modern thrifter
I love beautiful things and thoughtful design. Our family lives off a single income so that I can be at home with our kids, so patience and persistence have been the key to finding stylish things on a tight budget. I also design things with my husband. You can see our work at The Mahoney
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![[ QUICK SLIPCOVER ]
It was never my intention to keep a bean bag in the living room, but after ditching the coffee table, we were temporarily keeping one of the Sumo footstools near the couch. You know, just for a couple of days, then it would join the pile downstairs somewhere. It turns out, it’s perfect for the living room—super comfortable for lounging, an extra seat when we have guests, and perfect tea party size for dolls and stuffed animals.
The problem was the fabric. The original cover is durable navy blue nylon, and I just kept thinking “rolled up sleeping bag.” I had previously seen these amazing wool stools, so I thought maybe I could create a slipcover in a fabric that would be a little more appropriate in the room.
Wool is great, but more than I wanted to spend at the time, so I opted for a gray chambray (it looks bluer in the photos than it really is). I wanted the chambray to be a little stiffer to hold the shape better, so I used fusible interfacing for more structure.
I’m also the type of seamstress (can I really even call myself that?) that avoids zippers at all cost, so I figured I could make a sort of drawstring bag shape that would be long enough to cinch up underneath.
The whole project took less than an hour. I didn’t use a pattern, and in the end, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Since I’m kind of the wing-it type, I can’t say that my directions will be great, but if you want to try to make something like this for yourself, here’s the basic steps:
1. After measuring the circumference and height of the footstool, cut two pieces of fabric—a circle for the top and a rectangle for the side. Make sure to add enough extra height to the side piece to wrap underneath the footstool.
2. Fold up the bottom edge on the longest side of the rectangle and sew, leaving an opening large enough for your drawstring to slide easily.
3. Sew the short ends of the rectangle together making sure to stop before the drawstring section.
4. pin and sew the circle piece of fabric to the side piece.
5. Attach a large safety pin to one end of your drawstring and guide it through the opening.
That’s pretty much it. Sorry for really vague and terrible directions. Maybe just keep a stitch-ripper nearby. That’s how I usually figure out my sewing projects.
Of couse, most people don’t have a pile of bean bags in their house to recover, so here are much better instructions for creating a bean bag pouf from scratch.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/e91cab6b805f4152054d8aceb18bcfa8/tumblr_ml6hqiYWsu1qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ QUICK SLIPCOVER ]
It was never my intention to keep a bean bag in the living room, but after ditching the coffee table, we were temporarily keeping one of the Sumo footstools near the couch. You know, just for a couple of days, then it would join the pile downstairs somewhere. It turns out, it’s perfect for the living room—super comfortable for lounging, an extra seat when we have guests, and perfect tea party size for dolls and stuffed animals.
The problem was the fabric. The original cover is durable navy blue nylon, and I just kept thinking “rolled up sleeping bag.” I had previously seen these amazing wool stools, so I thought maybe I could create a slipcover in a fabric that would be a little more appropriate in the room.
Wool is great, but more than I wanted to spend at the time, so I opted for a gray chambray (it looks bluer in the photos than it really is). I wanted the chambray to be a little stiffer to hold the shape better, so I used fusible interfacing for more structure.
I’m also the type of seamstress (can I really even call myself that?) that avoids zippers at all cost, so I figured I could make a sort of drawstring bag shape that would be long enough to cinch up underneath.
The whole project took less than an hour. I didn’t use a pattern, and in the end, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Since I’m kind of the wing-it type, I can’t say that my directions will be great, but if you want to try to make something like this for yourself, here’s the basic steps:
1. After measuring the circumference and height of the footstool, cut two pieces of fabric—a circle for the top and a rectangle for the side. Make sure to add enough extra height to the side piece to wrap underneath the footstool.
2. Fold up the bottom edge on the longest side of the rectangle and sew, leaving an opening large enough for your drawstring to slide easily.
3. Sew the short ends of the rectangle together making sure to stop before the drawstring section.
4. pin and sew the circle piece of fabric to the side piece.
5. Attach a large safety pin to one end of your drawstring and guide it through the opening.
That’s pretty much it. Sorry for really vague and terrible directions. Maybe just keep a stitch-ripper nearby. That’s how I usually figure out my sewing projects.
Of couse, most people don’t have a pile of bean bags in their house to recover, so here are much better instructions for creating a bean bag pouf from scratch.
![[ LIVING ROOM UPDATES ]
Ever since we saw the first few “fauxdenzas” pop up in the blogosphere (specifically the ones on The Brick House, and Door Sixteen), we’ve been plotting one of our own. Hosting guests for Christmas seemed like good motivation to make a few improvements to the living room.
