One Room Challenge with Calling it Home: Week Five

 

Once again it is time to link up with the wonderful blog Calling it Home, and show what I accomplished this week in my laundry room as part of the One Room Challenge.

 I can't believe that this is almost at the end. I had some great ideas back five weeks ago, but with the big reveal almost here, I did take sometime this week to reflect on this project. (If you want to check out the previous weeks click on the links: Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four.) I did access what I was actually going to be able to get done. First I checked my list I made at the beginning of this project.

-Tile floor

-Decorate walls (wallpaper or stencil?)

-Get great fabric to make curtains.

-Organize cleaning supplies.

-Add decoration.

 

 

I accomplished a lot, but I still need to do the finishing touches to bring it all together.

 

This week I concentrated on organizing all the various cleaning supplies that are stored in the laundry room. This is one of the things I really enjoy doing! An organized room makes me soooo happy.

 

Plus, it mostly involved a lot of shopping! Fun!

 

First, I hit up TJ Maxx. I wanted unique containers to store the laundry detergent, borax, and dryer sheets. There were so many great options to choose from.

 

I picked up these for the detergents...

 

 

 

 

 

and this for the dryer sheets. The size was perfect, but I am going to add a little to it to jazz it up a bit.

 

 

I also found a way to store all of the cleaning supplies that we currently have sitting on an open shelf. It is the first thing you see when you walk in the room, so it needed help.

 

 At first, I looked at various baskets to put everything in, but I just wasn't feeling it. Finally, I realized why. I didn't want to pretty it up...I plan old didn't want to see these things at all.

 

After a lot of looking I found this on Amazon (Sorry, the order hasn't come in yet, so I have to show  a stock picture.)

 

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I like the idea that I can slide this storage caddy in-between my washer and dryer, so everything is hidden and out of the way, but also easy to get at when needed.

 

I also threw this into my shopping cart.

 



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It was just what we needed, since currently the ironing board is just leaning against the wall, and we are always hunting for the spray starch.

 

I am planning on making my ironing board a new cover with this fabric, and will have a tutorial up soon.

 

 

 

I also got some white plastic bins from Target. I am going to add a little color with decorative tape, and use them to corral a few more odds and ends in the laundry room.

 

Last, but not least, I also went to Home Goods and picked up these...

 

 

 

I have big plans for this little box.

 

Whew, it was a busy shopping week for me. But, so worth it once everything is done...which is very soon!

 

 

 

 

Be sure to check out the other linking participants by clicking here.

 

And stop by on Thursday, Nov. 7 for the big laundry room revel and the last day of the One Room Challenge.

 



Enjoy the Fun of October

 



I love October. It might be my most favorite month of the year. There are some things you can only do in the fall... 

This weekend I took my kids out of the manicured lawns and concrete sidewalk world that they live in, and visited a farm.

We rode a hayride through the woods, ran through tunnels made of hay and corn, and picked out multi-colored gourds and the biggest pumpkins we could find.

Then it was home to carve them. We all had fun scooping out the insides. Here are a few of our creations....

I coated the pumpkin seeds in a mixture of butter, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and a dash of nutmeg. After baking them, I must admit it turned out better than I thought it would!

As a fun treat, we had orange vanilla flavored TruMoo milk. I got a free coupon, and was more than happy to pick it up at my local grocery store. My kids thought it was so cool and tasted great, and it definitely went with our pumpkin orange themed day.

 

Also, if you want to find out more information by clicking here, TruMoo is running a contest right now where you can win a Goosebumps Haunted Hollywood Vacation. My youngest is a big fan of the books, so we are trying the codes found on the lids to see if we won...wish us luck!

Our family is really enjoying this time of year.

What is your favorite fall activities!

 



Figure Out My Personality

I recently attended a training event where one of the speakers had all the participants take a personality test. (FYI - It was the True Colors program.)

I was a gold

 with my second color being a green.

 

 

I think it was so spot on. The speaker went on to talk about how understanding your own personality can be very beneficial. Also learning what  the color is of those you work with or interact with can help you understand why people respond in certain ways.

