Blog – Page 42 – No. 29 Design

we're almost there!

So the walls have been sheet rocked and plastered. The ceiling has been skim coated in a lovely new pattern. The rooms down in the basement have shape and corners. The most dramatic change is the doorway leading down to the basement. I shouldn’t call it a doorway because we basically removed the door and the walls around the doorframe all the way to the ceiling. It opens up the hallway at the top of the stairs and just beckons you to come down and lounge, visit, play or do laundry! It is such a transformation and came out better that I expected. I can usually envision how plans will come out and I did not envision the way this lack of a door makes me feel. Since there are only six steps down to the basement from the floor above, you can see clear across the room almost. (Insert…

and the curtains go to….

Kayla F. Congratulations Kayla for winning these beautiful window treatments by Windows by Melissa. Thank you to all who entered!

i can't see the concrete anymore!

No one is happier than I am to see this pink fluffy stuff everywhere. No, not cotton candy, because than the kiddo’s would have been the happy ones. The insulation is in. On Friday we passed the plumbing, electrical and insulation requirements. What is in store this week? Drywall, patching any holes and skim coating. In other words, dusty stuff that has me a little nervous about how it will impact the rest of the house. I’ve already been through dust explosion number one that I told you about here. I’m hoping this won’t be the same. Keep your fingers crossed. So this is what it looks like right now… laundry room family room The sheet rock is ready and waiting, along with a pile of plaster. Good things to come. So far it is still not much to look at. My five year old did discover that the insulation all nicely placed…

fabric covered photo box tutorial

Just after the holiday every year I run into a problem. I just don’t have the heart to throw away all the beautiful Christmas pictures that our family and friends have sent us. They usually end up in a drawer in my dining room hutch. Well that drawer is starting to overflow! Not to mention the random photos I have of my kids that someone has given me. I myself am a firm believer in the printed photo book, no more photo albums in this house. While shopping at Target the other day I came across a photo box in the dollar section. I of course grabbed it as the wheels starting turning. Fabric and a glue gun and a box equals a happy me! Here is what you’ll need to make your own. {supplies} photo box fabric scissors glue gun & glue sticks Start by making sure you have…

eye candy

Last week I took a quick trip with my daughter to visit some of our family in Florida. It was great to get away just the two of us and we had so much fun. Being that we are from the Boston area we were thrilled to be wearing shorts and short sleeves! We saw and did a lot, the usual touristy stuff. I did want to share one place that was quite a piece of art in itself. It was called Cupcake Couture in Delray Beach. Delicious cupcakes that were a meal in themselves. The design insides was a great mix of painted table bases, colorful displays and the most interesting lighting. The moment I saw the lighting I thought how great they would look in a girls bedroom. They also looked like something that could easily be recreated to suit your colors or space. No place could be…

board and batten inspiration

In the hopes of creating a well designed space down in my basement, I’ve decided to add board and batten to the walls to create visual interest. I’ve always loved architectural features as art in the form of moldings, woodwork, etc. There are so many ideas out there so I thought I’d show you a few of my inspirations. I won’t be doing the full board and batten treatment. It will basically be the “batten” part of it. The entire section under the top molding will be painted white. thrifty decor chick vintage revivals better homes and gardens I’m not sure what the pattern will be yet. I do know that I love the ones where the top section is perfectly square, like the second image. I also love the detailing on the top rail of the molding, as in the third image. We are still waiting for inspections for…

Mapping out your lights

Last week I let you know about a solution I had come up with to add some pretty to my basement, currently under construction. I wanted to share the lighting plan I came up with. I didn’t want one switch turning on the whole space at once, so I divided the basement into five zones. The first obvious zone is the laundry room. It is its’ own room so it has a switch on the inside of the door. There will be two recessed lights in there which should be plenty in that eight foot by eight foot space. The next zone is the “hallway”. This light will be at the top of the stairs and will turn on the three recessed lights that light the area from the front of the stairs across the room to the storage room doors. Sorry for the dark shot, these are the only…

A giveaway!

Windows by Melissa, the newest sponsor here at No. 29 Design, has generously offered to give one lucky reader two unlined rod pocket 84″ panels in yellow and white zig zag. Can you see these somewhere in your house? All you need to do is the following three things. 1. follow No. 29 Design 2. follow Windows by Melissa 3. enter a comment below. This giveaway will be open until Tuesday, March 13th at 11:59 pm EST. A winner will chosen at random and announced here on the blog later in the week. Good luck! {read the official giveaway rules here}

No. 29 Design's newest sponsor

Today I’d like to take a minute to introduce my newest sponsor, Windows by Melissa. Windows by Melissa is an incredible Etsy store which sells custom made drapes, roman shades and pillow covers, all at great prices! Here is a little bit about Windows by Melissa in their own words…. We are a team of six whose ultimate goal and mission is to clothe your bare windows. We pride ourselves on providing attractive, functional, safe and affordable window coverings. We are also dedicated to helping in our communities. As a special thanks for our success, we have decided to give back to our community by donating $5 of every order to a worthy cause each month. You can read more about our sponsorship program on our blog under “Sponsorship Program” in the top bar. Or read about past sponsor families under the label “monthly family sponsors.” If you know of anyone to recommend for our sponsor program…

My lighting plan

When we first started planning the basement renovation we wanted to have recessed lighting. The ceiling was only 7 ft so anything hanging down would have been in the way. Along the way I was told by one contractor that the only way to get recessed lighting was to take down the entire ceiling, put in the lighting, then put up sheet rock and plaster and paint. That was a lot of money there so I started looking at lighting options. I shopped online and was happy with the selections I had made. There would be one light in the toy area, track lighting on the hallway, and a semi-mount pendant in both the main area and the laundry room. I had picked out this hanging lamp from Ballard Designs which would hang above the coffee table. ballard design I envisioned it looking like something a la Candice Olson. I was…