home decor | This Old Colonial Home

June 9, 2015
by This Old Colonial Home 2 Comments

Master Bedroom Reveal

I am so happy to report that our master bedroom is finally done!It has taken more than a year to get this room all pieced together. Gasp! Certain things just tend to hold up the process: time, money, jobs, weekends away, a baby on the way … but that’s alright. This is what real life looks like (at least for us). Who are these people anyway who can knock out a room in a weekend?!

It all started in March of last year when Jamie painted our room Cliffside Gray by Benjamin Moore and I tackled my first stencil wall. (See all the details here.) Stencil wall project in progress The furniture remained a hodgepodge of pieces that didn’t go together. I had bought a yellow nightstand at a garage sale for $5 that I loved. The original thought was to add another yellow nightstand on the other side of the bed, but as usual I eventually changed my mind. So the room remained in a state of mismatchedness. (Is that even a real word?!)The plan now is to put this pretty little piece in the nursery.

Over this past winter, the furniture started to come together a little bit better. We bought dressers from Ikea and started adding some decor.I then splurged on this accent chair from Marshalls. We had the space for it, and it was just too cute to pass up! We also added curtains with some industrial pipe rods (see it here). It’s amazing how curtains can make a room look so much more complete! At this point I wasn’t feeling our headboard anymore. I just didn’t like the color of the wood with the new dressers. So onto Craigslist it went and the search began for a tufted one. After a few months, I found the perfect headboard on Wayfair for a crazy, awesome price! (This is not a sponsored post, but I’m telling you, you should sign up for those daily deal emails. They will literally pay off!)And after just a few days of ordering it, our headboard finally sold too. It was meant to be!

The ceiling fan in our room also got a nice little update. (You can read more about that here.)

So now we’re down to the final pieces of the puzzle: the nightstands.

My ever-so-handy husband built us two nightstands using these free plans from ana-white.com. Here are a few shots of his work in progress:I was then tasked with finding drawer pulls, lamps, and decor. Again, each item took a little bit of searching, but it finally all came together.My favorite part is the artwork. Instead of buying some generic saying in the store (sorry, but I’m over the ‘Love you to the moon and back’ signs), I used Canva to create something that has more meaning to us as a couple. “When I’m with you feels like I’m home” is a lyric from the Duncan Sheik song ‘Home,’ which is the first song we danced to as husband and wife!

So as you can see, this room went through a lot of different phases. Here’s where we originally started when we first bought the house.And this is how it looks now!I truly love our master bedroom! I find it to be such a calming and relaxing space, and a true reflection of us. Is it time for bed yet?!

April 2, 2015
by This Old Colonial Home 1 Comment

Kitchen Chalkboard Wall

Well it’s official. The entire first floor of our house is finally all repainted. The last piece of the pie was the kitchen. (Mmm … pie.) Jamie wiped the white walls goodbye with some Mint Frost by Valspar. It’s the same color we used in our dining room. I think it makes the two rooms flow nicely together.One of the walls we left white … well only temporarily. On this wall we decided to use chalkboard paint!Before painting, Jamie sanded down the wall to make it as smooth as possible. We let the paint cure for a few days before doing anything else to it. And really it sat bare for longer than it needed to because I couldn’t figured out what I wanted to do with it 😛I finally came up with what I wanted to display. But before doing that, I took a piece of chalk and went over the entire wall.I then wiped it clean with a little soap and water. It took a few wipe downs to get all the streaks out. I also had some residue from the rag I used, so I just took a vacuum brush to the wall once it was dry. Now I was good to go!

I found some cute kitchen pun printables on Pinterest. Since I stink at drawing and can’t really do fancy handwriting, I used a method similar to Lauren’s over at Bless’er House. I printed each pun then traced over the letters and design on the back side with chalk. Then I taped the sheets of paper to the wall and went over each letter and design on the front with a pencil. This pressed the chalk onto the wall, transferring the image.I could then easily color in or trace any areas that needed it. This is what it looked like after I did all four.It still needed something though. So I added a little border around it, included another saying (that one I did freehand, woah!), and hung a cute little bucket to hold chalk.But I still really wanted something along the top. I had been thinking about an EAT sign. And it must’ve been fate because I found this beauty at Michael’s!Here’s the final product. I love how it turned out! It think it’s the perfect dose of industrial decor.What cool projects have you made with chalkboard paint?

