The Laundry Room Reveal|After The Before

Hi Friends,

Happy August!  A teacher friend of mine compared the summer months to a weekend in the following way: June is Friday, July is Saturday and August is Sunday.   Anyway you look at it, summer is flying by and we have arrived at the “sunday of the summer.”

Today I have another “after” to share with you,  but before I do I’m taking you waaaaaay back to the beginning.  Remember the series of blog posts entitled “Before The After” where I showed you what our abode looked like when we bought it?  Well, in Before the After: Part 4, I introduced you to our scary basement.  I mean…would you want to walk down these stairs?  SuperHouls tried to tell me it wasn’t so bad.  Ha!  I’m the one who does the laundry, so easy for him to say!

Basement Stairs Before

And here’s that same view today…

Not so scary stairs, after.

These stairs lead to the Man Cave and the laundry room.  Now, let me jog your memory on how the laundry room space started and be sure to click on the pics for a larger view ’cause I really want you to get the whole experience of the space before we tackled it:

Al fixing the waste line

Yellow stone walls and red floors

Al working on plumbing

Laundry Room Before & After

What a messy, raw, unfinished space…with water issues everywhere.  Think old-school cellar.  Again I ask,  “Wait, why did we buy this house?” ” Oh, right, we had no idea what we were getting into!”  How far we’ve been dragged come.

Thankfully, two years into this fixer-upper, I got SuperHouls on board with finishing this space because he really needed his own place for his office and music…wink, wink.   And, of course, we needed to add a bathroom while we’re at it because…that’s a no-brainer.   So we hired out to a carpenter, plumber and electrician to finish the scary basement. It. Was. Quite. The. Project.  It took a few months and unexpectedly included adding a french drain and sump-pump on the perimeter of the house. Yeah, we were lucky enough to buy on the side of the street that is on a downward slope.  And while we’re at it, why not add a patio out back and rear entrance.  See how that happens?

But back to the laundry room.  After moving the heating pipes, updating the electrical, adding plumbing, framing and sheet rocking the walls, and adding new windows, SuperHouls and I painted.   Then he installed laminate wood flooring in the  Man Cave and tile in the bathroom/laundry room.  I’m exhausted just thinking about it.  Can I get an Amen, sista!

A few months later, it was clean…and functional…and beautiful compared to how it started. BUT.  I knew it needed some additional storage solutions before we could officially call it finished.  I mean, do we really need two windows in a small space?  Um, no.  I needed storage cabinets!  SuperHouls was ready to tackle it this summer – while I was away – and began working on covering up a window to add storage on the back wall.  Sorry for the dark iPhone photos:

SuperHouls Measures

SuperHouls is On It!

The Inspectors

We are now calling this room done!  We’ve got storage, we’ve got a hanging area, we’ve got open shelving, and of course plenty of room for decorative touches.  Ready?  Come on in…

Looking in from hallway.

Notice the mirror on the right in the hallway from my mirror makeover post?  How about the toilet bowl right in front of you?  If I had to do it again, I’d lay it out differently, but hindsight is 20/20, right?  Remember this is a bathroom/laundry room two-fer…’cause why not?  It’s also the bathroom off the patio that we send friends and family to when entertaining.  OK, lets take a closer look at what SuperHouls accomplished…

Laundry Room Organization

In the above photo, the sink and the shower stall come into view, giving you a better idea of the space. The cabinet is where the window was.  I wanted open shelving on its left and a hanging rod on the right.  What I really wanted was a cabinet on each side and the hanging rod in the center,  but we had to keep the right side accessible for the vent pipe.  So, this is essentially a workaround design.   I’m quite happy with how it all turned out: beauty meets function.  Down the road…wait, did I say that?…I might want to add a shelf across the top of the machines, but for now…its all good…and laundry day is much more pleasant here at the abode.

Laundry Room Back Wall

Laundry Room – Open Shelving

Laundry Rom – Hanging Rod

Open Shelving – Styled

Open Shelving – Styled

Open Shelving – Styled

Laundry Rom – Hanging Rod

Huge Decorative Safety Pin

We did keep the window above the toilet.  I hung a cafe curtain and kept the upper part of the window uncovered so the light can still shine through.  Having it recessed and boxed in provides me with another shelf to accessorize.  If you accessorize these spaces they are less likely to become catchall places…which, don’t even get me started!

And one last before and after…

Laundry Room Before & After

Laundry Room Shelving

What a transformation!  Right?

Hey, if you enjoyed this post, leave a comment below and then share it with a friend.

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Be well,

Eileen

Romeo & Floyd – The Inspectors

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Shelf Lamp Makeover| A Benjamin Moore/Rustoleum Paint Collaboration

Hi there friends,

As promised, I’m back with another project this week.  This old shelf lamp has been living in my garage waiting for my attention…

Lamp Makeover – Before

What you’ll notice (besides the fact that the garage is truly a project and storage space and not used for parking our cars) is that there are three distinct areas on this lamp that needed redoing: the wood base, the gold metal parts and the white metal part.  I decided that a gray and white color scheme would work well since this is probably going to end up in D’s home office.   I used Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron Paint on the wood base (after lightly sanding)…

BM Wrought Iron – two coats

I also sanded between coats to get a smooth finish.  This may be the new paint color for my dining room walls…luv luv!

