Monday, March 31, 2014

The Man Cave is Complete!

Well, kind of.  It still needs some tweaks, but we got everything accomplished that we wanted to.  What do you think?


We put the loveseat back in the middle of the room, slid the keyboard in front of the window, and moved the bookcase to the back corner.


The new entertainment center holds all of the consoles on the left.  Drew's most-played games are on the top right shelf, and the bottom two selves are empty.


To the left, are Drew's guitars and amp.  We still want to get a guitar hook so we can hang one of them on the wall.  The other will go on the stand.  You can also see Drew's race medal and bib display I made him.  (Apparently all bibs aren't the same size, so I'm investigating some other options for hang them.)


The books case holds some of our Ole Miss memorabilia:  Colonel Reb doll, Hugh Freeze-signed football, yearbooks, etc.  It also holds Drew's records, our laptops, melted record bowl with guitar picks and strings, piano and guitar books, and Star Wars figurines.  The figurines were 3D printed at Disney World last year.  Each has Drew's face!


We also have a signed Eli Manning and Patrick Willis poster.


And a team-signed 2013 football schedule.  Drew added a ticket from each game he attended that we won.


The "helmet picture" that I got for Drew one year for Christmas.


This is a Donte Moncrief signed jersey.  We bought the jersey when they did Rebel Resale last year and had Donte sign it during Meet the Rebels.  Mom had Lisa Locke frame this too, and we had her add a photo of Donte wearing the jersey.


Another shot of the entertainment center.  (Sorry for the shadow.)  He got the field print from Mom for Christmas last year.  Lisa Locke did the framing.


Again, sorry for the shadow.  This print has the original Star Wars characters as members of a rock band.

How about a little before and after?




What do you think?  Like I said, we still have a few tweaks, like adding a curtain (maybe red and white color blocked?) and getting the guitar hook.  And I'm still dealing with all of those DVDs that we stuffed in the closet.  Overall, I'm very pleased with how everything has turned out!

In case you missed it:
Man Cave Before
Painting the Man Cave


Thursday, March 6, 2014

Mirror, Mirror On the Wall....

Even though this month's project is the guest bathroom, I couldn't resist this mirror from Kirkland's. We had originally estimated to spend about $100 alone on the bathroom mirror.  So when I scored this one for $30, I had enough left in the budget to grab this beauty.

I've been searching forever for something to put in the entryway.  It just looked so vacate.  Here's the before:


(Please excuse that rumbled rug with a line in it.  It's Dexter's favorite place to sit, and he takes great joy in flipping it upside.  Even with one of those rubber mat things underneath, he slides into that door like he's sliding into home to win the game.  His face lights up, and I get up to flip the rug back over so he can do it all over again.  One day he got carried away and pulled a string out of the back of it.  You could tell he was so proud of himself for tearing up a rug that we had only had a week.)



Pretty boring, huh?  Now for the after:



Is anyone else as in love with this mirror as I am?  I was super excited when I found it!

To hang it, we picked up some 30lbs picture hooks from Lowe's.   Unfortunately, the hooks wouldn't fit into the holes on the back of the mirror, so we just hung it on the nail.  That counts right?

We also did not have two studs placed the same distance apart as the holes on the back of the mirror.  We made sure to get one side in the stud, and the other is just nailed into the sheetrock.  It's been hanging for a few days, and we haven't had any trouble so far.

I still feel like things look a little bare behind the door, but it doesn't make sense to put something there.

And in case you were wondering, the piece of furniture is an old record player.  We bought it refinished from a pair of my friends from high school.  Right now it doesn't work.  We plan to try to have it repaired, but if it can't be, we'll probably replace it with something else.  Maybe with storage for the pups' things?

On top is a set of candle holders from Drew's parents.  The red candles are from the old decorating scheme and need to be replaced.  The platter in the center is a piece of custom pottery from our wedding registry.  It's from Pray Pottery in Iuka, MS.  The bottom reads "Love is patient.  Love is kind."  Our wedding vows were based on this same passage.  And finally, the owl is a candle wax warmer from Walmart.

What do you think of the mirror?  What kind of things do you store in the entryway?  Do you use your formal entryway often, or do you usually enter through another door, like the garage or carport?

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

March Project: Guest Bathroom

Unfortunately, February's project got pushed back to March, but that's ok.  March is here, and we're ready to get to work.

This month, we're focusing on the guest bathroom.  Ready for the before pictures?




It's just your classic, small, spare bathroom.  This one is positioned between the two bedrooms.  When we have kids, it will be used as their bathroom, but until then, it's used by guests and occasionally us.

What's currently in there:
Shower curtain from Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  Originally, I picked out the matching comforter set.  Drew said it was too girly, so we compromised with getting the shower curtain.
3 Wise Owls print from Kirkland's  This was actually one of Drew's finds.  We've gotten several compliments on it.
Green bathmat from Target.
"Love is Patient" print that was received as a wedding gift
Candles that were used in my Thanksgiving decorations.  I just stuck them in here after the holidays.

What's in those cabinets?
The upper cabinet houses toilet paper, bath clothes, an extra hair dryer, and a variety of extra guest supplies.
The bottom cabinet contains all of the towels for this bathroom.

Plans for the space:
Paint - We'll most likely pull from one of the colors in the shower curtain.  Anything to cover up that beige.
Replace the mirror - Since I'm lazy and didn't want to take another picture  nice, you get a sneak peak at the replacement mirror we already bought.  It's just propped up right now, but behind it is a builder's basic plain mirror.
Replace the vanity top - We're just not a fan of the look of the current top.  Also the shape of the sink bowl takes up unnecessary space.
Replace the bathmat - Although this one is new, it probably won't match once we paint.  (And let's be honest, it doesn't exactly match now.)
Add some more artwork and decorative touches

There you have it!  I hope to do better with keeping you updated on the progress of this room.  January's project posts were kind of all over the place.