Why don't we continue our conversation about the design we have for our sun porch.

While we were away, I had a bit of down time. I decided to pick up an inexpensive drawing pad and a pencil and do a bit of sketching. I really wanted to get some ideas down on paper. The whole process really helped me visualize various possibilities for our sun porch. I was able to get a feel for a potential layout and I also was able to figure out what I wanted to do as far as storage goes.



As you can see from the sketches, there will be plenty of built in shelving and a lot of space for lounging. Like I mentioned before, this space will act as a library and possible guest room, so function and storage are key. To give you an even better idea of the layout, here is a not-to-scale floor plan.

The door at the bottom of the room leads into our dining room. The one on the left is an outside door that we never use. Eventually we plan on putting a window in instead. The room measures , just so you can get an idea of size. All of the little rectangles on the outside of the room represent windows. They are everywhere. I think the space will really turn out nicely. I just hope that my vision comes together. Sometimes I have a great idea that doesn't end up working at all. I guess we will find out won't we?

I also decided to draw up a design board so that I have a better idea of the look that I'm going for as well. I love doing all of this stuff! I enjoy planning things and visualizing the future space and how we will use it. Without further ado, here is our sun porch's decorative plan!

Based on our first floor color scheme, that I talk about here, I would like to paint the porch a beautiful gray-blue color. This one, used as the backdrop to the mood board, is Palladian blue by Benjamin Moore. We aren't going to be using this color exactly. Rather, we are going to be using some leftover paint that my parents gave us.

They had some paint leftover from their living room and decided to have it mixed with some white paint. Their plan was to use in their upstairs hallway. Well, they ended up going with a different color and asked if we wanted the paint. When I saw what color it was, I jumped at the chance and grabbed the whole 5 gallon bucket for myself politely said, "Yes." So, starting from that color, here is what we came up with.

          1. We want to build a pallet bed. I have mentioned this before, but I am happy to say that we already have most of the supplies. My parents had a leftover twin mattress that they gave to us and Jonathan found some pallets at a local lumber yard. Free = the best thing ever. Now all we need are some kind of caster. I'm thinking something like this.

          2. On the pallet bed, I would like to use tons of pillows. I'm thinking a very neutral fitted sheet combined with neutral euro pillows and fun/colorful accent pillows would be perfect. The beautifully textured euro pillows can be found here and the accent pillows can be found here.

          3. As you can see in the floor plan, I would also like to have a chair in the corner. The pallet bed will provide a bunch of seating, but I like the idea of having a lime green-grellow colored chair in the corner. A fun accent to the corner by the old door. We actually already have our chairs (an early birthday gift from my parents--I will be sharing more on Friday), but I also liked this one found at CB2.

          4. Lighting is always a must in a space. I really wanted something airy for accent lighting because the bookshelves and pallet bed will probably weigh down the space enough. I felt that a glass lamp would be perfect. Also, we need some overhead lighting. When I typed in "barn light" in Google, I found this beauty. Not exactly overhead lighting and at a cost of over $200 I'm not a fan of the price either. BUT I really like the whole bucket idea and it started my creative juices flowing. I have a great idea :)

          5. Our little porch has a radiator in it. We would love to build in the shelving around the radiator that incorporates some kind of cover for the radiator itself.

          6. Finally, we need to anchor the space with a bit of color on the floor. I'm really liking the thought of incorporating the color from the kitchen and bathroom by using a gray rug. I'm especially loving the price tag on this one from Ikea.

So, that is our sun porch in a nutshell. What do you think? I cannot wait to start this room next week--yup! My goal is to get it painted next week and then I can at least start the process of filling it with fun things. I will have to wait until the carpenter has time to build the shelving and pallet bed though. Do you think I could try the whole 'its-my-birthday-so-you-should-make-me-shelves" thing?

Yea...I doubt it will work too :)

Summer Vacation

For the past two weeks, Jonathan and I have been on a vacation of sorts. I say "of sorts," just because I'm not sure anyone would call what we did a true vacation, but it was an escape for us nonetheless, so we will just call it a vacation :)

On Saturday, two weeks ago, we packed up our car in the pouring rain and headed to my family's cabin in Algonquin Park, Canada. 

