Why Paint Neutral Walls? Because the Rug Will Be Everything!

Hello hello hello my friends!!!! 

So it's been a hot minute since we've shared anything substantial in the home decor department. After finishing our kitchen redesign earlier in the year, we took a beat, which was nice. But now the weather is getting warmer, school has officially ended, and we're looking at everything we could squeeze into the extra free time that comes with Summer vacation. 

One thing that's been on our mind (ok, mostly my mind) is our living room. Since the beginning, I've had this vision of a black fireplace surrounded by white built-ins. With the bolder look of our kitchen, and how it's one open room in combination with the living room I thought lighter might be better on the walls, and color would be amazing everywhere else. 

To confirm this thought, we of course created a MOOD BOARD! 

After feeling very confident that this was the direction to go, I began implementing pieces of the design bit by bit. I first painted the fireplace black, which immediately made it feel SUPER chic and was a massive improvement. 

The power of paint is real honey! 

What cracked me up the most about painting our fireplace was the number of comments I received on the blue wall. That wasn't even the thing that changed and everyone was "ooohing" and "aaahing" over it. 😑 It's a nice shade of blue, don't get me wrong, but every time I looked at it the only thing I could think about was what color to change it to. Eric couldn't understand this unrelenting urge to paint. Why do the work to paint something we're just going to repaint and build cabinets over??? 

Because I wanted it to be MINE! Gah! 

That's why at 3:00pm on a random Sunday, I got on my tiptoes, looked Eric in the eye, and said "I'm going to paint this wall black and white. We already have everything here, Harrison said he'd help, so stand back!" 

Once my little assistant and I got started it went pretty fast. The pace really picked up though when said helper got distracted by watching "Sing 2". Kids are the most okay-ist helpers ever. 😂

By the time we went to bed the whole project was complete, and this is what greeted me in the morning! 

With everything back in place, immediately I was blown away by how much LARGER the room looked by switching the blue for white! The perspective totally changed once that singular wall wasn't being pulled by the dark shade. Adding black behind the fireplace created a fabulous bold moment while also serving as a simple trick to camouflage the TV. 

The sunshine just bounces around, filling the whole room with light airy goodness. And don't get me started on those gold velvet macrame curtains. Obsessed. 

With the paint done, the next item I wanted to tackle was the rug. I had been on the hunt for the perfect rug for MOOOOONTHS. Months and months of scrolling, thinking, checking sizes, and swapping this for that in my mood board to see what would look the best. 

But by having the new color on the wall (or lack thereof), I was able to zone in for one more deep dive into the world of rugs. A few clicks later and this beauty stopped me in my tracks. 

She's big, she's bold, she's FUCHSIA, and I fell so hard. 💜 Because if I'm going to have white on my walls, you better believe the floors will be popping. 

So here we are gang! The end of our little living room journey and where she stands today! 

A semi-traditional but slightly bohemian purple rug may seem like an odd choice, but I've been gushing over the play of color and pattern since the moment we laid her down. Plus the 10'x14' size adds another layer to make the room appear larger compared to our old 8'x10'. Choosing the proper size rug for a space can make all the difference.

Thank you for coming with me on this journey. 😄Here is a fun little throwback to when we first moved in. 

My heart flutters a little every time we pull a room together. Eric and I have talked about taking on the built-ins over the summer, and I'd like to freshly paint the rest of the space while also replacing the trim...but we'll see. So even though it's not "complete", our living room now feels cozy, colorful, a little cooky, and well...us. 

Check out all of our home improvements, by visiting the OUR NEST page.

Turning our Builder-Grade Kitchen into a Beautiful Blue Dream

Good day everyone! 

If you've been following along on Instagram, you couldn't help but notice that we officially wrapped up our kitchen update last week. From the teal backsplash to the sunburst brackets I am OBSESSED with every nook and cranny. I actually find myself sitting on the couch, glancing over at our completed space, just smiling because I am so proud of what we accomplished. Like a crazy kitchen goof...I know.

A few of the to-do's we crossed off the list to achieve our dream kitchen included:

• raising the upper cabinets
• removing a cabinet
• painting cabinets 
• adding a backsplash 
• hanging shelves
• adding hardware
• trimming out the window 

Everything on the list was pretty straightforward...except for the backsplash. We had never tiled anything before yet alone almost an entire wall. But more on that later. 

For reference, here is a shot of when we first moved in. It was a pretty standard builder-grade kitchen, with ample room above the cabinets and not much underneath. I have never been one to decorate on top of cabinets especially when the ceilings aren't particularly high. Adding stuff up there just makes the whole room look even smaller and everything gets covered in dust and grime. So to create the elusion of height, my plan included creating a modified "to the ceiling" look. 

First up, raise the upper cabinets. To determine how high to raise them, we thought about what would still be functional for me (short-er person) as well as what would look natural to the space. We landed on 4 inches. Enough to give us more room underneath and make a difference while working on the countertops, but not too high so it would be difficult for me to use. 

This is where our kitchen progress halted for a few months. It wasn't until we took time off for the holidays that Eric and his dad spent a day "bridging the gap". By that, I mean adding plywood and crown molding to the top of the cabinets to create that to-the-ceiling look. 

Eric first installed 2x4s to the ceiling joists to create anchors, then attached the plywood and crown molding. Lots and LOTS of wood filler was used to hide the seams, as well as quite a bit of sanding. But this prep work was key to achieving a smooth look after painting. 

And speaking of paint, we had the best helpers. They don't particularly have an eye for detail, but they make up for it with enthusiasm. 💜

The color we chose was white, but not just any white, the perfect white paint I have been using ever since reading about it on VintageRevival.com. The people behind the paint counter may give you an odd look when you ask to add "more white" to your already white base, but trust me. It's beautiful. 

After a day of prep, painting, and removing the loner cabinet to the right of our window, we ended the day kind of in a mess. But as chaotic as our kitchen looked, that was how pumped we were about the next day. Because that, my friends, was the first day of our adventure into the world of BACKSPLASH TILING! 

From the moment I began dreaming about reworking our kitchen, I knew I wanted a bold backsplash. My first vision included a black and white pattern with teal lower cabinets and white uppers. But after Eric made the request, "pleeeeeeease don't make me paint all of those cabinets." I pivoted and came up with a design that incorporated our current wood tones by bringing in a teal backsplash. After mocking it up, I was in love. 

To find the perfect tile I ordered approximately 10 samples from various sources, but in the end, decided on Moze 3" x 12" Ceramic Brick Look Subway Tile in blue. I liked the irregularity of the coloring, price, and size, plus the high-gloss made for a great "easy to clean" kitchen choice. 

After measuring the amount of space we wanted to cover, 8 boxes was what the site recommended we buy which included extra for waste and reserve. We decided on a classic 1/2 offset pattern (hoping that wouldn't be too difficult), consulted a few friends, and watched a handful of tutorial videos before getting to work. 

Once we got started, the process really wasn't too intense. Slather on your adhesive, use the trowel to scrape away excess so there's even coverage, place your tile, add spacers, and repeat. Set your bottom rows first, measure twice and cut once, and don't get too far ahead with the adhesive because you only have about 15 minutes to work before it begins to set. Since our tiles were kind of long, we also used these wedges in combination with the spacers to keep tiles from shifting. 

When it came to cutting tiles to size, we borrowed a friend's tile cutter (example here) which worked great for straight lines and was extremely satisfying to use. It was like my scrapbook paper trimmer on steroids. For any cut more elaborate (window corners, outlets) Eric used a special blade he purchased for his circular saw. 

Even with the right tools, we definitely still broke our fair share of tiles. Broken tiles though are all just part of the process, that and making a huge mess. Thank goodness we planned on sending the kids to daycare a few days that week so we actually had time to work uninterrupted. No offense to our children, but their "helping" is kind of anything but. 

After those two full days of childless labor, plus a few extra nights post-bedtime, we officially completed the "put up the tile" part of our project. 

Next came the grout. 

With our backsplash, I wanted the minimal amount of grout showing as possible. The size of our spacers helped with this, but when it came to choosing a grout color, I knew it couldn't be anything bright. It had to blend in with the tile. That is why I decided to go with dark charcoal. Was it messy and ruined more than one of my dishrags? 100%. Am I confident it was the right choice? 10000000000000000%. 

Like installing the tile, once we got into a groove of slathering on the grout, working it into the cracks, and wiping away the excess, we were able to move pretty quickly. The more time-consuming part came after, which included cleaning away the "haze" of grout dirt so those beautiful tiles could really shine and applying an extra coat of sealant. 

But with those final steps came the VERY satisfying moment of crossing "install tile backsplash" off of our to-do list and adding another skill to our ever-growing resume. 

And what do you do with a brand-spanking new tiled wall? Drill into it to hang shelves of course!  

And can we talk about those brackets??? 😍 I can't take full credit though, I first saw Liz Morrow use them in her own kitchen renovation but immediately knew they were what I had been searching for. 

OK, logistics on the shelves. Three brackets per shelf may seem a little overkill to some, but hear me out. In that area of our kitchen, the studs were in odd places. We needed at least ONE of the brackets to be on a stud, and in this situation, it was the center one. The left and right have additional anchors to make them strong enough while only being drilled into the drywall. Using a bracket at the very end of each shelf also gave the edges a clean finish. Plus when I planned on using them for glasses, dishes, and books...the extra support was a bonus. 

