Tell me about the personal touches you've added to your home - Page 2

[alsoSarah]

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[lizann]

I wanted to bump this thread!

I'm getting ready to possibly put an offer onto a home and it's very dated and plain, so I came here for some ideas on what to do. Great ones ladies. Thanks!

I was also wondering about your decorating resources. What magazines/books/websites inspire you? I'm one that needs to see it to do it. For some reason, I just can't wing it up in my head.

Peace,
Liz

[PJsmomma]

great ideas--we're buying a fixer upper that we have rented for 5 yrs and since we were renting we didn't do too much to it-- and it's a sad old thing!!

Daylily--where did you find the shorts of heart pine for $1 a square foot? we want to do wood floor and that sounds like our budget! Do you have a link or a place you got it?

I haven't done big redos yet but I like the ripping out the top cabinets--ours are way ugly and we were going to paint them but getting rid of them sounds better!

One thing I do is display heritage photos of my family--they are so sentimental and pretty--picts of my Grandma as a young lady in 1940, my dad's kindergarten photo, etc

My kitchen curtains are just a couple yards of fabric--no sew.
I attached 3 cuphooks above the window, hung baskets from the hooks and threaded and looped the fabric in the handles of the baskets like a valance. Very cute!

I got that idea from Decorating Dreams by Emelie Barnes--i like to look at Country Living, Midwest Living, Trading Spaces the tv show.


Malissa

[bebe luna]

Things we did to improve our home:

New tile and paint in lower level bathroom, as well as repaint the wooden cabinets and the jacussi frame. The jacuzzi frame is wooden but was quite discolored from water.Our neighbor, a professional remodeler, suggseted oil-based paint. I was skeptical about painting it but it made the room look so much fresher and clean!

We repainted everything when we moved in, tore up the nasty carpet, redid some floors w/ pergo, one in wood, and another w/ tile... next year we plant to do 3 more rooms in wood...

We are in the process of getting ready to rebuild our deck and my husband wants to build a small pond w/ a waterfall in the back yard... Last year he planted about 15 rose bushes, a couple flowering trees, and a bunch of climbing roses and other climbing vines for the wooden privacy fence and the clothes line poles...

The previous owners did put in a lot of nice wood trim and other nice woodwork so the house has a very light feeling. I put up light tan tab-top curtains as well as a ton of plants and the feeling is very calming.
I try to incoprporate feng shui to each room...

I'd love to redo the upstairs bathroom w/ some neat colored tile work in the tub, as well as put in a pedastal sink.

Our house is pretty small and the rooms are very squared, so sometimes I feel limited. I think keeping colors light and limiting cabinetry and furniture helps our house seem more open and bigger than it is. All the plants and the inside fountains help it feel alive.

[lizann]

I know I'll definitely have to do the window treatments as one of the first projects in this house.

Jaze, what are tab-top curtains? I like your idea of less is better. I don't have much to start with so it will be nice to go from a small place to a bigger place and not worry about so much stuff.

This house has all hard wood floors too, so lots of throw rugs and pillows? How do you all work with hard wood floors and furniture?

What about lighting? Fixtures? What is preferred? All of the fixtures in this house are very old looking.

And what do you all think about fung shui? I've never really researched it too much, but since I'm getting ready to start fresh, and just starting to pack up stuff, I was thinking about looking into fung shui. I definitely have a clutter issue!

namaste,
Liz

[zealsmom]

Hey nuggetsmom,
can you put up a photo of your concrete floor???? I would love to see it and pick your brain about how you did it. We were thinking we wanted to do a terra cotta tile, but are not finding what we want, so are exploring other options. PLease please please.
Thank you thank you thank you!!!!

[Rant n Raven]

I am so pleased and proud of myself I had to post.

I am a single Mom (after a seven year relationship with the Dad of my 21 m daughter)

We broke up in November. He had been jobless and not looking for 1 1/2 years. He was laid off two days before we closed on the house which is 100 plus years and had a bunch of work needed. I was doing all the housework, the vast majority of the childcare and he was in charge of playing computer games, reading and sleeping.

After November I said to myself things are going to change. On a crazy low budget and bad allergies to dust and a toddler in a house that has lead paint I am 90% done to a kitchen remodel. It looks so great and makes it so I can get a good renter to help me pay the mortgage.

I was able to get a grant for new windows and doors and a loan for new water pipes. I have searched high and low for money. programs and a good renter; and succeeded past my expectations.

I have learned about electrical work, painting, plastering, carpentry and design. I have educated myself on lead paint abatement and I so glad that after all the dusty work was done my daughter's lead level was 4.2 (this is lower than average).

Enough patting myself on the back..However I wanted folks to know that you can do it yourself...especially if you are not having to take care of someone who is pulling the family down. (If things had kept going the way they were going I might have lost the house)

SO! About the kitchen. All the cabinets were sub-height and depth. Leaky sink, rotting tile, stupid layout and non-working drawers etc etc..

Ripped everything out and only got two custom cabinets. A sink cabinet and a corner cabinet in cherry. For the rest of under counter I have the dishwasher and a rolling butcher block. I bartered for slatescape counters.

For additional storage I am using open Metro shelving like they use in reastaurants. It is convenient, tough and inexpensive-especially compared to cabinets!

I found an old spice shelf for 30 bucks at a consignment shop and replaced the dumb knobs with all different pewter knobs of similar size. My daughter helped pick them out. It looks so cute.

Well I am procrastinating from packing to see a friend who's due date is today! Email me if you want to hear more of my on-going projects or need help planning or whatever.

