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I'm working on the dining room this spring. New chairs, new rug, different gallery wall, working on replacing the dining table and finding a permanent replacement for the chandelier. The dining room was the first room I "finished" in this house in 2018-2019 and aside from changing the rug a couple times and adding to the sideboards, it was still that "modern traditional" look I was doing here at first and not my current style.
The new chairs, rug, etc. helped but it was still looking really plain. We have the original wood trim in here and I struggle with what paint colors would look good with it, but am also not planning to paint it. So... how to add more interest? Wallpaper!!
Thanks to Brewster for providing this wallpaper for my review.
I have some patterned curtains in here that I love, so wanted either a very small pattern or just a texture that wouldn't compete. I found this sort of grasscloth-ey, super durable, fabric backed vinyl textured wallpaper from Brewster.
I wanted a really unique, cool headboard for my One Room Challenge guest room but I wasn't prepared for a full-on from-scratch plywood etc. DIY headboard. I found a curved headboard with nailhead trim (not my favorite) for $10 on Facebook Marketplace and recovered it with a beautiful fabric, and found a great solution for covering up the nailhead trim. I didn't even have to remove it! Easy tutorial here!
1. Measure out and dry fit the fabric. I had to piece mine so I chose how I wanted to center the pattern on the headboard.
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As I mentioned in my 2022 house project recap post, this house is in a good spot and I've learned I need to focus more on myself in 2023. So I have some goals for myself (take 3 fun vacations with friends, get my tattoos removed, learn to make cocktails), and the house stuff will have to fit into the happier lifestyle I'm trying to create for myself.
Part of that means hiring out some projects when I'm able. Partly that will also mean making small changes when they feel fun, like adding pieces that represent the style I've been working on identifying this past year.
I had this on my list last year but talked myself out of it... I want to paint the brick. I've gone back and forth a lot on this one and it's a harder choice since this is a somewhat historic house (1937), but... the bricks and mortar are not in good shape and cleaning them has not been successful. I need to tuck point/re-mortar in places and then I'd like to have all of the brick painted the same color as the siding. I think it will really clean up the look of the front and give the house a less shabby feel overall.
In the backyard, I hope to get it cleaned up (ended up storing a lot of garden stuff for various reasons) and hopefully remove the garden area, just make it lawn.
Hooray, my One Room Challenge is done! I 100% did not have time or capacity to do this project (hence the lack of blog posts long the way, unlike how I've done my previous ORCs) but I have to say it turned out great and I'm so glad I did it!!
This room is part of my big basement renovation which unfortunately is still not 100% done--though now this room is, as is the bathroom right next to it (my spring One Room Challenge--reveal here). Most of the work in this room was done earlier this year, and a lot of it by the electrician, drywall team, etc. who did the rest of the basement, but still--huge transformation!
See the before/inspiration post in Week 1 of the ORC here.
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One super prominent feature of this home is its long living room with (approx.) 7'x7' window at the front. It lets in tons of sun in the morning (it faces east) and a good amount of light most of the time. It's a great!! But it had a lot of issues. Almost all the windows on my 1937 home are original wood windows, including some leaded glass ones. They are very cool and help the house keep its original character. But this window was failing in several ways.
When we first bought the house this window was on the long list of overwhelming expensive projects/updates, and it fell to near the bottom of the list. But now with two kids and using the space in front of the window for their playmat and climber, and with a lot of other projects crossed off, it felt like it really needed to happen.
Take a look... leaded glass panes including four fins in the middle, which were no longer welded together. At the top someone had tried to secure them with wood and screws, but the glass literally moved when you pushed on it slightly, and rattled in strong wind. There was also a lot of water damage on the sill and floor below. (And cat hair--but hard to dust with the varnish worn off from water damage!)
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We have a long, skinny living room and the wall opposite the front door/entry has always stumped me. We tried the TV there, tried a wall of bookcases (looked so cluttered)... no good solution. Until recently, when I got some new toy storage cabinets. They were really low and needed a big statement something above them, but I'm a little tired of really big art pieces and wanted something cozier.
So I gathered a few pieces of art I already had and started buying coordinating frames at Goodwills. I started with the largest piece and just built outward from there.
I "framed" out the gallery wall even before I had all the art pieces, and had empty frames hanging for a couple months! Even that felt better than the heavy wall of bookcases (we put them in the basement media room now that the basement is almost done).
Then, I had four empty frames I needed to fill and I shopped around some of my favorite sources for original art downloads (I highly recommend the Public Domain Print Shop from A Home Is Announced). I picked out some landscapes and some sketches that worked well with each other and the other art pieces. I printed them at Office Depot on 110 lb paper for about $1 each. Frames at the Goodwills in my area are usually $2-5 each. I would guess the total cost of this wall was about $40!
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