Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Cheer Up!























After a miserable day spent suffering and recovering from the stomach flu, I walked into the bedroom to find this little scene. The small teddy bear (MRN's might I add-- a little souvenir from the Orient Express that he will kill me for revealing...) hugging my 34-year old lion that my grandmother gave me when I was born; and little owl and big giraffe lining up behind him for a hug. Especially touching was that MRN had to go around the house to collect these little treasures from different rooms (no, I'm not one to collect / keep stuffed animals... just the few you see here with particular sentimental value).

It did indeed cheer me up.

Monday, November 09, 2009

Newfound Love

Before:









After:









The home renovation project continues, but there's definitely a light at the end of the tunnel. With the final big project finished (the office-- photos to come) now we're just doing all the little (annoying) jobs-- painting trim, touch-ups, organization, etc. Oh, don't get me wrong... there's still some construction to be had (the weird alcove over the stairs still needs shelves...), but for the most part, the major projects are done.

The Problem:
The LAST thing that needed to finished with the kitchen was the back of the cabinet unit that faced the living room. Since kitchen cabinets are meant to face walls, the backing is just hardboard. That means it's not easily painted (it takes multiple coats and still looks bad). Plus there were holes in multiple locations that are used to affix the cabinets to wall. So painting would only solve part of the problem. You see my dilemma.

The Solution:
After a year of pondering, I finally came up with the solution: Wallpaper. I found a great damask print from, of all places, B&Q (Home Depot's British brother) that complements our wall color. And in less than 30 minutes, we had the finished product. MRN finished it with iron-on edging and it looks like it was meant to be. Fantastic! (Not to mention, for my first time ever wallpapering-- and with a pattern that needed to be matched up no less on an uneven surface, I think I did a pretty admirable job).

It's a shame that my media cabinet blocks most of the wallpaper. But now (much to MRN's dismay) I'm actively looking around the house for somewhere else I can wallpaper!