Black Interior Doors

A few weeks ago I mentioned that The Mister was watching Property Brothers on HGTV and saw a renovation where they painted all the interior doors in the house black. He said they had grey and taupe walls just like us and the black doors were gorgeous. Well, I said, "Let's do it!" And before he could even blink, I had purchased the paint!

I did a little bit of searching online to see if I could find some photos, since I didn't see the program that he did. I guess the rage of black interior doors began a couple of years ago! There were several interior design websites that showcased them, and I loved the look. I was imagining a full two-day weekend to get the job done, but it ended up being 3 Saturdays and we still have a few more doors to do before the project is complete! I thought we would paint them right where they hung, but when we decided to switch out the brass hardware to brushed nickle, each door had to come down and that added a lot of time.

We used Olympic Interior Semi Gloss in Soft Black.

A before and after shot. I love the change! And I don't miss the typical builder's white doors. It was kind of like getting rid of that 'builder's beige' on the walls of a newly built house. They look richer and more custom than the traditional white six panel doors that we had before.

Before and after in the laundry room. The first of three coats. Three doors at a time. One on the dining room table and two on the kitchen island.

The brushed nickle, which I think goes well with the grey walls and black doors. We needed 5 types of knobs and all new hinges, too. I made a paper template of a hinge to take to the hardware store with me, to make sure I got the correct size.

I thought they might make the rooms seems too dark, but that didn't seem to be the case at all.

I'm linking up with Metamorphosis Monday!

Click HERE to see other home make over projects starting at 9:00 A.M. EST. ♥

Laundry Room Redo

This is the only 'before' photo I have! Here is the laundry room in green paint and pink floral border. The shelf hung high to the ceiling was used for hangers and clothes from the dryer. Now it's grey, a little more organized, and much more pleasant to use!

please click on photos to enlarge

1. My laundry room is actually a hallway. Things like that happen when you do renovations and build on additions. :) We have a long "L" shaped hallway in the house. I'm standing at the corner of the L, just in front of the master suite. The hallway in front of me extends the length of the ceramic tile and ends at the triplet's bedroom (which used to be a two-car garage!)
2. I had some custom-made wood shelves in the attic that The Mister installed above the washer and dryer for me.
3. I'm loving the grey color! Across from the washer and dryer I hung a memo board and cork board. To see how I made them, click HERE. Halfway down the hallway is a door opening that used to lead to the garage.
4. The shelves got a fresh coat of paint, too.
5. There aren't any windows, but the triplet's room has a very large window that lets light come down the hallway.

1. Standing at the second doorway, halfway down the hall.
2. This space is what started the redo to begin with. We had an upright freezer here. I decided to move it to my workroom so I could get one of these rolling laundry sorters.
3. Looking at the wall across from the hamper.
4. Since my laundry sorter came with a hanging bar, that freed up the space above the washer and dryer for the shelves!
5. Standing at the door to the boys' room and looking back. Beside the laundry sorter is a 2nd pantry, which comes in handy for storing extra canned and paper goods. It also holds seasonal things like the pressure canner, punch bowl, light bulbs and the carpet steamer. Across the hall from the pantry is my workroom for my gift basket business and crafty stuff.

1. I'm really enjoying my display of collectibles. Here's my vintage Cream of Wheat advertisement. It's nautical, too!
2. This framed photo I picked up in the auction trash. It was in the grass in the freezing rain. I picked it up thinking I could use the frame, but when I got it home and took a closer look, I fell in love with the four kids, balancing on a floating log in the water. They are poised to dive in! So cute! Can't believe nobody in the family wanted it! I decided to clean it up and keep it with my nautical stuff. Besides a little water damage on the mat, it was in good condition.
3. The big crock with the spigot is holding my liquid Era. And it looks better than the big red plastic jug, too. :)
4. I painted the cherry branches on the bird house years ago. It's held a few nests while hanging on the front porch, but was beginning to show a lot of wear, so I brought it inside. It's new home is with the wicker lidded jar holding some wooden clothespins.
5. The old metal ice bucket is holding baking soda and a scoop. I'll add a scoop to a load of Taylor's basketball and workout clothes. :)
6. A collection of brown bottles. Love the one with the fish on it.
7. My favorite big yellow metal bucket with wooden handle. I think it's been in every room of the house and even in the garden at some point in time. :)
8. The shelf above the laundry sorter holds my vintage picnic basket, wooden ammunition box and some extra large blue Ball jars with zinc lids.
9. The antique washboard with copper board had a broken top. I filled in the broken space with cork and am using it to display my sterling nautical broaches. Click HERE to see how I put it together!

Thanks again to Susan for hosting Metamorphosis Monday. I hadn't participated since last March when I redid the triplet's bedroom! I'll be back with her next Monday to show you what I did with all the doors in the house. That project is still in progress today. In fact, three doors are laying on my kitchen island as I'm typing up this post! They are looking good, though! :)

♥

I've linked up with Metamorphosis Monday!

To see more decorating redo's click HERE!

Boys' Bedroom Reveal

For the past several years the unused side of the boys' bedroom

has become a catch-all for unused items. They have a large

bedroom...it was originally a two car garage...so there was

plenty of unused space! Up until now they have shared

a computer but at seventeen years of age it was becoming

very impractical. So I started saving up my money from

my gift basket business and my auction clerking to

give them a room upgrade and some new laptops!

Here's the unused side of the room before...

