First Look: DIY Lounge Wall Unit

We look back and laugh at the confidence we had to just oh, you know, build an entire wall unit in our new home. Our kitchen, dining room and lounge are all in one gorgeous open plan space. Add in the high ceilings, and you have one big empty canvas to work with. After setting up our existing furniture, the lounge seriously lacked character and it quickly became the area you walked through, but didn't actually settle in and enjoy.

I've been following a designer under her brand name Sita Montgomery for a while now, and everything about her home is perfection. She has used a white feature wall unit concept in quite a few of her rooms, and after showing Clint - we just had to have one!

So, the saving of our pennies began. We bought the wood for our project at a fantastic discount rate from a supplier in Pietermaritzburg and started one phase at a time. Bite size tasks. Over the next few Fridays I will be sharing each step with you. Who knows, maybe our crazy notions are right up your alley and you might be inspired to make your very own wall unit?

While we are chuffed as anything to have the main structure on the wall, but we do still have a few things to check off the to-do list:

* Board up the top smallest shelf to "close off" the unit, instead of it looking like floating shelves
* Add white crown molding to take it right up to the roof eliminating gaps
* The two bottom spaces are reserved for cabinets (yikes!) to hide DVDs, board games etc.

* Paint sections behind the wall unit (white?)

* Slowly collect meaningful ceramics, artwork etc to fill our beautiful shelves.

First Look: The Boy's Bedroom

 

While I was busy photographing my latest project in the Boy's room (to follow) - I thought - hey, why don't I show you a little look around at where we are with this space and how we plan to use it?

Jesse (5) and Jack (3) have shared a room for the last year or so, and we all love it that way. When we first looked around our new home, I knew exactly which room was going to be theirs. A sweet room big enough for the two of them with bay windows that look over the back garden. A little boy's dream - they can spot the neighbour's kids heading over with a rugby ball from a mile away!

We moved them in with their original single beds each, kiddie-themed matching duvet sets and a side table that we borrowed from the guest room. We managed to hang the same navy curtains (we wondered if they would be wide enough for the bay windows) from the previous home which saved on moving-in expenses. I also brought in a "toy sorter" that I set up a few months before the move. It's a plastic shoe rack that I converted into a bright & fun storage system. Lastly, we temporarily put a small white bookshelf in place that also used to be in the guest room / baby room. We have a plan to change the entire layout of their room, so everything just went in as is. 

  Since moving-in day, we have made three really fun changes to their little haven:

1) We painted a feature wall behind their beds (same colour as dining room feature wall - bonus!)

2) We added anchor vinyls to the new and improved wall (post to follow)

3) I crocheted a tarn reading rug for next to their bookshelf (post to follow)

Over the next few months we would like to change things up a bit to accommodate their new-found love of drawing and lego etc. Basically, they need more of a big-boy space.

*Bunk beds. This dream is coming true this week-end - more floor space, hooray!

*New duvet cover sets. As much as it might not be "stylish", I really didn't mind having my kids choose out their bedding from good ol' Mr Price. It also definitely helped them transition from baby room to big boy room. Having said that, they've moved onto bigger, more important things, and bedding just isn't on their priority list. Hooray, now Mommy can shop! I'm not entirely sure what I am looking for yet, but I will know it when I see it, ya know? Just not too matchy-matchy.

*The side table will move back into the guest room.

*In place of the white bookshelf, we'd like build a custom desk that will allow both boys to comfortable sit / draw / build. 

*Fabric blinds. I find that the dark heavy curtains really close off the stunning window area. I would love to do a reading nook near the bay windows and the curtains just take up far too much space all round. 

I hope you have enjoyed a little sneak peek into our boy's bedroom. Honestly, I cannot wait to get started on their desk over the holidays. Please could all this paper, glue and goodness knows what else on my kitchen table find somewhere else to party?! Let's build that desk Mr Kyle, and fast!

