a lease to decorate

Just a Reminder - New Blog. New Address.

2012-09-10T05:45:00.000-05:00

www.aleasetodecorate.blogspot.com

New Blog. New Address.

2012-09-05T12:38:00.000-05:00

www.aleasetodecorate.blogspot.com

Oh Hey! What Do We Have Here?

2012-08-01T20:43:00.000-05:00

So I haven't blogged here in awhile. Long story short - we bought a house in January and since we were no longer renting, blogging at A Lease to Decorate just didn't make sense. But now the Army has given us orders to the Washington DC area a mere 8 months later. So you know what that means? We will be renters again in a few short weeks. Life has a funny way of working out. So with all of this

Sometimes Big Furniture in a Small Room is Okay

2011-11-03T06:39:00.001-05:00

Whenever the husband is away, I get the itch to move furniture. This time is no different. You see, this is our master bedroom as viewed from the door... {June 2011} The wall with the cabinet and jewelry display has always bothered me. As does the color choice. Six months later and I am not feeling this shade of yellow anymore. Depending on how long we will stay in this house, the color

November (Fake) Flowers

2011-11-01T17:59:00.001-05:00

If April showers bring May flowers and Mayflowers bring pilgrims, I am not sure what November flowers bring. Jury is still out whether anyone out there still reads this tiny little blog but if you do, HELLO! . As evident by the cob webs and crickets, I took a blogging sabbatical of sorts and during that time I managed to write a

Roomspiration Living Room Party

2011-09-14T11:16:00.000-05:00

I am linking up over at View Along the Way to showcase our work-in-progress living room. The Roomspiration Blog Hop and Link Party is well underway and I am never one to turn down inspiration so I decided to belly flop into the water. So let's get started, shall we? Oooh wait - just so you know, we rent our home (hence the name of the blog). Therefore, all of the changes you see below are

Painted Cabinets = So Fresh and So Clean

2011-09-12T06:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I shared the new wall color for the master bathroom, which went from not so peachy keen to blue paradise. But the bathroom was still nowhere near the spa retreat I am envisioning. However, since we're renting, I am unable to make major permanent changes to achieve my goal. But I am never one to shy away from a challenge so I am excited to see what I can come up with. Are you? Our

Goodbye Pink, Hello Blue

2011-09-11T06:53:00.000-05:00

I feel like all the changes we've made recently have been to the master bathroom. I know this isn't really the case but the bulk of my time has been spent dealing with masking the 1980's details as best I can. I know what you're thinking, "Why in carnation would you want to change this pink beauty?" Can you believe that I am transforming this bathroom into a cheap and rent-friendly spa retreat?

$20 Swing Set Improvement

2011-09-07T13:43:00.000-05:00

After a short trip to the east coast, we're back and ready to tackle more projects. However, I am finding that my momentum to blog such decorating endeavors is beginning to slow to a snails pace. Maybe because the summer from hell in Oklahoma is beginning to fade or maybe because I am overwhelmed by the design blogging world. But enough blah blah blah blog talk, let's take a look at some changes

Repainting the Master Bathroom

2011-08-31T13:34:00.000-05:00

Do you remember what the master bathroom looked like when we moved in? {before} I wanted a bright blue for the master bathroom. So we painted it. And then about two days later, I hated it. It was too blue and too bright. So I took the remaining too blue and too bright paint. Pulled out the extra paint from our guest bathroom. And mixed the two paints together. After failing to properly

What About the Pantry?

2011-08-30T08:15:00.007-05:00

We actually don't have a pantry in this rental house. Well not a formal pantry at least. I suppose that would be a deal breaker for some but I never let a little obstacle get me down, which is why I made three upper level cupboards in the kitchen our pantry. This means that my pantry does not look like this... Design Sponge Okay, seriously? That is a gorgeous pantry. But it is also

Life is Not a Catalog

2011-08-29T07:43:00.003-05:00

We're back from Alaska. If you're interested in what exactly our trip entailed, be sure to check out My Goal is Simple throughout the week. We had a wonderful time and realized just how much we miss living in cooler temperatures. It should be of no surprise that Alaska is beautiful. Not only the landscape but also the architecture and design are as warm as a hot cup of cocoa. I am now envisioning

Alaska or Bust

2011-08-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

"If you are old, go by all means, but if you are young -- wait! The scenery of Alaska is much grander than anything else of the kind in the world. And it is not well to dull one's capacity for enjoyment by seeking the finest first."Henry Gannett of the US Geological Survey in 1899 Sorry Mr. Gannett, we're not taking your advice and waiting. Life is too short not to soak up as much majesty as we

