"Design Happens"

See that giant TV on the left? It is about to disappear...

Televisions and entertainment centers are often the biggest eyesores in any space, and our bulky, ten-year-old TV was certainly no exception. (Remember spotting it in our living room makeover?) Still, it was functional and I happen to live with a man who would marry function if he could. Me? I choose form to a fault.
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Chalkboard walls are all the rage, but I knew I wanted something different in our kitchen. And yet, I can’t fight the notion that a message wall is just so darn convenient when tracking schedules, making grocery lists, leaving welcome messages (or, as you’ll see in a few images, professing your never-ending love to your favorite TV network).

The giant before.

January has been a busy month of travel and heavy sunroom updates (drywall is up next!), so we didn’t get as far along on our goal list as we’d liked. We did, however, cross off two items last weekend — both of which happen to lie in the lighting department (one of my favorite parts of any room).

A winter wonderland calls for serious insulation needs.

Well, the weather outside is frightful (I’m still allowed to hum Christmas tunes, right?), so it’s time to think about insulating our sunroom. To be honest, insulation is one of those scary words that sounds so much harder than it truly is — much like furniture plans, mold remediation and wall-paneling. Yet it’s a necessary evil if you live in a city where the above snapshot is your view for a good 4 months out of the year.

Spray foam insulation was the perfect solution for our sunroom.

Ken and I embarked on quite a bit of research before tackling our insulation project, mainly because insulation can be one of three things: (1) pricey, (2) dangerous and (3) very, very time-consuming. We wanted to bypass all of those fears and come up with a solution that would keep the space warm and our tempers cool. Luckily, we learned about spray-foam insulation, which was the perfect route for the sunroom. Because the beams are still exposed and we haven’t yet dry-walled the space, the spray-foam technique is perfect for insulating each nook and cranny.

The process was foolproof and included spraying the insulation, letting it dry for five minutes (at least) and cutting it down so the insulation is flush with the beams (so everything is in ship shape for drywall). Easy peasy, right? If you’re not feeling up to the task yourself, most any insulation contractor can get the job done.

Cutting down the dried insulation...

A surefire way to find out if your home is under-insulated? Check your R-factor, which is a fancy guideline for your area’s insulation needs. We used this R-value calculator to determine our home’s recommended insulation needs and found it to be an excellent guideline when figuring how much insulation to apply to certain areas of our home.

...and finished!

Long story short, a properly insulated home goes a long way in keeping your bills low and your spirits high. We’re already noticing a difference in our sunroom’s comfort level and can’t wait to drywall the space (stay tuned for that reveal in a next few weeks) so it will finally look like a liveable room!

You’re in for a huge treat this week, as Ken and I are going to show you a never-before-seen space in our home! I don’t want to give too much away, so you’ll have to tune in for the surprise reveal…

As you can see, we’re so thrilled! Looks like Rebecca’s new series couldn’t come at a better time for us!

Oh man, I love a good excuse to make a list. What better time to write down our renovation goals than January of this fresh new year? Ken and I have an insane amount of work to do, but we’re also pretty proud of how far we’ve come. Take a look at what’s on our to-do list this year, and be sure to check back every Wednesday as we mark things off.

The dining room, oddly enough, is one of our most finished rooms. Just a few things left to do before we can call it officially done!

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Oh, furniture planning. It’s always been the bane of my existence (along with lighting plans, as you may very well recall). I’m much better at shopping for unique finds, mixing them with a few modern items I own and throwing it all together in a day or two. I get a crazy rush of excitement with the happy accidents of decorating: when the mismatched end tables work with the sofa scale, the floor lamp provides the perfect accent and that throw pillow I scored years ago makes the pattern in our new rug sing.

Of course, there are unhappy accidents that occur all too often, which is why Ken and I have taken to rendering a furniture plan to prevent those inevitable surprises along the way. Sure, it’s much more effort, but a furniture plan definitely saves time and energy in the long run. I’d rather not admit how many times I had to return an end table in our living room before realizing that furniture plans are, indeed, a wise decision. Besides, with a new year comes new habits, and I’m ready to pick up some good ones.

I thought we’d share with you our furniture plan for the sunroom renovation we’ve been working on for the past few months. Care to take a peek?

Let there be furniture!

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For our final video of 2011 (really, where does the time go?), Ken and I wanted to do something special. We’ve spent so many hours filming processes, tutorials, reveals and makeovers this year, but realized that you only get to see half of the story. Why not share our very favorite renovation moments, including never-before-seen bloopers?

Happy New Year, friends! We’re so grateful for your support and encouragement and can’t wait to share with you plenty more inspiration (and bloopers!) in 2012 and beyond.

