Bye Bye Bolty - Our Kitchen Transformation

So, when we first found our house there were a few small cosmetic things that really rubbed me the wrong way. They were just hideous and I have no idea why anyone would have chosen them for their home at anytime. The "lightning bolt" in our kitchen was definitely in the top five as far as the most awful list goes. Well, I am so  happy to tell you that it is finally gone!

Here's a shot of the kitchen with the lightning bolt still there in all of it's horrible glory...

...and here is he ceiling after the bolt was taken down, the ceiling was repaired and painted, and the lighting re-installed without any trace of that awful bolt. 

I can't believe we dealt with that thing for over a year. Do you remember it from this post? I hated it back then, and I hate it just as much today. I'm so blessed to have such a handy husband.
The whole process ended up being a little more time consuming than we had originally planned. The lightning bolt was the previous owner's way of covering up the damage from removing the fluorescent lighting that apparently was original to the home. So, after a few coats of spackle, and a few coats of paint, you can't even tell that the bolt was ever there. YES! Victory for team Barkanic!

This is the first in a series of posts that will give you all the details about everything we're doing in our kitchen to bring it up to date and transform it into the kitchen of our dreams!

a broken barkanic

i am most definitely aware of the fact that i haven't posted in a ridiculous amount of time, and the longer it's been the harder it gets. i think that i have started this post at least 10 times now, and have never brought myself to finishing it. we've still been moving full speed ahead around our castle, i guess i was just in a bit of an anti-social space for a while there. 

i am also completely aware that this is most often a diy/ home improvement blog, and some of you might have no interest in our personal life at all, but more than anything this blog is a record for us of what is going on at our house, and there has been a lot more than diy going on, and i think it's time for me to put it out there, no matter how difficult that might be for me.

yes, i am rambling, a little nervous about this one. i'm sure most people have wondered, but rarely do i tell people that we are dealing with a serious case of infertility. we have been trying to conceive our second child since olivia was 8 months old, and she will be 6 this july. so, it's been 5 years at this point. at first we really weren't worried or in any kind of rush, after all we had our hands full with olivia and she was still just a baby. i have suffered from pcos since i went into puberty, so i knew that it wouldn't be as easy for us as it was for everyone else, but because i conceived olivia without even trying , i never imagined i would be in the same situation five years later.  (the only pcos symptoms i have are not ovulating or menstruating and some weight issues) my ob/gyn suggested that we try clomid, to give me some help with ovulation, and we gladly agreed. we went through five cycles in the spring/ summer of 2008, and obviously they didn't really get us anywhere, other than a little bit crazier, so we decided to just take a break for a while and see what happened. 

nothing happened, we let things go for four years, i wasn't ovulating, but was hoping that maybe i would randomly, and happen to have everything align for me to get pregnant, i'm still pretty young, so it wasn't until 2011 that i really started to get the itch for a baby in a serious way. some of my friends were also struggling to get pregnant, so it wasn't so bad, we were all in it together, and i was at peace with trusting God and his timing. needless to say about 90% of my married friends have had babies in the past year or two, and that is not an exaggeration. some of them are even cooking up there second kiddos. 

struggling to get pregnant is terrible, but struggling by yourself is torture. i had a few months in 2012 that were the darkest of my life. if it weren't for my faith i don't know how i would have made it through. i know that the Lord has a beautiful plan for my life, and that it's so much better than anything i could ever come up with. sometimes it's hard for me to accept not knowing what that plan is, and how things are going to go, but He has blessed me so abundantly, that i know i have nothing to worry about as long as i let Him have control.

we had our first appointment with a fertility specialist in february, we are going to take things slowly with her for now, until we're confident in our decisions, and what we're going to do. 

i'm so relieved to get that out of the way, and can't wait to share with you all of the exciting stuff we have been doing to the house! we have been putting a lot of effort into the kitchen, and it's really starting to come along. if you follow me on instagram @lauren_barkanic then you've gotten to see some of the progress and it's super exciting! here are some of the ig pics. I will be posting more in depth about them very soon!

we got rid of the bolt!

we painted!

we tiled

and tiled some more!

i am super excited about the progress! and there will be even more very soon! be sure to check back in and see how we did everything, and what's coming next!

Tufted Headboard Tutorial from Mallory and Savannah of Classy Clutter

I am really excited to have Mallory and Savannah here to share their amazing tufted headboard tutorial with you! They are both extremely talented, and Mallory was one of the first bloggers I "met" when I started blogging, she was extremely supportive, just when I needed it. They also have a really great linky party every Saturday, so be sure to check it out! Here's Mallory and Savannah, I'm sure you'll love them!



Hello Commoner's Castle Readers! We're Mallory and Savannah, the author's of the DIY/Home blog, Classy Clutter.  We are beyond thrilled to be over at Lauren's blog sharing a post with you today! We hope you enjoy our post and we'd love to have you stop by our blog!

While I was in Arizona over the Christmas break, Savannah and I tackled a few projects! Of course! It's pretty much our favorite thing to do when we are together! That and going out for sushi ;) One project we really wanted to get done was her youngest daughter's bed. Her (almost) two year old little angel was done with her baby crib and needed a big girl bed! Savannah knew exactly what she wanted but she was a little nervous to tackle it herself. It was definitely a two person job but turned out to be a really fun project!

Savannah had an adorable twin bed that she found at a local thrift store for a steal. Most people would look at it and think... "great lines, cute bed, I'll paint it and it'll be fantastic!" well... that would be true BUT Savannah wanted to take it one step further! She wanted a white girly bed with a soft lime green upholstery and some killer cute colorful buttons! Not a tall order or anything.. ;)

First, we made a template of where we wanted the upholstery.  We used butcher paper and taped it to the bed frame.

