Ocal Ham Beque

Yesterday, I met with the person who is (hopefully) going to take up all of the damaged flooring and subfloor in our current home gym and replace the subfloor, as well as remove the rest of the walls around the original closet area. I’ll be installing and finishing the hardwood flooring myself, and then I want to be ready to get the rest of the room finished without any delay so that we can move in and get settled as soon as possible. I just want out of our current bedroom so badly, and I’m ready to get into our permanent bedroom.

So with that goal in mind, I’ve been trying to get all of my plans in place for our “new” bedroom so that I won’t have to be wrestling with decisions once the floor is finished. Right now, the room looks like this…

I painstakingly painted all of those stripes on those walls using 15 different paint colors. It wasn’t an easy project at all, and I love how they turned out…for a home gym. But there’s no way I want those walls to stay like that when this room becomes our bedroom.

So I’ve been on the lookout for ideas, and I’ve been thinking about how I want this room to look and feel when it’s finished. Here’s what I know for sure.

The floor…

The floor in here will match the rest of the house. I won’t be doing another painted floor in the new bedroom. So it will be this same red oak hardwood flooring, stained the exact same color, carried through the new bedroom.

The windows…

Another thing I know for sure is that I’m keeping the window shades and curtains. While I generally prefer lined draperies, I love these curtains too much to get rid of them. These are the ones I got (affiliate link), and they’re great quality. I think they’ll work perfectly for what I envision.

But I won’t be keeping the black curtain rods. I’ll either paint these gold, or I’ll swap these out for the kind i used in my studio, which is by far my favorite curtain rod I’ve bought to date. This is the one I have in my studio, with these curtain rings, and while it says it’s not adjustable, I did cut mine down to the exact size I needed using my miter saw.

The bed…

I’ll also be making a new headboard, and maybe even an entire upholstered bed. I love the headboard we have now…

But we’ve had that headboard for about ten years now. It was one of the first projects I did for our house after we moved in, and I’m ready for something fresh and new.

I thought about using the striped velvet that I originally ordered as a sample for my studio desk chair. In fact, I did a mock up of that a few weeks back. Here’s what that looked like…

I almost ordered enough to upholster a bed the other day, but I didn’t go through with it. I think I prefer the bed being a solid color, and the stripe being used as an accent. So I’ll order enough for a couple of large Euro shams or something like that.

The walls…

But the main question is what to do with the walls, because as I’ve already said, those striped walls have to go. I’ve looked at so many different options and pictures for inspiration, and I keep coming back to one thing — grasscloth. I feel like I’ve come full circle. My love for grasscloth started about 15 years ago. In fact, I used grasscloth in our bedroom in the condo. Teal, white, grasscloth, woven window shades. Some things never get old or outdated in my mind. This was back in 2010.

Unfortunately, I never got to finish the bedroom. We decided to sell, and I removed the grasscloth and totally changed the room.

And then in this house, I used grasscloth as an accent on the entryway wall.

When that got ruined and I had to take it down, I used what I had left on the drawers of the console table that I built for the entryway.

There have been many other times I’ve considered grasscloth for various rooms and projects, and yet, today I find myself in a grassclothless home. So I’m thinking that now might be a good time to rectify that oversight. I can envision a dark-ish teal grasscloth, white wainscoting, white gauzy curtains (affiliate link), rustic walnut woven shades (affiliate link), a beautiful upholstered headboard (or whole uphostered bed) in a still-to-be-determined color and fabric, and some accent pillows in the striped velvet.

This may be my last chance to use grasscloth. I’ve loved it for 15 years now, and it always lands at the top of my list (at least in my top 10, if not my top 5) of favorite items when it comes to decorating. It would be a shame to finish every room in this house and not end up with grasscloth somewhere. So I’m thinking this bedroom — our long-term bedroom that we’ll probably be in for the rest of our time in this house — is the perfect place for it. And I feel like it’s either now or never.

Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.

It’s been raining for the last two days, so I did a little indoor puttering. Suddenly I was inspired to add a touch of fall! I know it’s July, don’t come at me, I’m still all in with summer! But I have to admit, this pretty plaid blanket is going to be so cozy! I’m so glad I bought it. I wanted it last year and was too late! A little summer to fall decor makes me happy. How about you?

Enjoy our new design mood boards below — these are giving me the feeling of summer with a touch of fall on the way!

Reading all of your comments on Wednesday’s post about the two kitchen layout options was a bit like drinking out of a fire hydrant. 😀 It was a lot of information to take in, so I had to do it in small batches and give my brain time to rest and absorb the info before reading more. And of course, I tried out probably a hundred different suggestions on the floor plan to see what improvements I could make based on those comments.

