2015 Spring Home Tour & a Husband Who Hates Painting

I’ve been enjoying many spring home tours from design bloggers I admire, so I decided I would share my own. Forgive my amateur photos; I am learning and taking notes along the way!

My husband and I have lived in our small bungalow for just over three years, and we recently completed our last planned update, which was painting all the ceilings. You need to know that my husband detests painting . . . to the point where he’d rather do ANY other possible job—or have any limb removed. I have learned to do one of three things regarding painting where David is concerned:

1. Stay away completely while it is taking place. As in, be in another town. Or state.
2. Disobey his orders that HE is the master painter and I am not to touch or look at the paint brushes/rollers, pretend I am asleep when he leaves for work at 7 a.m., and at 7:01 a.m. fly out of bed and paint like a madwoman until he arrives home at 6 p.m. (me with paint all over myself and a cheeky “I’m so precious” grin), all day having found ways to technically not lie when responding to any texts or phone calls.
3. Act ridiculously stupid while he is painting and turn his grumbles into hysterical laughter.

I have done all three multiple times now, and I haven’t yet decided which is the best choice. I can tell you that the day he came home to our living room completely painted by yours truly, he acted mad for about three seconds and then I was the best thing around. So, with all that, a heartfelt thank you to David for our lovely, freshly painted ceilings. You’re the only one I’d want to go through home improvements with—all the planning, dreading, fun times bargain shopping, returning, arguing, glaring, bribing, laughing until we cry, and, finally, relaxing and enjoying the fruits of our labor. You’re my favorite partner in home improvements and in life.

LIVING AREA

SOFA INFO & EXPLANATION FOR THE GIRLY GLAM

When I selected the fabric for our tufted sofas, I had gone to the furniture store in the early afternoon and spent hours narrowing the choices to three: a dark gray, a dark navy, and the tan fabric shown. David met me there after work, and I suggested that he choose. David does, after all, indulge the current girly-glam decor style going on, claiming he is “man enough to be around pink and bling.”

In my defense, I never had the glam decor style in mind until we had an opportunity to purchase our living room rug at a ridiculous discount. It had a retail of $1200, and we bought it at a steal-only $25 due to a small tear that David fixed with latex. Anyone who has shopped for a large, quality wool rug knows that they come with a high price tag. Please let it be known that purple is one of my LEAST favorite colors. I am a blue-and-green, black-and-white, modern-with-some-antiques-thrown-in gal at heart. But alas, we were in emergency rug-finding mode as we had just installed the new flooring. David had looked at me and said, “It’s such great quality . . . for $25, can’t you figure out how to make it work???” So I did just that—embraced the navy-and-orchid-purple “I love you, you love me, we’re a happy family” rug.

So, back to sofa fabrics. I, of course, had a favorite, which was the very one David pointed to. A neutral tan but fun, very small animal print. I know our decor will change when we finally decide to get rid of Barney . . . I mean, the rug . . .and these sofas will stand the test of time and fit into any decor style.

KITCHEN/DINING AREAS
Painting the cabinets white was one of the best home improvement decisions we made!

The beautiful teak credenza is one of my most cherished pieces, a gift from a very dear friend.

HALLWAY & BATH

OFFICE/GUEST ROOM

GUEST ROOM

MASTER BEDROOM/MASTER BATH

Please note MORE purple. I choose clearance stickers over favorite colors, so when we needed a duvet set and I found this one at Target marked from over $100 to just $19.99, I knew that purple was my destiny once again.

HELLO FROM SHELBY :)

I hope you enjoyed my first spring home tour and had a laugh or two along the way. 

Let me know in the comments below what your favorite part of decorating is, as well as your least favorite! 

~Kara

Finding Our Non-Dream Home

My husband, David, and I purchased our little ranch-style bungalow in January 2012. We had been on a lengthy home search, and I, of course, fell in love with EVERY nonpractical home we saw—from a modern log cabin to a (chin quiver) one-hundred-year-old, my-dream-come-true Victorian with an original asbestos roof and a staircase that would frighten even the biggest of daredevils. I hadn’t even gotten past the entryway before I began exclaiming (while twirling), “Bed & Breakfast!,” “My own business!” The stunning home even had a separate entry to a room that had once been an in-home salon, which had been fully renovated with gorgeous striped wallpaper I would have chosen myself. I was walking on air, not the original gleaming hardwood floors. After my exclamation, my husband shot daggers at me, as he had just reminded me in the car: “Kara, do NOT start shouting with joy to our (awesome) realtor. It does not bode well for negotiating if we end up making an offer.” Well, you get the point. I am not good at keeping my emotions hidden, and I would certainly be in trouble if my career was professional poker. We visited the home a few times, bringing my mother (which means it was a big contender), and came very close to purchasing it. Big sigh.

