Tuesday, September 16, 2014

One room at a time: Entryway

I have decided to do something I have NEVER done in all my designing and decorating years. Well, I guess there are 2 things, but I'll get to the second later. But the first thing I have decided to do with this house is - gasp - only tear up ONE room at a time! Whaaa?? I know, I know, doesn't seem possible does it. I'm use to decorating in chaos and normally have 283 projects going on at once and of those, 1 or 2 actually get crossed off my to-do list. So for this new venture, this new house, I'm going to be doing things one room at a time. First up, the entry way. 

{Insert horrible cell phone picture here because you still don't have internet and even if you did have internet, you can't actually download real camera photos because you have an ipad}
Exhibit A
I've already made some considerable changes in here - most notably is that I've completely destroyed any sort of order and it's a disaster. Second most noticeable change is that the walls are primed and ready for paint. 
It ain't pretty folks, but it's also not burgundy horribleness either.


I think I know which color I'm picking. 


But before I pick the paint color from the samples I selected, I'm waiting for this to arrive:
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It's a total splurge on my part - seriously, $160 (including shipping) for a roll of wallpaper. The last roll of wallpaper I bought was from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore for a whopping $1.00 - and I got 2 rolls. Wallpaper is not something I normally think about hanging - in fact, I removed wallpaper from this room already. And now I'm going to be putting it up?? This is the second thing I'm doing that I've never done before. I've obviously lost my mind and my Instagram friends are all behind me too. So that's ordered and will be here Friday. 

This brings me to a few other purchases I've made thus far:
2 $10 chairs from Goodwill. They were 50% off if you took them at the time
of your purchase. So I texted my lovely boyfriend and he snagged them for me.
Of course these will get reupholstered.

Glass for my front door! Who knew glass was so expensive!?!? This clocked
in at $425 installed. I know exactly why the previous owner used plywood
and duct tape. 
And now this leads me to my next big decision - lighting. I'm keeping the original trim work (although it's getting freshened up with some new stain) and I'm keeping the original floors and may keep the sconces on the fireplace so I want a new light fixture in this space. The fixture that is in there right now is functional and pretty for 1902, it's just not my current style preference so I'd like to replace with something else. Here are my 2 options:
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Lowes - $179 and I have a 10% off coupon

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Etsy - $300 (including shipping)
I LOVE the second fixture (I realize the picture isn't the best, follow the link to see a few more shots of that one) but am hesitant about spending $300 on a light fixture when I could spend $160 on something very similar. I've looked all over for DIY versions and they are doable and I haven't ruled that option out, but I do have a lot of staining, painting and reupholstering to do and I'd like this room to be done sooner rather than later. 

I don't really have a set budget for this project, perhaps that's where I should start. I wouldn't count the glass for the door as this particular project, that was clearly a necessity and safety issue and I already had funds set aside to cover that cost. 

What do you think, should I Save, Splurge or DIY this lighting project? Or maybe you have seen something similar for a decent price? I'm open to suggestions! 

5 comments:

  1. I like the Lowes one a little bit better, but it might be because of the lightbulbs. So that doesn't really help. The one thing I like about lowes vs etsy, is being able to return if something goes wrong.

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    1. But I love the Edison bulbs, ha! But good thought - didn't think that I just might change my mind (which I know I will) or maybe it won't look as I'd thought and may want to return it!

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  2. It's Bridget N. (I think I will show up as Anonymous) I get the appeal of the Etsy fixture, but I'm not sure that for double the price it's worth it since they're decently similar. However, I'm a big lighting person, so I also could see spending the money. Not helpful I know. Also, as someone who just purchased a non-fixer upper for the second time, money just bleeds out of your bank account...and that's coming from a move-in ready perspective. I guess I'd just pick your poison. Where do you want to put the extra $$ touches and where will they add value and happiness to you versus where can you cut a bit. Looking forward to seeing all your awesome transformations!

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    1. I am bleeding money for sure...since I wasn't exactly planning on buying a house, let alone a fixer, I didn't have a bazillion dollars set aside and so I am trying to save where I can. I am planning on reupholstering those chairs and am leaning towards paying someone to do that. Since those pieces would be forever pieces and I could take them with me when I move, I may save the money on the light fixture and move that over to the chair fund. Since they are so very similar, I'm not sure spending double is really a good investment. Thanks for your input - loving the perspectives here :)

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  3. I like the Lowe's one! The Etsy one is better. But- I'm cheap! or...a nicer spin is that I like to save money where I can get get more! lol I'd choose the Lowe's one in the end!

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