A six hour car ride and 30 minutes by boat will get you to this little piece of paradise. I could spend forever there. Without any phones, internet, or on-demand electric (we use a generator at night), it is the most beautiful place I have ever been. You can't get any closer to heaven on earth. (so cliche, but so true)

We spent four days up there and left bright and early on Wednesday morning to make the six hour drive to Jonathan's parent's house. We spent Wednesday to Saturday there celebrating his sister's marriage!!! Chelsea was a gorgeous bride and she pulled off planning, a wedding in a month, like a pro.  Now the newly weds are off to South Carolina for Jeremy's (Chelsea's new husband) new job as a math and science teacher. YAY! Isn't young love a beautiful thing?

Do you think Jonathan and I can still fall in that category? I hope so because our first two years of marriage include some amazing memories!!

From there, we drove another six hours home only to spend a day-and-a-half here and then take off again for Kingdom Bound! We spent Monday through Thursday there and we are home again. This time for a week. Yea, we leave this coming Thursday for my college roommate's wedding!!! I can't wait! 

I have known her fiance since freshman year of college and her since sophomore year. Their wedding is going to be AMAZING!!!

After all of this traveling, I have to say that I feel like I need a stay-cation. It would be amazing to just have a few days to catch up around the house and start projects like our sun porch. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not complaining about the amazing two weeks we have had, but don't you just miss home sometimes? 

I do. 

Especially, when all I can smell since we have returned home, is the coming fall weather. I can't even begin to explain to you how exciting and beautiful fall is around here! 

Our Future Library/Sunporch

I'm itching to start a project. Oh what I would give to work on something and spend a few days completing a room. It would be so nice to work on something else around here!

But, alas, summer is just so busy that things have been at a standstill. The carpenter and I have been completing little things here and there, but its nothing to write home on the blog about. Maybe once we have accumulated enough small projects, I will write a huge post dedicated to them. But, that would also require that I be able to upload pictures to blogger. Does anyone know how I can have unlimited space for pictures? Apparently I have used up all of my space this month and can only pull pictures from the internet or ones that I have already used on the blog. I don't know how to fix that. I'm completely computer illiterate when it comes to certain things! 

Anyways, once things settle down a bit, and we aren't traveling allover Timbuktu, I would like to start on a much anticipated project: our sunroom/porch/reading room. 

The above is what it looked like when we first toured the house. Then it became filled with boxes and was used as a storage space for all of our stuff. It was like an episode of hoarders. 

Now, it is filled with boxes of books, our big dog pen, a queen mattress set, and a few other odds and ends. Here are the most recent pictures that I have access to. Things have changed a bit, but you get the idea. 

One thing has led to another and we feel like this space is the next one we will tackle. Thanks to some generous family members (thanks mom and dad!!) we have been given enough stuff that we can finish this project for minimal money. But more on that in another post. First, let's chat about design, shall we? 

I have been working towards this idea that our entire downstairs should have one color scheme. Every room opens into the next one and I want them all to go together. So far we have a gray, grellow, off white, and light aqua color pallet. 

These swatches don't do justice to the colors, but can you see how they all go together?

We have the french white in the living room, marina gray in the kitchen and bathroom, and the pistachio is in the dining room. So when it came to picking a color for the sunroom, I thought it made a lot of sense to pull in some Palladian Blue. I arrived at this color choice after deciding that it would be perfect to reference our living room rug in another part of the house.

After the color was decided upon, we moved on to the purpose of the sunporch. Jonathan and I talked about how we would like the room to function and what purpose it would serve. We concluded that we needed a place to store books and this would be the ideal location. I didn't really want to clutter up our living room with tons of books (plus, where would we put bookcases?!) and I liked the idea of having a room dedicated to our stash. I have always wanted a library--and this will be pretty darn close to it!

I also liked the idea of having plenty of seating. The seating had to be comfortable and practical at the same time. As our house has limited space, every single room must have dual functions. Thus, our sunporch/library will also function as a guestroom if we need it to!

