Welcome!

After much deliberating, I've decided to start a blog. Jerad and I are so proud of our first home. We are constantly working to improve it, so we thought we'd share our journey with you. Happy renovating!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Great Finds

As many of you know, I love finding 'good deals'.  In fact, purchasing things for the house at a discount, makes me love them even more.  I'm a bargain shopper and I love giving old items new life.  Check out a few of my purchases below!


2nd living room when we first moved in-  we call this our "Red Room".

The green table and the hutch were from a garage sale.  The two chairs on the right were from the TRASH at our old apartments (No Shame Here!), and the table was from my grandmom, Mimi.

I love this red writing desk.  It's one of my favorite pieces in the house.
 Red Room after-  The red hutch has been accessorized, the couch is from my co-worker, Shannon (she was going to donate it!!!!  Thank goodness she donated it to the Romo's instead), the painted mirror is from my mom (originally, it was gold), the chair is from my great grandfather, and the hutch was $50 from a garage sale down the street.
 Remember that chair from the TRASH...it's been spray painted and looks quite nice against this wall. 
I saved you, Mr Chair!



On to the living room....This table set was from my sorority sister, Megan. I haggled her down to $250 for the set, an end table, and a coffee table.  Little did I know, we'd later become best friends.  Sorry Megan! 

This table survived our first and second apartments, but we needed something bigger and more mature for our house now that we have larger rooms.
 Soooo I convinced my dear hubby to purchase this Craigs List table and six chairs for only $300 from a nice couple in Richardson!  It was a pleasurable first shopping experience on Craigs List!  A steal of a deal, if you ask me!  I L.O.V.E. IT!

We also purchased this fabulous hutch from a garage sale.  It's Ethan Allen from yearssss ago!  I love it for displaying my grandmother's hand-painted tea cups and saucers.  When friends are over, I turn on the light for all to enjoy.  =)


I'd also like to highlight one of my favorite stores...Garden Ridge!  I love Pier One, Hobby Lobby and Crate and Barrel for accessories, but half the time Garden Ridge has the same things at a greater discount.  You just have to get past the fake flowers when you first enter the store, but you should check it out if you haven't been.  =)

Bathroom mirror-  Garden Ridge $99

 Random accessories & pillows throughout the house - Garden Ridge



Last, but not least, I LOVE buying things from consignment shops.  I've found many items that were on consignment simply due to warehouse overstock.  Just like the Marshalls slogan....so savings are passed on to you! GREATNESS. 

Entertainment center came from The Consignment Store in Richardson for $250-  definitely worth it to hide all of Jerad's gadgets.

 Our kitchen table and chairs is also from The Consignment Store- Pictured below with two of the four chairs.  (This picture was from Emily's bridal shower- so fun!)


Happy Hump Day!


Wednesday, March 9, 2011

All in a can of paint

When we first moved into our house, we had an interesting color scheme...orange, hot pink, dark blue, purple, green....the list goes on.  Needless to say, Jerad and I wanted to change EVERY color on EVERY wall!  Since we didn't have furniture to fill most of the rooms, we decided to paint everything in neutral, natural tones until we got ourselves settled/ bought some furniture/ developed each room. 

See below for some before and afters (all the before's are from the previous owner).  I think we bought 25 galloons of paint during the first two weeks living at the house.  Thank goodness for Sherwin Williams!

guest room- dark blue before
after with new fan


Guest room before- ORANGE
after- compatible cream

Bare Panelling before with GREEN carpet:
After- Compatible Cream with knocked out wall and new floors:

Hall 1/2 bath before- dreary gray


Cheery green after (with adjusted lighting & new mirror)




Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Simple Projects

Many of you know that I've been on a spray painting kick lately.  I just love how old things can be newly transformed with a three dollar bottle of spray paint!  I also realized I have lots of different woods in the house- the floors, the ceilings, the painted paneling, etc.  I love how it makes our home 'homey', but I needed to create some interest out of some of our pieces.  Check out these spray painted garage sales finds!  For a few dollars, I quickly filled the house!

Check out a few of my 'before' and 'afters'. 
$10
Then painted...

Cute garage sale find for $10
Painted black for a more formal entry!  I love the sprial in the legs

$20 garage sale find...it was a pale pink before, but I wanted the piece to speak for itself! 


Cherry Red it became!  Again, I am really attracted to it's feet!