Kitchen Sneak Peak

I know, I know, I've been promising the after photos from my huge kitchen renovation.  I am the worst when it comes to taking photos, but I am working on that weakness.

Here's a sneak peak for now.  More to come in the next week.  I pinkie promise.

Locks of Love

My daughter was blessed with a full head of hair from the first day of life. She never lost a hair or rubbed a bald spot and so her hair grew and grew and grew. We've had several haircuts and this last time we decided together, yes Jacquelyn and mommy, to grow it out for Locks of Love.

When I explained to her that growing her hair long and donating it to Locks of Love meant a special child who was sick would get her beautiful hair for a wig, she was on board 100%. Finally the day came after what seemed like months waiting for those last few inches to grow.

Here are few before and after pictures, I think I was more emotional about the cut then she was.

At home before we left.

So much hair to donate.

Right before the haircut.  She looks excited; or could that be nervous energy?

Haircut in action.  She was such a good sport the entire time.

The After at the salon.

The after at home.  After I took a round brush to it.

This is her My Hair Rocks! pose.

She says sometimes she misses her long hair, but she's happy she could help someone else.  I am so proud of my snuggleboo!

What a Lovely Lady: After Photos of Our Home Exterior

Here are some updated pictures of our major home elevation renovation.  My apologies for the long overdue reveal.  The project has actually been complete for a few months.

This home was built in 1959 and while it has great bones, the archicture of the home was seriously lacking.  Here are few befores:

As you can see the house looked like it was sinking because it was covered by a brick pony wall and large shrubs.

Behind the brick wall was a garden of weeds and more weeds accented with gravel.

The front door; not very welcoming.

And here is the After!  As you can see we knocked down the brick wall and removed all the existing overgrown plants.  The outside was completely resided and everything was painted Martin Senour Linen Weave.  We also added new cedar wood shutters and metal hardware to the second story windows and painted them Gaunlet Grey by Sherwin Williams.

Pulling down the wall gave us added bonus space for a proper front porch.  We had Pennsylvania Bluestone installed to give the porch a solid foundation and expand the overall footprint.  The chairs are from Ikea with custom outdoor pillow-makes for a great spot to enjoy a glass of lemonade or an afternoon cocktail.

We completely overhauled the front door by removing the old door and centering the new one with side lights.  This made the front porch more symetrical, and with the custom gas lanterns and planters much more inviting.  The door is painted Showstopper Red by Sherwin Williams and all though the picture is a little dark, the color is a gorgeous red.

A few other fun details are our new doorbell and mailbox. 

(Can't figure out how to turn these photos in blogger photo uploader.  Very annoying)

Hope you enjoyed the tour of our home exterior!

Elevation Update: Progess on our home's exterior

You may be wondering why I've abandoned my blog for a while...let's just say its been for good reasons.  First, I am working like crazy to finish client projects and keep the business on track.  Below is a beautiful headboard slipcover I made for a local client.  She bought the headboard from Restoration Hardware Baby and Child and we slipcovered it in a cotton linen blend with silver/gray flange trim and monogram.  I wish this photo was better quality so you could appreciate how beautiful it really is.

Second, we are nearing the end of school and of course that means, school parties, events and lots of time consuming functions.

But third is one of the most exciting reason.  We started the exterior overhaul of our house.  Remember my original post here?  Work is well underway and about 3 weeks behind schedule.  Such is life, right?  Here are a couple of pictures to share, but remember this is mid way through. 

Some Befores

The ugly garden of weeds we purchased.  This area was behind a 40" tall brick wall that covered the entire front of the house.  I hated this area and knew the wall and weeds were goners.

The hideous and crumbling front door.  Don't let the red paints fool you, they are test patches for the new door.  The original door was a dark maroon.

 

The Afters (halfway through completion)

As you can see we painted the entire house Martin Senour's Linen Weave cut in half.  It gave the house a clean crisp new look and the color is a clean ivory.  We tried a lot of ivory colors and most were too yellow or white.  We also resided everything that wasn't brick and ripped out the brick wall.  Those mature boxwoods in the front are moving to the side of the house to cover the A/C unit and all new low to the ground beds are going in.

You know you're in bad shape when dirt looks better than what was there before.  We removed all the weeds, gravel and random plants and in its place will be a Pennsylvania Blue Stone patio for rocking chairs, wine and lazy afternoons.

Our new door and sidelights.  I went for a clean simple design since the architecture of our home is simple and slightly modern.  I have always dreamed of a red door so there it is and it's RED!  It still needs about 3 more coats of paint, but I am telling myself I'll get used to it.  It definitely screams WELCOME.  The color is Show Stopper by Sherwin Williams.

Still to come this week are the gas lanterns that will flank the front door and new painted cedar shutters and hardware.  I'll post again soon.

Befor and After Part 2: My Built-in aka The Beast

This Before beast you see below was always slated for demo. But then it came time to take down the beast and well, it did not budge. Nope, not one bit. My husband took a sledge hammer to it and it bounced back. I am totally serious; the sledge hammer ricocheted off the built-in.

After the laughter subsided, we scratched our heads for some time as we figured out how to update this monster and make it aesthetically pleasing and suitable for modern electronics.

We started with paneling the back with brown fiber board to cover the tongue and groove back and give it a more custom look. Then we closed up the center column to make it appear as one custom piece and added simple molding detail to the doors. You may also notice we took out two shelves to the left so the flat screen could be added.

I painted the back of the bookcase Benjamin Moore's match to Ralph Lauren's Blue Shale. Ben M's color is called Atmospheric and we added large 8" Felicity Pulls in polished nickel from Restorations Hardware.

Not too shabby if I don't say so myself.  At least she'll do for a while.  We have far too many other projects in our dated dwelling to fixate on this one.  By the way I have to add, I am cannot style a room worth a damn.  The bookcase items are my very best attempt.  I need to hire an interior stylist to help with my home.

Before & After: My Fireplace

This week I plan to reveal a few more Before and Afters of the very slow progress of our home renovation.  Today, the family room fireplace.

Before

After

I always knew the fireplace had a lot of potential. Its true beauty was hiding behind a dated mask circa 1980. We had the guts of it completely rehabbed and outfitted with a gas log system. Once we pulled down the tiny ledge that was acting as a mantle and removed the brass cover, we were amazed at how big the fireplace really was.

What a difference the right paint colors and scale of a mantle can do for a fireplace. Every time I pass it I have to smile. We are so pleased with the end result.

The walls are Benjamin Moore Elmira White and the door and molding are BM Bennington Gray.

Bathroom Facelift Update: Wallpaper!!!!

Exciting things are happening here today. Wallaper is going up in the very tiny bathroom on the second floor. For a recap of the redesign click here. I am so excited! What a difference some wallpaper can make.  The paper is Ralph Lauren Lancast Damask in Citrine. 

Here is the before.  How about that brown tile?  Ugh!!!  Awful isn't it?

Before & After: Sittin' Pretty

When I needed a new chair for my studio with no money allocated to this "necessity" I headed to my local Goodwill store. I found the chair below for a whopping $5! Recognizing its good bones and potential I snatched it up and headed home.

I started by reupholstering the chair back and seat and added extra batting to give it more cushion and comfort. I also monogrammed the chair back and added a little nail head trim to the camel back top. A few coats of spray primer and antique white paint was all it took to complete the transformation. What do you think?


The total project cost me $20 from start to finish and I couldn't be more pleased. My studio is very neutral and kind of a blank canvas (more photos to come later) so I wanted this one element to be feminine and a little pop of color. Plus I love the fact that I can move it to my daughter's room later when we add a desk to her big girl space.

Before

After