We bought three 30” x 24” Applad/Akurum cabinets from ikea, and picked up some thick birch plywood from a Kerf warehouse sale for under $20. We were really hoping to get some of their walnut plywood, but there weren’t any pieces long enough for the top. For the price, I’m happy to settle for the birch, though if we ever stumble across a long plank of the walnut, we’ll probably make a swap.
The storage capacity of these cabinets is fantastic. We currently have the kid’s board games, some books, toys, and our record player stored away inside. I’m still figuring out what to put on the top, but here is my quick attempt to pull something together with the stuff I already had.
The vintage Anri Form tray was a Christmas gift from my father-in-law. I think it needs a few taller things inside, but for now, it’s a happy new home for my miniature wood dishes that had been residing on top of my refrigerator. I also added these hand-cut crystal candle holders that I’ve been storing in the cupboard.
We still need to patch up the back wall where the wood panels previously were, and hang some art. Oh, and I still hate the rug that’s in this space. Since everything that I like is around the $2000–$3000 price range, I’m thinking of ordering this super cheap one from Urban Outfitters until I either win the lottery, or some company starts selling huge beautiful rugs for under a grand.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/ecec2c4b9b50e29b25349e54aee275e0/tumblr_mg3611AvrV1qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ LIVING ROOM UPDATES ]
Ever since we saw the first few “fauxdenzas” pop up in the blogosphere (specifically the ones on The Brick House, and Door Sixteen), we’ve been plotting one of our own. Hosting guests for Christmas seemed like good motivation to make a few improvements to the living room.
We bought three 30” x 24” Applad/Akurum cabinets from ikea, and picked up some thick birch plywood from a Kerf warehouse sale for under $20. We were really hoping to get some of their walnut plywood, but there weren’t any pieces long enough for the top. For the price, I’m happy to settle for the birch, though if we ever stumble across a long plank of the walnut, we’ll probably make a swap.
The storage capacity of these cabinets is fantastic. We currently have the kid’s board games, some books, toys, and our record player stored away inside. I’m still figuring out what to put on the top, but here is my quick attempt to pull something together with the stuff I already had.
The vintage Anri Form tray was a Christmas gift from my father-in-law. I think it needs a few taller things inside, but for now, it’s a happy new home for my miniature wood dishes that had been residing on top of my refrigerator. I also added these hand-cut crystal candle holders that I’ve been storing in the cupboard.
We still need to patch up the back wall where the wood panels previously were, and hang some art. Oh, and I still hate the rug that’s in this space. Since everything that I like is around the $2000–$3000 price range, I’m thinking of ordering this super cheap one from Urban Outfitters until I either win the lottery, or some company starts selling huge beautiful rugs for under a grand.
![[ SCRAP FABRIC PILLOWS ]
I have a lot of odds and ends fabric scraps stashed away, so when the sudden urge to swap out my pillow covers hit, I was prepared. I always use the envelope method for sewing pillow covers because it’s quick and pretty much fool-proof. This time I added a little more patchwork to the front to make them a little fancier, but the total sewing time for both pillows was still under an hour.
Patrick bought me a wool blanket from MacAusland Woolen Mill as a birthday gift back in June. I’ve been trying to score a Hudson Bay blanket from thrifts or estate sale for years, but I haven’t had any luck, so I’m thrilled to finally have this one instead. I wanted to add a little more color, so I made a new pillow cover for the bedroom, too.
Now, time to switch gears from sewing pillows to Halloween costumes!](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbk7mbFyJ21qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ SCRAP FABRIC PILLOWS ]
I have a lot of odds and ends fabric scraps stashed away, so when the sudden urge to swap out my pillow covers hit, I was prepared. I always use the envelope method for sewing pillow covers because it’s quick and pretty much fool-proof. This time I added a little more patchwork to the front to make them a little fancier, but the total sewing time for both pillows was still under an hour.
Patrick bought me a wool blanket from MacAusland Woolen Mill as a birthday gift back in June. I’ve been trying to score a Hudson Bay blanket from thrifts or estate sale for years, but I haven’t had any luck, so I’m thrilled to finally have this one instead. I wanted to add a little more color, so I made a new pillow cover for the bedroom, too.
Now, time to switch gears from sewing pillows to Halloween costumes!
![[ ART ROOM PROGRESS]
Improvements have been slow lately on the house, but on the upside, we’ve been having a lot of fun. We just returned from two weeks in Montana that we’re packed full of family, sun, camping, and swimming pools.
