DIY Home Decor: Tween Bedroom!

By Sherie
Introduced by Amy

So, my sister Sherie has THE COOLEST house.  Have you seen it in her Home Stylin post?  If not, you are missing out.  Fer real.  You gotta check it out pronto.  So, after she recently re-did her daughter's bedroom I was like, "Um, this sweet room wasn't part of your home tour on SOM!  So, you must do another post." And she delivered!  My niece Livi is the coolest pre-tween ever...more into books, music, and art then boys, clothes, and shopping, so I love that this room is such a perfect fit for her.  She is close to my heart, cause we were best buddies when she was a little girl and we would always draw and dance together.  Plus, I too was more into books and the Beatles than the Disney Princesses at her age.  Her room would have been my dream. :)  I'm happy Sherie is letting us all see her hard work in this cool bedroom!
-Amy

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When Number 5 was on it's way, we decided we needed to turn the upstairs Craft/Scrapbook/Storage for anything/Black Hole into some sort of livable bedroom. It was decided that my oldest daughter Livi would get the room - banking on my motherly instincts that the baby was a girl, then girls would out-number the boys. (Motherly instincts NAILED IT.) As you can see, we let the kids have a little fun painting and writing on the walls. Why not, right? Behind the wood door is the furnace for the house… no we did not do that. The room inside would have made the sweetest closet, but alas… it holds a commercial-size furnace instead. At least her room is warm in the winter.

Here are some Before pics:

The walls had old, nasty wallpaper that was fairly easy to rip down. The kids had fun pulling it down after I soaked it with a rag. After we got off all of the loose pieces, I left the rest to just mud over. I fixed all the wood trim and repainted it, then textured the room (including the ceiling) and gave it two coats of paint. And don’t be fooled – that took weeks to accomplish.. with breaks every three hours to nurse the baby ☺. There's a big unused, chimney in the room, so we came up with the idea of making it into a tree which went perfectly with Livi's idea to put a hammock in her room. I liked the idea of very light blue paint which worked great with the look of the sky in the background.

After the walls were painted, Livi painted the trunk of the tree then I began filling in the branches, freehand. We had found the owl stickers at a craft store which roosted perfectly on the branches. My mom added the leaves afterwards.

The floor was a struggle. Originally I was going to sand the floorboards and stain them a dark brown to match the hallway. We realized the gaps between the boards were so big, we would need to put a lot of filler in between the boards and if we were to sand it and stain it, the filler would stain lighter and really stand out. So I rented a big sander and did the whole floor, then filled in the gaps one at a time with thin wood putty and sanded it with a hand-sander. There were still some gaps where the filler dried and shrunk back, so yes, I had to do the process AGAIN to fill it all in. It took hours and the sand blows all over the room and coats the walls and ceiling… plus yourself and breathing through a mask is just awfully comfortable…. But I got it all done! And yes… weeks again. We got the walls / ceiling all cleaned and I decided to paint the floor a pale yellow and seal it with a deck sealer. Thanks Sherwin Williams for the idea. Connecting the hammock to the chimney was interesting, but we just anchored it inside the chimney flue and bolted it to the other side. As long as you don’t weigh over 100 pounds, you’re good! So no, I’ve never been in it... Livi tells me it’s nice….

We had fun furnishing her room with refurbished pieces. We had a few new pieces, mostly from Ikea. Livi reads like it’s going out of style, so we set up her own bookshelf. We found an inexpensive clothes rack to hang her dresses with the rest of her clothes in the drawers under her bed. So Livi loves her room! If definitely reflects her quirky, modern style. I did almost all of the work in the room, so I was proud too! In a few years, we plan on putting a bathroom in part of her room, so the chimney/tree will come down, but we’ll have fun scheming the room out again.

Here's the room!
-Sherie

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Isn't Livi's bedroom so cool!?  I mean, who the crap doesn't want a hammock in their bedroom?  And, Sherie is pretty much the cool mom for working so hard to help Livi have an awesome room...Livi had shared a room with her younger sister for a long time (who is all about the pink! Haha!) so now she's pretty stoked to have her own space.  

