Category Archives: Renovating

{Home} Library love

05 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by in Decorating, Personal Information, Renovating

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First on my “Dream List ~ 2012” for our home is tackling the library, sometimes referred to as the reading room.

Those dear sweet blog-friends that follow me regularly may remember my repainting the room and giving it a mini-makeover HERE.  The upholstery work was on the list but the funds weren’t in the designated envelop! 🙂

{via tumblr}

So, thanks to my “birthday group” girlfriends I’ve been given the fabric of choice for the small loveseat as well as the window seat.  Lyn (Hubby) has agreed the labor can be my January birthday gift, and since I’m not good with delayed gratification I hope to have the entire project finished by the end of January, wish me luck.

{Aerie}

I don’t have images of the fabrics I’ve selected yet, so I thought I would give you all some library love from the images I’ve collected of book lined spaces in homes.  I must say, as I sat in my library yesterday visualizing the finished sofa and window seat, I could totally visualize ceiling to floor book cases in the room.  That’s not going to happen but it would be really pretty!

{via}

Michael Smith

House Beautiful

Pieter Estersohn

Jane Moore

If I installed a secret door it would lead to the garage, don’t think that would be too great.

{via Slim Paley}

{via the adventures of tartanscot}

and the piece de resistance…

…an ‘authors’ wall…how cool is that? Wouldn’t that be a fun addition to a library?

And while we’re on the topic, did you get any good books this Christmas?  Do you have an ‘to do’ renovations on your list for 2012?

{Home} Guest bathroom reveal

18 Tuesday Oct 2011

Posted by in Decorating, Renovating

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Many of you know about the much-needed face lift we gave our guest bathroom.  I know this is the part where I show you before pictures.  Now that I look at them I’m really embarrassed at how bad this bathroom looked for far too long.

before

By way of an excuse, albeit feeble, the bathroom had been remodeled when we bought the house.  The former owner put a chocolate brown tub, toilet and sink in the tiny bathroom.  When we moved in our son was 3 years old and I soon became pregnant with son #2.  We used the bathroom as-is for many years and at some point I wallpapered with a rich, wonderful Ralph Lauren paisley, which tied in with the chocolate brown theme already going.  Over time the  brown tub, much like a dark car, became scratched and unsightly.  I was working for a local newspaper, writing advertorial, and a story I was asked to write was about a coating company that re-coated tubs, sinks and the like.  They offered to coat our chocolate brown tub and sink and we purchased a new toilet.  The bathroom, at that juncture, really did look much better.  Unfortunately it didn’t last…and after hosting a baby shower one weekend I noticed a bubble in the sink.  That was the coating finally coming off.

So, as home dreamers do, many months ago I began trying to figure out what I wanted this bathroom to look like should we get the opportunity to remodel.  I knew I wanted a white vanity, tub and toilet and I wanted a Carrara marble floor.  I kept coming back to a few of the Pottery Barn bathroom vanities and ended up selecting PB’s Lucca Simple Single Mini Sink Console.  It’s on the smaller size but then so is the bathroom so they work well together.  The vanity is free standing and comes with a Carrara marble top and a white sink…check and check.  We knew from our experience remodeling our master bath that we wanted a Toto toilet.  They are engineered to be very efficient using only 1.6 gallons of water; that and my LCD recessed light in the ceiling is my nod to being environmentally kind (baby steps).

after

When it came to the bathtub I knew we wanted a taller tub than we had.  The look seems more custom to me and I was hoping to get a slightly narrower tub than the existing foot print the old  tub had.  We visited our local Pacific Sales and with Tao’s expert help selected the Arariana…it’s taller than the old tub and 2″ narrower.  Believe it or not, 2″ makes a bit of a difference in this postage sized bathroom.

