renting

It’s Stuffy in Here

September 8, 2010 By nester

A month ago my sister and mom and I decided to have a yard sale this October. I’ve been slow with getting stuff together. I just had a big sale last year, I probably didn’t have much to sell.

But suddenly I’ve been bombarded with reading poignet blog posts about stuff and then there was that Hoarder’s marathon that come on Monday. Tomorrow I’ll show you my garage full of excess stuff that you can’t even tell I removed from my house. But, today I’m still in deep thought about the stuff.

Last week, Thrifty Decor Chick wrote a post entitled “STUFF”. It’s a great read and prompted me to think about why I keep stuff around. One of my biggest issues is that we have moved so often recently, I’m afraid to get rid of something we might need in our next house. I always feel like I can’t be one of those people who says ” we don’t have a place for that” because we don’t even really have a place. Therefore, if I see something I can afford and I like, I tend to buy it. And I’m pretty good at working stuff in. However, the result is a really full house of items bought for $3 each that I’m not wanting to get rid of because I might use it when we move. Not my goal.

Another one of my issues is that when a person like me, who loves and appreciates beautiful spaces, rents a plain, run of the mill ordinary home with no special features, I tend to compensate with accessories.

Pretties and Posies

I look at photos like this of Melanie’s beautiful, welcoming home and I long for the simple uncluttered, purposeful look. And I know one of the reasons I think I can’t get that is because my rental house lacks character. I have scant mouldings, an incompetent fireplace, my windows don’t even have casing around them, and I’m tethered to the fact that we don’t own the house so big changes are out of the question. So instead of going after my style, I sometimes wreck it up with too many accessories. I know my weaknesses.

Then, I read a post that Sherry from Young House Love wrote about their tiny closet. After living in tiny spaces in NYC, she has learned the fine art of only surrounding herself with things she really needs and loves. I marveled at this quote that Sherry included from The Lucky Shopping Manual:

Don’t buy anything on sale that you wouldn’t consider at full price.

Um, I think that might have just changed my life. Seriously, I’ve never even thought of it that way.

It’s not noble to purchase 10 things for a steal for $10 {that you kind of needed or thought you might use} compared to buying one thing for $100 that you really needed. It’s just poor stewardship.

I think my lean to thriftyness has been skewed so far that I have forgotten that the best purchase we’ve made is our sofa. We paid full price for a small scale sectional from a lower high end or {higher low end?} maker and it’s still the most comfy sofa I’ve ever laid my tush on. It’s lasted 7 years and has held up to 3 boys. So worth the money upfront. And the thrifty police have yet to arrest me to invest in a piece of furniture we use every day.

On my journey of thinking about stuff and its impact I have decided to pretend like we are staying at this house for a long time. If we don’t have a place for something now, it’s gone. If I’m so great a finding a deal, I’ll find it again later, right? Unless I find a clawfoot tub for $5 or something.

Erin from Rare and Beautiful Treasures sold their dream house that they built so that they could begin their journey to their dream life.

A family that we are close friends with recently sold most of their belongings, bought an RV and are getting ready to pursue their dream of traveling around with their children. They were brave souls who didn’t let stuff get in the way of their goals. It’s not always easy for them but, they are certainly enjoying their new way of life. I so admire that. I’m not at all saying that everyone should sell their stuff in and move into an RV but, I don’t want to let stuff get in the way of our family’s own goals and dreams.

Erin’s family and the Mattern family both found freedom in knowing what they don’t want to do.

I want to be aware that the stuff I am accumulating can easily hinder me and clog up my home, time and being. Because we all know, it can be gone in an instant. So, I’m getting rid of the excess while reminding myself that I love handmade, I love trash to treasure, I love items from nature, I value meaningful beauty. I still love and want and have a decorated house, but I want it to serve me and my family, not the other way around.

Filed Under Uncategorized, idhtbptbb, renting 156 Comments

Chalkboard Fireplace Surround :: A Year Later

September 2, 2010 By nester

This corner fireplace has been a challenge to deal with.

