Sorry for the delay in getting this post up. Is it obvious that we spent the holiday visiting family and friends out of internet service range? Well, we did. And it was wonderful for my heart and my kids…not so great for the blog though!

After a whirlwind weekend of filling our bellies, napping, driving over state lines and high school reunioning {yep, Handy Hubby even took a much needed break to attend his 15-year high school reunion}, we’re glad to be back. All my guys are catching up on their sleep this afternoon as I write. I felt H*T had been neglected for far too long, so I’m skipping out on the sleepfest.

The lucky winner of the $100 American Express gift card sponsored by Apartment Guide is “D” who loves using felt to create all kinds of festive decor for the holidays. Congrats!

Don’t worry if you didn’t win. I’ve got another fun giveaway scheduled for this week! Plus, I’ll be showing you the holiday decor and organization ideas I come up with for our teeny apartment. Things are about to get all ho-ho-ho up in here.

FYI – Apartment Guide is owned by Consumer Source, Inc. Apartment Guide partnered with bloggers such as me to participate in its “Holiday Home Organization” Blogger Challenge.  As part of that program, I received compensation.  They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products used for the “Holiday Home Organization” Blogger Challenge. Apartment Guide and Consumer Source believe that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Consumer Source’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

images: Apartment Guide

A friend let us in on one of Cincy’s home improvement secrets. It’s called Home Emporium and they sell all kinds of things for home projects and decor. The inventory comes from closeouts and liquidations and then the savings are passed onto customers. We decided to check ‘em out and Handy Hubby called before we visited to ask if they had any pine tongue and groove in stock. They did! So we borrowed our new neighbor’s trailer and hitched it up to our SUV in case we decided to purchase the tongue and groove for the Underdog’s vaulted ceiling. {We decided to finish the ceiling in the great room with tongue and groove versus sheetrock.}

{HH doing one last calculation to double check we bought enough tongue and groove}

Bringing the trailer ended up being a good idea because we did end up buying unfinished pine tongue and groove in various lengths. An employee helped HH pick through the pile of pine lengths, passing on boards that were warped or damaged. At 49¢/linear foot, we spent $700-$800 on the ceiling boards for our 25′x25′ great room. There are less expensive options of bead board available that we considered but they were much thinner and flimsier than the 5/8″ thick sturdy boards we brought home. We were worried that the thinner versions may wave or warp over time.

We unloaded the pine boards at the Underdog and wrapped them in plastic while the drywall was going up and getting finished. The plastic tarps did a good job of keeping the boards dust-free. This past weekend, with the drywall work complete, HH and his dad unwrapped the boards and got to work installing them on the vaulted ceiling.

{grooved side of the pine boards}

At first, I thought I wanted the grooved side of the boards facing out. But after looking at a bunch of tongue and groove ceilings online, I realized that I preferred the wider plank look…so HH faced the smooth side of the boards.

The wider planks look less busy than the grooved bead board side of the tongue and groove. I love them! After a full day’s work, HH and his dad got one side of the great room’s ceiling hung.

 {HH rented the scaffolding}

The next day, with his neck and back aching from twisting his body into peculiar positions while hanging the plank ceiling, HH framed out the skylights on the other side of the great room ceiling. There aren’t any boards hung on that side of the ceiling yet but we’re already enamored with the aesthetic of the tongue and groove ceiling. While I do like the look of unfinished pine, I’m still thinking it will get primed and painted to mix better with that simple, clean and airy feel we’re going for.

That’s the latest and greatest at the Underdog. We’ve been anxiously awaiting this phase {finishing and installation} of the renovation, but it looks like things may be slow going for a few weeks while HH’s real job pulls him away with lots of traveling over the next several weeks. I’m feeling a little overwhelmed about being a single, prego mom for such a long period of time. Kudos to all those moms out there that do it everyday, day in and day out…whether you’re single or your spouse works away from home for extended periods of time. I don’t know how you do it!

