New Chalkboard Wall

I've been really attracted to walls painted black and have been trying to push the idea for our dining but Mr. put his foot down on this one. Instead I had to settle for a chalkboard wall. This kitchen wall is what I use for organization. I was using scotch tape so far and it wasn't very practical nor attractive, so I had to come up with another way to attach photos and important notes to the wall.

 

+

 

 +

=

I had some leftover magnetic paint I used in my older daughter's room. It worked decently in her room but it wasn't magnetic enough to keep pictures attached. I made a mistake when applying it because I only shook the can and all the good magnetic stuff was left on the bottom. Of course I noticed that when I was putting away all the painting supplies at the end of the project. So when I applied it in the kitchen I made sure to stir it all very well. Here is the same wall two coats of magnetic paint later.

On top of that I applied two coats of chalkboard paint which was pretty straight forward. I used a foam roller again. The chalkboard paint takes much longer to dry inbetween coats and you're supposed to wait 4, yes FOUR, days before you can start writing on it. Well, needless to say I'm not that patient and neither are my girls. Here it is about an hour later.

It was a simple project that's a lot of fun! I've been using extra strong neodymium magnets and both the magnetic and chalboard properties work great! It's quite a bit clean up when we draw on the wall but so far it doesn't bother me.

PaperlessPOST

I'm in the mids of planning a Birthday party for my daughter who's turning 4 at the end of the month. I've always been using Evite to send out electronic invitations but this time I used PaperlessPOST and they have the cutest designs plus managing of the invitations is very easy. Here's the one I chose for my munchkin.

Quarry chronicles continued

Last weekend we kept on rocking. We moved some pavers that were used as a border and created a small patio. This year I'm using the deck mostly as play space for kids so I don't want to put the table there. With the backyard so big it's nice to have multiple entertaining spots. This project was fairly simple, we just laid some paving sand as a base and then laid out the pavers. It's not perfect but it's also not forever and for a $100 investment looks great to me!

I love the discoloration of the pavers. These are basic cement pavers and I saw them in Home Depot this weekend and they are quite unattractive when new but the patina makes them really pretty.
The work is not done yet we still need to move the stones from one area to another and plant some grass.

Rocky Road

I'm in the process of rearranging our backyard. It took me over a year to realize that I needed to simplify it. It is going to be awhile before we are able to have it professionaly redone the way we want it to be, so for now I am looking for temporary solution which will make it more user friendly with a lot of hard work and a little investing. The least expensive way is to reuse all the stones that are already there. I have a hard time believing it can be attractive, so here's some inspirational pictures to help me decide which direction I want to go.

 via

 via

 via

 via

 via

Beautiful, right? The last picture applies most to my design as it's basically rock on rock on rock. I will be mixing many types of stone too. The work is set to begin tomorrow, it's going to be a busy weekend!

Rain, rain go away!

Living on the river has been lovely. But my little town is known to get flooded quite often so when it rains I'm always a little bit concerned, especially when it rains a lot.
Water levels in the river were very low last couple of months. On Tuesday evening it was maybe 20 inches deep. Then it started to rain and it didn't stop the whole day and this is what happened.


This is Wednesday morning...

 ...and in the afternoon.

 

And this is now

 

Thankfully, it finally stopped raining. We are ok, our sump pumps worked hard all night but except for some seepage in the basement no other damage was done. I hope our neighbors accross the river can say the same.

Btw, it's time to start shopping for a generator. If we lost power and sump pumps didn't pump our water heater and fernus would be under water.

P.S. Sorry for the poor quality of pictures. They were taken with the phone through the window.

At the quarry

Sometimes, no most of the time my backyard, feels like a quarry rather than relaxing retreat or a garden. The previous owner was a train collector and had a maze of tracks running in the yard. There was a train station and the train track run around a pond. As a solid material they used rock, tons of rocks. Some are nice river rocks but some are just gravel or....train track rocks! Some of the rocks were used instead of mulch. Thankfully all that "landscaping" was done only to the part of the backyard that's close to the house, the rest was left mostly untouched.
This whole time since we've been living here we were pondering what to do with the yard and this weekend it finally hit me: I just want to simplify. So I spent 3 days moving rocks and in the meantime my lovely husband knocked down two waterfalls.
Here is the state of the backyard at the end of last summer. This past weekend was a productive one and I will post pictures of progress as soon as it stops raining.

