McKinley’s New Room

 It has been ages since I’ve blogged and I’ve missed it. I’ve missed sharing all the things we’re doing, which hasn’t been tons, but we’ve been active all the same. Mini golf now that the weather is warmer. Walking the neighborhood. Weekly tennis and drums lessons for McKinley, one in person the other virtual. We’ve been to Top Golf, Union Station for the dinosaur exhibit and model train layout. And ice skating several times during the winter months. We aren’t going out often, just trying to add some things to the mix from time to time, getting out of the house and going on a few adventures when we can. We love adventures!

When we aren’t getting out of the house, I’m making slight changes to the interior of it! When you’ve been home for over year now, okay one year and a few weeks, you see all the things that need improving or updating. With the help of my dad, we made some repairs to major cracks in our hallway and we will be doing some major improvements to our living/dining room. But the biggest transformation this past month was updating McKinley’s bedroom. He will be 10 next month! Double digits, as he likes to call it, and it was time to take his bedroom from the little boy room he was occupying to a room that will grow with him into his teenage years. His room isn’t big. None of our rooms are. So playing with the space he has, and giving him more, was key. I hit up Pinterest for some inspiration and found the perfect set up! Flanking his bed with bookcases and adding a shelf across the top to frame out the entire look was the winning inspo!

Getting his room to this point was no small task! It required cleaning out all of the stuff. All! The! Stuff! My son likes to “collect” things, and when I say collect, I mean hoard! So it was up to me to edit the choices he has made. Like throwing them in the trash! Now, I do my fair share of “keeping” things, so I edited myself as well. Art work that wasn’t that great, school work that seemed important from Kindergarten, and other less necessary artifacts where trashed. Not sure if he will ever know they are missing. We weeded out books that didn’t seem needed or liked anymore. Those will go to donation. And clothes! Oh my word, the clothes! He has outgrown everything! So we have a selling pile, a donation pile, and a pile that will go to friends far and wide! It felt really good to purge! 

McKinley made the difficult decision to sell his vintage wooden kitchen. He loved that kitchen, but he got it from Santa when he was two, and now at almost 10, he towered over it! We kept some of the food and pots and pans to take to Meme’s. He loves to cook in her kitchen when she’s cooking major meals. I told him that maybe it was time to start using the real kitchen with me and cooking up something together. We also sold his changing table that was in his closet. We used it for storage of clothes, but it needed to go. So did the armoire that was sitting on top of his dresser. The dresser is now in the closet, full of new clothes that will fit for maybe a year, and it freed up a lot of space that we needed within the room. I found a chest of drawers at a local antique store that I gave a facelift with white chalk paint and lined it with new drawer paper. It’s a great piece for the new room. 

The bookcases I found on Amazon. The shelf is a pre-painted board from Home Depot that we cut to size and bolted to the top of the bookcases. The cases themselves are also bolted to the wall. Don’t need anything falling in the middle of the night! And why is it always in the middle of the night? We filled the bookcases with all the important things in McKinley’s life. His favorite reading books, bird and insect books that he loves to search when he finds a new creature, a globe that he asked Santa for for Christmas this past year and we added some items from places we’ve visited. Signed bowling pins from two different birthday parties are finally getting showcased, the new amethyst crystal he got in Lawrence, and some very special gifts from Granddaddy. These antique toys were in his office and McKinley has played with them for years. Dad said that the wanted to give them to now and the special meaning wasn’t lost on McKinley. Lastly, we added his two pairs of Mickey ears, dad’s old tennis racket, since McKinley now plays, and several other trinkets. It’s McKinley in every since of the word! 

And when you create a space for a kid who’s turning 10, you get rid of the construction bedding and get something super cool! We scoured the Pottery Barn Teen website and he picked out this Mid Century Modern design. Kid after my own heart. We brought back the MCM chair from his nursery, it was hanging out at my parents, and changed out his old bookcase to display all of his beloved Nutcrackers. Remember, he’s a collector of things. I moved some of the smaller things around and this space couldn’t be any more McKinley. 

Upon its completion, McKinley has spent all of his free time in here. He’s watching YouTube videos on his bed, reading in his chair, and showing off his room during video chats with friends. If he had a TV and Alexa in there, I’m not sure we would ever see him again. We are considering the TV, but we haven’t taken that final leap. Maybe summer.

Is this not the perfect room for a boy turning 10? A room that he can grow into as he turns into a teenager? Sure, some of the things will change. Collectibles will probably be replaced. It won’t stay as clean, even a week from now. But in this moment, McKinley is settling in nicely, and he’s found a space in the house he can call his own. Happy Early Birthday, sweet boy! Enjoy the new digs!

