#Thompsons Comfort Connection Blog Feed

[richardokeen]

Project Profile: Schmeltzer Residence

After living in a 2,400-square-foot home with a big backyard for more than a decade, Sally and Jason Schmeltzer made the commitment to create a home life that was more conscientious and less dependent on fossil fuels. After much building-science research, they set their sights on building a new, net-zero energy home.

To reach their goal, the Schmeltzers sought to identify the most efficient mechanical systems, including HVAC equipment. After consulting with their builder and Mitsubishi Electric’s Performance Construction Team, Jason and Sally agreed, Zoned Comfort Solutions® were the right fit for their new home.

Efficiency and Aesthetics

As a first step, the Schmeltzers bought a lot in Weaverville, North Carolina with ideal southern exposure and partnered with Raymond Thompson, owner of Sure Foot Builders (Sure Foot). Established in 2007, Sure Foot is a local high-performance builder that shared the couple’s vision, especially when it came to mechanical system selection.

While owners typically think more about aesthetic choices when building a new home, the building envelope and mechanical system selection are critical to ensuring a home’s performance, comfort and indoor air quality. Like many homeowners, the Schmeltzers were used to a ducted, natural gas furnace. Thompson suggested they explore more efficient, healthier options and sent them to one of Mitsubishi Electric’s Lunch & Learn programs to better understand variable-capacity, split-ductless systems.

“During the program, we were introduced to Rob Howard of Mitsubishi Electric’s Performance Construction Team,” said Sally. “He was able to explain everything to me. Initially, I was concerned about the wall-hung unit style…it didn’t look like what I expected. But when I learned about the technology and how efficient it is, I had to agree: the wall-mounted unit is beautiful. It’s 50% more efficient than the next best thing. Why wouldn’t I want that? In addition, they’re pretty sleek looking. We told Raymond right then we wanted to go with Zoned Comfort Solutions.”

Feeding the Grid

Ultimately, four MSZ Wall-Mounted Indoor Units were specified, each connecting to a corresponding outdoor compressor for the 1.5 story, 1,750 square-foot-home. The Schmeltzers also added solar panels to offset their energy usage. The result: a HERS score of -10 and outstanding energy savings!

“We officially moved into the house in October 2018 and started monitoring our energy usage and generation then,” said Sally. “For the month of February 2019, we produced about 600 kWh of energy; for the month of April, we produced 940 kWh. When we received our March/April utility bill we nearly broke even — we paid $1.42 for two months of power. Come summer, we expect to overproduce and get a credit with the utility company.”

To read the full Case Study, click here.

The post Project Profile: Schmeltzer Residence appeared first on Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating Blog.

[evnoweb]

This Week in Ontario Edublogs

I always enjoy reading blogs from Ontario Educators and sharing them during this post.  It’s a constant reminder that there are so great thinkers out there and we’re so fortunate to have them sharing their thoughts with us.

Music, millenials and the lost art of curation

Tim King takes us back, way back, in terms of the way that we collect music.  Then, he gives us a history of music in his life from cassettes to CDs to streaming music.  Along the way, he notes that we may have lost something in the process – the deep tracks.  When you bought a cassette, you listened to all eight songs and enjoyed them all.  Now, with streaming, you just go directly to the latest hit.  And the service recommends what you listen to next.  Are we losing something?  I think so.  I can’t tell you how often my favourite song on an album never made it to the radio.

Streaming on the web contains some issues as well – distraction if you’re driving, and the cost of streaming which we know is high in Canada.

Where Tim dropped the ball though was he didn’t go back far enough – to vinyl records which just might be making a comeback!  And, to show that we didn’t always think outside the box, I saw something like this at a car show recently.

Record players were the infotainment systems of the 1950s and ’60s

What’s really cool about Tim’s post is the interaction on Twitter.  This post is now going to be considered a media resource for an AQ course.  I’m impressed.

Turning Reading On Its Head!

Speaking of Media…

I found myself thinking that my concept of reading is the same as Aviva Dunsiger.  I pick up a book, start on page one, and then read until I get done.

Full stop.

That’s reading.

Apparently not, as Aviva found out over dinner at the BIT Conference.

Michelle gave an alternative perspective. She said that maybe the problem is how we view “reading.” We’re looking at reading as “finishing a book,” but what about the reading that happens in video games? Some games require so much reading and thinking that completing a game would be equivalent to finishing an incredibly long book. And students need to read, and think about what they read, in order to meet with success, finish the game, and get the points.

I’m not totally convinced but there is a certain amount of logic that rings true.  Click through and read Aviva’s post and see where you stand.

Making Connections – Edcamp Ottawa, Voiced Radio, MADPD

One thing you can say about Paul McGuire – he’s not afraid to take a chance.

In this post, he shares his story about Edcamp Ottawa and the 75 educators there that spent a day learning.  It’s good reading and Paul identifies what he calls “new learning”.  In that bundle he includes voicEd Radio, MADPD, … The fact that the observation comes from an Edcamp adds that layer as well.  It wasn’t just the blog; he was podcasting from there too.

But there was one paragraph that rubbed me the wrong way and I called him out on it.

I would love to see some of the big school boards promote MADPD or Voiced Radio on their Twitter feed or take a leading role by encouraging their educators to take part in these new approaches.

My challenge is with him identifying only big school boards.  While they may be big in organization, the typical teacher is most impacted by the work world around her/him.  So, in a school with a school population of 500, does the need change if you’re in a large board or a small board?

I hope not because when you look, it’s all about professional growth for individual teachers and the learning that happens with that one student.

Creating the Conditions to Empower

I’m not a real fan of Ignite formats as it seems to me that they’re the exact opposite of engagement with an audience as the presenter focuses on getting the message out in the  time limits and according to the speed of the slides.  Very often, a good message can get lost in the technicalities.

But, never lose the sight of a good message and David Carruthers had a wonderful set of content for his Ignite talk.

Don’t Lower the Bar to Meet Diminished Expectations

Publicly Celebrate Achievements

Connect to the Heart by Cultivating Relationships and Instilling Trust

Lead by Example

Listen to Concerns

There’s some terrific ideas there that would be awesome for a full blown presentation with lots of give and take with an audience.  He breaks out his thoughts about each in the post.

BIT17 Non Conference Observations

After the BIT17 conference, Eva Thompson fired off three blog posts outlining her experience.  Any one of them would be good enough for a conference report to her supervisor and I’d encourage you to read them all.

I thoroughly enjoyed this post of random thoughts from a conference.  I pulled out four that really resonated with me.

  Elevators

Me too.  My hotel had five floors and over the course of the event and going in and out of the hotel many times, the elevator was NEVER on my floor.  Now, I get that it might not be on the fifth floor where my room was but you’d think just once it would have been sitting on the ground floor.  And then it was slow too!

