Spring Flowers!

This is our deck... empty and sad until a few weeks ago. The previous owners left us a couple of potted bushes. Very nice of them! One is a lilac which is looking very lush and green now. I'm still not sure what the other one is. It looks like a mini tree of some sort and is just starting to sport some tiny little buds.

I scored a bistro set on craigslist for $50 and we bought a few early spring flowers for our patio pot. It's amazing how much a little color will brighten up an outdoor space. I am still searching for the perfect window boxes to line the railings with, which will be filled with flowers and herbs.

Spring Patio

Lilac buds!

Ranunculus, Dianthus, & Pansies

(Chloe wanted her picture taken too!)

We also purchased a BBQ for the space and are looking forward to many meals outside this spring and summer. It's going to be our awesome little city oasis!

We've Come A Long Way!

The rest of our furniture came in while I was in Colorado last week. I came home to dinning room chairs, kitchen stools, a new washer and dryer, and our murphy bed installed in Tom's office. Everything has finally come together! As I was flipping through photos today I realized just how far our home has come in the last few months.

It seems like only yesterday I was standing in a disaster zone taking these pictures. I was tired from a long drive, amazed by the home that Tom had picked for us, overwhelmed by the idea of designing the space for us to live in, and excited about my future in a new city. The movers had just dropped all of our belongings in a huge pile in the main living area. I remember wondering how this mess was ever going to get put away.

It has been a long process but, little by little, things have come together. Don't get me wrong, there are still little pockets of that original mess stuffed into corners (mostly in my office!) However, for the most part we are living in a finished space.

The spot where all of our stuff was originally dropped is the great room. It includes the back entryway, the living room, and dinning room. The kitchen also opens up to this space. Three months later, after lots of hard work and new furniture, it looks like this...

Master Bathroom

This color was the first one I picked and the last one I painted. Meaning... yes, I'm all finished painting! (Still behind on posting pictures though.)

I picked the light green/blue color for the walls because I loved the way it looked with our orange accessories. This bathroom does not have any natural light so I also wanted a color that would brighten it up.

A few weeks ago Tom went to Miami for a dairy conference. FYI - the dairy conference is always held somewhere warm and after living the midwest for a winter you realize why. So, anyway, while Tom was enjoying the warmth I was stuck here with the dogs and the cold weather. As a consolation prize he brought be back a little piece of the ocean, complete with an orange starfish that goes with our orange towels. Look at him go! They are the perfect accent for the bathroom.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

The Heart of Our Home

Our kitchen was originally painted a warm buttery yellow color which I really liked. However, the paint was beat up in places so it had to be redone. They say that the kitchen is the heart of the home and I couldn't agree more. It's a place where I spend a lot of my time and I wanted it to be perfect.

I have never debated so much about what color to paint a room. Although the granite looks black in these pictures it is actually a very dark green with teal and gold accents. After lots of time and staring at samples we finally picked a teal blue color.

When the teal blue color went on the wall the teal was clearly missing and all we had was blue. It was dark and dreary. I hated it. It literally made me want to be anywhere but the kitchen. I'm not sure if we picked the wrong shade or if they mixed the color wrong at the store... but it was ALL wrong.

After more debating, and painting a bunch of sample colors on the wall, we went with a light and bright green. Problem solved. I love the color; it's very light and inviting. I like being in the kitchen again... so no more eating out for us. Well, okay, less eating out for us.

Bedroom Bliss

It's Valentine's Day and I happen to be to the bedroom... coincidence? I think not. I really think that the master bedroom should feel like a retreat. I love the way ours turned out. It's beautiful and cozy.

The bedroom, and master bathroom which hasn't been painted yet, are Moab inspired. It was Tom's idea and I had found a bedspread a while ago that I loved that was "Moab" colored. Eventually, we will have some of the photographs that we've taken there on the walls.

Before After

We upgraded from a queen bed to a king. It pretty much fills the room but we love it. No more fighting the dogs for space while we sleep! There is plenty of room of all of us.

Happy Valentine's Day! Love to all :)

Pumpkin Bellini Room

Today, my focus is the family room. Which in the before pictures is still the color of.... well... let's just call it Pumpkin Bellini (a drink at snooze that is also this exact color.) When we first moved in I said that this room HAD to be the first one I painted... turns out it wasn't. Others rooms came first for different reasons.

The color actually began to grow on me. I can see why the previous owners picked it. It goes very nicely with the wood floors and adds a very rich feel to the room. However, it did not go well with our furniture and was the color of... well... you know. Here's what we did...

BEFORE PICTURES

This room was so much work to paint. One of the great things about this place is all the different angles. It's not as great for painting though... especially awful for taping.

AFTER PICTURES

I think it's safe to say that this is our dogs favorite room in the house.

It is hard to get a picture of the room without them in it.

