Snowtober

We were lucky with this early Nor'easter. Only about 4-5 inches of snow.

We didn't lose power and had very few branches down.

The Beechnuts were hoping for sledding, but settled for hanging the Halloween decorations instead.

We added a guillitone this year,

I think the decorations look extra creepy against the snow.

Skirting the issue

As part of the Dining room redecoration, we had to rethink our storage. 

Shelly recommended a skirted buffet table and I loved the idea of a big area for holding a bar or even food on those big holiday gatherings.

We didn't want to build a shelving area ourselves due to extreme laziness, and you really can't beat the prices at IKEA. So we started with an Expedit. Jeff added some legs and a bigger top to make it a little more grand in size.

We were reassured by Shelly of the correct location in the room and Jeff pried off a section of chair-rail in order to attach the shelf to the wall.

I wasn't surprised that there was paint and wallpaper, but who knew the room was pink at one point? Several layers of wallpaper were also visible.

After a few false starts involving not enough yardage, I sewed a skirt for the buffet, thus concealing all the random stuff stored in the shelf.

 Just wait until you see the table with new lamps and a mirror, and a glass top. I can't decide if it needs trim. Any opinions?

Look on the Bright Side

If you've been following me on Twitter you'd know we've been making some updates to the Dining room. What? You don't follow me on Twitter? You should, I would tweet more often if I had followers!

I contacted the super-smart, ever-patient, design-saavy Shelly of Van Rozeboom Interiors to help me make some updates in the house and to phase out our college and barely-post-college decorating scheme.

She started with my living room and then we moved into the Dining Room. I'm still incorporating the changes into the living room, but the dining room is proving to have a higher instant-gratification rating among people who live in my house.

(Ignore the legos-in-progress on the table!) 

We changed out the old gold-toned, plain-jane, chandelier for this sparkly number. At her suggestion, I also added 4 coats of high-gloss paint to the ceiling. I love how the ceiling seems to be glowing and the chandelier makes the room feel so lively. I'll post more pictures as the room comes together, but I couldn't wait to show off the new bright side of the dining room.

Curtain called, I answered

I finally finished the curtains for the slider in the kitchen. It only took a year. Aside from the awkwardness of working with a 108" x 96" square of heavy fabric, it was generally pretty simple. I used the pleating tape from DraperySewingSupplies.com  with the pins required to make a soft pleated, lined shade. The tape make it so simple, and it was pretty cheap, that it would be easy to convert rod-pocket drapes into ring and hook drapes, which look a little fancier in my opinion.

Non-working Fireplace inspiration

My sister recently moved into a new flat in London and has 2 non-working fireplaces. Here's a photo of the fireplace in her living room. Ignore the wires, she's still unpacking!

I really wish our house had a fireplace and have pondered creating a faux version, so I can't stop thinking about my sister's place. I found these photos on the interwebs for inspiration.

She could paint the inside a dark color and fill it with pillar candles. She has a cat though, so this could be a major fire hazard.

I love this visual of the books in the fireplace, although really, this will look messy in everyday life.

She can put a pretty decorative screen in front of it and use the inside for storage of video games/dvds, shoes, etc.

I like this idea of putting the TV inside the fireplace.

I actually suggested something similar to this originally, put some plants/art inside it.

I like this solution, she could pile a few real logs, drape it with white Christmas lights, and voila! instant "Fire"!

I also found a blog specializing in fireplace decorating.

Regardless of what she decides to do, I think she should paint it a charcoal gray or black to make it pop from the white walls.

Guest Room, Before

Here's a "Before" photo of our tiny guest room.

I recently rotated the bed to have the head under the window and the foot toward the door, which has opened the room up. Previously the head was against the wall on the right. Its amazing how a simple thing like a 90 degree rotation of large furniture can change a room.

I want the room to look like this, minus the twin beds:

photo from Domino magazine

The room needs a headboard, new curtains and wall sconces. Little Green Notebook posted an interesting tutorial for roman shades, reusing the old metal blinds installed by the previous owners.

It also needs some new furniture. I have plans for a bedside table with outlets so guests can charge their cell phones, and a small dresser with space underneath for suitcases. I am hoping to find something existing among the stuff in our basement that can be reused.

And, a new coat of paint is obviously in order. I hope to get this room in order before Christmas, when we have family coming to visit. Once again, I learn that I don't do anything without a deadline!

Come to the light...

I have been searching for the perfect set of wall sconces to flank the bed in the guest room and the search was over when I saw these from 1st dibs posted on Maison21.

I wonder how you turn them on?

Be our guest, be our guest

The Smallest-Guest-Room-In-The-World needs a makeover. This room has gorgeous pumpkin pine floors, which only appear in 1 other room in the house, but the room is so small I feel pangs of guilt every time I make someone stay in there. If it had a new coat of paint and some atmosphere, I wouldn't feel so badly about treating my house guests like sardines.

I looked through old Domino Magazines for inspiration.



Do you think its true that a bold color would make it feel larger? I think a dark blue like this would make people sleep better, but I'm not sure it would really feel any larger.


I love the gray upholstered headboard and the nail-head trim that is everywhere now. This blue on the wall seems cheerful too.
I love these twin beds in gray with the matching curtain, but I don't know about the Bone White paint on the walls. It just looks dingy to me.

I'll post a "before" picture as soon as I find one that isn't too hideous.

Before & After: Dining Room

The kitchen remodel has caused an avalanche. A big slow avalanche that takes 12 months to make any real progress. The red paint in the Dining Room was giving me anxiety when compared with the new beige-y paint in the kitchen.

Here is the "Before" Dining Room in the least flattering photo I could find:



When I realized the Beechnuts and I had plans to be away for a few days, I bought the primer and paint for Jeff to tackle the painting in our absence. As soon as we left, Jeff stared at the paint cans, reached for the phone, and booked a painter to do the work.

The blue-gray of C2 Melodic makes the room feel much larger and airy, which is exactly the feeling I wanted. I hadn't realized how the former red paint was so overwhelming until it was gone.


We moved the map to be centered with the room, not the section of wall. Now it is centered with the chandelier and the dining room table.


The buffet came from our friend's parents who didn't want it anymore.


I unpacked some long-forgotten china and silver.


I bought the fabric for the chairs in the Pottery Barn Bettina fabric to match the curtains (bought on sale).



I think the rug should be different, but I'll live with it for now.
A painting on-loan from my sister in London gets a more prominent position in the house.


I love the pattern in the curtains and chairs, I think it makes the table that once belonged to my grandmother feel young. Well, younger!

Home Cure Sneak-peeks

Posting has been a little light as we are recovering from a vacation in LA that included a visit with these wonderful women. One of the highlights of the trip was a Star Tour of celebrity homes, well really- celebrity front gates.

I have made some small progress on filling the cabinets in the kitchen, killing 2 birds with 1 stone. Now the cabinets have stuff in them and we're closer to being totally unpacked after 4.5 years in this house. Anyone who says you should just throw out boxes you haven't opened in a year is just being a fool. I found all kinds of good things!



A blue opaque compote and lots of transferware.

This is a out of print (is that the right phrase?) pattern from the 1800's by Villeroy and Boch.
Inside of the teacup so you can see the pattern:
Dark blue water glasses that were a Christmas gift years ago:

I also tried to organize the buffet in the Dining Room in a manner that Eddie Ross would be pleased with. Obviously, I need to add fresh flowers to the vase on the right and the silver needs to be polished. Those decanters were found in box that hadn't been opened in 4 years.
This weekend is back to the Book, getting back on schedule with the home cure.