finishing touches

well it's officially september, and if you remember, my goal was to get it up on the market by september 1st -- before winter sets in and minnesota buyers flee back into their homes until spring. so it's a rush to the finish line as i continue moving my belongings to tim's house (box by box), cleaning every last inch, and staging it to really wow everyone who walks through it.

new cabinet hardware. check!

and speaking about staging...notice the cute owl perched next to my knife block? my grandma actually painted that little fella long ago, and i've kept him with me as i move from place to place.

why did i swap out my Urban Outfitters statement chandelier? well, i was told to de-personalize as much as possible during the staging process. aka: take down photos and make the place as neutral as possible so anyone who walks through could envision themselves living here.

so i found a budget-friendly option at Menards that really fit well with my color scheme and wrought iron door and cabinet hardware throughout my entire place.

a white coat for all

now that all the doors are finally in, it was time to give them all a fresh (or a first) coat of white paint.

so the gang (okay, just my parents and tim) came over to help me tackle the project.

in case you don't remember, i wanted to keep a consistent flow throughout my condo, so all of my doors and trim are painted a nice, fresh white. 

all in all we painted the double-door living room closet, the hallway closet next to the bar, the bathroom door, and the new bi-fold pantry doors in the kitchen.

i absolutely LOVE how the living room closet turned out! love, love, love!

holla

my best friend monica was in town, and we were having a girls day in minneapolis...which led us to the Soap Factory (home of the scariest halloween haunted house around) for Craft'za: a one-day art market for handmade goods.

if you know me, you know i say "holla!" all the time. so when i saw this amazing hand-cut, gold holla sign, i just HAD to buy it!

step to the edge

to be honest, i think this is the first ever post that i don't know the exact date of. i know it was sometime in september...or maybe august...who knows!

anyways, one day while i was out and about, dad came over and put the trim up on my step under the bar (which acts as a divider between my two levels). thank goodness! mom had been wanting him to do that for months. maybe even a year or more.

but now it's up. we didn't have many color options, so we decided on the metal finish -- which actually matches the stainless steel legs on my bar. and now the unfinished wood flooring is finally covered and protected from getting chipped.

the story of the mysterious puddle

it all started back in september: the puddle.

but where were the drops coming from? after investigating each unit one floor at a time, we made it up to the top floor. BINGO. water leaking under their sink. problem solved.

a few weeks went by with no more puddles (the top floor neighbors had agreed not to use their sink until a plumber came out to fix it). but then...it started again. and this time those tiny splashes of water had turned into constant drops, filling up the buckets underneath. we held an association meeting and decided serious action was needed. plumbers came out to investigate, as well as mold abatement specialists, and it turned out we not only had a leak, but mold as well. bummer.

in the meantime, a tiny hole was cut in my ceiling so the water could drain through and not continue pooling up and billowing out. by now it was a few days before the end of october. about a month and a half of water dripping into my dining room.

then one day i came home to this giant contraption, which i named: the monster.

apparently the leak had been fixed, which meant the mold abatement team could start their magic. they cut a hole in my ceiling, confined the space, and attached a special fan through the only exit so that the mold spores would be captured. ps: that fan was incredibly loud.

but unfortunately in the next few days i noticed water still dripping (and by dripping i mean there was more water pooled up in my dining room than ever before) from outside the monster. see the two buckets i set out? yep. another leak (or two) had sprung.

so the next day the mold abatement crew and the plumber were back. they doubled the size of the hole in my ceiling -- therefore doubling the size of the monster -- which was now taking up the majority of my dining room. you can see the section of plumbing that was repaired, the wood surrounding it was painted over with a special white paint.

fast forward almost another month when the mold was officially proclaimed obsolete, and i finally got to say goodbye to the monster...and hello to a completely useless dining room, taped off in plastic (note: this was not the first time this room has been plastic'ed off).

now it was the carpenter's turn. his task: repair the ceiling.

so far the carpenter's been at my house for six straight days, and i think the end is finally in site.

what's left? once the ceiling is ready, the carpenter will repaint the ceiling. then we'll hire a painter to re-texture the ceiling and then the carpenter will be back to repaint (both the ceiling and part of the teal wall). and then hopefully i'll have my dining room back.

unfortunately i've been told that won't be until quite a while after the turkey day holiday is over...

it's raining pots & pans

it was a long time coming, but we finally installed my hanging pots & pans rack...making my kitchen one step closer to completion!

as you know, i bought the rack from ikea at least a year ago (probably closer to two), and once the hanging cabinets were put it, it was time for the hanging rack. i also bought a pendant light -- that matches the lights above my bar -- to hang through the rack. dad hasn't figured out how to hook up the electrical part yet, so that will have to wait.

17" is the new 60"

i know what you're thinking..."why are those monitors so tiny?!"

well, when i got them, freshman year of college, they were the best you could buy! years later, after sitting almost unused, i decided to finally set up my computer desk in my dining room. i figured i could use it as a fake tv to watch movies from on my futon.

the white door

among many other projects that dad is working on, he somehow found the time to come over and put up the door to my hallway closet. as you probably know, i am trying to keep a few themes running throughout my condo: white trim along along all the floors, and white interior doors.

now all i need is door handles.

the last of the speckling

like the tiny elves who fixed the shoemaker's shoes in the middle of the night, my dad and brother surprised me by starting AND finishing my ceiling while i was at work on friday.

the actual spray texturing process only took about 20 minutes, but a few hours of setup and teardown made it a much longer project. just like when we spray textured the living room ceiling last year, they first had to cover the entire place with plastic, then mix the putty, and then spray. they did the dining room and the kitchen, so now my entire place has been (as matthew calls it) stuccoed!

the next step is to paint and glitter it.

the tale of the fail whale

it all started last summer when i bought a cheap $7.99 coffee table from savers and made a plea to anyone who drinks bottled beverages to save their caps. for months i would randomly received a zip lock baggy from a weekend party one day, or two forgotten caps from someone's jeans pocket another.

then one thunderstormy night i sat down in front of all my stacks of organized bottle caps and decided to go at it. i was going to first sketch it out and then lay out rough borders with the caps, but instead i just did it. and here's the final product.

note: i still need to replace some of the bottle caps around the whale so they are all darker colors since those seem to look the best.

PS: i have to give a shout out to jennifer of new home economics for suggesting the twitter fail whale idea!

salsa on a ledge

my little herb garden has been through a lot in its day. if you remember back to the beginning of this year, i planted the tiny seeds in the windowsill of my dining room. weeks went by, and even though a few didn't make it, the surviving plants gave me the confidence to plant a few more varieties. right now my jalapenos, parsley, and oregano are growing strong!

now i just need my tomatoes to ripen and homemade salsa here i come!

i spy a bottlecap

first of all i'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who drinks bottled  beverages and is nice enough to pocket the caps and donate them to me, you guys rock! (and now you have proof your donations have not been in vein)

alright, so if you remember back to last summer, i bought a cheap $7.99 coffee table from savers with the intention of collecting enough caps of various colors to create a cool design for the tabletop. and this past weekend i decided i finally had enough to get started on my diy table. an hour or so later, i finished stacking all the caps by brand...there were roughly 1,029 bottle caps.

any ideas for a design? i've been kickin around the thought of making a design of the twitter fail whale. for now im going to use my blue wicker table with the glass top so i can change the design whenever my mood changes. kind of like an etch-a-sketch for furniture...

the secret of happiness

turns out certain people are worried that naming my dining room the opium den might hurt my reputation. well how about the poppyseed lounge? hmm, this might take some time, so as i ponder more socially acceptable titles to help you understand my vision, here are some photos from last weekend's project. what do you think?

here's a little background on my inspiration for this room: those who know me can understand why i ended up choosing a different (but equally vibrant) color for each of my four walls. as seen in my daily wardrobe, i am intrigued by mixing together as many patterns and colors as i possibly can. and now that i have my own place, it's starting to show through in my home decor as well.

the circular wall hangings shown above were a diy birthday gift from my lovely baby sis and i am so happy i finally got them up on the walls. i decided to have them hanging down from the ceiling, so i secured a string of hemp across the entire middle wall, and then hung each fabric circle down from there at different heights. i didn't plan it out in advance, and should have probably thought about their placements, measured, and used a transparent thread, but i was impatient and just wanted to get them up.

