The Search

What's cool about a new home is figuring out the way rooms can function best for you and/or your family.  

Our living room is long and narrow and there was really no good place for a television. That is, except for over the fireplace, but I didn't want to put a tv there.  

So we decided to use one of the bedrooms on the first floor as a tv room.  We don't have any seating in that room other than some rather uncomfortable (but cheap! and pretty!) chairs from Marshalls and some beanbag chairs for the girls.  We've been eyeing sectionals for a couple of months, but we want a sectional that has a pullout sleeper so that the room can double as a guest room.  I've found that sectionals with sleepers are few and far between.  

Here's what I found so far.

Candidate #1:  Axis II from Crate & Barrel

Candidate #2: Collins from La-Z-Boy

Here's the thing.  I love, love the feel and color of the fabric of the Axis.  The sales rep said that it's their best selling sofa and my research online has shown lots and lots of happy customers.  I liked the dimensions and fabric on the floor model, which made it easy for me to see what it would look like in our home.  BUT the cushions on the back of the couch are loose, which means that I will spend my time every day picking them off the floor and arranging them back on the sofa after their girls throw them off.  Also, I've seen photos of people who have had the couch for a couple of years and indeed, the seat cushions and back cushions look pretty slouchy.  A bit too much slouch for my taste.  

The Collins isn't as comfortable to sink into as the Axis, but that's likely because the cushions aren't as relaxed.  I like that the back cushions are attached to the couch, but not too tightly.  The mattress comes in either a memory foam or air cushion option (both are the same price) and the mattress is more comfortable than the Axis.  La-Z-Boy had lots of fabric options to choose from, but none of them felt as velvety-awesome as the Axis.  Also, the floor model shown is just the sofa, which makes it hard to visualize what the couch would look like as a sectional in a non-corduroy fabric of a different color.  

I was able to find one review on the Collins from Melissa at The Inspired Room.  The fabric she ordered it in is no longer available, unfortunately.  

via

The Axis is stocked in the fabric I want and would arrive in a week after I order it.  The Collins would take 8-10 weeks for delivery.  I really want to move ahead and make a decision, but both cost a healthy chunk of change and I want to get this right so I'm going to keep looking for other comparisons.  I saw this online, but don't know where I could see it in person.

Rowe Mitchell Queen Sleeper Sectional

Does anyone know of other options or have some input on these sectionals? 

Cold.

As I am sure most of the country knows, we in Wisconsin are experiencing a polar vortex.  I saw someone post on Facebook that it was colder in Wisconsin than in the South Pole or Antartica.  Our pipes in our upstairs bathroom are frozen, and the bathtub won't even drain.  

Needless to say, my kiddos have been out of school due to the cold.  So what have I been doing in this weather (besides picking up their endless piles of construction paper)?  Well, it's too cold to go outside, but LUCKILY I have access to the finest restaurant in Milwaukee.  It's so exclusive that your name has to be on "the list" to get in.  

Luckily for me, I was on the list that day. And the menu serves locally sourced food.

I am not a foodie, so I didn't order the snacka.  I do recommend the "derzerts" and "other stuff like that".  Very decadent.  And served with very chic sippy cups.  

It's been a nice couple of days to hunker down at home and eat soup and drink coffee but I am certainly ready to get out of the house and get back to society again and do exciting things like look for sectionals and get groceries.  

Go away, polar vortex.  Go away.

                     

Kitchen Reveal

I have been hesitant to post "before" photos of the house until now because I was afraid people would think I was crazy for taking on a house in the condition it was in.  I saw all the ugly things about the house, sure.  The ugly features were pretty hard to miss.  But when we walked through the house before buying it, I only saw the potential.  

Today, I was looking through the photos from before the remodel began, and wow…it really was ugly.  Perhaps people were right: I was insane to buy a house in this condition.  But it sure turned out pretty.  

So here's a walk down memory lane.

February

April

May

We discovered the original maple floors in good condition under the linoleum!

June

July

Oh, the piano in the kitchen? It's a long story.  

August

We did a quick paint job before moving in.

September

This is the kitchen we moved into. I think the two-by-fours holding up the countertop channel that rustic modern look, don't you think?

October

The countertops came.  And broke.  And were replaced with a different substrate underneath and now elicit awe from passersby. Well, maybe not, but I like them.  A lot. 

December

  

This idea is from Pinterest.  Rather than interrupt the backsplash with outlets, we
mounted them underneath the cabinets.

Below is my favorite cabinet.  It's a custom cabinet made to squeeze perfectly into the niche in the wall. There's two outlets inside the cabinet so that it can house my mixer, microwave and other small appliances. Which, judging from this photo, I seem to have a lot of.  

We're still awaiting the glass shelves for the china cabinet, but other that that it's done. Except for the paint touch-up, window sanding.....

We love it.  And it's certainly the place where people congregate, which is just what I'd hoped for.  

Holiday

Christmas and New Year's Eve was a whirlwind adventure.  We had family Christmas celebrations, lots of time in the car traveling, movie & popcorn nights, dates with the girls, and snowy evenings by the fireplace.  

As I think about it, 2013 was likely the busiest year we've ever experienced.   We moved twice, renovated a home and added another two kiddos to the family.  And, as my husband pointed out, we actually still love (and like!) each other.

I think I can safely say we're on the other side of the house renovations now.  There's a couple odds and ends, but it's wonderful to begin the process of really settling in.  We still have loads of boxes downstairs that need unpacking.  Closets need to be sorted and all the miscellaneous stuff hanging around on the floor needs to find a home.   

I am so thankful for this past year, even in the middle of the crazy moments when we had our house taped off and marked as a biohazard, when my pregnant self painted trim in the wee hours of the morning, for the sawdust, for the parade of contractors we seemed to live with...everything.  

What a year.