On a lighter note, we came across a few other finds at Home Emporium. Along with home improvement supplies {tile, cabinetry, flooring, lighting, fixtures, etc.} the store also had a great selection of furniture, rugs and accessories. Other than the tongue and groove, we also purchased these items…

HH picked out the wooden bowl and I found an affordable alternative to the bullrush basket I featured in the kids’ bathroom mood board. $375 was a ridiculous amount of money for us to spend on a basket, but $17?…yes, please! I think it’ll come in handy in the kids’ bathroom for dirty towels and clothes. I also picked up a pair of faux bull horns for $40. I eyed similar real ones at a local upscale design boutique a few weeks ago but they were outta my price range at nearly $200 a piece. Yikes! So happy to have found similar faux ones for much cheaper. I think I’ll probably end up painting the square mounting blocks white or gray to give them a lighter feel.

So what do you think? Like the ceiling progress? Would you leave it unfinished or paint it?

FYI – I was not compensated in any way to mention Home Emporium. I just love sharing good shopping spots!

images: all Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

#bobvila

*THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.*

When you start contemplating any renovation, you will hear and read that you should expect the renovation to take longer than your guesstimate. We’re finding that to be true. We had hoped to be in the Underdog {with not every to-do marked off our checklist but just living there} by the end of October/beginning of November. Obviously, that hasn’t happened. Our next ETA was somewhere right around Christmas which looked pretty doable on paper.

However, HH was sent out of state on a trip for work two weeks ago that set us back. And just last week we learned that he’ll be traveling for work for another two weeks in the month of December. All of this was unexpected and makes our Christmas move impossible since the last projects on the list require HH’s DIY skills.

You know what that means? Yep. We’re planning on spending Christmas in our cozy lil’ apartment. So when Apartment Guide asked me to participate in their Holiday Home Organization Blogger Challenge I felt the timing was right. Why not?! My creativity has been so pent up over the last few months waiting and waiting to decorate the Underdog that I need a good crafty release.

Apartment Guide is not only a source for finding and researching apartments, but did you know they also offer useful advice for apartment dwelling? Holiday decor that meets apartment complex restrictions, storage options for surprise gifts and an inviting atmosphere for holiday guests are all covered by Apartment Guide.

{our holiday mantel last year}

I’ve been asked to come up with a few holiday decor and organizational ideas/projects that can be implemented within an apartment setting. So far I have plans for a space-saving Christmas tree, a wrapping station and temporary seasonal decor. I’ll be sharing all my projects with you here on H*T, so stay tuned!

{my holiday gift wrap last year}

Until then, Apartment Guide is graciously offering up a $100 American Express gift card to one lucky H*T reader! Use it to prep your place for the holidays, to help out with holiday shopping or for something totally unrelated to the holidays. It’s up to you. Here are all the details on how to enter:

• PRIZE:  $100 American Express gift card which has a U.S. restriction for in-store purchases but works online anywhere. Should there be an international winner, the gift card may be awarded in the form of an e-gift card depending on the winner’s location.
• RULES:  You must be at least 18 years old. One entry per email address.
• HOW TO ENTER:  Leave a comment on this post proclaiming “GUIDE ME!”
• DEADLINE:  Enter before Thursday, November 24th at 9:00 p.m. EST. One winner will be chosen via Random.org and announced on Friday, November 25th.
• WHILE YOU’RE AT IT:  Share your favorite holiday-related DIY project. Recipes, gift wrap, decor, handmade gifts and snow angels all count! OR like Apartment Guide on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

FYI – Apartment Guide is owned by Consumer Source, Inc. Apartment Guide partnered with bloggers such as me to participate in its “Holiday Home Organization” Blogger Challenge.  As part of that program, I received compensation.  They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products used for the “Holiday Home Organization” Blogger Challenge. Apartment Guide and Consumer Source believe that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Consumer Source’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

images:  1) Apartment Guide  2&3) Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

The mechanical closet at the Underdog is in the hallway that leads back to the bedrooms. Notice I said ‘closet’ not room.