Some updates around the house take a lot of work and time but sometimes I get lucky and do a quick project that brings out great results. Take this hardware from the credenza. It was dark and dingy and with a little Rub'n Buff and 5 minutes of work it became a jewel of the room.

I can't believe how different the color of the credenza looks in each picture. In reality it's darker but it does change depending on the time of day and light.

Rub'n Buff is officially my favorite new product in home improvement department. I'm wondering what should get the special treatment next.

Dining room updates continued

This sideboard came with the dining room set but the color was even worse than the chairs so I decided to paint it. I wanted to bring in some color into the dining room because it was very neutral and brownish. The fabric on the chairs is grayish-bluish and I wanted to tie it in but not match exactly. The color I chose is Bermuda Blue from BM. It's pretty bright but I love it. Once again I used the Advance BM Paint in semi gloss.

The little applique on the top drawer had to go. It was an easy fix and barely needed any sanding. Tools required...a steak knife and a set of little helping hands.

After light sanding and priming and two coats of Bermuda Blue, here's the finial result.

I did some work on the hardware to make it standout and I'll post more on that soon. I will admit that it took some getting used to having this big pop of color in the dining room but at the end I'm very happy how it turned out.

Foyer Design Idea

Now that I found my church pew I'm really itching to finish the foyer. I still need a couple of major pieces like console table, carpet and mirror so it is not going to happen right away.  To help me stay on track I came up with a mood board for the space. I really love it. I like that major pieces are neutral and I can play up the seasons with accessories like pillows, vases and pictures. I also like the mercury glass table lamp which bring in a little blink and of course natural wood which comes from the bench and mirror.

Sources:

Ceiling Fixture - Eldridge Pendant Ballard Desing (already own)
Mirror - Levico Mirror in Natural Restoration Hardware
Console Table - Burke Console Table Pottery Barn
Table Lamps - Etched Mercury Glass  Pottery Barn
Rug - Diamond Foil Jute Rug West Elm

Ta da....It's here!

I found it! There was one, my one, church pew on Craigslist and I emailed the seller months ago and never heard back. Couple days ago the listing showed up again with the phone number to contact and I did and now it's here, sitting pretty in my foyer

Isn't she a beauty? The previous owner had it for about 25 years and it came from a Presbyterian church. It's in great condition, it's very sturdy and never been painted. It was much longer at some point and there's a slight curve to it, which must have been much bigger when the pew was it's original length. The plate is original to it too, number 42. I love it!

Weekly Snapshops: Waiting for Spring

At this point I'm having serious doubts whether the spring will actually come this year. This winter has been dragging on and I'm ready for warmer temperatures and nature to spring back to life. To cheer myself up I brought in some color into to house and it did help a little bit.

The colorful fabric is actually a tablecloth from Target. I love their Threshold brand, which offers trendy and affordable designs. Two little birdies came from Michael's and they sit on my mantel. I love that they're a mama and a baby birds. As you can see even my preschooler is looking forward to Spring weather too.

Dining room updates

Over the summer my mother in law downsized into an apartment and generously offered us her dining room set. It is a nice set with great detail but needed a little bit of updating. Years ago someone tried to refurbish it, and let's just say it didn't come out that great. I decided to sand down the chairs and reupholster them for a more updated look.

Here's the little before picture just to give you an idea why they needed some TLC.

I used electric sander where I could but there are so many nooks and crannies that majority had to be done by hand. Not fun. But the result was well worth it.

 

In the process I stumbled upon what I call a fabric heaven. If you live in Northern New Jersey and ever need any sort of fabric you must check out the Fabric Warehouse Direct in Rahway. They offer amazing selection and pricing.

Console It

I'm itching to finish the foyer. I still haven't found the church pew, but I'm searching craigslist almost every night. The next major piece I need for that space is a console table or dresser or a buffet or a sideboard.  As you can tell I'm keeping my options open. Here are a few pieces that caught my eye.

My first choice is the Crate&Barrel media console but I have to say I'm not a big fan of the price tag. I'm also not a big fan of having two main pieces of furniture being made of wood, that's of course assuming that I will one day find my church pew. That's why I like the PB entryway all black table. Of course I love the price tag of the table from Wayfair and I would consider painting it.  On the other hand if I'm going to paint something I might as well just get a used piece.