First Look: Dining Room

Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of incorporating a ton of white into my home decor. I do however also love bold pops of colour and mixing and matching of patterns / prints. Our previous home had a two-toned taupe wall along with warm tones in the tiling. This meant we pretty much went all white er'where with our home decor to brighten up the space and keep it feeling fresh. 

In our new home, it's almost the total opposite. Here, it's bright and light all on it's own! Light streams in from bay windows, both the existing walls and tiles are shades of cream / white and the high ceilings emphasize it all. I LOVE IT. Imagine my surprise when we moved all our furniture in and it all just felt a little bare...like the rooms were still echoing! Too much white? I didn't think that was possible. One month in, our main living spaces still didn't feel like 'home' and needed some key features to bring warmth and balance. 

We have recently started on our biggest DIY project to date in our Lounge, but we are only planning to have that finished by the end of the year. A simpler project to work on in the meantime is our Dining room. We are by no means finished with it, but this is a sneaky first look at where we are at and what we started from. Right before we moved in, the space looked like this:

Initially, we dumped everything in this room that we didn't know where to put anywhere else. We actually hosted our first church lunch on the day pictured below. We were so excited to have people over to our new mansion that we didn't care much for the piles of un-hung artwork and frames.

We decided to take everything out into the garage that we absolutely didn't like for the Dining room area, and rather start from the beginning again. Ahh, I could actually start to think clearly.

*We mounted a white curtain rod
*We started out picture frame wall
*We painted the chandelier white
 *We left only the bookcase, the curtains and the table and chairs. The rest of the furniture and nik naks we moved out.
*Clint recently made a gorgeous mirror for me that I had intended for an entrance way of some sort. That pain-staking project deserves a whole story of it's own so I won't go into it too much, but we decided to use it on this Dining room wall. Read: Clint desperately wanted it there!! :) 

On paper, this looks pretty as a picture. In real life, it lacked character and since it's the first thing you see when you walk in the front door, it needed something. I've fallen in love with a specific shade of blue-grey that I've seen in a few magazines recently. It's not too cheesy. It's not too dark. It's timeless. It's classy. It's easy to match. It flows with the rest of the open plan. More importantly, it's perfect for our feature wall in here! Our first tin of paint was a flop - way too purple (see swatch below on far left)...

I'm having a little laugh out loud here that Clint's shirt matches perfectly to the shade gone wrong. Anyway, enough staring at that wonderful human. He returned the tin for us - I get so shy about that kind of thing - and we had Builders Express make up our perfect colour instead. At only R290 for 5L, we were very happy overall.

* Clint poly-filled a few unnecessary holes in the wall

* I used painters tape to section off the wall

* We tag-teamed painting two coats while the kids did their own arts + crafts at the breakfast table

Finally, here is where we have ended up as of this past week-end! To say we are pleased with the changes so far would be an understatment. It makes me happy every time I walk into the house.

The projects on our to-do list for this space are as follows:

* Update / fill photo frames 

* I'm torn between keeping the frame wall simple or making a really large one

* The bookcase (you can see it on the first pic) will either need a coat of Annie Sloan chalk paint or else we may replace it altogether. We would also like to move all the books and games out into the Lounge and have this bookcase serve as a display case instead.

* Our random assortment of second-hand chairs need a little attention. Three of them are still begging to be re-upholstered, and we'd actually like to switch out two of them. 

* Replace our dining room table. Clint made this one using a friend's discarded door, but it's shown wear through the move. Clint's Dad has kindly offered us an unfinished oak table base that we will turn into a sturdier table. I have a feeling we will keep this all natural wood and rather incorporate white accessories on the tabletop. 

There you have it! I hope you are inspired to tackle a project of your own this week-end!

First Look: Home Office

It's been exactly two weeks since our "big" move from Waterfall to Pietermaritzburg. I was anticipating all kinds of stress and drama, and yet there was little to none at all. Thanks to some incredibly special friends, we were unpacked on day one. There has been the most wonderful peace from the moment we walked in the door. I know this comes from being right where God wants us to be.