Then we measured and marked where we wanted the tufts and buttons to be.

Next, we drew straight lines from each point to get an idea of where the folds in the tufts would be.

Next, we removed the template from the headboard and I traced and marked the foam while Savannah painted the headboard a gorgeous creamy white! 

I laid the butcher paper template on the foam (we used 2" upholstery foam from the fabric store) and traced in with a sharpie. (Yes, a purple one!) 

Then, we cut around the traced edge of the foam using a serrated knife. We also poked holes in the tuft markings.  (didn't get a pic of this step! Sorry!)

Next, we re-taped the template to the bed, after the paint dried. Then, we drilled holes in the headboard using the template tuft markings as a guide. 

Then, we made 17 fabric covered buttons for the tufting. They were so stinkin' cute! Totally worth the sore thumbs! You can get these button kits at a fabric store. We got hers at JoAnn's Fabrics.

Next, the upholstering began! We used spray adhesive to attach the 2" foam piece to the headboard. Then we stapled a large piece of batting over the foam. We used a staple gun for the upholstery. 

Then, we trimmed the excess batting and we used some clamps to hold the upholstery fabric in place so we could begin the tufting process.

TIP: Do you tufting before you staple. If you staple the fabric first, your tufting may look too tight. We wanted nice deep tufts so we did not want to pull the fabric tight until the very end!

We used a long upholstery needle and upholstery thread. Start from the back fof the headboard and feed your needle through to the front, through the fabric.  Attach the button and run the needle back through to the back of the headboard and staple the remaining thread securely to the back. Make sure to pull the needle really tight to get really deep tufts!

The back should look like this when you're done with this step.

Next, we stapled the fabric to the headboard and trimmed the excess. 

Lookin' good! But we've got one more important step! Piping! 

Finally, we started making our own piping so it would match the green fabric. We already knew how to make piping but if you need help, here is a great tutorial. Click here. 

Then, hot glue your piping around the raw edges and TA-DA!!! DONE! 

Here's an up close picture of the piping and tufting...

We were so excited to tackle a project together since we haven't been able to do that in about 6 months! BAH! Sad huh!? It couldn't have turned out any better! We are a team and our team work always pays off! We both are in love with little Millie's bed! Savannah is working her tail off to get the rest of Millie's nursery turned into her big girl room!

Thanks so much for having us Lauren! We'd love for ya'll to stop by our blog and say hello!

Are you ready to tackle your next project yet?? Head over to Classy Clutter for more furniture and home decor inspiration!

Mallory and Savannah are best friends and the brains behind Classy Clutter, a one-stop shop for all things creative with a focus on Furniture and Home Décor. Both are moms with a mission for being creative on the cheap!  Mallory is a full-time mom of two little boys and a student.  She runs her Etsy Shop –Heartfelt Designs and Photography Business from her home in New York. Savannah is a cosmetologist at an Arizona salon called Hair Do and keeps busy doing furniture, crafts and activities with her two little girls!  Classy Clutter keeps them connected from NY to AZ! Classy Clutter is your place for inspiration, tips and tutorials!  Please hop over and check us out!  We’d love to have you!

Thanks so much ladies! This is an A-MA-ZING project, and I'm so glad you shared it here!

Our Big Surprise!

We have had quite the eventful week here at Casa de Barkanic! We celebrated our one year Blogiversary on Saturday, and had great posts all week long thanks to some of my favorite bloggers. In other Saturday news, Mike's Dad got married on Saturday, and it was absolutely beautiful (and long overdue!)

I was hoping to check in on Monday, with our big surprise, but our big surprise is taking a lot of my attention right now. Our big surprise is...

adorable,


shy,


playful,


and furry!


This past Monday we drove 2 1/2 hours to pick her up,

and my heart was instantly stolen by this little girl. Olivia and I had decided from seeing her picture that we should call her "Sassy", when she first came home I wasn't 100% sure it would fit her, but now that she's getting used to her new home, it is spot on.

She is 3 months old today, and she weighs 4.2 pounds. I am absolutely smitten, and so is her big sister!

I have been going bonkers pinning all kinds of great diy doggy projects on pinterest, but have actually only got around to making one. A little puppy harness, that I realized I needed at 10pm on Sunday night. Her car seat is designed to attach to one, so I figured I would whip one up as quick as I could. I made it out of white linen with gold embroidered flowers. I knew it was going to be super hot Monday, and I didn't want her to overheat, so I made it as light as I could while still able to do it's job. 

Isn't she just a doll!! 

I hope you've enjoyed my little sweetheart, I know I do! 

Be sure to stop back tomorrow, we have a great guest post from Mallory and Savannah of Classy Clutter!

Happy Blogiversary to Me and Happy Memorial Day to You!

Hello! I hope you all are having a wonderful start to your Holiday weekend! I was hoping to have a wonderful tutorial for all of you today, but unfortunately that isn't going to happen. My father-in-law is getting married today, so there is quite a lot to do, and writing up a tutorial just won't fit into the schedule. Sorry :)

Make sure you didn't miss any of our great guest posts or tutorials this week!

Here they are-

Monday- a Coffee Table Makeover from Pam of Simple Details

Tuesday-  Turning an Ugly Frame into a Modern Mirror from Me

Wednesday- Our Gallery Wall & How to Hang it Straight from Me

Thursday- Lamp Shade Makeover from Jennifer of Dimples & Tangles

Friday- How we can fight C.R.A.P. syndrome from Alyssa of Clever Nest

I also have some very exciting family news that I will share on Monday, once all the details are figured out. I can't wait to tell you all about it! It will definitely lead to a whole new realm of home decor projects for us! If you follow me on Pinterest you might have some idea what I'm talking about!

Happy Memorial Day Everyone!