Living Room Mini Makeover

Today I’m excited to show you a little progress I’ve made in the living space of our farmhouse - the upper living room. We have so many different projects in motion right now so instead of waiting until the entire space is finished (and furnished!) I wanted to highlight the little changes that have made a huge difference in this room. Come on over and let me show you around!

BEFORE

This is the original living room and main entry to the 1942 portion of our home. I love the arched door and gas fireplace, but wanted to change quite a bit. The brown walls paired with the limited light from the windows under the front porch made the room feel very dark. These are just iPhone photos taken the same time of day, yet you can see how cavelike it felt!

PAINT

 I used Cool Gray by Valspar in an eggshell finish and filled in the RESERVE quality paint. Let me tell you guys - this is hands down the nicest paint for the dollar. It compares to Aura from Benjamin Moore but is way more affordable (I believe I paid around $42/gallon). We only used one coat on the walls (two on edged because I tend to go a little lighter when I’m cutting in). I LOVE THIS PAINT!!! I bought two gallons thinking I’d need at least two or three coats but now I have enough for another space in the house. 

Another little trick I used for painting was to take a small art brush and flat white out of the can and go all along the ceiling edges. The previous paint job had a few areas that touched the ceiling and I am such a diehard about crisp paint lines! Once that was dry I used a rubber handled brush to get up in there. I think it works better than painter’s tape as long as you’ve got a steady hand.

I also painted my fireplace using leftover white paint from my bedroom. I did this in my last house too and it made such a huge difference. This brick was not in amazing condition so I did fill in holes and gaps with both caulk and some spray foam.

All of my trim also got a fresh coat of white paint in a satin finish that I had on hand (Valspar Signature in Wedding Veil)

WINDOW TRIM

It’s hard to pick a favorite update, but the new farmhouse style casing I installed on my window might be it. And I did it all by myself! Using inspiration I found on Pinterest, I purchased the following lumber: four 6′ 1x4s, two 6′ 1x2s and one 6′ 1x3. I used a nicer pine and double checked each piece to make sure there weren’t any big knots.

Once home, I made cuts for the piece below the sill (which looked original) and the two vertical side pieces. Luckily the size of the window was perfect to keep the top casing pieces all right at 72″.

I started at the bottom and worked my way up, being careful to nail into studs. One spot did need a screw, but I’m pretty pleased with how easily it came together! 

I then used a caulk gun to get into all of the gaps for a perfect finish. A couple coats of paint later and mama has a gorgeous window and a lot of confidence for more wood based projects.

LIGHTING

This room had two larger hanging light fixtures that I was always getting close to knocking my head into (especially the one closer to the kitchen). I felt like they visually muddled up the space as well and with no plans for any dining spaces in this room, I opted to take them down. My father in law (an electrical engineer) taught me what to do with the first one (which also had older wiring - I’m really glad he was here to help me there!) and then I installed the second myself. I used flush mount LED lights that have daylight style bulbs (some LEDs are so commercial looking). I’m so excited to have the confidence to do more electrical projects but people! Err on the safe side with this and hire an electrician or get someone who knows what he or she is doing before you attempt this kind of thing. Safety First! 

DECOR

We’re not 100% sure what we want to use this room for right now so we’re holding off on how we’ll furnish it.  The fireplace is gas with a ceramic log so we’re looking forward to wintertime fires there and a pair of comfy chairs would be great. I also think I’ll put a desk on the opposite side of the room and if we ever got a piano it would be swell in there too. For now I just decorated my mantle with some faux leaves and cotton branches, candles and thrift store holders, a circular mirror (same as the one in my master!), art (more moon prints here) I had around the house and a plant (that needs a better pot - I know!). It’s a work in progress! 

We’re also going to uncover the original white oak hardwood floors (we have photos the previous owner shared with us - it needs some TLC but we are excited to take that on some day!) but for now, the current floor will do. After refinished we’ll also add new baseboards. For now I’m pleased that it’s a lot lighter and brighter and ready for whatever we decide to do next! 

Garden Study | Zinnias, Butterflies & Bea

Zinnias are one of my favorite flowers. I carried them at my wedding (grown by my parents and uncle… a tradition all of the girls in my family have done since!) and this year I set out to grow my own. I planted them from seed in June. Early on I had some spotting on my leaves (which I attribute to excess moisture from crummy gutters that above!) so I tended to them carefully - removing the effected leaves and cutting stems often. The result is a gorgeous bed of cuttable flowers that will keep blooming into the fall (I hope!) 

And a bonus? They attract bees and butterflies like crazy! The bumble bees sleep on them at night and I’ve captured at least six different varieties of butterflies so far and today I saw a green hummingbird (too fast for my camera skills). 

