craftsman lovin'

Happy Friday!! We've got lots of weekend projects on the to do list around here, and I can't wait to get started, but first let me share a love of mine...

I love me some craftsman elements. Chunky tapered columns, thick white trim, shingle siding, board and batten details, big covered porches,lots of windows, carriage doors... oooh. It makes my heart go pitter pat. :)


So naturally, I'm super excited for my cute friend Holly, who is building this beauty:


and an inside view:


Ahhh! I want it!!! My hubby told me I better stop looking at it. I probably love it too much! But I'm so excited for Holly!

We are pretty much kindred spirits, because I think she chose just about everything the same as I would have. I love this house and can't wait for my grand tour! They'll be finishing up and moving in withing weeks and I'm so thrilled for them!


Since we're talking about it, here's some more craftsman goodness to share today!

Does this elevation look slightly familiar??

Yep! I thought so too! (this house is one of my favorites from another exterior post from the past!)

kids canvas art

I've had some email questions about the art work in my kids rooms and how we did it.


I love these little paintings that my boys made almost a year ago.
They are a fun meaningful piece art that I'll treasure forever.

Summer time is a good time for this activity!

Here's the post from my family blog with the detials:


I put the boys to work making finger paintings (I think it was Tuesday, the last nice warm day. I think they really enjoyed themselves. I learned some things about their art making preferences...


Some people like to paint their favorite toy, Thomas. Poor Thomas had to have a wash down, just like the little painters when this activity was finished.


And some people like to paint with their diapered bottom. Owen for example, came up with this revolutionary technique...






The Result:



Owen Maxwell Black and Carter Scott Black originals!
(Owen's on the left, Carter's on the right.)
Complete with original artists feet and hands paintings as well, to hang in the bathroom for kicks... because it thrills me beyond anything to see their little hand and footy prints.

If you look close you may even see the pretty leaf in the bottom corner that Carter stuck to his. It dried that way and it actually looks pretty cool!

Materials:
acrylic craft paints or kid friendly paint(washes of with soap and water)
artists canvas. (I got mine at JoAnn when they were 50% off)

I would do it in a big area, like outside on grass where it won't matter if they make a mess.

I did put them directly into the tub after this. :)

master bedroom {the bedding}

I have decided rather than just show you the master bedroom when it's all done I'll show the process I've been going through.

ta da!!

We've lived here for 9 months now, and it's flown by, but in some ways I can't believe it's taken me this long to make our bedroom cozy.

We have two VERY active little boys, ages 2 and 3, our days are crazy and hectic, and we need a calm and serene space that is just for us.


I decided to start with the bedding.

Here's my before:


I knew I wanted to keep the basic white duvet, I love the simplicity of it, but I decided to go with a spa blue/ light aqua color to accent and a tiny bit of mustard yellow to set it off.




I have issues with bedding that looks too matchy, like a bed in a bag. I definately didn't want that, so I found the coverlet on sale at Bed Bath and Beyond, the poppy pillow is also from BBandB. I made the yellow pillow from place mats and cloth napkins I found at Target, just because the pattern was perfect. Seriously. Cloth napkins.


I felt that because the furniture sort of leans traditional and masculine I wanted the bedding to be soft, feminine and young. We are, after all, still in our 20's, but not for long! :) I just didn't want an old persons room when we are still young.

I found these great sheets at Target. They are Springmaid (Target has awesome bedding right now, by the way) They are all white with an aqua/polka dot border. I fell in love the minute I saw them! They are a bit unexpected, with the dark wood panel bed especially, but I love that about them. The first few nights I was literally giddy crawling into them.


I think we managed a nice balance between feminine and masculine, and it's a place where we can both relax and feel comfortable.




I made some simple white curtains out of the same fabric I used for my slipcover, 100% duck cotton.



And we trimmed the windows, which made a huge difference (to me).

