YMCA Dream House 2014 Tour

Like most of you, I’m a sucker for an inspirational home tour. While we love to virtually browse through images of gorgeous homes and imagine ourselves enjoying these spaces, nothing is quite like being in the space itself. Experiencing firsthand the flow and beauty of the space, and learning what functions work best for how we live.
Recently I did just that, experiencing firsthand the beautiful Lake County YMCA Dream House located in the quaint town of Willoughby, Ohio. For my local readers, this is a great opportunity to enjoy a home tour in person, plus your ticket entitles you to enter to win the Dream House!! Tours are running until August 10^th, so visit while you still can. For tickets or more information click here.

For my other readers, I’m afraid you’ll just have to enjoy it vicariously through my “sneak peek” on the blog today. 

 I love this first look right after you enter the space from the hall. Right at the outset you know you want to take a seat, get comfortable, and drink in the beauty. 

The designers were not afraid to bring in these attractive hues of mauve which I found I really loved! Great inspiration for my daughters room..she has been begging for a purple bedroom since she was 3. Of course the idea of purple initially struck terror in my heart, *grin* now I’m seeing all the possibilities in the lovely mauve and violet throughout this house!

I love the touches of glam without feeling like you are in a feminine space. From the wall décor to the accessories, all have a bit of a metallic qualtiy that reflects off each other and brings some sparkle into the space.

I don’t want to give away too much so that you have something to look forward to on your tour, but I’m in love with the open concept of the 2^nd floor living area. You can see straight through from the kitchen and dining, to the living room, to the great room. 

Aahhh, and what a great room it is! The art gallery immediately drew me in…the photographs were taken right there in downtown Willoughby!

 This kitchen has something I’ve always wanted in my home: charcoal colored cabinets! I’m not sure I could get the husband on board, but maybe this stunning kitchen will convince him to take a chance. 

The kitchen also boasts another dream of mine…a fully outfitted pantry space! When I opened those pantry doors I think I let out a little sigh of jealousy. The pantry is in the ideal location, right next to the refrigerator and prep space…wouldn't it be lovely? 

The beautiful thing about a custom space is the continuity of design. When you purchase pre-fab furnishings and window coverings, you often have to be content to mix and match. Not so with the custom touches in this home! From the dining chairs and window coverings, to the kitchen valance, the fabric and design choices were pulled into the adjoining spaces for a cohesive feel.

Perhaps it is because all the light fixtures in my home that need to be updated, but I’ve certainly got lighting on the brain. I really love this clear glass fixture above the kitchen sink, and the old fashioned bulb that it highlights.

Perhaps the kitchen is the heart of the home, and living spaces the soul… but in my opinion the bedroom is equally heart. It is the private areas in our home where perhaps only our family members may venture, but where our real life begins. I think of it as a space that needs to be restful, happy, and above all else become an escape at the end of a long day. 

 This bedroom has some awesome industrial features. When you visit this home, take a look at the creativity that went into building the bed! (Yes, that was a bit of a teaser…for those able to go on a visit!) 

All I could think seeing this industrial desk lamp was hmmm how can I DIY this awesome lamp?

Finally I enjoyed the mirrored furniture in the master bedroom. Even with the blinds closed and the lights dimmed it created a very glamorous effect.

Whoever wins this YMCA Dream House will be located in a lovely town, within walking distance of all its amenities. I am well acquainted with Willoughby since I drive through downtown on my way to church every week. It seems there is always some exciting event happening in Willoughby! 

Each week I find myself exclaiming over a banner announcing the latest festivity, or peering into some lovely little shop, or watching the artisans set up for farmers market. I love this little town, so conveniently located to everything one could wish, yet having that quaint small town feel all at once!

I think the designers and builders did a fantastic job on this year’s Dream House…I know I was inspired! The YMCA tour volunteers were also so sweet I just had to give them a special shoutout! They were very helpful as I took pictures and excited to show me all the amazing features of the Dream House.

There were a lot of spaces in the YMCA Dream House I did not share here on the blog, but I hope you enjoyed this sneak peak!

It's Headboard Week At Remodelaholic!

 Today I'm excited to be over at Remodelaholic sharing an easy door-turn-headboard tutorial! 

I love the idea of dressing up a bed, then throwing myself right into the midst of it's beautiful comfort. The best way to have a well dressed bed? Start with a headboard! Don't just think of headboards as style, think of them as comfort... if you like to end your day cuddled up to your honey in bed, giggling at a great comedy together, or crying on your darling's shoulder during a drama, then a nice cusion-y headboard should be high on your list of to-DIY's!

I'm sharing an easily customizable headboard you can make for yourself very inexpensively. See my tutorial for this headboard here on Remodelaholic. 

