Happy Holidays from all of us here at House It Going!

I think we're finally all blinged out for rhe holidays...


Flowers courtesy L.; aren't they lovely?


Tree-on-a-trunk! We found out not too long ago that the guy that grew up in our house 1) lives down the street now and 2) runs a Christmas tree farm. T-o-a-T and the wreath in the first picture came from him.





Get rowdy.


The Captain is the opposite of rowdy. But festive, nonetheless. Most of you have seen the exterior pictures, but I'll post them soon anyway. This is mostly a test-- I'm posting from my iPhone! Yes, I have become one of those people. I found myself standing in the middle of a busy sidewalk the other day, using it to check the weather. Outside. Hopefully that was my low point. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Before-n-after: Winged Rocker

Here are some shots of the new rocker (see LRoomarama Part II), before, during, and after the reupholsteration. Before (with a potential new-upholstery swatch stuck to the back cushion): Next we have the (nasty) pieces taken off and laid out on the new fabric as patterns. When I took them off I realized that the bottom used to be pink, and that the top was newer. I think somebody tried to reupholster the top to match the (already faded and yellow-looking) bottom. It was also clear that it had been reupholstered many, many times--judging from the number of nail/tack holes. After I got all the upholstery off (the cushion on the bottom was wrapped in muslin, and I didn't want to touch it. See below.) I cleaned the heck out of it. In the picture below, the left arm has been cleaned, the right not--all together now: "Ewww." So. Um, the cushion. I don't know how old this thing is, but it's definitely part.. hair. I only guessed at the seat cushion, but then when I had to take the back off because both sides where upholstered... The picture doesn't do it justice. We have batting. We have straw. And the brown stuff.. is hair. Disturbingly non-horsey-looking hair. I, um.. tried not to touch it. If you don't want to know whether I put it back, then don't ask. And... done! Fabric closeup. It's cream-y crosshatch-patterned nubbly stuff with sort of a mustard-yellow background. It looks much lighter in the pictures than it is in "real life." Sorry for the blurriness. It's late and I can't hold my camera still enough to take a picture when it's dark outside. It went well, all in all! I burned myself with hot glue (could have predicted that), and I'm going to put more tacks in the trim when my back recovers (there were some weird angles to get into, there). There were also some dicey moments with the back cushion (the one that may or may not still contain unidentifiable hair). I'm really happy with how it turned out--provided my stapling job holds up. There are a lot of half-bent staples stuck in that frame. Next up's the sofa... after a nice, long break.

Living Roomarama: Part the Second

We said goodbye to the old furniture last weekend. It did us well. It's on its way to my sister-in-law's new house. At the same time, we also welcomed a new sofa and rocker into the mix. Surprise! Surprised? We were. Here's the digest:

• We were on the way to order a new sofa from Rooms to Go. They have a nice slipcovered line right now. It was comfy, not too expensive, and I love the tailored-yet-aesthetically-rumply-slipcover look. (Thanks, mom!)
• On the way, we decided to stop at an antiques/consignment shop we'd heard good things about, but is never open when we can go.
• Three pieces of furniture later, the living room has gone in an entirely different direction and I'm planning a wee upholstery project for the coming weekend.

Here are the spoils (keep an open mind). One strange, spring-loaded rocker that my mother-in-law spied in a window display (it might throw you over backwards, but as long as it's not, it's REALLY COMFORTABLE, y'all): (It has wiiiiiings!) One behooked wall-mirror that we think used to live on a dresser (but will now live over a fireplace): And finally, the pièce de resistance and thwarter of new-sofa-buying: I love this. It too is surprisingly comfortable (according to the Mr., very, very nappable). It makes me feel like I'm in the lobby of the Grove Park Inn or something. Somebody get me a cigar. I am starting to think we're some sort of safe house for weird sofas. (Need I remind you of the fauxfa?) Come one, come all. You will be appreciated and lovingly reupholstered. Obviously, "threadbare yellow/pink velvet" and "royal blue sateen" are not exactly the looks we're going for with these. I'm going to attempt the recovering myself (with the prospect of professional help if necessary.) Look for updates on that. And, in case anybody's interested, you can get upholstery tacks and those hobnail-like things at your neighborhood Lowe's...

