Thank God for Dirty Dishes

(author unknown)

Thank God for dirty dishes, they have a tale to tell,
While others are going hungry, we’re eating very well.
Home, health, and happiness, I shouldn’t want to fuss,
With the stack of evidence, God is good to us.

via

This tired old house Part 4 (Girls/Guest Bathroom)

I had a "conservative" earthy yellow in mind but the girls wanted some fun/bold colors so we kinda compromised & ended up w/ deep turqoise & orange & white. Somewhere I must have some before pics but I'm too lazy to look for 'em. Trust me when I say it was boring (mostly dark blue & cream). The dark turquoise here is darker than I envisioned but the white offset it & brightened up this little bathroom.

Found this fun soap & lotion at a gourmet food & gift shop nearby.
The little vanity gets cluttered up so easy so I lift up the soap & lotion
to free up at least a little bit of space.

Life is like a roll of toilet paper:
the closer you get to the end the faster it goes.

My husband used a special paint/sealer kit
we bought a while back to redo our bathtub
& I don't think it's been that shiny white since
we moved in 8 yrs ago! Nice job, honey! :)

Aprx cost(s)

Paint Supplies $20
Shower Curtain $10
Towels $15
Mirror $5
Rug & lid cover $15
Blinds $5
Soap & Lotion $13

Total: Aprx $85 - a bit more than I intended to spend.

This tired old house part 3 (kitchen)

One thing I liked about our home when we bought it was the kitchen/dining/family room are all one BIG room - hard to find in older/less expensive homes. Whitewashed most of the wall cabinets inside & out - inside was an icky creamy color - ugh - white paint made a big difference!

...& a fun change here -
bright red in a couple cabinets where we keep our dishes...

another angle - The TV swivels out/can be viewed
from the kitchen &/or dining room. The counter top doubles
as a nice BIG desk for Strike to do her homeschooling - esp. when she uses DVDs

not thrilled about the trash can (above) there
but it beats under the sink where it gets overshot too often :)

Removed cabinet doors (below)/
painted inside red/
filled w/ fun stuff from around the house :)
& lighted it up!

The plaque (above) reads:
I chose the road less traveled... Now where the heck am I?

& the ducks are a quiet reminder to:
See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil :)

***

Fun drawer pulls (below) we already had there...

& painted the inside of the drawers red too...

Aprx cost(s):

Cabinet Lighting $10
Red paint - $4 (clearance!)
White paint (leftover) & supplies $10
cup hooks - $2

Total: $20 - $25

This tired old house part 2 (Living Room)

This is from '01 - some things had changed but the dark colors pretty much remained the same before we repainted this weekend.

LIVING ROOM

Before

After

The color & the photos are the big changes we made.
I had black & white prints made of our family & our pets to do this:

These pics (below) - Norman Rockwell's famous Four Freedoms - were previously above our TV...I was so pleased that they fit just right - right here:

Aprx Cost(s):

Paint/Supplies/Switch Covers: $35
Frames $20
Pics $20

Total: $75

This tired old house...

that's about 50 years old....is getting some much needed TLC on the inside. We did it! 4 rooms in 10 days - if I counted right -- the days are a blur as I've been SO busy! And we're going to try for 5 rooms in 2 weeks bc we ended up repainting the living room instead of the master bath this weekend.

MASTER BEDROOM

Before

... it was only slightly different from this by the time I tackled it last week:

After

The "twigs" in the corner are actually covered w/
teeny tiny "built in" white lights & make a great nightlight...

I recycled my kitchen cabinet doors
for this look on top of my armoire

I'm so pleased w/ how this turned out. Simple. Lighter/Brighter & a tad western/Americana

Aprx Costs (I'm tryin' to stay close to $500 total for 5 rooms!)

- My big splurge: Quilt & comforter set (comforter set not shown but you can see the comforter here - is black & off-white big check print on one side & black w/ a subtle off white floral pattern on the other - which I plan to use in the winter for a totally new & cozy look ... should be nice and warm too! $270

- Red throw blanket $10 (clearance 75% off :)

- Paint(Used leftover) & supplies aprx $20

- 3 deep red rugs for winter ... $50

- Lamphade - $10

- Recycled All the "decorations" from around the house. The window shades were already there - feaux suede - great(!) for blocking out the light.

This was by far the most expensive room bc of the comforter & quilt - Aprx $350 total. It may seem like a lot of my $500 budget but believe it or not, I think I'll come pretty close!

More to come.

Life is like.....

I'm still plugging away - not quite finished w/ the master bedroom - but almost & then I plan to start right in on the master bath. Been doing SO MUCH painting (bathroom, kitchen, bedroom)! --- ooooh my aching back & feet & ..... well if I keep listing everything that hurts I'll waste valuable time :) - & as this plaque in our bathroom so eloquently states:

LIFE IS LIKE
A ROLL OF TOILET PAPER:
THE CLOSER YOU
GET TO THE END...
THE FASTER IT GOES.

sooo there's no time to lose ... if indeed I hope to reach my goal of finishing 4 rooms in 10 days.

Squirt!

Taking a break from painting ... a refreshing break at that thanks to a friend who knows what I like! When she went out of state she bro't me back what I can't seem to find in this state of mine. I've searched high & low on the local soda shelves to no avail. A thousand thank you's & then some dear friend :)