before and after: chevron laundry room

A while back, I decided I should paint my laundry room.  That was about six years ago when I moved into my townhouse.  Fast forward to 2013...and I finally painted it and crossed it off my to do list.  Inspired by an uneven chevron pattern that I've been seeing everywhere (like the shower curtain below from Serena and Lily), I decided to use supplies I had in the garage (white paint, green paint, FrogTape, and a level) to make this free project.

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Overall, it took me about three hours (plus dry time) to complete.  I decided to go with an uneven chevron for sanity purposes.  In order to make the pattern 100% perfect, it would have taken me about 10 hours to make...and then I would criticize it every time I saw it...and I'd freak out if anything happened to the wall.  Intentionally imperfect lines helps with my OCD.  

laundry room: before and after

Now that it's painted, I realize no line is perfectly straight (and that's perfectly OK!).  I also didn't take the time to burnish the white (like this awesome video tutorial suggests).  I used FrogTape, but still had a little bit of bleeding.  And I didn't use a tape measure; instead, I used my 12" floor tiles as my guide and used a level to go up the wall.  When it came time to do the chevron, I eyeballed it working from chest level (first taping down to the floor, then got a ladder to tape up high).  Again, I didn't want anything to be perfect, so I didn't want to get out a tape measure.  

chevron taping in process (notice the uneven rows)

chevron taped wall ready for green paint

Once the tape was on the wall, painting the green took about an hour.  I painted over the tape lines using a paint brush first (to seal the tape to the white wall) and then rolled the whole wall (for an even paint job).  The brushing took the longest (about an hour); the rolling took about 5 minutes.

uneven chevron wall

One handy trick I used while painting (thanks to a tip I saw on Pinterest) was lining my paint tray with aluminum foil instead of using a paint tray.  It was a genius idea.  When I was done painting, I simply dumped out the unused paint back into the gallon bucket, and wrapped up the wet roller in the foil.  In the garbage they went without any mess at all!  If you have painting to do, line your tray with foil.  You won't regret it.

line your paint tray with aluminum foil

Overall, I'm thrilled with how it turned out.  I try to have a perfectly clean and tidy home that's photo ready 100% of the time...but let's be realistic.  I don't have a perfect laundry room.  Most of the time, the door is open and laundry is hanging to dry...or overflowing from the hamper.  Now, I have a lovely wall to look at when the door is open and the laundry is hanging to dry.

Once more, here's the before and the after shot of the laundry room.  I'm really happy with how it turned out.  And really happy that it didn't cost a thing (other than my afternoon).

before: boring laundry room

after: awesome laundry room

Before & After: Julio's Haircut

One of my friends has a super lovely cat named Julio.  Julio is adorable, but sheds a lot.  So, he got a little haircut.  It's hilarious.  If I had a cat, I would shave him just like this.  If you want to see more Julio photos, follow him on Instagram.

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Before & After: Sophie's Hair

This week, I took Sophie to her daycare/hair lady to get her hair cut.  With the 100+ degree temperatures here in Iowa, she was getting a little overheated every time she went outside.  I tried to get her in last week, but they were full (apparently I'm not the only pet parent who thought their dog needed a haircut).  Anyway, on Thursday, Sophie got a haircut.  Here she is before and after her cut.  I think she's absolutely adorable with lots of hair, and then also when she is trimmed.  It's probably her super cute eyes - they get me EVERY time.  Sophie, do you want a treatie?  Ok, sure.  Just look at me with those sweet brown eyes and you can have whatever you want.

Sophie can see without her bushy eyebrows blocking her sight.

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Before & After: Window Treatments

I've lived in my townhouse for almost five years.  About four years ago, when I installed the floors and painted the trim white in the living room, I took down all the white blinds.  Curtains were made for my large windows, however, I neglected the little window next to the TV.  The window is on the west side of the house, which makes watching TV when the sun is setting a little painful (since the sun is blaring in your eyes as you sit on the sofa).  I figured I'd get around to making something to put there someday...

Anyway, since mom has been camped out on my sofa for the past week, I figured it would be a nice guesture to not blind her every night when the sun sets.  So, I finished the curtains I started sewing about three years ago.  It took me less than an hour to complete this project, and the curtain rod was $5 from Target.  That's a deal.  Plus, no one on the sofa will be blinded when the sun sets.  It's a win-win for everyone, really.

Before & After: Window Treatments