Welcome to Levi's room.

 The nursery is finally finished, and I am finally getting around to posting photos.

My photography skills aren't great, but you get the idea.  

 We love this playful space.

 

  

 love those buns.

  

 

I tried doing this room on a budget.
I would have loved to get new furniture, but I used what we already had.
Then I made a lot of the extras myself.

The crib and changing table have now been through three babies. 

Striped sheets and changing pad are from Land of Nod.

I made the bumpers using Holli Zollinger fabric.

The mobile was a fun project using random supplies in my craft room.

Various artwork found at Ikea, or TJMaxx, or made by me.

After that sweet baby boy, the stenciled ceiling is my favorite part, but man was that tricky!

Dining Room.

This was one of the first rooms we started and completed because there wasn't much to it. But it wasn't complete until recently when the baseboards were installed. It feels so good to have at least one space complete.

The furniture was here when we moved in. The plan was to ditch it and leave the room empty until we found something that we loved. But who knows how long it would have stayed empty! After looking at it, I realized the furniture wasn't that bad, just really vanilla. So instead we kept it and recovered the chairs... then installed shutters, painted the room, added a new light fixture, installed wood floors and baseboards (like I said, it has taken a while-- we first dug into it back in Feb2010).

Before.
I always rope my mom into these projects when she's in town... she just expects it now! It's just so much easier doing projects with two instead of one. Plus, she's absolutely the hardest worker/best collaborator/comic relief. And please don't mind the large mess, I was also subsequently getting ready for a baby shower.

After.

It's nothing spectacular, but its progress.
Now, maybe if I put my mind to it, we will complete another room by next year!

RUGS. So many, many choices!

I'm in the market for a rug for the front room. I'm actually kind of desperate for one and I can't get it off my mind. However, I am incredibly indecisive! I know there is so much more to life than a living room rug, but the room is so close to complete! So I've been searching... and there are so many beautiful options! Here is what I've found so far:

CompanyC

CompanyC

here

here

here

here

here

What's your vote?
[please :)]

Progress.

I have to remind myself how far we have come with this whole remodeling adventure... it's baby steps.

This little project in particular took over a year, but it is complete!
No more dust means that I feel like a new woman.
Carpet (ugh! the carpet!), baseboards, painted ceilings, accessories and new light fixtures will truly complete this phase of the project.
But for now, I won't complain. Or nag (I'm under oath).

Before
(these were taken just after moving in, please don't mind the mess...)
ps. that hideous window treatment is RIP-ing.

After
prepare for color.

Any angle I missed? Ha. I couldn't decide.

I love how open and fresh everything feels.
And I love that the handyman comes home to me ;)

Next? It's always a project.

Seeing Stripes.

I really am-- I just noticed a [striped] pattern surrounding me.

I didn't realize it until I recently made stripe-y plans for the laundry room.

There is so much to love about them; they are classic and clean and I feel like they can be done in so many different ways.

More stripe plans for the family room.

This whole remodeling/decorating process is going so slow. But we are making progress and that's all I can ask for! I finally finished my living room painting project earlier this week (more stripes!). It's amazing how much warmer the space feels with stuff on the walls (at long last!). I love the idea of frames within a frame. There will be a bigger collection there eventually, but this is my start.I just realized I am wearing a striped sweater.
Maybe this is too much.