Honey-Do: Return Air Grille

Ah, yes!  The beauty of return air grilles.  Who doesn't love them?  Uh, me.  That's who.  They are just a bunch of eye sores screwing up beautifully decorated rooms.  Especially when they're the size of Timbuktu and have been placed so elegantly OFF CENTER within the wall like the doozy in our living room.  Deep sigh. 

So ... you can understand my delight (or maybe not) when finding this wonderful idea on Pinterest.  I immediately ran to my husband and proclaimed, "This is what we need!!!  It will solve all our horrible return air grille problems!!!" 

Because I can't build anything to save my life, this instantly became a Honey-Do task.  My obliging other half was sweet enough to add yet another home improvement item to his long and dreadful list and now I have the CUTEST return air grille ever!  Don't be jealous.

Before the installation...

We never put the ugly old cover back on after painting this room a gazillion years ago.  We have been living with a GAPING hole for a looooooong time now.  This will explain my over-the-moon excitement about a simple little air grille DIY upgrade. Translation: Get a life, Brooke.

After the installation...

My honey used:

• sheet metal with this awesome retro pattern (find it at Lowe's)
• scrap wood from the garage to build the frame
• matching wall paint

See Pinterest link above for detailed steps.  Again, I'm no Builder Bob.  My talent lies in stealing the ideas from Pinterest.

DIY On Deck: Still thinking about hanging a cluster of ceiling medallions on the wall above my couch (just under the air grille) for a more textured look.  I'd like to figure out a way to add just a dusting of shimmer along the medallion perimeters.  I'm sure it'll be another 6 months before I get around to it.

Linking Up With...

Two Girls and a Party
Fun Friday Blog Hop

My First Adult Furniture

Before you have visions of vibrating beds let me explain the title of this post.  According to the Urban Dictionary website, adult furniture refers to the pieces a young twenty-something purchases after graduating from college.

Well, let's see ... it's been a decade since I graduated college (Oy!) and I am now in the thirty-something category. Needless to say, it took me a little bit longer to get my first adult furniture.  After first inheriting my husband's "bachelor furniture" and then picking up many "transition" pieces (code word for cheap) that have all been subjected to food stains, dog hair, and baby spit-up (man, we sound like slobs) it was high time to get some real stuff.  We decided to start with the all-important king of any living space, the couch (or sofa as my mother would term it).

The search began earlier this year with a good-intentioned trip to JC Penney's.  We were there for a total of 7 minutes when we realized it was a total bust ... and for many reasons.  I really can't talk about it.  It was that bad.  Let's just say the flashbacks of being draaaaaagged through nauseatingly lit department stores as a small child combined with the oddly inappropriate BLARING of techno music and a lack of service was enough to have me running out of the place in tears.  Instead, I had a fit of hysterical giggles and we had to leave.  Oh yeah, and the furniture was terrible.  JCP, what the heck happened to you???

Our journey then led us to the other extreme of furniture scavenging ... Pottery Barn.  Ironically, we lasted an identical 7 minutes in this store as well but for very different reasons.  Too much frill.  Too many toothy saleswomen breathing down our necks.  Too many expectations that we simply had no interest in living up to.  So sorry PB but the Giras just can't conform to your perfect-ness.

It was at this point that we faced what we knew all along.  The only store we KNEW would be the right fit for us was Crate & Barrel.  Simple.  Modern.  No fuss.  Us.  We tried putting it off because the only store in our area is almost an hour away and we are just plain lazy.  Yes, I said it.  L-A-Z-Y.  Sad, but true.  But we sucked it up and made a day of it and of course found the perfect couch.

Our tushes and my adult ego have been happy ever since.

Couch: Crate & Barrel Davis 2-Piece Sectional in Graphite

Flowered Pillow: Homegoods (old)

Striped Pillows: Target (here)

Throw: Homegoods (new)

The new couch reignited my inspiration for our family room and I found some other fun goodies along the way.

Flowered Vase: Homegoods (new)

Hourglass: Homegoods (new)

Fake Plant: Homegoods (old)

Next up for this room:

• A collage of wall hangings using ceiling medallions - has anyone done this???  HELP!
• A newly constructed (and much prettier) return air register cover - hubby's working on this one...

I'm going to go curl up on my new couch and act like a real adult now.

Ciao!

~B