Changing my tune...again

This little light of mine.
I'm gonna let it shine.
Let it shine.
Let it shine.
Let it shine.

I've been blogging about interior decorating. I love interior design. I've been painting rooms and hanging wallpaper since I was a bitty girl. It makes me happy. But, it is not the only thing in my life. Not even close. I also love to cook and I love to dress nicely - a day or two out of the week. Of course, I adore my family more than anything or anyone else in the world. Absolutely. Positively. Love. My life is not really about design. Not even close. My life is about ..........................LIFE!

That is what I will blog about. Life.

Our house on highland sold. It was terrifying and exciting. We are five humans, a turtle, dogs, birds. Talk about stress! Wanna hear the best part? My in-laws offered up their crib, but, I'm dang near 40. I don't want to live with my in-laws. It might happen because we could save $$$$$$$$ but, I would rather not. Did I say might happen? I meant that it did happen. It did. Whatevs. We lived with them for approximately 6 weeks. It wasn't thaaaaaat bad. I can be such a whiner.

We really, really, really wanted to build a home. We didn't build. We bought an existing home that needed some updating. Did I say some? I meant a ton. As in a shitload. (funny...that word didn't spellcheck) We've been restoring/remodeling homes for nearly 20 years. Three kids, two dogs, a turtle, canaries and oh yeah, a marriage to nurture and provide for = no time to DIY. We will have to find time. I guess, right?

We've been in our new home for over TWO years! It is not looking at all like the same place. I plan to start blogging again, but it won't be every day like some of these other awesome gals in blogland. Just when I have something to say or I've done something I feel like bragging about. Talk soon!

~E

A READER'S CONCERNS : PB BASIC VS EKTORP SLIPCOVER (REVISED)

Sallie contacted me about an ebay purchase she recently made. She was told she was purchasing a PB Basic slipcover. When it didn't fit - at all - she contacted the seller insisting that this was not the right cover. The seller told her that she did not own a PB basic sofa. The reader contacted me for help with identifying her slipcovers. When she described her cover my heart sank. I knew it wasn't a PB and very likely an ektorp but I requested pictures to verify. I am not an expert...but I can shout confidently and point a finger that she did not purchase a Pottery Barn Basic Slipcover. It is extremely likely an Ikea Ektorp Sofa slipcover.

Buyers Beware! There are dishonest people out there. We must remember that we get what we pay for. If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. I posted about using ektorp covers on basic pieces. I still use ektorp covers for my pb basic chair. However, I purchased my pb basic sofa 12/13 years ago. When the covers and the sofa itself wore out, I also purchased a cover on EBAY. It was sold as a PB basic slipcover. When it arrived, it had to be stretched and pulled to fit on the sofa but it did fit. We moved the basic to the playroom because our Charleston had arrived. I didn't mind the ill-fitting cover on the basic but it wasn't my main seating piece. I paid $100 plus shipping. They sell new from Ikea for only $49. I was ripped off and shizzed on. So was Sallie. Years ago, my cover mostly fit. Sallie's does not.

It's happened to one of my readers. It makes me sad for her. Hear me when I say that the Ektorp covers POSSIBLY WILL NOT FIT the PB Basic pieces. They are a stand-by only. As soon as you purchase your PB pieces, start saving your change in a coffee can or under your mattress for new slipcovers. They WILL need to be replaced someday and they are expensive. I wish someone had told me that. It is a wise move. I am saving for new ones. You should too.

Sallie's words:
"Please feel free to use any of my pictures and story. I paid $169 plus $36  in shipping. I was offered a refund by the seller minus shipping and would also have to pay return shipping. So I would be out $72 which was unacceptable to me. If it fit ok I would have dealt with it. But I can't even get it on and the seller keeps insisting I have the wrong sofa. I sent the seller several pictures with measuring tape in them showing the shortfall.

I think I will end up having a slipcover made locally.  I plan to pre-wash and dry a white cotton twill and have them made without cotton cord (which will shrink). $450 in labor, 21 yards of fabric at about $12 a yard... Ouch. I have children, dogs and a cat so I really just wanted to change the look of my family room and be able to wash away any mishaps."

