Makeover

The one big project that needs to be done around here is the painting of the hallway.  It’s the one spot that hasn’t seen a paint brush since we moved in in July of 2014.  Well, I guess that might not be entirely true, I did paint the ceiling when I was doing the other ceilings.

The main reason I’ve been putting off painting the hallway is because it’s big and there’s lots of trim.  There are 10 doorways off it and it includes the staircase.  With.All.Those.Steps.  Plus, the trim is taking 3 coats of white to cover white.  It isn’t even fair.  But I also know that I’ll be happy when it’s done and we can finish moving stuff into that space and get it working better for us.

The girls craft supplies are spread out between the studio, a bin in the upstairs hall and still, sadly, there a bit left at the old place, too.  It’ll certainly be nice to have that all sorted out and in one location again.  I think they miss doing crafts whenever they feel like it and they can’t find anything in the bin as it’s a big jumbled mix of everything.  Yes, super slack mother here.

The bookcase sits at the top of the stairs, too.  It’s the perfect fit for that spot.  But it always looks a mess!  The girls tend to pull stuff out and then jam things back in at random.  I think we need to sort through the books and take a bunch of them to the book exchange that is happening at our local community center on a monthly basis.  But the catch with that is I know we’d come home with more than we left here with!

I’m planning on putting my collection of wooden shoes above the book case – for two reasons.  First reason being I want them somewhere where they won’t feel like they stick out too much.  And secondly, this wall is gyprock – so much easier for banging numerous nails into instead of the plaster walls we have most everywhere else.   I can’t wait to have them hung up again!

One of the other things that will get hung is the last set of antlers from Michael’s collection.  They are going to go just on the awkward wall above your head when heading down the stairs.  The locations for the three sets have been in hot debate.  Hannah claiming one set for her room certainly helped me out.  The other set is in the living room, above the TV.  The handsome Mr. Byrne would be quite happy if all three sets lived in the living room, so all could see…..needless to say, I’m not so on board with that idea!

The other area that has been debated and pondered and questioned is the area by the phone jack in the lower hallway, right off the kitchen.  Since our house is older, the trim is thick and finished off with corner round.  This means anything that sits against a wall, doesn’t sit flat against the wall.  In most cases, it isn’t a huge issue.  But, because whatever sits under the phone jack and calendar needs to be narrow to allow for easy  traffic flow and be out from the wall – it’s nearly impossible to find the perfect thing.  Brainstorming made me realize a shelf would be a great solution!  Just narrow enough to hold the sewing drawer of pens and notepads, no legs to cause trouble and yet completely functional!  I have two brackets that I’ve had for….I’m not even sure how long!!  They were originally bought to put a shelf in the living room of our first house.  And I never found the right board for the shelf, so no shelf was ever hung.  They moved with us….still with no purpose laid out.  But now I do know what I’ll use them for!  I also have a piece of marble from a mantle that I may use for the shelf but installation may be too tricky so we’ll see how that plays out.

So, today, instead of picking up a paint brush, I wrote all about it instead…..

To be continued,

Lori

We are being hit with yet another snowstorm.  We barely had winter up until last week and it’s been full-blown storm after full-blown storm!!  The snowbanks are high, the drifts are higher and some spirits may be sinking…..

But the nice thing about forced to staying home is that fact you can accomplish so much stuff!  I’m finishing things on my list and taking pictures, because, well, I’m actually home in the daylight.

This morning I finished off a fun, simple project.  All in all, it probably took me an hour at the most to do all the steps for this one.  So easy. And it has kind of a neat background story. Wanna hear?  Too bad…..

One of my best buddy throughout my teenage years was Mary-Beth.  We meet at youth group and became fast friends.  We may have found our way into some trouble more than once, causing her sweet mother to think I was a bad influence on her innocent daughter.  Wellllll, that’s not exactly the truth.  I’m pretty sure Mary-Beth found her way into a few hot spots without my help on more than one occasion.

Fast forward 20 or so years { eeek } and here we are.  Mary-Beth lives in Ontario with her precious family but her parents are still in these parts, I always am sure to give Colleen, Mary-Beth’s mother, a hug every time I see her because I know just how much she misses Mary-Beth. She, in return, offers me her old basement window.  I’m sure to some, this seems like an odd offer.  But, it’s an offer I would not refuse.  She knows how much I love a fun project and how much I love old stuff with a neat history.  Thank you, Colleen, and really, I am the innocent one….it was her!!! 😉

Which, in a round about way, brings us to today’s project.  Finishing, hanging and decorating the window frame.  The frame was already painted black with a perfectly chippy finish.  What I did was just rub some Miss Mustard Seed Hemp Oil on it.  Hemp Oil is my new favorite thing.   But that’s a whole other post!  The Hemp Oil just puts some moisture back in the wood, deepens the wood tones and makes the paint look richer.

Left side untouched, right side one coat of Hemp Oil

I strung picture hanging wire across the back and cleaned up the glass with regular window cleaner.  Then I hung it on the wall where we had a huge wreath at Christmas.

This morning I finally printed off some black and white pictures we had done in May by the talented Christine Whelan-Hachey of Wonkyeye Photography.  I just stuck those on each pane with some tape and ta-da – it’s done!!

I’m not sure if this will be staying here.  I may move it to the right side of the front living room window.  Now that the curtains are hung, I have a better idea of what art I want where on the walls.  And that spot is bare!!

But it is all coming together!  I love how bit by bit we are getting settled into the house and claiming it as our own.  It was fun going through the pictures of what it looked like in July and how is looks now.  I’m so thankful to be here and call this house our home!

To be continued,

Lori