House & Bounty

10 Ways to Infuse Personality Into Your Home

Have you ever looked at a home, and it felt generic? Maybe it had a hotel vibe. The design is appealing. Each piece is in the right proportion, and the fabrics are coordinating, but something is just missing. For me, the missing piece is usually a person’s personality! I recently watched a home tour on Architectural Digest, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the art. It seemed so generic, especially for the owner’s personality. It felt like the art was picked and placed because the wall needed something and not because it fit the person.

Not long after, I watched another home tour (also on AD). The home struck me as so fun and personal. The personality of the space instantly made it feel warmer and more interesting. I kept thinking about that space and wished that AD would feature more homes like that one. I also asked myself–Does my home feel like my personality? Am I showing who I am?

For the most part, yes! I definitely think the rooms are me (some more than others). So I’ve been thinking about easy ways to infuse personality into a space. Here are 10 ways to make your home feel more like you.

Dunbar Road
Secrets of a Hostess

1. Color Palette

This is a fun one if you love the color. Why hide it in your house? Try to incorporate your favorite colors into the space. Don’t think colorful interiors can be sophisticated? I challenge you to prove yourself wrong.

2. Art

I’m finding that I have strong opinions about art. Not necessarily in the, you should like this type art, but more in the, I don’t know if you can outsource the art selection for your house. I know that sounds strict, but everything about art is so personal. What attracts you, what makes you happy, what is interesting or important to you.

Summer Thornton Design
House & Bounty

3. Textiles

I think textiles are magical, and I am somewhat obsessed with them. (I am seriously looking for a book or online class to learn more about textiles- please recommend a few to me if you know of any!) Textiles can bring so much personality into the room by picking different textures, prints, and types. I particularly think mixing textiles and patterns level up rooms in both the design sense but in the personal/personality way, too. It’s also a skill that takes time to perfect but 100% worth the effort.

4. Unique Items

Pick up that weird picture frame or odd-looking crane sculpture. Those unique items will let people see who you are. My wood snail is one of my weird things. It’s probably not everyone, but that’s also the fun part of it.

Country Living Magazine
Sarah Johnson Interiors

5. Collections

Collections can instantly make a room feel personal and give a glimpse into who you are and what you like. I absolutely adore the image above, where they have a collection of dog prints on the wall. I can guarantee that person likes dogs!

6. Books

I guess it’s a thing to buy books only because they have a pretty spine and will look nice in pictures… It seems like a waste to me, but books are a great way to incorporate what you love. For example, do you love military history? Pick up a coffee table book or two that you enjoy looking at and use that as your coffee table decor. Sarah Johnson styled the above coffee table with stacks and stacks of books.

Louise Roe Home
Claire Kelly Interiors

7. Unexpected Touches

It’s funny how something little can totally transform an object. For example, a standard throw pillow can instantly be elevated by adding the right piping or trim. These small touches can also convey personality. Bonus points if the person does it themself and it’s executed well. I particularly love the hand-painted armoire above.

8. Wallpaper (or stenciling)

It’s hard not to show personality when picking a wallpaper. There are a million different options out there, so covering all the walls in a print/pattern can’t help but give a little glimpse into who you are.

Kelly Wearstler
Luxe Magazine

9. Statement Furniture

A bold chair, table, or sofa can go a long way. It could have a unique shape, pattern, or both. It will probably be memorable, and people will never forget it! Just make sure you love it, and don’t just go bold for bold sake. Kelly Wearstler may be the queen of bold statement-furniture. Sometimes I look at her stuff, and I think it’s pure craziness, but it always works.

10. Family Photos

Oh, the controversial family photos. Some people hate them, and other people love them. For me, I think thoughtful family photos add warmth and happiness to a house. I’m all for it and like when I visit people’s homes that celebrate their loved ones.

Organizing the Office

Want to know a secret? The office looks the same as the day I took my reveal photos. In essence, a styled room with empty drawers and cabinets.

Before I move everything back into the office, I wanted to map out where and how to store everything. I believe good design is first and foremost about function. A well-designed space makes the room easier to keep organized and use on a daily basis.

Like I mentioned in my first post about the office, this room is a hard worker that needs to store a bunch of things. So, to get started with the organization plan, I made a list of everything that needs to be stored:

  1. Paper Shredder
  2. Craft Paper (large and standard size)
  3. Silhouette
  4. Camera Equipment
  5. Files
  6. Printer
  7. Printer Paper
  8. Ink Cartridges
  9. Large Hole Punches (2)
  10. B’s school stuff (worksheet, school projects0
  11. Extra Electronics – Cords, old hard drives, etc
  12. Office Supplies
  13. Crafting Supplies – Paint, color pencils, etc.
  14. Laminator
  15. Diplomas, Degrees & Old School Pictures
  16. Binders
  17. Extra Home Decor Items: picture frames, jars
  18. Memory Box

I then assigned each group of items to the appropriate cabinet. The printer and shredder need electricity, so they will be in cabinets with access to an outlet. The large base drawers were specifically designed to hold files (top drawer), and the bottom drawer is perfect for the Silhouette and camera equipment. The Silhouette is too long to be stored anywhere else and the camera tripods can now be stored with my camera and lens! What a win!

I wanted all the printer supplies to be together, so I put the paper and extra ink in the same cabinet as the printer. We had an extra shelf at the bottom, which was perfect for the large hole punches we have and the laminator. The last cabinet will contain all of Ben’s school stuff. It will have papers, supplies and old worksheets that we are keeping. We also have a family memory box where we just throw things that we want to keep. Lastly, we have old, random electronics (old hard drives, cords, etc.) that will be stored here.

The upper cabinets will hold all the extra office supplies, binders, and our degrees. I also have space for some of my overflow home decor items. Right now, that is mostly picture frames and vessels. It’ll be nice to have a place to put the things I want to rotate throughout the year. Lastly, we’ll have a whole side of the upper cabinet empty. I’m sure it will get filled up as we go, but for now, it feels great to have more capacity!

The desk side of the office has three drawers. The top two drawers are small and will be used to store everyday office supplies. You know all the pens, highlighters, paperclips, rubber bands, label makers, staplers, and more. The bottom drawer is pretty deep. I think it could hold files,but I just want to store some paper and notebooks here. I’ll keep a couple of file folders for things that are “in progress” or need action.

Drawer Organizer Trays | Gold Paper Tray | Hanging File Bar | Under Desk Cable Tray | Paper Boxes (Ikea – no longer sold) | Three Drawer Organizer

I had to purchase a few things to make the most of some of the cabinets/drawers. For example, I bought the clear drawer organizer trays for the small desk drawers. Hopefully, these will prevent them from turning into junk drawers. I already have several paper trays that will come in handy to keep the papers inside the cabinet organized. I really like the gold one shown above, and maybe I’ll upgrade a couple of them. I had to purchase these hanging files bar for the top drawer to operate like a filing cabinet. I also purchased these under-the-desk cable trays to keep all the cords from the computer and equipment organized and off the ground. I already had these adorable paper boxes from Ikea. They’ll store all the loose office supplies. Lastly, I bought this three-drawer organizer to store some of the craft supplies (paint, markers, etc.).

Now that I have a plan in place (and all the supplies ordered!), I can put the office back together. At some point, I’ll share a full tour of inside the cabinets. Maybe when the chair arrives and we can put the finishing touches on the room?

Tips & Tricks for Making the Most of the One Room Challenge

This was my first One Room Challenge (ORC), and it was a great learning experience. Just having a deadline and an expectation to post once a week gave me the structure I really needed. I’ve already started thinking about what room to tackle for the Fall ORC (I’m leaning towards the master bedroom). But, importantly, I’ve also been reflecting on how I can make the ORC a better experience and apply some of the things I learned from this challenge.

The Original Plan – What Worked & What Didn’t

As a casual observer of the ORC, I didn’t really appreciate the nuisances of participating. I went into this challenge with a pretty simple plan – complete a beautiful room by the deadline. I did not think about social media, engagement, or connecting with my fellow DIYers/designers. The plan I put together was solid, and I achieved my original goal. However, I quickly learned that my plan was missing some vital parts. I’m definitely going to discuss those things a little later. For now, let’s talk about what I did this time around.

Order Large Pieces 3 Months Before Deadline

I knew the timeline would be tight since most home-related suppliers were estimating 10+ weeks for delivery. I ordered all the large or essential items in April. Overall, this worked pretty well. The slight delay in the cabinets created a marathon at the end, and the chair not arriving was a bummer but not a deal-breaker.

Next time around, I would like to have all the items on-site before the ORC even begins. The next ORC is in October, so I am guessing I should order items by August 1st.

Dedicate One Weekend Day Per Week

Jeremy and I have full-time jobs. We also have a son and want to see family and friends, so we decided we could dedicate one weekend day and a weeknight per week to the project. That means the scope of whatever project we picked needed it fit within that schedule. This didn’t include photographing or writing up the post (I usually do that early in the morning before everyone wakes up). For the most part, this worked out fine, and we could generally stick to this schedule and completed all the tasks without work seeping into the other days of the week. Of course, the last week was a complete marathon. I think that was a result of the cabinet delay versus any planning issues. But maybe this last week of the challenge is always going to be this crazy? I’ll have to remember that!

On a personal front, the schedule had challenges. Jeremy and I need time to relax and recharge. One day per week to recharge and do all the shopping, cleaning, laundry, and errands were hard. We fell behind on the laundry, and there was an embarrassingly large mountain to do once the challenge was over. I also think it was hard for my son at times. He is old enough to entertain himself, but having both your parents tied up for a whole day is kind of a drag. I’m not sure there is an answer to any of this since actually doing the work is essential to the challenge! Ha!

Next time around, I am going to be more cognizant of our personal life. October through December is a crazy time for our family (so many birthdays and events!), so I don’t think we’ll have as much time anyways. This will probably mean picking a project with a smaller scope, scheduling a few vacations days, and seeing if Grandma could spend a couple of days with our son.

Stick To the Plan & Schedule

I am a planner. That means I usually have the majority of the details worked out before jumping into a project. For me, this was essential for the ORC. Having the full design plan allowed me to create a realistic schedule and spend each week focused on what needed to be completed. As a result, I didn’t have to worry about making any big design decisions. That gave me peace of mind and decreased the stress.

There’s also something satisfying about seeing your original plan come to life. It’s affirming and confidence-building! I had a few “messy middle” moments (you know, when something doesn’t look exactly the way you hoped), but I trusted my original plan, and it worked out as I had hoped.

Next time, I am going to do exactly the same thing. I’ll have 90% of all design elements identified (the 10% was mostly accessories). Then, I’ll generate a schedule and stick to it, only slightly expanding or contracting it as needed.

New Things for Next Time

Not long after the challenge started, I realized I had not planned for key things. I was confident in the design and execution plan, but the sharing and connecting aspect was not even a thought in my mind. Over the course of the 8 weeks, I made a note of some of the things I needed to do for next time. If you are a newbie like me, I think these tips may help you too!

Plan Time to Connect

One of the best things about the ORC is connecting with all the other DIYers/designers. I budgeted zero time for engagement which was not fair or all that fun! I was delayed in responding to the lovely people who commented on my updates. I tried to like, follow and comment on other people’s posts, but it became harder as I had less time during the challenge. It was also difficult because it seems that most people are posting and engaging on Instagram during the day – the same time that I am working my regular job. It was clear from the first week that I should have made this a priority.

Next time, I am going to build into my schedule time for engagement. I will start with an hour on “progress update days,” and see how that goes.

Think Strategically About Progress Pictures & Social Media Posts

I underestimated how much I should have thought about my social media posts. I thought a quick progress picture would be sufficient, but I noticed that most accounts had a styled and thoughtful image for the weekly ORC updates. The images were beautiful and could easily draw viewers in. In addition, many people had video and Instagram stories about their updates. I’m not sure I am a “stories” kind of person. I don’t have any desire to be in front of the camera, but I may experiment with some video in the future.

Next time, I will dedicate a small portion of our project time to styling a photo. I will also be cognizant of the schedule to make sure that I can get some kind of nice-ish photo each week. I’ll also think about key moments that I can capture on video or things that would be helpful to discuss rather than write about.

Good Photography All The Time

Honestly, taking good progress pictures was not a priority for me. Most of my pictures were haphazard, captured randomly in the middle or near the end. I rarely broke out my fancy DSLR and usually opted to use my phone because it was convenient. While I don’t think it was terrible, having better photography is always a win in my book. Also, I didn’t always capture some key moments because I was too busy doing the project. Moving forward, I know I need to remember that documenting the process is just as important as doing the project.

I plan on having my DSLR charged and mounted on the tripod while working on the project every week.

Writing Detailed Posts While Being Super Busy and Tired is Really Hard

The first couple of weeks, my blog posts were pretty good. They were detailed and provided lots of relevant information. As the challenge went on and I was busier and tired (ha!), the posts became shorter and less detailed. I am not a quick writer, and it takes many revisions to create something that I am happy with. This multiple revision thing is extremely time-consuming and about 10 times harder when I am tired. I’m not exactly sure how I am going to overcome this. Any suggestions?!?

What did you learn and what are your tips and tricks!?

I would love to hear what other people learned. What are some things you wished you would have done? What are you going to do next time?

Spring 2021 One Room Challenge: Week 8

It’s finished! The office is all done.

This last week was a marathon. We worked late nights, ignored other parts of the house, and have a mountain of laundry to tackle. BUT we are done! Now, let’s get to the finished room. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and remember what the room looked liked when we first bought the house.

And now….

It looks and feels like a completely different room. Not a single part went untouched. Every wall and detail was modified. We started the one-room challenge by wallpapering the room with the Alma (gold & buff) wallpaper by Cole & Son. The paper has a metallic quality that creates a nice sheen on the walls. That made the room difficult to photograph at times, but it creates a nice experience in the room. We also painted the trim bright white and laid new white oak floors.

The new cabinetry added much-needed storage and beauty. These white inset cabinets from Cabinet Bar were economical but also high quality. They were “ready to assemble (RTA),” so it was a ton of work but so so so worth it. I never really appreciated how complex it is to assemble and install cabinets properly. I have a much deeper appreciation for the people who do this regularly! It’s tedious work that requires lots of patience.

The cabinets have soft-close doors/drawers and are solid. I added wood knobs to create a casual but warm look. For countertops, we installed birch butcher block. They are so solid and heavy.

I haven’t moved everything back into the office, so most of the cabinets are empty. I want to take my time and ensure that everything is well organized. I’ll definitely be writing a post about that in the future.

I styled the open shelving with a combination of boxes and pretty objects. I’m sure it will evolve as we start living in the room.

We have the original white chair, side table, and my DIY rope art on the opposite wall. I’m still waiting on the new chair. October can’t come soon enough. When it does, I’ll install the swing arm sconce above the table. Right now, it’s looking a little bare. I promise the sconce will wrap this corner up nicely!

Here’s a close-up of the snail rope art. It only took a couple of hours to create (you only need rope, a mat board, and a hot glue gun), but man, it creates a big impact. It’s 3-dimensional and textured, so the visual interest is intensified. I found this old frame at a thrift store for $25. My husband and I removed the original artwork and glass. We slide this guy into the frame and attached it, leaving the glass off. I’m really enjoying the look, and I have a bunch of ideas for future rope art projects.

And that wraps up the office reveal…for now.

What’s Next

While the office is technically “done,” there are still a few things I want to share later, including the full review/guide to the Cabinet Bar cabinets and how I organized the office. The office will continue to evolve, and I can’t wait to share all the updates here. I’m also planning on revealing our dining room, living room, and B’s (my son) room. It should be a fun summer! Lastly, I want to write a wrap-up post about participating in the One Room Challenge. I have learned so much and want to share my thoughts and tips. If you participated in the challenge, what did you learn?

Details & Sources

Wallpaper – Alma by Cole & Son – Buff & Gold

Trim Paint – Behr Ultra Pure White Semi Gloss Enamel

Cabinets – The Cabinet Bar – Inset White Cabinets (Snowbird Shaker Style)

Flooring – Bellawood 3.25 in White Oak Hardwood Flooring

Counter Top – Unfinished Birch Butcher Block

Knobs – Birch Round Cabinet Knobs

Chair (has not arrived yet!) – Braxton Culler Belmont Accent Chair

Table – Rattan Round Side Table

Basket Under Table – White Rope Leather Basket

Sconce (not hung yet) – Brass Swing Arm Sconce

Bamboo Shade – Cordless Bamboo Shades

Pillow Fabric – Stout Mignon 2 Lagoon

Magazine Files – Rattan Magazine Files

Desktop Organizer – Marie Kondo Rattan Desktop Organizer

Photo Box – Marie Kondo Rattan Box

Book Ends – Striped Marble Book Ends

Paper Organizer – Green Paper Drawer Organizer

Light – Whitewash Bead Light (sold out)

Chair – Upholstered Dining Chair – Stone

Small Painting – Sailboat Watercolor Painting

Large Painting – Lobo Overlook Print by Rogan Taylor

Print – “I don’t know what I’m doing” Print By Kat Schneider

Print – Bay Bush by Karin Olah

As always, check out the other guest participants and the featured designers to see updates on their projects!

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8

Spring 2021 One Room Challenge Week 7

The cabinets arrived! I am writing a big ole’ post about them that will provide lots of details regarding ordering, assembling, and installing (I’m currently working on it, and it will be a doozy). Right now, I am just trying to wrap up this project and ensure I have something to reveal next week.

The cabinets were very intimidating at first. They are ready-to-assemble (RTA), which basically means that my husband and I were responsible for putting them together. The pieces/parts arrived on three different pallets. It’s not like buying a cabinet from Ikea where all the components are in a box or two with the directions. Instead, all the like-components (all the backs, fronts, etc.) across the whole order were packaged together. In addition, nothing was labeled, and I didn’t get a list of parts to verify that I received everything. It was very much a figure-it-out kind of project (which is totally fine by me!). I did my best to sort things out the night they arrived.

The next day I knew I had to create a parts list to confirm that we had everything (our delivery guy told us we were missing a pallet). I made a spreadsheet and listed the different parts that I expected for each cabinet and headed out to the garage with post-its and a tape measure to identify and label each piece.

Luckily we had everything!

At this point, we were ready to assemble the cabinets. The Cabinet Bar has a short, animated video that describes how to assemble the cabinets. It also provides written instructions in a PDF document. However, neither one of these are by any means step-by-step. My husband and I read them three times and tried to get started. We ended up watching videos by The Cabinet Joint (they sell cabinets made by the same manufacturer). Their videos were beneficial and informative. In my big write-up, I’ll list all the videos to watch.

After two days of work, the cabinets were assembled and ready to be installed. We wanted to make a few modifications first. Primarily cutting holes in the box so that we could access the electrical outlets.

As for the installation, Jeremy deserves 100% of the credit. He researched, planned, and problem solved every part of it. I just assisted. Actually, that word may give me too much credit. I told him when things were lined up and held the cabinet box when he did all the important stuff.

