FYI: Metal daybeds are not built to stand the test of time… or children jumping on them.

No one was hurt, but Mia’s daybed is irreparably broken. We headed out to the clearance center (where else would we go?) to find a new bed. It was actually cheaper to buy a bunk bed than a single one! $300.00 Later, we had a very early birthday present for the twins.

They were thrilled. We were not so thrilled when we realized that it was completely disassembled. This opens up a lot of space in their room, and I have never seen them so happy to get a piece of furniture. As for the other bed, well, I see a trip to a scrap metal yard in our future. Oh, the things we do for our kids.

Our living room coffee table has a slate top surrounded by wood. The finish was uneven, and it looked dirty. Since we already had the sander ready to refinish a few stair treads, I figured it would be a good time to sand and stain the coffee table. I knew it wasn’t solid wood, but I had no idea that it had an incredibly thin veneer. It was a mess. We had to paint it instead.

I chose this color by Behr:

It’s a nice earth tone that compliments the slate nicely. I am glad we were able to fix the problem. Here’s the end result:

We had our living room sofa for about 3 1/2 years. It was super cheap “leather” (some areas, i.e. seat cushions, were real, and others were not). Dare I call it… pleather? OK, I should have known better. We have two cats in the house. They never actually scratched it, but their claws poked the cushions whenever they jumped on or off them. I spent way too much time dabbing that thing with a Sharpie. We also started feeling kind of crammed:

We got a special holiday promo card from the clearance center. I really didn’t plan on buying anything. Micah knew better. He says I can never walk out of that place without buying something. We ended up getting this for less than half of its original price:

It was a showroom model of a Kathy Ireland Home Wellsley sectional. They still sell it on their website, but this color was discontinued. It’s a warm sort of honey beige. I think it looks nice with the oak floors.

There were some black marks on one of the cushions, and a few scratches on the wood at the bottom. The salesperson fixed everything for us. They have some amazing industrial cleaners there, along with an enormous bag of stain pens. I am too embarrassed to ask what they use, and they manage to conceal the product names by using clear spray bottles.

We had to make two trips to bring it home (they don’t offer delivery). We moved the old sofa and my recliner to the garage. I don’t know how we moved everything around as quickly as we did!

I am so sad to part with the recliner. We just don’t have space for it anymore. I am selling both pieces right now. With any luck, that will further offset the price of the sectional. Micah said this is our Christmas gift to each other. Expensive? Yes. But it keeps Micah from having to go to HomeGoods or Kohl’s this year in an attempt to find something I’d like. You’re welcome.

The living room feels completely different now. It’s so warm and inviting. Everyone has a place to sit and stretch. Barney has his own spot to sit on the chaise at the end. He even claimed his own hand-me-down blanket from Lily. He’s a spoiled pup.

We’re true homebodies. We don’t go on vacations or eat at restaurants, so we are home a lot. We’re really going to enjoy this sectional!

My parents visited for the weekend. The closet doors in the master bedroom had recently broken off (again). There were no doors on that closet when we moved into the house. They were flush to the ceiling, so we had to special order them. What we got were hideous, hollow bifold doors that never really functioned correctly. We lost a lot of space on both corners, which never seemed worth the tradeoff of reserving the vertical space. They became worn out over time. They fell off constantly.

Home Depot and Lowe’s didn’t offer any other style of door for that height (90 in.). We bought some standard height sliding doors instead.

My Dad built the framework. He chooses to “eyeball” his measurements. I don’t know how he does it, but everything always turns out perfect. It saved us a lot of time.

He also replaced our old drill “zappy” (it must have been from the 70s) with a fantastic new cordless one (no hex key required – imagine that!).

The drywall:

The finished product:

I love the way everything turned out. They’re not only functional, but they look much better, too. I moved my shoes from the top shelf to a wire rack that I bought for the floor. That made so much more sense anyway (no more jumping up and down every morning to get to them). I thought we’d lose access to that shelf, but I was able to fit some odds and ends up there without any problems.

My parents had asked recently what Micah and I wanted for Christmas. I tend to choose practical items every year. I asked for a new nightstand.

When we bought our bedroom set a few years ago, we couldn’t find a matching nightstand. Our particle board / cardboard nightstand from Walmart (Dad’s temporary work bench in the photo above) had fallen into disrepair, and was holding its contents hostage (shocker). We went to the clearance center and found this:

It has a black marble top. It’s missing one handle, but I will either find a match or replace them later. It matches our furniture perfectly, and it has three drawers for storage.

The Christmas season is almost here. We’re not planning on putting many lights up this year, but knowing us, that very well could change!

Just before we moved into this house, I matching bought a dresser and chest of drawers for our bedroom (. They were made well and in good condition, but very 1970s. We painted them white just over 3 years ago, and the kids have been using them ever since. Most recently, both pieces went into Lily’s room. I won a set of six glass knobs on eBay for just $14.00! They arrived today.

I had to really search for some old photos that showed how they looked when we started!

Before (c. April 2006 – note the hideous green carpet that once graced our bedroom floor):

After:

Before:

After:

I think they are perfect for Lily’s room. They are not antique, but resemble pink depression glass.

We’ve already taken down all of our indoor Christmas decorations down (yes, even the tree). It is sad when the season ends, but it’s also nice to dust and free up some space around the house again. I received the one gift I wanted more than anything this year:

This has already been so useful! I love the bi-level floor plan, but it means having a playroom on the lower level. The kids can’t always hear me calling down to them. The baby naps at random times during the day, so it has become difficult to keep running up and down the stairs or to raise my voice. I think this intercom system has already saved me from a few headaches.

