Stelie Designs

REPOST :: {found this fitting since we are moving out of this house} originally posted 11.20.2007 3 years ago, we bought a new home circa 1947. We bought it from the original owners, and it was in desperate need of updating. Among other things, we had major plans for a kitchen renovation, then we found out we were pregnant with twins, then I went to part-time, then I quit my day job, and now...there's Stelie Designs. Meaning...completely gutting our kitchen keeps getting postponed. In the last 3 years we have removed the desk area, chair rail, vinyl cove base, added wood trim, painted the cabinets & hardware twice, replaced the appliances and lighting, added a doorway to the family room, removed walls between the kitchen and playroom (maybe someday it will return to a dining room again.) But we had never touched the ugly, dingy, vinyl floor. My goal is to put in hardwood floors like the rest of the house once we rearrange the kitchen, add an island, remove and expand windo...

quickly sketch out their kids rooms and artwork? or is it just me? my kids will have a new room in our new house. [they have chosen to continue sharing a room instead of separating.] trying to make the transition easier.  i've asked them what they'd like their new room to look like. paxton wants hot wheels flames. avery wants something "stripey" and maybe birds. this poses a slight challenge. possible solution :: painted canvas artwork with flames and with birds, floor to ceiling colored stripes at their beds. we have some time yet, so i've been known to change my mind.

my kids... rearranged the living room... and learned to climb the door frame. what did you do?

i covet a freshly made bed.  there's something about it that makes my day seem brighter + calm + complete.  do you think it has something to do with it rarely happening these days? is there something small or silly that you covet?

doesn't fall far from the tree.  my kids love to move stuff around just like their mama. the slide used to face out. and toys are all grouped in one spot or spots. and.. they moved a lot of their toys in the bins downstairs to the laundry room.  why? they decided it would be their new playroom. okay. fine with me. the shelves look sparce now and not symetrical. i'll have to teach them about that. someday. note the stools and pillow filling emptied shelves. they are so pleased and that makes me happy. even if it's not symetrical. even if half the room is empty.  little designers in the making.  :: please excuse the painters tape around the door frame. finally getting painted ::

i'm sure you all know by now that turquoise is the HOT color trend of 2010.  its all the rage! i of course had to jump on the bandwagon being the trend forward person i am and paint my dining room (aka playroom) this HOT color of turquoise.  i'm so 2010. don't you think? (on second thought don't answer that) oh wait this pic is my dining room in late 2005.  who knew in 2005 i'd be so 2010?!?   b.k. (before kids) i painted every room once a year.  i love change, a fresh new color, new designs, a new new outlook. well and  interiors were my profession.  a.k. (after kids) finding time to paint moved (and keeps moving down) the priority list.  but i love the color, even after close to 5 years.  :: it helps that during those years, the windows, rug, lighting, and bins have changed + the wall on the left is no longer :: 

the above buffet had definitely seen better days. matchbox cars were constantly zoomed into it. not to mention ride on toys were driven into it when p&a were young.  last year, my husband built a beautiful cabinet we put in the basement for the kids toys.[toys that rarely stayed in it.] then light bulb...why is this in our basement? so above buffet went to another family and this gorgeous piece now sits in my living room. isn't it gorgeous? it makes me smile everytime i look at it.  : : [please don't point out the photo frame only has pics of my 2 oldest kids. i know. i know.] : : *looking for your own gorgeous piece? email me. i have an in with the awesome cabinet maker, aka. my husband. [still time to enter to win $50 gift certificate here ]

what you can find in our home today. [don't forget to enter to win here .]

i'm experimenting with photography... first items around the house.

what do you get with a tree branch. snow. galvanized bucket. foam hearts. and string? this... a super simple little valentine welcome weekend project...

what to do with 4 chairs & a family of 6? get new chairs...

This wall is in the hall between P&A's room and the nursery with a bathroom in the middle. Our home is all hardword floors with lots of hard surfaces and little to absorb sound. Since the kids' rooms will be close I wanted more soft surfaces to better absorb sound...or should I say crying in the middle of the night. We already have soft fuzzy rugs on the hall floor, so I removed the framed art and made these fabric panels. I gave my husband the dimensions I wanted, he built me 3 wood frames, I wrapped batting and fabric around them stapled to the back and whola instant art that also helps absorb sound. I love projects that are cheap, easy and serve a purpose.

