pantry makeover

 I am pretty darn-tootin' excited.

 I had a couple cans of chalkboard paint ready to use somewhere in my new home. Just been saving them for the right place.

 I at first thought about painting Ash's bedroom door with it or using it for a wall in the playroom. But when I saw the old, plain wooden doors on the pantry in our breezeway, it hit me. Why not go all out with my red countertops, black accents, and coffee house-themed kitchen and make the pantry doors into a usable chalkboard (kind of like the "soup of the day" boards you see in restaurants)? My pantry has four huge doors with plenty of room to record our weekly schedule, the shopping list, a menu for the week (for those nights when I can't recall what all we have in the freezer, stomachs are growling, and Little Caesars pizza is looking cheap, easy, and fast), and maybe even a doodle area for my artsy-crafty daughter? So dear hubby went to work removing the doors and painting them.

As you can see from these older photos of the breezeway, the pantry doors (behind the back door) were not the prettiest (but overall, they might just be the best part of the breezeway in its current state. lol). Obviously, we are going to be investing some time and money into the whole area due to a former roof leak, but that's another blog post.

Here is sweetie pie doing yet another project for me...

First he painted on two coats of Krylon spray on chalkboard paint and then trimmed the doors out in a crisp fresh white.

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One door on! It actually is a large pantry and I like having that much space. Jarred plans to build some sort of drawers under it to hold potatoes and such. The OCD in me threatens to run wild with my label maker, sorting and labeling the whole thing. As Mrs. Doubtfire says, "What a nicely appointed little cubbie." Or something like that. ;) 

See the little step-stool? This house has  a LOT of cabinets high up on the walls. I am five feet seven inches and I can't reach the top shelf without that step stool. 

Hanging the doors.

Close-up view.

Voila! Our pantry door makeover. Now to make the chalkboard storage jars I found on Pinterest to go into my chalkboard pantry!

It will look really nice when the whole room is remodeled. :)

Thanks Sweetie!

Blessings,

Lynn

Home for the holidays part 2

Here are some random photos that I don't recall posting yet.

This adorable vanity chair was in Ash's room when we moved in and she wanted to keep it. Reminds of the old Kay's ice cream parlor type chairs. I love it.

Ash's room, when done, will be a hot pink, light pink, and black Parisian theme. This new comforter gives an idea of what it will be like when done. We still have to hang blinds, remove the old curtains, strip the wallpaper, and paint. My cousin had a neat idea to paint the bottom third of the walls black and the tops a light pink with white trim to separate the two colors. I think that sounds lovely without letting the black overpower the walls.

The boys hangout area with the game consoles and futon has become a popular spot for all the kids who visit. 

A close up of Adrian's side of the attic now. Still lacking paint and curtains.

A better view of Adrian's side.

Jarred has been busy landscaping. This is out by the road.

He also painted the former burgundy shutters black which I like a lot better.

This photo shows the previous burgundy shutters and Jarred's new side landscaping with hostas, and some plants he got at Lowes. 

Our little bridge from our old house found a new home in the corner of the landscaping.

Our bedroom is basically done. All we lack is locating some fabric for our little round nightstands and getting our own curtains up. This wallpaper grew on me so it's staying. 

Blessings,

Lynn

Home for the holidays

We got the Womack home almost fully furnished. What Mrs. Womack's family wanted was already gone or we sent to them soon after closing. But there are still curtains, books galore, knick-knacks, and furniture that we are sorting through little by little. When we can we try to see to it that things we can't use personally get good homes and we try to incorporate a few of the family's items into every room. 

Digging through the boxes we find in the attic and garage is kind of personal and special to me. We are literally looking into the personal lives of the family who lived here and called this house their home. What would my life say if a stranger could one day look into mine?

I find it interesting that we have some things in common with the Womacks. For instance, they must have liked traveling because we found passports and travel books to places I have only dreamed about visiting. Mrs. Womack was an educator here well after the age of retirement, and I am finishing my education degree as well.  This family had an active life in the church and community which is certainly commendable. And even Mr. Womack's little shop on the back of the garage is the perfect place for Jarred's at home business venture. In many ways this house is a good match for us as it must have been for the Womacks. 

I hope to find time soon to write to Mrs. Womack and send her photos of the work we are doing here. I think she would be proud to know someone else is falling in love with her home-our home- and taking care of it.

Now for a few new photos:

Books, books, and more books. We have kept some of Mrs. Womack's books that no one claimed for her.  It seemed a shame to us to let them go to Goodwill when they probably meant a lot to her and to us, as we love history and I am an avid reader when I have time. The huge Bible to the left on the second shelf is from the 1860's. That is priceless to me and I'm so glad to have it. In our former home we had a bookshelf in every room! I've toned it down a bit here. ;)  There are lots of Warren county history books we've found and added to our collection. I can't wait to actually find the time to READ these books.

Our old entertainment center has found new life in the dining room as a place to hold family photos and cookbooks.

This fireplace used to be in our living room but it has also found new life in the dining room.

This shelf belonging to the Womacks now serves a display for family photos and wedding mementos. If we ever get a china cabinet I don't know where on earth we'll move this to.

This is part of an old huge black desk we found in the attic. Rather than not use it at all, Jarred took the end cabinets off and painted them white. Since we needed a much smaller and taller entertainment center in our new living room, this is what the new white cabinet became.

It houses our surround sound system and other "ugly" TV equipment.

Aunt Deane sent new fall foliage to brighten our living room mantle.

The playroom....well, this is about as organized as it gets. But the cluttered look really gets to me. Perhaps someday we can put doors on all the cabinets.

Ashleigh's desk area.

The reading area. I can't help it; I tend to group my own home like daycare centers.

My study area (although I haven't studied here one time yet because it's so crowded it makes me feel claustrophobic).

When my degree is finished I'll be able to teach in a Headstart, preschool, daycare, or school setting. Or open my own in-home pre-k which is really my favorite option. I am looking into ways that this part of the house could one day be used as an in-home pre-k classroom/play area. I think that over time, as the boys grow up and start their lives, Ashleigh will move upstairs into the boys' attic space. She will feel like a queen if we ever turn that area into a suite of sorts. I think the addition of a small bath up there would make a wonderful teen girl's dream hangout. With that in mind, if she moves up, then her playroom, bedroom, and adjoining bath downstairs would be free to use for pre-k. One room might function as a classroom and the other a room for centers and play? Of course, if one had enough money to remodel, the back of the house could be bumped out and made larger to use as an indoor gross motor play area as well. Or a playground area could be added to the  back yard. If I do begin an in-home pre-k I would likely only have 6-8 children per session, so a lot of space might not be necessary. Just dreaming about all that could take place in the future....

The holidays will soon be upon us and posting may become a little harder. So until next time, blessings!

Lynn