living room

living room by breeknee featuring Ethan Allen

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concept for guest bedroom

concept for guest bedroom by breeknee featuring white furniture

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The Craft Room: An Overview of my DIY Creation Space

This is just an overview of the craft room. Details on anything you see here will be in the details post located here. 

Our house used to be an office building for a construction-related business, and when I saw the built-in's and billion outlets in the old plan room I knew it would be the perfect craft room. Fortunately for me, I have a husband who would prefer I keep all my crap crafts in one room, and to have the living room all to himself as opposed to a "man cave" so he was encouraging. Almost too encouraging... 

This is a recent photo of the craft room. There have been a few changes to maximize storage since the photo below. Yeah, the room is a little messy. You can see cardboard on the floor and a pink plastic tub of birthday supplies for a summer party, a couple in-progress projects and paint splatters. I could have Magic Erased the table, put stuff away, but ultimately this is what it looks like 99% of the time... with a strand of Mardi Gras beads attached to a chair as an impromptu, "PLEASE leave me alone!" cat toy.

This is a "before" where you can get an idea of the width of the room, the computer desk on the right, and what is behind the door. Those are vinyl letters I made with my Silhouette SD put onto a piece of stained wood (once a failed DIY coffee table top) as a welcome sign for our wedding reception. 

The whiteboard was a frame and I painted the back of the glass white. I ended up nixing it for nail polish storage (first photo) in lieu of the chalkboard and whiteboard cabinets below.

Holy blown-out photos, Batman! Sorry, y'all. 

This area has changed quite a bit too but I don't have any recent photos. I took down the Ikea rail system and magnetic knife strip I used for scissors and paint brushes because I now use a Mac Mini and  a 24" (I think) tv as a screen (half price iMac, y'all!) as a desktop, I've replaced the printer with one that wasn't simply the devil, and the middle cabinet is labeled, "Shopping List". These were the original cabinets from the kitchenette we tore down. I painted them with whiteboard paint from Lowe's (follow the directions carefully!) and added Silhouette vinyl labels. 

K.C. requested somewhere to lay back and watch TV or play games on his tablet while I'm crafting, so we took this barely-used twin bed and made it into an almost day-bed. It also makes a good crash spot for visiting friends, or my nieces. Recently I added this little cabinet as a side-table to maximize space. You can get it at Target and some Walmart's. I intend to paint it with giant polka-dots soon and add a little lamp. 

Speaking of nieces... this became an artwork display area for them and me haha. I really need to finish that painting... 

Here's that little spot at Christmas. The pink tree is actually not hotpink, it is the color of Pepto Bismuth haha. Please don't ask about those mini-blinds. Terrible color but it was fashionable at the time, I'm sure. Slowly they will be replaced!

The cat had to have a perch too! He actually does use this little daybed. The shelving in the corner holds my glitter and pencils perfectly and really maximizes a tiny corner (14 inches between the corner and windows on either side) that would never otherwise be used. I intend to add a third shelf in the middle. The curtains are from World Market, bamboo cat daybed from Big Lots.

Obligatory.

More recent shot of that corner with the 12" shelving units from Lowe's. 

What it looks like most of the time. The two giant windows are the best part of the space, even if I hated them at first for taking up precious wall storage space! The light is incomparable and it makes me sad when the sun goes down while I'm working on something. 

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Christmas 2011

I am excited for tomorrow and this little spread I've created for my nieces and little cousins. I set up my conference craft room table as a cookie decorating workshop. There is a load of candy in different dishes, and I coved the tabletop with white wrapping paper for easy cleanup. The aprons were $2.99 at a local store Beall's Outlet, and my mother in law embroidered them with each kids name.




Here is a peak at our main tree in what I call "The Blue Room" because of the deep teal walls. The tree is filled with peacock inspired ornaments, but isn't blatantly peacock themed. In general I don't like themes, I find them restricting with my ever changing taste!




This is the pink tree, found at Big Lots, filled with butterflies leftover from my wedding, and glass blown ornaments from my Christmas ornament themed shower last year. I love how it turned out and hopefully so will my nieces!




These are my favorite gift so far. My mom got me amazing little jewelry organization trays, and they fit into my standing jewelry armoire's drawers!




I didn't do an elaborate setup but I bought my little houses at Walmart and Dollar General for $3 and $1 a piece. I custom painted them and will finish them next year. I made the school house orange and blue, of course, and gave everything a shimmer with Martha Stewart pearl paint.




Some red Gelish I didn't have time to embellish!




Balls in the bathroom, for good measure.

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How to Use Store Sales, Coupons, and Rebates to Get the Best Deal On Appliances

When we started renovating our home-turned-office-to-our-home we decided early on that we would try to avoid cheap/temporary because in the end it can definitely end up costing more. It isn't always possible, but we like to think of it this way, "Okay, $5 toaster is crap, $50 toaster is amazing but not necessary. $30 toaster is rated/reviewed well." Then (and this is important) we get a coupon and then if we can, we combine that with a sale for the deepest savings. Then we check for rebates, see if floor models are available for purchase, and check for defects that might give us more money off. The stars don't align themselves when it comes to sales, you have to do the work!

1. Research which stores near you are generally cheapest for your appliance, or offer price matching, and then begin researching those stores constantly. Check websites and sale sections in store often; their websites will often show you what is in stock at your particular store.

2. Start early. I started months before needing our fridge because I knew Lowe's/Home Depot would delay my shipment for a long time, so I wouldn't even have to store it. There are certain times of the years particular brands roll out new models and the old ones go on sale. Ask store associates if they know when this happens for their store.

3. Scour clearance sections and look for floor models. 
Don't be afraid of a floor model, especially if your store doesn't even plug their models in. We snagged our fridge as a floor model that had never been plugged in and received an additional discount for it! Sure, it has been touched by a million hands, but so has every other thing we touch while out in public. Disinfect and enjoy the savings.

4. Pay attention to holiday weekend sales.
Labor Day scored us an automatic 10% off of our appliances as this is the standard home improvement store sale. It clears out old inventory for newer models and everything was game. Everything from Martin Luther King Day to President's Day can snag you good deals on appliances. Black Friday is more tech geared but there can be good deals. Again, ask around in your local stores!

5. Look for rebates.
There is a rebate section for all appliance selling stores on their websites. Lowes' had a sweet tiered rebate (rebate section of Lowe's website) going where if we bought two of their appliances we got $100 back, and if we bought 3 we got $200. It took a couple months to get the check but it was easy savings!

6. Look for scratches.
I forgot to mention this but when we bought our floor model, I mentioned the big scratch across the front (it was five inches long and ultimately I don't care about that kind of thing but it was a new fridge...) our salesperson overheard me mention it and took another 10% off for the defect! Which brings me to...

7. Never be afraid to ask for a deal, just be nice!
No one is going to think you're being cheap (and if they do? Who cares!) if you show a bit of indifference and then say, "Are there any deals that could get the price down a little bit? Rebates? Coupons?" A good salesperson is happy to work with you! And that brings me to...

8. Find your sales person. 
There's an episode of King of the Hill where Hank is teaching his son Bobby to have a salesperson for everything, "This is my car-guy, this is my appliance-guy." I actually do that! I will ask questions I know the answers to in order to size up my sales people and see who I can trust with info later on. Do some research, ask some basic questions while browsing to a few different people, then go straight for the one you like the best and make them your person. Look for someone willing to help you and who seems knowledgable and professional, not just friendly. Our sales person when we bought a washing machine recently made sure to personally call and hop on the internet to price match for us.

9. Coupons, man! 
We signed up online with Lowe's a while back and they send us great coupons. Sometimes $10 off of $50 but often $50 off $300 which is obviously helpful with appliances. Sidebar: If we know we're doing a project soon and have a $50 off of $300 but only need $100 in supplies, we might go ahead and buy some things we know we will need and usually do not go on sale (nails, wood, etc.) in order to use it.

10. Is Stainless necessary? 
This is something I didn't realize at the time and am starting to think about more for our next set of appliances, which will hopefully be in 8 million years. Stainless looks clean and polished and industrial, but I really like white. The newer finishes of white look incredibly good and futuristic with the LED lights and modern styles; white isn't what it used to be. It is also quite a bit cheaper, sometimes saving you $200 or more. Black looks nice as well. Our stove is a double-oven (the top is a mini-oven with normal two-rack oven separately beneath it, and there's no broiler) glass top and was FREE from a friend of the family redoing their kitchen. They rarely cooked so it was in pristine condition, but it is white. It doesn't bother me at all and sometimes I wish my other appliances were white to match!

