Outside Spring Time Spruce Up

Our new convection range was scheduled to be delivered last Saturday. I received a delivery ETA of 3:30AM-5:30PM. Yep, you read that correct. A 14 hour window! After I was done laughing I decided to take full advantage of being held captive at my home and I made plans for some spring planting to take place. Things had been looking pretty sad around here. After some new flowers, shrubs and mulch, I would say its looking much better!

I also purchased a decorative trellis to go on either side of our house. I wanted to balance out the flower bed by the front door. It always looks so empty until the lantana fills out every spring. 

We replaced the lights on our home last year and I have yet to share them. These have replaced the old white ones we used to have flanking the garage. 

And in case you forgot what the old ones looked like. 

The one by the front door was replaced as well. We went from this builder grade light...

To this...much better!

I made this H door hanger out of old wood, ribbon and a collection of buttons.  

One last comparison for fun! What our house looked like when we purchased it..

What it looks like now...

Have a wonderful day!

Amber

Cabinets & Backsplash

The cabinets are FINALLY painted. Boy did that turn into a mess. The paint let me down. The more coats I applied the worse it got which pushed my procrastination over the edge. It should not take two months to paint kitchen cabinets people! 

We are proud new owners of tuxedo cabinets. I've always been in love with them. The top cabinets are painted Olympic One True White and the bottom painted Olympic One Volcanic Ash. I am already loving having the lower half darker since it is at dog level. Our dogs come and go as they please through their dog door and you can bet they love to come inside on a rainy day and shake off on every thing!

As you can see, our drawer pulls are installed but we still need to order and install the cabinet door knobs. 

I am also thinking about painting the end of that built-in cutting board so it blends in better.

We purchased a new over-the-range microwave oven (to free up our counter tops) and of course that purchased lead to a new convection oven. I would love to get the matching dishwasher and fridge but those will have to wait. 

So on to our backsplash. I had two in mind when I started planing out this kitchen upgrade. One for the "temporary-while-we-save-up" phase 1 and my dreamy white subway tile for phase 2. 

For phase 1 I was throwing around these ideas:

• Sawdust and Embryos has a wonderful post on painting a backsplash. I love the colors they use. It looks so real.

• Gray Eyed Scorpio also has a post on one she painted in her kitchen. It really highlights the great thing about paint. If you hate it you can always paint over it!

But first place went to this chalkboard painted backsplash on The Blooming Hydrangea. I love the whole kitchen! Its similar to the style I like and its shaped exactly like my kitchen. I thought I had it figured out but then I started thinking about trying to make those straight lines on my bumpy orange peel textured walls. Phase 1 was scrapped and I jumped head first into phase 2. 

White subway tile has always been clean and classic to me. You can love it or hate it but its simplicity makes it timeless and the fact that its so versatile doesn't hurt either.   

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In the beginning, my husband and I wanted to try to install the tile ourselves. We knew we would save allot of money and there are a million DIY tile posts to walk us through it but I'm not so sure now. I think we are perfectly capable of pulling it off but the question really is...do we want to? We are coming to the end of our home remodel that has lasted 12 long months. We are burnt out and just want it to be done. I am in the process of picking our tile and grout color. We will see who ends up installing it but either way there will be shiny white subway tile in our kitchen soon! 

Amber

Under Our Feet

The time has finally come to talk about our flooring! We started talking about this project in February of 2014. If you missed it, you can catch up HERE. We were contemplating laminate and vinyl planking. After I wrote that post we also considered stained concrete and tile. After many samples, estimates and research we landed on Allure Traffic-master Vinyl Planks in dark walnut. 

It was a gamble. It took some adjustment on my part to get over the stigma of vinyl. I also had to over look this scary post I found from 2009 talking about the horrible smell and toxic glue they use. But we kept coming back to it because it had so many features that tile, concrete and laminate was lacking. 

We loved that it was softer than concrete and tile. It was warmer and had better sound absorption, but most importantly it was water resistant and durable. With two large dogs we didn't want to waste our time and money on new flooring only to have it destroyed. 

