A little more holiday decorating

I've had the same 3M Command hooks on my windows and doors since the first winter I was here. They've held wreaths and other little, seasonal decorations for years. I decided to replace them this year, but every time I hung my wreaths, I a bit "thunk" about 20 minutes later.

What is going on? Why aren't they holding when the last set I used held for four years?

They I realized my problem. I upgraded on the wreaths. I used to have cheap, fake wreaths that I got at Michael's after one Christmas. They were light, so the mini hooks were adequate. This year, I scored the last four $7 evergreen wreaths at Lowes on Black Friday (around 6 PM, which is why I was so lucky...I didn't expect to find any left). They're considerably heavier.

In the Command hook section at the store (and yes, there's an entire section for them now), I couldn't believe the options. I have to admit I was annoyed that none of the packages recommend a weight for the hooks. What's the point of all the variety if you don't give a hint at the capacity of the different sizes? A pack of six, white, large hooks was about $8.50. A single green, large hooks was $3.75. I was miffed. Did the less visible color really warrant that much of a mark up? Well, they got me. I wound up spending over $15 on four hooks.

I followed the directions with precision and was finally rewarded. They held!

Remind me to buy some of the green hooks when they go on sale for 75% off after the holidays.

The holly that is not-so-artfully placed on those wreaths was a good little find. Target was selling boxes of "holly picks" for $6. I don't know if they were meant for wreaths/centerpieces or if they were supposed to be garnish for food, but they added a little color to the wreaths and I didn't have to fight with wired ribbon to coax it into the perfect bow.

Another bout with indecision

Just as I was ready to start putting the grosgrain trim on my drapes, I froze. Is it better to use the ribbon as trim or would it look better to leave an inch of the drapes on the edge? I'm leaning towards having an edge.

What do you think? Edge or no edge?

Edge

No edge

Serena & Lily on Gilt

Gilt Group, one of the members-only shopping sites that has limited time sales, has Serena & Lily items for sale right now. I just picked up a pillow with a big "J" on it for $29 (retail is $59 and the S&L website is only offering three letter right now).

If you want an invite, I'm obviously happy to pass them along. My username is embedded in this link and it should give you access.

Thank you, Eddie Ross

My mother has wreaths all over my parents' house. There is at least one in each room at this time of year. There's even one in the powder room. I didn't think wreaths were "my" thing until I saw Eddie Ross' cool ornament wreath project. I decided to give it a try this year. The only materials: a wire hanger, ornaments, a piece of ribbon, and a glue gun.

I have to admit that I don't use a glue gun very often. In fact, I just bought a cheap one last year at Michaels for some small project. I'm really happy I have one now. To make this wreath, you have to glue the tops of the ornaments to the glass so they don't pop off the wreath when you pack a bunch on the wire. There are about 40 large ornaments and 15 small ones on this wreath. The small ones were supposed to cover the spaces between the large ornaments, but they aren't really visible. The hardest part was twisting the wire back together at the end. I need to find some more flimsy wire hangers, I guess.

Some people are using left over or old ornaments for this project, but I bought new. I wound up spending $15 on a wreath that's fairly large...I probably would have paid about that for an evergreen wreath of the same size. The bonus for this wreath: I can disassemble it and pack it away for next year and I don't have to vacuum up needles on the floor.

I made a smaller version with $10 worth of ornaments from Target last night (they're having a big sale). This is seriously SO easy, even if you are a crafting dunce like me!

Drapes project back on track

The ribbon I ordered to edge my drapes arrived during the flood episode and I put it aside until I got through the big clean up. I have to say that I really pleased with the color I ordered, which was the pure yellow.

The company from which I ordered had a purchase minimum, so I also ordered some cool ribbon that has a crocodile-ish pattern embossed or crimped into it. I think I might use it on a throw pillow or neck roll.

The joys of condo living

Every now and then, I wish I lived in a freestanding house and not a condo. When 2D's leak flooded my unit, I was definitely wishing I was out on my own. However, the response of the property management company here had me thanking my lucky stars to live here! The facilities guy, Jacob, was here within an hour and had Wilton & Chico from Specialty Cleaning on the job shortly after.

What really got me, though, is that after I ripped out the floors and padding in my place, the manager of the complex sent some guys over to haul everything away for me. I fully expected him to give me the name of a company to call (like that Got Junk company).

People often have complaints about property management companies and the one that works with my complex has dozens and dozens of clients, but we still seem to get fantastic treatment.

Good-bye piles of flooring!

O Christmas Tree

Why isn't Baxter more curious about his first Christmas tree? He barely sniffed it when we brought it in. Taking a picture in front of it inspired a look of ennui.

He promptly fell asleep when we started decorating. We didn't put any ornaments on the lower third of the tree for fear he'd try to play with them, but we might be able to move some down in light of his lack of interest.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

The flood at my place left me less than motivated to post since Tuesday. Thank goodness we got away to the beach for a few days to celebrate Thanksgiving with my boyfriend's family. Leaving the dust, dehumidifiers, and concrete behind was great for my perspective. It was great for Baxter, too.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

A calm post Thanksgiving dinner walk on the docks

It only takes dogs about 30 seconds to realize that food falls from high chairs

Baxter was exhausted by the end of the day, but there was little chance of him napping.

I'm lucky. I'm lucky. I'm lucky.

This post brought to you by the resident of 2D in my complex. When 2D slept through a massive leak in his unit and sent streams of water into my home, he did what most people would do: he left town. The three of us who were affected by 2D's leak were a little surprised he never came by in the days since our places were drenched to say hello. A little "I'm so sorry this happened" would have gone a long way.

The owner of the cleaning company told me that he left the afternoon of the flood. Do you know where he went? Wait for it...FRANCE. He's chilling with his brother, an actor, in France.

Meanwhile, I'm pulling apart the moldings I so happily painted a few weeks ago and peeling up laminate flooring.

Obviously, it could be much worse. The insurance adjuster said he has seen condos without ceilings due to leaks. I'm lucky. That's my mantra as I destroy my warped floors.

I'm lucky. I'm lucky. I'm lucky.

Chico was at my house this weekend

The clean of of the flood on Saturday took hours. I called the emergency maintenance number for my complex at 6:45 AM and the clean up crew didn't start working until 11:30 AM. They spent about 3-4 hours in the condo above mine, where the big leak originated.

One bright spot was when Chico showed up.

Okay, it wasn't Candice's Chico, Chico Garcia. It was my Chico...the wet/dry vac carrying Chico. Thank goodness for him...he sucked all the water up, retrieved two toys from under the oven (Baxter must have lost them there as a puppy because I hadn't seen them in two years), vacuumed behind my fridge, and even pulled out my washing machine and dryer, climbed behind them, and cleaned back behind them, too.

There's Chico emptying the wet/dry vacuum tank

The negative: Chico and his boss left these monsters behind with the instructions that they were to run 24 hours per day until they came back.

You can't see them in this picture, but all the seams on the floor boards are peeling up

I'm waiting for Chico to come back and my insurance company to call. For now, I'm packing things up and trying to learn about flooring by reading everything I can online. Anyone have any experience with bamboo? Buying flooring online? Opinions about the big box stores? Some of what I'm reading online has be scared of the flooring from the mega stores. I'm thinking of buying online or using a small, local store.

Flooded

I woke up to about half an inch of water in my kitchen, laundry room, dining room, and front closet. I didn't even know how to start the clean up. I called the condo's emergency number, called my neighbor (who also has water), and got Baxter out of the house. As I started pulling out the bins that were in my front closet (which is a huge, walk in meant for storage) and moving furniture, I got to thinking about all I've done to this place and I'm so sad.

The condo management company has a clean up team in the area (they started in another unit, where the leak started) and I'm waiting to see what they'll do. I'm afraid they'll need to take out the baseboards, some of the drywall, and possibly my flooring. It's so early in the game that I don't know if I'm responsible for replacing the floors and walls or if management does because the problem originated outside my unit.

I realize this is a tiny inconvenience compared to what families in flooded areas have gone through, but in my modest, little life, this is a big deal.

Update: Apparently, a guy one floor above had his toilet tank break in the middle of the night and the broken tank tried to fill itself for hours and hours. I woke up at 7 AM and the water was still coming because he didn't wake up until 8 AM. There are at least four units flooded. His ENTIRE unit had water in it. At least the water didn't touch any of my carpet.

Update 2: One of the facilities guys came in and said that he could already see the laminate floors buckling and it would all have to be replaced. Happy holidays.

Why is it so hard to buy some ribbon?!?

