I started collecting ironstone about three years ago. I remember seeing Marian aka Miss Mustard Seed’s amazing collection of white dishes and serving pieces on her blog. I had no idea what they were at first, but I loved them and knew I wanted to start collecting them. Luckily she wrote this Ironstone 101 post that described what ironstone was and how to spot it.
So I started searching thrift stores for ironstone pieces, but wasn’t very diligent. A few months later I found this ironstone bowl at Goodwill for $2.99.
It was my only piece until I found another bowl at an estate sale a few months later. I ended up finding the matching platter at Savers a few weeks later…I was hooked and started searching thrift stores regularly. I refuse to pay a lot of money and I’m not too concerned about matching sets. I just buy what I like and what I think looks pretty. My most expensive piece is this Independence ironstone casserole dish. I bought it at an antique store for $19.99. It was my first casserole dish and I was so excited when I found it. I found a similar piece on eBay for $29.75, so I feel like $19.99 was a decent deal.
I think my next most expensive pieces are this small tureen ($12) and this gravy boat ($10). I found the tureen on sale at an antique store and the gravy boat at the parking lot flea market outside the same antique store (different days though).
Aside from those pieces, everything else was bought at thrift stores. My most recent finds are these plates and cup and saucers sets from Goodwill. I bought them last half-off day around 5 p.m. It just goes to show that there’s still good stuff left later in the day! I was bouncing in the aisle when I found everything. The plates were $2.99/each, the cups and saucers were $0.99/each, except for the Independence ironstone cup and saucer. That was $5.99 for the set. After the discount, I paid $11.50 for everything. I was definitely feeling a bargain high.
My other recent finds (and probably the best deals) are these two pieces. The one is a smaller version of my Independence ironstone casserole dish. I think I paid $2 for it. The other piece is the only unmarked piece I’ve felt comfortable buying. Usually if it’s not clearly marked ironstone, I don’t buy it. But I knew right away that this piece had to be ironstone without even checking or needing the marking. It was $3. I’ve seen similar ones selling on eBay for $70! I found both of these pieces at the same small, local thrift store. I think a lot of older people donate there, so they usually have really nice stuff.
My china cabinet is almost full of ironstone now and it makes me so happy to look at. Soon I’ll need to find another spot in the house to expand my collection!
OK, now tell me: what do you collect? I only collect ironstone now, but in high school I collected pineapples. I had the largest, most ridiculous and amazing collection of wooden pineapple bowls.
Welcome to Week 5 of the One Room Challenge! I have a lot of progress to share this week…which is good because the final reveal is next week! Eeeeek!
I’m so happy to finally have this room painted! It was the only room left in the house unpainted (because I was waiting to fix the drywall). The color is Cumulus by Behr (eggshell finish) and I love it. It’s the perfect shade of light blue for a small space with no natural light.
We also installed the new light fixture! I like this one so much more than the previous one I bought. It just fits the room so much better.
Moving on to smaller changes - I finally got the ironing board up off the floor. It might not seem like a big deal to you, but SO much dog hair used to collect behind it and I’m so happy to cross this off my list!
I also finished my Laundry Today or Naked Tomorrow sign. The wood is from Michael’s…it was the exact size I needed. I painted it with some leftover white paint and added the vinyl (from this Etsy shop). Seriously, it makes me laugh every time I see it!
So my last big project is installing the countertop. I’m not going to lie. I’m nervous about being able to finish it in time…But anyway, let’s review the to-do list and see what else I need to finish this week...and don't forget to stop by the linkup and check out the rest of the room makeovers!
Repair Drywall Paint Walls Paint Trim and Door Paint Ceiling Paint Shelf and Replace Bracket Install New Light Fixture Update Light Switches to White Add Wood Countertop Hang Artwork Install Ironing Board Hanger Add Accessories/Final Touches
It’s time for another round of Instagram pictures! You can see the previous six recaps here
If you have an account, you can follow me at: SAMTJH22. If not, this recap is for you! I’ve rounded up my last 16 Instagram pictures for you here today. This roundup includes the last few pictures from our London and Paris trip, my bowling victory (I usually suck), my parents’ dog Sadie in the snow, and as always, Ringo and Abby pictures!