Here’s how it looked when we moved in. It has a yellowy fake marble surround and a tiny piece of weak, glued on scroll work.

I had that carved wooden piece for years, I bought it from TJ Maxx for $13 so I nailed it up there. And last year I told you about how I applied stick on chalkboard paper to the surround. I still love it. But, the “bricks” were looking sad so I got out my chalk markers and redrew them. I want it to be a little imperfect and quirky.

We’ve had the chalkboard peely sheet things up for a year now and they have behaved just fine. And we used the fireplace many times last winter. If you are renting or don’t want to mess up the current surround you have but want a change, this peel and stick chalkboard vinyl is a great solution. Just make sure it’s not too close to your firebox. If you have some awful material there and you own your house, you could just paint it.

Here’s the google search for chalkboard vinyls. Wall Candy Arts sent me some last year for free and I noticed the price seemed high but, the quality is great and they were easy to cut and reposition.

I hope to get my mantel looking a little more like fall. You too? Want some motivation? How about a fall mantel link up party next Wednesday, September 8th. Is that too early?

Filed Under quickies, renting, seasonal 53 Comments

Painting Pine Furniture

August 19, 2010 By nester

This is a repost from July 2009, but it’s one of the most common questions I get asked:: “where did you get your armoire?”

I recently painted my yard sale purchased, pine armoire.

This is how it looked before. I think about 25% percent of houses in my neighborhood have a piece of furniture that looks like this. I love how warm it was and how it was such a great victim to withstood the abuse of 3 boys.

I’ve wanted to paint this piece since I saw Meredith’s painted armoire {here’s her before}. So, naturally, two weeks before we moved, I grabbed a pillow and an oval box for color inspiration and then all my color wheels and found a color I thought would be a good choice.

My goal was to have a robin’s egg blue but not a bright one like Martha leans toward but a dirty, natural feeling blue. Also, since I was painting over pine that had plenty of knots, I wanted to make sure it was a color that would look ok if and when the knots bleed through the paint. Because bleeding always seem to happen with knots.

I have painted raw pine in the past. I’ve used coats of primer and paint and within weeks, yes, WEEKS the knots start to bleed through. This time, I tried Behr Paint and Primer in One. {And wouldn’t it be nice if I were getting a big fat check from Behr since I’m broadcasting how much I love this product? I am not. Behr has no idea what a Nester is.}

So, it’s been almost 6 weeks now and so far, no bleeding. I will tell you if and when I see any signs of knots coming through. And if and when they do come through, I will be ok with that because I picked a color that will look even better with knots.

Here’s how I, the world’s most horrible, impatient painter, painted my armoire. And it turned out great.

1. Put the furniture on movers {those round things} and put plastic on the ground and move the armoire onto the plastic away from the wall. I did this all by myself thankyouverymuch. I think I even left the TV plugged in.

2. Get your professional paint roller holder thing and line it with your professional liner. Cake pan and aluminum foil.

3. Get your paint. Here’s the formula for what I used if you must have it. I think I would have been happy with any of the 20 colors I choose from. Usually, when people try to pick a robin’s egg they go waaaay too turquoise. You almost want a gray. Then, when you put the color next to gray it should look robin’s egg. {216 is the bottom number under the “B”}

I used Sherwin Williams Halcyon Green 6213. But remember, you really cannot tell what paint colors truly look like by looking at a computer screen. And I adjusted this photo so you could read the words so, if you think you would like it please get a sample first. In real life, the color is more greenish grey than what you see in the photo on my computer. Quietude, the one above also looks fantastic. I like the eggshell finish. I don’t like it really shiny so eggshell is a good choice for me. Why did I do a color match? Because I decided to paint this the same day I painted this. I didn’t have a Behr color wheel and I didn’t want to go to Home Depot, grab colors then come home and decide. Which is how you must do it. Never decide a color in a florescent lighted store. You need to choose it in the room where you will be using the color.