So, let's hear about your bedroom growing up!  I loved mine.  I shared with my poor sister Laura till she went to college (I was a hoarder as a little kid...all sorts of "collections" of treasures -aka- weird crap that kids love, like marbles and a million crayons/pencils.  I was NOT fun to share a room with.) From middle school on, I quit my pig-sty ways and spent many hours decorating my room...I bought tons of cool records from the library basement sale and hung the covers in my room, along with a giant beatles poster, a collection of globes, and huge magazine collages I painstakingly made.  Oh, and I rigged up a string of lights and several lamps to all turn on with the same switch of a power strip.  (Lots of extension cords...haha, what a safety hazard!)  

How about you?  What was your room like?  Did you share with a sibling?  Did you do your own decorating or did your mom?  If you have kids old enough to care, do you let them have a say in their bedroom decor?  I'd love to hear. :)  Not that it's an imminent concern (my two kids are little little) but, I've wondered about how that will go down, cause I care so much about the aesthetics of my home--I'm a little leery to give a kid free-reign, ha. What if we end up with black paint or One Direction posters everywhere??  *shudder*...haha.

I hope you loved Livi's room!  Be sure to Like, Pin, Comment, etc to show the love. :)  Thanks friends!  Have a sweet fall day! 

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A Cheapo's Winter Survival Guide

Sherie and I...aren't we lovely!?

By Sherie
Introduced by Amy

Remember Sherie, my sister?  She's freaking funny.  Since winter's a comin', she is sharing her wisdom about how to keep yourself from freezing your little bum off, when you're tooo cheap to turn up your heat.  Read her bio here, along with a couple of her other awesome posts:

"Your Kid Said WHAT?!"  
"Parents of the World Take Back Your Friday Nights!" 
"Home Stylin':Sherie's Mid-Centruy/Modern Home"

Oh, and by the way friends, did you miss the previous 2 posts?  They weren't posted on a Tues, Weds, or Thrus....which is when I usually post.  (I suck at schedules, peeps!  Thank you for being patient with me!)  On Friday, I posted an interview by a wise and experienced momma, Holly (my momma in law!) where she gives us younger mommas (and future mommas!) some valuable insight about kids, extra curricular actives, and how not to get 100% overwhelmed.  Read it here.  On Sunday, I posted my thoughts on Faith and Marriage: "Your Spouse Can't Heal You."  This one, I've been pondering and working on for a while.  It was hard to put in to words what had been in my heart for a long time...I tell you about my less than blissful "newlywed" months.  I hope you enjoy both posts!  

But now...back to Sherie.  :)
-Amy

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Our house is old.  Like over a hundred years old.  Surviving through the winter with paper-thin insulation and cheapskate attitudes can be a challenge.  If you have one of those fancy, new houses built in the 80’s with your “level doorways”, “up-to-code stairs”, and “evenly spaced studs”, then this article is not for you.  Maybe look for a blog about crocheting doilies, because this is NOT for the faint of heart.  Seriously, if you have a heart condition, consult your doctor before buying a house dating back to pioneer time.  To be on the safe side – don’t even read this.  For those who DO have an old, drafty house, I hear you George Bailey.  I can sense your anguish when you step onto your tile floor without socks.  Today I’m here to help.  I’m a seasoned veteran in the world of cold and cheapskate and below are some tips to help you cope through the cold days of late fall through early spring.

1) Layers, Layers, Layers 

The cold-house novice might think a light jacket is enough to keep warm… hardly.  I recommend necessary under-clothing, cotton shirt, and a thick jacket or two thin sweaters – color-coordinating of course.  Long-johns are nice on the bottom, but can be too tight if they’re 15 years old and you’ve had five kids.  Jeans or thicker pants, like sweats are appropriate if want to look like a mom with five kids and on your feet a thick pair of socks and a really cute pair of slipper-boots.  These boots CAN be placed in the wash and try to think of it before they stink badly and you’re considering throwing them away.  Last of all, throw a blanket around your entire body chest down and you’re ready to tackle the household chores!  This is also a great time to grow your hair out.  It covers your neck like a built-in scarf and works well at night to cover ears and get in husband’s mouth.  That won’t make him warmer, but his sputtering will make you laugh can help warm you a little.  Gotta be creative.

2) Don’t worry about the older kids - save yourself. 

From ages 2 – 9, kids don’t really feel cold when they’re indoors.  Don’t waste body heat telling them to put their socks on or wear a jacket in the house – they don’t feel it and don’t care.  Yes, their hands and feel will feel like ice to the touch, but don’t let that sway you.  They don’t care and you’ll spend more energy picking up socks and jackets scattered around the house (though this can work to your advantage if you like to warm yourself but moving rapidly… I prefer the lazier method of not moving with blankets and hot chocolate).  Babies on the other hand should be dressed warmly and a tip from a fellow cold-houser: put TWO pairs of footed jammies on them.  They’ll look like the kid on A Christmas Story, but will stay warm and won’t move….all…night.

3) Move quickly or very slowly – none of this mid-speed stuff. 

Everything needs to be done at super speed or slow motion to either make heat via friction or conserve as much heat as possible.  Think Road Runner and a sloth (speaking of sloths...).  Can do a combination of the two or stick mostly with one.  I prefer the sloth method… but more so a sloth with a blanket and hot chocolate.  One of the biggest mistakes is to move too quickly from one room to the next.  When traveling through a doorway, always slow down so the cool air circulating in the next room doesn’t slap you in the face as you enter.

4) Okay, NOW hot chocolate 

This is a delicious, chocolatey drink you can buy or make at home in a powdered form.  Heat a mug of water to boiling and stir in too much powder so it’s delicious.  In sloth speed, take to the couch to drink while wrapped in a blanket either watching tv or helping child with homework.  Hold the mug in your hands for at least three minutes so your hands are warm enough to stir without jerking around.  Drink when piping hot which will burn your tongue, but will be worth it as it sets your insides on fire… mmm…..hot fire…..

5) Areas of the house to avoid 

A few rooms in your house will be colder than others and are to be completely avoided.  Any room that does not have a furnace vent, the damp basement (take clothes to laundromat – it’s probably warmer there too), closets, or your upstairs children’s rooms.  When sending them to bed, make sure they’re wearing winter pajamas and have multiple blankets on their bed, but don’t linger.  Better to stand at the bottom of the stairs and yell at them to get back in bed “or else” then to risk getting chilled or your blanket to come unwrapped as your walk up the stairs.  If you have decent insulation, then your problem will be if your kids are in the basement.  Same rules apply.

Ok, here's a better pic!  Sherie with her cute baby!

6) Leave home 

Need a few things from the store?  Perfect – head to Target to pick them up and get the feeling back in your toes.  Don’t need anything?  Perfect – head to Target and wonder aimlessly until you’ve filled your cart with cute but unnecessary things.  Nothing warms the heart like a good bargain.

I hope these tips help you this winter.  Just think of all the money you’re saving by keeping your thermostat at 68.  It’s probably not that much because your heat is seeping out the holes in the roof, but you need something to hang on to.  Memories of the $300+ heating bill a few years ago will continue to haunt you and will help you stay strong when the temptation comes to crank it up to balmy 70.  Just remember you’re not alone in your suffering and apply the above tips to make this winter not quite enjoyable, but doable.  Like the Pioneers.

-Sherie

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Ha...THis post makes me SO glad that utilities are included in my rent!  How about you?  Do you and your family try to stay on the frugal side when it comes to heating or air conditioning your home? Would you rather suffer and save money or crank up the heat (and the bill...)?  

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Your Kid Said WHAT?!

My sister Sherie has some freaking hilarious kids.  They should prolly be famous, like little kid stand-up comedians.  The thing is, though, when kids are actually trying to be funny, it's more cute, than funny.  Like jokes that make, um, absolutely no sense and you force out a laugh, "Oh good one, and then the chicken died..hah..ha."  The real hilariousness comes when they're totally serious (or angry)--OH the stuff that comes out of their mouth!  Especially Sherie's kids.  But, I mean, come on...when you come from genes like THESE:

...you're likely to be a little bizarre.  Ha!  (Speaking of genes, check out those wicked-awesome 80's mom jeans that Sherie's rockin!  Foxy lady!)

