a little update in photos

Work here has been chugging along – slowly but surely. Almost everything is complete except the kitchen and the final punch list. Of course, the kitchen is major and we’ve had some major hiccups with regard to horrible subs, but that seems to be water under the bridge now (fingers crossed). Until I have a chance to clean up and take some real pics, here are some iphone snapshots of some little vignettes in our house that are completed. So much to do – but I have started hanging stuff on the walls which makes me SO happy.

Cash’s travel and adventure themed room is finally coming together – will have a proper blog post on that soon.

I DIYed a custom sheet for Cash’s crib with some custom fabric from Spoonflower. I love the way it turned out.

Finally hung some art in Zoey’s room, including a custom gallery wrap that I designed with a photo I took on our trip to Palm Springs last year.

The exterior of the house is very close to done (just need a new sidewalk and landscaping). Here is a sneak peek.

I finally took some pics of Z and Cash and made them into a gallery wrap to hang in our living area.

Also made a custom changing pad cover and wall art for Cash’s room (photo taken by me in Colorado)

I’m in love with our breakfast nook. I’ll also have a separate post on that coming soon with sources 🙂

dining room lights before and after

I’m excited to share the lights for our dining area. I found them over a year ago at the Four Hands Warehouse sale for cheap (I think they were around $20-30 each?)! I didn’t love the finish for our house though, so they got a makeover – semi gloss white spray paint on the outside, pewter sparkly paint on the inside, and new black and white houndstooth cords from etsy. LOVE the finished result – they have so much presence in the space!

we have walls, and floors!

Where to start? So much has been happening so (relatively) quickly that I haven’t kept up with posting updates. Well, and the new (adorable) baby needing constant attention isn’t helping…here he is looking dapper:

Zoey is an awesome big sister!

Ok onto the updates…I am so behind I don’t know where to start so this post will be all over the place…

Master bathroom still isn’t complete. We’ve had major hiccups with our contractor and the countertops. We didn’t like the sample he brought for us, so we decided to purchase ourselves. I could write a whole post about countertops, and I probably should…but to make a long story short we visited Home Depot (limited options in our price range for Silestone and lack of samples to take home in the colors we wanted), Lowes (has a huge minimum – basically you have to buy the slab which for what we needed, 17 square feet, not worth it), Austin Countertops (also have to buy a slab, their quote came out crazy high $100/sf for material that at Home Depot was $39/sf) and (the winner) Treehouse in South Austin – like a way cooler, smaller, more modern and more green Lowes. They had samples in stock, color options we loved in groups A and B for silestone (looking at whites and grays), and no minimum! They had more options than Home Depot or Lowes and the no minimums sold us. And they are local! A win all around! We ordered just a few days ago, they will come template, and then 2-3 weeks before install. So, we still have some time before the bathroom is done. Here are a few sneak peeks (it’s a mess in there right now since we are sort of using the bathroom, ghetto style). I will post sources on everything when I post final pics, but if anyone has any questions for now just leave a comment!

The tile is more gray than the brown it appears in the pics…

Here are a few pics of the work in progress (from a few weeks ago)

Check out those Oxford redi-screens from Crestview Doors. We got them at their warehouse sale more than a year ago and I am so excited to use them in the house!

Here’s a crappy phone pic of our floors going in a few weeks ago (and another appearance by the screens. They have been moved all over the house!)

During the main living areas/kitchen remodel we have been camped out in our bedroom (with a newborn and a 3 year old). Not fun! With the floors and trim complete we moved our living room setup back into the actual living room last week. So the photo below is us reclaiming our bedroom after mass chaos! Including actually hanging stuff on the walls!

And here are some more shots of the interiors as they are now. Mike (hubby) built the new staircase railing and also redid those cool lights. More to come on those soon. And the gray tufted piece there? More to come on that too. It’s awesome. This view is from the front door looking towards the right.

Looking into the soon to be kitchen/living room area.

