Category Archives: My House

Gray and Gold Rast Hack

Posted on by
8

WHOA. I can’t believe it’s been more than a month since my last post! I’ll be honest: We’ve finally reached the point where we can’t really justify spending any more money on stuff for the house. Consequently, I have nothing new and don’t have much to post about (though I do still need to finish the house tour). BUT – I did recently finish a furniture DIY that’s been a long time coming.

I’ll just dive right in and show you:
Glitter and Goat Cheese - Ikea Rast dresser hack - Painted dark gray with brass hardware

Over a year after purchasing two Ikea Rast dressers, I finally got around to painting them!

Let’s go back to the beginning. I got the idea for this project from Design Manifest. This was my inspiration:

This is what the Rasts looked like when I first purchased them, of course:

I spray-painted the toe kicks gold immediately while the dressers were still in multiple pieces. Then, Brad put them together for me, and I brought them into the foyer to use for storage while they were waiting to be completed. Remember?

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Ikea Rast dresser hack - before painting

For whatever reason, though, I never ended up painting them. And once we moved into our new house, they came along, still unfinished. Here’s a peek at how they looked on Thanksgiving:

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Ikea Rast dresser hast - before painting

I didn’t get motivated until right before we decided to host a Super Bowl party. It was the first time most of our friends would see our new home, and I wanted it to look good. So, I gathered my supplies: Kilz spray primer; a foam roller; and Sherwin Williams ProClassic paint in Satin, color-matched to Benjamin Moore’s Ashland Slate (the same color as our kitchen cabinets and guest room walls).

I already had all the hardware: Antique brass decorative corners from Hardware World, and brass ring pulls from Lee Valley (43mm x 51mm burnished bronze, to be specific). The decorative corners had to be glued on – I used a Krazy Glue pen – so my plan was to lacquer the dressers before anything permanent happened. Unfortunately, spray lacquer can only be used in temperatures above 55 degrees, and that wasn’t going to happen before the party. So, I just put the hardware on anyway, because I am the most impatient person on the planet.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Ikea Rast dresser hack - Painted dark gray with brass hardware

When I do get around to lacquering these and have to tape off the decorative corners, I know I’m going to be cursing myself. But I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Ikea Rast dresser hack - Painted dark gray with brass hardware

I’m actually glad I didn’t paint these until we got here, because I love that they’re the same color as the kitchen cabinets. It ties the two rooms together without being too matchy.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Ikea Rast dresser hack - Painted dark gray with brass hardware

There was just one snafu in this process: My gold toe kicks got kicked to the curb. Somehow, they got really dirty and stained and dark and gross over the course of the year. I could have re-painted them, but that would have required either taking them apart or taping them off, and I was just in too much in a hurry. Instead, I primed right over the dirty gold. They look nice for now, but I think I might like to goldify the toe kicks by hand at a later date. Maybe with high-quality acrylic? Or gold leaf? I just don’t know!

So, what do you think of my Rasts? Worth the wait? Should I goldify the toe kicks, or leave them gray?

     

House Tour: The Guest Room

Posted on by
16

I swear, I’m going to finish this house tour. Soon. There are only three rooms left!

At the top of the stairs, our master bedroom is on the left, and a short hallway is on the right. In a strange twist, the whole upstairs, other than the bathrooms and our bedroom, has nice, glossy hardwoods. Why couldn’t those be downstairs?!

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Hallway

At the end of the hallway, there are two smaller bedrooms and a guest bathroom. Both rooms are basically square, and they were just boring when we moved in. The room on the back of the house was set up as an office, but since it had the smaller closet, we decided to use it as a guest room.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Move-in pictures - The office

It was very YELLOW.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Move-in pictures - Office closet

I knew I wanted our guest room to be moody, cozy and calm, and I had my heart set on dark gray walls with a neutral color palette. These were my two favorite inspiration photos:

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Erika Brechtel's dark gray guest room via Small Shop Studio

Erika Brechtel’s dark gray master bedroom from Small Shop Studio

I tested three dark grays by Benjamin Moore.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Benjamin Moore dark gray paint samples

From left to right: Ashland Slate, Englewood Cliffs and Gray Shower (all Benjamin Moore)

