can actually try it out.  Or....one of you could try it out for me and tell me if it works :)

We've all seen this kitchen image over the past few months and drooled over those pendant lamps.  My sister and I found them online for about $900 each.  Too exy for us. (Hello dreamy backsplash.  GO comment on yesterday's question)

Photo courtesy of Styleathome.com

After browsing IKEA for new pendant lights, I saw this and was immediately reminded of the above image. 

 

Now, I can afford $40 (on most days).  But, per usual, I can't just take it as it is; I must transform it somehow and make my life more difficult.  I did some quick online research and found that you can, indeed, paint glass lamps.  And, luckily, the dark color would be on top of the globe as to not obscure the light coming through.  I could probably do a gold/bronze band of paint to mimic the metal accents and perhaps glue (?) on a few pointy things.  Or maybe on one of my treasure hunts I could find actual bronze strips and adhere them somehow.......ah the possibilities.

One could also use this pendant as another option:

Somebody please go do this so I can see if it works.  IKEA is 3+ hours away now and it hurts a little to think of all the things I am missing out on there.  Namely, $0.99 breakfast!

Kitchen Backsplash

Do you like this:

7/8" each tile

or this:

1x2 tile

for the kitchen backsplash? 

Reminder: kitchen will have white (or grey?) shaker style cabinets, white stone counter, hardwood floors.

Comments appreciated.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!!!!!! SUMMER IS HERE!

Autodesk Homestyler

I was a bit weary of the free, DIY, home design/architectural sites that are offered online.  But, when my friend sent me a link to Autodesk Homestyler, I thought I'd give it a try.

It is actually pretty user friendly and there is no software to download.  It is kind of like Polyvore, where you just drag and click your ideas over to a "board" and save it to an online account.  I have to go back and check the measurements because the rooms seem a bit off scale.

I spent a lot of the day yesterday playing around with some of our future rooms.  Here is the 1st Floor Study/Guest Room:



You can also see a 3D version of the room with one click of the button:

The product list leaves something to be desired, but you can still get the basic idea.  I wish there was an insert text box option so you could type in what everything is.  The long closet on the back wall will actually be a murphy bed.  Hopefully our contractor will build something prettier than this:

And the small box to the right of it will house the Ms. Pac-Man machine.  After 3 years of trying to figure out what to do with it/how to decorate around it, she finally has a home!  I sure learned my lesson with this purchase, but it was such a great gift to my husband that I'd do it all over again.

There will be built-ins along the wall where it looks like floating chairs.  The chairs indicate where the workspace will be for both of us.  I CAN'T WAIT to finally have a desk!  I've been calling the dining room table home for too long now.

The 2nd Floor Nursery will look something like this. 

This room was tricky because we had to add a bathroom without taking up too much of the livable space.  We knew we'd need a tub to be kid-friendly and resale friendly.  And we had to be able to fit a queen size bed in there eventually.  It may look like you can fit the queen bed between the windows where the crib is (anyone else find it odd that the crib has a pillow?), but we taped it out on the floor and there was zero clearance for walking.  Believe me, we tried.....so, the closet (to the left of the entryway) now houses a window.  Perhaps a big design no-no, but what can you do?  

Have you ever experimented with free, online, design tool like this?  If so, send some other suggestions.  This is fun!

A Dying Art

I saw this video on CasaSugar and thought it showed perfectly the process of upholstery.  Go check out SpruceHome on Etsy.  I can't wait to get back into it!

Can I Get A What What??

Do you know how much these bricks sell for???

$5 a piece!!!

When we saw the state it was in, we thought about tearing it down all together.  But I had to remind us that we have always wanted a fireplace (regardless if we finally get one in a climate that barely reaches 50 degrees in winter).

We could have funded another addition with that money (not really).  Onward and upward we went and here is the work in progress:

Here is the before pic:

Found Treasures

Hubby insisted on documenting said glass bottle treasures and sharing them with you....

Oh, and did I mention he was at the DMV this morning registering our car......which meant getting a new drivers license......which meant getting his picture taken:

(Disclosure: he grew it for fun and it has now snowballed into a competition among some friends who are coming into town in 2 weeks to compare 'staches)  Oh, and he does not work for the FBI.

Reason #912 why I feel like we're in the witness protection program.  Other reasons?  We own a car!  We are having a baby!  We live in a red, bible-beating state!  I have no friends!  But I digress......

Upcycling Found Materials

We went into this renovation knowing that we wanted to be as environmentally friendly as our budget would allow, but it never occurred to us how many materials we could re-use from the demo work.

Most of the walls contained old clapboard behind the drywall:

The crew left us a whole pile to work with:

And we plan to re-use this material in the bathrooms where we were going to install (new) bead-board.  Picture is sanded and painted like this:

We could even go crazy and do chair rails like one of my favorite Charleston home designers, New World Byzantine:

Or not worry about new kitchen cabinets

I love the rustic look of this, but I want it outside on a barn door not in my kitchen.

These old beams that were used to frame the walls would be awesome for a farm table:

or maybe a door on a runner

 The Brooklyn Home Company

My husband and I walk over to the site on most nights to check out the progress.  There isn't much to see this week since the foundation guys are working on leveling the floors.  They did leave us a pile of debris they found under the house (wish I took a pic, but it is dark out) and my 5 year old child husband took such delight in rummaging through the dirt and retrieving all the old glass bottles.  While I think these are very cool, I find no need in keeping them.  Maybe it is my fear of becoming a subject on Hoarders after we moved all our crap (yes, it was ALL crap) into storage 2 weeks ago.  I'm kind of digging this light feeling of not having many possessions.  I could "lose" the key to the POD and be happy to start fresh.