Oh yeah…
…I bet you thought I forgot that this blog was supposed to be about interior design and decorating. Hmmm…well here are some things we’ve been up to lately around here.
I found these beauties at the local antique store, I had a gift certificate, so they came home with me! And this is exactly how I found them…with slightly worn paint and tarnished hooks. They make me happy.
One for each of us!
These are hanging in our “dining room.” Although it’s really one big space with the living room. And the other major change in the dining room is with our dining table! We’ve wanted to refinish it ever since we pulled it out of the barn about a year and a half ago, and with being stuck inside for what seemed like months this past (freezing and rainy spring), my husband decided to go ahead and refinish it one day. Just like that! He used some ‘ebony’ stain that we already had on the table and bench tops, and instead of sanding and staining the legs, he decided to use some leftover wall paint that matches the living room walls. Which is Benjamin Moore ‘Ashley Gray.’ Enjoy!
Before:
During:
Afters!
I love the variations in the stain!
It’s much more “us” now and we really love it! It’s amazing what some stain and paint can do, even with a “log-cabin” style table, and it can turn it into something much more contemporary. I hope you like it, too!
L.
Read MoreDear Santa…
I believe in you. So can you please wrap this up and put it under the tree for me? Thanks! Love, Lindsay.
This is seriously the cheapest dishwasher on the Home Depot website. I figure ANYTHING is better than not having one at this point. Plus the rest of my appliances are white. And at only $219 I’m really hoping Santa can fit it on his sleigh (I know, I know – installation costs money, too, but this is all I want!).
I even know where it should go.
I hate those 2 cabinet doors. They are a shoddy after-thought and it turns my kitchen into a joke! It’s already tiny, yes, and I will lose that cabinet space, but that is something I am willing to sacrifice at this point. Did I mention that I hate doing dishes by hand? Ugh. Uuuuugggghhhh.
From afar it might look like it matches the rest of the cabinetry, but upon closer inspection you’ll see how weird my kitchen is. The inside edges of the cabinets aren’t routed and they don’t close very well.
See, here is what I think happened. During the last countertop update, whoever was doing it decided to scoot the fridge over to the right and add another cabinet and more countertop space. From who-knows-where they got a cabinet door, and they just ripped it in half to make 2 doors. And then the (fake) drawer panel came from somewhere else, but instead of ripping 1 piece into 2, they glued 2 pieces together to make 1 fake drawer. Look close and you’ll see what I mean. It isn’t even centered! Ugh. And now that they scooted the fridge to the right, it created this.
So here’s the plan…insert dishwasher ASAP. Eventually, when replacing the ‘awesome’ faux blonde wood countertop, remove current bar and build new ‘L’ shaped kitchen in former dining room (below, along striped wall, and coming out across the front of the picture), complete with a new bar.
During that kitchen renovation, bump back laundry room wall into garage to add even more cabinet space (on the left), and move fridge from it’s current location to laundry room. We would put it on the opposite wall (left side) but I think we’ll have to keep it on the right for water and plumbing purposes. That will get rid of ugly cabinets there but keep it right off kitchen. Currently we keep the trash can in there (and it hides the water heater), but I’d want a nice pantry and trash/recycling center in the new cabinets on the left. We might open up that wall to make it a more seamless transition, but it all depends on cost.
And what will go in the fridge’s current location? Glad you asked! Well, I would extend the countertop out to match up with the soffitt, and then either leave nothing there, or add a tall, skinny wine cabinet or something. There’s only a little more than a foot from the right edge of the soffitt to the sliding glass door, but something might have to go there!
So although I’d be losing valuable real estate in cabinet space right now, I’m thinking an inexpensive IKEA island in the old dining area will do for the meantime. Oh, the sacrifices you have to make as a homeowner…
And if you’re like me and have strange little shoddy DIY’s around your house, please share so I don’t feel so bad. Thanks!
xo, L.
The Big Reveal
Wow…have you missed me? If you’re reading this, I guess it means you might! I have been working my fanny off, but am able to spend a little more time blogging today, and I finally took all sorts of photos to share! So I have to say that I am LOVING our new set-up. I hope our pool table is enjoying his freezing cold new home in the garage, because I don’t think he can come back. Sorry, dude. Especially now that we have a giant new dining room table that has taken his place! A F-R-E-E table at that. It was just sitting in the barn out at the ranch (my in-law’s ranch). And I hope she loves her new home (yes, she’s a she!), because if so, the feeling is mutual! Plus with the whole house (inside and outside) decorated for Christmas I am finally able to relax in here and enjoy my home! Isn’t that the best?
I haven’t really posted any new updates on my living room in a long time (it was never my favorite room in the house), but we’ve inherited a lot of free furniture (my favorite kind!) and accessories that I get to borrow for now (more on that later) so it is much more pulled together, which makes me happy. Not my dream living room, but definitely one that makes me happy. So here is an old photo of the living room, from last February, which is the last time I took photos of it.
And here it is today, after the big switcheroo and Christmas decorating has been all done! So here are the photos, in their un-edited glory (wayyy too many for me to have enough patience to edit, plus I just want to get them to you!). Enjoy!
