Please vote for Hua Hua in the Modernica Pets on Furniture Contest!
She’s the 6th one down on the poll. She promised me she’ll stop scratching the rug if she wins…
Campaign Season
Posted by Gennia on August 22, 2011
http://genniacui.com/blog/2011/08/22/campaign-season/
King of the House
It’s been established that the cat owns the house and she’s just generous enough to let us sleep in it, clean it, and pay for it.
Would you like a side of cat hair with your steak?
She’s living the American dream.
Posted by Gennia on July 13, 2011
http://genniacui.com/blog/2011/07/13/king-of-the-house/
Powder Room: Before & After
Goodbye, Brains! That’s what we’ve been saying all week. We finally got rid of the ugly wallpaper that looks like brains in our half bathroom, also known as the powder room where all the ladies go to powder their noses. Out of our three bathrooms, it’s the one that visitors use most often because of its proximity to the family room and kitchen area. It’s only 3′ x 7′ but sees a lot of action.
It started off like this. (Excuse my man-pajamas outfit.) Classy grapevine mirror and scones, thanks to the previous owner. You like?
Let me just say that removing wallpaper is incredibly tedious and not at all a fun, after-work activity. I’m hiring someone next time. It took us a week to finish the project, with work and life fitting in there somewhere. We used the fabric-softener mixed with water in a spray bottle technique. (I tried Paper Tiger and it didn’t really seem to make a difference so I opted out.) After the initial hours of scraping, we realized this is going to suck.
Close up of the Brain.
After many more hours of scraping and screaming, the Brain was finally banished! So much better already.
We spackled and sanded all the rough spots until the wall looked like a blank canvas. Now all we had to do was slap on the new paint…WRONG! Turns out primer and paint don’t like to stick to fabric softener and glue! Ha Ha Ha. Joke’s on us. So after more sanding, scraping, and scrubbing with damp cloth, we were finally able to prime and paint the room. Crawling around the toilet and sink was awesome! -___-
I decided on Indian River by Benjamin Moore to give the tiny room with no natural light some warmth. We also removed the extra towel bar to make room for some framed photos of succulents.
No more Brains!
Reminder of the “before”:
I still plan on getting a white hand towel and a some chrome knobs for the cabinets.
Here’s the cost and the sources:
Paint & tools: $70
West Elm Mirror: $149
2 West Elm Wall Scones: $118
2 Photo Frames & Mattes: $33 (Aaron Brothers Penny Sale!)
Hours of Labor: 
Total: $370 +
Going to the bathroom without looking at Brains: Priceless!
BTW, happy Fourth of July! Don’t blind yourself with fireworks!
Posted by Gennia on July 4, 2011
http://genniacui.com/blog/2011/07/04/powder-room-before-after/
Multi-purpose Outdoor Table
It’s summer! Time to dust off the grill! We had a BBQ, Memorial weekend. It’s always a lot of fun hanging out in the backyard but more people means more chairs! Usually, we have two separate patio tables in different parts of the yard and they each seats four. This is plenty of seating for the two of us, but having people over requires some maneuvering.
I didn’t want a large outdoor dining set taking up room all the time so I had to come up with a more temporary solution. A plastic fold-up table was purchased from Amazon for only $80. The best part? It’s a perfect beer pong table!
When we’re eating, all we have to do is throw on a tablecloth and it looks pretty civilized. When the night degenerates, the tablecloth comes off. The next morning, we just wipe off the spilled beer and fold up the table to be stored in the garage…until the next beer-pong/flip-cup tournament!
Beer pong photos courtesy of Alice!
Posted by Gennia on June 7, 2011
http://genniacui.com/blog/2011/06/07/multi-purpose-outdoor-table/
Feeling Teal
The dining room received a splash of color! Behold, a teal accent wall, just as I promised. I went with Ralph Lauren’s Blue Lagoon. It came out darker than anticipated…and greener. But I’m glad it did because there’s a lot of blue in the room and the greener hue keeps it from looking too matchy-matchy.
As you can see, there’s also a new rug! I’ve been searching for the Nate Berkus chevron rug for a while now. It’s no longer available on HSN and seemed impossible to find elsewhere. Somehow, I got lucky last week and spotted a 8′x10′ version randomly on eCrater. The best part – it was $100 cheaper than the HSN price and brand new!
Living room + dining room combo, looking spiffy.
Just for fun, here’s a photo of the dining room as staged by the previous owner. Sorry for the poor quality, I grabbed it from the real estate listing of our house.
A picture’s worth a thousand words…let’s just say we’ve come a long way.