XO,

Mama 

aka Andrea

From Bedroom to Craft Room

Eighteen years ago this coming May, we moved into our house. And for nearly seventeen of those years, we used one of our three rooms as a spare bedroom. And in those seventeen years, I think I can count on two hands the amount of times it was used it for guests. 

In August of 2018, I was asked by Better Kansas City if I would like to come on their daily morning show and share one of my current projects. I jumped at the opportunity. I went on the show and talked about my kitchen update and how I did it myself. And as fate would have it, I have been on every month for a full year talking about everything from front porch updates, DIY lighting, and craft projects for kids and adults! 

And as I result from this amazing experience, I found that I needed to create a space to call my own for working and finalizing projects. Up until then, I was using either our kitchen table or coffee table in the den, leaving behind a giant mess until the project was complete. Sometimes it would take a few days. Others weeks. Last year I took matters into my own hands, and decided to convert the spare bedroom that no one was using (except for a catch all of all the things) and turn it into my very own work space. I dubbed it, my craft room.

It all started with clearing the entire space out! Ridding ourselves of the iron bed, that's still for sale by the way, gifting the mattress and box springs, cleaning out the chest of drawers and donating/pitching its contents, and selling it to a family for their kids room. We were down to bare bones!

I had a few ideas of what I wanted the space to look like, but I wasn't exactly sure how to make it come to life. I wanted girly glam with pink walls, touches of golds and accents of black. But my husband was not buying into the pink. He kept giving his input on other colors that he thought I would like. Like yellow or lilac. Nope! Not colors I liked or wanted. I wanted pink. Not bubble gum pink. I wanted pale pink. Ballet slippers pink. A hint of pink.

So how I did I decide? I'm a huge fan of the SureSwatch product. It comes with four sheets that you paint with various shades of paint, allow them to dry after two coats, and then hang in the room you are looking to paint. Move them around the room, allowing different light to hit them throughout the day, so you know what shade works best in the space. And for me, it was Barely Blush! The small piece of paper attached to the swatch was a wallpaper I was thinking of using on the accent wall, but instead I went with all painted walls and would later add photos.

Because the room hadn't been touched in seventeen years, the ceiling needed a fresh coat of paint too. And before the paint was barely dry, I was working with my dad to install the antique wire egg basket we turned into a light for a DIY project for Better Kansas City! I had always wanted to create my own light fixture and this was the perfect time to do it! It's amazing what you can do with a light kit and a little imagination. I love this piece. It's probably my favorite DIY to date. And I especially love how the orangy rust patina plays off the pink walls around the room! It's stunning!

Finally, it was time to paint! However, when I applied the first coat, I felt a slight panic. The lighting from the overhead light cast odd shadows and bright highlights. But I continued with my quest. When I turned off the light, and allowed the natural light to flow in from the window, all was calm. All was the perfect shade of pink! This room was knocked it out in a weekend! Walls in a day! The trim, baseboards, and window were bright white and completed by Sunday!

If you remember, several years ago I took a small portion of our den and turned it into my office. I painted one wall grey to give it color. I used a small sofa table as my desk, an antique cabinet for storage, a tufted desk chair, and bright yellow rug for a little pop. For my “new room”, I knew it needed to be a dual purpose room. A craft room yes, but an office as well. So I took the existing desk, chair, and cabinet up to its new home and played around with placement. We ended up putting the desk by the window so that I could look out at the world while lost in what to type next. I placed my yellow cabinet along the "entry" wall, so that when you walked by, it was the first thing that caught your eye. I find it to be the sweetest little cabinet and I love the aged paint. And I added the cutest chair to the mix!! Who doesn't need a shaggy gray chair in the corner to provide a space for reading or just pondering what project to work on next! 

The art deco mirror came from the old office as well. And I finally had a place to hang my wedding bouquet that was under the spare bed for nearly seventeen years! The rug was found in my parents basement and how perfectly does that pink compliment the walls and the green the chair?!? Fate!! 

 

The kitchen island that my husband gave me for Christmas makes the perfect crafting table! It has amazing storage, the middle drawer pulls out on both sides, and the open shelving helps display pretty sequins, glitter, and other shiny objects! 

Some of the little things that helped the room take shape were the addition of bright prints in different shapes and material. The frames were originally a bleached wood, but after covering the glass with paper grocery bags and blue tape, I spray painted them all a glossy black. I dug out my "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" print from the basement and hung it on the wall above my desk. Again, the colors pair perfectly. And lastly, I painted the closet doors with chalkboard paint so that my son can doodle while hanging out with me! It's a craft room after all! 

What I love most about this room is that it’s perfectly me! No, I'm not typically a pink girl, but the color reflects the mood of the room. A calming space for creativity, relaxation, and escaping when I need a little me time! 

When creating a new space within an existing room of your home, it doesn’t have to be costly. Mine all came together with odds and ends of things that I already had around my house. Pieces that worked in a smaller space still work in a "larger" one. I shopped out of my parents basement, and around their home as the yellow cabinet was borrowed from the a long time ago, but purchased new when needed/wanted and I added my own touch to amp up the chicness. And now, when I step into this room, I finally have a space that is just for me.

XO,

Andrea

The New Kitchen Update

Oh my gosh, you guys! I finished up the kitchen update several weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to taking photos and sharing them with you. Honestly, I knew we used our kitchen a lot, but I had no idea how much until I was trying to capture pictures! Our kitchen is never clean! And when I say clean, I mean washed dishes are still in the sink, the kitchen table is cluttered with mail and miscellaneous things, and the counter tops always have stuff on them. It's generally always a mess! But not this morning. It's clean and photo worthy!

As most of you know, I've been talking about changing the color of my kitchen for months. But let's take a journey back to the original. For years, I had wanted a red kitchen. When we moved in, almost 16 years ago, this house was going to be a starter home so we painted everything a pretty shade of beige. Move in ready for the next couple. Then, I tired of the beige and just went for it. Red it was! In 2012, after a car wreck while seven months pregnant in 2011, we were "awarded" pain and suffering funds and we got a new kitchen. And when I say new, we got granite counter tops, stainless steal appliances, and subway tile. It was the upgrade our space needed. 

But, like anything else in life, the red grew old and I needed a change. The kitchen needed a change. And the least expensive way to make a major change is paint! Here are the colors we were considering. The top is In the Navy and the bottom Rich Navy. We wanted to make sure it played well off the dark counter tops and the amazing windmill clock. After several days of looking at the colors, and asking friends on Facebook, we went with Rich Navy. 

After discussing with the paint experts at Home Depot, we purchased a gray primer to start the process. And I have to say, the gray spoke to me for about a minute. But after I put the first stroke of blue on the wall, I was sold!

After the blue was on the wall, it was down to the little details to make the kitchen look refreshed. Yes, we had the amazing clock, but what else could I do to make it look new without spending any additional money? Well, I moved some things around in my actual kitchen! I've collected aluminumware for years. I've been obsessed with Mid Century Modern design before it was popular and these industrial looking pieces were perfect. I added measuring cups and spoons to the nook inside my sink window. I love the pops of color and how well they play off the blue! I did purchase new lights for the space because I wanted more light coming through. We were worried that the navy might make the our small kitchen feel even smaller, which on the contrary it did now, but the extra light helps. I love the open glass! I also added texture with my striped rug. And lastly, my dad framed some of the still life photos he's been working on and they totally complete the space! 

So without further ado, here is our "new" kitchen!

I truly love how it turned out! It makes spending all that time in the kitchen a little more fun. I think it helped modernize our 1960s home as well. If you can't knock out walls, just paint them! And then add fun accents to make it appear new. You don't have to spend a lot of money either. Like I said, I used things that were already in my kitchen by giving them a new place to sit. And, we didn't break the bank on our lighting. The ceiling light is from Lowe's and the pendant is from Houzz. Both were under $75! The rug is from Home Goods and was less than $30. With the primer, paint, lighting, and rug, we spent less than $250 on our kitchen update. Best $250 spent!

Up next, the bedroom! I've picked out my paint color, purchased darling new side table lamps, and have the bedding all ready to put on the bed! I'm going to paint our existing furniture to help keep our cost down. I can't wait to share!

XO,

Andrea

Den Gallery Wall

Hello fellow readers! Yes, again, it's been a long time. February wasn't much better than January. There was flu and pneumonia that hit our house and we were sick three out of the fourish weeks of the month. But, spring is on its way and I am hoping for blue skies ahead!

And with spring comes spring cleaning, and in my case, new house updates all around! It all started with a segment on Home and Family. Ken Wingard introduced a gallery wall in their family room on their set and I immediately needed to create one in my own home. I have this wall above our couch in the den that I never noticed was so bare. Yes, there is a framed piece that we've had for years, but it just needed something more. And Ken's gallery was the inspiration.

His design tips were amazing! My mom came with the assist by visiting local craft stores and scooping up some amazing finds. But the biggest find is the rustic clock. I found several that I liked, but they ranged in price from $50-$100. Not really within my price range. That is, until we hit Savers. We found this clock for $7! Talk about style for a steal! And I commissioned my dad to great a custom piece as well. And when I say commissioned, I asked him if he would take pictures down on the Plaza so I could hang it in my den! I love it! It's perfect! The rest of the pieces are somewhat personal. The K is for our last name and the small scale tobacco basket is an homage to my great grandparents who were tobacco farmers. And I just loved the vintage style window. Much like one from an old farm house.

Ken suggested to cut out your pieces on paper first and then hang them on the wall. In doing so, you won't be creating nail holes that you don't need. Genius, right? So that's exactly what I did. It was such a time saver and my husband thought we should just leave the paper. What a kidder! We placed the framed photo first and then added the clock to the other side for balance. The smaller pieces were exactly what the center needed. 

Then it was time to hang! And when your husband is home on a Friday, and your child is in school, it's the perfect time to get it done.

And here is the finished project! I am obsessed with it! It truly finishes the room and fills the space. Something that really needed to be done. 

  

I'm thinking of creating a gallery wall in McKinley's room of all of his artwork from school. Okay, not all the pieces, but the ones that he really took his time creating. We have several, and now that I'm armed with such amazing tips, I'm ready to tackle his room!

What do you think of the gallery wall? Is this something you would create? What pieces would be perfect for your room?

Have a great weekend!

XO,
Andrea

Gallery Wall - Inspired New Look

Do you ever look around your house and think, "This room could use something." But, when you look around the room, you can't put your finger on what it needs. A fresh coat of paint? New furniture? A dusting and vacuum? For me, it's more the latter, but I am always on the hunt to freshen up the rooms in my house to make them a little more chic. A little more relevant. A little more like my ever evolving style.

I was watching my daily morning show earlier this week, Home and Family, and Ken Wingard changed my life! Okay, not really changed my life, but changed my view on what I thought I wanted on my den wall. I was thinking originally of replacing the current print with two larger ones of my dad's photography. But then I saw him create a gallery wall on their set and I was done! This is what I have to do over my couch in the den. And I've already started creating inspiration boards on Pinterest and scouring the stores for ideas!

This is currently what my wall looks like. After decluttered all the growing furniture that had been collected in this room, I realized that this print was dwarfed by this large wall. It's been hanging there since we moved in 15 years ago and I just never really thought about changing it out. Again, my style is changing so my house needs to grow with it! Man, look how clean this room is! It doesn't look anything like this right now. I need to get busy..... That dusting and vacuum is a must!

So here's what I'm thinking I need to create!

How amazing are these walls? And I have so many different ideas of how I want to create my wall and I'm overwhelmed by which one I like more! I'm leaning toward the upper left, but I love the center bottom! What I do know is that I want an oversized clock, a mirror, an artistic piece, and then a large photo of something my dad has taken around KC. Either a downtown iconic building or something from the Plaza. I can't wait to see what he has!

While out yesterday, I took some pics of pieces that I like from both Target and T.J. Maxx. I haven't pulled the trigger on anything. Right now I'm collecting ideas. But these are stunners!

 Now, I know that if I were to do the starburst mirror, I wouldn't go with the starburst accent piece. However, with the copper mirror, how gorgeous would those two pieces be together? And, I'm thinking of trying to find an antique clock that no longer works to add to that rustic aged look I'm going for. Seriously, I'm giddy!!

What do you think of a gallery wall? How would you design yours? Any of the above inspired walls have your attention? Let's chat!

XO,

Andrea

Home Decor: Updating Our Den

About two years ago or so, I spilled turquoise nail polish on my favorite rug in our den. I mean blue, blue, blue in turquoise and the rug was cream! I tried nail polish remover, Simple Green, and rug cleaner. Nothing worked. It was bright blue for a couple of years. At the time, we were using our antique green coffee table, which didn't help conceal the spot, and I ended up trading it out for a wicker trunk that housed extra pillows and blankets. It was nice in theory, but it didn't work for drinks due to the fact it was wicker. There was no solid top, just the waffle of the wicker, which caused drinks to tip easier and spill through the cracks onto the extra pillows and blankets underneath. Needless to say, it wasn't the best coffee table. So, I gave it to my mom and she uses it as a trunk to house McKinley's toys. The green coffee table made a comeback and so did the stain that had been hidden by the wicker trunk. It was time to find a new rug!

