Updates to Big Kid's Room

Ever since I moved into my place, I've felt bad about the kids' room situation.  My home is a three-bedroom with a master and two smaller bedrooms, but as between those two other bedrooms, the one is much larger than the other.  I gave the larger room to my daughter, who is two years younger than my son, only because as the baby, she seems to get "seconds" in many things, and I thought it might do them both good for her to get the better choice.  

My son has made it clear to me that he views this as an injustice and a travesty ... that it is profoundly unfair that his room is so much smaller than his sister's.  I understand, and I feel bad, but short of moving walls, there is nothing I can do.  So, this year, I told him that we would make some changes to his space and asked, again, short of moving walls, what I could do to make his space better for him.  

He asked for a desk and for a place to store his Lego creations.  Easy enough!  I knew that in addition to those things, I wanted to give him more storage and to organize his closet.  I bought a couple of things over the past few months and got them ready, and then on a rainy day off, spent a few hours finishing up the room.  Here are the before and afters:

Before

This picture is pretty old.  But this is the view from the door.  I made the window treatment and headboard myself.  

After

Most of the changes were things I did a little while ago.  I added the print over his bed.  The nightstand used to be in my room but wasn't big enough to hold my workout clothes, so I upgraded the chest in my room and moved this to his.  I did a two-tone treatment on it.   

Before

The dresser wall was pretty good.  I had the one large dresser for his clothes but no other storage.  The big red tub in the corner held his sports equipment.  There was a set of shelves on the opposite side of his room, but it did not hold enough of his stuff.  

After

Yah - this is a lot. A lot of shelves!  But it's all working storage and holds things that he loves and uses  The shelf on the right is the Kallax shelf from Ikea.  The top holds his Lego creations.  In the top cubes, I bought some lidded storage from Target, and those hold Legos and Lego kits.  The bottom cubes hold his cars and trucks, which he still plays with quite a bit.  On the left of the dresser, I broke up one of the three shelves that were once where the desk is now (see below).  This is his Pokemon area.  The top two shelves hold his Pokemon cards and the very bottom shelf holds some games and random toys.  

Before

These are very old shelves from IKEA, and they worked for awhile to hold his toys and books.  But as you can see, he needed more storage and this was the only place in the room where the desk could go.  Luckily, those shelves are narrow and not attached.  So I moved the one to the wall with the dresser, the one into the closet (see below) and left the one here.  

After

And here is the desk!  I found it in January at Target.  It was on sale, I had a $10 off coupon and I used my Red Card for an additional 5% off and free shipping. I think it ended up costing about $45, which is perfect.  I needed a very compact desk and this one got really good reviews.  The chair is from IKEA.  I let him pick it out. I like the print a lot!  The shelf to the right of the desk [barely] holds his books.  I added a bulletin board over the desk so he can pin things to it.  And I had bought the bulletin board/shelf/hook combo at Target last summer and never got around to putting it up.  Oops.  I added his medals.  I also put his name in big wooden letters over the shelf (I cut them off purposefully so his name isn't readable).  Rather than drive myself nuts with nails and trying to get it perfect, I just used the strongest On Command strips to hang them.  Fingers crossed it holds.  

 I don't have a before picture for this section because it was pretty bad - the inside of his closet.  It wasn't *terrible*, but it needed some order, and that's what I added.  The black bins at the top of the closet were there, and they work well to hold clothes that are too big and other things.  I moved his sports bin to the floor and used the extra shelf to hold more sports stuff, his sleeping bag, extra "fancy" shoes, and his suitcase.  I added hooks to the walls to hold his bags and hats.  And his violin is front and center.  

So yay!  One more space checked off my list!  Now, of course, my little girl wants a desk for her room and wants to redo her space.  I told her we would work on that in the Fall.  As for the house list, I think the next project will be to tie up the loose ends in the playroom: I have a few piles left to address and some small storage to take care of.  I also need to get back to some cabinet organization in the kitchen.  But I'm definitely at the point in my home where all of the *big* projects are done.  

Finishing Up the Playroom

Talk about a long overdue project!  I hung pictures and pretty much otherwise finished up decorating the kids' playroom/my bike trainer room.  This room is on the lower level of my house, so it's completely out of sight and, therefore, easy to push to the side when it comes to decorating.  I spent an inordinate amount of time on my trainer in that room last year, so it's kind of sad that it took me until this point to finish it.  I could have enjoyed a much prettier room last year!