Luckily, she writes the best quotes down.  Here they are, in her words, for your reading pleasure!  (You may wet your pants on a few of these...I almost did.)
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By Sherie
I told Livi (3 yrs old) not to do something, and she yelled, “MOM--DON'T SAY THINGS TO ME!”   I told her she can’t talk to me like that – she asked, “Can moms only say mean things?”

Livi (3) found one of her drawings in the garbage, picked it up and said to me, “Mom – if you keep throwing my pictures away I’m going to say prayer to Heavenly Father and say my mom not throw my pictures away!”

Livi doesn’t want to go to college – she doesn’t want to live away from us.  I was telling her and Caleb (5) the advantages – no parents to tell you what to do, more freedom, be with friends… Caleb decided he DID want to go to college.  His reasons?  "I could poop in my pants” and “I wouldn’t have to brush”.

Caleb (5) and I were playing a survival card game.  He would make up the question when it was my turn to answer.  My favorite one: If a tornado is coming, should you a) punch it b) stick it in your ear or c) wait til it goes away.  The answer?  b) stick it in your ear.  I got it wrong.

Another day in the life of Caleb (5): We're eating lunch together and Caleb says, "Mom, remember in the summer time after dad mows the lawn and we run through and it turns our feet green?" I smile at the cute memory, "Yeah".  Then he replied, "Well, this bread tastes like lawn." So much for a sweet memory moment...

Caleb (5) told me, “I don’t like church!”  I gave him a really sad look trying to make him feel guilty.   He smiled and said, “But I like Jesus!”

We were driving past a small field and I was pointing out to Aleah and Caleb the little Shetlan pony.  Aleah and I were saying how cute it was, then came Caleb’s comment: “Do you think Dad could beat that horse up?”

When I was pregnant with Mia, we asked Aleah if it was a girl what name she would like – she answered, “Jewels…. or Sparkles.” 

When we were driving in the van, Ian started crying.  Aleah asked, “ Mom, can you give Ian a drink from your belly cause he’s crying.”

We asked Aleah what she wanted for Christmas.  She said,  “A sucker.”

I was having a frustrating morning.  I finally sat down to eat with the kids and Caleb was watching me; he asked me, “Mom – do you like being a mom sometimes?”

100-year-old kid. (No, not the next Benjamin Button...Caleb's just jumping on the tramp.)

BAHAHAHAHAAA!

When Ian sees something strange, he wrinkles up his nose and says, “What a heck??”

When I told Ian (2) it was about time for his nap, he said sweetly: “No ganks.”

After getting potty-trained, Ian (3) was in the bathroom with me while I was using the facilities.  He frantically yelled, “Tuck it, tuck it!” while I was going.

Ian (3) saw his dad who had just finished running, and said, “What-a-heck??!  There’s hair under there??”- pointing to his armpit.

One night we were watching tv (weekly America's Funniest Home Videos after baths) and Ian wanted me to turn the light off.  I told him to go ahead and turn it off.  He replied that he was too small to reach it.  Being in my pregnant/lazy state, I pointed to a comb and told him to use it to turn the light off.  He walked over to the wall, dropped it on the ground and stood on top of it THEN tried to reach the light switch.  He got his smarts from his dad.

L - R: Aleah, Ian, Livi, Caleb, Austin...seeing baby Mia for the first time.

What the kids said when they came to the hospital to see new baby Mia for the first time:  "It's beautiful!" "It has two legs!" "It's really heavy." Apparently we're not quite used to knowing it's a "she".

The newest addition: Elton.  I mean, Mia.

Thank you, Sherie, for bringing hilarious children into the world. Now we can all go change our pants.   

I gotta know: Which was your fav?  I'm quite partial to the Shetlan pony one, myself.  

If you're a momma or aunt, do you have some hilarious quotes from your kids?  I bet you do!  EMAIL THEM TO ME!!!!  (amy.the.graham@gmail.com) Then they'll be child-stars too!  Ha!  Oh, and...If their quotes made you laugh, please "SHARE" the love!  "Liking" is nice too! Oh and if you haven't "Liked" Swag On, Momma, yet...be a pal and hit the "Like" button on the upper right of this blog...I appreciate the LUV!

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The McDaniel's Rad Halloween Costumes!

-By Sherie

We've had a lot of fun with Halloween costumes.  We've rarely done the traditional costumes and find it alot more fun to make up our own.

