Sad...

Well I put up all the bookshelves last night. I did the first one a couple of days ago. It ended up being much higher than I expected, but I actually like the height:

And then I put together the other four. But they didn't fit on the wall!! Ugh. It was in the middle of the night and I was so disappointed that they didn't fit that I decided to take out the trim along the baseboard. However, I didn't have a saw and a knife wouldn't cut it, so I decided to melt it:

And then I ripped it off and this is what it looks like:

 I realize this was probably not the best idea, but I just wanted it to fit so badly!!

And even after all that, it still doesn't fit:

It's literally off by a mere half inch!! SO frustrating. I don't know what to do now. Suggestions, anyone??!!

Bedspread

(This was an old post from a couple of days ago that I didn't put up)

The secretary desk and bookshelves all came yesterday! Unfortunately I have work for the next few days so will not be able to actually put them together and up for awhile I think. Although I'm sure my neuroticism will get the best of me and I'll do it in the middle of the night one of these days.

Anyway I don't want to put up a picture yet until I have them in place. However, I also got a new bed sheet set to go with our new duvet that we registered for and received as a wedding gift. Here's what it looks like now:

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of what it looked like before, the the duvet was pale blue and pin-tucked with blue and ivory damask patterned sheets.

Really Half-Baked

Well I attempted the entryway, but I think by now I'm just too tired to try that hard. At least I have the console table moved out of the living room where it was haphazardly thrown aside blocking easy access in and out of the room. There's still so many things left to do in the entryway, but this will have to do for now:

List of things still left to do for the entryway:

1. Get rid of all the picture frames above the console table
2. Paint chalkboard paint on the wall opposite of the console table
3. Figure out decor accents for the top of table
4. Move the mirror or find a new mirror over the console table
5. Take down ledge and mirror from opposite wall
6. Paint the other walls the same as the living room as soon as I decide on living room paint color

That's just what I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure more will be added to that list. I still haven't really decided what style I want the entryway to be, but that will have to wait until the living room comes together. Here are some pictures of entryway decor that I like:

 I love the idea of centering a round table for the entryway, but alas I don't think mine is wide enough. Next house though...

LOVE this look. From Anthropologie of course, one of my favorite stores for home, and everything else.

 I like the colorful whimsical feel of this entryway. May be too colorful to go well with my living room.

 I don't necessarily like this look, but I like the idea of a nice comfortable sofa in the entryway. Maybe something bright and tufted.

Again, I don't think this style if for me, but I wanted to remind myself that I may want a cool funky rug in the entryway. And I've also always loved those acrylic ghost chairs. In fact, I have this fantasy of a ghost room where the walls are dark, almost midnight blue and all the furniture's clear acrylic.

I've given myself a year to finish redecorating the place starting from when we got married on October 15. Not a bad start. I'm so excited for Matt to come home tomorrow. I can't wait to see his reaction. It'll also give me an excuse to actually cook real food, which is still fun due to all my new wedding gifted kitchen supplies. Haha.

I'm really hoping the bookshelves and secretary desk come in this week. I'll post that up as soon as I get them settled into the family room.

Looking Better

After several more trips to the trash room, my family room and dining area are finally looking a little better. I'll be fixing the entryway tomorrow. In the meantime, this is what I've got so far:

 I'm so happy I was finally able to put up the old style pay phone telephone. It even takes real coins!

It still looks rather empty in here, but the sofa is a start. The box on the left is filled with Matt's books that we haven't yet unpacked since he moved them in just before the wedding. There's a matching box on the other side, and I can't wait to put them all up on the bookshelves when they get here. I'm hoping they will arrive within the next few days.

The dining table is clearly still a mess, but the musical instruments blocking the back is at least out of the way. They're actually just piled on the other side of the room, but at least now all the seats at the table are accessible. We'll see how far I get with the entryway tomorrow.

