A Little of This & That... Renovating, Decorating, DIY Projects & Family
I’m delighted to be featured over at The Purple Pug for Kristy’s design crush project! Kristy is taking on the daunting task of interviewing 365 bloggers over the year with a slew of fun trivia questions and I’ve loved reading about some of my favorite sites.
Thank you, Kristy for hosting me as #76! You can read the full post here.
First, thank you to everyone for your kind comments about our growing family! It’s been so neat and encouraging to read your supportive words and suggestions from the past week.
Besides a restful and wonderful Christmas break, these past two weeks have been a whirlwind between our most recent house projects, family in town and that anxious when-will-we-meet-baby feeling!
And to keep busy (above and beyond my actual work), I’ve had too much fun planning the new spaces and pulling together inspiration boards for what these rooms might be… but before any designing can get underway, the rooms have to be, well, rebuilt.
I last left you with this lovely image of our soon-to-be guestroom/office (here’s the lovely 70s wood paneled before post):
Oh boy. We bit off a big chunk of home makeover.
Just to be sure that this room was well partitioned off from the rest of the house (aka dust, debris and the like could stay contained) in anticipation for Baby Spenla’s arrival, we blocked off the space just before Christmas. And then the rest of the house received a thorough cleaning to welcome in incoming family from out of town.
PS Do you see those great doors? More to come… but we found this pair in a local San Diego neighborhood full of beautiful Spanish homes, and the original owner was throwing them away! So of course we scooped up this set as well as a larger pair to refinish for our little Spanish bungalow. You can’t beat the craftmanship of original doors and we saved ourselves a bundle with this find.
But first a peak inside the room…
Yes! Are you noticing that wallpaper too? We revealed a real gem under the paneling when it was torn off. This must be original to the 1930s interior decor of the home and I seriously wish I had the power to scrape it off the wall and save it.
It’s covered in little medicine jars, mixing bowls, weighing scales – even pineapples! It’s the neatest find – but don’t worry, it’s not staying.
And as the baby gives us more time to finish this makeover, we’ll continue to work on it. How wonderful would it be to have a completed office/guestroom before more family arrives later this month?
Meanwhile, I’m a week over due and I’ve received the official baby-must-be-out orders from the midwife by January 11, or it’s induction time. Kevin potentially has t-minus 7 days to drywall, plaster and add flooring to the new space, but knowing him it’s definitely doable (and even if Baby S graces us with his/her arrival sooner – which we would LOVE! – the room will most definitely be finished in its due time, no pun intended).
Kevin and I have heard from countless friends how important it is to have an air purifier in the nursery, and that this item alone can cut down on airborne allergens such as dust, mildew, pollen and pet hair (our Bodie sheds a TON) to keep baby happy and healthy.
We were thrilled when Lowe’s offered to gift us with an air purifier from their new line of Idylis models to test out in the space, especially after learning that each unit contains a HEPA filter that removes up to 99.97% of airborne particles that aggravate sensitive allergies (for the nursery or any room in the house)!
The best part? They’re gifting one of these babies to a reader as well!
Our home was built in the 1930s and while we do our best to keep it in tip top shape, there’s little that we can control when it comes to old house syndrome. With a baby on the way, indoor air quality has suddenly shot to the top of the list and we’ve invested in recent updates to our ventilation system by adding a furnace and ac unit (I can’t believe we’ve been living without the beauty of heat for the past 2 1/2 years!).
The easiest update (and cheapest by far, a big thank you to Lowe’s) was adding the Idylis Small Room Air Purifier to the nursery, which sufficiently covers 194 sq ft of space and needs a filter replacement only once every 18 months (check out this neat air purifier comparison chart), and we’re so happy with it!
The size is perfect for a little nook in the nursery and the unit creates only a soft purr when on (super quite and the bit of background white noise will actually aid babe in sleeping better).
Here are all of the fancy specs:
-For rooms up to 194 square feet
-Dimensions: 24.0″ (H) x 11.9″ (W) x 10.4″ (D)
-HEPA filtration removes 99.97% of airborne particulates
-125 CADR Rating
-Convenient filter change indicator
-LED display
-Simple electronic controls
-Quiet performance
-Carbon pre-filter effectively removes odor and larger airborne particles
-Innovative flat front panel for a streamlined, easy-to-clean design
This unit isn’t built specifically for nurseries though, it’s perfect if you have killer allergies like me, pets in the house or just prefer cleaner and fresher air in any space (I’m thinking of investing in one for the office as well).
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Giveaway: Lowe’s is giving away a Small Room Air Purifier to a lucky reader (valued at $150 including tax and shipping).
To Enter: Since we’re big fans of DIY projects (and Lowe’s is our kind of store) share your most recent (or upcoming) home project! I know you must have some good ones on that New Year’s Resolution List…
For Additional Entries: Become a fan of PDB on Facebook and be sure to leave a separate comment to share that you currently are or just added Pepper Design Blog!
Giveaway ends Friday, January 7 at midnight PST, winner will be chosen randomly and announced the following day. Good luck!
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