Feature Friday: Lisa from Shine Your Light

I'm so happy to introduce today's guest, Lisa from Shine Your Light.  I've come to consider Lisa a friend over the past few months and I'm continually inspired by her projects.  Check out the transformation of her foyer and stairway.  The black and white is gorgeous and I'm dying over that board and batten.

BEFORE

AFTER

If you like to cook (or just drool over delicious recipes!), visit Lisa's weekly recipe link party, Mangia Mondays.  This busy lady is also hosting a new link party, a "Before and After" party.  Link up your before pictures on the first Friday of the month and your completed project on the final Friday of the month.  That's some great motivation to get things completed in a month!

I know a lot of us have made goals to get organized in 2012.  Lisa did just that when she turned an unused space in her home into a great mudroom, wrapping station, dog area, etc.  I'm happy to have Lisa sharing that space with us today!

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Hi there, I'm Lisa from Shine Your Light and I'm so glad to be visiting with you today over here at Suzy's!  I'm constantly inspired by Suzy's home improvement and decorating projects and I am particularly in love with her painted piano and the fun gallery wall over it!

In August of 2010 we moved to a house with a funky little utility room built into the garage.  The room was roughed out with built-in shelves and a utility sink, and all I saw when I first laid eyes on it was the potential for a mudroom.

My husband Mark and I have three kids and a very large and furry Saint Bernard, and I have to admit that I was giddy at the thought of having a place for all their belongings!  Mark, on the other hand, wanted to tear this quirky eyesore down and I had to convince him it would add value to our family life.

Since this is the primary entry for our family, the kids' friends, and the dog, the stairs take a lot of abuse as you can see.  A few coats of Kilz stain-blocking primer and resilient deck paint on the unfinished stairs and mudroom floor make these surfaces washable when the inevitable muddy paw prints appear!

I wanted this casual entry to be cheerful place to come home to.

At the top of the stairs I painted the door into the house {Benjamin Moore Fantasty Blue #716} and made a board to hold postcards we've received from family and friends all over the place.  

We also have a fridge up here that is great for popsicles and drinks for the kids in the summer and is a fun place for photos.  

Here's the mudroom in it's unfinished state.  Check out that sweet lighting source - a press-on thingamajig and clip-on light attached to the shelves!

While this space provided ample storage for recycling bins, the dogs' bowls and food, and especially all the gear that comes with a cold New England winter, I wanted it to feel more like a finished part of our home.  After I primed the drywall, plywood walls and shelving, added beadboard wallpaper, trimmed it all out and painted, my husband finally started to see the vision too.

Finally - a place for everything and everything in it's place (Ha!  That'll be the day!)

There are plenty of hooks for our kids' and their friends' jackets and snowpants, with room in the big baskets for sneakers and backpacks.

The pup even has his own little area.

In the middle of the mudroom makeover, I had to wrap a gift for one of my kids to take to a birthday part, and after pulling mangled wrapping paper out from the back of a closet, I suddenly had the inspiration to create a little wrapping station out here as well.  It takes up minimal space on the wall, and all the ribbon, tissue and cards that had been stuffed in drawers found a permanent home.

To give framed pictures of my kids an inexpensive and fresh new look, I recovered the existing mats with wrapping paper.  I also rounded up plastic containers around the house for storing supplies, and hung gift bags so I can see what I have on hand (and stop buying things we already have!)

This little utility room that Mark wanted to demo has turned into one of the most functional areas of our home.  While you may not have a quirky room like this in your house, I hope you are inspired to find some unique storage solutions that work for your family!

Thanks so much for having me, Suzy and have a great day, everyone! -Lisa