There’s a Hole in the Wall!

Okay, because I’m a crazy lady, I decided to tackle a room makeover in December. In my defense, it’s just a little room so it shouldn’t disrupt our entire holiday season or anything, right? Right! Well, I’ve always been told “it’s the thought that counts” and I’m going with that thought. 

We have this odd enclosed porch area off the open pantry…see that door on the left?open pantry at diyshowoff.com

The one with the curtains? That’s the original front door to this old house. And where does it lead? To a warm and inviting entryway to our house? 

No. A homeowner from the past enclosed the porch and rerouted the door to the side. We enter our home through the back French doors on the patio.  We do not have a real front door or curb appeal and that’s a dream for another day but we did recently put in new windows AND insulated the outer walls. And this room reached my puke-point. It looked like a room from an episode of Hoarders. A true junk room. I’m over it. It’s something you don’t see on a blog every day. The ugly truth. Well, enough is enough. 

home office makeover before and in progress @diyshowoff home office makeover before and in progress @diyshowoff home office makeover before and in progress @diyshowoff

Oh, and that room has this window at the bottom of our stairs in our living room always bothered me. An exterior window INTERIOR? Don’t you just love nearly 100 year old houses? Weird. Oh, “let’s look out this window at the sunny day” … (::cue horror movie music::) … it’s a room piled to the ceiling with JUNK. NO! Just no. Merry Christmas to me because it’s going away! 

home office makeover before and in progress @diyshowoff

Did you even notice it had exterior vinyl siding on two walls? Looks like an option for insulation from a past home owner. 

home office makeover before and in progress @diyshowoff It’s coming off!home office makeover before and in progress @diyshowoff home office makeover before and in progress @diyshowoff

Down to the original siding from 1927… but those other walls? Ugh. they’re staying for now. 

home office makeover before and in progress @diyshowoffI decided to make that window into an open doorway. 

home office makeover before and in progress @diyshowoffhome office makeover before and in progress @diyshowoff

And the siding has been removed and drywall installed. It’s starting to come together. No matter what, anything is better than it was and I’m looking forward to a bright fresh new room. 

home office makeover before and in progress @diyshowoff home office makeover before and in progress @diyshowoff

The original front door (below). home office makeover before and in progress @diyshowoff

Those other two crazy walls with planks and hunter green trim overload are too involved to change out now (moving windows and doors to install drywall is more involved than we can deal with at the present time, so fingers crossed that paint tone down that in-yo-face trim circus! 

home office makeover before and in progress @diyshowoff

And the floor? That hideous green painted concrete has to go. New product: Floorté, enhanced luxury vinyl plank floor by Shaw and I can’t wait! More on that coming up. Floorté is a luxury line locking durable engineered waterproof PVC flooring option. More on that coming up! For now, there are some decisions to make…

home office makeover before and in progress @diyshowoff

And someday, when a new beautiful front door is in the budget, this room will grow up to be a real live front entryway, a foyer! But for now, I’m claiming this space to create more square footage, to make it useful space. I’m still on the fence about it’s purpose though. I’m leaning towards den/home office.  

Stay tuned for more progress! 

At Home: Christmas Tree Farm Inspired Decor

Deck the halls with boughs of holly! Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la!

Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas

Goal: Freshen up the Christmas decor in our dining room. And boy oh boy, At Home did not disappoint! Christmas tunes were cranked, hot cocoa within reach, cinnamon/ orange/pine essential oil being diffused, shopping bags unpacked. Let the holiday decorating begin!

Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas  Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmasChristmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas

Welcome to our Christmas tree farm inspired dining room. Just a few touches from At Home to some of our existing Christmas decor made all the difference in making our dining room a Christmas destination. I am in love! 

Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas

Baby’s favorite: the boy was all heart-eyes over us putting this big red metal truck into the shopping cart. 

Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas

My favorite: Cut Your Own Christmas Tree sign – this sealed the deal on my tree farm theme. I love it’s charm. ::pitter patter:: 

Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmasChristmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas

You guys! Do you have an At Home store near you? Well, we have a brand new At Home store in Pittsburgh! Yes!!!!!! So exciting! I couldn’t wait to check it out and I received some gift cards towards my purchase in exchange for a review so we made a recent visit to check it out. 

At Home Store Pittsburgh @diyshowoffAt Home Store Pittsburgh @diyshowoff

It took some time to narrow down which direction with decorating I wanted to go! Because…so many fun themes, a huge selection and the prettiest holiday displays for inspiration. 

At Home Store Pittsburgh @diyshowoffAt Home Store Pittsburgh @diyshowoff

We may have spent more than 2 hours in that store. Thankfully, baby boy was as entertained and captured as I was.