I also got a new accent chair for the living room:

I found this on my own at HomeGoods, but it counts as one of my gifts from Micah. I couldn’t resist. It was marked down about a million five times, and there it sat for $69.00! I used my cart to push it across the store to the register, getting some weird glances (and props for creativity). Micah loves it because he has a place to sit when he plays video games. Will fell asleep in it. Who knew this would be a guy’s chair?

HomeGoods is fantastic. I found a hamper there too! It was only $40.00. Ours was almost ten years old, and I had painted it a couple of years ago to extend its life (cosmetically, anyway). The cats thought it was a scratching post. Hopefully, they won’t be attracted to this one!

We’re looking forward to a new year… and a new toilet in the kids bathroom. It’s about time!

We recently purchased a new dining set at a clearance center. My parents generously offered to buy us a china cabinet for Christmas. I thought it might be difficult finding one that matched the table and chairs, so I started to look early. I stopped by the store once a week for about 10 weeks to check their inventory, and eventually I stumbled upon a cabinet that was missing a hutch. It didn’t have any noticeable damage, so I asked if they had the hutch. They said they could have it sent from another store. Its only defect was a missing glass shelf. We got both pieces for $650. Here’s a stock photo:

More updated dining room photos are here.

This made me want to do some research on the furniture and where it came from, using just a few item numbers on our receipts.

The dining table is by Stanley, and I found it for sale on numerous websites for an average price of $2500. The chairs are Winners Only X-back chairs, and 6 of them normally cost about $480. Lastly, our Chateau Louis china cabinet by Legacy would cost about $1500. In short, we got $4480 of furniture for $1500! It all matches perfectly. You would never know these pieces were not meant to go together.

I had no place to put my 12-year-old curio cabinet, so I decided to sell it on Craigslist. It was kind of sad to see it go, but I was able to put all of my little treasures in the china cabinet. I’ll also be able to put our new Christmas dishes in once we put in the second glass shelf. I will probably order it from the same glass shop that made the glass inserts for our kitchen cabinet doors.

I moved all of my Yankee Candles into the cabinet, but I ran out of space for things like tarts and jar shades. I found this little end table at T.J. Maxx, marked down to $30 from $80:

I added a covered wicker basket to the bottom for storage. A couple of days later, I found the framed print for $30 at Kohls (I love those additional 30% off coupons). It was kind of strange that I stumbled upon it. Ever since I started the black and white scheme in the dining room, I wanted a framed Steven Meyers print. eBay had the lowest prices, but I still couldn’t find anything of a good size for under $100. This was a great find for me, and I think it completes the room. Looking back, it all started with the chandelier as inspiration.

Whenever I list something on Craigslist, I find myself looking for other things we need to get out of the way at the same time. My desktop computer needed a new hard drive, but it was collecting dust. Micah and I use our laptops for everything now. I figured it would be a good idea to sell the computer and monitor while they were still worth something. It also let me free up all that wasted space on the desk downstairs, and re-purpose it as a place for paperwork and laptops. Eventually, the kids can use it as a space to do their homework. I moved our family photo albums out from the closet so they could be accessed more easily.

Fall is almost here! I don’t have many decorations, but a few festive things have crept their way in.

I can’t believe that in a few short months, we will be decorating for Christmas again!

We just returned from visiting our families. We stopped at Bearskin Neck in Rockport, Massachusetts. I have some happy childhood memories there. These shells are a souvenir from a little gift shop there, and are now a part of our coffee table centerpiece:

I love the clearance center for Raymour and Flanigan. We went there to look around the other day, and came home with a new dining set. Micah said it was an early anniversary present. The poor guy has to work out-of-town for the next two weeks, so all of the overtime pays for it. You have to admire his dedication to his job (and me)!

It has a few small scratches on the table surface that are barely noticeable, and it’s missing the leaf. Other than that, it’s perfect. I’ll live with any minor flaws when it means getting a heavy, solid wood table and six chairs for $850 instead of over $2000!

My parents gave me this CD set while we were visiting them, and we listened to them while having our first quiet dinner (ravioli) at our new table. I’m thinking it’s the closest thing we’ll get to a “date night” for a while.

We will have this for many years, and it’s perfect for our family of six.

We have been faced with subzero temperatures this week. This is one of the coldest winters in my memory. It’s particularly challenging when you live in a split level home. The bedrooms are above the garage, so cold air rises into them. It was a big problem in Will’s room. He was in a toddler bed just a few inches off the floor. We planned on moving him into a “big boy bed” next year, but this winter made us change our minds.

I have never seen him sleep so peacefully. I had to wake him from his nap today, and he was snoring. Seeing that made it all worthwhile.

It’s done!

We had to make some changes to the original plans, but we’re happy with the results. I added a solar mesh shade to the kitchen window and a rod with amber colored glass finials. I ordered a grommet valance to cover the shade roller, and that is on its way. I was unable to find a replacement for the floor register, so I painted it with a pewter-like finish.

A review of products we used:

- Valspar Kitchen & Bath Paint, Greek Amber – Lowes
- WilsonArt Premium Laminate Countertops, Milano Amber – Lowes
- Domco Vinyl Flooring, Domco Elite Merletto Jackson Beige 56K31 – Lowes (Special Order)
- Almond cove base – Lowes
- Kohler Staccato Large/Medium Self-Rimming Kitchen Sink – Lowes
- Moen Double Handle Caldwell Kitchen Faucet – Lowes
- Made-to-Measure Solar Mesh Roller Shade, Ivory – JC Penney
- Addison Grommet-top Insert Valance, Chocolate Chip – JC Penney
- Better Homes and Gardens Drapery Rod Set – Wal-Mart

We also have made some other changes. I got a good deal on a 26-inch LCD TV for the family room when the existing tube TV broke. We framed one of my grandfather’s paintings (which is very special to me) in the living room above our “fireplace”, and my parents bought us a new coffee table for Christmas. I will update all of the photos from the other rooms soon!