Board and Batten Project

My husband and I had talked about putting up board and batten for a few months, but knew it would be a huge job.  This was one of our biggest projects to date, but made such an impact!  I am in love with how it turned out!

We started with some free labor...  Ha!  She begged us to help rip off the old baseboards!  This little girl loves anything DIY.  Just like her Mom & Dad!

The hubby then started cutting boards & nailing them up with his nail gun.  That thing is amazing!  Saves so much time!

Ahh... Starting to see what it's going to look like!  I seriously thought I was going to go crazy from all of the messes at this point...

My husband working hard.  Did I mention that this was his first big woodworking project without his Dad's help?  This man is amazing!  We had to put plastic up everywhere to protect the rest of the house from the dust.  Lots and lots and LOTS of sanding!

So close to being finished.  That's what I kept telling myself, until I realized how much painting I had to do.  I painted all of the trim all day every day for three days!

The finished dining room!  I am in LOVE with the light airy feeling in this room now.  All she needs now are some pretty hardwood floors.

The finished entryway!  My husband did such a good job on this project, I may just find a few other things to add to to the honey do list!

Thanks for stopping by!  You can see some before pictures of these spaces here.  Feel free to pin any pictures!

China Hutch Makeover!

Hey there!  I am excited to share with you a project that I have completed for our dining room!  I purchased a smelly old china hutch on Craigslist for $60 and my husband couldn't believe I would even think about trying to make it pretty.  It was BAD!!

I used Annie Sloan chalk paint for the hutch and used her brushes as well.  The thing I love most about using chalk paint is that there is no prep work, other than giving it a good cleaning.  No sanding or priming at all!  I wish I could find my before picture.  It was pretty pitiful!

Here she is all finished!

I used Annie Sloan chalk paint in the color Old White.  I also used a coat of clear soft wax and used the dark soft wax to accentuate areas that I distressed.  I went ahead and invested in quality Annie Sloan brushes in different sizes & also her wax brushes.  They make all the difference for application!

Here's a close up that shows some of the distressing I did using sandpaper.  I LOVE the old look!

I left all of the original hardware on and painted right over it.  I didn't want the hardware to stand out too much from the off white finish.  I sanded down the pieces to age it a bit.

I love having a place to store my china and some pretty accessories.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  I'd love to hear from you!

Christmas Home Tour!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!  I thought I would jump on the Christmas home tour bandwagon, since I love looking at other houses decorated for Christmas.  I enjoy decorating our home, and you will see that I am a fan of simple when it comes to decor.  

I'll start the tour with our living room.  I decorated the stair railing, the mantel & the tree.  I love how our living area opens up into the kitchen so the tree can be seen from all angles.

A close up of some of our ornaments on the tree.

I used garland on the mantel and added battery operated lights to it.  The white sparkle trees are from Hobby Lobby.

A view from the kitchen.  Our living area and kitchen are basically one big room.  I LOVE the wide open feeling!

I used garland, battery operated lights, and flowers to decorate the staircase railing.

The Christmas decor flows right into the kitchen.  I only have a few decorations in here.  I like to keep the counters clutter free for the most part.

View from the living room into the kitchen and eating area.

Now on to the entryway.  I decorate the balcony and the entry table.

I keep things REALLY simple in the dining room since there is a lot going on in there anyway.  I threw some jingle bells on the antlers... That's it! lol

That's it!  I hope you enjoyed the tour of my home decorated for Christmas!  May you all have a blessed holiday season with your loved ones.  Merry Christmas!