Master bedroom makeover

It was time... the colors of the red/tan themed bedroom was HOT for our first five years of marriage. But, I've been ready for a change for a while (not the hubby of 5 years - just the colors). So here are some images of the room BEFORE... (a big shot out to Debbie for helping me paint way back then... and specifically for painting red paint on my ceiling... love your personal signature to my project)






And now AFTER...





I love the new colors... this room will get a few more decorative pillows and maybe a throw for the end of the bed. But the theme is running through the house - declutter. That I know how to do... KEEPING it that way over time is the hard part.

So, instead of continuing to surf the internet... I'm going to go put laundry in it's place instead of on the floor at the end of the bed.

Kitchen - progress and ALMOST done...

So this is what we started with. About 8 years ago I painted the kitchen this BEAUTIFUL color... I call the color "Baked Bean Red". Although I'm sure the paint company had a more appealing name for it at the time. This paint was actually leftover "oops" paint that I bought for a church project. And there was just enough paint left to roll a coat on my kitchen walls. I remember this being so drastic at the time... and many people have commented over the years how this color was so ODD for a kitchen color. But it was perfect for me.

Here's two different angles ... I'm sure the first thing you've noticed is how CLUTTERED everything is. (It took just about everything in me not to tidy up before I took these pics.) But I really truly wanted these pics to be good "before and after" pics... so I didn't touch anything...




And then the next step was cleaning out the cabinets, off the counters and removing everything. Our contractor removed the doors and painted them along w/ the cabinets. It's kinda difficult to see in these pics - but the color of the cabinets is very similar to what it was before. In fact, so close that you can't really see a difference between the old color on the ceiling and the new color on the cabinets. Worked out perfectly...

Mr. Contractor then put new handles and drawer pulls on. Among other odds/ends projects in this room, he tweaked on some of the drawers so that they move easier and then he put everything back in place... except for my plates, dishes, pots/pans and pantry food. He, of course, left that for me to do... oh joy! I took the time to take the contact paper off of the shelves... and purged some old items at the same time! I LOVE clean sweeping! What a project! I did get a few nights "off" from cooking that week... and that was rather nice!




Then it was my turn to get my hands dirty... I stripped down the once-lovely and rather trendy border paper. I took the time to take the contact paper off of the shelves... and purged some old items at the same time! I LOVE clean sweeping! What a project! I did get a few nights "off" from cooking that week... and that was rather nice! A few months wen tby... and I finally got to my painting part. The new color is called "Camel". It's two colors darker on the paint chip than the cabinets were. A perfect neutral color... and now a kitchen with a lot less clutter!




Next? I decide what art to put on the walls and where. And then maybe I'll mop the floor... what do you think?!

Days off are a gift from God!

Seriously - I would have slept in if my internal clock would have let me. But I guess getting up at 5:30 am IS sleeping in when I'm usually walking in the door at work around the same time... so, no, I'm not complaining.

I got right to work updating my new wonderful Facebook-ness. (And saying "adios" to the OTHER networking site... sorry Tom - I just wasn't that into you!)

Then I went to get my neck adjusted... and then went to visit my boyfriend, well Michael is actually a craft store... but in my circle of friends we call him our boyfriend since we spend so much time hanging out with him. ;-) I love all the coupons I get to use - it's almost like 'going dutch'.

Made another stop, I think... then came home to multi-task with various projects at home. The hallway has a fresh coat of paint on it... now it's time to make my mini-gallery. I've already got quite a few black/white prints framed... they've just not been loved very much. So today will be dusting off the frames and washing the glass and ... do you think I can talk DH into helping me hang them? Or should I do it myself?! Hmm... cleaned out the craft room and put stuff in 'give away' boxes and 'to sell' boxes. I think there were other miscellaneous houskeeping projects happening simultaneously... all I know was that I must have logged back on to FB every 15 min or so for about 4 hours! HA! Hmm... focus much?!

In just a little bit I'm going to meet a friend from high school for coffee - Sharon... I'm sure we'll laugh and snort and I already warned her that if we get laughing too hard I might spew coffee. (I've also been known to spray fluids through my nostrils from time to time... I'm not ashamed.)

After that? Coming back home to shred last year's filing junk... and maybe stalk some more unsuspecting individuals on Facebook. Who can blame me?! I have a lot friends to catch up with!

So I leave you with this pic today...