I’m a person who handles changes very well. I’ve lived in 8 states in 40 years, moved more times than I can count, and generally I am not afraid to try (at least once!) just about anything. I’m a person who tends to embrace the change, live it, love it and learn from it.

It is a season of changes for me right now. Some are simple like getting a few bangs cut in my hair last week. It might seem simple at first, but after the fact I realized I have not had bangs since college! Oh, those were some pretty tall bangs too! It is amazing how a small change in hair can really make a difference. If there had been more time the other day I feel certain I would have come home with some change in color too….but on a whim haircut we (my fab stylist Sandy!) could not pull that off.

Instead I colored it myself by somehow getting lots of paint in my hair over the weekend! Paint? Who me? Yep, I can’t sit still, I’m at it again. Again, when I’m feeling restless about changes in my life I turn to paint therapy…..

Kitchen...last week

Here is a shot of my cluttered kitchen last week.  The color on the walls is Sherwin Williams Fenland. It is a nice gray green. It actually holds the record for the longest color to be on any wall in my house.  I think it dates back to 2004!  The only room that has only been painted once!  Wow..it was time!

Previously in this post I talked about how I really wanted to paint the cabinets.  I mulled it over and decided I was not ready to take that on in my life quite yet.  The door is still open….

I’m still working on it…but here is a sneak peak picture to show you some of what I have done so far…..

sneak peak

I’m out of control with that Linen White paint!  Did you expect that….white?!?  Don’t worry I’ve got some color going on too.  I love how the painted black pantry door came out!!

More Changes…

I do have some news.  After much prayer and discernment my precious friend and business partner, Trish, and I have decided that our website Seek the Triad is taking too much time from our families.  I would not trade the last two years of working on this awesome project for nothing.  We have had more fun that I ever imagined, met more incredible people and learned so much!!  It has been a journey that I will cherish in my heart forever.  I gained an incredible friendship through it.  If that is all I walk away with I will forever be grateful.  I know we will still have some great times “seeking” lots more in life together!

A new chapter begins….

I’m all done with my bedroom project so I have been a little lost. I’ve tried working on a spring mantel and I just can’t get it right. I guess I’m in a decorating funk. I relaxed (wow, relaxed!) with a huge stack of magazines today and found myself drawn to kitchens….white cabinet kitchens. That is not going to happen here…..I searched for a picture of my kitchen in my photos and can’t find one except this….

my kitchen cabinets

I’ve got maple kitchen cabinets and black appliances. The walls in my kitchen/breakfast room are a gray green called Fenland. I’ve had the color for at least 5 years! Can you believe that??? That is a record for me to keep a paint color that long!!! The longest running color in this house! Is painting over nice maple a sin? They are 9 years old….it just does not feel right to me…yet.

I’ve got some ideas on changing up my kitchen without painting my cabinets…yet.

southernliving.com photo

The blue ceiling in this with the white walls is FABULOUS!  I could do that.  I’m also loving the black door.  I could paint my pantry door black.

southern living

I’m loving this painted french country table being used as an island in this kitchen!  What a great idea!  Not so sure my kitchen is big enough to do this in, but maybe if I put wheels on the bottom so I could wheel it out of the way if necessary.  Of course I’m digging all the whiteness too!

southernliving.com photo

Another idea….just paint the top cabinets white and leave the bottom maple, or paint the bottom black.  I’ve got to remember I have black appliances….and I just got the dishwasher!  I’m loving those plates and the placement of them on the walls!

southernliving.com photo

Here is the ultra bold move….go with painted turquoise cabinets.  A fabulous idea and a great look….until we all HATE turquoise!  Not so sure the black appliances would look that great with turquoise cabinets.

So, here is my thought for a quick makeover on my kitchen.  I’ll paint the walls some shade of white and paint the ceiling a fabulous blue.  I wish I could do those fabulous photos like Layla on Lettered Cottage when she can make a room look like it has changed before it actually has.

Any thoughts on my current “kitchen situation”?  Am I just having a insane moment?  Last year I almost painted my stairs black and now I’m actually really glad I did not!

Boring!

How fast can a girl get a Fall Nesting Party post together for The Inspired Room Party? And yuck like anybody is going to click on my mantle looking like this!

Dressed up window!

Yesterday morning it looked like this. All beachy and still very much doing it for me. But, I knew fall is upon us. Plus, I had just scored this fab window frame for $10 and I was itching to get it a home somewhere in my abode.

blue chippy window frame!

We also just had our family photo done for the first time by a professional photographer Moments Captured by Kelly Renee Photography! She did an awesome job and I had a large photo mounted big one to hang somehwere.

Not quite right

So Monday night, in the middle of cooking dinner {am I totally nutty or what?} I hung the frame and then scoured the house for Command Strips for the picture. I stepped back and thought…BORING. I flipped the burgers and headed to the garage for paint and a brush.

LEttErS

I drew a square inside the frame with a pencil and then painted it white. I then remembered I had bought a bunch of letters from one of my all time favorite haunt’s Mary’s in downtown Greensboro. She has tons of letters from all over the place in all shapes and fonts. I spray painted the “Y” red for fall, but the rest are as is. Today I set the letters into the bottom of the frame and stuck the picture back up.