Now that we’re back, I’ve been starting to hear a lot of “I’m bored” complaints from the kids, since they don’t have all of their cousins to play with. Good thing we’ve made a little progress on our art room. Once they get started on a project, they are easily enraptured for long stretches of time.
We still have lots to do in this room, but here’s what we’ve come up with so far:
Art Table - We’ve been hanging on to this old table since my first apartment because it folds up so small, but it’s solid wood, and really heavy. It has a bad paint job from my early 20s, so I don’t really care if it gets marked up with sharpies and paint. The thrifted chairs were previously used in the dining room before we replaced them with these.
With all of the windows, this spot gets pretty good natural light, and eventually I’d like to hang a roll of seamless backdrop material from the ceiling like this, so I can pul it down when I need to do product photography for our graphic design portfolio.
Map Shelves - These are a new exciting find that we picked them up from the UW Surplus store for $15. I’ve been wanting flat files for such a long time, but they are really expensive. Even though these don’t have drawers like I originally wanted, they are incredibly deep, and the height of them stacked (we bought two units) makes a perfect counter height for a standing work space.
Work Bench - I’ve been meaning to share this for a long time, and eventually I’ll get some better photos. We bought this at an estate sale last winter. It has two built in vice grips, a shelf, drawers, and a cabinet. Since we don’t have a garage, and our carport isn’t big enough for a work space, this sturdy but compact work bench has already been put to good use.
We also still have these shelves with my sewing cabinet, though they need a bit of reorganizing. And I’ve been using some vintage suitcases to store all of my fabric.
There is still plenty to finish in the room—ripping out the carpet, adding some shelving and bins to hold all of the various art supplies, and installing some better task lighting. For now, though, the room is serving the exact purpose we had in mind—space to be creative and messy.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m78kfx5ITK1qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ ART ROOM PROGRESS]
Improvements have been slow lately on the house, but on the upside, we’ve been having a lot of fun. We just returned from two weeks in Montana that we’re packed full of family, sun, camping, and swimming pools.
Now that we’re back, I’ve been starting to hear a lot of “I’m bored” complaints from the kids, since they don’t have all of their cousins to play with. Good thing we’ve made a little progress on our art room. Once they get started on a project, they are easily enraptured for long stretches of time.
We still have lots to do in this room, but here’s what we’ve come up with so far:
Art Table - We’ve been hanging on to this old table since my first apartment because it folds up so small, but it’s solid wood, and really heavy. It has a bad paint job from my early 20s, so I don’t really care if it gets marked up with sharpies and paint. The thrifted chairs were previously used in the dining room before we replaced them with these.
With all of the windows, this spot gets pretty good natural light, and eventually I’d like to hang a roll of seamless backdrop material from the ceiling like this, so I can pul it down when I need to do product photography for our graphic design portfolio.
Map Shelves - These are a new exciting find that we picked them up from the UW Surplus store for $15. I’ve been wanting flat files for such a long time, but they are really expensive. Even though these don’t have drawers like I originally wanted, they are incredibly deep, and the height of them stacked (we bought two units) makes a perfect counter height for a standing work space.
Work Bench - I’ve been meaning to share this for a long time, and eventually I’ll get some better photos. We bought this at an estate sale last winter. It has two built in vice grips, a shelf, drawers, and a cabinet. Since we don’t have a garage, and our carport isn’t big enough for a work space, this sturdy but compact work bench has already been put to good use.
We also still have these shelves with my sewing cabinet, though they need a bit of reorganizing. And I’ve been using some vintage suitcases to store all of my fabric.
There is still plenty to finish in the room—ripping out the carpet, adding some shelving and bins to hold all of the various art supplies, and installing some better task lighting. For now, though, the room is serving the exact purpose we had in mind—space to be creative and messy.
![[ SUMMER LIST ]
It’s that time of year again where I get antsy to start some big(ger) home improvement projects. The days are finally getting long enough to tackle outdoor jobs, and the reprieve from the overcast skies brings newfound motivation.
Unfortunately there are a few things from last year’s list that didn’t get completed, so they are getting carried over to this summer. Here’s what I’m hoping to accomplish:
1. Fence - we really wanted to have this done by now, but last summer we did an unusual amount of travel which ate up a ton of our savings. I’ve been pinning a bunch of fence pictures, and we’re looking into some alternative materials like polycarbonate and plexiglass that we could incorporate to let in more light while still preserving privacy.
2. Window Trim - All of the interior window trim needs to be sanded and primed, then we plan to paint it black to match the ceiling beams and doors.
