Cottage of Stone

We have moved!

2012-01-31T18:31:00.000-06:00

Please visit us at our new home at cottageofstone.com!!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas!

2011-12-23T09:59:00.000-06:00

black doors? bring it on!

2011-12-02T13:53:00.003-06:00

Those who follow me on Twitter will have noticed me sharing progress pictures of the dining room. It is so much easier to snap a picture on the phone and share it than to upload everything to the laptop and create a post. Sigh... the life of a blogger, right?

Now is a nice time to catch up the non-tweeting folks!

We did manage to (finally) get all the walls looking reasonably nice. Considering what we started with, it couldn't get anything but better! We finished applying the sandy texture to match all the walls (eliminating the smooth border around the top of the walls and from the middle of the wall down to the floor). Next was priming and painting. I chose a fun, yet not too Pepto, pink from the discontinued Martha Stewart line at Lowe's called Sugar Egg Pink. Trim was painted a nice white called Milk Sugar by Laura Ashley.

The plan is to paper the ceiling and install a nice crown molding. The crown will be painted white and given a fun little black racing stripe. That racing stripe will appear again as a room divider between the blue entry way and pink dining room. We also have some other fun splashes of black.

Which brings me to the doors... These go into the living room (left) and basement (right):

Woody McWooderson. I have always thought the doors looked a little strange. All the trim is painted white, and then there are wood doors. How odd! Manhattan Nest to the rescue! Seeing Daniel's blog about his black doors was finally the little push Steven needed to agree that we could, as Mick Jagger said, "Paint it black!" (Get it? Rolling Stones... Paint It Black? Moving right along...)

Oh, I hear Steven weeping softly... Primer... and a few coats of black paint...

On a side note, how pretty are our doorknobs! I am thinking of polishing them all up. At the risk of looking like cheapo 1980s brass, I think against the black, these could really be blingin'!

And here we go. Black doors. Aren't they pretty! I am going to give them a coat of satin poly since our kids are tough on doors. But I am really excited with how they turned out. I think the go really nicely with the black and white windows a la Door Sixteen:

You know, I have been influenced so much by Anna's aesthetic. While my walls will never be all white, Anna has really moved me toward modern, clean lines. Out goes the antiques, in comes the modern. :) So, thank you, Anna!

More dining room pictures yet to come. It is really close to being done, guys!

(And I really am loving the camera in my Android phone. So much easier to snap pictures now!)

Ch-ch-changes in the master bedroom

2011-09-09T19:49:00.005-05:00

Something has been bothering me about our master bedroom for some time. When we moved in, it looked like this:
It really felt like living inside a toybox. I love wood, don't get me wrong. But the floor matching the walls really made it feel very, well... toybox-like. After a lot of sanding, priming, and painting (as chronicled here), we had this:

I absolutely love the pale pink walls. The furniture that has followed me around for the past 15 years just wasn't cutting it for me. It was SO BIG! And I really wanted another look. I ended up buying a cast iron bed from LL Bean (super reasonable shipping, by the way).

The old bed and dresser were sold on Craigslist. I saved the nightstands for quite awhile now... but with the new influx mid-century modern pieces in the house, I really wanted to bring something smaller and cleaner in. Steven began wiping up some new nightstands from my hand-drawn sketch (a post on those to follow).

But even with new nightstands and a new bed, I felt the room needed something else. I think there really is not a focal point in the room. There are planks everywhere, running every which way. One end of the room has built-ins, one has 2 doors. One wall has 2 windows, the others a huge expanse and a door on the end. It is all very asymmetrical and there is nothing to balance it.
My solution for this was for Steven to add some solid panels between in the windows. I thought if we "connected" the windows with solid panels (thus eliminating some of the planks), it would give a focal point for displaying artwork. The panels would be painted white, to make black frames pop. In my head, at least, it gives the eye a place to rest.

Are you feeling it? Are you with me?

Steven has the panels and trim caulked and ready for primer. The nightstands are assembled and ready for paint. I cannot wait to share. Stay tuned!

One area I haven't decided on yet is the closet... not sure I am digging on the curtain I made to replace the cheap-o closet doors. Also, the knickknacks over the doors are on their way out as well.

Tatum Evan Four Months

2011-09-09T19:43:00.002-05:00

Each month we will be taking a picture of Tatum Evan in his nursery, as inspired by Making It Lovely.

Tour of the Nursery

2011-08-15T16:23:00.008-05:00

I have been promising pictures of "The Nursery," aka Bowie and Tatum's room, formerly known as Bowie's Room, for months. I finally got a spare moment to snap some pictures... granted the pictures are taken with my phone, so they are not high quality shots. But I think some pictures are better than no pictures, right?

So without further ado... a little tour.

Some day, when Tatum actually decides he is ready to sleep in his own room and not snuggle in bed next to Mommy, I will be reading bed time stories and maybe doing some midnight nursing in this rocker. We had this custom-made at USA Baby when I was pregnant with Bowie and it finally has made it's way into a proper room. The stars rug was also snatched up from Pottery Barn Kids about the same time.

Wow, this shot is a bit blurry. And a bit busy. The room won't be quite so crowded when Tatum is ready to move up to a big boy bed as we plan on doing a twin trundle for the boys. This will free up enough space for a vintage play table we picked up at Habitat ReStore.

The shelves are not perfectly styled, and I doubt they ever will be. All the boys enjoy placing things on the shelves and the arrangement changes every day. But this is not a magazine room, this is a real room for real little boys... so a jumble of toys it will remain!

Tatum's crib is a fixed-side Jenny Lind. It came only in white, so Steven painted it flat black to match Bowie's twin cast iron bed. We purchased the crib from Babies R Us with a 20% off coupon. The crib was a splurge -- a pricey gorgeous giraffe set from Rikshaw Designs.

And right beside the crib is big brother Bowie's bed. Bowie's vintage cast iron bed was a $20 Craigslist score that we straightened up a bit with a rubber mallet.

Over Bowie's bed is a framed screenprint on a Guster concert poster by Furturtle.

The boy's share a vintage dresser we picked up at the Good Ju Ju flea market. It was originally painted a girly pale purple with shabby chic sandpaper distressing. I made it a bit more masculine with flat black and replaced the mismatched brass knobs with milk glass ones from Hobby Lobby.

This is the closet we saved. (The other become the bookshelves on the other side.)

Bowie's duvet is from Land of Nod. The orange sheets were ordered from Amazon. The white dust ruffle is from Target.

This vintage nightstand was $3 at Goodwill. It was a badly damaged Sears Harmony House piece that I primed and painted flat black. The "V" handle was original and received a shot of silver spray paint. Bowie inherited my old iPod. The lamp is from Ikea.

The barn star was purchased from Craigslist and painted flat black. The gyro-ceiling fan is by Minka Aire. It actually rotates around and the lights dim, all by remote control. Steven had to do some fancy wiring work in the room to hide the very modern control unit for the fan.

The lights on this ceiling shelf are a great nightlight. Another assortment of vintage Tonka toys on the shelf.

The curtains and sheers are from Target. Hardware from Bed Bath & Beyond and moon and stars finials from Pottery Barn Kids.

The door knob for the closet is vintage. We salvaged it from am old farmhouse that was being demolished.

I fell in love with this giraffe mobile from Pottery Barn Kids. Plain white and understated... Unfortunately, it had been discontinued. I found it on Craigslist for less than retail.

A giraffe for Tatum. Since Bowie has a favorite elephant, "Buddy," since he was a tiny baby, we decided Tatum should have giraffes. See that lovely cap at the bottom of the door frame, by the base trim? The original plinth blocks were lost during the construction of the room, so Steven made all the replacements. The little metal piece on the door is the other side of a magnetic doorstop that keeps the door from swinging in to the bookcases.

Two little beds, side by side.

Bowie's guitar leaned up against the rocker. He is a rock star, after all.

This lamp was from Pottery Barn Kids, but the shade is from Target. I really fell in love with an orange round side table from Crate & Barrel, but it just wasn't tall enough. So I found this metal table at Home Goods and Steven sprayed it Popsicle orange.

Bowie's favorite toy truck, a "Buddy L." We bought it since he named his elephant "Buddy" when he was a baby.

This ceiling is a masterpiece! Everyone thought I was crazy when I said I wanted corrugated metal and wood beams. Now, I think it is perfect!

A close-up of the giraffe bedding.

I spent hours staining these floors. I wanted them to look a bit worn, even though they had just been refinished. I chose Minwax ebony stain and matte polyurethane sealer.

A happy star.

This is the Good Luck Elephant that sits high on the shelves. He takes care of the boys and makes sure that Bowie has good dreams. (Bowie was not sure about sleeping in his room the first few times).

Push button switches and a hammered finish plate from Classic Accents.

Two of Bowie's friends, an elephant and a crocodile, keep him company.

Hope you enjoyed the tour! Maybe we can get some higher-quality pictures up soon. :)

introducing, Tatum Evan

2011-08-01T15:03:00.005-05:00

We had a bit of a hiatus at the Cottage of Stone. And I am placing full blame on this little guy:

Tatum Evan made his appearance April 26th at 11:27 p.m.
He weighed in at 8 pounds, 2.5 ounces and was 21 inches long.

Ala, Making it Lovely, we have been taking a monthly picture of Tatum. Rather than use the white Eames-style rocker in the master bedroom, we decided to tote one of the black chairs up from the living room into the nursery.

I have a little to learn about getting the pictures to look exactly the same (maybe the time of day I take them or the fact they are taken with the camera in my phone?), but it is a cute project and we have really enjoyed it.

Speaking of the nursery, we did finish it in time for Tatum's arrival... not that we needed to, really. Tatum has decided he wants to sleep in our bedroom. But not in his gorgeous cradle. Nope. He needs to sleep in my bed, right next to me. (Clingy baby!)

We will get the (not-yet-used) nursery pictures up soon. ;)

the fireplace saga... we have shellac and cabinet doors!

2011-04-02T14:38:00.006-05:00

Steven is wrapping up the work on the living room fireplace. He finished the amber shellac on the woodwork, installed the doors on the cabinets, and finished a bit of electrical work inside the cabinet. All that remains is a bit of quarter round, and the techno-geek work of installing the a/v components and such. He is very excited about the new receiver and researching speakers. I am just happy that we will be able to arrange the furniture properly soon!

Until the furniture is out of the way, it is rather difficult to get a nice picture of the fireplace. At nearly 9 month pregnant, I am not as nimble as I once was. But I did snap a couple pictures with my camera phone, just so you could see we are not slacking off here.

The strange little hardware you see to the left of the right-hand vent is a doorstop. This keeps our bedroom door from being swung into the cabinets by the little crazy people who live in our house.

I didn't want the entire area to scream "brand new built-ins!!!!" So I decided ice-box latches might add a little historical interest to the cabinets. I mean, of course they are new. We have a flat screen mounted above the fireplace. But still, I wanted it to fit in with the existing woodwork. And the custom-matched stain and amber shellac really do make a seamless match! I posted earlier about the metal mesh material we used for the door panels. This allows us to be able to hide the electronics but still use our remotes.

P.S. The nursery is actually finished as well... I just need to do some curtain hemming before I can take pictures!

fireplace tile done!

2011-02-27T15:01:00.003-06:00

Just a sneak peek at the fireplace. I managed to lay the tile last month (a challenge since I am getting more pregnant by the minute!). Steven was able to slap the sealer down and install the trim around the edges... I am quite pleased at how nice it turned out!

The fireplace screen was a Goodwill score. Steven snagged it for $8, and it had a Pottery Barn tag on it.

The edges look so nice and finished with the trim installed. Steven painted it with the flat black enamel from Bowie's bedroom furniture (which I haven't posted yet). Maybe someday we will get the floors refinished as there is water damage in the living room... but for now, I kind of like the spots. It gives it character. Or that is what people say who own old homes and can't get around to fixing everything right away!

the painted nursery!

2011-01-27T19:08:00.003-06:00

Bowie and Tatum's room (The Nursery) is very close to being finished. We have to install and paint some quarter-round along the baseboard, install the ceiling fan, and do some small touch-ups... but really, it is close. So close, in fact, that Bowie has started sleeping in his room.

The weather has been too cold to spray paint his new (antique) cast iron bed, so Bowie is settling for a mattress on the floor and his new big boy bedding.

One thing I would like to point out about the above picture is how beautiful the walnut still is even though we painted it. Really, it would have been an extremely expensive venture to have the planks re-planed, and tongue and grooved. So we did, in my opinion, a remarkable job of giving new life to wood salvaged from the hayloft of a barn that was being torn down and burned.

Anyway... look at the saw marks. Every board looks like that... just like when you run a comb over sand. Someday, the boys can run their fingers over those saw marks and maybe imagine all the animals that lived in that barn.

I think the bed stayed neat and tidy for about a minute. Just long enough for the boys to run into the room and decide to try out the bed. Here are the monkeys jumping on the bed! Dane (5) and Bowie (3).

For now, I am digging through all the toys and books we bought for the room and throwing them up on the shelves. The giant giraffe is not staying there -- but I do think he looks pretty cute peeking out of the cubby like that! I really love the way the floor turned out. Staining it ebony was the way to go -- it just looks great against the pale blue walls.

Here is a peek at the ceiling. People thought I was crazy when I said I wanted corrugated metal on the ceiling and faux beams. But I think the creamy white paint on the metal and pure white on the beams makes it look cozy and friendly (and not rustic!).

I also had to do some explaining when I said I wanted to keep part of the old ceiling framing to make a shelf. I wanted to do a nightlight feature up there, and it turns out to be one of Bowie's favorite things in the room! Flipping the switch... err... pressing the push-button switch lights up the shelf and casts a soft, dreamy glow across the ceiling. This was taken in the afternoon since at night, I just cannot get a decent picture of the light!

Next up... wire in the overly complicated ceiling fan, install / paint quarter-round, strip the salvaged door knobs and install, find the trim for the bottom of the doors that has been misplaced / paint / install, and begin painting furniture black.

Bowie's Room hits Prime Time!

2010-12-30T16:54:00.003-06:00

Priming is complete in Bowie's room! Of course, nothing ever goes as smoothly as you hope. First, we found that our fancy-shmancy power sprayer that we used once and packed away 3 years ago was not working. Steven made an emergency run to Home Depot and picked up a new one. After splatters and drips, he found that the extension wand he bought was not working. Finally, he was able to spray everything down with Kilz.

It actually took multiple coats of primer to get good coverage in the room. The walls are walnut planks that Steven salvaged from the hay loft of a barn being torn down. The gorgeous blade cuts made us swoon -- but the yellow cast seeping through the primer was just nasty looking. A few coats later, we have a nice white slate to apply our room color to. Since we haven't used the new Martha Stewart paint at Home Depot yet, we were not sure how forgiving the paint was... and we would be very upset if the yellow came through our top coat. Better safe than sorry.

Here you see 2 gallons of Salt Glaze, 1 gallon of Glass of Milk, and 1 gallon of Pure White mixed into flat enamel. (Home Depot was nice enough to mix the Martha Stewart color into Behr paint since MS doesn't have a flat enamel). The bottles are sprayer cleaner and some type of paint additive for the sprayer.

After days of sanding, caulking, cleaning and wood filling, we were ready for the big show! Bowie inspected Daddy's work before priming began. I must draw your attention to the windows... See all the paint on the panes? We did NOT do that. The previous owners were apparently not big on scraping paint off windows. Such an easy to fix eye sore -- why did they leave them like that?

Here is ceiling and big shelf that runs over the window all nice and primed. It is still drying here, but I cannot wait to see color go up!

Bowie checks out the bookcases. Steven took the shelves out to paint.

Here is the closet side of the room, to the right of the windows.

And the bookcase side, to the left of the windows.

Up next, a bit of sanding to catch the runs the sprayer left, and then spraying the ceiling our pretty pale cream color (Glass of Milk).

Bowie's Nursery... with a twist!

2010-12-30T14:51:00.004-06:00

Bowie's room is in the home stretch. Hey, it was only 4 years in the making, right? Steven is applying the final coat of primer as I type. But life likes to throw us a curve ball every now and then, right?

All along, my vision for Bowie's room was pale blue, with cream and brown accents. We bought a black lifetime crib ("Emma" by Munire from USA Baby) that converted into a full-size bed. I snatched up a vintage dresser and nightstand to paint black. We had a glider rocker custom upholstered in brown with pale blue piping. Slowly, Bowie's room has been taking shape...

Those who follow my tweets on Twitter know we recently found out we are expecting a new baby. We hoped and prayed for a baby girl. In my excitement (denial), I bought all things pink. Liberty of London dresses, little pink crochet hats with giant floppy gerber daisies, pink wellies... It was a sickness, really.

My vision for the Baby Girl room was really coming together. We bought a non-dropside Jenny Lind crib with a Babies R Us coupon. We ordered the most gorgeous orange and yellow giraffe bedding from Rikshaw Design. I was painting test swatches of pink paint on the walls.

Baby Girl's Room was shaping up to look like this:

Alas, we went to our big ultrasound appointment. I informed the tech that if this was the wrong kind of baby, Steven was in big trouble. (He may or may not have been wearing a cup.) A quick pass over my tummy and, bam! Before the tech could even declare, "It's a boy!" we saw it ourselves plan as day. Let's just say this kid was not a bit shy that day.

Don't worry about Steven. I didn't kick him in the junk as I originally threatened. I admit, he did stub his toe that night and I told him it was karma. He got off lucky, folks.

I decided that with all the rooms in progress upstairs, it made the most sense to have Baby Boy #5 shake up with Bowie. Emery keeps his loft room. Dane and Satchel share the other large room. This meant the orange crib bedding was now wildly clashing with the blue and brown scheme. Hmm... Back to the drawing board.

