Mid-Makeover Sneek Peek: Dining Room

Before......


















Mid-Way Through the Painting (well, priming actually)....

















More to come soon! I'm really excited about this room!

Cheers,
SB

Goodbye "Tequila Sunrise," hello "Bennington Gray!"

Merry Christmas week guys!!

We still have a bit of touch up and trim work to do, but I wanted to share some pics of the sitting room and kitchen post-paint. YAY!!!

Here's a reminder of what it looked like the week we moved in: (love that camping furniture and the air compressor in the back! LOL The color was the same in the kitchen)

And AFTER:

So much better! After we do the touch-ups, it's on to the dining room (which you can see in the far right corner above is currently our ski-drying room :) ) and then a primer-party for the rest of the interior that is still either "Tequila Sunrise" or "Gross Flat Yellow" colored. But that's after the Christmast tree and stockings come down :).

Have a great week!

SB

i heart samples and flipbooks

MUST. PAINT.

Ok, our houseguest is gone (sadface), and the 5-gallon bucket of primer is staring at me. I MUST START PAINTING.

I don't want to live in a fiesta-inspired home anymore. I want fresh and clean and classic so we can really start layering in our own style. But I also enjoyed a little hiatus from my months of priming and painting.....the constant discovery of paint on myself and/or the dogs (how did that get there??) and the constant reminder that I have almost the entire interior of the house to paint..........oye.

Ok, enough complaining. I am ONE LUCKY HOMEOWNER. I get it.

Will pick up the ol' paintbrush tonight................but where to start?

SB

(Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas is to wake up and have my walls painted NOT in these colors.......)

While I do LOVE Pottery Barn....

This gorgeous holiday decoration would have cost me over $200 to purchase (for the three that I would need).

So, I went to Michaels (I know, I know, you never thought the day would come) and whipped THREE of them for under $35. The fake snow and cranberry branches were from Michaels, and the candles were from Ikea. The apothecary jars are leftover from our wedding, and the dog was also a previous purchase. ;)

What do you think? Mission accomplished?

Stay FESTIVE,
SB

Only a homeowner...

...would get excited about recieving a new garbage disposal and super-duper paper shredder for Christmas. Its true, I did.

And before you start to think this is lame, just remember that this means more funds for the fun stuff (skis, bike gear, etc.)!!!

Guest Bathroom: part 2

The rumors are true: I’m obsessed with (lightly) renovating bathrooms. They are usually a small enough space that they can take bold color, and it doesn’t cost a ton to give one a whole new look. If the basic components are decent, $100 can get you pretty far.

Lucky for me, we have three bathrooms in our home -- two full and one quarter -- that all needed a makeover. So far, I’ve re-done the master bathroom and am currently working on the guest bathroom. Here are some before & after pics:

Master bathroom before and after:

Guest bathroom before and after:

Since I’m still hunting for the perfect light fixture for the guest bathroom, I’ve been putting some energy into stocking it with things my guests might need or want. If you read my previous post on our so-called guest bedroom, you’ll know why I want to make sure our guests are extra comfortable :) Looking for some new ideas and inspiration, I hit up my teammates at Waggener Edstrom for ideas (THANKS guys!!). And while there were some definite common needs, there were also some fun (and funny!) ideas I hadn’t thought of. Overall, I think the idea is to create a guest bathroom that is made to make your guests feel comfortable but not like they’re using YOUR personal space. This is handy, considering my initial plan for decorating the room with hotel-inspired details, and certainly a nice opportunity after coming from our one-tiny-bathroom situation when we lived in our cute-but-quirky bohemian apartment in the city.

When staying at a friend’s house, what would you love to find in their guest bathroom that you might need?
- Lotions and stuff in a basket, I’m not a fan of things sitting out.
- Ponytail holders
- Q-tips (they are hard to find sometimes!)
- Feminine products (had to say it!)
- Listerine/Scope (mouthwash)
- Basic OTC medications: Tylenol, Advil, Day/NyQuil, etc.
- Multiple towels
- Extra TP
- Hand soap
- Hand towel
- Empty trashcan
- Hand lotion and eye makeup remover would be especially gracious…I would be delighted to find that in a guest bathroom!
- Perhaps toothpaste as well…I feel like EVERYONE forgets toothpaste.
- Blow dryer
- great shampoo and CONDITIONER
- hair spray
- a water glass
- Disposable razor (unused of course)

What do you hate most about guest bathrooms?
- Having to rummage through things to find something I need, it feels like such an invasion of privacy! When I have guests I usually put all of their supplies in a welcome basket that I set out along with their towels before arrival.
- When they don’t have a trashcan!
- Feeling not at home or like you can’t use/move anything.
- Usually the only towels actually in the bathroom are the display ones. I hate having to ask for a towel to shower with and I definitely don’t want to use the “only for display” ones!
P- ink towels with bows, small towels that don’t wrap around your body, or just plain BAD towels! Or decorative accents that are totally unusable (Such as shower curtain ties that hold back the shower curtain, but are a hassle to get off to actually use the shower).
- If they’re sterile or too kitschy.