As usual, my plan is to share a pretty collage of all the pictures and then pick my top 5 in different categories: Abby, Ringo, Cutest Couple (Ringo and Abby), Yummy (Food or Drink), and Wildcard (Non-Food and Non-Puppy).
OK, enough talk! Here’s the seventh round of Instagram pictures:
And here are my favorites:
Abby
This picture makes me melt! This is my boyfriend and Abby every night before bed. She loves cuddling and he loves the attention (although he probably won’t admit it). I could look at this picture all day – that sweet sleepy Abby face.
Ringo
This is definitely one of my favorite pictures of Ringo ever! He’s always the first in bed and sometimes we tuck him under the covers as a joke…but he loves it! He’s just lays there completely content.
Cutest Couple
Like most dogs, Abby and Ringo love riding in the car. Abby always climbs into the passenger seat and Ringo loves having the backseat and both windows all to himself. He loves to stick his head out the window and feel the wind on his face.
Yummy
Have you ever seen the movie Pulp Fiction? If you have, you’ll definitely understand this picture. After my mom and I finished touring the Palace of Versailles we stopped by McDonalds to see if the Royale with Cheese was a real thing. It’s actual Royal Cheese, but close enough. My dad loves Pulp Fiction and thought this was the greatest thing ever.
Wildcard
It was hard to pick just one “Wildcard” picture this time because there were so many great shots from our London and Paris trip, but I had to choose the Eiffel Tower at night. I’ve always loved Paris and I’ve bought a lot of Eiffel Tower/Paris décor over the years. Seeing it in person was one of the best moments in my life. I’m so grateful that I got to share that experience with my mom.
OK, who else is on Instagram? Leave your username in the comments, so I can follow you.
Wow, time is flying by! I can’t believe we only have a couple weeks left to finish everything up and pull our rooms together!
OK, let’s just right to it -
As you saw on Tuesday, the drywall has been fixed! The drywall guy did such an amazing job and I’m so happy with how it turned out! You’d never know there used to be a hole there!
I got all of the trim and both doors painted over the weekend. I swear a fresh coat of white paint can fix anything! Although it never looks as good in pictures...
I also bought another light fixture, but we haven’t hung it yet…
OK, now let’s talk changes -
I decided to scratch the wall cabinet idea. Due to the measurements of the wall, a pair of standard cabinets would be either too short or too wide to fit in the room. I’d have to get custom cabinets and I really don’t want to put that much money into this room. So, I decided to keep the shelf instead. I gave it a fresh coat of paint and replaced the plain metal bracket with a decorative wood one. The wood bracket was only $10, but I think it makes the shelf look so much better. Before
After
That being said, let’s take a look at the updated to-do list:
Repair Drywall Paint Walls Paint Trim and Doors Paint Ceiling Paint Shelf and Replace Bracket Install New Light Fixture Update Light Switches to White Add Wood Countertop Hang Artwork Install Ironing Board Hanger Add Accessories/Final Touches
So, I might be stealing some of the thunder from Thursday’s One Room Challenge post by talking about drywall today, but I don’t care. I’m so excited to finally have this project done, I can’t help myself! I’ve been meaning to have some areas of drywall fixed around the house for awhile now *cough*3years*cough*, but I hate calling for estimates, so I just put it off.
This year I finally decided I should stop procrastinating on these kinds of projects (anything that requires a professional), so I added “Call for Help” to my 2014 Home Goals. Then I signed up for the One Room Challenge and that was the final push I needed to get it done.
I found a respected drywall company with good reviews and I set up an appointment to get an estimate. The drywall guy came out and gave me a quote to fix four areas in the house. I thought the price was fair and the guy was nice (plus the positive reviews online), so I hired him. I didn’t bother getting any other quotes.
A couple weeks later his son (it's a family-run company) came by and fixed up my house. He did an amazing job and I’m so excited to have this crossed off my list!