Sitting in the last row of the theatre

That’s absolutely me.  Particularly if there’s a speaker that I want to hear, I like being able to just focus.  And, there’s something creepy about taking notes on your computer with someone looking over your shoulder.

Chocolate chip muffin for breakfast

Why not treat yourself?  Family’s not there to see that you’re breaking the rules a bit.  That’s my rationale anyway.  I did pay attention this time; there were so many IHOP restaurants in Niagara Falls.

My laptop bag is not comfortable

I have a knapsack and a pull bag.  I prefer the pull bag that follows me on the floor.  I typically have two of three computers and the chargers that go with them.  They’re really heavy.  Don’t criticize me – I see others who shift from shoulder to shoulder to ease the pain.  If you get good with the pull bag, you can easily get on and off an escalator without breaking stride.

  8th Canadian EdTech Leadership Summit 150

If you weren’t able to attend this summit, Zelia Capitão-Tavares shares a pretty inclusive summary of the day with links to the speakers.

It sounds like a typical day where “futurists” were telling the audience everything that’s wrong in education and how “change starts with you”.

The real meat for me in this post were the comments from Zelia’s students.

As each of the speakers shared virtually or live on stage, my students attentively listened to the messages, making connections to their own experiences and reflecting on potential for changes in their own environments. Sure, I smiled every once in awhile as they turned to me and whispered, “Ms.T we are already doing this”, “Ms.T you have already set us up with these choices”, and “They are talking about our classroom”. However, our side discussions were more intriguing as they asked questions of clarification, “why are they saying only star students get to do things”, “what do they mean by pockets of innovation”, “why do teachers teach to the test” and “what does teaching and learning in silos mean?”

Are these speakers out of touch with the realities today’s students face?  Maybe these students need to invite them to their classroom to get a dose of reality.  Good teachers ARE doing these things.

I hope that Ms. T. took the kids to McDonald’s or for ice cream afterwards. What great comments.

It sounds like they truly get it.

How many do you see? (Part 1)

I love this post from Mark Chubb for many reasons.

He starts with a picture of a Grade 2 geometry activity.  It’s pretty straight forward.

All he asks is a simple question.  Pick a shape and report how many of them you find in the picture.

In the real teaching world, you’d just turn to the back of the book and get the answer.  Would you actually do the activity yourself?

But the responders to Mark’s post are all teachers and they have many different answers and takes on the question.

Now, let’s go back to the concept of testing where you’re not looking at a process – just to get the right answer.  After all, this is mathematics, right?

If teachers have all these questions, how can we possible blame a child for being confused?

I hope that you’ve stuck with me this far.  It’s yet again another great week of reading.  Please click through and read the entire posts and drop off a comment.

And, join Stephen Hurley and me Wednesday mornings at 9:15 on voicEd Radio where we chat about some of the great posts of the week.

This Week in Ontario Edublogs published first on http://ift.tt/2gZRS4X

[andreafestefano]

My mud/laundry room changes that will add tons of storage

Hello there! I'm still working on the garage purging and organization and I'm excited to show you the projects I've been working on in there! I have a lot left to do, but it's already SO MUCH better. 

I wanted to share what I have planned in our mud/laundry space after the garage is finished -- I'm super excited about this too! If you've read the blog for awhile, you know I get my energy in the cooler months and in the summer I turn into a sloth. I think I'm opposite of most -- the cold temps invigorate me and the warm weather makes me want to take a nap. 😂

We have a joint laundry and mud room and we LOVE it. I designed the space (as far as placement of everything) while we were building. This side of the room looks really good!: 

As you can see, the bench is on the left and the closet I had added is on the right. One of the reasons I designed the room this way so that when we (or anyone visiting) looks into the room, this is the view we'd see. 

I just knew this side would always be cleaner and more organized than what we have around the corner to the left. I know us. Ha!

This is our folding table -- we could have added cabinets underneath, but I didn't want to add that to the bottom line at the time. I also wanted to see how we used this space first: 

We knew we'd hide the kitty litter boxes under there, so holding off on base cabinets was best. 

Well...now I'm ready. Because THIS is how that counter usually looks: 

Ugh! OK, in my defense, it's not usually this bad. This is some residual holiday stuff, and a lot of things from the garage that I need to put away. 

First up, I'll be adding new cabinets underneath that counter. I cannot WAIT! We may replace the countertop too, but I'm not sure about that just yet. I'm using unfinished cabinets again because they are so affordable (see how I used them on my recent entertainment center project here). I have some ideas to make them look more custom that I will share for sure.

My decision to get this part of the room working better started a list of additional projects! I'm SO excited about this because it will add a ton of storage in this space and will make it work so much better for us. 

The easiest project involves the closet in this room: 

I shared the mud room closet organization here -- I highly recommend a closet like this if you have the room! It's a game changer. (I also added an outlet in there.) This is my favorite closet in the house! (You don't have a favorite closet?)

Now that we've lived with it, I know I can make even better use of that space. I have a tricky little way to add more organization that I'll show you soon. 

One of the big obstacles in here is where we would move the kitty litter -- we have two options in mind. One is the basement storage area, but the other is still in this mud/laundry room. I'll let you know what we end up doing!

One of the things I'm most excited about has to do with these cabinets: 

See my review of our LG washer and dryer here!

These would usually be great, but hanging right above a top loader is not the ideal placement. We have to open the cabinet doors, then the washer lid in order to get what we need for each load. 

So I'll be moving those over to above the folding table area -- so that whole wall will just be a ton of closed storage. YES!

With those gone I plan to do a version of this easy shelf above/behind the washer and dryer like I did at the old house: 

I've missed it so much! I thought about adding one a million times here but the cabinets are too low. I have some ideas to add a bar for hanging the clean clothes above the washer and dryer as well. 

These changes are going to fix all of the little things about this space that haven't worked well for us. And the only big cost is in the base cabinets. I can hardly wait to get started on this one!

I'll be sharing more of that process soon -- but first the garage makeover and also another basement project I've been finishing up!

See more of our home here. To shop items in our home, click here! Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email. 

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

This industry information is provided by ThompsonsComfortConnection.com.

Copyright © Thrifty Decor Chick. All Rights Reserved.

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[andreafestefano]

Using decorative trays for pretty fall vignettes!

Hello my friends! I'm slowly bringing out some fall decor -- the cozy vibe is making me so happy! It already feels so much warmer in our home. 

I shared my friend Marty's post about decorating trays on Facebook a couple weeks ago and was inspired by her pretty decor. I started thinking of ways I could incorporate some trays with my fall decor. 