This is also one of my favorite rooms. It has a great view of the Chicago Skyline and is the perfect place to relax with a yummy hot beverage and curl up with a good book.

Painting Update

Like I keep saying I have been busy painting. However, I have not had a chance to post before and after pictures. I have family members asking for these so I am going to post a room a day for the next few days to get caught up.

First, is the hallway. I guess it could be debated whether or not this is really a room. It is, however, a very important part of our home. From this hallway you can access our front door, both of our offices, the extra bathroom, and the family room.

Tom and I really liked the original green color. However, the walls were pretty dinged up and it needed to be repainted. The color we choose will be used in three different areas of the condo. Our home is very long and narrow so the idea is to unify it some with the same color being used in different places.

Before After

See that messy room at the end of the hall? That will be tomorrows topic...

Coming Along...

Our home is coming along quite nicely. I think we have purchased most of the big stuff for it. We are just still waiting to receive most of it. I've done a lot of painting that I haven't posted pictures of yet. I wanted to wait until the rooms where complete. However, finishing most of the rooms has been a challenge. It seems like something keeps each one from being completed. For example, the bedroom would have been done this weekend except the mattress and box spring set we got was too high. They are switching out the box springs this weekend... making it just not quite complete yet - but very close.

That being said, I am going to set aside my perfectionism and post a picture of the room anyway. Here is a quick shot of our master bedroom looking into the family room. More photos, including before and after shots, to come soon...

Dogs and Wood Floors = Hilarious

The dogs got really excited the other day.

For the sake of our floors I know I should have stopped them...

but I was laughing too hard :)

Nature Meets City

I decided to tackle our second bathroom yesterday. After my first project, Tom's office, this bathroom seemed perfect. Tom's office was probably the most difficult room to paint and this one is probably the easiest. The whole project only took a few hours. Awesome!

I had a hard time deciding what color to use.

The bathroom is full of tile and has a very modern flare to it.

These rust & gold glass tiles cover one wall...

... and this marble tile is everywhere.

It's shades of rust, black, and gold cover the shower, floor, and walls.

It seemed like using a rust or gold color would take away from the tile or be too intense. A light tan or yellow seemed too boring. That left only one more option...

That's right, BLACK.

Much to my surprise there were many versions

of the color black to choose from.

BEFORE PICTURES:

(Like Tom's office this room is also hard to get a photo of.

Below are my best attempts at before shots.)

AFTER PICTURES:

The theme for this bathroom is nature meets city.

The photos on the walls are pictures that I took hiking in Colorado.

I think it came together perfectly!

One Room Down, About Seven To Go

I just finished painting Tom's office! It took me much longer than I expected. It is a very large room with lots of windows. I spent all day yesterday taping the room, painting the trim, and using a few choice words as I wobbled around on a unstable ladder.

Thankfully, Tom was able to borrow a better ladder from a friend at work. Today was much smoother. I finished rolling the room in few hours. It always amazes me how long the first steps of the painting process take. I wish there was a way to just skip to the roller. If anyone figures it out let me know.

...and now for the before and after pictures!

It is really hard to get a good angle on this room. There are actually four windows that go across the front. It is impossible to get them all in the photo though. The murphy bed is going to go on the empty wall in the first set of pictures. I'll post more pictures once we get everything in the room.

Green, Green or Green?

We are working on finding the right shade of green for Tom's office (and our guest room.) This is the first time I've tried painting samples. I love getting to see the color on the wall before we decide it's the right one. The middle and far right samples were our first try. The middle one is a little too sage green and the one on the right is really dark.

After another trip to the local hardware store (just a quick walk away!) We came back with sample number three. I think this one will be the winner. I'm just waiting for Tom's final opinion and I can start painting!

We are also in the process of ordering a panel bed, or murphy bed, for this room. It will look something like a downsized version of the Park Avenue Bed on this page. It's a great space saver and we will have a very comfy queen size bed for all of our out of town guests.

Home Learnings

I need to post more but wanted to get this public service announcement out there right away...

As someone that is learning how wood floors work, my first lessons are:

1) They seem to get dirty quickly and need to be swept a lot. Not that carpet is cleaner, it just hides it better so make sure to vacuum a lot if you have carpet.

2) If you need to clean something up on hard wood floors, DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT use Pledge to finish the job. Seems logical right? Wood cleaner on hard wood floors...this has resulted in an ice skating feel to one spot in the kitchen. Sounds fun but somehow, every time I walk over it I seem to forget and almost meet my demise.

Welcome Home

Tom closed on our place yesterday so we now have a permeant address in Chicago. It has been sort of a whirlwind of fun and craziness since I arrived here. The craziness is mostly contained in the mess of boxes that surrounds us. The fun includes amazing new places to eat, drink, and explore.

Stay tuned for updates on how our home is coming together, reviews of local bars and restaurants that we love, and anything else we feel like posting.

Love to all!

Sheay