We installed it ourselves. The first two hours were the most difficult but once we got the hang of it, it went rather fast. It took four weekends to complete. We broke it down into small sections so we wouldn't get burned out. I wanted a seamless look so we continued it through the entire house using the Allure Under Transition strips. I would highly recommend these if you want a seamless installation. We found out the hard way how difficult it is to lay these planks backwards. I wish the HD store associates would recommend them with purchase of Allure flooring. The strips can only be purchased online so make sure you have them before you start the installation.

We have lived with these floors a few months now. So far so good. We never experienced a bad odor from the adhesive. They have endured water spelt on them, muddy dogs walking on them, and furniture being moved. They are easy to clean. I run the vacuum over them every other day and the Swiffer Wet Jet once a week. Like any floor, the dark color does show dirt so if you want something low maintenance I would stick to the lighter colors. The floor has a texture to it and feels like wood grain. We also like the fact that it is a floating floor so they will be easy to remove in the future if we wish to do so. 

So there you have it. Sure, they don't replace the feel and look of a beautiful wood floor but these floors work for us, our dogs and our life style. Vinyl has really reinvented itself in the last few years. Have you installed a new floor lately? If not, what floor are you dreaming of living on? 

Stay Humble
Amber

Thrifty Thursday

Its that time again. I wanted to share my scores with you! First up is this large San Diego map. I scored it for $3.00. I gave the frame a fresh coat of teal spray paint. You will get to see it again when I post my finished dining room pictures. I love San Diego! We have family who live in SD and have spent many weekends there.

Next, I found this huge basket. It has a home by the fire place. I think I'm going to use it to house some extra pillows and throws that are not in use. 

I found two pillow covers for .25 a piece. I loved the colors in this quilted pillow cover. My dogs loved it too...so much that they decided to take it outside and play tug of war with it. It was fun to own for a day! 

The second one is this hand stitched cover.  I thought it was too quirky to pass up. I sometimes like weird, ugly things, what can I say. 

I also purchased this brass candle holder, heart bottle and music box lantern.

And lastly, I found this awesome ink drawing of a bear. I didn't waste any time getting it into a new frame and hanging it in my living room. 

Those are my finds. Have you found some cool stuff lately? I wish we had better thrift stores in my area. There isn't a whole lot to chose from. It's kind of hit and miss so when I actually find something, I get so excited! Have a great end to your week.

Amber

Where it's at

Hi guys! How was your October? Ours was busy. We had plans every weekend so we didn't get a whole lot of house stuff done. Hopefully things are slowing down now so we can get back to it. My goal is to have it all done before 2015. Here is what we have left.

OFFICE:

• Remove popcorn
• Refinish & paint ceiling
• Paint walls
• Remove carpet 
• Install plank flooring
• Crown moulding
• Quarter round
• Caulk & paint moulding
• Add finish moulding to desk
• Paint DIY door desk
• Move computer & belongings back in
• Refinish thrifted desk chair

GUEST ROOM:

• Remove popcorn
• Refinish & paint ceiling
• Paint walls
• Remove carpet
• Install plank flooring
• Crown moulding
• Quarter round
• Caulk & paint moulding
• Move belongings back in

KITCHEN:

• Refinish & paint ceiling
• Paint walls
• Install track lighting
• Install Corina countertops
• Install new sink & faucet
• Add planking to back of peninsula
• Build shelves
• Prep & paint cabinets
• Quarter round
• Buy cabinet knobs
• Install new hardware
• Install range microwave
• Frame out window
• Install tile backsplash

MASTER BATHROOM:

• Remove linoleum flooring
• Install plank flooring
• Install baseboards
• Caulk & paint baseboards
• Prep & paint vanity
• Install hardware
• Frame out mirror

It is still allot to do even though we are about 75% done from where we started. I was watching House Hunters the other day and this couple was talking about their major DIY demolition plans. They estimated it to be done in three months and I couldn't help but start laughing. I think it is something everyone underestimates. I know we did. 

I owe you guys so many pictures and posts. I promise you will get them...eventually. Here is a picture of our finished floors and base board moulding we chose. They turned out beautiful! 

That's all for now. I just wanted to give you an update since I get allot of people asking "are you done with your house yet?" Not yet, but hopefully soon. Have a wonderful day!

Stay humble

Amber