New Floors!!!

All pictures are at the end of this post...so just scroll down if you want pictures. :)

I am sooooooo excited about my new floors!!!! In my last post I told you about how I ripped the carpet out of my living room, honestly carpet grosses me out and I think it should never be in a house, but that is just my opinion but my opinion is usually right! Hahaha! Actually with 7 kids, 2 dogs and 5 cats I seriously think my house should have no carpet whatsoever. So, on to the good stuff!

I hummed and hawed over what to replace the carpet with. We have hardwood floors in the kitchen and hallway, and tile in the laundry and bathrooms. The hardwood floors we have are knotty alder...I seriously think that whoever decided to put these as flooring ought to be beat. Alder is a very SOFT wood. So soft in fact that I dropped a children cardboard book on it and it dented the floor. Seriously. It was ridiculous. I had a professional flooring guy come in to take a look at placing matching flooring in the living room and sanding and refinishing the rest of the hardwood floors. He said not only was alder a bad choice but it was hard to find because people started to realize that it was stupid to use it as flooring. Needless to say it would have been $4000 to fix my flooring problem.

So, then I remembered that I read a blog a year ago and she replaced her carpet with laminate flooring that I thought looked beautiful This is the one I am talking about. Plus it was going to be WAY cheaper than my $4000 option. So, I went down to Sam's Club to look at the Select Surfaces laminates and I fell in love with the Cocoa Walnut color. It is beautiful!!! I bought 24 boxes and brought them home.

It was after I bought them that I decided that I didn't just want them in my living room....I wanted them in the hallway, entry way, and dining room too. My husband was not thrilled with my idea. He is worried that with laminates and our kids it wouldn't be a good idea. You see, my littlest kids (5, 3, and 2) LOVE water and they are always dumping it on the floors. So after a debate we decided to put it in the living room, hallways, and entry way but not the dining room since it is really just an eat in kitchen and spills are always everywhere in there. We decided to put tile in the kitchen and dining room.

I proceeded to rip out all the hardwood floors in the hallway and entryway. It took me about 9 hours over the course of  3 days and lots of sweat and I was sore every morning.

I finished 1 of the hallways as well and then decided to put tile in the entryway too because water gets drug into the house all year long through the front door and tile won't get ruined by water. Laminates might. If all my kids were older I would just put laminates in the dining room, entryway, and the kitchen. I have 1 more strip of laminates to place in the other hallway but I got side tracked with Halloween and haven't finished yet.

I still have to rip out the flooring in the kitchen but that is a MUCH bigger job. I have to take out the counter tops and all the cabinets first and that means I will be without a kitchen for a few days to a week. Not sure I want to do that just yet. However it needs to be done and sooner rather than later.

On a side note I am probably going to put the laminates in all the bedrooms on the main floor too. We had to rip out the carpet in the master bedroom due to an unfortunate explosion of a LARGE container of activated charcoal and I almost have hubby convinced that laminates would be better than carpet in the bedrooms.

So to recap: (and sorry some of the pictures are a bit fuzzy)

This is what it looked like before: (this is actually the picture from before we moved in)

This is what it looked like during: 

Getting some math skills in by figuring out the square footage of the room.

This is what it looks like now:

I am totally in LOVE with these! Even my husband who wasn't fully on board when I bought them and started installing them has begun to like them. Also, I am completely impressed that they don't sound like laminates when we walk on them! 

More projects!

Oh man do I have a list of projects that I need to do! About a week ago I ripped the carpet out of my living room because my 2 yo dumped a gallon of milk in the carpet and despite my best efforts to clean it up and shampoo the carpet it just wasn't working. In fact the carpet and pad wouldn't even dry.  So I pulled part of it up and I found....MOLD. Not good. Bye-bye carpet. It was ripped out the next day.

That isn't even the project I am writing about today....that will be for another post.