Don't forget to take a look at the entire week of inspirational headboards, and get in on the action by linking up your own DIY headboard! Just scroll to the bottom of my tutorial on Remodelaholic (or via the Headboard Week intro post here), and link up for a chance to be featured on Remodelaholic's Saturday evening round-up! 

Laundry Room Reveal

I'm SO happy with my laundry room. It functions like a dream (finally), and rather than being the blight just off my dining room, it is now a space I can allow my eyes to linger on rather than rush past. Ha, I no longer have to be embarrassed if I forgot to close the laundry room door when guests take a seat for dinner! I call that major progress. 

Remember what it looked like before? That ironic dingy mustard paint color on the walls... I mean c'mon, who wants to think about dingy mustard yellow when trying to get bright clean laundry?? Here is the laundry room right before we moved in, and my original plan (which clearly got tweaked a bit!):

Like most spaces in my home my laundry room has been a bit of a process. My first update was painting the walls and bringing in front loaders, then nothing for a year-and-a-half. Until that glorious day a month ago when I saw my dream flooring on sale at Home Depot! Travertine-like flooring I could lay myself? Uh, you should have seen my giddy dance right there in the Home Depot aisle. 

Then everything just seemed to fall into place...from finding these sparkly chrome frames, and prints at 25 cents (total...not each!), to finding the perfect accessories and that gorgeous Kichler light fixture.

The Practical Side of the Laundry Room

I like a beautiful space as much next decorating junkie...but this mama lives here, and I am all about the practical side of decorating! 

The best part of this laundry room is the oodles and oodles of storage! After all, where else am I going to store all my household cleaners?

Swapping out the old cabinet knobs for these modern pulls helped update the space without removing cabinetry.

 A row of medium sized cabinets across the top hold detergent, cleaners, and everything you can possibly need for the healthy home. I also have four large baskets that sit atop the cabinets to store extra tissue, toilet paper, and paper towels.Then the small pantry-like cabinet to the left of the dryer houses brooms, mops, my vacuum, and other cleaning tools...that is an entire post in of itself! 

The only items I keep out are frequent use items like these spray bottles containing ingredients for stain removal. 

The kids know that the moment they get a stain, they are to spray the stain and place the soiled garment into the laundry utility sink for soaking.

Having a utility sink in the laundry room is FANTASTIC! We clean everything in there... muddy boots, paint brushes, you name it... which is why I installed a trio of hooks right over the sink; it makes the perfect place to allow rags and paint brushes to drip dry.

Atop the washer and dryer I keep my regular use sprays inside a sleek porcelain tray. This is my catch all for miscellaneous items found in pockets, or that need immediate attention on laundry day.

I also a trio of small white dishes for the items that may not need immediate attention, but can house those small items often found in the washer or dryer. Buttons that are discovered in the dryer, but I'm not sure which item of clothing they belong to stay here until the needed.

I also keep three small baskets atop the dryer to store common use items such as a mesh bag for delicate's, rubber gloves, and the all important chore checklist sheets! When the kids come to collect cleaners they also grab the appropriate checklist for the room. By the way, these checklists are a lifesaver! I provide free printables here for you.

So are you wondering where my laundry baskets are? That little green basket can't possibly hold all our dirty laundry, so what's the deal? *grin* Here is my tip for keeping a tidy well-decorated laundry space, and keeping it practical as well!
I use pop-up laundry baskets for dirty clothes, and smaller ones to carry my clean clothes. They are brought out on laundry day and we all bring our hamper/baskets from our various rooms and sort them into these pop-up baskets

At the end of laundry day, I simply fold them flat, and tuck them into the space by the dryer. Safely in their slot until next week and another laundry day! It keeps the floors in my small laundry room clear...very important since this is my indoor path to the garage and I often lug furniture (and tools) through here to be worked on.

The only basket that stays out at all times is this stylish little green basket I got from Home Goods for $12. It collects the dirty rags used to clean windows, wipe up spills, etc. throughout the week. It is allows them to air out, and dry between laundry days. 

I store my clean folded rags under the utility sink in this beautiful white basket I embellished with gold spray paint. Chrome may be the main finish in here, but my new favorite thing is to bring in hints of gold or copper in to each space! 

I was overjoyed to find these hooks at Target, marked down from $8 to $1!! Adding a couple hooks to temporarily catch the hubby and kids belts, hats, and unwashables they forget to remove before tossing in the laundry hamper.

My mom gave me this nifty little hanging doodad. It hooks over the door, receives hangers (for clothing that needs to air dry, or be hung up straight out of the dryer), then folds down when not in use.

I hope you enjoyed my laundry room tour! I'm lucky to have a space of this size to commit to my laundry, 9'x6' to be exact, and I'm making the most of it! However I have learned that if all I had was the space above my washer and dryer, this is the layout I would go for... open shelving is desperately beautiful, but I love being to adequately store household items and enjoying stylish decor at the same time.