My favorite was Ashland Slate, but with only one (albeit large) window, I was a little worried that the dark gray would swallow the room. Obsessing, I sent pictures to my coworkers for opinions. One of them suggested some bright white crown molding and a picture rail to break up all the dark color. When I came across this inspiration photo, the heavens parted:

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Dark gray bedroom with white trim via Houzz

Scot Meacham Wood Design via Houzz

It was such a good idea! And lucky me – I have a handy husband who just happens to have a handy father. The two of them cut and installed the trim in just one weekend, and a week later, our painters added the charcoal gray and some glossy white trim paint. So, here’s what the room looks like now:

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Guest bedroom with dark gray walls and neutral color palette

The white curtains (which need to be hemmed), sheepskin rugs and accent pillow are all from Ikea, of course.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Guest bedroom with dark gray walls

I don’t really like much else in the room. I don’t mind the quilt, which I got on clearance from Target years ago, but I ultimately want to replace it with a white pintuck duvet cover. I’m vowing not to replace any of the other bedding until I get our queen-sized bed out of our room and into the guest room, though.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Guest bedroom with dark gray walls and white picture rail

The wood nightstands and dresser were Brad’s from his college bedroom, and while they’ve had a good run, I’m ready to say goodbye to them. It might be worth painting them, but they’re not solid wood, so I haven’t really decided yet. I’m not in any huge hurry.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Guest bedroom with dark gray walls, and white picture rail and crown molding

I really, really love the wall color and the trim, though. It actually may be the sunniest room in the house, so the charcoal shade is never gloomy or overwhelming.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Bright guest bedroom with dark gray walls and sheepskin rugs

It’s the room I spend the least time in, but I think some day it might end up being one of my favorites!

So, have I gotten close to my inspiration photos yet? Should I ditch the furniture, or paint it?

     

Baby Steps: Updating the Kitchen

Posted on by
20

When we’re feeling brave and rich, we’re going to gut our kitchen. Hardwood floors, new cabinets, granite countertops … but until then, there’s only so much we can do. I mentioned our plans for a Phase 1 update in this post, and I’m happy to report that most of them are complete.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Kitchen with painted cabinets and gold hardware

We’ve removed the upper cabinets that blocked the view to/from the dining room, painted the remaining cabinets, and Rub ‘n Buffed the existing cabinet hardware to a soft gold.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Kitchen with dark gray cabinets and gold hardware

Brad and his dad removed the cabinets, and we paid our painters to refinish the cabinets. It was worth every penny to not do it ourselves. They only charged us $300, and when I consider the fumes alone (we used oil-based paint for extra durability), I have no regrets whatsoever. The color is Ashland Slate by Benjamin Moore, and it’s the same color we used in our guest room.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Dark gray cabinets with gold hardware

There are still a few more changes we’re hoping to make before the major renovation. Updating the horrendous fluorescent light fixture and changing the wall outlets to GFCI (with nice, white wall plates) are at the top of our list.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Dark gray painted cabinets with gold hardware

I still hate the tile floors, but this yellow area rug helps distract me from their yuckiness.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Dark gray painted cabinets with gold hardware and yellow accents

The rug is Nate Berkus from Target, and I’m obsessed with it. It’s light-colored and it’s in the kitchen, so it surely has a short life span. When it finally gets so dingy that I have to get rid of it, I will mourn its passing like that of a dear friend.

While I doubt my rug will survive for long in the kitchen, our magical greenhouse window seems to keep plants alive way past their expected time of death.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Kitchen greenhouse window

See the plant in the middle? That’s one of those little basil plants you get in the PRODUCE SECTION at Kroger. It didn’t even come in a pot – it came in a plastic bag. We had one at our last place, and it died after three days. This one has been alive for six weeks. IN A COFFEE MUG. The plant on the left is from the house’s previous owner. Remember how it took us two months to close? Yeah, the plant just kept on living while it waited for us. The window is magic. I swear.

My penguin lives in the window, too. He only wears the wreath for Christmas time.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Wooden Christmas penguin

Another necessary update? Getting rid of the vertical blinds in front of the sliding doors and replacing them with colorful curtains.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Kitchen with painted dark gray cabinets and gold hardware - Wood cutting board

They’re from Pottery Barn in their Bettina fabric (which has sadly been discontinued). I love how they cheer up all the cool bluish-grays in the space, along with the warm gold hardware.

