Well, hello! Thanks so much for all of your praise and kind words you lavished on my laundry room ~ I so appreciated it! I'll post about the cabinets and other ?'s you asked tomorrow...but

today I'm giving you a design challenge with this room:

Sara sent me these pictures of her family room and this is what she says:

"I think I'm going to repaint my DEEP red den this lovely color(monroe bisque)...the red is feeling soooo heavy-add in some drop cloth curtains and I'm good to go!
I also have a red brick fireplace that goes up to the ceiling-should I just paint the brick that color too or go for another color? Contrast? Or just simple?

I have a psycho insane life and the red feels so intense.

And isn't the fireplace just WACKED out? But the mantle? I work for a custom woodshop (I know, you're jealous) and it was a display that they were about to throw away! And it's...well...velcroed to my firebox, nester style :) But it DID make my amazing photos taken by my amazing photog friend Amy.

*******

I think Sara has the right thinking of going lighter. With the small space, I think it will really open it up and it will feel much calmer. I would go with natural creams and beiges with the couch and choose a natural green or blue to use for accents. I think her thoughts of dropcloth drapes on all 4 windows would be a great, low cost choice.
I would choose one photo for the mantel and put it in a big, chunky frame with a few other simple accessories like some candlesticks. I would paint the mantel and the brick a creamy white and the walls a neutral monroe bisque, plantation beige, or ivoire. If you want more a contrast, you could stain the mantel to match your wood floors, which would also look very rich.

I think the pictures of the (adorable!) kids in the white frames are too small scale for the wall~maybe a big grouping of all black or all white frames?

That light placement is very interesting...I would get rid of it if I could and bring in a lovely floor lamp with a shade. That trunk is awesome, but I'm wondering if it would be better displayed in another room of your house? I would clear out as many little furniture items as possible to open up the space and keep it simple.

Velcro, Sara?? Wow :) I applaud your ingenuity, but you might want to secure it a little more... I would frame out the rest empty spot in the hearth and then tile it. You can google tiling a stone fireplace and lots of different ideas and tutorials will come up. Layla had a great tutorial on her blog for her fireplace as well.
Now that window...what is on the other side, Sara? Would it look cool to paint the frame black and make it a little picture window, or maybe just cleverly cover it up?

What do you all think? Any ideas or links to share with Sara for inspiration, especially with the hearth and the funky window above the sofa? Let's help a girl out...give her any thoughts in the comments and we'll definitely be following up with her to see what she decides. I'll be checking in with the comments a couple of times today and have Sara as well so we can ask her questions if we need to~thanks, everyone! I'm excited to see what we can come up for her :)

Can we just take a minute and remember the nastiness before?

Dark cabinets, dark doors, to-do projects piled everywhere, a floor that needed to be cleaned:

Are you ready to see inside?

Well, come on in, then!

Remember this steal of a basket from the Hob Lob clearance? I use it for odd socks. And of course, you remember the lamp from a yardsale with some fabric.
The green balls were from a yard sale and I was going to use them for Christmas, but why not in the laundry room? The tin holding them is the Southern Living one I found at a yard sale as well...
I used the beadboard wallpaper on my cabinets! Love, love them. My husband kept going back in and saying, wow, they look so good! I'll do another post on how I did them, but Rhoda was my inspiration for these, and the paint color on the walls, which is Behr Grasscloth. Thank you, Rhoda! The new knobs are from Hob Lob, 50% off. ($3 each)
I used an old fashioned candy container from a yard sale ($2) and filled it with color safe bleach powder I use to soak stained clothes in. Since the shelves are on wheels, I hot glued it to the top to stay put.
I painted the door black and used the reverse side of the comforter for a new-sew window treatment. Just hung it up with a few upholstery tacks ala Nester style, and that was it:
And you've seen the little work area across from the washer/dryer:

Thanks for coming in and thank you for choosing the green for me!
I really love it, and I figure if you can't have fun in the laundry room with paint, where in the world can you?? :)

P.S. If you have any questions, ask in the comments and I'll try to answer them in a follow up post~
I'm linking up to Rhoda's Thrifty Treasures:

Marie from Emma Calls Me Mama is having an Heirloom Party!

One of the favorites in my house is this picture of my grandpa (one on the right) as a boy fishing. He passed away when I was in 5th grade and I just love looking at this picture:

the mountains of Canada in the background, the river, the fish, the basket, I think it looks like a picture out of a River Runs Through It, don't you think? I would love to play around in photoshop with it and get a big print of it someday.

The next pieces are in my girls room: I got this bedroom set from my great-grandma because I was the first great-grand daughter on my dad's side. She had it for her daughter, Thelma when she was little, so it was built in the 1930's or 40's. I had it in my room when I was little, then my younger sisters did, and now we have it again for my daughters. I love it and have so many memories at that little vanity. :) The plan is to tackle my girls' bedroom next, and I'm not quite sure what to do with this set.

I love the detail, but they're in pretty rough shape as far as the paint goes,

but I'm afraid to strip it if it's lead paint. So, I guess my first step would be to see if the paint has lead in it and then go from there? Have any of you worked with a piece like this? I would love to hear any tips you have...I would love to give them some new life.

Have a great weekend!

Hello! Thanks for all your well wishes for my phone a friend adventure~I feel three times smarter from all of the trivia I've been scouring over in the past couple of days. :)

My sister had to sign a million contracts saying she would not say anything about what happens on the show, but I can tell you I didn't get a call and that it will be broadcast on Aug 9 during prime time. Most of me is relieved, but a little part of me wants to see how I would have done. :)

She's having a blast in New York with her husband.

Old Navy wasn't so great for me this time around. My store didn't have the selection they usually do, but I did get a few things. The add'l 50% is over, but here is a friends and family coupon (thanks, Victoria!) for 30% off at Banana Republic, Gap, or Old Navy through the weekend.

I did have good luck at Dillards though~they are having add'l 40% off their clearance (including home and furniture!!) through the weekend and I got some great deals on good school shoes for the kids.

I have also put some shelves in the hutch ~ they had a few built in shelves already, but the adjustable ones were missing. So, I just got some cheap wood at Lowes, had them cut it to size for me,

and then I got this cute scalloped trim at Michael's for $1 each. (back by their wood crafts and dowels)I attached to the edge with liquid nails,


spray painted it a cream color to match the rest, and then rested them on those little shelf holder supports that fit into the holes. (is there a name for them??)

I also made a fabulous discovery: remember the little clock (looks like Pottery Barn, but I'm pretty sure it's not) that I got for 50 cents that they said didn't work?

Well, I put a battery in, and it works!!
Yahoo! The alarm also works as I found out at 3:30 a.m. when my husband was out of town and it went off and I could not figure out for the life of me what it was. Scared me to death! I thought it was a bomb signaling that it was about to go off. Anyway, I gave it a new home on the shelf next to a "happy" sign I found on a Target endcap this spring for $3.24:

So, the walls are painted, the desk is finished, I'm finishing the cabinets, and I should have a complete laundry room to show you Monday!

Remember that there is no natural light in here, making for some not so great pics:

I'm linking up to Kimba's DIY party...happy Thursday!

I'm so nervous I could throw up right now...
Remember, my sister Kristin? (cute cabinet family sign girl)

Well, as we speak, she is in NYC, because she was chosen to be on:

No joke! Oh, wait, it gets better...

She has chosen me to be one of her lifelines for phone a friend. Yes, me and
Yes, I said the same thing: "What are you thinking??"

It's a special anniversary edition and Regis will be back (more on that here) and they'll be doing the old format where you have to put things in order the fastest to get on, so she may not make it, but she's a piano and cello player and has pretty quick little hands, so I won't be surprised if she does.
She's under strict instructions not to call me unless it's a question about Sonic, yard sales, hgtv, paint colors, having 5 kids, or it's something I could google very quickly. :)
She got a free three day trip to NYC with her husband though with all expenses paid, so that's worth it right there, and I shouldn't feel any pressure about potentially making her miss out on $25,000 or so, right??
They'll call me (Wed afternoon) to give me a heads up if she gets on, and then I have to stay by my land line and ship my kids to the neighbors lightning quick and get some really smart people over to my house, just in case.

Oh man, could y'all be on an instant chat or something?? I wish!
I'll let you know what happens...
anyone have any tips for me??

I know you're still laughing that she chose me :)
Off to practice googling random trivia questions...

Call your store, but I think most are doing it! Besides yard sales, this is one of my favorite sales, especially before school starts! I've been waiting for this...To sweeten the deal, go to www.oldnavyweekly.com to get a coupon. The best I could find was to click on the tan pair of uniform pants on the right, and drag them over to the kid with the navy blue shirt and messenger bag~that gave me an add'l 15% off coupon. They may update the coupons soon though. Guess this means I'm not getting to the laundry room today :)

Good luck!

Hi everyone! I was hoping to have a finished laundry room to present, but I'm not quite there. I'm shooting for next Monday. As always, things seem to take a little bit longer than expected around here :) Hang in there with me!
I wanted to share some paint tips that you shared last week that I love:

Kara said: Here are two tips I used just this morning.
1-If you get interrupted in the middle of a paint job, you can wrap your brush in a plastic bag. When you come back, you can just pull it out and start painting.
2-After you finish rolling on the first coat and are waiting for it to dry, just leave the roller in the tray and wrap the entire thing in a garbage bag. No time wasted rinsing out the darn roller!

Cheri said, :When ever you get paint, pick up an extra paint stick and brush on some paint to the end of the stick, let it dry then on the unpainted portion of the stick write the name of the paint, where you got it, the code, and what room/s you painted that color in. Tie all of your paint sticks together and hang then in the garage and if you ever need to pick up an extra can of paint you will know exactly what you got last time. It is also great for anyne who purchases your home, if they like the colors they know where to go for extra paint.

Gina said: "If you ever have to rush away for a few hours (like a kid breaks a finger...) then wrap the brush and stick it in the fridge. Pull it out when you're ready to paint again (like 2 days later after surgery)."

Rhoda said, "Like Gina, I wrap my paint brush as well as the paint tray in plastic wrap & stick it in the fridge, sometimes for days. Great trick! ...And I don't ever tape off my trim either. I've learned to be pretty handy with those angled brushes."

Fantastic~thanks to all of you!
And a final tip to start your Monday: Michael's has the little foam brushes that are great for touch-ups on sale for 15 for $1 this week~go stock up!

Remember this lovely birdcage?

I simply stripped it down, gave it a coat of black spray paint and let it just be simple.

I put it on top of my hutch in between two fabric storage boxes, both from a yard sale.

Happy Monday!