Ch-ch-ch-changes

Charlotte@Living Well on the Cheap  —  September 30, 2011 — 10 Comments

When I first started blogging, I thought maybe it would be fun to document and show off all the home decor and crafty projects I ‘d be doing anyway. I had no idea that my little project-completing engine would be hurled into overdrive. I’m so motivated by the desire to always have more new and interesting projects to share with y’all! I’m awestruck when I think about how many projects I’ve tackled just since I started blogging.

Can you believe that this was my entryway for the first year that we lived in this house?

And just look at it now (sporting a new bench and shelf)…

I took the porch from this…

To this (after I added a mailbox,painted the door, added plants, brought in art, stripped the original hardware, and finally spray painted the deadbolt to match the knob and lockplate)…

In the living room, I made a zebra-print floorcloth, constructed a shelf out of a floorboard I found on the side of the road, brought in a vintage quilt, made a pouf, and am almost done reupholstering the wing chairs. (not to mention some smaller projects, like a throw pillow, some wall art, and patterned coasters)

Before:

After:

The dining room isn’t quite as dramatic, probably because I’d already brought in the dropcloth slipcovered sofa, leaning bookshelf, blue painted dresser, and floating wall shelves before I started blogging. But even with all that work already done I’ve tweaked it by switching out the coffee table and painting it mustard yellow, creating a set of eclectic dining chairs, and swapping the tablecloth for a fringed burlap runner.

Before:

After:

There are lots of smaller projects in here as well, like the paper garland on the dresser, the fabric flower pillow I made using a brooch that I wore with my wedding dress, and the acorn silhouette I made just last week.

The kitchen is woefully stagnant. Nothing has changed at all, but I’ve got big plans for this space, like painting over the fleshy beige, adding some upper cabinets on either side of the stove, and opening up that awkward pass-through to create a casual eating area. I just gotta save up some moolah, which isn’t easy when I’m always blowing through my monthly home improvement budget to fund more projects to blog about.

The laundry room was so sad before I started blogging that I didn’t even include it in the original house tour. But Nick and I painted it blue and switched out those awkward cabinets for some open shelving that spans the full width of the space, adding tons of personality and function.

Before:

After:

Upstairs, in the master bedroom, we got new bedding, reupholstered the hope chest, painted the armoire and chest of drawers, made a little chalkboard message area, put curtains on the fifty billion windows, added flair with some homemade throw pillows, and brought in some art.

Before:

After:

Even the rooms we’re not really focusing on got a little love, like new hardware in the guest room

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After:

Some fabric organization in the office…

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After:

And a new shower curtain (with ribbon detail), bath mat, and art wall in the downstairs bath

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After:

I’ve been a busy lady these last seven months! I just can’t believe how quickly things have changed. The whole house just has so much more personality now. A few years ago, I couldn’t have cared less about home decor. But something about having a house awakened the creative bug in me and I’ve had so much fun discovering and refining my personal style (luckily I had a rental house to practice on first-imagine lime green bedroom walls and all my stuff from college. I’m glad those days are behind me). I’m sooooo excited to see what the house looks like six months from now. Maybe I’ll finally have saved up enough dough for some upgrades in the kitchen? Or be decorating a nursery (for the child I have yet to conceive)? Only time will tell, but you can bet I’ll be blogging about it.

P.S. check out the house tour page for more pics of each room!

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Charlotte@Living Well on the Cheap

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10 responses to Ch-ch-ch-changes

  1. Wow! Lots of changes! It looks great! My favorite things are the zebra rug (still can’t believe you made that) and the art above your mailbox.

  2. britt@knewlywifed September 30, 2011 at 8:58 am

    I just love how everything has turned out! You have some real talent, Charlotte! I love to see all the changes you are making!

  3. I love all the changes! The front door is my favorite! And I can’t wait to try and make the wine cork mat, I just need to save all the corks first!
    http://autumnmaeblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/what-wednesday.html

    • Charlotte | livingwellonthecheap September 30, 2011 at 3:43 pm

      Thanks, Autumn! I dint know how I would’ve ever saved up enough corks for that mat if I hadn’t gotten a huge donation from a friend who works in a restaurant.

  4. Those changes are Huge. You’ve accomplished so much in such a short period of time. I love your bedroom dresser; very pretty.

  5. Janet (Country Mouse} October 1, 2011 at 9:17 am

    Wow! You have been busy! I’m glad you enjoy it so much. Everything looks great.

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