I'm a lover of using trays while decorating -- they corral stuff while keeping it looking good. They're an ideal way to organize smaller items that look out of place by themselves. 

Last year I placed the items I reach for most in the kitchen in a tray on the counter: 

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And they're a perfect way to organize remotes, coasters and more on a coffee table: 

See how we used two coffee tables to create a large one for less!

I found a couple trays I loved at Target and got to work gathering some fall decor to display. I placed this large wood tray on the dining table: 

See my tips for growing hydrangeas here!

Think outside the box when it comes to displaying flowers (real or faux) -- I had this decorative wood pot but can't put water in it. I used a small vase inside for the flowers and you can't even see it. ;)

The amber glass was from Target last year and I put a battery operated candle (on a timer) inside. You have to have some "glow" in fall displays! It's pretty much required. 😂

I loved this woven seagrass tray with handles for the kitchen island: 

I like to hide my glass candles inside prettier containers as well -- I found that gray planter at Hobby Lobby and plopped the candle inside. (We put it on the counter when lit because of the branches.) I'm trying to use a little less of the traditional fall colors this year so those pretty faux eucalyptus branches were perfect! They whisper the fall vibe instead of yelling it. ;)

There are three tips for decorating trays any time of the year: 

1. Vary the heights of items -- a vase with flowers or branches is perfect!

2. Use different textures and colors -- the woven tray, the small rosemary plant and velvet pumpkins add some interest. 

3. Decorate in odd numbers -- items gathered in odd numbers are just more appealing to the eye. 

These tips go for decorating just about anything! 

I also added my fall prints back into the frames and that's about it for fall decor in the kitchen: 

Do you use decorative trays in your decor? They are such an easy way to dress up a space! 

You can find the items I used for my fall trays here: 

Bleached eucalyptus branches Similar wood rectangle tray Round woven tray with handles Wire coffee table tray Round large wood tray Similar small velvet pumpkins Similar large velvet pumpkins And if you're interested in anything else pictured you can find it here:

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See more of our home here. To shop items in our home, click here! Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email. 

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

This industry information is provided by ThompsonsComfortConnection.com.

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[andreafestefano]

How to create custom built ins with kitchen cabinets

If you've read TDC for awhile, you know how much I love a good wall of built ins. I think they create so much character without spending a ton of money. Thing is, there's no need to build the whole thing from scratch. You can create a really custom look with basic, unfinished cabinets as your base for the project. 

There's a little trick to it though! I have a go-to for almost all of the built ins and bookcases I've built over the years. Instead of actual bottom cabinets that you'd find in a kitchen or bathroom, I use the uppers only. 

This is for a few reasons -- they don't have the drawers that most lowers have (which makes it look more kitchen-like), they are cheaper! and they don't take up nearly the space regular lower cabinets do. (Uppers are only 12 inches deep.)

The bonus is you can walk into almost any large hardware store and pick up what you need right there. These are the unfinished cabinets I usually use: 

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The other bonus is they come in a few different sizes -- so for most walls you can find a configuration that works and just line them up to create the base for bookcases. 

You do have to do some prep to make them look custom -- the first step to making kitchen uppers look like built ins is raising them up a bit. If you just install them on the ground they won't look as built in. 

I use 1x4s and nail them into the sides around the bottom of the cabinets: 

Actually, the size of the wood will depend on the height of your current baseboards (or the height of new ones you may be installing): 

The center piece is for added support. To make these look custom I wrap the bottom with baseboards and this base pulls them up off the ground so that's possible. You can read more about the steps for cabinet installation for built ins here. That post explains everything in more detail.

When you add the base and then some simple trim on the ends to dress it up, it gives it all a much more sophisticated look:

Of course the butcher block counter offers some nice contrast and makes it feel even more custom: 

I added a wall of upper cabinets in our old loft that gave me SO much storage space for craft and office supplies: 

You can see more of that craft room/office/loft space here! 

This built in was in our dining room turned library and I've shared it a million times, I know. But we easily saved a couple grand by doing this project ourselves. The inexpensive cabinets make it a really affordable project!: 

It is truly the best combo of form and function -- those cabinets are only 12 inches deep but they hold a ton! (Think of how much they hold in your kitchen.) I used the upper cabinets that go over a fridge for our mud room bench:

And my first project with these was another project I did with my Dad for my son's bedroom: 

I have Dad to thank for this idea -- he's the one who thought of it for this room and I've kind of taken off with it over the years. :) 

I used those same skinny, upper cabinets for the bases of my office built ins in our new house: 

Have you tried this trick to build custom built ins or bookcases? I'm thrilled with how they look in our home and I'm sure I'll add more in the future! 

You can shop some of the items from these rooms here: 

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See more of our home here. To shop items in our home, click here! Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email. 

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

This industry information is provided by ThompsonsComfortConnection.com.

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[andreafestefano]

The most satisfying "cleaning" tool ever!

Hello there! I've been hard at work on our back patio finishing up projects I've wanted to tackle for months (and years!). I'm so excited to show you what I've been up to, but first...I had to share the most satisfying "tool" I've ever used. Have you ever watched power washing videos? I go into a trance -- watching all that grime wash away is so soothing to me. It makes me happy. 😂 We've never had one, in the past I've rented one when we needed it. But our garage floor was already such a mess, so we decided to get a power sprayer a few months ago. I didn't want to mess with gasoline every time we used it. I wanted something I could plug in and use right away, so we went with an electric version:

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It's the Greenworks 1800 PSI electric pressure washer. I found it at Lowe's but it's available online as well. I've always heard power washers that don't use gas aren't as powerful, but the reviews for this one were really good so we went for it. 

I used it on our driveway and garage floor and it did a great job -- it didn't get all of the grease stains off the garage floor but everything else came up well. Last week I decided to try it out on one of our outdoor rugs and the difference it made was worth sharing!

I didn't realize how dirty this rug was until I started cleaning. Yikes!: 

This thing rocks! Now that rug looks like the day I bought it! 

I used the washer on our other patio rug but that one wasn't nearly as dirty: 

I guess it makes sense -- the striped rug is on the covered patio where we sit a ton. We eat and drink there more, and it doesn't get rain to wash any dirt off. 

I took a quick video to show you how well it works: 

So satisfying right?? I could seriously watch that for hours. 

I wish I would have taken a before pic of the rug -- I didn't realize how dirty it was! Here's how it looks now: 

This electric pressure washer is the easiest I found to use, and it was one of the least expensive. Well worth the money already! 

You can find this Greenworks washer online here. It has different settings and nozzles for different projects -- from concrete to washing fences or your car. The power cord is really long so it's easy to pull it around a big space. 