Today I am posting about our office that I am redoing, or rather "doing" because up until 2 days ago it was a kids bedroom. You can only imagine the amount of crayon, marker and holes in the walls from it being a kids room. I unfortunately don't have any pictures of that, but I do have a picture of the room before we moved in. The walls are an oatmeal color which isn't bad, I just wanted a happier color.

BEFORE

                            

This is what it looks like now! I still have to paint the doors and trim (the doors were only partially painted when we moved in, you can kind of see the yellowish parts of the door) Don't you love the pen on the closet doors? Yeah that will be covered over.

AFTER

I am in LOVE with this color! It is Summer Shower by Benjamin Moore. In fact I love it so much that I am going to paint my kitchen this color once the remodel in there is done!

Laundry Room makeover!

I am so embarrassed to show these pictures, but without them you won't truly see the difference. Don't judge me!  I have been trying to get the laundry room under control for years. So far it has not. gone. well. It seems that any time there is a shirt or towel or any item that needs to go in the laundry basket it instead gets tossed nonchalantly into the laundry room. It's not just dirty stuff either. My kids toss trash, toys, shoes...anything that they want to disappear forever in there! Here is what my laundry room looks like most of the time:

This is what my kids do. Throw EVERYTHING in there. See the pink chair on the bench? That was supposed to be taken to the garage so one of the seat slats could be repaired. Instead it only got as far as the laundry room. 

All these boxes are supposed to be collapsed and taken to the trash can outside! The laundry all over the floor is supposed to go in a basket which should be under the bench!

See all this laundry. It's clean. The kids are supposed to take it out of the dryer and put it on the couch and fold it. Nope. Not my kids. It is WAY easier to just put it here! The stuff up top is some of my extra homeschooling stuff. I need to organize it. I also need to finish this cubby system I built forever ago!

So, here I am looking at my laundry room trying to formulate a plan that will help keep it clean. I look through pinterest and get sad because all the laundry rooms on there are clean and beautiful. I needed a plan. So, I decided that part of the problem is no one really has an assignment on when they should wash their clothes. Many days I tell my kids to get dressed and they tell me they don't have anything clean. So I make them do their laundry right then and there. I realized my problem. There was NO planning or organization! Because I have to be crafty and I can't just print off a checklist I made this awesomely cute laundry chart!

All I needed to add were the kids names (and mine too of course) and then we had a perfectly organized chart for who does their laundry when! 

The next thing I did was um, well, not what my husband expected. First I decided that the cubby system wasn't working how it was supposed to so I tore it out. Of course I did it while hubby was at work...when he came home the laundry room was empty except for the washer and dryer. He was a bit surprised because I had been so excited to put the cubby system in there in the first place.

Next I patched and textured the walls and got them ready to be painted. Then I moved the washer and dryer and realized I had forgotten about the 1 x 1 foot section of the wall that got damaged when we moved in. I had to rip out more of the sheet rock and patch the whole darn thing. Good thing I knew how! Then I painted  the room the same color as my playroom because I had leftover paint and, well, I thought it would go nicely with my red washer and dryer plus I didn't have to go buy more paint!

The 1 x 1 foot section that I had to repair was just below the water lines. See how well the patch job turned out? Pretty good if I say so myself!

I bought an IKEA Expedit shelf off the local classifieds and added workboxes for homeschool (I will post about that separately) because our current school system stopped working. So without further ado....here is my new laundry room!

The basket on the right hanging on the wall was a thrift shop find for $4. It is a PBK mail sorter but it works nicely for holding my swiffer  pads, cleaning gloves, and cleaning rags.

There is my lovely IKEA ironing board and my laundry day chart. The clips on the rod to the left of the basket are going to hold a laundry symbol chart.

This is the workbox system for our school. The cabinet to the left holds my laundry soap, and other laundry products.

The laundry room has been finished and working for nearly 2 weeks now and the it is staying CLEAN!!!! That has never happened before! If something is dirty my kids throw it in the blue hamper that you can see to the right. I am so happy that I finally found something that is working for us!! Yipeee!!!!!