Buying 50 yards of grosgrain ribbon is harder than you'd think. Apparently, Schiff Mills, the people who make the grosgrain I want, sells their product to people who cater to hair bow enthusiasts. If you want to buy Schiff grosgrain, you can find oodles of websites that will sell it to you...in 5 yard pieces.

I finally found a site that sells entire rolls, which is considered wholesale. Then, I realized that the Schiff ribbon comes in 2.25" or 3" wide rolls. I had been banking on 2.5" bands. At this point, I'm so tired of thinking about this that I just want to be done with this, so I'm going to go for a 2.25" wide roll.

Enough!

By the way, I tried to make that awesome ornament wreath that everyone is doing this year. Chalk up a big ol' fail for me. I had 40 ornaments and probably need 20 more to finish the project.

Photo from Eddie Ross' blog

Ribbon samples are in and I need your advice!

I ordered four shades of yellow ribbon for the grosgrain trim I'm thinking of adding to my drapes. I have to admit that I'm second guessing the colors I originally thought I'd use. I'd love some advice on these!

I couldn't buy samples of the widths I wanted, so this might be hard. I'll be ordering 2.5" or 3" ribbon.

Let's call them 4, 1, 2, and 3

1, 2, 3, 4

Close up of 1 and 2

Close up of 3 and 4

Here's what I'm thinking. #1 is a bit too beige. #2 is surprisingly cheerful. #3 is a bit too dark. #4 is almost an acid yellow in real life and is waaay too bright. I'm leaning towards #2. Before I got the samples, I was leaning towards 3 or 4.

Shop and learn tonight at Sustain

I sometimes read entries about swank events written by the bloggers in larger cities with envy (hello, someone in Richmond better blog about the Eddie Ross event soon!).

In Charlottesville, we don't have many in store events. Our Junior League doesn't have a design house. In fact, no one has a design house. I haven't even heard of a garden tour in the city (there has been one in the more horsey suburbs). Jonathan Adler isn't going to be opening a store anytime soon. Anyway, when I got an email from Sustain, a beautiful, eco-friendly boutique I wrote about a few months ago before and after they opened, about an event tonight, I got excited.

This is Charlottesville's type of in-store event...it's one with an environmental twist. I'll be there!

Do you get these sorts of invitations? Do you see the same people at the events? Will you bring me to the next one? :)

Art for kids

I just came across some pictures I took during a visit to my brother and sister-in-law's house a few weeks ago. Most of the pictures were of my adorable nephews, but I snapped a few of the art my sister-in-law put in their rooms.

I remember her saying that made these prints by herself by enlarging color images from some favorite children's books, matting them, and framing them. For my older nephew, she used illustrations from Le Petit Prince and for the younger, she used Curious George. Would you ever guess that these were made at home?

Pretty cute, huh? Has anyone else framed pages from books? I remember trying to do this with a few pages from a calendar a while back, but it didn't turn out well. It wound up looking like...framed calendar pages. Any tips for those interested in doing this from those with some experience?

Why sew when you can iron?

When I converted the bedroom drapes from rod pockets to pinch pleats, I sewed some special tape, by hand, across the top of each panel. It took me an entire evening to do each panel and my fingers were killing me by the time I was done.

In chatting about the living room drapes with my neighbor, she suggested I use some sort of binding fabric to attach the grosgrain trim to the drapes. She said it would be invisible from the front and it would add some stiffness and weight to the drapes. The fabric is thick, but woven, so the drapes are kind of floppy, so this binding fabric sounded great.

I read up on fusible tape online and realized that I could also use it to attach the pinch pleat tape to the drapes.

I bought a roll of fusible tape called Stitch Witchery.


I rolled the tape out twice to cover the width of the pinch pleat tape.


I used a damp pillow case as a pressing cloth and left the iron on each spot for about 10-20 seconds.


Testing the bond after my first pass...it works!

I also threaded the tape through the rod pocket of the drape so the front of the drapes wouldn't fall forward now that the back of the drapes were stiff.

Now the floppy fabric will hold the pleats!

Spotted at Target

Dear Target fairies,

Please let everyone in the area where I'll be spending Christmas think these wrapping papers are ugly so I can snap them up for 50% off on December 26th.

Thank you.

Baxter's last dog bed

I wrote about trying to select a dog bed for Baxter a few months ago. Up until now, I've bought an inexpensive dog bed every other month at TJ Maxx or Marshalls. Those dog beds were cute and cheap, but they never stood up to more than a few washings. I've probably spent about $300 on them over the last 2 1/2 years. Adding that up made it easy to justify buying a Crypton dog bed.

Crypton fabrics are "impenetrable" and the company's ads in Bark magazine show someone pouring a bucket of water on a bed as a dog looks on curiously. Charmed, by the ads, I looked them up online and was delighted by the variety of fabrics the company offered.

After much debate, I settled on a fabric, placed an order (and got 20% off with the code "messfree"), and waited. I think they make each bed to order because the wait was over a month for Baxter's bed. When it came, it was fluffy and substantial. It took Bax a while to tame the bed so that he could sleep on it, but he's now on the thing all the time. He's sleeping on the bed under my desk as I type this.

I think the $140 purchase was worth it. Do you splurge on your dog bed? I'm curious about how Orivs, LL Bean, and other expensive beds hold up over time.

Do you close your drapes?

Image courtesy of DecorPad, a fun place to chat about design ideas!

I have window treatments on the brain these days. I'm embarrassed to say that just last night, I finished converting my rod pocket bedroom drapes into pinch pleat drapes. Pretty lame that I had one panel unfinished for the last few weeks, huh?

Tonight, I'll attempt to add the same drapery tape to my living room drapes. It's a tall order for one night!

All of this has me wondering if anyone, like me, draws their drapes. We never did this when I was young, but in my little condo, I like to close the drapes at night. I like that it blocks light a little more and it also insulates the windows a little bit. Since I hung the living room panels, I've noticed that there isn't such a stark contrast in temperature between the bedroom and living room.

By the way, I still haven't turned on the heat! I think this is the longest I've ever gone without it!

Drapery mock up

Wait until you seem my awesome mock up skills. You will be blown away by my use of MS Paint.

Yeah, I said MS Paint. I mostly post from a Mac, but there are times, especially when I'm on the road, that I'm on the PC only for a week at a time. So I haven't invested in Photoshop and still use MS Paint. If you have some free or nearly free Photoshop alternative that you recommend, please let me know. I've heard of a few for Mac, but haven't heard enough to actually download and start fiddling. I'm feeling old because the 25 year old me wouldn't have said that.

Anyway, here are mock ups of the cheapo drapes I bought on ebay with the different grosgrain bands on them. I should probably stop calling them cheap and call them inexpensive, right? Obviously, the bands are way more vibrant than they would be if they were actually in the photo. Hm. Maybe I should take a photo of the images and paste them in there.

Yellow vs. Lemonade...WWDD? (What Would Domino Do?)

I like the lemonade band in the mock up, but am worried that I like it because it isn't as bright. Is it going to look dingy in real life? Oh, why am I so indecisive when it comes to decisions in my own home? I can weigh in on other people's homes without any problem!

A quick word about awards

Blue Hydrangea did a beautiful job of doing something I've thought about. She acknowledged a blog award without letting the requirements of the blog award take over her post. I've been struggling with how to do this myself. It's very nice to be recognized by other bloggers, but it's hard to fit a big mountain of text into the day's posts.

It's official

Olivia is going to be mine! She's being made in London and will be shipped here in the coming weeks.

Are you all sick of seeing this picture? Too bad...I'm not! :)


Photo courtesy of Washington Spaces

Kreative Blogger awards go to...

I'm focusing on newer bloggers with this one...

1. Slipcover Your Life is another relatively new blogger who is off to a great start.
2. I think I've given an award to If the Lampshade Fits before, but I don't care about the repeat. I like her blog a lot! She's friggin hilarious!
3. The Fourth Door is another new blogger who is updating a new home.
4. The Urban Nest ladies started in April of this year. They are Richmond based and you know how I love local blogs!
5. I have to admit that I was first attracted to Sutton Grace because an aunt lives on Sutton Place South and the name caught my eye. But, I have grown to love the creativeness of this blog!
6. Strictly Simple Style started blogging in August...a relative newbie who has a lot of eye candy to share!
7. Nichole from Sparrow's Nest just started blogging in June.

So, these ladies, if they choose, can post seven things about themselves on their blogs and pass the award on to seven more bloggers.

Another blog award!

I feel like the day I wore a Naf-Naf outfit my aunt bought me in France to school back in 5th grade! Oh, the attention! Southern Aspirations (aka Aspirations of a Southern Housewife) gave me another blog award. This one is called the Kreative Blogger Award. To claim it, I need to list out seven facts about myself and then pass it along to seven others.

