Lust worthy

While I work on the mundane task of preparing our powder room/ laundry room for its close-up. I've found some lust worthy bathrooms to share that make me swoon. Like this......

via Canadian House & Home

or this

via Canadian House & Home

or maybe this

via paris apartment

via velvet & linen

and most definately this....a girl can dream, right?

Thanksgiving inspiration

No matter how much you fuss...no matter how perfect or imperfect the meal may turn out. Thanksgiving is really about being surrounded by the people you love and who love you. It really is a time to celebrate being *together* and anticipate the holiday ahead......

pic via country living

pic via atlanta homes

pic via country living

pic via saipua

pic via quentin bacon

pic via loft life

oh, and pretty tables : )

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Now I gotta get crackin'! Those pies won't bake themselves.

p.s. To those who may have read the post I had up late last night....sorry. I was having a moment. 

A beautiful tribute

Funny how things can take you away. This is the reason I find myself aimlessly searching. You never know when you might find someone who takes your breath away.

Find her here.

Details: A look inside

I have promised you all a little peak into my humble abode. It has been a bit of a ride to get it to this point. It still needs a little work but....I'll be brave and let you take a look.

First thing you might notice is it is small. But we love how comfortable the space feels. We have a screened porch off of the eating area in the kitchen. The plan is to relocate the porch and expand the space into the existing porch and make that a dining space. We will then rework our kitchen so the flow is a little better. But that will be a little farther out in our future.

Many of you might recognize the large piece of furniture next to the chair. It served me well as a back counter in my shop, and although it is a large piece (10 feet long!) I knew I couldn't just leave it. It ended up being the perfect size for my family room. The wall behind the chair needs something.....I'm thinking maybe a floor mirror leaning against the wall? Seems like a good way to hide switch plates and cable connections. What do you think?

The branch sculpture has a hand applied silver leaf finish. It really is one of my favorite pieces in this space.

I have mentioned a new sectional to you a few times in the past. Well, it's finally here and we love it! Super comfy and the nailhead trim gives it the perfect finishing touch.

The curtains are a silk dupioni and were purchased at, get this.......Lowes. I bought ring clips and attached to the top instead of running the pole thru the pocket. The bamboo shades were bought off the shelf and are the perfect fit on the french doors. I had the peacock vase from Shine and plopped a vintage disco ball on top. At night the can lighting reflects off of the mirror and creates a beautiful reflection on the ceiling. The lamp is from Global views and was one of my lux purchases (totally splurged on that one!) And the riddler was from a container auction (score!).

There it is......a work in progress to be sure, but it feels like it's coming along. Thanks for indulging me!

A Love Train

Brooke over at Velvet & Linen has a great give away going on to celebrate her 300th post. A colabrative effort that tastemaker Mark Sage so generously offered to contribute to. I had first discovered Mark after one of my favorite sales reps had mentioned that they were trying to land his company for her showroom. When I went to check his website out, I about fell off my chair! Until reading about his antique store in a post Brooke did a while back, I hadn't realized he had two different sides to his business....antiques he sells thru his store Love Train Antiques and reproductions his company manufactures. Here is a taste of the reproduction side, Bobo Intriguing Objects.    

I don't think you could find a more beautiful collection than what you will find when you visit Bobo. Go see for yourself and don't wait to enter Brooke & Mark's giveaway, it's ending soon!  

Wanted: Windsor update

In one of my previous posts I promised to give you a peak into one of my client's projects. She asked if I wouldn't consider doing a kitchen facelift. Of course I was excited from the start, especially during our first meeting where we both agreed the inspiration for the space would be this gorgeous room by Windsor Smith. How could I say no? My intention was to begin with "before" pics but unfortunately blogger wasn't too cooperative (picking my battles here).

This fabric is something she just happened to have been holding onto for awhile. It was a perfect fit! Pulling it all together will be a rich brown called French Press by Benjamin Moore on the walls. What is so great about this space is it encompasses a breakfast nook with wonderful character. Wainscoting, thick moldings and casements all getting a fresh coat of crisp white. The rooms have a southern exposure and get a ton of light too. Makes the brown a little less intimidating when it has such a wonderful contrast.

The window above the kitchen sink began with a wood scalloped valance and a single big cyclops of a can light! The solution was a set of halogen pivot lights which really brightened up the area. The valance will be making another appearance but with a much more Windsor feel to it.

This is the handmade glass tile we have on order. The plan is applying the tile all along the underside of the cabinets and up each side of the window to the top in a random application. The opposite wall has more cabinets as well as her stove and this wall will also receive the design.

