Our Rancher: Before & After - The Fireplace.

At first glance, you'd think our fireplace was hopeless.  It was like the rest of our house...depressing, drab and outdated.  I was just thankful to have a fireplace and knew, with a little effort, it wouldn't be so bad!

Truth be told,

Our Rancher: Before & After - The Kitchen.

Sorry for the mini-break I took to reveal my DIY jewelry organizer...but it's back to the before and afters! (Insert round of applause here.)

This series has been a blast to put together!  I hope you guys are enjoying it too.  If you've missed the intro, part one, part two or part three, make sure you catch up!

Our Rancher: Before & After - The Dining Room.

I've talked about the inspiration behind this little series, posted part one, posted part two and now it's time for the dining room.  Like our living room, this space needed less walls, new windows, no more shag and some serious lighting.

I'm sure you can guess the next stop will be the kitchen! ;)

Our Rancher: Before & After - The Living Room.

The curb appeal and entrance were certainly not the only areas of our home that needed a total overhaul.  In part two of my little "before and after" series, it's all about the living room portion of our great room.  The wall...the outdated doors...the old windows...the shag carpet...it all had to go!

If you missed the intro and part one of the series, you can catch up here and here.  Next up is our dining room "then and now"!

Our Rancher: Before & After - The Entrance.

I know the title reads "before and after", but the series of posts coming your way are truly more of a "then and now".  Why is that?  Well because I'm never done re-decorating and styling our home. I mean, you already heard my dreams to renovate our 1954 cabinetry.  Yes, one day I will see my kitchen dreams come to life!!  But, anyway, I digress...

Back to the fun stuff...the transformation thus far!!

Our home was a little...ummmm...frightening when we bought it.  "Hot mess" is a phrase that also came to mind.

Ahhhh, our diamond in the rough!  Our home was so far from welcoming.  We took it from dark, overgrown, stained, cramped and closed off to happy, light and bright!

Much better, don't you think?!?

Next up...the living room portion of our "great room"!

Our Rancher: Before & After.

Quite often I find myself daydreaming about changing/fixing/renovating aspects of our beloved home. If hubby had it his way, we'd re-side the place, add some stone detail and take care of our cracking front steps.  I don't mind the charm of our 1950's wood siding and focus my thoughts on things inside our house.  I'd love to install a gas insert in our fireplace and finish our icky basement...but mostly, I dream of renovating our kitchen.  Don't get me wrong, our kitchen has come so far from it's dark beginning!  We fixed it up as best we could, with the budget we had.  I love it's charm, but hate it's function.  Unfortunately, the original 1954 cabinets are showing their age and I find myself planning a kitchen reno that might not happen for quite some time.

It's so easy to get caught up in all the work left on the to-do list, that I like to remind myself of just how far we've come.

And our ranch has come a long way, baby!  The first time we laid eyes on it, I saw potential...and hubby saw a nightmare.  Actually, I think his exact reaction involved letting out a few expletives and a refusal to even tour the whole house.

It was dark, closed off and smelled.  The kitchen and baths were original to the 1954 house...and the master bath was leaking and no bigger than a postage stamp.  BUT, it had potential.

It was a 4 bedroom house in a neighborhood of mostly 3 bedrooms.

If we removed all the walls, we'd have a perfect open layout.  

If we combined the two bathrooms into one, we'd have a huge hall bathroom to accommodate guests and future kiddos.  

If we closed off the third bedroom, I could create a great master ensuite.

If we refinished the original hardwoods, they'd look like new.

If we replaced all the doors and windows, it'd update the look and efficiency of the old home.

If we replaced the roof, we'll be good for the next 25 years.

If we threw a fresh coat of paint on, well, everything...it'd look like a million bucks.

If, if, if...

For a house that was priced way too high considering it's condition, I was throwing around a whole lot of if's.  BUT, the price dropped...and the day it went down, I made sure we were there to see it.

Thankfully, hubby trusted the vision and the house was ours.  We bought our green monster.

My next few posts will be a "then and now" series showing our home when we bought it and how it looks now.  I started this series on Instagram (#RRRbeforeandafter) and loved it so much, that I couldn't help but want to post it to the blog too!  I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do! :)

Now, what renovations are you guys daydreaming about?!