The beginning of a Fall Mantle Makeover

At 10:02 pm tonight I snapped this picture for the  first step in my Fall Nesting plan. The next step is to sit back and click through all the great links on the party and get some inspiration to finish it off!

Be sure to check out all the great Fall decorating ideas with Melissa at The Inspired Room today!!

Stay tuned here as I evolve into Fall!

Ahhhhh.....

Today is the first day of school! It is always a bittersweet day. I’ll be the first to admit that I do enjoy my quiet alone time while they are in school. However, I do miss the precious moments we shared all summer.

My coffee mate

I had coffee alone today. Can’t believe just the other day my coffee mate and I were sharing a few moments together. His is decaf! He said he was practicing for when he became an adult. Oh my, I realize that will be here before I know it! How has 8 years of motherhood already passed? Or do I get to claim 14 years of motherhood…8 plus 6?

another goodbye!

I also bade farewell to this gem as well! I was truly sad to see this work of mine go. I wanted to keep her sooo bad!

Ah...the Hunter Green days!

She came to me a glorious shade of Hunter Green. A friend of mine found her for $25! It has a display tray that pulls out, covered in a lovely blue faux velvet. My friend purchased it for her beach house. My only instructions were to make it beachy!

Beachy Blue

I painted the sides leftover blue from my dining room, and I painted the framing around the glass top polar white from Behr. I performed my magic art of sanding and glazing.

The After

I painted the inside of the display area leftover Wintergreen Ash from my laundry room! I’m in love! Sadly I bid her farewell too this week. Oh well, she belongs at the beach!

Can you believe I saw the same Hunter Green table in a consignment shop the other day for $225??? Who is buying Hunter Green? What would you pay for my after? 225?

Lettered

I linked up my Board and Batten Hallway project on The Lettered Cottage on friday and I’ve gotten quite a few questions about it. I so enjoyed all the comments and questions. I’ve decided to do a follow up post to answer the questions and give you a little bit more detailed information on how to tackle the project.

The great thing about doing this project was it was a small area. It was the perfect place to try out some new skills in preparation for some bigger projects on my never ending “to do” list. The bad thing is that I did not take many pictures. I get so involved in things that I forget to take pictures! So hang in there without too many pictures if you can!

1. Measure the area you are going to be doing and draw out your board placement on a piece of paper. I have 9 ft. ceilings. I placed my top board 64″ from the floor. Not sure why I choose that, it just felt right. I actually drew a lot on my wall while I was deciding where I was going to place everything.  I had to use some math skills here.  I knew I wanted 5 sections so I to calculate out how to do this with the length of wall I was working with.  This is where drawing it on the wall first really came in handy!

measurements

2. Armed with my very precise drawing and all my calculated measurements, I headed to Home Depot. Totally confused on what wood to use, I finally settled on 1/2 inch thick plywood. {next project I will choose true MDF, the plywood was very rough on edges after it was cut} I also purchased all the supplies I did not have.  You need the following:

paint

primer

painters chalk

chalk gun
wood filler
chalk smoother tool (not sure the technical term, but this is a tool that smoothes the chalk out)
I borrowed a nail gun. I would rent or borrow one before attempting this project for sure! Lifesaver! It was my first time using a nail gun and it was very easy to use!

Still armed with my very precise drawing and measurements, I then had the Home Depot employee cut every single one of these boards! In my previous post I asked if I should have tipped this guy that saved my life. I learned from all my comments that I did the right thing by not tipping. The employees are not even allowed to accept the tips if you offer.

3. I brought home the supplies. Heard husband groan and say “I’m not helping!” and then I politely answered “you don’t need too!”

4. I painted the wall with 2 coats of semi gloss white paint that matched my trim.

step 1

5. I then sanded the rough parts of the boards and battens and primed them. Then I did have to eat crow and call hubby for help. You see I did need someone to hold the boards up while I used the nail gun. We secretly both wanted to use the nail gun. So I shared it with him. We knocked them out in no time. Here is my tip on this part. Before you get all gung ho and start your nailing, make sure the boards are all cut exactly right. I had a few small gaps I had to fill in with extra chalk because I did not do this.

6. I then filled the nail holes in with wood filler and chalked wherever the wall met the board. Easy Peasy!

7. I painted the boards with 2 coats of white semi gloss and attached a piece of decorative molding on top.

8. Screwed in the $3.73 cent hooks from Lowes.

The After

9. Added some decor and some letters to mark everyones hooks. The “d” is for Dogs, for their leashes. Oh yes, we then cluttered it up with all our crap!

The Tweaked View

So far it is working out great and our stuff is staying off the floor. However, school does not start until Wednesday. The true test will then come to see if they are hanging up their backpacks without me nagging.

My next project will be my master bedroom.  I’m not sure when. I have this glorious vision in my head of what it will look like.  It involves painting all of our bedroom furniture and ripping up our NASTY carpet first.  I refuse to do anything in there until the carpet is gone, gone, gone.  At this point I almost would rather have naked sub floor then have to look at the carpet!

I’m so glad after all these months of oohing and ahhing over board and batten projects that I finally did one myself!  I hope I have inspired you to try it yourself!  Grab a friend and do it together!