Laundry Room Remodel - Intro

I'm here today to introduce you to our first project of 2019 - THE LAUNDRY ROOM!!!

This is the first of two projects we have in the works over here on the home front and I'm SO EXCITED!!! If you remember, this laundry room was one of the rooms I was the most jazzed about when we moved in to this house. Our last house didn't have a real laundry room. Just a little pad in the basement for the washer and dryer. It was dark, damp, scary - not a happy place to spend a lot of time. But the laundry room in this house is conveniently located on the first floor, HAS A WINDOW, a laundry shoot and is a decent size, so I have been thankful for it everyday, despite it's blah appearance.

This room had a lot of potential but it also had some flaws from a layout perspective. There were 4 doors in this laundry room, 3 of which swung in at each other when opened. 

We removed the entry door and replaced it with an antique barn door we refurbished last year during our mudroom project. This definitely helped the situation, but the two doors covering the linen closet still made the space awkward. On top of the doors, this room (like the future home office space) had become a catchall.

In addition to the obvious, washer, dryer, hampers and sink this room housed a freezer a table saw, table saw stand, two vacuums, boxes of office supplies/documents that were never unpacked from our move (3 years ago...gasp!), cleaning supplies, beer making jars and buckets and other random odds and ends that I would just shove in there to get them out of my way in our main living area. It was a hot mess. Earlier this year we started talking through how and where to organize all of this stuff and decided everything currently in the laundry room would either be going to the linen towers in the guest bath (towels and sheets) a shed that we plan to build in the backyard (table saw, misc. tools, paint gun, etc.), the home office (giant box of files, paper and office supplies) or would be staying in the laundry room. Even with a lot of the items getting moved out of this space we still had a good deal we needed to store, so we decided the best plan of attack was to remove the french doors covering the linen closet and then build out the shelving inside. The closet came with two wire shelves, leaving a ton of wasted space.

Up until this point I had always housed my rolling laundry hamper in this closet, but in order to really optimize the storage this thing needed to go. That's when we decided we would stack our washer and dryer and then build out some shelving to the right of that to house laundry baskets. There will be a countertop on top of the shelving for me to use as a folding area and a hanging rod overhead attaching from the side of the washer and dryer surround and the wall.

The linen closet will get built-out with nothing but shelves all the way up. SO MUCH STORAGE!!! 

A few weeks ago the freezer died (with stuff inside - UGH!!) so he is gone now too. This side of the room is still somewhat of a question mark as we decide what type of sink to get and if we will go back in with another freezer, a second refrigerator or maybe nothing? Still some details to figure out, but TILE STARTED TODAY so we are rolling full steam ahead! Don't forget to follow along on instagram for all of the behind the scenes happenings between now and the next post!

All photos are my own. 

Croix's Room - Curtains & Light Fixture

Jumping upstairs to Croix's room to show off his new curtains and light fixture!!

Let's start with the curtains...I swear curtains make a room come to life. This space has been getting happier with every added element, but the curtains really made it start to feel cozy and inviting. As for the selection of said curtains, I'm happy to report they were super inexpensive! Of course, I can't help but dig deep into the options, so I visited several fabric stores and got a ton of samples to consider.

As nice as a lot of them were none of these options felt right. I loved the bright colors and happy prints of some of them, but I didn't want to make the room too baby-ish or even kid-ish. Obviously it is a kids room and I want it to be happy but I don't 'want the boys to come to me when their 8 asking for something more mature. On the other hand some of the dark grays or even the plaids just felt a little too formal. That's when I decided a solid curtain in a fun color was a better direction. Of course this took me down another rabbit hole of options, so I was very excited when we happened upon yellow, velvet curtains at Ikea for a steal. We picked up a metal rod on the same day and by the end of the weekend the curtains were up. 

Next up was a new light fixture. Like every bedroom in our house this one had a ceiling fan. Functional, yes - pretty, not so much. 

The room needed to be anchored by something more fun, but it took me awhile to find the right thing. I wanted something oversized and cool but at a price point that wouldn't break the bank. I found the perfect light but the lead time was 8-12 weeks, ugh. So I continued the search to no avail. We finally decided to just pull the trigger and guess what...the light came in way earlier than expected. I slapped the ceiling fan on Craigslist and Brent went to work installing the new light.

Once up we were in love. 

It's the perfect scale, color and vibe and adds a splash of modern flair to the room. With these additions the whole space really feels equal parts cool and kid and I'm so excited with the way the whole thing is coming together. 

All photos are my own. 

5 Tips for Growing Your Fiddle Leaf Fig + a GIVEAWAY!

Back in January I posted a photo of my living room over on Instagram and got a lot of questions about my fiddle leaf fig tree, so I did a few Instastories talking about the steps I take for caring for and growing my trees.

I thought I'd list them on here too for anyone who missed the instastories and is interested. Now, let me give a little disclaimer here. My thumb has definitely gotten greener over the years but I blame that on dumb luck, some good advice and a house with really good natural light. I'm no expert, this is just what has worked for me!

1. Place your fiddle leaf fig near a window that gets good sun.

This is #1 for a reason because your little tree won't live to appreciate the rest of these tips if you don't find the perfect sunny spot for them to sit. If I ever see a green fiddle feaf sitting in a corner, I know it's fake because these plants will quickly start to die if they don't feel the sun on their leaves.

2. Water the plant once a week on the same day.

I really believe plants are like people in that they like routine and consistency. Overwatering a fiddle leaf fig can be as devastating, if not more so than under watering. A few years ago I picked Sunday as my watering day and try to water all of my plants on this day. This keeps me from second guessing and keeps the plants fed, but not drowned. 

3. Don't move the plant.

These plants are true divas and do not like to be moved. Once you find a spot for yours to sit where it thrives and seems happy, don't move it. 

4. But do Twirl the plant.

Like all plants the fiddle leaf fig tends to lean towards the sun, so every few months I twirl my tree so each side gets an equal amount of exposure. This keeps the tree from getting misshapen or leaning too far to one side. 

5. If your plant does get a brown spot or you inherit one that already has brown spots, cut them off. 

I adopted three fiddle leaf figs last year. One sits at my house and two sit at the Bell Cabinetry & Design Showroom. When I got them, they were in bad shape and their leaves were riddled with brown spots.  I ended up cutting off the brown areas, not the whole leaves, just the brown spots and while the leaves did look a little weird, the trees started getting healthier!

Now for the fun part - I want to give one of YOU a fiddle leaf fig tree for your house! That's right...I'm giving away a baby....

A baby fiddle leaf fig tree that is! Plants make me so happy and I love having them scattered around my house, so whether you have a home filled with plants or this would be your first, I'm excited to be giving away one of these green pretties today!

To enter to win follow these steps:

1. Follow me on Instagram: _courtneyshearer
2. Leave me a comment letting me know where you would put a fiddle leaf fig tree in your house.
3. If you tag a friend it's a bonus entry. 

I will pick a winner Sunday night!

I plan to purchase the tree online here, so if you don't win - just know these trees don't have to be super expensive. You can Amazon Prime one to your doorstep or pick up one of the small ones from Home Depot (I got all of mine from there!), I saw them the other day for $19.99. Next, use the tips above to grow your little fig into a tree taller than you! Good Luck!

All photos are my own.