can't stop...

gathering ideas and planning my christmas decorating .  because while thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday (much less stressful) i A.D.O.R.E christmas decorating.  here are some pics of the ideas i would like to incorporate for my christmas tablescape.  can't wait to get started.

(from http://www.iheartnaptime.blogspot.com/)

(reindeer and birds from www.potterybarn.com)

i want to start right now.  but my kitchen is only half painted. 

and this weekend is palm springs with my besties.

curse you menopause.  it's all your fault that i can't stay focused.

why i love the internet

because i get a kazillion ideas.  and it gets my brain going.  and ideas flowing.  why sometimes it even gets my heart pumping.  i could peruse design and decor and crafting sites all day long.  and because of the many hours that i spend blog hopping i have seen some amazing stuff.  so amazing that i have done something i have never done before.  decorate for halloween.  ok, maybe not 'decorate'.  more like tablescape.
here's my dining room table decked out for halloween.

wish i could take credit for this spooktacular (yes, i amuse myself) idea.

but i can't.  it came from here.  check it out.  amazing.



why i store stuff under the couch

i have this funky angled wall in my dining room.  it is only 31" wide.  it used to house the pool cues but since letting go of the pool table and actually getting a dining room the wall has been bare.  i have looked at several architectural pieces but just didn't find what i wanted.  while vacuuming tonight i came across two old ceiling tiles that i forgot i had.

bingo.

i layered them and i knew right where they needed to go.

i think they'll stay...for now.

mine vs. theirs

these are my chairs.  (given to me by a friend.  aren't i a lucky girl.)

i'm swooning over these chairs.  aren't they gorgeous.

i want these chairs.  i want these chairs real bad.

and my chairs could be these chairs.

just paint the frames black.

reupholster the seats and backs in a similar fabric.

easy peasy...but...there's always a but....

i can't get the seats and backs off my chairs.  i even took them to an upholsterer.

just to get the seats and backs removed.

he wouldn't touch them.

he said the seats and backs were glued on.  tight.  real tight.

i'm tempted to take a sledge hammer to the bottoms and backs and pound away.

because when my chairs look like these chairs my dining room will be complete.

and then i could post pictures.

if i could take pictures.

another story.

i'll keep you posted though on my demolition.

i'm determined to get those chairs.

things are never what they seem

especially in room redos.  our new floors and dining room redo are taking  f.o.r.e.v.e.r.  the floors have been down for a couple of weeks.  but it took that long for the special order transition moulding to come in.  my question, if you stock the floor planks why is the transition moulding a special order?  and then there are these little spacer things that stablize the planks as they are being laid AND maintain the "proper" spacing for the transition moulding.  at least that's what the spacers are supposed to do.  but news flash...they don't maintain the proper spacing.  but you don't know that until the special order transition moulding comes in.  then you find out that the moulding won't fit in the space that was maintained by the spacers.  so frustrating!  especially for the boy i live with because he had to take a router all around the perimeter of the dining room and family room floors and  make that space wider so that he can then install that special order transition moulding.  and do you know what a router and wood do in the house.

this.

and it settles everywhere.

the boy i live with must really love me.  cause he hardly said any swear words.

but i love my new stripes.  and new floors.  and new baseboards. 

and if that boy i live with didn't need to golf THREE days a week i might be showing you the whole new room!

thrifting find

last week i stopped by the salvation army thrift store.  i have been on the hunt for a new dining room table.  a round one that would hold 6-8 people.  i walked to the back of the store.  and there it was.

this table.  (sans the chairs.)

brand new with the tags still hanging on it.

it sported a salvation army sticker price tag of $180.  hhhmmm i thought.  not the right color.  i want white.  but i can sand and paint.  and it would be perfect for my space.  love the base.  yes, this is the table.

up walks a salvation army employee.  with a big red special poster.  he sticks the poster on my table.

price $50.

sold.

this is my table today.  the sanding has begun.

i can't stop looking at this picture.  i can't wait to get the look.

chairs are next.  then the bookcases.  white accessories. 

