Thursday, January 29, 2009

One more little house project down

There is so much more we want to do with our house, but the sad facts are that we have no money with which to do it. "It" would be a major remodel of the back part of the house where bedrooms and bathroom are. So it is becoming clear to me that we may have to live "as is" for the forseeable future. So now I am thinking of inexpensive ways to make it all more comfortable and liveable until our ship comes in. My two allies in this endeavor (besides Ray, the all-around handy guy) are Miller Paint and IKEA.

Up until last week, this is what passed for linen storage, just outside the bathroom and bedroom doors. It really looked messy with sheets and towels and tablecloths hanging over the edges of the shelves and, of course, it is my unfavorite baby blue, as was all of that hallway area. Ray ripped out the shelves, which unfortunately were unsalvageable, I painted the walls and then we took a trip to IKEA where we found this great cupboard, ON SALE. Since there was space and the finishes matched, we also got the always useful BILLY shelf unit to sit next to it.

Isn't that just so much cleaner and neater and brighter looking? I am looking for some baskets or bins that will fit in the open shelves.

On the opposite wall I painted a darker taupe and decided to paint the closet door and trim the same color, despite painting the bedroom and bathroom doors the lighter color with white trim. It just seemed better to sort of paint that door "out".

That's my great-grandmother in the oval frame and one of my quilts on the door. I think more old family pictures will go in this area once I locate them.

I think it has improved the view, down the hall, from the livingroom significantly.

Small things make me happy these days. Good thing.

8 comments:

  1. Ah, for the lack of monies .... In spite of that what your solutions are super. I like your birds perched up on top of the open shelves.

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  2. You are so resourceful and creative. We are going out to IKEA for some storage solutions for my office.

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  3. A long corridor or view through a few rooms should definitely have a bright and colourful perspective, as you chose with the red and orange quilt.

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  4. Anonymous10:35 PM

    We've been doing some Ikea-izing around our house too...surprised we didn't run into each other there! Isn't it grand? Great to celebrate each step...even when they aren't all big ones (yet). It looks beautiful...enjoy!!!

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  5. We were at IKEA last weekend. I like those Billy things. They fit nearly everywhere-so handy.
    Love the view down the corridor

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  6. Anonymous7:45 AM

    How untidy life would be without IKEA. Your home looks so inviting and warm. Do you have more of your quilts displayed in the house?

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  7. Great idea on painting 'out' that door. It makes it look much 'cleaner' at the end of the hallway. x2 on the little birds on the shelf. They made me smile.

    The first time we went to IKEA was just after they first opened on a rainy sunday afternoon. What a colossal mistake. Everyone in all of Oregon and their kids and their kids' friends and the dog was there. That place is like a maze - or a casino. You can't get out. And when we finally got a list of all the parts we needed for a headboard, they didn't have them all. My husband was so irritated that he swore that he would never go back. :)

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  8. Hi Terry,
    I just received my copy of "Art Quilts at Play" and have been visiting the sites of the other contributing artists. Congratulations on your beautiful house quilts in the book. Your blog is very inspiring and I have enjoyed my visit!
    Warm regards,
    Kim

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