Looking out from the old kitchen

Oh, if you want more up to date updates, follow me on instagram 🙂 @heathercbanks

More to come soon! I have so much to share!

zoey’s mod big girl room – in progress

Zoey’s room is really coming together! It’s functional enough that she has moved in – though we still have a few major projects left in there before it is complete:

1 – New windows. The old windows are in desperate need of replacement – it get’s super hot up there in the afternoons. We ordered the windows and they are in

2 – Window coverings once the new windows are put in – some sort of solar or roller shades…

3 – Curtain panels to cover the closets. We were going to just replace the old closet doors or repaint the doors we pulled out, but they were too damaged. But, I thought for a softer look and easier access we would go with curtains.

4 – Wallpaper on the feature wall –

5 – A Door! She currently has no door – we need to order a new door and install a doorknob/lever 🙂

6 – A completed bed! Still need to get this bad boy painted and then reupholstered! For now her mattress/box spring are on the floor, bachelor pad style 🙂

 

Here are some photos of her room where it’s at now – really love it! I pulled a lot of brass accent pieces that I had in storage for decor, and I love the way they look. Also, the little gilded gold table will be replaced – it’s awesome looking but not very stable/sturdy…so it’s just sitting in as a placeholder for now.

Closets in need of curtains to cover the craziness…

Craigslisted shelving makeover

Just wanted to share a makeover that I’m proud of! I bought this adorable shelving unit on CL last year and it has been waiting for it’s makeover for months now! I finally got around to painting it a lovely medium dark gray and I added some new pulls from Anthropologie. I tossed the old dated pulls and updated it with adorable brass owl pulls on the top set of drawers, and the mid century looking brass pulls on bottom set of drawers! Then, I filled it with some brass decor and other fun items for Zoey’s big girl room, and there we have it! More sneak peeks from Zoey’s room in progress coming next week 🙂

 

DIY vintage industrial light fixture

So, while we’ve been making very little progress with regards to the addition that is still in the works (we are waiting, waiting, and waiting for subcontractors to get their revised bids in so we can turn everything into the bank) we are making progress on little things…I’ve been working on the upstairs bedrooms and staircase – they are all primed and Zoey’s room is painted and has a new ceiling fan and closet rods. Cash’s future room will be painted in  the near future (haven’t decided the color scheme yet but we have an adventure/travel theme!) Photos coming soon of that progress. It’s AMAZING what a coat of primer (to cover all the nasty stains) and pulling out some equally nasty old carpet can do.

In the staircase area – there is an old, hideous wall sconce that I accidentally on purpose painted with the sprayer. Oops. So it just had to be replaced. A while ago I fell in love with a mid century looking old fan front/grill at the antique mall. I knew it would make a cool light fixture, just wasn’t sure where or how. So, I found a porcelain light socket at Home Depot (less than $2) along with an Edison style bulb and put Mike to work installing. Then, I mounted the vintage fan front on the wall around the fixture. I love the result – modern, vintage and industrial.

You can hardly see the old fixture in the photo right below, but it’s the brighter white spot on the staircase wall.

And here is the replacement vintage industrial wall sconce. I love how it turned out! It makes me happy to see it walking in the house (until I see the hideous green floral carpet that still needs to be pulled up)!

 

we’re still here…

Long time no post, I know…shame on me! We hit yet another roadblock with the addition/main remodel – wow has this been a process! Our lender, after reviewing our 2012 taxes, decreased our approved loan amount by 50k! So, we had another meeting with our contractor to go over our options. Right now, we are in the process of trying to figure out a way to still do the addition (most important) but nixing the remodel of the rest of the spaces in the house (all upstairs and the downstairs bedroom and master bath will remain as is). Which, ultimately, is just fine with us since it will give us projects for later (we’re crazy like that!) and the most important thing to us right now investment wise is getting the added square footage that the addition will give us.

So, our contractor is getting some new numbers for our bid based on the changes to our plans, and then we will submit everything to the bank and get an appraisal and go to underwriting. We are REALLY hoping to begin in September, but at this point I have really given up any hope of a timeline. I will just be ecstatic once we actually start! Also, we’re expecting child #2 (a baby boy) in January, so that is putting a bit of a time crunch on us too!