Living Roomarama: Part the First

Well, hello, after quite the hiatus. So we haven't blogged in a while, but we haven't done anything to the house in a while either. Months, actually. I think we burned ourselves out a little what with all the activity back in the Spring. So anyway, here we are; the garden has given us pounds of okra (and died), the ladder golf has been played, many a beer has been drunk--you get the picture. I think we're finally ready for another go, and the living room is first on the list. We kind of left it to languish after the move. We filled it with boxes of books, slapped ourselves on the back and told it we'd see it when it got cold. Occasionally we sweep up dog fur drifts or turn on a light to make sure the power still works. Well... now it's cold, my sister-in-law is claiming the furniture we put in here because it wouldn't fit anywhere else, and we're thinking it's time to give it some attention. The furniture is going to be the big part. We're excited to free up the space in here, but whatever we get to replace what's here will be the first living room furniture we've ever bought ourselves. It's odd what you notice when it's yours to buy, not just to get along with. Apparently we have all sorts of opinions about sofas we never knew we had. So the furniture thing is pending. In the meantime, we found a rug we liked, so... we have our "inspiration piece" or whatever HGTV calls it these days. It's very large, and woolly, and is making the living room smell like sheep. Behold, the unfurling: The Cap'n sniffed it, lay down on it, and looked bothered (as you see). The picture is dim, but it's sort of weathered shades of red, light blue, teal, eggplant, mustard... lots of possibilities. It's from Pottery Barn, and as of the moment, can still be seen here. It was on super-duper sale and I think they're out now. Here's their picture of it; I think ours would look like this under florescent light, or something: So.. here we are. We have a rug. I'm thinking of painting the walls a cinnamon-y/burnt-orangey taupeish color (if that doesn't make sense, I liked the way the dog looked lying on it. Didn't Lowe's tell me they could match "anything?" A gallon of "grumpy golden retriever mix," please.) I'm finally going to replace the curtains that were here when we moved in, I just don't know with what. More to come!

Flatpackin'

I've already mentioned our trip to our local IKEA (sidebar, those of you out there who actually do live in one of the, what, six? major US cities to have its own big blue store of Swedish modern wonder: to us, "local" means "closer than the others," and a trip to one still means hours--yes, hours--on the highway listening to our own tailpipe rattling, because no matter who you are those boxes don't fit in the back of a Jeep and aren't we lucky that IKEA knows that about us and provides nylon cord for us tie down our hatches if we're unprepared to do so? For some of us, IKEA shopping takes determination and a certain amount of faith in complimentary insurance mechanisms), and there's not much to say, other than we bought a couple of very large pieces of furniture. It's always easier to put them together than I expect it to be. Our MARKOR still flat-packed:

It might sound stupid, but I find the whole thing less intimidating if I separate all the bits-and-pieces first (it's faster, later on, but also make us familiar with the parts so we're less likely to use the wrong thing at the wrong time). A gajillion pegs, bolts, etc., during the sorting process:

45 minutes (or so?) later:

"Bam." Okay, I stink at photojournalism. I was too involved to take pictures. It's now filled with books--really sturdy. We actually got this because what we were there to get turned out to be, like, two inches too big for the wall it had to go on. This particular one wasn't something either of us had picked out online; for some reason it looked a lot better in the store, and we're really happy with how it went up. The other giant thing we got was a wardrobe--the LEKSVIK 3-door, to be exact. We already had a dresser with the same finish. It's ginormous, but it does what we needed it to--we basically needed a second closet in our bedroom, where there wasn't one. I'll try to remember to take a picture of it.

Paint Paint Paint! Paint. Paint Paint. Paint?

Wow, words look really funny when you repeat them a lot. Anyway, I've gone slightly paint crazy. It's a new dawn, really, from all the anxiety over picking the right blues (I was really trying to avoid an "I've got the blues" pun, there--I hope you appreciate that.) So what started it all? Imagine with me, if you will: the perfectly ambiguous shade. It feels cottage-y and informal, yet mature and elegant. Reads as a neutral when you want it to, and a color when you don't. Now, for the cherry on top: imagine you were able to find an entire GALLON of this color-of-all-colors, mixed with the most expensive semigloss base sold at Lowe's.... for FIVE DOLLARS. Yes, because someone else shunned it, I have a whole gallon of Valspar "Signature Colors" Semigloss in "Cliveden Gray," which is, I think, the perfect color. (Or maybe--just maybe--it's not 'Cliveden Gray,' which is, in reality, far from the perfect color; instead of following its orders the paint mixing machine WENT ROGUE, and in a fit of creativity never to be understood or fully appreciated by those around it created a masterpiece...) Okay, whatever. I really like it. I'm going to have to rein myself in a little bit, though, because in the last 48 hours I've painted an armoire and a coffee table and I already have plans for a nightstand and a side table. And I haven't even used half the can. Turns out semigloss is a nice finish for furniture, and I wasn't kidding--this is the most chameleonlike color I've ever seen. In a good way. Pictures aren't going to do it justice, but here are the first two victims of my glee:

*Some of you might recognize this as the former bearer of art supplies and serving dishes. He has found new purpose as a DVD-and-board-game peddler in the family room. And yes, I just personified an armoire.

This was a thrift store find--a $15 coffee table that had a yellowy "oak" finish on it. The sides were veneered but the top was solid, so the Mr. sanded it down (getting some mileage out of that rotary sander) and stained it with the stain he's using on the countertops (spoiler!). Then the rest got the miracle-gallon treatment. This picture stinks, but without the flash it was too blurry. So, come see them. You'll swear it's cream, then you'll look at it again, and you'll be darned if it isn't sage green. Really.