My Home Project

I've been slowly redecorating the apartment. When Joe and I were first married, almost everything we owned was a hand-me-down or bought used from garage sales and web pages. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that. Hand-me-downs are awesome, it's just that all of our decorations and furniture weren't exactly my style. So when my dad bought me two beautiful {brand new}lamps for my birthday, ones that I really really really wanted, I was beyond ecstatic! And that started the whole ball rolling. Before I knew it all the red and tan in my apartment was being replaced with pretty shades of turquoise and sunny yellows. I found out that having Christmas and my birthday so close together is not always a bad thing. I hated it when I was little...this gift is for Christmas AND your birthday. What?! Doesn't everyone else get two separate gifts for both celebrations? That is one of my biggest pet peeves! But when you want expensive decor and you're out shopping with your mom and that thing you really want is worth both Christmas and birthday money together, you have to combine the two. ;)

Mostly I've just replaced the old in our home with some new. I'm not super crafty so yes a lot of it is store bought. One of my friends always laughs at me when I say I'm not crafty because apparently she thinks I'm the craftiest person ever. But I swear I'm not! Artsy? Yes. Crafty? Definitely not. And yes, there is a difference!

Our living room before:

 Our entertainment center always had the same old black lamp with our wedding picture. I would change it out for the seasons (as you can tell) but it always felt boring and void of color to me. We also had a bookcase in the corner that made it feel crowded.

Notice the old DI end table between the couches. My sister bought that for $5 when she was in college. The two lamps were also a hand-me-down from my sister. They had faux leather tan lampshades and black iron bases. Not exactly my style. We also had red everything. Red pillows, red accents. Blah!

Our living room now:

My mom bought me the black mirror from Ikea. I was so excited because I knew with a mirror in our dark basement apartment it would help bring some extra light into the room. I got the lamps from Target. I wasn't sure what colors I was going to switch the red out for but when I saw these lampshades I knew that I had to have them. These lamps are my favorite piece of decor in our home. I hope to have a little extra cash so that I can buy a clock and some other fun odds and ends for the top of the entertainment center. But for now the old frames I have and Ikea plant will do. And the bookcase is gone now. It's not in the picture but in it's place is a nice blanket basket and I'm hoping to do a letter R collage on that small wall.

I changed out the red pillows for these bright yellow ones I found at Target. I'm hoping to buy some more pillows with some fun prints and different colors when I have a little extra cash. I really want to add some green and gray into the space. And I changed out the old ugly lamps for these pretty silver and white ones. It makes such a difference to have white lamp shades rather than dark tan ones. I love all the color changes because it makes the room feel brighter, lighter, and more me.

My sister Kayleen surprised me on my birthday with a new end table. I'm hoping to paint it a different color but I'm still not sure what I want to do.

Here's a close up of the quote on my end table. Kayleen printed off a bunch of these little quotes for different holidays and seasons. This one is supposed to be for the in-between season but I keep it up all year because it brightens my day whenever I see it.

I don't have a before picture of the kitchen but I brought in a little of the turquoise and yellow since the living room and kitchen are all open. I bought the little lamp with my birthday money from Target, already had the Ikea plant, and bought the placemat from Kohl's for $5.

Usually this corner in the kitchen is used for seasonal decorations but it's nice to finally have something to put in that dark corner between holidays. 

I also bought the kettle for my birthday (I got A LOT of money for my birthday this year!) I like how it adds an extra pop of color and it was really nice to use during the colder months for hot cocoa or herbal tea. I already had the yellow mixing bowl in my cupboard and was ecstatic when I found it hidden behind a bunch of tupperware. I love seeing a huge bowl of fruit sitting on the counter. I still have a bunch of red decor in the kitchen (like my rugs and some wreaths) but it will have to stay until I have more money. Everything is still a work in progress. :)

My sister Savannah made me this recipe book for my birthday. She made sure that the paper would match my new decor and I love having it on the counter. It's easy access to all our favorite meals.

A few years ago she typed up all our family recipes and sent it out to all of us girls. If we want a new recipe in the same format we just send it to her and she adds it to the recipe pages, e-mails it out, and you can easily add it into the correct category. 

I love that it's in sheet protectors. Nothing is permanent. You can move things around or take recipes out. Plus, they are easy to wipe off if you spill something on them. 

I have this black shelf in our kitchen that I use as a coat rack. But it was seriously lacking in decor. 

It's still no where near what I want it to be but it's better than nothing. (Which nothing is what I had for a long time.) 

I got the plant at Ikea and added another quote from Kayleen's Christmas present.

I bought the letter from Porter's for $2 and then traced the letter out on this paper that I had in my stockpile, cut it out, and then taped it on. I think you are supposed to use modge podge but I didn't have any. 

We finally bought a desk. I couldn't ever find one that was small enough for the space. But I got the desk and chair for $30 from a garage sale page on Facebook. I was thrilled to see that the chair already matched my new color scheme! 

This poor wall has changed so much. It used to have my mom's giant armoire there, then it just had a highchair, then it was nothing, and now it's just a lonely desk. I have a bunch of picture frames that I bought to do a collage but I don't have money to print the pictures yet. So as soon as I do I'll post a pic.

 P.S. Don't you just LOVE the bird house wall paper? Haha gotta love renting!

And for those of you who don't believe that I do in fact have a pink bathroom, here is your proof. Once again we just love renting! I love pink just as much as the next girl but it's a little much don't you think? :) 

I found this pink and brown R in one of my college boxes. I had made four letter's that spelled out "Bree" above my bed. This letter matched perfectly with my color scheme. 

Haha my poor husband. He's stuck in a house full of girls and has a pink bathroom. 

As I said before, we are no where near "done". There are so many improvements that I still want to make but it's a start! Right now I'm working on the girls' room and our bedroom. We sold our treadmill to Kayleen and Rex to make room in our bedroom for the rocking chair and bassinet. I'm buying a changing table pad to put on top of our dresser so that I won't disturb Claire while she's sleeping. So once the treadmill is moved out I'll have a few things to move and change. It's a little weird to think that we will have TWO kids in less than 3 months! So any and all improvements are going towards making our home compatible for two little girls.

P.S. I tend to update several posts all at once because I only get the computer when Joe doesn't need it for school. I posted three posts all at the same time today, so don't forget to scroll down and check them out. :)