The Big Bad Pig Is Gone!

Well, the boar head that's hung in my spare room for ages is finally gone!

My brother Burns recently started a new job in Montana and is moving into his first place. He's been gathering all the things that you need when you start out on your own, including art and decorations. 

Since Spencer still isn't somewhere that he can hang art he told Burns he could have the boar temporarily for his new place.

I've been trying to get rid of that ugly thing for almost two years! Half the people who come over to stay are terrified of sleeping in the same room and although it didn't bother me it also wasn't the style I was going for.

Since my grandmother is going through her things and gradually getting rid of stuff I asked if I could take one of Granddaddy's paintings for my house. I hung the one I chose in the place where the boar head was previously.

My granddaddy painted for years, mostly with oils and we have a variety of landscapes and other paintings that he made. This one was a landscape he painted of West Texas.

Artist: B. Wallace McDowell

The Switch-A-Roo

I love how the couch was just made for my house.

Recently a friend of mine decided to buy a new couch. Even better she decided to give away her "old" couch for free--to me! The couch is red and very modern looking which fits perfectly in my house.

However, the new couch meant I now had three couches. And my house just isn't big enough for that many large pieces of furniture, so I decided to get rid of one of the two couches I already had. Of those one was a sleeper sofa and the other was a ridiculously comfortable--but very worn--sofa I bought from my aunt when I got my first apartment after college.

Spencer asked where they were taking
his "reading couch" when I sent him this picture.

I decided to keep the sleeper sofa since it comes in handy when I have a lot of company. Spencer had talked about wanting the other couch, but he isn't in a place where he can have his own furniture right now.

So after a month or so of posting the couch on Craigslist and maneuvering around the excessive number of couches in my house I called Catholic Charities and offered to donate the sofa if they could come pick it up. And bring enough people to help load and unload, an especially tricky task since the sofa was 7 1/2 feet long and had to be taken through the front window.

The couch was in my home office and was too long to get through the hallway of my house. Luckily my front windows are the kind that both panes fold down for cleaning and the screen easily pops in and out. We got the sofa (and my craft table) into the room through the windows so I knew that would be how we would need to get the couch out. Unfortunately its a three person job so I had to make sure the people from Catholic Charities knew to have a couple of people come. Even then one of the women who came was in a skirt!

Once the extra sofa was gone I roped a couple of my brothers into helping me move the sleeper sofa (which is ridiculously heavy) into the office. Luckily it is a shorter sofa so we were able to move it through the hallway and door (although not without some hassle).

But here it is:

One of the most comfortable
sleeper sofas I've ever slept on!

It actually makes more sense for the sleeper sofa to be in the office. This way if I do have enough company that we need to pull out the extra bed they'll still be in a room with a door, giving my guests a bit more privacy than the living room offers.

Meanwhile I'd like to mention how awesome my brothers and Dad are. Burns lent me his shiny new truck to pick up the new couch from my friend Sarah, then he and Dad helped me load and unload it. Garrison and Taggert helped me move the heavy sleeper sofa and Spencer has helped me move furniture multiple times in the past.

And of course, Sarah is amazing for giving me a great couch for free!

Let There Be Light!

My pendant lights are installed!

Finally! On Monday I was able to get an electrician to come out and install the lights that I posted about a while ago. I originally started thinking about this project in 2010. I even had an electrician give me a price quote before I had a financial set back and ended up putting the project on hold.

In the process...

I already had the light fixtures, but since there weren't already lights over my bar area I had to have an electrician install the wiring. What surprised me was how hard it was to pin down an electrician! With all the complaints about the economy I thought finding someone to do a job right before the holidays would be pretty easy. However, I wanted to use someone that was recommended so I wouldn't worry about safety or the quality of the work.

I called the company that gave me a price quote back in 2010, but after talking to the receptionist twice and never getting a call back I moved on.

The second electrician I spoke to sounded interested, then I never heard back from him. Even after calling and leaving another voicemail. I finally found an electrician who was able to come out Monday morning (which was perfect since I already had the day off).

They drilled holes from the attic for the wiring and made a second double switch where the light switch for my kitchen is.

The guys were really careful to make as little mess as they could and by the time they left I think my kitchen was cleaner than when they arrived!

Something that I hadn't considered until my electrician, Jason Camp, asked was buying light bulbs for the new fixtures. Luckily he had some that fit. He said that it happens all the time; he'll finish installing 100 light fixtures and there won't be a single bulb for any of them. Light bulbs were especially important because he needed to test that the wiring was connected correctly. And as it turned out one of the wires on the middle light actually came loose so the light didn't work when he checked it. He had to take the housing off again and reconnect the wire.

See how the one on the end looks orange?

Interestingly, the light on the end closest to the wall turns orange once the lights are on. When the lights are off all the shades appear the same color of red. I'm not sure what causes the different color, but I'm debating moving it to the middle so it doesn't look as awkward.

Do you think it looks strange?

I'm so excited to finally get this project checked off my list. Not only do I now have beautiful lighting over my bar (an area that didn't get much light), but the cabinet where I was storing the glass pendant lights and light kits is now freed up for other storage!