Using an Ottoman as a Coffee Table

2011-08-19T09:42:00.000-05:00

When we bought our small sectional, I let Clay talk me into getting a matching ottoman instead of a traditional coffee table. We're a lay on the couch together type of family so we love being able to stretch our legs instead of being forced to sit all prim and proper when watching Jersey Shore. Life is too short not to sprawl out on the couch with a rum and coke, right? But a little part of me

Laundry Room $6 Storage Solution

2011-08-18T15:45:00.000-05:00

This post is fairly straight forward but I wanted to showcase an open storage solution that doesn't involve shelves. Our laundry room is small, like extremely small. It is impossible to capture the room in one photograph so here is two squashed together in order to give you an idea of what we're working with... We painted the room Nostalgia from Valspar Signature, which is also the same color as

Guest Bathroom Shower Curtain - Extra Long, Extra Drama

2011-08-17T07:14:00.004-05:00

I know the title of this post is quite boring but I am still drinking my first cup of coffee so work with me here. The last time I discussed the guest bathroom, I had just painted a gray stripe (same color as the guest room/office). If you're curious, you can check here to see what the bathroom looked like before we moved in and after painting the walls Milestone. Ugh, the bathroom has

Storage + Art = Rental Win

2011-08-16T06:50:00.002-05:00

First of all, thank you so much for your insight regarding the nasty emails I received when featured on Apartment Therapy. Despite blogging for over five years, this experience marked the first time I've encountered such trash. I probably shouldn't have even blogged about it but I suppose I am a sucker for transparency and keepin' it real. Moving on... I previously shared with you the space

A Bad Taste in My Mouth

2011-08-15T08:30:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, I was featured on Apartment Therapy over the weekend, specifically my contact paper 'tiles' in the kitchen. I say unfortunately because due to the exposure, I have received some not-so-nice emails. Words, that for the first time, have made me pause and wonder if I want to continue down this road. I don't mind people not liking my decorating taste and the comments of the Apartment

Congratulations!

2011-08-15T06:26:00.004-05:00

Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway. It is neat to see how readers stumbled across this blog and I appreciated all of the kind words. So without further ado, let's get down to business. Oh, and in full disclosure, I used the random number generator from random.org to choose the winner. Here we go... #25 is Jessica, who wrote: "My husband and I are brand spankin' new homeowners

I'll Take S Words for $400, Alex

2011-08-13T10:47:00.003-05:00

I tried to find a video of the SNL Celebrity Jeopardy sketch where Darrel Hammond as Sean Connery says, "I'll take swords for $400, Alex," misreading "s" words as swords. Good stuff. Not as good as Norm Macdonald's Turd Fergeson/Burt Reynolds, but still good stuff. Because of my Google fail, you will have to settle for this picture... {source} Or this picture... {source} It's okay,

One Month Anniversary - A Small Giveaway

2011-08-12T06:37:00.002-05:00

Happy One Month! This blog has been up and running for almost one month now. I am amazed at the number of readers that stop by on a regular basis to see what we've been up to in our rental home. Just because we don't own it doesn't mean we can't make it our home. I have thoroughly enjoyed working on this blog and look forward to see how it will grow (if at all) in the future. Thank you to all of

Better After

2011-08-11T11:14:00.000-05:00

Are you familiar with Better After? If not, you need to check it out like right now. It's okay, I'll wait...isn't the place awesome? If you're anything like me, the best part of home improvement blogs is seeing the before and after photos. So I just have to say that Ms. Lindsey is brilliant for thinking to put the best of the design & decor blogosphere in one place. Today, I am thrilled to be

The Famous Rentals Game

2011-08-10T08:07:00.000-05:00

I thought it would be fun to showcase five rentals that have been seen on television and/or movies. As often is the case with Hollywood, the grandeur and pure awesomeness of these places probably does not match up with the income level of these fictional characters. But that is okay, because what fun would life be if there weren't unrealistic expectations? So let's up the ante a little bit. Can

Where I Write (Type?)

2011-08-09T12:55:00.000-05:00

We painted the office/guest room a shade of gray (Rocky Bluffs by Valspar) last month and have been slowly turning the room into a functional space. Which is a very good thing, seeing as how the picture below was taken two months after we moved into the house! With space being a commodity in this house, we knew we wanted to make the office/guest room usable asap. Once our last shipment of

Hot & Spicy Rack

2011-08-08T07:09:00.001-05:00

No, I am not talking about my rack, although I do fancy it to be hot and spicy. Rather, this post is about my spice collection. Because I like to cook a variety of ethnic foods, I have a collection of spices that I use on a regular basis. Unfortunately, because cupboard space is limited (no pantry = 3 cupboards devoted to dry goods), the collection has been sitting in a cardboard box