Another Point of View

I don't know if I shared this before, but the wallpaper in Savannah's room is by Designers Guild and comes from their Amalienborg collection.  The pattern is "Sanssouci" and the colorway is "Heather".  (If you aren't familiar with Designers Guild, check out their website because it is fabulous.)  

Until now I've only seen this wallpaper in one other installation, which is the photo on the Designers Guild website:

Then I stumbled upon some photos from MHouse Inc., a Toronto based design firm:

  

I enjoyed seeing how another designer utilized this wallpaper in their project.  So feminine and pretty.

Bonus Room Inspiration Board

The bonus room.  It's basically been a junk room for the past five years.  When we first bought the house, we thought we might convert it into a large master bedroom with a bath.  But then we realized we didn't really need a large bedroom and bath and that this space was more valuable as a home gym/playroom.  So then we had grand plans of totally renovating the room.  This would involve ripping down paneling, putting up sheetrock, moving lighting, installing new flooring, etc.  At this point we just really couldn't afford to spend the money to make all that happen but we wanted to make the room more user friendly.  So we decided that a small cosmetic reno was the easiest way to make this a usable space.

Here's the inspiration board:

The jumping off point for the design is the striped chair.  I have a pair of these left over from the living room in our first house. They are in great shape, I'm just not super in love with them anymore but they will be fine to be used in the kid's playroom.  The color scheme is cream and black with a dash of coral.  Can't wait to see this space come together!

Happenin' to My House in 2013 - Progress

Time to check the progress on that New Year's house to-do list I posted way back in January (seems like so long ago).  Let's see how I'm doing.

#1 - Finish Savannah's Big Girl Room Makeover - DONE!

Before: needed art above the bed and dresser and a new rug.

After:

#2 - Finish Madeline's Nursery - DONE!

Before:  I ran out of time/energy/money on the nursery.  I'm still on the hunt for art and accessories to finish the space. 

After:

 

#3 - Bonus Room Reno - In Progress

Before:  I soooo do not have another reno project in me right now (see here for my last one) but the toys have taken over my living room and with two kids we need more space for them to play.  Our long neglected bonus room/workout space/furniture graveyard/toy dump needs a complete makeover.  This will require lots of brain power and probably will not occur until mid-year.

Currently:  Still working on this one.  It has turned out to be more of a face lift versus a major overhaul, which is actually better for my finances and my sanity.  More details on this soon.

#4 - Finally Fill Up My Walls - No Progress (Boo!)

Before:  I have bare spaces that need to be filled and lots of great family photos that have never been properly framed and displayed.  This is a project that I definitely want to tackle this year.

Currently:  Haven't gotten around to this at all.  This shelf is in the kitchen and I haven't been able to commit to any artwork for it.  Just can't find the perfect thing.  I do have plans to create a couple of family photo displays in the living room and the stairwell, just need to select frames and photos (am waiting for a trip to Ikea to snag some cheap frames).

#5 - Create My Own Workspace - No Progress (Boo!)

Before:  My husband has a whole office but I do my work on the sofa which is not the most convenient place when you have a 3 year old sitting beside you who likes to punch the buttons on your computer.  I would like to find some corner of my house that can be transformed into my own personal workspace.  The desk will probably only be large enough for my laptop, but I'll take whatever I can get.

Currently:  No real progress has been made.  There's probably a reason this was last on my list.

Well, two out of five ain't bad, right?

Can These Drapes Be Saved?

I've been working on the dining room for a couple of years now and each piece has been added as I've been able to afford it, which makes for a long decorating process.  This means that I have looked at this partially finished room a bazillion times over the past few years and am never sure if its coming together or if I like the things I've chosen for it.  

While staring at it the other day, I almost decided to ditch my dining room drapes.  I had them custom made a couple of years ago and loved them then, but as I looked at them I thought maybe it was time to move on.  I thought the room was looking a little too country/granny/conservative for me and I was positive that the drapes were the culprit (ignore the chandy, its long gone).

Enter a bit of perfectly timed inspiration from some fellow bloggers to prove to me that yes, I am on the right track and one day when I'm finished this room will be fabulous.  

I found this little vignette from Teryn on I Suwannee and it is pretty much the inspiration board that I neglected to put together for myself.  Definitely captures the vibe I was trying to create in this space.

Then I found these pillows from Etsy shop Oriental Tribe 11 via Elements of Style. 