I realize it isn’t finished in this photo but I thought it would be beneficial to document the process.

during construction

after

The sconces are Pottery Barn, as is the Oval Lattice Mirror/Medicine Cabinet.  I love the subway tile in our master bath (even though it was made from a tumbled travertine) so we went with simple white 3″ x 6″ subway tile (Daltile) {thanks Gretchen for helping me with the tile order} with a Carrara accent (Home Depot) at the ceiling.  With a grand baby I discovered that when they are taking baths it’s helpful to have a hose attachment to the shower so we went with the Hansgrohe Unica wall bar with traditional trim and head in polished chrome.  In fact I used polished chrome throughout.  I really wanted to keep this bathroom timeless and simple.  The walls are Benjamin Moore, London Fog {thanks Linda for helping with this decision}.

By the way, there is a towel bar beneath this picture but when I took these we hadn’t installed it yet.  It looks like the shorter version of the towel bar on the side of the vanity…Restoration Hardware.

We interviewed 3 separate contractors and decided to use  Martin who did a wonderful job for us.

Sorry I wasn’t able to get a wide-angle picture of this room, it really looks so much better than these images from my point and shoot.  Nice to have the room re-do checked off the list.

{Home} In-house vignettes

15 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by in Collections & Accessories, Decorating, Renovating

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As I’ve said before, decorative accessories are a weakness of mine.  I pare down in the spring and summer months and seem to want more on display in the fall  and winter. In any event, I find the “icing” on a room to draw me in and I always enjoy re-doing a space where just the right vignette can give me a little lift with the change {it’s always the little things isn’t it?}.

Some of my favorite blog sites excel at excellent vignettes such as French Kissed, Vignette Design, and for the love of a house.

 

via French Kissed

via Vignette Designs

I have a couple of areas in my house that always stump me, vignette/accessories speaking.  The end of the bar in our kitchen, the bay window in the kitchen and the shelf over the kitchen desk are 3 areas that I find need to be changed regularly.  Sometimes I want a change due to the season, but I confess, restlessness with the way something looks is part of it too.   The shelf over our sofa in our family room also came under some decor scrutiny this past weekend and it received a change as well.   Hey, I was on a roll, what can I say?

The above was one of my past vignettes for the bar.

Over Labor Day weekend I decided to  “start off fall cleaning”.   I removed  everything from the shelf over the sofa in the family room to give the existing Toby jugs a good cleaning and to dust the cob webs from the space.  (I know, that’s a terrible admission, but its a fact, we get cob webs).  Clearing the decks really can give you new perspective and open up the doors of creativity.   Hubby and I both thought maybe it was time to store the Toby jugs and maybe re-purpose some of my nick-knacks, as hubby likes to call them.

This is the shelf above our family room sofa, up until the past weekend it had a collection of Royal Dalton Toby jugs and books.  We were tired of that arrangement and re-purposed some of the “smalls” I had hanging around in storage areas of the house.  When you have the ‘bug’ to change things it helps to have a stash of treasures you can draw from! {note to self:  too bad the heater vent is white, need to think about painting that the wall color}

Here is the left side of the shelf above the sofa.  The antique scale has visited several areas of my home, including the bar.  I pray there’s no earthquakes to send it toppling down on our heads!

Here are the other spaces I re-arranged this past weekend.

Barley twist is a favorite of mine and this footed barley twist cake stand (or whatever it was originally intended for} seemed to elevate my wooden ivy planter to just the right level for a traditional English vignette.

Not sure this is making my heart sing, but I’ll keep working on this spot on the bar…certainly something will inspire me soon.

This is the lower bookshelf in the shelves above the kitchen desk.  Being such an accessories nut I chose to restrict the cookbooks to the top shelf only…that way I can put some little nick-knacks on this shelf, like the antique pewter butter dish and my pewter topped dog-cookie canister…doggies are very appreciative.

Do you like to change things from time to time, maybe only for the season change, but it does make things interesting, don’t you think?

{Home} Paneled walls

24 Wednesday Aug 2011

Posted by in Decorating, DIY (do it yourself), Renovating

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There is something about wood paneled walls that I find so appealing.  I like the formal raised-panel walls just as much as the simple bead board walls.

Some of you may know I recently applied bead board paneling to our master bathroom walls and I have been very happy with the outcome.

But whether it’s a country style home or formal, traditional décor, the wood walls always invite me in.

