Two More Reveals {The Door is Done}

In all fairness, a lot really has been going on around the bungalow. Sometimes I get down on myself for not being as productive as I think I should be. Then, I remind myself that I'm a working, single parent who happens to also blog and run an Etsy shop. That's a pretty full plate.

After I process all of that, I sit back, put my feet up and remind myself that it's okay that every one of my projects takes double the anticipated time. It's also okay to post unstaged and imperfect pictures from time to time...

One of my most recent projects was a new storm door. You probably remember the original door post where I mention my little cleaning mishap. Anyway, it's been replaced {thanks to my dad}!

First, the broken door had to come down.

Say "hi" to my parents and Preston. It was a family affair that day!

Next, the old door had to go out to the curb. {Someone actually came and took it in the night.}

Then, we were left with a giant hole in the house. This part was a little nerve wracking!

Dad, was then able to jump into the real work!

Hours later {HOURS}, we had a beautiful new storm door installed! This took some figuring out though, and my typically handy dad seemed to struggle a bit. Let's just say that it was a process... 

Let's take a look back at what it looked like before.

Much better! Yes?

Next, was a necessary change for Preston's room. We don't have central air, and my little guy is very warm blooded, so I decided to get him a ceiling fan before summer really sets in. He started with a dreaded "boob light". {It was here when we bought the house.}

Please, ignore the poor picture quality. I'm still relying on my cell phone for all my photo capturing.

Anyway, I decided to go with the same ceiling fan I already have in my bedroom, and I did that for a few reasons.

First of all, I like the simple style of it. I also love the power it gives out and the overall quality of the fan. Our ceilings are pretty tall, and this fan comes with a handy remote that includes a light dimmer too. Basically, it's the perfect fan, in my bronze finish, for a modest budget. You can't go wrong with that. It's also a special order product from Lowe's, and since I work there now, a discount was taken off this time around. Score!

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Disregard the giant toy mess. I've recently taken care of it with a new toy storage option. A post on that will come later.

I'll leave you tonight with one of my most recent favorite shots of Preston. He just came home from nine days away in Florida with my parents visiting my brother and his family. I didn't get to go, because I had to work {insert sad face}.

This was taken on the beach near Palm City. Isn't he precious?!

Crystal xoxo

Spring Cleaning "Disaster"

In case I haven't mentioned it before, I work at Lowe's. I'm in the appliance department officially, but I'm training to be in the kitchen design department. It's a great place to work, but it's easily the most involved/challenging job I've ever had, and I used to teach preschool!

While I love Lowe's {and always have}, one of the MAJOR perks of my job {besides the constant inspiration and eye candy} is the discount...

Tuesday, I decided to do a little spring cleaning. When we first moved in, we painted the grate on our storm door to match the shutters.

I watched "him" easily take the grate out, paint it and put it back in. Since the door needed some serious scrubbing, I decided to take the grate out. Only, it didn't come so easily this time! I ended up bending it, bending the door and pounding the door back in place with a hammer. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the grate back in, and I discovered that it supported the glass. Without it, the glass rattles, and there's a BIG gap at the top {about an inch} that critters can fly in, so I was left with no choice...

I ran to Lowe's and bought a new storm door. With my discount AND a sweet coupon, I ended up getting this for $261.20 {Reg. $319}. Not a steal but definitely a deal!

Mine looks just like this, but it will have bronze hardware! It also has a retractable screen, and I think I'm really going to like that feature. We don't have central air, and it gets HOT in Virginia {hot to this Michigan girl's standards}!

I am a little bummed to lose my "Welcome" decal though. Oh, well! It is what it is.

The tentative goal is to have it installed this week, but that will depend on my handyman dad's schedule...

Top 5 Happy Spots in Our Home

Earlier today, Kristina from A Cozy Cup of Tea, did a blog post about the "Happy Spots" in her home! She asked her readers to continue the thread and share their happy spots on their blogs too! Thank you, Kristinia for such a FUN subject today! You can also find Kristina on Facebook and visit her Etsy shop here!

Here's my Top 5...

(1) Our ever-changing dining room shelves are one of my favorite things to accessorize in our home. It houses glassware from our wedding and other personal touches. The vintage books and potted cactus are my most recent additions. (2) Our front porch was our most recent project, and I LOVE the transformation. Ryan and I use it so much more, and we even enjoyed two long chats out there this weekend {during nap time of course}! (3) My new desk chair in my studio adds so much POP! I adore the traditional shape and funky {but understated} fabric. The chair sits in front of my childhood desk too. (4) My built-ins make me smile. Every. Time. I. Look. At. Them. They're just gorgeous, and I recently rearranged some of the furniture to create this cozy little nook! (5) Preston's nursery was such a "labor of love". Vintage sock monkeys were our inspiration, but he's growing into such a curious toddler now! I {even the O.C.D. girl that I am} LOVE to walk past his room and see the toys of a little boy scattered about! It means he's enjoying the space we so carefully put together for him. I do dislike the fact that we had to lower the crib, and the skirt is no longer a nice accent. I am looking forward to updating the space even more for a growing toddler!

On another happy note, Modern Bungalow is going to Hollywood! One of my repurposed cupcake stands was purchased by a TV show prop master! It will be used in an upcoming episode of  "GCB" or  Good Christian Bitches!

Home Tour: Our Front Porch

Our front porch has always been the gem of our curb appeal, but I knew we weren't doing it justice! As usual funds, and life, had paralyzed the design direction out there, but THIS was the year we decided to fully change that!

I already had a clear plan and a color pallet decided upon. The real inspiration was the shutters. We spray painted them paprika, our first summer here. Ryan actually chose the color, but I have genuinely grown to love it! It was literally a $9 update that still looks brand new. We didn't even prime them {tisk! tisk! I know}!

That same summer, I decided to add mustard yellow, and buying an inexpensive collection of yellow flower pots was my initial way to infuse that shade.




My Great Grandmother's Watering Can

Our bronze mailbox was a house warming gift, and keeping true to original interior elements, we decided to use bronze has our exterior metal tone. We also used bronze spray paint on a garden medallion that I "stole" from my mom a long time ago. We hung that to the left of the front door. A new bronze light fixture came last year, as well as a paprika and mustard paisley outdoor rug, but the only other thing out there was our small bistro table. We bought it as a dining room table for our first apartment together, knowing that it would one day go back to it's roots as outdoor furniture. 

Using everything that was out there, and maximizing the potential of the purposely previously purchased items {like that tongue twisters?}, I got to work. Budget was the key to this update, but after several weeks, I think we can officially call it DONE! Take a look....



Those urns were only $6 a piece!



Rug is from Target and urns/plants from K-Mart

Love seat and chair were clearance Target finds

Repurposed and painted IKEA table

Pillows less than $8 each at Lowes

The stepping stone was a free leftover from my dad's latest garden project. We find that people naturally step onto the porch there {instead of walking through the grass to the sidewalk}, and I couldn't keep a plant alive in that location. This was the perfect solution!

Tell me! What outdoor projects are you working on this year? You can also e-mail me pictures of your budget decorating projects any time, and you could land yourself a blog feature here!