Wallpaper Inspiration

Love this Amy Butler wallpaper through Graham and Brown.

all photos from Graham and Brown

Love this

Check out Stephanie Rausser's Kiki and Coco in Paris slideshow.

What a great project!  I'm totally going to do this for my boys... they both have "friends" that they adore.  They would love a slideshow featuring moments with their favorite friends.  (I only wish that some of those special moments could be in Paris!)

Call me crazy

It's the long weekend.  The weather is beautiful.  Jeff and the boys are at the lake.  Me... I'm at home enjoying two full days of uninterrupted painting!  So far I've done 5 doors on my main floor, stained both levels of our deck, and am currently working on priming the stairway spindles.

You might wonder why I would choose painting over time at the beach on a beautiful day.  I find painting very relaxing.  I find the beach super stressful.  Last time I went I had a full-blown panic attack because there were so many scary swoopy seagulls.  Seriously, how could I possibly enjoy relaxing on the beach with a million seagulls swarming over my beach blanket searching for french fries.  Maybe if food on the beach was outlawed, I could handle it better.

photo from webshots

All I can say is gross.  I'll choose painting any day.

Progress

The bricks are gone!

The up side:  demo went well, and I can't believe how big our room looks without the brick wall!
The down side:  we just got the contractor invoice (gasps of shock from both Jeff & I!)  I hope we can afford to put this room back together!

Slippery Slope of Oak...

OMG... I started and now I can't stop!  I finally primed my doors.  Then I thought, "hey... why not go ahead and prime the paneling in the entry way?"  Now I'm thinking, "oh yikes... now I have to start the railings...  and you can see a little bit of the office paneling from the entry way...  and the whole family room needs to be done... not to mention the whole second floor."  See what I mean... slippery slope?

On a super exciting note, our brick fireplace wall is coming down on Monday!  Wooohoooo!  After a lot of deliberation, we decided that the only way to really fix that situation is to start over.  Here's the before picture:

SketchUp

I love starting things.  I was excited to paint a couple weeks ago, so I got all of the supplies to do the doors.  As of today, my doors are still fake-oak with no hardware because I took it off so I wouldn't have to paint around it.  Whatever.  No one seems to mind our doors with the empty hole where the handle should be.

I did, however, start a fun new project!  I'm learning how to do 3D renderings.  It's something I've been wanting to try, so I downloaded Google SketchUp, watched a couple tutorials... then a couple more tutorials... and after one late night and one quiet afternoon... voila!

Here is a 3D model of Mom & Dad's family room reno.  I still have to figure out how to ad the scenery outside the windows, but it's a pretty good start.

Or... a different view (better for space planning)...

There are so many fun features with this program that I haven't even delved into yet.  Can't wait to sketch up my own family room!

Carolee's Fab Find

First of all, just a note to say that I don't usually say "fab"... I had to use it for Care's benefit... she'll catch the joke. 

Anyways, last week Carolee got in on a garage sale while up at the lake and found this gem for $1.  Crazy!!!  

In typical Carolee style, she's not sure that she likes it in her house.  I can't quite fathom that, so I searched around for a few ideas...

Idea #1:  between 2 windows (... note to self.... windows are just like in my dining room!)

Idea #2:  above a console table  (...note to self... similar to the turned-leg table in my foyer...)

Idea #3:  above a bed  ( no note to self necessary here... this bedroom is fabulous, mine sucks.)

all photos from decor pad

So, if Carolee doesn't like any of these ideas... I think it's safe to say I can find a spot for the $1 sunburst clock in my house!!!