My reply to Sallie:

"Hey Sallie,
You should contact PB to see if they are offering any sales or deals on their slipcovers. Call them and tell them what happened to you. Speak to a manager if you have to. I saved a few hundred on the Charleston white twill just by waiting for a sale and then getting an email through PB for 15% or 20% off. I don't remember which. If you register on their website and sign in frequently, they will send you discounts to purchase their items. You can combine deals and get free shipping sometimes. If you have the PB card, you get 10% back in rewards or interest free payments for several months. I use the rewards points but the interest free payments might help you to purchase an authentic PB cover. After you pay someone else that kind of labor, pay for fabric etc, and a cover without cording (the cording really does look best) you might find yourself still not loving the cover and you've lost that much more money.
 Just some advice. Anything is worth a try.
 I hope you win your fight with that ebay seller. What a crap deal. Shame on that person. 
 Thank you for allowing me to use your info."

 

DISCLAIMER; Opinions expressed are my own. I am not compensated in any way by Pottery Barn or Ikea. Neither company knows I exist. I worked at PB for several years and use that experience to share information about the merchandise with you. I have been a PB addict for almost 20 years. I have a problem and could use therapy but that topic is for another post.

Simplicity...

We listed our home and have an accepted offer within a matter of weeks. Who knew! Since then, my life has become a swirling vortex of chaos! We began this journey with the idea of building. We have our plans from the architect. It is my dream home. A perfect white farmhouse with a perfect white porch surrounded by hydrangeas and children running blissfully through the yard. That is what I imagined. The simple life.

But would it be simple? Oddly enough, my husband and I both decided we needed to "talk". You know, one of thooooooose talks. What do we really want? How simple could - large home, a bigger yard, a bigger mortgage, bigger tax bill, etc, - it all be? What if our version of simple was exactly the opposite of what we'd been dreaming about?

Smaller home, smaller mortgage, smaller tax bill? Doesn't that sound better? Wouldn't that all equal more time for our marriage, children, family, friends? We are rethinking our plan. Big Time! No seriously, we are. You see, we had a 1200 sq ft home. It was tiny. Teeny tiny. But I loved that little cottage. We worked on it for 5 solid years. We finished the basement and added all kinds of wonderful character. It was lovely. I miss it. I miss it every day. We had great neighbors. You know, older folks. They were considerate and kind. They never let their dogs bark their freaking heads off or run through our yard and poop, poop, poop. We currently have neighbors with two dogs that bark at all hours of the day and night for hours on end. They are completely oblivious.They allow their cat to stalk and kill the beautiful birdies at our feeders. We've since stopped feeding the birds. Our previous neighbors were COURTEOUS. They were not ENTITLED. We took care of each other. We helped each other. We said we were sorry. We were friends.

We left because we thought we wanted MORE. We wanted BIGGER. We wanted NEW. Leaving that little home, is one of our biggest regrets. We contacted the current owners. They love it. They won't give it back. Bummer. I have some deep thinking and soul searching to do because who knew that you can't just have your house back. Oh wait, it isn't mine anymore. Get over it. Move on. Yeah, bummer.

I apologize for my absence. Sincerely. I'll pop in here and there. Let us pray that I pop in with a plan!

Please tell me, what is your idea of a simple life? If you were in our situation, what would you do? I could use some insight. Thank you!

Take on the day!
~Emily

This is what happens...

when you don't listen to your intuition.

We are selling our house. We tried to sell it once before - about two years ago. Shortly after we bought it, put on an addition and remodeled or updated most of the home. We bought our home because it is large and has a lot of log cabin appeal. It is very charming and we saw the potential. The garage is GIGANTIC something that had us at hello. Our last house had a single-car garage that we never once parked in for all of the five years we lived in our little cottage. The house that we live in now looked nothing like what we wanted and we planned to work on it for 10 loooooong years to accomplish that. It was the size of it that attracted us. Bigger is not always better. We were going from 1200 square feet to 3200 square feet. We had a home that we loved but we felt as if we were outgrowing it after our third child was born. We miss that lovely little home (and the small mortgage) still after living here for four years.

We've decided that we don't want to have these big projects to do to make this home ours. It is a beautiful home as it is and there must be someone out there who will love and cherish it for just that. We've spent so much time deconstructing and changing things, that we lost track of family and friends. Now, our children are older and so are we. We no longer have the drive or the energy and certainly not the time to remodel a home. We don't even want to do that with our time. We are beginning a new adventure.

We are selling our house and building! I am so very excited about this! Another huge project I know, but we are looking forward to it. I have so many thoughts. Have any of you ever searched the internet for house plans? It is overwhelming to say the least. We've decided to hire a designer to draft our plans for us. We know exactly what we like and that is the best route for us.

I will continue to blog about our Highland home but will slowly transition into sharing the building and designing process with you as well. Our home is listed now and we've had several showings. We don't expect it to sell quickly because it will not appeal to most. It only takes one person to love!