The things left on the list are:
*paint (I'm thinking a gray toned neutral that will make the whites pop a bit more
*framing my salvaged mirror (you might be able to see it sitting on the dresser, we removed it from a bathroom wall in or old house during a remodel and I've had it all this time, trying to figure out what I wanted to do with it.
*make prints for the frames above the bed
*find a small but comfortable chair (white or gray) I really want one like this beauty:

image via JustaGirl, via Freckles Chick.

a new look!

Here we are with a nice new coat of paint and a little face lift for the blog!

Don't get too used to it, I'm sure like everything else I'll have to change it up right when it starts looking put together, because that's just how I roll. :)

"Our Humble Abode" was my first idea for a title, but I went with "From House to Home" instead...why? I don't know.

I have since discovered there are a few other "from house to home"-s out there. So I'm going back to my original thought.

For now I'm keeping the url the same, although I'm semi tempted to move away from blogger to word press... I'll let you know if that happens.

I better leave you with a few pretty pictures or something...

white cabinets + pop of color = MY DREAM KITCHEN!




(and once I get my outside projects and bedrooms finished, I think I'm ready to dive head first into my kitchen "white-ification" because I mentally paint the cabinets at least three times a day right now, I need to just jump in and do it and stop thinking about it!

another lamp re-do and old treasures

I found another great curvy lamp, it's almost identical to my last one, except this one didn't have the maroon center that the other one had, it was completely brass.

I did take a before picture, I just can't find it in my files right now, so this will have to do.

I used regular white primer and Krylon's Ocean Breeze


and this was the result:




I found the shade at homegoods, and I love it for it's texture, it has a nice vertical ribbing pattern, I'm not sure if you can see in the picture, but it was cheap, and it's well made. I think it's perfect for the lamp!


Another great thing you may notice gracing the side table is this great stack of books I brought home from my mom's house. She has a shelf full of great old books, and I've raided her collection a few times, I don't know how I missed these beauties. I love the colors together and it's got me thinking about adding some muted reds, bright yellows and pretty oranges to the living room and the rest of the house.

We've done some major projects outside, and I can't wait to get them finished... I'll be sharing them soon, and my master bedroom is so close to being finished it's making me crazy. Maybe I'll just have to show it in progress.

Happy Summer!

the story of a chair

It was meant to be... or something like that. :)


Over the weekend I took my oldest boy to Ikea with me. I had a list in my head and I was only going to be "a few minutes."

I quickly gathered what I needed and on my way to the check stands decided to take a gander in the as-is section.

Even though I never get lucky there.

Until this time. This baby was waiting there, just for me. A former floor model, she had been marked down about 40%, but amazingly doesn't have a single mark or sign of wear!

Original price: $249.
Mindy Price: $159. WAHOOO!!!

But I left it there while I took my little guy home, We have a roomy car, but I was pretty sure I couldn't swing it with the carseats and double stroller that where already in there.

I came back and.... IT WAS GONE! I was so sad! For some random reason while I was talking to my hubby on the phone, I decided to hurry and walk through the showroom again and maybe see if any more would be going down...

... and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but my slipcovered chair! on a flatbead cart (thingy).

I asked a nice Ikea Employee if someone had been holding it, or if it was still for sale and she told me that she had it on a list to bring back up for a different display, but it turned out to be a typo so she was taking it back down! Oh baby, I was in luck! I told her I would take it off her hands, and she pushed it to the register for me. Then my little chair and I headed home to play house. :)

Hubby thought I did a good job. He likes it when I save pennies. :) And he thinks the chair is pretty comfy too.

I promise it wasn't an impulse buy, I've had one on my "furniture to buy" list. I have some major furniture changing coming in the near future. When we get this basement finished everything is moving around, so this worked out just perfect for me! I'm still on the hunt for a smaller chair for the master bedroom, and I still plan to re-upholster my other cute chair if I can ever commit to a fabric, but we'll be needing many more great chairs, so it was a good find!

FYI, now is probably a good time to check out the as-is section at Ikea, at least at the Utah location, they are changing the floor displays!

just sayin'.