It’s been more than a year since we decided to add a small addition onto our house. We actually broke ground about a year ago so we have been living in disruption

for a long, long (too long) time, especially for a project that was not that big. The plan was extend the end of our kitchen all the way to the end of the garage and add a laundry room and bathroom. Before the addition, I had laundry in a closet at the end of the kitchen, next to the tiniest bathroom in the world – it was roughly 30 inches wide with just a toilet and sink and a pocket door. You can see the photo of the laundry closet. To the left is a door to a fenced dog yard and next to that is the door to the garage. This is the main door we use to go in and out of the house for just us and there was nowhere to even leave boots or

shoes without tripping over them.  As you can see from the photo of the old bathroom, it wasn’t even big enough to get inside it and take a photo. And the doors to the laundry closet stuck out just a bit, blocking the doorway when they were open.

 

 

Now a year later it is all at last finally done and I am completely moved into the space.

There were quite a few hiccups along the way. Our contractor proved unreliable and worked a few hours a week. He was supposed to have someone to do the

tiling (which included not only the new area but re-tiling the kitchen to match) but the people he planned to use were no shows. He shrugged his shoulders and

left it to us. After a long wait since everyone was books, we then hired someone who quit after doing all the floor tile. We finally found someone else to do the rest, but he only worked 3 hours per night, so it took weeks to complete the other tiling. Other hiccups included a mistake either by the architect or contractor, causing us to lose about a foot of space which cut into the little sitting area I was envisioning at the end of the kitchen. we also had to reduce the size of the bathroom door because of this mistake so it is not the 36 inch wide handicap accessible door we planned. The tile shop measured wrong when calculating what we needed, so we ended

up with way too much of some tile and not nearly enough of another (and it was not returnable since the return period passed as the project dragged and dragged).

Despite all of those headaches, problems and trials, it is finally done and are happy with the final product. Let me take you on a tour.

The photo with the green bench is the new end of the kitchen. This the spot in front of where the washer and dryer used to be. We had to raise the floor up since that area was a step down (which meant we had to re-tile the kitchen so it would all be the same). Now I have a bench and a table next to a huge window in this spot. Originally, this was going to be a little reading nook, but the mistakes led to the space being smaller than was planned. So now it’s part of our entry from the garage, so we can sit down to put on boots and have a place to leave bags. The table may not be staying. Off to the left is the new area. There’s a hallway that leads to the bathroom and laundry room.

 

The next photo shows a built-in shelving unit which I found on Amazon. The wall it’s on had to be cut at an angle because of the mistake in the measurements. I decided to make use of it with this.

 

Next is the door to the garage, with the wreath on it. That has remained in the same place, but had to be raised when the floor was raised. The small mirror next to it was my grandparents’ so I’m happy to have

a place for it.  We bought an extra large doormat for

this area and it has been perfect.

The next photo is the new hallway, looking down into the laundry room, with the bathroom off to the right. We bought a nifty IKEA shoe cabinet that has tip out drawers and holds 8 pairs of shoes. I LOVE it. It’s our first piece of IKEA furniture and since there are none near us we had to order it and pay delivery. It was

pretty easy to assemble and it looks really great. No more piles of shoes by the door.

Next is the hallway from the opposite end, looking from the laundry room into the kitchen. Straight in front is the basement door which I’ve decoupaged with maps of places we’ve gone.

The next photo is the bathroom, which has marble floor tiles. I love the vanity and counter. We kept our old toilet since there was nothing wrong with it.

The shower is next on the tour. We opted to add a full bath thinking it

wouldn’t cost that much more (ha!) and would add to the value of the home. Plus it makes it livable long-term in case of some kind of mobility impairment. Of course it ended up being more money than it should have been, but it turned out well (that weird thing in the top right is a reflection of the light over the vanity).

Next to the shower and behind the vanity is a nice sized linen closet.

 

After the closet, the next pic is my fun magnet board. I buy magnets wherever we travel and they

used to hang out on the file cabinet in my office. But I could never really see them. So we added this board on the way into the laundry room so I can display them all together.

Welcome to the laundry room next where we reused our washer and dryer, added a stationary tub (something we have longed for ever since moving into this house – it had none) and some nice big cabinets. I also have a laundry sorter on wheels. Each compartment lifts off so you can just dump it in . It’s on wheels so I can move it around which is really lovely. Compared to that awful laundry closet I had, this is heaven. Mounted into the wall is a silver tissue dispenser, like you would find in a hotel, except I’ve put dryer sheets into it.

 

Next up is more of the laundry room. Next to the stationary tub is a tiled area where we can wash the dogs. There’s a hose with a sprayer attachment that goes from the stationary tub. The dogs go out that door to go to the bathroom. There’s a drain plug so we can stop the drain and fill it with a couple of inches of water, then the dogs are encouraged (ah-hem) to walk through the water when they have muddy feet. It beats kneeling on the floor trying to stick their feet into a bucket of water. We can also do full baths (showers really) of the dogs here if they get super dirty.

The next shot is a direct one of the dog washing area, which is big enough to easily hold a large golden retriever.

 

The next photo shows what’s above the dog washing area. Up top is a retractable stainless drying rack, so I can just hang clothes over it that I want to air dry and fold it up against the wall when I’m not using it. Under it is a fold up stainless steel shelf. If I want to work on stains, fold laundry, or work on a messy project of some kind, I just release two hook and eyes and the shelf comes down.

 

In the next photo, you can see the shelf folded up where it stays when not in use.

 

The next photo is the laundry room taken from the

dog door. You can see the little unit on the wall that has a rod so I can hang shirts which is very handy. Off to the left is the laundry room closet, which is coming in the next photos.

 

Now you’re looking at the laundry closet. It’s HUGE. I was able to move up all the kitchen stuff I’d been storing in the basement (like my air fryer, KitchenAid mixer, water goblets) plus we have things like the ironing board, flashlights, and all sorts of pantry overflow. All the big bins on the bottom are currently empty so there’s lots of room left. It’s about 10 feet long and 4 feet deep, so it is much bigger than it seems in the photo.

So that’s what I’ve been doing for the past year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s been more than a year since we decided to add a small addition onto our house. We actually broke ground about a year ago so we have been living in disruption for a long, long (too long) time, especially for a project that was not that big. The plan was extend the end of … Read more →

I have been like  an expectant mother and it has taken almost exactly nine months, but at long last our family room remodel is complete! I’ve definitely got the decorating bug and even recently took an online interior decorating course. The family room journey started in January. We had used a large room connected to the dining room as a family room since we moved in. It was perfect when we had toys and videos and electronic gaming and lots of friends coming over. Now that the kids are older, it makes more sense to have that larger room be a living room for entertaining. The smaller room that we had used as a living room seemed perfect for a family room where my husband and I could watch TV together. It has a fireplace but didn’t have much else going for it other than hardwood floors. The shelves and mantel in place were old and not very functional and resulted in ridiculous amounts of dusting since the shelves were open. The fireplace was brick which I had painted years ago. We decided to switch the rooms.

My desire to switch rooms conveniently coincided with the Super Bowl which was my husband’s excuse to buy a giant curved TV we planned to mount above the fireplace eventually. We switched the furniture in the rooms and plopped the TV on the mantel. Then we struggled through finding contractors, getting estimates, choosing materials and living through what was supposed to be a one week renovation that took four weeks to complete. Then there was the eight week wait for furniture that turned into 11 weeks since one fabric was backordered.

Now, 9 months later I have given birth to a family room. As you can see from the photos, it looks nothing like it used to, which is a very good thing!

 

The Fireplace Wall

Since we are lucky enough to have a wood burning fireplace, we wanted to highlight it. Our fireplace had no doors, only a portable screen. I wanted doors, marble, a mantel and built-in cabinets with glass doors to keep some of my collections dust-free. I also wanted lighting in the cabinets.

The fireplace doors were a fairly simple thing to find and the installation was without drama. Marble for the fireplace surround was impossible to find. There is almost nothing in my color scheme and what there is was horribly expensive. We instead went with mesh sheets of pebbles on the fireplace surround and tile on the floor. They are in the green color and blue family.

The TV is mounted on the wall and all the wiring is inside the walls, so no cords show (something I wanted very badly!). All of the components are in one of the cabinets and my techy husband found a tiny little receiver that hangs below one of the cabinet doors so the remote will still operate the DVR box.

The Cabinets

Our contractor sent us to a kitchen design store to pick out cabinets. The designer there did a CAD drawing of the wall and came up with a price for having the cabinets built. The price for this was also ridiculous. Our solution was to just buy the doors there. Our contractor built the cabinets and shelves himself and saved us a bundle. We bought the doors unpainted because although everyone claims a paint store can color match anything, I found in our kitchen that it was not true. I have never been able to get a true color match to the cabinet doors in our kitchen and I was not about to go through that again. The contractor painted everything himself and it turned out beautifully.

Our contractor and I constructed the mantel using pieces of moulding. He just kept picking out pieces and holding them up and adding them when I approved.

I wanted lighting in the cabinets but I didn’t want glass shelves. I don’t care for the way that lights in the top of a cabinet cast shadows when they shine down. So we installed strips of LED lights on the front inside of the cabinets, to shine to the back. They are on a dimmer switch.

I wanted glass doors with no wood strip down the center to provide an unobstructed view and to end the endless dusting that is necessary when you have shelves with lots of stuff on them. We ended up with doors that are on a spring and meet in the center (you push them and they pop open). Getting this right took several tries (and weeks of waiting), but eventually everything fit and worked. No more dust!

I chose a teal color for the wall behind the fireplace while the other walls are a very pale blue. The fireplace wall color doesn’t show up accurately in these photos – it is softer and lighter than it appears here.

I bought a metal bin, the kind often used for storing beer or soda in ice at a casual party, to hold wood for the fireplace. I bought brushed nickel fireplace tools (and happily said goodbye to the brass ones with duck heads on the handles that came with the house).

 

Furnishings

I stayed with the green/blue palette for the room. I really wanted a couch with a chaise because the room is very small and a coffee table or chaise would just be in the way. The challenge with this is the wall it needed to go on is very short, since it is the opening into the room. After a lot of hunting we did finally find one that fit perfectly, but it took 10 weeks on order. I also ordered a teal recliner and a tropical floral print chair. All of the furniture was purchased during the store’s annual tent sale so it was all discounted. We reused a blue swivel chair and my great grandmother’s rocking chair. Every single table save one was bought at Home Goods (the other is from a sale at Pier 1). I went once a week for weeks hunting for the right pieces.  The sofa table was particularly hard to find since it needed to be as tall as the couch and this was a challenge, but Home Goods came through. The carpet is also from Home Goods and I went with white because the room gets little natural light and I really needed something to help lighten the space.

The lamps are Home Goods finds as well, except for the teal floor lamp behind the couch which I purchased at Pier 1 years ago and never really had a place for it. Drapes are also from Home Goods.

Wall Art

The room’s theme is travel. The large map was my grandfather’s and includes the lines he drew to mark the trips he and my grandmother took – to every continent but Antarctica. The map used to be in a frame he handmade, but to preserve it, I wanted it under glass, so we had it framed. It was the perfect color for the room and was the right size for the one big wall. I was sad to lose the frame he had made, bt my husband reused the original wire to hang it with, which is a nice touch. The other paintings are from our trips.

The Shelves

The shelves showcase three of my collections: baskets, pottery, and sheep, all of which have been purchased on our trips. I used several different height clear lucite stands to achieve different heights within the display area. I also mounted photographs onto the back of the shelves (using removable 3M mounting strips) to fill the empty space. Before I hit upon that solution, I had them just sitting on the shelves and everything was the same height with this big white space above it. You can see the before and after of this in the shelf photos. I am so pleased with how well I can see everything now. Previously, they were in very dark shelves in another room and I could never really see what I had.

History

I’ve already mentioned the meaning of the big map on the wall, my great grandmother’s rocker, and that everything on the shelves are travel finds, but there are a few other little things in the room that have a history. The basket holding the fisherman knit throw (which is from Ireland) was my grandmother’s and has special meaning to me. The round wooden containers stacked behind the couch were my great grandfather’s (he was a farmer) and used to take produce to the market to sell. They have his initials on them. The plant behind the couch is in a crock that was my grandmother’s. There is a very good article about using heirloom furniture in your decor plan here.