Now I am seeing this:

Instead of the full-size bed, Bowie will get a twin. The room is really not big enough for two twin beds in the future. When the baby outgrows his crib, we will either do a trundle or a bunk bed.

Instead of the blue and brown star bedding, I ordered Bowie some blue and orange robot bedding from Land of Nod. He loves robots, so it really is a bonus for him.

The paint colors are staying the same. Pale blue (salt glaze) on the walls, pale cream (glass of milk) on the ceiling, and pure white on the trim.

We still have the brown glider rocker to deal with... I am really not sure where that is going to land since it will clash with the room... (taking suggestions on that one!)

Poor Steven has quite a honey-do list going, since I cannot help with the painting:

prime entire room with power sprayer
paint ceiling "Glass of Milk"
paint walls "Salt Glaze"
paint trim and bookcases "Pure White"
do any touch-ups
pull up drop cloth and pray nothing got through to the floor
install switch plates
install ceiling fan
paint furniture "Francesca"
hang artwork
bring up all cool stuff we bought and have stored in basement

In progress pictures coming soon...

oh, we've been busy....

2010-10-01T20:48:00.004-05:00

Although I have not had a chance to do much in the way of blog (*cough*sorryaboutthat*cough*)... we have been busy at the Stone Cottage as usual.

We finished painting, staining and shellacking the shelves for the records. And started the tedious process of alphabetizing our collection... still not done...

Speaking for staining and shellacking. To get the stain color right, we had to take a piece of the old trim in to Sherwin Williams and had a color custom mixed. To get the yellow aged look of the shellac, we used Amber Shellac. And it is a super close match to the existing woodwork. Woot! Note: 3 year old Bowie loves Halloween and decorated the mantle all by himself. Future Design Star? Maybe not.

I wasn't digging the Ikea sconces we had put up. They looked too small for the giant fireplace. So I searched and searched for something that blended the line between modern and historic... and found these... I really think they look like a modern Edison-style fixture. And are a more suited to the scale of the fireplace, I think.

I did two coats of ebony stain on Bowie's floor, and a couple coats of clear matte polyurethane. Steven has the floor covered up and we are ready to spray the room down with primer! (Almost done!!!)

In the boys' bathroom, Steven finished the wiring. When I say wiring, I mean he had to install new outlets and fixture boxes, then run electrical from the second floor all the way down to the new breaker box in the basement. Sound like fun? Yeah... ask Steven how much he likes wiring right now!

I picked these plain (cheap) and I think, rather vintage looking, sconces from Home Depot for above the vintage medicine cabinet. Also, you can get a hint of the pale green paint in the bathroom. Think Vintage Spa!

And as if we did not have enough projects all ready... we started in on Emery's loft. See, Emery's room is much smaller than the other two bedrooms upstairs. We decided to give him some more space by tearing out the ceiling and creating a loft in the attic space.

First we had to deal with a strange boxed in area to the right of his windows. This boxed in corner was covering up the portion of the stairway that extends into his room. We decided to create bookcases and cabinet on either side of the window to conceal it. On the right side, the cabinets are not functional (since the stairway is behind it). On the left side, the doors swing open for use as a desk. Between the bookcases, there is a storage bench that I plan to upholster a comfy pillow for.

Looking up, you will see we tore out the ceiling. We extended the floor of the attic out a bit to create a "lip" for the loft... this is to give a bit more space and create an area for the ladder to go. (We are planning to use a built-in industrial ladder for loft access).

In the loft, to the right is an area that we plan to put a nightstand and a few small furnishings in. In order to tie in with the plaster walls below, I chose to use regular old house siding. After Steven redid the insulation, of course. It would be impossible to get drywall to look like ancient plaster... and this draws the eye up, I think. There will be trim separating the two where they meet.

This is the left side of the loft. Emery's bed will go on this side. The hole in the wall is where we are putting in access to the attic. (Someday we might need to get to all that electrical!) The boxed in part on the left is the chimney. I would have liked to put the sconce there, but there just was not enough room. It will be going over the attic access.

Here is the view from the loft... We scored antique balcony railing to use for the loft... can't have kiddos trying to parachute their way down or something. (Heaven knows they would try... boys!)

So, there is a little tour of our chaos. Once we get some projects buttoned up, I will be able to post some before and afters... until then, it is time to get messy with some paint!

sewing curtains for the Airstream

2010-08-06T22:34:00.005-05:00

I thought I would share a quick guide on sewing curtains for the Airstream. Browsing around the Airstream forums, many people seem a bit intimidated by the process of sewing curtains. It is actually quite easy, although a bit time-consuming. But, with some simple tools, you can whip up some nice new curtains and save some cash!

First things first, pick out some fabric. As I posted earlier, I wanted something that screamed "Flower Power!" and matched our Tiffany Box Blue interior. We needed 10 yards for our curtains since the fabric I chose was a 45" wide bolt. For linings, I found some super-cheap white muslin.

I measured out all the old curtains. I added two inches for the top and bottom, and one inch per side for seam allowances. To make sure my curtains were shaped like a rectangle and not a rhombus, I like to cut my fabric using a self-healing cutting mat and rotary cutter. You can find a three piece set (includes the handy ruler) in the quilting section of the craft store.

After cutting your curtain and liner fabrics to size, I like to press my seams. Some people skip this step and rely only on pinning, but pressing everything flat gives a nice crisp edge and makes it easier to sew and put in the eyelets later.

After I press all my folds, I put in the eyelets. (If you choose to put in eyelets, you have to do so before sewing the bottom edge down). The old curtains in my Airstream simply had the pointed curtains hooks poked into the fabric. The curtain hooks have sharp points that easily tear through the fabric, but I think putting an eyelet in is a nicer touch. You can pick up a grommet tool and bag of eyelets very inexpensively. The first step is using the tool to create a small hole in the fabric, much like a hole punch. I used the same 4" increments that my old curtains had.

Next, you thread the eyelet into the hole and use the tool to crimp it down. It gives a professional look, I think.

Next, just sew down all your edges. I fold the sides over twice to hide any rough edges (see picture below). I pin everything in place to keep everything tidy as I sew.

This is a time consuming process. I like to set up a folding table in the living room so that I can watch a movie while I work... it passes the time. On this night, I was watching Pretty In Pink.

The final step is to secure the little rings at the bottom of the curtains. My Airstream had fishing line run across the bottom of the windows to hold the curtains down. (I think plain white cord might be a nicer touch). I simply hand stitched these on in the same 4" increments as the eyelets.

And, voila, you are ready to hang your new curtains.

I think they look really sweet when all bunched up to the side. I like to let the sunlight in! You could use a light-blocking material, but I really like the look of light streaming in. I also think the curtains look really nice with the newly painted cornices!

Whew! One down... seven to go!

color scheme for the Airstream

2010-07-31T19:05:00.003-05:00

With all my design-related projects, I always create a project board (or mood board) to help me visualize. I find it helpful to have a plan of action when selecting paints, fabrics and such... it also saves from making expensive mistakes! Our Airstream project also required some design planning.

Our Airstream has the "International" trim package. This gave us a really pretty color scheme to work with. The bathroom is a perfect "Tiffany Box Blue." (Of course, the aqua and turquoise are what sealed the deal for me!)

I tested all my paint and fabric choices against the kitchen counter and the bathroom shower walls. All my color choices had to not only match the color scheme, but the retro feel. I felt everything should have the "Flower Power" feel.

paint, laminate and vinyl swatches against the kitchen counter

I purchased fabrics for the curtains and throw pillows from my favorite fabric store, Sarah's Fabrics, in Lawrence, Kansas. For the curtains, I will use "Bloom & Grow" by Mind's Eye (far right). For the throw pillows, two prints from "My Happy Garden" by Cloud9 Fabrics, and "Spa" by Rosemarie Lavin (left to right).

The dinette table is a "wood" laminate. I am not wild about fake plastic wood. I chose a very retro "Aqua Boomerang" by Formica. We will bind the edges with silver chrome.

For the floor, I chose Azrock's Cortina tile squares in "Spearmint." This will be used throughout the camper as I want kid-friendly clean-up!

For the cabinetry, I chose Martha Stewart's "Vintage Map." For the built-in beds / sofas, I chose "Chamois Cloth." (Both of these are from the discontinued line at Lowe's, but you might be able to have them mix them.)

I also started purchasing vintage accessories for Eleanor... turquoise melamine dishes, canisters, etc. I honestly cannot wait to go camping!

Our new addition: Eleanor

2010-07-30T21:40:00.004-05:00

As if we didn't already have a *few* projects going on, we now have another. This one is a bit more recreational. With our crew of boys, I thought it would be fun to go camping. I commented to Steven about how pretty I thought Airstream campers are. Quicker than you could say "have-you-lost-your-mind?" we were perusing Craigslist for vintage Airstreams. (Craigslist for the win!)

And here is what followed us home. Literally. Meet "Eleanor." Our 1967 Airstream Safari.

Immediately, I started working on the details. Ripping up the grubby carpet, painting the dingy-white cabinets, new upholstery... It is all in the works. And I swear this will be a quick project. Just a small one. And we will camp really soon. Really!

Emery and Satchel helped me with the cleaning. Emery armed with a shop vac and Satchel with a sponge and cleaner, we got her cleaned from top to bottom. The orange curtains and lime green cushions? Not staying.

The grungy (not original) carpet was ripped out as well as the (not original) vinyl in the bathroom.

All ready for priming!

All clear on this side, too.

The only part I find really scary: the bathroom. Maybe I will make Steven do this part!

subway tile and mosaic tile at last!

2010-07-30T21:24:00.003-05:00

Quite a bit of progress has been made in the boys' bathroom. We have a floor! Yes, a lovely, finished floor! And a toilet! I under-estimated how unpleasant it would be to share my toilet with four little boys... but I digress...

Keeping in mind the the tiles have to be scrubbed and sealed, here is where we are so far.

After a lot of work, the shower is complete. (This involved pouring a base, forming up sides, rubber membrane, mesh, plastic form thingies, more concrete... I am sure I forgot something in that list. Maybe I am just blocking it out. Sort of like how they say women forget the pain of childbirth?)

I wanted the new bathroom to fit the rest of our 100+ year old house. The mosaic tiles definitely give a vintage feel, but I added little black racing stripes for a fun little zip. A little sealer, and the snow white grout will hopefully stay, well... snow white.

Would you expect anything but subway tiles from me? Again, a little racing stripe to add a bit of interest.

The drywall is sanded, primed and ready for paint. Here is a sneak of the color I chose. It looks a bit washed out with the flash, but it is a pale green. The medicine cabinet is vintage from our local Habitat ReStore.

Next up, cutting out the holes for the ceiling fixtures, painting, installing the wall-mount sink and wall-mount shower. Oh, and trim and baseboards. And curtain hardware. And painting the antique cabinet.

I guess there is still quite a bit to do!

fireplace re-do part seven: ready for stain

2010-07-12T18:27:00.000-05:00

The fireplace is ready for staining! Steven finished all the painting. (Everything looks quite nice in our creamy white paint). I cannot even believe this is the same fireplace. I think the before and after for the finished product will be quite dramatic!

After running through several packages of sandpaper, the wood is ready to be conditioned, stained and sealed.

The brick of the fireplace was not intended to be visible... whoever laid the bricks slopped mortar everywhere. It was oozing through the bricks. Steven spent a lot of time with the grinder cleaning it up. The Dremel wouldn't even make a dent in it. He actually had to take our grinder to it... It was pretty crazy! He had to set up a board in the living room to keep the sparks contained. Our living room was coated in dust, so it was a pretty messy ordeal. But, a couple coats of primer and paint later, and we have this lovely brick fireplace:

Of course, every project we embark on hits a snag. The woodwork in our living room doesn't match. It has all aged differently... The doors and trim have gotten a lot of sunlight of the years and have faded to a medium brown:

While the beams on the ceiling, and the trim around the windows have remained a deep red-brown:

So we are doing a few different test pieces for comparison. I think that the pocket door is the biggest area of woodwork and the doors are nearest the fireplace, so we should match those. We will try 3 different options: a deep red, a medium brown, and a medium brown mix with red.

Old houses keep us creative, right?

half-way point in the boys' bathroom

2010-07-10T16:39:00.005-05:00

In newer homes, re-doing the bathroom might mean a fresh coat of paint. A new shower curtain. Maybe if you are feeling brave, a some new faucets. (Lucky!)

In old homes, re-doing the bathroom might mean:

Demolition. (Shown in http://cottageofstone.blogspot.com/2010/05/boys-bathroom.html).

Fixing ducting:

Repairing joists and subflooring:

Replacing corroded, leaking old plumbing:

Adding framing to sturdy-up flimsy walls:

Hand new sheet rock and run new electrical to replace knob and tube wiring:

Hang new green board and install cement board for the floor:

And here is where our boys' bathroom is, as of today... Drywall mudded, sanded and ready of primer. Toilet installed (to get the boys out of my bathroom!). First layer of concrete down for the shower floor curing:

Next, the backerboard for the shower wall tile will be installed. A rubber membrane will be installed for the shower floor. More concrete for the shower floor to be poured... eventually tiling will begin.

Stay tuned!

bowie's new (old) floor

2010-07-10T16:23:00.003-05:00

I think every owner of an older home knows about the "hardwood floor dance." The hardwood floor dance occurs at a very special time... You begin by pulling up a corner of nasty, stained, musty carpeting. You get a little peek of wooden loveliness under it. You do a preliminary squeal of joy. It is a bit precautionary at this point. You are not sure what lurks beneath the rest of the carpet. After hour upon hour of pulling up gross carpeting and pad, and removing tack strips and staples with a pair of vise gripes and a flat head screwdriver, you finally get to see the big picture. Hopefully the floor revealed is under repairable condition... This is when you bust out the "hardwood floor dance."

Enjoy the "hardwood floor dance" while you can. Because soon, the realization of more hours of hard work sets in. This begins the "dust everywhere from sanding" and "sore knees from crawling around the floor with a paint brush" phases.

In Bowie's room, I am now one coat of matte-finish polyurethane away from a finished floor. (JOY!!!)

While planning the color scheme for Bowie's room, I knew right away I wanted to do a dark floor. I think Steven might have died a little on the inside when I picked the "Ebony" stain from Home Depot. In my mind, I see pale blue walls and a deep, dark floor. Steven wasn't on board with the idea. And while the stain was wet, it was VERY VERY DARK. But after two coats of stain, I got the rich, deep color I wanted, yet you can still see the grain of the wood. I also got a nice patina-look due to the variation of the oak. It doesn't look like a fresh, new floor. It looks like it could have been original to the house, if they did actually have ebony stain in the early 1900s. Which they did not.

Freshly sanded and scrubbed with TSP-substitute:

Two coats of Ebony oil-based stain and two coats of matte polyurethane later:

It is a difficult floor to photograph, but in person is quite lovely. One more coat of poly, and some time to dry, and I will begin covering the floor with protective butcher paper for the priming of the walls!

the boy's bathroom

2010-05-31T19:54:00.003-05:00

I mentioned in a previous post that I like to show the entire storyline of a project. I give the good, the bad and the ugly. Be prepared for a whole lot of ugly. I consider it all part of the journey in buying and renovating an old home.

You have to have very realistic expectations with older homes. We were lucky with our home in that the stonework on the outside was drop-dead gorgeous. We also had the original woddwork throughout. But that is about where the fairytale ended. Inside, everything was ugly, ugly, ugly. The new home people have an easier job with before and afters. A little bit of paint, and they are good to go.

Old homes? We require months of plaster, electrical, painting, staining, screaming, praying, etc. But the finished product is hopefully worth the work. And we get a bigger sense of pride in a job well done, right?

(This is what we tell ourselves so we don't give up, curl into a little ball and cry.)

Like I said before, get ready for a whole lot of ugly...

The upstairs bathroom is shared by the three oldest boys. The youngest is still taking baths in our bathroom, but the rest like showers. For awhile, we ignored the ugliness of the bathroom. As long as it was functioning, it was not a high priority project.

Now?

Houston... we have a problem...

The bathroom is having some plumbing issues. Somewhere, water was leaking down into the kitchen ceiling. (The previous owners, instead of fixing the issue, drywalled over the damaged plaster in the kitchen). The water was coming through the ceiling and down our cabinets. Not good. We had to act now before we were facing un-repairable damage.

Let's take a short tour...

Behind this door lurks something scary...

Opening the door...

A rusty medicine cabinet. Burgundy-mauve sink.

A matching tub...

Floor to ceiling tile, complete with roses! Just what boys really like!
And a poorly constructed linen closet.

The only part I like is the old-school shower rod that hangs from the ceiling.

This room has officially been tore out. Gutted. Steven began work on the plumbing this week and has found some very serious issues. Of course, the project is not as simple as we hoped it would be. He has to remove a great deal of old corroded plumbing.

And I should add that I underestimated how fun it would be to share my bathroom with 4 little boys. Yuck.

The boys, however, are excited about their new bathroom project. Everything has been purchased and is awaiting installation... once Daddy gets all that plumbing figured out. We are prepared to hear a lot of colorful language over the next week. Yikes!

fireplace re-do part six: the problem with the sconces

2010-05-31T19:35:00.004-05:00

I am happy to report that the work is closing on the fireplace re-do. Steven has finished painting the wood. He is getting ready to clean up the bricks & mortar, which entails a lot of quality time with a grinder and flap wheel. Once that is all smoothed out, he can prime and paint to match the wood. After that, just staining remains.

He finished the wiring, added outlets for electrical, cable and HDMI, as well as installing the sconces.

The sconces... ugh. Now, don't get me wrong. I LOVE the sconces. They look rather lovely here:

The troubles don't start until we light them up... Don't see the problem?

How about a close up? Right one:

Left one:

Apparently, some of the sconces have flowers etched into the globe, and some don't. I didn't realize this when I bought them. The problem is, I got them from IKEA when I was on a project in Sacramento. My assignment now is no where near an IKEA. The closest one to my house is in Chicago. (I live in Kansas).

Yeah. We are kind of hosed. If anyone is going to IKEA and could pick up another sconce (with the floral etched shade), I would be happy to Paypal you!!!

Until then, we have mismatched sconces, which is sort of a bummer.

fireplace re-do part five: TV cubby and cabinet doors

2010-05-12T16:06:00.005-05:00

The construction phase of the living room is complete! Now we have a ton of sanding, painting, staining and wiring. (With just a smidge of plaster and trim repair).

We put the TV in for a test fit, and I couldn't resist snapping a picture... Sorry the lamp is blocking the right-hand side. It is chaos now, trying to keep the new furniture from being covered in sawdust and paint. The TV fits snug as a bug:

We used a tilting mount bracket for the flat panel TV, so we can fine-tune the viewing angle later on. It really is a big fireplace -- look how it dwarfs that step ladder!

Also, the doors were built and installed on the cabinets. (Note that the ice box latches have not been installed yet. We were just fitting everything up. We have to take them off anyway to paint).
Since the doors don't have a solid center to keep them sturdy, we will need to work a bit harder to keep our doors square. Even just the added weight of the paint can send them crooked. We will be installed some magnets to help, but we expect that we might need to make minor adjustments in the future. We are willing to accept the trade-off since we want remotes to work for the components we will store inside.

About that screen material... I have gotten a few questions about the metal material on the doors. The pieces are flat aluminum panels -- they are sold in varying sizes but plan to cut them down dor a custom look. I bought them at Home Depot, they are sold at a few places online. (Google: Steelmaster aluminum sheets.) We picked the pattern called "Lincane" since it looks like old speaker grill. They have a few other really nice patterns as well. We chose black, but it also comes in brass and nickel.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xjl/R-100249610/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Here is an inside shot of a door. The doors are simply mitered 1 x 2s.

I picked up a sample of the new wall color today. It's one of the new Martha Stewart colors at Home Depot. I can't wait to check out the quality of the paint. Added bonus: it's low-VOC paint!

fireplace re-do part four: the chunky mantel

2010-05-06T19:04:00.007-05:00

I couldn't help myself... I just had to see what the shelves and fireplace would look like with some paint. So, after taping the shelves (they will be stained), we slapped a coat of Kilz primer and two coats of Benjamin Moore's "Collection's Item" on the record shelves. The color is a bit more creamy than the picture shows. More like the back of the cabinet color. I really like the color and am eager to see the project done!

In the last post, you saw the framing go up. Next the OSB went up:

And then tongue-and-groove pine planks. With the custom cabinets and shelves, the tongue-and-groove is a bit dressier than sheets of beadboard paneling. I can't afford to do a whole room in it, but just a fireplace is within the budget:

For a finishing touch, we chose 1x2s to cover the seams all the way around:

The mantel is much more chunky now! More layers of molding were added until we got the beefcake look that we wanted:

And here is where we are at now:

Next up, cabinet doors, finishing the TV built-in, pointing the grout and paint-a-rama.

fireplace re-do part three: record shelves

2010-04-30T13:00:00.005-05:00

Some bloggers chose to reveal the project at the very end with a big TA - DA!!! But because we believe in DIY and showing how you can tackle things, I like to show incremental progress.

That said, here is where the living room fireplace is now:

The record cases are installed on top of the cabinet. (Each shelf holds 150 records, times 12 shelves.) The mantel work has begun. And the framing for the chimney is started. (The rectangle in the middle is where the TV will go).

We had theorized that the beams looked like they were detaching from the ceiling... this proved to be true. The beams were reattached and a few missing trim pieces will be replaced:

The top of the record case will be trimmed out a bit. The top was notched out to accomodate our existing crown molding. This will look so nice when finished out. I decided to stain all the shelves and paint the rest:

Here is the beginning of the mantel. This mantel is being built up in layers with different decorative molding pieces. It has a ways to go, but I think it will look great when done. It will actually get a few more layers. I decided a big chunky mantel was needed since the chimney was so tall. A small mantel wouldn't have stood out:

Next up, making the cabinet doors. We will be using 1 x 2s and some decorative metal sheets. Instead of knobs, I ordered ice box latches for a period look.

The top of the chimney will be covered in planks, TV bracket installed, wiring ran, sconces installed, wood filling, sanding, painting, etc etc etc...

Stay tuned...

fireplace re-do part two: custom cabinets

2010-04-18T11:11:00.005-05:00

For the fireplace, I know vaguely what I want... Cabinets to store components in, as well as board games and such. Shelves that go all the way to the ceiling for our record collection. Cleaning up and painting the brickwork. Creating a mantle. Boxing in the chimney with planks, and creating a built-in for the flat panel TV.

I didn't do any detailed drawings. I wasn't sure how the angles and lines would come together... so we are flying by the seat of our pants on this one.

This is the space for the cabinet and shelves:

Yesterday, the cabinet was built. Stock cabinets at the hardware store didn't have the right dimensions, and we didn't want to have to cobble something together. Custom was the only way to go, in this case. My requirements were simple -- it couldn't have a toekick, because early cabinets went straight to the floor without a kick space. It needed to include two functional vents (just like we did in Bowie's room), since there was an existing vent there.

So here is what we have so far: (Obviously, doors are yet to come).

To make the shelves a bit chunkier, decorative molding was added:

I really am a sucker for a mitered corner. The counter of the cabinet wraps around into the fireplace. It makes for a nice finishing touch:

I ordered icebox latches for the doors. Also, the doors will not be solid wood. Since we are using the space for components and will want the remotes to work, I chose decorative metal screens for the centers of the doors.

I plan on painting the cabinet the same color as the fireplace bricks and staining the counter top to much the trim in living room.

Pottery Barn tables... for half the price!

2010-04-15T13:44:00.003-05:00

With the fireplace work in full swing, demo and dust everywhere... it is the perfect time to buy furniture, right?

Let's just say I get a little impatient.

I am on the look out for accent chairs -- preferably in the pink persuasion... But am still honing in. Our new Chloe sofas should be arriving this weekend. But what I really wanted to share with you is another bargain find!

This is the "Rhys Side Table" from Pottery Barn, for $399:

I ordered the "Norwich Two Drawer Side Table" from Overstock for $182.99:

Two tables for the price of one? Hells yeah! Also, Overstock has knock offs of the media, console and coffee tables. After assembling them, and having to move them around, Steven can assure you they are heavy duty! Very heavy. After studying the ones at PB and these, the only difference I see if the little label holder on the PB ones. And you can pick up label holders for a couple bucks online.

fireplace re-do part one

2010-04-13T15:18:00.001-05:00

We are all about child labor here at the Cottage of Stone. When you find adult contractors that will work for milk and cookies, let us know!

Seriously, our kids actually ask to help out on our house projects, so we try to include them whenever we can. Because Bowie's room and the dining room are half-way done, I felt it was a logical time to start tearing apart the living room again. (What!?!) I don't know... I just get brilliant ideas that don't always follow a great timeline...

Since Bowie (and his crib, toys, chairs, etc) will be vacating the living room soon, I wanted to take the opportunity to get the living room presentable. Nothing like having to apologize to guests every time someone new comes over. (Sorry about the mess, we are renovating every single room in our house at the same time!!!)

We knew that we wanted to put shelves in the living room to organize our large vinyl record collection. And the fireplace has been sitting half-way demoed for over a year. So it was time to kick it in gear again.

Here is what we started with:

I never understood why they put up the ugly paneled wall. So much space wasted. And I do not miss the lighthouse wallpaper!

Pulling out the boxed-in wall and cheap-o mantel (we put it for free on Craigslist) and some paint left us with this:

I am not a fan of the brass doors. So out they came:

Looking better, but we are not even close yet...

Cleaning out the ashes and grates revealed a neat trapdoor in the fireplace. This dumps down to the massive clean-out in the basement.

We wanted to salvage the granite and donate it to Habitat ReStore, but it wouldn't come off in one piece. Steven had to pry it off in pieces.

Emery helped Steven remove the side pieces.

I think even this is a massive improvement!

Next comes up the floor piece. Steven used a prybar...

While I used a hammer to break it up...

Which left us with this:

Which will lead to some of this:

Stay tuned!

construction is complete in Bowie's room...

2010-04-12T14:15:00.004-05:00

View from Bowie's window

Springtime is here at the Cottage of Stone, and more items are getting crossed off Steven's honey-do list. (Of course, new ones are being added daily!) Great progress has been made in Bowie's room since the last update. In fact, construction has been completed! While there is a long list of things remaining to be done in his room, the walls and ceiling are finished!

Let's take a tour!

When asked what his favorite thing in his room was, Bowie said, "Mine!" I think he means he loves it all. But he did point up and say, "Shelf!" when asked again. I think the shelf really made the room. Really, it is part of the old ceiling framing that we kept in place. (It shows how much we raised the ceiling!) We added an outlet on top of the shelf that will be used for lighting.

This is the closet we kept. It is a very large closet, so Bowie will have plenty of room for his ever-expanding wardrobe.

A peak at the ceiling above his shelf. I love the beam work. I think it will look even better after we paint!

Bowie's second favorite thing is the bookcase wall. He already likes to arrange his toys on the shelves. I like that these will grow along with him, giving him space for books and such later on.

The yellow cable hanging down is the electrical for his gyro ceiling fan. I am ordering the sloped ceiling adapter and longer downrod this week. And Steven has some thinking to do on how he plans to hide the modern control unit. We feel it would ruin the look of the room and want to rely on the pushbutton switches for the lighting in the room.

And another shot of the view from Bowie's window. I didn't Photoshop or retouch this photo at all. I guess it was the natural lighting (2:00 here) that gave it the dreamy pastel tones. So pretty.

the sky is not falling in... the ceiling is nearly done!

2010-03-30T14:30:00.003-05:00

Whew! Construction for Bowie's room is nearly complete. (Then begins all the trimwork and painting... a whole new ball of wax!)

The ceiling has been framed. A structure was put in place for the corrugated metal to be screwed to. The origami ceiling was divided into three triangles.

Next, the (non-load bearing) beams and corrugated went up. All the angles made for interesting times... and for the record -- a compound miter saw alone doesn't cut it. Oh, Home Depot Fairy... please bring us a sliding compound saw!

Just a small section of the ceiling remains to be completed. Here you can see where the three triangles meet the tippy-top of the tall wall. Inside the triangles, more beams are added to cover the seams of the corrugated.

We have to do a bit of finishing work yet... the edges where the corrugated meets the beadboard and plank walls needs to be covered. But really, just another day of "construction" to do before we can start trimwork. Oh, and running the electricity up to his room...

Bowie already loves hanging out in his room. We are certain he will love the finished product.

four! four bookcases! ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!

2010-03-12T16:03:00.002-06:00

Since the two bookcases looked so nice in Bowie's room, we decided to add two more. I always pictured a full wall of bookcases anyway. So, another bookcase was added on either side of the first two. Due to the slope of the ceiling, these had to be a wee bit shorter.

I love the way the beadboard looks on the inside. It is a nice detail.

Next up... tackling the nightmare origami ceiling! This weekend, framing will begin to support the corrugated metal that will be installed.

Bowie was so excited when his ceiling fan arrived. He wanted to open the box right away. I think it is very encouraging that he wants to spend so much time in his new room, even if it does look like a war zone in there!

actual progress! Bowie's nursery almost finished...

2010-02-16T15:00:00.003-06:00

It started like this... This war zone was the Ground Zero of our little man's nursery. This is one of the short side walls. Each side wall looked the same - both had closets. We decided to keep this one, and turn the other closet into a bookcase (more on that later...)

We tore out the ceiling and I thought, "Why not take his ceiling all the way up?" Yeah. It was a huge project. The whole room has been a victim of what we project managers call "Scope Creep." But, I think it will be worth it.

So Steven built up the wall with studs and insulated the whole room. He re-wired everything, getting rid of the knob and tube. We planned out new outlets, cable, phone, etc.

The black felt paper went up to act as a moisture barrier, so it provides insultation. But most importantly, it will prevent light from showing through the gaps in the wood that went up on the walls.
Ahhh.... the wood. You know those highway projects where they have to tear down old houses and barns to make way for the new highway? We began salvaging materials from these projects... Not only is this the best sort of recycling, but it adds tons of character. Bowie's walls are covered in walnut planks from an old barn's hay loft. We have no idea how old the barn was, but the planks have saw marks on it from the tractor blade used to cut it.

We like to think that someday, Bowie will appreciate the character and daydream about all the horses that might have lived in that barn.

The sidewalls, and the little weird angles in the corners, were covered with beadboard. I think it gives a nice contrast to the rustic-rough walnut planks. This used to be a closet...

But now, it's a custom built-in! Two arch-top bookcases were built especially for Mr. BoBo's toys. He already put some of his favorite trucks on them. We like the way these turned out, so we are thinking about adding two more! The floor vents are functional. We decided to incorporate the HVAC vents into the design of the bookcases. The vent covers will be painted black.

A close-up of the bookcase. The angle comes from the roof line of the house. We think it will provide a cozy spot for Bowie's elephant collection.

And here is the closet we kept.

The ceiling is up next, and it will be a bear. It will be covered in corrugated steel with decorative wood beams.

The walls will be pale blue, the ceiling creamy white, the trim white. All outlets and fixtures will be matte black. The hardwood floor will be redone in ebony stain.

So much work, but we are in the home stretch!! (Hey, the project has only taken 3 years!)

Look at that ceiling... all those angles are like origami! I am sure there will be some choice words uttered with that project...

the perfect baby boy blue

2010-02-16T14:47:00.005-06:00

I am super picky about my paint colors. I am always painstakingly looking for the "just right" blend of cream and white. Or the "not Pepto" pale pink. For Bowie's room, I needed the perfect baby boy blue. Not a pastel blue, but a pale blue with the perfect tinge of gray to keep it from being "too precious."

I think I found it. Through Trial and Error, of course. Paint swatches in the store? They are flat out liars, I tell you. You will find a dreamy dreamy color, buy a quart just to be sure, you paint the patch on your wall and... UGH! It is too bright. Too purple. Too sky blue.

It happens. I admit it. Those little paint chips are just too small to make an informed decision. But I did manage to find what, is in my opinion, the just right color for our little Bowie Morgan's walls.

Here is the first batch of colors that I tried out. These are in natural sunlight. Top left is Behr's Velvet Sky, which at night with the lights on looks purple. Top right is Disney / Behr's Blustery Day. At night, it looked bright sky blue. Bottom Right is Valspar's Tsunami Sky. At night, pale gray. The only color I am using is bottom left, Behr's Cream White. Cream White will be his ceiling color.

Now for some winners... These are all Ralph Lauren... Top left, Beach Water. Top right, Organza. Bottom, Spa. In this picture, Spa looks very bright, but in the room, it is actually pretty subdued. The Organza, which looks just right in the picture is actually pale barely-there.

It is really between Beach Water and Spa... Leaning toward Spa because Beach Water has a tinge of green, which is gorgeous, but I am looking for blue.

I will be checking the colors out tonight with the lights on to make a final decision. :)

and... decorating for the holidays in the bedroom

2010-01-03T21:31:00.002-06:00

Steven suprised me with a little holiday cheer in the bedroom. Work has been taxing lately, and it was a happy surprise!

This is the built-in dresser in our bedroom. He cleared off all his usual books and whatnot and added the little pink tree the boys helped me decorate.

I picked up this little pins from Etsy. I thought they looked cute under the tree, but can't wait to leave them up year-round.

I love the gumdrop garland on the tree!

Don't you love genuine patina?

And another of Steven's radios. He is getting quite a collection going. :)

a (belated) holiday post

2010-01-03T21:20:00.003-06:00

It was a white Christmas at the Cottage of Stone... we got a ton of snow! We were quite happy to have gotten all those wreathes hung before the snow hit. (And Steven did the lights on a semi-warm afternoon.)

I had a great time this year making my own gift tags out of sacks I had lying around. The Victoria's Secret bags made especially pretty tags.

When the tree was lit up at night, the living room was bathed in beautiful pink light.

Steven's mother joined us for Christmas. Even though the dining room is still in chaos, I tried to make it festive. I did the table in cream, silver and hot pink. So much food!!!!

Even little pup Tess joined in the fun in her pink Santa dress.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

Dining room pictures coming soon.

the just-right fabric for living room pillows

2009-12-04T10:24:00.003-06:00

I agonized over the just-right fabric for the living room pillows. I even bought some dishtowels at Anthropologie that I was all set to butcher into pillows... But it wasn't until now that I found the perfect print. I wanted lovely pinks,tans and greens, pastel but muted and not too bright.

I was so pleased when my package arrived from purlsoho with my new Alexander Henry fabrics.

a little something (someone) under the tree

2009-12-01T20:14:00.004-06:00

I decided I wanted a new Christmas tree this year. I really thought about getting a pink tree... but with a million pink ornaments, I thought it might be too much. So I got mini pink trees for our bedroom, and a tall skinny tree (called "The Twiggy") for the living room. Steven is busy setting up the tree so we can decorate it Friday.

Steven also gave me an early Christmas present over our Thanksgiving holiday... I don't think it would have been wise to leave it wrapped up in a box for a month...