After the base was good and dry, I covered it in plastic to work on the white metal part and sprayed on two coats of Rust-oleum Dark Bronze…

Prepping for Spray Paint

Spray Paint Prep Close-UP

Spray Paint – 1 coat

Spray Paint – 2 coats

Rust-oleum Dark Bronze

Once that was dry, I used this high-tech method to spray paint the gold metal with Rust-oleum Titanium Silver…

Lamp Makeover

Lamp Makeover

Finally, when all the painted areas were dry, I added a simple white lampshade with a gray ribbon that I found at HomeGoods as a final touch…

Shelf Lamp Makeover: After

Shelf Lamp Makeover: After

And here’s one more of the before and after, side by side…

This was a straight forward project but it  took a few days because of paint drying time.  Of course the hot and humid days we’ve had this summer didn’t help…not that I’m complaining.

I wish I had a place in the abode for this lamp because I love how it turned out and it’s well-made and sturdy.  Hopefully it will be well utilized in its new home.

If you enjoyed this post, leave a comment below and then share it with a friend.

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Be well,

Eileen

Romeo the Yard Guard

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A MIRROR MAKEOVER

Hi Friends,

I’ve been busy working on several projects here at the Abode that I will be sharing in the next few weeks…promise.  Today I’m sharing a quick mirror makeover that I finally completed.  Sometimes the simplest projects take the longest to get through…why is that?

OK, so I had this boring plain mirror frame that was just screaming for a makeover.  I didn’t take a before picture but just imagine an old, tired, brown wood frame, like this one…but not as nice…

So I painted it white, but it still needed a little sumpin, sumpin.  Then I added gold spray painted corner brackets, but it still needed some more sumpin, sumpin.  Finally I got out my rope twine and added some texture.  Then I was satisfied with the makeover.

Ready for the pics?  Here you go…

Taking pictures of mirrors is not easy.  This is hanging in the mancave as you come in from the patio.  Light streams in from the windowed external door that leads outside.  You can see the door reflected in the mirror in this photo…

And here’s some close-ups of the corner brackets and rope twine…

It’s certainly better than how it started and it’s a good way to DIY a basic mirror frame to customize it to your space.  And I had all the materials on hand: paint, corner brackets, and rope twine.  Easy peasy!

Despite the heat wave we are having in the Northeast, I’m working on projects and pieces that have been sitting in my garage…for a while.  So I’ll be sharing them in the next few weeks…promise.

If you enjoyed this post, leave a comment below and then share it with a friend.

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Be well,

Eileen

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Apartment Reno Update – Modern Corner Shelves

Hey Friends,

Just seven school days left before I have some time off for reflection, relaxation, recuperating and…projects.  Yes, I have been seriously slacking when it comes to my project to-do list and as a result, the list keeps getting longer.  I’m so looking forward to getting my hands dirty and being creative this summer.

I did manage to complete some shelving for the apartment reno that I shared about last year.  See here, here, here and here to revisit that project.   Once D & D moved in, they needed a break and wanted to spend some time living in the space before taking on additional projects.

After living with boxes cluttering his home office for too long a year, D was ready to commit to some additional updates.  He asked me for my help with some shelving solutions.  Ladies, what mother could say no to her son?

#notthismama

D’s design aesthetic is very different from mine.  I love historic homes with cottage design elements, and D likes modern homes with every technological update imaginable.  He has an affinity for mid-century furniture and design and the more wood, the better!

Looking to Pinterest for inspiration, I was inspired by this shelving system that Shannon from Burlap and Lace created…

How cool is that?

What I most like about Shannon’s system is that the shelves are very low to the floor. This not only maximizes the vertical space and adds functionally, it leans modern.  I knew that D would like the design and the fact that it would incorporate more wood into his space.

I was working with a corner space in his office and I wanted my version to wrap the shelving around the corner to increase functionality.  I started by outlining the walls with painter’s tape to determine the number of shelves I needed and the best spacing options to accommodate his books…

Then I headed to Home Depot to buy some cabinet grade plywood and brackets, and I got to work cutting and staining.

Of course I ran into a little problem during the install when one of the bracket screws wouldn’t screw into the wall.  The harder I tried, the more red clay I hit.  Yup – behind that plaster wall was brick.  Nicole Curtis may have been thrilled, but this mama wasn’t looking for brick!

SuperHouls came to the rescue with his masonry drill bit and we were back in business…

I quickly placed some items on the finished shelves and snapped the above picture with my Iphone before I left.  Since then, D emptied the boxes of books and got some help from his girlfriend, D, with the styling.  Here’s the finished product all styled and prettied up…

And here’s some photos of the rest of the space…like this desk from West Elm…LOVE!

Of course, in addition to having three monitors, you also need a whiteboard.  A HUGE whiteboard…

D brought in a professional to install the whiteboard.  It’s enormous, made of glass and heavy, so securing it to the brick wall was best left to the professionals.  Now more touch-up paint is needed and the empty  corner will eventually have a reading chair and floor lamp to finish off the space.  The painting is an original by his girlfriend.

I’m really happy with how this turned out but more importantly, my boy is happy.

If you enjoyed this post, leave a comment below and then share it with a friend.

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Be well,

Eileen

Romeo & Floyd in the garden at the abode.

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The Mancave Makeover Update – Featuring SuperHouls, Billy and Pink Floyd

Hi Friends,

The Mancave is complete with new paint, new built-ins and newly styled shelves that include organization solutions. I introduced this project in this post about the Mancave, and like all projects, it took on a life of its own.  I’m excited to share the results.  #superhoulsrockedit