My daughter likes to be every day objects and for weeks just looks around her for ideas - ipod shuffle and a Pepsi cup for example.  We've also looked to a movie or youtube character we like (Nacho Libre and Judice).  Sometimes an idea will come from scouring a thrift store and finding a sweet brown suede jumpsuit - can't pass that up!  Decade costumes are always fun to put together and especially to be a matching couple.  Halloween face paint / makeup always adds and I've searched the internet for pictures or videos on doing a character (snow leapoard last year).

I've also gotten ideas for my kids by who they already look like.  When Aleah was 3, she had shoulder-length blond hair and with her sweet little face and an adorable sailor dress, I thought of Shirley Temple.  When my other daughter Livi was 5, she had long blond hair and very sassy - Gwen Stefani.  My cranky, two month-old son became Grumpy Dwarf.

We try to use stuff that we already have or find it cheap and be creative - drew Hulk muscles on a thriftstore sweatshirt, made a light saber with a broom handle and paper, made an Ernie shirt from a thriftstore sweater adding strips of coloring duct tape.  It does take planning and time, but it's alot of fun and has become a tradition for our whole family!

-Sherie

Ninja, Tim Tebow as a rookie, hippie, Hansel, fairy, I-pod

Abe Lincoln

Snow White with the Grumpy Dwarf, Napoleon, (Austin's parents) Mrs. Doubtfire, and a tough dude. 

Mr. T!

Darth Maul! 

Darth Maul whompin' on a jedi

Bert and Ernie!

70's glam...

Mad scientist, kitty, 70's couple, batman, Junice

Junice being creepy...(Don't know who she is?  Check this out, SO freakin funny!)

Ernie, fairy, 80's chick (notice the fanny-pack) pepsi cup, Malfoy, 80's dude.

80's couple

Cleopatra, fairy, and Nacho Libre!

Nothing wrong with handing down an awesome costume!

Werewolf and Vampire...Twighlight, eat your heart out!

White trash. (Sorry for the politically incorrect name)

Wee little leprechaun!

Backwards dude

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Ha!  Aren't those amazing!  My sister and her fam are pretty freakin cool.  Thanks Sherie, for sharing your family's awesome talent!  

And...we expect an update in October of this year's incredible costumes...no pressure or anything.  :)  -Amy

P.s. What was your favorite?  I LOVE the Nacho, Junice, and Mr. T.  Oh, and I can't miss the 80's pic...so wonderfully nasty!

If you love this, share so others can laugh!  Or pin for costume ideas later! :)

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Parents of the World, TAKE BACK YOUR FRIDAY NIGHTS!

By Sherie 

So I have four kids, and don’t hate me…. but…my husband and I go out on a date about three times a month. 

 “What?!” you ask incredulously, “Are you made of money?” (Ohhhhh ho ho…. far from). 

“Do you have a babysitter who does nothing but sit at home waiting to act on your every beck and call?” (If you know anyone like this, TELL ME). 

“Do you lock all the doors, tie your kids to the couch, put on the Disney Channel, and throw some cereal on the floor?” (Hadn’t thought of that before..…hmm…). 

 “By “kids” did you mean goats?” (Gross.) 

The answer is, “No no….no no no...that’s probably illegal...and NO.  I’m in a babysitting swap and…. it….is….. AWESOME.” (Cue singing angels.)  And the best part is – it’s free and you can easily set up your own and be just as awesome!! 

So here’s the deal: We have four families in our swap. Almost every Friday, ONE of the families takes ALL of the kids (total: 13) from 5:30pm to 9:00pm. Kids come fed and ready to play. Yes, it’s crazy when it’s our turn – kids are everywhere and my husband and I are constantly moving around checking on everyone and helping when needed. It’s pretty loud and gets messy, but the kids love it. Once it hits around 7:00, we have everyone clean up and put in a kid movie and sometimes bring out a treat or popcorn. Once they finish the movie, it’s 9:00 and parents come pick up. We babysit about once every 5 weeks and get to go out three times in between. It’s FREE, scheduled, and the babysitters are adults I can trust. 