The big hold up was painting the furniture, which I finally did recently.  Then it was just a matter of making the time to finish up the space by hanging pictures and making the space feel cozy and homey. Sorry again for the iPhone photos.  

This is the view from my trainer.  Last year, it was a blank wall.  Now it's got a little art and some pictures and a few decorative items.  I bought a turntable thing for the TV too, so I can turn it when I'm on the trainer and the kids can move it back when they play their Wii or Playstation.  

And here's the bike itself.  I added a shelf (I had it and the brackets) and decided to display my race medals under it. 

Finally, here's a larger shot of the room. I did prints and art over the TV and like the way it turned out.  It makes the space feel finished! 

This only took a few hours on a rainy afternoon to knock out.  And with this space finished, next on the list is to work on Big Kid's room.  We are both excited to make some changes.

Playroom Furniture: Finally Painted!

Hello hello!  It's been on my home to do list forever but I finally did it:  I finally painted the two pieces of furniture in the kids' playroom that I've been meaning to paint forever.  I don't mind painting furniture, but getting started is always a daunting task.  You need the right supplies, you need a well-ventilated space and most of all, you need time to paint and time for the paint to cure.

In this case, I decided to paint one piece white, which, if you know me, you know is not a surprise.  I decided to paint the sofa table the same pale greenish-blue that I used on my little chest in my bedroom.  I thought that color would look really good.  Here are the pieces before I got started:

I had two pieces to paint: (1) the dresser for the TV and (2) the sofa table.  The dresser was my son's when he was smaller.  While the dresser is now too small to hold his ever-growing clothes (no! stop growing!), it's perfect for a TV chest.  And the sofa table was a freebie from my parents - they didn't need it anymore, and I did.  My mom used it to hold her plants, so the top had a little water damage.  Nothing that a can of paint can't fix!!

The process that I always follow for painting furniture is as follows:

• protect:  lay out a huge drop cloth and move your pieces to it so there is enough room for you to move around;
• prepare:  clean off all furniture pieces and make sure they are completely dry before you begin painting;
• prime:  I use Zinsser oil based primer.  I also buy throw away brushes (very cheap ones) and use those and rollers to apply the primer.  I do not have the patience or the inclination to try to salvage the brushes after I've used the oil based primer.  I also wear throw away rubber gloves when I prime.  Depending on the color that I'm covering, I either do one or two coats of primer.  In this case, I went with two coats because I was going light over dark. Primer is a mess, but trust me that it is worth doing two coats of primer in many cases.  You will save yourself a few coats of paint on top!
• paint:  once the primer dries, I then apply my paint.  I swear by Sherwin Williams Pro Classic for furniture.  I painted the chest in Dover White in a semi-gloss finish (three coats) and the sofa table Rainwashed by Sherwin Williams (two coats).  As for brushes, I use a nicer brush for furniture and rollers.  
• poly:  once the paint fully dries, I use water-based Polycrilic to seal the finish.  I do two very light coats of poly and then let it cure for 48 hours.  

And here are the pieces now!

The dresser is my favorite transformation.  I swapped out the old knobs for ones that I had in my stash.  I love how it looks, though I want the pulls to be more gold than bronze.  I think I'll either spray paint them or use a little gold rub n' buff on them. 

I am in the home stretch of the playroom.  I also finally hung pictures and decorated the TV area (which you can kind of see in the "after" pictures above).  I'll be sure to share that soon.  Now there are just a few little things left to do!  

More progress in the dining room - recovering the chairs!

Whoa lookie here!  A house post!  I've done a ton of projects around the house, but have been very lazy in sharing.  And I just realized that my new computer doesn't recognize my old camera ... so until I figure that out, I'm going to have to rely on old photos and the iPhone (using various filters to make the photos a little better).

Do you know how happy I am about my dining room?  The answer is very.  Super mega very.  And today's project pushes it into super crazy mega very territory.  Something as simple as recovering the seat cushions on the chairs made a huge difference.  Here's a shot of the space:

I bought these 6 cane back chairs from my friend Heather years ago.  They were/are exactly the look that I wanted in my dining room.  When I first got them, I recovered 5 of them in a pretty light sage fabric that I had from Ballard Designs.  It worked well.  The last chair (because I didn't have enough of the sage fabric) got covered in a cream fabric with grey coral print.  See - here they are in a four year old photo:

But as my living room/dining room has evolved, the sage wasn't working.  I knew the easiest way to fix that was to simply change up the fabric.  I went with different, but complementary, fabric on the arm chairs and side chairs.