Meet Tess the Boston Terrier! She is 3 1/2 months old and a total sweetie. She is already almost pottytrained!! Smart puppy!

I know, I didn't *need* a puppy... but I really wanted another little dog we could keep inside and really.. the pretty pink sweaters don't come in 100 pound dog size!

I'm thankful for a visit from my family!

2009-11-24T22:31:00.003-06:00

I am happy to report that my family is going me in Denver for Thanksgiving. Steven is packing up the babies tomorrow and bringing them to Denver for a little mini-vacation. I can't wait!! We will be hitting museums and an Avalanche game.

It's a nice break for him... cuz when he's back home, he needs to whip that dining room. (A house full of guests at Christmas!!!)

It is amazing how quickly the weather changes in Kansas. It is already getting cold and we have had a dusting of snow. Just a couple weeks ago, I snapped these pictures:

Happy Thanksgiving!!! I can't wait to take turns going around the table and saying what we are thankful for.

Do you have any special traditions in your family?

pretty prints

2009-11-04T12:15:00.003-06:00

I just ordered this pretty print for my living room:
And, shhh! This is a Christmas gift for my son who loves hot air balloons:

Both are very affordable! See more at http://www.wearebrainstorm.com/

my new orange floral chair, with casters!!!

2009-11-02T21:24:00.003-06:00

It's mine! The Angelo: Home Harlow chair in Mango!

Slowly but surely, my living room is coming together. I had some delays as the chair I wanted was on backorder for so long. But, I kept in constant contact with the designer via Twitter, and was finally able to snag one today! Yippee! At under $300, it is much more affordable than the Anthropologie Astrid chair that I fell in love with.

You might remember this mock-up I posted earlier:

On the right, there is my Harlow chair. The large natural fiber rug shown came from Lowe's. It is a 9x12 Roth + Allen chenille-jute rug in natural. It's huge and way cheaper than Pottery Barn prices. The striped rug on top is a 4x6 kilim snagged on the cheap from Overstock.

Yet to come, our queen anne sofa to be slipcovered in drop cloth material - a big job. The artwork shown has been ordered (more on that later). Oh, and pillows are in progress. I also have 2 side chairs currently covered in Amy Butler that I will be redoing in the drop cloth material.

How I love the yellow curtains. They really brightened up the room. And tie in great with the new kilim!

Halloween with KISS!

2009-11-01T13:22:00.003-06:00

I thought I would post up some pictures of my boys Halloween night. We did a pretty great job decorating the house, if I do say so myself. Many of the littler kids were afraid to come up onto the porch!

This year, our boys went at KISS. Putting on that makeup was harder than I thought it would be!

L-R: Gene Simmons (Emery), Peter Criss (Dane) and Ace Frehley (Satchel)

Paul Stanley (Bowie) was too crabby to try makeup tonight.

A close-up of Gene. (Satchel actually does the big tongue thing better than Emery)

The boys won Best Group Costume at the Baldwin City Halloween contest! They let them sing a song into the mic. Emery was too shy, but Satch and Dane sang "I Was Made for Loving You" and "Calling Dr Love."

We had a dress rehearsal last week when we took the boys to the Damage Control grand opening. Here you can actually see Dane, I mean, Peter Criss's makeup. I ended up buying a better makeup for Ace's silver was way better Halloween night.

Hope everyone had a Happy & Safe Halloween!

Cincinnati Iron Fence Co / Stewart Iron Works

2009-10-30T10:33:00.001-05:00

I was on a quest to find out further information about Cincinnati Iron Fence Company. The cemetery iron historical sites gave mention to the company but listed them as having no corporate history available. I was afraid I had hit a dead end until I found a book in Google Books called “A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians Volume 2”bBy E. Polk Johnson, Lewis Publishing Company. In it, I found this tidbit:

“CLARENCE LeBus was born December 29 1862 near Oddville Harrison county Kentucky the second child in a family of seven children. His father Lewis Lebus born in Columbiana County Ohio came in 1855 at the age of twenty one years to Harrison County Kentucky where he demonstrated extraordinary business ability in amassing a large fortune partly in Kentucky and partly in California. His mother was Martha Cole Garnett Lebus eldest daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Garnett .

(snip)

While specializing in farming and tobacco trading Mr LeBus has other large business interests. For many years he was president of the Electric Light Company in Cynthiana. He has given considerable attention to banking being the chief promoter and organizer of the Harrison Deposit Bank Cynthiana the Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company Cincinnati and the Union Bank & Trust Company Lexington. In each of these banks, Mr LeBus is a director. He is president of the Cincinnati Iron Fence Company, a phenomenally successful enterprise and a stockholder in numerous other enterprises. However Mr. LeBus is best known by his career in the tobacco world. Notwithstanding the risks and hazards that have always beset the tobacco business he has been uniformly successful. A prominent Cincinnati tobacconist and warehouseman once said of him “Le Bus never loses his head nor any of his money.””

A guy in Kentucky is the president of a Cincinnati fence company? This made more sense when I found an article about safeguarding cemetery iron. It mentioned that Stewart Iron Works, a company still in business, was the biggest fence company and supplied products to many companies, including Cincinnati Iron Fence Company and Sears & Roebuck, who simply attached their plaque to the fences.

Jackpot! I immediately navigated to their site and was beyond thrilled to see OUR fence listed in their catalog! No way!

Their website includes this history:

More than 120 years ago brothers Richard C. and Wallace A Stewart formed the Stewart Iron Works Company. From their roots as Stewart family blacksmiths they began a company that would soon produce wrought iron fence and furniture for the entire country.
This company would become known as the "World's Largest Fencemaker" and in 1904 at the St. Louis World's Fair, it was awarded the Grand Prize and Gold Medal Merit for iron fencing and lawn furniture.

Mystery solved… and we will get a quote from them about replacement picket tops and maybe a few more posts. It will be way cheaper than having new ones cast from sand molds.

our gorgeous new (really old) fence

2009-10-29T22:16:00.008-05:00

Coming soon to the Cottage of Stone: ornamental wrought iron fencing!

We spotted this gorgeous fence on Craigslist. It seemed expensive, yet at $25 a foot - it was actually a great bargain. We picked up nearly 100 feet of this gorgeous fence. The plaque reveals it was made by Cincinnati Iron Fence Company. I can't find any historical information on the company, other than some catalogues that indicate they produced fences from the late nineteenth through early twentieth centuries.

Steven ranks this right below the barn wood salvaging as the second worst excursion I have sent him on. It was nearly a three hour drive each way to the property the fence was at. Then fence was set in concrete. Not just the posts - but a strip of concrete the entire fence line. The post anchors were not salvageable. But Steven and the property owner spent 4 1/2 hours with crow bars and sledge hammers removing the fence.

We have to get our fence permit.. and this is a Spring project anyway... I just couldn't wait to share. Next up, I would like to find some iron cresting for the dormers to tie in with the new fence.

little updates... send us happy thoughts!

2009-10-27T10:59:00.003-05:00

My 4-yr old Dane at Maple Leaf Festival... He is having surgery tomorrow - read more below...

Steven got a bit side-tracked on the dining room project... Winter is rolling in here, and the doggies outside say BRRRRR! We looked at premade doghouses, but they were all so cheap and small. We have 3 big dogs at this house. No wimpy house will do! So Steven decided to design and make a doghouse on his own. Of course, the house had to be *just right* and up to his standards.

I have to say, the dogs will be warm and are extremely spoiled. He has put insulation in the whole thing! And it looks like a smaller version of our place shape wise. No stones on the dog house. They get siding.

Soon you will see pictures of the lovely Cottage for Puppies. Until then, the dining room is on hold.

I do have progress made on the living room. The lovely CB2 black and white rug, that the cat promptly "marked" upon roll out will be moved into the dining room. I ordered a chenille-jute woven rug from Lowe's - exactly like the one at Pottery Barn but with a smaller price tag! A stripey kilim overlay from Overstock will add a punch of color, and tie in the yellow curtains to the pink and green. The most wanted item right now is a chair I have been waiting on for MONTHS to come back in stock. More on that when I score that bad boy.

Finally, those who follow my blog have heard about my 4 boys quite a bit. Dane, who is 4, is scheduled for minor surgery tomorrow. He has a big bump, which looks like a huge Adam's Apple but is really just a cyst, that is being removed. After an ultrasound and an MRI, they determined it is not connected to his thyroid. So pelase send happy thoughts our way tomorrow morning!

Dane gives a baby goat a hug at Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead

fall colors at the cottage of stone

2009-10-23T12:56:00.002-05:00

Last weekend was the Maple Leaf Festival in our sleepy little town. Thousand of visitors come here to tromp through leaf-covered brick streets, buy handmade crafts, eat yummy treats and take a spin in the street carnival.

Our boys mowed down some funnel cakes and turkey legs before hitting the whirling rides. Even the baby took a few spins!

I think our yard is even prettier this week as the trees are more colorful. I snapped a few pictures after taking my boys out to a (rare) mommy / son lunch.

Pumpkins line the slate sidewalk... They look pretty against the lavendar. You can almost make out the scary silhouettes in the front windows! Witches, bats and skeletons, oh my!

A bit wider shot. After Thanksgiving, the blue spruce on the far left will be decorated with white fairy lights.

This pretty girl isn't mine... But she is parked right out front. I thought she was even more pretty framed in bright yellow maple leaves. Some day, a Porsche will be mine. Oh yes, she will be mine! (But in black, not silver. Hey, I'm picky!)

buttery-yellow curtains in the living room

2009-10-18T13:27:00.002-05:00

I a real happy with how nice the living room is coming along. I think the buttery yellow curtains have brightened the room. And when the sunlight streams through the sheers, it is just gorgeous.

Here is a peak:

The yellow IKEA curtains and sheers against the khaki-sage wall color:

I still can't believe people thought we should paint the trim! The hardware is from Bed Bath & Beyond:

Our entire ceiling has these great beams. I will be painting the ceiling a pale creamy taupe when the fireplace is finished:
Speaking of fireplace... Steven was at Pottery Barn buying me a present (a McKenna jewelry box in pale blue), when he found these candleholders on sale. The candles he found at Kmart and they match the curtains perfectly. (He is learning quickly!!) He has the fireplace all decorated with candles and bones when I came home.

curtains in the living room to make a statement!

2009-10-12T18:41:00.005-05:00

Steven spent (most of the afternoon) Sunday hanging the living room curtains for me. While most people might not think hanging curtains should be a 3 hour event, I must tell you, when Steven does something, he does it right. He put up the hardware for three windows in the living room... which, I kid you not, required tape measures, levels, etc. Because if it was a 1/16th of an inch off, he would notice. It is nice having a perfectionist that makes sure things get done right.

Anyway... Ms Bagel Power, glorious blog reader, was kind enough to shop at Ikea for me and got all the curtains and sheers I needed for the living room and dining room. (Thanks again!) The living room curtains are up and they are lovely.

On my way out to Colorado, with me a safe distance from the house, Steven did admit he initially had concerns about the yellow curtains I picked out. He wasn't sure how the yellow would go with the sagey green walls. (Notice he said this AFTER I left Kansas?) But he quickly assured me that the curtains brighten up the room and he thinks they look great.

I did spend a lot of time pondering the living room curtains. I didn't want to do drop cloth curtains in there. I have a lot of neutral going on in the room, and really, I crave color! In my mind, the sagey walls were really just a neutral backdrop for the color I wanted to bring in. I didn't think they really register as a "color," so I wasn't too afraid about clashing.

My neutral living room walls are actually "Hazel Woods" by Ralph Lauren.

I will be making a drop cloth slipcover for the Queen Anne sofa. I think the casual slip will not only extend the life of the sofa (4 boys!), but also make it more laid back. Nothing screams comfort like Victorian, right? I will also be reupholstering the side chairs in drop cloth, and adding some pink accents... but more about that later...

I want to bring in some splashes of pink, and maybe just a bit of yellow, to go with the neutral sage and taupe. I decided to put together a quick photoshop of what it might look like... keep in mind, this photoshop was a quick and dirty, and is more than mildly dorky, so bear with me.

In case Steven ever loses his mind, I made the right half of the wall pale pink. I know this will never happen since the bedroom and dining room are already pink. The sage is here to stay a long time. There is the drop cloth Queen Anne (not so stuffy, right?) and some pink throw pillows. We picked up a chippy crackly plant stand from Good JuJu that will house my yellow-potted ferns. A new chenille-jute rug is definite. I am still on the lookout for a brighter rug to overlay. This kilim is super cheap on Overstock, but I'm not sold on it yet. I think the yellow Ikea curtains perk up the room. I will be collecting artwork here and there as well.

This B&W rug from CB2 will be moving into the dining room. It will work better with the pink and black.

The big hold up with the living room is the other half of the room. This is the side that we tore out a fake facade wall from. So we are left with a nasty looking leaning fireplace. I have plans to build floor to ceiling bookcases to the right of it. The chimney will be all boxed in, with a rustic mantle. I want to tile around the fireplace. Possibly mounting the flat panel TV above it. But we are still negotiating on that. ;)

Here is the fireplace wall right as we started demo. I find nothing attractive about the lighthouse wall paper. Which, by the way, was at ceiling AND chair rail heights. Double score!

Here is the fireplace after the wall came out. (Old framing, for the record, has 8 million nails in them.) We have been told that chimneys were sometimes built slanted like that to draw better. I just can't wait to cover it up!

I hope to put up a bunch of new pictures this weekend. It's just that with me in Denver, I have such limited time on weekends to blog!

dining room painting has commenced!

2009-10-06T23:17:00.004-05:00

While I am here in Denver, pulling my hair out over work and homework... Steven is painting the trim in the dining room. (Go, baby, go!) I started getting out the painting stuff on Saturday, but Steven stopped me on my one day home and said he promised he'd get it done this week. Isn't that sweet?

Anyway... I have been scouting out items for the dining room. We went to Good JuJu on Friday and *only* snagged a little metal basket for the dining room table. Don't cry for us too hard. We did buy an awesome antique farmtable for the kitchen.

I stopped by the Anthropologie in Park Meadows (Englewood, CO) and spotted these gorgeous little antiqued mercury vases for $18 a pop. They were so pretty, but I know they'd get broken if I tried throwing them in my checked luggage. So I am hoping the KC Anthro has them. They are not listed on the website, else I'd link a picture for you all. But I did find one going off on eBay, so here is their picture:

I also snagged a couple RCA dog ("Nipper") S&P shakers and such on eBay. You might remember, I have a pit bull for a service animal. Nipper has been rumored to be, at least part pit bull. He is also said to have served as a service animal. Nipper has a fabled past, but I love his story just the same. I think the B&W Nipper collectibles will look cute displayed in my pink and black dining room!

I received my curtains in the mail (thank you dear reader, bagelpower!!). So the room is coming together. Hopefully I will have more pictures for you this weekend!

How are your projects going?

And do you have any tips for cool stuff for my dining room?

ultimate old school... ice box conversions

2009-09-29T11:55:00.004-05:00

I got a few questions on the coverted ice box I want, so I thought, why not post pics, right? My blog is dying while I am in Denver anyway!

We picked up a 1936 (or was it 32?) Detroit Jewel gas stove. It has the look of a 50s stove, but with little bitty feet on the bottom instead of it being flat to the ground. It is really beautiful. I decided I wanted a 'fridge to match. I researched a bit on Ice Box Conversions. Basically, they take an antique ice box, add a condenser, compressor and fan motor. The outside is cleaned up, if neccessary, and the inside gets stainless stain, an evaporator, temp controls, lights and R-12. We thought about DIYing it, but we'll get back to you on that. (We have too many projects anyway!)

Here are a few pictures I found to give you an idea:

1930 Kelvinator ice box, photo: antiqueappliances.com

Converted ice box (the extras are hidden in the "base" they built below the doors), photo: antiquevintageapplicances.com.

Soo perfect to go with the stove. I will ask Steven to take a picture of the stove and post it up this week. :)

going to the zoo zoozoo, you can come too too too

2009-09-28T12:16:00.004-05:00

Even with my super busy schedule, we want to be sure that our boys don't feel too abandoned. This means presents (bribes) and little mini-vacations. We took a trip to Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead, a free petting zoo in Olathe, KS and the boys had a blast. Prying Bowie off the tractors was a challenge!

Bowie gets a hand from Daddy to bottlefeed some goats.

Dane gives a goat a big hug!

Emery taking the time to smell the flowers. The gardens are amazing there!

All 4 of my boys! L-R, Satchel, Emery, Dane and Bowie.

our kitchen: a work in progress

2009-09-26T22:56:00.002-05:00

We have been busy working on the kitchen since we moved in. The kitchen before was pretty much awful to look at. I'm not one for white walls, green sponge paint splats, and red and green country-style wallpaper borders.

We are making great progress in the arena... but even so, the layout of the kitchen is really bad for cooking. There is no "work triangle." You must go across the entire kitchen if you want to take a hot pot from the cook top island thing to the sink. (I usually yell "head up, hot hot hot" and shoo people at of the way while I run through the kitchen!)

The island is at an angle and makes it so if you walk by it, you risk someone coming in the back door and smacking you with the door.

Furthermore, I want to ditch the cooktop island, the double wall ovens and modern fridge for vintage appliances. We picked up a 1930s Detroit Jewel gas stove. We are on the hunt for a 1930s ice box that we can covert to modern. Still searching for the perfect farmhouse sink.

We have the light fixtures bought... after we paint the dining room, we will begin tearing out the sheetrock on the ceiling to bring the ceiling up to the original height, about 18" higher.

I have been busy sketching out (not to scale) my plans for Steven to work from. I think it helps him visualize what is in my head when I tell him I want to move the stove, move cabinets around, etc. Here is what I have cooked up so far:

The Lighting Scheme
We will be adding a schoolhouse pendant above the sink, two "natural iron" finish ceiling fans with schoolhouse globes and two industrial pendants.

