House Re-Design on Pinterest, Part II

Annnd we're back!

Let's get right down to business in the living room/family room of our new favorite house:

As I mentioned in Part I, I planned to get rid of the tile and install stunning hardwoods floors all the way into the living room. There is a lot of great sources for light in this open space, but let's not forget: it's an open space. I may have voiced my issues with family rooms being open to the kitchen once or twice...

Working within the layout, I would put a small table and chair set in the breakfast nook under the fan, and change out the fan for a fun lighting fixture. Because the "room" beyond the table is so open, and bright, it would make a fantastic reading room, sitting room, or area for drinking your morning coffee. I'd love to arrange a cozy loveseat on the right, facing the doors, and place two chairs directly opposite, with a nice round ottoman/coffee table in the middle. Picture this:

Now, I've got a plan, and its a little funky. See the narrow space between the brick fireplace (which, by the way, I would try to age and white-wash just a tad) and the windows? It needs something awesome. It needs... birch. Yes, floor to ceiling birch trees (sans foliage) - just in that little space between the fireplace and the windows.

It would probably be a fire hazard, but it would look so awesome, don't you think? Plus it would be a cute little nod to our wedding and the way we pulled some birch in to soften up the space.

Moving on to the dining room. Personally, I like a nice casual space to eat, even on fancy occassions when one might actually use a dining room. This room has a nice wood floor and some picturesque porch access, so it has even more reason to go "casz" as the kids say.

First things first, let's remove the fancy-pants chandelier in favor of something a bit less "classical 1986". I'd also add bead board, or other wainscoting and lighten up the paint.

This dining room definitely says, "eat, drink and be merry" to me. The warm wood of the buffet and the farm style table keep it casual. The wicker chairs with generous cushioning say, "let's not do the dishes yet." Which is my favorite thing to say. I wouldn't pick this blue wall color, but I would have blue accents via some of the pretty dishes from my wedding, arranged playfully.

There's only one way to wrap-up this re-do, and that is with the mudroom. The picture here doesn't offer much perspective, but it does show that there is a washer/dryer area available.

So, imagine if we did this, for looks and storage:

Finally, let's face it... with 2.2 acres available for the dogs to roam, we really need this (if there is room):

House Re-design on Pinterest, Part I

You guys know how much I like to do this, right? And you know that it's ok to not read if you don't care....

Ok, now that we've got that settled, let's examine another house re-design according to moi. In this edition of "Mandy goes wild on Pinterest" I'm going to keep all of the remodeling projects to a reasonable vision and cost, in order to pretend I'm practical.

This house is currently for sale in Granby, listed at $355,000. It has some great elements going for it right off the bat. For example, a nice wrap-around porch and a little scalloped siding on the peak. Off to the left is a 3-car garage. It's a great color and, has clapboard siding. I can't tell you how I loathe vinyl siding.

It's tough to tell from the pictures, but I think the porch is big enough to do some lounging on, which is exactly what a porch is designed for. The only thing I would do out here is paint the ceiling a nice light blue to keep the spiders from climbing. Oh, and add some lounge porch furniture.

Inside the house, we're going to start with the Master Bathroom, because I'm very thrilled at the idea of having a Master Bath. This option is not terrible - there is a jacuzzi tub, separate shower and luckily, no giant wall-covering mirror (looks like someone stole it from atop the sinks).

The bad news is that everything is gray. Why was everything gray in the 80's? I know there is no real answer, but it just seems like an oddball choice. Now, in order to be practical, I am going to leave the gray tub and shower for the time being (but I would put a curtain in front of the doors just to soften it up and add color/texture). But dear Lord, we are trashing the tile. On the floor, I would use the same vinyl (that looks like wood) we have in our upstairs bathroom. Why Vinyl? Because it looks like real wood, but stands up to moisture. I would cover the tile around the sides of the tub with some beadboard, and re-tile the top with something a bit more neutral. Then I would add some gauzy curtains on either side for softness. This is definitely the direction we are going:

I would replace the oversized vainity with something a bit more streamlined. I'd love to have dual pedestal sinks, but in a bathroom like this, storage is a necessity. So a compromise then: Dual Dresser sinks! I love the way the worn wood looks soft against the white beadboard. To keep costs down however, I would use drop in sinks as opposed to a whole new sink/counter combo.

While we are upstairs, let's look into the Master bedroom:

It's good to see that the area above the picture window has a nice tall peaked ceiling. Starting with the ceilings - we need planks. Planks all over the place, because I am obsessed with that look right now. I would do white in the general flat ceiling area, and then a warm stain in the peak, you know, for variety.

Though it makes a huge impact, its actually not super expensive, at least not according to The Lettered Cottage.  And they have plenty of experience with plank ceilings!

What is in that arch window? A paper fan?! Good God! Get rid of it quickly! Arch windows are tricky I think, sometimes they are beautiful, but when done in a 1980's manner they just look kinda "eh". I'd do some serious scouting and try to find a stained glass arch window to be hung within it. It would add color, detail and privacy!

And while I don't particularly like the color in this window, maybe I could find a way to make my own out of bottle bottoms like so:

The bedroom in general:

The nook would be a little sitting/reading area with the bed on the blank wall to the left. I would probably go with blues, greys or greens since those seem to make the best bedroom colors, in my opinion (keep in mind, in this vision - my ceilings are planked, not tray-ed).

Boy it's really shaping up, isn't it? At this point we will have to travel back downstairs since there are no photos of any other bedrooms or baths.

