Shelf Paper

Am I the only person in the world who uses Shelf Paper?

Actually - based on the condition of the inside of the cabinets when we moved into our new home - you don't need to answer that.



And based on the very limited options of Shelf Paper in the stores - you don't need to answer that.



Clearly - I am the only person that still uses Shelf Paper.

I don't know why I do? Maybe it was years of living in college dorms and not so clean apartments that made me want to cover up all signs of a previous tenant. Maybe it's because many of our homes have been older and have shown wear and tear? Maybe it was what my Mom taught me? Maybe I just have issues?



Whatever the reason, there is nothing better (to me) than a nice clean foundation to put away all your personal belongings.

In our new house - we have some really cool cabinets - so it was kind of fun.



This is our kitchen pantry - with shelves lining the inside of the doors and fold away hinged shelves inside to get access to the full depth of the cabinet.



The silverware drawer is behind a fold down drawer front - complete with built in dividers and a cutting board.



Thank goodness for Little K's helping hands. I'm too old to be down on my hands and knees reaching those bottom cabinets.

My favorite "surprise" was this one. Any guesses as to what's behind this drawer?



Have you figured it out yet?



Yep - a built in ironing board spring loaded in one of the Laundry Room drawers.



Funny thing is - we had no idea it was there until I started to line the drawers.

Sweet hubby had been living in the house for almost a month - sleeping on an air mattress, with none of our household belongings (while we were packing up in AZ).

He even went out and purchased an iron so he could iron his work shirts. He was using the kitchen counter as an ironing board, when all the while - this perfectly good ironing board was in the next room mocking him.

Everything is all put away and most of this pretty clean shelf paper can no longer be seen. But I feel better knowing it's there.

Sale Pending......

Well, it should really say SOLD! But, neither our Realtor or I wanted to jinx the sale, so she waited until the final days to put up the Sold sign. By then we had already moved out of our beloved home in Arizona and therefore I missed the SOLD sign photo opp.



Sale Pending made me just as happy! In a very tough Real Estate Market (from what the news reports say, Phoenix is one of the worst in the country) we were thrilled to be able to sell our home after being on the market for just over a month.

Don't get me wrong - this was in no way a profitable sale for us. We listed our home at a price that was almost 30% below what we purchased it for just 3 years ago. And we ended up selling it for even less than that. But in a time when many of our neighbors homes are going into Foreclosure or being listed as Short Sales, I am so thankful we were able to accept an offer that allowed us to move forward with our new life in California.

It's been a little crazy around here these past few months, and I've sadly neglected my blogging duties, but we're on the home stretch now, and I'm looking forward to getting back in touch.

Along with all the usual steps you take when selling your home - De-clutter, Clean, Neutralize and Stage - I'd like to think we did a few unique things that made a difference in getting it sold.




You know that binder that the Title Company provides that is filled with all the Plot and Survey information as well as Maps and Neighborhood Stats? It usually comes with an ugly blue or black plastic cover with basic tabs.

Our book started out Blue. My Kitchen is Green. They didn't match!
Solution: make a cute fabric binder cover to coordinate with the room.



I updated the inside tabs and added a few of my own to include Neighborhood News and Happenings as well as a personal letter from us telling what we love about the home and neighborhood.



Fresh Flowers always help sell a home and I was only too happy to splurge and buy a new bouquet each week. I might have to continue that little indulgence as a treat for myself once we're moved into our new home. They just make me happy.

Next - my agent suggested I find a way to highlight some of the unique details that could be easily overlooked.
Solution: make Tags with a brief description of the features and place them throughout the house.



I have an unnatural dislike for traditional medicine cabinets. I have yet to see one that I like (not even in the fancy design homes where I've drooled over and coveted so many other things) This is one of the ways I disguise them.



It's just a poster - decoupaged onto a board, framed, painted, distressed and then attached to a wood box made to fit inside the existing medicine cabinet space. OK - that sounds like a lot of work, but you could totally do the same thing with a ready made frame or picture.

I've seen lots of homes that still have these old intercom systems that no longer work. But ours still does, and even though it's not sleek or modern looking, I think it's really cool and we use it all the time.



Here's another "tagged" feature. Can you guess what's hiding behind this picture?



I sure hope the new owners like birds - because the framed picture is staying with the house.



Because it's also hinged and attached to a box that's attached to the wall.



Inside - are the thermostat and security alarm control box. The original builder should be shot for installing those controls smack dab in the middle of the main feature wall in the Living Room, effectively making the entire wall unusable and a complete eyesore. Even if the buyers don't like birds, they will probably think it's better than those unsightly controls.

Our yard is fairly large, and it can get pretty hot in Arizona, so I kept the outside mini fridge stocked with water bottles. With a "tag" on the fridge inviting house hunters to "Refresh Yourself".



Each of the bottles had a label with our home address - and a little reminder that "this could be Your New Home!"

When you look at dozens of homes, they all tend to blur together so I wanted to do everything I could to keep our home foremost in potential buyers minds.



Another shot of the tulips - because they are so pretty - and you know they make me happy.



Just to be sure we had all our bases covered. I had my dear friend Jo Ellen send me a St. Joseph statue to be buried upside down, facing the home that you want to sell. If you are not familiar with this tradition you can read about it here. For the record, I'm not Catholic, but I do believe in God and the power of Faith, and my Catholic friends assured me it was OK to partake in this Catholic belief.

