We bought a fixer - Lighting update

Hi there. How are you?

We are starting to see the light at the end of the remodel tunnel.

Things are truly starting to come together. 

Today, I'll give you a little glimpse into our new lighting. 

Pre-renovation, our fixer was filled with all sorts of lighting "treasures" like this......

I actually kind of like this one (above), but it doesn't go with our current aesthetic.

This is just a small sampling of the fixtures that once lived in our house. 

I  wish I would have documented them a little better prior to demo.

I'm kicking myself for not taking a better picture of the sconces that you can barely see here.

We did a little HGTV/DIY action on them.

We spray painted them Swedish blue, added a more modern looking "shade" and reinstalled them so the bulb was pointing up. Cool huh?

Prior to renovation, there were many dark corners in our house.
(Matt likened it to cave.)
We've added a lot of track lighting and pot lights to brighten things up.
This particular set of light now hang in our entry way.
(Wait till you see full transformation in the entry!)

My favorite new fixture is in our dining room.
We came across the "Huck Duck" (now called the Manhattan Project) on Pinterest.

This string of sockets is made right here in the USA.
Matt installed a galvanized pipe and artfully wrapped the twisted fabric cord around it.
He finished it off with 2 different styles of old school Edison bulbs.
We love its industrial vibe!

I leave you with a little glimpse of things to come.
What do you think?

I'm off to finish up painting at the house! Yes!
Ta-ta for now.

We Bought a Fixer - Paint, Parents & Drywall

Hi. How are you?

We move to the new place in just a month's time! Ahh! 

Exciting, but there is still much to do. 

2 weeks ago, my parents came to town help us tackle some of the work. 

Here's my dad......

 .....And my mom. 

Dust really gives her sinus trouble, so she wore this mask the whole time she was in the house. 

She's a goof, just like me, and had no qualms at all about posing in the mask.  

  

Matt and my dad's mission was to replace drywall here and in the hallway.

Matt and I demo-ed out all of the bad drywall prior to my parent's arrival.

It was fun to be destructive. 

By the end of the weekend, we had new walls! Woo! 

Meanwhile, my mom and I worked on painting trim.........

.....and painting paneling. 

This room was so trapped in the 70's! See more here.

As we painted, the fireplace started looking more and more out of place. 

First, we decided to take down the mantle, which was strangely centered above the off-centered fireplace.

Then, we painted. So much better!

This was my mom's project. 

She cleaned it all out and primed the whole fireplace with brush. 

We don't know what we'll do with the red tile hearth yet.

For now, its staying. 

It was really fun to have my parents around and we got so much work done!

Having 2 extra pairs of hands was great. Thanks Mom and Dad!

What's up next?

Lots of painting and lots of flooring.

And what do you think about things so far?

We love to hear what you have to say! 

Ta-ta.  

My Etsy Wedding Registry

Mid-Century Modern Inspired ... FlotsamFurnitu... $450.00	Silverware Stripes - set of ... kathymellor $64.00
Bowl Geometric Decorative Bl... sewZinski $38.00	Magnetic Spice Rack Tins Con... saltcityspice $32.00
Urban Throw Pillow - Style n... NestaHome $35.00	8x8 barrie quote clock. mbartstudios $45.00
Crochet Cotton Dishcloths - ... Sweetbriers $10.50	Custom round monogram, scree... vital $96.00
Mid Century Vintage Footed S... jenscloset $18.50	Vintage Enameled Gas Station... BarkingSandsVi... $90.00
letter J GlamDecay $2.00	Moka Express cotton tea towe... mengseldesign $13.00
iRetrofone Classic - Deluxe ... freelandstudio... $250.00	Nostalgia - set of 9 photo b... SusannahTucker $140.00
Vintage Mid Century Eames DC... rhan $225.00	Recycled Chenille Sea Urchin... Hepstyles $70.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.

As lovers of vintage and handmade, Matt and I would love to register for our upcoming wedding on Etsy. There are so many incredible things here that you just can't buy in a store!  

Though I created this collection all by my lonesome, I know that Matt would agree with my choices. He is a huge fan of the "Mad Men" style.... He's drawn to Midcentury Modern, all things Scandinavian, clean lines and simple silhouettes. As you can see, his tastes have rubbed off on me! 

I was able to import this Etsy Treasury, links and all, with a hack I came across on Whale Shark Websites by way of Twitter.  What an easy way to import a ton of links in a hurry! 


I hope to have some new artwork to show you in the near future, but don't hold your breath. There just doesn't seem to be time for that at the moment. 


Ta-Ta!

High Tea in the 17th Century

I just spent the most amazing afternoon with six other women, having high tea at the Brewster-Randall House in Janesville, Wisconsin. The private home is owned by French national Yoinai DuKunze, who cooked us amazing European style meal.

Yo (as he's commonly known) has an amazing life story that he shares with you throughout the four hour meal and house tour. He came to the United States five years ago to receive a heart transplant. He knew that he would have to stay in the States for some time to recover, and didn't want to rent. After seeing pictures of it on the internet, Yo bought the rundown 1840's Victorian home. He's lovingly restored it and has decorated it with 17th century furnishings that he shipped over from his family home in France. Besides shipping over 10 shipping containers of furniture, he also shipped 4 Olympic caliber horses and 5 dogs! If you couldn't tell already, Yo comes from a very wealthy family. They have a chateau in the south of France that has been in his family for 300 years for goodness sake! And I'm telling you the short version of the story!

Now for the food! We started with hor d'oeuvres on the sun porch including brie baked in brioche, olive and anchovy bruschetta, bacon and quail on toast points, with a champagne and pomegranate punch. I really could have just ate this and have been in heaven, but we had two more courses to go!

We were served our main course in the dining room. I wasn't able to get a really good shot of this room, it was a bit dark. But I did manage to snap this pic of the chandolier. Amazing! Our lunch consisted of pheasant quiche, french green beans, potatoes and the most decadent croissant ever. We ate, we talked, we ate some more. It was very leisurely and relaxing.

For desert we were served an Italian style cheescake with fresh berries, a lemon tartane, and French press coffee with lavender infused creme. Delish!

The whole event was a foodies paradise. And don't get me started on the interior design. I could have walked around that house for another four hours! I could write and write about this experience. What a day!

If you'd like to see more photos of the house, head on over to my flickr photostream.