home improvement - Ground Control to Major Mom

DIY Guest Room Transformation

11 October 1511 October 15 by Major Mom

Some of the accessories have already been placed in the spare bedroom but when it's fully complete it will be transformed into something pretty cool! We can't wait! — The guest bedroom is the last liveable part of the house that has not been painted since we moved here. It’s still the original builder-grade paint, in fact. Some of the accessories have already been placed in the spare bedroom (lamp on the nightstand, some antlers on the far left edge) but when it’s fully complete it will be transformed into something pretty cool! We can’t wait!

Hello there! I’ve been a bit scarce lately, mostly because my MacBook’s keyboard died. I turned it in this weekend for repairs at my local Apple Store, which was a monumental task in and of itself. The Apple Store here is so swamped, you have to make an appointment to turn in the computer for repairs, and they were booking a week out.

In the meantime, I’m using a Acer touchscreen laptop we had bought a few years ago, but had given us so much trouble with Windows 8.1 not being compatible with the built-in WiFi adapter. Last spring I blew away the Windows operating system and completely replaced it with the Ubuntu system (Linux). I found the proper drivers to re-activate the touchscreen with Ubuntu, and things are going decently. I still miss my MacBook, though…I’ll have it back by next weekend.

So on to our next project: changing the guest room from a plain junk-storage space that occasionally hosts guests to a no-kidding guest bedroom. This past summer when Dave and I visited the local Parade of Homes we saw a DIY idea that we both agreed was worth trying to do: planking a wall to look like a log-cabin.

Our Next DIY Project: A Faux Log Cabin Guest Room

13 October 1502 September 15 by Major Mom

I am mainly writing up this post so we have something to stash to Pinterest.

Dave and I joined some friends who just moved to the area in the Colorado Springs area Parade of Homes. Unlike other Parades I’d been to in other communities, this one requires you to drive all over the city to see the houses in assorted neighborhoods.

In the Banning Lewis Ranch neighborhood, about 10 minutes from our house, was a house that had a youth bedroom decorated like a hunting lodge.

Dave and I love this! We think this can be done pretty nicely with our guest room!

DIY Kitchen Transformation: The Big Reveal!

10 July 1509 July 15 by Major Mom

We are done!

Today the contractor finished grouting the backsplash tile, and with the exception of some very tiny touch ups and sealing the grout, our kitchen is officially REMODELED!

Before:

This was how the kitchen looked when we were first viewing the house in May 2013.

A Break from DIY Kitchen Transformation: A Minor Outdoor Improvement

09 July 1504 July 15 by Major Mom

Can you see what’s changed?

Because We Like The Blue House

02 July 15 by Major Mom

This is a photo of some houses who had suffered some erosion damage from recent rains in Colorado Springs. But Dave and I like the blue part of the color scheme on the right-most house. I’m putting the picture here for a Pinterest pin. That is all. Move along, there’s nothing to see here….

DIY Kitchen Transformation: The New Floor Revealed

07 June 15 by Major Mom

Can you see the difference? The vibrant wood grain should be the biggest difference you see, but we also nudged the color a little bit to make it more brown…less yellow/orange in color.

On Thursday and Friday, we had a contractor come in to sand and re-stain our hardwood floors. Jeff from “A Cut Above Hardwood Flooring” was recommended to us by our carpet cleaning guy.

This piece of floor is continuous from the front door to the kitchen, and to access the front door, garage, basement, and staircase, you will step on the hardwood. I’ll discuss how we dealt with that in a minute.

As mentioned before, there were some areas to the floor that had clearly suffered water damage, but had subsequently dried out. The wood was structurally sound, but the sealer and stain color were messed up. It was important to me that those areas get extra attention, and Jeff did that very well.

DIY Kitchen Transformation: Overwhelming Choices

07 June 1503 June 15 by Major Mom

So here we are again — time for the next installment of where we are with the kitchen transformation.

As you can see, we have a *very* white kitchen now. I absolutely love my “new” cabinets, and am excited for the next stages of our project. Those stages aren’t DIY, though.

Next up will be the floor refinishing. I’ll make sure to post before and after pictures when that project is done this weekend. The floor is in desperate need of sanding and refinishing, so we will take advantage of that work to darken the color some. I hope it turns out as well as I’m envisioning.