David and I spent hours upon hours driving to homes that popped up on the MLS listings, dragging our realtor to home after home (Elvina Amati, you are amazing and have the patience of a saint!!). Out of the countless homes David and I chose to view, there was only ONE we hadn't managed to discover on our own. One that our realtor humbly suggested to us. Yes, you guessed it: the home we are living in.

As we drove through the tiny neighborhood to the house, I began my squealing, and David began his coaching (“Kara, do NOT. . .”). You see, I really liked the neighborhood. I liked the large, modern three stories that were every other home . . . and then we pulled into the driveway. “Oh.” That was all David got. “This is it.” Upon entering the 1,288-sq-ft rectangle (below my desired minimum of 1,500), I had the face of a girl who just had her puppy stolen . . . and my husband was beaming. Why was he beaming? He knew very quickly that the house had good bones (blah, blah, blah, good bones). He knew it would be a good economical choice. He knew it was a home and property he could maintain well into his years. He knew that one-story living would be good for my damaged back. He saw a perfectly dry basement and a house built in a way he would have built it.

What did I see? Get ready. Grossly stained carpet. Peel-and-stick vinyl in the kitchen and dining rooms that was not actually sticking. Kitchen cabinets that were pickled oak. Pickled Oak? Is it named “Pickled” because you purposely take a few drinks so your vision blurs? There were eight different paint colors throughout the small house...a fact that kept my lip-glossed pout in place. The house had been built in 1992, and nothing had been improved since. The grand finale: NO CHARACTER. NONE. The house screamed “Size 74 shoe, please place yourself inside me.” Shoe. Box.

This is the original MLS photo. We have since painted the garage doors a lovely cream color, and have added some beautiful landscaping, including two trees.

The fact is, our lovely realtor Elvina apparently knew David and I better than we knew ourselves, and found us a home that perfectly suited our NEEDS but not my unnecessary desires (which would have taken us over budget). My darling husband, who I was glaring at, was ecstatic. I knew that because it was near the top of our one-income price range, we would not be able to transform it immediately. It would be one step at a time. I strapped on my boots, thanked God for our home, as well as a wise (and very handy) husband who had learned some hard lessons from homes he had previously owned, and I dove in. 

We have been slowly transforming for almost three years now, and I wish I had began blogging in the beginning. I am a "self-taught" decorator, with no formal training. My style isn't everyone's and that's ok, because life would be boring if we were all the same. I even applaud the pickled oak lovers out there (my mother is one of them). I simply took a house I wasn't in love with, and made it into what I hope is a warm, welcoming, fun home. I look forward to sharing future posts on how we changed things, the decisions we made and why, and many before and after photos, and I sincerely hope you will enjoy the journey. I will also post our current happenings in between, which will be quite often since things do not stay in one place for very long. That fact is due to Craig, a very dear friend of mine. Most of you may know him—his last name is List. I scour the ads, call my husband, hear his eyes rolling through the phone, and race to purchase. I then either leave it as is or refurbish and paint, enjoy it for awhile, and then I visit dear Craig and sell what I just absolutely had to have. My charming brother-in-law (known to some as Hazel) once said upon entering our home and seeing the most recent changes, “I’m afraid to come over anymore. You might put me on Craigslist.” 

Below are a few of the photos I took when we first moved in, so you can get an idea of what we started with, as well as some photos of where we are now. In the future I will share some of the steps we took along the way, as well as the remaining rooms in the house.

P.S. The “My-dream-come-true Victorian”? Less than 5 minutes away. David used to indulge me with drive-bys, then he claimed I was becoming a stalker. Me?? No way am I a stalker. Oh, one last thing . . . the current owners recently opened up the kitchen into the dining room. If you come visit, we can drive by and see it through the front window.

This was our first night in the house. Gracie wasn’t quite sure of it, either.

Today:

 Mismatched appliances, pickled oak cabinets, stained carpet and multiple paint colors in all their glory.

Today: New wall paint, flooring, appliances, light fixtures, and a refreshed kitchen after having erased the pickled oak with white cabinet paint...three coats to be exact.

Dining area view to backyard:

Today:

The living area, one day after the closing. You’ll notice some of the previously mentioned three-story homes across the street, as well as upstate NY weather. From one day with not a single snowflake in sight, to the next day, a snow-lovers dream! 

 

After many hours spent on Craigslist, at Estate Sales, TJ Maxx, Homegoods, as well as the clearance sections of other home stores and websites. Having my very own (handsome) handyman? Major bonus!!

 Hallway bathroom then:

  ...and now.

Guest bedroom upon moving in:

Today: 

I hope you enjoyed seeing the changes made over the past three years!

If you enjoyed our time "together", be sure to stop back or follow along by email, and I’d love to hear from you in the comments below. If you're in the area, we could grab a cup of coffee at the local coffee shop...which happens to be walking distance to the Victorian...just don't tell David.

Sincere Blessings,
Kara