Remember this post about the nursery. Well, I changed baby E's bedding to this... It was a dwell studio window panel from Target that my awesome mom made into his bumper pad.

I have to work and the kids have finished their worksheets, cutting scraps, taping them together or to the door, putting them in envelopes, drawing and coloring and decide to go upstairs to play with their toys..... empty most toys from their playroom and scatter in various rooms, move their table to the living room, move their doll bed into their room while removing all the hall rugs for easy dragging. I could hear the destruction happening but I needed to get more work done and there wasn't any crying. They did do a fairly good job of picking up while I was making lunch so we could play outside after. **it's apparent my kids have too many toys!

Drawers full of freshly clean baby hats & socks, gowns & sleepers stocked and ready to go. Thankfully, baby E and baby A are still growing strong in my belly and it looks like they will be arriving on their scheduled date of July 9. I feel at peace knowing their room is almost complete or as complete as it needs to be for their arrival. [THANK YOU MY FABULOUS FAMILY] I think they will sleep well in their new room. Don't you?

This is Paxton and Avery's new room, the old master bedroom. It's the largest of the 4 bedrooms in our 1947 rambler. It is perfect for them. Someday, in the distant future, when they want their own rooms, this will become *Kick & Faffer's room. I went with a neutral background so the vibrant colors in the art and bedding would really pop! I smile everytime I enter. Well not when all the books, toys, clothes are strewn about the floor. It definitely turned into the modern kids room I was planning, without the expensive modern furniture of my dreams. Good old IKEA beds and a refurbished dresser made it much more economical. Plus, the bold art above their dresser was my creation. I whipped it out in an evening, my husband gathered the left over paint I was requesting from various paints we have used in our homes. The fish works with Mr. P's bedding and the 4 with Miss A's bedding, plus my kids love fish, they just turned 4 and soon there will be 4 kid...

Or is it upcycled? Either way, this is a dresser make over story. This dresser was in my grandparents attic until this past September when my Grandma moved into an apartment. I of course had to have it. I of course also had high dreams for what this dresser would become. After my parents hauled it from another state to my home. My darling husband took it apart filled all the holes, fixed drawers, sanded, sprayed, drilled new holes and put it back together so it would look like the dreams I had for it and would fit perfectly in Paxton & Avery's new room. It now has a much more clean and modern feel, just like their room.

Is it possible to ever finish home projects? I say no, it seems they are constantly evolving into something else. If you remember this post then you may be waiting to see pictures of finished rooms. My office is close to being done but has to wait until my Dad returns to MN to finish it. P&A have lived in their room for over a month but I still need to hang art on the walls. The babies room is far from complete so don't be looking to see it until early summer. Here is my our guest room (aka grandma & papa's room) which once was an office/second guest room, then second guest room, then dumping ground for stuff we didn't know what to do with. {the quilt & shams are Sami Hayek for Target, originally $80, I found on clearance for $17} {The screen in the corner was designed by me and built by my Dad many moons ago} Our new bedroom is much smaller than our previous bedroom but I love how cozy it feels. Since we've lived in this home it has only served two purpos...

Yep! It's true my kitchen is finally complete thanks to my saint mom and loving husband. They finished painting over the last orange wall Friday night and touched up the walls around the back door and into the playroom, while I lay in bed. You can see the before here . Plus, the fun art from IKEA brings in the colors from the playroom. It's a wonderful change and I'm delighted with the results. What do you think?

Above is a picture of our kitchen the summer of 2006, when our kitchen was a separate entity, but it shows the color I've had since moving in in 2004. In my old house, I painted each room every year or so. I love change, plus it's so refreshing and stimulates creativity. Once I had my twin babes, painting walls moved to the bottom of my to do list. Finally, 4 years later, I found the time to paint my one wall chocolate [the other side of this wall has been chocolate for a couple years, it's like one big mass now] the other orange wall will someday be the stone color like the other side....when I get around to it... [do you like our hanging pumpkins?]