House of Hydrangeas

Well, a lot has been going on over here.  I've been prepping for our gender reveal party (which is a week from this Saturday!) while the man cave and guest rooms in our home have been getting some makeovers. The guest room and nursery are getting crown molding installed (we had it in our room and the dining room but not the three guest rooms for some reason), and the man cave is also getting board and batten where the bamboo used to be.  Bamboo, you say?  Let me remind you of how beautiful this room used to be.  Metallic gold paint up top and sheets of bamboo on the bottom.  Just not for me. I dreamed of a cozy and clean space that would be manly and classic... and a place for Jon to put all of his currently boxed up military memorabilia.  Charcoal Slate paint from Benjamin Moore was just what I envisioned, and the white board and batten that will run along the bottom will add some architecture while keeping the room from being too dark. Here's a pr...

When we first moved into our new home, these are the lights that hung over the bar in the kitchen.  Not horrid to most, but way too small for me.  And they screamed "builder grade." Here's another shot showing their small size and wrong height. After some research and oogling, I finally decided on some beautiful Regina Andrew globe pendants .  Thankfully, I was able to order them through work so the pricetag wasn't AS haunting.  But even still, I'd say the pricetag was well worth the transformation. via Tracery Interiors I opted for this darker finish to compliment our existing cabinet hardware. Here they are in action!  I absolutely love them and couldn't be happier with how they've transformed the space.  Now I just need to replace three other lights in the home!  Jon will be a master electrician before I'm done :) Here's one more before and after.  What do you think of the change?

 Here is a shot of the room in all of its coral glory.  Great for a teenager, not for a soothing guest room. And here is the Healing Aloe after.  Healing Aloe is a color by Benjamin Moore. It was hard to get a good shot of the true color, but it is more of a seafoam than gray. Aside from painting the walls and buying a new white quilt for the bed, everything else in the space we already had--most of which are hand-me-downs (bed and dresser) or thrift store finds (lamp and side table).  It will all be sufficient for now, and hopefully a space that our guests will love. I'm very happy with the outcome and the progress of one more room in the house coming closer to completion.  One down, three to go (at least in the painting department!)

I recently updated the dresser hardware on my trusty Ikea dresser I bought nearly nine years ago when I  moved to Dallas.  The dresser has been good to me, but I thought it was time for an update.  And if you ask me, hardware is one of the easiest ways to do just that. Here's the before: As you can see, the original knobs weren't bad, but I wanted something with a little more presence.  Inspired by an image I found on Pinterest, I ordered  these guys . I was drawn to the clean lines and contrast that would be achieved from the brass finish on the dark dresser.  And at less than eight dollars a piece, I was sold! After a little help from my screw driver, I had this.  Quite the update, huh? Here's another before and after for comparison... I feel like I got a brand new piece of furniture for less than $80!  If you want to update a piece in your home, think about getting new hardware.  Remember you aren't restricted...

Especially if said paint is covering up a crimson color that you once thought was a good idea but could now potentially drive you to insanity!  ...Such was the case with the upstairs guest bath at my mom's house. Here are some before shots... It was great while it lasted, but it was definitely time for a change.  So the last time I was home, we headed off to Lowe's to pick out a new paint color--this time looking for something much more light and soothing.  The winner was Ante Meridian by Valspar. The Ante Meridian is a great compliment to my mom's existing white tile and plantation shutters. and it is the complete antithesis of the bold crimson color that was.  We also took off the 1970's ceramic towel rack and soap and toothbrush holders under the mirror.  It.  Was.  Time. Unfortunately for us, the fixtures that we thought were PLASTERED TO the wall, were actually CUT INTO the wall...leaving us with a few gaping holes.  Oh th...

This week I've been working on updating one of the upstairs bathrooms in my mom's house.  And while I was painting away, I realized that I had never shared the final outcome of the last update, the kitchen eating area, in her home.   This is what it looked like the last time I showed you guys.  Much better than the wallpaper room shown here  but still a work in progress. And this is what it looks like today... I turned the table sideways to make room for this beautiful piece my mom inherited from my grandfather. I'm kind of obsessed with all of its beautiful details. On top of the piece is a collection of family heirlooms that have been in storage up until now. A collection of antique racing trophies find a home near an old photo taken of me and my sister during a horse riding adventure when we were younger. The horse theme is carried over into the grouping of art on the left wall. The top three pieces in the grouping are custom artwork o...