I originally planned to replace all the cabinet hardware with new knobs, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to try DIY-ing it first. After sanding each knob with fine grit sandpaper, I used Rub ‘n Buff in Gold Leaf to add a soft golden sheen.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - DIY kitchen cabinet hardware update - From dark brass to gold with Rub 'n Buff

Left to right: Original hardware, sanded hardware, Rub ‘n Buff-ed hardware

This method wasn’t perfect. They looked great, but after a few weeks, I noticed that the gold on the often-used knobs was rubbing off. I ended up redoing those and coating them with Valspar’s Clear Satin Sealer. It added a bit of a gritty finish, and it’s a little dusty-looking up close, but no visitor is ever going to notice the difference. Either way, I’d recommend this project for someone on a tight budget looking for a similar result. For one thing, finding non-shiny brass hardware for a reasonable price isn’t easy. With the amount of knobs we needed, I’m sure we would have spent at least $50, if not more. The Rub ‘n Buff was $4 at Michael’s – I used a teeny tiny fraction of the tube for all of these – and the sealant was $4 at Lowe’s. So, yeah, I’m not complaining. Look at the difference it makes!

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Gold vs. brass hardware on dark gray painted cabinets

Rub ‘n Buff-ed hardware on the left, original hardware on the right.

I think we got pretty close to my original cabinet inspiration photo, don’t you?

For funsies, here are the before-and-afters.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Kitchen before and after

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Kitchen before and after

When we first moved in, we thought gutting the kitchen would be our first priority, but we actually don’t mind it as much now that it’s been spruced up. (We’ll probably put our focus on the master bathroom first!)

Have you made any relatively minor changes to your home that have made a huge difference?

     

Thanksgiving in the New House

Posted on by
10

When we first signed up to run a half on Thanksgiving Day, we figured we’d be spending the rest of the day eating Boston Market by ourselves. Luckily, Brad’s parents came to visit and helped us with the shopping, prepping and cooking, and even though we celebrated a day late, we ended up having our first real Thanksgiving in our new house.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Thanksgiving table with floral china and gold

I was thrilled to finally have a chance to use the china and flatware from our wedding registry. It’s seriously been sitting in our cabinet a year and a half without being used at all, and that ain’t right. I mean, look how pretty it is!

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Floral china

I believe this is the first time I’ve shared a picture of our new dining room furniture, too. Voila!

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Thanksgiving table

We had the table custom-made by Bassett. I’d had my heart set on rustic reclaimed wood, but we just couldn’t find a reasonably-priced one that we liked. This one has two leaves, so it can seat up to eight people (or maybe 10 – we haven’t tried yet), and it has a protective finish, and the dark wood does match our other furniture better. It’s for the best, really. We got the ghost chairs from Amazon, and I LOVE THEM. They are SO much more comfortable and sturdy than I thought they’d be – especially with the Ikea sheepskins.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Thanksgiving table with ghost chairs and sheepskins

I picked up the linen runner and napkins from Crate & Barrel, literally three days before Thanksgiving, because I am excellent at planning ahead.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Thanksgiving table with ghost chairs and floral china

The silver tray and the salt and pepper shakers are Michael Aram from our wedding registry. I love them.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Michael Aram salt and pepper shakers

You can tell I did a really good job ironing the runner.

Anyway, preparing the meal was a two-day team effort. Brad’s parents got us a new grill as an early Christmas gift, and Brad was massively excited to grill the turkey on it.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Brad grilling the turkey

I had no idea you could grill a turkey, but it came out amazing, so um, I guess you can.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Brad carving the turkey

The stuffing came from this recipe, and it was delicious. We piled it onto our giant platter (another last minute Crate & Barrel purchase) along with the turkey.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Thanksgiving turkey platter

We also made bacon-wrapped green beans, using this recipe. We made ours on a broiling rack instead of letting them cook in the bacon grease, and I think they suffered for it. But the bacon part was good!

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Bacon-wrapped Green Beans

The sauteed carrots with lemon and marjoram came from this recipe, and I thought they were pretty dank. (Do people still say dank?)

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Sauteed carrots with lemon and marjoram

The corn pudding and potatoes were both from family recipes.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Corn pudding and Chee Chee Potatoes

I was given permission to share the recipe for the corn pudding – which was SERIOUSLY INSANELY GOOD – so I’ll put that in another post if y’all are interested!

