Happy HalloWEEN!

Hooray! This morning we braved the chilly drizzle & wind for the Mt. Lebanon Pumpkin Parade! We walked the pup dog (clad in her pumpkin sweater!) down to uptown to see a parade of families, kids, firetrucks, trollies, societies & clubs, the lebo band, high schoolers (best costumes here), etc. Pepper even got to look from the sidelines at the Pittsburgh Greyhounds and some giant white fluffy dogs. She behaved very well, and frankly, got more attention than someone in costume! It was such a fun little event- I love living in such a cute, little community!

The Majestic Moose...

The new coat hanger... isn't he sweet?

I Love You... TouchPro2!

(Ignore the messed up numbers- I caught the clock mid-flip)

Here's the new phone in her silly, pink case. :) Haven't flashed a custom ROM yet, but hands down, this is the schnazziest phone ever! It's a little handheld laptop with a gorgeous screen & some serious power (oh... and a phone too). It's like an iPhone- but with a full keyboard and the ability to actually tweak and mod to your heart's delight! :D

Blue Light, Blue Fur...

One of the weekend projects we did was to paint the 2 stairway lights the same electric blue as the dining room light fixture. The lights are in great condition, but (like the dining room one was) a little too boring for my taste. I also think they look a little too... feminine? The result is quite nice I think (especially for $5). It still looks a little too reminiscent of the female form, so eventually, I'd like to put in the Ikea Calypso lights like the one in the kitchen, but that's not at the top of the list- so this will do quite nice for now. :)

In other news, the Boo is a star today! You can check him on out the Desire to Inspire Monday Pets on Furniture post- what a ham! As if he doesn't get enough attention as is...

Library...

This weekend we finished the library! I love the color, which is Urban Mist in Behr Ultra- it's a perfect, subtle transition from the white of the living room and the darker blue in the bath (a very light, dusty blue-grey). Nothing fancy in here, but I love how bright & airy it is now! The yellow mirror was scavenged and painted, and the navy Eames chair we scored recently for $35! The only real eye-sores are the Boo's cage & the big green tub holding his stuff- but I guess he makes up for it by being so darn precious!

I think eventually I'll find a new tub for the Boo's things or maybe cover that one in a colorful fabric, but I haven't found anything to help it yet, and so that'll be a project for later!

A Fall Weekend Update...

Happy Weekend! It's rainy here in Pittsburgh this weekend, and we'll be spending it painting (as usual). I hope to have pics of the finished library (and maaaaybe the guest bedroom) on Monday. So far we've started on the library, I've painted the simple stairway lights the same color blue as the dining room chandelier, and I've painted my scavenged eagle mirror yellow. I also got a new phone & plan on flashing a custom ROM on it this weekend (fingers crossed). Here's some other goings ons around here...

First off, I switched up the guest bath & added the boo. It's appropriate, seeing as how his dust bath is in the shower...

Here's where the fall color stands in the front & back yards (it's getting more & more each day!)...

And here's what the pup pup did most of the week...

Hope you all have lovely, cozy weekends! :P

A Ridiculous Tootsie Roll and Duracell Battery...

Look at these ridiculous dogs! This photo of Zoe & Zelda (Pepper's sisters- and consequently my mom's dogs), is perfect for Ridiculous Fridays. These were their costumes for the Brazos Valley Wiener Fest- they didn't win, but they SHOULD have! Unbelievable!

Happy Friday!

Custom Legs for Klippan...

In out gameroom/studio/basement, we have a black leather Klippan that we acquired while we were still in school (and on a student budget). We did and still do love that couch! We both find it cute, comfortable, affordable, and easily moved around. The Klippan has one fatal flaw.... those awful powder-coated steel legs!!!! They might work for some, but if you're like us, they didn't go with your decor and looked, well... cheap.

We decided it was time Klippan got some sexy new gams! We did this project quite a while ago, but that was before my blog & with all the couch talk lately, I decided it was time to share our own little Ikea hack!

This is an easy, weekend project DIY....

