I meant to upload this picture a while ago (I added the rug):

Finally got back to a home project! I had originally thought that I might try tiles or paneling behind my sink. However, I found some no-glue wallpaper (NextWall) that went on pretty easily. It's also environmentally friendly and easy to peel off if I get sick of it.

Before:

After:

I still need to clean the floors a little bit more, but this room is close to being done. :)

Office before:

Office after:

New project - office renovation (new paint and carpet removal)

Office before








Office in progess

Office in progress

Switching back to house projects now, I have recently had my basement redone. It's not completely finished, but it's close enough. It's so much brighter than before. I can't wait to decorate it!

Before:

After:

Just hanging out...

When the economy was doing well, it was easy to think about spending lots of money on home improvements. Now that the economy isn't doing so well, I've been trying to think of things I can do without making any purchases.

A couple of things I've done thus far:

• Cleaned out the garage (well, I started to anyway)
• Created some storage containers out of cardboard boxes and decorative paper

Has anyone else out there discovered any low/no cost home improvements?

This weekend my porch finally got a new floor! This porch has been a work in progress for a long time. I recently had a new storm door installed and painted the walls. The flooring was the last major project. I already have a little herb garden starting on the window sill. Just in time for summer!!

One thing I've always been curious about is where people get their ideas for decorating rooms? Many people say you should think about how you want to feel when you enter a room and then go from there. I recently saw a wine bottle design and thought, wow, it would be great to have a room with those colors. Has anyone else out there had some different inspirations? Feel free to post comments. :)

It's been a while since I posted on here, but I thought I'd try to help promote environmentally friendly paint.

Thus far I have painted my hallway, half of my laundry room, and my porch with the wonder that is non-VOC paint. I have to say that I am a huge fan of Bioshield paint: http://www.bioshieldpaint.com/

I painted my hall with this stuff and never opened the windows. I never even felt like I had to open the windows since the stuff just had a faint scent like chalk.

I also tried the FreshAire stuff that the Home Depot is selling. That seems to have more of an odor. It also had a lot more warnings on the side of the can, so I'm thinking it's not as good as it says it is. At least it does look good on the wall, and it isn't as bad as normal paint.

Overall, it's great to be able to paint in the winter!

This might not be as radical of a transformation as the others, but I removed some wallpaper and repainted. The room has a lighter feel now.

Before:


After:

And this is what I went through to transform my bedroom. I don't think I ever got the full before with the carpet still in, but the carpet piles should give you an idea. :)

Before:

After:

More recently I tried putting the bed at an angle:

I finally figured out how to get some pictures off of my phone, so now I have some before and after pics. This is my living room.

Before (the day I moved in):


After:

Here are a couple of "before" pictures of the project I am currently working on. The only thing that is new is the white shelving. I'll keep you posted as I hopefully transform this into a prettier laundry area.

I did this a while ago, but while I'm posting before and after pictures, I might as well show these.

In my office, I removed the carpet, painted the walls, and made some curtains. It now looks like a completely different room. I was really lucky to find some beautiful oak floors underneath that carpet.

Before:


After:

After seeing this done in some home magazine, I played around with some stretched canvas and fancy paper. This is definitely one of those decorating "on the cheap" ideas. You can see the results in my bathroom.

Before:


After:

CUTE!!!

Take a look at this little munchkin: http://photo.accuweather.com/photogallery/content/PhotoDetails.aspx?pid=35966&pfrom=world

It makes the snow a little bit more enjoyable. :)

Charlotte and Judy love their new kitty stroller.

Charlotte is famous! Check her out on youtube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz3SbrnzLr4