It houses the furnace {shown} and water heater {not shown}. The closet is actually a little wider than the door opening and the water heater sits back in the left-hand corner. To take a picture of this teeny space, I have to stand in the bedroom across the hallway and I can’t get a shot of the water heater because that would require me going into the narrow hall for the angle needed but then I’m way too close. Are you following me? Basically, it’s a tiny closet off a very narrow hallway and it’s difficult to photograph. Take my word for it.

I shared the story of our craigslist heat pump back in June. {The Underdog came to us with no central air.} In case you missed it you can look back or just know that we paid $500 for the unit. Since then Handy Hubby has been busy installing the heat pump and wiring it to the furnace.

I’m not going to pretend I know what HH did. I have no idea. Luckily, HH has a buddy at work who has done DIY HVAC stuff before and he lent HH a hand with the hookup. What I can tell you is that HH ran copper pipes from the heat pump to the furnace. You can see the addition of two copper pipes near the bottom left-hand corner of the furnace just below where the panel would be.

The heat pump is located at the back of the house between the master bedroom and master bathroom windows.

If you look closely, you’ll see where those two aforementioned copper pipes come out at the back of the unit and run into the house.

It was a very happy day when HH came home from a long evening at the Underdog to announce, “The heat pump works!” Yep. My HH installed that sucker himself.  Well, okay, with the help of a friend. But still. Buying the craigslist unit for $500 and DIYing the install saved us about $2,000-$2,500!!!!!

And you know what that means. More money for pretty stuff. Cha-ching.

But, alas, this post isn’t about pretty things. It’s about the guts of the house…what makes it work…what makes it livable and comfortable to be in. And that stuff isn’t necessarily pretty. Unless you like cubes of steel and electrical components. To each his own.

So, back to the teeny mechanical closet we go.

While the water heater seems to be acting fine now, we’re sure it’s going to poop out at any moment. Probably the moment right after we move in. The water heater is ~10 years old. When HH got to thinking ahead, he realized that to replace the old water heater he’d have to remove the furnace due to the narrow access to the closet. Ugh. Not exactly ideal.

So, HH took the bull by the horns and opened up the mechanical room’s doorway to allow easier access to the water heater.

There’s that water heater I’ve been telling you about! The widened doorway gives HH direct access to the water heater. Normally, this is where I say ‘Yay!’ but there was one sliver of a problem.

Looking back to the first image…

…you’ll see that there was a single louvered door on the mechanical room. Now that the doorway is wider, HH had to look at pricing out bifold louvers. Bifold versus hinged because the hall is way too narrow to allow for a large door to swing out. And louvered versus solid to allow proper ventilation for the furnace.

You’d think that for such an eyesore those doors-that-can’t-make-up-their-minds-to-be-a-door-or-a-shutter would be cheap. Wrong. HH priced a set of bifold louvers for the mechanical room at $300. Neither of us wanted to spend $300 on something that we weren’t crazy about to begin with.

As luck would have it, on the way back to the Underdog from pricing out the doors at Home Depot HH spied something on the side of the road. Laid out with the trash were a set of louvered doors! Right on our street!

It was fate. HH didn’t think twice about hauling them back to the Underdog. While the measurements aren’t an exact fit our mechanical room, HH is certain he can make them work. And the price tag is hard to beat. You know what they say about one man’s trash… Here’s my ‘Yay!’ now.

So, that’s a lot of words about the smallest ‘room’ in our Underdog. While it isn’t much to look at, a room that houses a furnace and water heater is necessary. And making it work for us is just as important. When that old water heater comes out, I think HH is going to be patting himself on the back for opening up the doorway. If not, I will.