Here we go...

1. I'm a baker, not a cook. I can cook, I just don't enjoy it as much as I enjoy baking.
2. I love Bravo TV, but the Million Dollar Listing show is akin to nails on a blackboard to me.
3. I've never had a pedicure.
4. I don't like movie theaters. I always want to be doing something while I watch a movie. I also think theater etiquette is so horrible that the movie experience has gone down hill a bit.
5. I can't stand the Yankee Candle store. I like candles well enough, but I hate going into that store. Working there would give me migraines. I don't know how anyone stands it.
6. I have over 200 blogs in my blog reader. I really need to cut back. That's not including my work-related blog reader account.
7. I stopped being a vegetarian when I started dating my boyfriend. I refuse to work with red meat, but I've brought turkey and chicken back into my diet. I could easily drop them, though.

Check back at 10 AM for my blog awards!

Advice needed!

Last time I talked about having living room drapes made, I was in love with this Richloom fabric:

Unfortunately, the fabric is railroaded, so the pattern runs sideways, not vertically. It can't be used for drapes longer than the 54" bolt without some delicate piecing together, which I can't do.

After weeks of combing fabric stores, a few things happened. I fell in love with more expensive fabrics. I questioned my entire vision for the drapes. I changed my mind and looked for colorful fabrics. I even considered going without drapes entirely and just using the top-down-bottom-up fabric blinds that are on the windows. In the end, I really wanted drapes to add texture to the room, give the room some height, and to provide insulation from the cold and light when needed.

I decided to find something inexpensive to use in the living room for the time being. I stumbled upon an amazing deal for some 96" damask drapes on ebay and while they aren't made of a luxurious fabric, they have the weight and length I wanted. With a last minute, $41 bid, they were mine.

I've been thinking about adding a 3 inch, grosgrain band to the edges and then converting them into pinch pleat drapes like the panels in the bedroom. I thought buying the ribbon would be simple, but I'm debating between two, very similar colors.

Yellow (left) or Lemonade (right)

Part of me is saying "just pick one" while another wants me to poll you for opinions. What do you think? Yellow or lemonade?

The year of good-byes continues

Metropolitan Home is being shut down.

My "Over the Top" blog awards

Blog award posts are fun, but I think the people we award sometimes get lost beneath the questions we answer to accept the award. So, I decided to make a whole, new post just to spotlight the blogs to which I'm passing this along.

1. Imperfect is a blog about a newlywed couple's adventures in decorating and making a home.
2. Apartment 412 is back and she's blogging like mad again! Do you notice a trend? I like reading blogs written by people exploring their new homes and adapting grand ideas to fit their lives.
3. Blue Hydrangea already got a blog award from me, but I don't care about repeating. I love her blog!
4. Casa Sugar might be five people and it might be one. I doubt he/she/they will respond to this, but I'm going to give it a shot.
5. Spark! is my new, favorite local blog. Ada-Marie lives in Richmond and has so much great eye candy on her blog.

There you go, kids! Take it and run!

Who knew I was "Over the Top"?

Well, I'm really feeling popular these days! Jessica at Lavender & Lillies gave me a blog award! Now I must answer these questions and pass the award along.

1. Where is your cell phone: My iPhone is in the messenger bag I use to run errands. I hate how soft the iPhone ring is, so I should probably fish it out.
2. Your hair: I'm a very happy redhead!
3. Your mother: A 66 year old who looks 50, still a natural redhead (please let those genetics be in me!).
4. Your father: He's a retired banker who used to travel all over the world for his job. Since retiring, be barely travels. He spends more time online than most 66 year olds and still loves The Hamster Dance.
5. Your favorite food: It's impossible to pin one item down. I love green and red peppers, peas, crusty bread, ice cream...I could go on and on.

6. Your dream from last night: I was checking into a hotel with a dog, a cat, and another animal. I couldn't find my room and ran into two friends from college as I wandered, then wound up in a parade led by my boyfriend's nephew.
7. Your favorite drink: Diet Dr. Pepper
8. Your dream/goal: To be happy with my life, satisfied in my job, and not to feel the need to think about "what ifs".
9. What room are you in: My living room
9. What are your hobbies: Rescue work (I work with a golden retriever rescue), decorating, blogging, and keeping an eye on social media (something I do for my job)
10. What is your fear: Bugs, especially if they move quickly.

11. Where do you want to be in 6 years: I want to be married, with a small home, still working in my field, and doing rescue work. I joke that I want a little herd of golden retrievers.

12. Where were you last night: I was at a birthday party for my boyfriend's nephew.

13. Something you are not: Very interested in fashion anymore. Oddly, I started reading fashion Vogue when I was about 10 years old and was very fashion conscious for years, but I just don't care anymore. I have a ridiculously large wardrobe, but my shopping habits have really changed in recent years. I used to shop every weekend. Now, I shop for a bunch of things every few months.
14. Muffins: Not anymore. I love scones, though.
15. Wish list items: A Honda Element, the Pet Friendly edition, Olivia by John Matthew Moore (check!), new counter tops, a big HDTV
16. Where did you grow up: Ridgewood, New Jersey (just outside NYC)
17. Last thing you did: Bought some drapery tape at the fabric store (to turn another pair of rod pockets into pinch pleat drapes), went by the dog store (closed because I was out too early), put turkey chili ingredients in the crock pot.

18. What are you wearing: Jeans and a pink, gingham button down from J Crew.

20. Your pets: Baxter, my adorable golden retriever
21. Your friends: I consider almost everyone I know to be a friend, which might surprise them. :)
22. Your life: Surprisingly different from the one I envisioned when I was in college and making plans. I'm happy I was flexible!
23. Your mood: I'm calming down now that I ate lunch. I get incredibly punchy (silly) when I haven't eaten in a while. I become pretty entertaining. Does that mean I'm diabetic?
24. Missing someone: I have a few friends who seem to have faded out of my life and I'm sorry about that. I don't know why that happened.

25. Vehicle: Ford Explorer
26. Something you’re not wearing: Shoes
27. Your favorite store: Baker, J Crew, any dog boutique

28. Your favorite color: Blue for the home, green for me

29. When’s the last time you laughed: My dog makes me laugh constantly.
30. When’s the last time you cried: This morning when I was watching the news. Last night, I cried when we caught a Berkeley football player fly about five feet in the air, come down on his back, and not move. Players were on their knees, paramedics worked on him for about 10 minutes, and his mother was called down to the field. So sad.

31. Your best friend:My boyfriend

32. One place you go over and over: The bagel shop

33. One person who emails me regularly: My dad, in response to something I've posted on my work blog, which he reads daily.
34. Favorite place to eat: The Continental Divide in Charlottesville, VA and Brabo Tasting Room in Alexandria, VA

Okay, now I get to pass this along to some others. Check back at 9 AM for my awards.

Hanging curtains: For Men Only

I'm hanging a drapery rod today and am trying to decide whether I want the rod level with respect to the ceiling or just level. I did some googling to help me with my decision and found this gem from Popular Science, circa 1970. It's says:

"Sure, she knows fabric. But hardware? The only way you can be sure of getting the right hardware -- hardware that will fit, install easily, and need no attention once it's on wall -- is to handle that end of the job yourself."

Busy, busy, busy

The past few days have been a bit busy at work and I've neglected the blog. I'm getting back in the swing of things, I promise!

More Kimpton eye candy

From the Hotel Monaco in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.

A note and treats from the Director of Pet Relations

Really small and chic in Alexandria

Though the blog was mostly on autopilot while I was in Northern Virginia, I was reading comments on my phone. Jane from The Borrowed Abode left a comment on a quick post I made about a cute, small house in Old Town Alexandria and she prompted me to track down this adorable, tiny house.

Perhaps it's the little, dollhouse loving girl in me that is delighted by The Spite House. It's seven feet wide and the interior has about 325 square feet in which to move around. That same mini-loving little girl was sad to read that the owner has multiple homes and resides most of the time in McClean.

Photo from a Hooked on Houses blog entry about the house

If you want to know more, check out this 2005 article from the Metro section of The Washington Post and this 2006 follow up from the Home & Style section.

Spite houses aren't all that uncommon! A comment on the Hooked on Houses post pointed me to a wikipedia entry that describes a number of others.

I love ewe

A while back, I wrote about a painting I saw at the DC Design Show House. It was a strikingly beautiful image of a sheep. It was huge. It was delightful. I couldn't stop thinking about it.

I'm not the best at talking about art the way collectors do. I do know what I like and John Matthew Moore's work makes me happy and excited.