[siddie]

We just got our home a few weeks ago but the first thing we did was have the inside painted in a beautiful pale yellow with bright white trim. It is very unique yet still within a neutral realm so it is easy to decorate around. I love it, it is really bright and cheery! I am going to put up white faux wood 2" blinds over the windows and hang a sheer white scarf knotted on both ends over a shiny brass curtain rod to finish the look. We also chaged out the old doorknobs and closet door pulls for shiny brass ones - not that expensive yet really make it look nice.

It is so much better than the boring beige-white we have lived with in rental houses.

We also splurged on new faucets for all of the sinks. I love the kitchen one, it is really beautiful and functional. It's got a tall spout that pulls out to spray so I have room for tall pots in the sink. We are keeping the old tile counters and oak cabinets because they are in very good condition and it's too costly to do a big remodel now but are updating with new stainless steel finish appliances. We got a JennAir Fridge that is cabinet-depth for a built-in look.

I am covering the dining room chairs with a Hawaiian print that coordinates with the one on the bay window seat cushion.

The master bath has a glass shower enclosure around a large soaking tub. We are removing the glass to open up the space and soften and add color with a shower curtain.

We got rid of old furniture that we don't really want or have space for so we will have an open, minimalist look. It makes it easier to keep clean and not having wicker furniture is good if you have allergies.

Took ds with me to pick out a wallpaper boarder for his room. He chose a really cool yellow backhoe that is about 12" wide. I am going to apply it so it looks like the backhoes are climbing a hill instead of in the usual around the top or middle of the wall position.

On our to do list:
put a nice bench-swing in the yard
treehouse for ds
have fun planting stuff
install closet organizing systems

[alsoSarah]

Bumping.....

[mamaliss]

there is always somebody giving away bricks on " craigslist"

[Elismama]

I'd forgotten about this thread....

until I got an email notice about it.

We have been remodeling like crazy over the last year. The kitchen/dining rooom/sitting room is nearly finished- just a few bits of trim left to put up.
We opened up the entire space, put in a smaller but much more organized pantry, layed hard wood floors, drywalled, insulated, and put up a new ceiling. It took us about a year to do all of this, with breaks when we were overworked. Some things that worked well:

- we bought cherry floor boards that were cheaper because they had a wide range of colors from pale to deep red- we love this- but apparently most people want a uniform color- thus the reduced price

-we used scrap wood to make lovely trim for the windows- just sanded it and painted it a cinnamon color.

-we colorwashed the kitchen a bright yellow and the dr/sitting room a paler buttery yellow

- we splurged on soapstone for the sink and counters- but the sink was a "second" and thus half off- and its all local- from the Vermont soapstone company. I love love love my sink.

Now we are working on the living room. We ripped out the carpet and painted the plywood because it will be awhile before we can afford more hard wood flooring. We drywalled and are beginning on the ceiling again. Its a much slower project because we don't need to cook in there! Last year we cooked outside on a Coleman stove until after Thanksgiving- a chapter of my life I was glad to see close.

I love the sense of accomplishment so many of you mentioned. We have really learned so much. And nothing has tested/strengthened my marriage like laying a hardwood floor with my Michael- we learned to laugh at our frustration and appreciate each others strengths.

Thanks for reminding me of this thread.
-jeanie

[DebraBaker]

I had forgotten this thread as well.

As with Jeannie I have been doing a lot of work on our home this past year.

I got central air put into the house last year. We just put in a master bath (it's taped up for painting but when we're done I'll take some pictures and post them) I had the pipes exposed in my dining room much to my chigrin. We finally walled in those pipes and the wall looks better than beforehand because the house came with an odd duct in the dining room.

We painted the exterior of the house (including the Victorian porch) DH is finishing up spackling our gaming room (between the two boys' rooms) Then I will paint (I have some prints, our Kue exam cirtificates and a painting my son made that I simply love but is too contemporary for the rest of the house (I will take pics and post when we're done.

All we have left to do majorwise is the hall bath (a truely disgusting space at the present time)

Debra Baker

[willowsmom]

You lovely ladies are SOOO inspiring!!! Unfortunately...with no money I can't do the things I long to do in this house.

We moved here in May, it was built in 2001...just your typical suburbian home...looks like all the other ones on the block (blech) No charm...nothing unique...

We're in the process of painting...we want to rip out all the flooring and put down hardwood...(hopefully reclaimed if I can find a place out here), we want to xeriscape the yard (landscaping for dry areas), rip out the kitchen counters and put in something that's not pink (it's vile right now)...ohhh there's just so much...nothing winning the lottery wouldn't fix. lol

But then there's the part of me that thinks...This is our first home. Not our dream home....how much do we really want to do to a house that we may not be in in 3 years....

[Autumnschild]

Wow, how inspiring! We have a cute little house we bought 2.5 years ago. Our budget is beyond tight, so I can't do the things I want with this place either. Not yet. But I have done some things that make it home. We're on 3/4 acre of land and there is a huge wild rose bush and a lilac bush. We took starts and planted them around the property and come spring, it looks so amazing. There is a vine in the back that grows the length of the fence there. I don't know what it is, but it also transplants easily. There was no fence in the front yard, but there were old poles from where a fence had been, so I ran wire across and planted some starts from the vines. Now we have a gorgeous living fence...I love it!

Inside is a real challenge. The house is small. The main focus in the living room is the fireplace which houses a wood burning stove. The fireplace is huge and all brick. It takes up most of one wall. It really stood out so I cose a color from the brick and painted the coordinating walls with the color...kind of a rusty beige color. It really ties the room together.

The house is covered in grey siding, so we painted the front door green to give it character. It has a cottage-style sloping roof which is really cute. I know this house is small, and it is also just a "first house" which makes it special. Once the girls get older we'll need more space.

There is so much I want to do with it...