I've also heard you can use pressure washers on outdoor cushions. Of course make sure you use the correct setting when doing that. Also...wear shoes (no flip flops!) and don't spray anyone or yourself with a pressure washer. I hear it's not fun. ;) 

If you're interested in anything pictured here, you can check the items out here: 

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See more of our home here. To shop items in our home, click here! Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email. 

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

This industry information is provided by ThompsonsComfortConnection.com.

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By: Thompsons Comfort Connection Blog Feed https://ift.tt/3l20YdL

[andreafestefano]

Add a drum shade to a ceiling fan in minutes!

Hello all! A couple weeks ago I did a little project that only took about five minutes and buck to complete. So of course I had to show you. :) I saw an idea in one of my old magazines and then did a little researching online to see if I could figure out how to do it myself. I didn’t find the how-to, but I did find another inspiration picture:

We have a ceiling fan in our family room (this is an updated post from our last house) and even though I’d prefer something prettier, it’s staying for now. It’s necessary for the times the oven starts smoking in the kitchen, the smoke alarm is going off, and opening the windows and flapping the kitchen towel just isn’t cutting it. :) The fan is darker brown, which I do like. It has three lights as you can see here:

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Nothing awful, but I was inspired by the photos I found and wanted to try something different. I decided I was going to do my best to use what I had on hand to change it up. I started by taking off the glass covers – you just squeeze the metal pieces inside and pull the glass off:

Next up – to figure out how to get my lamp shade to stay on the fan. I had large Goodwill drum shade I planned to use and it was the type with the wire circle at the top of the shade – the kind you have to use with harp. (More on that in a bit!) So I stood under the fan for about ten minutes, thinkin’ and a thinkin’. I noticed there was a little jobby on the bottom where the pull chain came out. It matched the one on the side:

Because I’ve changed out a meeellion lights in this house, I have plenty of electrical parts laying around. I dug through my stash and found this lamp pipe (also called a nipple):

I knew if I could get it connected to the fan, I could figure this out:

I looked and looked and LOOKED and tried every little trinket I had in my tool box, and nothing worked. Drats. I was so determined at this point, I was off to the hardware store. :) I looked around for awhile, but couldn’t find the exact piece I needed.  Lowe’s Guy and I both spent a good ten minutes looking through the drawers of nuts and connectors, and still couldn’t find anything that worked. And then Lowe's Guy No. 2 came up to help and suggested I look in…wait for it…the ceiling fan area. Now, who would have thunk it? :) Bahhhrilliant. There I found exactly what I was looking for:

Two of these little connectors came in a package for about $1.50. Not bad. They are called couplings and you can find them here...but I recommend you try them out at the store to see what fits. I threaded the coupling to the fan, put the longer "pipe" into that one, and then put the hole of the lamp shade over the long piece:

I secured the shade up there with a small nut (picture on the right). It worked perfectly! The original lamp shade I tried was way too big though, so I took another off a lamp and used that instead:

Love, love, LOVE. There’s a few things to consider if you want to try this out – first of which is your ceiling height. The shade hangs lower than the glass shades did, by about five inches I'm guessing? Our ceilings are nine feet, so we still have plenty of clearance. Something else to consider is your lamp shade. My shade was the type that fits on the lamp with a harp – it’s called a spider fitting:

This "spider" natural linen drum shade is lovely and would work perfectly! This white linen shade would work as well. If you have an uno style shade, or the type that fits right over the lamp socket, you’ll have to use a different method:

I’m sure there’s a way to wire that type of shade up there. But if you are thinking about trying this out, I’d suggest using one with the spider fitting, just because it’s SO easy. If the bare bulbs showing from underneath the fan are going to bother you, this probably won't work for you. That doesn’t bug me one bit, since you only see the light bulbs if you’re right under it:

You actually see less of the bulbs this way than with the original glass shades! One more thing to consider is the size of your shade. The light bulbs need to be two to three inches from the shade, for safety reasons:

But that also depends on the wattage of your bulbs – ours are 60 watt and we have a dimmer on this light. (And even though our shade is large enough, I had the light on full force for hours the first day, feeling to see how warm the shade was every ten minutes or so.) It was fine. But I’m a freak like that.  :) And of course, the newer LED bulbs make this even less of a concern -- they burn so much cooler than incandescents. This new look makes more of a statement than the glass shades, but I find I notice it less. Maybe it’s because those covers were never my cup of tea. Or it could be because I love drum shades (especially those trimmed out with lovely jute trim). I LOVE how it turned out. Especially because it only cost $1.50!:

Oh, and it holds up great when the fan is running too. Our fan doesn’t shake much anyway, but it’s totally secure. If you don’t have a drum shade, HomeGoods always seems to have a good selection. Or try the online options I linked above. You can also find decorative ceiling fan pull chains like I have at most hardware stores or online. There are tons of cute options! Over the years ceiling fan designs have started to use the drum shade look more and more. This is a beautiful option and I like this one too. But adding a shade to your current fan will save you tons of money! So have you doctored up a ceiling fan? With spray paint? New shades? Have you tried this project? Do share! Here's an image to pin this for later:

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[andreafestefano]

How to add tons of character to a boring fireplace

Spring and summer may not seem like the obvious time to consider a fireplace renovation, but if you're considering a makeover, this could be the perfect time! You won't be using it as the weather warms up, and it will be ready when you want it to really shine in the fall! I've worked on many fireplace transformations over the years. They think they are a great way to update a space -- redoing that one focal point can change the whole room. I've gathered some great fireplace DIY projects to share with you today, but first, let's look back at what I've done in our homes! Our family room has a super tall fireplace that was calling out for something:

In the past couple of years I've painted it, built bookcases on both sides of the fireplace and added grid trimwork:

SO much more character! 

We added an electric fireplace to our basement in the old house: 

I later tiled the whole thing with stacked stone. We loved it!!

I hope to add another electric fireplace in our current basement someday. 

We had the fireplace at our old house placed in the corner -- which I immediately regretted:

The deep mantel was awkward, and I tried all kinds of things over the years to make it work. 

Finally we added a wall above the corner fireplace and built a new surround -- it made a HUGE difference! 

I later added the shiplap wall above and it was the perfect finishing touch. 

A few years ago we took down a wall in that room and installed the fireplace against the wall instead: 

I also added the planked wall on top for only $13! Now let's take a look at some other great fireplace redos. :)

If you don't like the tile on your fireplace surround, you can absolutely paint them! I love this faux ceramic tile look: 

Jessica Welling Interiors

These next few are so beautiful, but you really need to check out the befores to see how far they've come! I love this classic white and marble design: 

Satori Design for Living 

This one was super basic to start, with no detail or mantel. Look at it now!:

Making Home Base

Check out this gorgeous before and after! Love that stacked stone: 

Simplicity in the South

This fireplace with the built ins is so classic -- it has come a long way!: 

Shine Your Light 

This one has really become a beautiful focal point: 

Dreaming of Homemaking

If you like your fireplace but just want to beef up the mantel a bit, this is a great tutorial: 

Lovely, Etc.