Arm Chairs

I went with a light taupe solid fabric for the arm chairs, because I keep them away from the table, so they need to work with the rest of the room.  The fabric is very neutral and works well.  I bought a new pillow that works really well with the space (and ties into the art above the dining room table).  For the other chair, I moved my pretty geometric printed pillow, which now reads a bit more gold than yellow.

Side Chairs

As for the side chairs, I chose a neutral floral fabric.  I love it.  And it's not too white to render it impractical for the dining room.  

Love love loving this room!  There is but one thing left to get - a rug for under the table!  Once that's done, so is this space.  I may want to touch up the paint on the dining chairs, but that's not really worthy of a blog post.  

What about you? Do anything similarly small but with a big impact?

The New Blog Look

Good morning!

Wednesdays are usually all about home projects, but today is about my home here on the interwebs - the new blog look!  Here's a little story of how it all happened and who made it happen.

History of the Blog

The story of how Swoon came to be is kind of fun.  A number of years ago, Jamie was planning her wedding and I was helping out with the details, and we both realized how much we loved it.  At the time, I was working at a job (not my current one) that I didn't love and needed a creative outlet.  Jamie and I considered event planning and made pretty decent strides to that end.  We branded ourselves "Swoon Events" and started a company, started blogging, worked with a designer to create our logo and color scheme and even met with a PR consultant.  There came a point where we had to decide whether we did it as a hobby or a profession, and neither of us was willing to leap to the latter. We also realized, as we blogged about home stuff, that our passion was more with home projects and DIY than with weddings and events.  So we did a rebrand, and Swoon Style and Home was born.  We also redid our blog and went with the yellow and grey color scheme that was on the blog for so long.  We shared the blog for years - taking turns posting and sharing about our home projects and style/fashion loves.  

Time marches on and things change ... and Jamie found herself busier at work without the ability to blog.  So the two of us talked (um ... we talk a lot.  usually some wine is involved) and I asked if she minded if I took over the blog for awhile and redid it, of course leaving the door open for her to return at any time.  She was all for it.  I say all this so that you know that I didn't railroad my way to change up the blog.  Jamie was, and always will be, a huge part of what Swoon is. 

And as time marched on, and my life changed, a lot of my focus turned to running and triathlon.  Bill (kind of jokingly) suggested that I rename the blog "Swoon Style Home and Sweat" and I thought that was brilliant.  My posts were settling into a routine anyway - Monday workouts (sweat), Wednesdays projects (home) and Fridays what I wore (style).  I didn't want to change the URL but definitely loved the idea of adding the "sweat" to the name.  Thank you Bill! 

The New Design

So where to begin?  I knew I wanted a totally new look that really reflected me.  I started where I started in the past with blog design: the blog Snippet and Ink.  Snippet and Ink is a wedding blog, but she also creates gorgeous inspiration boards.  Those are mostly for wedding planning purposes, but Jamie and I used them a number of times in the past for our blog designs.  So that's where I started.  I went through all of the inspiration boards and went with the one that I liked the most.  This one:

Photo courtesy of Snippet & Ink

I loved the gold, the white, the cream and that blue.  I thought it was memorable, chic and yet still very simple.  It seemed very me.  Also, I would kill for that dress.  

I wanted a blog with a lot more white space.  Something easy to read.  And also something pretty to read.  I think the blog is just that!  I also wanted something that was easier for my readers.  I've gotten comments that the "comment" section was hard to find.  Now it's right at the bottom of the post, which definitely makes more sense.  The new nav bar at the top also makes sense.  I'll eventually update those buttons/pages.  

The Designer

I started with the designer who worked on past iterations of Swoon, but she is on maternity leave.  So I did some google searching and landed upon Stephanie at How Sweet Designs.  I loved the blogs that she designed, her ordering/designing process seemed very simple and streamlined, her prices were totally fair, and I thought she was a great fit.  And she was! I have to say - it was truly a pleasure and a breeze working with her.  And it took maybe 3-4 weeks from the second I placed the order until the site went live.  I highly recommend Stephanie if you're looking to redo (or even start up) a blog.  It helped that I had a clear direction, but she was able to understand my vision even when I couldn't articulate it all that well (e.g., "the font isn't swirly or swoopy enough ... can you change it?").  

So that's the story of the new blog! I hope you enjoy it. I sure am!  

More Kitchen Organizing

Ten minute project here.  More cabinet organization in the kitchen. This time I worked on the cabinet above my sink, which currently holds my tupperware, my big pasta bowls, my wooden and plastic serving bowls, matches & lighters and my beloved Le Creuset Dutch Oven that I use all of the time in the Fall and Winter.  It also held a mismash of things, including water bottles, pitchers and odds and ends.  The cabinet doesn't even look that bad.  But to me, it is chaos. 

So, as usual, I pulled everything out and thought about what I needed and what was working and what wasn't.  What worked:

• The pasta bowls within easy reach.  We are big pasta fans up in this joint.
• The lighter/matches on the top shelf.  I regularly light candles and fires in the fireplace and want those things out of reach.
• The tupperware in close proximity to the sink

What didn't work:

• My Dutch Oven could not be any more difficult to reach. I would have to take out all the tupperware to get to it. Not working!
• The mishmash of "stuff" in the cabinet.  It made me crazy.

What I did:

I bought some white bins in the Dollar Spot at Target. They were $3 and I knew they'd come in handy.  The top shelf worked.  I put the salad bowl and the matches/lighter back up there.  I also put the knife sharpener (which was stuck in the way back of the second shelf) up there too.  Now it's easy to find.

For the middle shelf, I put my tupperware container in one white bin and the lids in the other.  I threw out any gross or match-less pieces.  

For the bottom shelf, I put my pasta bowls, the Dutch Oven and my glass storage containers.  Now when I need to grab my Dutch Oven, I only have to move a couple of things.  Much better.  

As for the other items, I moved the water bottles into another white bin and put them in a different cabinet.  I still have to organize that one, so you'll see them in awhile. 

But hurrah.  This cabinet is done.

  

Organizing under the Kitchen Sink

I mentioned in my 2015 home resolutions post that I wanted to organize some of my kitchen cabinets.  One of those cabinets was the one under the kitchen sink.  It wasn't bad at all.  I had a nice sized basket under there to hold cleaners and supplies.  But I knew I could do better. 

So the first step, as is always the first step with any organizing project, was to take everything out of the cabinet and line it up.  I was surprised at the amount of stuff under there!  

I like the bag holder for the inside of the door.  That works, so that stays.  I also liked the green basket for holding cleaners and supplies.  That worked as well.  But certain things, like sponges or Mr. Clean Erasers, were tough to find in that basket.  So I bought this small drawer set to hold them. And I labeled the drawers because I like labels.  Now it is very easy to find sponges, Magic Erasers and Brillo pads!  I also bought an inexpensive plastic basket for the top of that little drawer set to hold my drying mat and my gloves.

I needed a little spot to hold my dish soap and brushes and stoppers.  Lucky for me, I had picked up a set of plastic drawer organizers at TJ Maxx and wasn't otherwise using this large one.  It works perfectly to corral the "washing dishes" stuff.

I bought a clear container to hold my dishwasher tabs.  Now I can see when I need more!  This holds about a box and a half of the tabs.  By the way, I use the Finish tabs with hydrogen peroxide.  They are amazing.  

The final touch, which I admit is a little over the top, was to bring in this pretty patterned shelf paper for the bottom of the cabinet.  I didn't like the way the bottom looked, so I invested all of $5 (Walmart) for this non-adhesive shelf paper.  Now when I open up the cabinet, I instantly smile at the pretty and the organization!  

Yes!  These are the kinds of projects that take just a little time but make a world of difference, both in their functionality and in their inspiration for me to keep moving.  Next cabinet? The one above the sink ... and it's a doozie.  One word: Tupperware.

See you swoon,

Dining Room Table - more copy-catting!

Now that my dining room table is exactly the way I like it, I've been inspired to do a little more in that space and finish it off.  I haven't been crazy about the candles on the middle of my table.

They are cute, but look a little sad and forlorn on my table.  You know ... if candles could be sad.  Or forlorn.  So when I found the inspiration photo of the Ethan Allen table, I decide to keep on copying.  I loved this "modern country" dining room and drew my inspiration for my table from it.

via

I really liked those large vases with branches.  I actually coveted them.  But they were $125 and $180 from Ethan Allen and I thought that was crazy.  I found similar vases at Home Goods for $16 and $19.

