Peeping Tom

 As I mentioned last summer, I took on a couple a few a lot of house updating projects. 

We eventually did get the back porch extended, the cover painted white, concrete stained, furniture in place, and a pretty rug laid out.  But, that didn't last for long with last summer's intensive heat.  The rug deteriorated.  We threw it out last month.  At least it lasted for almost a year.  The concrete stain has chipped.  The only thing that is still out back and in use are the table and chairs.  The porch is not picture worthy.  This makes me sad because it was TORTURE! to paint - not just because of the excruciating heat, but also the fact that I was harboring another life deep within my internal receptacel (didn't know it yet, but I was sure tired.).

I, then, took my house projects indoors in the much-loved-and-never-ever-taken-for-granted

air conditioner. 

*insert angels singing here* 

Warning - the quality of the following pictures is not very good, but you'll get the point.

First peep:  The Girls' Room

Colors: Orange, red, fuschia, with touches of black and white.

I was in the process of making changes to our house when I found out that I was pregnant.  So, my plans for Taylor Rose's room changed just a hair.  We moved her into a big girl bed immediately, so she would have plenty of time to adjust.  Her bed is the other part of Christian's bunk, only painted black.  Each bed has a black "tutu" (tule) bed skirt.

I made a modge podge-type black and white picture that I had taken of her, colored it in a little with pastels, and hung it above her bed.  (Maven will have one, too, when she is a bit older.)
You can see glimpses of the old room here and here.

 Obviously, I painted the walls orange.  They were pink, fuschia, and green striped.  The multiple tones and pattern made painting very difficult.  I had to lay on FIVE layers to get a consistent hue.

 I re-covered the bulletin board and rocking chair to match the room.

 My old armoire became their new play center.  Kyle cut the boards for me and I attached them to make shelves.  Each bin is labeled with its contents.  (Oddly, this was one of my favorite projects.  I am a huge sucker for organizing.)

 The closet was very challenging.  It might look like chaos, but it is actually very organized.  The girls have bows, shoes, and clothes galore!

Next peep:  Christian's room

Colors:  Lime green, navy, hints of orange

I painted CK's bed stainless steel (not a color, its actually stainless steel paint), made new curtains with a navy and white graphic print fabric, removed the mirror from the dresser and rigged it to securely hang on the wall.
You can kind of see the before pictures here.

 His walls are obviously painted green.  Again, this was difficult because they were previously blue with polka dots.  It wasn't as hard to cover as the girls' room, for some reason.

 I hung a heavy-duty shelf on the wall and painted it stainless steel to make a desk for him.  His computer is now finally complete with the internet!  I also hung one of his skateboard decks on the wall as a display shelf.  This area is really not as cluttered as it looks in the picture.  I think its just my angle.

The Kids' Bathroom

I stained the cabinets and made a mirror frame.  We also changed the faucet, but its not visible in this shot.

The Kids' Hallway

I made a picture collage (I used some airlines tickets, attraction tickets, photos, and other memorabilia I had saved) for each of our worldly travels that we've taken since Ryan and I got married.  I plan to add Florida and Nassau to it pretty soon.

The Kitchen:

I added a much needed "kickboard" (wainscotting) around the bar.  Its so much easier to clean up behind dirty feet and food that have been smeared all around.  I actually bought myself a way awesome nailgun to install this bad boy.  Uh oh!  Watch out!

I painted the wood white, but realized afterwards that I should've sanded it.  You can see wood fibers under the paint.

The reason it took me so long to post the pictures is because of the kitchen.  I wanted everything to be complete before I blogged about it.  But, that ship has sailed and its time to accept that the kitchen might not be finished for a while.  On the to-do list - paint cabinets white and update/change floors.

Next on our tour:  The Living Room

I painted it Peacock Blue, which can look green in certain lighting. 

Big surprise, it has a beachy vibe.  If you know me, that is probably not a surprise in the least.

(I am not very keen on matchy matchy furniture at all, but that is what we have.  I bought it years ago as my first furniture purchase.  Its still in excellent condition and each piece has awesome storage capacity, so we will not be buying anything else for a while.  Plus, nothing new will house our 1999 television!)

I still have plans to install hardwood or wood laminate floors.

 I hung two lakeside black and white pictures above the armoire.  I want to draw the eye upward since we have such high ceilings, but that has been a challenge.  I hung curtains along all four windows.  They don't actually draw closed, but they look nice and breezy.  I added a natural woven rug, which has a gray lattice print.  See that little side table to the left?  A few people have asked why I have an empty white frame propped up there... well, I just like it! 

 Just a few minor changes to the picture wall.

The Cloffice (closet/office)

I promise I had this idea waaay before Pinterest. 

All by myself, I dug through feet of insulation in the attic, ran a cord down the wall, and installed a phone jack to run a telephone line to this office for our DSL internet.  (Which, coincidentally, is now not needed since we have fiberoptic internet.  humph.)

I had to keep our gift wrapping supplies in that closet, so I bought some happy green containers to store it all.  And no, I am totally not one of those clever gift wrappers at all.  I just have a lot of stuff because we go to a lot of parties.

The Master Bedroom

I painted the wall (see close up here) behind the bed white and, using flat black paint, I stenciled it with a damask print.  With kids, it took me about 2 weeks.  I worked for about two hours every night.  I also added that frame collage to the wall, but its not really working out so well.  I am constantly straightening them.  I think my walls vibrate every time the front door closes.

 I painted Taylor Rose's white dresser in glossy black and moved it to my room.
You can see the before picture of the dresser here.

Final look:  The Master Bath

I stained the cabinets and added a frame around the mirror.