Our Receipt: 

$1,636.00 Whirlpool French Door refrigerator (On sale from $2,036)
- 10% Labor Day Sale on all appliances at Lowe's) 
- 10% additional for 5 inch scratch
- 10% for floor model
- $50 ($50 off $300 Lowe's coupon mailed to us) 
- $66.67 (1/3 of the $200 rebate for buying 3 Whirlpool Gold appliances)
______
= $1,075.97 (roughly, plus taxes)

I made a selection of a fridge, hood-microwave and dishwasher that were all within our budget but were very good quality. It was what we would have purchased without dealing with sales/coupons/rebates. Our three appliances would have been 3 different brands, not as nice, and a side-by-side fridge, which isn't what I wanted at all. In the end, we actually spent less money on my higher end Whirlpool Gold appliances with rebates and discounts than the sensible list.

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Painted Cabinets with Masking Tape Stencil Tutorial

There is a large office with cubbies for building plans in our house that I knew was perfect for a craft room. The walls, like most of the house, are a wood paneling so the room felt very dark and small despite being quite substantial in size. In addition to painting the walls white, I knew the cabinets needed a little perking up as well. The problem was that I didn't want to sand and paint or stain every bit of the wood, so I decided to just paint the doors. So that they wouldn't look unfinished, I needed to incorporate the wood tone on the painted doors themselves by using kind of a reverse stencil. 

Craft room cabinets before (entrance is to the right, you can see the door knob)

The cabinets are twice as deep as kitchen cabinets since there is a cubby area in the room directly behind it. 

Step 1: Take the doors off the hinges, remove all hardware and gently wipe down with fine grit sand paper to knock the shine off. Clean dust off twice, once to remove dust and again to fully clean, using rubbing alcohol or a household cleaner/wipe. 

Step 2: Using a ruler or L, decide how far from the edges of your cabinets you want your rectangle and make pencil marks as a guideline. I did 2 inches in from the edge all the way around. 

Step 3: Next, lay down four pieces of masking tape (one for each side) according to your marks to make a large rectangle. If you have made several marks 2 inches in along each side, you should be able to lay the tape down straight, using those marks as your guide. I lay my pieces down from edge to edge, and just leave the 2 excess pieces that aren't part of my rectangle that you see on the right, because it will be cut off when I make the rounded corners. 

Step 4: In the photo from Step 3, you can see that a white opaque square is created where the two pieces of masking tape overlap. Using this as your guide, take a piece of masking tape and lay it down so that the top edge goes across the corners of the small square on a diagonal. The one in the photo is a little bit off, but I fixed it later.

Step 5: Lay another piece of tape down immediately after the first. Overlap it just the tiniest bit to create a good seal so that paint doesn't seep through. Just try to keep this piece as straight and parallel to the first piece you laid down as possible. 

Step 6: Using a cup as your guide, cut away the excess from the piece you just laid down to create a curve, placing the cup as close to the inner edge o the last piece of tape you placed down as possible. To ensure that this curve is even and straight, pay attention to where you lay the cup. If you move it too far to the left or right, you will see how the curve would be uneven, so just move it around until it looks as even as possible. 

Step 7: Do the same thing to remove the outer corner of the rectangle, creating another curve that is 1 inch from the edge first cut you made, so that the entire curved piece you see in the photo above is 1 inch wide, the same width as the tape you are using. Cut away any excess including the two wings from the initial rectangle you made. 

This is what the finished taping process looks like. You can now apply stain or paint. If you don't want to fully sand your piece, consider Minwax Polyshades, a tinted polyurethane that works just like applying a stain and then polyurethane, but will dry on even unsanded surfaces because it doesn't soak into the wood or require rubbing off like stain does. Use a brand new  foam brush if you choose this method. I find it leaves the fewest bubbles. 

Step 8: I chose to use Olympic glossy paint in a light slightly aqua blue color, and my favorite Teflon Shur-line brush. Apply one generous coat (slightly thick) then lightly run the brush over the surface from end to end in quick sweeps to even out the surface. While the paint is wet, I used a clean Exacto to slice into the tape and pull it up. Be careful when you do this, and have a paper towel, plastic bag, or newspaper to stick it to as you go to keep it from falling back onto your painted door.

Voila! 

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