I mentioned last week that we have been decorating like insane little elves this holiday season. We just can’t help but be thrilled that this is our first Christmas in our newly-renovated home, and I suppose that means every corner is fair game for glitter, tinsel and pine cones. I know you thought we were exaggerating, so I’m here this week to present photographic evidence of our Christmas Decor Extravaganza.

We dare you to find a corner un-decked.

That’s right; even our entryway dons a festive feather tree and metallic twig creation. After all, Santa comes through the front door when there’s a fire in the hearth, right? (By the way, kids’ silver beads make for stunning holiday decor. Cheap and chic!)

A festive entryway.

We, of course, continued the boosting of the entryway with a handmade tinsel wreath and turtledove, nestled safely between our winter coats and hats (and yes, a smashing swan purse that I house our dog leashes in). I don’t know if the swan can withstand the Christmas temps, but we’re rooting for her.

Of course a glittered bird is in order!

In our entryway shelving unit, a DIY glittered bird guards all Scrooges from entering. Her name is Francis Bea, and she’s quite the vibrant elder. Careful, friends.

Meet Edgar.

Of course, Francis Bea isn’t the only glittered forest creature that lies within. Gracefully resting in our living room is Edgar, our other DIY animal who is much less feisty than Francis Bea, but still makes a mean eggnog. We love him dearly for that highly valuable skill.

What? You don't have holiday coasters?

Speaking of the living room, we go to great lengths to ensure a festive TV-watching experience, even down to our tree-trunk coasters and metallic-wrapped pine.

Sweet dreams, mini trees!

Even our bedrooms have mini Christmas trees on each nightstand, perfect for late-night wishlists and sugarplum-dreaming.

A very plywood tree.

And yes, the office has been decked out in its own unique way. A traditional tree just won’t do, so this handy plywood number (from Modernica) is the perfect accent to our plywood shelving and wood ceiling. Also? White tinsel. Always, always white tinsel.

More DIY Christmas!

In the kitchen and dining area, Christmas is in full swing with plenty of lovely little accessories to see. Near our oven, metallic spray-painted rocks and a vase house glittery leaves, branches and twigs from the local craft store.

Finally --- a solution for extra baubles.

And those pearl strands and spare ornaments that didn’t quite make it to the tree this year? A glass bowl rounds them up nicely. After all, it’s Christmas — no ornament should have their feelings hurt.

Wreaths everywhere!

In the dining room, another tinsel wreath hangs with glee, introducing the most lovely Christmas decoration of all:

Behold --- the tree!

Ah, yes — the tree! You all had a sneak peek last week, but isn’t it just glorious? It’s our perfect little Scandinavian cabin tree, and we can’t wait to box it up year after year until we grow tired of the color white.

Which, of course, will never happen. Ever.

Happy holidays, friends! And do share your own decor in the comments below — I can’t wait to see!

Christmas decorating is in full swing here, and we can’t stop hanging garland in every corner of our home. Perhaps it’s because we love this season so much, but I think it also has to do with the fact that last year? Last year we only had a ladder to decorate, as our renovation home was hardly liveable.

Needless to say, our first Christmas in our newly renovated home will be a memorable one indeed. And just to kick the season off right, we’re popping in to share a super holiday DIY (holi-DIY?) we just finished moments ago!

Our plywood stockings!

After searching high and low for our dream stockings, we couldn’t find anything that quite reflected the Scandinavian aesthetic we love so much. So, of course, we put on our designer hats and created something ourselves. Introducing: our plywood stockings!

So festive, yes?

The project was super fun to create and we’re thrilled with how the plywood warms up our white mantle. Even better? The boxes on each stocking are magnetic, so you can easily remove them to stuff goodies inside, or this could be an excellent advent calendar for a daily treat! Want to give it a go in your own home? Instructions below:

Complete with removable boxes for Christmas surprises!

1. Create a template for your stocking out of cardboard. I like long, skinny stockings, but get creative here! Next, trace the cardboard template onto plywood and cut each stocking with a jig saw.

Our cardboard template

2. To create the removable magnetic box, use a rotary tool to cut out a space for a super-strength rare earth magnet (this is key, as the magnet will need to be very, very durable) on both the stocking and box.

Time to hide those magnets!

3. Use a super-strength glue (I love Gorilla Glue) to adhere the magnet into the space you’ve carved out of the stocking and box. Use sparingly, as this glue expands. Let dry overnight.

Super magnet action over here!

4. Finally, center and secure the L bracket to your plywood stocking for hanging. We pilot drilled with just one screw so the stocking can hang at a natural angle.

One screw does the trick.

5. Admire, and fill that box with something special for your loved ones!

The big reveal, waiting for their boxes until Christmas Eve!

What do you think, friends? Are you up for giving it a go? And how sweet would it be to wood-burn your family’s initials on each stocking box? Go forth and craft away!