All this plus cranberry sauce (canned, duh) and gravy (jarred, duh) made for a pretty full table.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Thanksgiving table with food

And of course, we finished it off with apple pie, which Brad and his mom made from scratch, and blueberry pie, which I made from a box found in the freezer section. Yuuuup.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Apple and blueberry pies

It’s not Thanksgiving until you’ve Instagrammed a picture of your plate. Here’s mine!

Glitter and Goat-Cheese - Instagram Thanksgiving plate

We polled the table on what was the best dish, and while not everyone voted officially, I think the corn pudding may have won.

What was the best dish at your Thanksgiving table?

     

House Tour: The Master Bathroom

Posted on by
15

Aaaaaaaand we’re back.

I have a decent excuse for my extended absence: We were moving into the new house! We’ve officially been living here for eight days now, and we love it. I actually love the house even more than I thought I would. I don’t know if it’s because it’s ours or what, but I’m just in heaven. Having our bedroom on the second floor is doing wonders for my sleep schedule (and the stairs are doing wonders for my glutes – hey-oh!).

Having said that, of course, there are a few adjustments. It’s taking us some time to get used to the master bathroom. It’s nice and big, and it has GREAT bones and potential, but it has a few … issues.

When you walk in, there’s a nice big window on the left, over the jacuzzi tub. So far, so good, right?

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Master bath - before move-in

The wooden shutters aren’t real cute, but that’s an easy fix. To the right of the tub is a separate little room for the toilet, with another window. Still good!

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Toilet room in master bath

To the right of that is our vanity, which has double sinks, and the stall shower. The double sinks are good. The rest … well, take a look.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Vanity and shower in master bath

The vanity has NO DRAWERS. I don’t mean to sound like a brat here, but … what?! I have a million tiny things – contacts cases, tweezers, eye creams, etc – that belong in DRAWERS. We found some built-in bins on a sliding track inside the cabinet, which I do appreciate, but … it’s just not the same. And let’s talk about the shower.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Stall shower in master bath

It’s teeny-tiny. Again, please don’t think I’m a brat – but have you ever tried shaving your legs when you can’t actually bend over? It’s damn near impossible, people, and it ain’t gonna work. Our last shower was a very spacious walk-in, and let me tell you – once you go walk-in, you never go back. That’s the damn truth.

Soon – as soon as possible – we’re going to do a major renovation in there. Our master plan includes replacing the tile floors; replacing the toilet (it’s not low-flow, which is bad, apparently); replacing the vanity, mirror and light fixtures; turning the jacuzzi tub into a walk-in shower; and turning the stall shower into a linen closet. Call us crazy, but we just won’t use the jacuzzi tub enough to justify it taking up that much space. I know this from experience, because we’ve actually had them in two rentals (spoiled!). It’s a nice thing to have, but if I have to choose between that and a nice shower … the tub has to go. We asked our realtors if not having a tub in the master bath would hurt the resale value, and they both assured us that it would not. Especially since there’s a tub in the guest bathroom, for bathing our nonexistent children and all.

In the meantime, we’ve made a few small updates.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Master bath painted Benjamin Moore Iced Cube Silver

We had the walls painted Iced Cube Silver by Benjamin Moore. It’s a very pale icy-blue.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Master bath - Benjamin Moore Iced Cube Silver

It’s not a huge change from the light blue that was in there previously, but we like it much better.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Master bath vanity - Benjamin Moore Iced Cube Silver

We also replaced the dated wood bathroom hardware with new oil-rubbed bronze pieces from Lowe’s, adding a double hook right outside the shower for a bathrobe and towel.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Lowe's oil-rubbed bronze bathroom hardware

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Oil-rubbed bronze toilet paper holder

Thrilling stuff, huh? The bathroom overall is pretty lackluster right now, but it’s going to be beautiful when we redo the whole thing. I’m envisioning white marble in the shower and on the vanity counter, and maybe dark gray tile on the floors … It’ll probably be a while before we can afford it, but it’s going to be worth the wait! Like these:

Glitter and Goat Cheese - White marble and gray bathroom via Houzz

Via Houzz

Glitter and Goat Cheese - White marble bathroom in Sands Point - via Houzz

Via Houzz

Glitter and Goat Cheese - White marble bathroom in East Mountain - via Houzz

Via Houzz

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Bethesda master bathroom - via Houzz

Via Houzz

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Ansley Park white marble walk-in shower - via Houzz

Via Houzz

OK, so maybe it won’t be quite as fancy/elegant/humongous as most of those, but a girl can dream, right?

