The hardest working room in our house is our playroom/office. We use this space for pretty much everything, including (but not limited to) building Lego, catching up on emails, filming music videos, managing Amazon Subscribe & Save orders, “cooking” pretend food, doing puzzles, drying laundry, practicing yoga, and reading. After painting over the terrible yellow walls (see before pic below), our main design objective was to create separate areas for work and play.
One of the biggest quality of life upgrades associated with our new home is having two bathrooms. This may have led us to overlook our half bath’s less charming features when we were making our offer. Specifically, the sconce above the mirror was hanging down by its wiring, the sink drain vent pipe was routed through the medicine cabinet (and covered in duct tape!?), and our terra cotta tiles weren’t terra cotta at all – the burnt orange finish was printed on them such that you could see the little pixels when looking closely. We also learned, during our first winter, that the bathroom was not insulated – at all (hello frozen pipes). 
The kitchen in our new home won the award for “worst room,” though our downstairs bathroom definitely gave it a run for its money. Sure, it gives off a cute, cottage vibe in the professional real estate photos (see below), but the microwave was not functioning, the stove was electric, and the fridge continued to give off an odor that could only be described as “rotting compost” no matter how many times we scrubbed it. The kitchen’s worst offense, though, was its lack of dishwasher. Also, it was yellow.
One of the first goals in our new house was to create a beautiful, inviting living space for relaxing after work. We largely succeeded in designing a room that comfortably seats no more than two people. This was perfect for newlyweds, but add two kids (plus visiting grandparents and uncles) and we’re all lined up stiffly on the couch trying not to touch elbows or dragging in hard metal dining chairs from the next room. So, although we love how our living room looks, it’s no longer meeting our needs. In the post that follows, I’ll be describing the elements of this room as they currently are, but we’ll definitely be updating again soon!
We bought a house… 
….. almost four years ago (yes, it’s been awhile since I posted here). While the house was mostly structurally sound, there were many cosmetic upgrades we wanted to execute – like immediately. As we were walking up to the front door for the first time as homeowners, we met one of our new neighbors who dispensed the following advice: “You don’t have to do it all at once.” Maybe the paint cans in our hands gave us away. We promptly ignored her suggestion and got to work. Click below for “before” pictures of our house (courtesy of Zillow), along with a really awesome photos of our front yard getting dug up for new sewer pipes on Christmas Eve (hey – I said the place was mostly structurally sound). Continue reading
After moving to a larger space, my husband and I found ourselves in the market for a new shelf to house the books that had been boxed up for the past two years. Unfortunately, (as usual) our tastes exceeded our budget. We were drawn to industrial-style shelves made of metal and reclaimed wood. Anthropologie’s version (pictured below, left) retails for $998 amd West Elm’s version (pictured below, right) goes for a whopping $2960. We’ve made a commitment to only buy furniture that we absolutely love and since we couldn’t find anything that compared in our price range, we decided to DIY it!
Our apartment’s bedroom also doubles as my husband’s recording studio. He recently purchased a new synthesizer and within minutes of setting it up, Cher (our cat) decided it was a desirable place to nap. We wanted to protect our investment, but because the “studio” takes up about 50% of our shared living space, we wanted to be mindful of design. I decided to make a custom cover for the synthesizer using leftover fabric from our dining chair reupholstering project. Instructions after the jump…
City Mouse 