SUMMERTIME fun + cabinets + mustard

It’s JULY.  Not only July, but almost the 4th of July.  WOW!

We had a jam-packed June, in a good way.  Father’s day, Grandparents’ 60th Wedding Anniversary + party, Lindsay and Logan getting hitched, meeting Eli–the Nelson family’s beautiful child, spending quality time in Holland, Matt finishing his INTERN year of residency, plus a few house projects, and I’m ready for a LONG weekend!

Here are a few photos re what we’ve been up to:

First the Grandparents’ 60th Wedding Anniversary… I’ve written about my Gramsiebaby before (click HERE and scroll down to the end of the post to meet her).  It was such a blessing watching them celebrate 60 years of loving each other, serving each other, and living a life based on God’s promises.

I look at the milestones and adventure they have had raising five children, finding their way in the bush of Africa, caring for orphans in Albania, floating in the Dead Sea, battles with cancer and health, and doing this all, together. I can’t help but think–they did it.  They have truly lived.

When I was a child, I was scared of everything.  I mean EVERYTHING.  My Grandma was scared of nothing, except getting on escalators, I’m not sure why.  She challenged me to experience life and I’m beginning to understand why:

(the lovely couple ON their anniversary)

(Alpen Rose cake–the best)

(my sister and I at my Grandparents’ shindig)

(enjoying Boatwerks on a Saturday night)

(meeting Elias Nelson for the first time)

(harvesting a few beans from our garden)

AND celebrating Matt finishing his first year by, wait for it, a new WEBER grill and accessories:

The man has always wanted a nice grill… so for the 52 weeks of 70-80 hours each week, we splurged!!  delicious.  I also have to add how proud of him I am.  It has been an awesome year watching him actually become a doctor.  

Finally–the SMALL house update.  The cabinets are FINISHED!!!  Here they are:

They are gorgeous.  The finish turned out so much smoother than when we used the rust-oleum kit…  Now I can’t wait to put in the new countertops and backsplash–maybe a roman shade, too??

And… the craft.  I last blogged about lightening up our living room.  Here is what I came up with:

(an old window frame)

(a little rust-oleum oil-rubbed bronze action on a white chain)

(close-up of chain)

(mustard paint, an old book, and the chain)

(close-up of the book pages I glued to the piece of plywood)

(the finished product!!)

(hung and brightening)

So that’s it for June… I can’t wait to see what July holds!!

rust-oleum REFUND

Slight progress on the kitchen cabinet end: rust-oleum will refund your $$$ if you aren’t happy with the result…  Getting the $150ish back is nice, but having to spend another 40ish hours on cabinets = not ideal.

Cabinet progress:

The bonus of an unfinished basement is that it is semi-barn like.  We paint (well, Matt paints), store, etc. all in our boxy basement.

The timeline for the cabinets has been pushed back, ahem, several times because Matt is busy learning about “drugs of the day” and other anesthesia things, but I am hoping they will be finished in the next week or so.

We also invested in “soft-close” hinges.  Matt is stoked about this:

Last, but not least, I’m plotting the next decor move for our living room.  I am inspired by clashing color.  Here is a link to a color scheme that I love (the decor is amazing):
clashing color scheme

I would never have put this together… but I started thinking about brightening up our living room and have a few ideas that involve either a bright mustard or teal + an old window.  The bright mustard may win.

FREE fixes

How do you make a small house “work” for entertaining? I’ve blogged about this in the past (see link: prior Wixson house layouts), but never felt that we had quite the right setup.

The past two months we scoped out the options, which include:

1. Hire Contractor to tear out wall between living room and third bedroom on main level;
2. Hire Contractor to finish big room in basement; and
3. Put in a double-sided fireplace between living room and third bedroom on main level

BUT all three options were lots of $$$ and there was no guarantee we would get the same amount of $$$ back when we sell the house–someday.

Needless to say, I was disappointed.  I really wanted our house to be a place friends and family gathered, celebrated, and spent quality time with one another in a welcoming setting; not feeling squished, for instance.

Then, there was a suggestion from a good friend’s mom, who just happens to be an interior decorator– “it’s free to move furniture.” So we started MOVING (she also drew some helpful diagrams).

We ended up with this:

And it’s GREAT.  Thanks, Linda!!!

Last night was our new setup debut.  We ended up having 19 friends come and go and it was a blast.  

The third bedroom is a work in progress–I’ll blog about that later.  But here’s an update on the cabinets:

We decided on a GRAY white color: “gray owl” (Matt loves referring to this as “growl”).  We used ACE Hardware’s cabinet paint, which is a latex paint, but works like an oil paint in terms of hardening. I wanted a color that worked with, but was a bit edgier than, our Kingsport Gray and Elmira White:

This project reinforced that my painting skills are rated at: “0”.  But Matt is an awesome painter and now our cabinet boxes are DONE:

And the cabinet doors will hopefully be done by this Monday.  To anyone thinking about painting/redoing their cabinets, straight up painting the cabinets with ACE Hardware’s paint is easier and cheaper than Rust-oleum.  You simply de-gloss or sand down the cabinets, paint two coats, and you’re DONE.

Believe me, we’ve tried both.

Do and REDO

The story of 2012-2013 has been “doing” and “redoing.”  Maybe this is the nature of Do IT YOURSELF (DIY) projects, maybe we are flat-out indecisive, or maybe home ownership simply lends itself to “redoing,” I’m not sure.  

You all are familiar with the idiom “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try AGAIN?”–William Hickson.  This idiom is our MANTRA.   

Here is a taste of our unsuccessful firsts, that we have TRIED again or are in the middle of re-TRYING:

#1: Mission: chocolate.

June 8, 2012:

December 2012:

Unfortunately, around February of 2013, I had the “bright” idea to use duck tape to keep a broken-hinged cabinet hanging.  BAD MOVE resulting in a very CHIPPED cabinet.  So Matt tried to touch up the CHIPPED cabinet, as well as all other cabinets, and we ended up with BLOTCHY cabinets.

Note to anyone using Rust-oleum: touch ups are DIFFICULT (and don’t use duck tape).

Back to ACE Hardware we went for paint samples to re-do our blotchy cabinets.  We tried Benjamin Moore’s: Charcoal Gray, Ashley Gray, Davenport Tan, and Pismo Dunes.

And all color attempts were a FAIL.  So back to the drawing board for us re: cabinet colors.  Either we are going to keep the chocolate theme or we are going with a STARK white.  I’ll keep you posted…

#2 STEPS

This is supposed to be MATT’S post–but sometimes residency is well, residency.  SO, we went from:

the great WALL of carpet:

 to porch paint: 

to hickory hardwood:

AND finally, we are LOVING the hickory hardwood.  Hopefully Matt can write an update on this project soon!

On a side note, we have been busy outside this week:

The lattice has been stained (goodbye s.k.u.n.k):

Lava rock was added to the “flower” garden in our side-yard:

And, we have CORN:

We would LOVE to hear about your spring projects, paint colors, or garden plans…

small house, SPRINGING

With the temperature reaching a balmy 60 degrees today, and the sun trying so hard to shine, I am itching for spring.  So winter in the small house is officially OVER.  

The decor has changed from pine cones and birch candles, to bunnies and Easter eggs:

A few sunflowers both fresh and not-so-fresh:

A hydrangea or six:

An update to the “eclectic things” wall:

Two new matching spring rugs by each entrance:

And one tired Stella bear:

She had a full weekend.

She chased robins:

Played outside and went for a big Sunday walk:

And lastly, she had a second attempt at “puppy” class, which minus me having to literally DRAG her through PetSmart while she attempted to put the brakes on, but had no traction due to the slippery tiles (she’s afraid of the tall aisles, I mean, REALLY afraid), and then getting too excited when she saw the other dogs in the class (resulting in me being told to use the “OOPS” clean up paper towels and disinfectant spray) it was a success by Stella-standards.

So the first “spring” weekend was fun, we are so excited for future spring weekends!

small house, HALF-way there

with what? bathrooms.  And actually, half-way there may be generous… 

The condo we rented prior to buying our small house had a gorgeous master bath.  Granite, double sinks, a tiled shower, bathtub, basically the works.  It was relaxing, warm, and I LOVED it:

Then came the small house.  Here’s a glimpse at where we started the day we moved in, Bathroom One on the main floor:

Bathroom Two upstairs (Master bath):

I would like to say I had a love hate relationship with our new bathrooms, but there was no love.  They were just, ugly.

We haven’t done much to Bathroom One.  We painted (Benjamin Moore, Elmira white), took down all the shelving, hung a new shower curtain, bought a new bath mat, towels, washcloths, and called it a day:

But, Bathroom Two is a slightly different story.  The first time I attempted to hang up towels in the upstairs bath, the hardware fell OFF the wall.  Small house: 1, Sarah: 0.  