Me Woman, You Man Cave - Part 2, Curtains

Okay, I have a confession to make....I semi-lied to y'all. So sorry. In the numero uno post I stated that Wal-Mart does not make me think of remodeling. Well, it doesn't. But it is a semi-lie because I found a kick-awesome comforter set which I had to snag for the guest bedroom, and I used sheets from Wal-Mart for curtains and pillow covers in the Man Cave.

Which brings me around to this post - curtains for the Man Cave. I had planned to use sheets all along as curtains in the Man Cave. (Got that bright idea from my crafty momma whose house sports sheet-curtains in two rooms.) I was just going to hang white sheets for an airy feeling. Then I thought I would paint stripes on the sheets for more of a graphic / Man Cave feeling, and it would go along with the artwork I made. But that plan changed when I went to get the white sheets. I found the perfect color striped sheets...no painting (or sewing) required.

Let the no-sew sheet-to-curtain project begin. Supplies needed: two twin flat sheets, steam-a-seam, scissors and an iron.

I said two flat sheets and guess what I did...I came home with a fitted sheet. Grrr! I got so excited about the sheets I didn't double-check to make sure they were both flat. Back to Wal-Mart. (And I didn't exchange the fitted sheet, I'm going to use it to make floor pillows.)

Step 1 - position the sheet so the top end is towards you, and the sheet is face down

Step 2 - Add steam-a-seam along the seam that is already in the curtain. Fold the top part of the sheet over and iron (as seen in the above picture). Ta da, instant curtain rod hole.

Step 3 - Hang on curtain rod. Here's a trick for curtain rod height - since these are twin sheets and I have 8' ceilings, place a level along the top of the wall flush with the ceiling. Then place the curtain rod mounts flush to the level and mark the holes to drill. This will leave a little space at the top of the curtains and they will fall almost to the floor. If you want the curtains to puddle, move the curtain rod down from the ceiling.

I really like the horizontal stipe in the sheet-curtain. That was an added bonus!

One hung, one to go.

Project cost breakdown:

Two twin flat sheets       $8 for the pair

Steam-a-seam               $0, already owned

Total                             $8

$8 for a pair of curtains, can't beat that deal! And they were so easy to make too! I also have pillow cases to make some pillows for the couch using my tried-and-true no-sew pillow method. And don't forget about the fitted sheet mistake which will soon be floor pillows for that empty corner in the picture above.

Have y'all made any curtains lately? Ever made curtains from sheets? Or taken an idea from the parents' casa and tried it in yours?

Me Woman, You Man Cave - Part 1, Art

Man Cave. I think it's every man's dream, and my hubby's got one. It's the extra bedroom and it is his place to store and stash his many, many hobbies and deconstruct bicycles....not for my touching. I have touched and remodeled everything else in the house, the way I wanted it. I thought the least I could do was have a dedicated space for the hubby, the Man Cave.

We have lived in the house over a year and I have held true to the "no-touching-the-man-cave" policy I set in place.......until now. It's like an itch you have to scratch or shaking Christmas presents.  I just couldn't wait any longer. And does the hubby know that I touched the Man Cave? Heck no! He's off at deer camp again which equals an entire weekend that I could be in the Man Cave, with free reign. He he he!  Basically - I'm like a little girl, giddy with anticipation.

Let me remind you of what the room looked like for an entire year before I entered it.

Where to start? I want to hang curtains, add pillows, and the room is in major need of something on the walls. Let's start with the something on the walls. And in the spirit of DIY, we need to make the artwork, of course! Since it is a Man Cave, I want the art to be simple, yet graphic and "manly"....but not dead animal-ish.

Needed supplies for graphic/simple/manly artwork: canvas, spraypaint, and masking tape.

To make the pattern, add strips of masking tape in no particular pattern to the canvas. Be sure to extend the strips onto the edges so the pattern continues. Here is what mine looks like while adding the tape.

After you get the tape on the canvas, it's time for spray paint.

Give the canvas two coats of spray paint and let it dry. Then the fun part, peeling off the tape.



Looks great! Yipee! Hang on the wall and enjoy. This was almost too easy; hardly took any time to make. Double yipee! 

Project cost breakdown:

Canvas                  $6.30 (30% off)

Tape                     $1.99 on sale

Paint                      $2.40 on sale

Total                     $10.69

I love it...especially for $10. And when the hubby got home, he loved it too - the entire room. (I'll post about the other projects I did in the room - no sew curtains from sheets, no sew pillows, and asymmetrical wall art grouping.) He thought the artwork was inspired by Van Halen's Frankenstein guitar...which it wasn't, but it does look similar. So now the artwork is extra great for a Man Cave.