We used cabinet jacks to hang the wall cabinets. Typically, people install a ledger board, but we didn’t want to mess up the wallpaper. They worked great! We still need to install the base cabinets (maybe tonight?). Jeremy assures me it will be much easier than the wall cabinets.

We have one week left and the to do list is still long! Here is what we have left to do:

  1. Install Base Cabinets
  2. Attach Filler Pieces
  3. Install Counter Top
  4. Add Trim/Fill Holes/Caulk/Paint
  5. Hang Art, Style
  6. Photograph

As always, check out the other guest participants and the featured designers to see updates on their projects!

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8

Spring 2021 One Room Challenge: Week 6

This week was all about the small things. Since we are at a standstill until the cabinets come, I wanted to get all my ducks in a row and plan how I was going to style the room. You know, in hopes of not being a wild woman the last week or so of the challenge.

There are three main walls that need to be addressed. My approach was to make an elevation of each wall with the appropriate accessories. This will allow me to (hopefully) quickly put the room together when it’s time. I’m starting to feel the squeeze of the challenge and question whether everything will be done in time.

As a reminder, here is the floor plan of the room with labeled walls. I styled walls A, B and C.

Wall A

Wall A is where the chair, table, and swing arm sconce will be hung. Sadly, the chair won’t arrive until October, so for the reveal, I’ll use the white chair that was there before. The Studio McGee Threshold table will be next to it. The elevation shows the swing arm light, but we’re not going to install it until the new chair arrives.

The main feature on this wall is a large DIY rope art that I made months ago. I was inspired by the art that I saw in Coastal Blues (see below). Quick side note – Coastal Blues is an interior design book by Phoebe Howard. The book has so many inspiring interiors, but the art and wall decor really shine!

I wanted to create something that was a little more defined, so I thought of a snail. It would have that same center spiral that I like about the original art but be unique to me. You’ll have to wait for the full reveal to see the art. The mock-up has the original art that I was inspired by.

I already planned on styling the chair with the pillow I sewed last week and a throw that I already have. In everyday life, the tabletop will be empty, but I’ll add some books and flowers to create a feeling of life for the photos.

The table’s bottom shelf will be styled with a catch all basket.

Wall B

I was originally intimidated by this wall. It’s large and very empty. This will be the main wall I look at while working, so of course, I want it to be pretty. The computer monitor will go here and this area will be the primary workspace. For some reason, I felt a lot of pressure to do something big with this blank wall. However, after thinking about the options, I decided to keep it simple. I’ll add a pencil cup and desktop organizer to the desk and keep the wall blank. Of course, we’ll see if the walls need anything once the room is put together, but I’m happy to let the beautiful wallpaper take center stage here.

Wall C

The main area to design here was the open shelving. It’s a combination of storage (magazine files and document boxes) and decorative items (pretty bookends and picture frames). I doodled a rough sketch of the design in my notebook then I went shopping. I had a general idea of what I was looking for (pretty storage boxes, a vessel, picture frames, etc), but I was pretty open to what the actual aesthetic of the item would be. I just knew that it had to go with the color scheme and be something I liked.

Another important part of this wall is the art. I decided to lean the art against the wall for now. It feels casual and I like that I can slowly add more in the future. I only got one piece matted and framed. I’m hoping to squeeze the second one in this week.

As always, check out the other guest participants and the featured designers to see updates on their projects!

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8

Spring 2021 One Room Challenge: Week 5

The to-do list for week 5 was pretty short: complete the floors and sew a pillow. Happily, we completed both and had time to relax and enjoy the holiday. We are going to write a separate post on installing the wood floors. Specifically, how we approached the transition and how to create a tongue on a cut board. The office has a couple of angles (see below) that created some challenges. But, overall, it wasn’t bad.

As for the pillow, I asked my mother-in-law to help me. As I mentioned last week, I’m pretty new at sewing and don’t have much confidence in my skills. So I took my fabric and little sewing kit over to my MIL house over the weekend, and we sat down and made the pillow in an ~hour. My MIL suggested I start with an envelope pillow (one without a zipper). We followed the directions from Home Stories A to Z.

I ordered 1 yard of the Mignon 2 Lagon Fabric and cut it down to size (20″ x 46″). I was meticulous when cutting the fabric. The cut had to be straight (if it were uneven, the pattern would look crazy, and it would be harder to sew straight). We then sewed the short sides to create nice edges. From there, we folded the fabric to the size of the pillow (basically creating the cover) and sewed the open edges. You should really check out the post linked above for step-by-step pictures. After sewing the open edges, we just put it on an insert and, ta-da, a beautiful custom pillow!

I used a 20″ x 20″ pillow insert from Ikea. They are my favorite, and I have purchased many throw pillows (some may even say too many). The feathers never come out; they last for years and are so economical (only $6 bucks!)