And for the record, the color in our front room is Sherwin Williams Comfort Gray. It’s a more watery, lighter, gray blue than the deeper more intense blue/green Halcyon Green.

4. Start with a brush and do the corners. Or start with a roller and do the sides. I don’t really have a set way. I did wipe down the piece with a damp cloth first too, I guess I should add a number in for that. But other than knocking off the dust, no prep work.

5. I took the drawers out and left them for later. I also removed the handles with pliers because I didn’t want to mess with painting around them. I picked out some I liked better.

6. Decide where you want the paint to stop. You can paint all of the inside or be lazy like me and just do the doors. I simply painted whatever I could with the roller and let it stop at the edges. No brushing meticulously for me. I only used the brush in the tight corners and around the hinges.

7. I admit I didn’t do the best painting job ever to grace the internet. I painted three coats, I waited a few hours between coat one and two and then overnight before I did the third coat. I think it took me maybe 4 hours total from clean room to clean room.

8. I liked the fact that I had big square hinges to work around. I got a little paint on them but so? I’m not expecting the paint police anytime soon. They are busy arresting people who are too afraid to paint, because we all know that is a much bigger offense. And, yes, I left everything inside while I painted it.

9. Why am I still numbering? Here are some close ups, I won’t bore you with my words…

I love that you can still see the wood when you open it up.

Don’t forget to paint the top. I didn’t paint the back.

Where I decided to stop the paint. There’s no wrong.

I didn’t let the paint dry long enough before I shut the doors so there is a little paint that rubbed off. I could fix it but I probably never will. {One year later~still haven’t}

There you have it. I feel like every time I see this piece it thanks me for taking the time for painting it. It was so quick and simple. My only regret? I should have painted it years ago.

Want to paint your own furniture but want to do a little more professional job? My friend Mandi from Altar’d furniture wrote an ebook that will tell you all the tricks and tools that she uses in her business {she sells painted furniture}. For $10 you can get her secrets and step by step real, correct processes to paint something that’s nicer than my yard sale armoire.

click the button to purchase, this is an affiliate link

One year later update:: I’m really surprised that NO KNOTS have shown up through the paint. It’s like a painted pine miracle. I still love the color and it’s held up great. Twice, when I’ve had the paint out for anther project, I’ve put a little paint on my finger and touched up a few tiny places where the paint has rubbed off {mostly caused by me moving furniture}. I still LOVE the color and the piece painted.

Filed Under nesting, renting, shop the house 44 Comments

Making Over a Renter’s Kitchen

August 10, 2010 By nester

the right corner up there with the mixer is where I do half the kitchen work, in the evening it was DARK as night

This is the second nicest kitchen I’ve ever had. But it’s not mine. It’s not mine because we rent, but it’s also not mine because it is simply not what I would choose for a kitchen. Although some of the materials are lovely, they aren’t my taste. I’d almost rather have a kitchen with old stuff so I can fix it up and not feel bad about it. Almost.

Some people won’t see a difference, some people will think I”m crazy for covering up “perfectly good tile”, some people will think it looks much worse. I think it looks more like mine. This was an easy way to claim a kitchen that we are going to be living and cooking in for the next few years.

a new box of frosted flakes on the floor doesn’t even phase him

Our kitchen doesn’t have a window but, the adjoining breakfast area is all windows. However, because of the black {and pink} granite, when you get to the far corner of the kitchen where I actually work and roll out pizza dough and measure ingredients, it was really dark. Plus, everything in the kitchen has a pink undertone, the wood cabinets, the floor, the granite and the backsplash.

We decided to put up some white beadboard to break up and neutralize the pink. Beadboard is inexpensive and we had all the measurements cut at Lowes/Depot, I can’t remember which. We came home and took off the outlet covers.

My husband used a dremmel or something to cut the holes for the outlets.

