My (sort of) New House

A few weeks ago, I posted about moving into a small house. Mine is by no means the next cover of House Beautiful.  It's certainly not perfect, but it is mine and I love it.

I don't think I could go full out tiny house, I require a separate shower and non-composting toilet, but the downsize has been nice!

It was not love at first sight, really it wasn't even like at first sight

There were cat plates all over the wall and an old lady door. It's a lot blurry, but you get the picture...

A year has passed, and a lot has changed (although the old lady door has not). I love my little old house now.

While I know in blogger world you should never show before pictures and not the after but I promise they are coming.

So for right now, just feast your eyes on all the cat plate old lady glory.

This is the view when you walk in the door.

The kitchen and the laundry area.

And the bedroom.

I have to admit, I panicked when I saw it the first time, but I love a challenge! No where to go but up, right!?

Kitchen Obsession

I am currently jonesing for a project, so I was looking through my saved pictures for some inspiration. I came across these pictures I had saved, I am OBSESSED with this kitchen.  I'm pretty sure I found it in the Ice Age before pinterest so I'm not sure where they are from.  If anyone has a reference let me know.

I love the open shelves and aqua tile with the rustic wood ceiling. The aqua tile in this kitchen, gave me the courage to go with the colored subway tile in my kitchen. 

To me, it is the perfect mix of rustic and contemporary.  This kitchen feels so inviting and like a place you would hang out.

That granite *swoon*

So what do you think, is it love?

Faux Board and Batten

I have been planning on redoing our water closet for ages and finally got around to it right before I moved. Lots of things have changed since this project, but I never got around to sharing it and I love love love the way it turned out.

 If you spend any time on Pinterest, you have probably seen faux board and batten. I had been wanting to try this out in our bathroom for a while now.

The master bath has a separate vanity area and then a water closet (seriously who knew there was a name for the tiny shower room!?). I originally wanted to do the whole area in board and batten to define the bedroom and bathroom space, but it just wouldn't work with all the closet doors.  In the end, I did just the water closet in board and batten using this tutorial.

The requisite before picture.

No where to go but up right!?!

It's amazing what a little paint can do.  I was so relieved to get rid of the last vestiges of the yellow beige color the previous owners loved so much.  As in, the loved the icky color so much literally every. single. room. in our house AND the baseboards were all the same color!  Maybe it was on sale...

Anyway, a fresh coat of paint breathed new life into the room.

We only painted the top half because the bottom will eventually be white.

I then put up the horizontal top board on each wall.

I painted the bottom and top board white before hanging the vertical boards. 

 For the vertical boards, I used plain lattice cut to fit.  I measured and marked each spot and then glued them in place with wood glue. I held them in the correct spot with masking tape until the glue dried. 

Once the glue dried and I could remove the tape, I caulked each side of the vertical strips so there would not be a space on the sides. 

The last step was painting over the wood strips.

It is a teensy tine room so it's hard to get a good picture, but it is a hundred times better!

What do you think? Do you love the faux board and batten look as much as I do?

It gave the bathroom a much needed facelift. 

Small House, Big Style

It seems like tiny houses are everywhere these days. HGTV has a show about them, friends are always posting images on Facebook. Sometime in the last few years there has been a major shift from McMansions to tiny houses. Something about a tiny house has always appealed to me. Our house was not huge by any means, but I frequently thought I would prefer less.
This GORGEOUS home designed by architect James Crisp is my dream.

I love the style and huge front porch.

The interior is so open and light. Perfection!

When Erin got married, I lucked up and found my very own tiny home.  Small spaces can be almost as intimidating to decorate as a mansion. There is so much to fit in a small space, but it definitely makes you live more efficiently. Mine has a little (or a lot) less charm than my dream home, I am still loving it.

These are some serious #tinyhousegoals.

This old house might be my favorite of all. 

Kitchen Style

I have been dreaming of kitchen remodels since I moved into my new house. The kitchen situation in my little rental leaves a lot to be desired. I posted this kitchen below, years ago as my dream bakery. I would still LOVE this for my someday bakery, but for my home I would style it a little differently. I just love how the pastel pink fridge by Big Chill brings a ton of personality to this kitchen, so I created these style boards below using their retro stoves and the Pantone Colors of the year!

The stove is such a show stopper I kept the rest of the details neutral with a mix of finishes and textures.

I am obsessed with Carrera marble and these gorgeous marble floors. They pair perfectly with the gorgeous stove from Big Chill. Paired with these mercury glass schoolhouse lights it's perfection!

  

I couldn't resist making one more style board after looking around on the Big Chill website. This kitchen is a makes a major statement and definitely ups the glam factor. 

I will be saving for the day I am no longer renting again!