Hi friends! I am swallowing my pride and showing you what my real life is like because I am DESPERATE. I feel like I am living a lie in having this blog because I am not crafty person and my house is....in need of some major help. If you didn't know this, I started this blog to save ideas of things I wanted to do and make when I got some time SOMEDAY!
I am entering the Vintage Revivals Epic Room Makeover in hopes that I get some much needed help.
This is the short of a VERY LONG story!!!!
When my husband and I were getting married, we thought about our future. My husband doesn't make a ton of money and if I ever wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, we knew we needed to buy an inexpensive house, preferably one that had a basement apartment in it. We live in a college town with many older homes that have basement apartments. We started looking and found a house that we THOUGHT would help us with our situation. It had a large upstairs (that needed work, but had so much potential) and a basement apartment (that needed A LOT of work) and a barn that had 2 bathrooms, a small kitchen a bedroom and a loft. Totally fun!!!! We bought it!
We feel like MANY things should have been disclosed to us that weren't. For example, it used to be a drug house. We are talking drug bust, SWAT team, prison time, newspapers and all! It had been flooded from the top of the 3 stories because it got foreclosed on and the people were mad. The roof in the barn leaked. And this is just the beginning. There were many things wrong. Yes, we did get an inspection, but some things don't show up when they are behind walls and ceilings or until you move in and start living there:( ALL of these things added some major unexpected costs and time that we were not planning for!
We rented out the upstairs, gutted the basement and remodeled it and lived in the barn for 2 years. When we finished the basement and our first child was born, we moved into the basement and lived for 2 years. Right before our second child was born, we moved into the upstairs. It has 5 very small bedrooms (the house is almost 100 yrs. old) and 2 full baths. I thought this would fit our needs for years to come.
The problem is that every room upstairs needs work too and by work, I mean tear down the lathe and plaster, insulate the walls, update the electrical etc.. SLOWLY, we have been going through working on the house. BUT it is overwhelming with 2 small children who want to be involved, a lack of money and time, and some problems that we don't know what to do about. My dream to be a stay-at-home mom, unfortunately, has not worked even with basement renters.
In order for us to work on our house and to do any sort of recreation activities or vacations or do anything beyond mere survival, I work 5 hours a day at a Montessori pre-school (and the kids get to come with me.) It is the best job I could think of having at this time. I could go back to work as a Special Education Teacher, but I would be gone 8-9 hours a day without my kids and be stressed and exhausted for 10 months of the year. I would make more money, but the money is NOT worth the trade off of letting someone else raise my kids.
My daughter keeps asking when we are going to move to a new house. I am embarrassed of our rough house. It's not decorated because it is not in budget. Some days I cry thinking "What in the world did we do to ourselves in buying this house?" It is overwhelming. The work is slow and sporadic. I feel like I'm drowning in despair some days. With baby #3 coming in 2 months, I just wonder how we are going to get anything done.
I could use help in any of the rooms. I have photos of four of the rooms that would love some Vintage Revival assistance.
This winter my husband put a wood burning stove into the fireplace. I wanted gas burning, but he won. This is what our fireplace looks like now. When you walk into our house, this is what you see! YUCK!!! It needs help. I will take any advice on what to do with it! Obvisiously, I need help decorating the mantle too!
Our front room is blah. Hand-me-down couches, one picture on the wall and my husband's huge bachelor lifestyle TV. That's it! This entry room needs some major help.
We've already done a few things to the upstairs bathroom, but you wouldn't be able to tell. The wall paper and paint is just so lovely (please sense the sarcasm). Most people think the bathroom has such potential. That's what I keep telling myself.
Don't be jealous of the paint job on the door! You could probably pull something like this off in your own home!!!
Oh Baby! This bathroom is HOT! The tub is on blocks because the clawfeet are missing! Sweet!
It actually is a very fun bathroom, but it needs a new look!
This is the room we are working on right now. It is going to be the baby's room. This is the before.
We knocked out the lathe and plaster. The kids love destroying the walls.
We put in insulation, updated the electrical and started hanging sheet rock! Unfortunately, we had to tear out the built in window seat because there was so much cold air coming in through it. It was open to the outside porch below!
I would love any help decorating this room. We plan to rebuild the window seat and put shelves up both sides of the window since it doesn't have a closet. Wouldn't a little board and batten look great up on the vertical walls?
So far, we have the sheetrock up. The kids had to draw their pictures all over it! They love to draw in every room before we paint them.
The other day, we started mudding the room. This will take a while since we are not professionals. I want it to look somewhat nice. The kids think they are "helpful," but it takes a lot more time and more work to clean up from them "mudding." They pick it up with their hands and spread it all over the walls. I just can't say "no" because I want them to feel a part of remodeling the house. I want them to be proud of the work we do. I scrape the mud off the walls after they are done and will have to do a little more sanding!
We have "finished" my daughter's room and I even did a fancy striped paint job, but nothing is on the wall because I am afraid. I dont' know why I have a phobia of putting nails in walls. With just a few of Mandi's ideas, Cadence's room could be so cute!
I could show pictures of just about every room in my house that could use some decorating help. When we redo a room, we do just the minimum. The accessories and decor have to wait until someday when we have more time and money.
I'm begging that Vintage Revivals comes to my house so maybe one or two or three or four of our rooms can look even a little bit better than they are. My sanity is going quickly! It's a strain on my marriage. And some days, I feel sad and depressed to go home to the mess we live in.
Please Mandi (and everyone judging and reading this), choose my family as your project and help make our house into a home. Make my nightmare more bearable. We NEED it!!!
1. Empty two large cans of foods. These are 29oz. fruits. If you use smaller cans, they will be less sturdy. Wash out the cans!
2. Peel the labels from the cans and gather your spray paint. I got this Krylon outdoor spray paint at the dollar store! SCORE!!! (Those are my cute kiddos!!!)
3. If you are brave, let your kids spray paint the outside of the cans. Allow the paint dry. (My kids like to help with everything I do. That's why I don't get much done!!!)
4. Using a sharp object, punch two holes through the can on opposites sides. I used some type of knife. The holes need to be near the top of the can where a lid still exists. I do NOT recommend letting your kids do this part!
5. The holes need to be large enough to fit your handle through. When I inserted the knife, I wiggles it back a forth a bit to make the hole wide enough.
6. Cut your handle material. I used something called mule rope (or at least that is what my husband told me it is called.) It is like a strong flat rope. I suggest a rope or heavy duty string. I would also suggest at least a yard or more of material. It depends on the height of the person for whom you are making it. The handle should come about half way between the knee and hips or whatever is comfortable. Insert your handle material through the holes from the outside to the inside.
7. When the handle material is inside the can, tie the ends in double knots. You can burn the ends of the rope if you want. You are finished!
Here is one pair of spray painted and one unspray painted cans. If you don't paint your cans, there is a chance the cans can rust. I have tied knots in the handles of one pair to make them easier for my younger/shorter son to use. That is an easy way to adapt the handles for smaller kids. 
Walk. Walk. Walk. I did want to mention that the food cans can/will bend if they are stepped on sideways. I just bend them back into place the best I can and let the kids continue clanking around.
These were a hit at my kids' birthday party last year! (Kids under the age of 3 may have a hard time balancing on these. Use your judgement as to when kids are old enough to play with these.) The neighbors love to play with these toys.
