A Carriage Door for Me!

With all this rain here in Atlanta I'm never going to get my house painted.  My friend Collen told me to wait until next year but I just can't do that.  Once it's painted, though, let me tell you my next move.  I'm going to change out the garage door to a cute carriage one, that I've always wanted! 

The short story here is, this past January, January 2nd to be exact, as luck would have it, our second thing to break in the new year was the garage door--it would not shut.  They actual door is  fairly new,  not dilapidated by any means, so replacing it is harder to justify.  After getting out of the car and going inside the garage and playing with the shutter, the inside chain comes crashing down. 

So when the  gentlemen from the garage door company came to fix the problem, it was a pretty easy fix.  And of course...he upsold me on some rollers.  But anyway, I told him that one day I wanted a cute little carriage door.  And guess what?  He pulled out a brochure and told me  they did those too!  Here's the one I have in mind.  Now I just need to get my house painted and for hubby go crashing out of the back of the garage door.  You know, he did that once before...fingers crossed!

Chalkboard Paint...Gotta Have It!

Monday "Getting Organized"
 
Here in Atlanta we have had nothing but rain, rain, and rain!  For little Ellie, it's been very boring.  She jut sits in her chipmunk-stalking room and gazes out the window wainting for the little chipmunks to come out of their holes.   The good news is she did get to see a  mommy deer and a baby fawn run through her front yard the other day.  Very exciting for her.  For me, with the rain, it's been non-stop HGTV, and I was forced to finally pick paint colors for my office, Hubby's office, and the guest room. Didn't actually make it to Home Depot for the paint but at least I know the colors that I'm going with.  For Hubby, because of the  rain,  he got out of a boat load of yard work...so he is a happy camper.  

Anyway, I cannot begin to tell you how much I love chalkboard paint!  Love it, Love it, Love it! 

Here House & Home's Suzanne Dimma painted a nice size wall in her kitchen.  I thought about this.

And here, I  thought about painting my pantry like what you see below.  Great for writing your grocery list and such.  Somehow or another, I was using chalkboard paint! 

I even thought about doing a weekly calender like this. Great for organizing your busy weekly schedule. I strayed from this because of the taping involved.  I don't think after striping our dining room we would have the patience for this project.

 

 

What I ended up doing was just painting a wall out in my mud room that I had Frank install to hide the ugly hot water heater. And no, I don't have a five year old.  But you know what?  You don't have to be in grade school to want draw on a chalkboard!

 

 

Loving Elizabeth Mayhew's Grey Owl!

Yesterday, while trying to get out the door for work, not  always easy at my house--Ellie gets time out a lot barking at those chipmunks.  I always have the Today Show on and I  was able to catch lifestyle expert Elizabeth Mayhew, whom I've always admired.  This segment was "Summer Entertaining Made Easy"... catch that here.  A couple of things--I enjoyed getting a little peek at Elizabeth's new house (she said it was an old cheese factory) with architect Gil Schafer, whom I love as well...catch that here.  Everything I could see about her house I loved, especially her kitchen! 

Note to self:  Try to get white tin plates from Target

Note to self : Try the savory cheesecake dish.I could use a few more things for my Repertoire! 

One thing that I made note of was Elizabeth's "7 Shades of Gray"...catch that here.  I remembered reading her article in the Washington Post last year. This jogged my memory about my guest room, with unmade beds and desperate for a paint job.  The Gray Owl paint  chip has been sitting in the room for months now--my first excuse was the Holiday, New Year's organizing activities, and then vacation. I say it's time to try Benjamin Moore's Gray Owl.  What do you think?

P.S. Elizabeth, you're not alone!

Hubby's Bathroom!

Tuesday Serious Decorating

OK, back to Hubby’s bathroom… here are a few of my thoughts and pics.  The nice thing about hubby’s bathroom is that it’s a decent size.  By far bigger than the master, which is mine?  I’m ripping everything out; down to the frame.  Though due to budget constraints the plumbing will stay where it is.  It’s fine; the layout is galley style and it works especially for just one person.

