Make Your Own Chandelier

Olivia somehow got the idea that she wanted a "princess chandelier" in her room. When I saw the price tag on a small chandelier I said OH NO! So I got the crazy idea to make my own. I purchased a brass chandelier from Habitat Restore for $15 (you know, the kind everyone wants to get rid of). I spray painted it off white to match the trim in the house. I think I did maybe 3 coats of paint. Oh and don't forget to put tape over the electrical wires.

After Christmas I looked for bead garland on sale. I found a few strands at Hobby Lobby for about $1 each. I also bought decorative rnament hooks. The "crystals" I found at Target. They sell them as vase fillers and the pack was $7. They came with holes already in them so it was perfect for hanging. I used fishing line to hang the crystals and have some left over for another use in her room. Here's the finished product!

I covered the candle stick things (not sure what they're called) with scrapbook paper. I just cut them to size and used tacky glue that dries clear. I can't tell you how excited she is!!! She wants to show everyone her princess room and her chandelier. It was a super easy project and much less expensive than the real thing.

So we didn't think about the implications of painting the trim an off white color. Although it looks great and we wouldn't change a thing, we have run into a few snags. It takes forever to paint first of all. You have to cover every square inch otherwise the white will show through. And the latest issue is with blinds. We went to buy white wood blinds like we always have but when we installed the first one it looked terrible. The stark white against our off white trim made the trim look dingy. So now we're having to special order blinds to match the trim. Ugh!! Expensive!!

Move Day

We finally moved into the house!! Yes, we're missing door knobs, have 1 working toilet, and much more to complete but we're super excited to be in that we don't care! Jason and I love working together on projects and we were tired of working at the house in shifts alone. We figured it was at a point where we could move in so we did it. I will say that tonight is the first night I have actually cooked in the kitchen. We've been eating out so much. But it's starting to feel like home.

We are so thankful that we took our time renovating and were able to move in without any debt. Every month we saved up for the projects we wanted to complete, even if it was only a few galons of paint that we purchased. So if you're wondering why it took us so long that's one of the reasons...throw in 2 small children and 8 months later we have a renovated home.

It seems like we will never run out of projects with this house. Jason is thrilled that we have a full unfinished basement to work on in the future! Below is a picture of the island we wrapped in beadboard, added baseboards and cabinet doors. I was really pleased with the finished product. Instead of having a separte kitchen table we had one large slab of granite installed on the island and will use the other end as a table. I'll post another picture once the legs are painted. Olivia has loved sitting on her bar stool!

Painting Kitchen Cabinets

Check out the "staging area" for the kitchen cabinets. It sure did help having the space to do this in. First we sanded and primed the cabinets (both sides). Then we sanded again because if there are streaks in the primer it will show through once you paint. Oh, and the primer we used is oil based. Then we painted the cabinets using oil based SW Wool Skein. It has a little more color to it than just plain old cream. At first we tried a brush on the doors but decided the small foam roller worked the best. Now I will tell you that this is a long process...2 coats of paint on each side and drying time of 24 hours between each coat. We also did the same thing to the cabinet boxes.

The finished product (excuse the mess...we just moved in!!) And yes, those are spray painted knobs!

Floor Installation

I'm a few weeks behind on blogging, but the hardwood was installed and looks beautiful. We bought it at the Home Depot outlet in Atlanta. If you haven't checked it out you should! This hardwood was an incredible deal and is the only reason we were able to do it throughout the entire downstairs. It's Manchurian Walnut hand scraped by Jason (what a coincidence huh?)

If you'll notice we changed the direction of the kitchen (foyer and dining room too). We think it adds a little character and breaks up the rooms. This is one of the few projects we DIDN'T do ourselves. It took me forever to convince Jason but I'm so thankful he agreed. It only took the guys 2 days to complete the installation.