Muddin' Around

While growing up, we frequently visited our family in New England. One of my favorite memories is visiting my great-grandmother's old farmhouse.  She had a large kitchen with a huge wood slab table, big enough to fit everyone for hours of laughter, card games, dice, and wonderful meals. Also, the mudroom, large pantry under the stairs, parlor room, and loft-type room upstairs with mini-windows where my sister and I would yell to people outside and then hide, made her house so charming! I have always wanted to live in a farmhouse, not huge, but a cozy, well-planned space. Her house is the inspiration for the decorations I have chosen for my 1,200 square foot cookie cutter ranch. I will never live in her house, but why not go for the feeling, right?!!  In order to do this, I decided the first thing I needed was a mudroom! What a dream, lol! Truly, it is one of mine! Since I don't have space for a true mudroom, some improvising had to take place. Here's how it went...

 This is before I started. Not too bad, but nothing special.

A closer view.


Now, start the makeover...
My idea started when my husband and I bought a desk for our living room from my beloved IKEA, lol! I love the classic look and we also purchased a matching bench for extra seating and storage.  I noticed after a while that the bench was very narrow, only 11 inches deep, which fit perfectly near my front door without blocking someone who was trying to come into the front door. This is when the wheels started turning. My first idea was to just move the bench near the door under my hook rack and call it a day. BUT, that would be too easy, lol! First, I needed to revamp the cushion...

It came with a plain white cushion cover (I had already taken it off in this pic and forgot to take a picture beforehand, so it looks really wrinkled...)

Next, a trip to Hobby Lobby and a few yards of fabric later, I headed home to recover my cushion. :-) I was able to use fabric glue and hot glue...no sewing required!!! YAY!! (Oh, and 1/2 yard of fabric will totally do...I got extra for another project to come soon!!)

Finished bench!

 Another view


I decided to continue the white theme, as I LOVE white! Beadboard would be the perfect addition to my mini-mudroom. Headed to Home Depot, I purchased one sheet of beadboard ($19!!!). At my second home, IKEA, I got a  Ribba picture ledge ($15) and a Ribba picture frame ($10). Add  a little FREE custom art and the hooks that I already owned and I was ready to put my mudroom together! Check it out below! (I have a few tips I learned at the bottom.)

AFTER!!!

Close-up!

I'm in love! :-)

A few tips:
-For the beadboard, I took my measurements with me to Home Depot and had them cut it for me for FREE! Also, I put liquid nails on the back to adhere it, and a few finishing nails along the edge to help hold it in place.
-Picture ledge-Since IKEA didn't sell one the exact size as I needed, I bought one that was bigger and cut it down myself with a little hand saw. It was really easy and I was able to do it right in my kitchen in literally 3 minutes. Plus, I still have the extra for anytime I need a small shelf or ledge for a frame!  These little steps for a "custom" look make a huge difference!!! I wanted everything to look built in. Oh, I put this up with anchors and screws to ensure they wouldn't be going anywhere.
-Free customized art: I originally saw this on one of my favorite blogs, Young House Love. All you need to do is find the beginning of a magazine article with the initial you want and blow it up until you get to your desired size. Super easy and took about 10 minutes once I was at a copier :-) I did find that the colored letters were very hard to copy clearly. (I found that Southern Living had the most articles without colored letter or pictures behind the articles and the largest variety of letters to choose from.)
-The picture ledge was the perfect depth for a shelf near the front door instead of a regular shelf.
-Try not to think of things only for the function they were first intended. Also, take store bought items and then personalize them to fit your style and needs :)

All in all, not too bad!

So you ask...what about your desk? Where are you going to sit now?? Stay tuned for that project very soon!!!

PS-The bench is the ALVE series at IKEA. (For some reason, I wasn't able to respond in the comments...dang computer issues!)

Happy Veteran's Day!

As a child of a [large] military family, I love Veteran's Day!! My dad, step-dad, and step-mom are all Marine Corps veterans. My uncle and two grandfathers are Army veterans. I still vividly remember my step-dad coming home from his last deployment while we were living in Hawaii.  It was the middle of the night; we were all crammed into the car, drove to the air field on the other side of the base, and waited with all of our friends for the grey-green plane to descend from the sky. That was the hardest part...waiting to see the plane. But, when we finally saw it, we all wept and screamed with excitement!  But first, we had to find him, lol! When you have a couple hundred people who look the same and are dressed the same, it becomes the most exhilirating "Where's Waldo" search of your life! And then, we found him...running to us...and the rest of the world melted away! No one who has not been through this experience will ever be able to understand the relief and flood of emotion when you see YOUR loved one emerge from a massive military plane, dressed in head-to-toe camo, rifle on back, and know they are home. Finally. Home.  And safe.

