Up Next: A Preview of What's To Come

{A note to explain my absence...} Clearly it's been a few days (like maybe more than 35) since I got around to writing. For honesty's sake, I'll admit I'm feeling a bit underwhelmed. After all the fun we had renovating the house, the odds and ends projects here and there just do not seem to carry the same pizzazz they once might have. Every time I get online, my homepage stares back at me.... December 12, 2011. Seriously, that might as well have been ages ago. Lame.

Friends thinking about their own home renovations or redecorating ask me, "How do you know when to stop, it seems there's always another thing to do!?" I can't help but smile- I know exactly what they mean, and I know the not-so-lovely wall of truth they're about to run into at full speed: the budget! You know it's time to stop when the budget runs out. This is where Ken and I are hanging out these days. So while I'm not making any significant changes, I do have a few projects ahead for the coming weeks.

So here's a little preview of what's to come at our house, and where I am in the process of obtaining all the tools and materials needed.

1. Kitchen Bookshelf
When we moved in, the previous owner left a small gold-painted wooden bookshelf in the basement. It was, of course, covered in years of dust and cobwebs. Gross as it was, I have been trying to figure out how to incorporate it back into the house. I think I've settled on using it in the kitchen as a place to keep cookbooks and cloth napkins. But, before I get to do that, it needs to be cleaned (which I have already done) and it needs to be painted. I am planning to use spray cans to both primer and paint the shelf, and I'm thinking of finishing it in a metallic nickel color.

{Don't you just love the painted black brick walls in our basement? How about the spray-painted neon orange and green swirls and dots that were added for... interest? Oh good, me too. Ahem. It's on my to-do list to buy more primer and white paint.}


2. Couch Re-covering
This one is big big news! It's been in the works for a few months and it's finally coming together! My grandmother is coming up and my mom is coming down, and while Ken is away for work, the three of us will be fast at work recovering my Duncan Phyfe couch, and hopefully also a wicker and velvet chair I picked up at a yard sale. After lots of research and measuring, I purchased a micro-suede in deep teal (!!) for the couch, and picked up some brushed nickel nail heads to finish the look. I'm still on the hunt for the fabric for the chair, but I am planning to paint the non-fabric portions of the chair black and then find a nice fabric for the pillows and back. The shop where I picked up the couch fabric and other necessary refinishing items is Discount Fabrics USA in Thurmont, MD. The selection there is great and so are the prices. But best of all were the ladies who helped make sure I had everything I needed and answered all my questions {even though I had been in the store for somewhere around 3 hours.} It's a haul from here, so taking a look at their online shop might be a great option, especially with their flat rate $10 shipping fee for fabric.

Those are the fun projects I have coming up in the next few weeks. Of course, there's plenty to do here (like sweep, do dishes, get around to unpacking our third bedroom, cleaning out the basement so I can paint it's currently black walls a brighter color, etc.) but in the meantime I'm staying excited about these two.

I promise to keep you updated as I get these fun tasks underway! What are you working on around the house these days? Spring cleaning is just around the corner...

-Domestic in the District