So the first step jumped from painting to buying new hardware, trip 143 to Lowe’s.  We replaced the awkward “pearl” hardware in the upstairs bath with simple, strong nickel pieces:

And then we painted.  We weren’t planning on painting the upstairs bathroom Benjamin Moore’s Wheatfield yellow until Wheatfield let us down in the kitchen and we had an extra gallon of paint left over.  So we ended up with this upstairs:

I didn’t mind the Wheatfield, but Matt was NOT a fan–notice the new hardware and light fixture (Allen & Roth from Lowe’s).  Yellow was too much for him at 4:30 a.m. on a daily basis (yup, that was his schedule in July of 2012).

But at least our hardware was now affixed to the wall, progress.

So then came paint job numero dos for the upstairs bath, Peanut shell plus a new mirror:

So it’s better, but not great:

The future: we are currently in the “dreaming stage” for totally redoing the bathrooms.

Our ideas for the upstairs bathroom involve: tile–that looks like hardwood backing the shower, tiled floor, ripping out the tub, and two sinks…

For the main floor bathroom we are thinking tile, ceramic tub, new vanity… EEK, big project.

One step at a time.

But I couldn’t post this without sharing a Stella pic–loving on the new rug:

small house, DIY yes!

For the first time since June 8, 2012, the small house feels like OUR home.  Not just a project, to-do list, or investment, but our home.  Maybe it’s because our to-do list is now down to six-ish major items, or because our new floors make the house feel “warm” even though they are literally cold (thankful for my UGG slippers), or because it smells like gingerbread?

From floor-to-wall there are memories of family and friends fixing, cleaning, laying new floors, painting, and the list goes on…  It has made this house, ours.

Matt and Dad after they finished hanging the “beastly” mirror.  Notice the white cabinets and linoleum in the kitchen, GONE!

Mom and Dad after a day spent cleaning and washing windows last June while I studied for the bar and Matt learned how to be a resident.  Notice MORE linoleum and laminate, also GONE!

Before we bought the small house, I was not a fan of do-it-yourself (DIY) projects. Period.  But I have learned that the grunt work, dust, and dirt, add value and appreciation that cannot be obtained by simply hiring a professional.  

We have also learned a lot about home repairs, and ourselves, like a fear of spiders should not result in throwing a cup of stain which lands on the cement pad underneath your carport–story for another post. 

AND, we have had so MUCH help.  Thank you!  We could not have done it without ALL of you–but we’re not quite done yet, so your help is still much appreciated 🙂

Next on the list… toss up between window treatments and the MUD room.  I must admit, the MUD room just isn’t going to happen in February.  

But there is always March.

small house, big INSTALL

So this week was FLOOR time!  It was dusty, dirty, and FUN!

We were blessed to have David Jeffries here from Monday-Tuesday helping with the BIG install.

Remember, first was the RIP OUT of the sub-floor and the old padding:

Then we put down new underlayment–the purple stuff.  David and Matt measured, laid the first row, and then kept clicking!  The engineered hardwood floor is a click lock system.  No nailing or gluing involved–just a bit of man labor and LOTS of cutting!

Ah!! So exciting!!

All was going great until the front door decided NOT to open.  Notice the shop vac IN FRONT of the door serving as a reminder not to OPEN the door.

There was a reason for the old ugly linoleum directly in front of the front door, it was LOWER than the old laminate that was put in everywhere else in the main living areas.  This allowed the front door to swing open.

So what do you do with a STEEL door that is too long?

CUT IT!  Credit to Bruce Jeffries.  Discredit to Lowe’s who tried to tell us you could not cut a steel door.  Unfortunately we didn’t get any pictures of this process, but the end result WORKED!  We were able to keep our former door and it swings open beautifully, without scraping the new flooring.

Here are the guys after DAY 1 of the floor install:

 On DAY 2, Matt decided to leave our mark on this house, indefinitely:

Awe!!!

Then, after the floor was INSTALLED, it was time for TRIM:

We painted:

And realized that 12 ft. pieces would be more helpful than 8 ft. pieces in certain rooms of the house–thanks David!

Although the little VW did a good job bringing home the 8 ft. pieces, the 12 ft. pieces mandated borrowing the VK’s truck (accurately named BIG BLUE):

Once the 12 ft. pieces were painted.  Ryan, Matt’s brother, came to help install the new trim:

So by Friday around 4:00 p.m. the big INSTALL was complete, well almost (we have some caulking and painting to finish with the trim).

