The Dining Room Before and ALMOST After

I love my new-old home, it has SO much potential, but this dining room needs a lot of loving and I mean, LOTS!  I actually had no plans to do anything in here other than new curtains and paint the walls (for the time being) but then something lovely happened (wait for it).

Here's the dining room when I bought the house.
Yes, those are burlap curtains.

They were made really well but they had-to-go and in the spirit of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, I used them for drop cloths. (They were faded and stained and gross so don't going feeling all sad for them!)

So I painted.
Usually I get the color on the first try but nooooo.
This one turned out to be too baby blue
and not the cool, steely grey-blue I really wanted.

Lovely lighting always makes a room so purty!

And so this is part one of the lovely thing that happened
to me! I got these fantastic built-in cabinets
from a friend of mine for practically nothing!

I physically could not let them just sit there looking all sad and not installed. I couldn't do it, so I called my GTG (Go To Guy) and came up with a plan. I went back and forth a couple of times but using the built-ins as inspiration, I finally decided to wainscot the whole darn room.

We  My GTG added lauan to the walls.

And over the soffit that contained the AC ductwork.

And everyone who knows me, or reads this blog,
knows I am a more-is-more kind of gal therefore
a coffered ceiling too!

I'm going to channel my inner Oprah, "Dining room, you get a coffered ceiling! Living room, you get a coffered ceiling! Hallway, you get a coffered ceiling!" You get the idea.

Every single wall in the dining room was uneven and had measurements
all over the place. We decided the only way to have a bit
of uniformity was to have different size wainscot trim panels
but keep the distance from the corners/edges of the walls
the same. I think they turned out great.

A little Bondo, a freaking ton of caulk, and
it is starting to come together!

Every tricked out dining room needs a ceiling medallion.
It seriously is a must!
Google it.

Now, the question is . . .  who gets to paint this? Oh crap! That's me! I don't have a lot of money so I made the only decision I really could and that would be do as much as I can and hire the experts for all the rest. I see a lot of sanding, priming, and painting in my future! 

And remember this other lovely?
This was given, that's G.I.V.E.N. to me by
another friend! Don't I have the best friends?

Before I know it, I'll be eating meals in my dining room but that's for another post!

Kristin

eBay

I'm baaaccckkkk . . . the girls and I just got back from a 10-day road trip (loads of fun) but I'll blog about that later. Today, I want to share another addiction frugal shopping resource for me - eBay. I am addicted, and I mean might-need-professional-help addicted, to checking it each and every day for the newest offerings. Luckily for me, you can see just the newest listings (which is a HUGE time saver) and of course, there is something about "winning" an item that brings out the competitor in me (and I thought I was bad with SEC football)! A lot of the items I am interested in offer a Buy-It-Now option so if I really want it, I don't have to worry about winning it, it just becomes all mine! Borrowing a quote from Lord of the Rings (which I have never seen but love this quote), "We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious." That about sums up my eBaying life!

This is one glass knob that I "WON" in of a box of 8 that I bought for
just a song and a dance (figuratively speaking, of course)!

I mean really, who doesn't want a box full of glass knobs?
This is my heaven!

This gorgeous window was originally going
in the Butler's Pantry but has now been
reassigned to replace a boring window in the kitchen.
I got a good deal on it however it's still in the shop getting a good cleaning
and overall check-up before being installed as an exterior window.

This is a bad photo but this window is going to be installed
above my fireplace. It's simply stunning and I could
not stop checking it out! I was going to eBay every couple
of hours to make sure no one else had bought it.
It simply makes me happy, and yes, I know I am a material girl!
It has some broken glass pieces that need replacing so
this will go into the window shop shortly.

Isn't this cute?
I added this to a door on my new appliance closet. 

I love these corbels!
The colors are perfect and I can't decide if I'm going
to use them for my house, possibly for open shelving in the
kitchen or in the family room, or if I'll use them to make
something to sell on Etsy. Decisions, decisions!

I also got some smaller ones but don't have a picture of them
right now. I'll show those to you later.

I love my new-old home. I love the layout and size of the rooms. It has almost all the original windows, solid wood doors with glass knobs, 9' ceilings, and fab wood floors but a lot of the detailing and charm have been removed over the course of time. My job is to add it A.L.L. back! I have also been busy "sprucing" up my carriage house so I can rent it and that should be done in about a month so I'll share all those Befores and Afters with you, too.

Sneak Preview of the Carriage House bathroom -
it's a beaut, isn't it?

The carriage house kitchen and yes, I had the oven removed
but everything else you see is exactly how it is!

I also have some more goodies to share with you from some local salvage shops and thrift stores but those will be for another post! So much fun!!

