progress

remember this cart? (blogged about here and here) the one that i refer to as my pride and joy:

we have decided for our apartment to use it as an entertainment center/shelving in our living room.  but the problem was that my precious cart did not have shelves.  originally we were planning on just buying cheap plywood and having it cut to size to use as makeshift shelving.  it didn't sound great aesthetically but we didn't really want to put money into a temporary fix. 

anyway, when we were at home depot, the plywood sizes were just not going to work out right and it was actually going to be kinda pricey (and not look very good).  

plan b. we walked past these big 2"x10"x16' boards that were quite pretty and really sturdy. they were cheaper than plywood and long enough that we could get 3 lengths out of them. so we ended up getting 2 of the boards ($10 each) and they cut them for us for free.  here was our basic idea:

the mister and i tag-teamed it. 

i did the sanding

 

we sampled our stain options.....and decided on "provincial".

before and after the staining

and he did the staining. 

a few hours later.....we are proud. 

of course i will have to get better pictures of it when it is actually in our home (and i've figured out storage solutions....yikes. this thing is so big we need to get a lot of storage out of it for all the square footage it is taking up! ha ha)

andrew was sweet and supportive when i wanted to buy the cart. it was kinda an irresponsible buy, for many reasons:

1. it wasn't in the budget

2. we were living with my parents. so it sat in the front yard for a year.

3. it is huge.

4. we were moving to texas and it had to make the move with us.

5. it was impulsive

6. the real use i wanted to buy it for (kitchen island) will not be realistic until we own a home. with a large kitchen. that could be years....

7. it is an acquired taste for some (not everyone understands putting an industrial cart in the living room).

but regardless of all of these things, we bought it.  he thought it was cool but not spend-money-on-and-keep-in-the-front-yard cool. but he let me do it.  

now even he is telling me how great it will look in our apartment. the simple shelves really dress it up. although he still teases me ("i think we need to sell this....") he is on board. it is so nice to have a supportive husband and it was fun to work together on it.

updates...

a few updates from my list for the apartment planning the other day.

1. we got the butcher block table top i was hoping for. we bought it off craigslist. it is a trestle table that is perfectly fine the way it is...but i just don't care for it (the base) much.  or the color of the stain. or the scratches, etc.

my parents were in town this week and they surprised me by sanding the whole table top while i was at the DMV for 2+ hours. yay!  now i just need to stain and polyurethane it.

2. i was originally planning on doing a pipe base that i talked about here. it was going to take a little while to save up extra money to buy plumbing pipes...every girl's dream i know. but then i stumbled across a little gem on pinterest...

via stylizimo blog

that made me aware of those metal trestle legs from ikea that she uses as her table base.  well i think those would be just great with our butcher block table top. [did i mention that the legs are only $10 each!!) i can get them right away and i think i will be just as happy with them as i would with the pipe base. easy.

3. i am not dismissing my love of pipes so easily. there are still many things i'd like to do with my plumbing pipes. in fact, it's probably a good thing that i can scratch one pipe project off my list, because i don't want my apartment to look like some waterworks warehouse.  so anyway, projects like

via the brick house

via 

via

all still valid options.

4. we ordered chairs.  in a dream world, i'd get tolix chairs in a fun color.

but that just isn't an option financially, so i downgraded to the overstock.com knock off:

 i actually don't think of them as knock-off tolix, because then i would never be satisfied. they do not have nearly the same character or charm as the tolix chairs.

...but they are metal, affordable, and interesting. they are lightweight and stackable.  plus they were $139 (including shipping) for a set of 4! so i consider them a cute budget chair that got really good reviews from the overstock.com customers.  i'll let you know what i think when we get them.

5. we will have a bar/open counter space in our little apartment. so i was about to get these bar stools (2 for about $75) in the same order with the chairs....

but then i realized i had no clue if i'd need the 24" height or the 30" height. and i guarantee the return shipping would be a lot more than the $3 shipping overstock charges.  so i figured i'd pay the $3 again and order them next week once we're in the apartment and i've measured, etc.  cute huh?

6. i was re-reading the post about the ikea trestle legs (see item #1) and realized that she was inspired by someone else's table. so i followed the link. here's what i found: 

via helt enkelt

and now i am so excited! because look at the chairs on the left side of the table. same material and color as my chairs i just ordered. same style, although i can't tell if these are real or knock-offs. but my point is i am excited to see my finished dining room with the ikea legs and metal chairs. judging by this picture i think i'll like it.

laundry list

i'm going to ignore the fact that i have been MIA from the blog for a couple months...and just say that my husband and i have been busy. moving. starting a new job. apartment hunting. car shopping. and another little surprise but i'll save that for later.

back to the moving/apartment thing. we found a place! and we move in about 2 weeks from now. so now i am in full mental-decorating mode.  here are a few of my tentative plans:

sorry, i don't know the link

build hanging shelves like these in the dining room (smaller scale i'm sure)

via pinterest from design sponge sneak peek

stain rather than paint a dresser green

via this sneak peek

i would kill to get a filing cabinet like this..

via hindsvik

build a piece of furniture using hairpin legs

via

and make this table base for a new kitchen table using the tutorial from frugal farmhouse design...

but we may have to save up a while. these little pipes are pricey. (i have become an expert on galvanized steel plumbing pipes and fittings)

if all goes well today, then i will have a butcher block top for it.