The above wood paneled walls in white contrast the black sliding barn doors beautifully.  Black and white are such a classic.  Love the white slip covered chaise in the left corner of the image.

The pale blue/gray paint is so lovely in this more formal bedroom.  I’ve never painted wood paneled wall anything but shades of white but I love the calming effect of this whisper blue.

This bedroom is a flip of the bedroom above.  The raise paneled walls give the room a historic feel, as if you’re in an older, well-preserved home.

This Country Living room has great windows!  I actually like the antique white against the white paneling.  Love the linens!

I like the contrasting paint color of the worm-wood paneling and the bamboo shade…Dan Marty Designs

Design Chic posted a piece on banquets.  I really like this room for it’s wall of glass front cupboards to the white tongue in grove paneling.

 A Bunny Williams room…so wonderfully symmetric and calming in its neutral palate.

Isn’t this family room inviting…sisal or some natural fiber rug, overstuffed sofa and 2 great club chairs.  The paneling just adds to the warmth for me.

Now this is a bathroom…maybe in my next life!  Love the tub and the raised panel walls {sigh}

This paneling helps make the room more inviting, 2-story ceilings can be cold.

I like the extra wide opening to the living room, such a luxurious detail.

Isn’t this pretty, raised panel screen doors, paneled ceiling and wonderful doors.

Hand painted wood floors break up all of the wood but I really like the planks on the wall running perpendicular to the floor.

By the way, I fully intended to post some images of formal room with carved paneling but it seems I haven’t saved any.  I guess I’ve subconsciously embraced a simple, classic style of decor. 🙂

Do you have a paneled room in your home? 

 

{Home} Paint colors…making a difficult choice

12 Friday Aug 2011

Posted by in Decorating, Renovating

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,

As some of you may know, we’re finally renovating our guest bathroom.  It’s a bit of a good news/bad news deal.  Good news:  I have many of the major components [vanity, wall sconces, canned lighting, fan, bathtub, toilet, crown, base and door casing selected; bad news:  I’ve decided to select a paint color with a hint of gray  to it to go with the Carrara (thanks to Vignette Design for setting me straight on the spelling) marble vanity top and floor.

image via Vignette Design {1}

The vanity we have ordered (below) is a Pottery Barn design.  Due to limited space in the guest bathroom we choose this little 26″ wide piece.  The counter-top is Carrara marble, and is part of the reason I’m looking at gray paint.

This is the recessed mirror/medicine cabinet we’ve ordered.  The wood looks aged and has a little white/gray to it.

The wall sconces we’re using are these Pottery Barn beauties.   Again, I think they lend themselves to the gray I have in my mind…yet to be found!


I visit a lot of blog sites and am almost always impressed with how lovely rooms can look with gray paint.  However, I get to the store and am overwhelmed by all of the shades of gray to choose from, not to mention the samples they offer are the size of a postage stamps and it can be difficult to select from that sample.

While I love this bathroom by Jill Sharp Brinson, I believe it’s too dark for my small space.

This paint (below) is “Natures Essentials” by Benjamin Moore…its very close to what I imagine but I couldn’t find the color at my hardware store today so the search continues.

This gray and white (below) is lovely but may be a little dark, the room in the image is quite bright and cheery so it can handle the darker paint.

{2}

What’s that you say, just buy the little sample pots so many paint companies offer?  Let me just say this about that…they rarely have the color in sample size that I’m interested in and when they do it can be pretty pricey.  Does this ever happen to you?

I love the gray of this room (below) and the black and white accents are something that appeals to me.

 {3}

This soft gray is perfect but I don’t have the name of the paint so the search continues.

{4}

Polished Pebble recently redid a bathroom in their Ojai home and I love the  Cararra trim accent used with the white subway tile.  I’m following her design idea and using 12″ Cararra tile on the floor.

{5}

This is a pretty pale shade of gray that accents the blue and white beautifully.

{7}

This taupe-gray (below) is what I really envision.  Love this room!

{8}

Heirloom Philosophy painted her living room recently a Farrow & Ball color called Hardwick White.  I like the contrast with the white trim, which is what I’ll be using on the crown, base and door casing.  What do you think?  It’s hard to see the actual color on a computer screen, don’t you agree?