I know so many of you have brick fireplaces you want to update, but don't know where to start! This painted outdoor fireplace is so crisp and clean now: 

Dimples and Tangles

If you don't want to completely paint the brick, you can always whitewash it to tone down red tones: 

Renovated Faith

Or try the beautiful German schmear on brick instead:

Craftivity Designs

If you have a brick surround and want to tile over it, check out this tutorial:

Southern Hospitality 

You know how much I love a planked wall above a fireplace! It's such a simple and inexpensive way to add some character:

Fox Hollow Cottage

And if you have a stone that is feeling a little heavy, try this tutorial to build a wood mantel and surround around it. It really brightens it up!:

Twelve on Main

Have you made any updates or changes to your fireplace? Have you dared to paint brick? I hope these projects inspired you if you're considering a fireplace makeover! See more of our home here. To shop items in our home, click here! Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email. 

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[andreafestefano]

Our cozy master bedroom reveal {with wallpaper, dark paint and wood accents}

Hello my friends! I hope you're doing well! I've been busy finishing up a big paint job in our master bedroom. This room isn't completely finished just yet -- I'd like to add some decorative touches to complete the space. But until I can get into a HomeGoods again, this is where we're at. :)

Let's look back at where we started! This is how the room looked before moving in: 

It's a long room and much skinnier than our old master, but still has lots of space. We LOVE all of the windows in here! 

Shortly after moving in, I completed the makeover on the IKEA dressers as our nightstands:

Then I hung our drapes and roman shades and that was about it: 

See how to make that DIY upholstered headboard here

The first BIG project in this room were the faux beams around the tray ceiling. It really added some drama to the room that we love. It also made it feel super cozy and comfy...so I decided to keep going with that feel for the space. 

I'd love to lighten up the window treatments someday -- both the shades and the curtains. But these were super affordable and they block the light big time. We need DARKNESS when we sleep so light blocking drapes are non-negotiable. (I'll list sources for everything in this room at the bottom of the post!)

Eventually I hope to find lighter treatments that still keep it dark at night...but I'm not super hopeful that I'll find them without spending a fortune. So until I find exactly what I want, these work great! (The drapes come in a few colors and are SUPER long, which is hard to find!) 

I decided to keep the cozy vibe going...I hung the peel and stick grasscloth wallpaper last fall. I LOVE this wallpaper!: 

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Oh, and we had the hardwoods continued in here as well. We were lucky to get just enough to do this room and my office -- the floors were discontinued soon after we moved in. 

After all of that I focused on other projects around the house for a bit. I tend to flit from project to project...if you haven't noticed. Ha! I finally finished up the paint on the chair rail and below last week. I used the same color as the tray ceiling -- Westchester Gray by Sherwin-Williams. 

This space is SO cozy and warm...we absolutely love it! Here's how it looks now: 

I hope to find some new throw pillows and a blanket for the bed (I stole the long pillow from the mud room for these pics). 

Now more than ever, I wanted this room to feel like a warm "hug" -- a little hokey I know, but home has never meant more! 

I thought about painting the window trim for a hot second...and then quickly decided against it. It will take forever. Maybe I'll do it eventually but I'm waiting on that project! 

Here's a look at my favorite side of the room before: 

And here it is now with the wood beams, wallpaper, trim and paint: 

I was planning to paint that dresser, but after I painted I changed my mind...for now. I like the wood tone against the gray. We'll see what happens. :) 

This room gets a TON of natural light, so it was easy to go darker with the paint and ceiling. It's still super bright and light. But at night it feels like a cocoon and we love it: 

This isn't the final reveal...I'll zhuzh it up some more when I can shop again. :) But I've worked really hard on this space and wanted to share the progress! 

I've been getting a ton done lately! Not all super exciting stuff, but I'm getting a bunch knocked off my to do list. It feels good! I'm going to tackle a few more small projects and then start another big one that involves a lot of painting.  

Here's a source list -- let me know if I forgot anything! 

(You can click any of the photos below as well.) 

drapery rods -- IKEA

velvet room darkening drapes -- Sanela from IKEA 

bench -- Wayfair

Duvet cover -- Pottery Barn

Rug -- HomeGoods

Upholstered headboard/bed -- Wayfair 

Bamboo chandelier -- Ballard Designs 

Go here for more info about the quote art above bed 

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[andreafestefano]

Easy DIY jewelry cleaner {that really works!}

This helpful tip is super simple and cheap (free if you have the basics on hand). I found this DIY jewelry cleaner months ago and it’s actually from a food site here. Which is fitting because all of the “ingredients” are from the kitchen:

DIY jewelry cleaner recipe

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp baking soda 

1 tbsp dish detergent

one cup water

1 piece of aluminum foil

bowl

Just stick the water in the microwave for one to two minutes (I do two to get it nice and hot) and while it’s heating use a piece of foil to line the bottom of the bowl:

When the water is ready, pour it in the bowl, add the tablespoons of baking soda, salt and detergent in and watch it fizz:

That’s the fun part. ;) Then you just place your jewelry in the bowl for five to ten minutes. The ingredients eat away at the grime and dirt and my rings come out sparkling! It’s amazing! I feel like I commercial for dish washing detergent with all the SPARKLE but it’s true – this stuff really works well. I used to use jewelry cleaner from the store, but the brush that came with it fell apart after the second use. Since then I’ve used a soft toothbrush but I find I don’t need to use it with this recipe. When I take my rings into my jeweler to be cleaned they look at me like I have three heads and ask WHAT IN THE WORLD I have been doing. I guess the spray paint, saw dust, paint, glue and all the other DIY messes stick around. ;) This homemade version eats away at all that stuff and makes them absolutely shine. Love it. And the ingredients are so basic I always have it all on hand. If you are cleaning a bunch of jewelry you’ll want to make a new batch each time, according to the source. I’ve also used this on more delicate jewelry like an opal ring – it worked beautifully. Some of the reviewers on the site I linked to mentioned it messed up sterling silver jewelry, but then others said it cleaned up their silver beautifully, so try it for silver at your own risk. Check out that link for reviews before you try something you are hesitant about! I’m thrilled with it and highly recommend it – I’ll take an easy, cheap solution any day! :) Have you found any great tips lately? I hope to share some of mine with you more often – good results and the bad. **Check out my other cleaning hacks and tips here! See more of our home here. To shop items in our home, click here! Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email. 

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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[andreafestefano]

A sweet little spring home tour!

