update on master bedroom

i am happy to say that i have checked off a few of the items on my "to do" list for the master bedroom.

previously, i wrote about my master bedroom back in January.  my "to do" list consisted of...

paint door, trim and step for doggies

curtains

bedside tables

lamps

hang some photos on the wall

art?

fix closet racks

door for closet

here are some photos of the room now...

we finally got some curtains hung!  they change the whole look of the room.  i love the circle detail and that they aren't just plain.

we found these really cute nightstands online at Target.  i got them because they were the only nightstands i could find that fit what i was looking for and didn't break the bank (i got them on sale!). 

i ended up LOVING them because the little space at the top is meant for books, but i had the BRILLIANT idea of making holes in the back for our charging cords to fit through.  now these spaces are our version of charging stations!  told you it was a brilliant idea.  plus, we all know that my husband was not going to be storing books in there. #willneverreadabook

i decided that the lamps we had were good for the room, and couldn't find any other lamps i liked.  so i decided to just get some plain lampshades to update them a bit.  i think they look much better now :)

so now the list looks like this...

paint door, trim and step for doggies

curtains

bedside tables

lamps

hang some photos on the wall

art?

fix closet racks

door for closet

i've added some pictures to the walls, and have a few more things to hang.  i still would like to find something for above the bed, so i will continue to search for that.  i've found a few things i like but nothing i've made a decision on yet.

new furniture

when we first decided to build the house, my main concern was that we wouldn't have $ to afford furniture to put in the house!  (there were many families that i worked for as a nanny that lived that way, and i didn't want to be like them)

my husband insisted that we would, and that we could get new furniture for the living room whenever i wanted.

we have lived here for about 4 months now so it was time.  there wasn't enough seating in the living room for when we had guests over.

before...

 

where Remi is standing there had been a brown chaise lounge there.  no one used it, so pretty much the only seating was the couch.

after...

these aren't the best pictures, but you get the idea.

i absolutely love the new furniture.  it is very traditional.

we originally wanted to get a sectional but the one we REALLY wanted didn't fit.  it was way too long and would have blocked some walking room.  that would have made NO sense, because the whole reason we have such a large open room is so that we don't feel cramped, or like there isn't enough space.

hope you like it as much as we do :)

home tour: guest bedroom

the guest bedroom, aka my sister's room, is almost exactly the same as it was in our previous home.  i used most of the same furniture and decor as in our previous home.

this room is mostly used by my sister or the kids when they visit, so that's why i call it my sister's room. the bed in the room is the same bed she had when we were growing up.  i added a few touches of things that she likes throughout the room.

the guest bedroom is located towards the back of the house, because we wanted our guests to have a nice view of the backyard.

for now it has a full size bed, but eventually when we get a new bed for the master, the guest bedroom will have a queen.

the bedding is from Target.  i got it on clearance a long time ago.  it works well for now, but isn't my favorite look anymore.

at our previous home, the bedroom was lavender.  this time we kept it more neutral with the same gray as in our living room and kitchen area.

on the nightstand is a photo of my little grams.  we miss her a lot and i wanted a picture of her somewhere in the house.

we moved the TV that was in our bedroom into this room and added a different TV stand than was in our old house.

the flowers next to the TV are light up.  my sister has some in her home, so i thought they would be a good addition to the guest bedroom.

the closet doors just got installed recently.  they ended up being a bit small for the opening but we are going to just try to make it work.  they still have to be painted and need knobs to be able to open them!

things that still need to be done:

• paint doors and trim
• add knobs to closet doors
• shorten blinds
• headboard
• dimmer for lights
• art
• new bedding and curtains
• eventually queen sized bed

home tour: kid's bathroom

this is probably my favorite room in the house, besides the master bedroom.  it's basically what i would have wanted for the master bathroom, but my husband insisted on it being tan. :/

i tried to finish it up before my sister and the kid's came for a visit.  i wanted it as close to finished as i could get it at least.

the kid's rooms are on the opposite side of the house from the master.  the bathroom is in-between the two bedrooms.

the vanity is so beautiful.  it has a blue grayish granite countertop, with specks of silver in it.  everyone that sees it loves it.

picked the bigger, gray tile for the floor.  wanted to add a pop of color, and chose these awesome rugs from target (where else!).

found these adorable mason jars from target in the dollar section.  (this is a better shot of the countertops.)

this sign is from kohl's.  it was in our last house in the guest bathroom, and i thought it was pretty fitting for a kid's bathroom.

target just recently got these signs in.  i think they look so cute in the space.  i have been loving anchors lately, and the bathroom has an ocean (or sea?) theme.

the shower curtain is from target too!  i wasn't too sure on it when i picked it out, but i've gotten a few compliments on it so it must look ok!

