Those Terrible Stairs- Revisited

When we last left the stairs they looked like this:

 And while lovely, they're also near deadly. 

The treads are shallower than in a new home and everyone over the age of 35 that climbs them acts like the earth is shifting while they do. "Oh wow these are scary." "Be careful!" "You actually carry the baby on these?" "Wow you could fall right over the side of these." "You USE these stairs?!" I realllllly heard it when everyone came to the house after Lila was born. You'd think I was carrying her upside down the way everyone acted about me actually transporting her from one floor to another. I've gotten used to them. I navigated them in the dark while pregnant multiple times a night going to the bathroom! 

We added a gate at the top since Zulu has started getting forgetful. We were afraid she would accidentally turn and fall down during the middle of the night (she has fallen down once before and it was terrifying). We also figured it wouldn't hurt to get a jump on Lila-proofing the place. But we knew that wouldn't be enough. We need a railing and something to keep her from going over the edge. Fortunately, my family is in the carpentry business and my uncle and cousin came out to make them safe. It about killed me to not DIY this, but I just couldn't figure out how to attach a post and railing without significantly narrowing the stairs. 

Get ready for lots of pictures:

Just a reminder of where we started...

Then I added stripes and painted the railing white:

Then I ditched the carpet and found something scary underneath:

 Tried to stain it and hated it:

 And finally painted the treads black and added a thin crown molding to the back (making the stairs 1/4 in shallower and adding to the fear and agitation people experienced near the stairs)!

So Lila, the pets, and I packed up and moved to the basement for a day while they set to work. 

 She then proceeded to have a blow-out and got to hang out like she was sunbathing while I went and apologized for needing to climb the stairs to get her new clothes!

These are the inspiration photos I gave to my uncle to see if I could achieve something like this:

He pointed out that this would be easy to climb like a ladder for a little kid. There went that plan. I would LOVE to have a glass wall to keep the look of the stairs the same:

But that would be expensive and the Kardashians have stolen my idea. So there went that. My uncle sent me these two pictures and basically told me to pick one. I was glad for the lack of decisions and just to be done:

Ready to see what I picked and how it turned out? Well… I'm writing this post as it's being built so stay tuned for part 2!

2 Sectionals Are Better Than 1!

We got a second Ikea Sectional! This one was the Friheten Corner Sofa Bed and it lives down in our basement:

After hauling our Kivik home we knew what transporting a whole sofa with a borrowed truck felt like. This time we thought we'd check into their delivery service. This was the BEST decision ever! They came during the window, cleaned up snow that came in with them, and were really friendly. And, we didn't have to borrow a truck! Complete game changer! It was definitely intimidating to look at.

Chris still had about three hours until he was due home when the delivery guys left. I decided I would unbox everything so we could tackle it together later. Once I did it it wasn't anything I found scary. I decided I'd see what I could do alone… An hour later I had finished it myself! I just needed Chris's help laying it back down. 

The couch was crazy easy to build and we love it! Now the basement is a happy marriage of Chris and I. I have the wall next to the leather chair with all of my favorite prints. 

 Chris's wall is all kinds of his favorite guy stuff. He is currently hunting for a sword or something else guyish to finish off his wall:

Here is our dirty little secret though. The couch. I can't seem to even give it away. It's listed for $50 on Craig's List and a local Facebook buy/sell group with no luck. So it sits on its side behind the new couch. 

I also got a C Table from The Container Store which is a great little work surface:

And the sectional folds out into a bed. It's nice and firm and comfy too without that awkward center bar  that pull out sofa beds have. 

And it has some great hidden storage!

We also got our "guestbook" up on the wall on the way down the basement stairs:

And even our books have merged!

 So, here is our basement in action:

 The cat has channeled his inner Lion King and will be very upset whenever I do eventually sell the love seat:

The House Today

It's been a while since you've been through the house with me. Since then some things have evolved…

I got an awesome final sale rug at West Elm for $99 that was far more proportionate for the living room! It looks like it was made to live with us!

I also got the yellow tray from next to nothing at Ikea. Overall the room seems so much happier!

The flower pot held our wedding programs and is now repurposed 

We got a second canister from Target as a gift and Zulu's spoiled lifestyle has now been accommodated 

We picked up two lanterns when we were down in Austin and got a third as a gift from Chris's mom. I finally got up the nerve to string them from the ceiling

We also got this really cool knife block… And the cat needed to photo bomb! 

I bought a bookcase from The Container Store in the spirit of compromise for Chris's Christmas gift. When I was sure Chris was in bed I hauled all of the books he didn't think I noticed that he had hid in the attic downstairs and set this up:

I also got a sewing machine for Christmas… I've truly become the person I swore I never would be! I put off unboxing it until I had a sewing table I could spread out on. A quick trip to Ikea had that solved!

I bought a desk top and two Expedit cubes that I wanted to stand it on. 

First I laid it out like this but it seemed pretty bulky:

Then I tried it like this and liked it… But wanted to try a little more leg room:

So, this arrangement was born. It required screwing the top on from the bottom. 

Unfortunately, the top didn't completely cover it. There is about 1.5 inches of uncovered space… Despite that, I'm loving it!

I found containers at The Container Store and now that I figured out how to use the machine I'll just need to figure out how I need to store all of my new supplies!

We spend a lot more time down in the basement now. We have surround sound, the treadmill, the old living room TV, and my sewing stuff. Next step is another sectional:

Here is our room in action now:

I actually managed to sew the little tiny pillow myself!

We also needed another hamper with all of these extra clothes in our lives. 

So, that's our house these days!