Monday, November 29, 2010

Trim the Tree

I have been slowly getting our tree up and ready the last couple of days.  We bought a new, larger tree this year, and in the spirit of our "Style Overhaul" our Christmas decor is getting a makeover as well.  Tomorrow I am getting the final ornaments and finishing touches.  I have some tres thrifty ornaments in mind for the tree.  I will hopefully have some pictures of the tree tomorrow.  Until then, here are some pictures to show what I have in mind.







Oh, so excited to finally get the house FINISHED for the holiday.  I feel like I'm behind the game already.  Having Thanksgiving at our house didn't help matters.  

Sunday, November 28, 2010

You Started a Blog?!

I imagine this is what friends and family will say if when they find out I started a blog.  Firstly, some of them will wonder what in the world a blog is, and the others will wonder what I might have to say that's interesting enough to put on a blog.  So to old friends and new, a little about what Change It & Rearrange It is all about:

My husband, Levi, and I were married in July and are settling into "married life."  When we met, he had already purchased a home, (and new to boot!) but it lacked any sort of actual "style."  Unless, that is you call "Bachelor Mess" a style.  Oh, how I wish I knew back then that I'd someday be blogging about the evolution of our home. I would have some killer before and afters to show.  However, I will just say that it was definitely in need of anyone's a woman's touch.

We lived together for a year and a half before we were married (sorry, Grandma), so there was some decorating and redesign going on before we actually got married.  The kitchen has stayed pretty much as-is aside from the wall hangings and things on the shelves (that he made, and only sometimes seem like they're going to tip over).

The living room contained a cheap black leather sofa and a dirty brown recliner when I moved in.  Oh, and who could forget the coffee table found on the curb that sat in the middle of the room.  This room has changed quite a bit in the last couple of years, but is now one of my focuses for our "Style Overhaul" as I'm calling it.

The bathroom.  What can I say here that could properly convey how GROSS it was, without inducing the dry heaving I used to suffer from when walking in there.  Anyone who has experienced a bathroom used by two bachelors whose mothers never introduced them to a toilet brush or mop knows what I'm talking about.  A male appropriate brown and black shower curtain hung and there were actually rugs on the floor. SHOCKER, I know!  It was my first project when moving in, and will also be on my To-Do list for the S.O.

Our bedroom was the first project we tackled after the wedding, and I am loving like it.  It goes more with our new style than our old, but there are already things I would change.  Number one would be having more space, but that's not really an option right now.  Hubby says we can't knock down any walls.  Oh well.  I do still need to find curtains, and possibly stencil the wall behind the bed??  I'm not sure.  The headboard is so big that it kind of blocks most of the space.  As a side note, we got this set at Sam's Club (a warehouse store similar to Costco) for under $1,000.  We were in desperate need of an actual bed frame, matching night stands, and a dresser.  I must admit, however, that within a day of getting it, I already wanted to paint it white.  Eek.  Don't tell hubby that, or either of our mothers who think painting wood is a sin.  In a perfect world, I would also paint the trim, doors, etc. white.  Not on our immediate to do list, but definitely a daily discussion point.

The guest room, which served as his former roommate's room was empty when I moved in.  It is now, just as I called it, a guest room.  I did purchase new bedding some time ago, but am wanting an actual overhaul of this room soon.  The white couch is a freebie my grandma and I got at an auction right before I went to college.  I am very reluctant to let it go because it's so unique, and it was the first piece of furniture I owned.  The dresser is from when I was a child, and GASP! my mom and grandma painted it and put new knobs on it a few years ago.  It will definitely be getting a new color and knobs when I decide what to do with this room.

Finally, the office.  This is the most recent room redo in our short S.O. history.  The desk is Hubby's grandfather's, and I'm delaying telling his family we painted it.  I think they might want to run me out of the family.  Anyway, paint and new silver pulls made it perfect for our office redesign.  The curtains were $15 from Target, plain white.  I used a stencil and fabric paint to jazz them up when I couldn't find curtains to my liking.  (The tutorial will be my next post.)  I'm still wanting to find a better solution to house the printer, but for now it's a definite improvement to the dump-all, wedding decor warehouse room that it was.

We also have a basement, but that's at the bottom of our list right now.  Maybe some year I'll get to that.

So, stay tuned for pictures (Befores, Durings, and Afters), tutorials, gripe-fests, and hopefully some enjoyable posts for people to read.