The Front Room

Honestly, I can never remember which is the family room and which is the living room so I just call the upstairs the front room...makes sense to me! The front room finally got a makeover! Here is the before...

Holy white and beige! Add a beige sofa (from our apartment) and that is how the room looked for a good 8 months. It was pretty overwhelming to think about decorating it. I knew I didn't want to paint, afterall the walls are pretty much 1,000 feet high and the thought of having to figure out how to paint that high was exhausting so I needed to figure out how to embrace the beige and white. 

The first addition was a rug. I looked and looked for a fun floral or geometric pattern that would liven up the room and this is what I ended up with...

Yep, that is right, an all white rug! Oops. The rug is faux sheepskin and I really loved the texture so I changed plans, go for a nautral rug and add pops of color elsewhere. 

The next additions were a coffee table and a side table from the Good Ju Ju. I LOVE the Good Ju Ju!! If you have not been, you must (http://www.goodjujukc.com/). The coffee table was $40 and the side table was $30...score! Then I added a leather chair from TJ Max...

My grandma and I made the pillows and the cushion on the coffee table (so I guess it is more of an ottoman) together as well as the curtain after a trip to the Sh** shack in Springfield. I have no idea what the fabric  store is called really but there is fabric stuffed in every nook and cranny of the place. It takes hours and lots of digging but we always leave with the perfect fabric for next to nothing. It is awesome!

Next came the buffet. I found it on Craigslist for $100 and made my precious little sister come along with me to pick it up. I am not the biggest fan of Craigslist simple because you have to go to a strangers house but when you score a great buffet for cheap, gotta do whatcha gotta do! I forgot to take a before pic but it looked something like this one that I saw at an estate sale...

I took the hardware off and sanded, primed, and painted the whole thing and now it looks like this...

At last, some color in the room! All the knobs came from World Market and for all 12, it was less than $20!

Now to address the massive white wall...I knew I wanted it to house our wedding picture so I began looking for the perfect shelves. Really I wanted the shelves to be 6 feet long to really cover the wall and I kept coming up empty handed. Thus, I begged asked my sweet older brother to build some for me. I had this vision of what I wanted and when I can't find it, I can usually convince him to make it.  I won't tell you how long it took him to finally get around to making them but none the less he came through and they are awesome! They are huge and I just can't tell you how much I love them...

Aren't they awesome! 

Last, I had to do something with the wall space above the buffet. I really wanted a big round mirror but mirrors are so expensive so maybe someday. For now, I found a $45 mirror at the RiverMarket antique store and painted it to match the knobs on the buffet. It works for now and it is a fun splash of color.

Here is how the room looks now...

The Yellow Dresser....

My hubby's momma gave me a dresser and a bed frame recently for our guest room so I busted out the sander and paint brush and got to work on the dresser first! Here is the before...

Oops, apparently I didn't take a before picture with all the drawers in but it does have all the drawers. Structurally it was in great shape but it just needed some TLC.

First, I sanded then filled the holes from the knobs...

Next came the priming...oh and a little tip, spray paint primer is awesome! It it so quick to apply and it drys really fast too...I think I am in love!

Then came the pretty paint...I used Marigold by Glidden

And finally the knobs...they may or may not be little birds...precious!

One more time...before

And after...

Exterior Updates!

This is what the outside of our house looked like when we moved in...

I loved our home but there were a few things about the outside that drove me nuts...

The blue/gray shutters and door just looked dreary to me and the light fixtures were a strange rusty color. I am not sure if they were originally that color or if they had become rusted over the years but either way, they were looking pretty sad. And then there was the landscaping...oh man, it was a mess! It was really overgrown and out of control. 

Up close and personal with the light before...in case you didn't believe me!

The fence also needed some help! It had never been stained so next to the neighbors fence, it just looked unfinished. Here is the before (you guessed it, our fence is on the right)...

So when the weather finally cooperated, I of course called in reinforcement and so began the transformation of the front of our house! It is oh so pretty now...just wait and you will see!

First, the hubs and I took down the shutters and painted them and the front door a crisp black. While the shutters were drying, my handy hubs took the light fixtures down and I spray painted them black to match (yep...spray paint..it took all of about 10 minutes). I was instantly impressed with the lights. They look like they were from Pottery Barn but nope, just a $5 can of spray paint! I think it made it look pretty classy...

I loved the progress so I began on the fence next. First, I powerwashed the whole thing...talk about a gross job. There was 10 years worth of dirt, moss, and bird poop off the fence when I was done but I was covered in it. I let the fence dry for several days then I got to staining. I asked the neighbor what color they used so I could match it...in case you are wondering, it is Behr Natural Cedar.

The neighbors fence is on the left and our freshly stained fence is on the right. 

Next came the landscaping. The old shrubs were removed and the new planted all in one day thanks to my awesome family (especially my dad who planned it all out!).

 

 

The last shot of the shrubs before.

My brother and dad tilling.

And finally...

And just so you don't have to scroll to the top, here is the before and after again...