OUR HOME | Stately Kitsch

Shattered Stool & Germs

January 11, 2013

I ordered this beautiful ceramic wood stump table (Silvia Stool, $99)over the holidays from Joss & Main, one of my favorite flash/private sale sites. Isn’t it kind of ridiculous? Unfortunately when it arrived the other day it look like this:

I knew it was a bad sign when the box was wrapped with an extra layer of bubble wrap on the outside. I was planning on using it back by the piano and colorful chair kind of like this:

Alas it was not meant to be. Joss & Main was really good about giving me a credit back for the full amount and shipping but they don’t have any extra. It is one of those purchases that I looked at a bunch of times over a couple of days before ordering. Mr. S. even weighed in on which one he preferred, so I was pretty excited to get it. I did learn that it was made by Statements by J who I see makes quite a bit of stuff for both J&M and One Kings Lane. So I guess I will be keeping an eye out for something similiar. I was planning on using it to hold my coffee cup for when I sit in this chair and talk to Mr. S. while he works on the computer.Â Oh well.

In other news the stomach bug has struck again (this time it was me). Yuck! After Sam was sick on Saturday I scrubbed the house down with Lysol wipes and washed all of the sheets, towels and blankets. I guess it wasn’t enough. I spent yesterday in bed watching bad tv. I’m up today and except for being really tired and not very hungry appear to be mostly better. Now if I could just get someone to do all of the other work I missed I would be all set.

I hope everyone has a great weekend, and may the bad germs stay away from you!

In -Dining Room, -Furniture, -Shopping, INTERIOR PRODUCTS, FURNITURE & FABRICS

New Red Carpet Tile for the Hallway

January 8, 2013

Today I wanted to show off my new carpet squares for the hallway. I decided to replace the 4 orange squares with patterned red squares (lasting grace, $14 each). I have been meaning to do this for a while, but now that I have been spending so much time thinking about the space I decided to finally take the plunge and order up 4 red FLOR tiles (of course after finding a coupon). I decided to go with a big pattern to add a little more fun to the space and pick up on some of the pattern in our Living Room rug. I am very happy with the result, especially considering it only took me about a half hour to cut and install them. Lets here it for short and was relatively inexpensive projects!

Here is was before with the orange:

And here it is now:

It is not like I don’t like orange, heck I pretty much like all colors, but for some reason it was no longer working for me. And for now I have the orange tiles up on the third floor in case I change my mind. The rest of the tiles are House Pet, which are about 7 years old and are super durable. They aren’t super soft on the feet but my cats scratch on them on a daily basis and they still look the same, which cannot be said for any of the other things that they put their claws into. Now if I can just get around to refinishing the floor and adding some crown molding.

What do you think?

In DIY, OUR HOME

Hallway Coatrack Update!

January 4, 2013

A month late, but it is done! We have hooks and storage and it was finished just in time for Christmas. I think I made it harder on myself by modifying a Martha Stewart Shelf from Home Decorators. Although it at least gave me a starting point, which until recently I was lacking.

I spent a good portion of time sanding off the finish so I could put on a walnut finish to match the other trim in the hallway. I also made a different top that was longer, shallower and solid oak (1×12). I went back and forth on the shape of the corners and actually planned to make a more complicated corner, but I wanted to route the edge so in the end I cut a corner with a jigsaw and sanded it into a radius, which I think looks pretty nice. Finally we (i.e. Mr. S.) routed the nice edge detail around the 3 sides.

The narrower depth also made sure that the shelf didn’t over take the hallway which I was concerned about. The lower shelf is the one that came with the shelf. Fortunately it is in shadow so it isn’t too noticeable that the finish is different.

I also added the very important backer boards for the hooks (which makes installing the hooks much easier and gives it a more polished look). I used 1×4 oak and routed a chamfer on the top and bottom. Since I decided to use animal knobs for the smaller hooks, I had to spend way too long drilling larger holes on the back to allow for the nuts and washers.

I also spent a couple of hours cutting the bolts down to fit without sticking out the back. Then I applied 2 coats of walnut stain to all of the bare wood. IÂ hung the lower backer board first since it didn’t need to fit in between the shelf and i was getting desperate for coat storage.

Then I hung the shelf using the hardware provided and finally screwed the upper hook backer board in last. Finally I picked up a couple of baskets at Target. These are now holding the mail and the kids artwork (2 items that were taking over the kitchen counters).

Here is how it was before. I’m not quite sure why I left that small coat rack for so long.

And here is a detail of my hooks. I am totally in love with these animal knobs. I still have a couple more things to do in the hallway (i.e. some new carpet tiles) but it is such a relief to have this up and working. So far the kids have actually been reasonably good about using it.

What do you think?

In DIY, OUR HOME

Happy New Year!