PAIN(t)

I have finally, FINALLY finished painting the kitchen and family room. I am so sore, and not at all in the I just worked out and feel great way, but in the I seriously injured my neck and definitely exacerbated my probable carpal tunnel way. Here's a picture of my sad, cramped, painful hands:

I never want to paint a wall or a cabinet again. And I will certainly never do it alone again. I feel so relieved to be done. Tomorrow I will start cleaning up and organizing the living room. I'll also finally be able to rearrange some furniture and get the family room filled a little bit more. I'm waiting on a row of low white bookshelves that will run along the Red Wall. I also ordered a black secretary desk to fit in the little alcove next to the fireplace.

Anyway, I painted the first coat on the wall, the "Gray Area" paint, and hated it. It turned out looking really similar and almost indistinguishable at certain angles from the cabinet paint color. So after painting the first coat, I went back to the store and bought another gallon of a much lighter shade, "Pewter Mug." I then spent the rest of my night painting the second coat on. Luckily, the paint is a paint-and-primer in one, and because I already had a shade of grey underneath, I was able to get away with just one coat of the second color.

Below is a couple of pictures of the first grey vs. the second grey. The left is the old grey.

    

I know it doesn't look like the shades are that different from the pictures, but it really is quite a difference. I wanted a big contrast between the cabinets and the wall, but the first color just didn't look light enough. The second color now is much lighter. I also wanted to make sure it wasn't so light that it almost looked white, which it thankfully doesn't.

Below is the picture of the paint colors. The one I have my thumb on is the new, lighter shade. The one underneath that was the old shade that I didn't like. And the bottom grey is the color of my cabinets.

Last night I also made dinner for the first time since my husband has been gone now that my kitchen is up and running again. It felt really good to eat some real food. I made whole wheat pasta with zucchini, potatoes, onions, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and shrimp:

I'm getting hungry just writing about it. It's also 4 in the morning and I'm pretty sure the paint fumes are making me feel queasy. I'll post pictures of my hopefully somewhat cleaned living, dining, and family rooms tomorrow.

Kitchen Completed! (More or less)

After another day of painting, here is the completed kitchen cabinets!

I was able to put most of kitchen appliances, dishware, etc. back in but there's still a bit of organizing to do in order to fit some of the wedding gifts. I also put all the old knobs on for now. Once I finish painting the rest of the walls and decorating, I'll decide on exactly the color and style of the knobs which I'll likely get from Anthropologie.

I love those crescent drawer pulls, but I would have to drill 2 holes into my drawers and I don't really want to do that. Maybe in my next kitchen I'll get those drawer pulls along with a farmhouse sink basin. Something like these:

 I love how rustic, yet still modern this kitchen looks. And I like how these crescent drawer pulls are slightly different than the usual ones.

LOVE those sinks!! Next kitchen, definitely.

Below is the picture of the transition from the kitchen to the red wall/family room. I'll be painting that in-between wall a lighter shade of grey.

I also painted over the green chairs with the same coat of grey as the cabinets. However, I'm so tired and sore and was too lazy to paint a second coat. Eh, it's grey enough.

I'll be taking a much needed break from painting tomorrow and actually get some work/errands done. Then on Friday hopefully I'll be able to finish the rest of the grey walls. We'll see. Painting walls is much easier than kitchen cabinets, though, so hopefully I'll have the energy for it.

Kitchen Cabinets

Well, 12 hours of painting later and still not done with the kitchen cabinets. It has been truly terrible painting 30 or so cabinet doors and drawer panels. I've finished the first coat on all of them, and the second (and final) coat of paint on half of them. I'll finish the rest tomorrow and hopefully get those green chairs painted as well. I'm very surprised at how long this is taking me. I would highly recommend a painting buddy. Anyway, this is what it looks like thus far:

Below is a before picture. What a difference paint makes!

Wow, in looking at my before pictures I'm shocked at how long it's taken me to redecorate. I decorated my condo near the beginning of college and have changed very little in decor since then. Seven years later, though, my taste has certainly changed. I'm excited for the condo to reflect my (and my husbands of course) current taste and personality more once I'm done with it. I just hope that despite my eclectic taste, everything will flow well together rather than looking like a hodge podge of random items thrown in a room.