I still have projects to finish on Highland. A reader requested that I review the Ikea Ektorp sectional we recently purchased. I will get that done shortly. I also have new purchases from Pottery Barn that I need to review. This is the Ektorp sofa pictured with our pottery barn ottoman.

 

Snow day today!

Thank you for continuing on this journey with me. Please feel free to leave your comments and ask questions. I love when you all do that!

~Emily

Anna's Room...

I am letting go of having it just right. I kept waiting for the right moment to photograph and get this post done. Then, only an hour ago, I walked into her room and the sunlight felt just right shining through the windows. The bed was unmade and there were toys tossed about. I quickly tidied up a bit and grabbed my camera. I hope you like it!

 

This is how it started. I sold her crib and changing table

and searched craigslist for these:

 

 

 

and had them painted a bright white.

 

 

Here it is. All pink and purple!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a pottery barn dream rocker. I removed the wood gliders and

screwed on some feet that I painted the same white

as the other furniture in the room.

 

 

 

I purchased this high chair from etsy. It is darling!

 

 

That little dog bed belonged to our little poodle Kate who passed away.

Anna now uses it for her baby's bed. I couldn't let go of it.

We miss little Kate.

 

 

The doors that belong on this closet just went on yesterday.

Better late than never...

 

 

 

Anna & I love Lalaloopsies.

 

 

 

A view of her shelf in her closet.

 

 

Anna loves her new room. She spends more time playing in her room now.

I think it felt less like her own space while it was still a nursery with a crib.

Now, it feels more like a big girl room.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~Emily

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

my wandering mind...

You will see this post title quite a bit from me. It is because I find it nearly impossible to focus on just one project, just one room, or just the house, or just the yard. You know what I mean. I take everything in and I am perfectly happy that way. It drives Mr. LOH pretty nutso, but, he married me knowing I am like that. I should be focusing on the final touches for Anna's bedroom. I know. I know. I know.

With the celebration of Christmas just around the corner, I start thinking about what I should get for my three deserving children and wonderful husband. You're thinking that we ALL do that right? Well, do you all think about what kind of gifts would look best in your house? Do you think about a current project you are working on and how that gift should be a slam dunk with that project? I do. I am so bad like that.

Benny's room has been slowly evolving into a sports-themed room. It began as a woodsy-camping-wildlife kinda thing and "evolved" into football and basketball. The boy changes his mind with the wind. I can totally relate.

 

We started out with Vintage Camo sheets from PB teen. One navy and one black.

 

Our final answer? Circo Score! sheets from Target.

 

Benny loves the pattern and they have a vintage-y vibe to them. Don't you think?

I love PBK bedding. It is divine. However I can't justify spending money on the sheets anymore. My kids burn through their sheets for whatever reason or they go from spider-man to squirrels to football to elephants to star wars or something wildly unpredictable like that. I bought these sheets from Target and actually like them more than the sheets I have previously purchased from pbk. They are a very nice quality! They aren't on the beds yet - I plan to save them for the reveal. Once we start using them and washing the bajeebers out of them, I will let you know how/if they hold up. I have high hopes for these.

Any who, I've been looking for basketball hoops for Benny's room. There are a gazillion choices out there. I would like it to mount to the wall. I have this ambitious itch to paint the backboard myself and do something fun and funky. I just might do that. We shall see.

 

Pottery Barn Kids hoop. But do I want a toy? The chalkboard score keepers are a nice touch. No prob for a DIY project.

 

 

Or a real hoopy hoop? Sorry about the photo. Just couldn't get it right.

Any ideas out there for indoor basketball hoops for a young boy's room? I would love to hear from you.
It should be D-U-R-A-B-L-E. Boys will be boys!

Have a great weekend and thank you so much for visiting!
~Emily

sports...

I have two sons and a husband. My husband and I met because he came to my hometown university on a football scholarship in college. I happen to love football. Lucky him.

Now that Anna's room is just about complete, I find myself occasionally (ha!) browsing the www looking for things for Benny's room. He and Isaiah share a bedroom. Thankfully, they both have the same interests so I don't have to tape any divider lines on the floor nor do I have to hang a long curtain to separate them and their private space. We don't allow computers or gaming of any kind in the kids' bedrooms and they don't have TV with the exception of dvds that we find acceptable for all of them to watch. In other words, they don't spend much time in this room anyway.

Nevertheless, I find myself wanting to make it welcoming and comfortable for them and their guests. I also want this space to grow with Benny. He is only six years old. I don't want a do-over on this room anytime soon.