 So – you want in on this sweet deal??  Set one up.  Here are some tips: 

1) Try to keep the number of kids in each family similar – if you have five kids, asking someone with one child might not be worth it to them. In our group the number of kids in each family is 2, 3, 4, and 4. Needs to be worth it for everyone. As far as how many families, it can range from 2 – whatever you can handle. Depends on how many kids, how old the kids are, and what the parents want to handle. 

2) Ask families that have similar standards and set some rules. We agreed to not allow anything but G-rated movies and any time on the internet (games) is to be supervised. You want to feel that your children are in a safe, clean environment and not exposed to anything harmful in any way. Also, share any information such as contact info and any allergies, etc. We also agreed not to bring our kids over or cancel our babysitting time if kids are sick. 

Movie time!

3) As far as a schedule, work it out between your families. We decided to do Friday nights and before putting together a three month schedule, I’ll have everyone e-mail me any Friday nights they can’t babysit and I make up a rotating schedule and e-mail it out for approval. Sometimes we need to switch the order around a little, but we always make sure everyone babysits the same number of Fridays. If someone can’t babysit on their assigned night for whatever reason, we’ve either rescheduled for a later Friday, swapped Fridays with another, or watched on a Saturday to make up. Once again – your group can decide how to handle it. 

4) Consider keeping small babies with parents for a while. When one of us had a baby, we usually kept it with us on our date until he/she was around 6-8 months old. After that, they were able to play, but still needed to be supervised at all times. You can decide as a group how to handle that one based on number of kids and how demanding the group is. 

 5) If you have a group of younger kids (0 – 3) and older kids (4 – 9), consider separating them. Sometimes I’ll keep the older kids busy with a game or monitor as they take turns playing computer / handheld games. My husband will keep the younger kids in another room (block them in with a couch) and they play with books, blocks, train set, etc. 

 6) One family in our swap has a fairly small house, so to accommodate everyone she takes the kids to our church to play in the gym and watch movies.

The older kids playing with hamsters.

One word of caution: With this swap, a problem may arise. You and your husband may find yourselves sitting exhausted on a Thursday night after the kids are finally in bed and glancing at the calendar, see that you have a babysitter the next night for 3 ½ hours. It is then that you have to find SOMETHING to do together. Should we go to a movie? Eat out? Shop for curtains? Go rock-climbing? Hang out with friends? Test drive cars? Remodel the bathroom? Cruise the mall and get smoothies? Sleep? The list is endless…though this may sound daunting, it’s actually an awesome problem. Out of all my problems, this one is definitely my favorite. 

So try it out - let us know how it goes and any genius ideas your group comes up with! Take back your Friday night dates! 
-Sherie 

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Home Stylin: Sherie's Mid-Century/Modern Home

 

 By Sherie McDaniel

Introduced by Amy

I am so pleased to introduce my sister Sherie, third in line of six kids, and acted as peacemaker and judge during fights for us younger three.  And, let me tell you, she makes "homemaker" and "mommy" look cool.  I love her nutty kids....they know Metallica and Sia songs better than Old McDonald.  She is funny, caring, sarcastic, smart, can cook, decorate, create, remodel, sing, play the piano, and thinks of THE most hilarious Halloween costumes!  Whenever we get together we stay up way too late, and laugh our bums off.  

I'm so excited for her to show her sweet house--it's one of a kind, quirky, and ever evolving.  Enjoy!

-Amy

I’ve always enjoyed decorating my space, but realizing my personal style and real passion for it has come in the past 10 years.  I have no training in decorating, so I just go with what I like and probably break every rule.  I would define my style as mid-century modern / contemporary.  I’ve lived in a 111 year-old house for almost six years and I love the combo of the old exterior and architecture with a modern interior.   We’ve been making improvements since day one (and still at it) – most are cosmetic, and for some odd reason, I love doing it. We’ve gone through countless tubes of caulk, tubs of wood putty, and gallons of paint - Home Depot is a regular stop.  And you should see me with a caulk gun – nothing short of breath-taking.

I get quite varied comments from people who come to my house.  Most are complimentary … but I’ve gotten a few confused looks and raised eyebrows, which always makes me laugh.  But I don’t ever mind – I actually take it as a compliment when people think my house is “strange” or “different”.  I don’t want my house to be typical or boring, so if it’s “strange” to some people, even better.

