Spring Cleaning
Like I said, last weekend we did some deep cleaning for spring. Yesterday on my Thursday off, I finally finished (as finished as housework ever gets!) the spring cleaning. I wanted the house to be spotless for my family coming into town to visit this weekend. So, here are some always great to remember spring cleaning ideas:
1. Clean the gutters. Spring is time for rain, rain will flood your basement if the gutters are overflowing! Or like us, you might have to walk through a waterfall to get out the door! So, Tony climbed the ladder, hauled a garbage can along with him, and cleaned the gutters.
2. Wash windows. I love clean windows, they even brighten up a room. But, at least this one time a year you should deep clean them, inside and out. I not only windex-ed them, but also took a Q-tip to the corners and tiny spaces. Fresh spring air is great flowing through clean windows!
3. Scrub the walls and untouched spots. Walls, especially in the kitchen, get grimy. Paint will look more its original color if gently washed clean once in a while, plus it keeps spider webs out of corners and in vents. Also, take a dish-soapy towel to the tops of cabinets and inside the cupboards. These rarely cleaned spots need it now and then!
4. Spray and scrub siding. We are still working a bit on this one. But, taking the hose to your siding will instantly freshen the outside of your house. On the porch I scrubbed stuck on dirt off with a wet cloth.
5. Move all furniture to clean/vacuum. I vacuum all the time. But, sometimes I am lazy and don’t move every piece of furniture. I actually never move the bed or couches. So, this time of year I try to move all things, even the big ones and clean or vacuum under them. You never know how much crud has built up under there.
6. And, finally, go through drawers and cupboards. We have a junk drawer that overflows every once in a while. Spring in particular is the time to go through these drawers, even clothes drawers of closets. Toss things you no longer want to keep, gather up the things you want to sell or take to Goodwill, and neatly arrange back the things you want to keep.
After taking these few steps your house should be spring ready (pretty much!). Take a deep breathe once you are done. Doesn’t that feel good? Fresh? Spring is the time for fresh starts! 🙂
And, while there are no pictures of dirty windows and gross gutter goo to show you, I do have a set of cute martini glasses for sale! They are plastic, and oh so cute!
So, what other good spring cleaning ideas do you all have?
Taco Night Celebration
We decided to celebrate last night! We are officially setting up shop with our projects and vintage collections. (Actually, for those of you who like Mid Century, there might be a really sweet hutch up for grabs after this weekend;)
So, I made Tony’s favorite, Tacos! It was so pretty with all of the colorful bowls and plates, so I thought I would share. We were so excited about being noted on Apartment Therapy. What a great way to start our shop! Check out our pretty little party.
The tacos and margaritas were very tasty… just try to imagine you were there, and have a toast with us! And, thank you everybody for stopping in and giving your advice and comments- which we LOVE! And check back, because we are off and running with our shop and our new projects!
Garage Sale Day Find
Garage sale day in our little town was Saturday! This day has to be one of my favorite spring days. Scouring someone else’s junk for that perfect treasure is a great way to kick off the season. I even got Tony in on the fun. We didn’t find much to bring home with us, but a few treasures makes the day worth it. We brought home a few vintage glass marbles and a couple large dice for the collection. But here is our bargain beauty:
This is an antique set of mailboxes from a post office in Champagne Illinois. I came back twice to check it out, and at the end of the day he said it was too heavy for him to carry back home, so he gave me a sweet deal! It took two men to load it into my truck and we took the drawers out to get it into the house, but since it is on wheels it is easily movable in the house. I love it right here in the kitchen. The drawers were the perfect addition to the “landing strip” area. Tony was thrilled to have his own drawer for his pocket junk. I love its mismatched drawers, and the vintage numbers and letters above the handles. I know, I know. Some of you probably think this guy is tacky (my mom didn’t like it!), but we think its great. And, the drawers are big enough to function in the house! Here it is in the landing strip area:
I’m not sure if the school desk should stay now or not. But, for now, this is what the area looks like. Suggestions?
