I've moved...

No worries, we're still in the same house! I've just moved to a new blog site.

You can find our happenings on http://nottooshabbychic.wordpress.com.

Not only do I think Wordpress is a little easier for me to operate, but I am hoping to get some projects going this year that I can go on to sell, all falling into the Shabby Chic decor style. Hence, the Not Too Shabby (Chic) name.

Don't be a stranger, we love your visits!

project paint-the-walls

we're starting to get knee-deep in joint compound at the lantz household! after some minimal prep-work, we got right down to it with smearing joint compound on the walls in hopes of someday being able to paint on a smooth wall surface.

it was s-l-o-w going until we agreed that it will take a few coats, so the lumps, bumps, and other imperfections were okay. we've got the first coat applied and ready to be sanded. once the major ridges and bumps are smoothed out, we'll be on to round two of joint compound and then hopefully one last sanding will be enough to create a nice smooth, even wall surface.

as promised, i finally uploaded some photos of my thrift store dresser. it's a little rough looking now, but with some tlc it will clean up nicely. those scratches should sand right out - they look worse in the photos than they are.

and of course, i can't leave out the surprise "goodies" i found, stuffed behind the top drawer. some new and some "possibly used" baby items. socks, tights, a leopard print skirt, and a plastic diaper cover. nice.

good will hunting

yesterday we literally went goodwill hunting. love it! vince's sister kristin, who always has the neatest finds, was kind enough to share her honey spots with us. we hit up three columbus-area goodwills/thrift stores and made out like bandits.

i'll do my best to upload photos soon. at our first stop, we left with two milk glass vases (i LOVE milk glass) and a milk glass globe light fixture for $5. a sweet deal if i ever found one!

at our second stop, we found a three drawer, one cabinet solid wood dresser for just $25! it has a few minor little scratches, but is in overall very great condition. i can't wait to re-finish it for vince to use in place of the dresser for my childhood room. it's just a tad too feminine for his personal taste.

then, feeling optimistic we went to a third store and i fell in love with a pair of chairs for only $10. for.the.set! they were a club chair style and it really good condition, but definitely would need to be reupholstered. not for a lack in quality of material, they were in good shape, but because they were covered in a large brown, cream, green and orange floral pattern that screamed 1972. :) but, alas there was absolutely no way in the world we could fit them in the car since the dresser was already in there. and of course, the salvation army doesn't have lay away. and vince absolutely vetoed driving home, dumping the dressing inside, and turning back around to get them. be still my heart. i still miss them today.

and then, on a whim, we stopped at a new consignment store in town. before we made it in the door, we both spied an air compressor for only $30. i think we blurted out "i want that!" at the same time, without having any idea that we both coveted one of these! so, in addition to the air compressor i got a paint sprayer attachment (yay!) and vince got an attachment that can staple or nail, depending on your need. we are so pumped!!

as for house projects, we finally started attempting to skim coat the dining room. let me say, for the record, this is a slow going and very frustrating project. if we wanted to texture the walls, it would be fairly simple. but to try and get a smooth finish is more frustrating than my econ class during my junior year of college. and that was pretty painful.

hope your countdown to christmas is a happy one!

weeee wiiiiiish you a merry christmas!

merry christmas from ours to yours!

'tis the season

to decorate your house with obnoxius christmas lights! and we did!!

all that's left is getting our tree and setting it up. the stockings are hung and the pets have visions of sugarplums (and treatsies) dancing in their heads.

full bathroom makeover!

the full bathroom has finally been completed! (well, mostly. i am hemming the curtains tonight and we still need to paint or replace the light fixture. but who's noticing?)

here are the befores: notice the pastel "pepto pink", sliding glass shower doors, and oak cabinets.


and the afters: notice the new paint (every inch of the bathroom was pink. ceiling, trim, back of the door, everything!), the extended shower bar (yes, i removed the glass doors by myself!!), painted cabinets, floating shelves in the little 'nook' by the door, savannah photos from our honeymoon, and one of my favorite parts of the room - a patterned fabric detail on the cabinet that holds all our junk.



again, the room is so snug that it's difficult to get photos. it took a lot of patience, several coats of paint, some sweat, some tears, and a lot of compromise, but the room really took shape and we love it. well...vince doesn't like all the "clutter" on the shelves, but i do! the top shelf items all belonged to my great-grandma, the middle shelf shows off flowers from my bouquet, and the bottom shelf is a photo of my nephew when he was a tiny, wee thing.
and let's be real, we ladies spend waay more time in the bathroom anyway!

ta-da! makeover reveal is finally here!

after almost 3 months, the laundry room and half-bath makeover is finally done!!

vince truly is the best hubby in the world - taking on tiling for the first time, hooking up the washer/dryer numerous times, and doing his best to follow through on my 'creative direction' all while working part-time and going to school full-time (and then some - architecture is demanding!).

enjoy our before and afters! we sure are. this is truly becoming my favorite room in this house with it's calming, beach-vibe. i'm ready for vacation every time i do laundry. but who isn't, right?

our carpet got ruined due to a plumbing issue about three days into living here, so the first thing we did (well, vince did) was pull up the carpet. we knew we wanted to tile this area eventually, so we started researching our options. we decided on a white, basket weave pattern with white grout. to us, this pattern matches the old feel of the house and we love how clean and crisp it looks. at least, until our four-legged 'helpers' start tracking in dirt.

of course, before we laid the tile we painted the ceiling and walls. then we added the bead board and trim. the bead board actually seems consistent with the house because it's the backing of our built-in shelving in the living room. it also lines the inside of the laundry chute, which makes us wonder what the laundry room originally looked like 100+ years ago.

we chose valspar sparkling lake in a satin finish for the walls and a valspar white satin paint for the cabinets. (i'll have to dig for the exact name later.) the jar on the dryer is actually a vase with seashells from last summer's vacation, not a jar of change. :) in addition to the paint, tile, and bead board, we added a white Roman shade to the window, painted the medicine cabinet and sink, hung a wonderful watercolor painting from our friend john, added some fun decor pieces like the shells and candles above the sink, changed the light fixtures, and adding two cabinets for cleaning supplies!!! (i should totally verify that we pretty much means vince. although i did paint and put away most of this stuff...)

the room is very small, so it's difficult to get good photos. you'll have to take our word for it that it's like a completely new space. we'll be putting the finishing touches on our full bath this weekend, so those photos should finally be up soon, too.