And then we got stuff done around here

Seriously, I'm starting to think there aren't enough hours in the day. This house has seen it's fair share of projects that get started. But at times they never quite get off the ground & running...let alone see the finish line for awhile. Maybe that's why I feel so overwhelmed sometimes?

Now that the contents of our kitchen are no longer spewed all over our house (and yes, spewed is a word...at least by my standards today), and things are almost finished in there, the rest of the house is very slowly taking shape. Well, at least until I decide to change or update something again. Which, with the amount of blogs I read & inspiration that comes from them...it's happening a lot these days!

We have friends coming over for dinner this weekend & in a rush to get things ready for their arrival (ie, actually cleaning the house), I FINALLY finished project hallway! There are a few elements I'll add or change in the future, but for now it's complete & I'm quite happy with the results!

Okay, first let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we? Here's the very shocking before:

As you may recall, the top of the landing was ONE BIG HOT MESS. It was a collection of everything we were too lazy to deal with. So we cleared out the space & put everything up into the attic (where hoarding is completely acceptable). And here is the lovely after:

The desk was a hand me down from my mom that I got the a-okay to paint. I debated about switching out the hardware, but kept the existing ones & spray painted them a coat of silver. I love them now! Which makes me wonder why I debated changing them out in the first place!? The mirror was a HomeGoods find that occupied every last minute of my time to get it to the way it looks now (note taken, next time I'll spray paint something this intricate). The "K" is also a HomeGoods find that I spray painted yellow & attached brackets to the back so that it stands upright. Which means it's secure enough that if a tipsy guest happens to fall into the desk while leaving our house (hey, it could happen!), it's not going anywhere. The random white cup is a Goodwill find, and the vase was my grandmother's. And then of course, there was my Salvation Army lamp that I scored for $5...

In the end, this lamp was all sorts of trouble. I couldn't find a shade to suit it, and after 2 attempts to cover the one I had...I surrendered and replaced it with the current Homegoods lamp that now sits on top of the desk. It made me a little sad to replace my $5 find. But I'm hoarding it in the attic, with the hopes that it will find another home one of these days.

The frames were the last element of the space. They were all purchased from random antique & thrift stores (I think the largest one was $35, the rest were less than that--not bad!) & spray painted black. The ceramic birds are a gift from the husband from a local home interiors boutique (Nest--for all you Buffalo folks). So let me just say, I pretty much avoided hanging these for the longest time, since the plaster walls in our old home can be pretty tricky. Imagine if you will--lots of dust, nails that hit studs (and not the cute kind), and holes that inevitably have to be patched before starting over. But the decorating gods must have been looking over me because hanging these were a cinch. If you're keeping score...that's one point for Katie, zero points for the wall.

And one more picture for good measure...a view into the living area as you enter from the stairwell...

Excuse the pillows...our living room is going through a bit of an identity crisis, as I'm not totally sure my latest Etsy purchase is fitting in so well. The orange pillow cover turned out to be a bit too orange, so I might give it a home in the spare bedroom. So much for not being afraid of color in 2011...

And with that, I'm off to admire my work...hope you all have a lovely weekend!