{6}

On the right (below) is Hardwick White; on the left (below) is Lamp Room Gray, both by Farrow & Ball

So I’m doing my due diligence and revisiting some of the beautiful gray rooms I’ve seen on various sites and then I’m going straight to my friends for honest input and advice.  Isn’t that always the best anyway.

I will be posting before and after photos once we’re underway.  Meanwhile, while I try to compile all of the components I welcome any and all input from you, my faithful readers.

Meanwhile, if any of you have a wonderful gray paint color you’d like to share please email me.

Images: 1. Vignette Design; 2., 6.,  7. & 8. Heirloom Philosophy; 3. & 4. Griege ; 5. Polished Pebble

{Home}Master bathroom facelift

20 Wednesday Jul 2011

Posted by in Renovating

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Nearly 10 years ago we remodeled our master bathroom.  We removed the fiberglass shower, standard tract-house vanity, noisy fan and outdated toilet, lighting and wallpaper.

 

Tumbled marble tiles and ‘creama marfa’  marble replaced materials that had long-since shown their age.  A new Kohler Memoirs sink, Toto toilet (which is truly the best toilet I’ve ever owned—maybe TMI for most of you, but if you should ever replace a toilet, trust me, this one is worth every penny) oil rubbed bronze fixtures and hardware were installed.  I choose a Pierre Deux toile for my wallpaper and was very happy with the end result.

The bead board seems to have a slightly greenish cast to it but we will paint an additional coat of Porcelain and I believe it will look like the creamy white the paint normally is.

About 2 years ago (when the bathroom was celebrating its 8th birthday, do we actually celebrate birthdays for the rooms of a house, no, but we should) we began to notice that the dry wall on either side of the invisible shower door began to blister and mold.  We replaced seals on the side where we knew moisture from the shower could be the cause and puzzled about the other side.

After 2 years of unanswered questions and continued disintegration of the dry wall and wallpaper at the baseboard line and up the wall about 2” wide x 6” high, we finally had our trusty carpenter/contractor fix the problem and we have replaced my toile {sniff} with a 3” bead board.   We now have a white and natural bathroom, a look hubby and I both agree is fresh and makes the room feel open and airy.  {I still miss the toile but I think I’ll make some toile pillows for my outdoor chairs to help me with the withdrawal).

Hubby and I choose the hottest day of the year, so far, to paint.  We laughed because we’ve done this every time we take on a painting project!

So there you have it.  It was a great weekend project and hopefully, we have fixed the problem.

 

What weekend projects do you have on the list this summer?

 

The bathroom…part of the tour

22 Wednesday Jun 2011

Posted by in Decorating, Misc, Renovating

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I saved this room for last on my dream-home tour because our sweet little cottage has 2 bathrooms and one is in desperate need of a renovation.  Our master bathroom was remodeled in 2001, I can hardly believe it’s been nearly 10 years!  The guest bath has had cosmetic changes throughout the years but nothing major has been done.  Our renovation, when it happens, will be a simple face lift but we’ll take everything out that is currently within the space so the room should feel a little roomier than its miniscule 5’ x 8’ size once finished.

I might as well start with the largest dream bathroom in my files.  I realize this is a little over the top for most homeowners but wouldn’t it be wonderful?!


I want to renovate our guest bathroom using white tile, white sink, tub and toilet and chrome hardware.  I visualize a bathtub with wood paneling on the side, white Toto toilet and a white vanity with Kohler’s Ladena Undermount Lavatory (sink) and Kohler’s Double Handle faucet.  I’d like to put in Carrera tiles on the floor and white subway tile up the walls to the ceiling in the bath/shower area.  I want to install a new, QUIET fan and recessed lights.  I will most probably install the new Oval Framed  medicine cabinet from Pottery Barn and wall sconces on either side of the mirrored cabinet.

Pottery Barn’s Classic Single Sink Console (or something like it)

Kohler’s Ladena Undermount Sink


Kohler’s Double Handle Faucet

The wood panel on the front side of the bathtub is what I hope to duplicate in our guest bathroom.

