Aaahhh...That's Better

We've lived in this house for two years, and every time I pull into the driveway, I feel like somebody else must live here due to those '80's barn red shutters and doors.

Not anymore! Ta da!
This makes me so happy! I feel like this is starting to look like our house. Please excuse our landscaping- we're having an issue. We planted a ton of new things last year, and nearly a third of them have died. I have several more projects in mind for outside (new lights, railings, etc.), so I will keep you in the loop. I know you're all waiting to see how my house looks :)

A special thanks to my friends at Can Decorative Paint for accomplishing this for us! They are very talented decorative painters (think polished plaster and sophisticated architectural finishes). They could have painted our shutters and doors in their sleep with one arm tied behind their back, but they graciously came over and knocked it out in one day. Thank you Michelle, Davide, and Miguel!

Busy Season- A Retrospective

January through the end of March is Stephen's insanely busy season at work. He's a trooper to work so hard for us. I usually try to pick a project to work on during this time so the time passes more quickly. So far this year, I've just been trying to be a good mom and run my new business. Some sewing projects are around the bend. I'll keep you posted.

Let's take a look back at last year. This time last year, my kitchen looked like this (Don't you love how the light fixture over the sink is like 3" away from the wall? So effective. And beautiful.):

Thank God this is a before and after post. However, it is not so blog-tastic that it will knock your socks off. I am very thankful that I was able to get this far. It is a work in progress. Clearly, the pressed oak builder cabinets had to be painted. This took FOREVER. I did obsessively paint every surface- inside/outside drawers, inside cabinets, under the sink, etc.). Thanks to all my friends and family for putting up with my whining during the process. I know if you heard me say "alcohol based primer" one more time you might have lost it. It was kind of a nightmare, nonetheless, it is done. Six coats later, it is done. And I love it.
I painted the walls, added hardware (actually my dad did that part for me), new hinges, and switched out the faucet. I feel like it looks so much better. In my dreams, I'm one step closer to THE Suzanne Kasler kitchen.
I have lots more planned for this kitchen. I'm tempted to list it all, but you'd be bored. And I realized that I kind of want to list it so you know that I know what needs to be done. Then, I realized that was pretty egotistical of me. As a designer, I have exposure to incredible homes and finishes. Unfortunately, we have yet to win the lottery (or play it). That dynamic makes home improvements (and home contentment) challenging for me. The good news is that figuring out how to improve our house as inexpensively as possible is a challenge that ends up expanding my creativity. Hopefully I'll get to some of it this year, and I'll share the changes with you as they come. Trust me. It will continue to improve.

In other news, we got about 4" of snow! Hooray!
Backyard...
Down the street...
I just started a little sewing project last night. When it's done, I'll show it. First project on my very own sewing machine! Thanks Santa!

Nursery Update

We're making progress!  Mom came back with me from my shower in Louisville, and we got busy.  She helped me paint the trim white, sew three window treatments for the house, and lots of other around the house stuff.  Thanks, mom!  I needed her help focusing.  I've been a disorganized mess this summer. 

Stephen and I painted the walls last weekend, and voila!  We all of a sudden have a nursery.  

Just a reminder of the before...
Do you like how many stuffed animals are in our lovely "vintage" chair?  Next on the list is getting that reupholstered.  I'll definitely do a before and after post for that.
Stay tuned for tutorials for this window treatment and the fixed roman shades we did for the guest room!  We also have lots more work to do, so I'll keep you updated about that.

Sharin' the FosterLove this past weekend

For the past 4 or so months, I've been volunteering with a team of designers and professionals within our trade for an organization called April's Angels.  They do bedroom makeovers for chronically ill children.  So we were paired up with sweet Hayley, and here is how things went...

BEFORE:

Group of my teammates and Hayley's family and friends waiting outside to see Hayley's reaction
AFTER!!

The green stuff is a big cork board.

Marker board on this wall...
Hayley enjoying her new room!
Part of our team (L-R: James Bass (the best wallcovering installer), Marlene (former co-worker of mine), Hayley, me, Caroline (other former co-worker), Patrick Medlin (carpenter/bbq king/ all around awesome volunteer), and Drew Hulse)  Not pictured, but also AWESOME team members- Davide and Michelle California-Aguiar (all the painting), Cathy Hobbes (window treatments and donation recruitment queen), Elizabeth Klosterman (bowling fundraiser and lifesaver), Ruth Anne Schelfe (discount recruiter and furniture orders), & Martha Brown (goodie bag provider)
WRAL did a blip on the news last night.  View it here.  If you look closely, you can see me through the window :)  My North Carolina news debut!

Nursery Part I

I've finally started working on our nursery...just started.  Don't get excited.  While I'm working on it, my guest room looks like this:

First glimpse of the nursery to be:

As you can tell, I have a LOT of work to do.  Hopefully this will be a really fun before and after!

Check out my rocker:
It's vintage :) and that's being nice.  It's going to be great.  Stay tuned!