3. Bedroom Floors - We were able to paint all of the floors in the main living space last summer, but we didn’t finish the bedrooms or bathrooms. We’re now debating whether we should paint them white like we originally planned, or look into carpeting them (not the bathrooms, of course).
4. Master Bedroom Walls - We have so many black closet doors in our bedroom and I’ve come to the conclusion that painting the small areas of wall around them black will simplify the room. I won’t do this until the floors are lighter, and I’d never do this in any of the other rooms in the house, but I think the dark moody walls will look nice in our bedroom.
5. Kitchen Cabinets - This is another carry-over from last summer, but in my defense, I did predict last year that it would get bumped. I’ve given up trying to fix the upper cabinets, since we plan on ripping them out anyway. I had hoped to do the open shelves this summer, but I think the fence will take priority in our budget.
So, I’m hoping to at least address the lower cabinets. They need to be sanded and repainted because they were never primed and all of the paint is peeling off of them. I also plan to replace the hardware. The current handles are hinged and so the noise of the metal clanging on itself every time a cupboard is opened or closed gets really annoying. Also, it’s a horrible design for a kitchen—there is a spot at the top that catches crumbs that is impossible to clean. When the handle is lifted, the space becomes completely enclosed and the crumbs just get compacted even tighter into the crack. It makes me crazy. I think I’ll end up going with something like this instead.
Everyone is confident I can get it all done, right? Yeah, I’m not. But, it’s good to write down goals so that next year I can look back at the list and feel crappy about all of the things that didn’t get done. Sometimes, though, it’s worth trading a finished list for a few extra days playing at the beach and eating ice cream.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2wlalKksE1qc7v1bo1_r1_500.jpg)
[ SUMMER LIST ]
It’s that time of year again where I get antsy to start some big(ger) home improvement projects. The days are finally getting long enough to tackle outdoor jobs, and the reprieve from the overcast skies brings newfound motivation.
Unfortunately there are a few things from last year’s list that didn’t get completed, so they are getting carried over to this summer. Here’s what I’m hoping to accomplish:
1. Fence - we really wanted to have this done by now, but last summer we did an unusual amount of travel which ate up a ton of our savings. I’ve been pinning a bunch of fence pictures, and we’re looking into some alternative materials like polycarbonate and plexiglass that we could incorporate to let in more light while still preserving privacy.
2. Window Trim - All of the interior window trim needs to be sanded and primed, then we plan to paint it black to match the ceiling beams and doors.
3. Bedroom Floors - We were able to paint all of the floors in the main living space last summer, but we didn’t finish the bedrooms or bathrooms. We’re now debating whether we should paint them white like we originally planned, or look into carpeting them (not the bathrooms, of course).
4. Master Bedroom Walls - We have so many black closet doors in our bedroom and I’ve come to the conclusion that painting the small areas of wall around them black will simplify the room. I won’t do this until the floors are lighter, and I’d never do this in any of the other rooms in the house, but I think the dark moody walls will look nice in our bedroom.
5. Kitchen Cabinets - This is another carry-over from last summer, but in my defense, I did predict last year that it would get bumped. I’ve given up trying to fix the upper cabinets, since we plan on ripping them out anyway. I had hoped to do the open shelves this summer, but I think the fence will take priority in our budget.
So, I’m hoping to at least address the lower cabinets. They need to be sanded and repainted because they were never primed and all of the paint is peeling off of them. I also plan to replace the hardware. The current handles are hinged and so the noise of the metal clanging on itself every time a cupboard is opened or closed gets really annoying. Also, it’s a horrible design for a kitchen—there is a spot at the top that catches crumbs that is impossible to clean. When the handle is lifted, the space becomes completely enclosed and the crumbs just get compacted even tighter into the crack. It makes me crazy. I think I’ll end up going with something like this instead.
Everyone is confident I can get it all done, right? Yeah, I’m not. But, it’s good to write down goals so that next year I can look back at the list and feel crappy about all of the things that didn’t get done. Sometimes, though, it’s worth trading a finished list for a few extra days playing at the beach and eating ice cream.
![[ STAIRWELL LIGHTING ]
One by one it seems as though the ikea light fixtures that the previous owner had installed in our house have failed. First it was the wire track lighting in the bathrooms and kitchen, then each of the upstairs bedroom track lights went bad. We had planned to replace them all for aesthetic reasons anyway, but the the fact that they were shorting out made me nervous enough that I didn’t really want to wait for the transformer on the stairwell track light to go bad before getting rid of it.
The tricky thing about swapping the light fixture was that the junction box was located at the bottom of the stairs. You can see it here in this photo:
The previous owners then ran the wires up the wall and to the ceiling at the top of the stairwell.