I found the branches at Joann's.  I had a coupon and they were on sale, so they cost about $20.  They look very real in person.  Though, I had to laugh in Joann's because Big Kid came over and whispered, very dramatically, "Mom, these flowers ... they're ... all fake."  HA.  Yes they are.

I'm very happy with how it turned out!  The table has the leaf in it at all times, and it's in the same space as my living room, so it needed something substantial but not fussy.  I think this fits the bill.

There's not much left: just replace the seat fabrics on the chairs, touch up the paint on the chairs and add a nice sisal or jute rug under the table and chairs.  

See you swoon,

Living Room and Dining Room: A Softer Color Palette

I look at my ever-present "to do" list much like I look at my shopping list at Target - it's not an exhaustive list of what I will get or do, but more of a reminder of the things I actually need so that I don't forget.  Every year, I share my resolutions for the next year, and that list basically serves as my "to do" list for the following year.  Every year, I add new projects as I go along.  Today's project is one of them.

I really liked my living room/dining room and how it evolved.  Here's the space awhile ago:

I've enjoyed the color palette for the past two and a half years ... but lately, I've been itching to change it up a little.  Maybe it's the change in seasons and the cooler temps.  Maybe it's the gold and soft peachy art that I made.  Whatever it is, I decided to take the plunge and make some changes.  The good thing is, all of these changes are easy and pretty inexpensive: just new pillows and pillow covers.  

The first step was a new rug.  I blogged about that before the holidays.  That alone has made a big difference!  It's so soft!  Like the softest lambs and kittens.  

The pillows were next.  I've noticed in the rooms that I've been loving on blogs and Pinterest that the colors are much more subdued and subtle, and there's a lot more texture.  My current coral-pink-yellow-seaglass blue color combo was lovely, but I was due for a change.  So I measured my pillows and went searching for new pillow covers.  I wanted lots of gold, pale pink/peach, creams and whites and lots and lots of cozy textures.

First, all I needed to do was remove the patterned covers on my large sofa pillows.  I bought the champagne and white striped covers at IKEA years ago and I've brought those suckers back.  Perfect.  Next, I bought these pale pink pillow covers from Bead and Reel on Etsy.  They replaced the old pink and white chain link print pillows.  I absolutely love them.  I found the gold and white patterned pillows at Target, which conveniently came in a set of two.  Finally, the silver and cream linen covers are clearance buys from Ballard Designs. 

On the sofa, I used some of the same pillows.  I also kept my cream textured pillow from Target.  The oversized pillow on the right is from Ballard Designs and is a soft wool.  It, too, was a clearance buy. 

I am loving the new look. It's a subtle change, but has a huge impact.

Of course, as is often the case, this snowballed into more unexpected projects ... this softer palette made me look at my dining room with a kind of critical eye.  So, I took care of the shelves and the buffet top in the dining room.

I love my dining room shelves.  They were a much needed addition to the side of the room and are both pretty ...

and functional!  Check out all of that storage.

When I bought the shelves a few years ago, I painted the backs coral. And now I painted them back to their original cream.  Funny, too, because before I did this, Bill asked "what unsuspecting piece of furniture will you paint white this weekend?"  The answer, Bill and internet, is the shelves.  I realize how insane it was that I painted them back to their original color ... but it's my house and I'll paint if I want to.

Once the backs were returned to their original white (color is Cream Delight by Valspar - a close match to the Ikea white), I had to fill them.  Some of the things stayed, while I added new or different things.  The only thing I purchased was the rope & glass lantern in the top shelf.  Everything else I had in my decor stash.  Look at how beautiful and neutral and white!

The buffet was next.  Another "unsuspecting piece of furniture" was about to get a whole bunch of white!  Before, I had a turquoise runner with a coral urn.  It worked with the former color palate.

But not so much with the current one.  I took those off and added some frames and decor.  As with the shelves, I had everything on hand except the cream/gold/glitter! vase in the middle.

That vase was a $7 clearance find at TJ Maxx.  I wish I could say I acted completely normally when I found it, but this is what happened.

And here's some final shots!

So what's left?  I bought fabric to recover my cane back dining chairs - this lovely neutral (read: LOTS OF WHITE) floral fabric.

I want to recover the chairs, get a new pillow cover to replace the yellow one, get a rug for under the table and figure out something fun and new for the top of the table.  And then ... at long last I can cross the dining room and living room off my list!  For now! Until it's time to change things up again! 

See you swoon,