All In The Plan

I've had a plan for this house since I walked through it the first time with my amazing realtor. In my head, it was going to happen in sections, tackling the most offensive areas first and then moving on to tweaking the smaller ones.

I've done a few things so far like the bathroom flooring, painting out paneling and walls, and the breakfast nook. 

This is about my son's room.

Above is the picture from the real estate listing. Below is the closet that was in this room.

This house is laid out almost perfectly for me, but there are a few things that I felt needed to be changed for better functionality for the way we live. Here is a small section of the original layout of how my son's room connects to the rest of the house.

His closet was the center section with the other two sections opening up into the master. (there will be more plans revealed for that space in the future)

As you can see below, I closed that closet up to make more wall space in his bedroom.

But now the boy needed a closet. Here is the plan for what I am doing right now.

The hall closet was taken over and is being made into Dylan's custom closet. The view from the hall looked like this when we moved in:

Gold lattice covered doors and all!

So, off came the doors. But before the big demolition began my daughter's cat Eli decided that we emptied this entire closet just for him.

The walls did come down though. This is looking from the entry hall into Dylan's room.

This is the view from Dylan's room to the front door and his beloved cat Tennant Rory (can you tell that my son loves Doctor Who?) Tennant wasn't fond of the construction and was quite loud about it.

Here is that same view after the wall was framed in and the drywall was up.

Below is the view from the entry hall once I had done a little mudding.

Obviously this bit of construction impacted the hallway and I will have more to reveal on that in the future as well. Yes, this is the domino effect. In this case though, it is such a beautiful one that I don't mind. There have been other domino effects lately that have not been so pleasant. Things like plumbing, but that's for another post entirely.

I scoured many many houzz and Pinterest boards to find the best solution for the built-ins in Dylan's new closet. I found a lot of really great options but this one drew me in the most. I altered the final plans slightly but the overall concept is the same.

(source)

I can't wait for this space to be finished and show you all the reveal. As of right now this is my favorite room in the house…other than the breakfast nook.

A Nursery Dresser

I love the power of paint! This is a beautiful makeover for a very special nursery. Andra brought me this dresser to makeover for her daughter Courtney. Courtney is expecting soon and needed beautiful and practical storage for her nursery. 

I won't call it simple really, the piece needed a bit of repair before the painting began. 

Here is the before:

You can't tell from the picture above, but the structure of the dresser wasn't very sound.

The styles had separated from the top on both sides of the center drawer and door set.

This resulted in a major crack on the bottom of the piece and caused the piece to sag in the center.

All it took was some metal brackets, wood glue, and clamps and the piece was back to it's normal state.

The hardware required some painting and sealing.

So chic!

Here is the piece all finished in its delicate white glory!

Another pretty piece complete! Now on to the next one.

Ashleigh's Custom Light

If you have followed me for a while you know that I have a really fabulous client named Ashleigh. I could wax poetic about her style and flawless taste for quite a while, but I'm sure that if you look at things like the buffet, this armoire, these nightstands, the farmhouse table, or the fish chairs you can see that amazing taste for yourself.

More recently I have painted a fireplace mantle and made a custom light fixture. Here is a quick peek at the fireplace before and after:

She was over the dark and wanted a brighter and cleaner look. She called and asked if I could paint it short notice. She already had the paint, so I came in and painted it out. It took three coats to cover the black. In the picture below I took a quick picture before leaving and you can tell it wasn't completely dry. It looks fabulous though.

Just a quick little makeover.

Now to the main event! 

Y'all know how much I love good lighting. The right fixture, pot lights, and especially natural light. Lately, I've really been into creating light fixtures that are similar to high end fixtures. My lantern pendant in the breakfast nook is a great example.

Ashleigh knows this and had a great idea for a fixture in her new mudroom entry space. She brought me this:

It's an industrial dome shade but it had nothing attached to it and was covered in dirt.

My daughter thought it looked like half of an easter egg and made up a little rap and dance about it. I have it on video and may use it as blackmail when she's a teenager. Since she would kill me if I shared that, I thought this picture would suffice.

She is a mess!

A piece of wood had to be fitted with a bracket to attach to the ceiling box. I wanted the wood to match her flooring so I got some red oak veneer to cover the poplar that had been used for the top.

Next that piece had to be stained and waxed

 With the exterior being vintage I wanted the inside of the light to look as original as possible as well. I used porcelain bulb sockets and attached them to a perfectly turned piece I had my father make. I don't use the lathe…it still scares me. But, my amazing father is fantastic at it and I contract him out for small jobs like this.

All the wires pulled through

My dad helping me hold it in place to see if we liked it.

All of the wood on the inside of the fixture was painted white to match the shade.

Here it is all finished up and ready for installation.

 This was a difficult installation. I had to take it back to my dad's shop and tweak a few things and come back and try again. Ashleigh's husband ended up helping me as it was large and difficult to mount. 

Here it is installed in the space:

It ties in perfectly and is so great in this space. Even though it was a bit difficult to hang, it was so worth it in the end. This is probably my all-time favorite fixture I've done.

A Rocking Chair for Baby

You know that piece of furniture that's been in your family for a long time? The one that was probably really in style at the time they got it, but is probably pretty hideous now? The one that people tell you to throw out? 

Well, I have a major soft spot for those precious people that don't throw those pieces out. You can make it gorgeous! This little old rocker was my client's grandmother's. When she found out she was expecting her first child she wanted it for the nursery chair. She saw the potential for it to be precious and I'm so glad that she did!

This is the chair before:

It needed some repair so I added new webbing to make it more secure.

All finished

In the precious nursery space. I love the sweet vintage look and the sentimental feel.

(Client Image)