Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Moving on...

i'm so upset with myself for not taking before shots before this shot. :)


it's my sister Laurie's master bath remodel before she listed her house this spring.

you all know i'm one to get attached to my surroundings-too attached sometimes, but it caught me by surprise last week when i found myself attached to someone else's surroundings!

Lo (Laurie) had texted me some pics earlier in the day of some furniture items she wondered if i'd wanted. i figured i'd quick swing in that night, grab the loot and be on my merry way.
however,

she and dave had just sold their house earlier in the month and were making progress slowly moving out. i hadn't expected them to be that far into the process, i guess, because when i walked up, the entire house was empty. and lonely. and cold. and exactly opposite of how i've always experienced it. 
full. inviting and warm.

this was such a shock to my system that i could feel a lump forming in my throat. 
as i sat staring at 2371 sunset bluff, i mentally played through all the moments that made that house a home. all those sacred moments that they let me be a part of:
birthday parties, annual memorial day weekend throw-downs, sandy beach days followed up by bbq on the screen porch, trick-or-treating, my 40th surprise birthday party in their backyard and so many more memories. 
especially the ones in which they opened their home to us when we didn't want to be at ours. 
those gloomy days when ken and i felt like prisoners in our newly constructed house and we wanted to be anywhere else but there, 
anywhere else became 2371. our safe haven. 
our place of refuge.
our shelter from the storm.

lo pulled up that night to find me crying in my mini-van. the gut wrenching, sobbing ugly cry. 
she hugged me and then laughed a little. she's moved on emotionally and literally but knew her sappy sister needed to 'get it out' and get closure.

they're moving on to something maybe a little bigger. maybe a little better.
but this place of beginning for them symbolically had become a new beginning for me as well those years. 
i'm grateful for the time we spent there.
but there's always room for change, right?
at least that's what they tell me. :)

i wish i had some real photos of all the amazing things they did with that place but this one small project will have to do for now.

she used to have an 'L' shaped vanity that wrapped this corner. with a lovely gold counter-top, it was a throw back to the 70's. before they listed the house, they knew this room had to be gutted.

and here's the after:
We chose one of my favorite colors, "Edgecomb Grey" for the walls and paired it with a dark espresso vanity and marble counter top from Duca Stone and Tile.  The rest of her house is quite contemporary, so she was able to repurpose the hardware from a past kitchen remodel and use those on the doors and drawers complimenting the new faucets and lighting.
 I didn't get a good picture of it, but they installed floor to ceiling white subway tile in the walk in shower area.

Inexpensive octagonal floor tile completed the timeless look.
This blank wall needs art work or towel hooks, but we thought we'd leave that job to the new owners. :)


as always, thanks for putting up with my mood swings (Lo and all you Champs)! see you back here soon!

Comments...

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Throwback Thursday-Signs

 Throwback Thursday to some sign orders I've done in the past. I've been doing lots of custom orders for the boxed style, planked and smooth signs but sometimes I forget about the stencils that I have previously cut for the simpler signs and maybe this will inspire me to make a few more of these again and bring them to my booth to sell. 
I am planning on spending the day in my garage tomorrow catching up on sign orders and Ken is out there right now cutting the wood for me. Bless that man's heart. He does all the work. I take all the credit. :)





























That's a walk down memory lane for me and that's only the beginning. I love making you guys these signs....so fun to see what you come up with and the kinds of reminders and personal touches you want hanging on the walls of your home.  Makes me smile to know I've helped to personalize your space. Thanks for inviting me to be part of your home's personality. 


Comments...

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Carol Rhoda wanna-be

Chumps, Champs or Chums....I miss you!!  I can't believe I've only posted once this month.  I have no good excuses...just working and playing hard as usual. 

I'm enjoying the fall colors and cooler weather! Just bought myself a full length down parka jacket and I feel ready. Bring on the cozy-up-to-a-fire-need-a-blanket kind of weather! I love to hunker down that's for sure! Although, again as I type this in my 100 year old poorly insulated office, I am reminded that I need to haul out that space heater to warm this spot as I type. Fingers aren't quite as nimble as they were in 80 degrees! :)

All that being said, I don't think I'll be doing as much painting this winter for clients as I have in the past. We just can't find a good consistent way to heat our garage/workshop and frankly, those really cold days out there, I find myself feeling my age more and more. We'll see though. I have a hard time saying no to the transformation that happens when you bring an old piece to life with a little paint. 

Speaking of that...this project was a little outside the box for me, but as is usually the case with me, I have a hard time saying no. (Trying to teach my teenage girls the power of that word though, less they copy my mistakes). wink wink.

My former neighbor and friend, Michelle asked me if I would be willing to take a look at her Carol Rhoda artwork that she had purchased quite a few years ago. It originally matched her home's interior decor, but recently she remodeled her main floor and switched up her color scheme. Now the purples, pinks and navy blues had to go. She didn't want to part with the vignette that hung proudly on her stairwell because all of the children in the artwork represented her own. She has five amazing kids and even though some are grown and out of the house, she wanted to remember them this way. 

 This sounded like a job for Room for Change. At least  SHE thought so...me?, I wasn't so sure. 

For those of you who aren't familiar with Carol Rhoda's work, it's  pieces of metal cut into whimsical, decorative shapes and painted. Like this:

 Again, this represented Michelle's family:


Here are some of the before pics. 







 I am not known for my perfectionist precision.  That's why I like painting LARGE things...walls, furniture, signs, etc. 
But thought I'd give it a whirl. I  headed down to Ace Hardware and purchased several different Benjamin Moore sample jars in various colors that complimented the fabric and paint swatches that Michelle had left with me to use as a guideline. 
(Those little sample jars are being discontinued, btw. Big Bummer)!!

I loved all the colors Michelle was using in her new space -they're all my faves...dusty teal blues, olive-y greens, buffs and slate gray/blues. I took pictures of all the details in the pieces before I got to work and referred to them on my IPAD as I worked on each newly painted  piece. Here are some before/afters of the project:
 BEFORE
 AFTER:
 What a ding dong!! I had the before pics on my ipad, why didn't I line them up exactly like they were? Because I'm not known for my perfectionist precision, that's why!!

I hope you can at least tell how much softer they look?

BEFORE

AFTER



BEFORE
AFTER
 Don't think I have the original before of just this one:
 BEFORE
 AFTER




Birds BEFORE


AFTER


One More time:

 I had so much fun working on this.  She told me she loved how they turned out and wondered if I could hang them on the wall for her. 
Ummmmm. No. 
Enough precision work for one day. I'll leave the nail holes to a perfectionist!



Comments...