This end is where the pool table used to be (hallelujah!), and it is now the living room.
And this end is where the living room furniture used to sit, so it is now the dining room. With a real table that will allow us to have more than 2 guests!
Now with the lights on…(Glenn wouldn’t get out of my shot, hehe). He’s enjoying the new space, too.
Instant dining room!
But now my ‘original’ dining room, which I loved as it was but it was just a little cramped, is now a sad little nook again. Someday we plan to extend the kitchen out there for additional countertop and cabinet space, which will help so much with our tiny little kitchen.
Before…
Today…home to dog beds and high chair.
I can just see an ‘L’ shaped kitchen extension going in there. Okay, back to the living room…husband included.
And the funny thing is, rearranging really breathes new life into furniture for me. I had stuffed my black cheapie coffee table into a corner in the old arrangement (because I didn’t like it) but now it fits here and I like it again. And I was also not too happy with my curtains in the other arrangement, but now I like them again! Before it was because they were stuck behind the sofa and behind a cedar chest on the other window, but now they have space to hang and be shown and just be how they’re meant to be! Not hidden. I like it.
Boy Scout wreath…complete with our little hanging puppet, and bow that is falling apart, hung on a Wal-Mart wreath hanger. It smells very good, though.
Dog’s stockings…hung on the metal sun, which I think is going to be moved to the backyard come spring. I have big plans for that ‘new’ dining room wall!
And our stockings (a la Pottery Barn)…hung on the baby hearth gate.
Did I mention that I love my new table and benches? I do. They just need a little TLC after being out in the barn for a few months.
My house is full of borrowed accessories right now (via my sister-in-law). Her stuff is in storage until they find a new house (they’re staying out at ‘the ranch’ for now), so I get to babysit. And I’m really going to miss them when they’re gone, and by ‘them’ I mean the faux orchids, not my sister-in-law (they’re not going anywhere!).
We’ve even decorated the outside (and have gotten a couple of honks of approval – we live on the highway and are the only house that’s all lit up!). Now, I want to say that we’ve never been on of ‘those people’ with blow-up Christmas characters, but at $20 a piece at Wal-Mart last weekend, we just couldn’t resist. Because Harper would love them, of course.
Maybe tonight I’ll take a night shot for the blog.
And even though it is still technically fall, winter has arrived in Likely. I can’t wait to let Harper go play in it, but she has to get over her cold first! She’s excited!
So I’m dying to know…should we bring the pool table back or is the new living room better? Do tell! And what do you think of our Christmas decor? I always miss it when it’s gone! xo, L.
Read More{Likely Favorites} Homemade Sushi!
Glenn and I love sushi. We started going out for it when I was in college, and every time Glenn came to visit me he had to go out for sushi! And we always try to find some when we go out of town. No fun when I was pregnant, but going out for sushi is still fun even if you can’t eat any!! Well…no sushi bars in Likely, or anywhere for 100 miles. Before we moved here, we actually bought a book on making sushi, as well as a nice set, and we haven’t gotten to use any until now!! We saw they had fresh sushi grade tuna at our local grocery store, so we tracked down all the ingredients (we had to go to 2 different stores for all of the pieces!) and decided to have a sushi lunch the other day! It was fun…a lot more prep work than we anticipated, but we weren’t in a hurry and we enjoyed the whole process! Especially eating it!
The mini cookbook that we have is simply called “Sushi” and it’s by Ryuichi Toshii, Brigid Treloar, and Hideo Dekura (find it here). We bought our sushi set at Cost Plus World Market, and our rice cooker was a wedding gift! I really won’t go into details on how to make it, we’re not pros (yet, hee hee!) but I had to share the pictures of our yummy lunch!!
We made some Classic Thin Tuna Rolls (Tekkamaki), but we added some avocado. Mmmm…
Along with some pink lemonade…that’s Japanese, right??
We’re definitely going to have to do this again soon! Maybe we’ll make a night of it with some friends!!
Read MoreThe White (and Green) Stripes
I love our striped dining room wall. I think my favorite part about it is that it was super easy to do and it was our first attempt at painting stripes. Plus it turned out great! My husband had the genius idea of using the green from the kitchen (I thought we’d use the gray from the living room to tie it in) because they are two different finishes of paint and because our dining room chairs have green in them. The ivory is a satin, and the green is a semi-gloss = instant wow factor…like wallpaper. But without the glue.
So what is the secret to painting stripes? The answer is math…and gravity. I knew I wanted an odd number of stripes so that the ivory was at each end. I measured the length of the wall and did a little figuring. I took the length of the wall in inches, and divided it by 7. This gave me about 16.75″ per stripe so I decided to up the width of the green stripes to an even 17″ so that they are wider than the ivory. 17″ x 4 = 68″. I then took the width of the wall, subtracted 68″ and this gave me the total width of the ivory stripes, which I then divided by 5 and now I knew how wide each ivory stripe would be (10″ in the center, and the corner ones are a little narrower but you can’t even tell!).
I’m not sure how others lay out their stripes with tape, but this is how we did it!
First step: Paint the entire wall the lighter color (in our case – an ivory called Acadia White by Benjamin Moore in the satin finish).
