Deck Inspiration

While reading Houzz.com's post on Fabulous Patios, I was reminded of our deck-to-be.  With the beautiful summer evenings we've been having lately, we are so anxious to get started so we can enjoy our backyard and so we don't have to see this when we look outside our back door...

Or this while we're in our backyard...

Unfortunately we have so many other home improvement projects to do and the deck's pretty low on our priority list so it might not get done until next year.  But when it does get done, it will be big and amazing!

A Tip for Painting

If you need to take a break from painting (like we are right now), wrap your rollers tightly in shopping bags.  Make sure they don't have any holes.  Then place them in the refrigerator.  

They will stay wet and ready to paint for days!  

This way you don't have to clean out your rollers in the middle of your project, and it can save you tons of time!  I do recommend washing out your brushes after each use, though.

Window Trim in the Living Room - Stage 1

So this is obviously not the living room.  It's the window in our bedroom.   It's nearly identical to the one we're working on in the living room.  We were so excited to put trim up, we forgot to take a before picture!  Notice the plain, boring window?  No trim!

Here's what we have so far.  Derek pre-painted the MDF trim before attaching it to the wall.  It's so much easier to paint trim this way!  You don't have to tape!

His design includes beadboard beneath the windows.  It makes them look taller!

He's also spackled the joints and nail holes.  All that's left is touch-up tomorrow!