January 2, 2013

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope everyone had a joyful and restful holiday season!

I can’t believe 2012 is over and it is time to start thinking about 2013 and what lies ahead. This past year has been so full it is hard to imagine what is in store for this year. As you can see I’m starting off the year with a bit of a ramble. I’ve had some time to stew things over in my head, so I thought I would share.

I had some quality downtime over the break. So what did I do with it? We spent a good bit of time as a family and Mr. S. and I actually managed to get some alone time in, including going out to lunch a couple of times by ourselves!

I also managed to start cleaning and organizing the workroom in the basement and Mr. S. worked on a new logo for the blog and is part way through a new layout. I’m pretty excited about that, especially since the current format seems to be literally falling apart.

The other thing I managed to do was to read an entire book, which is a miracle in itself. I chose “Happiness at Home” by Gretchen Rubin. I haven’t read the “Happiness Project” but I thought this sequel might be more my speed. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, much less on actual concrete “home” and more on creating a better home life. A lot of the things she wrote resonated with me. So I’m not quite sure I will be starting a compete Happiness Project, but I am going to try and be more mindful and am considering a few small changes. I like her strategy of making small concrete changes, rather than large gestures that are harder to actually implement and stick to. Has anyone tried their own Happiness Project?

I also worked on some to do lists for the house. I really like making lists, particularly by hand. That way I can add notes, circles, cross things off. Does anyone else still do this?

What came out of my house lists and discussions with Mr. S. is that adding air conditioning by the summer is at the top of the LONG list. Our window units aren’t cutting it and with global climate change air conditioning has become much more of a necessity in these parts.Â We also have some ongoing space planning issues on the second floor, which have been on hold until we determine the layout for the air conditioning ducts. Our general plan had been to install the unit on the third floor to feed the second and third floor. Our neighbors have this set up and it has provided ample cooling for all three floors of their house. Of course it is never that simple. It will require removing a good portion of the plaster knee walls in the third floor to insulate and then carefully snaking the ducting through the eaves down to the second floor and into the third floor. Well after some thinking about both the second and third floor problems, I think I have come up with a better solution. Our second floor ceilings are 9 1/2′ tall. The plaster ceilings in the master bedroom and the hallway need to be covered/replaced anyway, so why not take some of the ceiling height in the hallway and run the ducts down there? That should provide a straighter and cleaner installation for the air conditioning ducts. Of course that still requires insulating the third floor/roof and installing the base unit up there, but I think it might be a good solution.

As I work this out a little more in my head I will post up some drawings and photos. I also need to get some air conditioning and insulation guys in to take a look. I also need to figure out how to get more power up to the second and third floor without making a total mess of the house.

I also have a list of a LOT of smaller projects. So over the next couple of weeks I will be sharing some of these ideas.

Cheers to a wonderful 2013!

In FAMILY, OUR HOME

Christmas Decorations on Top of the Piano

December 3, 2012

Piano Decorated for Christmas

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. We had a low key weekend here, including an afternoon curled up watching a movie together after putting up the Christmas tree. As much as there is a certain amount of annoyance with putting up our artificial tree, at least the kids are actually old enough to enjoy hanging up the ornaments (even if it isn’t in an evenly distributed manor), and we don’t have to worry too much about hanging the ornaments up so high.Â In addition to our big tree I also put up our little silver tree (that I picked up on clearance last year).

Bowl of Ornaments and Small Silver Tree

I have changed up the top of the piano again! I guess in a busy house it is nice to have control of one area (even if it is a small one). It is also one of the few areas that the kids are good about not touching. I decided to put the cute little silver tree here and filled it with miniature ornaments that I have had since my apartment days. I wasn’t sure what to pair it with until I was strolling through the aisles at Target. I saw these cute (non-shattering) Christmas ornaments in lots of delicious colors. I decided that these were worth a try. I wasn’t sure whats I was going to do with them. I was considering making a wreath, especially after I saw this super easy tutorial by Eddie Ross, but then I remembered that I had this beautiful glass bowl (that is normally stuffed behind some stuff in an upper kitchen cabinet).

The 2 boxes of ornaments worked perfectly! Then I pulled out a cute cat figurine and a vintage angel candle snuffer. I think it could still use a few more little things, but for now I am quite enjoying it, especially because we spend so much time back in this area of the house.

Remember here is where I started this summer:

Piano from this Summer

And here is this fall:

Fall Display

And here we are for Christmas:

I think my favorite thing about it is that the ornaments pick up on the colors from the chair (which I still really love).

How are your holiday decorations coming?

