We managed to put quite a few gallons of paint on the past several days! The dining room went from deep gold to soft Tradewind (Sherwin Williams). Every wall is so deeply colored that it takes three coats to cover -- primer and two coats of color. Every. wall. That is why it is taking us so long:-) The light fixtures also express an Old World Tuscan flavor with oil rubbed bronze and gold globes. One of the things we noted when looking at the house was the consistency. There was an obvious master vision and it carried all the way through. The colors flowed and were consistent with architectural details and accessories like the light fixtures. Wheels said as we walked out the door on our first visit that this house was a jewel box. Our vision is different but we are working ... [Read More]
home decor
Basement Makeover
Remember this unique wallpaper from the Stair Makeover we did a while back?? It was here when we moved in and I'm so glad to say it's no longer a part of the scenery! Those ships have sailed into the sunset!!! One of our projects over the holidays was to work on the Basement room. It was a playroom, a model train room, an exercise room and, eventually, a very tired room. A fresh wall made that even more obvious. Here's what was here -- besides the ships: A wall full of overflowing bookshelves. I sold many of them, donated a bunch and whittled almost 5000 down to about 500. Model trains, cars, and anything else that had wheels were displayed on the two long walls at head height.Unpainted doors covered the water meter.And this "lovely" carpet that has been here literally for ... [Read More]
Christmas at the Front Door
The front porch is all decked out in its Christmas finery.Some new, some old. A bit of tradition, a bit of contemporary neon. A Christmas Welcome. Snowflakes are the theme this year. Traditional. In glittery red and gold. Not so traditional. Add the lime green bow and swirls on the snowflake decked packages. Definitely not traditional! But that’s good! And at night they really glow. Excuse me a moment. I have to go tuck that electrical plug back out of sight. The little red cardinal cheeps cheerfully whenever anyone walks by. I like it. Even if someone found it a little unnerving to have a bird chirping at night when they rang the doorbell. We had a good laugh. Maybe that’s why I like it! I made a new garland this year. It didn’t take a lot of time ... [Read More]
Hang A Wreath – No ladder required
Wheels is the master of life hacks. Give him a challenge and he’ll figure out how to solve a problem with what’s on hand, make square pegs fit in round holes and get things done faster and better. When we decided to add a wreath to each front window on our two story house during the Christmas season, that became another challenge. How to hang a wreath securely with minimal tools in the least amount of time possible? His solution means it takes him ten minutes to hang all the wreaths each year. And that includes going to the garage attic to get them. Here's the secret of his simple solution! It uses curling ribbon and an old bead garland. You could replace the curling ribbon with anything similar but it must be strong and thin. Strong to hold the weight of the wreath in ... [Read More]
Stellar Staircases – The Reality
For weeks, I had been collecting inspiration pictures for redoing our basement stairs. What I finally pictured was a beautiful staircase with gorgeous dark stained treads, gleaming white risers and lilting teal blue stenciled designs. Then reality happened. We started with this lovely carpet covering each stair. Classic Seventies. Original. Chosen by the previous owner. What can I say? Basement stairs have been low priority. Wheels ripped it off and I began unstapling the pads and prying up the old tack strips. This was what I found beneath the carpet. Not pretty. Not pretty at all. I know the wallpaper is ugly and really strange, too. Does it help if I tell you that the previous owner also chose it? I didn't think so. In fact, now you know we have been living ... [Read More]
Autumn Porch Welcome
A beautiful fall day -- perfect for creating a welcoming porch for the season. For the door, a simple sign proclaiming fall and hung with brown satin ribbon. A huge pumpkin, kissed by late afternoon sunlight and nestled in autumn leaves and berries atop a black urn. Bytes has dibs on carving a jack o lantern. Imagine coming at this dimpled brilliant beauty with a sharp knife -- not me. Beautiful pumpkin's companions. That's a swan gourd at the end. Looks just like a swan, doesn't it? If swans were green and spotted. It's shaped like a swan I meant to say. The stem looks like the beak -- even though you can't find it for the scarecrow's twine ties. On the other side, shooting into the morning sun, Mr. Strawman rests his foot on the little pumpkin. My dad always ... [Read More]