Somehow the pattern on the back of the pillow lined up too. I have no idea how that happened…I definitely did not plan on it. I honestly couldn’t be happier with how the pillow turned out, and it was SO SO SO easy! My MIL and I are already planning on sewing a few more since it turned out so well. I think it was a combination of careful cutting, careful sewing (thanks, MIL!), and beautiful fabric.

I also picked up a few tips and tricks on the sewing machine! It felt like a very productive 1 hour!!

As always, check out the other guest participants and the featured designers to see updates on their projects!

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8

Spring 2021 One Room Challenge: Week 4

Ah! A wonderful surprise happened on Friday – the wallpaper arrived (3 days early)! Also, it was the same dye lot. Whew! What a relief. We spent Sunday wallpapering the last part of the office. It was a tricky spot. There are multiple corners (two inside and one outside), but we felt like old pros after getting by the first corner. You can see below what we had left to do (the yellow outlined walls).

The good news is it only took two hours. I think we’re getting better!

Hardwood Floors

We spent the rest of Sunday prepping for the wood floor installation. Initially, I planned to install the floors over the weekend and finish the wallpaper sometime this week. However, I realized that our floors were sitting in the basement, which has a different temperature and, I’m guessing, moisture level than the house’s first level. Jeremy and I brought all the boxes upstairs and unboxed everything. We started the install yesterday, and it’s about 33% done.

If you’ve been reading along for a while, you’ll probably remember the saga (ok, that’s probably a little dramatic) of picking a wood floor. I re-read that old post, and it has a ton of helpful info. Sometimes you forget how much you learn! Just a reminder, we ordered Bellahardwood pre-finished white oak flooring from Lumbar Liquidators. We’ve already installed it in the dining and living rooms (you can get a glimpse of the floors below – I promise to do full reveals of the rooms after the one-room challenge).

I have nothing but positive things to say about the flooring. It’s durable, easy to install, and beautiful. The undertones are muted and serve as a nice neutral backdrop.

Updated Timeline

Our cabinet order was delayed by a couple of days which creates a gap in our timeline. Instead of having two full weeks to assemble and install cabinets, it’s going to be compressed to a week…maybe a week and a half. There’s nothing like working under a time crunch!

Here is the updated timeline:

Week 5: Finish Flooring, Sew pillow

Week 6: Finalize styling plans, Order accessories, Frame art, Paint new baseboards

Week 7: Assemble and Install Cabinets, Install counter

Week 8: Install Trim/Baseboard, Style and Photograph

I’m definitely starting to feel the pressure. Hopefully, getting all the small stuff in order will help the last week feel less stressful. I’m not too confident about it…

Chair

Sadly, our chair (Belmont) is delayed until October. Timeframes are crazy right now, so it’s understandable. However, we won’t install the reading sconce without the chair since we need to hang it at the right height for the chair. For now, I’ll put the old white chair in the corner.

The chair is made by Braxton Culler, an American-made company based out of North Carolina (of course!). If you go to the company’s website, you’ll see a ton of different chairs. I knew I wanted something comfortable and skirted. Originally, I wanted a swivel, but it didn’t seem necessary after thinking about the room. There were two contenders – The Osborne Chair and the Belmont Chair. The Osborne is an updated, transitional chair. It definitely felt hipper and more modern. I really like it, but the Belmont chair just looked so comfortable!

The Belmont Chair is more traditional – like something you’d find at your grandparent’s house. I think the right fabric choice will update it and this is one of the strengths of Braxton Culler. The fabrics are very good, well the sample pieces were. I guess I should wait until the actual product comes before I state my final opinion. However, I ordered fabric samples from several companies and Braxton Culler’s were hands down the best.

I ended up ordering the Belmont chair from the website Luxedecor.com (here is the link). The chair was available on several other websites but Luxedecor had all the fabrics as options, so I went with them. The only bummer was you can’t visualize the fabric on the chair. My workaround was to go to the “Design Your Own” Section on Braxton Culler’s website. From there, I could pick a chair and fabric. On their website, it only offers a couple of pieces, so the Belmont (and the Osborne) were not available but I picked a similar enough chair to visualize the fabric. This is what it looked like:

I really liked it! The subtle strips create a nice texture (the fabric itself is textured, too!). I also really liked the plaid fabric shown on the pillow. I did some internet digging and found the fabric was Mignon 2 Lagoon by Stout Fabrics. I ordered a yard of it from Going Decor. I plan on making a throw pillow cover this weekend with my mother-in-law. I am a very, very (one more for good measure), very novice sewer. My MIL has done all kinds of things, and I am always impressed by her skill. Maybe that will rub off on me a little!

As always, check out the other guest participants and the featured designers to see updates on their projects!

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8

Spring 2021 One Room Challenge: Week 3

I spent 10 hours wallpapering on Saturday with only a few essential breaks (lunch and to get more wallpaper paste). The result, so far, is really good.