i put hooks next to the shower.  it made the most sense for hanging towels, because there wasn't really room for a towel bar.  i prefer hooks anyways!

i LOVE the tile in this shower!  it looks so good in the niche too!  

we decided on the pull down shower head to make it easier for washing the dogs.  when i said kid's, you knew i was talking about dogs right?!  JK.  it also works good for washing kids hair.

i love all the whales too!  #targetdoesitagain  (can you tell how much i love target yet?!)

things that still need to be done:

• trim around the mirror
• paint trim and doors
• hang closet door
• shorten blinds

some new target finds

i've been keeping my eye out for a few new pieces of furniture and some different things to finish off rooms.  lately target has been where i have found everything.  

i am obsessed with target!  they have the cutest things and always at a great price.  

plus if you have a target debit/credit card, they give you 5% off your whole order.  better than the 10% discount i got at wal-mart when i worked there, because i hate shopping there, so i rarely used it.  

anyways....

first, i got some new bookcases for my office.  (i haven't done a whole post on my office yet, but will soon!)

originally i was going to get the really cheap bookcases that they sell and have Marky Mark put some trim on them and fancy them up to look like built-ins, but he has enough projects on the house.

instead i waited for these to go on sale and snatched them up.  they are originally $110 a piece, i got them for around $75 each.  such a good deal, and they ended up looking so good in the space.

i got white to match the whole feel of the office.  i have added more things to the bookcases since this pic, but would like to do some more styling to them.

second, i got a front entryway bench.  this was really important because we had been noticing that anytime someone came over they had a heck of the time taking their shoes off.

originally i was just going to put a table here, but decided a bench made more sense.  we wanted a place for people to sit down or set their things down.  there is also additional storage in the bench.

it was $170, but i got it on sale for $110!

eventually i want to get a pillow. (i saw one at TJ's that said "happy home."  i passed cause i wasn't too sure on it but might go back for it)  and i was thinking of possibly putting a table next to the bench on either side.  i have been eyeing a really pretty silver one at, where else, target.

and we definitely need a new rug for there ASAP but i have been having a hard time finding any rugs I like.

i got these baskets for my office.  they look a little funny in the picture but they look really good in my office.

they says mail, stuff and magazines on them.  i actually needed a place for all of those things so this was perfect.

they were originally $20 and i got them for $16!


these are just a few of my recent buys from target lately.  i also ordered some bedside tables for the master that should be here next week!  excited to get those, especially cause Mark has always used a garden table as his bedside table.  he will finally have drawers!  and a place to put his things!  it will be awesome :)

home tour: 1/2 bath

we really wanted a half bathroom for when we have guests over.  when we lived in our split level, no one ever knew which bathroom to use because there was one upstairs and one downstairs and none on the main level.  most people would go up but that was our "master" bathroom, which wasn't ideal.

it's in the hallway, in-between the mudroom and office.  right off of the main living space.

anyways, there really isn't a great way to show the half bathroom.  this is the best i could do (terrible lighting and too small of a space)...

so glamorous right?!  it's a cream color.  the tile, which you can't really see in the pics looks almost like a linen.  just something different for a small room.  the light fixture is the same as in the master bathroom.

Things that still need to be done:

• paint trim and door
• seal granite (i know we should have done this when we first got it :/)
• caulk countertop
• rug
• art
• trim around mirror
• table for corner

hanging around

i finally got my hubby to hang some stuff around the house!  some of it i bought before we even moved in so i had no idea if it would work in the space.  luckily it all looks great (at least i think it does ;) )

these used to be above our bed in our old master, but they are WAY too little for the space now.  they fit really nicely between the master closet and master bathroom.  i love finally having some our wedding pictures up!  now i have to figure out what i want to put above our bed...

this chalkboard was just something fun for us.  we plan on using it for when the kids come to visit and let them decorate it for us or for us to write little notes to each other.  it's right outside our master in the hallway.  we didn't want it in a high traffic area though because in case it says honey do list items, our guests don't need to see it.

i LOVE this sign.  it's perfect for us, since we always have fresh eggs thanks to our girls.  we put it by the patio door.

this is my favorite of everything that got hung.  i really wanted this sign a long time ago, so i just bought it even though i had no idea where it would fit in our kitchen.  my mom had the idea to put it above the cabinets since our ceilings are so tall.  i think it looks amazing!

five on friday (home tour: laundry room/mudroom)

the laundry room and the mudroom were the most important rooms in the house in designing the house. 

unfortunately, not everyone felt the same way, so there were a lot of problems with this area as we were building.  mainly, it was made much smaller than the plans originally said.  not enough space was not ok for this space, but luckily my mom came through and figured out how to fit everything in.

although not all of the problems were resolved, it is still one of my favorite rooms in the house!