Our New Playroom!!!

So I finally got to create a playroom for my kids. I have wanted one for years but it was never possible to have one. We moved into this house 3 years ago and I knew there was space for one, but between finishing the basement and moving state to state we ran out of funds.

Since we homeschool I knew that a playroom was essential for the younger kids to have a place to use their imagination and just play. I also knew that the older kids needed somewhere to be be able to hang out that is comfy and inviting. A place that they would enjoy being in.

It took me 3 weeks to nearly complete it. I only have a few things left to finish but they aren't essential. Mostly it I need to paint few doors and put up a few pictures and quotes on the walls. I have to apologize that there are no "Before" pictures. I did take some, but I can't find them anywhere! I searched my camera, phone, and the computer and they have completely disappeared. Just use your imagination and envision walls and ceiling that are oatmeal colored, no pictures on the walls, and a giant pile of toys strewn all over the room since we had no where to store them.

So, here are the details of what I did: I started with painting the walls and the ceiling. It took 3 coats of paint to cover the nasty oatmeal color that it was painted. The trim and baseboard got caulked and I made sure it was all secure to the walls. I painted the tree in the corner, and added the IKEA canopy leaves (I found them in a local classifieds for $5 each!).

 My kids asked to be able to put the ABC stickers in the tree  so they could have a cool alphabet tree. The dragon sticker and ABC's sticker I found at Dollar Tree! My mom gave me the ABC cards that are hanging on the wall years ago. They were so cute but I never had a good place to put them. So, I put some eyelet screws in the wall and tied some jute rope to them. I used clothespins to hang them and I am so happy with how it turned out!

 The shelves and the blue bins are from IKEA. I labeled the buckets so the kids know where everything goes.

The big blue bucket holds all the dress up clothes and the clear-ish green bin holds stuffed animals. The bear is from Costco and we have had it awhile. The play kitchen was made for my sister and I by my dad when we were little girls. That is a favorite with my kids.

I painted the chalkboard wall and added a magnetic board for their magnetic toys. They haven't been able to use the chalkboard yet as it hasn't fully cured and isn't ready for chalk. By the end of the week I am sure it will be the new "cool" thing in the playroom!

The gray couch is a giant beanbag/couch thing that they kids LOVE. It is so comfy! The ottomans were on clearance at Sams Club for $14 each!! My little kids love to jump from one to the other and pretend they are pirates on small boats!

I searched for curtains that would match the room and I couldn't find any I liked or that were in my price range. So as I was wandering through Walmart I stumbled across clearance table with sheets that matched the room! For $4 each I bought 4 of them and brought them home, measured them, hemmed them and hung them! This is a close up of the pattern!

I added 2 rugs both from IKEA. My 3 yo is obsessed with the car rug and my 5 yo loves to pretend she is in the forest when she is standing on the other one!

I LOVE the playroom and so do the kids! Any questions? Feel free to ask!

It's Done!!!

I know, I know it has been FOREVER since I posted last and I know all of you have been wondering what happened to me! Well life, kids, illness and family emergencies got in the way of this post. Today I actually have a few minutes to get this done! So here is the BIG reveal!! First I have to tell you that my dad is ah.may.zing! My parents came to stay with us for a month and my dad loves to do this kind of stuff (which is why he does construction and painting professionally), so I put him to work!

This is a picture of what the boards and walls look like after my dad prepped them. He calked all the cracks, seems and joints, and he spackled the holes in the walls and textured them and then we sanded all the edges and joints to make sure they were super smooth. Sorry these first 2 pictures are not the best. But hopefully you can kind of see the prep work.

Now here is the best part....It's done! Since we have 5 doors at the end of this hallway and I hate when people open every door just to find the bathroom I added the "bathroom" symbol!  Now it is easy peasy for guests to find!

Look at how clean and sleek it looks! And the color just make it seem so calm! Don't you love my saying over the front door? 

Here are a few Before and Afters: 

BEFORE

AFTER

Here is another one:

BEFORE 

AFTER 

Oop! looks like I forgot to put a shoe and a toy away before I took the picture!

I didn't really have any decorations for my walls prior to this project because it was such an uninspiring entryway. After it got done though I found some inspiration and I went shopping! I spent under $35 on EVERYTHING you see! How on earth did I spend so little you ask? Well, I had a magnetic board (purchased at a yard sale for $3) in a frame and the frame fell apart so I made one from old fence boards that I bought for .50 a board. It took 2 boards. The white shelves I have had forever but I bought them at a thrift store for $2 each. The keys I found at a local liquidation center for $4 each and the nick knacks on the shelves were thrift store items that were .50 to $1.00.  I thought about raising the magnetic board because it would look better, but then it would be too hard for my kids to reach so I decided functionality is better than perfection.

I also added a bench that I made! Check it out! It was just a few boards I picked up at Home Depot and some stain I already had! I didn't put a clear coat on it because I want it to get the worn look, but I finally have a place to store ALL the shoes! If you want a tutorial or dimensions let me know!

I almost forgot! On the other wall I added a mirror I framed with old fence boards and a tray with rocks and glass tea-light holders!! Can you tell how excited I am for my hallway and entryway to finally be done AND decorated?!?!?!

There you have it!! Ask any questions and feel free to comment! 

We are finally making some progress!!

So I know it's been awhile since I posted but summer got crazy and some of my family came to stay with us for a month and all projects were put on the back burner. One project that did get done though, was our guest room....it was just studs...now it is sheet rocked, mudded, taped, textured and painted!!! It is awesome! We have been trying to get it done for 2 1/2 years. I have my dad to thank though since while he was staying with us he completely did the room! Thanks dad!!!!

The purpose of this post though is to update you on the progress of the board and batten. I am proud to say we have finally gotten around to putting it up!!

 It still isn't done...but all the boards are cut and ready to be installed. YAY!! Seeing as how my kids were less than helpful with this project and they couldn't (or rather wouldn't) even focus on keeping my 2 toddlers and the baby happy it took longer than we planned. We had to take care of the young kids and that meant lots of breaks. Here are the pictures of what we were able to do today. Tomorrow we plan on finishing the installing and caulking all the seams. Next weekend we will finish the living room and paint everything!!! I am so excited that this is so close to being done!! I forgot to take during pictures this time around, so tomorrow I will try to remember to take the during ones and perhaps I will post a tutorial. Enjoy!

This is the side of the hallway we need to finish. Hopefully it will be done tomorrow. 

If you have questions just ask!!

Maps and Frames

Since I homeschool and I LOVE maps, I always have to have them hanging up somewhere in the house. The only problem with that is I can never find a frame that fits them. I don't know why I never thought of just making my own, duh! I have made so many other things these should be a walk in the park. With my new walls being gray I wasn't sure what color I wanted them so I didn't decide right away. I got out the chop saw and the scraps of wood in the garage and I measured the maps and then I cut the wood at 45 degree angles so they would fit together nicely.

Painted and put together.

I used the nail gun to secure them together, but they aren't very sturdy so I didn't want to move them very much. Then I decided that I wanted to paint them white. I don't have ANYTHING else in my house that is white, and I thought it would go nicely with the gray walls. Btw...it was hotter than #@*% the day I decided to do this and I was sweating like a pig. After it was painted and put together I took it inside and hung it on my wall over the maps. It looked...weird. I left it there for a few days deciding what to do with it and why I didn't just love it. Then I realized it's because I don't have ANYTHING white in my house and it just didn't fit in with the other decor.

Painted and sanded down.

