An Update Long Overdue

After a long and grueling semester (who said 3rd year was going to be easier than 2nd year?) I am finally posting more pics on the progress around these parts.  Here's a list of the completed projects that happened this summer and fall:

• New windows were installed (by Javier) in the bathroom bedroom and office
• We painted the apartment bedroom, bathroom, hallway and kitchen (with the generous help of my brother)
• Apartment kitchen cabinets and appliances were installed (by Javier)
• We added ceiling fans to the front porch and to the apartment bedroom
• We painted the master bedroom and added accessories and finishing touches (most proud of this room!)
• We painted the stairway and I undertook an elaborate stenciling project
• I made roman shades out of mini blinds for the kitchen windows
• The dining room was painted and accessorized
• We painted and added furniture and accessories to the living room
• I reorganized the closets
• I painted the bathroom and added accessories and a window treatment
• And finally, we decorated for the holidays.

We still have a lot more to do in 2011... 

First on the list is the upstairs guest bedroom which currently looks like this, but hopefully won't for long.  I'm hoping to paint it this week. 

Javier is going to install new windows in the dining room and kitchen and in the apartment in about 2 weeks.  We're psyched about the new garden window that we selected for the window above the sink.  

We have plans to install a picket fence in the front yard. 

And Masai has big plans for the basement!

In the meantime, we're enjoying how far we've come with this little bungalow.  I hope you're all doing well and enjoying the new year!

~Tatiana

Holiday Decorations

We didn't have much time to really get into decorating the outside of the house this year, but here's what we did do...

Photos after the jump!

Guest Bedroom Inspiration

The upstairs guest bedroom currently looks like this...

I'm hoping it will soon look more like one of these.  Photos after the jump!

Bedlinens

On another successful trip with my mom to Homegoods I got this embroidered duvet with matching pillow cases.  I have been totally coveting this style for several months but wasn't willing to spend a small fortune so I was so excited to find this set for 49.99!  Loving the way it looks in the finished master bedroom!

Xmas Stockings

We hosted Christmas this year at our house for the first time and my mom did a fabulous job making us our Christmas stockings.  She used burlap, a khaki liner fabric, and several different kinds of ribbon and trim that we picked out from Hancock Fabrics.  They turned out so much better than I had imagined and they're really the most beautiful stockings I've ever seen (thanks again Mom!).  Photos of the stockings in progress are below and the finished product with some close ups are after the jump.

Hallway Update

The hallway stairs have always been plain white, which was never a bad choice but the flat paint had gotten really dirty.  I planned to paint it a semi-gloss white to make it easier to clean.  Then I also got the idea to use a stencil pattern on the walls and to add some kind of photo display.  It took me a day to paint the walls, ceiling, and trim and another full day of stenciling.  Here's the progression from painting the white semi-gloss (with help from Masai) to stenciling (laborious but worth it...I think) to hanging pictures and other decorations.

Before 

Testing out the stencil

More photos after the jump.

Apartment Updates

Well, with some help from myself, my brother, Masai, and our contractor Javier, the apartment has come a long way. We decided to go ahead and furnish it and use it until we rent it. It was great to have the extra space when hosting my family over the holidays and it feels so much nicer now that it's not empty, (it actually feels a lot bigger too). Before we get there, let's take start with what the apartment bedroom used to look like.

Here are some photos of when we first bought the place, just after refinishing the floors.

Progress photos after the jump!

Master Bedroom Updates

The master bedroom was the first bedroom that I have ever had a real vision for. After browsing countless design websites and perusing several magazines, I had an idea of what I wanted to look like. It honestly came out better than I had imagined, and I felt even more inspired to continue working on the rest of the house. It's a lovely room to come home to and I find it to be very peaceful, relaxed, and elegant.

More photos after the jump!

Bathroom Updates

Here's the latest on the upstairs bathroom. First it got a new window. Sorry no pictures of that in progress. It got a new paint color (a nice light grey) and all the trim and medicine cabinet got several new coats of white semi-gloss paint, and finally some accessories from Ikea.

Then the bathroom also got a new shade (thanks to my new-found roman shade diy skills) and a new shower curtain.

Just for reference (and because who doesn't like a before and after?!), here's what the bathroom looked like when we first bought the house. Photos after the jump.

DIY Roman Shades

This is a project that I honestly was not sure I would be able to do.  I had this fabric that I found at Hancock Fabrics and I had the idea that there must be some way to make your own roman shade.  We have two nice windows in our kitchen that face our neighbors house (actually they look right into the neighbor's kitchen).  We didn't need to cover the windows completely - we actually quite like our neighbors and we often back and forth through the windows.  They even invited us to dinner through the window once, it was too cute.  Anyways, the windows did need to be dressed up and I wanted some kind of accent color for our yellow and white kitchen.  After a lot of googling, I came across this website at Martha Stewart and this one from HGTV.  Ugh, the photos had me drooling (I love the one with the ribbon applique) and I thought I could do it, but wasn't that thrilled since I have such limited time between grad school courses, externship, and lab work.  So, I was even more excited when I found this post on how to make roman shades from cheap mini-blinds from Target.  Many thanks to Jenny for her brilliant idea.  There's another tutorial here if you want more info on this project.

Here's an in progress shot...

And a couple of afters...

They look fab and they work great.  I couldn't be happier and since this first attempt I've made three more, one for the bathroom (with a ribbon applique!!) and two for the living room to replace the mini-blinds that were there.  I still have another to make for the living room and might even be making two more for the guest bedroom.  Basically, I'm crazy about roman shades now.   

Dining Room Update

 Here's what the dining room looks like of late.  The wall color is new, as is the white buffet with baskets and many of the accessories (the posters and mirror are from our apartment, the rest of the accessories are new).

More photos and some before pictures after the jump.

Living Room Update

Here's the living room as of today.  What we've done in here: painted, bought furniture, rug, and other accessories, made roman shades for 2 out of the 3 windows (still going to put up curtains on top of the shades), and of course decorated for the holidays.

More photos and before pictures after the jump.

Living Room Thoughts

It's been a while since I've posted here, my 2nd year of graduate school is really kicking my butt. As the semester winds down, I'm finding it harder and harder to stay focused on schoolwork and have started thinking about what to actually do with our living room using the sofa we already purchased from West Elm in between the winter blizzards. Here's what I've come up with. Enjoy!

Closets!

Our new favorite handyman/contractor Javier finished our closets in only a few days! Hooray!! Now I have a space for my clothes that is not the makeshift rack next to my bed.  It has been a blast getting the new closets organized.  I'm not completely finished with the organization process but here's some photos anyways of the progress and the completed product!

Finished product after the jump.

More Shoveling

Ugh, I was about to publish this post as the celebratory last snow of this winter, but it turns out there's another blizzard headed our way.  Snow is supposed to be coming in on full force from Friday morning to Saturday afternoon.  Is there no end to this?!

Anyways, here are some pictures from the last snow (yesterday).

More photos after the jump!