I am thinking about picking up a couple of these from Ikea.

Ikea doesn't offer consumers the option to read reviews on their products. I am looking for any feedback on these pieces that you may have.

Do you like the red?

Or do you like the white?

I think either color is safe for a boy's bedroom. I just can't decide. Something about that pop of red is really exciting to me. The white feels safe and definitely neutral. Maybe I should let you all decide...

I will mix them up with some walnut-finished beds. I haven't found any that I like that I can afford, but this one had me at hello.

                                      Thanks for stopping by. Have a fabulous weekend!

Warming up...

Anna gave it some thought. Perhaps, furniture isn't so bad. She said we could work on her room together. Actually, she pronounces room as "woom". She doesn't pronounce the "R" sound very well. We'll work on that. Too dang cute.

My numero uno design inspiration for Anna's woom.

via House and Home

This gave me an idea for furntiture. Nice legs.

via pinterest

Love the cornice and the fabric. I haven't decided if I will do this yet for Anna's woom.

It looks so amazing.

via pinterest ~ I could not find source

I can safely say, a reveal is in the near future for LOH.

Hang in there!

Man, oh man! I heart craigslist...

 

Found these.

 

 

These are the Pottery Barn Wingback chairs.

They were in the store window a few years ago. They were also way out of my budget.

Until now.

I heart them.

 

 

They kind of look like hearts, don't they?

 

 

The cranberry twill slipcovers are immaculate.

Only a slight bit of fading (normal for that color from pottery barn) that I can easily accept.

Nobody's perfect.

 

 

I sat there all twitterpated over my chairs. Then it hit me.

I still had the red cranberry slipcover for my pb basic ottoman!

I leaped into the garage and began digging through mounds of clutter storage and found it.

I held onto it all of these years knowing that I would need it again someday.

Sometimes, it does actually pay to be a hoarder.

 

 

Sometimes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ummmm, that was unexpected...

I'm talking about Anna's reaction to the arrival of her new bedroom furniture. I spent so much time on pinterest and houzz just planning what I would like her room to look like. I lost sleep over the paint color for the wall. I was waaaaaay out of my comfort zone by choosing a soft gray - purple. Of course, I love it. I spent hours during the late evenings slopping on layer on top of layer of primer and paint to her planked ceiling. I had a hitch in my giddy-yap and a pain in my neck for almost two weeks after that ceiling fiasco (more on that later).

 

 

I wanted her to be away when her furniture arrived. I imagined how her smile and bright eyes would light up the room as she hugged me and praised my hard work and dedication. I imagined her dancing and twirling around in her GORGEOUS bedroom. Oh Joy!

Anna walked into her room and took a look around. She walked over to her baby and went to play with her on the floor near her kitchen set. I stood there ready to squeal like a toddler but I thought she should do the squealing first. Her eyes welled up with tears and she collapsed to the floor crying. I listened closely to her words as I stood there speechless and in shock. She was upset because the furniture (that I was so thrilled about) was taking up all of the play space in her room. She had no appreciation for the time spent, money invested, or the skill of the talented person who worked on restoring her furniture. Her only concern was that I had just filled her room with furniture and her fantastic wonderland where all of her imaged travels and parties came alive was gone. I stuffed her fantasy land full of stuff. She was upset and wanted it out. My first reaction - I am sorry to say- was frustration. I thought -to myself- she was ungrateful. I pushed all of the furniture into a corner in the room and pushed her bed up against the wall. I gave her imagination back. She stopped crying and asked me if I would like chocolate or strawberry cake with my tea. She asked me to swaddle her favorite baby for her. I stood there for a moment and then told her I would be right back. As I walked down the hall, I heard her sniff her little sniffle as she began soothing her baby to sleep. For the first time in all of my years of painting and re-painting, fixing, remodeling, restoring, working so hard to make rooms just right for whoever was using them, I realized I was really, truly, only doing that work for myself. It is that simple, my friends. I walked back to my precious Anna and I told her she didn't have to keep her furniture. I was sorry and that I would take the furniture out of her room. I asked her to let it stay in the corner for now until I came up with a solution to our problem.

It took most of the night to grasp that one. Her clothes were in cardboard boxes. Her mattress had been on the floor for two months. Things were mismatched and chaotic. How could she not love all of this new and wonderful bedding and furniture? I don't know. She just didn't. That was how I left it. She just didn't want what I wanted. It is really simple isn't it?

 

Check out this C.H.A.O.S.

That was shoved into her closet. The only area of the room I didn't attack redesign.