welcome

look at that beautiful blue.  still love it every time i see it.

the mudroom/laundry room is right next to the master bedroom

this area was the most important, because it had to have enough room for:

• dog's kennels
• place to hang jackets, and for shoes
• countertop for folding/cat food
• hampers
• washer/dryer
• sink
• broom closet

1. behind the door to the mudroom is the dogs kennels, nicely tucked away under a countertop

there is a door so that if people come over, all i have to say is 'kennel' and they will run in there and i just have to shut the door to keep them from jumping all over our guests.  this is nice so they don't always have to be in their kennels.  so far, they don't scratch at the door.

the Boston Terrier sign, says 'a house is not a home without a Boston'

i also insisted on having the cabinets above them, because that's where all their goodies are kept. (this will be in a later post)

if we end up getting a fourth dog (which is something we are considering), or when we have a foster (and if both happen, that means space for 5 dogs!), i'm not sure where she/they will go, but i'm sure we will figure it out.

2.  ok, i know this looks pathetic, but until we find a solution, it is working for us.  we have a place for jackets and shoes, it's just not the prettiest space in the house.

eventually, i would like to get a bench with baskets underneath for shoes, some nice hooks, and some storage above.  it's not a priority for right now, but it'll happen eventually.

3.  in the laundry area of this space is my must have sink.  i honestly only wanted this sink to be able to fill up the dog's water bowl.  which isn't the best reason to spend a lot of $, but it ended up that i use this CONSTANTLY.

i LOVE this sink!  best idea ever.  

and the cabinets house my cleaning supplies.  all in one area.  not the most ideal, but for fostering it had to all be kept out of reach from the littles.  so this is where it goes, and it's been working for me.

4.  obsessed with my washer and dryer.  

we didn't have one in the rental and it was pure torture.  ok, maybe it wasn't that bad because i got to visit Grams every week, but still.  it sucked having to haul all that laundry back and forth.  

i truly appreciate and love these.  they are LG just like all of the appliances in our house.  and i love the steam feature.  especially with the dogs.  and a dog that has a tail infection.  just ew.

5.  my little shelf above the washer and dryer.

it houses my laundry detergent, and similar items.  a little garbage can for lint.  and a wash bucket.

originally, i was going to add more cabinets, but i wouldn't have been able to reach any of the shelves anyways.  this worked out perfectly and i love it.

ignore the plugs and plumbing...apparently the plumber, electrician and HVAC guy all don't know how to use a tape measure.  my husband, ahem the electrician, is trying to think of a solution to hide it.

Things that still need to be done in this space:

• paint trim
• paint doors
• install end on laminate
• lockers or storage for jackets/shoes
• rug
• touch up garage door
• install garage door knob

Lily loves to sit in the laundry basket on top of the washer.  it's one of her favorite places in the house too ;)

home tour: master bedroom

Our bedroom is on the opposite side of the house from the kid's bedrooms (and no we don't have kid's but we built them with the hopes they would be for our kids someday).  We decided to put the master bedroom behind the garage, because then that way we would hear if the garage door opened.  1. because my husband is always thinking someone is breaking in.  2. because if we ever had kids we wanted to make sure we could hear them coming and going.  3. because the dogs room is the mudroom and that way they would be closer to our room (yes, I do realize I sound like a freak when I want the dogs closer to me than our future children).  Although, I must say we bought the quietest garage door opener so we can't actually hear it from inside the house anyways!  And this way the master is also closer to the basement, which is again so we can keep a close eye on our kids (for in the future when we finish the basement), plus that's Mark's area of the house.  

We have the same furniture as we did in our old house.  But we were able to put the 42" TV in our room now, which will probably someday be hung on the wall.

I love that Marley is in all of these pics too :)

The comforter, sheets, and pillow were all new for this house.  We had a beautiful set in our old house, but Marley chewed a hole through it as a puppy so we needed something new.  The pillow is my favorite because it actually has sparkles in the material.  The bedside tables will eventually have to change.  We tried to buy a matching one to the one we already have, but they no longer make it, so we will have to find something new.  The lamp shade on Mark's side of the bed is actually broken, a door actually fell on top of it, so I will be looking for some new lights too.

The closet doesn't have a door yet, but it is ordered.

I love our huge closet!  At our old house we had to always switch out our clothes for the seasons, and in WI that is nearly impossible to do.  It's nice that everything finally fits in one place.  The guy that hung our closets hung everything wrong so the clothes on the top sit on the rack for the clothes on the bottom.  Not cool!

But at least we can still use them until they are fixed.

Things that still need to be done:

• paint door, trim and step for doggies
• curtains
• bedside tables
• lamps
• hang some photos on the wall
• art?
• fix closet racks
• door for closet