Our plan was to tap into the wiring at the switch, located at the top of the stairs, and run a new wire up inside the wall to the ceiling. Since there is no gap between the tongue and groove ceilings and the roof, metal raceway would need to be run along the ceiling to carry the wires out to the new pendant.
Here’s the great part—we had seen the David Trubridge wood pendants in several magazines, but knew they were out of our price range. But remember me mentioning a great find at the Velocity sale? I happily scooped this Trubridge Floral pendant for half-price right after walking through the door.
Patrick prefers the Coral version to the Floral one, but for the price, he’s not complaining. Personally, I don’t mind adding a bit of floral to the house. There aren’t that many things in our decor that are overtly feminine, and I think this is still a far cry from doilies and ruffled bedskirts.
I’m guessing there are safer ways to reach the ceiling in a stairwell, but the project was completed with no major incidents.
One of my favorite things about the fixture is the beautiful shadows it casts on the walls. Also, the exposed bulb has a nice soft glow and doesn’t glare. The mood at the top of the stairs is exactly what I was hoping for, but we knew we’d need a bit more light at the bottom, so we opted for a single can light where the old fixture had been.
There are lots of other plans for the stairwell—next up will be the window trim—but it already feels so much more simple and pretty.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0cn9iLmS71qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ STAIRWELL LIGHTING ]
One by one it seems as though the ikea light fixtures that the previous owner had installed in our house have failed. First it was the wire track lighting in the bathrooms and kitchen, then each of the upstairs bedroom track lights went bad. We had planned to replace them all for aesthetic reasons anyway, but the the fact that they were shorting out made me nervous enough that I didn’t really want to wait for the transformer on the stairwell track light to go bad before getting rid of it.
The tricky thing about swapping the light fixture was that the junction box was located at the bottom of the stairs. You can see it here in this photo:
The previous owners then ran the wires up the wall and to the ceiling at the top of the stairwell.
Our plan was to tap into the wiring at the switch, located at the top of the stairs, and run a new wire up inside the wall to the ceiling. Since there is no gap between the tongue and groove ceilings and the roof, metal raceway would need to be run along the ceiling to carry the wires out to the new pendant.
Here’s the great part—we had seen the David Trubridge wood pendants in several magazines, but knew they were out of our price range. But remember me mentioning a great find at the Velocity sale? I happily scooped this Trubridge Floral pendant for half-price right after walking through the door.
Patrick prefers the Coral version to the Floral one, but for the price, he’s not complaining. Personally, I don’t mind adding a bit of floral to the house. There aren’t that many things in our decor that are overtly feminine, and I think this is still a far cry from doilies and ruffled bedskirts.
I’m guessing there are safer ways to reach the ceiling in a stairwell, but the project was completed with no major incidents.
One of my favorite things about the fixture is the beautiful shadows it casts on the walls. Also, the exposed bulb has a nice soft glow and doesn’t glare. The mood at the top of the stairs is exactly what I was hoping for, but we knew we’d need a bit more light at the bottom, so we opted for a single can light where the old fixture had been.
There are lots of other plans for the stairwell—next up will be the window trim—but it already feels so much more simple and pretty.
![[ WHITE FLOORS: UPDATE ]
It’s been about seven months since we painted our dark wood floors white. I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about how they’ve been holding up, so I thought it was time to give an update.
First off, let me say that I have absolutely no regrets about going white. Our primary goal was to lighten our space in order to make the dreary Seattle winters more bearable and it really has helped (maybe not as much as sun would, but it’s the next best thing).
The second thing we had hoped to achieve was simplifying the color palette. The ceilings, floors, and baseboards were all different shades of wood. Add to that white walls, black doors and beams, and burnt orange painted window trim, and we had quite the hodgepodge. By painting the floors and baseboards the same white as the walls, we’ve eliminated a lot of competing elements. We’d still like to paint the window trim black, but that will probably be a spring or summer project.
If white floors sound like they are high maintenance, I can assure you, they are. But here’s the thing, they are no more difficult to care for than ultra dark floors. They both require daily sweeping and frequent mopping. We still have dark floors in the bedrooms and bathrooms, and I clean both colors at the same time. When I’m done, the white looks considerably cleaner than the dark.
I don’t want to be misleading—they have had their share of faults, too. One of the first problems that we ran into is scuffing. We are a shoes-off type of house, but there are always the random times where someone does come in without removing their shoes. Not all shoes scuff, but there are plenty that do. It’s not just shoes, either. In fact by far the most problematic scuffs have come from toys (presumably cars being raced at ghastly speeds). Most of the scuffing is very light and only really noticeable in bright lights.