Obviously, the bigger kitchen won out. There was no question about it. Most people urged me to go with the bigger kitchen, which looked like this…

And that kitchen would look like this on our whole house floor plan, sitting behind the music room and the dining room, with access to the desk on the left side and the carport on the right side…

But what I noticed about the comments was the the majority of people who urged me to go with the bigger kitchen chose that one simply because of the size, but then went on to have all kinds of suggestions for changes. I should move the deck door here and make it a double French door, and then move the range here, and move the sink over there, and the refrigerator is in a bad place, so it needs to be moved, and then I need to add an island.

I tried so many different arrangements, but with all of those openings into the kitchen (two exterior doors, one laundry room door, and two large cased openings), I just couldn’t make it work. To make the work triangle a reasonable distance, I’d almost have to add an island, and not a movable one. I’d have to add one that had one of the three elements of a work triangle incorporated into it. But I do not want an island. And really, a decent sized island wouldn’t work in there anyway unless I move the back wall back at least two feet. And I don’t want to keep enlarging and enlarging and enlarging when it’s just not necessary.

I also have to admit that I love the idea of having doors at the back of the music room that lead to our deck. I don’t know what that would mean for the music room doors. Could I keep them and close them when I want privacy at night? Or would they interfere with the actual exterior doors? I sure would hate to lose them. I think those doors “make” the music room. That room wouldn’t be nearly special without them.

But I just kept going back to the galley kitchen design. I love the arrangement, the efficiency, and the fact that there aren’t five doorways chopping up the space.

So I went back to the floor planner and made two minor adjustments. I moved each of the side walls out one foot. And just like that, it clicked. The bigger kitchen in the previous post was 13′ x 21′. And if I move the walls of this kitchen out one foot on either side, that makes this kitchen 12′ x 20′. And since this is arranged so much more efficiently, and has a proper work triangle, I don’t think I would miss that one additional foot going either direction.

In fact, I tried to add an additional foot of width to make it 13 feet wide like the other kitchen, but that threw off the work triangle. The general rule is that each leg of a work triangle (the triangle formed by the sink, range, and refrigerator) should not be less than four feet or more than nine feet, and the total of the three legs should not be more than 26 feet.

With the kitchen at 12′ x 20′, and the work triangle arranged as you see it above, that puts my work triangle within those measurements. If I make the kitchen 13 feet wide, it makes the work triangle too big. So a kitchen that is 12 feet wide is perfect!

For all intents and purposes, my current kitchen is basically a galley kitchen. Technically, it’s not since it has two exits at one end, and a wall of cabinets at the end. But it does have that arrangement of two items of the work triangle on one side, and the third item on the opposite side.

So this past Wednesday night when everyone was here, I paid close attention to how people move around the kitchen. The kitchen is definitely a gathering place. People just naturally congregate in the kitchen, and it does feel a tiny bit tight, but it’s not really bad. We weren’t stumbling over each other. And this kitchen is only 9′ 9″ wide and 14 feet long. So if I widen it by two feet and lengthen it by six feet, there will be plenty of room for how we use the kitchen.

In order to do this, I will have to steal one foot from the pantry (future laundry room), but I’m okay with that. That will leave me with 7.5′ x 11′ for a laundry room. That’s plenty of space, especially considering that my new-ish washer and dryer will stack if I need them to. So here’s an approximate view of how the kitchen looks in relation to the whole house floor plan.

So with all of that said, here’s a look at the floor plan drawing from the IKEA kitchen planner. And you’ll notice that by extending the side walls out a foot on each side, that gives me room for French doors! I’m pretty excited about that.

And here’s the drawing of the sink and fridge side of the room. I even went so far as to make a list of everything I currently have in my kitchen and pantry, measure the items, and make sure I had a space for them in this kitchen. So the cabinets shown in these drawings are what I chose based on what I actually need. On the two previous kitchen arrangements, I just chose cabinets somewhat at random to get a general idea of the layout, but this time around, I got more specific.

And then this is the opposite wall with the range and the door to the laundry room. You’ll notice that I did not center the range with the cabinets because that would throw off the work triangle and make the trek from the range to the fridge ridiculously long. It’s much more important to me to have the sink centered under three windows. That’s a non-negotiable for me. And another non-negotiable is to have the fridge just inside the kitchen from the dining room. So the range had to be the floater to accommodate my wishes for the other two.

