Ay-Yay-Yay-IKEA

Well we've done it.  We have taken our new homeowner obligatory journey to and through IKEA. I think it is a right of passage for young homeowners to take the pilgrimage to IKEA for its space-saving and money-saving items! At least it seemed that way for us!

Why IKEA?

Bang.

Bang for our buck.

That's the bottom line in our book. We would not call ourselves house poor by any means but after a 7 month renovation, any person in their right mind would be looking to save a couple of bucks.

We had several items on our radar.

1. Closet system. 

Although we could have asked St. Steve to build us a beautiful and custom closet, we felt like we just couldn't.  Time and finances made us look at other options.  We looked at Lowe's closet systems and were not too impressed.  I have heard good things about the IKEA PAX system so that was the direction we headed.  They have a very nice planning tool for the system that is fairly easy to use.

This was one of the configurations we had dreamed up for our closet - its not the one we went with, I'll show you that one on another day.

Then, for a short time we considered switching gears to the ALGOT system.

The ALGOT system came in at a cool $255 and would have been an incredible savings for us, but on that day we learned the benefits of checking things out in their showroom.  When we got there we took one look at it, we realized the quality was just not going to work for us.  There was no way it was going to hold up as a closet system. The drawers were pretty flimsy and came off the tracks. So we went back to our original plan of the PAX system.  And guess what?! It was on sale! IKEA is redesigning the PAX system and were putting the old style on clearance. So we saved about $250 on our closet! Score!

1. Living room furniture

I have always loved the look of slip covered sofas.  I love the casual homey feel that they give off.  And I love that they are super practical because you can wash them or replace them to freshen things up.

So I have been dreaming of throwing out our old college-style slip covered furniture and upgrading.

Ones I have been digging?
1. Pottery Barn
2. Ballard Designs
3. IKEA

As much as I would love to just go for it and buy me a Pottery Barn or Ballard gem, we can get a great IKEA look-a-like for about $1000 less.  Maybe some day.  Because I truly believe that quality does matter, but so does price.  And with future kiddos coming down the line who will climb, spill, jump, and waller on these babies, I just want to be conservative before I jump in and spend that kind of money.  But also, we have known a lot of people with the Ikea EKTROP sofa and they have all been very happy with how they have held up.

So we went for it.  We bought the sofa with matching love seat.  I was originally planning to buy the beige slipcover but when we got there and took a look at it we thought it was too close in color to the white slipcover chairs we were planning to get.  Michael was happy.  He had wanted the grey ones all along.  I was glad for him.  He doesn't win color battles too often.  :-)

Like I said we also planned to get two white slip cover chairs - the Jennylund EKTORP- to go along with our sofas. 

 I decided on white slipcovers because I love love love the look of white slipcovers but I did not want to take the plunge of going all white on the sofa or love seat.  I wanted a taste, but not the whole meal.  In my mind, it seemed a lot less daunting of a task to remove a slipcover from a chair to wash vs a whole sofa.  We'll see if I live to regret it.  But that is the great thing about the ikea slipcovers, it cost very little to change your mind ($39 to be specific)! Can't beat that!!

3. Bar Stools

We also needed bar stools for our kitchen island.  Ya'll, bar stools are expensive! I have been on the hunt for reasonably price barstools for months! Ever since we knew we'd need them for our counter height island.  The main places I had looked were target, pier 1, world market, joss&main, and craigslist.  I was really hoping I could find some inexpensive options I could rehab from craigslist but...no dice.  The stars never aligned where there were 3 counter height stools that were a good price and condition.  I definitely wanted to spend less that $100 a stool.  So that excluded joss&main and pier 1.  I had been very close to purchasing different stools at world market (#1) and target (#2) - Like I had my mouse hovering over the checkout button.

But I just didn't feel right about any of them.  At first I thought I wanted something industrial feeling like the one from world market.  But eventually I felt like it just didn't seem to fit with everything else - it felt a little too dirty while the rest of my kitchen was feeling so fresh and clean.  The target stools were cute but had a french country feel to them, which is fine, just not what I was looking for.  So ultimately I decided simple and classic is best - not sure why I fight this sometimes... I think more and more I am realizing this is central to my personal style. 

So I finally decided we would go with (#3) the INGOLF bar stool. At a cool $60 a stool, that easily came in under budget.  I know what you are thinking though... did we sacrifice quality for price?  And I would respond, "Not that I can see."  They are built with solid wood and feel very sturdy.  I like their petite frame and the fact that they have a shorter back that does not stick up much over the counter.  I like the white color that ties in with the perimeter cabinets.  Although, I have toyed with the idea of painting them (our kitchen could use more pops of color).  Still might.  As of right now, I am just going to live with them as is and mull over that idea for a while.

That's it!

Big big big thanks to my parents and our friend Peter (who's in med school in Chicago and met us there).  We could not have done it without them! It would have been impossible to maneuver all those carts by ourselves.  Also, a big special kudos goes out to my dad.  What a trooper.  He's not a shopper (biggest understatement ever), and I think he could have very easily lost his mind (and cool) in that crazy place.  But he didn't.  What-a-man! Thanks dad!

Yes, so I mentioned that we had a lot of carts to maneuver.  How many is a lot?  I would say 5 is a lot, wouldn't you?  We had 6.  Yikes. It was slightly embarrassing at the checkout line.  But we couldn't possibly be the only people in history to ever purchase a lot of stuff from IKEA.  A guy across from us in line smiled and said, "is this for a business?" I laughed and said, "Nope! It's all for us!" Embarrassing.  But necessary.  We really are pleased with the purchases now that they have been unloaded and assembled. 

 

We got home Sunday night about 8:30 and had everything unloaded by a little after 9pm.  We are super smart people and had planned this trip the day before we were having our small group over to our home for the first time. That meant we had to get everything assembled within the next 22hours.  So by 10pm we were looking at each other thinking, ok... hope this goes well... and fast! And it did! By midnight we had assembled the sofas, two chairs, and three bar stools.  I mean, I did have a Purdue Engineer working on this so.... I did have a bit of an advantage over the normal IKEA assembler. But overall it was pretty simple.

Obviously we did not assemble the closet system.  It will be an all day Saturday kind of project I think.  And, of course, I will update you all when we finish that! I think I will be able to post a before and after of the living room soon! Steve finished the fireplace mantel this week, I just need to slap some paint on the trim and stain the mantel.  Excited about that!

Doing any furniture buying lately? Have you guys ever dropped a wad at IKEA like we did?   

Don't miss a beat.  
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Kitchen Before & After

Once upon a time there was a nurse and a nerd.  They fell in love, went to college, got married, moved back to their hometown, and saved like crazy in order to purchase a little place of their own.  After searching a couple months for a home, the nurse's dad said, "Hey! We are buying some land and it comes with a house.  Want to come and look at it with us?" The nurse and the nerd said, "heck yeah!" They love looking at houses, even if they weren't going to buy it.  Little did they know, they were about to set eyes on their forever home.  Seeing the dilapidated, worn and dusty surface did not scare them off.  No,they quickly became very interested in the home for its many features: view of the river, location, great potential, and one great price.  "Let's do it," they exclaimed! And they set off to do just that.

Fast forward 5 months and the Nurse and the Nerd finally and officially purchased the property.  The very day after they signed their names on the dotted line, they set out to work.  They tore up the carpet, they pulled out bushes, cut down trees, ripped down ceilings, broke down walls, swept, swept, and swept some more.  And with sheer determination, imagination, and a saintly uncle... they started to put it back together again.  Electrical, plumbing, floors, drywall, siding, windows, and the list goes on and on (and the bank account goes down and down).  Slowly but surely, little by little, it started to turned into their dream home.  And a full year after the nurse and the nerd saw their future home, they moved into it.  And now the nurse and the nerd stand around gazing at all that has changed.  In the kitchen they remember the wall thar blocked the view of the river.  They walk into the bathroom and remember all the walnuts they found hiding under the tub.  They laugh about how, at one time, they could see clear from one end of the house to the other.  When the nurse thinks back about what the house used to be, she can still smell the stale smell of a house longing to be loved.  And then she looks around at her well loved home and smiles. 

