12 Oaks

Creating a Playroom & Mudroom

We are smack dab in the middle of an exciting project at 12 Oaks— creating a playroom and mudroom from what was a weird den/office.

This is what the room was looking like before we started. We hardly ever used it and it is basically the last room in the house we haven’t renovated.

We had a desk in one corner (that we never use), and Kate had some toys in there, and that is about it.

The fireplace takes up half of the room, it’s dangerous for little ones and would need to be re-done anyway, so we decided to cover it up (GASP!) Some may think that is a crime but it just didn’t work for our family and our needs. We still have a much nicer fireplace in our living room, and could always open it back up down the line if we wanted to.

Here’s the other side of the room, the door to the garage is on the right, the laundry room and powder room are in the center, and the doorway on the left leads to the kitchen. So this room was basically a pass through as we came in the house and took off our shoes, coats, brought in groceries, etc.

We decided to put up a wall here to make a nice mudroom off of the garage, and then it closes off the playroom to make a cozy little room for Kate to play in.

So first things first we cleaned out the room, ripped out the fireplace and removed the paneling from the walls.

We were happy to find drywall (unfinished) behind the paneling, so we only had to hire drywallers to finish it rather than hang new stuff too.

Next Ben built the wall….

Then we had an electrician come in to add some can lights in the new mudroom, center the light in the playroom, and add some outlets. Then Ben hung drywall on the new wall and over the old fireplace.

Next we had the drywallers come in to tape and finish the drywall. And then Ben primed all the walls.

Unfortunately we also had to re-do the hardwood floors because of the old fireplace hearth that left a big hole in the floor. So the flooring guys patched the hole, sanded all of them back, and re-stained them to match the rest of the house. You can’t even tell the fireplace was there.

Here’s how the mudroom is shaping up so far.

We are building floor to ceiling cabinets in here, but it is already so much better! Ben threw together a hook rail so we can hang all our stuff as soon as we come in the door.

Here is some of my inspiration for the mudroom cabinets. I cannot wait!

We’ve already painted the playroom and have started putting it all back together, so I hope to share a finished reveal before the end of the year.

Tags: mudroom, playroom, removing a fireplace

Comments 4 Comments
Categories Flooring, Kids

Master Bathroom Reveal

18 Dec

Our master bathroom has been done for months, but I finally got around to taking finished photos and now it’s time to share! This is the last of the four bathrooms we have remodeled/built in this house. As a reminder, this is a completely new room that was part of our small addition we put in on the back of our house.

The last time I blogged about the master bathroom, it was looking like this.

And here it is now all complete:

We installed white wainscoting on the bottom half of the walls and the top half is Lazy Gray by Sherwin Williams.

The gray vanity and top is the Cranberry from Home Depot and the recessed medicine cabinet is this one from Amazon. We added a little backsplash to the vanity ourselves using plain white subway tile.

The shower is a combination of three types of Carrera marble tile: subway tile on the walls (from Floor & Decor), a small herringbone pattern in the niche, and an octagon pattern on the floor, both from the Tile Shop. And black granite on the bench seat and threshold.

Here is the other side of the room, which we hung 3 robe hooks from Target, and you can see the glass french door leading to our bedroom.

And here is the toilet “nook” area.

My very favorite part of the room is the Carrera marble herringbone floor (also from Tile Shop). It’s so so pretty. And the floors are heated!

We are very happy with the space and after 3+ years, are glad to FINALLY be done renovating bathrooms in our home.

Here is a full source list for anyone who is wondering where to get anything.

Wall paint: Benjamin Moore’s Lazy Gray; floor tile: Large Herringbone carrera marble from Tile Shop; shower tile: Carrera marble from Tile Shop & Floor and Decor, vanity: Cranbury from Home Depot; faucet: Delta from Home Depot; can lights and hidden exhaust fan: Home Depot; toilet: Glacier Bay from Home Depot; recessed medicine cabinet: this one from Amazon; floor mat: Bed, Bath & Beyond; roman shade: this one from Pottery Barn Kids; shower fixtures: Delta from Faucet Direct; grout: Polyblend bright white; soap pump/toothbrush holder: Bed, Bath & Beyond; trashcan: Bed, Bath & Beyond; wall art: Target; vanity light: this one from Lighting Direct; hand towel: Target; glass canister set: Crate & Barrel; toilet paper holder: Target; shower door: custom from a local glass company; french door: Home Depot.

Tags: bathroom, carrera marble, carrera marble floor, gray bathroom, gray vanity, herringbone tile, lazy gray sherwin williams, marble bathroom floor, marble shower, master bathroom, spa bathroom

Comments 6 Comments
Categories Bathrooms, Flooring

Gift ideas for 2 year olds

23 Nov

It’s that wonderful, albeit stressful, time of year again. Time to find gifts for our loved ones, ones that they will hopefully use and enjoy. I’ve been gathering gift ideas for our 21 month old daughter, Kate, so I thought I would share them to help anyone who needs ideas for 1.5-2 year olds.