With the shelves hung, final touches were all that remained. Hang the cabinet doors, reinstall hardware, touch up paint, install new outlet covers, clean, and STYLE! 

So what do you think!? I think I'm in love. 

I also think that having crisp white cabinets has convinced me that white could be the winning color for the remaining kitchen walls as well as for our living room. I never thought I'd see the day when I became a "white wall" girl, but guess that'll make hanging bold colorful art all the easier. 

There are still a few details left to tackle; like the black accent details behind the large counter and the entire area around and above our fridge. For now, I'm dubbing it complete. Seeing this vision come to life from concept to creation has been a lovely start to 2023. 

I wonder what the rest of the year will hold? 😊

Check out all of our home improvements, by visiting the OUR NEST page.

Traditional Meets Tropical Dining Room Reveal!

Hello hello hello!

It's me. AGAIN! Can you believe it!? 😄

Who remembers the last time there's been multiple blog posts within a two-week period? Anyone? Because this girl can barely remember herself. My guess is it would've been somewhere between 2013-2015. Simpler times, when spray painting a lamp or writing about some random thing I found on Craigslist was enough content for a sufficient post. (I would STILL buy those pink chairs btw). Nowadays unless you're completely overhauling an entire room, it barely seems worth the time when you could watch about the same thing in a 60 second Instagram Reel.

Well, lucky for you dear reader, this post IS about an entire room overhaul. May I present to you our traditional meets tropical dining room! 

This room was CRANKED OUT. I don't think we've ever completed anything from start to finish so fast. We cleared the decor on a Friday evening, went full speed ahead with the help of our in-laws over the weekend, then that following Saturday I wrapped up putting everything back again. 

For a little perspective, below is what the room looked like when the house was listed. 

Here it is after we were living in it for a year. 

And here we are a few moments before putting up the first strip of wallpaper. 

That's right, wallpaper. But not just any kind of wallpaper, REMOVABLE wallpaper. Which I am convinced is proof that there is a higher power because for the amount of traditional wallpaper I've stripped, ripped, and cursed at over the years I honestly NEVER thought I would be one to put it ON my walls. But you guys, this stuff is amazing. Removable, non-damaging, forgiving, peel-and-stick wallpaper is SUCH an easy way to bring pattern and texture into your home it's going to become your new best friend.

For this project I found the perfect pattern at Tempaper.com. They have tons of beautiful designs to choose from but this one caught my eye immediately. The tropical vibe was exactly what I was looking for and the color palette not too crazy to turn Eric off. Plus the toucans were just "tou" cute (see what I did there?). 

Pure joy. 

But if you notice, we didn't wallpaper all the way to the floor. That's because the bottom third of the wall we decided to install board and batten. Board and batten describes a type of interior paneling that has alternating wide boards and narrow wooden strips, called "battens."

For both the vertical and horizontal boards we used 1''x4'' pine ripped down so each piece was only 3'' wide. The baseboard was a 1''x6'' trimmed down to 5.5'' to match the height of the new baseboards we've installed throughout the rest of the house. We went through a few different options while determining the distance there would be in between each vertical board, but in the end decided it would be easiest if we kept to where the studs were in the wall. That spaced each board approximately 16'' apart, give or take a few inches in the gaps around the corners and flanking the doorways. 

And that was where we ended after a very busy weekend. 

The next few days were focused around priming, caulking the seams, covering nail holes, and ordering more wallpaper because apparently my math was wrong... go figure. 🤷

While we waited for those last few rolls to arrive (and shout out to Tempaper because it only took maybe four days even without expedited shipping) we picked up our brushes once more and continued painting the board and batten. Compared to the bright Alexandrite green of the mudroom, here we went with a deep moody grey with purple undertones; Stunning Shade by Sherwin Williams. 

I LOVE how the color drastically changed the whole mood of the space. It's dark, but dark in a way that is calming. Plus pairing it with a lighter wallpaper really balanced everything out. After a second coat and any final touch-ups, the only thing left to do was install the top most piece of trim. 

That, and break the room in with an impromptu art project. 😉

Ok, I'll stop talking, now pull up a seat at the table and enjoy these DELICOUS "after" photos! 

How a room evolves over the years is one of my favorite part of interior design. Great homes take two things; time and love. Dont rush the process, use those cherished items you hunted down and scored (like our dining room table), DIY'd yourself (like our chairs), or were so excited to purchase because it was the first "new" thing in your home (like our chandelier).

Don't fret over how long (or short in this case) a room comes together. Do what brings you joy, and remember to TAKE PICTURES. Nothing makes the journey more worth while than seeing just how far you've come. 

Check out all of our home improvements, by visiting the OUR NEST page.