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Saturday, May 31st, 2008
Progress
made
 My husband's office is almost complete, but I did have to change the plan a little.
As usual, my ideas are bigger than my available time.
Originally I planned to add "books"
to the entire room, but now I've decided to add some "space" between groups of books to save time.
After about 5 days of stenciling, I learned "space" = time saved!
Next up, a French spin on the
dining room.
Enjoy your weekend!
Sat, May 31, 2008 | link
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
Deal!
 Ohhh ahhh, look what I got from a very sweet guy just north of the city.
It's
a Pottery Barn steel top table and 4 chairs. The best part, it was only $300! The price tags are still on each piece,
retailing for $1,475!
I have been looking (drooling) at this table set for about 8 years. It
seemed to be in every catalog they put out. I think I still have the page clippings from when we lived in Manhattan.
Without the rest of my furniture, it is hard to tell how it will look in the kitchen -vs- the dining room. It's
bar/buffet height and will also look very cool outside with drinks and appetizers. My husband will love how it matches
the new stainless steel grill.....'opps now he knows what he's getting for Father's Day!
Tue, May 27, 2008 | link
Friday, May 23, 2008
Stairway
to heaven
The house is coming together fast.
The painters have finished, the carpenter
is gone, the plumber, electrician and security company said their goodbyes yesterday.
It's just amazing how only a week ago I had my doubts that the inside would ever look like a "home"....but
it does!
Here's just a peak up the stairs to my new attic studio, complete with mini kitchen, bathroom, huge
closet and cool playroom for my son.
I saved the decorating in this room for last so I could rummage through
magazine clippings, internet pics and of course the Pottery Barn outlet store to gather great ideas and inspiration.
I'll be posting before and after pics of some other rooms soon.
Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Books
The stenciling is getting crazy over here!
This will be my husband's
office in the new house. I decided to paint the picture rail brown and stencil books around the entire border of the
room.
As you can see, I didn't get very far!
I think it will take about 3 more days to complete the whole room.
I'm hoping it will resemble a library shelf when complete.
The stencil comes in three parts and
6 overlays so you can vary the repeat if you want and never have the same color pattern or book.
The "books" stencil is available at walltowallstencils .
Thu, May 22, 2008 | link
Monday, May 19, 2008
Roses
We have a 15 foot long wall of climbing pink roses! It's
by far the best part of the backyard.
 They are even growing through the trees and into the gutters! Now that's what I call climbing!
The second
best part of the backyard unfortunately was destroyed by one of our painters hired to do the outside of the house while
we were away last weekend. It's the gorgeous old tree in the corner of the yard right outside my son's
room. It was perfectly shaped, provided the ultimate privacy and according to our landscape architect, was in the best
condition he has seen in 20 years in the business.
The "story" I got from the painter was....."I
needed to cut the tree in half in order to paint that side of the house". Have you EVER heard such a thing!
Did this guy even think about tying the branches back or at the very least CALL ME to ask! He literally cut every branch
off one side of the tree making it look like it could fall over at any moment.
I am heartsick over what
happened and am not looking forward to spending the next 3 days at the house while they finish up the work.
Hopefully the other plants we are adding to the yard, one of which is gardenias (my favorite) will perk up my spirits.
Friday, May 16th, 2008
Birthday
weekend!
There is a very special little boy turning "2" this weekend.....my son!
We decided to take the weekend off from DIY and drive up to Virginia to see Grandma (Mimi) and Grandpa (Popi).
I woke up this morning feeling like I just ran the Boston marathon!
My neck is so stiff from the
ceiling work and my ankle looks like it did when I was pregnant....very swollen. I must have twisted it during
one of my many trips up and down the ladder.
A weekend in the country is just what I need to get
re-energized and back into peek form for next week's house projects.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
Cherub!
I am so pleased with the way my son's bathroom ceiling turned out!
I used an 8 part overlay stencil that was really easy once the first layer was applied.
After finishing 2 cherubs
and still having room left, I think I might consider adding some scroll work in each corner of the room.
I find the only downside to ceiling work is the stiff neck you have after half a day of looking up while you paint!
I think I made about 50 trips up and down the ladder to check the shading and position of each overlay.
The last time I did this stencil, I used blue as the accent color, but I really like the green and it matches perfectly
with the existing wall color.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Tree
 It's almost done!
I still need to add a few more branches to the top
and more leaves to the pile in the corner PLUS the "something special" in the branches.
I'm very
pleased with how it is coming together. It really was easy and fun to do.
I think it took me about 8 hours
total over the last 2 days.
Now if you could only see the other walls in the same room....wait here they are:
Almost every wall in the house looks like this!
Don't worry, it supposed to look like
that.
Our painters are in the process of scraping and skimming the walls to even out the old plaster.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
I'm
here!
I know it's been 4 days since my last post....blame it
on the endless DIY going on in my life....oh, and I keep forgetting to bring the camera from the house back to the hotel.
Our air shipment arrived yesterday from London, and it was a big relief to see that all my studio projects (knitting
& sewing) arrived in one piece. On the other hand, now I wish I had the time to just sit back, relax and knit or
sew one of the many projects waiting for me in my sketch book.
Those of you who read my crafty WIP list a
few weeks ago will be surprised to know that when I left London, the list was down from 11 to 6! Unfortunatly the
remaining 6 have now been replaced by a new DIY WIP list so long, I cannot even count it!
But......even
with a long list ahead of me, the progress in the house has been very encouaging and very beautiful so I promise to have
some before and after pics tomorrow.
Stay tuned!
Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
Money
Pit?
After a full 48 hours at the house, it looks like the "minor"
cosmetic renovations that we originally planned need to be kicked up a notch or two.
Remember that movie
from the 80's called "Money Pit" staring Tom Hanks? Well it's certainly not
that bad by any means, but it has presented some challenges we did not expect.
The first and what seems to
be the most significant issue is the water line from the street to the house.
Apparently the pipes
were never converted to copper and over the years have become corroded causing the water pressure in the house to be
weak when running more than one tap or appliance.
So, a mere 48 hours after arriving at our new house,
the front yard and street sidewalk have now been completely dug up and a team of plumbers is now working to replace the pipes.
Thankfully there is no rain in the forecast for a few days allowing the work to be complete by tomorrow.
Let's
just hope our neighbors will still want to talk to us after having their sidewalk access blocked for 3 days.
On
the brighter side, if this is the worst issue we encounter, the rest should be a piece of cake!
Tue, May 6, 2008 | link
Monday, May 5th, 2008
House
on the hill
That is the name I have decided to call our new home.
It wasn't until I arrived at the house yesterday that I realized what a beautiful view there is from the front
porch looking down at the quaint family street below. I have definitely added a sofa group and 2 chairs to the "things
to buy" list. I can't wait to relax with a glass of iced tea and my knitting while watching the world
slowly go by.
I often get creative ideas in my sleep, waking up the next morning rushing to write them down before
I forget. There is one in particular I am planning to stencil in my son's bedroom.....a giant tree from
floor to ceiling with the top branches reaching up onto the ceiling. I found the stencils from Stencil Ease. They sell kits with everything you need, all the overlays, brushes and paints with clear instructions as to where
each paint color is applied and in what order.
I also have a surprise
idea to add something VERY SPECIAL to the branches....I'll post a picture to let you know how it turns out!
Mon, May 5, 2008 | link
Thursday, May 1st, 2008
Walking
and talking
 I never post pictures of my son on the blog, but this one in particular reminds me
of the #1 thing I will miss and always remember about London.
My son's development.
Yesterday as
I was leaving the flat for the last time, I remembered the hallway where my son first learned to crawl, to walk and dance.
I remembered the first time he said "Ma Ma".
I remembered the first time I forgot to close the play gate...a
few minutes later I turned around in the kitchen to see my son standing there looking at me with a big smile.....this was
particularily special since he had not yet learned to walk unassisted. Somehow he managed to "hug"
the wall as he made his way to me in the kitchen.
I always loved the location of the flat, sandwiched between St.
John's Wood and Little Venice, but most of all I loved the memories it held and I can only hope that our new home
in America will be just as special.
Thu, May 1, 2008 | link
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