 So, I took it outside and sanded the crap out of it until I thought it looked rusitc and old enough that I was happy. The corners of one of the frames had knots close to them and when I started sanding them, they broke off. I loved the look of the missing corners! It made it that much more rustic looking. Then I got my walnut colored stain and I carefully wiped the stain onto the exposed raw wood. I quickly wiped it off the paint because I didn't want to get it on the paint just yet. After I had stained the wood (yes I techinically did the paint/stain/sanding thing a bit backwards from how you really should antique things...but who is judging?) I took the rag I had used for the stain and I ran it over the paint gently until I thought it looked antiqued and rustic.

All rustic and awesome

Check out the awesome broken corners!

Love the old feeling this gives.

 I am SOOOOOOOOOOO Much happier with this look rather than the stark white frame. I guess for now I will not be going with any more plain white furniture or decor. To hang it I just screwed this into the wall with 4 LARGE screws that I found laying around my house. My hubby said they were overkill. I said, " At least it will stay on the wall!". Of course he just ignored me. He knows I do what I want, even if it is overkill. That is why I love him though. He lets me be crazy and do all my projects without really batting an eye. Although he does roll his eyes at me from time to time. 

In the mood for change...and it's driving my hubby insane!

I tend to get crafty in spurts. It's not always a good thing either. Like when I tell my hubby that I have all these great ideas and I list them out and there are like a bajillion of them...he usually rolls his eyes and tells me to pick one.

Well, I picked one. I wanted to add board and batten to my walls in my hallway and living room. Here's the not so great part...I finished 1/3 of it and then I moved on to a different project. However, it is not my fault I didn't finish it!! You see, I have 3 large MDF boards in my garage that need cut into the boards and batten. Since these boards are so large I need help with the lifting and holding. My hubby (who thinks my idea is ridiculous and doesn't even want board and batten) agreed to help me. He wasn't even reluctant to help...I think he secretly likes all my ideas because it gives him an excuse to use power tools. Don't tell him I am on to him though or he might stop helping me! So, back to why I am not done yet...he got severe seasonal allergies and has been super miserable. He has tried every otc medicine and every prescription and NOTHING works for him. So he just has to be miserable for a few weeks. :( So until his allergies get better I have to wait to get my boards cut. BUT you can see my beautiful progress so far!

This is my hallway from my front door to the main living area. The walls were an oatmeal color that was ok, but not really my style. The tape on the walls was a guide as to where I want the board and batten to go. I actually had the height 5 inches higher and I left it like that for 2 days to see if I liked the height before I painted anything. Turns out I didn't like the height I thought I would, so I lowers it. Currently it is sitting at 38 inches off the floor. I initially spaced the boards 24 inches apart but I didn't like that either, I finally settled on 18 inches apart.

Here you can see the chair is near my front door and I had already started to paint. Look on the shelf in the bottom left corner....see my new AWESOME laser level!!! I told hubby I needed one and he gave in and let me get it! It. Is. Awesome.

Here it is with the top part of the wall done. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the gray color! I got it at Lowe's and it is called Flagstone. I got it in their Olympic ONE Satin because, well, I have kids. Lot's of them and I wanted something durable and washable. I tried it in our office first and I didn't get it in the Olympic ONE, I got it in their cheaper stuff and it is CRAP! I tried washing the walls and the paint came right off. So far, I have been able to wash the walls that I used the Olympic ONE on and it really is washable! I am one happy mommy!

This hallway is done!

And so is this one! 

I will have to post pictures later when it is all done and decorated! I can't wait to finish it! JSYK, I did ask Lowe's to cut the MDF for me and they wouldn't do it because they have a policy of no cuts under 6 inches. I begged and pleaded....it didn't work. So, I will wait as patient as I can for the next few weeks. It won't be that hard....remember I have a HUGE list of projects! In fact I have one I need to post about and one more I am finishing up tomorrow. I just need to start remembering to take a before picture of all my projects!

I do realize these pictures are horrible and don't do it justice. When I am done with the final project I PROMISE the pictures will be better!