I may try to incorporate a built in-the-wall shelf like this…a real space saver.

 

Pottery Barn’s Lattice Oval Medicine Cabinet (don’t you love this medicine cabinet…it looks like an antique mirror while serving as a medicine cabinet as well).

Pottery Barn wall sconce.  The subway tile behind the sconce is what I have in mind for the area above the tub.

You get the jest of what I’m wanting, right?

 

So come along to see some of the larger, more spectacular bathrooms I dream of, but know that our guest bathroom will be a simple cottage loo when remodeled.

For one of the  most spectacular bathrooms I’ve seen in a very long time visit for the love of a house HERE.

This picture of Susan Tully design has been in my file for quite awhile.

Love this toile and love the use of what appears to be a tiny space.

So what do you think?  Any suggestions, comments, ideas? …they would be most appreciated. 🙂

Karen

Your wish is my command

25 Wednesday May 2011

Posted by in Gardens, Maintenance, Misc, Outdoor living, Renovating

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Hubby and I have been married a very long time.   I consider this a good thing and sometimes scary the way we will inadvertently dress alike without seeing the color shirt/blouse the other one is putting on; or thinking we’re hungry for the exact same thing once one of us has mentioned a menu option.

An example of our being in sync occurred recently and I thought I’d share the story with you…am I desperate for post ideas, or what?

A few weeks back I posted about a new storage container I was fond of…this was a surprise to me because I had fought the notion of having storage containers cluttering up my ever so small pantry for years.  Anyway, I blogged about the OXO pop storage container HERE in part because I like to share information with my readers on products that are all they are advertised to be and then some, I’m generous that way.

Hubby read the post, which in and of itself pleases me no end.  I can’t tell you how sweet I think it is that he takes time out of his busy day to read my ramblings, but I digress.

So, along comes Mother’s Day and he tells me he has a gift for me.  I had asked that he give me my usual hand-picked pound of See’s candy and that was more than enough.  Alas, he had my requested See’s and a large box which contains a set of OXO pop-up storage containers.  I was a little concerned at first that our smallish pantry wouldn’t be able to accommodate the set but low and behold, we managed.  Thank you sweetie, for being such a thoughtful guy.

This is the best (IMHO) and I keep my list of favorite specifics.

To that end I thought I’d blog about some other items on my wish list…hey this just might work!

Our back yard is in desperate need of new grass…specifically Marathon sod, with sprinklers.  We have never put sprinklers in the back yard and have gotten by without them up until now.  We sometimes travel in the warmer months and it would be wonderful to have auto timer sprinklers taking care of business while we’re gone.

Our guest bathroom is a fright.  When we purchased the house 29 years ago the previous owner had installed chocolate brown Kohler tub, toilet and sink.  Some time about 15 years ago the brown, much like a black car, showed every scratch and scrape that it had endured and we had a company come and coat the tub and sink with white enamel.  We replaced the toilet.  This lasted us until about 2 years ago…the coating has begun to chip…we now have a tub that resembles the Gateway computer box (except it’s brown and white) and the sink is brown (since the coating came off in nearly one piece there).

Finally, our patio set is from Costco and is made from “tropical hardwood” which is meant to look like teak and mostly does.  It has grayed with age (something I like) and is well designed.  Here is the catch, the chairs weigh a ton and will not slide on the concrete.  No matter what we try, including fancy “guaranteed to slide” feet.  So when we entertain al fresco we must warn our guests to move the chair in a certain way lest the chair collapse on them.  *I forgot to mention the chairs have a couple of settings and can fold.  So I would like to replace them with the Kooboo chair from Cost Plus.  You can read about them in detail (and compare them to the Pottery Barn chair) HERE.

So, just in case we hit the lottery and you are looking for gift ideas, honey, here you go. {giggle}

 

 

A living room by any name

23 Monday May 2011

Posted by in Decorating, Personal Information, Renovating

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As I continue to tour you around my dream house…code for  showing my reader(s) rooms that I really like, I now enter the living room.  The living room in recent years has been called the great room, the family room, the bonus room, the parlor and a few other terms.