Last week the movers came and packed and loaded up all our belongings to be put into storage. We spent the weekend spackling holes, painting and cleaning - getting the home ready for it's new owners. I driven by once since then - to pick up the mail, drop off the keys, and bring in the trash can. But it's no longer our home - it's now in the care of a another family. Our wish is that the new owners enjoy it as much as we did, and make their own wonderful memories there.

We have a few weeks before we move to our new home in California. I'm excited to get started painting, re-decorating and all the other fun stuff that comes along with the not so fun task of unpacking. I'll keep you posted.

Pretty Little Bench

I've been wanting to update this bench since I first got it several years ago. I never liked the chenille seat cover (way too plain).

and the carving on the front was too dark of a a contrast compared to the rest of the bench.

I ordered it on-line, and even though when it arrived it was nothing like what I expected (or remembered) - that little voice inside me whispered "no problem, that's an easy fix - just keep it - you can always change what you don't like".

That was at least 5 years ago, and I'm only just now getting around to making any changes. You would think my now I would have learned not to listen that that little voice?

The good news is, that the bench is now in the kitchen, and it was originally purchased for our dining room. If I had re-covered it immediately, it would need changed now anyway, so it's a good thing I waited. See - I can even rationalize my procrastinating.

I wanted to change the color, but didn't want to completely strip the good. I got out my favorite palm sander and went to town. Mostly just to scratch up the surface so a new color could be absorbed.

Instead of stain, I used a colored wax furniture polish. This stuff is great. I use it to distress and antique all kinds of new things (when I want them to look old). And I use it to add some color and life to all kinds of old things (when they need to be freshened up).

You just apply with a clean towel or rag, and then wipe it off. You can buff it for a shine, or just rub off the excess for a matte finish. Any bits left in the nooks and crannies will simply harden over time.

However, it's not the best thing if you just had a manicure. Luckily that was not the case for me. I suppose you could wear gloves, but getting dirty if half the fun.

By sanding down some of the dark stain around the front carving, and then adding the Briwax in a darker color all over, they blend together much better. I'm happy now.

Time to start on recovering the bench seat. This one was held to the frame with just a few wood screws. Once the seat was off - I had to remove the chenille fabric. That wasn't the hard part, I just pulled and it ripped right off.

The hard part was pulling out the hundreds (and I do mean hundreds) of staples left behind.

My parents owned an Upholstery Shop when I was younger - I was sure wishing I had one of their handy dandy staple remover tools right about now. I managed to get them all out with a butter knife and a pair of pliers.

The existing foam was in good shape, so I re-used that.

I layed the seat on the fabric to figure out how I wanted the pattern repeated and rough cut the fabric to size.

I added some cotton batting on top of the foam to ensure the edges would be soft and rounded (another Upholstery trick from my parents).

This fabric was a bit tricky to get it positioned just right. A solid or a smaller all over pattern would have been easier. Don't try a plaid on your first attempt - it will be very difficult to get perfectly straight.

There are lots of options on how to finish the corners. This is the method I prefer. It creates a soft little pleat on the underside, with a rounded top corner.

1) Pull the fabric across the corner and staple in place.

2) Fold over one edge and staple.

3) Fold over the opposite edge and staple. Voila! That's it.

All I had to do now was screw the seat cushion back onto the bench (hubby actually did that for me - smile).

The finished product. The wood color differences are subtle, but I like it much better. It's a warmer tone in a bit darker color, and I'm so happy the fabric now has some personality.

Here it is in the alcove of our Kitchen. That's "Little K" testing it out.

Fast Fix It

Before my Mum arrived, we did a little sprucing up around the house. Nothing like a visitor to get you to work on your household "To Do" list - right?

Nothing major, but lots of little things that no-one will ever notice like:

• Scraping the old caulk from around the tub
• Adding fresh white new caulk...ahhh it looks so clean
• Cleaning off the mineral deposits from the faucets
• Sealing the Granite counter tops so the water marks don't show
• Repairing the silicone seal around the sinks

I feel better having done them - because I get to cross something off my list. Even if I'm the only one who knows.

One thing hubby and I did do - that is a little More noticeable (or actually, to make them Less noticeable) - was to paint the recessed lighting in our kitchen.

Our house is over 20 years old and has these lovely recessed fluorescent panels in the ceiling.

The lighting is the least of our worries when it comes to updating the kitchen, so having an electrician come in and replace them with pot lights is not going to happen any time soon.

Our solution?

Paint them white to blend in with the ceiling so they (hopefully) fade away, instead of drawing your attention to them with the dark oak frame.

I know - my father is probably rolling over in his grave at the thought of me painting over real Oak! In this case - I think it was necessary.

We also replaced the plastic diffuser panels. I didn't realize how yellow they had gotten over the years - and of course, they were a lovely bubble rain texture (Sorry, I hated them so much I forgot to take the picture before we smashed them into itty bitty pieces).

The hardest thing about this project was cutting the plastic panels down to size..apparently standard fluorescent lighting has changed over time and we had a bear of a time cutting them.

Did you like how I said "we". That implied that I actually did something on this project. Dear Hubby was the one standing on the stool on the kitchen counter painting the wood. I tried to cut the panels, but just didn't have the oomph (and I consider myself pretty strong), so he had to do that too. Does it count that it was my idea?

The kitchen is so much brighter now and I'm happy with the temporary fix results.