So on that note, would you like to see?

I thought you might. 

Over the next couple months, I will be revealing more before and afters of our fully renovated 1st floor.  Lets start with the big guns.  The Kitchen. 

The biggest thing we wanted to change about the kitchen was to open it up into the dining room and living room.  The picture above was taken from the living room.  Below is a picture from the same angle from before the renovation.

 Here is another before and after shot:

 If you can tell, the basic layout stayed about the same - stove and sink remain in the same spot.  However, we took out the entryway to the hall and replaced it with our refrigerator.  Where our current pantry is, there used to be a door leading to the backyard.  Both those changes allowed us to create a larger kitchen footprint - and who doesn't want that?  Taking down the wall allowed us the opportunity to put in a large island.  And we removed the linoleum and laid new hardwood floors to match the rest of the house.  Remember when the kitchen looked like this? I barely do. 

You might remember that I talked a little bit about the cabinets in this post.  We decided to go with inset cabinets.  White Shaker style on the perimeter and black beadboard cabinets on the island.  

 

For the counter tops we were interested in some type of stone or stone-like material: Corian, Quartz, or Granite.  My sister and brother-in-law were going to look at granite for their own kitchen and invited us to go along too. 

Because we were going with a black and white kitchen, I was looking for something with white undertones, instead of cream -which a lot of granites have.  Truly, I was looking for a granite that looks like cararra marble.  

 

That is Carrara Marble -So pretty.  But so impractical.  Marble is porous and soft.  Not ideal for kitchens.  And I'm married to an engineer, so if it it ain't durable, we (he) ain't interested.  That was another reason we didn't go with the warm and yummy butcher block countertops that I had been crushing on so hard - not as durable as stone. 

So as we marched around the warehouse full of huge slabs of granite, I was a little unsure.  Except for one type that caught my eye.  It is called Silver Wave.  Its black with white and grey veining through it.  Kind of like carrara but the negative of it.  Its pretty but... is it too much, too busy, too bold? I thought it might be until I told the guy helping us that I love carrara marble but that I wanted something more functional.  He pointed me in the direction of a quartz look-a-like and that is how we came up with our combination:

We went with a quartz made to look like carrara marble called Bianco Carrara Quartz on the black island and the Silver Wave Granite on the white cabinets.  The light island counter helps to lighten the heavy weight of the black island and the dark counter helped to ground the perimeter cabinets. 

We love how it has turned out.  

Finally, we decided to go with a simple white subway tile backsplash to keep things simple and clean.  Thanks again to my bro-in-law Nick! Steller work! I love the way it contrasts with the dark countertops. See?

 

We realize it is only a slight upgrade from the picture on the left but we are pretty happy with it! ;-) 

I love the copper lights too.  One day it just came to me.  Copper.  It's what our kitchen needed.  Every country kitchen does.  But updated (and affordable) copper fixtures are not the easiest to find.  Thankfully my friends at Wabash Electric had just what I was looking for.  I think they are beautiful and add some much needed warmth to the room.  

 

And that's where we are! Last night was our first night here and tonight we had our first meal here.  Domino's day old pizza heated in the toaster oven.  Don't judge, we are still living out of boxes.  

So we made it in before Christmas, and that is a very good thing.  I probably would have suffered deep and unrepairable emotional damage if we hadn't been able to be in our home at Christmas. 

Wow, that was a gross exaggeration. Sorry about that.  Ridiculous.

On that note, hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! Michael and I will be celebrating with friends and family for the next couple of days! Looking forward to it! 

For any of you who are interested I thought I would start giving a resource list of where we purchased things in case you are getting geared up for your own projects. 

Resource List

Cabinets: Mouser Cabinetry from Leatherman Supply

Counters: Silver Wave Granite and Bianco Carrara Quartz - Classic Marble & Stone

Lighting: Wabash Electric

Electrical and Plumbing: Crist Plumbing and Heating

Sink: Kohler Whitehaven Single Basin sink

Backsplash: Daltile 3x6 white tile Home Depot (and the ReStore! Holla!)

