Monday, September 14, 2009

Small home improvements

This weekend was super-productive, house-wise. First of all, we finally tackled the last frontier of unpacking--the basement, where we had put boxes with stuff that we don't use on a regular basis, like board games and Christmas ornaments and old CDs. There were a lot of boxes and we--and by "we" I mean "I"--unpacked all of them, organized everything on the shelves, and threw out all the boxes.

Now, instead of looking like a cluttered, messy storage area, the basement actually looks nice and organized and spacious. It's a great space that can hold some of our old furniture when we get to the point where we can actually afford some upgrades, and hopefully someday be a playroom. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a "before" picture, but just imagine the "after" full of boxes, with the shelves empty and positioned haphazardly. Here's the basement now:


So yeah. Lots of space for us to use, eventually, and in the meantime it's a great guest suite (that door to the left is a bedroom, and there's a full bath down there as well).

The other thing we did this weekend--and this time when I say "we" I mean "Torsten"--was hang a few wedding photos:



And also we--and here I actually mean both of us--finally got around to putting together that frame wall we've been talking about for a couple months:


And as a bonus, while I was walking around the house with the camera, I finally got around to taking a picture of that shower door:


See how it opens up the bathroom and shows off the nice tile in the tub, instead of creating a virtual wall at the front of the tub with a shower curtain? Seriously, I still haven't gotten over how much I love this shower door. It's just a small upgrade, but it makes us both so happy.

We also started hanging some of our other framed artwork upstairs, but that's not done yet so there are no photos. But even having just a few things on the walls already makes such a difference. Our house feels so much more lived in now. I can't wait until we get to the point where our house is pretty much fully furnished and decorated. I wonder if there will ever be a point where we'll feel like we're done. I'm guessing not.

26 comments:

  1. Don't those small improvements make you so happy? To finally check stuff off the big list makes it seem like you will eventually get it all done! Or at least that's how I've felt recently when we've checked off some of our home improvement to-do's.

    Also, I love your bathroom mirror. Love love love! And yes, I agree, that shower door makes the bathroom itself look / feel bigger!

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  2. From these small glimpses, your home looks absolutely lovely, Jess. Very stylish and warm and welcoming. You and Torsten have done such a great job making it a home instead of just a house.

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  3. Very nice! I love the shower door and frame wall. I would kill for a basement like too. I could hide down there all by myself. :)

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  4. I love the frame wall and the shower door. You have a beautiful home!

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  5. I feel like I haven't commented in forever! (work, work, work)

    Anyway, I'm seeing a lot of these "shower doors" around lately, on HGTV and in Achoo's house. But growing up, we never had them in anyone's house I knew. Are these considered the cool new thing? I don't know how I feel about them.

    Maybe it's because I express myself via my shower curtain. I LOVE it, and if I had a door and couldn't have it, I'd be sad.

    But your house looks BEAUTIFUL!!!

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  6. Jersey--I'm not sure if they're the cool new thing. We always had them in my house growing up. Torsten always had them in his house too. My French host family had them in their house too. In fact, I can't recall ever seeing a shower curtain in Europe--I think they're more of an American thing. The first time I ever had to use a shower curtain regularly was in college, and I hated it. Though I agree that there are some really gorgeous shower curtains out there.

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  7. Your house looks great! I'm so jealous.

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  8. Good for you on the unpacking. It would have been so easy just to leave those boxes down there, since you didn't have furniture for the room. What a lovely home you have.

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  9. I am totally jealous of your bathroom! The frame wall looks great, too. Yay!

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  10. I most definitely clicked on the frame wall pic to creep your pictures. ;-) I agree - lovely home! And I've been a shower curtain dweller my whole life but I agree the door thing is much nicer.

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  11. Jess, your home is gorgeous! It's amazing what some personal photos will do to a space, isn't it? Also, regarding shower doors, the ones we installed were considered an upgrade when we put our condo on the market but then I've seen them rip them out on to put up a curtain on some of the HGTV shows. Who knows?! :)

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  12. Great pictures.

    I like the shower door, but we'd never have one. Sorry to say that our old tub, at its very cleanest, is not something I'd want to show off with a clear door. :-)

    Maybe with a new tub...

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  13. That's the same shower door I wanted, but didn't get because the contractor? He said I actually DIDN'T want it.

    Why?

    I have no idea, but I really like the way it looks in your bathroom, and I know it would have looked good in mine as well.

    Big sigh.

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  14. I am very, very envious of your house, particularly your finished basement!

    I will say this, we've lived in this house for four years and it FINALLY feels "done." Ish. I mean, I still have a list of things a mile long that I would like to do to the house, but I imagine that will always be the case.

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  15. WOW!!! I am loving the frame wall, it looks amazing. And that shower door...WOW! No wonder you didn't want a silly curtain covering that up.

    Have a nice week!

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  16. I love organizing and decorating. I feel like I might have missed a calling in that respect. And you've just reminded me I have pictures to hang!

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  17. Love the new projects! Especially that photo wall, so cute!

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  18. I love the frame wall idea. I should give up trying to decide what to hang above my couch (I hate the sofa-size print I have there now) and do that!

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  19. I love how the frame wall turned out! :)

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  20. Can I ship my kids over to live in your basement? Or maybe just in the late afternoon before their dad gets home?

    Love the frame wall. Love the shower door. I also hate shower curtains, but something I hate more is cleaning the stupid shower door. Let me know if you find a Surefire Shower Door Cleaner.

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  21. I really like that last photo of your bathroom. The shower door is awesome. I also love your frame wall - such a good idea! (Am jealous of all your space, besides).

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