Anyway, here are the areas that were repaired, before and after:
The ceiling in the hallway was damaged due to an incorrectly installed A/C condensation tray...
I don’t really know what happened here, but the corner of the living room wall was crumbling.
The previous owners cut a hole for a cat/dog door between the laundry room and garage. We hung a piece of drywall to close the hole, but that’s as far as we got. And then puppy Ringo chewed a hole through it...
And here’s the garage side of the hole.
It might not be the most glamorous before/after post, but I’m so happy to have it done. Plus it looks amazing! Once I finish painting, you’ll never know that those areas were repaired!
If you live in Mesa or anywhere else in the east, central or west valley and need a drywall company, let me know! I’ll send you their info!
It’s week 3 of the One Room Challenge! Can you believe we are already halfway to the finish line?!
OK, let’s talk progress –
The new light fixture is up...and it's coming back down. My boyfriend and I installed it over the weekend (Saturday at 11 p.m. to be exact) and aren't sold on it. We both think it's too modern and fancy for the space...and compared to the rest of the light fixtures in the house. I think I'm going to return it and get the light fixture I originally liked.
I also started painting this week! The ceiling was the first spot to get a fresh coat of paint. I used the white ceiling paint that I had leftover from the other rooms. It’s probably hard to tell the difference in pictures, but it looks some much better now. Side Note: I just realized that I never shared a picture of the back wall in the laundry room, so here it is –
I haven’t started painting the walls yet, but I have picked a paint color! Cumulus by Behr was my front runner from the last week, so I picked up a sample pot at Home Depot so I could test it out before committing. I painted a test square and knew it was the one. I went back to Home Depot and bought a gallon of it, so I’m ready to start anytime. Please ignore the filthy wall...
In other news, the safety pins from Ballard Designs arrived last week and they are amazing in person! They are bigger than I expected and they actually open and close. I love them! I can’t wait to get the walls painted so I can hang them.
The drywall guy comes on Monday, so I’ll have that update for you next week plus hopefully the room and trim will be painted.
Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers participating and leave them a note of encouragement!
I was hoping to start off the challenge strong, but this week ended up just being prep and shopping time. At least I finally got a drywall guy to come out and give me an estimate - it’s only been three years in the making…Anyway, I liked him and thought the estimate was reasonable, so I scheduled him to come out on the 21st. I was hoping to have it done sooner, but that was the earliest available appointment.
I originally didn’t plan to paint until the drywall was complete, but now I’m thinking I better get started before 21st or I’m not going to have much time to install everything. I don’t know if that will really happen or not, but I figured I should pick a paint color so I’m ready to go whenever the motivation strikes. I want a really pale blue color on the walls (white on the ceiling, trim, and doors), so I grabbed some paint cards while I was at Home Depot. I’ve narrowed it down to two choices. I’m think I’m going to grab a couple test pots next time I’m there before I make the final decision.
Speaking of Home Depot, I bought a light fixture! I was originally planning on this Moroccan drum-shaped one, but ended up buying this square glass fixture instead. I really liked both of them and couldn’t decide, so I asked my boyfriend to pick. Of course I was happy either way, but I do like that this one was $15 cheaper than the other one.
I also ordered this set of safety pins from Ballard Designs while they were having a 20%-off sale. I tried to find a cheaper set elsewhere, but these ended up being the best deal. If you are in the market for just one safety pin, I found them at Hobby Lobby and online here, but they only come in one design. I liked the three in different styles, so I went with the ones from Ballard Designs.
As for the rest of the items, I ordered the Laundry Today or Naked Tomorrow vinyl from Etsy a few years ago…seriously, it’s still sitting in the box it was shipped in. Now I just need to find a board to hang it on. I also ordered this ironing board holder from Amazon.
So, I can’t cross anything off my to-do list this week. I’m planning to paint the ceiling, door, and trim by next week. Plus I want to hang my new light fixture…and maybe start painting? Don’t forget to stop by Calling It Home and check out everyone else’s second week progress!