Hello my friends! I hope you're doing well and staying healthy. Yesterday I dug out my bin of Easter and spring decor and realized I had forgotten about some really cute stuff! I haven't decorated with themey stuff like bunnies and eggs for a few years, but if there was ever time to bring them out, this is it! I have to tell you, it made me so happy to decorate with the fun decor and colors. It brought me a lot of joy to add little touches throughout the house. :) I figured I'd share a little "spring tour" to give you some ideas as well. I used stuff I already had. Some of the things I don't consider spring really, but I brought them out because they felt light and pretty. You may remember my love of the simple grapevine wreath and all the different ways I use it throughout the year. I took off the Christmas decor and added the faux tulips back for this super easy spring wreath:

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Goodness I LOVE it! This is such an easy DIY wreath, it's hard to go wrong. This boxwood wreath usually hangs on our pantry door, but I replaced it with an Easter version instead. I thought the boxwood would be pretty on the inside of the door and I was right:

I think it may have to stay here! :) 

I added quite a few spring touches in the kitchen -- including the open shelves: 

That "let's stay in" sign is perfect right now right? The other side says "let's go out" -- I wish! I had most of the spring decor, but I found the chunky ceramic birds at Joann's a couple months ago. 

I also had the "nest" filler for the cloche, but you can use a shredder to cut up paper for the same look: 

I found this hanging bunny at Joann's years ago too: 

You know how I love the free printables so many lovely bloggers share for each season! I added some spring prints to my frames in the kitchen: 

You can find some of my favorite free spring printables here and here. 

I still love this tray that corrals all the cooking stuff on our counters:

I think that little spring sign was from the Target dollar spot. I used a 3M command hook to hang it on the tile. 

I love these faux cherry blossoms I found on Amazon: 

They are so full and real looking! I get asked all the time about the hanging rod and hooks -- you can find those in this finish and black at IKEA. 

I got the idea of hanging this bunny bag and filling it with tulips from a friend of mine: 

Hand lettered sign tutorial 

So cute! :) 

I was running out of bunny stuff 😂 so I started looking around my decor stash for items that felt like they fit in for spring. I've had the fake orchid for awhile and like displaying it under a cloche: 

The lighter throw blankets and pillows came out as well: 

You can see how I use napkins to make pillows for super cheap here. 

In the family room I added the faux succulent in a little vase, along with my pretty glass beads: 

And the cute bunny bunting brings some cheer to the family room: 

It was so fun to pull all of this out. For some reason I haven't used a lot of it in the past few years, but as I said, this year it felt so right. Your spring decor doesn't have to be bunny rabbits...just adding in some lighter tones and flowers (real or faux) may brighten your mood like it did mine! Here are a few of the items pictured if you're wondering where to find them!:

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[andreafestefano]

Going super cozy and comfy in the basement!

Hey there! I've been hard at work on a plan to cozy up our basement...and it's already pretty darn cozy. :) 

I've had an idea for the walls down here for awhile and got started this week. This another instance of the difference simply painting a wall can make in a space. After all these years the transformations still surprise me!

Remember when I painted a long wall in the basement this dark gray?:

You can see more about that wall of game storage and display shelves here. 

That dark gray is the same color I used on our bedroom tray ceiling. It's called Westchester Gray and is the perfect gray -- no purpley undertones. If anything, it leans slightly green in some light, which I love. 

I took that color down the wall to our family space last year: 

I LOVE an accent wall! But I've always felt like this room should all be that warm color. 

So I continued it! And it's SO SO comfy and cozy. We love it!: 

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I will always be a dark wall fan. It makes the rest of the room pop! 

It's absolutely perfect down here...I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner:

I get asked about that large map every time I share this space. It's from IKEA and I later framed it myself. I hear they don't have this exact one anymore, but they do have a similar option. 

We're lucky to have some natural light in here, but I'd do this dark color even if we didn't. It feels lux but not stuffy. Warm and cozy but not too dark: 

My next step is to add some molding, similar to what I did in our dining room: 

I plan to add a chair rail down there too. I have to play around with placement a bit. 

I love the feel of old bars with tons of molding and moody walls...that's the feeling I'm going for down here. But I plan to keep the accessories light: 

Yes, we really need to clean our window wells! Any tips on what to use? 

This mirror will be replaced when I start the built ins along that wall to the left (yet to be painted):

I can't wait to show you my plans for that HUGE wall! I wasn't planning on tackling it this year, but now that I kept the gray going around the room, I kind of want to get it started. 

I can see how it will all look in my head and I'm excited! We'll see -- I have more details to iron out first. You know me -- it could end up being next year. :)  

For now, this view is so warm...it feels like a hug when we walk down here! I just LOVE it: 

I get asked about the sources in this room more than any other!:

You can read more about the sectional details here. 

The rug and lamps were from HomeGoods years ago. 

See how I created that layered gallery wall here!

And you should be able to scroll through these photos and click on them for sources as well:

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[andreafestefano]

How to make the PERFECT margarita! {I'm spilling our secret ingredient.}

Hey hey! I was going to share a DIY project with you today, but then I heard that National Margarita Day is this weekend and I had to switch topics. This is timely for that "holiday" but if you're like us, useful all year round. 

I'll just say it -- we're kind of famous for our homemade margaritas. Famous...with our friends. ;) Our margs are highly sought after and absolutely DELICIOUS. 

My husband perfected this recipe years ago after we found one in a restaurant that we loved. I'll share two other slightly different options as well. ALL are so good! 

For us, the key to a delicious marg is the orange flavor. Lime is needed of course, but we prefer the freshness and taste of extra orange. 

If you do too, this is the recipe for you! You'll need three different liquors. I took pics so you know what to look for: 

The best margarita recipe 

(we use a shot glass for each "part" but you can increase that size for a larger batch) 

Two to four parts lime juice (if you can hand squeeze, even better)

Two parts tequila (we prefer Silver Patron)

One part Patron Citronge liqueur 

One part Cointreau

Two tablespoons powdered sugar (our secret ingredient!) to taste

Oranges, lemons and/or limes to garnish

This is pretty self-explanatory, but there are a couple things to consider. 

The variation in lime juice depends on how strong you want your margarita. Start with two (it will be STRONG, but keep in mind the ice will water it down) and go up from there to suit your preference.

Make sure to use the orange Citronge -- they have a few different flavors available. 

Powdered sugar gives the drink sweetness and keeps it from getting too tart. (Tartness kills a good marg, in my opinion.) Play with the amount to your liking -- you may want less, may want more. Be sure to stir well! 

We love ours with crushed ice: 

Salt your rim by dipping the glass in water, then dipping in salt all the way around. Play with different flavored salt! I love a spicy version. 