My kids love them too. Felix is allowed to help me cut bouquets and Bea just grabs the colors she likes (which is fine by me.. we have plenty!)

Since i’ve had good luck with zinnias, next year we’re going to do a large bed of them in addition to some other flowers - probably dahlias too. I hope I have enough to start a table at the market! We shall see! 

Our Garden | Sunflowers

Our sunflowers are in full bloom and they are so so lovely.  They are easily six to seven feet high! A few nights ago I went out after dinner and took these photos. I can’t wait to plant ten times more next year! 

Farmhouse Master Bedroom

I’m so excited to show you my master bedroom makeover using second hand, self made and pieces bought on sale. It took me a week to pull everything together, including three coats of new wall paint, repainted trim and the ceiling. Phew. It was a lot of work, but fun work. Come on over and have a look!

Bedding

I knew I needed to do this bedroom update on a budget, and that meant keeping our king sized quilt from our old home (still available at Target). To give the look of a headboard, I re-used the cushion backs from our old couch that I recovered last year (the sofa itself was trashed by the cats). I gave them a good steam clean using my handy Little Green Machine and tucked them in next to the wall. I treated myself to a new set of sheets (bought on sale) and fabric for the decorative pillows, which I made myself. The quatrefoil off white fabric was pricey, but I scored it at 50% off and was able to make two shams for around $30 (I used a plain fabric for the back). For the decorative throw pillow I bought ¾ of a yard which was plenty for a 20x20″ pillow. For the trim I used what I had on hand leftover from other projects (like the curtains… see more on those below). 

I tried making the bed without a bed skirt, but decided to return a few things so I could buy this one (same as Felix’s room but in a king size). I tucked in the sheets to give the bed a crisp final look and it made such a huge difference over the way I had made it before (here’s a comparison photo). Lastly, I laid a funky woven blanket with tassels over the end of the bed, which I picked up at Marshall’s for $17 a while back.

Decor

On my table, I have a new lamp and alarm clock (trying to keep the phone out of the bedroom) along with some vintage homekeeping books I got at a garage sale. The little vase is from Goodwill and filled with faux billy balls. 

On Adam’s table is a matching lamp, another thrifted vase and a garage sale green catchall for his watch/change/cards at the end of the day.

On the high dresser is the Jasmine, two family photos and more of those encyclopedias. The mirror was found upstairs in another bedroom, so I borrowed it for our room!

For the low dresser, I used a lamp from our old living room, the snake plant and another photo. On the other end is a vintage fan (it works!) I got at a garage sale over some nice books. The circular mirror also used to be in our living room.

I used old rugs (blue here and cream here) on each side of the room to save a little money on buying a large rug or re-carpeting the room (which we may do someday!) This room will eventually become Bea’s when we renovate the upstairs, so we’ll hold off on that for now. 

Window Treatments

While we’re on the topic of projects, I’m really proud of the way these curtains turned out. I bought the cheapest 84″ panels I could find at Target (they were $9 each) and used four. I sewed two together and then did navy pompom trim around the edge (it took about 14 yards, which I ordered online from Mood). I was able to get away with only three sheer panels, and picked a pretty swiss dot, also from Target.  The rod was repurposed from our living room and spray painted using my favorite Rustolieum Oil Rubbed Bronze. The ring clips were cheapies from Wal-Mart (which I kind of hate shopping at, but Target was out of this color/size and I didn’t want to wait!!)

Plants

I’ve really been drawn to houseplants since moving here! I created a macrame hanger out of clothesline for the Pothos in the corner and also have a snake plant on one dresser and a Jasmine on the other. Although north facing, we get a lot of light through our big windows!

Furniture

Both dressers and side tables are second hand. Mine (with the clock) was a hallway table in our old house and is an antique. Adam’s side table was a score from Goodwill a month or so ago. The tall dresser is MCM that we had in our old bedroom and the lower dresser was something I picked up off of craigslist during move out week at IU. Bea doesn’t use her crib much (we co-sleep) but sometimes it’s a great place for a nap or a safe place to put her while I do this or that. Both it and the sheet are from Felix’s old nursery. The blanket used to be in our living room and is from Target.

Paint

This room was originally a darker shade of brown so it took three coats of Wedding Veil by Benjamin Moore, filled in Valspar flat paint to cover it. It’s a very light gray that reads white in the room (and one shade lighter than my bathroom and hallway). The trim is Gray Shower, also by Benjamin Moore and filled at Lowes in Valspar satin. I love the way the new doors look repainted! I’ve never done a darker trim, but the end look is great!

So that’s my master bedroom! It took me a full week of working after bedtime and a bunch of nap times to complete it, but it feels like a fancy hotel to me! I love it!