Layout - Before
We are lucky to have a huge kitchen, even by today's standards. It actually was two rooms that were combined, probably in the early 80s. The layout is a real problem.

Layout After

By moving some cabinets out, we gain room to add a gas stove on the far right, near the ice box and the sink. Removing the island and cooktop area makes room for a new table and chairs. We plan to build a rolling island for additional seating and workspace. The wall ovens will become a built-in china cabinet.

Oven Wall -Before

Here is what we started with on this wall. Really cheap cabinets, laminate counters, vinyl peel and stick floor, aging wall ovens, etc.

Oven Wall - After

Here is my plan for sprucing everything up. Remove wall ovens and create a built-in china cabinet with glass fronts. Replace cheapo cabinet doors for homemade Shaker-style doors. Replace hardware with black icebox latches and bin pulls. Replace laminate countertops with sugar pine butcher block. Build up cabinets with 1x6s and crown moulding. (Cabinets used to go all the way to the ceiling.) Beadboard backsplashes. Wide plank hardwood flooring.

It is all ambitious, but I decided to ditch the idea of having an "interim" kitchen until we had a dream kitchen. Our dream kitchen is within reach. Once we snagged the antique gas oven, I decided it was attainable. I took a closer look at the cabinets and decided with re-arranging and new doors, they were fine. No need to scrap them for new cabinets.

I think sometimes we flip through magazines or watch HGTV and see these super-fancy kitchens and it feels rather unrealistic. People drop $75,000 on a kitchen remodel and act like it is just an every day thing. I don't know about you all, but that just isn't realistic for me. Somehow, I realized that you can do a lot with what you already have if you can just be creative.

dining room is humming along

2009-09-21T11:15:00.002-05:00

Steven has been working in the dining room, sanding off the old texture paint that only covered a strip of the wall, leaving the rest of the wall smooth... I had already repaired most of the plaster so he just has a couple ceiling cracks to do. He's primed. We bought the base paint and already have the wall color. Hopefully Steven is snapping in-progress pictures so we can share this week!

your positive thoughts worked!!

2009-09-19T19:59:00.002-05:00

Guess who decided to grace us with his presence?

I suggested to Steven that we should leave the back gate open and set out a bowl of food. We are happy to report that Baby Nash was in the backyard this morning, acting as though nothing happened.

I wonder where he went on his big adventure.... I am thinking the Sabre Dance music was playing in his head and he was running amuck just having a good ol' time while we were worried sick!

Welcome home, Baby Nash!

good thoughts needed!

2009-09-18T20:45:00.003-05:00

Please think happy thoughts for our dog Nash.

Nash went missing this morning. We have been searching Baldwin City for him, putting up signs, the whole bit. No luck in finding our pup so far. We are hopeful that because he is such a BIG goofy dog, he will be easier to spot, and less likely to be ran over. But he is still just a pup, even though he is a giant, and very shy, so we are really worried.

Please make a wish for Nash tonight!

~~~ come home, Nash, come home ~~~

Ikea? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone going to Ikea?

2009-09-11T21:19:00.002-05:00

Tammy @ Yarborough House was kind enough to pick up a few things at Ikea for me, since the nearest one to me is, oh, 10 hours away.

I had a friend in Seattle offer to pick some stuff up for me, so I let Tammy off easy and only asked for a couple things. Guess what? Now that friend can't make the trip for me so... yeah... I need someone who would be kind enough to pick up curtains for me. I need quite a few, so even if I could split them between two people that might be good. I don't want to stick anyone with $100 in stuff and putting them out while they wait for me to mail them back a check.

So... anyone going to Ikea anytime soon? I know several people mentioned early that they had a trip coming up. :)

utensil rack made from plumbing fixtures!

2009-09-11T12:11:00.006-05:00

Steven finished another one of my little kitchen projects and I am so excited to share it with you! It turned out so nice, a vast improvement over the "before" kitchen, and it makes it a lot more tolerable to live with until we can do the big overhaul. (Steven is into vintage radios now, in case you are wondering about the radio. It works! He has a collection going.)

Ta da!!!!

In case you can't remember how horrible it looked when we moved in... Here is the kitchen as we were priming the cabinets. The doors are off everything here. I really didn't like the little hole in the wall looking into the dining room, or the wine rack. Aren't the sponge painting and the borders the best?

Before:

A close-up of the area Steven fixed. I only have this picture, we happened to snap it as our little guy was having a snack. He is now 2. Big boy!!!

Infinitely better, right? After he did the beadboard backsplashes, Steven took out the wine rack and put in the shelf. I decided the area beneath the shelf needed a utensil rack. I wasn't finding one I liked, so I asked Steven to make me one. I got the brass valves, copper pipe and flanges in the plumbing section of Home Depot. Steven warns not to solder the components together because it discolored the copper pipe. He drilled holes and used little brass screws on the back, they look nice but you can't even see them! The vintage utensils were bought on the cheap at Good Ju Ju in Kansas City.

Close-up of the shelf & rack:

And the rack:

How lucky am I to have such a handy guy around the house? :)

Sources:

Plumbing fixtures, lumber: Home Depot

Blue french oven: & kitchen timer: Martha Stewart, Macy's

Duck platter & cow creamer: Fishs Eddy

Squash jam pot & colorful spoons: Anthropologie

Wine bottle: a guest left it at our house

Eiffel Tower: Hobby Lobby

Utensils: vintage, Good Ju Ju

Radio: vintage, Craigslist

a little reward for my new job

2009-09-04T12:16:00.003-05:00

The first week in Denver went great. I had forgotten how tiring flying is, especially since my flight there leaves at 7, which means I get up at 4 a.m. The flight home is jam packed as well... so... but I enjoy my new co-workers and love that my hotel is right by the mall. I walked into the mall, and Anthropologie, PB Kids, Williams Sonoma, Restoration Hardware and Crate and Barrel are all on the same corner. It is like a little beam of light shown down on my head and I could here angels singing...

Anyway... It will be a busy (holiday) weekend for me. All my lights came in so the kitchen will be a construction site. Steven snagged a gorgeous 1936 Detroit Jewel gas stove off Craigslist for us. Really, the design is more modern than I thought. Stoves that old usually have those long spindle legs and the tower on the right. This one is so cute, and in perfect shape. It will live in the basement until we can redo the entire kitchen, including cabinets.

As a little reward for myself, besides a couple pieces of bling from Nordstroms, I ordered this chair for the bedroom from Overstock:

I can't wait to rock the baby to sleep and read stories to the boys. I plan to put it, space permitting, in front of the window, in front of the built-ins. So pretty. A little more "mod" than I usually go for, but the clean lines drew me in.

my latest adventure

2009-09-01T21:55:00.003-05:00

Don't send out search parties... I haven't gone missing. I accepted a job in Denver. Well, Englewood, Colorado. I fly out Monday and return home to Kansas Thursday nights. Work from home Friday, and then teach college courses Friday night.

This means I am a busy girl. But employed, which is so important since Steven quit his job to go back to school full-time. (And once he finished his degree, maybe the roles can reverse and I will have a Sugar Daddy!)

I have been checking in each night and the boys are doing well. I am not sure how much home work Steven gets done with the 4 boys. But I did put the boys in a new daycare, so he does get *some* quiet time.

I am told that at daycare today, while playing outside, Bowie told Gina (new daycare lady) Bug! Bug! Not sure what he meant at first, she soon spotted a big bumblebee in his hair. She managed to shoo the bee out of his hair. His daily note said he was very brave. That's my boy!

Friday, I hope to work a bit on my Queen Anne chairs in the living room, sew a few pillows and develop a plan of attack for the sofa slipcover. The pendant lights for the kitchen will arrive anytime now, and we picked up half of the wood for the ceiling - so I expect some progress in the kitchen this weekend!

the story of a chair...

2009-08-30T14:38:00.005-05:00

Here is a little play by play, just so you cansee just how much went into refinishing the chair.

Fabric Choice: Hollywood in Pink by Alexander Henry:

Before: Orange-Shag-O-Licious

Removing about a million staples to remove the original fabric:

Removing the original padding:

Paint stripper! Stripping a chair down is a bajillion times harder than just slapping on new paint:

Slather on the stripper:

Wait until it turns white and scrape it off:

Two weeks later:

And hours of Dremeling in the grooves:

Two coats of Ebony stain:

Two coats of High Gloss polycrylic:

Bling!!!

New padding and batting for the cushions:

Cutting the fabric with a newspaper template:

Sewing with piping along the edges:

Handsew edging around the top cushion:

And finished at last!!

The ebony stain is a million times better than black paint... you can still see glossy wood grain... Taking the extra time made this chair special.

One down, one to go!

Before and After: my vintage Hollywood Regency chairs

2009-08-27T14:51:00.005-05:00

My finished product wouldn't ever be mistaken for a professional upholstery job. No, no it won't. But I am rather proud of my chair. It was my first "big" job. Before, I had only done dining chairs, which is just wrapping fabric around the seat and stapling. This required me to sew the seat cushions. And I had never sewn in piping before. On a round cushion no less. Squares, I can do. Curves notsomuch. At one point, I almost gave up and was going to tearfully bring the chair and fabric to the upholstery shop... but I sstuck with it, and the outcome isn't so bad for a first chair. This is my lessons learned chair since I have another to go.

You remember the story right? I got that at an estate sale. This pair of chairs were from the Muehlebach Hotel. Who knows - maybe a President sat on one!

Without further ado...

BEFORE:

It's like orange shag carpet threw up on a chair! And the once-white lacquer is now rather sad. It took hours of stripping, sanding, staining and sealing, in addition to the agony of upholstery to make this...

AFTER:

No, no, no - it isn't black paint. This is Minwax Ebony stain. I love that it is so dark, yet the light hits it and the natural woodgrain shows through:

I used Polycrylic High Gloss to seal the chair. I normally use matte, but this chair, I think, warrants a little extra bling!

To fiinish off the top edge of the chair, I handstitched on this white edging:

The fabric is Alexander Henry's Hollywood in Pink. This will be going into the pale pink dining room, so I think the brighter pink fabric and dark wood will be a nice accent. This is as "glamorous" as I get. ;)

When I recover from sewing, I will post a step by step. That will require uploading a lot of photos and Blogger is such a pain with that!

Fishs Eddy & Anthropologie kitchen finds

2009-08-27T13:45:00.004-05:00

I love getting packages in the mail. It's even better when it is pretty stuff for the house! I ordered a few items from Fish's Eddy as a test run. I always like to try out a few things before I place a big order for a store, sight-unseen. Fish's Eddy is a home goods store located in the Flatiron Building in NYC. I say this with total authority because I read this on their website. I have not had the luck to go there. Anyway, I liked their whimsical collections and decided to order a few things.

They are so cute. Order away, folks. You won't be disappointed. I got:

Bird on a Wire Cake Stand. On sale for $13.18. In person, it is the prettiest pale blue. Bigger than I thought it would be for the price!

Duck Platter. My youngest is in a duck phase now. Also on sale. $7.48. A nice size to throw some cupcakes or cookies on for the kiddos.

Cow Creamer. $7.95. I think Pier 1 has them for $5, but I found this one first. We aren't coffee people. (I actually prefer tea). But it will look lovely on the shelf Steven just installed in the kitchen.

Are there any lesser-known stores that you shop at? I would love to find new places to pick up pretty home things at.

Oh, not at all "secret" or anything, but I am a fan of Anthropologie. Or at least their sales. I got a great pink ticking stripe rug there on the cheap. Also picked up a bottle of Lollia perfume - amazingly light and pretty scent, with gorgeous packaging.

Planning on maybe getting these things on my next visit:

Squash jam jar. Sort of weird, but I think kind of cool!

Colorful measuring spoons. One of them says "a pinch" on it - which I think is cute. And they having unusually long handles, so they will do nicely when dipping into spice jars.

Speaking of spice jars, these numbered ones are cool. But maybe not $5 each cool:

Shoe Love

2009-08-25T12:32:00.005-05:00

I just got this fabulous 2010 calendar at Bed, Bath & Beyond...

I am a big fan of pretty shoes. Unfortunately, pretty shoes are not comfortable shoes. I used to be strictly a Doc Martens and Uggs kind of girl. But, in my consulting travels, I landed in California and felt the pressure from all the stiletto-wearing women around me. I caved in and bought some heels.

Now, I really like the way the froo-froo shoes look. Yet, detest the way they feel. Boy, do my feet hurt by the end of the day. (Is that normal? Geesh!)

I don't own any Manolo Blahnik's or Jimmy Choo. I am not rich enough to be in that much pain. I settle for NYLA, Madden and Chinese Laundry.

But I digress... I stopped dead in my tracks when I spotted a calendar featuring Andy Warhol's shoe illustrations. (I admit it. I actually was trying to track down some of the shoe illustrations in P.S. I Love You for art work. Unsuccessfully.) I guess they have been printing this calendar for years now, I had just never seen it.

Perhaps, this is destined to become inexpensive art work in my bedroom or closet someday. In a pretty frame, with a mat, it could look really nice.

Here are some of my favorite Warhol Shoes:

Andy Warhol Shoes, Top to Bottom:

Shoe with Holly

Shoes Shoes Shoes

Shoe Light Shoe Bright First Shoe I See Tonight

You Can Lead a Shoe to Water But You Can't Make It Drink

Dial M for Shoe

Source List: Last House Series

2009-08-22T20:28:00.003-05:00

I will put all the source lists for the Last House on the Left series in this post. Refer back to this for updates. :)

Kitchen:

Last House on the Left kitchen

2009-08-21T12:55:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in the interview post, I will be studying several of the rooms in Last House on the Left, providing details and sources when I can. Of course, I had to begin with the kitchen because it is my very favorite room of that house.

The kitchen seems to be the heart of this house, since the majority of the scenes take place here. Isn't that just like real life? Everyone always seems to congregate where the food is!

The first thing that struck me about the kitchen was the gorgeous wall color. Johnny Breedt said they used a Dulux color, influenced by a Martha Stewart color. My best guess would be colors from Martha's Araucana Collection, my favorite being Araucana Blue. Here is a sampling of Martha's colors:

I mentioned the interview that Breedt used a basic stainless sink instead of a pricey designer sink. I think it is completely appropriate as this is a vacation house, and a family might not be willing to put designer items in it. Isn't it more fun to collection items over time for such a house? I also love all the spice racks in the kitchen - I spotted at least 4! I'd hit Etsy for vintage spice racks.

Luckily, Monica Potter, "Emma," is so lovely I don't mind her popping up so much in the shots. I chose the shot below to show the decorative plates she has in display in the dish rack. It is a shame to buy such pretty plates and hide them away in a cabinet. It is a great idea to leave them out.

Here, Mr. Collingwood works on the rather-dated microwave. I included the shot to show you the pretty lace sheer on the door. And the pocket-hanger-thing on the door. Also a nice shot of the Shaker-style cbainets. I nice change of pace from beadboard sometimes. Bin pulls are always my favorite kitchen hardware. And probably the only shot of the kitchen flooring in the movie - hardwood, of course.

The couple preparing dinner on a small island (table!). This would be positioned in front of the stove.

And the stove! This is the fullest shot I could get of the stove. This scene is after the lights go out, so it is a bit dark. But I wanted to show just how wide the stove was. Johnny called it a thing of beauty, and I agree. I love vintage appliances!

A little brighter shot of the stove. We see some more of the great knick-knacks that truly give this house a lived-in feel. The under-cabinet lighting gives a nice glow.

You would think the wood counters received their patina from years of use, but we know this was courtesy of Johnny & team. Aren't they beautiful? I just read about a company called Perfect Plank that has very reasonable rates for similar counters. I am looking into them for my own kitchen.

Curtains in my house have to be breezy and sheer. I am not a fan of blocking out natural light or pretty views. I really liked these curtains in the kitchen. They look to be light and sheer, with green floral embroidery. I ordered these curtains, which appear to be very similar.

The tin canisters caught my eye the first time I watched the movie. I blogged about a similar (new) set months ago. Typhoon has a Vintage Collection in cream that would give a similar look. Check out Amazon.

A little more detail on the curtain and yet another spice rack.

The only shot to give us a glimpse of this corner in the kitchen. It is probably like the little stool in my kitchen corner that no one ever sits on!

Here we see "Emma" in the hallway that connect the ktichen to the dining room. I like the baby blue chalkboard over the wine rack.

This fuzzy shot is the only shot in the movie of the pendant light over the island. See the blurry silhouette to the right of the white lampshade? The cheapest, yet nice-looking, ones I have found are $30, in stock, at Lowe's.

Don't you love glass-front cabinets? And in this final shot, we get a glimpse into the dining room. See the floral curtains over his shoulder? The dining room only makes a short appearance in the movie, but I will be goign through it, as well as a few other rooms, next.

I hope you enjoyed this kitchen as much as I did. Stay tuned!

interview with Johnny Breedt

2009-08-21T12:50:00.001-05:00

It isn’t often that you can be watching a horror movie and lean over to your spouse to say, “That is the light fixture I want for the kitchen?” Or “I love the beams on the ceiling!” Yet that was what I found myself doing all throughout Last House on the Left.

Now, Steven and I loved the original version so, of course, we saw the remake right when it came out. Which is pretty rare for us since we have 4 kids and don’t get out very much. We immediately fell in love with the gorgeous farmhouse. We could not wait for it to come out on Blu Ray so we could see the house again. Thankfully, the movie came with a digital copy so I could capture some great screen shots of the movie.

I decided to dig a little further and found that the seemingly historic house, with all its gorgeous patina, was not old but, in fact, new. Modeled after an existing house in Martha’s Vineyard, the house was the creation of production designer Johnny Breedt. The house was built in Cape Town, South Africa in a reserve, which accounts for the drop-dead gorgeous scenery!

Of course I had tons of questions for Johnny. Imagine my excitement when he replied to my email, with pictures of the under-construction Last House! Johnny was kind enough to participate in some Q&A with me. I hope you enjoy his answers as much as I did…

Sarah Beth:
The kitchen you created feels very "attainable." By that I mean, it seems like something anyone could readily afford. You didn't go for the $1000 Shaw apron front sink, and instead, a simple stainless. Can you tell me a bit about your thought process on this? Did you have a particular family in mind when you designed this, and if so, can you elaborate on their lifestyle?

Johnny:
When designing a film one must take the characters into consideration. This together with reference material on similar styles, will determine the outcome. The sink was probably the closest "American" sink we could find. Obviously we had some input from the American crew members on certain items, but most were selected by myself and/or the decorator.

Sarah Beth:
I love that the kitchen has a lived-in, family feel. Many kitchens, in design magazines and movies, feel very sterile. The Last House kitchen has many things that make it feel more "real," such as the wooden spice racks, tin canisters, knick-knacks, etc. How did you go about finding these treasures? Did you have particular objects in mind, or did you find random things to include?

Johnny:
Once again we did try and match certain styles from references, but often we would find something in a second hand store or from a rental company that was just perfect.

Sarah Beth:
I do love the paint color in the kitchen. It is very similar to the pale robin's egg and duck egg blues and greens featured in the design magazines this Spring. But I assume you have more of a theater or production background than interior design. Can you share a bit about your background, and how one becomes a production designer?

Johnny:
My background is theatre and film. I studied a theatre design course for five years and a film course for 2 years. I also did various short courses including SFX make-up and wardrobe design. I cannot recollect the exact colour used in the kitchen, but I think we may have based it on a "Martha Stewart" colour. The colours were all chosen from a local paint range called Dulux.

Sarah Beth:
I love the beamed ceilings. I have noticed this in several rooms of the Last House. How much of the house were you responsible for? Was everything your idea?

Johnny:
As I said before, I was responsible for the entire look and design of this film. The beams were not only aesthetically pleasing, but also were a necessity for structural purposes as the upstairs was a fully practical set.

Sarah Beth:
I absolutely love the vintage stove you chose. For once, I feel a kitchen has some flavor and retains the vintage feel.

Johnny:
The stove was a thing of beauty. It was a collectable that was hired from someone in Cape Town and I haven't seen many like that one that still works.

Sarah Beth:
The patina on the barn-red boathouse is amazing. I watched the movie, sure that you must have found an existing home to film in. When I read that it was completely new, I was in awe. Can you tell a little bit about the process to make everything look aged? (Without giving away any of your industry-secrets!) What the house built fully functional? What became of the house after the movie was finished?

Johnny:
Thanks for the compliment. We aim to achieve authenticity whenever we create sets and I guess I have to give my crew most of the credit for that. My head scenic has been doing ageing and scenic painting for 36 years and is probably one of the best in the business. All of the sets were created from new materials and were then aged by the scenic dept. The house was built in a nature reserve and had to be removed after shooting. The materials were salvaged and donated to homeless people whilst most of the furniture and fixtures were sold to recover some costs.

Further information on Johnny’s Last House on the Left, Excerpt from The Last Broadcast, The Last House on the Left Making Of:

“After weeks of fruitless searching, the team discovered a pine-forested parkland reserve that was conveniently located 45 minutes outside of Cape Town. The last house on the left—as well as guesthouse and detached garage—would need to be built from scratch on the reserve property.

The plans for the Collingwood house and guesthouse were loosely based on a century-old updated farmhouse nestled on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Careful consideration had to be taken with every detail of their design and execution. With hundreds of researched photographs scrutinized, Breedt and his design team imagined the ideal American getaway.

At a rapid pace, the crew constructed the Collingwood compound—main house, guesthouse, detached garage and extensive grounds—in just a few months’ time. To top it off, every surface needed to look as if it had been gently weathered from years of exposure to Mother Nature.

Through years of trial and error, Breedt and his staff came up with ingenious techniques for creating the illusion of antiquity, which they utilized for the compound. “If you give a house history, it gives a film layers,” reports Breedt. “It’s quite an old house, and it’s been renovated throughout the years. If you look at the exterior of the house, it’s aged very cleverly. It looks like it’s been painted repeated times, but in fact it’s only been painted with a base coat and a final coat. We have a technique to use plaster that you trowel on. Then you paint it, scrape it all off and lightly touch it up with a magic brush. When people came to the reserve and knew nothing about the house, they thought it had been here forever.

With snapshots in hand, the production designer sent his team scouring the secondhand shops and flea markets of Cape Town in search of quintessential American building materials, household furnishings and accessories. Although the crew combed the city in search of familiar Americana, much had to be shipped over from the States. Tiny details, from light-switch plates and plugs to blankets and dishtowels, would make the difference to the audience’s belief they were in America.”

Stay tuned... I will be studying several of the rooms from Last House and giving all the gory details here!

images:

under construction photos courtesy of Johnny Breedt

still captures are from the film

Ikea curtains... how are they?

2009-08-20T20:20:00.003-05:00

With my first fancy-schmancy chair nearing completion (geez, I have to do it again for the second?!?!?!), I am excited about finishing the dining room. Well, part way anyways... I bought sandpaper to finish sanding the walls since I finished plaster repairs (fun!).

I took a moment to flip through my Ikea catalog, also known as the Amazing Affordable Stuff I Can't Have Book, and found a couple sets of curtains that I thought might work swimmingly in the lovely pale pink dining room.

Hint: Anyone going to IKEA anytime soon? Please???? :)

I haven't seen these in person, and it is scary to pick something only from a picture. So if any of you have seen these in person, please let me know if they look nice or cheap and tacky.

First up is Hedda Blad. I think black and white will look great with the pale pink walls. I am going for a combo of Hollywood Regency and Cottage. Think glitzy cottage or Cottage Regency, maybe. Anyway, the pattern isn't too busy and will work, I think. $15 for a pair, and I just need 1 set, the price is right.

Second up is Alvine Trad. This one is a little more subtle with white and gray floral, but still so pretty. I could use these in the living room maybe? I need to get a set in person and decide where they should live. Again, $15 a set.
Might as well get the sheers to go with them while I am at it, right? 2 sets of Lill to start with since they are only $5 a set. Even if I didn't like them as curtains, they could be a tutu for my dog Bunny. ;)

Anyone have any experience with Ikea curtains to share?

an update from a busy bee...

2009-08-20T16:05:00.002-05:00

I have been so busy the last couple weeks and have been neglectful of my blog. For this I am sorry. Last week, I had finals, which included a nasty one for Statistics, no fun! This week the little ones were home with me and the two older boys started school. Satchel had half days Tuesday and Wednesday. Emery had Jr High orientation Wednesday. They both started full days today. Whew! I have found it isn't a lot of fun to tote 2 toddlers to Home Depot and the fabric store, but we are getting things done, I suppose.

I managed to pick up a couple drop cloths that, with the help of dear MIL, will be a slipcover for the rather fussy living room sofa. I got poly-crylic, trim and tacks for the Hollywood Regency chairs. Ready to start upholstery on the first chair!!!

Steven started his first day back as a fulltimer at U of Kansas. He was very excited. We met up for lunch after his classes and he seems to be really happy being back at school. And not missing his job at all. Lucky boy!

Oh, and my big news. Looks like a fulltime job is in my near future. I have been teaching part time at a local college, but with Steven going back to school full time, I will be going back to work full time. (And we will be setting up daycare for the wee ones again...)