First came a quick coat of paint on the bottom part of the walls. The tan paint and the border were still in great shape. We just had a similar shade put over the green to freshen up the walls and remove the years of fingerprints and marks. I ordered desk units and chairs from IKEA. I got out my girlie tools and spent a day doing the assembly. Everything was great quality and the assembly was easy! Then came the great reveal....

Three desks, chairs, laptops and a printer....

I got an extra desk unit just so Spencer would have room to

print and stack his pages of trains he prints from the Internet.

He already ran the print cartridge out of ink...even set

on grayscale and economy modes! lol. I told him he'd

have to wait a week or two before I let him have a new one.

Some of you may remember the sepia toned picture of

Spencer standing in between two train cars at Altoona,

Pennsylvania on a family vacation. I had the print

enlarged at Sam's Club and hung it above his area.

Everyone got their own bulletin board/white board. I'm not

really sure they care so much about them, but I had fun

putting some train memorabilia on them and I think

they help define each boy's space.

Lots of room to spread out! It's nice to share, but sometimes

it's just nice to have your own space, too!

On the opposite side of the room is their bed, their collection

of metal railroad signs and the closets. One nice thing

about converting a big garage is that you can take

advantage and build really big closets!

I added some much needed new pillows and bedding.

They get lots of light through the front window.

I'm sure the neighbors wish they would leave the blinds

closed after it gets dark, but they love to look out!

The headboard is actually two twin boards set together.

They were originally belonged to my sister and me when we

were kids! I laminated some copies of vintage luggage tags

and travel advertisements to add to the railroad theme.

The old trunk got some vintage travel labels, too!

It looks perfect and clean, doesn't it? ha ha

Well, I have pictures after the boys put their own

touches to the area. I'll post those soon. And that is

fine...it IS their own space. I just come in and clean it

up a few times a week. :) Besides, the most fun is

seeing the stuff being put to good use! And the most

satisfying part was that I paid for it all myself!

I've linked up with Susan and her Metamorphosis Monday!

Click HERE to visit her blog and see other room renovations!

Living Room Reveal

I'm loving my purplish gray walls. :)

This end of the room is usually full of college men watching football!

Recognize the print from my sidebar?

My favorite WWII British war poster...and I found it in the perfect color!

View from the kitchen. It's a strange lay-out, isn't it? The walls seem to change color with the time of day. Finally brought the monster fern in for the cooler seasons. He's about 6 feet wide! Mr Fern doesn't fit in the fern stand anymore, but the purple shamrock does! And she's liking it here by the eggplant colored sofa. :) I got that cute print of the boys on the triplet's homecoming blown up and framed. It was only $8.75 at Sam's Club for a 20x30 print. Only took me 17 years to get that off of my to-do list! ha. View from the window seat.

Still need something on the windows and need to steam

clean the carpet, then we're all set! :)

To see a before picture of the room, click HERE!

I've joined Susan's Metamorphasis Monday where bloggers

show their home improvements! To visit her, click HERE!

Metamorphasis Monday = Bedroom Redo

I'm joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch

for her weekly Metamorphosis Monday, where

bloggers can show their home improvements.

Here's the 'before' picture of our master bedroom.

The flowered pink wallpaper was beginning to

show it's age and I was tiring of it. And having

redone the connecting bath last year, I wanted

to make the whole master suite blend together.

So, I stripped wallpaper for an entire week.

Some wallpaper comes off nice and easy.

Some kinds don't! Even with a wallpaper

perforator and steamer machine, it was awful!

To make a long story short, we were left with rough,

uneven walls that sandpaper and thick primer couldn't fix.

Time to call in some professional help in our friend Kris, who

suggested ultra thin 1/4" drywall for brand new walls.

He also painted for us....a welcome change for me!

Just a few days later and he was finished!

Gray walls, dark stained wood and gold accents

completed the new look.

The new gray sheets had an extra set of pillowcases, which

I cut into strips, pulled out the sewing machine

and made grey trim for the liners of the under-bed

storage baskets. Would you believe they are empty?

I've uncluttered SO much in the last few years that

I have empty baskets and some empty closet shelves!

(yes, I confess, I'm a recovering clutter bug! ha ha)

A view from the window... Behind one of the door ~ a back-of-the-door hanging ironing board. Very nice ~ also doubles as a place to dry hand-wash sweaters. Still need to put something on the walls. I love antique prints, so I'll take my time until I fine just the right thing. Also considering picking some family photos to have blown up and toned in sepia. And if I ever had time to read a book, this caned chaise and ottoman would be perfect! ;) I found this metal candle stick holder at the thrift store for $2.50. I painted it with leftover white primer. :) You know I love birds, right? I have such a massive seashell collection, you'd never believe I've lived in the Midwest my entire life! :) I moved some in here, including the mirror. Several years ago, I got my glue gun out and copied one that I saw in a mail order catalog that was selling for $350! I still need a lampshade! If anyone knows what type of shade is appropriate for this antique lamp, I'd love some advise. I'm thinking a white barrel or drum shaped shade but don't know how low on the base it should go. Any ideas? Yes, I still have my coffee maker on my bedside table! It's programmable, and doubles as my alarm clock. Nothing like sitting up in bed and having your coffee right there! I just bring a mug back with the water and beans each evening. So nice to start the day like this! Here's my view while sitting in bed each morning with my coffee...looking into the closet and bath area. So nice to have this project done! But have you ever noticed that when you paint a room, it makes other rooms look like they need it? Yep...there are several rooms here looking like that! ha-ha. If you want to see more re-dos, be sure and visit Susan's blog starting Monday, by clicking HERE.