Vintage?

It is sometimes hard to decipher if an item that is original to an older home is something integral to its character, or just plain ugly. Our decisions about an item can change over time, too. Something we find hideously offensive at one point in time, a decade later can be appealing and stylish. Pair the item with something from another decade and of poor quality...like let's say an 80's faux wood grain vanity... and one can be all the more ready to throw out the baby with the bath tile.

I knew when we were making the initial decisions about the scope of work on our project house, that less is more. Less disturbed is less money needlessly spent. Also, items that were in keeping with the style and era of the 1950's structure should be kept in place. The bathroom above's tile was original, and thankfully it was in great shape. Could it be paired with new items that would make it look intentional and beautiful in a house that needed to appeal to a 2011 buyer?

After taking out all the vinyl and particle board, one still had to wonder....

I guess it can be said it is all about the company we keep. With a new ceramic tile floor that brightened the room and made sense with the era of the house, a wall color that resonates and complements, charming new fixtures and hardware,  the vintage mid-century tile now can shine.

AND I could not believe my luck when I found the PERFECT shower curtain to compliment the room at HomeGoods. Wow.

I am happy to know that the a piece of the original history of the house will remain intact....hopefully for another 61 years or more.

All Finished! (*whew*) Our Brick Cape Cod Gets Her Big Debut

Just this week, after many months of hard work, careful planning, and many answered prayers, our little project house was put on the market! WOOOO HOOOO!

I am very excited to show you some of the before and after pictures today!!

I know you remember her forlorn facade from before:

But take a look at her NOW!

As you can see there are now welcoming front steps with a rail at each side (you can read more about that in this post), a new roof where a blue tarp used to be, and beautiful colorful landscaping. Her front is so pretty and clean now too, due to fresh paint, a set of shutters, and a nice light scrubbing with the power washer. (If you are wondering what happened to that funny white siding/strange addition, you can read about that here)

Throughout this process there have been pleasant surprises, bitter tears, grumbles of frustration, shouts of joy, expensive shopping trips, slips and falls (don't ask), and now...... a wonderful result.

When we first viewed our little house, there were lots of things to weigh out and lots of things that needed attention. First the roof was replaced.  When we were no longer open to the elements and without heat, it was time to focus on the existing kitchen. The cramped and dark room lacked a dishwasher and and needed updating throughout. Older appliances and an awkward layout also didn't seem like it was going to make anyone feel at home...

Not to mention the cramped doorway that led to the dining room.

A totally redesigned kitchen with quartz countertops, new hardwood floors, all new appliances and cabinets, and a repositioned larger doorway make a huge difference.

Pretty, bright, and sparkly!

The living room had a fireplace, but it lacked a mantel shelf, had cracked and crumbling tile at the hearth, and was surrounded by dark knotty pine panelling.

With paint, beautiful carpentry work, a new stone slab, and staging for the upcoming showings, it looks like a whole new room:

The dining room also needed a little pick-me-up.  This is how it looked before.

And now it has a clean look that welcomes buyers to envision using the space to sit down for soup and a sandwich or to have an elegant meal with guests.

The final room I will show you for today is the Master Bedroom. It originally had been painted with bright pink paint in one area, and blue and white stripes in the dormer space.

Now with beautiful neutrals, new carpeting, and the right furniture and accessories, a buyer can see all the potential this room has to be a restful retreat.

I will be back very soon to show you the rest of the redesigned spaces!

What do you think? Do you like the look of our freshened up cottage?

One Step At A Time

How a house greets guests is spoken in a language that isn't heard, but is definitely felt. Once upon a time, our little house greeted its guests with wet grass and mud in the place of a walkway, followed by an impossibly steep set of imposing concrete steps.

Once at the top, the storm door opened TOWARD you, causing you to have to step backward to make room for the door swing. Fun. Try doing THAT while carrying groceries or balancing a baby on your hip.

No thanks.

If all of these obstacles hadn't deterred you, once inside, the add-on ad hoc front porch enclosure felt like a cave without a purpose. What can one do with a room that is only 48" wide? Do you remember this picture from before? 

Here is another view of the facade from earlier last month, with the addition gone, but the old steps still remaining.

Just last week, the rest of the concrete pad that had been under the front addition was demolished, and a beautiful new set of curving concrete steps with landings were built!

Now instead of feeling as though you have to prepare yourself to climb a mountain, the slope is handled with a more gradual grade, and stair treads that are 12-13" deep. Much more comfortable.

With the more gradual slope, deeper stair treads, and landings interspersed, a visitor can now comfortably approach and hopefully feel that we welcome them!

See the little pot hiding in the corner there? That is just the start of some of the finishing touches that will be put in place in the days ahead to greatly add to the curb appeal.

See you soon!

Branching Out

A few weeks ago, I had the surprise and honor of being asked to help design the tables for a bar mitzvah for a dear friend's son.  I love doing new things, and learning that the theme for the event was going to be centered on TREES...wow! Couldn't wait to get started!! Here is a picture of the prototype that I threw together as we prepared, using somethings I had on hand, and the materials that Mary Ellen, my client and friend, had purchased previously. 

We arrived early that Saturday morning, convinced the friendly but somewhat imposing police officer at the borough building to lend us the key to the adjacent hall, and swung open the doors to the space needing our attention.

I forgot to wear my photographer's cap that day, but nonetheless, I have a few shots to show a bit of how the finished product looked.

I wanted to evoke the feeling of a forest floor on each of the tables, so we used a number of elements to bring a lush, textured collection for each arrangement.  Using river rock, live plants, a variety of mosses, small votives, and tree branches that Mary Ellen had gathered from her own yard, each table received its own vignette.

We had decided to use a tray on each table to pull the arrangements together. The ones that Mary Ellen had found were a textured glass, and to me they were reminiscent of a little creek burbling by.

The side table which was used for place cards and gifts, had its own treatment with sanded manzanita branches, burlap table cloth, and a big hunk of an oak tree. 

Here is the table with the branches lit.

And the room ready for a celebration!

Mazel tov, Steven!

A Bad Case of the Hiccups

In the past few days, while there has been progress made, it has felt that each two steps forward are followed by three steps back.

Have you ever sat down to enjoy a meal (one you can't wait to dig into) only to have a side dish of hiccups served with it?  Go ahead and take a bite, and a completely unexpected, uncontrollable muscle spasm causes one to spit up and nearly choke at the same time. Under the circumstances even the most delicious of foods can be almost unenjoyable.

So many wonderful things have been accomplished, and yet I just feel like whining. Please forgive me. I would really like to get the house CLEAN and FURNISHED, but there are all of these small issues that keep cropping up and bringing clouds of dust with them.

The bathroom upstairs....the one I have had many pictures of here these past few weeks, is just about finished. I cleaned it last week, and hung the shower curtain.

On that note, I will close for today. I am going to go drink some water while standing on my head or something.