I thought it was a very interesting talk. 

Have you every taken a personality test? What did you think?

And here are a few personality tests that are just for fun...

Which state are you? According to this my southern born boys were both New England states...something which I find hilarious!

This one claims to be like the Myers-Briggs test...even if it is not exactly the same, it is free.

And this test is for the dogs.

One Room Challenge with Calling It Home: Week Four

 

It's now week four of the One Room Challenge, and I finally feel like the laundry room is coming together. It's so exciting!

This week, in order to keep on the time line, I had to work on the walls. But I really struggled with how to decorate that part of the room.

I knew I wanted to use a green color like the rim of this plate.

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And I want to do something similar to the walls in this room.

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Or like this which is at the Greenbrier.

I did briefly look at a few green trellis wallpaper patterns. but I just wasn't sure if I could hang wallpaper in this room due to the different wires, vents and drainage tubes, on the wall, that I would have to work around.

So I decided to try my hand at stenciling. Somehow, I got it into my head that I could just make my own. (I temporarily forgot that I am neither naturally creative or crafty!)  I headed to the local craft store and picked up a stencil film. When I got it home, I realized that I had two problems: it was not transparent, and it was rolled up in the package and now would not lay flat. I solved the first problem by taping the pattern to the top of the stencil film, and tracing it with an Xacto knife through the paper. And I attempted to fix the second problem by taping the stencil film down. This did not prove successful. I just could not keep the thing flat. This lead to everything shifting, I couldn't keep my lines straight when cutting out the pattern, and I was soon just frustrated with the whole stenciling project.

Then a few days ago, I happened to come across this tape...

I loved the color. I thought it would be easy to work around the drainage tubing with this. And it had straight lines built in.

It was perfect!

I started out by measuring how I wanted the pattern spaced.

Then I put the tape on the wall. Smoothing it flat as I went.

I did get to use my Xacto knife when I worked the tape around the drainage tubing.

 

 

This is a peek at what I finished so far.

I wouldn't use tape on a wall in just any room, but this is a laundry room and lends it self to a more unique wall treatment. I am feeling good about this.

Just a short time to go and then will be the big revel. Can't wait!

If you want to catch up with the past progress of the laundry room check it out here: Week One, Week Two and Week Three.

Click here to get more design inspiration from the other link up participants of the One Room Challenge on the great blog Calling it Home.

Update:
Also check out Week Five. And for the big revel Week Six.

Here is a sneak peek of the green trellis wall treatment made with tape.

 

This knock off green trellis wallpaper post was all linked to East Coast Creative

Pin Picks IV

These were my most popular pins this week....

Decorate

 

 

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Love the color combination in this office. That red desk and gold chair look great together.

 

 



Organize

 

 

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My next project is our mudroom, and need a drop zone like this. Inspiration galore...

 

 

Try New Things

 

 

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I would love to be proactive like this and have all my meals ready to go at the start of the week. A girl can dream....



 



Be sure to check out the rest of my Pinterest boards here. And if you want, follow me. I've found some amazing boards that way, and always follow back.

One Room Challenge with Calling It Home: Week Three

 

Today, I was going to talk about what I am putting on the walls of the laundry room...wallpaper, stencil, something else... But I am still struggling with what to do, so for this week, at least, I am moving on to....

Window curtains and fabric

I want to make short curtains to hang on the window above the washer and dryer.

I was inspired by the fabric on this couch designed by Dorothy Draper.

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Being the state flower of West Virginia, the Rhododendron can be found in the decor of Dorothy Draper's revamp of the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, WV. From wallpaper, curtains and rugs to the plates and dishes, the flower made it's way on to many things. You can even now buy PJ's with the Draper Rhododendron print.

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I have always loved this flower especially the pink version, although I have also seen it bloom in white, purple, red, orange, and yellow. When I went on the traditional three day backpacking trips with my childhood summer camp, we would often hike through mountains covered with these beautiful flowering bushes.

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So with my inspiration in mind,  I was off to hunt for rhododendron patterned fabric to make the curtains. Here are a few of my finds...

