House Progress!

Our office/ studio space is by far our biggest project going on right now. It is improving though right now it is a bit of a mess.  Since I want to paint in there we decided to remove the carpet. Underneath the carpet (Zach and Dave did all this demo) we found asbestos tiles. Eww. So armed with their respirators they ripped that up. It looked like laminate parquet tiles. Now we are left with this black asphalt tar junk and permanent dirt lines from the tiles. There is no way this stuff can be scraped up so we are going to prime it with concrete floor primer and then paint it with concrete paint. We've already got the paint (it is like a very light powder blue) we just need to get the time to work on it. Hopefully this gross floor will be looking pristine very soon.

Here are some pictures of the room right now. That black bookcase will be getting chucked very soon now that I have a new bookcase thanks to our friend Erin, but more on that later.

I've painted some swatches. This is the color the accent wall will be, Summer Blue:

Next to the blue I painted a swatch of Cloud Nine but it is really hard to even tell, the biggest difference is the paint I got is eggshell and all the walls in there now are a high gloss.

I did a swatch on the ceiling too, you can actually tell a difference there because right now the ceiling is a tan color.

Walls and ceiling paint color is Cloud Nine:

Floor color is Pale Star:

The desk will be painted white too. So we have a lot of painting to do in the office, but as soon as thats done I think it will look 100 times better. I can't wait. Zach and I just need some days off together to work on it.

The back room/ den/ converted garage/ Zach's man cave, yes this room has too many names, has come a long way too. We've hung curtain rods and moved the curtains we had in the bedroom back there. We've finished the old dresser that we refinished. I'll give you  guys a nice before and after. Plus we have gotten  a fabulous new bookcase thanks to Erin. I have wanted a bookcase like this for a long time too. We actually were going to build one for that exact spot. Here are some pictures!

Before:

After:

 Hard to believe that came from a thrift store for $10!

Here is the new bookcase!

I just love it! We will eventually paint it but that is probably a long way off. We need to paint the back room too, not sure how soon that will happen either. Eventually we will probably get a sectional for the room too.

Living Room Makeover

So on the 4th of July our living room finally got a new paint job. Thanks to Alyssa and Janet we managed to finish it by noon! Here is the room before:

Now that isn't our furniture, and the wall opposite the brownish orange wall was also the same color.

Here is our room now:

The painting is one that I did. The mirror is from a thrift store.

We still desperately need curtains. I am going to try and find some and a rod that I can maybe paint at a thrift store.

These are cyanotypes I did in college.

This is one of my cousin Ashleys photographs, it was a wedding gift.

Kathy is doing rug dog in the back! Ha! and Alyssa left her drink on the table!

I got this potpourri at a thrift store and put it in one of my glass cylinders.

I printed these pictures off myself and framed them in frames from Bed Bath and Beyond. (Some I got at my bridal shower, Thanks Jessica!) I went back and got one more. They were on clearance and I used the 20% off coupon. $6 is a great deal for one of them.

The photos i bought off of Etsy a year or two ago from a photographer in Richmond.

Theres the little Bird hooks I got at the thrift store a while back.

Now remember this guy?

Here it is now:

I put my knitting basket in the cubby.

Isn't it so much better!? I started sanding it then Janet offered to refinish it and our other side table. They also all have 3 coats of Poly on the top. This one the cubby is painted the same color as I did the entry table. 

Someone gave us this for free. It used to be a darker honey colored wood.

I put the basket of pet toys underneath it.

The lamps are from my grandmother. We got them as a wedding gift. They are crystal and I love them!

Janet also did this awesome coffee table for us.

The table was from a thrift store. She replaced the top, and built the little shelf underneath! 

She also snagged both baskets from Ross for only $7.99!

So there is the room so far. The couches are Jessica's so we really need to buy our own. Then we need curtains. The computer and the table its sitting on are going to be moved as soon as my desk is done. Even if it isn't finished it is still SO much better than it was. 

New coasters

Zach and I used to have some coasters that you put photos in, only they eventually got all ruined. I have been hunting for new ones for a while and I found the PERFECT new coasters yesterday. Where else other than my favorite store Anthropologie! On an impromptu trip to RVA with Jessica to move the rest of her stuff back here to VB. We decided we couldn't resist a trip to the best store ever. So here is a pic of the new coasters, though mine look a little different. I got 6 total. three more tealish and blue and three more the darker olive green color. I ABSOLUTELY love them and they match my stuff perfectly!I also want to incorporate these knobs somewhere in OUR new house!
Of course they don't come cheap but maybe on a piece of furniture or in the bathroom? Love them!
Photos courtesy of Anthropologie