The Bookcase

I wrote about the little child’s bookcase I bought to hold our travel coffee table books here. It’s the perfect item in the little hallway that goes by the family room next to a closet.

I’m still looking for at least one teal colored pillow to put on the couch. And I’m trying to formulate a plan for how to make my Christmas decorations work in this room. I’m thrilled with the end result though. We are enjoying being able to sit comfortably and watch TV together at night and on the weekends. When the kids are around, there is plenty of room for them to join us. I have found the chaise part of the couch to be the perfect little reading nook for me during the day. It is right next to the window and feels like a window seat. The white carpet, which I was terrified of, has turned out to be a good choice for golden retrievers (of which we have two) – no fur shows at all. The remodel was a success in our books and we are so thrilled with the results!

I have been like  an expectant mother and it has taken almost exactly nine months, but at long last our family room remodel is complete! I’ve definitely got the decorating bug and even recently took an online interior decorating course. The family room journey started in January. We had used a large room connected to … Read more →

Do you have halls in your home that are empty and you don’t know what to do with them? I have two space like this in my house that I’ve been pondering. One of them is connected to a remodeling project we have been working on. We recently remodeled our family room and there is a small hallway, really half of a hallway since it only has one wall and the other side opens to the family room. It’s complicated even further by the fact that there is a closet that opens into the space, so I can’t block the door. When we first moved into this house I painted a tree mural on the wall. When we repainted the room, the mural was done and gone and I needed something to make this little space work for me.

I thought about this little space for quite a long time until I came up with a great solution. The theme of our new family room is travel (a post about this room is coming soon) so I wanted something that would relate. Everywhere I go, I try to buy a coffee table of photos of the area. These books ended up stacked on tables and never were displayed to their potential. A bookcase would be perfect, however the wall it could go is behind where the closet door opens, so it would have to be very narrow. So narrow in fact that the books would need to face out.

I did a lot of searching and even considered putting up some narrow shelves and just leaning the books on them. Then I stumbled on this bookcase.  Initially I thought the bookcase would hang on the wall, but when it arrived, I realized it is meant to stand on the floor and be attached to the wall so it won’t fall forward on children (and yes, it’s technically a child’s bookcase!).  It is the perfect depth. I can open the closet without an issue and it fits the space perfectly. All of my travel books fit and I can see their covers and titles. I’ve also stuck in a few photos for variety and plan to add a few things other than books as time goes on. I hung a painting we bought on our honeymoon above it to complete the space.

A bookcase ended up being the right solution for my space, but here are some other great hallway solutions.

Do you have halls in your home that are empty and you don’t know what to do with them? I have two space like this in my house that I’ve been pondering. One of them is connected to a remodeling project we have been working on. We recently remodeled our family room and there is … Read more →

This little ghost is one of my Halloween decorations. I got this pedestal cloche last year and I’ve been putting one little thing in it for each holiday. It’s a fun way to isolate an item and highlight it. I love the ghost in it because it just has a bit of a sense of humor about it.

This little ghost is one of my Halloween decorations. I got this pedestal cloche last year and I’ve been putting one little thing in it for each holiday. It’s a fun way to isolate an item and highlight it. I love the ghost in it because it just has a bit of a sense of humor … Read more →

Once the holiday decorations are put away, things settle down, and the reality of winter sinks in, things can start to feel a bit glum. I combat this in two ways.

Decorate for Small Holidays

I decorate for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter. Valentine’s Day decorations go up right after the Christmas decorations get put away. I transition from that to St. Pat and then to Easter which carries me through until it really starts to feel like spring. I decorate my tabletop all-occasion tree for all of these holidays and have wreaths as well as a few things to set around the house for each. It helps me feel as if the house is not bare and cold.

Focus on Food Holidays

I look for excuses to cook fun food throughout the winter. These are the holidays that are reasons to celebrate at my house.

Feb 1 SuperBowl: We always have cheese nachos with guacamole for the SuperBowl and I also buy soda, which is generally banned in my house. We all watch the beginning of the game together and then kind of drift off to our separate areas. I usually make brownies as well so we can be as fat as possible.