Fabric 1/Fabric 2/Fabric 3/Fabric 4/Fabric 5/Fabric 6

Of course, here I ran into a problem. While I found some beautiful fabric patterns, I felt like Goldilocks who couldn't find one that was "just right". The fabric was either outside my budget, not the right colors, or only available to the trade. I even looked on Etsy and Ebay, but no luck. I know I was being a little bit of a perfectionist here!

Then I remembered Linda's post about Spoonflower.com. I watched a few of their You Tube videos to get a feel for how to create my own fabric. (I must admit I never really thought about repeats in a fabric pattern...now I know.) While the website did suggest some programs to make the design, I stuck to what I know and used Paint and then saved the image as a picture file to my computer. Once I got a feel for doing it, creating my pattern for the fabric was easy. I was able to make it exactly what I wanted. I felt so cool when I was done...I have now created fabric!

There is the option to order a sample first, but I am on this tight ORC deadline see, so I just went all it and ordered the yardage I needed.

It will arrive in about a week and a half. I will be on pins and needles waiting until it gets here! I think curtains made from this fabric will be such an improvement to the laundry room.

Be sure to check out all the other One Room Challenge linking participants by clicking here.

Read a Good Book: October Twitterature Link Up

 

 



This month has been so busy for me that it has just flown by. I can't believe it is already time for the Twitterature link up.

If you haven't heard of it before...Anne of Modern Mrs. Darcy invites others to share what they have recently read and to give a short Twitter type review.

In the last several weeks, the only book I had time to read was Dexter's Final Cut by Jeff Lindsay.

 

This is the latest edition in the book series that inspired the Showtime TV show Dexter. (It recently had it's final episode.)

I sometimes have to be careful about who I tell that I watch this show. I mean it's a little hard to describe the appeal of a show that is about a serial killer who kills other serial killers. I sometimes get a few...ok's...with that look in their eye that means they are really thinking...ok, weird... But I always found it to be such a top notch psychological drama with great acting and edge-of your-seat storylines.

Now on to the  book review...

This is the 7th book in the story and continues with Dexter helping to protect an actress from a stalker who is killing other women who look like her. In typical Dexter all-about-me fashion, he starts a relationship with the actress, but only because he likes her rich life-style and thinks he can become a part of it. Unexpected twists ensue. The author makes an interesting comparison between the "acting" that Dexter does, so he will appear normal and not like the monster he is, and the "acting" of those he meets who make a living being on television. Once again the author really gets into his character's mind and gives some great descriptions.

Hopefully, there will be more books to console me now that the TV show has ended.

Paint the Refrigerator = Chalkboard



 

While flipping through a copy of Southern Living Magazine, I came across this picture....

 

 

While this is a beautiful kitchen, what really caught my eye was the chalkboard refrigerator. What a great idea!

 

 

I could see my kids having a great time drawing on a refrigerator painted with chalkboard paint. In my house, it would look like this...

 



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I would use it to keep track of my lists....

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or plan out the menu for the week...

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If I didn't want to paint the whole fridge I could try decals like this...





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Or this....

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Or decorate it with this neat look...

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It would be a great way to revitalize a kitchen appliance that might no longer go with the décor of the kitchen. Would adding chalkboard paint to your refrigerator be something you would consider?

Pin Picks III

My pinterest boards are filling up, and I have some great pins to share this week.

Decorate

 

 

 

I was literally swooning over this gorgeous wallpaper. Be sure to check out The Glam Pad as she makes over her powder room. If this is the start, I am sure the finished room will look amazing.

 

 

 

 

Organize

 

 

Since I am currently decorating my laundry room, cleaning is on my mind. How excited was I when I found this free printable from Mary Organizes. It's a list that you check off, and then wipe off to use for the next week. How great is that!

 

 

 

Try Something New

 

 

 

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I've done a little decorating. But when I saw this, I realized I need to step it up a notch, and try something cool like this. So easy to do, and makes such an impact in the room. Check out the how-to at Life and Home at 2102.

 

 

Be sure to check out the rest of my pinterest boards here. And if you want, follow me. I've found some amazing boards that way.