Are you wondering why the cat is in every photo? It’s because she fell madly in love with the new rug, instantly. She kept rolling on it and scratching it. Hasn’t she heard of playing hard to get? Geesh.
Posted by Gennia on May 26, 2011
http://genniacui.com/blog/2011/05/26/feeling-teal/
Master Bedroom Makeover
Last week, I put my decorating obsession to good use and gave my parents’ master bedroom a complete makeover. My mom’s initial complaint about her bedroom was the paint color of the walls and the ceiling. The drab yellow definitely had to go. My main concern was its wasted space; the large room felt empty despite the king-size bed and the giant dresser.
We quickly got to work. I ordered all the new furniture and accessories online. My mom and I painted the walls and ceiling. Scott channeled Chico again and installed the lighting fixture. The result? Pretty damn good! The room went through a complete transformation.
Notice the yucky yellow paint and un-coziness.
After
So much more cozy, elegant, and calming! And totally affordable! Check out the expenditures below.
Cost:
Paint: $80 (1 gallon for accent wall, 1 gallon for the other walls, 1 gallon for ceiling)
Bench: $183
Chair & Ottoman set: $335
Rug 5′x8′: $134 (50% Off for Mother’s Day!)
Console Table: $230
2 Table Lamps: $180
Pendant Lamp: $114
4 Curtain Panels: $60 (I’m pissed because these look exactly like my West Elm silk ones but cost a fraction of the price I paid.)
Bedding: $100
Framed illustration over the chair: $40 from HomeGoods
Wall frames and mattes: $80 from Aaron Brothers with 30% off coupon (I shot and printed the photos myself)
Accent pillow: $12 from Target
Total Cost: $1448
Not bad considering we did everything in a week. Thanks, Internet! Couldn’t have done it without you and your sweet deals!
Posted by Gennia on May 22, 2011
http://genniacui.com/blog/2011/05/22/master-bedroom-makeover/
Hammock time!
We finally put up our hammock! It is amazingly comfy…once you get in, you won’t want to get out. The two of us fit in it together very comfortably. Nap time? Yes please!
Posted by Gennia on May 15, 2011
http://genniacui.com/blog/2011/05/15/hammock-time/
New Dining Chairs
Feels like we’ve been playing musical chairs in the dining room lately. Thankfully, I think these are here to stay! My Eames side chair replicas are here! Yes, they are replicas because I’m way too fickle to spend $2,000 on six dining chairs. I’m very happy with their quality and how they look in the space.
I decided on four dowel leg side chairs and two eiffel arm chairs. I do love the eiffel base but thought all eiffel might be too stark against the tile floor.
Here’s a shot of my Milo Baughman credenza and refinished kitchen chairs with the dining table in the foreground.
Before
After
I’m thinking next step will be painting the wall with the framed photos a dark teal to create an accent wall. That’ll really make the white chairs pop! Also searching for a 8×10 kilim rug to go underneath the table and chairs…man are they hard to come by. It has to be affordable because my cat will totally destroy it instantly.
Something to look forward to – I’ve been redoing my parents’ master bedroom. Can’t wait to share the results with you! My mom and I spent all day painting yesterday and we still have to do the ceiling this weekend. My back is going to hate me…
Posted by Gennia on May 13, 2011
http://genniacui.com/blog/2011/05/13/new-dining-chairs/
Strawberry Pie
Scott and I baked a strawberry pie for Mother’s Day! Strawberries are in season and I happen to love strawberry pies. Oh and I think my mom enjoyed it too. 
We followed this recipe for the crust and this recipe for the strawberry part. It turned out pretty well for our first strawberry pie ever!
strawberries – we used three cartons of these
making dough for the crust
wait till it’s crispy
simmering mashed up strawberries and lots of sugar
Tada! Strawberry pie! Mix of whole, fresh strawberries and mashed up strawberries.
The cat did not help at all.
Posted by Gennia on May 9, 2011
http://genniacui.com/blog/2011/05/09/strawberry-pie/
Kitchen Chairs Makeover
I finally gave our unfortunate, ugly kitchen chairs a makeover! These wrought iron chairs, complete with green plaid cushions, belonged to the previous home owners. They were quite an eye sore. But with a new coat of white spray paint and new upholstery, they’re looking much more french-chic and less grandma-lame.
Tada!
Started out like this…
Spray painted in the backyard.
Several cans of spray paint and a couple million staples removed later, we have this! Just in time for summer.
Speaking of summer, check out the roses blooming in our garden. They are liking the mid-70s weather and all the rain lately.
Posted by Gennia on April 30, 2011
http://genniacui.com/blog/2011/04/30/kitchen-chairs-makeover/
