Mrs. McFrugal

Ok here it is, the blog post you've all been waiting for...the story of our kitchen renovation!! I'll start with what the kitchen looked like and how we lived with it for about 3 years: February 14, 2015 As you can see, we were really lacking in storage and counter-top space. We had already ordered our kitchen cabinets from Home Depot, so once they arrived it was time to start demolition. So, here is the beginning of the demolition. We started with the floors, tearing out the tiles that we had laid when James first bought the house. This wasn't a huge loss to us, as they had been inexpensive and we didn't love them as much as we originally thought we would. Saturday, March 14, 2015 When we lifted up the layer of thin lauan plywood that had been under the ceramic tile, we found another layer of linoleum and subfloor underneath that.  So we had to remove the flooring one layer at a time. Since we were still using the other side of our ki...

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Things got crazy there for a while...we got a new puppy last April, and having two dogs proved to be a handful! Also, things at work got crazy as well. But I'm back, for now at least! I wanted to share an update we did to our house. It wasn't very "DIY" but we're so happy with how it turned out, so I'm going to share it anyway. We decided to get all new windows! Our old windows were, of course, original to the house. Some of them were painted shut, our bedroom window needed to be propped up because it would slam shut when you opened it, and the screens were falling out of the others. It was time for a change! Here are some before pictures: Why yes, that IS a new front door...thanks for noticing! Here's a photo of the gaping hole in our kitchen when they had ripped out the old window, before they had installed the new one: Luckily, it was a beautiful fall day! Here are some pictures of the progress...fi...

I realized today that I never shared the new bedroom paint color after I repainted the bedroom last summer! The initial color we had chosen was blue, and this is the last picture I shared of our bedroom: YIKES! It's nothing special to look at. Well, here it is today: A vast improvement, am I right? In the last couple of years, I've obtained 2 matching bedside tables, lamps, new mirrors for over the bed, and some turquoise and yellow accessories. We also got a new duvet cover and bed skirt with our wedding gift cards. I also hung white curtains. I didn't want to block out the light, but we just felt like they would provide an added level of privacy, since our bedroom window is on the front of the house facing the street. The birdcage is a clearance find I picked up at Target and hung it from the ceiling with a simple brown ribbon: Yes, we still need to add the last piece of crown in here! I also found some sisal birds on super clearance at West Elm, so I ...

What IS Pantone's Color of the Year? I'm so glad you asked. Every year, Pantone selects one color that they believe best describes that year - not only in design, but also in fashion and beauty products. Here's a little more information about the colors Pantone chose over the last decade or so. For 2014, a color called Radiant Orchid was chosen. Source: Pantone I think it's a lovely color, and decided to put together a moodboard with some products that you could buy to integrate this great color into your own home. 1. This rug from Rugs USA is a great way to integrate various shades of purple into a room 2. These curtains from IKEA are fun and have just a hint of Radiant Orchid in them, along with a really fun pattern. These would be great in a little girls' room or a casual family room. 3. This pillow from IKEA is almost exactly the same shade as Radiant Orchid! I love the dual-tone effect of the shiny and matte fabrics. 4. This lamp shade ...

A college friend of mine recently asked me to help her with some design issues in her living room. She and her husband have 2 young boys, so the room also needs to function as a family space with plenty of storage. Here are a couple pictures of her living room: Amanda told me they were thinking about getting a sectional to replace the sofa and recliner, and moving the glider into their son's room. She also said most of the toys and the changing table would also be going upstairs. One problem is that the room is long and narrow, and interrupted by lots of doors and windows. Another problem was figuring out a nice way to display 4 pieces of art that her father-in-law painted. Here are some products I found that I think would look great in Amanda's living room. They're all from affordable places like Target or IKEA, because I like moodboards with things in them that normal people can actually afford :)  1. These curtains from IKEA are $27.99 per set. I w...