Day 1, Part 2, Paint Everything!

Look at this Gorgeous Knotty Pine Cabinetry in the kitchen and throughout the dining room! NOT! I can't wait to get it painted, but I totally admire the quality of this fine wood. I love the scallop edges on the cabinets and they will look so good in white! Bright White, I think so.

                                         

                                 Here is the Dining Room in wall to wall Knotty Pine. Can't wait to get                                           my  roller on that room! 

                                

      Here are the critters checking out the place, wonder what is up there? Look at that classic stair case!

 

 This is how I check out the under lying floor. In the kitchen behind the frig....I was hoping for hard wood but it looks pretty rough, so we will go with new flooring, maybe black & white checkered tiles?

 Most of the floors look like this, but we had to scrape up the old padding that was stuck to the floor.Wucky!

Day 1, Investigative Repurposing-The 4 R's

Our first few minutes in the new house and we came in swinging hammers. Most people might want to meet the neighbors, memorize the zip code, or decide which room Grandma will sleep in when she visits, but not me. I needed to investigate what was lying beneath the surface. What architectural treasures were there waiting to be discovered.

On my mind sense we first saw the house,  was the surround on the claw foot tub.Was the tub rusted, legless, un-salvageable?

Bring on the HAMMER!

Hudson was instructed to gently break away the old T & G board, because I had an idea to re-use it...hmmmmmm


Look at that! A perfectly preserved Claw Foot Tub with FEET! All she needs is a little paint and some Golden Feet!

By the next day I had already installed the new back to this Wardrobe with the boards from the Claw Foot!

Reduce, Re-use, Re-cycle, Re-purpose!

Tip: I did pull out the rusty nails and clear coat the boards so no more chips would fall off or cause anything to get dirty.

A Mint Green Cottage Lake-y Kitchen

I can't stop thinking about the kitchen in the new house. I want it to be cottage style, old fashioned, charming and a little Lake-y. I don't want it to look drap or colorless. I love White cabinets, so I am sure the cabinets will get painted. I found some green fish glass knobs and I want the counter top to be light in color and interesting. I found some minty green tiles to use as accent and maybe blend them with pale tumble stone tiles.

I adore this kitchen:

spaces design

This was sent to me by my friend Carlotta, who totally "gets" what I am looking for!


Or how about this stove??

Why be boring when you can be imaginative and get the look you really want!

I love the saying that Antonio Ballatore uses as a slogan for his show The Antonio Treatment http://www.antonioballatore.com/the-antonio-treatment/ "Go Big or Go Home!"

New Lake Cottage & Decorating DIY blogging!

Hello to all! I have the best news ever! I am buying a house in lovely Clarksville VA on Kerr Lake. It is a fixer upper for sure, but an adorable Lake Cottage in the making. I will be embarking on a DIY mission of remodeling and decorating while working, getting ready for school to start and taking classes. It will be a challenge but I am very grateful to have a chance to own my own home again and make it a darling little Lake Cottage.



I moved in with my folks about 1 year ago on Lake Gaston NC and I have been searching for the right home for myself and my 8 year old son Hudson. There are many beautiful areas around the lake, but not much for kids to do. I felt a little lost at times not knowing where we should plant our feet. Last January my kitty cat Pocahontas who was 20 years old, became ill and it was time for her to part with us. I was recommended to a vet in Clarksville VA about 40 miles away. The minute I pulled into the town, I fell in love. It was on the water, had old Victorian houses and lots of charm. Everyone in the town was nice and pleasant. I knew that is where I wanted to be. It took a few contracts and a few months, but we found a great deal on a little white Victorian and plan to settle on August 15th.

In the mean time, I am scouring the design books, online blogs and thinking of my own colors and plans and can't wait to get started on our new adventure. My Mom will be my co-planner on this venture as she has a vested interest in the property. She and I are at far ends of the color wheel, so to speak, but we an compromise on practicality and whimsy and meet in the middle.

Here are the interior shots of the house for a start so you can see where we have to focus on the worst parts first.

Kitchen: Paint cabinets, new counter tops, new flooring, new knobs. Keeping old stove : )

New Bathroom: Tear out walls, new toilet, floor, paint, sink, tile. I can use that old sink for a bird bath like I saw on http://www.hgtv.com/outdoor-rooms/create-a-birdbath-from-a-salvaged-sink/index.html



Second Bath, try to salvage tiles and tub, clean, new floor, new toilet.


Here is some information about Clarksville: http://clarksvilleva.com/clarksville/history/

Please follow me on my journey of re-established BLISS!

New Ideas Blossom, and then Fade....

As creative people, we get so busy that we can think of a creation, make it oogle over it and forget it in a minute. I made these earrings from mulberry paper flowers, I had the idea to cut out the shape of a butterfly wing, paint it and use it as the card for the earrings. The wing could then be used as a decorative ornament. I took pictures of them, wore them, stared at them and admired my brilliant plan to start a jewelry line, but to no avail, after making about 30 or so of them, here they sit in a big pile of PRETTY, doing nothing. A month has gone by, maybe even 2 and I just noticed them today that they have not been promoted, listed, priced, or even given any attention from the moment they were created. Have they lost their luster, their newness without even been given a chance of fame? What to do with them now?
I am on a wing and a prayer...

From Basic Buffet to Shabby Blacktastic Vintage Makeover!!!

I bought this buffet on Craigslist and I had a plan. I wanted to take this piece to a new vintage level and after being inspired by my friend Amanda's vintage style on
http://www.etsy.com/shop/funkyshique?ref=pr_shop_more

I knew I wanted to do something with birds and a black and jute color tone.

I began my Shabby Black Vintage makeover.
I wanted the buffet to look worn and painted like it had always been that color and faded over time. I painted it black and tan. I left a few shadow corners un-painted to give the idea that the piece had been painted in a time where the farm wife only had a few minutes to slap some paint on it before dinner guests arrived and she had farm chores and canning to attend to.

BEFORE!!!

After all the base painting was done, I started to distress the piece with a sander and chipped away edges and corners exposing the wood underneath. the more it chipped, the better.

I painted the bird motifs on the doors and lightly sanded those to show a time worn look.

I added glass knobs and vintage handles to make the piece more interesting and charming.









Voila!!! A buffet of style, vintage & artistic renderings!

I loved it so much that I added some vintage relics to display on the shelves


I painted the bird nest on the plate & I made the number block.





A wren tangled in her burlap nest set atop a spool & a croquet head look so vintage together!

Decorative Accents

Sometimes you just need a little something extra to spice up a room with tall ceilings. Here I have painted a decorative motif that looks soft and aged over an arch way.








Need a little color but don't want to do the whole room? How about a "HOT" chili pepper red paint added to accent walls in a tall room with lots of light.