Elle Decor
Elle Decor
September 28, 2010
September 23, 2010
Holy Crap!
Alright - admittedly, it's a terrible pun. Today's blog post refers to a major, major renovation at the Lotzer abode. We are putting in a second bathroom! When we bought our home a year-and-a-half ago the one large compromise we had to make was the fact that it only had one bathroom. Ergo - the walls are coming down and construction on our brand new 75 square foot bathroom has begun!
Stage one of the process for Mike: find the right contractor at the RIGHT price. Done!
Stage one for me: get inspired by pretty things. Done! Inspiration abounds.
Stage one of the process for Mike: find the right contractor at the RIGHT price. Done!
Stage one for me: get inspired by pretty things. Done! Inspiration abounds.
This inspiration from HGTV is one of my favorites. It normally takes me awhile to make design decisions, but I have known from day 1 that wainscoting is a must!
I am a big fan of vanities that resemble furniture, like this one from Apartment Therapy
Or repurpose an armoire!
Some lovely inspiration courtesy of Little Green Notebook
Chandeliers in bathroom = pure elegance
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Bright and airy from The Newlywed Diaries
I love this privacy nook from KitchenBathIdeas
I adore four-legged console sinks like this one. If only I could find one in my budget!
This small bathroom adds a twist with an angled tub
August 29, 2010
Weekend Project: Pergola - Day 2
No, it did not take us two months to finish the pergola. The summer has absolutely flown by! Between the usual summer craziness and a packed calendar of events at work there was just no time for blogging.
So with no further ado, here is the update and reveal of project: pergola.
We started off the day with, you guessed it, more sanding and painting. Hurray!
Important public service announcement: do not EVER try to paint lattice with a brush. I seriously wasted 4 hours of my life on day one trying to get into every nook and cranny with a paint brush. And the end result looked terrible! The stain inevitably dripped through to the other side and created big dark globs. It was so awful in fact that we didn't even use that piece of lattice.
So I wised up and called several places to find out how much they charge to rent a paint sprayer. While at Home Depot (our fifth trip, mind you) the man at the rental center convinced me that the commercial paint sprayers (3000 psi) that they rent would be a bit overkill for our project. He advised that I buy a cheap sprayer in the paint section. So I picked up a Wagner (1700 psi) for $68 - which was just slightly more than it would have cost to rent one. Score!
Hour 12,867 of staining.
Then it was time to put all the pieces together, and voilà! Ain't it purdy?
And it's even better now that we have some hanging plants and lights. We love having candlelight dinners outside (as long as the pesky mosquitoes don't drop in for a visit).
It ended up costing us slightly more than we had hoped, but it was still only 1/3 the cost of hiring someone to build it for us. Can't beat that!
So with no further ado, here is the update and reveal of project: pergola.
We started off the day with, you guessed it, more sanding and painting. Hurray!
Important public service announcement: do not EVER try to paint lattice with a brush. I seriously wasted 4 hours of my life on day one trying to get into every nook and cranny with a paint brush. And the end result looked terrible! The stain inevitably dripped through to the other side and created big dark globs. It was so awful in fact that we didn't even use that piece of lattice.
So I wised up and called several places to find out how much they charge to rent a paint sprayer. While at Home Depot (our fifth trip, mind you) the man at the rental center convinced me that the commercial paint sprayers (3000 psi) that they rent would be a bit overkill for our project. He advised that I buy a cheap sprayer in the paint section. So I picked up a Wagner (1700 psi) for $68 - which was just slightly more than it would have cost to rent one. Score!
Then it was time to put all the pieces together, and voilà! Ain't it purdy?
And it's even better now that we have some hanging plants and lights. We love having candlelight dinners outside (as long as the pesky mosquitoes don't drop in for a visit).
It ended up costing us slightly more than we had hoped, but it was still only 1/3 the cost of hiring someone to build it for us. Can't beat that!
June 22, 2010
Weekend Project: Pergola - Day 1
We have been saving our credit card points for a rainy day project....or in our case, a sunny day project. So after years of socking away the points we decided to cash in and build ourselves a pergola.
Pergolas. Mike has always wanted one. Plus it's just a fun word to say.
Let me preface this by saying Mike and I may be creative and motivated but we are a far cry from being "handy". The key to this successful endeavor was recruiting the right friends to help us. And that we did.
Day one of the pergola extravaganza began at 8:30am.
Sanding and staining. Hour 1.
Pergolas. Mike has always wanted one. Plus it's just a fun word to say.
Let me preface this by saying Mike and I may be creative and motivated but we are a far cry from being "handy". The key to this successful endeavor was recruiting the right friends to help us. And that we did.
Day one of the pergola extravaganza began at 8:30am.
The first order of business was to dig really, really deep holes for the posts. Thankfully with the help of some fellas with very large biceps we busted through these in no time.
Mike and the Colonel mixed the cement by hand.
Tough work.
Tough work.
Work hard. Play hard.
With so many people coming and going the gate was left open a couple of times. Ringo is normally pretty good about staying close but he was clearly bored by us and he slinked away without being noticed for who knows how long. We found him at his friend Reilly's house scratching at the door - "Can Reilly come out and play?"
The four main posts were set and stained by 4pm. Nice!
Hour 5 of staining. The sun is now beginning to set. Fumes going to the brain....
And 11.5 hours later, day one concluded.
Bed. Is. Calling.
June 17, 2010
New at West Elm
Living in Minnesota I find it quite depressing when stores start advertising their fall line in JUNE. Summer goes too fast already - please don't rush me!
But all can be forgiven to West Elm for giving us a sneak peek at their fall collection.
But all can be forgiven to West Elm for giving us a sneak peek at their fall collection.
Good looking bedding
This embroidered white duvet cover is quite lovely. Actually I was more attracted to the walls though. I know people either love it or hate it - but I happen to be a fan of grass cloth wallpaper.
I really like these curtains. The sheer quality with the chevron print makes them interesting yet subtle.
Some beautiful new rugs. I really like the natural feel and interesting texture of the beige rug. Again - a chevron pattern.
West Elm always has great lighting
The Triad Coffee Table is one of my favorite new additions. It also comes with a glass top but I tend to shy away from glass coffee tables. Too much upkeep for my taste.
This tripod table comes in three great colors.
What a steal! At $6 this little dish can be used in so many ways. I am picturing it to hold loose jewelry.
June 14, 2010
Etsy Love: vol. 25
I have about 10 projects bouncing around in my head right now and eventually I will have to stop dreaming about them and actually do them!
One of these projects is to create a "collage" of art in my guest bedroom. There is a long blank wall crying out for a collection of new and vintage art to complement my porcelain blue quilt.
I have bookmarked about a bazillion things I would love to buy off of Etsy. Alas, I won't be able to acquire them all so I will be pulling out a little D to the I to the Y to stay on budget. But I do plan on making select purchases from some of my favorites on Etsy. Currently I am love-love-loving the new art by vol. 25. I follow Jessica's awesome blog about art and photography and I couldn't resist sharing some of my faves. Plus she's having a sale! Buy 2 get 1 free.
One of these projects is to create a "collage" of art in my guest bedroom. There is a long blank wall crying out for a collection of new and vintage art to complement my porcelain blue quilt.
I have bookmarked about a bazillion things I would love to buy off of Etsy. Alas, I won't be able to acquire them all so I will be pulling out a little D to the I to the Y to stay on budget. But I do plan on making select purchases from some of my favorites on Etsy. Currently I am love-love-loving the new art by vol. 25. I follow Jessica's awesome blog about art and photography and I couldn't resist sharing some of my faves. Plus she's having a sale! Buy 2 get 1 free.
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