You may be wondering how.

Well, in this post, I alluded (not so discretely)  to the fact that we were thinking of creating a pallet bed! I love this idea. It could be a cozy place to curl up with a good book or, when needed, could be the perfect place for a guest to crash. Something similar to this, but without the headboard.

{image via}

So our room will have lots of bookshelves, a fun pallet bed, and there may be a few other things that I have planned. But you get the overall idea, don't you? 

I will be back Friday with more about our next project and hopefully we will get working on it soon!! 

Happy Hump Day all! 

Bring on the Cold Weather!

I am in the mood for fall and winter.

Yes, I'm completely finished with this thing call summer. 

Yes, I'm fully aware that it isn't even August yet. 

Yes, I'm definitely in trouble.

So, I turned to Pinterest for a bit of excitement and fall/winter inspiration. Plus, since I still am having issues uploading pictures to blogger, I figured you might all appreciate some pretty inspiration as well.

Bring on the pins!!

{source}

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I'm really looking forward to the coming seasons! What about you? Which season is your favorite?

*P.S. I was having horrible luck on Pinterest and couldn't find any of the original sources other than the ones marked. Sorry!*

Monday: Pinterest Love

Good morning all!

I'm going to be sharing some of my favorite Pinspiration today. Unfortunately I am having issues uploading pictures, so instead of skipping a post, I'm just going to use the internet's pictures for the time being! 

Bring on the beauty!

Don't you just love the little birdies? I'm thinking this is a great way to use up my fabric and felt scraps! 

Source: tinywhitedaisies.tumblr.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

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I also really like the idea of making my own cloth napkins. I love that these include rickrack. They would be so easy to make!

Source: pvedesign.blogspot.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

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I have been dreaming of an entryway. Simple and pretty. 

Source: notesondesign.tumblr.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

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Palledian blue? Yes please. Guestroom? Yes please!!

Source: houseofturquoise.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

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I have also been thinking about our sunporch and the need to make it a functional area. I think a pallet bed would be perfect!

Source: apprenticeextrovert.blogspot.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

I just love the ideas I see on Pinterest. :)

Book Review: The Fourth Fisherman

A few weeks ago I was reading someone's blog and stumbled upon this website. They basically send you books to review on your personal blog!

Free books?

I'm in!

Well the first book that they sent me was entitled The Fourth Fisherman by Joe Kissack.

This is an epic story of survival, revival, and faith. Joe Kissack is a man on top of the world, when his addiction to prescription painkillers threatens to ruin everything. The book entwines his story with that of three fisherman who survive a 9 month ordeal of being lost a sea.

At first this book started off a bit slow. I was two chapters in before I became hooked. Joe writes this story very well and after you get past that foundation that the opening chapters build, you reach a tale that leaves you wanting to know "what happens next." Each chapter alternates between the story of the fisherman and Joe's story. One is physical survival story--battling weather, hunger pains, and dehydration. Where as Joe's story is one of surviving our emotional battles--depression, feelings of insignificance, and addiction.

As the fisherman battle to survive, you hear about their strong reliance on God via the small pocket Bible that one of the men just happens to have brought with him. In a situation that seems completely hopeless, three of the original five fisherman, survive due to their continuous hope that God will provide. They find a way to store rain water and drink sea turtle blood for hydration and are able to capture various other sea creatures for sustenance. Surviving in a boat, similar to the picture below, for nine months at sea, is definitely a miracle of God.

Meanwhile, Kissack is fighting his own battle. A prominent man in the television industry, Kissack was responsible to license the rights of television programs to broadcast stations around the country. But, this job and a poor relationship with his father left him missing something. He was always craving something and would often turn to alcohol and eventually prescription medications to fill the void. As the story progresses (you will just have to read the book to find out how it happens), Kissack drops to an ultimate low where he finds the love of Christ.

As he continues through his own healing, he hears about the story of the three fisherman and decides  that God is calling him to share their story. Thousands of dollars later and a crazy trip through the jungles of Mexico, Kissack touches base with someone close to the fisherman and works out a deal to share their story--this book.

