Exterior Makeover - Paint Reveal

Okay anyone else as annoyed at the most dragged out makeover reveal ever, as I am at myself for dragging it out?  Well, you should be. 

Luckily, I really did keep my promise and take photos of the outside of our house, post-paint makeover!  Yay, me!  (Okay, so I was too lazy to move the car out of the driveway, but at least you can sort of get the picture!)

Okay, so a little reminder of what the outside of our house looked like before...

And.... after...

And, a little side-by-side action...

I don't know about you, but we love it!  We held our breath as the paint went on, and feel really good about how it turned out.  Though, as I was photographing it tonight, I realized that the color is very similar to the inside of our main floor.  Ha!  I must love colors that have a bluish undertone!  (though don't tell my husband... I have a surprise for a pop of color inside! But more on that later!)

Small House Updates

I swear we have had dozens of small updates to do to the house (slight exaggeration!), and have even had all of the materials to do them for over a month now, but we finally got around to doing them this week!  And so, a brief blog dump of said updates.

This appears to be the only 'before' photo I have of the front door hardware.  I am pretty sure it is the original hardware from when the house was built 20 years ago, so we decided it was time to modernize a bit. I almost went with black, to match the rest of the hardware inside the house, but we may paint the door black, and that just wouldn't work.  So we went with a satin nickel instead.  I didn't manage to get the new kick plate in the after photo, but we replaced that to match.

 

I also made a few things to decorate the walls a bit, as they were still largely empty even after a year of living in our house!   

And... drum roll please... the mirror FINALLY got hung in our entryway!

I made the little heart art out of some red felt I already had, and used a frame that was currently residing in a closet!  Gotta love free art!  (side note: I used to hate it when people would say, Oh I just whipped this up with materials I already had! Finally, I am the one that some spare materials laying around!) Plus, I think this heart is super cute.  The Keep Calm and Carry On sign was a going away gift from a friend and coworker when I left the bay area a few years ago. I love it and was so happy to find a home for it.

Here are a few sneak peaks of posts coming your way soon.

If you read regularly, you can probably guess what this is, and where it will be going... so in love with it!

And here is a first look at the "finished" painted hutch I mentioned a few weeks ago.  The doors and hardware still need reattaching and it needs a coat of wax, but I couldn't resist a little sneak peak.  I am seriously obsessed with the cabinet, and am so proud of how it turned out!  I debated between a pure white (like the trim and doors) and an old white (which I ended up choosing!), but in the end I felt like the creamier white would be a good addition to the bright white in the space.  I am hoping to blend old and new in the space and I think (hope!) the mix of colors reflects that.  I also have some picture frames which are the same creamy color that will balance it all out on the wall beneath the stairs.  I used the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (not chalkboard paint!), and I LOVE that stuff!  It is super easy to paint with and gives such a cool vintage finish!  I am trying some "homemade" (by someone else!) chalk paint this weekend and I hope it provides the same beautiful finish, because it is much less expensive!  (I will include the before photo when I do the final final reveal next week!

That's what we have been up to!  I am slowly realizing that I love keeping busy with creative things.  So even though I may complain endlessly about how long it took us to paint the main living space, once a week goes by, I am ready to get back to creating and beautifying.  I am already trying to figure out what my next project should be.  I need to finish a thrift store dresser we found months ago, as we have guests visiting soon, so my bet is that will be my next big tackle.  Then perhaps the kitchen cabinets...?  Ha, if I can convince hubby to let me!

Happy almost Friday everyone!  A 30-day challenge update coming tomorrow.  There have been some interesting developments this week, so stay tuned!

Official Main Living Area: Before and After

I know I have been teasing this for weeks, but here is our final before and after for the main living area of our house. Finally.

I love this mirror, and I can't wait to hang it up on that wall in the entryway.

Don't mind the mess around our thermostat.  Ha!  We are in the process of figuring out a new wall plate for the Nest that looks cleaner than the white one that was on their previously.

We changed a few small finishes, like swapping out the brass gold door handles and hinges for black ones for a more cottage-y look and feel.  I love how things like this can make such a big difference.

That little silver cup is an English antique.  Love adding personal touches like this to our home.  And I may or may not have developed a slight antique-ing obsession in the process.

There are still some small things to do, art to be hung, outlet covers to pick up, and furniture to buy, but this project has made a big difference in the main living areas of the house.  Now if I can just finish that china hutch makeover, we fill up the big empty wall in the front living room.  :)