With that, my reveal of Anna's room is delayed. I had planned to post about it today. We are leaving for Minneapolis this weekend to visit friends. It will be a nice change. Anna and I will spend time together, while the boys spend hours catching up and xbox-ing. I won't have the time to play with her furniture placement until the end of next week. For now, we both pretend the furniture isn't in the room.

 

A little sneaky peeky for you...

~Emily

Anna's Bedroom Furniture...

You've all seen it. Multiple times. You may have had these same pieces when you were a little girl. I follow a ton of blogs and it seems like there is always somebody blogging about their version of how to update this furniture. My post on how to update this furniture is very simple: Pay someone else to do it.

But first I did this:

I let it air out in my garage for several months. It was a little stanky. It had contact paper inside every single drawer. It was ooooollllldddddd and stubborn. Must have been German contact paper. (Just kidding, Grammy.) I searched the internet for the best ways. I tried and tried to peel that stuff out. I scraped. I soaked it. I tried to heat it with an old blow dryer. I didn't want to use any chemicals. Defeated, I cursed the existence of contact paper and was certain that the devil himself created it to make me crazy. I walked away from that contact paper like a big girl and I didn't look back for a few more months. As progress was made on Anna's room, I decided it was time to have the furniture painted. One amazingly hot, dry day during the drought of 2012, I put all of those drawers out in the sun in my driveway. I was going to get that contact paper out AND keep my cool while I was doing it. I lined the rest of the pieces up along our path and went back inside to get a bucket of soapy water and some rags and towels. Then, what happened next still amazes me to this day. I walked up to the drawers, I took a deep breath, and gently tugged at a loose corner of the contact paper. IT CAME UP IN ONE DANG PIECE, MY FRIENDS. ONE WHOLE PIECE. My kiddos saw this and joined in the fun. I felt joy! Elation! It was fantastic! Everyone peeled up entire pieces of contact paper and those drawers were German (just teasing, Grammy) contact paper free in a matter of minutes! As it turns out, the heat of the sun and probably the warmth of the concrete they were sitting on, warmed that stuff up. No scraping, chemicals, soapy water, or blow dryers. I love sunshine. By the way, that was a tutorial just in case you hadn't noticed.

After the contact paper came up, I soaped up the inside and outside of that furniture and rinsed it well. It was so clean. I left it all sit in the sun and dry out. We loaded it up into my car after dinner that night and I took it to The Lost Finish the following morning.

You know this stuff. Everyone does. I got the entire set for $100 on craigslist.

Vanity and mirror, chest  of drawers, headboard, footboard, and cornice for headboard posts.

My assistant. Don't look inside my garage. Don't! You're looking, aren't you? Stop it.

Dixie. So darling.

One side of the vanity.

Chest of drawers. Three drawers to be exact. Oh, and the footboard.

Wanna see more? I know you do!

See you soon and thanks for stopping!

~ Emily

It's finally done!

Anna's bedroom furniture is ready! I've waited so very long. I got the call that her furniture will be ready for pick-up next week! I am so excited. I've waited months, and months, and months. No joke. Not for the furniture to be complete - that only took a couple of months because they were swamped. ( I will write more about the painting company later.) We first had to demo Anna's bedroom. Then we had to put it back together again. We were also demo-ing (is that a word?) the boys' bedroom and the basement for our new media room. We started back in February and still have small projects to complete before I feel the rooms to be worthy of a reveal.

 

Lets flashback to Anna's nursery. Pottery Barn Kids Dream Rocker, Madeline crib, Jocelyn toile drapery and crib bedding, and sabrina basket.

 

 

That is the matching changing table. These pieces are so beautiful. I sold them on craigslist and saved the money to update Anna's room. I used an overhead projector to paint the 'A' on the wall.

 

 

Another angle including the white ceiling fan. That little dog bed remains empty now. Our little pooch passed away shortly after I started blogging. We keep her bed, well, because we want to.

 

 

A view of her closet area and bookshelves. I just remembered that I never painted her doors! They are leaning on the wall out in the garage. Ugh. I guess that project is going on my to-do list for this week.

Both the bookshelf and that little white table are from Target. They are both still available. 

 

 

She was rockin' the curls in our first summer living in the house. This photo was taken May of 2010. The first summer we owned the house, we didn't live in it. It was being remodeled and we put an addition on. That was 2009. We lived with Rhyan's parents.

 

 

That's Anna on her second birthday. Aaaaaahhhhh!

She just had her fourth birthday and it is time for a big girl room.

My next post will explain how I found her furniture and where it's been for two months.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily