A Playhouse Update

The playhouse is moving right along, thanks to the hard work of Kev and his dad. I can't even express my admiration for how they have worked from morning til evening day after day in the hot grueling sun. The middle of July is probably not the best time of year to be roofing. But they pushed on, and it is really starting to take shape. I'll tell you what, these are two very lucky little girls. When I asked Kevin to build a playhouse for them I imagined something much smaller and simpler. But he was smart and thought long-term. Not only will this have longevity for the girls as they grow, but when they officially grow "out" of using this space, we'll be using it as our garden shed (unless of course I take it over as my she-shed? Just kidding honey!) We'll be planting our vegetable garden at the back of the shed next summer, and I can't wait to be able to walk out the door and pick the produce that I need from our back yard. I really miss having a constant steady supply of juicy tomatoes at my fingertips.

At some points during the day Kev could barely even touch the roofing materials, it was so hot. They eventually got smart and worked on it in the evenings, but then after a while his dad would end up having to point a flashlight at the roof so Kevin could see!

We also got *almost* a coat of paint on the outside, and WHAT a difference. We're putting cedar shingles on sides of the peaks (they just came in today - hurray!), and I think we're going to leave those natural. The windows are going on, which I painstakingly painted. Normally I say you can never have too many windows, but not when you have to paint them all!

Still to come, the front will be getting a pergola, which I think we're going to leave natural, and there will be a Dutch door on the front, barn door on the back, and window boxes will all add pops of color. And then! And then. I get to decorate. I am SO excited. I've been collecting odds and ends from Craigslist and consignment shops with the girls and we have found some really fun stuff. Stay tuned, I think we're in the home stretch! xo, Lauren

Half Bath Update

We finally got around to adding a fresh coat of paint to the half bath, and what a difference already! When we moved in it looked like this:

Faux gold ceiling and sponge painted beige walls. It was really busy and dark. I added some art to try to spruce things up a bit, but who was I kidding?! Here are a couple of close-ups to give you a better idea of what we're dealing with:

A couple of coats of wall and ceiling paint later and...

Hurray! Light, airy perfection. Eventually this little space will get a new vanity/sink, and probably a new mirror and light fixture. For now, it's like a million times better, don't you think? xo, Lauren

P.S. The paint color is Behr Silver Drop, the same color we used in the kitchen at our first house.

9 Tried & True Paint Colors

Over the last ten years, we've made a lot of great color choices when it comes to paint, but we've also made a lot of terrible ones. There was a lot of trial and error involved before we figured out how to choose a good paint color. When we bought our first house, we couldn't agree on paint colors, so we decided that I could choose the living room color and Kev could choose the family room color. We ended up with cranberry red and lime green. Like, glowing-nearly-fluorescent lime. I think we painted and repainted nearly every room in our first house. And even when you buy paint testers, although it helps, there's really nothing that can show you how a color is going to change the look and feel of a space until you get most of the space painted. So to hopefully save you a little bit of our pain and frustration, here are a few tried and true colors that we feel like, YES, we got it really right.

1. Behr Dolphin Fin

This color is such a great neutral. It goes with just about everything, and it contrasts well with bright white trim. Even though it's a nice light gray, I prefer it in spaces that get a lot of natural light. In darker spaces, I go a shade lighter with Behr Silver Drop, which you can see a little further down in the post. I think Behr may have taken this color out of their collection of paint chips, but they can still mix it for you.

You can see more of our former family room here.


2. Martha Stewart Magnetite

This color was actually a happy accident. I meant to get a more medium gray and somehow asked for this one by mistake. I didn't realize it until I started painting it on the wall, but I ended up absolutely loving it. It looks amazing in a space that has a lot of white to balance it out. It also looks great with wood tones, greenery, and pastels.


3. Behr Juniper Breeze

For this space we wanted a light neutral, but I didn't want to go with a traditional gray. We found this light blue-green-gray. I love that the color changes depending on the light and that it's still really neutral. It looks great with white and warm wood tones.


4. Behr Venus Teal

This is probably the most colorful that we've gone in a long time, but I love this color. It's rich without being too heavy and dark. It's colorful without being too saturated. It's just a really lovely, balanced color.


5. Behr Ultra Pure White

We use this color for all of our trim, but I love it on the walls as well. It's bright without being to cold. It looks great with pretty much everything.

You can see more photos of our new house here.


6. Behr Silver Drop

A slightly lighter version of Behr Dolphin Fin, which I mentioned earlier, this is a the perfect light gray. It looks great with everything, but especially coppers and warm wood tones.

You can see more photos of our kitchen reno here.

7. Behr Country Dairy

If you're looking for a great off-white/cream color, this is it. Light and airy, and a great neutral that pairs well with most anything.

You can see more photos of Violet's room here.


8. Behr Prelude

I was worried that this color might be too dark for this small space, so we added the beadboard to help balance things out. It ended up being such a cozy space. I love this color paired with whites, warm linens, and warm colors - yellow-golds, oranges, and reds.

You can see photos of Violet's nursery here.

9. Behr Smokey Slate

This color was the winner after we tested many, many colors for our lower cabinets. It would also look great on a piece of furniture like a bookcase, or even as a wall color. I love this color with jewel tones, whites, and warm wood tones.

So what about you? Have you found any paint colors that you love? I'd love to hear about them! We've still got a lot of rooms to paint! xo, Lauren

You can see more photos of our first house here, and our new house here.

(Just as an FYI, we tend to use a lot of Behr paint because we think it's a great product - this post is not sponsored by them in any way.)

(Paintbrush photo by my talented friend, Elizabeth.)

I've Got My Eye On .01

Now that we've moved, I'm surprisingly finding that I'm drawn to charcoal blacks, indigo blues, and brass. I'm not sure what it is about this house, but it somehow feels right. A few of these picks are a bit out of my league budget-wise, but they're definitely inspiring me at the moment:

1. Serena & Lily Hanging Rattan Chair - I think the girls would just love this and it's the right mix of whimsy and sophistication.

2. Oversized Mirror - Another great buy - this mirror is huge!

3. Paisley Pillows - This one is super budget-friendly - two pretty pillows for $29.99?!

4. Buffalo Check - Would love to upholster a chair or bench in this fabric, but a pillow is certainly  much more affordable option.

5. Libations Bar Cart - Okay, so this one is WAY out of my league, but so, so pretty!

6. Faceted Stone Lamp - I've always had a thing for soapstone (and this one is on sale right now!)

7. Medallion Rug - Love that this rug is a perfect combination of classic and contemporary (plus I bet the dark color would hold up well with kids and cats!)

So Long Carpet, Hello Hardwoods!

One of the first rooms we definitely wanted to tackle was our family room - AKA "the cave". It's the room where we spend most of our time - a lot of the girls' toys are housed in the cabinets and our TV is in this room. Plus, the fireplace! But it was SO dark and the carpet was super gross with the dog hair and awful smell in the carpet. 

While we'd love some drywall or even some shiplap in this space, we're working with a small budget, so here's what we decided to do with the space for now:

1. Prime & paint the paneling

2. Rip out the carpet

3. Add hardwood floors or refinish hardwoods (depending on what we found under the carpet)

4. Paint the ceiling

5. Possibly paint the brick on the fireplace

6. New curtains & area rug

We started by priming and painting most of the wood in the space. We painted first so that the carpet could act as a giant drop cloth, just in case there was hardwood flooring hiding under there. It took two coats of primer and 2-3 coats of paint + primer to get the job done. The wood was super dark and insanely thick, and it just sucked up the paint. 

Then we decided to remove the carpet to see whether or not we needed to buy hardwoods. We assumed at the very least we'd have to refinish the floors even if we did find hardwoods under the carpet, because why would someone cover up hardwood flooring with carpet unless it was damaged, right? Well apparently people actually do cover up perfectly good, beautiful, mint condition hardwoods with gross wall to wall carpet. When we pulled up the carpeting, there was a super THICK high quality carpet pad under it, and beneath that were absolutely beautiful hardwoods. I think the thick pad saved the floors from being stained by the dogs and kept them in mint condition. I couldn't believe our good luck. It saved us a ton of money and a boatload of back-breaking work.

We're still plugging away at the paint, but I can't wait to show you the transformation so far! xo, Lauren

Master Bedroom: Now You Have It, Now You Don't

In the last post I mentioned that we randomly ended up redoing our bedroom in the middle of trying to sell the house. It was a collaboration with Apartment Therapy and Sherwin Williams that was pitched to me, and it was too fun to turn down. I received a selection of bold, trendy paint colors to choose from for the walls, and it definitely took me outside of my comfort zone. While I love this color, I never would have picked it if it wasn't for this challenge. I would have chosen a much more toned-down, gray, probably even slightly lighter version of the color. But I'm so glad that AT and SW convinced me to make that leap of faith. The room felt like it had that zing that it was missing before. Kev and his dad also built me this amazing headboard, and I bought a new pillow and quilt for the bed.

The only thing I would probably do differently if I could have, would be to buy a new bed frame. We were (and are) still using a metal bed frame with a box spring and mattress, and the height of the bed really is a bit much for the space. I would have loved to have purchased a bed frame and gotten rid of the boxspring, but it just wasn't in the budget. Overall though I was really proud of the transformation and was super sad to leave this space. We got to sleep in it for probably about a month before moving out.

I absolutely adored having all of these beautiful roses in the space. Believe it or not they are grocery store flowers! They were having a sale on make-your-own bouquets and I got all of these beautiful fresh roses for a STEAL. It felt so romantic, I wish we could have them all of the time.

I also picked up a few cacti with those cute little flowers and buds on the tops (not sure what they're called exactly!) and I'm happy to say that they survived the trip to the new place. They're still blooming and I haven't killed them yet, so I'm definitely planning to continue to buy more succulents from now on!

I also wanted to rip out those sconces and take them with us. We got them on sale at Pottery Barn and it was great to have some extra lighting in the space. For the longest time we lived with a single table lamp (no ceiling lighting to speak of!) Let's just say seeing ourselves when we were getting ready in the morning was a challenge. Anyway, even though it's way after the fact, I really wanted to share these photos on the blog. Now I can't wait to get our new master bedroom together. Add it to the list... xo, Lauren

New House Tour: The First Floor

I wanted to get photos of the house empty - before we moved any of our furniture in, but the moving company was scheduled to come super early, so I didn't think I was going to be able to pull it off. Luckily my dad saved the day! While I was busy bubble wrapping back at the old house, he snuck in and snapped some quick shots. Here's the first floor in all it's glory:

The Living Room

Imagine this room paired with the fantastic scent of dog urine to complete the experience. We didn't smell a thing when we toured the house, but after we moved in? Let's just say we closed this room off and didn't use it at ALL for the first few weeks. It's a formal living room, which we've never really had before. On the other side of the wall on the right of the photo is the family room. We have potential thoughts of removing the wall entirely, or even just creating a doorway/walkway of some sort to tie the two spaces together. Or we might just keep it as is. A big question mark on this one.

Here it is from the opposite angle I love the French doors and the big windows (that are so sadly hidden by the most unfortunate maroon drapes) and that's about it. The carpet, paint color, window treatments, and hopefully *smell* will all go.

The Family Room

Dark. Wood. Paneling. It's super thick, solid wood. We eventually want to tear it out and potentially drywall (or I love me some of that Chip & Joanna shiplap), but for now we'll probably just paint it, rip out the carpet, and most likely even paint the fireplace. I also despise the textured ceiling, but, again, we may have to live with it for a while.

And the other side of the room:

Super excited about those doors that lead right onto the patio (which also needs a TON of work.) Luckily this carpet only has a mild urine scent, although it is CAKED in dog fur.

Half Bath

I'm super excited about having a half bath on the first floor! NOT super excited about the sponge-painted walls or faux gold-leaf ceiling. I also want to eventually replace the vanity and mirror.

The Dining Room

Another first for us: a formal dining room. There is a wall that separates the space from the kitchen, We want to see how the whole formal dining concept works for us, but there's potential to remove the wall and make one big space if we want to. At least this space has hardwood floors!

The Kitchen

I already miss my tiny little kitchen terribly. That was the hardest space to say goodbye to, since it was the one we had most recently finished. My farmhouse sink! Painted cabinets! Hardwood floors! :*( Sob. I do love having more space in the kitchen though, and someday I hope that this will be my dream kitchen!

I'm not a huge fan of this island in particular, but I do love that we have one! I have a plan to modify it to feel more us. The former owner was nice enough to leave these stools behind, so we're using them for the time being:

This are really makes the kitchen feel more spacious, and I love how it connects the kitchen with the patio/backyard. I can really see the girls playing in the yard so easily from this space, and it's really really amazing:

Here's another view of the island, with a shot of the crackle-texture wall that is behind it. At first this wall was a big question mark for us, as we weren't sure how to cover up/get rid of this texture, but the other day a light bulb went off, and we've got big plans for this baby now! The closed door in the photo leads to a partially finished basement (AKA toy heaven):

The Laundry Room

A big selling feature for me was the fact that this house has a laundry room on the first floor. A real, dedicated laundry room! Instead of the corner of a dungeon basement with incredibly precarious, narrow stairs! Life. Changing. To the right here is the door to the garage, and you can't see it in this photo, but to the left is another door that leads out to the patio/backyard area. Oh, and did I mention the storage? Yes, this house actually has it. Again, life changing.

So there you have it! The first floor of our new casa. Now, someone hand me a can of paint please!

xo, Lauren

Our New House!

Surprise! We moved! A little over four months ago to be exact. The whole thing has been a complete whirlwind - we'd been wanting to find something bigger for a while - our "forever" home, but we finally decided to take the plunge and start seriously trying to sell our house back in the Spring. We met with a realtor but ultimately made the decision to the sell the house on our own. Luckily, it worked! We didn't want to buy a new home until we sold ours, but we also wanted to get settled into a new house before Violet started school, so as soon as we sold our house the clock was ticking. It was a ton of pressure, especially because we didn't want to move again, so we were being really picky. Luckily, just in the knick of time, we found "the one!" Here she is in all her glory:

Stay tuned for more details about how we sold our house on our own, and lots of photos of the interior of the house! I'm sooo excited to tell you about our plans for it! xo, Lauren

A Bedroom Update with Lulu & Georgia

We're still slooowly but surely working on updating our master bedroom - the last major room in the house to get any attention. Is it like that at your house by any chance? I guess because it's the one room that I can close the door and (hopefully) no one will have to see it. At least until we go to bed that is. Anyway, the point is that it's been a bit neglected and I was thrilled when Lulu & Georgia suggested that we partner to spruce up the space a bit. We have a corner in the room that felt a little empty, so I decided that would be my focus. Lulu & Georgia sent over this amazing console table (their Fairmont console) and it is just perfect! They've also sent over a coupon code for all of you to use in case you have a space that needs a little something. Use lovelylark20 to receive 20% off your purchase at Lulu & Georgia. The code is valid for one week after this post. (Keep in mind that L&G ships to the contiguous 48 states only)

I'm so excited to be in our bedroom now! It makes me go to bed earlier and spend more time in the space. It's my new favorite reading corner. And the girls love it too. Violet always asks why my bedroom isn't "pwetty". When I brought her into the room after I was finished she gasped and said, "Mommy - it's beautiful!" I think I might be creating a little decorating diva! Thanks Lulu & Georgia for my beautiful Mother's Day present! xo, Lauren

On Having a Rug in the Kitchen

Since we updated our kitchen, the two most frequent questions I've been asked are, "What paint color did you use on your cabinets," and, "Do you like having a rug in the kitchen?" So I thought I'd do a little update post on the rug situation.

The rug is actually holding up quite well (especially considering that it was a steal at $79!) I do find that I have to vacuum it every other day, as it definitely gets a lot more traffic than some of the other carpets in the house, and it is obviously around food. I am pretty careful about where I prepare messy food - I try to do it on an area of the counter that isn't directly above the carpet in case anything should happen to spill, like when I'm cracking an egg or making spaghetti sauce.

 One issue we had was that the girls kept slipping on it, as I had cheaped out and failed to purchase a rug pad. Luckily we received this one from Rug Pad Corner and it has been lifesaver! It also makes the rug nice and soft underfoot, which as you can see Moe greatly appreciates:

It definitely helped that we chose a very flat, low-pile rug with a fairly busy pattern and darker colors, as I have had to spot-clean it a couple of times. I would definitely never choose to have a light-colored or thick/shaggy rug in a kitchen, or even a dining room for that matter. I love that it makes the room feel a little cozier and less sterile, as kitchens can sometimes tend to be. What about you guys - do any of you have rugs in your kitchens? How is it going for you?