Feb 14 Valentine’s Day: I always make a heart shaped dessert for this day.

Feb 17 Mardi Gras: I make a king cake for Mardi Gras, which is a sweet bread with frosting and green, gold, and purple sprinkles. You bake a charm or small toy inside and the person who finds it is the king.

Feb 18 Ash Wednesday: We don’t celebrate Ash Wednesday per se, but I usually buy paczki donuts for the gluten eating members of the family the day before and then I buy fastnachts sometime during Lent as well. I may make some gluten free this year because I miss them so much. Lent is also fish fry season here in Buffalo, but that’s another gluten bomb, so I’ve learned how to make my own beer battered fish fry with gluten free flour.

Feb 19 Chinese New Year: I make homemade fried rice, buy some gluten free dumplings, and make a third dish, often chicken lo mein or beef with broccoli. Unfortunately I can’t find gluten free fortune cookies which is the missing piece!

March 17 St. Patrick’s Day: St. Patrick’s Day is a big deal around here. Buffalo has the second largest parade in the country. I always make corned beef with cabbage and carrots and potatoes and cheese soda bread. Then we have reuben soup the next day with the leftovers.

April 5 Easter: I always make a ham for Easter and often serve a carrot dish with it.

What food holidays are on your calendar this winter?

Once the holiday decorations are put away, things settle down, and the reality of winter sinks in, things can start to feel a bit glum. I combat this in two ways. Decorate for Small Holidays I decorate for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter. Valentine’s Day decorations go up right after the Christmas decorations … Read more →

For Christmas Eve I am sharing the trees on our front porch. They are wrapped with pink ribbon. They came pre-lit but the lights stopped working after the first year so now we add lights to them. We have garland on the railings that has the same pink ribbon.

For Christmas Eve I am sharing the trees on our front porch. They are wrapped with pink ribbon. They came pre-lit but the lights stopped working after the first year so now we add lights to them. We have garland on the railings that has the same pink ribbon.

Here are some more dining room trees. I could do an entire month of trees (not just 25 days!) I have so many. And I’m including a photo of the entire forest as well. The chest they are on was my grandmother’s. 

Here are some more dining room trees. I could do an entire month of trees (not just 25 days!) I have so many. And I’m including a photo of the entire forest as well. The chest they are on was my grandmother’s. 

My kitchen tree is 100% fun for me. It all started when we were in Montreal. I saw a fondue pot ornament and it hit me how great it would be to have a kitchen tree. The fondue was meaningful because we always had fondue on New Year’s Eve. So I bought the ornament and then we bought the tree for it to go on! I’ve added to my collection over the years. The ornaments are all food or cooking equipment and I have so enjoyed collecting them. I have a chicken wing (we are in Buffalo!), vegetables, fruits, sandwiches, a lobster dinner, a cupcake, and even some Chinese food. A few of the ornaments were bought in Europe. At souvenir stores in many countries they sell magnets of foods of the regions. My husband rigs these magnets up with hooks so they can go on our tree. I have pots, pans, rolling pin, utensils, toaster, mixer, blender, colander, pitcher and many more kitchen items. I think the tree satisfies my childhood desire for a dollhouse – with all those wonderful miniatures!

My kitchen tree is 100% fun for me. It all started when we were in Montreal. I saw a fondue pot ornament and it hit me how great it would be to have a kitchen tree. The fondue was meaningful because we always had fondue on New Year’s Eve. So I bought the ornament and … Read more →

Another treasure from the dining room forest is this pretty tree that always reminds me of a wedding cake!

Another treasure from the dining room forest is this pretty tree that always reminds me of a wedding cake!

Just a few more days till Christmas! But don’t worry – I have plenty of trees to get us through the countdown! Today’s tree is from the dining room forest. I love how it’s loopy metal with a few jewels scattered throughout. I think I picked this up a Kohl’s when it first opened here and I had a coupon!

Just a few more days till Christmas! But don’t worry – I have plenty of trees to get us through the countdown! Today’s tree is from the dining room forest. I love how it’s loopy metal with a few jewels scattered throughout. I think I picked this up a Kohl’s when it first opened here … Read more →