 

and can you see that clock from a pottery barn catalog.  how cool is that.  perfect for on top of my dining room bookcases.  my next project.  (sorry babe, i know how you hate my projects.) 

transition

                    the pool table has found a new home with dave and jen.
dave and jen...enjoy your new toy.

i hope to soon be enjoying my new dining room.

we went from this

to this

now here is where i would like to go.

from ballard designs.

a white dream.   a lovely white dream.

even the most neutral colors pop off the white.

and as the caption says, repetition is powerful.

now if i only had the 6,000 or so dollars it would cost to get this look.

craigslist here i come.    

home - (hohm) – noun; the place in which one's domestic affections are centered.

from this

to this

much better.

yesterday's projects

this is my laundry "room"..."room" being a word only a builder would use.  because a space that measures 10' by 7' is not a room...a closet maybe.  or perhaps a pass through.  yes, that's what this is.  a pass through.  and i pass through it a dozen times a day.  i've tried to make it an inspiring place because sometimes i do more than just pass through to the garage.  sometimes  i "wash, rinse, fold, repeat" in here. so yesterday morning i got up and decided to add a little pizazz. 

i got an old frame, some chalkboard paint, and my vinyl cutter and perked it up.

and can i just say i love the orange frame on the chalkboard.  oh that beth rubin.  she knows her stuff.

( jen, you and miss beth must be bff' since you've been adding touches of orange for years.)

i wanted a chalkboard...a place to jot down reminders and write little love notes to that boy i live with.  and, of course, every chalkboard needs some vinyl.  mine says, "scrivere, i verbo; esprimere o comunicare nella scrittura.  italian.  translation - write, verb: to express or communicate in writing.  (because someday i'm going to italy and i need to be able to write about it.)

vinyl wall art, wal mart paint and a sneak preview

in the six years or so we have lived in this house, i have had many things in this niche in our master bedroom.  i've had a wrought iron wall decor grille thing-a-ma-jiggy, candle wall sconces, a tall narrow print that i just leaned against the back of the niche.  none of them seemed to please me.  in redoing the master i wanted to do something different for this troublesome little spot.  and since vinyl wall art is so b.i.g. right now and i just happen to have a vinyl cutter, i thought i would design some vinyl wall art.  i have to say, i am pleased with the design.  i am not pleased, however, with the wal mart paint that i recently used to paint the back of the niche.  talk about cheap paint.  first off, when i painted it about 2 weeks ago, the paint was so runny it just dripped down the wall.  and in applying my vinyl art, wal mart's cheap paint actually came off the wall as i positioned the vinyl.  which has never happened before and i have installed a lot of vinyl.  now i have to touch up the wall with some minuscule paint brush that i don't have.  lesson learned...no more wal mart paint.  it's cheap and it stinks. 

but you now have a sneak preview of one little piece of my master redo.

and here's another one.

this was painted with benjamin moore paint.  almost $50.00 a gallon.

but it went on like silk.  so worth it.

(sorry about that cord...i hate cords.  i'll be sure to tuck it away before i snap another picture.)

it's complicated

i've seen the movie twice.  yes, i loved it and i'd go see it a third time.  but seriously, forget the movie with it's comedic yet ever so poignant content.  the set design for jane's (meryl streep, the main character) house is absolutely T.O.  D.I.E.  F.O.R.  (an i never write in capital letters.)  i find myself at least twice a day googling the set designer, beth rubino, to peruse her work.  her relaxed yet elegant style (and in this case, not a cliche) has me mesmerized.  her color palette...browns, creams, greens with a blush (that word, blush, is used strictly to entertain my family and give them another reason to laugh at me) of oranges and yellows feels so comfortable and right.  she mixes antiques with squishy, big, comfortable furniture.  natural elements are everywhere.  the dinner and glassware are beautiful without being fussy or formal.  her little vases of fresh flowers are in such unexpected places.  the woman is a genius.  i want to make a new goal for 2010. to visit the set/location of it's complicated.
i have a very strong desire to see it in person.
now how to make it happen?

isn't it lovely.

i just can't stop looking at it.

(these images and more can be found at www.traditionalhome.com)