My Blogolution 2011 (Part III) & Project #1

Sorry for being a day late on this post. Somewhere between the kiddo throwing up at daycare on Monday, staying home with him on Tuesday combating his nasty stomach bug, and then worrying that Justin or I would come down with it next, I sorta lost my blog mojo. Hence the no Ten on Tuesday this week.

But the kiddo felt better yesterday and I was in bed by 9pm last night to help give my immune system an extra boost, just in case. What did we do before Tylenol PM?

Today I woke up at 5am feeling rested and in great spirits, and I even hit the gym.

Now the Jo-Jo Mojo is back!
(Ha! I crack myself up.)

Alright, I'll try to focus now.

Where were we? Oh, yes - taking on the challenge that is making my house into a place we can love.

But there are certain conditions for this challenge.

1. MONEY (or the lack thereof)

I have to stay frugally minded. We are still working on what Justin and I fondly refer to as our "Baby Bill" (aka fertility treatments fund), and assuming our next IVF cycle is a success, we will also need to cushion our savings account in preparation for maternity leave. This means I will have to tap into my creative side and do a lot of decorating with what I already have. But thats where I'm fairly prepared. Look at these gems I have in my basement, just waiting for me and a gallon of pretty paint.

And while we're on the subject of frugality, I want to emphasize that most of these projects will not be major renovations. Rather, I'm focusing more on the cosmetic aspects. For instance, our entire house has wood paneled walls and square paneled ceilings. While we would love to drywall and texture everything, that is simply not in the budget right now.

Some projects will be simple touches like adding a new decorative throw pillow or re-arranging the furniture layout in a room. Others might require a little more elbow grease like a wee bit of tiling, re-finishing pieces of furniture, and the much-dreaded task of changing the wax rings on our toilets. Ewwww, right? But its gotta be done.

The only exception to this might be our master bedroom, for which we have great plans. At this point I simply cannot justify doing anything that is not a clear step toward my dream master bedroom. And, considering that the true first step for that bedroom is completely gutting it and scraping off the glittered popcorn ceiling, I just might save that room for last - thus allowing us to save up the cash we still need for that project.


2. DEADLINE

I'm not sure it is reasonable to give myself a deadline since home improvement projects can be so unpredictable; not to mention that with limited funding I might have to pause from time to time to save up for more supplies. However, since we are hoping to welcome a new member to our family next fall I think that is as good a deadline as any. And really, how much do I think I will be accomplishing on my house after the arrival of a new baby?

I will, however, be making myself go room by room - meaning I need to finish one before moving on to another. Dividing the projects in this way will also help to keep me from feeling overwhelmed about my house as a whole.

3. ACCOUNTABILITY

I have to be accountable to someone and provide regular updates on my progress or I will never feel the push to get these projects done. This is where you come in! As we all know, resolutions tend to fall by the wayside when there is no accountability. And what better way for me to hold myself accountable than posting it here for your viewing? I will also be looking for your advice and suggestions along the way as I do not consider home decor and staging to be some of my strengths. We have lived in this house for four years and I'm only just now getting my booty in gear with the actual decor - that should give you some indication of my decorating skills, or more accurately the lack thereof.

Are those enough conditions for you? Yeah, me too. And by now you're probably thinking "Alright already, Jody. Less talk. More action!"

So let's get started!

Project #1: Spare room

The primary pieces of furniture in this room are a king size bed for our guests and my adorable crafting/sewing desk. The entire closet is filled with my craft and sewing supplies. I like to think that when we don't have guests visiting this room belongs to only me. Its where I escape to be creative. Thus, my decor for this room is fairly feminine. Think: Afternoon Tea in the Garden.

What do I love about this room?

1. The lighting. This room has two large windows on the east and south walls, so it gets great daylight most of the day.

2. My craft desk.

3. These garden spade hooks I found at Joanns.

4. The bright patchwork quilt I found on Overstock last year.

6. This teacup and saucer, which belonged to my Grandma Binder. I love, love, love that these serve as my main inspiration for this room.

What do I dislike about this room?

1. The door that leads directly outside. We think this room was intended to be a home office once upon a time. Our long term plan is to enclose our carport and make this exterior door into an interior door, leading out into my new supercool carport turned utility/wash room.

2. The ancient windows. But that project is for another day, when we can afford all new windows.

3. The totally blah ceiling fan. My mother-in-law recently told me she has laid in bed in our spare room wondering if the fan would come crashing down if she turned it on. (Mikki, if you are reading this, rest assured I didn't take offense to this at all. I have disliked this fan for ages; your comment just gave me the excuse I needed to rip it down and buy my first beautiful mini chandelier.) Shhhh! Don't anyone tell my hubby I'm buying a chandelier for a bedroom or he will most certainly oppose it. I'm not even sure the word 'chandelier' is in his vocabulary.

Here are some general pics of the room so you can get the overall effect of what I have going so far.

And now, because I'm a total list-maker, here is my project list:

-finish the magnetic taskboard which will hang above my desk

-replace the yucky cheapo bedroom door with a pretty new white one (w/ new hardware)

-patch up missing baseboard behind the bed

-replace the dirty ivory switchplates and outlet covers w/ pretty white ones

-new window treatments (I still have NO idea what to do here)

-re-do throw pillows

-buy a bedskirt (Aren't these the yuckiest bed frame legs you have ever seen? It looks like we're trying to suction the bed to the floor or something.)

-use stacked vintage suitcases purchased from a yard sale to replace this bedside table (The table itself is great but it just doesn't fit in this room; plus, the suitcases will give me great storage.)

-re-finish an old piano bench to place beneath the south window (extra seating and storage)

-antique glaze my craft desk because, as much as I love it, it looks a little too clean right now

-replace the hardware on the cabinet doors above the closet

-rip down the blah ceiling fan and replace it with an oh-so-pretty mini chandelier

-cleverly hide the exterior door (I have it currently hidden behind some curtains, but I'm thinking a cool room divider or vintage wooden door would be better)

-hang a cool vintage mirror on the same wall as the closet

Wow. Actually writing it down makes it look like a lot of work. But, truth be told, I've already started on a few tasks AND I've got a three day weekend ahead of me. Bring it on!

Got any tips/advice for me and my spare room? Please share!