Chicago | Travel

We are lucky to have some amazing friends. Two of said friends live in Chicago, and we had a fantastic time visiting them over Labor Day. These guys like to explore new places just like we do - by eating and walking... a LOT. :) We left the windy city with sore cheeks from laughing so hard. Thank you for being such gracious hosts, Wes and Katie!

This was round one of two of the macarons.... Can't get enough!

Beautiful hydrangeas in the most beautiful floral shop

Adorable window display

These colors... I mean...

If only I could get this chandelier on a plane...

<3

:)

Sweet Olive!

September Goals

So excited fall is almost upon us! Autumn is my favorite time of year, and we have some fun things in the works. August was a stressful month and I am not too sad to see it go. We had some unexpected expenses and I am ready to get past all of the surprises and back on track financially. Here is how we did on our goals for the month:

• New joists in place - Yes! Done!
• New subfloor - So close. Happening this week!
  
• New DETAILED floor plan drawn out - Yes, finally :)
  
• Go to the Zoo with Brian - No :(
  
• Sell remaining unneeded furniture on Craigslist - Pretty much done
  
• Re-pack storage room - Kind of done...
  
• Start planning for our Chicago trip - Yes! We had a great time with dear friends
  
• Refinish/fix Craigslist dresser - Yes. I have a bit of touch-up to do, but it is photographed :)

We are now about nine months into this reno, and it looks like we have another six months to go. I never understood why people were so against "living through a renovation" especially when they wouldn't be doing most of the work, but now I get it. It is mentally exhausting to constantly be thinking about budgets and what is left to get done, all while living somewhere that is not your home. I will never underestimate how nice it is to have a home. There is something so comforting (especially for an introvert like myself) to know that you can come home to a quiet space after a long day that brings you peace.

September is already filling up! Here is what is on the list:

• Finish subfloor
  
• Finish framing (!!!)
  
• Finish plumbing
  
• Start electrical
  
• Go to the zoo....
  
• Set up at home office
  
• Go to an apple orchard
  
• Attend to a State football game
  

I can hardly believe we are tackling framing and electrical already. I remember thinking it would be forever until we go to this point, and here we are. It is really exciting. We found out the electrician will also be installing all of our light fixtures, so I am excited to go to the restore this weekend and do some shopping! Hope you all have fun plans for the start of fall!

Our fur baby turned 3!

Measuring the old doors

I haven't killed my roses yet!

Loved our friends stomping grounds in Chicago

Travel Photos Gallery Wall | Design

It is well known that a good gallery wall is all the rage right now. I too love the eclectic look said gallery wall gives, but if I am being honest, I am slightly partial to symmetrical groupings of photos or frames. Call me boring, but there is just something so clean about frames all lined up in a row. For a while now, I have been wanting a way to display photos from our trips. Brian and I love to travel, and it feels like such a shame to keep those fun memories sitting on a hard drive. This project is a little down the line (I kind of need walls first), but here are photos I am drawing inspiration from until we can tackle this project (click image to link to sources).

I love this look and size of this Ribba Frame. How do you display your travel photos? Any frame recommendations?

Craigslist Luxe for Less - Pink and Gold Dresser

For a while now, I have had my eye on this dresser. I love the design, the big gold pulls, and the soft pink color.

However, the $2000 price tag is something I could do without. While browsing on Craigslist one night, I came across this dresser. It had good lines, ample storage space, and I knew I could re-create the above look for next to nothing. This little gem was a whopping $40.

The existing hardware was okay, but the center pull was broken in half and I knew just the perfect hardware to create the high-end version I had in my head. D. Lawless Hardware was kind enough to send these amazing Solid Brass Ring Pulls for my project. They are just as pretty in person as they look online! If you are ever in the market for furniture or cabinet hardware, I cannot recommend this company enough. They have the best selection and the best prices around. I have ordered hardware for two kitchens and have been totally impressed with each order.

The piece of furniture is laminate, so it ended up taking two coats of primer as well as two coats of paint. I used Sherwin Williams Intimate White. It is a really pretty, soft peachy-pink and is actually the same color of our previous office/guest bedroom.

After multiple coats and quite a bit of soreness later, this little Craigslist dresser has a brand new look!

