Master Bedroom

Is it really nearly August? Hope you are enjoying the summer so far :) Here is the final post on our latest project... the master bedroom and bath. It's a great master suite with a walk in closet, cozy wall sconces, and a bathroom that turned out beautifully...

It was definitely rough before ... the vanity was in great shape but was a horrible oak with brass knobs. We were glad to recycle it and make it into something much more glamorous! Here's where we started:

Love love love making things pretty!

The kitchen

We had a lot of fun building out the kitchen in our latest project... what we started with definitely left a lot to the imagination. We really wanted to make the kitchen feel like a spacious, grand area while also making it flow with the great room. Though we usually shun curves, in this case, the rounded peninsula was the perfect way to accomplish our goals... it provided a nice eat-in area, extra counter space, and good flow moving into the kitchen (no harsh edges as you entered the space, since it was a bit on the narrow side). We also converted several of the existing upper doors to glass-front doors which also makes the space feel more open while allowing for pretty displays. The existing cabinetry was a knotty alder, but with the help of our stellar painting crew, the knots disappeared and the end result was smooth, crisp, and beautiful - and very Modern Cottage!

Oh, and here's what it looked like when we started:



Hello, hydrangeas!

Our fabulous hydrangeas are in full swing now (you may recall how they looked a few months ago in this post). They just go more and more crazy each summer! As you can see, they are getting a little up close and personal with our outdoor table, but I am not sure what to do about it just yet...they're so pretty.

And this I couldn't resist... my favorite calendar's July illustration is identical to our happy-go-lucky hydrangeas. Love it.

The South Wing

Our latest project included this addition - which I affectionately referred to as the 'South Wing'. With freshly troweled concrete floors, new millwork (including wrapped beams), new doors, and new lighting, this room quickly became a very cool entertaining and lounge space. The ceiling detail is lots of fun, and the oversized outdoor sconces add just the right ambiance - love their proportion and style. We also added the wiring for the pendant light to create a designated dining space. Giant windows, lots of natural light, and very green, private surroundings make this a really amazing space. You'll recall the sconces from this post, and now you can see where that killer green door lives :)  And since everyone loves a good before and after (myself included!) here's what we started with:

More to come!

Welcome to the garden, little blue hose

Yes, that is the Water Right hose I lost my mind over featured a while back... I couldn't resist the specially-created Martha Stewart color. I ordered it quickly but we have been holding out for the right hose hook to hang it from since most of the ones sold for this specific purpose are generally a bit, well.. tacky. I think this one from Gempler's is great, but we needed to mount to a post which wasn't wide enough. And this one tracked down by Remodelista is nice but a bit spendy for what it is, and it didn't get me crazy excited. So, the other day we were at a local feed and garden store to get more Hendrikus lawn care products and some organic weed spray, and low and behold I found myself in an aisle filled with all kinds of steel brackets, braces, bolts and other crazy-looking things. I immediately grabbed for one of these:

Super thick and heavy, great finish, and looked like it would just about work for the Martha hose which is quite dainty actually (very narrow and lightweight which I love). At under $20 we decided to go for it. I still have no idea what is supposed to be used for ... I didn't ask. But as you can see it went up quickly and now our sweet blue hose has a permanent home in the garden with the peonies. It may seem strange, but to me it's a little piece of beauty for the garden (and so much better then the giant construction style hoses the husband was using..!). It's so pretty in fact, that if it gets left out, haphazardly strewn across the walkway, I don't even mind :)

Easy, fuss-free style: Guest bath

We were very pleased to give an antique farm table new life in the guest bath of our latest project! With our rough desired dimensions in hand, we scoured the antiques stores for just the right fit. There were a few possible contenders, but this one was just right (we had to look past the chippy pink paint of course... see what it looked like originally below). It was the right size, the drawer with it's original bin pull was totally charming (you may recall we have a thing for bin pulls) and it offered the opportunity to add a slatted shelf below for storage. With the modern square sink and carefully selected fixtures and hardware, I think we achieved a great balance of modern and vintage. The slatted shelf provides storage space for baskets or buckets to store towels and supplies for an easy, fuss-free style. We're super pleased with it and can't wait to rescue some other old piece and do it again  :)

p.s. Isn't the faucet adorable in action??

Punchy doors

We decided to keep two of the existing exterior doors ... one being this lighted door (because I thought with some sanding and a fresh coat, it could be quite charming) and the other being the garage door (because I knew we could tie them together with paint, and it's a fire door). The color turned out perfectly! It adds loads of personality and makes the whole place feel a lot more modern and stylish then plain white doors would. You may recall the outdoor sconces from this post ... yes, we planned to use them indoors from the get go, and they add such amazing modern ambiance and interest. The oversized look is perfect for this space, and throughout the rest of the room (more to come on that). Well-played, sconces! By the way, here is what these doors looked like before: