Creative Space: Building A Craft Room

It all started when I couldn't find a paint brush. My little "craft area" is located in my basement, it is a drafting desk in a 5x5 foot space cluttered with supplies. It is a wreck. I'm talking train wreck. I wont even take a photo of it because it's THAT bad. When I want to paint, I gather all of my supplies and use either my kitchen table, kitchen counter or go outside. To the left of my "craft area" there is this unfinished basement storage area. It's been a storage area for 10 years and you know what? I haven't used a thing that is being stored in that area for about 10 years!

{"Light bulb" Gru voice} Why am I storing junk when I could be using this space?

So one weekend I went a little crazy and cleaned out the storage area. I could not believe the junk I had. Baby toys from my 21 year old for example, sitting in a large storage container. I channeled my inner Peter Walsh (organizing guru) and did the Keep, Toss, Donate thing. It went quick and I am thrilled to have a blank slate to work with.

Here it is with it's prison walls... but I can't do prison walls. That's not creative! {Light bulb} Let's frame and sheet rock it. Come on kids, Joe, we can do it!

Sophie and Kaleb helped remove odd chunks of concrete from the walls to make them smooth. (We added chalk graffiti too.) They also helped with the framing, since Kaleb is in shop class this year Joe put him to work with the chop saw and drill. It went fast.

2 hours of work and the 12 foot wall was framed.

By the next day it was done. It took them about 4 hours total. And cost under $100. All of the studs were the same height so it was just a matter of cutting lots and lots of the same size. I think Kaleb (he's 15) really enjoyed it.

Yesterday we bought insulation. The kids and I will be installing it while Joe is at work this evening. I have all ready scoped out my cabinets and work table, salvaged from other spaces in my house. I am hoping to have the dry wall go up this weekend.

Happy Spring!

Arranging Modern, Contemporary and Vintage Decor for One Kings Lane

You all know that I am a huge fan of Vintage. Do you revel in vintage flair?

I have several items that belonged to my Grandmother and several (Understatement) that I have collected over the years. I love to create vignettes that play on the juxtaposition of modern contemporary pieces with vintage items. So when One Kings Lane asked me to show how I would arrange vintage and modern contemporary pieces together, I immediately thought of these vintage brass deer and my modern graphic patterned lampshades. 

I love how the warm tones of the brass and yellow work well together. My vintage file cabinet sits in my entry and acts as a console table. The daffodils are "planted" inside of candle holders that have a graphic modern pattern and yet a rustic metal finish. The silver tray is a French Nordic antique that I just love. You don't have to go antiquing to find great items like these.


You can get this look at One Kings Lane:

Brass Deer

 

 Ampersand Print 

 Navy Anchor Shield

 

Vintage Silver Tray

Graphic Lamps

 I think the best way to pair vintage with modern contemporary pieces is to just have fun with it. Check out this article from One Kings Lane for more ideas on Decorating w/ Vintage.

 Happy Spring!

Painted Pantry Door 2014 Color of the Year Sherwin-Williams Exclusive Plum

My pantry door is pretty uninteresting. It's tucked back in a corner of my dining room behind my really large china hutch. It's so nondescript, that it goes unnoticed by most. So when Sherwin-Williams asked me if I would like to try a sample of the 2014 Color of the Year Exclusive Plum, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. I picked up my quart of Sherwin-Williams ProClassic in semi-gloss – it is a high-performance coating (will withstand toughest wear and tear) made for doors and trim. The sheen is perfect. Not too shiny and easily washable.

This was a 30 Minute Paint Project from start to finish. I wiped down the door to eliminate dust and dirt. And painted directly over the existing white paint. No primer necessary. Sherwin-Williams ProClassic paint has great coverage. One coat and a few touch-ups was all it took to cover the door completely.

Here is the door BEFORE

 and AFTER

I love the crisp clean look of fresh paint. This one is a real stand out. (Please ignore the reflection on the door from the water cooler.) I added a new curtain and am seriously considering frosting the freshly cleaned glass to hide the clutter behind it. I need to purchase a new door knob as the old one has seen better days and lots of coats of paint.  It's funny how one project can lead to 3 others, isn't it? 

Here is a little more information about Sherwin-Williams Color of the Year 2014.

This pantry door project only took 1/4 of the quart of paint so you will be seeing Exclusive Plum used several more times here on the blog in 2014.

Happy New Year!

There are so many ways to follow Sherwin-Williams for paint inspiration.
FACEBOOK - Sherwin-Williams
TWITTER - @SherwinWilliams
PINTEREST - @SherwinWilliams
INSTAGRAM - @SherwinWilliams
YOUTUBE - Sherwin-Williams 
GOOGLE+ - Sherwin-Williams 


Disclaimer: I received a quart of Sherwin-Williams ProClassic paint in Exclusive Plum in exchange for writing this post. All opinions expressed are my own. 

Christmas Around The House featuring Chalkboards

My winter decor started with these signs. They are from the ski resort that I worked at. They date back to the 60s era when the ski resort was called Jackass Ski Bowl (Nice name, huh?). It's now called Silver Mountain. I have several of these signs hanging in my garage. I literally had to dig these out of the trash back in the 90s.

I hung them above my mantel. These tiny brass deer came from my Grandma's house and the trees were painted by Samantha at age 3. She is now 21. (I hang on to things.)