The other problem we’ve discovered is that the paint is chipping in the cracks between the boards. The wood is an engineered click-together bamboo with about 1/8” dip between each board. When we sanded the floors before applying primer, we weren’t able to sand down into the cracks, so I’m assuming that’s why the paint didn’t adhere to those areas as well.
The chipping and scuffing are both confined to the heaviest trafficked areas—the hallway and the area near the entry between the dining and living spaces. The rest of the floors look almost exactly the same as when they were first painted. We’d still like to finish the other rooms this summer, and when we do, we might just add another coat or two on the damaged spots. Also, I should point out that most of the chipping occurred in the first few months. We really haven’t seen much change since then, so I would assume that it won’t get that much worse over time.
In the end, I guess I would say that white floors are not for everyone. But for us, they were an inexpensive solution that has made a huge impact on the ambiance in our home.
** Note: both of these photos were taken today in different areas of the house. The second photo is of the most heavily trafficked spot.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzvv9e9tv61qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ WHITE FLOORS: UPDATE ]
It’s been about seven months since we painted our dark wood floors white. I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about how they’ve been holding up, so I thought it was time to give an update.
First off, let me say that I have absolutely no regrets about going white. Our primary goal was to lighten our space in order to make the dreary Seattle winters more bearable and it really has helped (maybe not as much as sun would, but it’s the next best thing).
The second thing we had hoped to achieve was simplifying the color palette. The ceilings, floors, and baseboards were all different shades of wood. Add to that white walls, black doors and beams, and burnt orange painted window trim, and we had quite the hodgepodge. By painting the floors and baseboards the same white as the walls, we’ve eliminated a lot of competing elements. We’d still like to paint the window trim black, but that will probably be a spring or summer project.
If white floors sound like they are high maintenance, I can assure you, they are. But here’s the thing, they are no more difficult to care for than ultra dark floors. They both require daily sweeping and frequent mopping. We still have dark floors in the bedrooms and bathrooms, and I clean both colors at the same time. When I’m done, the white looks considerably cleaner than the dark.
I don’t want to be misleading—they have had their share of faults, too. One of the first problems that we ran into is scuffing. We are a shoes-off type of house, but there are always the random times where someone does come in without removing their shoes. Not all shoes scuff, but there are plenty that do. It’s not just shoes, either. In fact by far the most problematic scuffs have come from toys (presumably cars being raced at ghastly speeds). Most of the scuffing is very light and only really noticeable in bright lights.
The other problem we’ve discovered is that the paint is chipping in the cracks between the boards. The wood is an engineered click-together bamboo with about 1/8” dip between each board. When we sanded the floors before applying primer, we weren’t able to sand down into the cracks, so I’m assuming that’s why the paint didn’t adhere to those areas as well.
The chipping and scuffing are both confined to the heaviest trafficked areas—the hallway and the area near the entry between the dining and living spaces. The rest of the floors look almost exactly the same as when they were first painted. We’d still like to finish the other rooms this summer, and when we do, we might just add another coat or two on the damaged spots. Also, I should point out that most of the chipping occurred in the first few months. We really haven’t seen much change since then, so I would assume that it won’t get that much worse over time.
In the end, I guess I would say that white floors are not for everyone. But for us, they were an inexpensive solution that has made a huge impact on the ambiance in our home.
** Note: both of these photos were taken today in different areas of the house. The second photo is of the most heavily trafficked spot.
![[ VALENTINES ]
The kids and I have been making handmade valentines for classmates for several years now, and we always have a great time getting crafty together. This year I came up with the idea to make little spinner cards. If you never made something like this, the concept is separate images glued on each side of a stick. When the stick spins, the images combine like a very simple animation.
We decided to draw a heart on one side, and the arrow on the other, then glue them to sucker sticks that I purchased at Michael’s. When spun, the arrow appears to be going through the heart.
To make these a little cuter, I typeset the words with a rubber stamp printing kit that I found last year at the thrift store. This tool has been really handy, though changing out the letters can be somewhat frustrating. The kids each stamped their names on all of the cards, and then I made the mistake of letting them play with the stamper for a while. This is what the case of letters looks like now:
I had hoped that the kids would be able to do several of the steps involved in making these cards. But honestly, they turned out to be just a little too much for them to tackle. Instead, I’ve spent the last two days assembling fifty of them for their classmates. Not to worry though, I get plenty of enjoyment out of making things like these.
Happy Valentine’s day everyone!](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzed9e3e1D1qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ VALENTINES ]
The kids and I have been making handmade valentines for classmates for several years now, and we always have a great time getting crafty together. This year I came up with the idea to make little spinner cards. If you never made something like this, the concept is separate images glued on each side of a stick. When the stick spins, the images combine like a very simple animation.