The end result is LOVELY giving the small house a NEW feel:

Also, there is a new area rug in the small house!! Take two:

While I loved the COLORS in the first rug I tried (click here to see FIRST rug), it made the room feel like fall.  Not a great concept heading into SPRING.  

So one of my coworkers tipped me off, thanks Ashley, saying she found her new area rug at HomeGoods for 1/4 of what I had paid for the FIRST rug.  

So I checked out HomeGoods and found the cream/gray subtle pattern wool rug shown above.  I loved the rug, the price, and that it is REVERSIBLE. 

And just like that, the small house, big INSTALL was complete.

Clearly, the WHOLE family is enjoying the hickory…

small house, big MESS

The couch is arm to ottoman.  The piano bench is “decorated” in pillows.  Guest room full of dining room chairs, lamps, and everything in between.  I thought we moved already?

Take a look:

Don’t worry Mom, the piano is not being “smushed.”  Promise.

Our weekend has been jam-packed.  We removed flooring:

Thanks Sush and Dave!!!

Sold old flooring on Craig’s List:

Bought trim from Lowe’s:

5.25″–it rocks

Loaded trim into our Passat.  Way to go VW/little car that makeshifts as a truck, kind of:

Removed old trim:

Touched up paint before new floor install:

Opened boxes of new flooring to allow acclamation to humidity/house for 24-48 hours pre-install:

and did a little decor shopping–OOPS slightly over budget, but hey, we did sell the old flooring:

The rug is PERFECT– Moroccan-Kladioscope fusion.  Pier 1 sale!  It picks up the orange in the chair and will work to “warm” the room.  I had been dead-set on a gray rug, gray is the new taupe, right? But then I saw this and loved the COLORS.

So the small house is a BIG mess, but fingers-crossed it will be well worth it!  Can’t wait for David Jeffries to arrive to get the small house, BIG install going.

wall of ECLECTIC things

The dilemma: bare walls “issue” in the family room:

Photo wall? Art? Paint? Wallpaper? too many options.

Usually I am anti photo walls. Stereotypically cluttered, disorganized, and slightly crooked.  Always.  They bother me.

Then World Market changed my mind with this:

Dear oil rubbed bronze bicycle, you were love at first sight.  The perfect piece to center my “eclectic things” wall around.  Problem, Matt and I had implemented a $100/month home decor budget, and this one “eclectic thing” was approximately 1/2 of that budget.  Stupid budget.  

Before I knew it, my arms were worth $150 of World Market frames.  Not happening.  So I chose one white frame, the bicycle, and a joy sign–$80ish dollars.  Score? Not quite.  I needed more frames.

That left one option: thrifting.  Those of you who know me, know I am more the Pottery Barn, less the thrifting type.  As previously discussed–“germaphobe“–I hate germs.  So thrifting results in me feeling a bit grossed out.  

But I was on a mission, I had to finish the “eclectic thing” wall.  So we went to the Salvation Army and found these beauts:

For $1.50, total.  They were on sale.  

So I mapped out my plan:

I moved the “eclectic things” around on the carpet until I was satisfied with the layout.  The “eclectic things” included the bicycle, frame, and wall art from World Market, two frames from Salvation Army, and one frame from my Gramsiebaby (remember her: chocolate cabinets).

Took a picture to document said layout.  Matt started hanging:

Then it STRUCK me and I changed my mind.  Plan B–woman’s prerogative.  

I needed Mercer Beasley to be part of the “eclectic thing” wall.  Allow me to explain.  

Our family has a tradition that involves an OLD tennis racket, Mercer Beasley.  According to Uncle Bob, this racket is named after THE Mercer Beasley, the most famous tennis coach who NEVER actually played tennis.  Meet Mercer Beasley:

Every some odd number of years Mercer Beasley gets passed to a different member of the Lokers family.  This year it was my turn and this wall was the PERFECT spot: 

It worked–the “eclectic things” wall makes the family room feel like home.  

Then, a little rebalancing by moving the height to the opposite side of the tv leading into the “eclectic thing” wall:

And the family room came alive–note: photos currently in frames are temporary.

But I couldn’t post all of this without a shout-out to the hubs, who made this meal for his valentine last night:

with heart-shaped cookies for dessert.  Love that man!

***

P.S.  A preview of what’s next on small house, big city:

 such a poser.