The Big Reveal..Dressing Room

Just to refresh your memory...this was the room before.

 New closet built along the wall using four old doors that were found around the house.  We put them on two sliding tracks.

Old closet was removed when we took down this wall to make room for the larger master bathroom which I will show later.

I use this glass door cupboard to store my non hanging clothing and other accessories.  I like being able to see what I have at a glance.

 Large mirror with a lot of natural light... a little too much to be honest.  I haven't seen myself this big in natural light in a while and I must confess it's a little scary!

 A peek into the insides of the closets.  I am so organized now that I can hardly stand it.  It is a joy to put away clothes!

I realize that when you see closets in most magazines that they don't usually have someone's "real" wardrobe hanging there.  It is always carefully edited and color coordinated.  And I wasn't about to toss all of my perfectly good hangars to get ones that are all matching as those closet organizers say you should.  Let's get real...this is perfectly acceptable to me even with non-matching hangars!

 These drawers are particularly useful because they make use of every inch of space available.

 Some details from inside my cupboard.

 My ribbon lady collection hanging on the wall.  I love these ladies.  I only have these five as they are quite hard to find these days.  

Hope you enjoyed my make-over.  It is so nice to have it finally finished and thank you for all the kind comments.  I will show the bathroom and master bedroom/ hallways soon as I can. I am still putting on the finishing details-  the fun part!

Wall paint:  Behr "River Rock" satin

Closet Door: Behr "Sterling" semi-gloss

Trim: Ben Moore "Super White" semi-gloss

Mirror: Ikea

Closet interiors: Ikea

Glass Door Cupboard: Ikea

Light Fixture: Home Depot (online)

Drapes: Vintage

Drapery Hardware: Canopy from Wal-mart

Doll Town

Check out this new online marketplace for some wonderful handmade dolls!

You can find my dolls for purchase right here.

A Little Spring Crafty Day

I actually cleaned up part of my studio today and so was inspired by the sunshine (even though it's still COLD!) to do a little spring crafting.  I was inspired by some cardboard packaging that came with some new drapery rods I just purchased.  They seemed just too good to throw away-  these little corrugated squares.

If you don't have these and I don't imagine many of you save these sorts of things, look for some inspiration at your local recycling center.  The next time you take apart packaging, think of what you can do to reuse these little gems.  Some of the other materials I used were:

Cheap plastic easter eggs...very available this time of year.

Tear some old book pages into very tiny pieces.  They must be tiny so that they can fit around the curves of the egg.  Use white glue and completely cover your egg with book pieces.  To further embellish, wrap strips of cheese cloth, lace, and torn strips of onasburg cotton.

Cut the centers out of fancy cupcake liners and/or paper lace doilies.  Ruffle up with your fingers and use hot glue to adhere this edging to the top of your cardboard base.  This will create a little "nest" for your egg to rest.  You might want to add a little shredded paper or excelsior for further cushion.

Arrange torn strips of cheesecloth and lace around the base of your egg and fix with hot glue.  Embellish with sweet flowers, buttons or other pretty bits.  Find some spring words in a book and glue to your egg for the final touch.  Enjoy your sweet handmade Eastery spring creation!

Oh yes, It's coming!

Almost There

The painting is done!  The floor sanders are here this morning and hopefully we will be moved into our new master suite by next week.  Here is a peek into the newly painted rooms.  The wallpaper just a distant memory.  The new bath came out lovely and I will show all the details during the big reveal just like on HGTV.

Dressing Room

New master closet which was the most exciting part of this project because if you own an old house you know what the closets usually look like.  We used old doors that were hanging around the attic from previous renovations and had them hung on a track.  I will show the fabulous insides next time.

I had shelves built in this narrow old closet because I find them more useful than poles for hanging clothes.

I used this time waiting for the floor folks to hang drapery hardware.  I wish I didn't have to have any curtains at all..not a big fan, but our house is right on the town square so it's a bit of a fishbowl.

New Linen Closet.

Next time I hope to share the mostly finished rooms in all their glory.

Light at the end of the Tunnel

I am getting closer to finishing up my project.  All of the lighting is now installed.  I took a lot of time finding just the right light for each room.  This deco style globe was found years ago by my Mom at a yard sale and I have displayed it on a shelf for ages.  It fits perfectly in the new bathroom.

This is the dressing room light.  I wanted something kind of glamourous and was thinking of a chandelier but I like the idea of a shaded fixture.  It really isn't quite as shimmery as the picture suggests.

This was my great find on ebay.  It is an antique acorn style light and is rather large and ornate.  The hand painted globe is so beautiful when lit.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  There was no canopy for it so I took a new one and aged it to match the other parts of the fixture.  Love it!

Here is another yard sale globe that has stood on a pedestal cake stand for years.  I think I will miss it in my dining room but am glad to be able to use it as purposed.  As you can see, I am still playing with plaster and paint downstairs but there is light at the end of the tunnel!

Tin Cup Valentines

Took a little time out from construction to do a little Valentine crafting.  I found these sweet little enameled tin cups from Sweden at a thrift store recently and thought these little hearts made from vintage linen and wool would look just right tucked inside.

Some Valentine cards made from recycled wallpaper torn off my walls during this part of my project!

And this is how persistent my little construction buddy is.  He keeps getting kicked out since I am picking stray dog hair from wet paint but he will not be denied.  He crawled up the stairs and camped out under the scaffold like a troll under the bridge.

I don't know how he can be comfortable sleeping on one narrow stair but he will do anything just to be near me.

Such devotion only comes from a dog!

The Final Frontier

I am happy to say that I am on my last job of wallpaper removal for this home. This is our south hallway. The house was originally a two family home so we have two completely separate hallways and staircases. It's nice to have two sets of stairs but also a large waste of space too. Luckily the plaster and ceiling is in very good shape on this side of the house which is the "newer" side.When I removed the paper here I uncovered an old doorway which leads to the older side of the house. I am not sure how the rooms were configured long ago or even when the newer side was built. They plugged up the doorway with my favorite "beaver board". I am glad I only have that small section to deal with.
Here is my working platform to reach the walls above the stairwell. I try not to imagine catastrophe as I cling to dear life against the wall while I am working and remember not to step back or look down! I will finish this section quickly so that I can be on firmer ground once more.