The Fourth Fisherman is an easy read and definitely inspirational to say the least. I would recommend it to someone looking for a good and fast read.  I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

The Stairway to Haven--Stage One

Now, here is a project that has been slowly coming together. It all started back when we moved into the house. Upon first glance, our stairs were like everyone's...just plain-jane stairs. Definitely nothing special. I knew that I wanted to do something to them, but wanted to wait until we were predominately done with the upstairs.

No need to make them look pretty only to have carpenter boots destroy them again :)

Once that was done, it was time to tackle those dang stairs. They were making a horrible first impression of our haven above. Instead of welcoming us to a relaxing night of sleep, they were saying, "Let's go to the creepy attic." or "Let's climb up the garage stairs to the scary loft." They were everything but impressive. 

At this point you may be asking yourself why I'm writing a post about stairs. Well, in my opinion, they are important. As I said, they are the first impression of our second story. I believe that no space in a home is insignificant. If you create beauty around you, you will feel beautiful and enjoy the space you live in so much more. The stairs did not make me feel beautiful nor enjoy our little space.

Um I have to say that I never thought I would be associating stairs with my feeling beautiful.

I have officially joined the crazy train.

An all new low for me.

My parents would be so proud.

And moving on...

Here are a few "before" pictures of what the stairs used to look like.

Can you see the horrible stair treads? They were rubber...really meant for stairs that are outside or are leading outside. Definitely not meant for a romantic first impression, inside. Practical for an older lady who needs to be careful, but so not attractive.

Have I made my point clear?? 

They were U-G-L-Y and had no alibi reason to be. 

So, we got to work. Well, for this first stage, I got to work. Yay for something that I can contribute to! Just call me a carpenter in training--well maybe a professional painter in training?--yea I got nothin'. 

Either way, my paint brush and some leftover paint were put to good use a few weeks ago. First I primed and painted the risers and stringers--the vertical pieces on the stairs. Here is a picture that outlines the technical terms that I'm referring to. 

(source)

This took me one whole day to accomplish. I would paint a coat, block off the stairs and let it sit for a couple of hours, then paint another coat. 

Don't you love how I blocked off the stairs? I don't have a doggy gate and I had to keep the little puppers away from the stairs. She was way too inquisitive for her own good, hence the pile-o-junk. 

Once all three coats were done, I was getting really excited to see what the end result would be. Look at the fresh coat of white on the risers and stringers. It is such a transformation already!

The next day, I grabbed the rest of the paint from the previous day and primed and painted the treads. Oh! I almost forgot! It it isn't already obvious, we removed the rubber treads that were on the stairs when we purchased the house. You may have noticed that in the pictures above. When I began painting, I was just working with the actual wood treads themselves. :)

Oh and another thing...we decided to paint the stairs white because it was the most neutral thing to do. I went back and forth between doing brown or red on the treads (brown matching the floor in the living room and red matching our bedroom), but ultimately decided that it would look weird to have them match only one part of the house. White just seemed to be the most pleasing color.

So, as I was saying, the next day I used up the rest of the primer and then the rest of the semi-gloss paint, putting the first coat (primer) and second coat (first coat of semi-gloss) on the stairs.

They were looking phenomenal, but I knew that putting on one last coat of semi-gloss would just kick them into "perfection." Oh and adding the rest of the trim would really be the icing on the cake. 

This is where the project starts to take forever. There has been about a month between the first coat of semi-gloss and the last coat. Busy lives and the need to get more paint have put the project on hold. I put the pro at procrastination--just like I have procrastinated on writing this post ;)

So, after a visit to our friendly, local hardware store, we were all set to go again! In the meantime, Jonathan used some caulk to hide a few cracks that were forming between the stringers and the treads. That combined with another coat of paint left the stairs looking flawless. 

And here is a little before and after action for ya. 

Well, that concludes the end of a way-too-long post about stairs. And as you can see, this is just part one. Part two will be shared once all of the trim is installed. But, alas, that is another job that the carpenter has to take care of.