Our Entry Way - The Reveal!

September 1st I set out to makeover our entry way and I announced that it would be the #letsroomtogether space for September but really, I figured I could probably get it done in two weeks.  Ha ha ha HA!

Hellooo Sheena.  Take a deep breath and settle down on those hippity-high hopes from here on out.  Time ain't crawling like it used to. 

That joke was on me but also on the sad state of our entry before we started.  Let's back track...

All the way back (a few months) to popcorn ceilings, wallpaper, and that sad trim.  The ceilings got smoothed over, the wallpaper came down, and the trim got freshened up.

Add a few more throws of confetti here and there and...

Crossing My Ts and Dotting My...Lamp

Let me tell you a little story about a lamp.  I found this one at Goodwill last week:

I went in to hunt for a lamp and came out with one.  Huzzah!  While that probably sounds incredibly lucky; a first-time find, it took me three strolls through different Goodwills to find the perfect one.  Patience and perserverance here kids.

However, the lamp itself 'twas far from perfect, even though it seemed unused.  

That inner layer of cream paint was cracking and peeling, bubbling and shuffling.  But the shape of the lamp is what caught my eye and I knew I could remedy that poor paint situation.  (After all, this wouldn't be my first time taking care of peeling paint inside a lamp.)

Painting Trim - Tips and Tricks

Painting trim is the absolute worst.  I think I've said that about ceilings but now that I'm past the ceilings and onto the trim, I can whole-heartedly shift my opinion.  It's tedious and time-consuming and...the worst.

But, I've picked up a few tips along the way (this is my second time painting alllll the trim in the house after all) that I'll pass on to you in case you're ever staring down the miles of *insert ugly color* trim.

First, a picture of the current sitch in our entry.

Feast your eyes on that painted trim!!  The crown molding is hard to spot in pictures but in real life, it shines against the matte ceiling.  I can't tell you how happy I am to be done with trim in here and moving on to painting the walls!  It's like the icing on the cake!

Back to those tips and tricks though...

Prepping Walls for Paint, Post-Wallpaper

The entry way is September's #letsroomtogether space!  Did I already mention that?  Who knows but I know I haven't mentioned the progress I've made in here.  What looked like this before we touched it:

Now looks like this:

Current Events

We are in the middle of a whole lot of rooms and projects and progress has been slow over here thanks to life.  You probably know exactly what I'm talking about.  School starts and all of a sudden, things get crazy.  You would think that shuttling half of our kids to school each day would free up a ton of time to create and get busy but nope.

So, since I don't have anything substantial to sink into a blog post, here are a few current events I might be able to distract you with while we scramble to find time to finish up some things.

1)  Our kitchen.  Le sigh.  Remember when I laid out all of the big plans for it in this blog post?  Well, it pretty much looks exactly like what it does in that post...still.

Why?  Well, we found out we have to wait to put the beam in the ceiling until the soaring temps turn it down a notch.  Welcome to the Southern United States.  It's something we totally didn't anticipate when we brought the wall down to the studs that one weekend long ago but something we understand.  (But would we have held off on taking that drywall/paneling off, no way.)  The beam work has to be done in the attic and right now, it's a lofty 120+ degrees up there.  I sure wouldn't want to be up there working away either.  So, we're shooting for the beam to go in in October.  Until then, we hope to start on the window side of the kitchen (painting, new countertop, backsplash, etc...) while we wait for the cooler temps.

2)  Along with one side of the kitchen, I've set a (v v ambitious) goal to transform the entry way next week.  September 1st, it's on.  Here's what it looks like right now:

Four Kids, One Bedroom

I get asked often enough how well our kids do sharing one bedroom and if there are any tricks we have up our sleeves to make that transition to bedroom sharing.

Well, we're not pros on the subject (or anything else regarding parenthood for that matter, ha!), but with a year and a half under our belts of successful sibling sleepery, we'll tell you the whys, whens, and hows we've found to make it work for us.

A Shady Master Bedroom Update

As we inch closer and closer to September, we also inch closer and closer to a better master bedroom.  I'll be honest, my motivation has been waning to finish our master but I think it's because I'm sitting over here trying to "finish" one room while there are a ton of other rooms that are still rocking the bare drywall look.  Sometimes I feel like I'm forcing a finish while secretly dying to get to another room.  The entry for example.  I've let several people in that front door over the past few weeks and every time I cringe and have to let out a lengthy disclaimer about why it looks like c.r.a.p.  It's pulled a heart string inside that's dying to slap paint on the walls and swap out that hideous chandelier.  Next month...

So, with that said, waning motivation and all, I have made some progress on getting a more retreat-worthy space in the bedroom.  I'll save a full "reveal" for the end of the month but this corner...

More specifically, that DRUM SHADE* on the fan!  It adds an extra little somethin', right?  Well there's a little backstory about it.  I put drum shades on my ceiling fans, nothing new (and if you want to see how, click here and watch the story highlight).  I wanted something a little more in our master though.  I didn't know what exactly...until I saw this shade* online.  But, the price tag made me sulk a little and move on.  Well, if I'm being honest, I actually tried to copy it a la DIY and that's still in progress.  It's taken a few turns here and there so I'll let you know if I'm successful later (and in that case, write a whole tutorial).  Anywho, it keeps popping up all over the internet in the form of those pesky ads...just taunting me.  But the other day, it popped up at 50% off and, not believing my eyes, I clicked over...and then I bought it.  It's a bit of a splurge for me but only because I'm el cheapo.  But it's amazing in real life.  Truly, truly.  So pretty.  It's made of capiz shells lined with gold metal and just the more I wanted for our master bedroom ceiling fan.