I went ahead and rearranged the cabinets and cleaned up my laundry room Sunday evening after taking everything out for the electrician. I was amazed by how much space I had. The lights take up a lot less room hanging over the bar then they did in storage.

What do you think? Doesn't the pop of color add to the space?

Bathroom Overhaul

When I bought my house there was only one room that I knew I couldn't stand. Check it out:

Bland, huh? With that white color palette not only did the room feel like it belonged in a hospital, but check out that ugly magazine rack/toilet paper holder in the wall. I'm pretty sure it used to be a space heater (my grandma has them in the bathrooms at her house), but when I moved in it was just an eyesore.

Features you can't really see in the picture are the cheap wood cabinets (they match the ones in the kitchen) and the over-sized cabinet that was hanging about the toilet. It didn't reach the walls, but only left a couple inches on either side between the edges of the cabinet and the walls.

That mirror is awesome though. When I was still house-hunting Spencer would sometimes come with me, even though we weren't planning to room together at that time. One of the houses I looked at had this decorative mirror in the bathroom. It gave Spencer a great view of his midriff, but if he wanted to see his face he was out of luck. My mirror takes up an entire wall and even tilts in a bit on the sides. I love it.

First Step: Color
My first step with the bathroom was to give the room some color. I painted the walls a sage green. I love the color green, but I went through about four wrong shades of green before picking the current color.

I discovered that people weren't kidding when they said bathrooms are the hardest rooms to paint. Luckily the room wasn't big, but the tight space made it difficult to maneuver with a ladder. I ended up asking my brother to paint some of the areas I couldn't reach. I think the color really made the room pop though.

I also bought some black metal paint and went to town on that magazine rack. Once I finished painting I actually thought it was kind of cool.

*Sidenote: I made sure to tape the border and metal rods really well, I wanted to keep the contrast of the chrome against the black and green.

Tying it Together
The next struggle I had was choosing a color scheme to tie the room together. My towels from college were a solid blue, I bought a few more at Kohl's that had the same blue in stripes. Then I went through three shower curtains before I found the perfect one.

Pictures of all three:

Curtain #1
My parents gave me this one.
It hadn't been used in so long that I don't
even remember it ever being used.

Curtain #2
My grandmother bought this
one for me. I love the design,
but ultimately decided it
didn't go with this room.

Curtain #3
Final choice!

I'm so proud of my final choice. The iridescent blues and greens really tie the walls into the rest of my color scheme for that room. I bought the curtain and bathroom set at Kmart, thanks to my mom. I was actually a little surprised they had something I liked, in general I'm not a big fan of Kmart. I feel like you can't rely on them to have what you need from visit to visit, their merchandise changes a lot. My mom loves them though and dragged me along on one of her shopping trips.

That visit was definitely a success. Not only did I find the bath set, but I also found the perfect bath mats! For some misguided reason I actually thought white bath mats would be a good idea at first. Then I tried blue. The final winner were these awesome green mats from Kmart.

Simple Additions
Sometimes the simple touches are what completes a room. My dad surprised me with these pretty shower curtain hangers, which are just perfect. I would have just used the cheap plastic ones I already had if he hadn't found them. Wouldn't that just be sad?

I also replaced the original shower head. I bought a low flow detachable shower head because the one that was originally installed was too low for me. Any time I find something that is too low or tight for me I decide it's a no. If someone who is 5'3" thinks a shower head is too low, a mirror too small or the backseat of a car too cramped (Read about my awesome car here! Note that the car I chose is comfy for anyone, even in the backseat.), I figure it would be nearly impossible for 90% of the population. Plus the detachable shower head is more convenient.

Finishing Touches
I had to take down that oversized cabinet in order to paint. My final step to the bathroom overhaul was to sell that cabinet on craigslist and buy a smaller shelf that fit the space better and to add another towel bar (the only one in the bathroom was in the shower/tub).

I chose a shelf in the same silver throughout the bathroom and with glass shelves. It's awesome for displaying some of my perfume bottles and art.

Not Done Yet!
Despite loving the changes that I've made I still have some plans for that room.

• The tall cabinet actually only has two shelves, once my dad has time to help me cut the wood to the right size I plan to add a couple more shelves. That cabinet could offer so much more storage than it does now.
• I've also considered painting the cabinets. Either the whole area, or just the doors. I think a metallic paint in the center of the doors or replacing them with frosted glass would look cool.
• Another thought I've had is replacing the bath mats with a nice hallway runner. While I love how the mats look, they won't last forever. I read an article that said rugs are more durable since they are designed to withstand more traffic. I think a nice hallway runner in the right colors would look awesome in the bathroom, and last longer.
  

Help!
When I moved in my neighbor (also a plumber) warned me that the tub was porcelain and would chip/scratch if I used abrasive cleaners (same with my kitchen sink). Despite my best efforts I still have a few nicks in the tub. Anyone have suggestions on how to get this fixed? I'm not even sure who I would call or if it can be fixed.

What rooms were disasters when you moved into your house? How did you fix them?

Small changes...

I love getting free stuff. I also love redecorating. When I can do both? AWESOME. Check out the changes to my office!

Free lamps, pay attention to the shelf and photos.

Free shelf, perfume bottles from collection and framed
print of "The Kiss" (also free, thanks Ashley!)

New lamp from Ashley!