I've been looking for pillows for the chairs in front of my fireplace for a while.

These pillows might just be the thing to make the whole room come together.  Kinda traditional, kinda tribal, but cool and edgy all at the same time.  I think this is gonna work.  And I'm sticking with the drapes.

I Don't Mean to Brag...

...but I just had to share this with you.  Apparently the hubs was paying attention when forced to watch all those Million Dollar Decorator's episodes with me 'cause he busted out a sunburst mirror for me for Christmas this year.  What??  This was a total surprise to me.  I have never even mentioned that I like sunburst mirrors (although I have been secretly lusting for one for a while).  Furthermore, said mirror was purchased at an actual antiques store!!  He went there all by himself and picked it out!  Who is this man and what has he done with my regular old hubs???!!!  This gorgeous mirror found a home in my living room this past weekend.

 

 

Did you get any good surprises for Christmas this year?

Happenin' to My House in 2013

Emily posted her to do list for house projects in the coming year, so I thought I would post mine too.  Maybe if I put it in print, it will actually get done!

 

#1 - Finish Savannah's Big Girl Room Makeover

Still need art above the bed and dresser and a new rug.

 

 

#2 - Finish Madeline's Nursery

I ran out of time/energy/money on the nursery.  I'm still on the hunt for art and accessories to finish the space. 

 

 

#3 - Bonus Room Reno

I soooo do not have another reno project in me right now (see here for my last one) but the toys have taken over my living room and with two kids we need more space for them to play.  Our long neglected bonus room/workout space/furniture graveyard/toy dump needs a complete makeover.  This will require lots of brain power and probably will not occur until mid-year.

 

 

#4 - Finally Fill Up My Walls

I have bare spaces that need to be filled and lots of great family photos that have never been properly framed and displayed.  This is a project that I definitely want to tackle this year.

 

 

#5 - Create My Own Workspace

My husband has a whole office but I do my work on the sofa which is not the most convenient place when you have a 3 year old sitting beside you who likes to punch the buttons on your computer.  I would like to find some corner of my house that can be transformed into my own personal workspace.  The desk will probably only be large enough for my laptop, but I'll take whatever I can get.

 

What's gonna happen to your house in 2013?

 

 

 

 



Living Room Inspiration

My living room needs some help.  For some reason, it is the hardest room for me to decorate.  I think it's because we spend the most time in this room, so I really need to love all the things in here because I will look at them 95% of the time I am in the house.  Also, everything has to be super durable and childproof which sometimes narrows your options for furniture, fabrics, and accessories.  Here are some inspirations for this room:

 

 

I'm still working through the design for this room. 

I'll keep you posted on the progress.



Etsy Score!

I have been looking for a chandelier for Madeline's nursery for a while now.  I thought I wanted something like this (but in a different color):

 

 

 

These pagoda chandeliers have shown up in lots of design magazines and blogs, but good luck finding one for your home.  I checked eBay and Etsy to no avail.  Circa Who, a great little vintage shop in West Palm Beach, has some, but they are around $900 each.  Not in my budget.  I also thought maybe the pagoda chandelier with the Chinese Art Deco rug might seem like I was going for a whole Chinese themed room, which isn't the case.

So, scratch that and on to other chandelier options.

 

I thought maybe some sort of glass chandelier might work well and as I was on page 3 of my Etsy search, this little beauty appeared before my eyes, a vintage yellow glass chandelier:

 

 

The price was right and it jumped in my shopping cart in about 2 seconds.  I hit pay and am not looking back.  I am not usually such an impulse buyer, but this chandelier seems perfect.  Cross your fingers that it works (if not I will just have it re-wired) and that it looks great in the nursery!

 

This is from Etsy shop Sarah's Smiles and she has several great vintage chandeliers for sale right now.  She will also custom paint a chandelier to match your decor.  Check her shop out here.

 

 



Got Me Some!

Holly Mathis blogged about these ceramic Ralph Lauren lamps she found at TJ Maxx a couple of weeks ago:

 

 

I have been stalking every TJ Maxx and Homegoods in Huntsville and Birmingham to find them.  Today was my lucky day!  Homegoods had a matching pair and I scooped them up!  They have found their new home in my dining room.

 

 

I plan to change the shades to navy blue (am thinking I will do a DIY and use some fabric to cover the existing ones).