What bathroom items would make you feel most at home?
- NICE towels that coordinate. They must be soft and fluffy.
- I set out a bathrobe for my guest so that they don’t have to run around in their PJ’s or need to go back to their room post shower to change. I’ve had an unfortunate incident with a friend of my brothers who was staying over and I accidentally saw him running to the guest room in his birthday suit!!!
- I think plenty of towels so you wouldn’t feel like you’d have to ask for more or like you’re creating more work for the host.
- A really soft bathroom rug or a really nice candle (preferably something that smells like white flowers, such as gardenia or lilies).
- I think it’s cute when people use glass containers and put Q-tips, cotton balls etc in them, decorative and helpful for guests.

Any other ideas?
- Make sure it is stocked with a plunger. Just because you never know with house guests and I’m sure that if one was needed they would be embarrassed to ask. A good hostess always puts her guest’s comfort first!
- If you have space, I like to have the guest shower stocked with a shampoo, conditioner, and some gender neutral scented body wash. Then guests are always prepared!
- Make the bathroom simple but elegant. Don’t infuse your own personality into it too much, considering it’s for guests. When the bathroom feels so much like you, guests feel as if they are just USING your bathroom, rather than having it feel like their own personal bathroom for the entirety of their stay.
- PLEASE don’t use burgundy or blushing pink for ANY bathroom elements!
- I like simple artwork in bathrooms. Maybe a cool print? Something that is interesting but subtle.

Our first “real” houseguest will be arriving the week of Thanksgiving (YAY!!), so I have a few weeks to find that darn light fixture and make some of these cozy ideas a reality in the guest bathroom. And please let me know if you have other ideas to share!
Cheers,
Shanti

Intertwined

As some of you know, I’m currently training for the Seattle Half Marathon. And as some you might have heard, I’ve recently misplaced my motivation.

At first I was an overachiever with my running plan – carefully planning each run, the route, hydration, stretches, and rest days. At the moment, I’m only mildly concerned when I look at my training log and notice I haven’t run in five days….. (Oops). In search of a strong shot of ambition to keep going, I perused RunnersWorld.com, and came upon this post from Kristen Armstrong. In it, she mulls over why our running mojo waxes and wanes, and concludes that it often coincides with what is going on in our lives at the time and how we feel about it. She is so right! For instance, a few years ago I was planning a wedding and in the midst of a job change; at that time I ran to work things out in my head. I ran consistently and hard.

(I promise this is a Left Loosey Righty Tighty post, just hang in there with me!)

Currently? I don’t have any major stresses to work out in my life right now (thank you!), and I’m generally at peace (double thank you!!). And quite frankly, I’ve been finding it far more interesting to comb the aisles of Home Depot than run the trail around Greenlake. No wonder I can’t seem to lace up and hit the pavement…..

As I sat on the floor of our guest bathroom last night, putting the finishing touches on the newly painted cabinets and trying to decipher what exactly was overshadowing my running goals, I thought of how the same is true in so many parts of our lives, how everything is intertwined. It’s true even in how I’ve styled our house: the colors, the concepts, have all been based on a snapshot within my life, and the emotions that accompanied it.

Here are a few examples:

Our master bathroom: Painted a light frothy brown with crisp white trim and ceilings, I wanted a spa-like feel in this room, a place where I could breathe easy and relax. Clean, tidy, and perhaps even a bit sparse, I wanted to feel free in this space. At the time, my life was in a bit of turmoil and nothing seemed for sure; the economy, finances, the future, it all seemed too messy, and this was my attempt to create a safe haven.

Guest Bathroom: When I chose this rich brown-gray-purple color, I was looking for a touch of glamour and warmth. Sparkly shower curtain rings, fresh, cushy white towels, champagne colored bubble bath and candlelight -- I was feeling confident and passionate. Things were calmer in life by this time, and I was ready to reclaim some fun. (note the sparkly shower curtain hooks)

I do think it’s pretty cool though to have these times in life sort of documented throughout our home. And over the next few months, I will start priming and painting the rest of the interior, starting with the upstairs hallway and working my way down. The colors we are considering are warm, neutral, with a touch of sophistication but not stuffiness; kind of a clean slate that we can build on. And that’s kind of like life, right? You start with what you’re given, you touch it up with putty, caulk and primer, and then it’s up to you to chose the colors, create the accent walls and determine the artwork you want to display.

In her blog post, Kristen quotes author John Eldredge: "We have to be intentional about the joy." And on my fridge hangs a magnet that says “Life isn’t about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself.” Either way, I think living with intention and creating the life you’ve always wanted should be at the top of our to-do lists, with the knowledge that we’ll have to putty up a few nail holes (for me, this = running) and perhaps go through gallons of primer (literally!) before we get it “just so.”

Yours in primer, paint and Nikes,
Shanti

Guest/Gear Room

As some of you know, we chose to make what could have been a decent guest room into a gear room: a place where all of our outdoor gear and whatnot could be happily organized and ready for action at any given moment. The gear is both mine and my husbands, but to be honest, the obsession to organize is all me :) Hence, the heavy duty shelving and Rubbermaid tubs.....

However, I'm thinking there might be a way to make this room both a gear AND a guest room. Considering most of our guests have similar tastes as us, they probably wouldn't mind sleeping amongst skis and tents too much....

And I LOVE this simple style, which could take up one side of the room while the gear stays on the other side: (photo from http://www.sfgirlbybay.com/ and http://www.purlsoho.com/purl)

Now if I could only track down a sustainable crop treated log for a side table...........

Danish Simplicity + Sheepskin Throw

Happy Monday!

I've been seeing this corner-room trend a lot lately -- the simple Danish-style chair with a thick, cozy sheepskin square gently placed "just so."

And I'm loving it.

(realsimple.com)

I'm thinking IKEA might be the place to start...........

Ciao!

SB

Could our attic look like this someday??

Pretty please?

(I'm at a total loss for who/where to attribute this photo too --- yikes!)

I "heart" Nooks

Ever since I was a little kid, I've always loved little nooks, places you can curl up and nap, read a book, or just plain think; windowsills holding your favorite few books and a flower from the market, or a still life on a dresser that makes you smile each time you catch a glance. I still find myself seeking out this special spots, and now of course, creating them in our home.

Here's a few I wouldn't mind having in my house:

(from Anthropologie.com)

(from housebeautiful.com)

I have a crush on.....

http://cocokelley.blogspot.com/

If you have any interest in design, style, and creating a beautiful world to live in, you MUST MUST MUST check out this fave blog.

Not only does the lovely and talented Cassandra have a serious talent for all things fabulous, but she makes great design and style attainable; I haunt her blog daily and could only hope to be able to one day whip up the kind of inspiration boards and ideas she makes look easy.

But until that happens, I am thrilled to pieces to let you know that she will be helping me transition our home to the next stage!! I'll be keeping the details under wraps for now while we hammer out the last few things, but I WILL tell you that it's sure to be fabulous. And of course there will be pictures! And perhaps some champagne.....

Cheers!
Shanti

Take one LAST look!

Soon our Kirkland Hacienda will be a Cozy Natural Hideaway :)

Guest Bathroom: part 1

I couldn't take it anymore: the dark green shadowy box that is our guest bathroom was SCREAMING for light, fresh color, and a whole new look.

So, I tore out the old baudy light fixture, had ian remove the toilet tank, put a couple fresh coats of trim paint on and got the first layer of primer on the walls!! I feel better already :)

Here are the "Before Pix":

I still have one more layer of primer to go, but in the meantime I've started to think of what I want this bathroom to look like. For now, here's what's inspiring me: (it's kind of an organic, eco-hotel chic. all pix from Pottery Barn)

You like???

It's The Little Things In Life...

Heya housies :)

So, in response to my blog post asking what YOU want to read/see/learn, it sounds like y'all want LOTS of photos and to learn more little tricks regarding homeownership, cohabitating, updating, renovating and styling. NO PROBLEM!!

In fact, I took a few photos last night that I've been wanting to share with you. I'm finding that right now, with so much going on (training for the half marathon, work ramping up for the fall, etc.), the big things feel overwhelming (paint the ENTIRE main floor? put in a French drain? design a yard? yikes!!!) but the little things make me happy and give me a sense of satisfaction even when the house-to-do-list just keeps getting longer and longer....

Here are a few of my favorites:

My closet doors -- freshly painted with new knobs!

The above-mentioned new closet door knobs. How sweet are these? Love the simple nod to travel, another one of my passions.

Typically, I prefer furniture with a history and a good story; this solid-oak piece was a hand-me-down from a good friend of ours that I absolutely love. I first used it as a night stand, but liked it better in the corner as I felt like it helped create a new space. The drawers are filled with little momentos, books, photos, etc.

A single yellow rose snipped from my grandma's garden -- does it get any better than this? :)

Cheers,

Shanti

Bathroom Bliss

You've all heard me complain complain complain about our master bathroom color (yuck) and my desire for a crisp, clean, relaxing space (ahhhh... kind of like spaaaaa). Well, here are the final shots -- I think the change in color alone boosted my morning mood!







































SOOOO much better, yes?

Cheers,
Shanti

borrowed idea!

Hello!

As those of you who've visited our home already know, we chose to forgo the traditional guest room in favor of a gear room. And, oh yes, we have NO regrets. It's a beautiful thing to walk into the room and see our "toys" (skis, snowshoes, camping equip., etc.) all organized and ready to be used. And when you get home from an adventure, it's kind of nice to just dump everything in the room and shut the door for a few hours while you shower or recoup from whatever the trip served up.

So on a recent foray into Port Townsend, I spotted this fun way (see pics below) to organize our gear even more, which, if you know me, thrills me to no end. This project involves gear and organizing? Yes please!

We don't really climb anymore, but I still think this is a DIY cool idea, and you could totally use different materials to make it yours.

Bring on the rope and scissors!

Shanti