In -Dining Room, DIY, OUR HOME

Master Bedroom Rug

November 19, 2012

New Striped Rug

I think this should be entitled “Why does it take an entire weekend to put in a carpet?”. I guess that is what happens when you have 2 “helpers”, a heavy bed, years of dust underneath and a big rug. The good news is that it is in and my feet enjoyed stepping on it this morning. It is a major upgrade from our old sisal rug. The colors are a little darker than I would have liked in an ideal world, but it goes nicely with our brown leather bed.

Testing out the rug

Next on the list is deciding on curtain fabric, hopefully this won’t take as long as it took me to find a carpet or pick a gray wall color!Â I didn’t want to finalize a curtain fabric until after the carpet was in. I am actually glad I made that decision. The rug is definitely bold, so I thinking about stepping back on my plans for red curtains.Â At the same time now that I have gone bold, I can’t go too plain on the curtains. hmmm…

Mood Board from last Month

This is where I last left off with my Mood Board. I am still leaning towards the gray fabric featured, but I feel like it would be better with a little bit more color mixed in.

Curtain Fabric Options w/ Gray Wall Color & Artwork

I took out some fabric samples and put them up on the cat tree (which will be relocated when we finish the room) for inspiration. I feel like the light gray is too washed out paired with the carpet. I do feel pretty strongly that I need an organic pattern with some curves to balance out the stripes in the carpet and the geometric pattern on our bedspread.

Here are a few other options I am considering:

Curtain Fabric Options

Do I go gray or choose something with some color? Am I completely crazy?

In -Bedroom, OUR HOME

Domed Coat Hooks

November 12, 2012

I hope everyone had a nice weekend! We had 2 lovely warm fall days and managed to get some of the last of the yard work done. Unfortunately our neighbor’s oak is still holding its leaves so it looks like we will still be raking after Thanksgiving. My shoulder is still mending, so my general pace is slow these days, paired with not being able to sleep comfortably. Fortunately it will eventually heal, it is just taking longer than I would like.

Domed Hooks

I thought I would do a little round up of some of the domed coat hooks I’ve found on my search for the perfect hook. I have clearly spent WAY to long searching, but at least I feel good about my decision. It is hard to find “domed” hooks. They don’t usually come up under “domed” or anything else in particular. I don’t even remember where I first came across them, but I really like the idea of a hook that isn’t pointy (i.e. better for the coat and for potential eye poking hazards).

1. Letter Hooks, Anthropologie, $14

2. Brass & Ceramic Dome, Signature Hardware, $13.95

3. Brass Single Domed Coat Hook, Signature Hardware, $11.95

4. Cast Iron Hook, VanDykes, $10.95

5. Iron Hat & Coat Hook, Signature Hardware, $11.95

6. Black & White Striped Wall Hook, Anthropologie, $18.(I used these on Sarah’s bathroom).

Which one do you like? Am I the only one who spends this much time searching for the perfect hook?

I selected #3 for our coat rack, partially for aesthetics (i.e. it goes with my vintage Victorian hardware) and partially because it doesn’t have a top portion so I can hang it closer to the shelf. I ordered them a few days ago, so hopefully they will arrive shortly!

In -Hooks, HOUSE PARTS, OUR HOME

A Little Bit of Fall Decorations

November 3, 2012

Fall Decorations for the Piano

I have to start by saying that I am not someone who typically does a lot of seasonal decorating inside the house. I don’t have the patience. Although lately I’ve been trying to pay more attention to my surroundings. I have found that the piles that creep into my house stress me out (I assume it isn’t just me) but having some nice things to rest my eyes on, even for a moment, does make a difference in my mood.

Fall Decorations

The area that I have been most continuously trying to keep clean and pretty is the top of the piano. It is the first thing you see when you come in the back door. I have also found that by putting a few nice things on top that I am much less likely to start piling things on it.

Piano area during the summer

I did have some birdhouses that the kids painted on top. I was recently feeling like I wanted to change it up with something that is a little more fall inspired. It also helps that I have been doing some shopping at Target.

Green Bottle, Target’s Threshold line on clearance (~$4.50), Marrakesh Bowl by Nate Berkus for Target ($7.99), Scarab (from Egypt), Woodpecker candle holder by Patch NYC for Target (on clearance)

I switched out the kids artwork for some metallic and green colored items. It started with the woodpecker candle holder by Patch NYC for Target. I had admired a lot of the items from this limited line but I had at least partially restrained myself and bought the matching lamp and pillow. Then Target started marking down some of the items a couple of weeks ago. So when I saw this one half off, I pounced. I wasn’t sure where I should put it, but then I saw the old bronze plate and thought some metallic in this area would be a nice change. So I scrounged around the house and found this scarab that a friend had given us. Then I saw the bowl from the new Nate Berkus line at Target.