It's quite easy and so good! The initial ingredients will be expensive, but will last you a long time: 

There are times I'll change this just a bit. You can use agave nectar instead of powdered sugar. It's still very good! 

I've also found a mix at Trader Joe's that I love: 

I sometimes use this in place of the lime juice and powdered sugar. It's very good! Not as good as our recipe, but yummy!

There you go. I've been meaning to share this with you for years! Do you have a margarita recipe you love? 

Here's an image to pin for later: 

Have you tried my sangria recipe? It's another hit!:

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This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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[andreafestefano]

How to make a HUGE upholstered bulletin board

Hello there! I'm back with a project I've been planning for a few months! I was finally able to get to it last week. I've been holding off on starting until I could get a sconce installed on the wall first. I've only shared this side of my office once because it's hasn't been much to look at. I showed you this wall early last year:

It certainly wasn't awful, but it wasn't nearly as cool as the other side of the room!: 

You can see how I built that wall of office built ins here. 

Since that before picture I've changed out the TV for a slightly larger one and moved the dresser to another room. The bookcases gave me plenty of storage. (I replaced the dresser with a smaller table for the printer.) 

I've had an idea for a big bulletin board in my head for a long time, but as I mentioned, I wanted to get a sconce installed first. If you have an outlet it's pretty easy for an electrician to run wiring for a sconce and switch. I've done it many times over the years! 

I taped out the size for the board before starting: 

I use painter's tape all of the time to figure out the placement and sizing of things -- it's great for figuring out furniture layouts too!

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I found the brass sconce here (I'll show you a closer pic in a bit) and it was only $36! It is an LED light, so if you don't like that brighter daylight look, you'll want to pick something else.

Step one: Hang particle board

I had to give my bulletin board a base on the wall -- otherwise I would be gluing the foam directly to the wall. I learned a long time ago avoid glue on the wall at all costs. :) My bulletin board size is four by six feet so three 2x4 boards were enough:

I think they were $7 each. (It would be slightly cheaper to get a 4x8 piece cut down, but I get impatient sometimes.) As you can see, the TV was staying. I left it up as I worked because I wanted the bulletin board to surround the TV mount as closely as possible. 

At the bottom I cut the boards short so the cords could go through that channel: 

I don't have a pic, but I later put my favorite cord hider down the middle with the cords inside. If I have to remove the TV I can still take it off the wall and pull the cords through the bottom. 

Step two: Install foam boards over the particle board

I've used the large 4x8 insulation boards you can find at the hardware store for bulletin boards before, but they are bulky and hard to get home. (I'd have to score and cut it there to get it in my car.) 

So instead I used this insulation kit I found at Home Depot: 

I can't remember the exact price because I bought it so long ago, but it wasn't bad! 

It comes with six sheets and they are about 3/4 inch I believe. One kit was plenty!: 

I used Liquid Nails (in a caulk gun) on the back of each piece of foam to secure it to the wood: 

As you can see I just pieced it together as well as I went. Cutting it down is easy, it's just MESSY. I  used a razor to score the foam and it popped off with a pretty clean edge. 

It looked like it had snowed in my office after I was done, but it worked! 

Step three: Attach the fabric 

This is where I made a little misstep, so learn from my mistake! It ended up working out much better in the end thankfully!

I used a staple gun to attach my fabric at the top and then started working my way down. You'll need to be patient with this part! To make sure the fabric stayed against the foam, I used this spray glue as I worked. Just spray over the foam and then smooth your fabric down as you staple it around the boards. 

I removed the TV for the middle part and just cut through the fabric:

Trim the fabric and staple around the hole like so: 

I could have taken the TV mount off and installed it over the particle board, but that seemed like extra work to me. Either way would work -- just be careful not to put the foam and fabric right up against the vents of your TV so it can "breathe." 

The spray glue method worked GREAT! Almost too well -- the problem was, after I was done I could see the minor imperfections in the foam (because the fabric adhered so well). I wish I would have taken a photo to show you. It wasn't crazy noticeable, but enough that I knew it would bug me. 

Thing is, I bought a fabric for this project months ago, but when it came time to install it, I chickened out. It was out of my comfort zone a bit, so I went with a basic cream tweed fabric instead -- trying to play it safe. But when I got it up, not only could I see the imperfections...but it was BORING. 😂

Sooooo...I went back with my original fabric and LOVED it. I should have stuck with my gut, but it ended up being a good mistake because the first layer of fabric hid the imperfections. (I installed the final fabric over the first.) After I got my fabric up, I painted and installed trim around the whole thing to frame it out:

I carried the beautiful green (called Vintage Vogue) on the built ins over to this side of the room and I absolutely love it against the fabric. 

The fabric makes a statement but isn't busy. A larger print (like a floral) would look great, but I was worried it would get super busy with the photos/notes I want to put on here. Here's a closer view of the art light:

You can see how bright the LED light is! 

I am SO in love with how this turned out!! I found my antelope (faux) fabric at Hobby Lobby for 40 percent off, but you can also find it here online: 

The little console was from At Home and it's perfect for extra printer paper and ink. 

I've already started filling up the board with things I've wanted to display for awhile -- some inspiration pics, mementos and recent magazine spreads: 

Aren't those huge letters fun? I found those at Hobby Lobby too. I think they still have them!

It turned out just as I had envisioned all these months. I love that I have a spot to display these in a "neat" way: 

Here are a few things to think about if you tackle this project:

Use a fabric with a loose weave -- something that will allow your pins to get through easily (and won't show or snag when you pull them out).

Remember you can only go as big as your fabric width -- length can be as long as you want. If you want one piece of fabric, you can only go about 50 inches across. 

To avoid seeing any imperfections in the foam you can do a layer of a thin fabric (like muslin) over it first. I think anything with a pattern (like what I ended up with) would also help to hide it.

Here's a look at the before of this wall again:

And how it looks now!: 

I have plans for one more big project in this room! But after wanting to do this big bulletin board for so long, it feels complete to me for now. Have you created a big bulletin board like this for your home?

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Here are a couple of other ideas for office organization! You can also make a HUGE chalkboard using my tutorial here:

Or use an old frame to create a bulletin board as well: 

(I later changed it out to a magnetic board instead of using pins!) See more of our home here. To shop items in our home, click here! Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email. 

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than https://ift.tt/1kRxOJ2 or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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[andreafestefano]

Two additions that upped the cozy factor in our living room!

I feel like I've shared our family room a ton lately -- and I wasn't planning to again today. BUT I'm so thrilled with how it's looking with some recent additions. I wanted to show you how much changing out (or just adding!) a rug can really cozy up a space. 

The chairs and rug (from the old house) we've had in our family room have worked well since we moved in. The chairs are four years old and have seen a ton of use. They were super comfy (you'll see them in the pics below), and really spacious. We really do love them. (They are in the basement now).

But the sun did a number on them at our old house and they were faded badly. Our dog did some damage years ago as well by "digging" into the cushions. Do your dogs do that? :) Thankfully he doesn't do it much anymore. 

Anyway, we've been looking to replace them for at least a year now. We've flipped the cushions as much as we can. :) I was going to purchase the exact same ones, but they aren't sold anymore. (I even looked into having them reupholstered, but the first quote I got was more than I wanted to spend.) Finding two identical chairs that aren't a fortune (AND are comfy) is nearly impossible. You know how it goes -- either you find something that might work when you have no money, or you have the money and you can't find anything. 

The other night I ran into a HomeGoods for the first time in forever and they were right. there. when I walked in. And to my surprise, so comfortable! I texted a pic to my husband and we decided to go for it. 

They fit perfectly in there! And they swivel...basically the best thing ever. That's been our favorite part so far:

Can you see the rug? 😍😍 More on that in a minute. 

The rounded shape of the new chairs definitely softens the room too -- it wasn't until I put these in place that I realized how boxy everything was before. 

Funny thing is, our dog is NOT happy with these. Ha! He can't nestle in on the back/cushion and be on the lookout. He sits on the chair now instead but it's just not the same for the poor nugget. The cats on the other hand, still love them: 

Now onto the other big change in here! I purchased the rug weeks ago after going back and forth for what was probably two months. I wasn't sure I wanted a larger size and that the darker tones would work well. 

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I shouldn't have worried. It's an absolutely stunning rug!! I'm so so so thrilled with it. It's the Loloi Layla Collection rug in olive and charcoal. It has a ton of colors in it: 

Pinks, greens, maroon, even a little bit of aqua? It's gorgeous. 

(By the way, the price on these rugs change often, so keep a lookout. Ours has already gone up considerably since we bought it, but it was even less when I first started looking.)

Because it's a little bigger than what we had before, I was able to pull the sofas further out and push the chairs in more. We have a bit more walking room behind the chairs now: 

It helps we can kind of turn the chairs into the space -- that gives us more room as well. We love that we can turn them to put our feet up on the sofas or whatever. 

Our other rug was much thicker -- this one is very thin. So if you prefer some cush in your rug this won't work well for you. But if you have kids or animals I highly recommend it! It will hide EVERYTHING. 😂

Here are a few before and afters -- with our old rug from the old house (I believe this was from HomeGoods): 

And that same space with the new, darker rug: 

Both are beautiful (in my opinion) but WOW, this new one warms up the space so much. 

I could see changing them out with the seasons -- maybe I'll want the light back for spring and summer? I'm not big on changing out bigger items for the seasons, but we still have the lighter rug so we'll see! 

I love how it grounds the space. It ties in the dark fireplace wall and built ins beautifully: 

And I call it "dark" but it's not overly so. I'd still call it a neutral piece because it works with just about any color. 

Here are a couple more before and after shots: 

I'll have to add an evening pic at some point, because that's when it's coziest in here. I'm SO happy with how warm it feels in this space. 

From the other side as well: 

The new chairs brighten up the room and the new rug grounds it. A great combination! 

A rug makes a BIG statement and can really change the whole feel of a room. It can also be one of the most expensive purchases. My favorite affordable spots for larger rugs are Rugs USA, HomeGoods and this one is from Amazon -- I've never purchased one from there before! (You can also find this rug here and here! 

Here's a better view of the rug from upstairs: 

It's been two years since we moved in and this space is feeling so much like us now. I have said it a million times and will say it again...take your time when it comes to purchasing for/decorating spaces. You will make much better decisions and will enjoy them longer. I never regret waiting for the perfect item at the perfect time. :) You can find links to a lot of the items in this room below -- just click on the picture! **Sofas are from a local Indy store called Urban Styles.

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[andreafestefano]

Our cozy family room Christmas tour!

Hello hello! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving week! Ours was a perfect mix of having fun (Disney World and plenty of family and friend time) and relaxing (barely got off my butt a couple days). 

In between sitting on my butt, I finished up our tree in the family room, so I thought I'd share this great room Christmas tour today! If you missed it, I shared the main staples I use when decorating for  the holidays here. I stick to those pretty much everywhere! 

This year, instead of stressing and trying to decorate every room to the hilt, I decided to focus on certain areas instead. Focal points I guess you could say, like the mantel and the stairs. And of course the tree! I'm learning over the years that a little bit of Christmas decor goes a long way.

It's taken a lot of the stress out of holiday decorating and I've enjoyed it quite a bit this year! (I always enjoy it...but when it's your job it can get a little more stressful than it should be.) 

Take a look at our tour below!

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For the first year in a long time I used faux greenery on the stair railings. I love the real stuff but it gets messy at the end of the season. This faux cedar greenery is the best I've found for the price! (I'll link all of the items in this room at the bottom of the post. :) 

I'm a lover of red at Christmas -- I don't use it anywhere else any other time of year! But now...it's my favorite. It looks great with the moody blues in this room: 

Our tree is 12 feet tall and we got it from At Home a few years ago. It's prelit and lights up as you put it together -- that makes things so much easier! 

I tell you every year I have a love/hate relationship with this tree. It's a BEAST to decorate and takes forever. But my husband loves it SO MUCH. And I always enjoy it when it's done...so I'll keep the beast alive: 

I'm SO glad I decided to tackle that trim work on the fireplace wall this year! I've been wanting to do it since we moved in and I absolutely love it: 

The materials for that project are SO inexpensive. You can make a big impact for so little! 

The mantel decor this year is literally garland I piled on...I do this every year and love how it comes together: 

I stick in bits and pieces to add fullness and some color. The vintage brass candlesticks are the perfect finishing touch. 

The eucalyptus I use is from here and also IKEA. It's a faux plant that works ALL year round beautifully: 

Remember my DIY Christmas boxes craft? I found the perfect spot for them on our wood picture ledges: 

I think they are the cutest! 

I saw that metal art online at Decor Steals months ago and grabbed it up. I was going to put it outside but liked it even more here: 

You can see how I hung that beautiful greenery on the stairs here:

The lanterns on the stairs were IKEA finds years ago, and the little houses were from the Target dollar spot a year or two ago.

Here's one a look at our giant tree:

You can see how I find seasonal pillows for way less here -- and I'll link the green ones below. 

There you go! It's been a long time since I've been done decorating this early. I only have a few more things to do and I'm done! I absolutely love our home at Christmas! 

Do you do a lot of holiday decorating or just the minimum? I've known the joy of both! ;) You can see most of the items in our family room by clicking on the photos below: 

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