via wit + delight

plant an herb garden right away... possibly a big one on our little patio like this:

sorry again


 have more ideas, but in the spirit of not getting too ahead of myself....i'll leave it at that.

in the home

a few days ago i posted about my pride and joy (a vintage industrial cart i bought at an antique store).  i thought i'd share a few photos that give an idea of how i'd use the cart in my house/apartment someday.

as a kitchen island:

apartment therapy via pinterest

via pinterest

as shelves/linen closet on wheels:

via pinterest (no link)
but i think it looks like pottery barn 

or other kitchen storage:

via remodelista

(this is kinda an island too but you could see how it could be shelving)

see, my little cart has so much potential!

here it is, in case you missed it.

my pride and joy

this past fall i was at a nearby antique store with my mom.  on a married student budget, i was not looking for much, maybe a few linens or something small. (that day i did walk out with this old vintage colorblock flag that the owner gave me for FREE! i am saving it for my someday little boy's room)

but then...something caught my eye that kind of made me feel sick:

 

 i was obsessed. i had seen similar things on ebay and places like 1st dibs for $700-2000, so i automatically assumed it was in the same price range.  i was too scared to find out myself, but i asked my mom to ask the owner (ha ha).  but he quoted her $250.  now, to some of you [camp A], this old cart seems like junk that should be taken to the dump.  but you are wrong.  people like me, [camp B] see this as my kitchen island with a butcher block top, or an amazing shelving unit, or even an entertainment center. and to me, $250 was a steal.

so i went home and talked to my perfect understanding husband [camp A] who helped me find money in our tight budget for this investment.

it sits in our front yard for now, and i smile every time i see it.  we are moving in august to dallas, and it will be one of the few prized possessions we move with.

enamored

via

botanicals

i am loving botanical prints in homes these days.  they are the perfect mix of

vintage and current, scientific and feminine.. 

for inspiration, i searched "botanical print" in pinterest. here's some of my favorites:

katie's pinterest via

su's pinterest via

via dominomag

maggie's pinterest via

ellen's pinterest via
one of my favorites

michelle's pinterest via

                                                     

pansyeye's pinterest via -- another favorite of mine          

a while ago, i painted my own botanical print for our bedroom

using watercolor, gesso, and ink. i tea dyed the water color paper before painting for an aged look.

 i think that part was key.

i painted an old thrift store frame and sanded it a bit.  i backed my print just on some muslin.  

i quite like how it turned out.

i have some more botanical projects in mind for my bedroom.. 

so hopefully they show up here soon.

507 renfro street

we are moving to dallas in the summer, after we graduate, to start my husband's job in august.  i am excited to start our real adult life.  it is also a little surreal.  but one of the best parts about moving...means a new place to live!  in reality we are looking to rent an apartment downtown for a little while. i am excited about renting an apartment... we are looking at lofts in old converted industrial buildings and factories, the kinds of places with exposed bricks and ductwork, concrete floors, etc. all of this is very exciting to me, and i know that this is the only time of our lives when living downtown in a big city and living in a small apartment will be realistic AND practical.

but.  there's another part of me that wants to skip the downtown experience all together, and get into a house. i understand the practicalities of living downtown, and it makes sense, and i'm happy to. but i can't help but look at the real estate available in our potential price range.  i drive my husband crazy doing this...but i can't help it. every few months (this has gone on for over a year) i find a great little house, the kind that i-want-right-now-and-i-can't-live-without-it-and-it's-perfect-for-a-million-different-reasons. of course, we can't do anything about it right now.  but now that the move is actually in this calendar year, it's tempting.

so anyway, the point of all this yada yada, is that i found a new favorite house this past week.  meet my friend on 507 renfro street. (all pictures from realtor.com)

doesn't it just look like home? 

so picturesque

and i love the trees

the pros:

-half an acre lot

-price is very reasonable, would cost us less than renting

-new siding

-4 bed

-2 1/2 bath

-1856 sq. ft -- fine for a starter home

-features a "workshop" (unsure of what this is but it sounds like a pro)

-original wood floors

-it is not the typical blah house that you see so many of around this part of dallas in our price range

-under 30 min. commute for the mister (based on google map search)

the cons: (this is a good exercise for me since my house love is blind)

-priced low enough that i'm a little worried about the neighborhood. and even if there are nice people there, would there be any families under 65 yr. old?

-there are no interior photos. that leaves me to wonder a lot.  

-no clue if there are any structural/major issues with the house

-i do not think this house has a front door. ha ha, all i can make out from the photos is a little red side door. kinda weird i must admit. [see photo 2]

so.

as you can see,

there are not many cons. i am in loooovveee with this little old place.

i hope that no one notices this little place for the next 5 months....that we automatically are approved for a home loan, that the whole process goes flawlessly, and that we have our first christmas in dallas in this little place.  oh yeah, and somewhere in there, i have to convince my husband of all of this.

i have my work cut out for me.

peeping

if a peeping tom looked through our window, this might be what he'd see.

i've made a lot of progress in our room during 2010.

hopefully 2011 brings with it another boost of inspiration, strong enough to make me finish the job.

also a personal maid that cleans up after me, does laundry, and windexes the bathroom mirror everyday.