Perfect fit. The beadboard was such a good fit that it almost stayed in place by itself. However we did need to secure it. This is the part where some of you will file a lawsuit against me. Because we are renting, and because this is just to be a very temporary cosmetic change, and because in a few years when we move out, I will want to re-expose the tile again because I think the owners would prefer that look, I needed to put the beadboard up in a way that it could VERY easily be removed. Most of you can guess what I did.

Or actually, what I had him do. We hot glued it. Once again, hot glue serves as a perfect temporary holder of things. It will stick as long as you want, but, when you are done, it peels right off.

You will want to do what I did and test an area first. A few weeks earlier, I globbed on some hot glue on a hidden part of my tile and let it sit for a week or so. Then, I went an peeled it off. I used the end of a metal spatula.

The glue came off all in one piece, and it was really easy once I got a little edge up. Don’t underestimate the qualities of hot glue.

Here’s another example of my hot gluing ways. Three years ago I hot glued some scrapbook paper to the back of my hutch. Last month I tore it all off so I could paint it. The scrapbook paper stayed on through two moves. See all the places where the glue was?

Here’s the same hutch 5 minutes later. I used a spatula to help pry up the dried glue. It just popped right off and didn’t damage the wood at all–so it for sure will not damage the hard tile in my kitchen. Hot glue is a good friend, it is very forgiving.

When you are working with hot glue and something you think you might want to remove later, make sure you apply the glue in a few large globs. It’s much easier to remove an inch circle of hot glue than a million tiny little dots and lots of thin lines of glue. For each of the pieces you see here, we did a glob on each corner, that’s it.

The beadboard is more calming and just white as opposed to the light sucking, diagonal multi-toned tile. We did put a coat of paint on it to help protect it and make it easier to wipe down, especially over by the sink.

We also put up these little lights from IKEA. They were less than $30 for a set of 3. And they make a world of difference in my dungeon corner.

edited to add:: the cords for the lights are up in the cabinets–we {he} just drilled a hole and pulled all the wires through to the cabinet above the microwave–go check, most people have a hidden outlet in that cabinet above the microwave.

Ahhh, much better.

And for the record I don’t always have a large, overly ripe watermelon setting out on my counter.

I think the kitchen feels a little more like the rest of our house now.

I had to force my husband to allow the beadboard to be imperfect. See that place up there where it ends at the end of the counter? We could put some molding or trim there but, I’m ok with it how it is. If it drives you crazy and it’s worth it to you, by all means, finish it off. You can also see where I have yet to finish painting the wall of the kitchen {just a little whiter shade than before}. I’ll get to that very soon. For now, I’m enjoying a kitchen that is more me, for less than $100 that can easily be changed back when we move out.

For those of you who want to put your beadboard up permanantly and correctly, Thrifty Decor Chick can coach you much better than I can.

Filed Under budget living, paint, renting 137 Comments

Good Bones vs Accessories

June 28, 2010 By nester

This week I’m doing a little series on What I learned from the Painted Cottage. We stayed there last weekend and I loved the warm, inviting feeling of the cottage, it was homey but not cluttered. Although this cottage is not someones home, and I know there are some things that if someone really lived there all year around, would be added {like family photos, more books and toys} I still felt like it was a good lesson in how to decorate if you want this look. And I LOVE this look.

Look at this room. It basically sums up the entire cottage. Beautiful wood floors, {the downstairs has painted concrete floors}, a wood beamed ceiling, deep inset windows with thick molding, let’s face it, this room would look great empty. I’ve talked about my love of accessories over the years and I know why I gravitate towards collecting all my tchotchkes. Most of my homes lack character.

Here’s a closeup of a corner of the front room. The window casing alone is show stopping. Add that to the floors, the basic yet hefty floor molding, and the horizontal painted paneling, and you have built in interest. This room is not just a black slate, it is a carefully prepared canvas. {and a CLEAN one too, no dust anywhere!}

So, for all of you lucky people who own your home, the way to get the cottage feel is more about preparing the canvas than it is picking the right paint color. Walls, ceilings, windows, doors, hardware–if all of that stuff is interesting and attended to, then half of the work is done. Focus on the home itself, first.