The wallpaper pattern has a slight sheen to it. You can’t really tell in the picture above, but when light hits those parts it looks shiny. In the picture below, the light creates little ripples or waves on the wallpaper. The wallpaper is perfectly flat (no bubbling, folding, or waving). This is purely due to the light and the sheen of the wallpaper.

Sadly, I ran out of wallpaper after we completed 3/4 of the room. I’m bummed this happened…I used the wallpaper calculator and everything! The wallpaper budget is starting to really add up. It may become the second most expensive thing in the room (cabinets are the first). We had a couple of pieces of wallpaper that were discarded because, well, I screwed up. We (my husband and I) cut a corner piece on the wrong edge (doh) and another corner piece looked pretty wrinkled, so I threw it away. Hindsight, I probably could have saved it.

The rest of the wallpaper is due to arrive Monday. The plan is to tackle it sometime during the week, so our weekly schedule doesn’t get off course. We’ll see how it goes. 🙂

More Wallpaper Youtube Videos

Last post, I shared a couple of the Youtube videos I watched to prepare for wallpapering. I found a couple more that would be helpful.

Trade Professional’s Guide to Wallpaper Decorating: One of the most informative videos I’ve found. You’ll feel really wallpaper smart after watching it. While they talk about installation, I found the background information and common issues segment the most interesting and helpful.

How to wallpaper corners: I usually try to keep things PG, but wallpapering around corners sucks. My number one takeaway from this experience is f*ck the corners. This video gives you the general process of how to wallpaper the corner of the room. I have my own tips for this below and a silly cartoon about the experience. Please enjoy.

Tips & Tricks for Paste-The-Wall Wallpapering

  1. Have an excellent laser level. Jer and I bought this laser lever, and we couldn’t be happier. We used it multiple times when wallpapering (to start each wall, basically).
  2. Corners, Oye. We followed the directions on how to wallpaper corners. You should really watch the video or look at the cartoon for the general process. Here’s the thing that you need to know – nothing is ever perfectly straight. The walls and the corners are not straight. Lining up BOTH the pattern in the corner and having a straight piece of paper was not working no matter how much we tried (and we messed with the first corner for three hours). We finally decided the most important thing was to have a straight edge to start the new wall. So, basically, the corner would look how it looked, and I was not having any feelings about it. We used the laser level to set the straight line (we had to adjust it once or twice to ensure there weren’t any gaps in the corner). After we prioritized the straight line, it worked out well. The corners look fine for the most part. Since there is distortion from the corner, it can hide some of the imperfections. If you look at the first photo in the post, you can see the corner looks just fine. Bottom Line: Prioritize having a straight edge on the new wall.
  3. Keep a wet towel and dry towel with you at all times. Every video I watched said it’s better to use MORE adhesive than not enough. This leads to a ton of glue accumulating on your wallpaper smoother. If you don’t clean this off, you’ll be spreading the glue all over your paper. Yes, you’ll wipe the paper down with a wet sponge, but it’s better not to make a huge mess in the first place. If my smoother got glue on it, I would quickly wipe it off with my wet towel and then dry it before using it again. I cleaned the wet towel whenever I changed my water (see below).
  4. Change your bucket of water frequently. After watching the trade professionals video (linked above), I learned leaving any glue on your paper will create shiny spots. Likewise, if you don’t keep your water/sponge free of glue, you could create a big mess (you’ll basically be spreading the glue all over the wallpaper when you are trying to clean it). I changed the water every 3-4 sheets of wallpaper. That may have been excessive, but I don’t see any shiny spots so far, so I think it worked.
  5. Have a Buddy: Paste-the-wall wallpaper is pretty easy, and I think one person can do it alone. However, having my husband there to help was super nice. If I became frustrated or needed a minute to step away, Jer could jump in (and vice versa). I’ve found that wallpapering requires patience and attention to detail. By having another person present, you guarantee someone will have the bandwidth to maintain the needed attention. It’s also nice when you have to cut the paper and generally makes it more fun.
  6. Add a little water to the adhesive if it gets too thick: I noticed that the adhesive was getting thick after a couple of hours. This made it difficult to spread on the walls. If I added a small amount of water, it made it liquid enough to apply easily.
  7. New at this? Order 25% more than you need. Wallpaper is expensive and that motivated me to order just what I needed, but I should have accounted for the novice factor and assumed I would make mistakes.

Final Thoughts On Wallpaper

One of the things that I saw over and over again when reading about wallpaper is most manufacturers recommend a professional installer. I get it because some papers are much more difficult to work with and the paper is so expensive. My opinion is with non-woven, paste-the-wall types it’s totally DIYable. I’ve already purchased wallpaper for the laundry room and it’s prepasted. We’ll see if I remain as optimistic with this type. 🙂

As always, check out the other guest participants and the featured designers to see updates on their projects!

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8

Spring 2021 One Room Challenge: Week 2

Last weekend we demoed the office and prepped it for all the new stuff (floors! wallpaper!). It now looks like this:

An almost blank canvas. You can check out week 1 and the full design plan here.

Painting Wood Trim

I also painted the trim/casing. My advice for anyone painting wood trim is to sand it with a sanding block. I know other DIYers recommend a liquid de-glosser instead of sanding, but in my experience, the sanding block does a much better job of roughing up the wood and the paint adheres better. It gives a much more durable finish and you’ll be happy you don’t have to touch up your baseboards once a year. We painted the trim with Behr Ultra White Enamel gloss. It’s a bright white and provides good contrast with most paint colors, especially if you paint the room white or off-white. As a reminder, here is what the room and trim looked like when we purchased the house.

I spent the rest of my weekend researching how to hang wallpaper. I picked the Alma by Cole & Son (buff & gold) wallpaper. You may remember a while ago; I posted several wallpaper samples as I tried to finalize the office design.

As you can see, all the papers have floral/nature-inspired prints. I particularly liked the ones with geometric patterns mixed in. Honestly, once I looked at them all, I knew right away that Alma was the right pick. If you are considering using wallpaper for any room, you should definitely order samples. The experience of seeing it in person and holding it in your hand will make your decision-making faster and easier. You’ll get a better idea of the texture, colors, and print clarity when you have a sample.

Prepping for Wallpapering

I’ve only ever wallpapered one wall in my life (my son’s mural), and I didn’t use a standard method. I used liquid starch (a la this tutorial), so I could easily remove it when he got older. However, I am going to actually, FOR REAL, wallpaper the whole room for this job. So I did a deep dive into how to prep the walls. I thought I would share my non-official guide to prepping for wallpaper. I’ll be sure to update everyone once the wallpaper is completed (hopefully this weekend). (Quick disclaimer: I’m NOT an expert. This is just how I approached it and what I’ve learned. I write this as “you should” because it’s easier for me to write about something like I’m explaining it to someone. If you did it differently, I bet it’s totally great.)

  1. Read Your Wallpaper Instructions: I don’t know what wallpaper was like 20 years ago, but it seems there are more options today than back then. The first goal is to determine what type of wallpaper you have by reading the instructions. This will tell you how to hang it and what supplies you need. There is the classic paste-the-paper wallpaper where you need to brush adhesive onto the back of the paper and let it soak in and then hang it up. There is peel and stick wallpaper, which I guess is like a big sticker. I’ve never used this, but it’s widely used on the internet. There is prepasted wallpaper. The glue is already on the back of the paper and you either have to soak it in water or spray with water to activate the adhesive. The last type is paste-the-wall wallpaper. For this type of paper, you roll or brush adhesive onto the wall and hang the wallpaper without soaking it in any water. I ordered my wallpaper from Wallpaperdirect.com. They have a few videos that explain this in more detail (paste-the-wall, paste-the-paper). My wallpaper is paste-the-wall.
  2. Evaluate Your Walls: I hope that before you purchased any wallpaper, you evaluated your walls. Some walls, like those that are heavily textured, are typically not recommended for wallpapering. There may be some exceptions with certain types of paper, but if you have textured walls, you should do a ton of research on what paper could be used and how to do it. If your walls are smooth and already painted, you only need to fill holes and make sure it’s clean and dust-free (luckily, that’s me). If you have a slight texture or damaged walls, you may want to consider putting up wallpaper liner. This is like a slip for your wallpaper. It will smooth out any imperfections.
  3. Purchase Supplies: Now that you’ve read the instructions and evaluated your walls, you can go to the store and purchase what you need. For most people, you’ll need some adhesive and wallpapering tools. If your walls are textured, you may need the wallpaper liner, and if you are using prepasted wallpaper, you’ll need something to wet or soak the paper with. I took a quick shot of what I purchased for wallpapering below.
  4. Prep Your Walls: For us, all I had to do was wipe down the walls and make sure they were clean and dust-free. We have a smooth finish on our drywall, so there wasn’t anything else we needed to do. Again, if you have slightly textured or damaged walls, you may want to hang wallpaper liner.
  5. Re-Watch All the Youtube Videos: Get jazzed up and informed before you start the install. The ones I’ve watched over and over and over again are these three: How to Hang Wallpaper!, How to hang wallpaper – paste the wall, Hanging wallpaper – paste the wall.
Hyde Super Guide | Sponge | Wallpaper Adhesive | Paint Roller Cover | Paint Tray | Smoothing Tool | Utility Knife | Paint Roller Frame | Laser Level

I’m hoping this time next week I’ll have a beautifully wallpapered room and the pictures to prove it. Fingers crossed!

Again, check out the other guest participants and the featured designers to see updates on their projects!

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8