Here are a few things that we plan to get our almost 2-year old daughter this year:

Rody Horse. Kate gravitates to this bouncy horse toy everytime she see it at someone’s house. We’ve bought this as gifts for some other friends and family members and it is always a hit. It comes in a bunch of colors but I like the teal one best.
Play Tool Set. Kate is always interested in all of the various projects we have going on around the house and wants to help, so I think a tool set like this Black & Decker one would be perfect. Girls can be handy too.
Learning Tower. Cooking while trying to entertain a toddler can be a challenge so we’d love to get Kate a learning tower so she can be a part of the action. Amazon sells this one, which I heard will be $50 off for Black Friday. Though I think we will probably build our own using Ana White’s plan. There’s also a popular Ikea hack using an Ikea step stool, which looks so simple but it doesn’t fold flat like the Ana White one does.
Bilibo. This thing is one of the most talked about toys on the internet. Kids can use it to rock in, spin in, hide under, sit on, tote with, and peek through. I think this could entertain Kate for years to come.
3-in-1 scooter. Kate loves ride-on toys and bikes. At daycare they say she is a bit of a daredevil on the bikes, lol. I think she would love this scooter toy that adjusts as they get older.
Bath toy spout. This bath toy looks like a lot of fun and Kate hasn’t gotten any new bath toys since she was a baby so I think it is time to spice things up.
Toy Broom & Dustpan. Kate loves to try and help us clean and will try and push a gigantic shop broom. This inexpensive toy broom set should be a hit.
Play teepee. Our big project for the winter is to convert our den into a play room for Kate. I think this teepee from Land of Nod would work perfectly in there to give her a little private escape to read and what not.
Chrismas PJs and a book. I started a tradition last year where she gets Christmas PJs and a Christmas story on Christmas Eve to wear and read the night before Christmas. Then she has cute PJs on the next morning when she opens her presents and I take a million photos. These Christmas PJs from Old Navy are cute and festive, and for a book I’m thinking The Polar Express. Last year it was How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Elf of the Shelf. Not so much a gift, but we just purchased an Elf of the Shelf to do with Kate this year. I’m looking forward to having fun putting the elf in funny places each night after she goes to bed. Pinterest has some hilarious ideas. I also didn’t realize the elf came in different genders and eye colors so of course we got the brown eyed girl one.

Lastly, if you are like me and do 90% of your shopping online, you should definitely sign up for Ebates if you haven’t already. It’s a site that gives you a percentage back on every online purchase you make. Almost every major retailer is on there. And you don’t have to remember to shop through Ebates if you install the plug in so it pops up every time you visit a retailer that offers an Ebates reward. I signed up a couple months ago and already have earned over $50 in cash back. They send you a check every quarter. So simple.

Happy shopping everyone!

Tags: 2 year old girl christmas gift ideas, christmas gift for 1 year old, christmas gift for toddlers, christmas gifts for 2 year old, christmas ideas for toddlers, gift ideas for 1 year old, gift ideas for 2 year old

Comments 1 Comment
Categories Kids, Travel & Fun

Income Property Reveal

1 Oct

We’re officially landlords! We put the finishing touches on our rental property this week and have tenants moving in today. We are SO pleased with how the home turned out and thankfully had an easy time finding good tenants.

Here is a before look at the front exterior of the home:

And now it looks like this:

Admittedly, not much of a transformation, but we did rip out all the overgrown bushes and plant some boxwoods and other plants. We also replaced the light over the front door, had a new screen door custom built, and stained the front door.

The home desperately needs an exterior paint job, which is on our radar for next year.

The back yard was also very overgrown and there was a hole in the garage roof.

After replacing the garage roof and ripping out those bushes, it looks like this:

Moving inside is where the big transformation happened. The kitchen looked like this before:

And now after new stainless steel appliances, cabinets, granite countertops, arabesque tile backsplash, new hardwood floors, paint (Analytical Gray by Sherwin Williams), lighting and more:

Here’s the other side of the kitchen.

And view from the dining room.

Here was the dining room before:

And now after new paint (Gray Owl by Benjamin Moore), crown molding, lighting, hardwood floors, baseboards, and more:

The other side of the dining room looking into the living room used to look like this:

And now:

Into the living room, it used to look like this:

We updated the fireplace, added sconces (from Home Depot), an overhead drum light, and continued the paint, crown, baseboards and new floors.

For the fireplace, we replaced the paneling with new drywall, painted the brick white, stained the mantle, and updated the tile on the hearth.

The other side of the living room looked like this.

And now:

I just love all the arches throughout the home.

Here’s a before & after of the hallway leading to the bathroom and bedrooms:

The bathroom looked like this before:

And now after adding a subway tiled shower, refinishing the bathtub, adding a new black vanity (from Home Depot), toilet, lighting, beadboard, and more: