Updates on new home....You too can have great style and be thrifty!

 

It has been forever since I've written.  I'm not sure why, but it doesn't matter, here I am and I'm excited to show you what I've done to our "new" house.  We moved to the Sonoran Desert, it will be  two years on February, 2013.  We moved from our "dream home" in Overland Park, Ks, a suburb of Kansas City, where we lived for almost twenty years.  At our previous home, we knocked out walls and basically customized the whole house to our liking.  And lo and behold, our kids moved out west. Our daughter moved here, and our son moved to L.A.  We had nothing left in KC.  So, here we are. 

 

I think themain reason for this is to tell you that you can do sooo much on a very small budget. Most of the 'stuff' that I did was all inexpensive and yet quality.  Excuse the pics for being a bit out of order, but I'll try to get across what I want to communicate for each one......

Enjoy

 

 

 

 

Below is our living room as of today. I tried color on one wall and it was not what I felt comfortable with.  So I stuck with off white and a sort of what color.  The clock is obviously the focal point.  It was a Pier I find.  I went back three times and just stared at it. It finally went on sale and I grabbed it. I LOVE it.  It's all wood and just what I felt fit perfectly in my decor and with my tast.  The mirror was a garage sale find for $5. The silk, tubular lamp shades are a Goodwill find for $3 each.  I love it. The coffee table however, is Pottery Barn, and worth every penny.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I missed the archetctural detail of a fireplace mantel..so for my b'day, my son gave me a fire place mantel, go figure...I have the best son who knows my taste.  He used to go to flea markets and antique shops with me.  

If you'll notice the scrolly type shelves on each side of the arched mirror, they are a gift from my son. They're antique music stand thingys.  They are made of a rusty metal. I love them.

Polka dots are my fave, thus the black and white polka dot plate on the mantel, along with a black metal "d".  I always say the "d" stand for "domestic". 

I have wanted the black, wood, stand up mirror forever.  Finally, I went to Ikea and bought it.  So glad I did.

 

 

 

 

 When we bought this home, the cabinets were an orange oak.  I wasn't too thrilled and found a great, dark, mission oak stain with built in gloss polyurethene.  So redoing the cabinets, along with new handles from Ikea was less than $100.  We got rid of the white micro-wave and added a stainless steel one. My husband is a former electrician so the lights were easy to install.  Obviously we removed the HORRIBLE fluorescent light fixture.  I love my vintage metal number sign with my green wood gingerbread on the walls.  

 

 

 

 The other side of our kitchen is a breakfast area.  We put a stainless steel table and paired it with our vintage stainless chairs. They're the real deal with the dates on the back (the '50's)  I got them free from the church I used to work in. My wonderful china cabinet fits great.

 

I made the white board from a beautiful, hand carved wood frame I found at Goodwill for $5.  I did, however, change up the orange-y gold paint and  stained it a silvery black. I used Marth Stewart paing and loved it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The red, glass pendant lights were found at Mad Maxx's Vintage shop in Phoenix.  Great place. 

 

 

 

 

 

Below, another view of my living room. 

The master bedroom was pretty bland.  It had dirty white carpet..(I really dislike carpet).  We put down a dark hardwood and painted the room a cheery blue.  The red wicker chair was in our neighbor's garbage (we painted it red and added a cushion) and the rug is from Pier I....A fantastic buy because it was reduced by about 75%

 

When we were redoing our master I ran out to Goodwill and found the faux painting above our bed.  It was just the right thing to add more brightness.

 

 

 

 

 

Vintage luggage from Craigslist..all thre $25....great deal!!!

 

 

 

 Below is another pic of the whiteboard.

 

 

 

 

 The two back bedrooms of the main house were pretty horrible with dirty carpet.  We finally were able to tile with similar tile that was throughout.  The pic below is the back bedroom that we use mainly for an office/guest room.  The little house was a gift from a friend years ago. He made it out of old barn wood.  It's been a fave of mine since I got it.

 

The rug is a black and white wool rug..that's right...thick, wool rug, I bought at, yes, you got it...Goodwill.  $14 

The tufted, blue leather desk chair is another Goodwill find.

