Chapter37

The Hall Library – The Plans

January 28, 2014 - 5:33 am | Room remodels

I think the weather here is confused. Today it’s 70 degrees and I have the windows open, tomorrow it’s going to snow. Umm really?! Snowflake sightings are a show stopper around here, so I’m fully prepared not to venture out of my house until the end of the week. And by “prepared”, I mean I bought some bagels and a gallon of paint. Let the blizzard begin. In other news, I finished my stairs! Whoop whoop! I’ll be showing those off shortly. In the mean time, lets discuss this area directly above the stairs. Looks smashing doesn’t it? Well it will, have a little faith. It’s already much improved, the ceiling is now white instead of pink, the far wall is painted, and of course the stairs and rail is painted. This area is a hallway which contains no less than six doors (I am perfectly thrilled at the prospect … Continue reading →

Has worry ever helped you?

January 26, 2014 - 4:30 am | The Refocus Challenge

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I read these verses the other morning in my quiet time, and found them to be very encouraging and comforting. Our problems are so very small to such a capable Creator, how silly we are not to trust Him with those worries that grind us down every day. I’m so very grateful my Heavenly Father takes such careful and particular care of His children, aren’t you? Worry and faith can’t both live in the same heart, you must choose which you’d rather have. Luke 12:22 -31 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than … Continue reading →

All the details of the guest room makeover

January 22, 2014 - 4:30 am | Bedroom, before and afters, Room remodels

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Since I got a little carried away yesterday showing room make over pictures and telling you stories about my recent mail…I thought I might better share the finer details that actually concern this lovely little room. So, here’s the facts. This is my guest room, the girls’ art spot, and home to various amounts of storage. The real deal is that this room is currently being used by the mister and myself because the master bedroom is…um…shall we say, in a small state of disaster. I do enjoy being my own guest though, this room is quite cozy. If you remember back before I started this room, I had a pretty clear plan on what I wanted to do with it. I actually stuck to my plan almost exactly. The budget for this room was extremely minimal so here are some of the ways I cut costs. I bought a … Continue reading →

Guest Room Overhaul

January 21, 2014 - 5:30 am | Bedroom, before and afters, Room remodels

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(Barrel side tables) I had the most extraordinary thing happen a few weeks back. The sort of thing that I really didn’t think happened anymore. I got a letter in the mail from the lady who grew up in this house. Her dad built it, and her family is the only one who ever lived in it, before us. She wrote the most charming letter telling me a little history of the house…how there used to be a farm down the road close enough to hear the cows lowing… (Painted dresser) (Old window turned mirror) …How the road out front used to be a dirt road, and originally the house was painted pink so it wouldn’t looks so bad from the dust from the road. (I shudder to think my “pink” problems could have been soooo much worse than I ever knew!) She told me how she remembered helping, as … Continue reading →

Home Inspection

January 19, 2014 - 4:30 am | The Refocus Challenge, Uncategorized

Sun Room Beginnings and Plans

January 15, 2014 - 4:30 am | furniture, sun room

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One very neat feature of this house that I really love is the little sun room off the back of the house. I love light and big windows and airy spaces. Sun rooms also feel distinctly southern and classic to me…I’m sure they aren’t necessarily, but I still think of them that way. I just think it’s completely appropriate that an old South Carolinian home have a sun room. This was how it looked when we first bought the house. Unfortunately, it’s been our dumping ground for semi-completed projects and various items lacking a permanent home. There didn’t seem to be any working plumbing installed anywhere for a washer/dryer in the house, so I had our plumber add the lines out here. I planned on using half of the room for a laundry room, and half for recreational purposes. The windows all need replacing at some point in the future, … Continue reading →

Not your typical hole in the wall

January 14, 2014 - 4:30 am | before and afters, Kitchen, organization, Room remodels

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This project pleases me to no end for a multitude of reasons. For one, it got rid of a major eye sore of the gaping hole left from removing the old wall oven. It’s been a black cave of awkwardness since we painted last February/March. It was long over do to do something about it! I got some majorly needed drawer space out of the deal to store small things like lids and baking items. I’m a major fan of anything that frees up my counter space…I have a phobia of clutter. And having to dust things. Another thing that makes me super happy about this, is that the Mister was able to re-use some of the wood we pulled out elsewhere to make the drawer fronts. They completely blend in with the old cabinets and look just like they were always supposed to be there. The Mister did all … Continue reading →

Beating the Blame Game

January 12, 2014 - 4:30 am | The Refocus Challenge

10 Month Check Up

January 8, 2014 - 4:30 am | Kitchen

29 Comments

It’s a good question. I hear it pretty frequently. I completely understand. So, you want new counter tops. You see some great DIY jobs…but you want to know just how well these amateur jobs actually hold up to real life. I’m certainly no expert. Not even close. But one doesn’t need to be an expert to know that pink counter tops need to go. ASAP. One red pickup truck load of lumber fixed my problems just nicely…and it was fairly easy on the wallet, which sure doesn’t hurt either. There’s plenty of real life going on this house, I assure you. There’s play dough pies and and dropped plates and sticky messes and the odd construction job all happening on these wonderful wood counters. They have all the frequent opportunities to meet disaster that any other part of my house has…and they have survived exceptionally well. To be fair and honest. They … Continue reading →

10 ways to organize your home

January 7, 2014 - 4:30 am | organization

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Well hello there, and happy New Year! I’m a tad late I know. I’ve been off vacationing and haven’t touched a solitary piece of work for the last week. I didn’t blog, read a blog, check the news, peruse Pinterest, or even so much as peek at my email… and it was wonderful. Now that I’ve returned home to a completely dead and drooping Christmas tree and more laundry than I care to see in the next lifetime, I’m on a massive kick to get things cleaned up around here. I’m finding that if I keep things tidy and uncluttered, that I feel more mentally calm and less easily frusterated. I’m probably just getting old or something. At any rate, here are some of my best tricks to getting the house organized and things put away. A place for everything, and everything in its place. If something doesn’t have a … Continue reading →

Monthly Archives: January 2014