the snowball effect

Remember back in February when I gave you my 2011 DIY to-do list? I revised it again in April and we're getting close to checking off that little list of 11 things that I wanted to accomplish this year. While I should be ecstatic, I am instead looking at a list 3 times that size. Isn't that the way it always works? Example- #6 on the list= rearrange the living room furniture. Done son. But, after I moved it, I got the itch to change it. Enter- new furniture. Then new curtains. Then new pillows... etc, etc, etc. See my dilemma? I think that by the end of this my entire first floor will look different. For now- I will enjoy checking a few things off my original list, celebrate what we've already accomplished, and how much I love it! (All the newly completed stuff is crossed off in blue)

1- Fix the kitchen light.
2- Repaint the dining room.
3. (Neatly) mount the television above our fireplace.
4. Get rid of the Tiffany's-esque chandelier that hangs in an awkward place in our living room.
5. Update the ceiling fan in our bedroom.
6. Rearrange the furniture in the living room.
7. Add some wall art to our master bedroom/bathroom/living room.
8. Update our upstairs bathroom light fixtures.
9. Repaint the red in the half bath.
10. Sell living room and mancave couches on craigslist.
11. Find a sectional for the living room and redecorate!


#11 you saw in my craigslist post and the update on our new curtains.
#2 and #9 were painted while Everett and I were out in Pittsburgh at the end of June. It was a happy birthday present from my hubby and brothers in law. I love it. I'll post pics another day.

#4 was fun. That chandelier has been the bane of my existence since day one of living in our house. My living room is rectangular and has a fireplace which can make a layout hard enough. Add in a strangely placed chandelier that hangs about a third of the way into the room and you've got a seriously weird design. I went back and forth on what to do with it. When it came down to it, we really needed at least one hanging light. I struggled though in figuring out how it would ever look normal. One day it just hit me- I would swag the light over to the corner and make myself a reading nook of sorts. With the new sectional I was left with an empty corner, so Aaron and I used part of our discovercard cashback money to buy this little guy for our new reading nook (from target during a 15% off furniture sale)!

It matches the new ottoman perfectly and fills up some of that empty space. See that huge empty wall behind the chair... I've got big plans for it. You'll have to wait and see!

Back to the light- I knew that even if I swagged it I was still going to need a new fixture (side note- when I say swag I mean I bought a little kit that allows you to drill a hook into the ceiling to change the placement of where the a light is hanging).

I'd seen a lot of outdoor looking pendant lamps and liked the idea. I decided to peruse homedepot.com to see if they had any similar lights. They ended up having one that I absolutely loved; however, it was 125 bones. That was a no go. I wanted the pewter fixture, but decided to look at the other colors too. There was a glossy white (which I wasn't interested in) BUT it was only $43. $82 cheaper just because of the color?! Crazy right? So I did what anyone would do, ordered the white and spray painted it. I've been on a bit of a spray painting kick... I'm sure my neighbors think I'm wacky. Either way, I really like the results. It's another thing checked off our list and another step toward "finishing" up the living room. What do you think? Anyone else obsessing lately on spray painting stuff? Anyone else have a project that's snowballing?!