In other earth-shattering news, House*Tweaking turns 2 today! What a post for a blogiversary, right? I decided that two anniversaries in one week {our wedding anniversary + blogiversary = 2} were a bit much. So, next week will be the official blogiversary week. And it all kicks off with a profitable giveaway on Monday. In short, I’ve partnered with Apartment Guide to offer holiday decor ideas and seasonal organization solutions for apartment dwellers. Check in Monday for all the details!

For fun, I went back and read my very first H*T post. I noticed a few things:  1) No pictures. Rookie mistake.  2) My parentheses have turned into curly brackets…except when following a number. This is my own made-up rule.  3) I’m still not tech savvy.  4) ‘Hubby’ is now referred to as ‘Handy Hubby.’  5) Miraculously, H*T did keep me from wanting a third child. But my uterus had other plans.  6) Oprah ended her show this year.  7) This blog has fueled my hunger to read and write. It’s taught me new things – and not just about design – but life and myself in general. It’s been a wonderful outlet for the now more-than-a-zillion ideas whirling around in my head. And it’s most definitely been a great place to journal our home improvement projects…not that I ever imagined renovating a 1958 ranch named the Underdog would be a part of that.

Have a great pre-Turkey weekend!

images:  all Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

Last night as Handy Hubby and I were getting ready for bed we realized that today was our anniversary.

HH said, “Let’s see. We got married in 2002.  It’s 2011.  That means we’ve been married for nine years.”  Pause.  ”HOLY S@&*!”

I reminded HH that we actually started dating when I was 19 which means we’ve been together for 14 years total. {You do the math.} The serious adultness of our relationship set in.

Honestly, though, I don’t feel like it’s been that long.  I’m having more fun with HH now than I did in our early years.  I told him that.  He agreed.

Fact is, 9 wedding anniversaries, 3 houses, 2.5 kids and lots of laughs later, we’re happier than we were a mere 14 years ago. I think the best advice I can give married people is to not act like married people.  Well, other than the monogamous part. Don’t fall into the trap of playing roles day-in and day-out…mom, dad, wife, husband, employee, blogger…whatever various parts you take on in life.  Always bring a piece of your original self to the relationship.  That’s how it began after all. You can still be responsible and respectful without taking yourselves too seriously.

Happy One-Year-Away-From-a-Decade Anniversary, HH!  So grateful for where we are…

…and where we’re going…

Love you.

images:  Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

I told you a few weeks ago that the black dining table in our previous home stayed with the sale of the house per the agreed upon sales contract.

{the dining area in our previous home}

That means I’ve been on the hunt for a new one for the Underdog.  Well, I guess, technically I’ve been searching for an old one.  I’d like to incorporate more antiques and thrift finds into this house than I did in our last one.  I figured a dining table would be a good place to start. As a main multifunctional piece in our future mudroom/dining room, it’s sure to receive tons of abuse in the form of spilled food/drink, toy-banging, kid crafting, laundry folding, machine sewing and family game playing.  I thought a scratch-and-dent find would fit the bill.

{our future mudroom/dining room}

From the get-to, I was set on a round table.  The shape would suit the modest space well and still allow for easy traffic flow around it. {The room will receive traffic from the adjoining garage, laundry nook, backyard and great room.}  As a bonus, I wanted to find a round table that could be extended into an oval with an optional leaf to allow for extra dining space when necessary.  As a result of downsizing by over 1,000 sq ft, I’m having to contemplate the size, scale and function of each furniture piece that we’ll use.  Everything needs a purpose…preferably several purposes…and the dining table is no exception.

After months of hitting up all the local thrift and antique stores nearby, I found a few round tables with extending leaves but they were either 1) too expensive or 2) too ornate or 3) too badly damaged.  Taking a breather from the task at hand, I decided to let up a bit on finding the table. Oddly enough, it was during this ‘break’ that I stumbled upon our future dining table.

The boys and I were visiting my dad and stepmom {I hate that word because it carries such a negative connotation.  I assure you my dad’s wife, Karen, is not your typical stepmom…I love her and am so thankful my dad found her!} when Layne asked me to retrieve one of his dump trucks from Grandpa’s barn where we’ve been storing the kids’ outdoor toys.  It’s also the same barn I lived in as a child for a decade. {I promise.  I’m gonna write about that someday.}

Layne and I walked down to the barn in search of a dump truck.  Imagine my surprise when, lo and behold, there next to our pile o’ boy toys was the exact dining table that had been floating around in my head for months!  It was an older wooden pedestal table in need of some TLC but had warm tones and simple lines.

I quickly found Layne’s dump truck then all but ran back to the house to ask about the table.  I had an inkling it was Karen’s since it was unfamiliar to me.  I was right.  Karen had bought the table when her first son was born almost 30 years ago.  The table had lived in her home then her brother-in-law’s office building then her sister’s home.  Her sister had recently moved and returned the table to Karen. Karen immediately asked if we would be able to use the table in our fixer-upper. I excitedly nodded yes.  I told her I’d buy it from her but she refused to talk money.  She was happy to know we could use it {she and my dad didn’t need it} and happily said it was ours – free of charge.  I was elated!  Even more so when she told me that she had a leaf for it.

That’s right.  The round table with an optional extending leaf that I’d been searching for pretty much fell into my lap.  The table is still in my dad’s barn for now.  I had planned on stripping, sanding and staining {nope, I’m NOT painting it!} it in the barn…I still do.  But Karen beat me to the beginning stages.  On a more recent trip to my dad’s, I found the table cleaned up and stripped of its thirty-year-old polyurethane topcoat.  {All the images shown in this post are from after the table was stripped.}

Karen is the best!

I haven’t decided on a stain yet but I don’t want to venture too far from the table’s original wood tone.  I’d also like to use a food safe topcoat.

I have visions of slipcovering the petite sofa from our previous living room and using it settee style with the pedestal table and simple side chairs in the mudroom/dining room.  Something along the lines of this…

I’ve had the image of that dainty dining space in my inspiration folder for a while now.  I love the mix of the traditional settee + warm mid century table + Bertoia wire chairs.  It feels fresh, modern, casual and homey all at the same time.  That’s what I’m aiming for.

{future mudroom/dining room looking towards the laundry nook}

Since we already have the sofa on hand and the table was free, that leaves me with a little money for a light fixture, textiles, a window treatment, storage options {remember…our dining room has to double as a mudroom} and a clever yet stylish way to disguise the laundry nook.  So much to consider!  But it’s definitely fun thinking about all the possibilities.

So what about you?  Have you ever discovered the perfect piece just sitting in your parent’s attic/garage/basement/barn?  Have you ever given up on finding that certain something – only to have it fall into place all on its own?  Share!

images:  1-6 & 8 ) all Dana Miller for House*Tweaking  7) Erin McLaughlin’s dining space via Style at Home found on DecorPad

A fellow blogger has just published her first book. Liz Owen, author of the blog Mabel’s House, fulfilled her {and one of her best friend’s} lifelong dream of writing a book. Her book is titled My (not so) Storybook Life: A Tale of Friendship and Faith and I read it. And it’s good.

Before Liz’s close friend, Angela, is diagnosed with cancer at the young age of 33, Liz perceives her older home and its shortcomings as a force to be reckoned with. But with Angela’s help and journey, Liz comes to realize that even sewage-filled bathtubs are blessings in disguise. Yes, I said blessings.

This story is real.  Not only as in the non-fiction, true story way but as in real. Real emotions, real humor, real people, real houses, real pets, real friends, real jobs, real illness, real spirituality. Liz copes with all this reality in her life by seeking revenge on her fictional, too-good-to-be-true literary heros. Oh, and she’s funny too.

I’m not sure if my pregnancy hormones were kicking in or what, but I frequently found myself first giggling out loud and then tearing up mere seconds later during certain parts of the book.  Giggling because the situation itself was comical. Tearing up because I could totally relate to the raw emotion that Liz was speaking of.

Take this excerpt, for example, in which Liz describes her visit to a county fair…

“…I realized that there is no such thing as womanly perfection.  In the end, it doesn’t matter if my baseboards are clean, laundry folded, bills paid, or my career climbing. The universe really doesn’t care.

“What matters is the warm feeling I get when I chill out, forget the stress, and spend an evening with my mother appreciating the absurdity of teenagers in drag-queen makeup parading next to prize-winning udders at a cattle show.”

I was surprised to discover that Liz and I have a lot in common too. We clean to deal with stress. Even as adults, we sometimes refer to fictional literary women when measuring up our own modern lives. We’re novices in the kitchen…and that makes us a bit insecure in our wivelyhood. Our favorite decorating tool is paint – brushed or sprayed. We tend to blurt out what-we-think-are-funny-but-later-discover-are-inappropriate comments during uncomfortable situations, making those situations even more uncomfortable. We’re not what you would call ladylike. We both have a younger sister who slept standing up as a child. Our husbands have strange sleeping issues.

Throughout the book, Liz openly reveals her twisted mind to readers all the while remaining loyal and steadfast to an ill friend.

If you’re in the market for a quick but meaningful and heartfelt read OR if you’re searching for a gift for that special female friend, My (not so) Storybook Life is one to consider. It will bring laughter, tears, and maybe even a newfound perception of your perfectly imperfect life and house.

What good reads have you come across recently?

FYI – I was sent Liz’s book to review. All thoughts and opinions given above are my own. I love sharing good reads!

images: My (not so) Storybook Life: A Tale of Friendship and Faith

*WARNING: Crazy good before-and-afters ahead!*

A few weeks ago, Julia contacted me wanting a little advice concerning her dining room.

{Julia’s dining room BEFORE}

 {Julia’s dining room BEFORE}

She wanted to introduce some contrast with a navy and white color scheme.  Julia mentioned painting the ceiling. She asked that the dining table, bench seating, curtains and mirror stay. She was ‘iffy’ on the pendant light and dining chairs.  Julia felt the hand-me-down rug was too small for the space as well.

I suggested that Julia first declutter the room by removing the bookshelf, wall art and kid’s table. You know I like some high contrast, so I suggested Julia paint the walls above the chair rail navy and the walls below the chair rail white.  If she really wanted to paint the ceiling, I thought a nice light gray would look nice.  While the dark velvet curtains were of high quality, I asked Julia if she would be able to relocate them to another room in her home.  The visual weight of the dark curtains would have felt heavy against navy walls.  Instead, I suggested Julia hang lighter, subtly patterned panels to pop against the navy walls and give the room a touch of pattern.  I am fond of natural seagrass or sisal in dining spaces – especially when kids are involved – as they hold up nicely against crumbs and spills. I relayed this to Julia as well.  Julia was wanting new dining chairs to contrast with her warm wood table but I told her I didn’t think new chairs were necessary since the current ones had a nice simple shape to them. If anything, she could paint them white for more contrast if she so desired.  I recommended painting the wall mirror gloss white to pop against the navy walls.  Finally, I asked Julia to DIY a nature-inspired table centerpiece by gathering a bunch of leafy branches from outside and plopping them into a vase.

Julia did exactly what I love to see people do when I offer them advice.  She took all my suggestions, interpreted them to fit her time frame and budget, and RAN with them!

Check out Julia’s warm and inviting dining room now…

The navy walls are Benjamin Moore’s Hale Navy which Julia chose herself and had color-matched in Olympic’s no VOC paint.  She painted the chair rail and walls below white to match the existing trim.  The white chair rail keeps the navy from feeling oppressive.  Julia decided against painting the ceiling gray once she saw the result of the navy walls and white chair rail together.  Julia also chose to remove the heavy velvet curtains to reveal white sheers beneath.

The chunky table and bench stayed and, to save time and money, Julia borrowed a larger 8′x10′ cream and gray rug from her living room. For now, Julia has chosen to keep her dining chairs as is. Personally, I hope they continue to grow on her.  I love ‘em just the way they are, contrasting warmly with the white and navy.

Julia did a great job of decluttering and emptying the room of unnecessary furniture pieces.  She opted to keep a petite console beneath the wall mirror to ground the mirror.

The newly painted white mirror really pops against and brightens the moody navy walls.

And check out those amazing, blazing branches on display in the center of the table!  Julia clipped them from outside and brought them indoors, adding just the right amount of accent color to the room.  Gorgeous.

Even though the adjoining kitchen and sunroom are lighter in color, the new navy walls tie in nicely with Julia’s tiled kitchen backsplash and patterned throw on the back of the sofa in the sunroom. Making an effort to repeat colors – even in small doses – in each room of a home is a great way to keep things feeling cohesive.

And now for a side-by-side, before-and-after comparison because…well, because everyone likes a good before-and-after.

That’s one amazing transformation, isn’t it?!  The navy walls work well in Julia’s dining room because there are a lot of ‘breaks’ in the walls: doorways to adjoining rooms, a large window, a light-bouncing mirror and the white chair rail.

Who would have guessed that this jaw-dropping makeover only cost Julia the small price of paint and painting supplies for the navy walls?  {She used leftover white paint in her basement for the chair rail.} Yet another great example of how decluttering + a little paint can transform a ho-hum room.  Ah, the power of paint.  Not every great ‘after’ has to happen with demolition and renovation!

Thanks, Julia, for sharing your new dining room.  You did an awesome job!  I’m inspired.  And I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one.

What’s your favorite part of Julia’s dining room makeover?  I’m totally diggin’ the deep navy walls and that Mother Nature-inspired centerpiece.

FYI – To read and see more about Julia’s dining room makeover, including a few in-progress shots, click over to her Happy Happy Home blog.

images:  all courtesy of Julia from Happy Happy Home

Drywall went up late last week at the Underdog.  We knew covering up the cinder block walls with new drywall would give the house a whole new renovation look, but Handy Hubby and I were both shocked at how different it looks.

{view from the front door}

{view towards the fireplace and mudroom/dining room}

{view from the French doors in the kitchen looking at the fireplace}

{view of the great room ridge beam}

We opted to drywall the structural ridge beam at the apex of the vaulted ceiling.  An industrial ceiling fan will be installed in each of the electrical boxes seen on the underside of the ridge beam. The light box on the side of the beam will supply track lighting.

As you can see, the ceilings have been spared of drywall.  That’s because we finally made the big decision to install tongue and groove on the ceilings!!!!  I’m really excited about that if you can’t tell. Like, super excited.

But onto the rest of our WALLS!

{view into the mudroom/dining from the family room}

Another thing I’m excited about is the width of this hallway/walkway that adjoins the great room with the mudroom/dining room.  It’s wide!  That should come in handy when I’m lugging groceries in from the garage to the kitchen.

{mudroom/dining room}

{laundry nook with the mudroom/dining room}

And now back towards the other side of the house…

{view of the great room from the mudroom/dining room}

{hallway to the bedrooms and bathrooms}

{kid/guest bathroom}

{bedroom that was gonna be Everett’s room…now will be the future nursery}

{Layne and Everett’s bedroom}

{master bedroom}

{master bathroom}

No, I have never cleaned that toilet.  Yes, I can’t wait to clean that toilet.

Drywall makes a pretty big difference, hey?  Taping, mudding and sanding will be occurring all this week.  I’m itching to slap some paint samples on those walls.  I’ll keep you posted…

images:  all Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

Along with the ominous task of downsizing from a 2,700 sq ft builder home to a less than 1,700 sq ft fixer-upper comes the even more challenging task of editing down our belongings {clothing, toys, furniture, decor, tools, etc.}.  That’s right.  By choosing to downsize we’re losing ~1,000 sq ft of living space – not mention a third garage stall, an outdoor shed, and more than 1,200 sq ft of unfinished basement space.

In preparation for the big move, I went through ALL of our stuff and donated/sold whatever I knew we could live without or whatever wasn’t going to fit in our future house. {That included ALL our infant/toddler necessities…before I knew we would be unexpectedly expecting a third kiddo. Whoops.  But that’s a whole ‘nother story.}  For selling power, some of our decor and furniture stayed with the sale of our home as agreed upon in the sales contract.

I thought you might be interested in seeing which larger decor items we no longer possess as a result of our decision to downsize. Here goes.  I’ve labeled ‘sold’ stuff with a magenta X and ‘stayed’ stuff with a teal X.

As you can see, that’s a lot of stuff g-o-n-e.  Most of the area rugs stayed with the sale of the home along with all secured lighting fixtures, the dining table and the desk in the guest room.  The other items we sold via Craigslist and word of mouth.  We still have two of the white slipcovered chairs from the sunroom that we’re using in the apartment for now, but we’ll be selling those as well when we move into the Underdog.  We sold our big family room sectional sofa and matching ottoman since they would have been too large for our future family room.  Right now we’re using the petite sofa from our former living room {see the first image} in the apartment.  I’d like to keep the petite sofa and use it as a type of informal banquette seating in our future mudroom/dining room.  The guest bed {see the last image} is sitting in storage waiting for Handy Hubby’s parents to come rescue it and use it in their own home.

And that’s just the big stuff.  I donated a bunch of other items to Goodwill or gave them away to friends and family.  We should get a pretty nice kickback come tax time since I saved all the Goodwill receipts!  I have a feeling that once we move into the Underdog and I start unpacking boxes from storage, I’ll find even more things to be sold or given away.

So other than thinking you may be curious to see what we left behind and sold, I also wanted you to know what we have on hand because I’ll soon be sharing our quest to find new furnishings for the Underdog.  The money we made by selling off numerous pieces of furniture will be used to purchase a few main pieces for the Underdog.  Namely, we’re on the hunt for a new family room sofa, accent chairs, a dining table {which we’ve already acquired!} and area rugs.

We’ve had many family members and friends have pity on us when we answer their question, “So what all did you have to get rid of in order to downsize?”  But we really don’t want or need their pity. We don’t feel sad or resentful about giving up any of that stuff.  After all, it’s just stuff.  While some of it was nice and we enjoyed it, it didn’t define who we are or make us truly happy.

Plus, now that I’m discovering and learning more and more about design everyday, my style is evolving and I’m looking forward to choosing items that reflect that.  Of course, the pieces we incorporate into our home must stand up to our kids too.  They can’t be simply stunning aesthetically.  They’ve gotta be comfortable, easy-to-clean and durable.  That makes the hunt a little more difficult but not impossible.  And that’s something else I’m looking forward to sharing. There’s no reason why a house with kids living in it can’t be stylish yet practical.  Gone are the days of impeccable, special occasion only, kid-free rooms.  It’s just wasted space if you ask me.  If I’m paying for it, I want to use it…frequently.

Don’t cry for me Argentina.  I’m very much looking forward to the challenges and sacrifices that come with downsizing.  Yes, we’re losing square footage.  But we’re gaining so much more.  An affordable home that is nothing more than we need.  A non-superfluous environment in which to raise our children.  The opportunity to turn a neglected, run-down, underdog house into a living and breathing fun family home.  And maybe even the financial freedom to chase life dreams.

So, don’t feel bad for us.  We feel extremely lucky and grateful for this new experience.

images:  all Dana Miller for House*Tweaking