While we are waiting, I’ve started working on the upstairs bedrooms! We have 2 bedrooms up there (Zoey’s room and our future baby boy Cash’s room) and a shared bathroom. My goal is to get those bedrooms completed or mostly completed before the remodel starts, so Zoey can move her room up there for the duration. Here are the bedrooms before:

The stairs leading upstairs which I have big plans for – most importantly removing that HIDEOUS gross carpet and doing something really cool with the staircase.

 

 

This room (which is to the left when you come up the stairs) will be Cash’s room.

Carpet and trim will be gone and replaced with either laminate or new carpet, all new primer and paint (these walls are nasty and stained), all new outlets that are grounded (the current ones are not), all new windows, new ceiling fan, and repainted closet doors.

The cute built in is staying, but will be repainted in a gray.

How disgusting is that carpet? It was even more disgusting to pull up, ick.

This room (to the right when you walk upstairs) will be Zoey’s bedroom. It’s a tiny bit smaller than the other room, but has 2 closets! A girl’s gotta have a lot of closet space 🙂

This room has even nastier walls than the other – we are using SUPER heavy duty primer (several coats) on these walls.

This room also has a cute built in bookcase in the window nook, with a little bench seat. I have big plans for this area!

This is a photo of the landing area at the upstairs (old photo – before the bathroom was redone). We are planning to repaint the built in storage to the left.

Another shot of the staircase, which needs a lot of help to make it less like something out of a horror movie!

That’s all I’ve got for now – stay tuned for some photos in progress. I’ve already torn out all of the carpet/trim/tack strips, replaced most of the outlets, and started priming. We should be ready to order the windows next week! It’s coming together!

upstairs bathroom all done up

Finally did a little accessorizing of the upstairs bathroom to make it a little cozier! Still need towels and towel bars/hooks and some other things…but it’s coming together!

LOVE this GROW sign – from Target. Perfect for a kids bathroom, I think!

Did a little accessorizing with a vintage mid century plate and oblong bowl that I picked up earlier this year. Eventually they will hold misc bathroom items/towels etc.

Also picked up this super cute color blocked basket at Target – perfect for throwing dirty clothes after bathtime.

The hippo toothbrush holder from Urban Outfitters is in – it’s adorable.

Here’s an overall shot of the almost completed bathroom complete with whales shower curtain, matching cozy bath mat and trash can (Target), and one of my favorite pieces of original art by a local Austin artist Jeffrey Swanson.

bathroom is DONE!

Two major things happened this week. The bathroom is DONE, and we got permit approval for the remodel/addition (only about a month after we submitted the plans, which surprised the heck out of us since we had heard that the permit backlog with the City of Austin was causing permits to take 2-3 months or more)! However, we are still waiting on the loan to go thru, so we can’t start yet (womp, womp).

Here is a little sneak peek of the finished bathroom, and I’ll be posting a bunch more before and after pics in a couple weeks! (including pics of the finishing touches, shower curtain, etc)!

upstairs bathroom remodel | it’s happening!

We finally pulled the trigger on the upstairs bathroom remodel! Our goal is to have this bathroom done before we start the main house remodel, and we are well on the way! We purchased all of the materials/finishes and hired a contractor to do all the install/work. So far, so good!

The bones of this bathroom will be clean and modern with touches of blue. However, it is a kids bathroom so we want it to be a little fun too! But, all of the fun stuff can easily be changed out when Zoey gets older and outgrows it. Here are a few things I recently pinned that I love for the bathroom. We seem to have a “whale” theme going. I’m generally not into themed bathrooms, but I want this to be a fun place for her!

This moroccan looking ceiling fixture is awesome, but I’m not into the oil rubbed bronze look. It’s a tad too traditional for me. So, it has gotten a makeover with “lagoon” spraypaint from Rust-Oleum! Stay tuned for the final result. I can’t wait to hang it!

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I love this print for the bathroom, from Urban Outfitters.

And of course this whale shower curtain is too cute.

And a matching bath mat of course

This is a hippo, not a whale, but it’s too stinkin’ cute!

And here is the tile work in progress. So exciting! Next comes floor tile, grout, primer, paint, and then install of all the fixtures!