How to Use Self Leveling Concrete

Today I have an update on our basement bathroom renovation after some weeks off for finishing classes and doing other projects, we made significant progress this past weekend. Before we could put down a sub floor, we needed to level the existing concrete foundation so we selected to use self-leveling concrete.

We started a total makeover on the bathroom, which is the second in our house. Here is what it looked like before.

We tore apart the room down to the studs to update it and had to do some repair to our 113 year old foundation along the way. We also have to repair the heating vent too but first we wanted to tackle the floor so we could start rebuilding the room.

Today I'm here to show you how we self-leveled the floor to smooth things out to prepare it for a sub floor. If you've never used self-leveling concrete, here is your how to. Follow along!

These are the tools we used:

Bag of self-leveling concrete {we used the bag in the photo above, from Home Depot}

5-gallon bucket for mixing

Water per the directions on the bag of concrete you purchase

Power corded drill for mixing

Concrete mixing paddle attachment for drill

Flat-sided trowel for smoothing

Old plastic cup for pouring the concrete out

Here is how to use self leveling concrete.

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Designing a New Blog Logo

Happy Friday! What are you plans for this weekend? I'd like to get the last of our vegetable plants in the garden and hopefully get some color on my pasty white legs! This blogger needs a tan.

I'll also be doing some housekeeping here on Decor Adventures. I've mentioned before how I'm switching to WordPress in a matter of days, and so I've been spending time cleaning up my old posts, and trimming things down for the switch. Did you ever read through all of your old blog posts? It's fun! And embarassing :-)

So you might notice some things that are missing, like archives and latest posts. I'm taking things down for the migration, so stick with me! Things will look and work better soon, I promise.

This switch has given me the chance to make a directory of all my posts so I can make sure to have them all in my project gallery and the like. I'm really looking forward to have a more organized blog where I can showcase more of my projects and provide you with a better resource for home and DIY inspiration. It's the main reason why I'm switching over.

While my blog designer makes finishing touches on that part, I've been working with my graphic designer for a new logo. Now these people can be one in the same, however in my case I'm married to my graphic designer, so he gets to work for me and live with me!

I pay him with back massages :-)

He and I sat down one night in his office to work on a new look for my logo, which will basically be my header, blog button, and social media profiles. Notice I was doing some blog reading at the same time?

I spent a lot of time looking around at blogs, business cards I got at Haven last year, and web sites in general, and decided I wanted to go with a simple, sophisticated design that will work for me in various ways.

First we selected some fonts that I liked to see how they might work together for a new look. I wanted a simple logo, without any graphic elements, so that the title of my blog itself would become the "look".

There are tons of resources out there for free fonts. When you download and install them, you can see what they look like in some sample words and go from there. Many are very similar! But fonts have their own personality.

I ended up keeping the font of the word 'decor' in my title, but changed the 'adventures'. After my graphic designer/husband arranged them in complimentary sizes and spacing, we played around with color.

I have two versions of the new logo so I can use it in different ways. What do you think?

Picking a color was next. This is hard! Color says so much about you and your personality, plus I wanted something that wasn't going to be too trendy, but match the look I wanted. So we narrowed it down to a few.

Now the question is, which one do you think I picked?! Or perhaps I did a variation on one of these?

Have you ever designed a logo or look? How did you pick out fonts and colors?

P.S. By the way, hubs is available for logo design anytime. You can call him Dan and find him here. Give him a like!

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Lighting Ideas for Your Home

Lighting is one of the most important elements inside the home and out. Not only does it help you with everyday tasks, and can set the mood for a dinner party on the patio or an hour with your favorite book. Like hardware on furniture or cabinets, lighting can be the jewelery of your space. Think of a photo of a room you love. Is it lit well? You can thank the lighting for that.

Recently we've been doing some lighting upgrades for our home and have spent countless hours in stores and online looking for fixtures of different types. When Golden Age USA asked if I would offer a review of their lightning collections, I was happy to. I had not heard of the company before, but was glad to find them.  They have the largest selection of lights for just about every space in your home.  In addition they sell rugs, mirrors and other home decor items, but the lighting selection is quite extensive.

Here are some chandeliers from their contemporary line. I notice some of these from photos that I pin! Did you ever see a light and wonder where you could get it? Golden Age USA might be your answer.

Clockwise from top left: Maxim Nexus 3-Light Chandelier; ET2 Cascada 6-Light Pendant; Crystorama 6 Light Mini Chandelier with Olde Silver Finish; Uttermost 6 Light Contemporary Pendant;

They can also make a chandelier custom to your space in any and you can view items within your budget by sorting them by price, type or material. This turquoise chandelier is make of Italian Murano glass.