The magazines I turn to most for inspiration are Dwell and Elle Décor.  Dwell has a lot of the mid-century style and Elle Décor has a more sophisticated modern feel.  I usually only have time to flip through one after I’m in bed, so I keep a small notebook close by where I scribble down any ideas for future projects.   Once in a while I search online for ideas, but I prefer magazines so I can mark pages and compile them to figure out the common denominator of those spaces to help me see what I like and why.   Sometimes inspiration comes from a cool logo or other random places.

We don’t have any flea markets around here (apparently that’s where you can find a Eames plywood chair for 5 bucks….gah!), so I often scour the local thrift store in hopes of finding some great lamp or chair from the 50’s – sometimes I’ve gotten lucky.   I also check the online classifieds for the area (KSL Classified) and ebay.  For more contemporary modern pieces, I check Ikea, amazon, overstock.  

My husband is great at supporting my style choices.  He doesn’t have a strong decorating preference , and luckily, likes my style.  He’s raised his eyebrows a few times at my ideas, but has gone along with them and likes that our house is “different”.  
  

Advice I would give:   I think it’s worth spending a little more on great, well-made pieces of furniture (I adore my couch) but be patient until you know your style and exactly what you want.  I loathe the light green carpet in our living room, but the luxurious tan shag I want is pricey, so we’re saving up.  Check out magazines and online sites for ideas – or anything around you that is pleasing to your eye.  There’s lots of great DIY projects out there from furniture to light hangings.  Most of all, go with what you like and don’t try to mimic others – it’s okay if you want to paint an orange circle on your kitchen cupboard (asymmetrical none the less) or screw a big board to the wall with wallpaper tiles.  Be different, make it your own – it’s your domain!

Here's Sherie's Home: 

The previous few owners did a lot by themselves, which is great, IF you do it right.  They were more into doing it cheaply than making it look nice… and we’ve reaped the benefits J.  I’m pretty sure cardboard should never be  used in house construction, or putting in an outlet through a brick wall then leaving the cord exposed on the other side – and really, is insulation worth the cost??  YES.  “Are you freaking kidding me??” is probably the most common phrase I’ve muttered when delving into an improvement.  So it’s been a learning experience and I’ve enjoyed the work and seeing the finished product.

Front room - with the big windows in the front, I knew I could get away with a dark color on the walls.  Seems depressive, but gray is my favorite color.  I’ve discovered I love neutrals – brown, gray, black, white, and I’ve added small pieces of bright colors.  

Before...Yikes.

After!

The big white square behind the tv are four tiles made made for use as wallpaper – they have a braille pattern on them.  After I glued them to the board, we didn’t know how to hang it, so we ended up just screwing it to the wall.  I got some farm-code in me from my dad.  And I adore the couch in front – we splurged on it – high quality with great shape.

The bathroom was quite the nightmare – there was a nasty, moldy shower and way too many cupboards for that small of a space.  We tore everything out (finding a pink and orange claw foot tub under the shower surround and the space for a window) and after four weeks of no bathroom and with the help of friends, it came back together. 

Before, during remodel...

After!

The kitchen was pretty rough, but just needed to be painted and cover up the high-voltage cord and outlet in back of the oven – apparently the previous owners didn’t think that was a concern.  We kept the old cupboards, painted them white, added some cool pulls, and an orange circle.  I like the strange.

Before

After!

Dining room – I found this chandelier on ebay – great mid-century piece.  The art on the wall is from 70’s found from a vintage store in Salt Lake.  

The stairs were pretty scary – the old tread was very worn out and there were knicks in the wood everywhere, plus every other balister was missing, so a small child could squeeze right through them.  I spent many an hour puttying, sanding, and painting the steps.   We had a carpet runner installed down the steps.  We were hoping to keep the old minister, but it was much cheaper to have the banister re-made instead of custom-made balisters for the spaces, but we’re happy with the end result.  

Before...

After! WOOO!

We needed a place to put our jackets and coats, so we hung hooks on one side of the mudroom, and attached these Ikea bins for the kids gloves, hats, shoes – it’s worked out great.  

 That's my home! 

-Sherie

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