Photo courtesy of Washington Spaces Magazine

Emboldened by an article in DC Spaces about collecting art, which encouraged newbies not to be intimidated by it, I emailed John Matthew Moore. His reply confirmed what I knew: the painting was gone. However, a carrot was dangled. Prints could be made!

This past weekend, I decided to go into Moore's gallery in person. I had been in the area for work and tacked on a day to do this. Kind of silly in light of the fact that he sells plenty of work by email, but I felt it was important. The windows had some of the work many people recognize from magazines - his flowers and shells. As I walked into the gallery, I was struck once again by a sheep.

iPhone picture from the gallery

The man in the gallery greeted me and I started by explaining that I was interested in a print of the painting from the show house. I was surprised to find out that the man was John Matthew Moore. A little star struck, I tried to take mental notes as we talked.

I was particularly charmed by Moore's understanding of and willingness to work with people who might not have the budget of an art collector. He shared the thought that frames were like furniture, which I hadn't heard before. He also told me that it was possible to frame things nicely without spending a fortune (this is when my boyfriend make a comment about Michael's and horrified me, but Moore was pretty funny about it).

We were so happy to learn that he has dogs. He completely understands that dogs are like children for many of us and he has even done a few commissioned dog portraits. I'm always at ease when I realize someone loves animals as much as I do. He grew up on a farm, which makes sense when looking at his work. Maybe this will sound silly, but enthusiasm for his subjects really comes through. He's also moving his store from Chevy Chase to a great location in McClean.

Oh, and there was a moment when my boyfriend and I both grinned at each other as if to say "this is definitely happening". Moore said that his subjects were ewes, female sheep. Marc and I write "ewe" instead of "you" in notes to each other. I'm not sure how we started doing this, but it might have something to do with a song we like that has a line about buying a loved one a ewe.

The ewe from the show house is named Olivia, by the way. I'm emailing Matthew to see what the next step in this purchase is. With some luck, she might be home by the holidays!

Some more pictures of Moore's work:

From Eddie Ross' portfolio

Photo from Washington Spaces blog

And here's a blog post about an event Moore hosted at his gallery. Peek behind the people and look at all the beautiful art on those walls! Another DC design blog, My Notting Hill, featured a room from the CharityWorks Greenhouse show house that included a piece by Moore. The designer of that room is Victoria Neale. Looking through her portfolio, you'll see quite a few John Matthew Moore pieces!

I have to say that I'm so, so happy that I went into the gallery in person instead of leaving everything to email. In person, these pieces are quite striking! The person who took the photos of the design house and the shot from Eddie Ross' portfolio captured something that I think is lost in the picture of Neale's room (possibly because the paintings are off center and a little far away from the camera?). Anyway, it was a wonderful experience and while I was still a little intimidated, Moore put me at ease.

I hate to say it, but looking at Moore's tulips has me thinking that my bedroom art really isn't quite right. :)

*As usual, I am not a sponsored blogger. I write about topics, businesses, and products that interest me.*

Sneak peek into the Hotel Monaco

While I work on a post about a very exciting happening this weekend, check out some Kimpton eye candy from the Hotel Monaco in Old Town Alexandria. I showed a few poor quality camera phone shots of the lobby before, but I took some better pictures while staying there this weekend.

The peacock blue walls of the lobby are striking and the mix of colors and textures in the common areas is wonderful.

Like many Kimpton hotels, they have a "Guppy Love" program. They'll put a goldfish in your room to keep you company.

Happy Halloween!

I'm not sure I'll be able to post tomorrow, so I'll wish you a happy Halloween one day early.

My lack of crafting skill is a frequent theme on this blog, but Baxter's costume from last year was my one, shining moment. I wanted him to have a simple costume without a bunch of clothing (he tolerates a Barbour field jacket when it rains, but that's it). I bought hair extensions at a beauty supply store and sewed them onto the elastic you get at the dance store to attach to ballet slippers.

Baxter didn't love his costume and I was able to catch him yawning when he tried it on for the first time (dogs yawn for a bunch of reasons, but often as a calming mechanism). It wound up looking like a big roar!

I only wound up putting it on him for three events, a pet Halloween parade, a trick-or-treat event for charity, and a photo shoot. I'll have photos of this year's costume, which is decidedly less crafty, in a few days.

Decor knock offs

How does Home Goods get stuff that looks like it could be part of Restoration Hardware's new collection so quickly? Is there an Alan Schwartz of decor who goes to work as soon as a new catalog hits the mailboxes?

Just for fun, here are some lamps I saw at a Home Goods up here in northern Virgina that were pretty cool (two of those red shades look like duds to me, but that double navy shade is pretty unusual!):

Do you live in a development?

Photo courtesy of Sam Bebe/Ecotrust

Work has me in northern Virginia this week. After spending two days in the suburbs just outside Washington, DC, I've moved west to the more distant suburbs.

Despite living in new construction myself, I can't help but look at the massive developments here and wonder what life is like for those who live in these planned neighborhoods. People must identify themselves by the name of their complex (they all use words like "thrace" or "glen" in their European sounding names) and having a GPS is critical since Stoney Village Boulevard will intersect Stoney Village Place and Stoney Village Parkway, probably at a traffic circle, at some point.

My complex in Charlottesville only consists of a dozen or so buildings on one street. There are three or four different building styles, so there are never two buildings with the same facade next to each other. I realize that this is why I found the complex a little more comfortable than others.

Do you live in a complex? Does your home look like others on your street? What have you done to distinguish your house from the others? What is life like in these larger housing developments?

Small and Chic in Old Town Alexandria

A peek into the Morrison House in Old Town Alexandria

I'm in northern Virginia for business this week and managed to got a great deal at the Morrison House, yet another hotel in the Kimpton family of hotels. I'm a loyal Kimpton visitor because their hotels are usually small, boutique style, and pet friendly (without threatening pet policies or deposits). Each Kimpton is a little different and this one is considerably more traditional than the others in which I've stayed.

I'll take some pictures of the public spaces later today, but here's a look at the charming room in which I'm staying. I love how they've combined traditional case goods with modern art and lighting that bridges the gap.

Neat little details: there are only 45 rooms in the entire hotel, a complimentary glass of wine arrived at my door a few minutes after I got here, I got a $10 credit towards the minibar, coffee and tea are served in the parlor each morning, and the hotel looks like a large home, just off the main shopping street in Old Town Alexandria. I'm steps away from stores and restaurants, but feel like I'm in a secluded home. Oh and as I was winding down for the night, the housekeeper showed up with chocolates and a card with tomorrow's weather report written on it. So charming!

The Frette linens have white zebra stripes on a white background

As usual, I'm not compensated for my sneak peeks into stores and hotels. These are just places I like.

Alexa passes an important test

My boyfriend fell asleep on the new sofa twice yesterday. This is a very important test that Alexa passed.

Back in the groove: Craigslist finds

It's time to get back on track with some Craigslist finds! I'm focusing on Charlottesville, but have two picks from west of town (is Waynesboro considered "the valley"? I wasn't sure if I could use that term).

1. Someone is asking just $12 for each of these cool stools. As is, they'd look pretty cool if you were going for a simple look. Painting them a bright, glossy color would look fantastic, too. I love the metal ring!


2. These $10 folding chairs don't look very special right now, but if you use these instructions from High Heeled Foot in the Door, you can turn these into something much more interesting!


Of course, if you're lazy, you could spend $198 for the same thing from Anthropologie.

3. The owner of these dining chairs didn't post a price, so I see that as an invitation to bargain. These would look wonderful with some new fabric (it's super easy to reupholster dining chair cushions like those). A coat of paint could go a long way as well.


4. As always, I have two dressers that could look modern and fun with a nice coat of paint. See some examples of what they could look like on this blog post from a few weeks ago.

This dresser is only $25 and is over in Waynesboro. What a great deal!



This second dresser is $50 and is right here in Charlottesville. The middle door is really interesting.



5. Lastly, this piece doesn't need any paint, but it's such a wonderful deal. It's a Crate & Barrel lamp that retails for $179. A seller in Staunton only wants $40 for it! With a bright shade, this will look brand new!


Have you made any Craigslist scores lately? Any finds you want to share from the Central Virginia Craigslists? Next week, I'll try to cover some items in another part of Virginia, based on your feedback. Richmond? The Valley? NOVA? The beach?

Meet Alexa

About ten minutes ago, my Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams sofa arrived! It's been a long time coming and I'm so happy to finally have it here. I need to do some steaming to get out some of the wrinkles in the skirt, but I was too excited to post this entry to wait for that.

Welcome home, Alexa!