I am so proud of my family and all of the other veterans out there. Because of you, WE ARE FREE!

And to top it off, it's also my mom's birthday!!! LOVE YOU, MOM!!! XOXOXO

Baby Got Back

When we moved into our little house, I immediately tackled the builder's beige walls with Pismo Dunes in the main areas (living room and hallway), Mesa Verde Tan (in the kitchen attached to the living room), and Jamestown Blue as the accent color on the main wall in our living room and the attached mini foyer area.  I had the colors picked out before we even had a house, lol! My hubs and I got married 2 weeks after we moved in and had the brilliant idea to have our rehearsal dinner at our house so that everyone could see our new abode. While this idea was convenient to show everyone at one time, it was a NIGHTMARE to get everything finished in time...especially because I had a loooong list of decorative projects I wanted completed besides unpacking and the usual moving tasks. One of these was the kitchen. I did manage to peel off all the pink flowered wallpaper the night before our rehearsal dinner and paint the kitchen with Mesa Verde Tan at 2 am, but wasn't able to tackle the backsplash like I had planned. My quick-fix was to paint it a darker color than the wall (just mixed with black acrylic paint) and a touch of gold acrylic paint for a more interesting effect. While this worked ok, I did not love it.

Fast forward to two years ago when I felt like I was 26 months pregnant and nesting...it was finally time to tackle the backspash! And to do it, I turned to Lowes. I saw faux tin tiles in the store with several finishes (I chose bronze). (I wasn't able to find them online to link, but they have them in the kitchen section of their store.)Since our kitchen is so small, the $16 per sheet price tag didn't break the bank too badly. And they are plastic, cut with scissors, and stick up with double-sided tape...great for a huge pregnant girl in need of an easy project. I think it took me an hour and half from finding my ruler in the garage to putting the little bowl of lemons on the counter for the "after" photo. I am so thrilled with the outcome and they are super easy to keep clean! Look below for pics, materials, and steps. :)

Take a look:

(These are both before, obviously...lol!  Notice the ugly first attempt paint job...)

Now on to the good stuff.....

(First couple of pieces....lookin' good already!)

And the finished product!!!

(Wasn't joking about the bowl of lemons...lol!)

Ok, so here's the breakdown!
Materials:
-ruler
-scissors
-faux tin tiles
-double stick tape (I used the same brand as the tiles)
-same color film to go over light switch covers
-measuring tape
-sharpie
(I think that's it...it's been a while!)

Steps:
1. Measure your walls and order the tiles, get an extra just in case :)
2. Take off all outlet covers.
3. Start measuring tiles/marking cut lines (TIP: apply tiles from the back of your kitchen to the front. For mine, I would have gone from left to right...this makes it so that when you are done, the seams face the opposite way that you look at them...I didn't do this at first and can see a few seams.)
4. Cut tile, apply double sided tape, stick, repeat!
5. When all of your walls are complete, cover your outlet covers (good instructions/illustrations for seamless application are included)
6. Screw the covers back on. Mine were a dark bronze color, so I also colored the screws with my Sharpie for a more seamless look.
7. Clean up materials/wipe counters
8. Add a bowl of lemons to your counter
9. Take pics and smile at your new backsplash!!!

Hope you enjoy! Let me know if something seemed confusing so I can clarify for you :)

What's in a name??

So, I have been a blog-stalker for a couple years now and have wanted to start my own blog. Only problem....It has taken me forever to think of a name!!! haha!  I have gone to the blogspot website many a-times and just sat there with the cursor blinking...waiting to select my title.  Then, I would typically just get off the computer.  My friend Chelsea and I walk together and for the past week or so, our mission has been to name my blog! lol! My title "Feels Like Home Now" comes from my desire to create a home that I love and to be surrounded by people and things that inspire me on a daily basis. I hope you enjoy and that I am able to pass on any inspiration I find to you!  Cheers!
PS-Fun projects to come!! :)