At Home Store Pittsburgh @diyshowoffAt Home Store Pittsburgh @diyshowoff

But, I finally made some decisions and settled on a Christmas tree farm theme. I couldn’t wait to get home to deck the halls! 

At Home Store Pittsburgh @diyshowoff At Home Store Pittsburgh @diyshowoff

Join me for a  bit of faux al fresco twilight dining Christmas tree farm picnic style. You bring the eggnog, I’ll bring the cookies!

Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas

Like it? Pin it! Thanks!

Christmas tree farm inspired decorating #athome @diyshowoff #christmas

Use the store locator to find an At Home close to you! 

Touch of Christmas shown above from At Home: 

At Home, the home décor superstore opened a new more than 91,000 square-foot store, bringing approximately 25 new full- and part-time jobs to the area. Shoppers will find more than 50,000 items for every room and every style at everyday low prices. 

The Raven Nevermore Halloween Party

My Michaels Makers challenge for October is “Halloween Party” and what a fun time shopping the aisles of Michaels for accessories. From cute and friendly to creepy-spooky, they have everything you need to host an awesome monster-bash! 

makeitwithmichaels

Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven is a poem often noted for its supernatural atmosphere, making it the perfect theme for your next Halloween party…The Raven Nevermore Halloween Party Ideas @diyshowoff #MakeItWithMichaelsThe Raven Nevermore Halloween Party Ideas @diyshowoff

Shop for fun accents with Victorian, modern bold patterns and creepy Halloween vibes. Connect the variety of design styles with a black and white color palette. 

The Raven Nevermore Halloween Party Ideas @diyshowoffThe Raven Nevermore Halloween Party Ideas @diyshowoff The Raven Nevermore Halloween Party Ideas @diyshowoff The Raven Nevermore Halloween Party Ideas @diyshowoff

Journals make the perfect party favor for this author and poem – inspired party. The Raven Nevermore Halloween Party Ideas @diyshowoff #MakeItWithMichaelsThe Raven Nevermore Halloween Party Ideas @diyshowoff The Raven Nevermore Halloween Party Ideas @diyshowoffPopcorn is the perfect snack to serve while ‘The Raven’ is just the right length to read by candlelight via candelabra…The Raven Nevermore Halloween Party Ideas @diyshowoffThe Raven Nevermore Halloween Party Ideas @diyshowoff The Raven Nevermore Halloween Party Ideas @diyshowoff #MakeItWithMichaelsThe Raven Nevermore Halloween Party Ideas @diyshowoff #MakeItWithMichaels

Nevermore Tree Centerpiece (an oldie by favorite craft)

Materials:

  • Vase, container, urn. 
  • Small branch (desired size that fits your container). Choose one that has several branch-offs to look more like a tree.
  • Black spray paint
  • Styrofoam cone
  • Handful of dry moss. Other options: shredded newspaper, crinkled paper
  • Accessories: faux crows/ravens, plastic spiders, cotton spider webbing, ribbon
  • Optional: hot glue

The Raven Nevermore Halloween Party Ideas @diyshowoff

Tutorial:
1. Spray-paint branch black and add a touch of black to dried moss and let them dry.
2. Using the bottom of my tree branch, I poked a hole into the circular side of my cone. Insert the Styrofoam cone into container with the circular side/hole facing up. You can secure your foam to the container. I didn’t.
3. Insert the branch into the Styrofoam hole. Secure with hot glue if needed.
4. Cover styrofoam with dried moss, crinkled paper or shredded paper. Glue into place if desired.
5.  ACCESSORIZE: String dried moss and spider webs to branches (drag the spider webbing). Attach ravens. I used black twist ties to attach some of my crows, others are just propped on branches. I did use hot glue to attach a few plastic spiders and added a couple of snips of sheer ribbon here and there for a little added whimsy.

The Raven Nevermore Halloween Party Ideas @diyshowoff

Whether you’re into spooky sights, playful pumpkins or giggling ghouls, Michaels is your Boo-It-Yourself Halloween Headquarters and has tons of ideas for DIY costumes and décor.

The Raven Nevermore Halloween Party Ideas @diyshowoff

Make up some cute candy coated marshmallow Halloween treats for party favors!

So cute! Halloween (essential oil infused optional) marshmallow treats @diyshowoff #makeitwithmichaels

The Raven Nevermore Halloween Party Ideas @diyshowoffThe Raven Nevermore Halloween Party Ideas @diyshowoff #MakeItWithMichaels

Be sure to check out all of the other Michaels Makers Boo-It-Yourself Halloween ideas on the Michaels blog or by viewing the links below on Monday, October 3rd at 11 a.m. CST:

makeitwithmichaels

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