Are we there yet???

Nope.  Not even close...

Our house has been a money pit.  I mean that in the nicest way possible.  And please don't get me wrong, I love my house.  I didn't use to. 

Our house was built in 1973. ( Back when they actually knew how to build a house.)  And throughout the years several different families have lived in this house and all the while never, I mean NEVER updating this house. 

We bought the house almost 6 years ago and since then we have done almost everything ourselves.  We have knocked out walls.  Put in slate and wood floors.  Revamped the landscaping in the front.  Finished the basement.  Renovated the kitchen.  Redone the bathrooms.  The list goes on and on and on...

With exception of replacing the carpet in the last 2 bedrooms, we have remodeled EVERY room in this house.  And this is the point where I'm supposed to relax, right?  Well my problem is that I have a hard time with the finishing details in decorating a room.  I've said before that I have no problem picking out paint colors or flooring, but when it comes to the details....I go crazy.

So that is my goal for this year.  The big projects are over.  Now its time for the details.  And I'm beginning 2 areas that have a similar furniture in them.  My entryway and my bedroom.  Strange, huh?!

You see, about 3 years ago my husband and I went to a flea market and found a man selling church pews.  They were very pretty and old (which is what I loved most about them) and I thought they would be the perfect thing to go in our entryway.  We had just put in the slate floors and had taken out a big boxy guest closet that took up most of the space in the entryway.  The guy wanted $250 for the 4' long pew and I thought at the time that was a pretty decent price, however, he had sold all that he had at the flea market. 



After the flea market, I was lamenting to my mom about the pews and how I really wanted one.  She mentioned to me that my grandparent's church had just sold their building to the local KFC (depressing, I know) and that they were selling all of the furniture, stain glass windows, and leaded glass doors since KFC was planning to tear the building down.  I immediately called my grandma and scheduled a time to meet with their pastor and to check out the pews. 

Let me pause for a second and just answer what you are probably already wondering... I did not get any of the windows or doors from the building.  They had HUGE, 10' tall windows of Biblical scenes and 10 or 12 matching smaller windows throughout the building that they sold to an antique dealer for $100/each.  (Its like a punch in the gut, huh??) 

Anyways, when we got there, they were still selling some of the church pews.  And these suckers were GINORMOUS!  Each of them were 18 feet long, divided in half by a support piece.  They are made out of solid red oak and are approximately 170 years old.  I was in heaven...almost.  The pastor told us that he would sell them for $75 for the whole 18' pew or $50 for a 9'section, and that he would give us the end pieces instead of having the middle support on one end. 

Well the wheels started turning in Josh's mind.  He decided that we should buy (1) 18' section and (1) 9' section.  The 9' section we cut in half to make (2) 4.5' benches.  (The pastor had given us an extra set of end caps.)  We put one bench in our entryway and gave the other bench to my mom.  Then Josh took the other (2) 9' sections and made a bed for us.  (I'm telling you the man is talented.)

He took the seat out of one pew, shortened the length, raised it up, and that became our headboard.  Then he took the second pew and shortened the length of it to make the foot board. 

And I love they way they turned out.  They are not attached to the frame so I can just move them when I need to make the bed or flip the mattress.



But here's my dilemma.  I feel like the rest of the bedroom and the entry way are kinda blah.   I like the paint color in my bedroom but I am willing to change it.  I like the curtains, but I don't like the bamboo roman shades.  (I really hate how the shades look from the front of the house) 

I need something on the walls and I need better lamps.  And it drives me BANANAS that the window isn't centered in the room.  Therefore the bed isn't centered in the room. 

And lets revisit the entryway again. 



My husband made the vinyl silhouettes of our family a couple years ago.  I love them.  They are one of my favorite things in our house.  And the mirror was given to me by my grandparents when we were first married.  Its very old. (pre-Civil war)  I think I want to move the mirror, but I'm not sure what to replace it with just yet.  I still like having the bench in the entryway.  It makes the perfect "time out" bench.  

Soon I will show you what Josh did when we took out our coat closet.  (It involves an old kitchen pantry and wainscoting...very cool) 

But until then, I would love any ideas or suggestions on these two areas.   Thanks a bunch!!

~Katie