quick question

have those of you that subscribe to house beautiful received the latest issue?  i’m a little concerned.  i was browsing the magazine aisle at the store yesterday and saw the latest issue of house beautiful.  the problem is that i’m a subscriber and haven’t received mine for this month.  i know elle decor had a mix up last month and quite a few of their subscribers didn’t receive their issues due to a shortage.  i’m just wondering if the same thing happened this month with house beautiful.  maybe mine just got lost in the mail or something.  i really hope not because i don’t want to have to buy it at the store.  i’ve sent a note to customer service so hopefully i’ll find out where mine is soon. 

LiveJournal Tags: house beautiful,elle decor

loving…

1.  nate berkus for hsn.  this dhurrie rug in particular.

2.  and this ikat journal set also by nate.

3.  this beautiful quote that i saw earlier this week on pink wallpaper.

4.  this super-cute height chart.  i saw it on the real living blog.

5.  this suzani apron.  saw it on the green door and she found it at magpie lovely.

have a lovely spring weekend!

LiveJournal Tags: loving...,suzani,dhurrie rug,nate berkus collection,hsn,ikat,quote

Colour ME Happy!!!

{me & maria}

We got a visit from Maria Killam of Colour Me Happy this week!!!  Maria flew down to DC (really Virginia) from NYC this week and we had such a great time!  Maria is everything she seems on her blog and more: super-stylish, quick-witted, thoughtful, frank and so much fun.   She's continually looking to grow & learn and is a natural teacher.  This may sound cheesy, but she's a very wise, self-aware person.  . 

 I got to go on a Colour Me Happy color consultation to see her in action and (of couse!) she's so good.  I have no doubt her client will be thrilled with the results.  She also picked out some colors for me at our house for when we get to those rooms!!  yayyyy

{the perfect little turquoise vase she brought me}

Maria also filled me in on the latest color trends and one of my favorite descriptions was "Pretty Ugly."  Click here to read more about it.   I also learned that I'm totally in the stoneage as far as technology goes and have a lot of things to learn like twitter, snaggit and windows live writer.  Maria is so generous with info and I have a mental checklist of all the things I need to get on like a Pure Style Home facebook page, etc.  Anyway, it was awesome to meet another amazing blogfriend and we can't wait to see her again!!  She's amazing!!

xoxo,

lauren

brighten up

add a little color to your life.  here are some colorful pics to get you inspired.

 house beautiful

 house beautiful

coastal living

coastal living

 house beautiful

house beautiful

LiveJournal Tags: house beautiful,coastal living,bedroom,kitchen,color

Art - Mixing Styles

Source Benjamin Dhong ID

Source Alex Papachristidis

Source Jerry Jacobs

Source Gary Spain

Source Monica Duque Design Group

Gianetti Home Velvet& Linen Blog

Source T. Britt Palm beach home

Source Tria Giovan

Source Mattia Bonetti book

Source John Stefanidis

fun in east nashville

last week i was working on a job in nashville with some fellow designers and during some of our free time we explored the city.  we wound up in east nashville which is somewhat of a cross between inman park and little 5 in atlanta.  it’s very artsy and very cool.  this was where i found the most adorable hot dog stand that i think i’ve ever seen.  i’m not sure if adorable and hot dog stand should be in the same sentence but this hot dog stand was pretty stinkin’ cute.  and, it had the best name…check out the weenie sign.  i had already eaten by the time i found this little gem so i wasn’t able to try one.  maybe next time.

the hot dog stand caught my eye and made me stop, but i was lucky to find an antique shop right beside it. 

this antique shop had some of the best prices i’ve seen for mid-century pieces.  the furniture they had was also in mint condition.  no scratches or dings anywhere.  unfortunately i didn’t have my camera with me.  i did have my blackberry so i snapped a few shots.  sorry about the quality of the photos.

i fell in love with this john stewart china cabinet.  the 4” knobs were real turquoise. 

here’s another mid-century china cabinet that they had.  it was massive.

the best find was this sofa.  we all fell in love with it.  i was so close to buying it but my hubby turned it down…said he wanted a new sofa instead of an antique.  in all actuality i would have had to completely change the whole design of my family room to get this sofa, but it would have been so worth it.  it was on sale for only $1250.  there are similar ones in atlanta for more than $3000.  it might not look it but it was one of the most comfortable sofas that i’ve ever sat on.

i wish i would have taken more photos of the lamps, the jewelry and everything else they had but i was in such awe of the store i completely forgot.  if you are in the nashville area you should definitely make a point to stop at wonders on woodland.

LiveJournal Tags: mid-century modern furniture,east nashville,nashville,john stewart china cabinet

Just a Year Ago...

Today I'm joining the Poppies at Play Parade of Homes Tour!  So if this is your first time stopping by- welcome & thanks so much for coming!! 

...  Just a year ago we moved into our new {70s} home.  We've made so many changes to it that I thought a before& after post of the whole house would be fun.  I'll put links throughout the post to the specific rooms in the house so if you've got any questions, check those post for answers, sources, how to's, etc.  Also, the pics have been taken throughout the past year as we completed the projects which is why you'll see so many seasons in the different pics.

 

Our house had been vacant and on the market for about 4 years before we came along & bought it. (above) You can read the original post I did about it here.  I was totally IN LOVE even though it was a bit sad-looking.  We were told by numerous family members (and even one of our realtors!) what a mistake it would be to buy this house.  Well, my husband & I aren't known for listening to others (Sometiems to our detriment & sometimes to our benefit!)...  so we took the plunge anyway. 

We painted the cedar a dark gray and added a trellis with climbing jasmine and as many shrubs as we could afford.  (Still planning on adding more :)  Here's a photo I took "after" during one of the blizzards we had this year: 

The entrance (below) was in need of some loving:

...And here's what it looks like now (errr on Halloween ;):

{Bright orange front door, new lantern, rug, paint, etc.}

Our foyer was really bad.  I'm not even sure the photo below does it justice.  The linoleum floor was beaten up & grimy and the pendant cast a sickly yellow light in the space:

{Before}

I wanted something interesting and a little "off"...  and something that would have a big impact when you first walked in... so we hung a bunch of DaVinci sketches randomly along the walls:

{After: fresh paint, custom frames, new caged lantern, orange door & seagrass carpet}

The living room is one of my favorite parts of our house.  We're up in the trees and it feels like a treehouse, especially with all of the windows open and a breeze blowing through.  Here's a photo of it before with wall-to-wall carpet:

And here it is now (or last week; I've already rearranged since this pic, something I do all the time)..

{My husband, Dave, installed hardwood floors and we had a custom wool rug cut for a soft spot to play for our kids}

And here it is this week:  (I promise I don't have too much time on my hands!! ;) ;)

Here's a view of the side wall before:

And here it is now:

{We added an a mantle with a mirror for a focal point on the once bland wall.  Dave also did an awesome job stencilling the wall with an allover pattern...  Excuse all the junk, books and dying flowers around...  I snapped this pic this morning without really fixing as it's been a bit crazy around here lately...  I did stash a bunch of toys and real "mess" just for you though!}

Here's the bookshelf we jam-packed with books & things we've collected over the years.  The 2 lower shelves house toy boxes:

The dining room is smaller than it looks and is open to the living room.  Here it is "before:"

And here is is now:

{After:  New chandelier, furniture, blown-up 15th Century Drawing  on wall...  For details on the dining room click here}

Our kitchen met with its end the second day after closing on the house...  Here it was before:

And here it is now:

{We removed the upper cabinets, added beadboard & shelving, painted the lowers, did hardwoods and painted out old fridge with chalkboard paint for fun}

Here's our little breakfast nook now:

{It's a great place to hang and I love our old-fashioned wallpaper...  For details on our kitchen redo, click here}

Ok, now onto the bedroom!  Here's our bedroom 'before' in all its glory:

{yum! yum!}

And here it is now:

{We found the brass headboard on the side of the road and it sort of guided the design of the room which is a mix of old & new, white and metallic.. for more details, go here}

I hung up some of my jewelry on the wall & I wear it so much more than I used to:

Our 2 year-old's (Christian's) bedroom is a tiny fun spot in the house:

We hung up pages of the Saggy Baggy Elephant on the walls (above) and turned his closet into a little play area with a chalkboard paint hill and a green vintage wallpaper lion:

We just finished decorating our new baby's (4 month old Justin) nursery.  We went dark & a little nutty in here:

The walls are a dark navy and we made the canopy out of a stencilled dropcloth.  we made sure to include a place for Christian to hang out in Justin's room so he feels included:

{Christian chillin in his reading nook}

Now onto the lower level.  (And I'm only showing you one room down here because the rest are still in progress and are NOT pretty) Here's the space before, planned to be a combination family room and office:

{lovely linoleum}

And here it is now:

I love having this huge table to spread projects out on.  We had wall-to-wall seagrass carpet installed and we love it.  (It can't be hurt!!) I wanted it to feel happy & airy down here so the panelling got a fresh coat of aqua paint. 

Before we moved in, there was a weird  fenced in elevated area with a drop ceiling.  Don't ask because I don't know why:

...So we knocked it all down & leveled it and it's now the TV/ seating/ play area:

Having a ton of hidden toy storage is key to keeping me feeling sane:

We've got an ever-growing collection of flea market paintings so up they go above the sofa:

And finally, here's another veiw of the family room before:

{Gotta love that 70s stone}

We debated & debated about what to do with the stone and the wood-burning stove but in the strangest way the stone started to grow on me and now I love it.  The wood-burning stove was awesome & so cozy in the snow storms, so it's definitely staying for now:

{Lanterm, Ikea  Chairs & Ikea ottoman with custom washable slipcover...  For details on the lowerl level redo, click here}

...And that's about it for now!!  We always have something going on over here so I hope you'll come back.  (And everyone who is always here, thanks for bearing with me for all the repeats!)

Anyway, thanks so much to Andy for inviting me to be a part of the blogger home tour!! I'm honored to be included!!  :)  I hope everyone  enjoyed it and now it's time to head on over to House 

 at All Things Thrifty!!   

xoxo,

lauren