Before I show you the next step, here is the little journey from where we started to where it is today. Here is my husband, Glenn, on the walk-through with the real estate agent. Notice the wagon wheel light fixture and nasty carpet in the dining area!
Here it is (below) with the carpet ripped out, deciding which flooring to use. We chose the darker laminate.
Okay, now fast forward a little more and here we are.
Step Two: find the center of the wall and make a small mark. We did all the marks at the ceiling because we used a weighted string to make sure our tape was straight.
Step Three: measure half the width of your center stripe to the left and right of your center mark. Our center stripe is green, which is 17 inches, so we measured 8.5″ either way. Make your mark at the ceiling. We then made more marks alternating 10″ and 17″.
Step four: Tap a small nail or brad into your mark, attaching a string that is as tall as the wall, weighting it (we used a heavy screw). This will give you a perfectly vertical line to tape against. If you’re working as a team, one person can hold the string while the other tapes, or you can tap another brad into the other end to hold your string tight while you tape.
Step five: Tape along your string. Make sure your tape is taped down in the base color (ivory) so that you’re painting in the correct stripes. It can get a little confusing!
Step six: Fill in any nail holes that you made with putty and then paint your colored stripes! We used “Misted Fern” in a semi-gloss by Benjamin Moore. Touch up the base color where the holes were if needed. I used a tiny paintbrush for touch-ups near the stripes. We also always make sure to remove the tape as soon as possible for the crispest line, and you don’t want it to dry too much so it doesn’t peel off with the tape. We were pleasantly surprised with how crisp the lines were (taping trim can be messy sometimes – ugh!), even with a textured wall.
Step seven: Stand back and admire your faux-wallpaper wall! We were surprised at how easy it was, and how nice it turned out. Sorry for the lack of “during” pictures, but we did it before I even started this blog!! If I would have only known…
This is what it used to look like, before the new pendant and sideboard (below):
And here is what it looks like today! Some of you are probably sick of me talking about my dining room, but it seems like such a huge impact using leftover paint, a $50 antique store sideboard, a discounted pendant lamp, and a free table and chair set!
Do any of you have a striped wall project (or any fancy painting project) you’d like to link us to?? I’d love to see it! Thanks again for stopping by!
Read More{Color Therapy} Paint Color Party!
I love blog parties! I stumbled across this blog (via Hooked on Houses) called 320 Sycamore today and saw she was hosting a Paint Color Party and I just had to join!
She’s asking for some paint color photo inspiration today so here goes!
Here is the new “reading nook” in my living room. The walls are Ashley Gray by Benjamin Moore.
This ivory wall is actually old wood paneling, but we just painted over it with Acadia White by Benjamin Moore.
My kitchen has white cabinets (High Hiding White door, trim and cabinet paint by Ace Hardware), and the green is called Misted Fern by Benjamin Moore.
Someday I’d like to paint the kitchen a color called “Sulfur Yellow” by Benjamin Moore, but that has to wait until we get new countertops. We have the fake blonde wood laminate right now and it won’t go together, but I really, really love Sulfur Yellow (#1).
The dining room stripes are using the Misted Fern from the kitchen and the Acadia White from the living room in two different finishes. The green is a semi-gloss and the ivory is a satin, which gives it a wallpaper feel.
The bathroom is painted “Pumpernickel” by Ace Hardware paints. If you’ve been reading lately you’ll know we’ve been very busy on that project!! Click the link for more pictures of the surrounded-by-earthy-brown bathroom.
The bedroom’s upper 1/3rd is painted “Pilgrimage Foliage” by Benjamin Moore, and the lower 2/3rds are in the Acadia White (like the living room and dining room. We have a TON of it!)
My daughter’s bedroom is painted in “Everlasting” by Benjamin Moore and the bottom is..you guessed it! Acadia White!
My very unfinished office is painted in one of my very favorite colors: Old Salem Gray by Benjamin Moore. It depends on the light, but it can look beige, gray or green. As you can see this picture looks very green, but if you choose this color you won’t be sorry! It’s so pretty! I wish I would have gotten the office painted before the kitchen because I would have picked this for the kitchen instead of the brighter green.
And Melissa at 320 Sycamore showed a wall that she painted “Danville Tan” by Benjamin Moore…I had a client choose that color so here’s another shot of it paired with “Branchport Brown” by Benjamin Moore as well.
And there you have it – all the colors of Casa Christensen! The next room I’d like to paint is our laundry room, which I want a very light, barely there robin’s egg blue or light sage-y green like this photo. Mmmm…you know how I love pretty laundry rooms! And paint!
(image linked to flickr source)
Have a good weekend, everyone and thanks for stopping by for some color inspiration!!!
If you’d like your very own paint color consultation, then feel free to contact me (lindsay @ lindsaychristensendesign.com) or click here for more information!
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About Me
I'm an interior designer and a draftsperson, but I live in the country. I like it that way. I'm also a firefighter's wife, mom to 2 cute kids, and a homeowner and I like that even better. But right after that is a pretty and affordable space...and I mean a REALLY affordable space. Because I believe good design can be for EVERYONE!
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