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gaining the three season porch back…

After the winter of all winter’s I was thrilled to regain my three season porch back again. It becomes a storage room during the winter but in the spring, summer and early fall it is one of our favorite spots in the house. So last weekend I put the troops to work. Everyone pitched in and helped empty the porch of the smaller items (ie. the things that fit through the door). Eventually the porch looked like this… and my back patio looked like this… Items were then put away, thrown away or donated. Then the entire porch was vacuumed, including window sills and curtains. I ended up throwing the sheers in the wash because of all the pollen and grime on them. Then the fun started, at least for my 9-year-old. I knew the boy loved to mop but was not prepared for him to do ALL the mopping for me.…

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DIY: how to use fabric as wallpaper

My master bedroom closet just did not feel complete without some color. I had thought at first to either paint or stencil the back wall since that is the main view you have when opening the closet door. The problem was I’ve already done that. I wanted to try something new. I decided to jump on the wallpaper bandwagon, just not entirely. First I need to back up a bit. I saw some fabric on Tonic Living (one of my favorite sites to browse fabric online) and couldn’t get it out of my head. This happens a lot. I then saw a couple of ideas on Pinterest that showed how to use fabric as wallpaper. The instructions seemed pretty easy and straightforward. All that was needed was basically fabric and liquid starch. Here is where I ran into my one and only problem. I couldn’t find liquid starch anywhere. I looked online…

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master bedroom closet; construction day

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by ClosetMaid®. I received a free sample of the product for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own. When I decided to make some changes in my master bedroom closet I was a little overwhelmed by the choices out there. I didn’t want to create the entire thing from scratch but I did want to be able to create a unique look. When ClosetMaid® offered to send me a complete closet system for both sides of my closet I was positive I had found the perfect way to go about it. I would be getting a classy looking closet with nice finishes and details. At the same time I could inject enough of my own style into that space to make it something I will love for years to come! After measuring, remeasuring and then measuring again I was able to come…

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master bedroom closet; the plan

Progress on the master bedroom closet is moving along. I’m in the building & installing phase at the moment. After the closet organizer (which ClosetMaid® kindly gave me to try out) is installed I’ll be doing my favorite part. Making it pretty. New lighting will replace the bare bulb. I’ll be making myself some wallpaper using fabric. I’d love some type of leaning mirror, an area rug and hopefully a bench or ottoman.  Here is a glimpse at what is inside my head…It is always helpful to have an image of where you want to end up when completing a renovation, no matter the size. This might just be a small closet but honing in on how I want it to look makes all the little design decisions fall into place.

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master bedroom closet; cleaned up, gutted and painted

I like showing my horrible before pictures. Not to freak anyone out or horrify my mother (again mom, so sorry for what you are about to see). I show them because many of you have these kinds of closets. The kind where you just throw things in there because no one will ever see the insides of your closet. But you do, every day. And after a while you wish it were a little neater, a little more organized or just plain nice to look at. Remember my front hall closet? It still looks the way it does when I reorganized it a month or two ago, so it does work!! Now that you are visually prepared for what lies ahead, here is my master bedroom closet… So this is actually a good day in the life of my closet. Typically there are items on the floor so that you…

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the secretary desk: adding new hardware

While I was giving my Hemnes secretary desk a visual makeover I had plans to change out the hardware as well. I had a picture in my mind of bin pulls for the desk door and latch knobs for the cabinet doors. I had even gone as far as purchasing the bins pulls in oil rubbed bronze until I realized that they didn’t match the mirrors and fretwork. It became too heavy and pulled the eye away from the light and airy part of the new desk. The old hardware stayed as it was for a while until I found an alternative. You can see below with one door on and all the old hardware in place that it is a bit distracting. I looked up some examples online to see what other mirrored furniture had as hardware and I came to one conclusion. Glass. I found some glass hardware at…

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modern farmhouse architecture…

I’ve been drooling over modern farmhouse architecture a little while now. Don’t get me wrong, I love my house, but if I could give it an exterior makeover I’d love to apply the modern farmhouse look. It is the effortless mix of modern and farmhouse to create a simple and comfortable design. Pitched metal roofs are paired with simple wooden siding. Lot of straight lines finish off the windows and  covered porches. Patio’s, columns and chimneys are finished off with stone and slate to create this look. If I was building I could see myself going in this direction. White siding, black window trim, slate patios and walkways. All things I love. A few tweaks here and there to an existing home would do the job as well! If you are redoing your siding go white and vertical instead of horizontal. Replace your windows with simpler silhouettes or paint your existing…

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master bedroom closet plans…

I came to the realization a while back that I work better with my own closet systems in various forms. This might mean that I gut a closet and made it an office or just used some simple storage solutions to use it to it’s full potential.  I set my sights on my master bedroom closet for my next closet renovation. ClosetMaid® was kind enough to team up with me to get this closet under control. We started off by figuring out the dimensions necessary to maximize the storage in my closet. The closet is a walk in that measures 62 inches deep and 65 inches wide. The door is in the center of the closet. As it is now I have rods and a shelf running along each side. I’ll be keeping the same layout since the master bedroom closet is also the access to the attic. This means that there needs to be…

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spring break…

My children are on spring break this week which means I am also!       See you next week!

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organized closet solutions…

Most of the closets in my home are slowly evolving into something other than a typical closet with a hanging bar and shelf at the top. My home is not very large so organized closet solutions play a big part in making a smaller space work for us. A closet might have a bar across it and a shelf on top but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a solution to make it work better for you! Over the course of five years I have turned some into a storage closet, others a better organized clothes storage closet or still others a cloffice. Empty closets translate to dumping grounds! It works better for me and in the end becomes more useful. Here is what I’ve worked on so far. My two son’s share a bedroom. I needed more floor space in that room and less closet space. I removed the sliding doors and inserted…

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