One desk...Three Ways.

After we had put a deposit on our new home, we must have went through the model home a bazillion times tweaking and planning all the upgrades and personal finishing touches we wanted for our new home. On the top of our list was to make sure that the Tech Desk that came with the house was not installed.

We saw this wide upstairs hallway as a waste of space with the desk there, and wanted to covert it into a small loft area where we could watch TV and fold our laundry!

So once we moved in, we had a nice large space to work with! We had them install a cable and electrical outlet along the wall and we put our old couch in the nook where the desk had once been. I only had a picture of the empty hallway from my iPhone. This was taken during our final walk through. We got the keys that day!

The desk came in three huge boxes and was left by the builder in our garage. We moved those three boxes upstairs into an empty bedroom and pondered for a few days what to do with them. We offered it to a few family members, but there were no takers. We contemplated installing it in our office, but didn't want to commit to a permanent fixture in the room. Then, Jay had a "lightbulb" moment. And of course, this meant a trip to Home Depot. This time for a Ryobi Jig Saw and some sand paper.

He started going around the house with his measuring tape and came up with a three part solution.

• First, the laundry room. We were able to squeeze one of the cabinets from the desk right in between our washer and dryer! It was a perfect fit! This was a wonderful solution, since this cabinet would hold a garbage can (for lint) & laundry supplies!

• The second solution was to put another part of the Tech desk into one of our walk-in closets (yes, we have 2 walk-in closets in our master bedroom!) for our shoes and accessories. Initially, I wanted to put a jewelry stand on top and create an area where I could see all my accessories, but Jay's overwhelming shoe collection immediately shut that down! That's just a fraction of it too! He has another shoe closet in our office! I still hope to one day to bring my jewelry & accessory station to life!

• And finally the third and final solution was to put the biggest part of the Tech Desk into our second walk-in closet. It was so amazing how everything fit like a glove. I use this cabinet for my undergarments and any clothes that need to be folded. We also added the knobs to the cabinet to give it a bit more flair.

So, with a jig saw, sand paper, and some wood glue, we were able to stretch out the use of the free Tech desk that came with our house! It gave our walk-in closets a customized look without breaking the bank and provided much needed storage space in our upstairs laundry room!

From the Ground...Up.

I suppose this should have been my very first post. But, it's always better late than never! Jay & I felt very fortunate to have seen our townhouse built literally from the ground up. We would drive by every other week to check on the progress and documented it along the way.

Just a few steps outside of our front door is a common area with picnic tables and BBQ pits. Since our home does not have a backyard, we love that we have a "front yard" without having to worry about mowing the lawn!


This was during the "open wall" tour, where we got to inspect and ensure that all the extra lighting & electrical sockets we had them put in, were in their correct places. I wish I could tell you what part of the house we were in here, but I have no idea!


Once we gave the thumbs up, they were ready to install the drywall.

Painting Stripes...

I love the blog YoungHouseLove.com. I don't remember how I stumbled upon it, but when I did, I was hooked. Basically, its about a young couple who bought a house, got married, fixed up their new house and blogged about it. Their tutorials are very detailed and easy to follow and their home is cute as a button!

When I saw the stripes that they painted in their bathroom, I was sold. I LOVE stripes. I wear stripes at least once a week. I am drawn to stripes on dresses, shirts, socks, prints, underwear...you get the point.

The entire project took me and the hubby 1 day. Our walls were already Swiss Coffee, so we went two shades darker with Behr Sandstone Cove in a semi-gloss.We followed their tutorial, with the exception of removing the tape after the second coat. We have textured drywall, so no matter what, we wouldn't be able to get a perfect line. After removing the tape, we went in and touched up the lines with a fine artists brush. Tedious, but oddly relaxing at the same time!


After painting the bathroom, we decided the standard oval shaped mirror that came with the house wouldn't do justice to our newly painted stripes. So, we were off to Home Depot and found a white framed mirror for $60!

When it came to what art work we would use in the bathroom, I went through my portfolio of black and white photos I had developed a few years ago, and decided to use a solo picture of my Shih tzu, Miyagi (RIP). Jay & I have been contemplating for awhile if we should get a dog, but are still on the fence about it, so we decided to do a dog-themed bathroom, to get our fix!

For the frames I painted them all in Swiss Coffee with the exception of one. I bought some scrapbook paper from Michael's to use as the background and printed out the silhouette of the Pug and Boston terrier online, cut them out, and pasted them to the paper. And oh...that succulent, is actually fake! Since I don't have any windows in that bathroom a real plant wouldn't thrive in such a dark space.

And lastly, this is a wedding card I had originally bought to give to a couple, but decided to keep, since I loved it so much!