I also literally picked up several of these “Osage Orange” from the kids daycare. They have a couple of Bois ‘D Arc trees on the property. For some reason I grew up calling them “monkey brains” (Did anyone else call them that?). They are a funny fruit, that is native to the US. They have an interesting history. They aren’t actually edible but they apparently repel bugs (good for storing in your pantry) and they smell nice like a mix of citrus and pine.Â The trees are thorny and were used as “fencing” for early settler in the Midwest. And its name translates to “tree of the bow” since the branches make good bows. I am such a sucker for an weird and interesting plant!

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend. My thoughts are still with my family and friends without power.

In -Dining Room, -Shopping, DIY, INTERIOR PRODUCTS, FURNITURE & FABRICS, OUR HOME

New Rug Sneak Peek

October 11, 2012

New Rug Sneak Peek

The new rugs arrived yesterday afternoon. I haven’t unrolled them yet, but I did cut open one of the packages to take a little peek. The colors look pretty good (Phew!).Â It is always a little daunting to order something like this online without seeing the colors in person. From the portion I have looked at there appears to be a little more purple in my rug than in the picture.Â Also the edge is red (which is good since that is one of the main colors that I wanted to pick up).

Image of Safavieh Striped Rug from Overstock

Now lets see if I can get a little work done in the bedroom so I can put these in place. The thought of a soft wool rug in the bedroom as the weather gets cold is very appealing.

In -Bedroom, -Shopping, INTERIOR PRODUCTS, FURNITURE & FABRICS, OUR HOME

Our Master Bedroom: A New Rug & Flash Sales

October 10, 2012

Master Bedroom: Updated Mood Board

I first started a mood board for our Master Bedroom over a year ago but the project generally went on hold while we tackled the basement, thanks to a super wet fall last year and some moldy walls. Well the bedroom is still a mess and in desperate need of some new storage. We still have some smaller things to take care of, and some air conditioning to think about, but I thought I would give you an update. One item we need for the space is a new rug. We currently have a sisal rug which is okay, but not very soft on the feet. I have been on the search for the perfect rug for over a year now. At first I thought I might go with something light to make the space feel a little brighter, but the realities of that with 2 kids and 2 black cats made me decide against that. I then looked at lots of different patterns and quickly realized I didn’t want a rug with a border. I also wanted one that would pick up on the green and red on the panels. Did I mention that it needed to be 9×12 as well? And cost under $1000 (ideally quite a bit less)? I was beginning to think that I had too many parameters. So when I saw this one on Fab this week I jumped. I decided to go with two 6×9 Â rugs since they didn’t have a 9×12. Fortunately the stripes run the 9′ direction so we don’t have to match the stripes.

Safavieh Striped Wool Rug

So here is where it gets interesting. The downside to flash sites like Gilt, One Kings Lane, Joss & Main, and Fab are that once you put a product in your “basket” you have somewhere between 10-20 minutes to purchase it or it goes back up for sale and the sale only lasts for a couple of days but often the good items sell out fast. In this case, I had 20 minutes. So in that time I needed to decide was it a good fit, a good price and does Mr. S. like it. My adrenaline kicked in since this is the first rug with good potential in over a year! I was pretty excited (yes, I know I am a geek who clearly needs to find better ways to get a rush).

Fab Sale Page

The first thing I do when I pick out something from one of these sites is search online to see if I can buy it somewhere else for less or with better shipping prices and/or return prices (most flash sites only offer limited returns). This time I searched under the name of the rug on the sale (Kadirli). It is a Safavieh rug (they make a lot of rugs), so in my search I didn’t find anything. The price seemed reasonable, certainly well less then retail ($269 for a 6’x9′ rug). So after Mr. S. gave the okay I decided to place the order. Great! I was a little annoyed at the shipping price (I think it was around $40), so I did a little more searching after my order.

Overstock Rug Page

This time I searched under “Safavieh striped rug” and what turns up, but the same rug on Overstock for less with free shipping. Errrr…. That is what I get for not doing a more full search. So I popped back over to Fab and saw that you have 2 hours to change your mind on most items! Awesome! So I canceled that order, went home and double checked the size I wanted and ordered 2 on Overstock for $234 each for a total of $468. Now I just have to wait for them to get here and renovate the room. I think I might put them in there even before we do the rest of the room.

I have to say that as much I was annoyed that I found it for less somewhere else, there is some great stuff on these flash sites, you just have to do your homework! I have bought quite a bit of stuff from Fab, One Kings Land and Joss & Main and in general I have been quite happy.

Has anyone else regretted a purchase from a flash site? Or scored something amazing?

Chair from One Kings Lane that I purchased back in March

I am still in love with my chair from One Kings Lane, which funny enough didn’t end up in the bedroom but down in our Dining Room.Â I still haven’t seen it anywhere else in this fabric (which is Waverly Santa Maria Desert Flower).

In -Bedroom, -Shopping, INTERIOR PRODUCTS, FURNITURE & FABRICS, OUR HOME

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