 

My other DIY project in this room is to stain the wood on the bookshelves (they are a matching pair, I just didn't photograph the other one).  My sweet Dad built those for me as a Christmas present.  I wanted something similar to these found at Ballard Designs:

 

 

It was really fun to collaborate with him on the design.  I needed them to be special dimensions since they are in a tight space and he was able to make them for a lot less than the Ballard ones. 

 

I can't wait to cross these DIY projects off my list!

 

 

 

 

 



Madeline's Nursery: Part 2

Madeline's nursery made some progress last week!  Benjamin Moore's Rose Silk 2104-60 went up on the walls!!  Here's a sneak peek:

 

I have to be honest, I cringe when I think of any color being rose or mauve (I grew up in the '80s when that color was everywhere).  But this color is beautiful in spite of its horrible name (Ben Moore needs to work on that one). 

 

Now I just have a million and one other things to do to get this nursery ready for baby Madeline!  The clock is ticking!

 

 



The Ceiling's the Limit

This navy blue high gloss ceiling is about to happen in the hubs' office.

 

 

Richard Bories & James Shearron in House Beautiful

 

I am nervous, scared, and excited all at the same time. I have only ever painted a ceiling once. It was in our guest bathroom. There was an odd soffit concealing the duct work and I painted all the walls and ceiling Benjamin Moore's Mink 2112-10, which is a beautiful, rich chocolate brown.  It looked great, but it was in a small space and the walls and ceiling were all the same color.  I think this blue ceiling will be fabulous in the office.  It is going up tomorrow, so we will see what happens! 

 

Also, this photo appeared in the July/August 2011 issue of House Beautiful, which I think is the best issue ever produced.  Images from this issue have imprinted themselves on my brain and I am constantly looking back on it for inspiration.



Goings On

Here are some of the goings on at my house recently:

 

A side table was finally purchased to go between the chairs in front of my fireplace.

 

 

 

This sconce finally found a home on my walls after 8 years of hanging out in the furniture graveyard and almost going to the yard sale a few times.

 

 

 

I took the grown up step of purchasing chargers so that I could have pretty place settings at my table.  (Still need some pretty salad plates, napkins, glassware, silverware, and centerpiece to finish it out).

 

 

 

Hung some art in the hubs' office - Target frames with vintage Alabama football program covers from the Asgard Press Vintage Football Calendar (really cheap, easy art!).

 

 

 

Contemplated shades of blue/gray for the non-renovated bathroom but can't find the right one.

 

 

 

Bought new shower curtain to go in the non-renovated bathroom (hence the need for the blue/gray wall color).

 

 

 

Green velvet chair for Savannah's room arrived. (Her mini-makeover is not so mini anymore, I keep adding things).

 

 

 

Benjamin Moore's Rose Silk was the winner for Madeline's nursery wall color.

 

 

 

Shades of purple/gray are being contemplated for the master bath which was reno'd a few months back and for some reason I still don't think of as finished.

 

 

 

Cafe curtains were hung in the laundry room.

 

 

 

 

Home Depot got it wrong.  It isn't "more saving, more doing", it's "more spending, more doing."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to my house! 

 

Five years ago this Labor Day weekend we moved into our home and all the fun, drama, labor, exhaustion, frustration, and love began.  In the coming week, I hope to post some before and not-quite-after-still-working-on-it-here's-the-progress-we've-made-so-far pictures. 

 

But before we get to all that fun, I thought I would share the story of our house.

 

 

When my husband and I got married, we were fortunate to be able to move into a great starter home about thirty minutes outside Birmingham.  The only problem was that the traffic was awful, we weren't close to our friends and family, and we couldn't easily enjoy all the fun things the city had to offer.  We also knew that whenever the kids came along we would need a larger house.  So when the rumblings in the housing market started in 2007, we started talking about moving closer to Birmingham and finding our "forever" home.

 

 

We looked on the internet and found a house for sale in the neighborhood that my husband grew up in and he told me to go take a look at it.  So I set up an appointment with the realtor, looked at the property, and really liked it.  I asked what we needed to do if we wanted to make an offer and she said put our house up for sale.  So I went home, told my husband, and he said go for it. 

 

Our house sold in a month and in the meantime we put contracts on two other houses, but both fell through.  In need of a house, we went back to the first one I viewed and decided with a bit of love we could make it work.  So we made an offer, signed the papers, and she was all ours. 

 

Our new home - Labor Day 2007

And then my life became eerily similiar the Money Pit and This Old House.