I love the sunny, fresh feel of this living room.  I’m not sure I could ever paint my wood floors white but I love the look.

Older homes usually have a living room space and a family room or den space.  In Southern California the newer homes were designed with a “great room” instead of the 2 separate spaces traditionally carved out of the floor plan.

Image via Apartment Therapy.  This is a small space but I love what they did with it and have always wanted brick wall.

Our home was built in 1968 and is a fairly smallish tract house.  We originally had a living room and a family room and fortunately our family room was designed in such a way that it is adjacent to the kitchen as well as the fireplace.

This is our mantle…it looks like I was listing a little, sorry about that.

So as I explained HERE we switched the living room with the dining room and renamed the space “library” or reading room, since that is where I most often sit to read.

This used to be our living room…

This was our dining room

If I could make one change to my family room it would be to make it about 5 feet wider…since the wall we would push out (if that was even a possibility) has the fireplace on it that won’t be happening.

This is such an open and airy room with an amazing view.  {Sarah’s Summer House, HGTV}

It’s a cozy room and I like it most of the time.  I thoroughly enjoy the fireplace in the cooler months and we use the room daily.

Isn’t this gorgeous?  I love the crisp, clean feel of the black and white.

Image via Traditional Home

One of my favorite accessories…a doggie!

Image via Tracery Interiors

I love this living room.  It’s inviting and looks like it would be comfortable.  Maybe that’s the advantage to keeping both a “living room” and a “family room”, there wouldn’t be a need for a television and you could arrange the furniture for comfortable conversation without concern that the chairs and sofa are facing an entertainment center.

Isn’t this clever, an over-mantle where no fireplace exists?  I think this is a sweet vignette for the corner of a living room or family room or library.

Image via Michael Whaley

Paladin windows {sigh} Is there anything more to say?

I have always thought a day bed was something that would serve a library or study well…I mean doesn’t reading make you sleepy sometimes?

I hope you have enjoyed my tour of living spaces.  What items do you feel are essential to the well dressed living / family room?

 

 

 


Fun in the sun

27 Wednesday Apr 2011

Posted by in Entertaining, Gardening, Maintenance, Outdoor living, Renovating

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As the weather warms I begin to focus more of my attention on life outdoors.  I want to be in the garden, working or playing, and I look forward to meals on the patio.

This lovely outdoor seating space is Cote de Texas‘

Image via Country Living

Villa Saladino in Santa Barbara has a lovely outdoor seating area.

Image by Simon Upton ~ Jill Brinson Home

Our patio~teak, gray with age

Image via Velvet & Linen

As I’ve mentioned before, we have lived in our house since 1982.  Each room, inside and out, has been renovated at least once, sometimes more.  Our back yard is in need of new sod right now and a decision must be made about the 2 gigantic ficus benjamina trees growing there.   Roots of these trees threaten to take over the world (beginning with our back yard).  The trees do provide a canopy of shade that rivals an outdoor air conditioner on the hottest days.

I visualize this…

Image via French Kissed

I would love to create a gravel or decomposed granite pad where we could place some furniture, maybe dining furniture under the umbrella of the trees and living room furniture on the patio.  Pictures like this (above) are my inspiration (Thank you Jermaine).

Image via 5th & State

When we replace our sod (which is now a combination of assorted green weeds and grass—fortunately when its mowed most people don’t realize it isn’t 100% Marathon sod.

Villa Saladino—nice vista, but the grass is lovely, so green.

I think there is something very soothing about green, whether it be grass or plant, it cools me down in the summer months and cheers me up on a gray day.

Image via House Beautiful (Edmund Barr photo)

Image via 5th & State

Vines are another benefit to a yard with cinder block fencing or overly plain wood-fencing.  They can soften the space and add interest.  Our back fence is cinder block and it’s completely covered in vines so its very soothing and makes a lovely backdrop for the other shrubs and flowers.

Oh wait, how did this get in?  Well, you have to admit, Mr. Darcy walking in your yard would be exciting!

Have you started any landscape improvements this year?