The kitchen in this house is pretty odd. The layout is weird, the shape is weird, it's just bizarre.The first thing I would do here is make the stove and the fridge switch places.

According to the ad, granite counters have been installed since these photos were taken. So the kitchen money would be spent on wood floors (which extend into the family room), a farmhouse sink, getting rid of the sofetts and adding some above-cabinet detail in their place... Additionally, I would change all of the pulls and knobs. Finally I would paint the cabinets, color depending on what the granite looks like.

a nice white options to go with tan/greige counters

grey/green cabinets with a white counter

I don't want to overwhelm you, so let's stop there today... anyway, we have done a ridiculous amount of virtual work already. Part II - living rooms and dining room still to come!

DIY (no-sew) Dog Pillow

In a few short weeks, we will be having a little Birthday Soiree for Aero and Bruno. Is it weird to have a Birthday party for your dogs? Probably... but our families will take any excuse to congregate around a grill and icy cold Igloo cooler.

Aero's birthday was actually July 22, and Bruno's is September 24th, so why not shoot for a day in the middle to celebrate? The big 3rd Birthday party is 2 weeks away, so I decided to try and whip up some festive decor. First things first: a little doggy pillow (or two).

Technically speaking, I did some sewing for the pillows because I didn't have a spare case on hand. So then, if you don't want to sew (again, I'm urging you to pick up sewing, it's quite easy) start with a plain removable pillow case.

Materials:
Dog graphic
Printer
fabric Scissors
Heat n' Bond (same size as your graphic)
Dog-looking fabric
Iron
Button

Steps:
1. First I found two graphics I wanted to use and blew them up in Word. Then I printed them and cut them out. Google Images is the best place to search for stuff like this. Don't worry about using copy-right images, this is just a template.

2. According to the directions for the Heat n' Bond (or whatever fusing no-sew product you use) bond the paper to your dog fabric. I choose a soft brownish tweed, thinking it looked a bit like my dogs.

3. Next I taped down the printed out graphic to the heat n' bond side of the fabric, and traced around it. You might be able to print directly on the heat and bond or freezer paper, but I'm not that advanced.

4. After cutting out the shape, decide where you want it on your pillow case (if you can sew, follow these steps to make the world's easiest pillowcase).

5. Iron down your dog silhouette according to the Heat n' Bond instructions (some products call for a damp cloth to be used)

6. Embellish! I added a collar (using the Heat n' Bond) and then sewed on a small button to look like a dog tag. To avoid sewing, just hot glue it on.

7. Viola! You made an adorable little pillow for your pooch's party. Have a few Oreos to celebrate... I did.

Doggone Good Time at the Beach

I was going to post these yesterday, but then I never did. Alas. Here they are now, pictures from our trip of our babies enjoying their first beach vacation:

Non-Traditional Beach Decor

Let's start this post by talking about where I came up with the topic of non-traditional beach decor. I was running in Weekapaug looking around at all of the amazingly gorgeous cottage mansions. You cannot pick a better place to run or walk than Wawaloam Drive in Weekapaug. Do yourself a favor and google map it, then check out the street view.

Anyway, as I was running by these fantastic cottages, I noticed that many of them had gone rouge. They did not paint their trim and shutters white. Instead, they had matched the blue found in their endless row of hydrangea bushes. I would definitely call blue a traditional beach color, but the way that the blue popped off of the grey shingles really caught my eye and got me thinking about the harmony of everything at the beach. The colors all go together so well, from the sandy tan and white to the various blues and greens of the ocean and skies. The color of sunsets over the water, hydrangea bushes, seaweed, beach roses. The list is endless, and it all works, and it all looks fantastic.

The beach doesn't just have gorgeous colors.... (paint names provided by Sherwin Williams Chip It tool)

Source: Pinterest, unknown 

Source: Coastal Living

Source: fotocommunity

It also has amazing textures and sheens. The coarse sand, soft tall grasses, slippery seaweed. There is also the depth provided by rope and baskets, shine of the sun hitting the water, dullness of a well-weathered boardwalk, the sharp edges of jagged rock.

Hey, now that you think of it, you agree with me, don't you? The beach really does have it all! Aside from being versatile, I think there are some very distinct items that would read "beach" even if they weren't in traditional beach colors.

For example:

starfish, source: A Lived In Home

wicker, source: BHG

rope, source: Jonathan Adler Design

So then, here are some photos I found that I would surely classify as non-traditional beach decor... and just to give credit where it is due, I'd like to remind you that I didn't design or dream or make any of these items.

source: Arte Styling Designs

The coral color is a perfect representation of a non-traditional beach color in decor. What makes it still say "cottage" to me is the white wicker and the seaweed-looking blanket.

source: Apartment Therapy

The hot pink accents add some cheerful color (and remind me of the beach roses). The gingham pillows and cottage style headboard are what keep this look beachy.

source: Coastal Living

I love how the teal back-splash looks like a wave in this kitchen. Its a bold color choice that probably works better in FL than here in New England, but I like that it isn't the traditional bead-board back-splash with pale green walls.

source unknown

This couch (and wide stripes in general) always reminds me of the beach. The green cabinet on top of the pale-honey colored floors look like a bit of grass sprouting up out of the sand. The reason that I would say this is non-traditional is because it gives such a subtle nod to the beach that it would work just as well in the country.

source unknown

Finally, this scene is one that I really like. The table is set with blue and yellow, which in any other setting would not look like it has beach flavor. But in this context, you can see how the yellow matches the grass in the background, while the blue glasses echo the deep blue ocean in the far left.

Beach week continues tomorrow!