{quite a difference with a little light and paint}

ok yes, we've moved in, so obviously there have been some big changes that i have been keeping all to myself. for example: we have light! ta da!

very happy with both of our stairwell choices. b is especially proud that he found the smaller light at home depot for the whopping price of $5.98. {talk about budget friendly}. i found the larger capiz pendant at target online -yes, target has an incredible lighting selection available online!- my lighting choice was not quite $5.98, we'll just say that.

also did you even notice the painted beadboard ceilings?! big difference.

lights in the downstairs bathroom, or at least vanity lights. there will be a baby chandelier hanging eventually {by eventually, i mean when i find it at an antique/thrift store} and if you are particularly observant, you'll notice we have a new sink faucet.

and we have lights & a new sink faucet in the upstairs hall bath as well. please pardon the mess, we are trying to live here.

freshly painted ceilings & a ceiling fan to boot. there will be a chandelier at the other end of this room to go over the dining room table, but i haven't found that one yet either. i guess i should say i have found quite a few that i love, but a four digit price tag just doesn't quite fit into our budget. so table lamps will be our dining ambiance for a little while...

i'm particularly pleased with our entry way ceiling. it's our first foray into color so far. apologies for the poor quality of this photo, but you can get the basic idea.

and here is the den. what you can't see in this photo is our flatscreen television that b has already mounted on the wall the sofa is facing. he was literally hanging the tv as i was still unloading boxes from the uhaul. though i will say that i am starting to appreciate it now as it is about the only thing that feels completed since we have moved in. we are still waiting for some of the drywall to be repaired {over the windows especially} so we haven't really been able to unpack much of anything {and it's killing me}. also the sofa looks really really dark and heavy in this picture for some reason. in person it is a softer caramel color and once we do unpack the boxes, the sofa will once again be home to cheery pillows.

and here is a peek into the master bedroom progress. the ceiling is almost finished but what you can't see is how the beadboard on the right side has pulled away from the ceiling in some places. so that still needs to be repaired. and also we'll need to deal with the floors. i think we're going to go with carpet {hoping for carpet like this} at least until we have tackled the other project priorities.

view back to the door. it actually looks like we've started to put down carpet in here, but it's a lie, the carpet pad on the floor is actually from a rug we had in our old apartment. it rained on the day we were moving it in b's truck so thus the need for it to spread out to dry. also in this photo you can see a good view of what i call the seasonal items closet {upon mentioning this to rickythecontractor, rtc turned to b to inquire whether b had any "seasonal items" to put in said closet} anyway, the idea was to have the door blend into the wall {it will ultimately be painted the same color as the wall} & then it will hopefully fade into the background so we can put a piece of furniture in front of it since we have limited wall space.

so all in all, things are moving along. i know i owe you some photos of the kitchen especially. will try to get to those this weekend. all appliances are in except the microwave, but hopefully after this weekend's worth of work, we will have a fully functional, moved-in kitchen.

great {wain}scot

beadboard is gracing bungalow ceilings. here we have it in the stairwell.

the kitchen.

downstairs.

in the sunroom studio. {also check out the new doors to the laundry closet + shelves}

and finally, in the master bedroom. oh and i should add it will be getting a fresh coat of semi-gloss oxford white paint and we'll start to really feel like a beachy home bungalow. more photos to come.

p.s. now when i said we were moving last weekend i didn't fully explain what i meant by moving. i was mostly referring to the act of moving out. not so much the moving in -er- at least not to the bungalow. but not to worry. we have moved. to a uhaul + truck + crv + rickythecontractor's beach house. yep. unfinished bungalow + unhappy/homeless us = rickythecontractor on the line. BUT we're moving *in* for real come saturday.

also that is why i haven't really posted this week...no internet at the beach. {and yes i know, r.t.c.'s beach house is really not roughing it too much, so no need to feel bad for us}

{a room with a lofty view}

feeling very accomplished at the moment, so there's no waiting until monday to share:

today b & i spent some quality time with our bungalow bedroom ceilings. the first photo pretty much sums up the need for the makeover :: popcorn paint + uneven dry wall + just under 8 foot ceilings, all leaving quite a bit to be desired. so, for heaven's sake, Something Had To Be Done.

ok, i should say, as a side note, we have already enlisted the assistance of ricky, the contractor, to help us with jobs best left up to those with slightly more experience than we (say, plumbing, electrical, installing windows, etc.) but like any good contractor finding himself in the middle of a recession (or -let's face it- not), ricky has quite a knack for filling our pretty little heads with, um, every possible improvement we can make.

though to be fair, the bedroom ceilings, they were our idea.

so to save money on contractor labor costs and to dive right in to our bungalow projects, we decided to try our hands at swinging the hammer. literally.

here's the before photo (lovely sharpie drawing on the far wall is credited to ricky) :


turns out demo isn't really a difficult job, it's just a very dirty one. this photo was taken at the point we made the decision to scoot over to lowes for backup (in the form of masks & safety goggles).


annnnnd within an hour, here's the state of our bedroom affairs.
that's quite a mess you've made, sir.


just ten or so contractor-grade garbage bags later and ...
(remember the floors still need a bit of attention as well)


and ::*TA DA*:: vaulted ceilings have arrived at the bungalow! obviously this is far from finished, but we are consulting ricky for the next steps (& whether it's time for professionals to take over). for example, because the sky opened up with insulation (which let me just warn you, is quite an itchy business. definitely will wear long pants next time i decide to roll around in invisible shards of fiberglass), we'll have to re-insulate to make sure there is more than just 2x4s between our pillows & the shingles. also, the ductwork will have to find a new home. and we're pretty sure the horizontal beams are not structural (but, yes dad, promise to check with ricky before whipping out my chain saw) so in that case, they'll come down, too.



and with just a little more work, our bungalow bedroom will be looking like this :

{last image via domino}

it's a {white} wash

after returning from a weekend at the beach, i've been thinking about elements that give a house the laid-back quality that we are going for in our soon to be Vacation Everyday Home. natural light and lofty ceilings are two things that come to mind. if there's a {budget-permitting} way, we'd love to open up the standard 8 foot ceilings to the roof line to create an airy cottage, sleeping on the backporch kind of feeling in our dream-bungalow.

i would move right into this bedroom : white plank walls, ceiling and even the floor + a flood of sunlight. i also like the idea of a fabric canopy (or vintage sail cloth??!) over the bed to frame the area and also to add some softness to the room.


relaxing neutral tones...


notice how the middle wall does not go all the way up to the ceiling. i'm not sure which i'd prefer, but i like the look of this with the exposed beams...



would love a skylight or two...


the decor here is way too cutesy but take a look at the walls + ceiling...


{images from : domino, habitually chic's flickr, country living, coastal living}