Preparing for an appraisal...and some inexpensive lighting ideas.

Well...hello again!  Seems like forever since we talked.

Recently, Studs and I had our house appraised.  In preparation, we decided to attack all of the boring, little tasks that we'd kept putting off.  Paying someone a hellish amount of money to walk through your house and scrutinize every little detail has a way of motivating you to do all the things you didn't care about doing before...just sayin'.

The entire week prior to the appraisal all Studs and I did was walk around the house with a container of spackle {filling in holes from old screws and nails and discharged BB's...NO, I am not kidding} and a paint brush {for touching up walls "tagged" by our darling three year old using whatever weapon of mass destruction she came across that particular day...sharpie, dry erase marker, finger nail polish...}.

I have to say, the house was lookin pretty spiffy by the time the appraiser came.  Too bad it won't last.

I did a little bit of research on "preparing for an appraisal" and thought I might share some of what I found.  So, for those of you who might be considering refinancing or selling a home, here are some helpful tips I learned to help get the most out of your house.

1-  Type up a list of updates/upgrades you've made on your home.   Include the approximate date of the improvements and how much they cost {this would include everything from a new light fixture to a major renovation...and everything inbetween}.

2-  Don't spend a lot of money getting your house ready for an appraisal {unless it's on things you were going to do anyway}.  Chances are you won't get back the money you put into it.

3-  If you are willing to invest a little money on your house, updated lighting {and faucets} will always yield return on your investment.  The lighting doesn't have to be expensive, but it needs to be attractive and current...boob lights be gone!!!

4-  Touch up any peeling, "tagged" or discolored paint.  Even though this doesn't necessarily reflect on the integrity of the home, it can reflect on you as homeowners...if you're not concerned about maintaining the paint, then what else aren't you concerned about maintaining?

5-  Clean and declutter.  Even though an appraiser should be completely objective and unbiased, first impressions count for something.  Tripping on a pile of shoes by the front door isn't the lasting impression you wanna make...though it would be totally hilarious.  Also, if your house smells like last night's dinner, you may want to consider using some air freshners or baking a fresh batch of brownies or something beforehand.  And if your carpet smells like a dirty toilet bowl you might want to get them cleaned...back to the whole first impression thing. 

6-  Look at your house through the appraisers eyes.  Are you trying to cram too much stuff into a small space {if so, edit some things out.  Too much furniture can make a space looked cramped and cluttered thus giving the illusion of a small space}?  Does your home flow well?  Do you have to squeeze between a couch and end table to get into the family room {if so, you might consider rearranging the furniture so things flow more easily}?

7-  Don't follow your appraiser around like a lost puppy.  Leave him alone and let him/her do his/her job without distraction.  You're better served hiding out in the office praying that the appraiser somehow overlooks the water spot on the ceiling from an old leak that has since been repaired but that you forgot to touch up.

I hope you find these tips helpful as well as amusing...learn from my mistakes peeps!!!

And because this blog is all about being thrifty and stylish and doing for yourself...here are a few inexpensive lighting ideas I implemented recently.

brightly colored chandy's 
{These babies are readily available at most thrift stores and can be turned into statement pieces simply by painting them in an eye catching hue.  For added interest you could string similarly colored beads/jewels from the arms.}





Drum shade pendant
{Drum shades can be both sophisticated and fun.  I made this one out of a $10 lamp shade from Ikea and some faux wood contact paper}.





I also really love the chevron pattern on this drum shade pendant.  This might be my next project.

Modern Pendant Lighting design by Richmond Lighting Fixtures Shades of Light

Modern/Industrial pendant
{I found this pendant at Ikea for $20.  It has a nice shape and is a nice neutral color which can be a good thing when trying to appeal to the masses.  It was just a little too netutral for me, so I added a little color blocking to it to kick it up one more notch.  It's still neutral, but with a little more style.}



All righty peeps.  Good bye and big bulbs...for your {new}stylish lights, that is!

Contact Paper Chronicles-Part 2

If you asked me how I felt about contact paper fifteen years ago I would have said, "that stuff is hideous.  Not just hideous, but HID.E.OUS!!!"

 I'm sure every one of us has had an ill fated run in with the stuff at one time or another.  I'm taken back to the first apartment Studly and I shared.  It was 1996, we were young and newly married and sporting ridiculously, embarrasing hair-do's {I had a shag...or the Monica as it were, and he, the short lived Caeser}.  We were so excited to start playing house together.  The apartment was perfect...aside from the nightly cockroach rave and the fact that every drawer in the place was lined with peeling, dated, disgusting contact paper.  Good times, good times. 