PS: for those of you still worried about the negative connotations of the term opium den, here's what a little google searching uncovered to prove that the word can be used to describe a design style:

• a peek into the home of olga naiman via design*sponge
• a post from the BBC's design inspiration section
• an LA spot, the figueroa hotel
• and of course, the one and only kitty cat klub in dinkytonwn

and i leave you with a quote (also found on my google search), which inspired the title of this post.

"i took it, and in an hour...an abyss of divine enjoyment suddenly revealed...here was the secret of happiness...at once discovered." -- thomas de quincey.

the philosophy behind paint color

now i know that most people spend hours, days, months even when choosing their paint colors. they go to the store, grab swatches, use online color planners, paint test patches, investigate under different lighting, and repeat until they think they are happy with what the outcome will be.

not me. my philosophy is to go for it, and if it doesn't work, just repaint it. actually that's a total lie, my real philosophy is that i have no patience and im never going to get around to repainting. so whatever i decide upon is going to be there for the long haul. i didn't even decide where each color would go until in my dining room until we were already painting.

i guess i just depend on my designer instincts and tune out what everyone else says,* since all along people have been skeptical of my decisions (until they see the final product of course). case in point:

• black hardwood floors
• lawn chairs in my living room
• faux cobblestone laminate flooring, indoors

so without furth ado, here are my four wall colors:

very berry by glidden. for my largest wall i chose a really deep fuchsia hue. it might be dark, but i like it. and who says your rooms need to be light anyways? i want it to feel more of a lounge than a room anyways.

pink salmon by glidden. the name says it all, and as you know, this color has been up for a while, today we just went over it with a second coat. i originally ordered it as a sample and ended up keeping it after my dad surprised me by painting my bedroom-side wall one day while i was at work.

realm by behr. this is a rich turquoise blue. i decided to paint it on my bathroom-side wall as a gateway into the tranquility of my bathroom. even though it is probably last on my to-do list, i anticipate it being very serene and ocean inspired, so i thought this color would help set the mood.

home song by behr. if you've been a fan of my blog since the very beginning, you might remember back to my first paint task, the living room. i chose a very muted, pale green to compliment my dark hardwood floors. so we used more of that to finish off the walls flowing from the two rooms.

check out how it looks finished.


*and yes mom, i know you have always been very supportive of my choices

a perfect fit

 

once again my family proved how much they love me.

bright and early the day after the fourth of july (on our day off) they showed up at my door at 10am, paintbrushes in hand. and despite the humidity and the fact that i have no AC, they powered through it all: putty, sanding, taping, priming, and painting.

along the way we discovered there actually is a reason i dealt with all the short comments throughout my lifetime: i fit perfectly into the window, my ponytail just barely brushing against the top of the window frame. matthew didn't fit quite as well.

by 2pm i had four finished dining room walls, in four different colors. (well, we still need to paint a second coat...but that can wait) and now i can officially introduce you to my india-inspired opium den dining room.

up next: creating a wall-length wooden storage bench, scattered with silk throw pillows of all colors and patterns.

my windowsill garden

i ordered some herbies online in january...

...then i wished them luck as i buried them in soil. hoping they would grow big and tall...

a week or so later, they were already beginning to sprout :)

 and here they are today! i've already had to re-pot a few of them. and of course some of their plant friends from ikea and home depot have joined them too.

two new places to hide things away

tonight dad finished up the shelving in my two main closets! now i just need some doors to hide all my junk ;)

and as you can see, dad's already moved in!

the pink room surprise

i've had a small quart-sized sample of "pink salmon" from glidden laying around for a while now. i'd been planning on painting at least one (if not more) walls of my dining room a pinky color, but wasn't completely sure what i wanted to do.

then today i came home...and bam. there it was. a pink wall. i guess dad got antsy and decided it was now or never.

any ideas for what i should do with the other walls?

inside the plastic fort

whenever my dad sets off to do work -- whether around the house, at crappy house (our other extreme makeover house), or my place -- he simply says with a smile "well, i'm off to play!" and heads out. i'm so glad he loves it.

anyways, tonight he was over working on my two main closets. first we hung plastic from the ceiling to protect the rest of my place from suffocating beneath a layer of dust. then he started sanding and puttying away behind the plastic sheets...

hey, at least he got to play in a fort ;)

walk with me, talk with me

here's a little walkthrough of my condo so far...