And here is a sneak peak of one of our details. The crystal light under the shade was my clients and is vintage. We found this drum shade, disassembled the existing chandelier adding the shade just below the bobeche at the top. The result is a gorgeous crystal chandelier peaking out underneath a very clean modern drum. You can also see a little of the brown on the walls and the crisp white molding. Love it!

More to come once blogger quites giving me grief! Oh, and stay tuned! A few of my readers have asked for some pics of my home. So, I'm planning on giving you a sneak peak of a few rooms......yikes!

Crowning glory

I had a bit of a rant a little while back. Lots of excuses, not so much decor. Got a few e-mails asking for pics of our paint project and the new soffit I had built (with my two own little hands), so I thought I would oblige. My home is not big or dramatic, it is about eighteen hundred square feet and although I will probably never feel completely satisfied with the way it looks, I finally feel like it has some pretty good dressing (on the outside anyway).



The railing was actually one my first ever building projects. It isn't by any means perfect but I am probably the only one who sees the little flaws. At least that's what I am going with.

This is the crowning glory of the outside project, the soffit. I decided to go with a tongue and grove cedar and frame it with high grade 1x6 cedar that when stained, created a two tone effect. The finishing touch, a white vinyl molding that creates a dramatic contrast against the dark stained cedar. I had one little obstacle to contend with though, we had an outlet wired in the corner of the old ceiling for easy access to electricity when we strung up our Christmas lights. I thought about dropping the box down and having it on the outside of the soffit, but I really didn't want the outlet to be in full view. My solution was to make blocks that would drop down a little lower in the corners, attach magnets to the underside of the block where the outlet was so that when we want to plug in our Christmas lights, all we have to do is pop out the block in that corner. What I really loved about this solution was that it became a small detail that made a big statement to the end result.

Couldn't resist throwing in this pic. Meet Bailey, my next door neighbor's pup. We love her to pieces.

Stay tuned. Up next.......a glimpse into my new clients kitchen project. Oh, and thanks guys for your input on the lighting for my powder room. So far #6 seems to be a clear favorite.

Decisions, decisions.......

It all started with this color.......



and these floors

and this sink in front of.....

this tiled wall

and this mirror

next to this

or this

or maybe this

perhaps this

or more like this

or even this........

ummmm.......possibilities. Your thoughts?

A work in progress

I know, I know I am starting this post a day late. In my defense, I couldn't find my camera (again) and was searching madly. I had promised to show you where I started, where I am at and where I am headed with my powder room and laundry room reno. But first things first! Some serious inspiration was in order and I found it thru one of my daily reads. Velvet & Linen.

Brooke is the author of Velvet & Linen, one of the first blogs I ever began reading. And I have to say, one of the reasons I decided to take the leap into blogging. Her blog has been a source of unending inspiration and beauty. One I can only hope to aspire to. Among the first posts I happened upon was a series about Steve, her talented architect husband. And it just happened to be about bathrooms. I was hooked!

The eye toward detail is truly stunning! I have serious shower envy here.

Who wouldn't want to take a soak here? However, this bathroom rivals the view.....don't you think?



And this picture is what single handedly convinced me that Calcutta marble is the material I am going to be using. I love how Steve took the marble up the wall in a running brick pattern. A wonderful take on a subway tile design.

This is where I am going to cringe a bit. My photo's are no where near as beautiful as Brooke's,
but.....I will be brave. When I get to the finished product I promise the pics will be better. First, I chose a beautiful brown for the walls called bittersweet. I knew at this point the way to get a really crisp look was to add some thick moldings, tongue and groove paneling on the ceiling and paint it out in a high gloss white. The lighting is on its way out and I will be posting a few options for you to consider.

A little brighter pic here. I removed all the door moldings and baseboards in preparation for the new flooring in, you guessed it.........Calcutta!

So, here is the reason my laundry room is getting involved here. It is connected to the powder room. The flooring is a builders special vinyl. Not my first choice, but it served us well while I was preoccupied with my business over the years.

This last pic is the one I cringe over the most (clutter, mushroom lighting.....ugh!), the laundry room. We installed the cabinets this last spring and they are getting primed, the doors will be reinstalled and all with a fresh coat of high gloss white paint. I plan on finishing them off by adding height with either another custom built cabinet or a soffit to the ceiling. The same ceiling treatment that was done in the bathroom will be applied, as well as new lighting.

That's kind of the plan. I will keep you informed and show you my progress from time to time, as well as ask for some of your input on design ideas. I also am planning to add a few surprises here and there. Hope you guys enjoy the process. Oh, and thanks Brooke for allowing me to use some of your gorgeous pictures. You truly are an amazing and gracious person. xoxo