Those of us who are renting have a more difficult battle. I found myself fighting that battle with an over abundance of accessories. That is not the best choice of weapon. When you have 4 white walls and a small window with no molding and carpet it’s a challenge to get that feel you are after without changing the body of the room. We have to focus on the furniture. The large pieces in the room will dictate the feel of the room.

See this photo. Imagine that the walls were just plain wall material, and the floor that you can’t see is carpeted like your run of the mill rental. It would still look good. The green dresser sets the tone with the lead role, the slip covered parsons chairs are supporting actors and the sunburst mirror really is show stopping. Lastly, the pillows, shapely candle holders and antlers that you can barely see are all the perfect compliment to the main characters. But, the main characters needed to be in place first before the accessories were added. The old me would have bought accessories first, then wondered what I would set them on.

2 lamps, 3 pillows 3 wall hangings–that’s all the accessories needed

Usually, due to my budget, I find myself spending $12 on an accessory hoping that it will distract attention from my big piece in my room that isn’t my style. That’s a wrong way to approach a room. If I don’t like the big pieces, no amount of cute accessories will fix that. It’s time to invest in large main characters that compliment my style. And, that doesn’t have to cost more than an armload of cute accessories. That’s another thing I learned from the cottage–I’ll tell you more about that tomorrow.

15 minute assignment:: remove the accessories from a room. When you quiet the room, does it still tell the story you want the room to tell? Are the leading roles right for the room when they aren’t masked with accessories screaming “look at me!”?

Find out more about the Painted Cottage

Filed Under budget living, decorating dork, nesting, renting 54 Comments

The Goal is Not to Get Your House in a Magazine, Unless Your Goal is to Get Your House in a Magazine

June 15, 2010 By nester

If one of your lifelong dreams has been to have your home in a magazine today is a good day for you.

The upcoming episode? chapter? scenario? publication? ugh, what do magazines call their next…ISSUE of Holiday with Matthew Mead is running a contest looking for a fresh home to feature. Not only that, the winner will have their home styled for the holidays, by a team of wonderfully, talented people that come to your house and spend 3 days primping it to perfection. This is SO exciting. Not that I’ve ever wanted to have my home in a magazine or anything.

Anyhow, here are the official rules and stuff. Yes, I saw that the very first rule is no renters allowed. Trust me, no one felt that sting more than me. Not that I was planning on entering, I get to show off my house every day to the point where you are probably sick of it. But, as a renter it’s easy to feel second rate, so it hurts to be excluded from anything. I asked why renters weren’t allowed and Matthew and Linda said it’s been an extreme pain in the past to get the appropriate releases signed and approved. That makes me mad at past owners who couldn’t see the fact that there doesn’t seem to be a downside to having their home featured in a magazine. They could probably up the rent after it’s featured.

I’m currently petitioning to get the releases put online so any renters who want to try out can send in the forms with their entry. I’m sure Matthew and Linda are in love with me and my emails right now, I’m sure they have nothing better to do than to cater to my every whim. I have no idea if any renters would even want to apply but, I didn’t feel right about telling you about a great contest that excludes renters, without making a little fuss. However, it’s Matthew’s contest and he has every right to say he can’t allow blue houses, or anyone who eats pop tarts, or that he doesn’t want to mess with renters, I’m an amateur and he’s the professional with experience and if he says it’s a big pain and not worth it to him, then I believe him.

I’m also thinking that you have to live in the US to enter.

Here’s what they are looking for in a nutshell::

Clean, fresh, light-filled modern sensibility with interesting collections and a description of some of your HOLIDAY traditions.

My guess is that they are looking for creativity more than perfection.

Angela, & Wendy, & Janel, & Britt & Lindsey, & Pink, & Kate, & Shelly you were some of the first people who came to mind that should enter–although I could list 79 more if I had the time.

Good luck!

Filed Under renting 46 Comments

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