Got any suggestions for our master bathroom?

     

House Tour: The Master Bedroom

Posted on by
8

When Brad and I started the house hunt, we knew that our chances of getting a two-story home were slim. They’re just not very common in this area, in our price range. The vast majority of homes are brick ranches, and we thought we were ready to accept that. But once we saw the house we ended up buying, I just couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. I’m not a person who unwinds or relaxes easily, and being one room away from my kitchen doesn’t make for a great night’s sleep. Plus, having a separate personal area that guests don’t see is so underrated. Especially for people as messy as us!

So, we’re pretty big fans of our second story, simply because it exists.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Stairway

There’s a random window across from the top of the stairway, which is awesome because it lets in light, but it’s going to be a bitch to dust. Hope it stays clean!

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Random stairway window

Once you reach the top of the stairs, the doorway to our master “suite” is immediately on the left. I’m calling it a suite, even though I know how obnoxious that sounds, because the master bedroom itself is sunken, and the master bathroom is at the top of the stairs. So, they feel kind of separate, but they’re both inside the door to the “suite,” so … that’s what I’m calling it.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Stairs to sunken master bedroom

Side note: I actually grew up with a sunken bedroom – I LOVE having the stairs there!

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Stairs to doorway and master bathroom

God, I love ensuite bathrooms. I never dreamed of having one back when I lived up north, but they’re very common in newer homes down here. We had one in our first rental home, and from then on, we couldn’t imagine living without one. I hate myself for saying that.

Anyway. I’ll get to the bathroom in another post – let’s stick with the bedroom.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Master bedroom

The size of the master bedroom was another aspect of the house that really sold us. Again, we’ve been spoiled – we’ve had large bedrooms in our past places, and now we just have so much STUFF. It’ll be nice to have somewhere to put it!

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Master bedroom

The gas fireplace is nice, too. We never would have sought one out for the bedroom, but it sure does look nice. And maybe we’ll use it on cold wintry nights (because there are so many of those in Georgia!).

The closet size leaves something to be desired, but at least there are two of them. And there’s a walk-in closet in my future office/dressing room, so I’ll definitely be utilizing the extra storage.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Closet

We probably won’t make any major changes to this room, other than the new paint color. Here’s a sneak peek – it’s Benjamin Moore’s Horizon.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Master bedroom - Benjamin Moore Horizon

It’s hard to see the difference in these pictures – my tendency to over-expose my photos means that the light blue and light gray kind of look the same! Whoops. But trust me – the light gray looks SO much better.

I know the rug is ugly, but here’s a confession: Comfort-wise, I love wall-to-wall carpet. Especially in bedrooms. Maybe we’ll get rid of it some day, but for now, I’ll enjoy walking around barefoot!

Most of our bedroom furniture is good quality and in pretty good shape, so our new bedroom won’t be very different from our current one. Soon, though, we need to replace our queen-sized bed with a king-sized one. Queen was fine when it was just the two of us, but now that Macy and Bela both sleep with us, there’s suddenly very little room for the humans. I know that the obvious solution is just to kick the animals out, but we love them too much. We’ll live with the discomfort until we can upgrade. At that point, I’m dying for a tufted headboard (preferably in gray velvet, of course).

Lonny Mag - Gray tufted headboard

Via Lonny

Lonny Mag - Beige tufted headboard

Via Lonny

There’s just one problem: Our cats scratch and destroy every upholstered surface in our house. It’s like, a real problem. We’re trying to clip their claws more often (and MAYBE some day, we’ll try the Soft Claws), but we’ll never declaw them, so it may just be something we need to live with. I almost hope I’m over the upholstered headboard look by the time we get a new bed, just for the sake of convenience.

So, anyway, that’s our bedroom! I love it. Any suggestions for updates or decor?

     

House Tour: The Dining and Living Rooms

Posted on by
2

The house tour continues!

Directly off the kitchen is the dining room. No more eat-in kitchen for us, but we’ll live. We found that when we had both (in our first place, which was huge but WAY too far from downtown), we never used the dining room. So, this dining room will hopefully do double-duty.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Dining room and kitchen

You’ve already seen quite a bit of my dining room inspiration, so I’ll just move right along. You should know, however, that the vertical blinds have already been taken down and burned. PHEW. (OK – we didn’t really burn them, but I wanted to!)