Our new home has a totally different feel to it which has meant we have spent most of our time um-ing and ah-ing over where to put what. It's beyond beautiful...I can't even put in words how grateful I am to be living here. I've loved the quietness that has come with not having a phone line or internet over the past few days. It has allowed me to truly soak in this special time of our lives.

The very first space that is important to me as a stay-at-home working mom, is the home office. In our previous house, my office formed part of the main living area due to space constraints. This proved impractical and I didn't want to follow suit going forward. Thankfully, our new main bedroom is large enough to comfortably fit a home office on one end without imposing on the rest of the room at all. Yippee!

We are so far from being done, but I thought I'd share pics as we go along so that you can join in on our creative journey with us. Alright, let's get started!

As you walk into our room, and you look to the far right, you will see this...

Those of you who follow me on Instagram will know how much I am in love with BW Prints. I bought four of my favourites and squared them above my desk. I am using my existing desk (family hand-me-down), chair (thrift store find for R99) and lamp (from Mr Price Home). 

Now this is the part where I go speechless. That back garden view. The natural sunlight. The bay windows. What more can I say? Oh, I CAN say that those gorgeous curtains you see right there are a labour of love. My incredibly talented friend, Sarah, took some curtains I was given -  that weren't the appropriate size for a bay window - and she turned them into this. I mean. 

If you look to the right of my desk, there is a white chest of drawers. My husband and father-in-law built this from a design I scribbled on paper. It's the first piece of furniture we ever owned. This was originally a place to store Jesse's baby clothes and books, but he has since grown out of using it. I actually had no clue where we were going to keep it as it didn't seem to function anywhere. And then light-bulb moment - this would work perfectly as a stylish solution to house my printer and general office storage.

So there you have it, a first look at the starting point of my new home office. The projects on our to-do list for this space are as follows:

* Spray-paint gold corners onto black frames
* Paint desk white (the existing bronze handles are going to pop out beautifully!)
* Drill a hole into the back of the chest of drawers to hide wires
* Buy four white files to replace the multi-coloured ones I currently have. Re-label them.
* Buy a comfortable cushion for office chair
* Look into a rug option for these chilly days

Any other suggestions? I'd love to hear from you!

My little rug that I love

Remember this post?

Well, a few days later, I came across the most wonderful area rug for our lounge that was more cost effective than some of the DIY options I'd been researching -  but that's for another post. Today, I want to tell you about my little rug that makes our home a happier place!

On Thursday I was on the hunt to find packaging - a large quantity of gift bags to be specific. I found myself at 'Hassim's Packaging' in Springfield Park by recommendation. This gem of a wholesale shop proved to be extremely helpful in the gift bag department, and much to my delight, with all things kitchen and household too. Odds and ends spanning a few aisles. You've basically lost me for about half a day at this point.

I did have other deadlines to meet so kept my visit reasonably short, but not before leaving with my little rug that I love (a bargain for R50). Oh and these polka dot mugs? I have no idea how they got in my basket! (R12 a mug).

Brainstorming: Mats & Rugs

A chilly breeze has started blowing in towards the end of our sunny days. I'd nearly forgotten how cold our little tiled house could get until I found myself wearing slippers last week to potter around in, just to escape cold toes.

I have a list of to-do's that include projects from one end of the home to the other. All of which will have to wait, so that I can focus on finding a fun and budget-friendly way to make a lounge rug and a few mats to keep big and little feet warm this winter.

I'm not sure which direction to go just yet. The most important start to any project is to do a little research beforehand to see what supplies are the most cost effective in your local area. Here are a few tutorials that have caught my eye. Watch this space!

(Please click on the photos for source websites & full tutorials) 

Re-invented Bathroom Mirror

The very first idea of a bathroom revamp was sparked by a wooden mirror we own that didn't quite fit in with the rest of the home decor. The more we thought about the uninspiring medicine cabinet that stared at us every morning in our communal bathroom, the more we realized that with a fresh coat of paint, it could add a completely new look. We are tall folk and a little extra mirror height would also be greatly welcomed.