Have y'all made any artwork lately? Ever made any artwork inspired from a guitar? What are your thoughts on a Man Cave? Should it be a no-woman / don't touch zone? Or is a little woman-design-touch okay?

Rescue Ugly Bench

While driving to pick up my new couch, I see it - an u.g.l.y bench - sitting in the front yard of the Junk Queen's shop. The world stands still and I hear it calling my name.

It has glue and screws holding it together and it's missing chunks of wood. But it has so much potential! Poor thing is in sad shape and in major need of some love. I must rescue it! How much did this rescue ugly bench cost me - $10....SCORE!

When I get it home, so proud of myself for finding this $10 treasure, my hubby calls it ugly...and sadly, I couldn't disagree. I sit the bench in the corner of the living room for two weeks while I plot my plan of attack and order the fabric for the seat cushion. Yes, order fabric. It is the same fabric as the chair in my living room.

Finally I decide to tackle the u.g.l.y bench, and sanding the chipped, old paint is up first. I start with 100 grit sandpaper...this is too slow. I need power tools. Enter orbital sander.

I made sure to have my safety gear - although I couldn't find a dust mask so I made one from shop paper towels.

After sanding away the old paint, next up is filling in the cracks with wood putty. Let the putty dry for a day and then lightly sand over it to smooth it out.

Then I drag the bench to the backyard for some one-on-one rattle can action. Since the furniture in the living room is dark, I decide on espresso brown spray paint. Three coats (2 cans) later and we get this.

I didn't paint where the cushion goes...and ignore the dog eating dinner.

Looking better! A new pillow seat cushion and this will be done...this should be a snap given my recent pillow success. 20 minutes later and I've made a pillow for the seat...go me!

Finished and in its rightful place,the used-to-be-empty corner of my living room. And the u.g.l.y bench is no more!
Like the art above the bench? I'll post about how I made that.

Sneak a Peak

My parents' house is a.maz.ing! It is a Victorian that oozes charm and character. And to top it off, the house was condemned and scheduled to be torn down when my mom drove by and fell in love with it - a DIY dream project (yes, they did/do all the remodeling/building themselves!). I couldn't even begin to tell you everything they have done over the years to the house.

Fast forward to present and here is the lovely house now, with large hardwood trees.

Check out the gingerbread, which my dad made, and the paint colors....my mom paints that house!

The den, with a wood burning stove, TV cabinet built from reclaimed barn wood, and Country Living magazines on the ceiling.

The downstairs bathroom, complete with a unique sink stand and a shower (not pictured) made from a washing tub.

The kitchen is my favorite room in their house. The tin ceiling was saved from a downtown building being torn down and the kitchen cabinets and brick arch over the stove was (you guessed it) built by the parentals.

This is just a small, small sampling of their gorgeous house! Why did I share a peek inside the parentals' casa? Because they taught me everything I know about DIYing!!

I do apologize for the picture quality - I did not have a camera and used my iPhone.

Numero Uno

Yup, I finally started a blog. It will probably be more for me, documenting my home remodeling projects and ideas...but if I can inspire the masses too, then I'm going to break my arm patting myself on the back. Why even start a blog then, you ask. I always get "wow" and "ooooh aaaah" from family and friends, but they are almost required to like it. However, when a neighbor told me that I amazed her with all my projects that unfold in the driveway and should blog about them...hmm, why not try it.

My grand house

On that note, let me introduce myself. I'm a married 26 year old from a small town in Arkansas remodeling my first house, one outdated / ugly thing at a time. Hold up - Arkansas??? Where is that?

We are known for Wal-Mart, diamonds and Bill Clinton...and a few other things. None of those things make me think of home remodeling. We don't have IKEA, West Elm, Z Gallerie, Restoration Hardware, etc. We finally got Pottery Barn earlier this year in the capitol city.

With all of that against me, I am determined to have a blog-worthy house and I pledge to try a project myself before hiring it done. I am a stand-aside-and-let-me-try, I-can-do-that kinda girl. I come from a family of remodelers and repurposers (I think I made that word up). Anyways, this is me and welcome to Remodel This House.