It took awhile for me to acknowledge the existance of contact paper again.  I mean, I would occasionally bump into it at the Home Depot or Walmart, but thought nothing of it.  Eventually, we made ammends and I started using it for homemade stensils and what not.  We were on good terms but nothing serious.  But then one day I had a vision...a vision of a gorgeous lamp with a wood veneer drum shade.  I didn't want to spend a ton of money on wood veneer, so I used the cheapest alternative I could find...wood grain contact paper.  After my $3 Lamp Shade Revamp project, I realized that this stuff {I once considered an interior design faux pas} could have potential when used in the right way.  So, I took that ball and ran with it...down the hall and to my daughter Quinn's bedroom.

Quinn's room had been lacking something for awhile, so I started toying around with the idea of putting in a wood accent wall.  I kept putting it off because I wasn't sure if I wanted to commit to something that permanent, especially when it required a moderate amount of labor.  Then I remembered that I had an extra role of faux wood contact paper lying around, so I decided to conduct a little experiment.  I decided to try making a focal wall using contact paper instead of real wood.  I was a little skeptical at first...worried that rather than looking like a tasteful, wood accent wall, it would look like, well, a wall with a bunch of contact paper on it.  

But I persisted, and once I had filled up a large portion of the wall, I realized that it didn't look half bad.  In fact, I was really starting to dig it.  It gave the room sort of a cool, reto vibe.

Once I brought in all of the bedding and accessories it started coming together and made sense.

It took about two and half roles to fill the entire wall...which translates to just under $20.  I was able to complete the project in four or five hours...most of which was spent cutting the contact paper into squares.  The application process went by fairly quickly.  Ah, I'm such a sucker for a quick transformation. 

It definately adds and element of warmth and interest to the room, which it was lacking before.

And the best part about it, I can remove it all in a matter of minutes if I decide to.

So, I quess I'll let you be the judge.  Contact paper:  still an interior design faux pas, or an old friend has simply gotten a bad "wrap"?

Knock Off Decor Feature and a "Light Bulb"moment.

Howdy peeps!

Becky over at knock-off decor is currently featuring my industrial metal letters that I made for my laundry room revamp. {Thanks lady!}

I've made it pretty clear that I am a sucker for a good knock off.  And if you are into knocking off ridiculously over priced home decor as well, I would highly suggest hopping over to her place and taking a look around.  It's amazing to see what people can do with a little ingenuity.

And in other news, I have been dreaming of covering every thing I see in contact paper.  It's gotta stop.  I'm worried that pretty soon I'll be living in a house entirely coated in plastic.  But that said, I love my "wood" lamp shade.  I failed to mention in my post about it how it looked with the light on.  My answer to that is  "FLIPPIN' AWESOME"! 

It looks even better with the lamp turned on.  My only advice is to take extra care when trimming off the excess contact paper.  You can see if it's uneven through the shade when the lamp is on.  After I had adhered my c.p., I just took a razor blade and trimmed all the excess off along the support rings at the top and bottom.  Easy, peasy. 

  

To contact paper or not to contact paper? That is the question.

I have really become obsessed with natural wood lately. I just love the warmth and earthiness it can bring into a room. I love that it can add texture and visual interest, while at the same time remaining netural. Wood is like denim...everything just seems to goes with it.

The other day I came across these lovlies and was smitten. The shades remind me a little of the sixties, but I don't mind that mid-century modern look so much. Besides, when they are paired with the right lamp base, like in this picture, they become totally current.



The only downside to these gorgeous lamps, is that they can be pretty spendy. I saw some selling for as much as $170...just for the shade. So, I started brainstorming ways that I could recreate the look for cheaper.

I researched wood veneer and found that it was less inexpensive than the shades themselves {ranging in price from $40-$70, depending on what kind of wood and the color etc}, but that was still a little too spendy for me.

Then I remembered ripping out a bunch of contact paper shelf liners when we moved into our current house. Of course, at the time I thought the idea of large, fake wood, stickers was repulsive and in very poor taste, but I started to wonder if I could actually make it look respectable.

I decided to give it a try. I bought a 24ft. roll of the stuff for $3.50 and figured I wasn't out much if it ended up looking tacky and crappy.

I decided to try it out on this very unassuming lamp. She's not hideous, but she could be so much more...maybe...hopefully.


After about fifteen minutes of wrestling with the contact paper and finding the best way to go about wrapping it around the lamp shade {this particular lamp shade couldn't be removed from it's base, so it was a little awkward} I ended up with this.


What do you think? Be honest. I was really skeptical at first, but when I put her back on her crate, I thought she actually looked pretty hot...in a totally inantimate sorta way.


The biggest difference between my c.p. version and the veneer version is, well, the fact that mine is plastic contact paper. But unless your guests have a tendency to rub their hands all over your lamp shades, you should be able to get away with it. The other slightly noticeable difference is the sheen. C.P., has a little more shine to it than the veneered version which is more matte.
That said, I only spent $3.50 as opposed to $170 and with that kind of savings I am totally okay with a little shine.

So, what's the verdict? Yay yay, or nay nay to contact paper?