Take a look at the finished result on our Bathroom Reveal post - I'd love to hear what you think! Now take those hand-me-down mirrors you've been hoarding out of the garage and get to painting.

Bathroom Makeover: After

Hello new bathroom! You are beautiful!

The hard work paid off and we officially finished the foundational stage of our bathroom makeover. We treated the walls to a new coat of paint and added both new & thrifted accessories. What really turned it all around was a massive second-hand frame that we re-purposed as a border around the  bathroom window before installing some good ol' venetian blinds for a fresher look.

We spent most of our time on this project shopping around for good deals: sale items from Mr Price Home and a handful of second-hand shops in the area. I will do individual posts for each significant project with a little more detail and will be sure to note the 'what, where, how much'. 

We still need to find a few pieces that will make it 'our own' but those are the kinds of things I find you just have to stumble upon. I do hope you enjoyed sharing in our first big project as much as we enjoyed working on it. Don't forget to take a look back at what this space looked like before!

Bathroom Makeover: Before

I could spend hours scrolling through 'Before' and 'After' projects on all my favourite blogs, and now that it's my turn - I'm ridiculously excited.

We moved into our beautiful home over two years ago with a really tight budget and decorating our main bathroom just wasn't on the must list. We were grateful to have towels gifted by family, plonked a washing basket in the corner and that was about it! 

I am happy to say that this holiday season has allowed us the time and resources to come up with a few ideas on how to give our much used space a bright facelift. We are halfway through with the makeover projects we planned and I already cannot walk down our passage-way without smiling. We are working on all the tasks ourselves so we get the most done once kiddos are tucked in bed. I will post the happy bathroom reveal once we've checked everything off our to-do list, but will try and sneak in a few progress posts before then. Here are the 'before' photos:

 

Make your own Fabric-Wrapped Letter Art

I came across this really fun idea for a fabric-wrapped 'HOME' sign to place on-top our dining room floating shelves. The idea was inspired by Jaime and you can see photos of her gorgeous home here. I am in love with the printed fabrics she worked with, but with our adjoining lounge suite already popping with colour, I chose a charcoal grey to wrap with instead.

 Supplies you will need:

x  Approximately 2m of fabric / scraps
x  Old cardboard box

x  Fabric glue

x  Pencil

x  Scissors

x  Four pieces of felt

x  White accrylic paint (optional)

x  Fine paintbrush (optional)

Instructions:

Rip four large rectangles off of your cardboard box. Pencil your letters onto the card and carefully cut out your large letters. Add a few dabs on glue onto the front of each letter to attach the felt and trim according to required shape. Next, cut your fabric into strips with a width of approx. 3cm. You are now ready to start wrapping. Strategically place a dot of fabric glue at back of the starting point of your letter and neatly wrap your way around each corner and curve, securing with glue as you go along. Don't worry if your backs look as scruffy as mine do - no one will be any the wiser!

Optional: I added a little more character to ours by painting on white 'tacking' detail.

Geometric Wall Art

A budget friendly way to work a pop of colour into your home decor. I had a few pieces of square cardstock leftover from a previous project, some basic acrylics in the cupboard and a roll of washi tape. I didn't have the right picture frame size on hand, so to keep the costs down I sold a few unused frames we had lying around and bought the perfect square frame new.

Supplies you will need:

x  Piece of square cardstock ( I used fushia pink )
x  Roll of washi tape / painters tape
x  Two acrylic paint colours of your choice ( I used white + cream )
x  Palette / Old plate
x  Paint brush
x  Cup of water
x  Picture frame ( I bought mine from Mr Price Home for R150 )
x  Large piece of cardstock ( I bought mine from Waltons for R5 ) Optional 

Instructions:

Use your tape to create a geometric pattern on your cardstock. Alternate between two or more paint colours to fill in the shapes. Allow time for the paint to dry completely, peel off the tape and get ready to frame. Tip: I cut out a thick white border from some standard white cardstock to use as a mount for my artwork.