Faucet: Lowes

Appliances: Sears, Refrigerator is LG, range and dishwasher are Kenmore

A Little Christmas

How is your holiday season going? 

I have to say, mine has probably been one of the hardest I have had.  Between work, the passing of my grandma, various Christmas parties, and finishing up phase 1 of a huge house renovation (and moving!!), there has been little time or means of getting into the holiday spirit.  Seeing everyone post pictures of their Christmas trees and brag about how they have finished their Christmas shopping the day after Thanksgiving leaves me thinking...

What's a girl gotta do to get a little Christmas around here!?

I'll tell you what she's gotta do!

She's gotta do what she's gotta do.

 

And that means:

1.) Shopping online at 3am.  - Amazon and Etsy, I just want to take this moment to say, I love you. 

2.) Listening to Christmas music as often as possible.  - Pandora, you're pretty great too.

3.) Decorating for Christmas before I've even moved one piece of furniture into my home. 

bare bones living room

And it was no easy task.  I had to move 5 chairs, 1 large tote, 6 boxes of varying sizes, 1 microwave, 1 toaster oven, and 7 trash cans (yep, 7! - don't ask why on earth we have 7 large trash cans in our basement). All of those things were piled in front of my Christmas decorations in the basement, but I was bound and determined to get to them!

So I lugged up 5 totes full of Christmas decorations (including the tree) from the basement to the living room and went wild.  And by wild I mean I set up the tree and put up two garlands.  I have no furniture in my home, but hey, I've got my Christmas tree up! It's really all about priorities at this point, people.  Nothing will stand in the way of this girl and her holiday spirit!  

I also put up our stockings on the mantel.  Michael and I started a stocking tradition the first Christmas after we were married.  We bought cheapo felt red stockings and had Michael's grandma embroider "Mr Blough" and "Mrs Blough" respectively.  Then we decided it would be fun to add something to the stockings every year.  So our 2nd married Christmas we added a new pin (I'd rather be smooching my nerdy/crafty husband/wife), and then another (related to our favorite foods - pop-tarts for him, popcorn for me), and another new one was added this year.

 

We thought it would be fun to start making the pins reflect something we did that year.  So this year, we added pins that we bought in Aruba to remember our family vacation last February.  We would really like to continue this tradition with our kids someday. 

So that's pretty much the extent of our holiday decorating thus far.  I look forward to next year when we will be more settled and I can go all out with Christmas... oh buddy!  That's the stuff that dreams are made of! 

Speaking of settling.  Look what is settling into our house!

  

 Our stuff! That's right.  We are finally unpacking! It feels so good!

I'll be back with an update on that some other evening because, right now, I got stuff to do!

Do you guys have Christmas traditions that you are enjoying this year?  How many totes of decorations do you have?

Renovation Refugees

It's true.  We are now displaced renovation refugees.  People with, and without, a home.  Luckily, we have been welcomed with open arms into my parent's basement.  Thanks mom and dad.

For the last two years we have lived in a great townhouse apartment.  It has been a perfect transition place for us while we  saved for a house, house hunted, and house renovated.

Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out like we hoped and our lease is done but our house is not. 

So yesterday morning a bunch of people from our small group showed up and helped us move. Thanks so much to these wonderful people: Kara, Scott, Robin, Donovan, William, Jack, Ben, Tannen, and Michael's mom Bette.  And, of course, we had to treat these people right for sacrificing their saturday morning to help us move in the cold and rain.

Yum Yum!

 Luckily, now that our basement is without the stinky smell it used to have, we moved the bulk of our things into the basement of our house until we are ready to move in for real.

When can we move in for real?  Who knows.  I decided to stop trying to guess when we'll be ready to move in.  Because every time I do, I'm wrong.  And really, now, it doesn't matter.  We just want things to be done and done right.

Speaking of done, how are we doing on getting our to do list done?

