IKEA hack: yellow toddler bed
In our previous home, the girls slept in a bunk bed. In the new house, India has a loft bed above the closet, so we wanted to get a toddler-sized bed for Karis, to free up some floor space. Finding a stylist yet affordable toddler bed is no small feat. Most toddler beds look like converted cribs in cheap white wood. I found a few modern toddler beds I really liked, but I wasn’t about to spend nearly $1000 on a bed she would only use for a few years. So these guys, while . . .
design dilemma: choosing the exterior color
I remember when we started this remodel, I thought how fun it would be to be able to share what we are doing and maybe provide a little design inspiration. Instead, most of my house posts seem to revolve around me asking the internet to solve my indecision. This is yet another one of those posts. Topic of the day: painting the outside of the house. We’ve got a long way to go with the outside (hello, landscaping) but we need to choose an exterior paint color. Initially, we choose a tinted stucco . . .
design dilemma: painting the piano
This week we officially moved into our new house. It’s been a rough go, though I supposed moving a family of 6 is never a smooth transition. We still have some work to do: we’re waiting on kitchen countertops so we are eating off paper plates and using a hot plate to cook, and there are boxes to unpack in every room. But we’re here. Now that we are in, I am second-guessing some of my painting intentions. When I do this, I tend to get caught in a web of indecision, and then I do nothing. . . .
design dilemma: choosing our appliances
About a month ago, I wrote about my dilemma in choosing between kitchen cabinets. Several of you have asked which ones we chose, and I’ve been coy, because the truth is . . . we’ve gone back and forth on this for weeks. To the point that I bought cabinets, brought them home, and then took them all back. Let me explain. Well, first, I supposed I should disclose that I am sometimes paralyzed when making big decisions, and this one seemed to paralyze me. We were trying to decide between three . . .
design dilemma: choosing a flooring
Things are finally progressing on our new house again. We went through mold remidation which was a major setback, but with that done and most of the dywall back in place, I’m beignning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our next big hurdle is choosing the flooring, which we need to order ASAP. I’ve been putting it off because I can’t seem to make up my mind between a bamboo floor and a cork floor. Option 1: Bamboo We have natural strand bamboo flooring in our current house. I love the . . .
spring fever: simple and easy may day baskets {dailybuzz 9×9}
Our backyard bougainvillea is blooming and taking over, and I thought I would use some cuttings to share one of my favorite spring traditions. When I was a little girl, my sisters and I would always make May Day baskets to pass around the neighborhood. My kids and I did a little trial run making some baskets, and they are already talking about doing it again on May 1st. I am a self-confessed non-crafter, and this is a very simple, cheap and easy project that kids can complete . . .
operation “get rid of half of our belongings” underway
For the last couple months, I’ve been in a bit of a funk about our house. It seems like my level of contentment about our house ebbs and flows, and every so often I find myself feeling very claustrophobic and ready to move to a prairie in Idaho or something. As the kids are getting bigger, the house is feeling smaller . . . and it wasn’t exactly big to begin with. Our mid-century house is just over 1300 square feet, and I apologize in advance if that seems huge to anyone . . .