Hubby will  get a double sink, a new custom built-in tub, pretty white subway tiles, polished nickel fixtures,  nice detailed white molding, and a new low flush Kohler toilet (whether he wants it or not).  Also, a coffee bar so we can store our huge collection of Starbucks mugs.  I don’t have the heart to throw them away (if you only knew everything else that I tossed)!   The coffee bar will be good; he won’t have to track up and down the steps when he brings me my morning java…how sweet for him.  And finally he’ll get some very much needed nice new fluffy towels.   I have refused to spend one dime on this bathroom until the gutting process has begun.   If you could only see the shower liner.

 

 

 They only negative is that I can’t add a separate shower with seamless door. But, oh well, poor Hubby will have to make do!  For the sink, what I want is a double carrera marble vanity.   Also, I’ve not been able to decide on the floor.  The bathroom is nice size; I was thinking marble or travertine.  Again, the cost of marble…hmmm!  Since I’ve had a hard time deciding, I just broke down the other day and asked Hubby what he wanted.  I thought after all, it is his bathroom and he likes the penny tile, which I’ve used before, and he is in luck, I like it too! 

 

 

 

Here are the pics that I’ve already sent to Frank for pricing.  We’re getting there!!!

 

 

Hubby's bathroom has a nice big window at the end, just like here.  I suggested to Frank that one of the closets in Hubby's bathroom that  we could turn into the coffee bar.  Using this pic as an example. 

 

 

I saw this bathroom here in Atlanta on a home tour.  I loved everything about it!  For Hubby's bathroom I'm going to have Frank do the molding like theirs above the double vanity. Pic from Atlanta Home's & Lifestyles

 

 Since I can't do a freestanding tub, I'm going to have Frank do a more custom look like this one here.

Love this bathroom by Gil Schafer "The Great American House".

 

Oh, my absolute favorite bathroom by Michael Smith. I spent Sat. night and Sun. morning ahhhing over Michael's Kitchen & Baths & Gil's The Great American House!  More on this later!

 

Controlling the Chaos Part 3!

Monday -  Getting Organized

 

 

 Okay, I know you’re about tired of me talking about my garage, laundry & mud room.  BUT…just one more thing…I promise! I’ve been thinking about these shelves from IKEA here lately. My original plan was to find an old hutch, but now I’m thinking the money would be better spent on other things…they can be pricey!    My friend Colleen, when redoing her kitchen, used these shelves for her pantry (from IKEA).  When she gave me a tour of her new remolded kitchen this past Christmas, she had to kick me out of her pantry. I was like a kid in a candy store…loved it!  Since my pantry is so small, I’m thinking I may extend it into my mud room, by using a few of these shelves.  Perfect to store canning jars and junk. I like the untreated pine too! 

Next time, I’m heading upstairs to tackle my office and Hubbies office…this won’t be pretty!

Loving Aerin Lauder's New Fabric for Lee Jofa!

A few weeks ago while leafing through the June issue of Architectural Digest I spotted

Aerin Lauder's new fabric collection for Lee Jofa.  And of course it was in my favorite colorway...green (down below).  I then recalled while picking up Aerin's new lipstick last March - see Loving Aerin Lauder's New Lipsticks!--the lady at the cosmetic counter telling me all about Aerin's new lifestyle collection that she was starting to roll out. Love it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Vanity For Me...Please!

I don't know if you had a chance to read Ahhh Kohler...A Bathroom for me!  It's basically me talking about my small bathroom. Don't get me wrong, I like my bathroom, but I'm in desperate need of storage!  Plus, I need a place to set my hair dryer, flat iron, and my morning coffee. I have been looking for some time and have seen a few things but nothing that I really loved.  So I'm waiting it out!  The nice thing is our master bedroom is large enough where I could place a vanity in there as well.

I do want something simple. I thought about calling Yung Li in for the job to see if she could whip something up like this. But then again, I would love to find a vintage piece like Alexis Stewart's that is shown below.  I also love the vintage bench with the brass legs.  Simple and elegant and a place to store my hair dryer!