Anyway... I do have a big surprise for you all. No, not Baby Number 5. But a cool interview with the designer of my very favorite movie house ever. I think you all will like it!

affordable industrial pendant lighting for my kitchen

2009-08-13T15:19:00.005-05:00

I am totally taking the next person who goes to IKEA up on their offer to pick up a few things for me. I will try to keep them some, like tea lights or textiles and such.

But I no longer require the Foto pendant fixtures. I thought I wanted them. But then I saw the very same sort of fixture in a local lighting store, and the polished, smooth lines looked too modern for our very vintage kitchen.

I am working on a few new projects for the kitchen... An overlay on the ceiling, which will cover the wonky drywall and 384792734 can lights the previous owners installed. Hardwood floors (I can't wait!!) New counters (no more laminate!!). And, of course, new lighting.

We picked up two ceiling fans today. (Hampton Bay's Farmington in Natural Iron). We will be ordering the schoolhouse light kits for them.

I picked up a little school house shade from Habitat Restore. I need to get a vintage-feeling fixture to go with it. (I want it to look like something out of School House Electric, which is out of my budget for now.)

And, finally, I need 2 pendant lights hanging over the island.

This guy is the Cortland, from Pottery Barn Kids. At $200 a pop, this is not an option, so of course, I had to find something a bit less.

I have it narrowed down to these 2 options. The darker one below here is the Pottery Barn Kids Depot Lamp. It has the round shape that I like, and I love the wire guard over the light that gives it that "industrial" feel. These are $90 each, so they seem like a bit of a splurge yet are still in our budget:

And this one is available from Home Depot online. (Not available in stores). I like the fitting ont he top - it has the industrial look at the Cortland has. It has comes in an aged pewter finish. Since the ceiling fans are black, we may decide to spray these to match, but I haven't decided yet. Might need to hang them and see it all together before decided on that. But at $50 each, I think these are the first choice:

Which one is YOUR favorite?

the Charlotte Watson collection... to die for!

2009-08-13T13:22:00.000-05:00

As a historic preservationist, I am always eager to pass along fun finds, especially if they have a vintage flavor or historical influence. :)
I swoon over salt keepers... I don't know why... This one is perfection!

Charlotte Watson kitchen potteries are popular, and certainly not a stunning revelation for some... but they are quite beautiful in their simple elegance. I thought I would share them, for those not familiar, and give some background for those already enamored with them.

The "Original Suffolk" collection is just as pretty!

According to their website:
Robert produced three sons, one of which was Thomas. The Company was purchased around 1800 by the Watson sons. Thomas established the Company in 1816 as "Thomas Watson". Thomas was a farmer and a potter, farming during the summer months and potting during the winter. He had four sons, one of which was Adam (the husband of CHARLOTTE). The Company was established as Thomas and Adam in 1840. Since the early 19th Century, Henry Watson’s Potteries have established an enviable reputation for producing well-crafted, innovative products that continue to compliment both traditional and contemporary kitchen styles.

You all know I am a sucker for pink!

While they have a gorgeous catalog, my very favorite collection is the Charlotte Watson's Country Collection. If is available in both cream and black. The cream seems to be the most popular, gracing so many kitchens. And for that reason, I am sort of drawn to the black. Although, deep down, I find the cream the most lovely.

The Blacks! They seem so rare which makes them mysterious to me...

The collection is quite extensive so it would be expensive to buy them all. But wouldn't the entire set be gorgeous in a well-equipped butler's pantry?

Does anyone own any of these pieces? I would love to hear about the quality. I am sure the pieces are quite substantial.

styling... are you a frou-frou arranger,or a slap-it-up utilitarian?

2009-08-12T15:42:00.007-05:00

I was thrilled with how Phase One of the master bathroom came out. Every time we have company over, we gets compliments on the floor. It is such an unexpected and gorgeous surprise to have that bright, cheery floor greet you. Remember the before? Click here

But I always thought back to the little glass shelf I saw at Lowe's when I was buying the dental organizer sitting here on the shelf. I thought it would look great over the sink, and just tie everything in a bit more:

I finally bought a little glass shelf and Steven installed it for me. Since the planets didn't align and the studs were not in the right place, we had to use the 4 supplied wall anchors, which always makes Steven nervous. I told him this was different than when he put up the guitar anchors because I swore I would put nothing heavy on the shelf. It looks so nice:

I am not really a frou-frou kinda girl. I tend to just put things on shelves in a rather utilitarian manner. Shelf by a sink? Put some soap on it! I was in a hurry, since it was late night by the time Steven got around to installing the shelf, so I just put my little soap holder and tea lights on it:

It looks rather sad and sparse, doesn't it? But, again, I am not a frou-frou girl. I have read the design blogs where they talk about spending hours styling a bookcase until it is just so. Me? I have 4 kids constantly pestering me and a stupid Statistics final this week. I took the easy way out and dug out my apothecary jars. Still utilitarian in that it makes sense to have cotton balls and swabs nearby... but prettier than the soap dish alone:

What is in the middle jar, you ask? Well... It is sort of weird. My kids have always enjoyed blowing soap bubbles in the bath tub. The middle jar is filled with those little decorative bubbles that they give out at weddings. It keeps the bubbles for the little ones handy, and the little containers are kind of cute.

So tell me... Do you fuss over styling and arranging until it looks like a perfectly-posh Pottery Barn catalog? Or do you take the utilitarian approach? Or are you somewhere in between?

Oh, I should mention that in order to see if something looks good, I always take a picture. I "see" things better in 2D for some reason. In a picture, I can point out if a garden bed needs taller plants, if a picture should be hung lower, etc. Those things are not as obvious to me in real life.

Ikea shipping costs are freaking INSANE!

2009-08-09T21:27:00.003-05:00

I have been Googling beds lately. I sold the massive Ralph Lauren bed and dresser that used to dominate our bedroom and have been searching for a vintage-looking metal bed. Antique cast irons are not available in Queen, because, well, Queen beds didn't exist then. The new cast irons beds are gorgeous, but, aren't in my budget right now. So, I have been searching for a lovely (steel) bed.

I really fell in love with this one from LL Bean called the "Cottage Iron Bed." It has clean, simple lines. I adore the gentle bend at the footboard. Gorgeous. And it comes in the matte black I wanted. It is a reasonable $600, with $60 shipping. Behold its glory:

Then there is the "Lillesand" from Ikea (below). Not as pretty and probably not as sturdy as the LL Bean one. But it has the simple lines I want, and at $179, the price was right. Amazingly enough, Ikea will SHIP this one. I was practically jumping up and down when I clicked "Buy Now." And then, Ikea pops up with a message that they will email me the shipping and handling costs, and then at that time would collect a credit card number. Rut-Roh. Why so long for a quote? The next day, I got the email. Get this... Shipping for the $179 bed would be $299. Shipping costs more than the bed?? A bed that isn't as heavy as the LL Bean costs 5 times more to ship? What exactly are they smoking over there at Ikea? Cripes!
I am thinking LL Bean, baby. I am toying with the idea of welding up my own creation. I drew it up and am sending my quantities to my metal fabrication contact to see if it will come in SIGNIFICANTLY less than the LL Bean one. Time is at a premium around my house and I am still toiling away with my fabulous Hollywood Regency chairs. I can save my pennies awhile for the LL Bean.

unrequited love... don't crave something Ikea won't ship.

2009-08-06T15:57:00.007-05:00

Ikea Foto... 15 bucks!

Why, oh, why is there no Ikea store near me? Not one in KC, St. Louis, anywhere... Nearest one is 10 hours away. Considering the gas money it would take to get me there, the inexpensive light fixtures I want would no longer be inexpensive.

See... I want 2 industrial pendant lights for my kitchen. I have looked all over, and the ones I like are $400. And then I stumble across a picture of an Ikea Foto pendant light. And I love it. Plus, the price is right. It comes in 3 sizes, ranging from $15 - $30. I'm thinking - YES! Lighting I can afford!

And then the buzzkill... They don't ship them.

WHY???? WHY do they bother putting it on their site? Just to torture me?

And since my family is all here in the Midwest, I can't say, Hey - I will send ya cash if you scoot to Ikea for me.

I am off to grumble... and look at over-priced lights at Barn House Electric and School House Electric. BAH!

Circe Large Country Industrial Pendant... Price? $800 and up...

Pedlars Cafe Lamp - $80 + shipping from UK

Barn House Electric - Baylor Light - $200

guitars hanging in a closet? works for me!

2009-08-05T13:58:00.006-05:00

Steven got a chance to install the guitar hangers in my walk-in closet over the weekend. I love having my other closet accessible. No more guitar stands impeding my shoe selection!

A pink guitar? Could you ever have guess that?

Left is my DR Wildwood, Right is my Fender Telecaster.

And my basses... Left is my Gretsch Jr Jet, Right is my Fender P-bass.

Of course, the studs didn't line up exactly as we hoped... but I would rather have the guitar alignment be a little off than chancing it and hanging the guitars just into sheet rock. (And subsequently having all my guitars smashing into the floor.)

It is hard to get a picture in there being tight quarters and all. You will just have to imagine what it looks like all-at-once! ;)

I think it is interesting how the flash changes the color of the closet. Sometimes it looks bright pink, others it is practically white. The color is actually a pale pink called Ballerina Gown. It is a more noticeable pink than the bedroom - but I wanted a funkier closet so I don't mind. It looks nice with the orange and aqua in there... I will take pictures of the rest of the closet (once I get my laundry done!)

Before: a mess of guitars in front of my other closet. The amp will be moved to my walk-in, with the guitars, as well. Steven has to put in an outlet first.

strange garden sighting

2009-07-30T15:58:00.003-05:00

I have been busy with statistics homework this week, so I have not been able to work on my chairs as much as I would like... but I have been able to sneak out to the front porch for an hour here and there to strip-strip-strip the white laquer. One night, I was visited by the weirdest bug I have ever seen. At first, we thought it was a hummingbird because it was hovering... but when I snapped a couple pictures with the zoom, we could see antennae. Weird!

I did some research and this guy is a Hummingbird Hawkmoth. Isn't that about the weirdest bug you've ever seen? It would be pretty if it weren't so creepy!

how we made the custom trellis for the honeysuckle, jasmine & wisteria

2009-07-28T20:18:00.004-05:00

Awhile back, someone asked me how we made the trellis in front of the front porch. Well, I took measurements of the front porch opening and sketched up a design. I imagined wisteria and honeysuckle crawling along a trellis, creating a floral picture window almost. I totalled up how much material I needed, and a friend in the metal fab biz got me the rod on the cheap. After cutting everything to length, it was just simple welding.

I should note that in order to give the vines something to hold on to on their journey across the top, I came up with a nifty "shelf" idea and it works just peachy.

Here are some close-ups to give you an idea of how it is all assembled.

This picture was taken in the early Spring... the vines have completely covered the trellis now and the hummingbirds love it!

I have added pink jasmine along the honeysuckle. It smells heavenly!

A look at the "shelf" design. I needed something to give the vines something to cling to. This works great. I have wasp catchers hanging from the top on copper wires.

Hollywood Regency chairs from KC's Hotel for Presidents

2009-07-27T13:14:00.005-05:00

On a treasure hunt to pick up a washbasin for my potting shed, I spotted an ad on Craigslist for a moving sale. One of the items listed was a pair of Hollywood Regency style chairs from the old Muehlebach Hotel for $20 each. After picking up the basin and lunch, Steven and I swung over to Overland Park, Kansas to the sale.

The sale was being held by an older couple. They told us they were selling their home as they were moving on to a change in their life. Steven spotted an automotive trade magazine from 1983, and the woman said that she had retired from GM. The magazine was a special edition for GM's 75 birthday. Being car buffs, we snapped that up for a buck. I also got a set of gorgeous blue melamine dishes for $2.50. Meanwhile, I never took my eyes off the the chairs.

The couple's daughter told us that when the Muehlebach was closed, her mother had outfitted their entire cabin in treasures from the hotel. I was instantly in love. Steven looked a little perplexed as to why I wanted the chairs. They were heavily laquered in paint that perhaps once was white, and the upholstery was dark orange. I told them I had a vision, and that the chairs had HISTORY.

Once home, I started researcing the Muehlebach Hotel and was so excited to have picked up the chairs. (At half-off since it was late in the day, mind you. $20 for both chairs). So, here I will give great detail on the hotel... for those interested in historic hotels, for the KC people who might wander on to this blog later, and for my own records since I think it is a really neat story.

When people think Kansas City, they don't think glamour or glitz. But back in the Jazz Age, KS was the place to be. Heard of Charlie "Birdman" Parker or Count Basie? Well, they were here in KC. What I would give to spend a day in KC back then. Dreamy! Anyway...

In downtown Kansas City stands the historic Muehlebach Hotel. Known as "Kansas City's Hotel for Presidents", every president from Teddy Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan has visited the hotel, and every president from Woodrow Wilson to Richard Nixon has stayed in the Presidential Suite.

Presidential Suite, 1979

Truman and his associates apparently called it, simply, "the penthouse." It served as Truman's headquarters in Kansas City from the time of his vice presidential campaign in 1944 until he left the presidency in 1953. The hotel has also serviced many celebrities including Babe Ruth, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, etc.

Truman party at the Muehlebach Hotel

In mid-December 1917, Ernest Hemingway wrote home from a press room in the Hotel Muehlebach. He expected a raise. "All the fellows say there ought to be one coming to me,'' he said. Sometimes, working late on assignment and too tired to ride the long trolley car home to Agnes Ave., Hemingway would sleep in a bathtub in the Muehlebach's pressroom, using towels for a mattress. He later glorified the hotel's beds, not its bathtubs, in the novel "Across the River and Into the Trees."

Old Guest Register

The Muehlebach was built with funds from the estate of George Muehlebach, who came to Kansas City from Switzerland in 1857 and opened a saddle shop. His farm and vineyard were west of Westport. Later he established a brewery, Muehlebach Beer,first located at 18th and Main. The hotel, erected after his death, was leased to the Trianon Hotel Company.

Postcard from 1916, right after opening

The lobby of the Hotel Muehlebach, with its thick Oriental rugs, writing desks, tall lamps, potted palms, lounge chairs and a roaring wood fire, is pictured on an old promotional post card, one of a set, put out by the hotel shortly after it opened in1916.

George E. Muehlebach, Jr., started working for the brewery after his graduation from Spalding's Business College. In 1905 after the death of his father he became president of the brewery.
As a teenager, George had played first base on the Muehlebach Brewing Company’s Pilseners baseball team, spawning a keen interest in the sport. He owned the Kansas City Blues, twice American Association champions, from 1917 to 1932. Muehlebach built a half-million dollar ballpark at 22nd and Brooklyn in 1923, the only park in its league free of billboards. Under various names, Muehlebach Stadium was Kansas City’s ballpark until the Truman Sports Complex was built.

Street-view, 1930. Aren't the cars a hoot?

The original 12-story building was constructed in 1915, designed by Holabird and Roche. The site used for the hotel was one formerly occupied by the old First Baptist church, a frame building built in 1880, the gift of Col. And Mrs. W. H. Harris. Land and church cost $30,000.Services were held there until 1908, when the congregation sold the church and site for $150,000, took their pipe-organ and moved temporarily to Thirteenth and Broadway. They later built a new stone church at Linwood avenue and Park street at a cost of $100,000.For five years the old Twelfth street church stood empty, used only for ballyhoo, annual shows, an occasional menagerie and whisky advertisements.

Side-View, 1928

The Muehlebachs started tearing down the old landmark in June, 1913, and financing their plans for a big hotel.The hotel was extended west to Wyandotte street in 1952 and four years later the 17-story Muehlebach Towers was added on Wyandotte. The hotel was remodeled in the 1970s and closed in the 1980s. Marriott bought hotel in 1996 as an annex to their downtown hotel. Two years and millions of dollars were spent restoring the hotel in accordance with historic preservation guidelines as the hotel is both a state and federal landmark.

After all that... NO! You don't get to see the chairs yet. That is in my next post. :)

Sources:
Emporis
Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City Star, A Writer's Haunts: Where He Worked and Where He Lived.

blue porch ceilings for good luck? it's haint blue!

2009-07-22T10:11:00.000-05:00

My version of "Haint Blue" is Behr's Aqua Breeze. It looks great with the beigey "Skimming Stone" by Farrow & Ball and my version of Cotswold blue, "Impressionist" by Ralph Lauren.

I have painted a few ceilings in children's rooms sky blue with some fluffy white clouds. It seemed a cheerful, breezy thing to do. But, I painted the beadboard ceiling of my front porch blue for an entirely different reason.

There are many rumors (urban legends even) about painting a porch ceiling, or the trim on your house, blue. Some say that it keeps bugs away. It sort of makes sense. Especially for wasps who like to build mud-dauber nests on your ceilings. If they mistake your ceiling for sky, they won't nest there. I will let you know if our wasp problem lessens.

Some say that the airy, breezy feeling will make you feel like your daylight hours last longer in the fall.

I am more intrigued by the "ghost story" angle. It is said that painting your front porch ceiling blue is good luck... and even more, will keep evil spirits away. In South Carolina, the people call this "haint blue." A haint is an evil spirit. Legend has it that evil spirits cannot cross water, so if you paint your house trim and / or porch ceiling blue, the spirits will be confused and unable to enter your home.

The Gullah people, a mix of enslaved African tribes in Carolina Low Country, are credited for borrowing the practice from African slaves. They believed the color blue had magical powers. Their practices included painting doors, windows and trim blue, and often dyed their clothes using indigo leaves.

Because the Gullah's simply used whatever pigments they could get, there is no official "haint blue." It would vary. That said, some have set out to market on haint blue a bit, and have created their own formulations of haint blue. The Charleston Historic Foundation has licensed two versions of "Gullah Blue," which are a deep torquoise. The Savannah Historical Society has two versions of its own, Haint Blue Dark and Haint Blue Light, which are medium teal and light mint-blue, respectively.

For ideas on different varieties of haint blue, start googling "Haint Blue," "Gullah Blue," "Dirt Dauber Blue" and "Dutch Boy Blue."

In my opinion, based on my research in the field of historic preservation, one shouldn't worry so much about an "official" shade of haint blue, but what looks best with the rest of the house. A purplish blue or teal blue might not be so complimentary with the body color of the house. I simply took the trim & door color I had chosen (Impressionist by Ralph Lauren), lined it up with Behr paint chips until I found a very close match. Then I chose a color 2 times lighter so that there would be a noticable difference. I ended up with "Aqua Breeze" by Behr for the ceiling. It looks different from all angles, so I am quite happy with it.

My blue, "Aqua Breeze", against "Skimming Stone." I felt it was important to make sure all the colors coordinated, and didn't focus on the "haint blue" as an individual color.

The blue isn't a BLAZING blue. In certain light, it reads very soft. When I include the deep black trim on the front door, it looks quite pale.

So there you have it. I received a comment yesterday, signed only as "R", asking what blue I used. I think that is more than you ever wanted to know about my haint blue! :)

handpainted hydrangea wallpaper and pink pom-poms in the closet

2009-07-21T13:23:00.000-05:00

The closet is painted... but not complete. I still need to find some guitar wall hangers so I can move all my guitars into the closet and out of the bedroom. I also have some tidying and accessorizing to do.

It is looking really cute so far!

My handpainted hydrangea's go all the way to the ceiling. (Really high!!)

The ever-popular Martha Stewart flower pom-poms. They look so pretty, and my closet ceiling is so high, they draw your eye up.

I gotta get some guitar hooks and a few more binnies, paint a mirror, scrub the floor. Yikes!

snuggly bench in the rose garden

2009-07-21T13:14:00.002-05:00

It's another rainy day in Baldwin City, Kansas. It is supposed to be rainy all week, in fact. Yesterday afternoon, Steven and I enjoyed the rain from the front porch, sipping Earl Gray tea and flipping through some books he picked up at Half Price Books.

Saturday morning, I hit World Market in need of some new cushions for the bench in the sideyard. The baby blue ones from last year were all rusted and it didn't come out in the wash. They happened to have their outdoor stuff 30 - 50% off. I scooped up 2 cushions, 2 toss pillows and a picnic blanket for the bench. We sat on it briefly Sunday night, but with the rain, haven't been able to use it again.

I was hoping for pink, blue and aqua jewel tones, but with Autumn rolling up, the color schemes are, of course, changing. I loved the flower illustrations on the toss pillows, so I was hooked.

Steven made the little paver patio for the bench last year. We put the rocks in for the path a few weeks ago. This area is in our side yard. It overlooks the rose garden. To the right of the bench is a wash basin I rehabbed, daisies, double pink echinacea and a Big Daddy pink hydrangea that has yet to bloom this year.

While Steven is enjoying the rain days at his job, I am hoping for some sunshine so I can get out in the yard. How is the weather where you are at?

company's coming! front porch update

2009-07-20T13:57:00.004-05:00

We hosted a family gathering at the Cottage of Stone on Saturday... After I finally finished painting my hydrangea wall in my closet, I was able to focus a bit on froo-frooing the house a bit. The weekend weather was glorious and left everyone content to pretty much stay outside for most of the time. I rearranged the furniture on the porch to make it a little cozier and conversational. We also picked up a few vintage finds at the Good JuJu flea market, and we painted the porch ceiling blue. (More on blue porch ceilings in a later post!)

A wacky aerial shot of the porch. I stood on the railing to take this. I thought it gave a good idea of the layout.

I talked about all this stuff previously... pretty much everything on the porch is either a flea market find, or something I bought new and spruced up with paint or fabric. I will put a source list at the end of the post.

This old cooler just needs a new liner. The little bottle opener on the side is really cool. We are stocking it with some old-school glass bottled soda for the boys.

The ceiling is not alarmingly blue. I just did the trim color 2 times lighter. I didn't want blue overload! The little lanterns are battery-powered and looked beautiful lit up at night!

Here is that tatty old rocker from Good JuJu again. It is so comfy with a bulky quilt on the back. The juncus in the old enamel pitcher seems to like living on the porch.

A side-view of the porch from the steps.

Resource List:

Loveseat - Lowe's, Fabric - Rachel Ashwell shower curtain, Pillow's - Home Depot

Wood Sidetable - Target, Paint - Valspar Sea Sparkle

Enamel Container on Table - Vintage, Plant - Pink Hydrangea

Trunk - Vintage, Paint - Rustoleum Heirloom White spray paint

Cooler - Vintage

Rocker - Vintage, Quilt - Home Place, Pillow - Home Depot

Metal Side Table- Target, Enamel Pitcher - Vintage, Plant - Juncus

Rug, Paper Lanterns & Ceramics - Pier 1

Pink Plaid Boots - Wal Mart

my wild pink, orange & aqua closet, in progress

2009-07-15T14:59:00.003-05:00

There is a method to my madness. Really! See... I fell in love with a wallpaper I found online. (Bloomsbury by Villa Nova). It was a UK site, and I haven't located a stockist in the US. The wallpaper had an Arts & Crafts influence, which makes a historic preservationist happy. Yet, with all the stress wallpaper removal has caused in the house, I don't know if I could bring myself to actually hang it myself. Parts of the closet are drywall to boot - which is way more a PITA than steaming off of plaster.