During a recent trip to Home Goods to look for outdoor decorative pieces, and a black bathroom rug, my mom and I found an amazing rug for the den! It's definitely not something I had been looking for in design, but when we laid it out on the floor of Home Goods, we knew it was a winner! The only issue was the fit in our den. We decided that if worse came to worse, I could put a portion of it under the couch to help keep the rug from taking over the space. I didn't need to do that!

I took some pictures for my mom that night just so she could see what it looked like it the space. Then I added the old coffee table. What is glaringly obvious?

It was time for a new coffee table! I immediately went online and found several. I loved the look of this one. This Mid Century Mod table was perfection but not the price! And this one was nice as well, but I wanted something not so new. I have this thing for antiques. A thing for pieces that are a little beaten up. That have a ton of character. That tells a story. I chatted with my mom and we decided it was time to go dumpster diving! Or to our favorite antique store, Mission Road Antique Mall. That's when we found the perfect coffee table.

It was sitting in the middle of the hall. No price tag. No one in sight to tell us about it, and we were about to walk away, when the owner came around the corner. I asked if it was for sale and she firmly said no. It was her display table. After showing my disappointment, she asked what I was going to do with the table. I proceeded to tell her I was going to cut down the legs and make it my coffee table. She was so upset at the prospect of the table losing it's legs, but after a few minutes, she made an offer. We countered. And it became ours for $70! A school house table that had been used for painting, as you can see from the paint stains. I was so excited about my new table! 

After getting it home, there was some work to do, so my dad come over one afternoon to help me. He brought over his portable circular saw, clamps, L-Square with level, and we got to work. (I'm not allowed to have knives so using the circular saw was out of the question!) Other than cutting off the legs, nothing else was really needed. I had originally planned to sand down the table and stain it, but after looking at more closely, I decided I loved the color stains, the roughness of the wood, and the years of use its seen. Nope, leaving it just as it was! Blogging about turning it from work table to coffee table later!

The table has been in the den for a little over the week and I've been making tweaks to the room ever since. This rug and table have really been a motivation and inspiration for me to get this room back to a room I love spending time in. I had lost my love for our den. It was over crowded, dark, and just not a space I found joy in anymore. There were piles of this here and that there. And it just didn't scream family friendly or inviting. Aside from my office, it was space of a frustration. Not anymore! I love it! Let's take a tour.

Here is what the space looked like before. I'm adding back in the before office photos so you can get a perspective of how this whole room has really taken shape and become more light and airy.

Here is the rug with the concealed nail polish stain.

And do you see that black table in between the chairs? Well, there were two and they had made their way to either side of our couch. It dawned on me, once I got a larger table in the room, especially one so light, that there were way too many pieces of furniture and it was dark. I felt like the walls were closing in and something had to go. The end tables were the answer! They are now in our booth in Louisburg waiting for a new family room. (And you are getting a birds eye view of just how messy my house is on a daily basis!)

It was time to get this clutter, and dark room, back to its old/new self. I got to work cleaning out all the books, making piles of the ones I'm going to donate to our schools upcoming mobile library, and the ones that I wanted to keep. The end tables made their way into my mom's Explorer. Then it was time to clean out the hat boxes over in the right hand corner and consolidate old photos into the larger of the boxes. Two hat boxes are now making their way to the booth! Then it was time to dress up the coffee table and get this room in shape.

After a solid week of work, and proper placement, I'm happy to reveal the new space! 

And I've already made a decorating note. We need either an incredibly large print over the sofa or a wall full of art. Excited to get that started!

Can you see the paint spots?

 

The next thing on my agenda is to take down the ballet posters and pointe shoes from over the yellow cabinet and turn it into McKinley's art work wall. He as painted and created some amazing pieces this year, that they need to be on display. Can't wait for all the artwork over the next few years to be added!

And every room needs a bar!

What do you think? Do you like it? Have a favorite spot or piece? Do you like the new coffee table? All of the pieces you see on the table are from Michael's and they were on super sale! You don't have to spend a fortune on small room accent pieces. I love Joann's, Home Goods, and Michael's for these exact reasons. A room on a budget is everyone's favorite thing, right? 

I will make sure to share my updated art walls once they have been completed. Up next, our bedroom! I've been dreaming and scheming for a while now and I just need to make the final push to actually do it! 

XO,

Andrea