Updated Bookshelves SW Oceanside

Introducing Sherwin Williams 2018 Color of the Year and Color of the Month - January 2018 Oceanside SW 6496

Adding a pop of color is just what these old solid oak bookshelves needed.  The pillow and flowerpot were my inspiration pieces. The Better Homes & Gardens flowerpot was found a few years ago on clearance at Walmart.  The sweater pillow is made from an old turtleneck sweater that I no longer wear.  For a few years I searched for the perfect teal color and as soon as Sherwin Williams announced the 2018 color of the year, I knew I had found exactly what I'd been searching for.
 

To make the details stand out, I added a charcoal grey glaze over the Oceanside in medium luster.  The hardware stayed the same and looks much more elegant against the teal.  Mirrors were custom cut to fit in the back of the bookshelves.  This allows more light to bounce around the room.

I encourage you to be bold in 2018.  Try something that makes your friends and family question your choice.  Many people were shouting NO, don't do it.  After the shelves were finished I have have heard, 'you were right', 'glad you painted them', 'the room looks bigger now'...  so happy that I chose Oceanside!

 

Cheers to the New Year!

Mudroom Makeover

Our mudroom/laundry room gets A LOT of foot traffic!  Especially now that we are a family of six.  Lots of coats, boots, backpacks, purses, mail, laundry, etc.  This space is quite small and we eyed the possibility of expanding into a cluttered/useless corner of the garage for years.  The laundry room connects the house & garage and it is on the same cement slab as the garage & powder room.          

                                                                                      

                    Before                                                          After

We were able to push the wall back 4.5'.  Originally the room stopped just beyond the floor vent.  We were able to add ~20 square feet. The door on the right opens to the garage.  As with all renovations, It was not as simple as tearing down a wall and resurfacing to make it pretty again.  Once we tore everything apart we realized that the closet was on one floating slab of concrete, the garage addition was on another and the laundry room was a few inches higher.  YIKES!  This confirmed our need for help with the floor.  

Here is a picture of the space we 'borrowed' from the garage  for the mudroom addition.  See picture toward the end of this post to see the updated garage (it's much more inviting).
 

Demolition and Rebuilding - Removed studs, added insulation & installed drywall

Drywall finished & painted.  The second picture shows all of the flooring issues:  Hallway - carpet, powder room on the right and laundry room linoleum.   All old flooring will be removed and the same plank tile will be installed throughout.

Floor removal went smoothly since the tile guys had the right equipment & knowledge.  They scraped and removed all of the old flooring materials and used a steamer to remove the glue.  They also removed the floating cement slab where the closet was.  Lastly, they used several layers of membrane and lots of concrete to level and correct the addition.

 

 

Cement plank tiles freshly grouted!  The installers did a wonderful job and we were SO happy that we hired someone who knew what they were doing - they were super fast!  Although they did a great job, we were nervous for the first year as no one can predict what might happen with Michigan's freeze/thaw.  Thankfully, there were no cracks or shifting at all.  Hopefully it stays that way forever.

This tile is a wonderful neutral color that compliments all of our paint colors. It is also super easy to clean and it hides dirt really well. Perfect for a high traffic area, like this mudroom!

Storage & Organization took top priority when choosing mudroom furniture.  This large cabinet from The Home Decorators Collection (Home Depot) is the perfect solution.  We liked it so well that we added another one in our garage.  This garage cabinet hides our massive shoe collection.

I am officially hooked!  Backpack hooks, coat hooks, ironing board hooks, purse hooks, towel hooks... so handy! 

We built this custom ironing board holder and purse holder since I couldn't find one that would work.  I bought these hooks at Lowes.  In order to increase functionality of this mudroom cabinet, my husband cut a notch out of the shelf for the vacuum.  All of the attachments are organized on the shelf and the iron is conveniently close to the ironing board.

Here is the hardest working corner of the room

This washer and dryer sure get a workout each week day!  Laundry soaps and stain removers are stored in the cabinet above the sink.  I painted this cabinet a few years ago and added textured bead board wallpaper to the door fronts.  They have held up beautifully. The fabric striped boxes above the cabinet hold my sewing essentials & stay close to my sewing machine.  The mailbox on the wall keeps our mail semi-organized.  Everything in this room is functional (even the tennis balls on the shelf are used to fluff down comforters & pillows in the drier).  Mail bin & 'Laundry room' canvas are both from Homegoods.  Framed Paris Raoul Duffy poster is a relic from my college dorm room days.

Even though everything is functional, I tried very hard to keep this room coordinated and pretty, after all I spend a lot of time in this room!  The paint color was custom mixed by Sherwin Williams.  A pinkish beige mistake was married with the color 'Wallflowers' to create this pretty lavender.  Rugs are by Safavieh - Bristol Dark Grey Blue color.  It was difficult to find rugs with a hint of lavender & grey and a pattern that will hide dirt well.  These are perfect!  I found them at Homegoods (2 different HG stores, without much effort thankfully).  In the future I would like to add a counter top surface on top of the washer and dryer. 

We added one LED recessed light fixture in the addition.  Between that and the Pottery Barn chandelier there is plenty of light.  It would be nice to add an under cabinet light above the sink for stain removal, but I have done okay for 9.5 years without it.

This gallery wall is located directly across from the garage entry door.  The door on the left goes out to the back porch.  Someday it would be nice to get a full glass panel door since that is the only source of natural light.   The outlet in the middle of the wall is wonderful for ironing.  I am so glad someone thought about that, it's genius!

We are all head over heels & thankful that this mudroom makeover is done!   

Modern Glam Powder Room Renovation

Our main level powder room is TINY.  It is smaller than some coat closets.  Someone even joked that it is convenient to be able to wash your hands while still sitting on the toilet!  This 'water closet' is seen and used by guests and I wanted to step up the style.  I took this space from Country (literally apples on the wallpaper) to modern glam.

 
Allen & Roth 'Circle' Wallpaper from Lowes was applied to the walls.  It was not pre-pasted and the pattern proved to be a challenge, but I love it!  This was my inspiration for the entire remodel.

 

Originally, I considered installing a pedestal sink, but when I found this corner sink & matching corner medicine cabinet from the Home Depot's Home Decorator Collection I was sold on the extra storage and beautiful color - Sea Glass.  The crystal chandelier was also purchased at Home Depot - my husband rewired from the original off-center, over the mirror light bar to this beauty.  It's sparkly goodness inspired me to switch the oil rubbed bronze hardware that came on the vanity pieces to crystal and chrome knobs. 
 

The grey cement plank tiles run throughout this half bath, into the hallway and also through the mudroom/laundry room.  It is a wonderful neutral that coordinates with the grey flecked granite on the vanity & our stainless steel washer/drier.  The best part of this tile is how well it hides dirt.  We hired an expert to install the tile, but the rest of this renovation was DIY.

 

When the light turns on, the exhaust fan automatically turns on.  It was a marigold color plastic fan that sounded like a Boeing 757 taking off.  I cleaned years of dust and dirt buildup from the inside components & painted it to match the ceiling - SW Festoon Aqua.  Good as new, if not better because it blends in (a new fan would have been white and I wouldn't have considered painting it) PLUS it was FREE.  It was the only item to survive this renovation - toilet paper holder & hand towel hook were even updated.

 Above the toilet we (my husband) cut Ikea floating 'Lack' shelves to fit the space.  This allows me to add a little spice and seasonal decor to this small space.  

It is hard to believe the transformation of this tiny space

(Keep Scrolling)

Before

 

 Builder grade painted vanity, apple wallpaper, vinyl flooring

  Above toilet 

   Light above vanity & country wallpaper

After 

 

 We are enjoying the fresh, clean, spa-like space! 

Check back soon to see the Mudroom/Laundry Room expansion & update

 

 



 

 

       

Modernizing our Main Spaces

Labor Day weekend 2016 began our biggest renovation project to date.  It took a solid three months and it is still not 100% completed, but we are enjoying it already.  The makeover included half of our main living spaces!  Our family room, powder room and laundry room improved in functionality and aesthetics.  Today I am going to focus on the family room. 

Before pictures: 
Too much clutter and too much red against the neutral everything.  Goals - expose hardwood floor, removed faux beams, replace painted paneling with drywall.  Add lighting and more elegant details.

Demolition/Construction:

Demo Day One - carpet removed.  The floor is GORGEOUS - white oak with peg details.  Why did we wait 8 years to do this?  Also removed ceiling beams and tore out paneling.

Once the paneling was down we discovered a niche in the wall underneath the stairway landing.  We decided to create a built in entertainment center and to hang our television above it.  My husband did a wonderful job wiring all of the components into this niche.  He also ran wires for surround sound and for speakers on the back porch!  Right now we are waiting for our doors to be built by a local cabinet maker.  They will be made of oak and stained dark to match the floor and mantle.  They will have a oil rubbed bronze, stamped metal insert so that remote controls can operate through the doors.  I'll be sure to add pictures when the doors and trim details are completed.

Lighting: 

Six LED recessed lights on dimmer switches were added along with this Kichler ceiling fan from Lowes.  This fan is modern, beautiful and very functional.  The twisting blades really create a nice breeze and it is excellent for bringing the heat from the fireplace down from the ceiling.

Drywall is installed, mudded and sanded.  At this dusty point we were ready to be DONE.  Such a mess to live through.  Additionally our son became mobile and was ready to explore.  He had enough with being confined to the front living room and his bedroom.  Let the painting begin!

 

Color:

Clary Sage by Sherwin Williams is the color I chose for the walls.  It is a very calming, interesting color.  Sometimes it looks gray, green, and even bluish- green depending on the lighting.  This picture below is right after the walls were painted and before the floors were refinished.

Floor Detail (before being refinished)

Floors are refinished and floor moldings, door trim and crown molding is installed.  All trim is painted in semi-gloss Alabaster by Sherwin Williams.  Very nice creamy white color.  We chose thicker trim in an attempt to add more character into our colonial.  My husband did an excellent job on the trim.  So great that I already have visions for other rooms on the main level. 

The TV is on a swivel mount so we can rotate it toward the couch for movies.

Basically we moved in furniture, celebrated our sons first birthday, went on a business trip and here we are busy with the holiday season!  Next step is decorating and making it cozy. 

Furnishings: 
Someday when our four kiddos are bigger we may need more seats with a beautiful sectional sofa like this upholstered two-piece 99" sofa from Arhaus , but for now we moved the two golden loveseat couches from this room into our formal living room and brought in this taupe color, full size couch.  Free, fresh look with our own furniture!  The rolled arms on this couch match the new recliner(s).  The leather recliner shown has a match on order and should be delivered soon (10 weeks is a long time to wait for a new chair).  It will be worth the wait.  The leather is super soft to touch and the nail head details are what won me over.  The ottoman was purchased at Homegoods.  A perfect solution since it coordinates with the recliners and my husband wanted a vintage looking trunk in front of the couch.  This has the look we were after, but soft edges for our toddler.  It also provides plenty of storage for toys!  The shag rug from Costco is very soft and comfortable. 

Window Treatments:
Can you believe these curtains?  They match the wall color PERFECTLY.  These are very nice, quality curtain panels from Bed, Bath and Beyond.  They have hidden tabs in the back, but I chose to suspend them from curtain rings to give them a few inches of additional length.  These wooden rods were brought back from the original room.  I am super happy with how these curtains add a soft, elegant look to the room.

Finishing Touches:

We plan to decorate this room in a Detroit theme.  It will come together soon.  Stay tuned for the details.  Be sure to stop back to see the powder room & laundry/mudroom updates, too.  You won't want to miss it!

Relaxing and blogging by the first fire of the season

Click on this link to see other gorgeous sectional sofas from Arhaus furniture

My dream two piece sectional:

Landsbury 99" Upholstered Two Piece Sectional in Theater Gunsmoke