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Dining room

While we’re gaining a dining room, we’re losing our foyer and “sitting room,” so we have plenty of furniture to stuff into this room. In addition to our new dining set, which will seat eight with both leaves in the table, we’ve got to fit a china cabinet, a sideboard, a console table, and two Ikea Rast dressers. It’s going to be a challenge.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Dining room from living room

The living room is next to the dining room (and also accessible from the entryway).

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Living room from dining room

It has three windows, and a gas fireplace(!!!).

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Living room

For some reason, I have very few photos of the living room, but these two pictures I took of the couches for Craigslist do give a better idea of where the living room connects to the front door/entryway.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Living room couches

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Living room wall
(Incidentally, does anyone in the Atlanta area want to buy these couches and matching ottoman? They haven’t sold yet, and they need to GO!)

Our current living room is about the same size, but has more wallspace, so I wasn’t sure how we were going to fit everything. To get a better idea, I measured the walls and our furniture, and used FloorPlanner.com to create a rough layout.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - FloorPlanner.com - Floor plan of living room and dining room

Glitter and Goat Cheese - FloorPlanner.com - 3-D Living room and dining room

We’re keeping our current furniture for now, but I can’t wait to replace our dingy beige couches with something charcoal and velvet. My goal is for the living room to feel comfortable, but stylish. Fashionable AND functional. I don’t want anything fussy or formal, and I want people to walk in and feel at home.

Here are some of my favorite inspiration photos:

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Warm living room via Marcus Design
Karen‘s home via Marcus Design

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Jennifer Margolin's home via Glitter Guide
Jennifer Margolin‘s home via Glitter Guide

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Erika Brechtel's home via Glitter Guide
Erika Brechtel‘s home via Glitter Guide

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Victoria Webster's home via Marcus Design
Victoria Webster’s home via Marcus Design

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Living room via Savvy Home Blog
Via Savvy Home

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Lauren Seeman's home via Small Shop
Lauren Seeman’s home via Small Shop

While I was collecting these, I noticed that almost all of them have several things in common: Neutral-colored walls; neutral-colored, comfortable-looking couches; pops of color via accessories, textiles and art; brass/gold accents; and fur/sheepskin pieces. I have most of these covered already, and will definitely be introducing more. I have to squeeze in a gold spray-painted Vittsjo hack (like this one) somewhere!

So, them’s the plans for the dining and living rooms. And that’s the entire first floor of our house! It’s not super-spacious, but it’s cozy, and we love it.

Got any suggestions? I’d love to hear them!

     

House Tour: The Entryway and Kitchen

Posted on by
14

You’ve seen the front and back of our new house. It’s about time we went inside, no?

When you first come through the front door, you see the staircase on your left, the living room on your right, and a hallway directly in front of you.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Entryway

We’re keeping the little wooden table, but I’m definitely going to paint it. I’m leaning toward white at the moment – maybe with a dip-dye effect, like this? I’m open to suggestions!

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Entryway Angle

The entryway and hallway have tile floors, which extend into the kitchen. I hate them. When we have the money, we’re going to put down hardwoods through the entire first floor. And the ceiling in the hallway is lower than the rest of the first floor, for some reason, so we’re hoping we can raise it at some point. Plus, why the hell was there a door there?! We’ve already taken the door off, and the frame needs to go at some point, too.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Downstairs hallway

While we live with the tile floors, I’m thinking of putting down a runner. We’ll also need to replace the light fixture, but until then, I’m thinking maybe I can use some Rub ‘n Buff to dull the shiny brass finish, like in this post.

On the left of the hallway is our “powder room.” We had one of these in our first rental home, and we loved it. They’re so much easier to keep clean for guests!

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Downstairs half bath

Eventually, we’ll want to replace the toilet, vanity, mirror and light fixtures, but for now, we’re just painting the room Champion Cobalt by Benjamin Moore. It looks like this (featured by West Elm!):

Benjamin Moore Champion Cobalt - From WestElm.com

After the bathroom is a coat closet, then a short hallway to the garage. Yes, that’s a doggy door.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Garage hallway

We’ve already ordered a new door. Macy hasn’t figured out how to use the doggy door yet, but she will eventually, and we do not want her in the garage. Macy + chemicals + sharp tools + potentially open door = Not a good combo.