We decided to draw a heart on one side, and the arrow on the other, then glue them to sucker sticks that I purchased at Michael’s. When spun, the arrow appears to be going through the heart.
To make these a little cuter, I typeset the words with a rubber stamp printing kit that I found last year at the thrift store. This tool has been really handy, though changing out the letters can be somewhat frustrating. The kids each stamped their names on all of the cards, and then I made the mistake of letting them play with the stamper for a while. This is what the case of letters looks like now:
I had hoped that the kids would be able to do several of the steps involved in making these cards. But honestly, they turned out to be just a little too much for them to tackle. Instead, I’ve spent the last two days assembling fifty of them for their classmates. Not to worry though, I get plenty of enjoyment out of making things like these.
Happy Valentine’s day everyone!
![[ OPEN SHELVES ]
If you follow me on Pinterest, you might have noticed that I’ve been pinning a lot of photos of kitchens with open shelves lately. Our plan is to (hopefully this summer) tear out most of the upper cabinets in the kitchen and replace them with simple shelves with possibly a short cabinet at the very top.
In the meantime, I’ve been anxious to try out some of the support brackets from Ikea to see if they will be up to the task of holding our dishes. We made the trek to Ikea last Saturday and picked up some wood brackets and a couple of shelves from the As-Is section. All total we spent $16 for this project.
I’m the type of person who would rather have completely bare countertops and surfaces. I had previously been storing my cookbooks and radio on top of my refrigerator, and my counter was starting to get cluttered with various dishes and bowls, so having a nice organized little space for everything makes me quite happy.
These are some of my favorite things in the kitchen: My new Jamie Oliver cookbook that my mom gave me, Meals in Minutes, which I highly recommend (really, this is such a great concept… three or four course meals with the recipes integrated so that everything finishes together), a pile of snack-sized cloth napkins that I’ve been creating out of fabric scraps, my Anri teak bowl, a butter crock that my in-laws gave me for christmas, my new little honey jar, and a cute radio so that I can listen to All Things Considered while I cook dinner.
I’ve mentioned before how much I dislike our travertine counters and backsplash. They have been on the demolition list since we’ve owned the house. When I was editing the photos, I thought I’d take a look at what the counters would look like without the backsplash (this is about a two minute photoshop job, so please don’t judge).
Though I’d still rather redo the entire thing, taking out the backsplash would be a huge improvement.
When it comes time to tearing out the cabinets and putting in the new shelves, I’d like to go with white brackets and thick wood shelves like this:
Do any of you have open shelves in your kitchen? Do you love or hate them? I’m guessing the top shelf gets a little dusty, but I’m hoping that having a cabinet at the very top will help a little with that.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lynfeg2mT21qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ OPEN SHELVES ]
If you follow me on Pinterest, you might have noticed that I’ve been pinning a lot of photos of kitchens with open shelves lately. Our plan is to (hopefully this summer) tear out most of the upper cabinets in the kitchen and replace them with simple shelves with possibly a short cabinet at the very top.
In the meantime, I’ve been anxious to try out some of the support brackets from Ikea to see if they will be up to the task of holding our dishes. We made the trek to Ikea last Saturday and picked up some wood brackets and a couple of shelves from the As-Is section. All total we spent $16 for this project.
I’m the type of person who would rather have completely bare countertops and surfaces. I had previously been storing my cookbooks and radio on top of my refrigerator, and my counter was starting to get cluttered with various dishes and bowls, so having a nice organized little space for everything makes me quite happy.
These are some of my favorite things in the kitchen: My new Jamie Oliver cookbook that my mom gave me, Meals in Minutes, which I highly recommend (really, this is such a great concept… three or four course meals with the recipes integrated so that everything finishes together), a pile of snack-sized cloth napkins that I’ve been creating out of fabric scraps, my Anri teak bowl, a butter crock that my in-laws gave me for christmas, my new little honey jar, and a cute radio so that I can listen to All Things Considered while I cook dinner.
I’ve mentioned before how much I dislike our travertine counters and backsplash. They have been on the demolition list since we’ve owned the house. When I was editing the photos, I thought I’d take a look at what the counters would look like without the backsplash (this is about a two minute photoshop job, so please don’t judge).
Though I’d still rather redo the entire thing, taking out the backsplash would be a huge improvement.
When it comes time to tearing out the cabinets and putting in the new shelves, I’d like to go with white brackets and thick wood shelves like this:
Do any of you have open shelves in your kitchen? Do you love or hate them? I’m guessing the top shelf gets a little dusty, but I’m hoping that having a cabinet at the very top will help a little with that.