Out-of-Control Obsession, Hoarder, or Avid Collector?

Ok, so I have been having a ball, and I mean a B.A.L.L. picking, shopping, searching, lurking, stalking, eBaying, Craigslisting, dumpster diving (yeah, I went there but didn't have to go IN there), salvage shopping, and thrift store poking. I have completely and utterly fallen in love with the thrill of the hunt. I literally could - and have - spent hours on websites simply "just looking." With a glass of wine, a chick flick on the TV, and my laptop, I'm seriously in a very, very happy place. Now my kids, not so much as they have recently been left to "fend" for themselves for dinner as "Mommy is busy!" Don't call child services though, there's a jar of peanut butter and some bread so they're golden.

Now to my little goodies and delicious finds -
Scott's Antique Market is a fabulous market outside of Atlanta. It runs the second weekend of every month, Friday through Sunday. My sister told me about it so naturally, we had to check it out on one of our runs to the Atlanta Gift Mart for our on-line monogram shop Monograms and Moonshine (insert shameless plug here - check). Well, Scott's is amazing. There are SO many vendors and so much stuff to look at and since we had never been there before, we had no game plan. We loved wondering aimlessly up and down and in and out of all the aisles but it was a bit overwhelming. There are 2 HUGE buildings with tons of goodies from super high-end antiques to up-cycled items and then some, kind of random, brand new things. I could have spent several days there but when we went to the second building, outside of it was a lot of tents and the heavens opened up, and the angels began singing, and yes, I am being a bit melodramatic but my heart started racing so fast I had to take a pause. My sister ordered me to breath because I was in salvage heaven!! Apologies on my lack of photos because I was so busy running from place to place and trying to remember to breath -

My favorite booth.

I simply refer to him as the Window Man. If money were no object, I would seriously have a beautiful window in every room, if not every window frame!! More is more, people!

In the salvage area, they did have some enclosed booths
with lighting, doors, etc, and a few fun, eclectic pieces.
My sister wondered if this would fit in the car?

Measuring a really cool light fixture
that did not make the cut!

This photo does absolutely NOTHING for this
window but I got two of these from the Window Man.

They are beveled glass and rainbows pour through them when the sun is out. These have already been installed in my carriage house (which is a whole 'nother post or two).

These beauties will become cabinet doors for the
built-ins I am having rebuilt (previous owner took them out).
They currently reside in my kitchen nook and I cannot
wait to see them up!

Soooooo, this is my car leaving Scott's Antique Market
for the first time. 

Yes, I know it is loaded down! Long story short, we had rented a trailer, then we realized I didn't have a hitch, in addition, U-Haul didn't have the trailer I rented so we went to Plan K! We made it home in one piece and so did all our goodies! P.S. - My apologies to anyone in earshot of me and all the expletives I used! I had already paid for everything so was going to be in quite a . . .  pickle . . .  if I couldn't figure out how to get everything home!  P.P.S. - Thanks to the random man in the Home Depot parking lot who tied the corbel sideboard securely to the roof of my car for us. See, chivalry is not dead.

Second trip to Scott's with my other sister.

I went with a purpose and b-lined it to the Window Man. These are going to become cabinet doors for inside my Butler's Pantry. Yes, the previous owner also removed that and added that elevator!

They're going to look perfect -
at least they do in my head.

Got these beauties also from the Window Man. 

So another one of my go to sources for goodies at great prices is Craigslist. Now I was very hesitant to buy anything from Craigslist because of all the bad publicity. I mean seriously, who wants to be attacked because you can get a Dutch door and two French doors for $75? I don't but I was willing to risk it so what does that say about me???

This is an official St. Petersburg green bench.

We decided, based on photos, this is not one of the originals from the turn of the century because it has metal. In photos from the 50s and 60s, you see this style of bench. It needs some boards replaced but for only $30, it was a steal! Thanks to my mom and dad for accompanying me to get this and keeping it from falling out of the back of my SUV! 

So this is another Craigslist steal.

A 99%  mint condition 4' claw foot bathtub WITH the claw feet and some of the fixtures, drumroll please  . . . . . $100! I tipped the guy $25 for bringing it down the stairs but even with gas and food, this was a freaking good deal! I did have to drive to Atlanta but grabbed my other sister on my way up (did I mention this was the same weekend Scott's Antique Market was happening??) and we made a little adventure out of it.

This is already ear-marked for the carriage house bathroom.
Guess I'll have to keep perusing the list for one for my master bath.

I am in love with this armoire!
Head. Over. Heels.
And the $350 price tag made it all the prettier!

My mom and dad had fun traipsing all over Pinellas County with me to rent the truck, pick up the armoire, unload the armoire into my home, and returning the truck! What I won't do for a good looking, good deal!

