Wetting the whistle

Just because I haven't personally blogged, doesn't mean I haven't been reading them. Especially design blogs. I just can't help it, it's in my blood. Here are some things I have found to tide me over until I can work on my own home again. Hope you find them as inspiring and mouth watering to look at as I do.

Have you seen the movie, It's Complicated? I was in awe over the set design and was anxiously awaiting for Julia over at Hooked on Houses to do a Movie Monday on the set. She dug up a few visual stimulating photos to hold us over until the DVD comes out later this year. You can check it out here.

Don't tell my husband, but I already have ideas for a kitchen like this in our next house (and maybe our current, shhhhh).

And just today I saw a post over at Design Sponge on a swoon worthy office. Who wouldn't want to come to work everyday with digs like this?

And my favorite Interior Designer/blogger/new mama, Erica over at Urban Grace Interiors blogged about Birmingham Architect Bill Ingram's lake house that was featured in Cottage Living (it has also been featured in many other publications, check out the links under publications for more pictures and details). I fell in love with the play of bold textures, dark wood, and soft hues immediately.

And those striped hardwood floors are making me consider painting ours. Hmmm...

p.s. I never know the proper way to give credit to images/ideas found on other web sites. My purpose is to share, not offend so If this is your work and you do not want it displayed, please let me know.

p.p.s. We are learning idioms in my strategic reading class. Don't you like how I have incorporated it into my day-to-day living? My teacher would be so proud ;).

No design blogs for me for a long, long time

Or I'm pretty sure this will be our first and last anniversary we celebrate as a happy married couple. Let's just say Markus does not share my enthusiasm for home projects and decorating. He tolerates a few here and there, but I think I have crossed the line. I met him at the hardware store this morning for what has to be the 10th time in a week (5 trips were in a 24 hour window) to buy some trim paint. And as we were saying our goodbyes he told me this is the last time he is buying paint for this house and I had better like all the colors. Markus does not use strong words often, but when he does I know I better take notice. I love you, babe!

Ahem, so it all started last weekend with an idea to wrap up the upstairs project we started last February. We needed to paint the back of a book shelf, hang a few items I purchased at IKEA last spring, and spruce up a (very) small bathroom. This included taking down wallpaper, painting, and replacing brass fixtures with brushed nickel. Sounds fairly easy, right? No construction or major renovating involved. I won't bore you with details but let's just say it sounded A LOT easier on paper.

This snowballed into projects in almost all rooms of our house and a lot more trips to the hardware store, contracting my mom and her husband for some painting and carpentry projects, and my dad for some plumbing issues. Lesson to learn for future opp (other peoples projects): Have a game plan BEFORE you start, write a comprehensive list of what you will need from the hardware store, and most importantly finish one room before moving on to another. However, I have a feeling if we had done all of this before starting Markus would have said no. Isn't there a saying "it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission"? Please forgive me, babe!

Late Wednesday night, after painting for 5 hours, I had the idea to get out of town for our anniversary. We both needed a break. Markus especially since he has been home 24/7 for the last 2 weeks. My mom had no choice offered to stay and watch the dogs while they finished the dining room. So we packed up Saturday morning and headed to Charlottesville. It was perfect and much needed. We came back a little less stressed and ready to finish what we had started.

Thank you to my wonderful husband who has tolerated all of my ideas over the last few weeks. I promise to cool it, at least until after the holidays ;) I will even do all of the holiday decorating while you are out of town so you don't have to see any boxes or put up the tree. What a deal!

p.s. I can't wait to share all of the renovation details on the blog once we finish. Before and after pics to come...

Feeling Gray

A peak inside of my neurosis, and why our house will never be "done"

It started a few weeks ago in class. We had a 10 minute break. I used 3 minutes of that break to use the bathroom and text Markus. The rest of the time I spent online looking at what I always look at when I'm bored, design blogs. I went to DS* and stumbled across this post and the gray/cream combination in this picture really caught my attention.

Oooh, aaaah, gray and cream!

And I thought to myself: "self, those colors sure would look nice with the orange clementine rug in your dining room". By that point the break was over and I had to pretend to be interested in IT management and Porters Five Forces. But all I could think about was turning my dining room into a gray/cream/clementine oasis.

So when I got home I googled "gray and orange design" into my iPhone. I found all kinds of inspiration. And before I knew it I had my Benjamin Moore paint fan out and was rummang though fabric samples I have collected over the years. I came up with this inspiration board and have been drooling over it ever since.

I also decided that I MUST. HAVE. picture frame wainscoting and crown molding added to the dining room.

So the next day I tell Markus "I think we should paint the dining room gray, add some molding, and install a new light fixture". And he asks if this is because of the orange rug. No, this is because I'm neurotic, and on a break in class I found a picture. Duh!

This is what keeps me up at night. I do not try to solve world hunger or end poverty but rather wonder what colors work best with my clementine rug and what fabric would be best for drapes. This is normal, right?

Follow Friday: Design Sponge

Sometimes I have so many design ideas for our home in my head that I feel like it will explode. I'm constantly walking around the house thinking of ways I can improve. And there are web sites that specifically fuel this creative drive. I should probably stop looking at them until I can tackle all 837 current projects I have started. But I can't help myself, I'm a design cutter.

Design*Sponge is by far one of my favorite sites to check out. I especially love the before & after and DIY sections. D*S is to the blogosphere what Martha Stewart is for YSA (Yuppie Suburban America).

Here are some things I have been lusting after lately. They make my heart happy!

What are your favorite design blogs, just in case the 487 I read aren't cutting it?

*All photos are from Design Sponge

I'm In Love

I have been lusting over a rug from Pottery Barn for almost a year now. It first graced the front cover of their magazine almost a year ago with a very hefty price tag so I filed it away in my brain as something I would acquire later in life. You know, when we win the lottery and have perfectly trained dogs and children. I couldn't imagine spending that much money on something that the dogs might use as a fire hydrant. You never know with those two, Meeko especially. I think it's his way of telling us we aren't paying enough attention to him or we would have seen him eyeing the back door.

Anyway, I was in our local Pottery Barn this weekend exchanging some frames when I decided to browse through the rugs just to see what they had. The rug that I have been lusting after is no longer listed on their web site so I assumed it was sold out. I even searched EBay to see how much they were selling for and it was still out of my price range. Can you imagine my delight when The Rug was on SALE at MY local Pottery Barn. I quickly ran to the counter to see if they had the size and color that I wanted. They did not. However they did have another color in my size. I had to think about it because that color totally threw off my plan for our dining room. I had envisioned it in light greens/greys/blues with accents of brushed stainless steel and dark wood. The color of the rug in stock is called clementine and does not go well with greens/greys/blues. But after thinking about it I decided I had to have the rug and I could change my design. So I called over my interior designer (also known as my bff, Christina) and her 11 month old son, Christian (also known as Mr. Bubs or Bubby) for a consultation to discuss fabric options for drapes, chair covers, and lighting. We came up with a good plan. Now I just need to find the right fabric. Bubby gave his seal of approval saying it was very comfy for crawling around on and the pattern was entertaining to look at.

Do you want to see what the rug looks like?

Hi, my name is Sarah and I'm a decoraholic. Admitting you have a problem is the first step.