![[ AFTERNOON DECK PROJECT ]
Our summer home improvement plans proved to be a bit to0 ambitious for our schedules. With the unusual (for us) amount of traveling we did, we weren’t left with a lot of time or money to complete the tasks on our list. Though summer is officially over, September had one last warm weekend to offer, so Patrick decided to take on a small exterior project.
I don’t post very often about the outside of our house, mostly because it’s a giant mess of rotted wood, pine needles, and ivy. Two thirds of the big wrap-around deck needs to be replaced because the wood has started to rot, though we’ve had several contractor friends look at it to reassure us that it’s not going to come crashing down when we stand on it.
The one section that is in decent shape is the boardwalk area that leads to the front door. The rest of the deck has been finished with Trex (or something similar) that was laid on top of old rotting wood, but this part is just plain old wood, of the non-rotted variety. It doesn’t get much direct sun, and with the heavy amount of rain we see, the wood has the typical gray coloring, but it also has dark gray/black areas (probably some sort of moss or mildew) that get really slimy and slippery when they’re wet.
Patrick decided to see how much he could improve the area with the supplies that we had on hand. He spent a couple of hours sanding the section in front of the door, and then finished it off with a couple of coats of varnish that was leftover from finishing the door at our last house.
The weather didn’t cooperate long enough for him to finish the last little section that goes up to the road, but since it’s a pretty basic project, if we get another few days of dry weather this fall, he can easily complete it.
For my part of the project, I finally planted a hosta in a $4 planter that I purchased at an estate sale last winter. It looks pretty wimpy right now, but I have high hopes that it will thrive. The deck was built around one of the many douglas fir trees on our property, but this particular one was not very healthy so we had it removed when we first moved in. The stump drives me crazy, but I’m hoping that the hosta wil grow big enough to hide it a little.
Yes, that tree is frighteningly close to the house, but it’s obviously been that way since the house was built forty years ago, since they built the roof around it. We plan to take it down in the next couple of years because it makes us a little nervous, but it is really expensive to have trees this big removed, especially when they’re this close to the house and we’re on a the side of a hill with minimal access and no “drop zone.” Actually, I’d love to hear recommendations for local tree services, does anyone have one they can share?](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ls5zk4PR401qc7v1bo1_500.jpg)
[ AFTERNOON DECK PROJECT ]
Our summer home improvement plans proved to be a bit to0 ambitious for our schedules. With the unusual (for us) amount of traveling we did, we weren’t left with a lot of time or money to complete the tasks on our list. Though summer is officially over, September had one last warm weekend to offer, so Patrick decided to take on a small exterior project.
I don’t post very often about the outside of our house, mostly because it’s a giant mess of rotted wood, pine needles, and ivy. Two thirds of the big wrap-around deck needs to be replaced because the wood has started to rot, though we’ve had several contractor friends look at it to reassure us that it’s not going to come crashing down when we stand on it.
The one section that is in decent shape is the boardwalk area that leads to the front door. The rest of the deck has been finished with Trex (or something similar) that was laid on top of old rotting wood, but this part is just plain old wood, of the non-rotted variety. It doesn’t get much direct sun, and with the heavy amount of rain we see, the wood has the typical gray coloring, but it also has dark gray/black areas (probably some sort of moss or mildew) that get really slimy and slippery when they’re wet.
Patrick decided to see how much he could improve the area with the supplies that we had on hand. He spent a couple of hours sanding the section in front of the door, and then finished it off with a couple of coats of varnish that was leftover from finishing the door at our last house.
The weather didn’t cooperate long enough for him to finish the last little section that goes up to the road, but since it’s a pretty basic project, if we get another few days of dry weather this fall, he can easily complete it.
For my part of the project, I finally planted a hosta in a $4 planter that I purchased at an estate sale last winter. It looks pretty wimpy right now, but I have high hopes that it will thrive. The deck was built around one of the many douglas fir trees on our property, but this particular one was not very healthy so we had it removed when we first moved in. The stump drives me crazy, but I’m hoping that the hosta wil grow big enough to hide it a little.
Yes, that tree is frighteningly close to the house, but it’s obviously been that way since the house was built forty years ago, since they built the roof around it. We plan to take it down in the next couple of years because it makes us a little nervous, but it is really expensive to have trees this big removed, especially when they’re this close to the house and we’re on a the side of a hill with minimal access and no “drop zone.” Actually, I’d love to hear recommendations for local tree services, does anyone have one they can share?
