hypothetically speaking ...

Let's say you inherited this house but it came with certain conditions:

1. The furniture had to stay. (Other than the barstools, those can go. And maybe the coffee table. But you have two rough kids, so keep this in mind.)
2. The kitchen had to maintain it's same footprint, granite and appliances. (For now.)
3. The wall color needed to stay the same. (It's SW Universal Khaki - a slightly gray/green neutral.)

The rest (I realize that doesn't leave a ton) is fair game. Light fixtures, TV built-ins, rock fireplace ... what would you do?

~ Would you rip out the rock fireplace, install drywall and a more traditional mantel? Or would you install some sort of mantel on the existing rock? Or not do a mantel at all?

~ Would you totally reconfigure the TV built-ins to lose that stair-step thing going on? Would you move the TV over the fireplace and make that whole unit a bookcase/storage piece?

~ What you would do to add artwork and color?

The nitty gritty pics {to show you the bones}:




{Yeah, I know. What the heck is going on with that huge frame? I can explain later. Since this is now your house, you can decide whether to paint the frame and put something in it, or put something else there altogether.}





The prettier pics {a tiny bit of styling involved}:













Furniture details:
The sofa is a linen-ish slip with taupe piping and a small ticking stripe on the back cushions. The chairs are a barely-off-white matelasse.

an official diagnosis

I have DADD. Design Attention Deficit Disorder.

Case in point:

~ I like this:


And this:


Almost equally well. Yet the two cannot coexist peacefully in one home. No?

big reveal of the big boy room

It took months, but the big boy room is finally {almost} complete.











I have always loved images of rooms with maps. I guess I just have a thing for maps. I love the colors and the fact that they look somewhat like abstract art, yet they represent something very concrete. So when it came time to do this room, I naturally gravitated towards maps. After all, they are somewhat masculine, plus they are kid-friendly and are something that can grow with them.

I saw this post while searching for ideas about using maps as wallpaper. She mentioned finding map inserts in National Geographic magazines. Well, lo and behold, I had an entire cabinet of NGs waiting for me.

I did two walls because I wasn't sure at the time where we would put the bed. I think I would have been happy with just one wall. Live and learn!

As with the maps, most of the items in the room, from the furniture to the accessories were things I already owned.

The most important part ... my "client" loves it. :)

nursery on a budget

I was enlisted to help my dear friend with the creation of a nursery for her baby girl. I think most parents of more than one kid will attest to the fact that you go all out on the first baby, but the second kid has to deal with some hand-me-downs, and the realization that the decor of a nursery pales in comparison to the amazing wonder of the baby herself.

That said, we did our best to create a feminine, welcoming space for baby Kate. I convinced my friend to keep the warm, milk chocolate colored walls. I thought the warmth offset the bright fabrics we were bringing in, and allowed the all white furniture to pop.







The painting above the changing table was done by baby K's grandmother. It had previously hung in the guest room, but we knew that it deserved a special place in a baby girl's room. It served as the inspiration for the bedding and overall color palette. All of the furniture was re-purposed from big brother's former nursery, along with the white frames {which were awaiting photos of the baby when I took these pictures}.







I created the large "K" using fabrics that coordinated with the bedding. The base is simply a giant cardboard letter purchased from Joann's. A bit of ironing and a lot of glue produced something that was inspired by the smaller fabric letters that are found at Anthropologie. (Which are currently hanging in my own daughter's nursery.) I have all of the progress photos of that project and will do a tutorial if I ever find the time.



Hope you enjoyed the tour!

projects

My new year's resolution is to work on the house again. We are sooo close to being done, but there are a few rooms that are still lacking in a major way.

First up is my office/craft room ...

The current color was ill-picked (by me) in a frantic effort to get everything painted before we moved in. The color is in the tan family, but it is way too golden. I would like to find something closer to a mushroom. Not too dark, but not too light.

Here is some inspiration:





I already have that pecan finished wood going on with the furniture. Not my first choice, but I am trying to reasonable and I am using a chest and bookshelf from my son's room - why buy something when I have perfectly usable pieces. I painted our old dining room table to use as a desk ... I'm not thrilled with the color and should probably repaint it, but I'm sure that will get put on the back-burner.

The super-scary "before" picture. Stay tuned for an "after."