Reunited & It Feels So Good

I haven't seen some of these possessions in a few years, and really, I don't need any of this stuff, but it has been so fun rediscovering it.

Unpacking reminded me why my husband (who is generally very patient and non-restrictive when it comes to my decorating whims) has put a "moratorium" on all objects made of/or resembling bamboo and rattan. Rats...

This is the birdhouse which hung in our guest room in Encinitas. Will look great in Athena's room:

This is a very old magazine holder at home in the bathroom:

A bamboo display shelf:

My china and some of my shells (and the kick a55 wallpaper I plan to use in the dining room eventually):

Fern sconces:

One of the watercolors I got from my grandparents. Ironically, it is a 1950's scene of the clam shack at Nantasket Beach during its seedy heyday. I have always loved this painting and it is amazing that I am now living a few miles away from this beach.

Can you believe I paid 60 dollars for this beautiful little table? My mom was visiting me in SF and she spotted it at a yard sale on the Peninsula. It has always served me well!

These rocks and our silver cups have found a temporary home on the open shelves in my kitchen window...

More sea life...

We Made It!

We moved

it was/is choas

During the day, I often contained the children in the playroom

and drank several of these at night

Sergio came with his bobcat and levelled our front yard

Now Dominic is here building a fieldstone retaining wall along driveway:

Check out the antique granite steps:

Mike is painting our beadboard ceiling... Loving this color (Benjamin Moore's Harbor Blue)

All is well. We are happy to be here. Now it would be lovely if the sun would shine!

More pics soon!

Off we go...

This ship will set sail tomorrow! Now back to packing.

Have a great weekend, wherever you are!

pic via marthastewart.com

Farmer's Porch

Is coming along...

This porch had been enclosed at one point and you can see part of the gable under the roof was painted white. It is amazing how something so small, like a section of white paint, can make a wall or a house look akward and unbalanced. We have reshingled the entire gable of the house (as you can see below) and it looks much better, now.

The flooring should be finished tomorrow. We had to tear up the old blue boards because some were rotted and we are replacing them with mahogany (which will be stained). One major improvement will be a bead board ceiling which should be installed over the weekend. Now the question is, which shade of blue should we paint it? I love selecting paint colors so I am having a lot of fun with my fan decks. Here are the latest two pictures of the porch. Looking good!!!

Kitchen

I had beer goggles when I first came to this house- it was PERFECT, I just couldn't see any flaws whatsoever, and in many ways this house is a dream house, but the more I spend time in the house I come up with
little things I want to do to improve it.
Here is an example. We are going to repaint our kitchen. It is currently Linen White I think it is just a little too yellow/creamy with the whitenss of the marble. It actually looks good in this picture, but if you saw it in person you would know what I mean.

Look at this pic above: There is just a little something missing here...Maybe it is the akward blank wall over the stovetop, or is it the weird little blue lights? I have already ordered a large pendant light (hope it works!) and have been brainstorming little changes we could implement over time to make this kitchen even better than it is (and I do love it). Darken the floors, add a blacksplash, add some sort of hood over the stovetop, get some cool and colorful window coverings and play up the window seat.

This green kitchen motivates me to be more experimental with color in our new home.

pic fom housebeautiful.com

My Sole Mates

Even in the midst of packing hell, I am reminded there is a lot of good in going through all of one's possessions: shedding some things, carefully repacking others, wondering about the next place you will live and also reminiscing about all of the places you have lived before.

I was slowly sipping my beloved Sierra Nevada tonight while Tom was at hockey and I decided to purge some shoes before we do the final move on Saturday. I came across my old favorite sandals which I purchased 7 (?) years ago at a small shoe boutique in Hayes Valley, SF.

These shoes. I love these shoes. How do I describe them?

They were made for me.

