Laundry Room- Finally Complete

I know I've been neglecting this blog a bit lately :( but I thought I'd kick things back in gear by introducing the recently completed laundry room.

Let me first start off by saying that it's already pretty nice that our house has a dedicated room for laundry (tiny as it may be) since a lot of homes have the washer and dryer stored in a closet.  Unfortunately I don't have too  many "before" photos to share but I can tell you that the room was bleak.  I'm guessing that the washer and dryer that came with the home were over twenty years old and there was some hideous eighties vinyl flooring.

When we moved in, we bought a new washer and dryer but after that, the work stopped in the laundry room (other than actual laundry itself).  About eight months later, I got around to changing the ugly flooring by replacing it with new vinyl flooring in the form of peel and stick faux-wood planks.  (I got the idea from The Lettered Cottage.  I was a little hesitant at first but reading reviews and seeing how inexpensive they were sealed the deal).

We then painted the cabinets white and painted the entire room a pale mint green color. After adding a few accessories and a coordinating ironing board cover, the room is finally finished.  Sorry for the quality of the photos- the room is so small, it's impossible to get a decent shot of how the whole room looks.

Resources

Washer & Dryer:  Frigidair

Floors:  Novalis peel-and-stick vinyl planks

Paint: Thornton Sage by Benjamin Moore

Ironing Board Cover: Home Goods

Decorative Scissors: Anthropologie (painted white)

Decorative Storage Containers: Home Goods 

Laundry Basket: Ikea

To paint or not to paint?

Our fireplace was one of the things in our house that didn't need any fixing up when we moved in.  It's very traditional with red brick and a white mantle.  The brick itself is real- not the fake stuff and overall, it's a perfectly nice fireplace.

Except for one thing- I'm thinking of painting it white.  The red brick isn't working so well with the brown and ivory color theme I'm trying to work in the living room.  While the red doesn't look bad, I feel like white brick would look more cohesive.  The only problem is that I'm nervous if we don't like how it looks painted, we can't go back.  What do you think? Should I paint it white or keep it as is?

Chevron

Just stumbled across this gorgeous bedding from Tonder & Tonder.

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I think this is definitely another contender to consider for the master bedroom- thoughts?

Master Bedroom

Since we're just about done with the master bath, it's time to turn our attention to finishing the master bedroom.  We already painted the room Silver Mist by Benjamin Moore which is a pale blue-gray so the next step in putting the room together is to decide on a bed cover.  In shopping around for a bed cover, I've been coveting Anthropologie's Rosette Quilt but the price tag is something I don't like as much.  Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to be going on sale anytime soon...

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In searching for alternatives, West Elm's Parachute Duvet Cover seems like an obvious choice.  It's more than half the price of Anthropologie's Rosette Quilt and the color seems pretty close on-line (though I've been meaning to check it out in person).

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Last, but not least, Target also offers a similar comforter worthy of consideration:

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Although this comforter looks blue, the reviews state that its more of a grayish blue and the price definitely beats both Anthroplogie and West Elm.

So many choices... which one is your favorite?

Powder Room

So I know my posts have been bathroom related lately but with our powder room recently completed I can't help but share it.  Before I show the finished product, I'll take a walk down memory lane.

When we moved in, the powder room looked like a typical eighties bathroom.  These are the only shots I have of the "before" but you can get an idea of how the bathroom needed to be updated.

We always knew we wanted to update this bathroom but in the meantime we made some minor changes like changing the sink faucet and light fixture and painting the cabinet doors.

When we got an estimate for the master bath, I asked the contractor to give me an estimate for replacing the powder room vanity top.  It was less than half of the price than the estimate I got from Lowes so we decided to go for it.  As for the floor, I thought I could give it a shot and try re-tiling it myself.  I won't go into detail of what an ordeal this was...suffice it to say I threw my hands up in defeat and asked the contractor to do this too.  I have to say, I don't have any regrets in doing this since the bathroom came out great (at least I think so!)

Here are some shots of the "after" powder room.

Sorry for the photos- it was impossible for me to get a shot of the entire room.  Here's a list of my resources:

Vanity top: Provided by contractor
Tile: Home Depot
Faucet: Home Depot
Light Fixture: Home Depot (w/shades from Lowes)
Mirror: Home Goods (spray painted white)
Towel Fixture: Home Goods

Patio Umbrella

With my recently black painted patio furniture, I decided to go for a green, white and black color theme in the backyard.  Right now the backyard is looking more black and green so now I need a few accents of white to pull everything together.

One of the places I think I can accomplish that is with the patio umbrella.  I've been thinking of buying of a nice marketplace umbrella but haven't been able to come across any on my old faithful, Craig's List.  K-Mart and Ikea, however, do offer nice versions that are pretty wallet friendly.

I love this umbrella from K-Mart and it's on sale for $42.49.

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Ikea also offers a similar option for $49.99.

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While browsing on Ikea's website, I came across these awesome stripped umbrellas for $9.99

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They don't have the same shape as the marketplace umbrellas and I'm wondering if it's actually a beach umbrella rather than a patio umbrella  but I'm loving the black and white stripped one.  I'm planning on checking them out in person!

Soft Landing

Look what's coming my way via mail:

Excuse the poor quality of the photo as it was taken with a cell phone.  Four of these cushions were made for our patio chairs.  I can't wait to see how it looks!