Furniture nostalgia

A little over a month ago, I stumbled upon a familiar looking cabinet at Circa, a local second hand furniture store. It was in beautiful condition, with working hardware, and just a little dust layering the inside.

Circa wanted $150 for it, which made me laugh. That cabinet originally cost many thousands of dollars. I know because my aunt had one in her home in New York City for years. Seeing the piece brought back good memories of Thanksgiving dinners and birthday parties at my aunts house. For a half second, I wanted it out of feelings of nostalgia, but my home is small and my decor doesn't fit this beautiful piece.

My aunt and uncle are about to move back into their place after a major renovation and redecoration. They decided to give the cabinet to my mother and while I was visiting home for a day last week, I got to see the cabinet in my parent's house. All those good memories came back when I saw it. I'm glad it's staying in the family.

Pardon the wires...I'm too lazy to photoshop them out

Karges made the cabinet and legs separately so people could choose the base style that best fit their style. Perhaps this is why the cabinet was in the back annex at Circa...people couldn't figure out what to do with it!

Someone needs to get into Circa and snap this up. It's such an interesting, unusual piece!

Fabric shopping in New Jersey

During my last fabric shopping excursion, I got sidetracked by a beautiful, damask fabric. While in New Jersey last weekend, I decided to peek into two, massive fabric stores to see if I could find that fabric. I didn't find it, but took plenty of pictures of the sample and book rooms. I could have spent hours looking through the all the options. Oh wait, I did!

That's a lot of books.

There were at least three different rooms full of trim!

More books!

One corner of the clearance room

Book shelf styling

How interesting to see J. Crew stores styling their shelves with books flipped around to show the pages instead of the spines. This look has been popping up more and more and seems like something many of us everyday decorators could adapt pretty easily to work in our homes.

Maybe I'll give up on having a beautiful rainbow of books on my shelves now.

How do you arrange your books? By subject? Height? Color?

A peek into Hillman Electric in Ridgewood, NJ

Below, you'll see my 1982 Christmas haul: a slew of Strawberry Shortcake dolls, some Barbies, a Barbie car, a bracelet, a painting, and a lamp. That Christmas sticks out in my mind as one when my stream of presents seemed never ending.

The lamp was one of my favorite presents. It had a nightlight in the bottom, covered by grosgrain ribbon and the three way switch could turn on the nightlight, the main light, and both lights. It was pretty sweet and it came from Hillman Electric in my hometown, Ridgewood, New Jersey.

Don't you love the wallpaper? I used to trace the flowers when I couldn't sleep. That console table is still in the room!

Due to some travel troubles, I had an unexpected day in Ridgewood this weekend. While shopping with my mother, we had to stop into the lighting store to buy light bulbs. Thinking about it, I realized that my mother is a local business owner's dream. She buys light bulbs at the lighting store. She gets fish at Peter's Fish Market. Presents are bought at "gift shops". She doesn't recall ever shopping at Target. She's been shopping this way for years.

I wandered around Hillman Electric as she chatted with the owner about her light bulbs (when he told her that her light bulbs were being phased out, she asked if that was because of President Obama in a hushed voice...not realizing that traditional bulbs have been on the way out for years). I thought about the history we had with the store and realized that my mother is evidence that the shop local movement is a revival, not something new.

Back after a few days at home

I'm back! I pre-loaded a few entries over the last week and shared a few pictures from the road. However, I didn't anticipate some travel troubles that extended my trip by a few days, hence the two days without posts.

After two unplanned days in my hometown of Ridgewood, New Jersey, I'm back...with some pictures from a few shopping excursions.

A trend for big, chain hotels?

Perhaps the big chain hotels are making a concerted effort to become more modern or interesting in their public spaces? Despite having typical guest rooms, the Marriott in Providence, RI has a strikingly hip public space in the middle of the hotel. Too bad it was in the 30s and 40s while I was there.

Greetings from the road

You might have noticed that I'm not responding to comments very much this week. The reason is that the blog was on auto pilot for a few days due to a business trip. I'm traveling with a group and did not make the travel arrangements, which means that instead of staying at KimptonMarriotts, Sheratons, and Hiltons.

I didn't think I'd have any material for a hotel sneak peak until I got the the Sheraton in Wakefield, MA. They have seriously updated from the quaint, colonial hotel they once were. The lobby is flanked by two large lounge areas. The colors are pretty neutral, but when you look up, you see this:

Hotels or other boutiques, I've been in The business center, which typically consists of three computers in a nondescript room is equally surprising.


Nice to see some big chains stepping things up a notch in the decor area.

A quick break from the usual programming

At times, I worry that my enthusiasm for certain companies may lead people to believe that I have some sort of professional or monetary connection with them. The fact is that they are more likely to have a connection to my golden retriever, Baxter, than with me.

I love animals. I really, really love animals. Regardless of size, disposition, or ability to shed, I love all sorts of critters. When I find out that someone is an animal lover, I feel a connection. When I find out that a store or company is pet friendly, I can't help but become a huge fan.

So, please don't mistake my rave reviews of certain stores or companies as the result of some sort of compensation. I'll be shouting from the rooftops when blogging leads to some sort of perk, I promise!

Photo of a Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams store from Racked.com

Is it too early to decorate for Halloween?

My patio doors

I might not be crafty, but I can buy stuff at Michael's like the best of them. I was so excited about the ravens and spiders I bought that I already put them up. It's not too early, right?

My living room...I'll be getting shades for those pineapple lamps any day now

Craigslist tip: search for items coming from model homes

Earlier this week, I mentioned that a Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams sofa was being sold on the Delaware Craigslist. Searching for "model" in the furniture section of The Craiger (term used by a girl I knew in my Boston days) usually returns some pretty good items.

In some areas, model homes are professionally decorated. Obviously, in others, models are full of bland, uninteresting furniture that wouldn't last too long, but if you know an area well, you can usually figure out a geographic area to target for the good stuff.

When it's time to sell the contents of a model, some builders have ways to reuse or sell things privately, but some use Craigslist to get rid of items. Search carefully and you might score a great deal from a builder who's eager to clear out a house.

Here's what I found up in Delaware, all coming from the same house:

1. Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams Alexa sofa, $399

2. Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams pair of chairs in a light green toile, $225 each

Gorgeous!

3. Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams dining chairs, $199

4. Howard Miller wine console & mirror, $375 (found it online here)

Can you tell that Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams have been on my brain lately? I swear I don't work for them, I just love their products.

Save my towels!

When I ordered my Restoration Hardware towels for the bathroom, I was determined that they wouldn't wind up like the last set of RH towels I bought:


That is how my towels looked after the first few washes. I wasn't using any bleach product or even any body products that had peroxide.

I did some reading and found a forum where someone wrote that RH towels are dyed with vegetable dye and a few pre-washes in cold water (and maybe some white vinegar) would help set the dye. Though I couldn't verify that with Restoration Hardware, I decided to follow that suggestion while also changing my laundry detergent to a mild product without any of the agents that cause problems (no dyes, perfumes, preservatives, and especially no phosphorus).

Unfortunately, I'm noticing that some tougher dirt isn't coming out. The towels I set aside to use on Baxter's paws after going outside in the rain (not new towels, mind you) never come completely clean in the laundry anymore.

Then, I found this at the bottom of the bottle:


Ick! Someone recommend a detergent! Is it possible that since the vegetable dyes are "set", it's safe to use another detergent now? I'd still like to stick with something free of phosphorus, but I'm not keen on buying another bottle of this stuff again. What do you use in the laundry?

More delays (or, how my Mitchel Gold & Bob Williams sofa spent a month in a warehouse)

The lovely and gregarious Sharon of Quince confirmed that my beautiful, new, slipcovered sofa left the upholstery mecca that is the Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams warehouse on September 22nd.

Today, I got a call from the delivery company that they would be in the area next week. They gave me a three hour window for delivery. Unfortunately, there is no way anyone can be here during that window. The next time they'll be in the area again is after the 18th.

For now, I stare longingly at pictures online and wait.

By the way, if you live within a reasonable distance of Delaware, there's an Alexa for sale for $399 on Craigslist up there. It was used in a model home, so it probably hasn't been used much at all. That's an amazing discount...if I lived in northern Virginia, I'd be renting a van this weekend to go get it myself!

Who has time for projects?

The busy time of my year at work is starting and I'm afraid I won't be making many sweeping changes during the week for the next couple months. Case in point, the dramatic progress made in the hallway gallery last night:


I took my friend Letitia's advice and switched the sketches that were in two frames and hung one. Just one.

I think that many design bloggers, especially the new ones, feel that they have to post every day and show grand, sweeping changes constantly. Maybe we need to cut ourselves a break.

Searching for striped fabric leads to distraction

I probably should have stuck to the online source I found for my living room drapes. I always get distracted when I go to the fabric store as I see some gorgeous sample that has no place in my house. I convinced myself that I was going to the store to take pictures for the blog, not for myself. So, I'll pretend I haven't been staring at the pictures, redecorating my house to fit some of the fabrics you're about to so into my space.

After picking up the pineapple lamps on Saturday, I drove up to Fabrics Unlimited, a discount fabric store a little bit outside of town. They only had the fabric I wanted in a different color, but said they could order mine. Their prices are great, though they have some pretty high requirements when it comes to yardage. They wanted a dollar less than the other source for my fabric, but they require me to order 18 yards of it and that eliminates the savings.


Some of the black and white patterns that caught my eye as I searched for my striped fabric:

This fabric has my seriously thinking about changing my plan. I love it!

That's velvet on linen. It felt so wonderful.

Some of the beautiful fabrics that don't work with my place, but were picture worthy:

Doesn't this one look like it belongs in a Ballard Designs catalog?

I'll take them all, thanks.

The remnant room. So many stacks, so little time.


Trim...they have bookcases full of the stuff.

Hello, gorgeous!

I'm headed out of town for business and might stop at another big fabric shop to see what I can find there. For now, I'm resisting the urge to abandon my original plan. There are so many lovely choices out there for drapes!

Conde Nast does it again

Conde Nast just announced that they'd be shutting down Gourmet, Cookie, Elegant Bride and Modern Bride.

Yet they still have two, almost duplicate, golf magazines. Does anyone read Allure? Their decisions baffle me.


Here are Conde Nast's publications: Vogue, W, Glamour, Allure, Self, Teen Vogue, GQ, Details, Architectural Digest, Brides, Lucky, Golf Digest, Golf World, Vanity Fair, Bon Appetit, Conde Nast Traveler, Wired, The New Yorker

My Craigslist find

I've been sharing some Craigslist finds lately and I thought I'd show you one I snapped up myself. I wasn't really in the market for new lamps, but when I saw a pair of "tropical" lamps in mint condition going for $15 on Craigslist, I had to get them. I had seen the exact lamps on Caitlin Creer's blog a few weeks ago and couldn't believe the price I was getting.

The price was probably in light of the grime that as caked on the lamps. The owner must have been a heavy smoker or just unable to clean. Every crevice of the lamp had dirty in it.


The electrical cords were also coated in something. I think it was tar because it was kind of stinky. Gross!


After half an hour, one lamp was clean. Check out the difference:


Another half hour after that, the lamps were clean. They are considerably larger than I expected. The pineapples are a little larger than real pineapples are.


Now I need to decide on shade colors and shapes. The original shades were in such bad shape that I put them right out by the dumpster. I doubt anyone will take them because they're discolored and worn.

I took the shades off some other lamps just to see how the colors looked. I don't think the shapes or sizes work...this is just to test the colors. I'm not sure if I'll go dark or light...maybe light since the neck of the lamp is wood.

If you are reading this, you will love Simply Cville

A few weeks ago, our local lighting mecca was giving away a very cool lamp via Facebook. I was convinced said lamp belonged on my desk. I entered the give away and waited. I never heard anything and went to figure out who walked off with "my" lamp.

When I found the winner, I found that there was another amateur decorator blogging in Charlottesville. At first, I felt competitive. I mean, this dude already took my lamp and now he's going to write a design blog? This town isn't big enough for two of us, right?

Wrong. First, this isn't a town, it's a small city. Second, I remembered that I'm always envious when the bloggers in other areas talk about their meet-up parties and shopping excursions. I want a local, blogger friend, too! Whether he knows it or now, Ed of Simply Cville is my new blogger friend.

I think that if you're reading this, you should be Ed's friend, too. He has just started to reveal beautiful pictures of his house and if what he has shared already is any indication, there are many inspirational posts to come. Just take a look at these:

There's that lamp he won in the give away!

Simply Cville's inspirational kitchen

What I love most about Ed's blog is that what he does isn't out of reach. His pictures and ideas are truly inspirational, but in no way unattainable. You can do this. He tells you how. Go see.

Saturday is Craigslist day!

I've decided that Saturday is Craigslist day on this blog. I could post a few finds every day, but I feel the need to start a blog tradition. Let's get started!

Lots of bloggers have been posting about transforming old dressers into cool, modern pieces that could be used in almost every room in the house. One of my favorite projects was when Katie from Centsational Girl painted a Draper knock-off (purchased for $13) with beautiful results.

The Glam Lamb did an entire post about the original chest and variations she's seen. Kristin at Boulevard Interiors did her own revamp a few weeks ago, Bryn is on the look out for a dresser to transform like Jenny from Little Green Notebook did, Leila from In The Tweeds brought a $15 Craigslist desk back to life for her sister, and Cassandra from Coco+Kelley is working on some similar projects (she gave a sneak peak of her progress, so a full reveal must be coming soon). Most recently, Michelle from Three Men & a Lady turned a Craigslist find into a happy, yellow dresser.

Here are just a few Craigslist dressers that could be updated in the same manner:

1. Richmond (Chesterfield) dresser, $50


2. Dresser, mirror and bureau set in Charlottesville, $325 OBO for all three - I'm kind of curious about the hardware on these, which looks pretty neat. I imagine the seller would let a buyer split the set up, right? Painted with glossy paint, these might go from boring to Hollywood Regency style pieces.



3. Bedroom full of furniture in Standardsville, $350 - I wouldn't go for all of these, just a piece or two. All have pretty lines, though!


If you'd like to share pictures of your Craigslist rehab project on the blog, feel free to email me details and pictures!

Happy First Friday, Charlottesville!

In case you didn't know, it's First Friday here in Charlottesville! That means all of the galleries have flung open the doors in anticipation for your visit. It also means that some of our most favorite stores are staying open!

So, if you've been meaning to check out Quince since seeing my fabulous pictures of it or if you've been in love with Pillow Mint's blog and want to check them out, get your tail downtown!

Photo blatantly ripped off the Pillow Mint website. Don't hate me, Anita!

This is not a sponsored post. I just like shopping and I LOVE shopping local.

Measured praise for Lonny

I love the honesty of the internet. If I post on DecorPad that I'm about to so something stupid to my place, someone always jumps in to tell me, in a kind and firm way, that I'm making a mistake. I actually don't mind if people are brutally honest on the internet. It's probably why I get excited when Jenny from My Favorite and My Best goes off and says, in her own special way, what so many of us are thinking. I think I first found her when she coined the term "Designtard" for the contestants on this season's edition of HGTV Design Star. She's awesome.

Anyway, I love it when people are honest.

Today, the design blogsphere is all a-Twitter (hardy har-har) over the launch of online magazine Lonny, which comes to us from some of the lovely people who were involved in Domino. I have to admit that I have only flipped through the first 20 pages or so thus far and fully intend on reading through the entire magazine and drawing a conclusion then. So far, I like that you can hover over an item and see where it came from (and click to go to the source's website).

The blog comments about the magazine are promising, but I found it extremely refreshing to see Raina's more measured praise on her blog. I think she makes good points.

Go check out Lonny and decide what you think.


BTW, am I missing something? Those of us who blog are going to have to take screen shots to reference articles and imagines from the magazine. Perhaps that's the intent - it'll be easier for us and better for them if we drive readers to them instead of lift their photos for use on our blogs.

How many light bulbs...

...do I really need in my place? You'd think I had a palatial home by looking at the number of varieties I keep around.

I can't believe I'm writing about light bulbs, but I have become interested in them lately. Though I gravitate towards a certain kind of bulb, I just realized that I have five different kinds in the house right now. The differences are pretty striking.

First, here is a traditional, 60 watt bulb in my bedroom. I put it in the lamp that gets turned on first thing in the morning. My reasoning is that this kind of bulb emits pretty dull light that doesn't make you want to hide under the covers from it.


About two years ago, I dutifully bought a massive package of compact fluorescent bulbs on a day when the Virginia legislature gave a tax break to any energy efficient purchase. I use these bulbs in fixtures that tend to be left on for long periods of time because they only seem to last a few months when used in fixtures that are turned on and off fairly often. The [expensive] three-way fluorescents I bought a while back burned out within a few months. After that experience, I wouldn't even try the dimmable ones.

I don't like the light fluorescent bulbs give off, but I use them anyway. I think I have about six left in the pantry and I'm not sure I'll restock, though I read somewhere that CFLs will be the only kind of bulbs on the market in the US by 2014. Maybe I need to get used to them. If you're interested, there are reviews of the different types of CFSs on the One Billion Bulbs website.