After you pass the hallway to the garage, you reach the kitchen.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Kitchen - View from dining

It’s not huge, and it’s not particularly pretty. We’ve got big plans for a total overhaul in the future, but we’ve got some saving to do first.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Kitchen Pantry

It does have fairly new appliances, though, and a pantry, so we’re not complaining.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Refrigerator

The gas stove is brand-new, and it has FIVE burners. Five! What are we going to do with five burners?!

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Stove

And of course, I’m obsessed with the window over the sink. I’ve always loved sink-windows, and I’m especially thrilled that I can put plants in there, and my kitty cats can bask in the sun. My parents’ house had a bay window over the kitchen sink, so I think it’s a nostalgia thing.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Sink

There are so many changes that we want to make to this kitchen, it’ll need its own post. But since it’s going to be at least a few years before we can gut the thing and start from scratch, we’ve got to make the place livable in the meantime. This weekend, Brad and his dad took down the cabinets blocking the view out of the kitchen. That will get its own post, too, but here’s a sneak peek:

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Upper cabinets removed

It makes such a huge difference. The kitchen doesn’t feel anywhere near as cramped anymore, and so much more light gets in there! And you can talk to people in the dining room! It’s wonderful.

There’s a truly horrible fluorescent light on the ceiling, so we may want to replace it with an inexpensive fixture, like one of these from Lowes.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Ceiling lights for the kitchen - from Lowes
one | two | three

The cabinet hardware is already antiqued brass, so I’d really like to paint the cabinets dark gray, for a look like this:

Cote De Texas - Dark gray cabinets with brass hardware
Via Cote de Texas

House and Home - Dark gray cabinets with brass hardware
Via House and Home

The wood is super grainy (is that a word?) and pretty banged up, though, so I’m not sure if painting them is within my DIY ability. We’re going to ask our painter how much he’d charge to paint them for us, and then we’ll assess whether that’s worth it. He and his crew are starting today! I can’t WAIT to see how the house looks with all the light blue gone! The entryway and kitchen will both be painted in our perfect light gray, Benjamin Moore’s Alaskan Husky.

So, that’s it for the first interior portion of the house tour. Next up: the dining room. We already bought our dining set, and I’m so excited to show it to you!

As always, PLEASE share suggestions for home updates, renovations, decor, etc!

     

Meet My New BFF: ORB Spray Paint

Posted on by
8

In my last two house tour posts, I alluded to the fact that we’d already started a couple outdoor projects. Now that we’re finally finished, I can finally post about them! Both projects featured one of my new favorite DIY tools: Rust-oleum Universal Metallic Spray Paint in Oil-Rubbed Bronze.

Inspired by Young House Love, I decided that our deck furniture had potential. It was a brave call – the metal was covered in chipping paint and rust.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Outdoor Furniture - Before

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Rusted Outdoor Furniture

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Chipping Outdoor Furniture

The first step was to get rid of all of that. I used my handy-dandy coarse sanding block to start scrubbing. I could have used a wire brush attachment for our drill, but it didn’t seem necessary. The paint came off really easily. It didn’t require much physical effort – just a lot of time. In the next photo, the chair on the right is sanded, and the chair on the left is not.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Sanding outdoor furniture

As you can see, I didn’t sand off all the paint. Just enough to get a smooth surface. I probably could have sanded a lot less, but I knew that if I could see uneven spots, they’d bother me. So I sanded, and sanded, and sanded,and sanded some more. Carpal tunnel be damned!

Finally, it was time to move the furniture to a drop cloth, where I wiped it down with a damp rag to get rid of all the sanding dust.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Sanded outdoor furniture before painting

My next step was to spray the rusty spots with Rust-oleum Rust Reformer. It’s really cool: it bonds with the rust and turns it into a paintable surface, while also preventing future rust. I sound like a Rust-oleum commercial right now, I know – so in the interest of full disclosure, Krylon makes a similar product.

I’ve found that when you’re spray-painting furniture that has to be coated on the top and bottom, it’s best to start with the bottom. That way, when you flip it over, only the feet touch the ground, and if they’re not dry and get smudged, it doesn’t really matter, because it’s not going to show.