-We took one of the old legs with us to Home Depot & matched up the screw size (trial&error- it might take a while as you'll have to get the correct diameter, threads per inch, etc...).

-We then bought 4 bolts with the right size & had an employee cut the heads off (so we basically had some all-thread).

-We bought a long 2x2 & had them cut 4" sections (you can make the legs whatever height and shape you prefer of course!).

-We drilled a hole as centered and vertical as possible into the tops of the legs, filled 1/2 way with Gorilla Glue, and stuck in the all-thread.

-Let dry, stain or paint to your heart's delight (we stained to match our vintage coffee table), and seal her up with some polyurethane!

-You can add felt pads to the bottoms to protect your floor, and then screw them on in! :D

Many stores do sell ready-made couch legs, but the problem is getting the screws to match Ikea's non-standard sizes.

Hands down this is probably the simplest, but most pleasing DIY I've done. The little legs made a big difference (IMHO anyway) in the look of the couch. Much less dorm room for sure... :)

Guest Bath...

So the other night I pulled an all-nighter & out popped the guest bath on the first floor! This bathroom was entirely new when we got the house (like, stickers on the vanity and toilet new). It was great- except they painted it fire engine red. I didn't have a huge problem with it, but this is the only bath that my brick rug works in & the colors weren't doin' it for me. Enter: Behr's 'ozone.'

Here's a before & after followed by the rest of the bath- it's nothing too fancy, but a nice, simple redo...

This black mirror is a total, wonderful DIY. It used to be an old, fake gold look. Just needed a can of gloss black spray paint to freshen her up! Hooray for using what you already have in design... :)

Yay! This bathroom is bright already with that window, but now, it feels even brighter & airier! Nothing too fancy, but simple & clean...

Living Room Close Up: THE COUCH

Hooray it's done! Actually, the couch has been done for quite a while, but I've been waiting to photograph it until that pesky poster came in.

The design was taken from Kim's Komfy Kouch over on Desire to Inspire- and it's an absolutely fantastic design! The cushions are the same Lillberg Ikea cushions, and their dimensions were perfect for our space- they're great because they have removable covers that wash easily! We used wood for the whole thing, and our legs & therefore the length of the sides are a little different from hers. The wood, legs, etc were from Lowes, and the stain for the wood was Zar in charcoal (left from the previous owners- same stain as the woodwork). The white is the same Behr Frost that I love. Pillows from various sources...

Hope you love it as much as we do! I would HIGHLY recommend this solution as a DIY option for anyone who (like us) just couldn't find a sofa to meet your needs. The cost for us was a little over $500 including some pillows and a table saw ($100+).

Because the ottomans are movable, the couch has great functionality. I prefer the above combination for lounging, but whenever we have guests, moving both under the bay window makes for a great window seat that's just the right length! Here's the 2 room layouts & pictures of the other combination... (I'm sure there are plenty more combinations, but these are the two that work best for us right now!)

(please excuse the Halloween decoration lol)

See it here too: Desire to Inspire: My DIY Sofa- Replicated! :)

Poor Little Pepper Dog...

Well, the Pepper dog had quite a day yesterday! She got spayed, microchipped, and had 2 impacted baby teeth removed. The patient is recovering quietly by napping in front of the fireplace and sporting her cone of shame.

The Living Room!

Well, after over a month of waiting, I finally got the poster in & can proudly declare the living room 'done!' (as done as a room ever is anyway... they're always in a state of flux lol)

I'm really happy with the results! You'll see the slew of vintage prints I ordered recently, my new little brass mouse, and the new couch! It's a take off of Kim's couch from Desire to Inspire- with our own little tweaks. I just love it! So loungey & fun- and so functional too! I've had it mostly set up like this, but it also looks great to move that 2nd ottoman over to the window- they make a perfect window bench! I'll have to show you that later sometime... but for now- here are the many pictures of the new living room... enjoy!

Hope you like it! I actually re-did the 1st floor bath last night & pulled an all-nighter. My new phone (htc thouch pro 2!) is sitting here charging, and I think I'm gonna go crash now... ciao!