I just absolutely love how this looks. Those French doors at the end have me so excited! And I can’t wait to have those windows over the sink. I long for direct sunlight into my kitchen!

This kitchen actually has way more storage than what I need. I know it’s not a bad thing to have too much storage. But this is way more storage than what I have in my current kitchen and pantry combined.

And here is the view back towards the dining room.

And then the opposite view back towards the back yard.

And then I have a few countertop height views that I’ll let you tour…

So while there may be some minor modifications after I meet with the contractor on Tuesday, I’m 99% sure that my future kitchen will have this arrangement. But now I can let my mind rest. I feel prepared to meet with him next week.

Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.

It’s time for Prime Day! (July 16-17)

Hello friends! It’s time for one of the biggest sales Amazon holds all year. I’m excited! Today I wanted to share with you several “tried and true” pieces from my home that are on Prime deals today!

You can see all my favorite Prime Day sale items HERE.

How to shop for deals with
The Inspired Room Amazon storefront:

Shop Amazon any time right from The Inspired Room storefront. I add all of my personal favorites and deals to make shopping easier and more enjoyable for you! 

I will add my favorite Prime Day favorites to this folder in my Amazon storefront as I find them.

Are you looking for something special? Use the search bar WITHIN my Amazon storefront to find what you are looking for! It will automatically pull up my related recommendations (for example: type “basket” and it will give you folders of my ideas, my mood boards, and photos from my home that feature baskets available). 

Become a Prime member now so you can get in the Prime Day deals and other Prime sales throughout the year. You can sign up for a FREE 30 day trial here to take advantage of this sale! Our family uses our membership all the time for regular shopping, movies and other perks, too. It really saves a lot of money and hassle!

Below you’ll find just a few of the items from my home on sale!

We’ll continue updating this blog post as well as this folder of our storefront as more sales go live!

This blue and white planter (left above) is on sale, as well as this other blue and white planter (right above). Both come in sets of 3 with various sizes. The right one has the cutest pattern on the top trim, too!

This seagrass scalloped tray basket is a Prime Day deal! It’s so cute and versatile–I use it for entertaining and styling all around the house.

My wood bead light and new patterned rug are both on Prime Day deals! You can see more of my bedroom updates and plans in this new post.

My jadeite cake stand is on sale. I love this not only for entertaining, but also to display everyday items! I shared 12+ Practical and Pretty Kitchen Items I Love in this new blog post.

My favorite reusable paper towels are on sale– they come in many pretty pattern options! I shared more about why I love them in this post: 6 Benefits of Cleaning with Swedish Dishcloths (Ways They Will Simplify Your Life and Home!)

My brass wall sconces are on sale for the set of 2. I shared in this post how I customized mine with a patterned shade!

My Spice Drawer Organizer. I was determined when we designed our kitchen to make it the most organized one we’ve ever had and these drawer organizers are definitely helping to make that dream come true!

This kitchen wrap dispenser organizer is also on sale. It sparks joy. 🙂 (Similar sandwich bag organizers here)

These plate holder / easel style stands are on sale. I love using them to display plates, platters or books. I bought them a couple of sizes.

My Hobnail Goblets (on sale!). I love these hobnail goblets so much. They are so pretty, sturdy, and the green color is dreamy!

Our air purifier is on sale–we highly recommend it for so many reasons. It has an UltraHEPA filter and Carbon VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) filter. And captures particles 100x smaller than ordinary HEPA filters.

You’ll be SHOCKED at what filters look like after months of use–eeek! Glad it’s not in our lungs!

It does make a little white noise but worth it for the protection and clean air it offers! There are different settings you can use, too, and you can turn the fan speed up or down. See more details here!

This other air purifier we have is a Prime Deal, it’s one of the top rated air filters online. It’s compact and nice and quiet–we’ve been happy with it!

My toaster is on sale in all three color options.

These cotton waffle weave blankets are on sale, I have these on our guest beds and love them!

Have you tried these rug corner grippers? They’re on sale today–we have them and they really help to keep rugs from curling up!

These artificial ferns are on sale today–they’re quite realistic. I’ve used them both indoors and outdoors!

My striped fringe trim patio umbrella is a Prime Day deal.

I put all my home sources from Amazon in this folder--that’s a good place to check for more potential deals!

I’ll also share deals on my Instagram stories and save them in a highlight on my profile. Subscribe to my free newsletter so you don’t miss anything!

Don’t miss the Prime Day deals from July 16-17! You can shop all my favorite finds in my storefront HERE.