I let the Rust Reformer dry for 24 hours, then got going with the spray paint. Unfortunately, this part of the process took almost a whole week, because a) I kept running out of spray paint and b) I kept running out of daylight after work. FYI: This project ended up using four cans. Yikes!

But when it was finally done, it was all worth it. Look how much better everything looks!

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Spray-painted outdoor furniture

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Spray-painted outdoor metal furniture

There are a few uneven spots from the paint underneath, but you can only see them if you look closely.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Spray-painted outdoor furniture - close-up

We even found some cushions for the chairs in a plastic storage unit on the deck! They don’t fit perfectly, but I think they look pretty nice with the umbrella, and they’re definitely comfy.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Spray-painted outdoor furniture with cushions

When you factor in the cost of the spray paint and Rust Reformer, this project cost about $35. Not bad, considering how much a brand-new metal furniture set would have cost!

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Spray-painted metal outdoor furniture - Before and after

While I was toiling away in the backyard, Brad was in the front fixing up our mailbox and mailbox post. They looked icky.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Mailbox - Before

The wood was dirty, the main mailbox was banged up, a newspaper mailbox was taking up unnecessary space, and several house numbers were missing. His first step was to take the mailboxes off the post.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Mailboxes off post

He used another can of ORB spray paint to cover the main mailbox, and we decided to ditch the newspaper mailbox. We also decided we wanted the mailbox post white, but it was in rough shape, so we figured we’d just use spray primer and white spray paint. In retrospect, we should have just replaced the whole thing, but we didn’t realize how tough it’d be to cover such beat-up wood. The spray paint, unfortunately, didn’t do the trick. After Brad put the mailbox back on, I went back over the post with some white latex paint I found in the garage, and that looked a little better.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Painted mailbox and post

You can’t tell from the pictures, but Brad also cut new wood pieces to screw the mailbox into. The ones on the original post were all rotted. Yuck.

We bought brand new oil-rubbed bronze house numbers from Lowes, but I only photographed the “1.” I’m sure you can imagine how pretty the rest are!

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Spray-painted mailbox

Like the deck furniture, it’s not perfect. But it looks a lot better than it did before, and it’ll hold us over until we can afford to replace the whole she-bang.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Painted mailbox - Before and after

I still need to go over the post with some spar varnish. Interior latex, clearly, isn’t meant to be outside, and the post will probably start looking pretty rough if I don’t coat it soon. Here’s hoping I can find time this weekend!

What do you use YOUR spray paint for?

     

House Tour: The Backyard

Posted on by
7

I already mentioned that the fenced yard at our new house was a huge selling point, but it wasn’t the only one. We also love the deck.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Back of the house

Our house was an estate sale, and the seller (the owner’s brother) chose to leave a good chunk of possessions behind. Everything you see on the deck and in the backyard is still there.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Back and deck

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Deck

The table and chairs were in really rough shape, with chipping grayish paint. Eventually, we’ll want to replace them with a rectangular wood table, but until then, we’ll be using these. They just needed some TLC – you’ll see that in another post!

Doesn’t mean I’m not daydreaming about this set, though.

Pottery Barn - Chatham Rectangular Dining Set
Chatham Rectangular Extending Dining Table & Chair Set – Pottery Barn

I’m also dying to add two wooden chaise lounges with cushions, so I can lie out there with a glass of wine after work. Something like this, but preferably, uh, cheaper than $750 each.

Pottery Barn - Hampstead Single Chaise Lounge Chair
Hampstead Single Chaise – Pottery Barn

Anywho, the backyard also has some beautiful gardens and landscaping.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Backyard

The woman who owned it obviously loved gardening. Look at this potting shelf thingy!

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Potting shelf

Unfortunately, I don’t share her affinity. I have kind of a black thumb. (Plus, I kind of just hate gardening. And by kind of, I mean totally.) Brad’s pretty good with this stuff, though, so hopefully we can keep everything alive.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Backyard

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Pond

I do love all the thoughtful touches – especially this grassy path on the side of the house.

Glitter and Goat Cheese - Side of the house

It doesn’t look quite that nice anymore. We had some structural repairs done, and while the path survived, some of the bushes didn’t. Maybe we’ll replace them with some hostas. I know how to take care of those, I think. Maybe.

So that’s our backyard! Got any gardening tips? Outdoor living tips? Things you’d add or change? Lay it on me!