• Install trim on the main floor (1/3 of the way done)
• Paint all the trim (Yet to be done)
• Connecting our plumbing fixtures (This week)
• Install electrical outlets and lights (This week)
• Lay tile in the bathroom (In Process)
• Paint (On Hold until trim is done)
• Clean ducts and boot up our geothermal system (Next week)
• Get one last coat of sealer on the floor (Yet to be done)
• Move in!! (We'll see!) 

One thing I did do, that was not necessarily on the list, was decorate the front porch for fall!

I just couldn't help myself!
Happy Fall Ya'll!

Movin' On Up

The weather has finally turned cooler allowing us to turn our attention toward fall-ish things. Apples, pumpkins, sweatshirts, falling leaves, scarves, football (if you are into that), lattes and the list goes on.  It is  one of my favorite times of year.   And, more than any other year, I am so glad it is here!... because, this fall, we get to move into our house!

Yes, we have an official moving date.  Mid-October here we come!!

So, ready or not, we'll be moving! There is still a lot to do but we feel like we are making progress! Here's what still needs to be done:

• Hang the new front door (this week) 
• New Siding on the house (starting this week!) 
• Trim on the main floor (starting this week!) 
• Paint all the trim (starting this week!) 
• Install electrical outlets and lights (starting this week!)
• Finally get rid of the smell from the basement (this weekend!) 
• Lay tile in the bathroom (starting this weekend!) 
• Have the gravel for our drive delivered (end of September) 
• Get the kitchen countertop installed (beginning of October) 
• Paint (ongoing) 
• Get our ducts cleaned and boot up our geothermal system (Mid October)
• Get one last coat of sealer on the floor (Mid October) 
• Move in!! AHHHhhhh (Mid October)  

Who knows if we'll get it all done or if we'll be barging in on my parents for a little while!... hoping we won't have to! Don't worry Mom!

So gearing up for the last leg of this reno race, it has been a busy couple of weeks. Luckily, I had some time off that I spent helping Steve preparing the outside of the house for siding and the inside of the house for trim. Which meant, windows! 

I was surprised how fairly simple it is to put in windows.  It really doesn't take very long, it just takes some fiddling. Fiddling with these things:

Shims.  That was my job! I was the shimmyer! Steve would prep the outside and I would help make sure the window was level and straight and secure.  We had a pretty good system going after installing 10 windows together.

The main level windows were a cinch.  Once we got the house wrap on, the window installation went pretty quickly.

 

It wasn't until we had to go up that the process got a lot more complicated and a lot scarier!


Because there are a total of 5 windows more than 10 feet off the ground, we had to enlist the help of scaffolding.  Dun Dun Dun....

 Now, I don't know if you have ever been up on scaffolding before, I hadn't, but really, it is not the most pleasurable experience.  I would not say I am afraid of heights but it did take a while for me to get used to the height and working on the wobbly surface. 

 In the picture above, we were working on getting the old siding off,  and so we were having to yank and pull on the siding to get it off.  It was a workout for my sense of balance, that was for sure.

In the picture below, we had finally gotten all the old siding off and had nailed down our foamboard and house wrap.  We were ready for the window... or as I called it, my escape route.  In that picture we were about 18 feet in the air. 

I was still not quite comfortable with the scaffolding yet, as you can tell from my halfhearted smile. It also didn't help that we were combatting some unhappy little creatures after knocking down their homes:

No stings.  Thank goodness.

Another challenging window to put in was the huge front window.  (Hello view!)

 We got a couple of extra helping hands in order to install this bad boy.  It was super heavy. 

From there, we moved up to the dormers on the roof.  Remember those almost 100 degree days we had last week?  Well this is what Steve and I were doing:

 Although we were over 20 feet in the air this time, I felt much less nervous.  I don't know if it was a gained comfort level with scaffolding or the fact that Steve built us a platform to work off of, but I was much more comfotable working up there.

Hand on the hip and everything.  Queen of scaffolding?

The window above the sliding glass door was the last one to go in.  And now our house looks like this:

 We are really looking forward to updating this picture once the new siding goes on! Stay tuned...

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