Clockwise from top left: Cyan Design bella vetro chandelier in aqua; Laura Ashley State Street 8L Chandelier; Artcraft Lighting Pot Racks 6 lite chandelier; Laura Ashley 30" Daliya Capiz Pendant with Natural Capiz Shells

Since we are renovating bathrooms, wall sconces are on the top of my shopping list these days. There are many options for a variety of bathroom styles in a range of prices, many under $50. I could see these lights even in a dining room, hallway or bedroom.

Clockwise from top left: Maxim Malibu 1-Light Wall Sconce; Maxim Cilandro 1-Light Wall Sconce; Elk Lighting 2 Light Vanity in Polished Chrome and White Mosaic Glass

Pendant lights are a modern alternative to builder grade flush mount lights and come in a variety of colors, shapes, and styles.

Clockwise from top left: Maxim Rondo 4-Light Large Entry Foyer Pendant; Elk Lightning Bamboo Stem; Lights Up Walk 5-Arm Drum Chandelier Powercoat Black White Linen

And with summer here, you might be thinking of some new lights for your deck, garden or patio. Golden Age USA offers outdoor wall lights, ceiling mounts, and deck lanterns.  I think I may have to pick up some of these for our backyard since we have a deck and landscape makeover going on this year. I can't wait to show you that project.

Clockwise from left: Maxim Westlake Cast 1-Light Outdoor Wall Lantern; Maxim Wharf 1-Light Outdoor Wall Lantern; Trans Globe Lighting 1-LT Stainless Steel Outdoor Wall Lantern

Do you do your lighting shopping online? You may want to. Online retailers offer the easy of narrowing your search to just the items you are looking for, sometimes have free shipping, and a plethora of items you will not find in stores. I enjoy finding options for my home improvement needs online, then I know where to go when I need to buy something.

Golden Age USA can be found online here, as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

Have you been shopping for lighting recently?

Which of these lights would you want in your home?

This is a sponsored post. I have been compensated for my time writing this.

All opinions expressed are my own.

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Frame Your Travel Memorabilia {A 15 Minute Craft}

Hello friends. I hope you had a nice Mother's Day weekend. My sister was in town and with her husband, we spent a few days house hunting with them. It's so fun to go see what kinds of homes are out there. Do you like house hunting?  Hopefully they will find a good one and then I get to help decorate, which will be really great.

What better project for a new homeowner then some tips on decorating your home fast. I'm talking lightning fast. Today I'm participating in Craft Lightning. It's a round up by The Country Chic Cottage and 30 Minute Crafts of lots of fun crafts you can complete in 15 minutes or less. What could be better besides quick, creative projects you can do to decorate your home inside or out in just a few moments?



One way I love to change up my home decor for the season is to frame different things for the wall galleries we have in our spaces. If it's with photos, maps, a boarding pass, postcard or something else that you picked up on your travels, the artwork takes on the life of its own once you put it in a frame. Plus it's a lovely way to remember those special moments you had while relaxing with friends or families.

Here the two simple items you need for your 15 minute craft.

Empty frames - I usually get mine at the thrift stores or flea markets. It doesn't matter the color since you can always paint them, but look for glass and hanging hardware. That's a bonus and you can expect to pay around $5 each.

Travel mementos - Try postcards, letters, tickets stubs, photos or maps. Something that reminds you of your special trip is good, even a scarf you picked up or an interesting napkin from a hotel might look neat.



That's it! Plus any framing hardware you might need if it didn't come on the frame.

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Storage Cube Makeover {Free Paint Project}

Hello friends! How are you?

So, big news, I am done with graduate school classes, yahoo! Now when I say that to someone they ask me when I'm going to graduate. And the answer to that is... in about a year or so? You probably know I am in a PhD program and about a week ago I finished all my coursework requirements and only have one exam and one paper left to finish for the semester. This means I never, ever EVER have to go to class again :-) Believe me I'm super happy about this. But the graduation is a ways off since now I write my dissertation. That will take about a year if I'm lucky.

But for now I have lots more time for projects and fun around the house. So why not start things off right away with a little furniture makeover I did with some free paint?

A few weekends go Ace Hardware had Free Paint Saturday, where they have out samples of Clark + Kensington in the form of flat enamel quarts. I was looking forward to trying a new color and wanted to learn more about this {new to me} paint, so I picked up Deep Amazon.

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