Making Plans on a Rainy Day

Today was going to be a beach/snorkeling day.  I was pretty pumped.  

We were going to go to Bellows Beach, my favorite, and lounge around for a while.

Is that a beautiful beach or what???

However, we woke up to a rainy day... and it put a "damper" on our plans. 

That's okay, though.  I'm going to take some time today to make some loose, preliminary plans for projects I want/need to do around here to continue making our house a home.  I took some photos, so I could share my plans with you guys.  Plus, you could tell me what you think and if you have any cool ideas/solutions.

1.  The mirror above my dresser in my bedroom.  

I got it because I thought it looked brown.  It doesn't look like it in the photo, but it is more of a gold color, and it bugs me since I have brushed nickel hardware and lamps.  It probably wouldn't bother anyone else, but it bothers me.

Solution:  I'm going to spray paint the little sucker.  I've been looking at metallic finish spray paints, and there's  one that is supposed to resemble brushed nickel, so I'm going to give it a try.

2.    The area by my front door.

 I have quite a few plans for this, although I'm not positive about all of them yet.

A few things to note:

A.  Everyone in Hawaii takes their shoes or "slippers" off when they come in the house.  I have a hidden bin in storage "cube" piece just inside that I use for my shoes, but Kent refuses to use it.  His are usually super dirty anyway, so he takes them off outside the door.  They are almost never lined up in a neat row like this, and are instead scattered all over for me to trip over.  I need a shoe rack, or bin, or something as a solution for this.  Any ideas or suggestions that would also look nice, neat, and clean?

B.  Just wanted to point out that it's been a few weeks and I still haven't killed my flowers.  I'm pretty proud!

C.  Also wanted to note that I'm still loving my springtime wreath.  If you want to learn how to make one, click here for the tutorial.

D.  This is where I have the biggest plans.  For starters, Kent's bike needs to find a new home.  It's in the way.  I want to get a couple of chairs or maybe a bench for this little area.  Even though we have a backyard, we don't get to enjoy much outdoor time there because it's HOT, and there is absolutely no shade.  This little area in the front is much nicer because it's covered, shady, and cool almost all the time.  I'm thinking a little bistro set would be perfect for making this space more usable.  What do you think?

 3.  My lanai.

I'm actually a little embarrassed to even show this area.  It's pretty pitiful.

The lanai is kind of like a screened in porch back home in Georgia, except it's not screened in.  It's all drywall with a few windows and a screen door.  It's hot out there most of the day, but we could use it in the evenings. 

Right now we have a table and chairs that I love (even though I don't love the burgundy cushions), but I think we also need something for storage.  We often end up doing projects out there since it has a concrete floor, so it's become an area that collects some clutter.  I can't stand clutter.  We need something similar to a cabinet to be a kind of "catch-all."  I'm currently trying to talk Kent into building something that looks nice (instead of his idea of using a folding table).  

I'm also trying to think of things that would be "fun" decor for evenings eating out there.  I saw some cool little hanging  paper globe lamps in fun colors the other day so I may try something like that.  Plus, I found this cool metal lizard at Ross the other day, and I just had to get it in honor of Murphy's gecko hunting.

How do you like him?  Any ideas for making my lanai more usable and functional along with being pretty?

Feel free to leave me ideas!  I would love to hear them.  :)

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