art is for everyone!

Art school shmart school. Anyone can do this! Here are a few works of art I've created over the last few years...

This one was for my dear friend John. He likes orange. It's called "Jopo".

This one I created in the backyard in a fit of anger over my very mean former neighbor. (Not you Miss Mary!) I titled it "Melissa".

This one is called "Canvas Crocodile". I painted it simply using craft paint and a spray bottle full of water. (Please excuse T.J. Maxx trashcan liner! So tacky!)

Are you going to see any of my work hanging in a gallery anytime soon? Doubt it. Should I quit my day job? Certainly not. But it is a great way to get creative, have some fun, and personalize your space!

Have a great weekend!

my two turkeys

Have a great Thanksgiving!



bathroom befores

Our little hall bathroom at the top of the stairs functions as our master bathroom. There is a bathroom attached to the guest bedroom, but we prefer this one because it's so much "larger". Ha!

Here is a before picture. Gotta love hunter green. I predict this bathroom had a makeover in the 1980's, but little had been done since then. The tub was original, but that was about it. If only all of those square white tiles had been subway tiles! So close!

We tore everything out of here. And boy, did it stir up a stink! This toilet had been leaking for quite a while, and the floor under the tile was extremely damp. We waited a couple of days for it to dry out before we put in the new floor. We tore out the old sink and vanity, the tile off of the walls, everything! Shoo wee!

This shower door was just icky. And everytime you closed it to get in the shower, it pushed a little stream of water against the wall and ran down behind the tiles and down the wall into the the little half bath directly below this room. Water seems so harmless until it goes somewhere it shouldn't!

Now it's a wonderful "new" old bathroom. We kept the original tub. No need to reglaze when you use Barkeeper's Friend. I bought it at Williams Sonoma to clean my Le Crueset pot and figured it could do the tub some good. It made it look like new! However, I later found the same stuff at Wal-Mart for about half the price. Not quite as glamorous as Williams Sonoma, but the exact same product.

We tore out the old tile and replaced it with white subway tiles. I absolutely love white subway tiles! They make everything look classic and clean. The floor is a 1" hexagon tile floor very common in old homes. People can't believe it's not original. I've changed the decor in here several times since we completed this project. That's the great thing about using classic elements. They go with everything!

Hope you enjoyed! Happy Friday!

too soon?

Call me crazy, but my Christmas CDs might make their debut on the way to work this morning.

guest room best room

The guest bedroom. Bless it's little heart. It was so ugly and dirty. And I don't use those words often. But it was.

See that on the wall over there? You don't wanna know.

There had been an estate sale here right before we moved in. One careless customer moved some of the furniture out of here themselves and the floor has a huge gouge going across it. Just another scar added to a lifetime of wear and tear.

We lived in this room for the time our bedroom was being worked on. I have an affinity to this sad little room, because of that first month of nights in the new house.

We painted it a buttery yellow and hung a chandelier to replace the ceiling fan. I know, who in the south takes down a ceiling fan? But I had to do it. The room deserved something pretty. Sadly, though, this room once again became the stepchild of the house. We moved all of the crap from everywhere else in here while other projects were completed.

You couldn't even walk in here. I would just turn on the light and stand in the doorway as "Oh dear God" escaped my lips in a whisper.

But now, it looks like this. And this isn't even a recent picture. I have since added draperies and some additions to the bedding.

It's clean and revived. You might even call it the crown jewel of the upstairs. A bit overdone maybe. Chandelier, toile everywhere, fancy chair that no one's allowed to sit in. But this room deserved to be pampered a little.

We have not even slept a night in here since it's had its facelift. It now houses best friends and mother-in-laws and the occasional late night friend that had a little too much fun. This room and I are like old friends. The kind that know about your deep gouges and unmentionable wall splatters. The kind that you can dump all of your crap onto and they love you anyway.

lagniappe: closet

Since we are on the subject of our bedroom, I thought I'd show you one of the greatest parts of this house: the wonderful walk-in closet/dressing area. Being that this house was built in 1937, you would expect very little closet space. But the previous owner of this house, who also was the one who had it built, was a woman after my own heart. This wonderful dressing area has three large walk-in closets attached to it.

Before, the closet had a built in dresser that was pretty old and not a place you would want to store much of anything. We tore it out and built a large sheving unit. We also Kilz'd all of the pink and painted it a fresh taupe to contrast with our blue bedroom. It smells so much fresher! Paint can cover a multitude of sins, and it took a lot of it in here. We spent a whole two weeks working in this closet alone. And now, it looks like this:

We also added a door after tearing out the existing door frame that was built for a very short person. Now it's clean, organized, and a true dressing area. We also set up an ironing board in here that stays out all the time. Very handy for my husband who has to wear pressed dress clothes every day.

Just a little something extra for you! Have a great Friday!

master bedroom makeover

Our master bedroom is a retreat, a haven, a place to hibernate and emerge refreshed. But it didn't start out that way. Check out that Pepto pink painted wallpaper.

Once again, carpet covering beautiful hardwood floors. These were not in as great a shape as the living room. But I didn't care. I felt like an archaeologist as I exposed them to the light for the first time in decades.

Gotta love those very phallic pendent lights. I believe this bedroom belonged to the only daughter of the couple that lived here. I imagine her lying on her bed that was probably placed between these two lights and talking on her princess phone.

The wallpaper was a thick painted canvas. It ripped down pretty easily. Dry rot worked to my advantage here.

I see you creepy tall post!

Lots of replaster work to be done in here. My poor uncle. I got to do all the fun demo and then show him my work like a proud first grader wanting a star on their paper. He'd smile a pained grin and then tell me he could fix it. Thanks Uncle John! See ya! Off I went to the next room to tear something else up.

Now it looks like this. Clean. Calm. Beautiful! I steam-mopped the floors about a hundred times and hand scraped all colors of paint splatters off of them with a razorblade and flat-blade screwdriver. Fun Fun. Again, no refinishing hardwoods. I like the rustic look, and 8 X 10 rugs. We painted the trim, ceiling, walls, everything. We added crown-molding and new light fixtures. Complete overhaul!

Speaking of rugs, this one is from West Elm and we've had it for years. I just take it to have it cleaned every once in a while and it comes back looking brand new and smelling like Pantene. Thank you Mr. Martinous at Martinous Oriental Rugs! Love them.

Hope you enjoyed!

Have a great Thursday!

splurge

My mom has always said, "Don't ever hesitate to go first-class; you'll never regret it." And she is so right. Example: this $50 burlap lampshade. I know, $50. Ridiculous! The shade cost more than the lamp itself. But oh my, I love it so much. It has transformed the room. It is the first thing I notice when I walk in. I have stood in every corner to look at it from all angles. Strange? Maybe a little. But love can make you do strange things.