Here is the full wall. My chalkboard fire and little basket of birch from the tree that fell in our front yard create the illusion of an actual fireplace. My grandson Cylas added the gingerbread man and is the reason my candles are a little off center. (Keeping it real.)

The antlers were found in the woods by my son and mounted by a friend of the family. My husband was in shock when I put them here. He said he'd never thought he'd see me decorate with anything so manly. I must admit they have taken some getting use to and an Instagram pole to convince me to keep them there. 

 

This chalkboard has been used as our count-down to Christmas for many years. Sophie loves to change the number of days.

This is my favorite corner of the living room. Yes, another chalkboard. This one is my absolute favorite. I found it at a vintage market for $5.

I made these little Christmas tree jars with bottle brush trees and Epsom salt snow for center pieces at a luncheon I decorated for at Sophie's school. Now they grace this little corner of the room. 

Happy Holidays!

Snow Globe in a Jar & Coping with Frozen Water Pipes

I love the Christmas season. It's the winter I can do without. As we have been struggling to stay warm and safe in -0 temps, we discovered Friday morning that our water pipes were frozen. We are not new to this, it's happened twice before but it never gets easier. The daily hauling of water from our families homes and my family of 4 showering when it is least inconvenient for them is a struggle. One good thing is I have quit doing dishes. If you can't eat it off of paper or plastic, you can't eat it here. So that's a plus, I guess. Cooking has also come to a halt. Yea, me! :) 

This is how I would prefer to contain winter. Here in this jar, with it's evergreens and snow. While I sit on a beach somewhere warm drinking tropical drinks. Whose with me? 

How To Capture Winter In A Jar

I made this little token of winter for my Grandmother-In-Law, Virginia, who is living in a nursing home and isn't able to get out to enjoy (I use that term loosely here) the winter. It started out as a jelly (or salsa?) jar.

I hot glued 2 tiny bottle brush trees to the bottom of the jar then filled the bottom with a layer of Epsom salt. It is the perfect faux snow, sparkly, inexpensive and on-hand.

I hot glued a piece of drop cloth fabric that I cut with pinking sheers about an inch larger than the lid and then glued on a piece of ribbon on top of it. I left the ends of the ribbon open then tied it in a little knot.

She looked cute and sweet here but I thought I should add a little something sparkly so I got out my metal punches and stamped the word JOY onto a round silver blank.

I strung the JOY pendant on to a ball tipped wire and added a little pink glass bead, threaded the wire through the knot in the ribbon and used my needle nose pliers to twist the wire closed.

Grandma Virginia loved it! I bought a big package of these little trees at Michael's when they were 40% off. I am sending some winter in a jar to my parents in Arizona and am seriously considering hand delivering them.

I hope the winter has been kinder to you!

Faux Burlap Printable Banner "Thankful"

Today I  thought I would re-share my Thankful banner that I created last year.  I created it in Word with a burlap background and a Google font called Great Vibes.

 

To be honest this is last year's mantel. This year I moved the mantel into another room because I repainted my living room and I'm still rearranging furniture. Small Burlap Thankful Banner


Just click the download button above and it will give you a download or print option. I printed these on white card stock and cut them out with pinking sheers to make it look more like fabric. I hole punched the corners and strung it with ribbon. Then hung it on my mantel. Quick, easy and free! Hope you enjoy!

My Dream Kitchen

Welcome to my dream kitchen.

This is the kitchen in the main house at Emerson Courtyard. I am the property manager there and spend most of my time (by choice) here in the kitchen.  From the black and white checked floor to the beadboard cabinets. I dream of transforming my kitchen into this. This is the entrance from the courtyard.

When you walk through this half door (which I love). You are greeted by a cheerful checkered floor. Behind the door sits a subzero fridge for extra storage and a large pantry cabinet.

In the peninsula with all of it's storage drawers, there is an ice maker and a mini fridge for beverages. 

Here is another view of the door and fridge and a second large pantry cabinet.

This peninsula has the most adorable vintage almost nautical pendant light.

I love the brass and chrome combination on this light.

 

At the end of the peninsula there is a hand painted table that folds down and tucks away as needed.The bar stools in the background pull up to it nicely. It's a great place for coffee.

When you enter the heart of the kitchen you find a granite topped island with custom bar sink. For the sake of conversation, I took the pots down from the rack. {We were having a wedding here and I needed it to be clear for all of the people wandering through.}

Isn't it cute? I love the details in this room.

Above the main sink there is a wall of windows that keep this room so bright, I rarely turn a light on. 

On the wall opposite the windows is the Viking gas range. We use the heat lights and shelf below the exhaust hood during parties. Notice the pot filling faucet on the left? I want this at home.

To the left of the range is one of only 2 banks of upper cabinets. These provide the only touch of permanent color in the room. Their light green frames with chicken wire between the glass panels are probably my favorite feature. They are just cute, practical and fun.

The bank of cabinets to the right of the range hold glasses, coffee cups and stem ware.

 

If you keep moving to the right, you will come across a hidden gem. The Sub-Zero refrigerator has beadboard panels to help in blend in with the rest of the room.

To the right of the refrigerator there is a bank of open shelving and space for a microwave. I am considering turning this into a coffee station. It's a little bare right now. If I had this space at home, I am sure these shelves would be dressed in my favorite blue and white china.

If you move a little more to the right, on the wall with the bank of windows, there is this sweet reminder of a vacation at the beach attached to the wall. {You can catch a glimpse of it in the photo above.} It is one of those little loving touches that I think makes this kitchen so dreamy.