I got so much done yesterday on the studio storage closet! My goal was to have the closet cleared out enough by the end of the day so that I could roll the tall shelving unit into the closet. It seemed like a lofty goal, but I actually managed to get it done!

Here’s a reminder of what the storage closet looked like at the beginning of the day…

It was piled full of boxes and things that I hadn’t gone through in years.

But I needed to get it cleared out because these things have been in my way in the studio, and they all need to go into the closet. I can’t move forward and finish the trim on that wall until those things are out of my way.

And I actually did it! At the end of the day, all of that stuff had been cleared out, and this is what the closet looked like…

I still have that other shelving unit that I need to put together. It will go on this wall.

Nothing is actually organized on those shelves yet. In fact, I have a feeling that there are a lot of things on those shelves that will actually end up in the cabinets in the studio. But for now, I’m just glad to get those shelves out of my way.

I haven’t moved the door yet. That is a very heavy MDF and glass door, and I only want to move it once. So I’ll just leave it there until the storage closet floor, walls, and ceiling is painted, and the other things that need to be done are finished. Then I’ll move it in there where it will stay until it’s needed for our future bedroom. When I remodeled the bathroom, I wanted to purchase both bathroom doors together to be sure they’d match, so for now, I just have to store it. But just getting that shelving unit out of here made such a huge difference!

Now don’t get me wrong. Not everything that I pulled out of that closet has been dealt with. I still have a big box of random papers that I’ll have to go through. I also consolidated a ton of Matt’s gaming stuff into one huge box, so now I have to figure out what to do with that. And then there are two box of random tools and products spanning every category from building to sewing to crafting. I’ll need to go through those items one at a time and figure out where to put them, but that’s part of the larger studio organization project that I will soon have to tackle.

One thing I need to decide is where I’m going to put my tools and building supplies. I generally keep these things in the sunroom, which is where I have my big tool chest. But I actually need to be working on moving things out of that room, not storing things in there. So I need to find a new home for my big tool chest and all of the supplies I use on a regular basis, like sandpaper, wood filler, nails, screws, etc.

It’s likely that the item that are currently on that shelving unit that is now in the storage closet will actually end up in the studio cabinets, so that means that all of the stuff that I generally store in the sunroom (which I started gathering up and putting on my desk as I was sorting things yesterday) will probably find a home on those shelves in the storage closet. I hate to take all of this stuff into the sunroom just to turn around and bring it right back.

Anyway, it was actually kind of fun going through those boxes and seeing things I hadn’t seen in quite a while. For some of it, it had been years. I actually found my wedding dress wrapped in that blue plastic from the dry cleaners and stuffed into a box inside another much bigger box. I haven’t seen this in over 20 years! I loved this dress so much. It was such a simple two-piece design with lots of beads and sequins.

The skirt is also very simple with this bead and sequin border around the bottom and the train.

I shared this in my Instagram stories yesterday, and I had a few requests for a picture of me wearing the dress. This is the only one I could find on my computer. (Remember how I lost all of my pictures last year?) I do have an actual wedding album with a ton of pictures in it, but I didn’t have time to scan any more. So this will have to do for now. 🙂

I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do with the dress. People had several good suggestions, like making a pillow out of the sequined and beaded top, or making a handbag out of it. Others suggested framing the top. And then my bonus sister Cathi told me about this program that uses wedding dresses to make custom gowns for families who lose babies. That is an amazing and beautiful service.

So I don’t know what I’m going to do with mine. For now, it’ stuffed back in its little box for safe keeping.

Another thing that I found buried in that closet was this oak cross.

This is very special to me because my maternal grandfather made this for me over three decades ago. He was an amazing woodworker, and he had quite an influence on me. When I was little, I would go into his workshop and look around in awe at all of his tools and projects. I was amazed that he could actually take pieces of plain wood and turn them into beautiful things using all of those tools. He was definitely a huge part of planting that love of tools and woodworking in me. So I’ve held onto this cross that he made me all of these years because if I ever do get to have my own workshop, this is going on one of the walls in there so that his memory and the memory of his workshop and his amazing talent can always be with me as I work.

And finally, there was this funny find.

I wonder how much of a late fee we owe on this. 😀 I guess they won’t be needing that back now.

So I made some great progress in a day, and things are feeling “lighter” in the studio this morning. It’s amazing how getting rid of clutter can change the whole feel of a room. I can’t wait to start getting things organized and put away in here. I’m going to use a “mapping” system that someone told me about in a comment a few posts back. I’m so excited about getting started on that, and I’ll share the process as I make progress.

Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.