paint | So Pretty is as Pretty Does.

Sep 20

Inspiring Exteriors {Bungalows}

Each winter, as the cold and sometimes snowy months near their end, my cabin fever causes me to partake in one of my favorite hobbies: list making. I jot down all of the projects I intend to start and finish (that part is key) in the coming spring, summer and fall. To maintain some semblance of order, I throw all of the possibilities onto a spreadsheet and get a rough estimate the cost and time requirements. Then, my husband and I sit down and prioritize. We aim for one major and two minor projects for each season.

Full disclosure: This plan is not foolproof – there are often delays and/or emergency projects that override our original ideas, but having our list helps me stay simultaneously focused and humble.

This fall, our major project is painting the house – something I have desperately wanted to do since we moved in almost two years ago. Here are some of the exteriors that have been inspiring me:

{The shade of blue I’ve chosen is fairly close to this beautiful bungalow featured on M y Little Apartment. I love the yellow door.}

Bathroom Mini-Renovation {Part 4: Painting Tile Board}

As mentioned in earlier posts about my bathroom, the plastic tile wallboard was the big thing keeping me from updating the room. I was nervous to paint because the wall is plastic, so I didn’t know how well paint would stick especially since it has to withstand a lot of humidity. But, after some research and after staring at the gray/blue scattered floral wall tile, I decided to go ahead and paint – consequences be damned. I wanted a space that was more modern and felt larger. With that in mind, I chose to paint wide horizontal stripes in two neutral complementary colors. When working with plastic tile board, there is a lot of prep work – here’s how I did it.

$600 Makeover {Kitchen}

When my husband and I bought our house two years ago, we knew that we were going to completely renovate the kitchen. But, because our house is quite a fixer-upper, we didn’t know when a kitchen renovation was going to take place. In the interim, we had to do something to make it livable. With a budget set at $600, we picked the most important and economical features to fix. This meant that appliances, counter tops and cabinets were off the list. But, we made a substantial visual impact by changing paint, fixtures, lighting, and flooring. And, we made a substantial functional impact by creating a work space from a previously unused area.