The last two bulbs look like traditional bulbs, but they are "Reveal" bulbs. I only noticed that I had two different kinds yesterday. The lamp on the left has a regular Reveal bulb in it. The lamp on the right has a "full spectrum" Reveal bulb in it.

I know about full spectrum paint (Benjamin Moore's Aura is one), but I didn't realize there were full spectrum light bulbs. The light emitted is cool and bright. I think I like it!


I also have halogen bulbs in the kitchen, but because their fixtures must use them, I don't really have any other options.

Does anyone else have preferences when it comes to light bulbs? Has anyone else had trouble with compact fluorescent bulbs?

Rethinking the "gallery"

For years, I've looked at pictures of gallery or display walls longingly. Something grand just isn't going to fit in my little condo, so inspirational ideas like these:

Photo from InStyle Magazine

Photo from Pottery Barn

have to be shrunk down to fit a space like this:


Yep, that's the "gallery" in my place. You might remember that I painted a bunch of frames during the summer for this wall. I thought they were looking a little random and decided to upgrade to some more traditional frames (found at Michael's, Target, and Ikea).

Before I start hammering, I'm leaving the little paper inserts that came inside four of the frames up on the wall. I've changed their arrangement a few times, but haven't settled on anything yet. Any thoughts?

#1 (top heavy?)

#2 (too orderly?)

#3 (better, but bottom heavy?)

#4 (blah?)

Maybe I need to get inserts out of the smaller frames, too. This isn't as easy as I thought it would be.

Craigslist finds for the Richmond crowd

By request, I've perused the Richmond Craigslist site to find some items that might find new life in your home if given a nice coat of paint.

First up, this FREE table and chairs. They are sitting on somebody''s porch in The Fan. Go get them!


They look pretty average, but if you have a garage and some time, you could turn them into something pretty nice.

Photo courtesy of County Living

Next up is this sad, old hutch for $40. It's in Bonair.


The doors have me really excited. You'll need some sort of console on which to rest the whole thing, but you could pull an Eddie Ross and make it look far more impressive than $40. You could also paint the interior some fun color or line it with decorative paper.

Photo courtesy of Eddie Ross' blog

Photo courtesy of Country Living

Photo courtesy of Chateau de Lu blog

Here are a few more pieces that I would slap some paint on immediately.

Octagon side tables, $25 (might look cool with a glossy, white finish)
Pretty side table, $35 (another candidate for a white paint job)
Drop-leaf side table, $45 (I think gray or black would look good on this one)
Simple, oval cocktail table, $20 OBO (I think I'd go with white or gray here, but who cares, it's $20!)
If you have a daughter who loves her baby dolls, a $35 baby cradle (would look so cute in a creamy white)

Wasn't that fun?

If you have rehabilitated a Craigslist find and want to share it, feel free to email me with pictures and details!

Converting rod pocket drapes to pinch pleated drapes

The fact that my ridiculously expensive silk drapes from Horchow are rod pockets has always bothered me a little bit (they did not include hooks, as the description still says they do). For some reason, I didn't even know formal drapes came that way and I assumed that they'd come with hooks sewn into them so I could hang them on rings. Well, they didn't. So, they've looked like this for the last two years:


I started googling and found that rod pocket drapes can be converted into pinch pleated drapes by novices (me) by sewing a special tape to the back. Slide drapery pins into pockets that are sewn along the tape and you have pinch pleats!

Off I went to JoAnn's fabrics (my second time in there) to gather the appropriate materials. There was only one type of drapery tape and one style of pins. My track record with craft projects isn't good and I bought everything fully expecting to find that nothing would work.

I laid out the tape and realized that I had ordered the perfect amount. Quelle surprise!

It took the entire afternoon to sew the tape to one of my drapery panels. As I massaged my fingers for the tenth time, Marc reminded me that some people do this sort of work with even more detail all day long. Incredible. I was ready to toss everything in a pile a few times, but I finally finished.

The pack of drapery pins I bought contained 10 pinch pleat pins and four end pins. As I slid them into the pockets, I started to get excited. I might have done this whole thing correctly!


I couldn't believe it. It worked! Two days later, my pinkie and fore fingers are still sore (though only one was really involved in pushing the needle around). I also haven't managed to iron the single drapery panel I finished, but I'm so proud that I'm posting a picture anyway.

Be kind...they aren't ironed yet

Inexpensive cabinet lighting

I went into Ikea on a whim this weekend while I was driving home from Baltimore. I only planned on grabbing a few picture frames, but you know how that goes. I walked out with picture frames, a cutting board, and some cabinet lighting.

I am not the most confidant electrician, so I was happy to see that Ikea's lights didn't need to be hard wired. They could be plugged into a regular electrical outlet. I wanted to use them above my long wall of cabinets, thinking it would keep me from thinking that the space was for storage (amazing how stuff creeps up there, even when you say you won't put anything on top of your cabinets). There was an outlet in the cabinet over the stove and microwave that would work perfectly.


I didn't have a fancy drill attachment, nor did I have any desire to get out of my pajamas to get one (all my best work is done in my pajamas). So, I used my largest drill bit to bore out a little square to put the plug through the top of the cabinet.

I'm pretty pleased with the results...and these cabinet lights let me leave the super bright overhead kitchen lights off (I'm pretty sure the bulbs in the overhead lights don't dim). They shine a little much, so I might look into some sort of diffuser.

Total cost: $19.99

An additional peek into the Hotel Monaco

I already shared photos from the lobby and rooms of Baltimore's Hotel Monaco, but I just found a few pictures of the bar and restaurant on my iPhone. I figured I'd share the grainy shots because the place was so aesthetically pleasing. Check out the wool flannel upholstery!

We want paint! We want paint!

These Craigslist items are just begging for a coat of white or soft gray paint. Actually, the hutch would look nice in black, too.


$15 table with a pretty substantial base:

A little more delicate table for $20:



Ethan Allen hutch for $75:

Black and white striped drapery fabric!

After I failed to join the crowd of bloggers who have successfully painted horizontal striped drapery panels, I vowed to throw money at the project and track down fabric that would work for what I wanted.

It took quite a bit of googling, but I tracked down fabric with eight inch, black and white, stripes. Now, I need to track down someone to make the drapes for me because I have never touched a sewing machine and don't know the first thing about making drapery panels.

Charlottesville folks, do you know a seamstress who makes window treatments for reasonable rates?

A peek into the Hotel Monaco in Baltimore

I've been in Baltimore for the last few days and got to stay at another Kimpton Hotel, the brand new Hotel Monaco. The building was built in the early 1900s to be the headquarters for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and Kimpton left much of the lobby intact. There are grand, marble staircases that were a little scary to navigate in heels, especially if you can't take your eyes off the ornate ceilings.

Let's get on with it...you don't want me to describe everything, you want to see the pictures!

Our goldfish resting on a huge, leather trunk


Cool bolster pillows and Frette linens


The walls in the bathroom were LEATHER!


Oops. Our goldfish died. They said the fish sometimes get shocked in the move from their tank to the bowls in the rooms. RIP Frank.


The elevator bay on our floor


The ceiling in the two story lobby


Grand staircases in the lobby


Pretty amazing arrangements in the lobby

More:

Small & Chic paint storage

As a condo dweller, I'm without a garage, basement, or much storage space. I most certainly don't have room to keep paint cans around the house. I read somewhere about paint savers made by Tupperware or Rubbermaid, but the last thing I wanted was to spend $15 on a plastic storage container. One day, after pulling a Classico sauce jar out of the dishwater, I realized that I should be holding onto them instead of adding them to the recycling. I started saving the clean jars and have been slowly transferring my leftover paint to them.

With the paint in jars in the pantry, they're more accessible than paint cans stashed in the back of a closet. I don't think twice about popping open a jar when a wall needs a little touch up. Some plastic wrap between the lid and the jar prevents dried paint from collecting in the grooves.

Legitimacy

Anyone who is as new as I am to the design blog world can't help but be intimidated by the other bloggers out there. Everyone seems more established and despite comments from some pretty inspirational bloggers, I've felt a little foolish for trying to do this at times.

Today, I felt a tad more legitimate because Leila of In The Tweeds gave me my very first blog award! It's called the Honest Scrap Award. Leila isn't just blogging about design, she's going out and doing what many of us dream of - she's actually going back to school to get a second degree in interior design! What an inspiration!


Here are the rules I must follow, upon receiving this award:

1. Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award.
2. Share “10 Honest Things” about myself.
3. Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.
4. Tell those 7 people they’ve been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving.