Mind you, this purchase was way before the greek goddess look was in- there wasn't a ton of gold in women's shoes at the time and I saw these, tried them on - and the rest was history. They seriously are shaped for my feet - I have narrow-medium feet with long toes and I love wearing flats (jack rogers are a long standing fav). These sandals have a slight contour to them and a low wedge heel - offering just a little height and providing hours of wearing enjoyment. The blue is the perfect light summer color and the way the leather is cut in slits is just a little nod to the goddess Nike (but a perhaps native American,too).

The last time we moved I tried to be disciplined with my goodwill pile and I tried to rid of them (you will see the gnarliness of the heels below), but tonight I have been wearing them around the house and I have decided to bring these puppies into the cobbler and see what he can do for the heels.

I wonder what oldies-but-goodies you have in your closet? Off to bed now. Night, night.

Floors First

I went to the Stark warehouse sale in early May and bought 5 carpets for our new house. It was a major purchase and one of the first for our home. I had a lot of guilt after I bought the rugs, mostly because I have never bought so much for myself before and I hoped I made the right decisions! I usually start decorating rooms from a fabric- not a carpet so it wasn't the most natural flow for me, but the warehouse offered so much, I couldn't pass up the chance to get these carpets at such low prices. There were hundreds of beautiful remnants and also discounted stock items which you could order to any size. I had to seize the opportunity and I got there the first day the sale opened to the design trade.

Anyway, I am now SO HAPPY I made the decisions I did. The carpets are amazing and such beautiful quality. I got a runner for the stairs and upstairs hallway, a greek-key type rug for the master br, a blue star rug for Teddy's room, a yellow candy stripe for Athena's room, and a natural sisal in a wavy pattern for the front sitting room.

I will focus on the kids rooms first: I am not changing the wallpaper in these rooms, mostly because the paper isn't *that* bad and I would like to spend the money elsewhere. The wallpaper in my daughter's room is white with green leaves (a little 80's - sort of painted leaves) and even though it was really not my style, I thought I could work with green and yellow since I have an amazing vintage bamboo dresser (yellow bamboo) and Athena's big-girl bed is green. So I looked for carpets which would tie together with the wallpaper but also incorporate other colors so I could use it somewhere else (maybe a nursery eventually).

Athena's wallpaper:

The vintage bureau:

The candy-stripe yellow rug:

And how it looks in the room (as of last night!):

It appears green in this picture, but it is more of a yellow when you see it in person! I think it looks amazing and hopefully will tie everything together!!!

As soon as I saw the rather cheesy lighthouse motif wallpaper in the boys' room I knew I could work in a Stark star rug and play up a larger scale on the floor to downplay the cutesy-ness (is that a word?) of the lighthouses. They aren't that bad, and now with the bold carpet they look cooler. I love this carpet and so does my husband. It is such a great color blue and I think it will grow with Teddy - I can imagine an antique cannonball bed or sleigh bed in this room. For now we are working with the white crib, changing table etc...

Teddy's room before:

Close-up of the new carpet:

In the room:

Here is a shot of the leopard for the stairs and upstairs hallway, which won't be installed for a while...

This is our master bedroom carpet - I love how the Greek key is deconstructed!

I will add a picture of the sisal once we get that one down...

Have a happy Monday!

Tuesday Tablescape

sarabengur.com

In Jive with Bungalow5

You may know this coffee table which has become very popular over the past few years.

But do you know Bungalow5 has SO MANY other cool products like this awesome etagere?I can imagine two of these book-ending a sofa with a nice painting hanging over it. They would also look cool on either side of a bed in a tiny bedroom where space is a premium. Mount some plug- in swinging arm sconces over the headboard and you are good to go!

I would love some of these grasscloth covered parsons tables- maybe the side tables or the coffee table? Love the Navy console table, too!

Amazing Lamps...

Great accessories like this mounted scallop shell

and I love the play of jar on jar here....

Hmmm. Must work some of these into my decorating budget! Bungalow5 items are found in a few stores and anything can be ordered through decorators/designers like yours truly....

Spring Happiness

A lovely image I found from the Royal Horticultural Society website.

If you like the way that looks, John Derian has some nice new plate designs...