August 29, 2014
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Entryway Decor Part 3: DIY Painted Lamp Shade

With the shelf and mirror in place, the last order of business was finding a few items to put on the shelf.

Our entryway gets pretty dark and instead of having to always use the bright, overhead light — a table lamp would be perfect. The only problem was finding one narrow enough.

I checked a few stores to no avail before deciding this lamp in our guest bedroom was the perfect size.But the white shade needed a little something. I decided I’d try painting it. Why not?!

I wanted to do horizontal lines, but because of its shape, it was easier to line up the painter’s tape vertically. For this pattern I used a strip of tape in the middle and then cut a strip in half length wise for 2 skinnier strips on the sides.I used latex paint that we already had on hand. The first coat I used a foam roller, but it didn’t go on very evenly.I did a second coat and touch-ups with a foam brush. That seemed to work better. I also ended up painting the white stripes (no, not the band haha!) with paint leftover from the mirror project. This helped give it a cleaner, more even look. Definitely make sure to check the shade with the light on when you think you’re done. It can look completely different and you can see spots where you may have missed. When doing touch-ups, I actually painted it with the light on. Sounds funny, but it worked!I then added a few more small items to the shelf that I found at Marshalls. Now with all three projects complete, as well as the mason jar sconce, the entryway feels more welcoming and inviting. How do you like to make your home feel welcoming upon entering the front door?

August 20, 2014
by This Old Colonial Home 2 Comments

Blogger Block Party

On Monday I went to my very first blogger-related party! HGTV Magazine hosted a Blogger Block Party in New York City.The details leading up to the event were pretty vague and I didn’t know what to expect. Needless to say I was nervous about going by myself, especially since I’m still a newbie at this whole blogging thing. But one of my good friends encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone. She said the only way people will get to know me is if I go and meet them. Thanks for the advice, Steph!

So I put on my big girl pants and decided to go. Manhattan is just a 45 minute NJ Transit bus ride away, so there really was no reason not to go!I felt welcome right away! There was free swag right upon entering the door, which is always okay in my book. Plus, everyone I spoke with was nice and friendly. It was a great opportunity to meet fellow bloggers and even non-bloggers who just love DIY. I even got to briefly meet Sara Peterson, the Editor in Chief of HGTV Magazine.The day consisted of making connections, as well as crafting, and easy DIY demonstrations. The kitchen art was probably my favorite. I kinda really want to try these painted wooden spoons!The highlight of the day, of course, was when Scott McGillivray – host of HGTV’s “Income Property” – arrived for his demonstration. His presentation was definitely the most interesting and informative. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eyes! (Sorry, honey!)I even got up the nerve to ask him a question during the Q&A portion. Hopefully my nervousness wasn’t too noticeable. I asked him what his thoughts were on ripping out a closet and replacing it with a bench and hooks, which is something Jamie and I plan on doing in our entryway. He answered that taking away storage isn’t a great idea, but as long as you replace it with another form of storage it should be fine. Thanks, Scott!

We were then able to get our picture taken with him! When it was my turn, I simply thanked him and said it was nice meeting him. I tried to act nonchalant on the outside, but inside I was super giddy!I stayed a little bit for the cocktail hour that followed, chatted with a few more people and then decided after nearly 8 hours I would head home.

I definitely enjoyed myself and I’m glad that I went. I learned a lot from more experienced bloggers and left with my head spinning and full of ideas.

While I am just a little guppy in this massive sea of home décor/DIY blogs, this doormat at the party is my new inspiration and motivation!We all have to start somewhere — so keep calm and blog on!