 

 

 

 The front bedroom is furnished with a brown leather futon that serves well as a couch.  I LOVE it. It sells at Costco right now for $400.  We got it off craigslist for $200.  The red painted wood shutters we bought in Long Beach, Cali at a garage sale.  $10 for two.  I LOVE them. 

 

 

 

 

The dog?  My baby, my love, was a rescue from Phoenix Animal Shelter...LOVE HER...we named her TAsha, she's part Pug, part Australian Shephard. 

The red and white rug, Ikea $20 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This is my laundry room. I LOVE my LG washer and drier.  Craigslist, $800 for both, PLUS they have the drawers at the bottom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the master bath's 'water closet'.  Toilet.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another view of the living room.   

 

 

 

 

Below is the front courtyard.

 

 

 

 

 

This is our little casita (guest house).  It's about the size of a master bedroom and has a large, walk in closet with a little fridge, microwave, and basket of goodies for all guests.  The casita has everything you will need; iron, ironing board, sewing kit, hair dryer, flat iron, meds, toothpaste, toothbrush, lotion, shampoo, conditioner etc. 

It also has a fan, flat screen tv...and more.  

 

 

 

 This is travertine tile we found at, yep, Goodwill.  A whole box for $5.  It looks like rich marble. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Casita walk in closet.

 

 

 

 

This is wrought iron we found on craigslist. We bought four black pieces and three larger white pieces. Eventually we'll make gates out of them for our front courtyard.  But for now we put a couple to use.  There's one behind my husband's outside cooking table...(which we pulled out of the garbage..it's wood and we stained the bottom red and stained the top the dark mission oak.  I added a basket we already had so he could have a place for his utensils.

 

 

 

 

 We love our back yard.  It's really private and has a great stucco wall all round.

The tera cotta bowl and ball is a fountain. We bought it at a flea market.  I love it. I think we're going to put the bowl in the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

 We worked hard in our yard today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is a pic of my wicker rockers.  I brought one with me from KC and I found the other at the Goodwill half price sale.  So it only cost me $7.

 

 

 

 This is my dining room.  You tell me, is the table too big  It's dear to us as it's a 100 year old library table from the church in KC we used to go to. It weighs 350 pounds.  Our plan was to enlarge the dining room after we bought this house..so far, hasn't happened.

 

Be



 

The last picture, above is our front courtyard.  It's the three panels of wrought iron in white that we bought from craigslist.

I love my new home and wanted to share it with you.  We plan on doing a lot more...but for now, those are the updates.

Have a good Sunday.....

Knowing Your Style, Knowing Your Love

It's been so long since I've blogged here.  I've spent my time on "Thoughts and Words From the Heart", my other blog.  However, I'm always into spaces and this last weekend I went to my sweet niece's wedding where my other sweet niece is.  I saw her home and was inspired.  The youth and the color was something I took note of since my forte' is neutrals and black. 


However, my sweet Ashel turned me on to what was originally in my heart years ago when I was a hippy and frequented antique shops and flea markets when everyone else was trying to match all they had with new furniture and matching elements to prove weatlth.  My sweet Ashel had the '50's colors and retro pieces that weren't retro when I was growing up.  I actually loved it.


She had plates flying on her wall as art and it looked like wings of art.


I was inspired to be sure.  HOWEVER...am I getting old and set in my ways?  I got home and tried to think of my space with color, and vintage pieces .(Which I DO have, but only in monotones.)  I did put my black and white polka dot plate on my faux mantel and it looked fun and young.  And I did add a red  geometric patterend Ikea pillow to my brown leather couch.  Yet I admit...I love my browns, blacks, ivorys and butters.  I really do.  There is something calming and peaceful about that.  I think that's why I love the desert. 

There is something wild, yet peaceful about this whole picture.  My carpet is taupe, my furniture is brown leather, and I have a touch of red and lime green.  I love that.  So be it. 

Ashel, I LOVE your style...keep up the good work.  Maybe I'm old and set in my ways..but the desert is classic and has been around for centuries so I'm on the right track.  It takes all kinds, right? I love this life.

Life Is Not What We Thought It Would Be

Not long ago, I spoke with my sister.  I always love speaking with her...she's part of my heart and her input is always effective.






 She said something to the effect that  maybe a lot of people think that "life isn't what we thought it would be." 




I agree with her at least in my view. And according to most people I've spoken with this is their opinion as well.





 After watching, for the umpteenth time, a video from 1989 at Christmas with my family, I realize how I've changed my outlook on life. Life really isn't what I thought it would be.  Back then, in our 30's we believed we "knew" how life worked and what to do to make it work.  Whether it be religion or relationship or whatever, we "knew'.  Now, in our..well.....a lot more years later, we realize we don't really know anything except that life is imperfect and we don't have all the answers. God knows I wish I did.





We think there's love without end in a realtionship, and true as that may be, it's not the way we interpret "love without end".  It's true...love does not end, nor does it have a beginning..but that's a whole 'nother subject.  I'm talking about the imperfections and wildness of this life. We think there are ways to protect us from mishaps; finacial planning, good relationship counselling, invetro, and the list goes on.  But God is wild to say the least..but guess what???God IS good.  I KNOW that, and probably only that.




I love music and it brings me comfort when nothing else can.  When my father died, even music didn't bring me comfort, but that's neither here nor there.  I think my point is that we live in such an imperfect world where we know, according to C.S. Lewis,"we were make for better than this."  (Thus my love affair with Aslan.) Music sometimes sort of magnifies that idea and puts it into a genre that I can't totally expound on. 



Even though I live in an enviornment where the blue in the sky is about the most perfect blue anyone could imagine, there is still that something missing.  How I miss my counselor, Mary, who educated me in so many ways to accept that I live in an imperfect world.  If I had my way, heaven would be on earth NOW...the lamb would lay with the lion NOW...but hey, that's not the way it is.



Until then, my friend, adeue!

Totally Inspired By the Novogratz Family.

It has been so long since I've posted.  Reason is, my camera broke. It was actually pretty tragic for me...it happened on Mother's Day.  Anyway, even though I haven't replaced it, and haven't been able to take pics of my new home, I wanted to share my new inspiration.  Three words, The Novogratz Family.


They are this perfect, or seemingly so, not so small family.  Robert and Cortney are the designers and they live in New York City with their seven children.  They are everything I wanted to be when it comes to the imagination and quirkiness of interior design.

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Have you seen enough?  I just can't get enough of their designs.  They have a great book out called "Downtown Chic".  If you think you like their style, you certainly won't be disapointed in their book.


I have been so inspired by these designers that I can't wait to show you.  I'll try and post pics from my phone..in the meantime...I hope you enjoy these great pics.

Summer Ramblings and Party Time

What can I say about the beauty of summer? The warmth on your skin and then a sudden splash into a refreshing pool, lemonade, sunscreen and well....relaxation. Whether you're off to a great vacation spot or your home is your place of rest and fun, we all relish the time under blue skies and warm sun. \

I love eating outside on my patio under our red umbrella.  There's something special when you have a group of people you love and you share a meal, a glass of wine, and that icey desert. After dinner, sitting around sipping on your favorite beverage and enjoying great conversation; doesn't get much better than that!

Below are some pictures of outdoor parties you can be inspired by.  Some of the ideas are so simple, yet elegant.


Okay, the tables below lit up are gorgeous and magical. I know I'll try this sometime soon.




Not so sure, but the pic below could well be my favorite.  I'm such a romantic!




This next one inspires me to make some beautiful concoctions to sip.




Every now and then I need to be inspired to sort of change up my space.  Since I just moved to my present abode not too long ago, I keep changing, trying new things...these pics below are some of my favorite inspirations. Enjoy and be inspired.

(from 'the lennoxx)











So, that's about it for now.  I do wish my camera hadn't quit on me, but soon I'll get a new one and post pics of what I've done to my place.  In the meantime..take care and love your space...let it love you.....