Anyway... I decided my closet was a "fun" space, since I will be hanging my guitars in there. (I can't wait to have them out of my way!) I took the original design, enlarged it, and injected it with a lot of color.

It is not all done yet - but here is a preview. The walls are Behr's Ballerina Gown. The flower petals are Behr's Fresco Cream, the aqua buds are Glidden's Tropical Lagoon, and the centers are Fuschia craft paint I had on hand. The brown edges are leftover dark brown craft paint.

A bit further back...

The original design would have driven me batty. WAY too small and detailed. I enlarged this design 4 times.

I kept the trim Ralph Lauren's French Pink, for now. If it reads too Pepto Bismol, I may paint it white. I am also thinking of doing the backs of the shelves in the orange.

So stay tuned... Hopefully I will have some finished pictures by this weekend! :)

my new closet... crazy idea... good outcome... but too much work!

2009-07-14T14:13:00.002-05:00

Paint zombie!!!!

I have been working on my closet for 3 days straight. All the fine, detail painting I am doing in there is making me go cross-eyed. I can't wait to share finished pictures with you!

We are having a family get together this weekend, so while I am working on the closet, Steven & kids are working on tidying the house and doing a to-do list I put together. Because the front porch ceiling simply HAS to be haint blue. And the birdhouses I so lovingly antiqued need to be mounted on the clematis-covered copper posts since the old ones deteriorated so.

Hope all is going great for you all... Hopefully I will have closet pictures soon!!

new member of the family

2009-07-09T14:07:00.004-05:00

A couple weeks ago, I told you all about a stray cat we had befriended and named Kyle. Kyle died and my kids were quite upset about it. Even the little ceremony we had and the statue we placed in the yard didn't seem to make up for his loss. Click here to read about Kyle

For Fourth of July, we went to Steven's brother's house to celebrate. One of his cats had recently had kittens. There were three left. I believe he said one had died already. There was a little runty kitten there, skin and bones, that we immediately scooped up. One look from the kids, and we had to take him home. The boys decided he looked just like Kyle, so we named the kitten Kyle II.

Kyle II, although he was an outdoor cat, took to the litter box immediately. A trip to the vet confirmed he is on the road to recovery and he has already plumped up to .9 pounds. It is hard to get a picture of a rambunctious kitty, but here he is prowling around the kitchen window:

To show just how tiny he is, I scooped him up for a quick picture:

Welcome home, Kyle!

dreaming of blue kitchens...

2009-07-08T14:13:00.003-05:00

I am a tortured soul... I know I said I was doing the kitchen with B&W, and pink and green accents ... then I saw the Martha Stewart robin's egg blue collection at Macy's. (Right after I bought her cast iron in the green apple color.) And then I start flipping through magazines and see these aqua kitchens. And it makes me think, paint is cheap... I could repaint the walls I just painted 6 months ago...

My cabinets are already white... but the pale blue cooker and hood are to die for.

The pale blue rounded island. The wicker on the bottom cabinets. Yummy! I love butcher block and black counters, too. Only thing I'd change is the white floor. I'd do a reclaimed hardwood.

I love the color of the cabinets. Looking at this picture, it talks me out of painting my cabinets blue since I have white walls... Maybe if just the lowers were blue...

The little splashes of pink in this one is similar to what I was going for... but I feel like it reads too white. I don't want to have a Holly Hobby kitchen, but I do need some color. I hope my floral fantasmo curtains don't read too froo-froo. I want retro, not flowery.

Robin's egg walls and white cabinets, hardwood floor. So pretty, and yet I am thinking I like the white walls better. Isn't that weird? I love color and yet I like the pictures of white walls best. I think I can live with white walls only if there is a lot of color going on everywhere else.

Isn't it pretty? Very 50s. But again... I am still drawn back to the white walls. It's torture!!!

The sloped ceiling makes me love this room!

I have a bunch of magazine clippings to go through. I have so many pink appliances, it would be too difficult for me to go entirely aqua. But maybe I can bring in aqua and keep the pink...

brainstorming colors for my closet

2009-07-08T13:58:00.004-05:00

As if I didn't have enough projects going already, I want to circle back around and work on my closet a bit. This is the closet that connects the master bedroom to the kitchen. In the kitchen, this is the door that I painted with the one -two - three... we put the table in front of it, so you can't pass through it anymore. This was likely the pantry, but later converted to a closet when the house was remodeled in the late 40s.

I have another closet in the master bedroom that I use for my work clothes. This one is for my casual clothes since everything is folded up in laundry baskets. Awhile back, I painted the trim pastel pink and the walls a pale pink. I don't know... the pale pink isn't doing it for me. I like the pastel pink trim, but I am just not convinced on the pale pink.

Artwork in the closet? Yeah, kinda weird. My very good friend, Dave, a.k.a. Damage in the recording biz, painted this huge portrait of me. I am going to get it framed once the closet is all painted up.

The wood floor in the closet is great. I love the old distressed look of the wood... authentic from years of use... I will clean up the little paint blobs. Really, I will.

I found this globe at Habitat Restore for $3. I thought it was an interesting shape and will try to use it in the closet. I just have a bare bulb in there now. I was going to try a jewel-drippy chandy... but this was too cool to pass up.

So there you have it... I am looking for suggestions on what color to paint the closet. I need a wall color, and suggestions for a trim color if you hate the pink. I know pink isn't everyone's thing... but pink, for me, is right up there with aqua / robin's egg blue. :)

Help!!!

a bit about me

2009-07-07T15:17:00.005-05:00

I have been posting all about our home for awhile now. Every now and then I mention something about the boys (Emery, Satchel, Dane and Bowie) or the pets ot Steven, but never really about me. (Other than what I am working on!) So I thought I would share a little about myself as a get-to-know-you post. And hopefully you all will share something fun about yourselves, a link to your blog, etc.

So... My name is Sarah Beth. My friends call me Puck. Long story short, it is a silly nickname from back when I had the time to play hockey. One of many habits I don't seem to have time for anymore!

I like music, dancing, and cars... and before I had house projects and kids coming out of my ears, I liked to perform.

Steven and I met while playing in a band. He plays guitar, and I play bass and sing. Years later, we try to find the time to jam. We do have a band called customgrind and have been working on a CD. However, we haven't done a show since early in my pregnancy with our baby boy, Bowie. I did a lot of shows while pregnant with Dane (now 4), but decided my back couldn't take a heavy guitar and a baby at once anymore. Here I am performing (just a couple month pregnant) at our last show. This was at Whisky Tango, I believe:

I mentioned I like cars. I like to wrench, drive, race, drool over, etc. My first car as a '86 Mustang LX in regetta blue. I have own a string of Mustangs since then. I saved my current car, a 94 Mustang GT, simply because 94/95 was the last year of the 5.0 engine. It has been a project car for me over the years. I have taken it to the drag strip, autocross course and open track. This is my "fun" car in action:

But, you know, the 2-door Mustang is not so kid-friendly. I can't fit all 4 boys, plus Steven, in there. I needed a "mom-mobile." I can't handle the thought of a mini-van, so I decided if I was going to get a station wagon, it had to be a really cool one... I needed a Rambler. Steven did some digging and found a 1963 Rambler Classic 770 wagon for me. It is a work in progress, and early progress at that, but someday I will share pics!

And dancing. It has always been a passion of mine. I have taken ballet, jazz, modern, etc. Most recently, I was involved with a hip hop team. We were working to compete, but our coach moved and it all sort of fell apart. It was great fun (and exercise) while it lasted. Hopefully soon, I can begin dancing again, be it hip hop, ballet or jazz. It is all fun.

You already know I live in Baldwin City, KS. Before that, I lived in Bailey & Castle Rock, Colorado for a few years. I grew up in Fremont, Nebraska and Neola, Iowa. Pretty much a Midwest Girl. I was always amazed by people's perceptions about the Midwest when I would travel around to client sites. Especially in California. Clients would remark that I must really enjoy getting to be in California for a few months, as if it HAD to be better there than my home. I would tell them how much I enjoyed gardening, and how green everything was at home. Glamorous Hollywood is actually pretty brown and a bit dreary, to me. And I didn't met anyone famous. Well, I might have met some reality or MTV hipster, but I never know who the young girls are on the cover of magazines anymore. Do any of them where underpants anymore?

But I digress... Hopefully, you feel like you know me a little more. It is funny how we follow each other's blogs and feel like friends, even though it is all just cyberspace, huh?

a place just for mommy...

2009-07-07T13:17:00.000-05:00

I fell in love with this Cath Kidston tent:

Camera-phone image of my Country Living magazine

Which prompted me to start Googling Cath Kidston tents and found this:

Cath Kidston tent

My 4 boys have an inexpensive tent we picked up at Target... we set it up in the "dog yard" and let them camp out during the summer. Because our dogs are there, and often in the tent with the boys, we think it is good, safe family fun. While my boys probably would camp in a pink tent (they are very much into pink... guess it is the new "boy" thing.), I was thinking more in terms of a mommy get-away.

I never had much pretty, frilly stuff growing up. Maybe that is why I have began embracing my feminine side with decorating lately... I finally LET myself use pink paint and fabric. So, I started thinking, "Why can't I have a pretty pink tent?" Can't a mommy have anything fun?

I have a couple ideas for a nice "mommy hang-out" in my garden. Why not sew up a cute little tent for it? It would be a nice shady place... could be fun! I will keep you posted on what I cook up. :)

a walk along the new garden path

2009-07-06T12:55:00.009-05:00

A few more garden shots, and a little FAQ...

As I said last week, we worked (HARD!) on putting in the garden path that runs beside the house, from the front porch to the fenced off "dog yard." The "dog yard" is the area we let the pups run about, beside our garage, but before you get to the backyard.

I also took the time to do a LOT of editing in the side gardens. I put in a lot of catmint the last couple years, and it got out of control. While we enjoyed the bushy, full look it gave us, it began choking out the other plants. I transplanted the catmint to the other side of the house since the Japanese maple and the Tinkerbell lilac would be big enough to stand their ground against the catmint.

It looks nice from a distance, but up-close, all that bushy catmint had taken over.

Honestly, the little plants beneath all that catmint seemed to say THANK YOU! Once the catmint was out, I was able to access the back layer of plants for a good pruning. I moved the trellis over for the sweet pea since it had grown too tall for the structure it was on, Russian sage got a nice shaping, etc.

Next came the new plants to fill in where the catmint was... Geranium, allium, sedum, cheddars, etc. filled the void.

The are scrawny now, but soon, the new baby plants will bush out and spill onto the path to give me that lush cottage garden look I love.

Ignore the hose and you'll see the neat little peak at the rose garden just around the blue spruce.

The sitting area in the back. I have the baby blue cushions for the bench in the wash. I will share with you the rose garden (to the right) when we get the salvaged gates moved in. Steven replaced this section of the fence and built the cute little double-opening gate. I asked for a scalloped pattern and black, and he did a great job!

The daisy garden around the copper wash basin. I fell in love with the puffy pink echinacea. Soon, the Big Daddy hydrangea will have puffy pink blooms as well. Nothing in the basin yet... maybe this weekend?

Any gardening successes at your home?

deep.. dark... black...

2009-07-02T15:38:00.003-05:00

Mmmm.... I feel in love... I had found this picture awhile back, from Design Sponge, I think:

And then Desire to Inspire posted these today:

These are photos of designer Jessica Helgerson's latest client, an American Foursquare. For those not into architecture, American Four Square are the two-story boxy houses. Usually have a front porch, shutters on the 4 windows on the front... Anyway... being from the same era as my house (late 1800s / early 1900s), this home has woodwork JUST LIKE MINE!

I have been talking about how I am making this shift from liking white, to going black... And I keep looking at the woodwork in the house, which is stained a medium-to-darkish brown... and thinking, these need to be dark to POP (yes, I said POP, sue me) against my pale walls.

This woodwork is the kick-in-the-butt I needed to make myself want to strip down the woodwork and go dark. Not painted black. But stained ebony. Mmmm...

Now, the white walls? Not something I can go to. I have 4 boys, and I can tell you with light sage green, powder blue, etc... my walls show little bitty handprints like crazy. I know I couldn't deal with white everywhere. My bathroom has white since it is my private sanctuary, and it looks amazing against the aqua blue floor. But, notsomuch in my living room. I am just not quite there yet.

I also love the mix of furniture. I tend to pick up antique / vintage pieces and fix them up. I like things not looking like they all came from the same page of a Pottery Barn catalog. I love it. What would YOU call this style?

first glimpse: the garden path

2009-07-02T13:02:00.002-05:00

The path is really looking great! Steven and the boys finished up the weeding, and Steven rolled out the mesh until we ran out (oops!). I loaded up the wheelbarrow with stones and dumped them onto the path until I thought my hands and back were going to give out. Steven, manly man that he is, finished the last loads himself.

With a trip to Home Depot to get some more mesh, we have enough to wrap up the path today. So I can move on to a new problem... more about that in a bit. I shall call that "Operation Catmint."

Here are some pictures of the path, and stay tuned later for more pictures and information on "Operation Catmint."

A close-up of the path. The stones look very pretty when wet, but when dry, well... they look like stones. But I can't believe how great it is to walk on a real path and not a muddy mess! That is catmint overhanging the path... can you guess what Operation Catmint might be?

Here is a quick shot of the path... this is going from the slate sidewalk around the side of the house. The path goes all the way to our back yard. See those giant bushy catmint plants? See where I am going with this? Oh, and our neighbors house in the background. Our neighbor is elderly and wheelchair bound, so his yard usually is pretty straggly. Steven hits a lot of it with the lawnmower since his SIL isn't always over to mow. The fence we are building will give a nice buffer and block out the view of his AC unit there.

So, what do you think? Looks like it's getting better, right?

a ton of rock for the path... literally!

2009-07-01T14:14:00.002-05:00

These guys are called "mini jacks." They are large rocks, about 2-3" in size and are varying black and whites, mainly white with black speckles. I originally fell in love with the all-black, smooth mexican beach pebbles, but my budget couldn't afford them. So we went with these mini jacks at Sturgis landscaping for $150 a ton.

It may not look like a lot, but this is a bit over a ton (1.16 tons to be exact). At Sturgis, they had me weigh the truck before and after. I like that - some places estimate by approximately how much is in a Bobcat scoop.

Steven thinks the path will need another load - which will make a LOT of rocks! He needs to do a bit of leveling work on the little paver pad he built along our path for our little scrolly bench... the rain has been washing away the sand and causing havoc with his pavers. He will get everything back to square, lock it in with some paver retaining edger stuff, and then start laying the landscaping mesh on the path. (After the boys finish weeding the path, of course). We put in the garden path last year but haven't gottenaround to the rocks until now... So, here we go!

I really can't wait to share pictures of the path with you all. We see it in our head and it looks so pretty! I have some editting to do in the garden since last year... my catmints all got 3 times bigger than the tags said. My entire garden is being taken over by giant, bushy catmint. So I need to transplant the catmint where they are less invasive and replace them with something less bushy. Maybe some pink forget-me-knots.

Any suggestions on a pretty, cottage-y plant that gets, oh, 6-8" high and is pink or purple? :)

more salvaging, gates, doors and wood!

2009-06-29T14:16:00.004-05:00

The barn and house have finally been leveled for the highway project, so Steven can rest a day or two before our next big challenge (yardwork!). Steven received only a days notice that the barn would be leveled, so he braved the 100 degree heat and got to play with a chainsaw. (The fun of the chainsaw was cancelled out by the dive-bombing wasps and extreme heat). But the finds he made are fabulous and definitely worth it. Someday, Bowie will be old enough to understand that his walls are made out of wood from an old barn. Every time he looks at his walls, he can image the horses that might have lived in the barn. (There were haylofts and pulleys, so we know it was a fully functioning barn.)

OK, OK... Here is the stuff!

You all won't be as excited about the wood as we are, of course. But hopefully you can appreciate taking something that was going to be bulldozed and burned, and turning it into a beautiful wall in a nursery! What really made us want this wood are the gorgeous saw marks. We are told these saw marks were made by an old tractor blade.

Another shot of the saw marks.

I don't know what I will do with this old door, but we knew it had to be saved. It has perfect glass in it, it just needs some TLC.

Look at the detail on the top of the door. How could this be thrown away?

Here are two mismatched iron gates. They are super heavy! I plan on using these for my climbing roses. I have wooden trellis in the rose garden now, but these are one of a kind and hsould be quite charming.

The handle on one of the gates. Still works!

An old wooden door. I don't know what we will do with it, but it has character.

My favorite part of the door- an old leather strap for a handle.

Not sure where we will put this old gate yet... but it will find a home somewhere in the yard.

Stay tuned... I will be picking up the rock for the path that runs through our side-yard garden. Once the path is done, I will be able to share pictures of it with you for the first time. I can't wait!!

reader question... about distressing with sandpaper vs wax

2009-06-28T16:53:00.005-05:00

I got an email from dear reader, Carla, asking if I ever have distressed my furniture. Now, it is not that I hate distressed furniture. I really don't mind it. I have distressed furniture before - I just didn't use sandpaper so that I could save the detailing on the furniture. (Really - a little wax is a miracle). I have an old sideboard in the dining room that I distressed, as well as a table I got at Pottery Barn on mega clearance. It was a mahogany Parker table that normally went for $1400 and I got it for $99. It had scratches on the top, and while I could have refinished it, I primed and painted it white and distressed it with wax. I always have the option of stripping it and staining it a dark color since I used wax.

I haven't recently distressed anything. I sort of think just being in the old house with a bunch of old furniture is the spot where I am at. I actually am gravitating a bit more toward black than white, but I do adore beachy white rooms. I feel I tend to live my life in color. I feel like my rooms need color.

Anyway, Carla... to answer your question, yes, I have distressed furniture. Just not very recently. For those interested in using wax to save the edges of their furniture, jsut run a bit of candle wax, parrafin, whatever you have, along the edge where you want the "distress" marks to be. Paint it up, while it is still tacky, wipe off the paint. The wax will let it come right off. For contrast, use black paint under the white so black shows through. Or you can use some light stain over the white to give it aging. Antiquing paste or wax also works great for that.

square peg, round hole...

2009-06-25T19:49:00.005-05:00

OK, here's the deal. I don't live anywhere near anything coastal. Not an ocean. Not a lake. Not even a pond. I absolutely adore the pictures I find when I flip through Coastal Living at the newstand. (Never bought the mag, again... not near the coast). I am landlocked in Kansas here, people.

I love the bedroom above. It is breezy and beachy. I don't see a bunch of sea shells or starfish anywhere, so I would feel comfortable pulling off something similar.

My problem is this... I remember as a kid, some of our relatives would come visit us on our farm in Iowa. They would breeze in, with their weird clothes (We don't wear flip flops on the farm. They are hazardous there) and I'd wonder what their house must look like. And then the mom (now an ex as they are divorced) would start pushing their toddler son about Grandpa's Tractor. And she'd say how they were doing a tractor room (to get favor from Grandpa, I am sure). And it always struck me as phony and odd since these people lived in San Dimas, California and no where near a farm. It is sort of like when a yuppie pulls up to the Hells Angels on his brand shiny new Harley and wants to be one of the guys.

I can't bring myself to put oars or fishnets on my walls. Well, not that I'd want to put fishnet up anyway. But I see the little shells and such, all the nautical looks, in the Pottery Barn catalog and I just can't do it. Then I think about some rich lady in her McMansion over in Leawood, Kansas (again, landlocked, people), who probably ordered her entire living room from page 15 of the PB catalog.

So... I ask you... Would you feel weird trying to do an obviously beachy look (not just airy, but shells and all) when you are not near a beach? Or a farm look (complete with a milk can as an end table or something) when you are urban? Or an Asian influence when you are not Asian and live on a farm?

Michael Jackson... Billy Jean... Moonwalk

2009-06-25T18:45:00.002-05:00

Michael debutting his Moonwalk during Billy Jean at the Motown 25. The man was a badd ass. Despite what he became, I still recognize him for what he once was.

a door for the outdoors

2009-06-23T15:33:00.005-05:00

I am sooo happy to share our latest Potting Shed acquisition with you! I mentioned Habitat Restore to you all before in my Kitchen Hardware on the Cheap post. Basically, it is in association with Habitat for Humanity, and people can donate used (or new) building materials and such. They have everything from light fixtures to tile to windows.

We picked up 4 antique wood shutters, which will either be used as shutters for those antique windows Steven salvaged from a tear-down since they happen to be the same size, or possibly as shelves in the shed when matched up to some brackets... that is undecided.

My new favorite thing though is this door that we got 20% off on at Habitat Restore:

Once I saw the crackly stained glass, I was in love:

The door is circa early 1900s, according to the tag. It is really heavy and has great old hinges, so I would tend to agree on the age estimate.

So I will really have to begin work on a new shed design that incorporates the two antique windows and this door, which will lead from the potting shed area into the little screen porch on the left side.

Oh, tonight Steven will be hitting another teardown for some antique kitchen cabinets. From teh pictures he took, I am really excited since they are exactly the look I am going for in my shed.

For those wondering about all these tear-downs I am referring to... Steven is in civil engineering (without being too specific). He is working on a new highway project that has enacted eminient domain. Now, as a historic preservationist, eminient domain can make me sad, if gorgeous buildings are being taken out for no reason. In this case, the existing highway has so many fatalities on it, that a safer highway has to happen. And everyone is taking great care to respect the families and the homes impacted. Steven happened to know one of the home owners (the house where we got the windows), and the owner was happy that someone was doing good things with the materials, rather than just having them hit a landfill.

So hopefully tomorrow I will have some kitchen cabinets to share with you. I hope you will continue to follow the Journey of My Potting Shed. I think it will be an amazing project. I would love to hear about any resources you all run across. :) One book I am looking at ordering, maybe on Overstock, is called Shed Chic and is all about people making sheds into great workspaces! Also, Country Garden Magazine has done some awesome pictorials on potting sheds lately.