And here is a little side-by-side before and after action.

I am thinking this slightly pink dresser will be great in our future office. With the ample storage space and pink/gold accents, I think it could be pretty fabulous, but Brian may disagree... What do you think - would you have pink furniture if you shared a home with a male significant other? ;)

DIY Backyard Patio | Brooklyn House

When you live in a small home, your outdoor space becomes an important extension of your living area. For us, we barely had an eat-in kitchen big enough for us two, much less my large family, so we knew early on we wanted to create a space where we could host family dinner. The only available space was outside! Our yard is kind of strange. It is a sloping lot that levels out in the backyard, but around the house there are two retaining walls. They are kind of awkward. Here is how it looked before. Sorry about the quality, I am notoriously bad about taking "before" photos.

Pretty, right? ;) The peeling paint is what sealed the deal for me. The blue/green artistic effect was a nice touch by the sellers. Oh and since I am so bad at taking photos before we start working on a project, the only other photos I have of this area have our dog, Lola, front and center. Please excuse my dog-mom pictures.

And this is how it looked while we thought about what to do with this space. Gosh, I miss that backyard and those big, old Pecan trees!

We finally found a table that we knew could accommodate my family of ten from Ikea. After picking it up, we got to work clearing out the area. Most of this involved digging up grass and a multitude of horrendous stumps. Oh gosh, the stumps. I am sure Brian remembers them fondly.

Here is how to looked once cleared out.

We used a rake to get all of the grass/weeds up. I HIGHLY recommend also putting down landscaping fabric once you get to this stage. We did not, and have regretted it ever since. In the summer time, you will be pulling weeds each weekend. No fun.

After you get the area level and clear of grass, it is time to lay the pavers. Make sure to measure the width and figure out exactly what kind of spacing you should have in between each one. Once the pattern is figured out, lay out each paver. We put them directly onto the leveled dirt, but you may want to put down a shallow layer of pea gravel first. My theory was the pavers would stay in place more if directly on the dirt, but it is a personal preference. Once in place. start filling in with pea gravel! Since it was a smallish area, we bought bags of pea gravel, but if you have a larger area, please save your back and have the bulk gravel delivered. You will thank yourself later, I promise. Here is how it came out!

All of those old bricks we dug were re-purposed as a border dividing the patio and weed/grass area. I love how the brick color ties in the tones in the table.

The pavers we used are $1.50 at Lowes. I really liked these and will use them again. They are deceivingly heavy, so I would plan accordingly when loading/unloading and transporting. I think this is the pea gravel we used, but it is hard to tell online. I also really loved the colors in this gravel and would use it again. We really got a lot of use out of this area. We threw birthday parties, dinner parties, and even a wedding shower out here. Our property manager actually ended up buying the table and chairs from us when we rented the house. I am glad they are still being used and loved. :) We later filled in the remaining grass with gravel, and added fun patio lights (tutorial here).

Have you ever attempted an outdoor patio? Any tips or tricks to share? I would love to hear!

Chest Before/After | Vintage Furniture

My poor little blog has been awfully boring these days. Spreadsheets, floor plans, and budgets do not feed the creative mind, so today I thought I would go back in the archives and show a fun before/after of a little vintage chest of drawers we refinished a few years ago while we are waiting for the fun parts on the Myrtle House.

This cute chest was a $50 Craigslist find. A previous co-worker (also an Interior Design major) actually bought the matching dresser. That is Craigslist teamwork right there. It was pretty solid and only needed some paint.

Loved that Greek Key detail.

So here is the part where I went astray. You see, I was trying to prove to my neutral-loving self that I too can be bold. I can have brightly colored furniture in my house. I am capable. Well, I was wrong. Here is our first attempt. NC State red!

If red is right, I think I want to be wrong. Fail. This is the part where I look at Brian and say, "Sorry, I know you love red, but this has got to go". With a sigh, we take it back outside for round two. This time around, I went with my gut and stuck to a more neutral palette of black and gold.

Red is not easy to cover, my friends.

The finish came out with this really neat antique finish with slightly crackled paint. Probably because we had painted the heck out of it.

This little guy now has a new home thanks to Craigslist. So in your opinion, would have you kept the red? Or are you a neutral gal like me and prefer the black?