Sunday, October 31, 2010

My Toy Room to Teen Room Transformation!

My children are entering the teen years now. As they grow and change the needs of our home have changed as well. One of the bedrooms over our garage had been a "toy room", filled with plastic Little Tikes Kitchens, Legos and Trains- a place for forts and building castles. My teenage daughter suggested that we re-decorate the "Toy Room" to be more Teen Friendly. I agreed and so (sadly for Mom) we have said to goodbye to Pokemon and American Girl Dolls.
Here is the room Before (actually we have two identical rooms above our garage, they are mirror images of each other and this photo is of other side). Like all decorating projects we had Goals, Restrictions and a Budget. The Goal was a room for for sleepovers, a place to do school projects where they could spread things out (and not be near their parents), and a place to hangout with friends and watch Movies and I-Chat! Our main Restriction was the doorway size. It is only 27 inches wide. And our Budget was $2500.
Here is the room after we ripped up the old carpet. Then we painted the trim BM White Dove and the walls BM Lighthouse Landing. Paint cost $4o. Paint, as always is an immediate improvement!
The kids were allowed to choose everything in the room and I treated them like clients on our shopping trip. We found this great, thick wool rug at HomeGoods for $600. (did I mention how much I love HomeGoods for rugs??) The kids liked the Pottery Barn feel and the blue and brown color scheme. While we were there the kids scouted some great pillows that matched and two small microfiber ottomans. All together we spent $800.
Meanwhile at home, my sister, who LOVES to organize, came over and sorted through all our arts and crafts supplies and organized everything in the old bins which used to hold plastic food and Matchbox cars. Now it is a perfect go to space for all the supplies we need for projects at school.
Thank you, Sandra! Cost - priceless!
We couldn't let go of the blocks, (well I couldn't) so they stayed put and we moved an old bookcase into the walk in closet for extra storage for paper and other supplies.
Dramatic drum roll.... Here is the Before.
And the After! We found this thin couch at Macy's and once we took the feet off it fit through our tiny doorway! The sectional microfiber couch was $1400 and the bar table and leather stools $199. at Overstock.com.
Inspirational artwork was $50 on clearance! Bookcase, side table, and TV we already had!
The total Teen Hangout Room Makeover cost was.....$2489!!
We still had money left over for a Movie and some snacks!! We found some wonderful bargains, stayed with in our budget and came out with a great room! The kids are thrilled and call it their "Hang Out Room" - I call it a success!!
'
Also a heartfelt thank you to the many, many kind readers who sent me get well wishes and prayers. I am truly blessed to have so many friends in blogland. I was beyond touched! xoxo
(all photos Willow Decor and not to be copied without permission)

All Creatures Great and Small







I love these collections of beautiful creatures - nature's own masterpieces!

Love .... Murray Bird







Images - Murray Bird

happy halloween from chitchen itza...


and next week, back to Provence .....xv

image - vicki archer

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Nice.....





So sorry for the lack of post...hit with the flu bug, but all is well now, just not well enough to have a point to my post. So here are some pretty pictures in the mean time :) I have had tons of readers sending in photos, I can't promise I will be able to put all of them up, but I will try ! I'm so impressed with all of your homes ! Hope your having a good weekend !

Sunday Bliss







Find a gorgeous chair .... relax .... and enjoy Sunday!

Friday, October 29, 2010

only 50 pesos....


What are we doing I ask Mr FF...
The car has stopped rather suddenly somewhere between Merida and Cancun....
I think I saw something worth exploring back there, he says....
Oh really I didn't notice anything....
I am tired, it's 100 degrees and that much more humidity outside... 
We have spent several happy hours wandering around the ruins of Chicin Iza and now all I can think of is the hotel, the beach and the taste of a zingy lime laden margarita.....
...

He won't take no for an answer...
Down the street, across the road and large papier mache characters are drying on the footpath....
Inside pinatas everwhere, no space to move....
Above my head and under my feet....
Life sized and all sizes...
An explosion of colour and creativity in a village house
See he says, worth it...
Yes I say, very worth it....
So worth it we bought two....
One for him and one for me...
Only 50 pesos each....
Who can resist....
Not us...
We are silly like that...
...


Today is a different story...
A story about postage and packaging...
Not 50 pesos anymore....
It costs many pesos to travel many miles...
Our 'two' are so cute...
So adorable...
So hand picked...
So not expected...
We can't just abandon them...


xv

image - vicki archer

Saturday Delights







Fill your Saturday with beautiful moments - enjoy!

Happy Halloween Weekend

I have no plans for this weekend, so sad but true. I don't even have a custom. Hope you guys have better plans than I do and please feel free to share. Maybe I will get some idea of what to do...Happy Weekend Everyone!

Fabulous Room Friday 10.29.10

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would put an Ikea kitchen in my dream house files. Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t anything wrong with Ikea, but they have taken things to a whole new level with these shots from their upcoming catalog!

I honestly love everything about this kitchen. I would bring in some higher-end light fixtures, but other than that, I love the look. There is such a great balance between the more traditional look of the cabinetry and the raw, almost industrial feel of the space.

I really love the look of this open shelving against the exposed, painted brick. I don’t think I would do a kitchen with all open shelving, but since this kitchen already has a ton of upper and lower cabinets, this adds a nice touch.

Happy Halloween Weekend!

{Image Source}

A Gambrel Designed Long Island Waterside Beach Home


I'm a big fan of Steven Gambrel in general.  We see a lot of photos of his
work shared over and over again.  What amazing talent.  This house is 
next to the water near the ocean, a lake and an inlet so it's very much in
context to use a lot of blues and greens through the house.  I love all of
the architectural detail and floor to ceiling bookshelf installations in this
family room.


Love the over sized water bottle to the side of the bench.


 A galley kitchen with clean lines.
 Here's the formal dining area.  Aren't the round seat cushions cute?


Love the large scale photo on the wall.  Gambrel always has 
great wall installations.  An X bench with nail heads?  Love it!

 Here are more of those blues and greens I was talking 
about.  What a lovely green he chose for the walls.
The blues and greens carry on into the bedroom.




What a gorgeous kid's room.


What a YUMMY bathroom!  I'm definitely drooling.  I've always 
wanted big windows in the bathroom.  You can't go wrong with 
marble in a bathroom.  I'm also a fan of gray, it's such a great 
neutral color that can paired just about any other color palette.
You can pair gray with colors to make a space look feminine or
masculine.  For example pink and gray is a bit feminine while 
gray and canary yellow could be used for a more masculine feel.


What a comfy looking couch in this living space.  
I'm a sucker for a tufted sofas. 
And of course being near the water, a house is not complete without
a sun room or an outdoor space where one can dine with family and
friends. 

What is your favorite room from this house and why?



If you like Steven Gambrel's type of design, his work is
found in this book:  New Spaces Old World Charm.  The
book has a great collection of homes that were designed 
in the style just as the title suggests.  Here's a peak at some
of the spaces in the book.  Definitely check the book out if
you like this style.

 


I leave you this week with a special from an artist I know that has really
fantastic art that is perfect to use in any room or hall for that matter!  His
name is Harrison Howard and some of his work reminds of me the older
classical Chinoise style from the Europeans.  Either way, you must check
out his site.  25% off on all Limited Edition prints from now until 
November 5, 2010.  To take advantage of the offer, you must email 
Howard with your selections (not through the shopping cart.)

Photos of the Steven Gambrel designed 
housein this post from House Beautiful