Booyah!

There are times when words are not enough. Here is the evolution of the breakfast nook...

Just in case you WANT to read more, click here for where I found my inspiration:

http://accessorizeandorganize.blogspot.com/2011/04/we-can-all-dream.html

here to read about the $50 bench:

http://accessorizeandorganize.blogspot.com/2011/05/look-what-i-found.html

http://accessorizeandorganize.blogspot.com/2011/05/kitchen-progress.html

here to read about the gallery wall:

http://accessorizeandorganize.blogspot.com/2011/05/gallery-wall-inspiration.html

http://accessorizeandorganize.blogspot.com/2011/05/making-of-gallery-wall.html

here to read about the $10 light fixture:

http://accessorizeandorganize.blogspot.com/2011/04/light-for-kitchen.html

http://accessorizeandorganize.blogspot.com/2011/06/moving-of-light.html

and seriously...if you're still interested...this is what happened to the washer and dryer:
http://accessorizeandorganize.blogspot.com/2011/04/it-all-comes-together.html

Enjoy!!!

Rachel :)

Working on the Bench...

Mr. T and I have been working hard taking our breakfast nook from this:

to look more like our inspiration:

We scored BIG when we found this for $50 at our local Habitat ReStore:

The custom bench that was custom for someone else's very large kitchen was 104" in length and 24" deep. The depth is perfect..exactly what we wanted. Our nook is 76" wide so we had to take some length off. The original bench had two drawers with two cabinets on either side. We took the drawers out (lots and lots of pulling and prying, they had seen better days) and removed the top along with the cabinet doors. Then we measured and got ready to make cuts...measure twice, cut once!!!

 

 

one side cut!



checking the measurements before we added end pieces



charlie brown approves!

After all the cuts were made Mr. T cut two new sides and used wood screw to attach them. At one point I want to do everything myself...well...one cut later and I gladly turned the saw over to the muscle behind our operation! I would much rather measure, draw lines, and bark orders...just kidding...not really! When the side were attached ( I primed them first), I got busy with the hand sander. A few coats of paint later we were watching the paint dry, ready to move this beauty inside! Time to get busy deciding on what was going on the back wall...

Rachel :)

Yummy...

When I recently blogged about my master bedroom makeover, did anyone notice this...

I mean THIS...

a $50 thrift store find...seriously. Can you say L.O.V.E...

Rachel :)





 

Look What I Found!

Ever since I read this post from Thirfty Decor Chick, I have become obsessed with our Habitat ReStore. Our local store is open Thursday and Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturday from 9am to 2pm. Sarah posted about her local store on a Sunday, so Monday morning I ran to ours first thing...Closed. I thought the sign said Tu...so I went back the next day...Closed. It was then I realized what the hours were...so I waited. Ever since then I have been once a week. I LOVE to look, but I never purchased anything until last week when I saw this...

That's right...it's a painted, wooden bench custom made for a bay window.. Hmmmmmmm....I thought...will it work? Can I make it work? Should I try to make it work? That was over a week ago. I thought about it for a few days and decided to take Mr. T back to take a look. We talked and looked and looked and talked and decided that maybe...just maybe...it was worth a try. But, I told him, this is a project I want to tackle by myself! My goal is to take this...

and make it look like this...



Aubrey + Lindsay

A few months ago when we started this process, Mr. T thought this project was going to cost a million dollars...seriously...has he met me?!? The bench had a price tag of $125, but we were able to talk them down to $75 fairly quickly. Still, it wasn't good enough...so $25 later we were down to $50 and I was happy. I still couldn't pull the purchase trigger, so we went home and I decided that if it was still there the next day it was meant to be. Don't you love my logic?

Well...it was meant to be! I am now the proud owner of a dirty, needs work, custom bench with an unattached top and drawers that don't pull out, that doesn't fit in our 1950's kitchen! It's great, it didn't end up in a landfill, and I didn't have to buy anything new! I'm ready to get started to make this custom for us!

Rachel :)

We Can All Dream

In having my new found freedom from having a washer and dryer in my kitchen, I have become obssesed with breakfast nooks. I have poured over a ton of pictures of tables, chairs, furniture, fixtures...everything!

i am drooling over this wing back settee sofa

image from: Decor Pad

Southern Living

Coastal Living



My Home Ideas



Aubrey + Lindsay's DIY Banquette

I could look over pictures for days...I love it! But time after time I keep coming back to Aubrey + Lindsay's DIY Banquette. I love everything about it. It's simple, clean, and something like this would add the perfect element to our kitchen. This picture makes me smile!

Rachel :)

Modern Day Fairy Tale

Once upon a time there was a couple. They were married two years when they bought their first sofa together. The one thing they agreed on was no flowers. When the young wife went furniture shopping without her groom, she came home with not one, but two red floral sofas. The groom loved his young wife so much he never said a bad word about the red floral sofas she loved. They lived happily ever after...or for about seven years until the red floral sofas had run their course and the young wife decided she didn't like them anymore...

I am sure you all have heard this story before. You love. You buy. You live. You have declining feelings about the purchase you once loved so much...When Mr. T and I moved into our old house a few years ago, we knew it was time to let the red floral sofas go. We went back to our original rule, no flowers, but added a new rule this time: neutral. It is a lot easier and cheaper to change a throw pillow than it is an entire sofa. We chose a tweed fabric with pale blue, gold and grey woven colors. When you step back it looks more like a wheat, but the colors are subtly there. Our pillows are solid blue with blue and gold fringe. I am always on the lookout to add more pillows, but never seem to find exactly what I am looking for.

I had a cut and paste session this morning. Here is what I came up with:

original pillows

decent

hmmmmmm

roof!

makes my eyes hurt

Mr. T is NOT a fan of animal prints...or flowers

Yes, I know this is completely bootleg, but I am not near techy enough to cut and paste in the computer. I can however scan a picture! While I'm still undecided on pillows, I do know that when I see them, I'll love them. At least for a little while...

Rachel :)

My Vision...

I posted some pictures of built in book shelves that inspire me.  I am moving toward having every room in my house furnished in a neutral pallet and accessorizing with pops of color.  I absolutely adore this room done by Windsor Smith.

WS Rooms in a Box

I'm going for having all white, clear, or silver odds and ends but I LOVE how she has grouped the books!  I am also a sucker for Ikat (which I just learned how to pronounce: ee-kot).

I think this sofa from Ikea looks so comfortable.  It's slipcovered which means it's washable!  For $599, I'm sold! There are also about 6 other pieces that match it.

When I toiled in commercial real estate, I spent all day long looking at jewelry on the internet.  Now that looking at jewelry is my job, I spend the majority of my day looking at pillow covers on Etsy.

Here are a few pillows that will go perfectly in my dream den.  Or is it a living room?  Or a family room?  Whatever...the room with the sofa, tv, and fire place!

Pillow 1

Pillow 2

Pillow 3

Pillow 4

Pillow 5

Pillow 6

Here's the funny thing.  As I added pictures and drafted this post I realized that I long for the brighter colored pillows.  I started out loving pillows #3 & #4.  Now I realize that they are too subdued for me.  My new favorites are #1 and #5.  My favorite color is blue.  I wear it in every hue. I'm a poet and didn't know it, too.  It's my happy color. In the past I've decorated with it using lighter more subtle shades of it.  Going forward I'm looking for the royal-est of the royal, turquoise the shade of the Caribbean, and blue the color of the sky on a beautiful April day! 

I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere!

xoxo

Marlene