Also- we did pick up one other thing at the garage sales, but that project will have to wait… 🙂
Chair Love Remake
Well, I did some hardcore spring cleaning yesterday. But, I will have to post about that later. For now, I stumbled upon this gorgeously shaped chair. It is beautiful in all its shabby glory, but even more beautiful after Cat remade it. This before and after comes from design*sponge. Cat used the doily technique and spray painted this cute little find:
Tomorrow is all town garage sale day in my little home town, so wish me luck as I try to find such a great chair to spruce up! 🙂
One More Sneak Peak- Countertops
So, I guess I should have, but I didn’t plan for the unexpected road blocks when finishing the kitchen. Like, accidentally buying a couple too few hinges! It is done, but not picture ready. So I have one more sneak peak for you until then. Here is the sample card for the counter-tops we are getting. I originally wanted pure black, but there is no standard laminate in pure black. I picked black because it was to look like slate. Laminate is, unfortunately, what we can afford right now. So, this was the most black laminate we could get. It is probably going to look like marble. This may be great to some, but I am concerned it is too far from my original vision. Will it look to country? It does tie in the browns from the floor and the white from the cabinets. It will take about two weeks to get them in since they are extra long… so please, ease my mind until then! No, really, give me your true opinions!
Kitchen Sneak Peak
The kitchen is almost done! I’m exhausted, but it was totally worth it. Here is a little sneak peak for you until I am ready for the final reveal:
If you like these little snap shots then stay tuned for the rest…
A New Headboard
I think this was Tony’s favorite project yet! My mom had an old brass headboard for a king size bed. She was going to throw it out, so I snatched it right up. After a coat of primer and a couple coats of black paint…
He was so excited last night after we got it hung that he said the bedroom looks like a hotel now. I take that as a compliment! I was afraid that the black would be too much next to the black art above, but I think it worked out well. Always a work in progress…
I think the pups approve too!
Sweet Little Details
I really believe that it’s the little details in a home that make your space special. Ok, that sounds cheesy. But, it is true. We have made some major repairs, spend lots of money, and in the end it’s the little projects worth a few bucks that make me so proud of our home. I have been excited for days about the new towel bar we hung in the bathroom. This is not only a convenience, but looks so much better than having the towel laying on the sink all the time- and, it only cost me about $3!
So, last night while finishing up the living room curtains we also hung up some coffee mugs in the kitchen. I bought a few new red mugs at Wal Mart for $2 apiece. I got a few cup hooks, and viola! Instant face-lift for the kitchen space. I love my bird of paradise mugs, but these look much more updated and will go great once we finishing the painting of the cabinets. Tony actually hung a separate board under the cabinet so that the screws for the hooks wouldn’t go all the way through. He also had to slightly open up the cup hooks, as the mug handles were a bit wider than standard ones. All in all I think they look great and will be awesome in the new kitchen too!
I know I said that I would be starting to work on the cabinet painting last week, but I got a bit lazy. I really am going to work on it this week, so check back for updates and tips on the cabinet painting!
More Curtains!
Last night we finished hanging curtains in the living room. I am so excited to not have these flowery old lady curtains any more:
I really wish I would have remembered to take specific before shots of these. They even had poufy, paper-stuffed valences!
I’m not too sure about the new curtains we chose, so I need your opinions and suggestions. They are, no doubt, better than the before, but not exactly what we had in mind. We wanted to stay inexpensive for right now, so we got these at WalMart (no Ikea near us!). We originally picked a charcoal color, but when we got home we realized that the packages we grabbed were all black! They do need some steaming, but here they are:
I think it is a huge improvement, but it still feels a little off. Tony likes the blinds on one window (this is the previous family’s doing- not mine!) but, I think the small window should have sheers as well so the two match. What do you think?
Either way, these are much more our taste, style, and colors, and best of all- no foofy grandma curtains! 🙂
Oh, and I realize that we really need a rod that is meant to be showing, but we aren’t going to spend the money on a custom length one right now. So, the white bar has to stay and we just have to deal with it for a little while!
Chair Love Some More
This weeks chair love comes early! I spotted this beauty on Apartment Therapy earlier in the week. The picture is of the store front of the Pico Modern Furniture shop. What a pretty place! And, great taste in chairs, I might add.
The shop is described as unique and unusual. I love it already! And, I want the chair! 🙂
Make Mine Eclectic 