Monday, August 27, 2012

House Tour 2012: Laundry Room

After

I can already hear the gasps!...

One area I'd love to fix in our house is our laundry room.  In its current state, it is definitely not pretty!  I love that our laundry is on the main level.  But here are the things I'd like to change:

  1. Matching washer and dryer (please don't make my mistake of only replacing the washing machine when it breaks, splurge before the dryer is discontinued!!!)
  2. Hide the water hoses for the washer (so ugly!)
  3. Add another cabinet for storage (we currently have a cabinet above the washer, but another cabinet right beside would be great for extra storage)
  4. Change the light switch to something more appealing (currently it has a timer which we never use and is beige and stands out like a sore thumb)
  5. Central Air instead of the window air conditioner we have stuck in the partially tin foil covered window (not attractive at all, but the cold air on hot summer days out-ways the current ugliness)


The paint color is Tabu 412-3 by Pittsburgh Paints.

Tabu 412-3


Here is the wall opposite the washer and dryer.  I love the color the pictures add to the space.


Transformation:

Before

After

Improvement is needed, and hopefully improvement will happen soon.  Now you know my ugly laundry room secret. 

As Always,
Sandra

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

FREE Printable - Weekly To Do List From Simple is Pretty

Weekly To Do List:

Here is a new printable to help organize your busy week.  I've created a FREE Weekly To Do List...




After downloading, the Weekly To Do List prints on 8 1/2" X 11" letter paper.

Note: The preview may not show the boxes for the check marks, but when you download the file the check mark boxes will be available.  



Be sure to check out more FREE Printables on the Free Printables page.

As Always,
Sandra



Tuesday, August 21, 2012

House Tour 2012: Master Bedroom & Bath

After

When we first moved in over 5 years ago our master bedroom was extremely different.  Oooo it was bad...

Before

Crazy light fixtures, window treatments and paint colors had invaded the house and weren't our style.  (I'm sorry previous owners, I don't mean to offend you, it's just not my taste)

Before

Gone are the mirrored closet doors, grungy carpet and brass finishes.

After

We repainted shortly after we moved in and used Pittsburgh Paints Woolen Vest 412-4.  On the walls, the green tone intensifies compared to looking at the paint swatch.  And the color changes throughout the day depending on the amount of light in the room.

Pittsburgh Paints Woolen Vest 412-4



We replaced the carpets with laminate flooring, which was a must for the whole main level as the previous owners had multiple pets.  Plus, the laminate flooring is so easy to clean, especially with 2 kids in our home.

The small white door leads to the 2 piece master bathroom.  The bathroom is quite small but it works...


I didn't have much storage in this tiny space so I picked up some small wire shelving from IKEA.  The shelving is attached to the wall with screws.  I placed some yellow patterned scrapbook paper in the front to hide some of the clutter and make them uniform.


On the wall, I put up a couple photos from our vacations to bring a little more yellow and personality into the space.


The transformation...

 Before

After

Before


After

Such an improvement over how our space looked in the beginning.  Still so many things I'd like to improve in this space.  My "To Do" list keeps growing!

As Always,
Sandra

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

DIY Easy Kitchen Cleaner

I made this cleaner a few months ago now and it works GREAT!


Here's what you need:
  • water
  • a few drops of Dawn dish soap

That's it!  Combine a few cups of water and a few drops of soap in the spray bottle and give it a quick shake to mix.  If you find the solution too strong or too weak for your liking, add more water or soap accordingly.  Slap on a quick label using your label maker...and DONE!

I use this solution to spray on the table after a meal, kitchen counters, on the kid's highchairs and booster seats.   

So EASY to make and use, not to mention less expensive than cleaners you'll find at the store.

What are your quick cleaning solutions?  I'd love to hear about them, leave me a comment!

As Always,
Sandra

Friday, August 10, 2012

House Tour 2012: Kids' Rooms

Little Boys' Rooms

The boys' rooms are the two doors on the right.  My older son's bedroom is at the far end of the hallway...

After

Just for giggles, here is a before pic of the hallway from the opposite direction...

Before

Our home's previous owners loved their peach paint!

Blue and Orange Bedroom

When we were deciding paint colors, we wanted bright colors.  We also wanted colors that would work with the room for a few years.  We decided on Behr's Sapphire Lace (S-G-570) and Volcanic Blast (S-G-210):



Choosing a combo of white, blue and orange... here is how it turned out... (I was sure to choose and orange that would not be to peachy!)



Using Frog Tape we almost completely eliminated paint bleed on our painted stripes.  Well worth the extra money!  We did have a little paint bleed, but it was from not adhering the tape properly to the in all places on the wall.

Source



I made an alphabet picture for the wall, as my son loves letters!  I printed out the letters on card stock paper.  Next, I cut them out and stuck them to blue wrapping paper using double sided tape and framed them in an IKEA frame.


An old dresser we got years ago from a garage sale, got a few coats of the same blue as the walls and we added new hardware to update it.  The other wood dresser needs an update, and is still on the "To Do" list.

Orange Bedroom

My younger son's room is a lighter shade of orange...

Pittsburgh Paints Candied Yam 123-6

 

I love this shade of orange, it is bright but not over powering.  The orange gives the room a warm feeling and it is easy to match other colors to this shade of orange.


We decided on an animal/zoo theme for this room.  Gender neutral, we used this room and theme for both of our boys before we knew we were having a boy or a girl.

Our oldest son had this room first, and it was pretty much decorated the same way when he was in it.  When we were pregnant with our second child, we moved our oldest son into the room down the hall.  This way we could have the gender neutral animal theme room for our new baby.  Not to mention, this room is a few foot steps closer to the master bedroom, which makes getting up in the middle of the night with the new baby a little easier.


The changing table is second hand, given to us by family.  The table works wonderfully in this room.  I store diapers in a basket on the shelf so they are easily reached.  Extra blankets and sheets for the crib are in the drawers at the bottom. 



The Ikea striped lamp on top of the change table adds a punch of color to the room.  The lamp also worked really well when the boys needed a diaper change in the middle of the night when they were younger.  The light has a dimmer switch so the amount of light could easily be adjusted.



This white clock is originally supposed to have family and personal photos placed in the photo holders.  Instead, I found images from the web that fit the zoo/animal theme in the room and printed them on photo paper.  Next, I cut out the animals and stuck them to white paper which would fit in the photo holders around the clock.  To hold the animals to the paper, I used double sided tape.  I seem to use double sided tape for everything!!!



The IKEA PAX closet is great because inside there are 6 pull out drawers.  Perfect for storing and sorting all the baby clothes.

What colors or themes have you used to decorate your child's room?

As Always,
Sandra

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

What Is Your Favorite Room To Organize... Results Are In!

Thank you very much for voting on...Which room is your favorite room to organize?

Results are in... and the Office/Craft room has won!

Check out some inspiration for organizing your office/craft room or any room in your house on my Pinterest page... http://pinterest.com/simpleispretty/

Follow me on Pinterest!

Thanks again for voting!

As Always,
Sandra