10 Honest Things about Me

1. I've been blogging since 2005, but about a totally different topic that has nothing to do with design.

2. I originally moved into my condo as a renter. The detail that solidified my move to the complex: the most popular music venue in town was across the street. People choose their homes for random reasons, I guess!

3. I used to be fluent in French and Spanish. I'm certain that I've lost much of the Spanish and I'm okay with that. I'll be devastated if I go to Quebec or France and can't "click" into French.

4. For the first 25 years of my life, I had no desire to live south of New York City.

5. I got my first pair of jeans in 5th grade. They had flowers painted on them.

6. I'm an extrovert and feed off the energy of large groups, but get extremely nervous in small groups. I'm going to a conference tomorrow and I'm so excited for the buzz that comes from being in the middle of a big crowd.

7. Every night, as soon as my head hits the pillow, I feel extremely hungry.

8. I am so nervous about being a good dog owner that I'm constantly looking up research and articles about behavior, training, and diet. As a result, the pet aisle at the grocery store frustrates me (because 90% of the products are junk and most people don't seen to read the labels!).

9. I don't constantly think about environmental issues, but every once in a while, I think about how much our population is growing and how finite our resources are and I get really scared.

10. I don't think my Dyson is any better than the Eureka vacuum it replaced.

Blogs that have inspired me (and I don't expect them to follow up because they are busy people and probably already got this thing):
Adventures in Renovating a Brooklyn Limestone - one of the first design blogs I started reading
Freckles Chick - another established blogger who is always positive and encouraging
Brick City Love - new bloggers, from my native New Jersey, not afraid to show the warts and all
Making this Home - American in Germany, also living small
Pillow Mint - local bedding luxury and a great sense of humor. Buy local, kids!
The Borrowed Abode - another small home dweller with funky taste and ideas
Thrifty Little Blog - one of my new favorites. First time home owner, lots of projects on the docket!

I imagine some of those are blogs you know, but I hope a few are new to you!

Killer shower curtain revisited

Amazingly, the most popular post on this blog thus far has been the one in which I asked if my shower curtain was killing me. That post has gotten so many hits that I have actually worried about people. Is someone actually googling a phrase close enough that my blog is returned as a top hit?

I thought I'd revisit this topic to provide an update. I got rid of my plastic shower curtain liner a little over a month ago and replaced it with a fabric liner that was about $15 at Target. I was pleased by the absence of the plastic smell in the bathroom and the extra fabric damped the noise in the bathroom, too.

I have washed the curtain a couple times and it has turned out well. Though the care label said to wash in cold water without bleach, I used warm water and bleach. No problems there.

In the end, I think I'm saving money. I won't be buying a plastic curtain ever again.

I took this photo while perched on the inside edge of the tub, trying to keep my balance. Are you impressed?

Hello Autumn!

Fall is my favorite season. I love it when the crispy, cool air and all the activities come with it. While I wait for the Pink Ladies to come into season up on Carter's Mountain, I'm busying myself outside with changing the containers on my patio over to cold weather plants.

My forever hydrangea is doing okay and even sprouted a few blooms recently. I made the mistake of buying a regular hydrangea for my other large pot, so I won't see anything from that one until next spring.

I transplanted my impatiens to a small container (and they always seem to make it through the winter, so who knows how that will go) and I planted some cheerful mums in the their place.

Last week, kale cabbages showed up at the garden center and I snapped two up for my smaller planters. I can't wait to see how these do over the winter. I think they are supposed to be hardy enough to handle the season.


Anyone else doing some fall planting?

$40 + paint + imagination = something good

Someone had their entertainment center destroyed in a move. That someone is trying to salvage the pieces and wants $40 for them. This is an amazing deal if you like the idea of an entertainment wall.

If you hang your TV on the wall or have it sitting on a simple console, you can book end it with these two pieces and have the look of a Pottery Barn or Crate & Barrel type entertainment center.

Crafting crisis averted

When I was in my early 20s, during that period in time that comes after school when scores of people got married, I taught myself to make stationary. I made some pretty spectacular shower invitations with my stamps and embossing equipment. I was very proud of my personalized note cards and wax sealed envelopes. I was finally crafty like my old roommate, who was always cooking up nifty projects for the residents she supervised as a Resident Assistant. I even taught myself to crochet during this period, but the thrill was lost when the TSA confiscated my pink crochet hook before a post-9/11 flight. I had no idea blunt pieces of aluminum could incapacitate a flight crew and I had no intention of carrying such a dangerous weapon in the future.

The design blogging crowd is pretty crafty and they inspire me to try some things now and then. High Heeled Foot in the Door managed to recreate a set of striped drapes I've been lusting after since seeing them in Domino (rip) or Veranda a while back. She painted the stripes on simple, white drapes and provides step-by-step instructions for the project. I decided to give it a shot.

First, I bought a sample piece of fabric to test out the method. I taped off a stripe on my test fabric and went over it with Tulip's fabric spray paint.

Even lightly spraying the fabric led to paint bleeding through. A drop cloth was a must have. Plus, since I live in a community with standards about window treatments (ours have to show to the outside as white), it was clear that I'd be lining my final product.
As the stripe dried, it was looking good. Unfortunately, when I pulled the tape off, some of the paint had bleed through. I figured that Bullfrog tape would be necessary for the final project.

I painted another stripe and was happy with the outcome. On Sunday, I decided that I was ready for the real deal. I bought some simple, inexpensive grommet top drapery panels and started taping with the Bullfrog tape. I wanted wide stripes and taped off 8 inch segments.


The Bullfrog tape just wouldn't stay! No matter how hard I pressed, the tape did not adhere completely to the fabric. I looked at the panel. I remeasured. I used a straight edge to smooth the tape. I took a nap.

It just wasn't meant to be. I am not crafty. I can pick colors, paint, do electrical work, and basic plumbing, but I am not a crafter. I don't think I can force it any longer. If I want striped curtains, I'm going to have to have them made.

I managed to track down a fabric with 8 inch stripes after an hour of pouring over samples online. A swatch is on its way!

Deal alert!

If I had a cozy, little beach cottage, I'd be all over this.


Someone up in Greene is selling a funky table for only $35 on Craigslist. As is, it's not looking all that fabulous, but it would be a sweet piece for a beach house if it had a coat of paint on it (I'm thinking soft gray-blue or green). Add some slipcovered parsons chairs and a room could look like it belonged in the Coastal Living magazines I always flip through when visiting Marc's mother at the beach.

It's times like this that I wish I had a garage or basement for storage.

Seeing the forest through the trees

My living room is a mess.

Not a mess in the sense of piles of clutter and junk, but a design mess. I'm still waiting for my new sofa to arrive (ETA is late next week), Baxter "wagged" a cup of coffee onto the rug last week (cleaning tips, anyone?), I took my art down because it was hung with my old armoire in the room, and my Sony Wega TV, which used to be pretty cool because it has a flat screen, looks like Hummer in a parking lot of hybrids.

Yesterday, I had a brilliant idea to feel like there was progress in the room. I decided to paint tone on tone, horizontal stripes on one or two walls. It would look great, right? The magazines and blogs are full of beautiful pictures of rooms with striped walls.

Picture from Apartment Therapy

I quickly fired off a note about this idea to my design blogger friends (really mentors since all are way more established and inspiring than I) and one kindly responded with a gentle suggested that I should be cautious about this. Of course, she was right. This is an open floor plan. Striped walls are and all or nothing type project. What's more, they're a tad trendy. I love how they look, but it's probably better to use them in a small space that could be redone easily in the future.

This morning when I woke up, I remembered that the horizontal stripes a fell in love with a while back weren't on anyone's walls...they were on curtains! I had seen some black and white striped curtains in Veranda or Domino and wanted to use something similar in my living room.

I have to remember to be patient. Seeing one blogger after another debuting finished projects has made me a little impatient. I so want to be able to call a room "done" that I'm considering all sorts of design ideas that aren't really me.

Simple floral arrangmenent when your florist is the grocery store

Last week, when faced with a visit from a CBS camera crew, I decided that I needed something to liven up my desk. I needed some flowers. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling well and I had a ton of work to do. So, the night before the visit, I ran to Harris Teeter (grocery store) to see if I could quickly throw some sort of simple arrangement together. I was faced with carnations, roses, a few pom pom looking things, gerbera daisies, and fillers. That's when I remembered a picture I had seen in Real Simple.

Baby's breath. The filler I've always told florists not to use in arrangements (because I honestly don't love how they smell) might actually be sort of cute. I grabbed three bunches, some Nyquil, and scurried home.

$12 in baby's breath + a Waterford vase

Since the interview, I did some googling and found a great wedding blog post about baby's breath arrangements being used in weddings. The pictures are beautiful!