My most recent, spur-of-the-moment purchase are
the 3 doors shown above - 2 French doors and 1 Dutch door.
I went international!

I saw these one morning, they had just posted an hour earlier, all 3 for $75!! They are in great shape and have their original glass. The perk was that they were for sale only 14 blocks from my house! Boooonnnuuusss! So within 15 minutes of seeing them and emailing the seller,  I had these doors in my car. The really good news is that the Dutch door almost perfecting fits the opening for my back kitchen door. Cannot wait to have it installed!

Another resource for good deals, and quite honestly, these are by far my best deals, are friends. And anyone who wants to give me something super fabulous will always be my friend - apparently I CAN be bought!

This beautiful chandelier came from my friend's 1915 home.
She just gave it to me!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And with every beautiful chandelier comes
two beautiful sconces and lots and lots of crystals!
These will look great in my home.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I had been searching for corner cabinets and wanted some that filled the space,
not just sit in the corner. These fill the space perfectly and were only
 $50 each from a friend of mine.
LOVE THEM!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

So that's just the tip of the iceberg for some of my finds (I thought this post was starting to drone on so I will break it up). I told you, it's a problem necessity to bring back all the charm to my home that has been removed over the years. 

On a separate note, I know a lot of you have been concerned about how I am doing after the divorce. I haven't blogged about it anymore because to be quite honest, I'm sick of talking about it. In a nutshell though, there are more good days than bad. I do get seriously down at certain times, especially when having to organize photos, and photo albums, and planning vacations (something I never really thought about, what do I do with it all??). Things that remind me of what our family used to look like. I also have the pleasure of knowing my oldest daughter will be meeting the "other woman" at some point this summer. That will be fun awkward for my daughter but it has unfortunately become part of our vocabulary and our lives.  Throwing myself into making this house a home has helped me keep my sanity, as well as my two, very active and incredibly wonderful daughters!! And I've lost 61 55 pounds. I have gained a few back and will get back on track next week, after my birthday!

That's it for today. I have so much more to share and I promise, there will be some AFTER photos coming shortly. I just have to get some things finished (uh, almost everything) but that is for another post!

- Kristin

Charming with a Side of Warts . . .

Well, as you know, we bought our new OLD home in November 2014. The girls and I were so excited to be home owners again and we couldn't wait to put our own mark on it. My entire life, I have been in L.O.V.E. with old homes. I love old, thick moldings. I love high ceilings with large wooden doors. I love the wavy glass of the wood windows that stick in the humidity. I love the wood floors that creak and moan when you walk on them, you name it. I literally get major heart palpitations walking into a gorgeous old home (or a salvage shop but that's for another post). There's something about the charm of the old features that a lot of people would want to change and update but those quirks just make me want to move in!

Love my old front door.
Needs a coat of paint but I love the wavy glass.

Look at my fab-u-lous Greek Key tile.
It's so pretty - just needs a good polish
to bring it back to life!
Wish I could say the same for me!

The wood-burning fireplace is one of my favorite spots.
It has a door on the outside, at the base of the chimney,
to unload all the ash.
Then I literally could say -
"nice ash!"

These French doors lead from the dining room
to the front hallway.
Those curtains H.A.V.E. to go though!

Old glass door knobs just make me swoon!

The quirkiness of this room is fun. The door to the right leads
to a small walk-in closet and there are 2 to the left that lead to the
hallway. Why? No one knows!
Be sure to make note of the ever-so-lovely
acoustic ceiling tiles!

With great old windows come termites, lots of termites
and their droppings!

Under that ugly blue carpeting?
Wood stairs with lots of layers of paint - oh joy!

And under the paneling -
another layer of paneling!
Seriously! Who the heck did that!?!
(Note: Some serious, and I mean serious,
cursing went on while removing this hideousness
from the walls. I still have the physical,
and mental scars, to prove it!

We have a basement, yes, in Florida!
Its teeny-tiny, has a dryer that does not work
but I think it will make a great wine cellar
. . .  someday!

Lots of houses in our neighborhood
have these old planters/urns that make the perfect
accent to any front entry, when cleaned up!

A metal wheelchair ramp?
While necessary for the previous owner,
doesn't add much charm, does it?

And a lovely generator kind of sitting in the
middle of the yard.
That has GOTS to go!

I did find a box of silver, not sterling but there were
a few silver-plated pieces.
We took it as a sign since some of the pieces were
monogrammed with a M!
Well, more than likely, it's a W for the previous
owner but we can always look at it from another angle.

Well, as we like to call it, this is our "Home of Potential!" We have made a lot of changes and I can't wait to share them with you but that is for another post.

- Kristin