Happy New Year to you. This post is a bit of a rambler, so don't say I didn't warn you....how is your new year going? Mine is going well. Here is what I have been up to this week...
Time to change out the slipcover on the sofa for a clean one. I have had several people tell me I was crazy for having a white sofa with small children. Hello people, have you heard of bleach and slipcovers? Really though, these slipcovers cost only 50 bucks, so I have two sets, one that is on the couch getting dirty and one that is clean and ready to go. About every 3 or 4 months I just remove the old dirty covers and replace with the clean covers. I vacuum out the sofa when I change the covers. The big cover is too big for my washer (I soak it in the tub) so I don't change it every time. I soak the cushion covers in the washing machine for a good long time and haven't had a problem with stains.
When I am done I have a nice clean, somewhat wrinkled sofa. The wrinkles fade in a few days.
January is a good time to tackle some projects you have been putting off. I bought the paint to paint our coffee table last April. Since the weather has been unusually warm and spring-like I thought it was a good time to paint...
...voila! Now it matches the other vintage tables I have in my living area. My house is full of greys, whites, and soft blues. The paint in my house is the same paint that we painted when we built five years ago. Over time I am adding more to the home as I find new (old) furniture. Here is a look at my very grey living room. I used to think of grey as a rather gloomy color, but having lived with this look for some time I find it quite cozy and calming.
(click on the above picture to enlarge) I am slow to add things to my home. I would rather wait to find the piece I have in mind than to put just any old thing in my home...
...and with that said, I am giving you one last look at this sweet cupboard which holds my oriental collection. I have had this cupboard since we lived in our first home. I bought it at an estate sale about seven years ago. I am thinking I will move it to my husband's study (for his ever expanding book collection). We have 11 foot ceilings in our living room and I have always wanted a hutch here that would look a bit more substantial, (plus my once little oriental collection is not so little now and I need more cupboard space!). I have waited five years to find the piece I wanted. I was looking for something with glass cabinets on the top and storage on the bottom...
...so here is the new cupboard I found. It was a built in from a local home that I found from an antique dealer. The paint is fairly ratty, so we gave it a light sanding. I am going to try the cupboard in our home without painting it to start with and see how I like it. I did have to paint the inside of the shelves, which were orange. This picture shows them primed and ready for (grey) paint. I finished the painting yesterday and will be wall papering a panel for the back of the cabinet. I found a vintage wall paper, grey with white oriental scenes, on ebay. I am excited to finish this project this weekend and can't wait to show you! The cupboard is slightly taller than the existing cupboard I have and is about twice as wide as the existing cupboard.
The bottoms of the new (old) cabinet drawers were warped and needed to be replaced. No problem for a handy husband. This guy can fix anything. Mostly that is a positive thing. Except in the current case of my broken washing machine. Which has been broken for 8 days, waiting on a part to come in the mail. Sometimes I wish my husband wasn't so handy, like in this case. I would have liked a new washing machine, delivered the same day the old one broke. However it is nice to spend 20 bucks on a part rather than have to replace the whole machine. But come on Fed Ex, let's go. I've got a mountain of laundry to do. Seriously. A mountain.
I am glad for a fresh new year. I am glad for a slower routine following the busy holiday season. I am glad for my two children who bring me great joy each day and I am also glad for a can of grey paint and a new cupboard. Out with the old. In with the new. Happy New Year.
Love, love love it all! Your new cabinet is beautiful! Can't wait to see the finished project! Love you!!!
Posted by: Amy G | January 13, 2012 at 05:24 AM
I'm planning to paint our living room gray this winter and hope it ends up looking as great as yours!
Posted by: barbara | January 13, 2012 at 05:41 AM
Oh Kim! I love it all! That new cabinet is going to be so amazing. I've been looking for a hutch too. I really need the storage and display space. I'm like you...I'll take my time and find just the right thing instead of buying just anything to fill the space.
Also-- your art on the wall above the little grey table is so great! I love those!
Hugs,
Jill
ps: I love slipcovers... I can't imagine not having them. It's just me and Hagrid here, but I can't imagine having to clean upholstery.
Posted by: Jill | January 13, 2012 at 07:22 AM