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The Ones that Got Away

Remember "Old Yellow"? Here she is today looking beautiful with lots of flowers planted in all her beds and in pots as you walk up the front steps.

When she was up for sale, I was hesitant about entertaining the thought of becoming her owner for two reasons.  One because Mr. Incredible is a light sleeper....and Old Yellow is on a some-what busy street. Well more busy than the one we live on now and second because of our Jack Russel Terrorist who if gets out is a runner.  That was more true when she was a pup and I was afraid she would get hit by a car being on a busier street, so we were late putting a bid on her and didn't get her {I still have visions of her glass knobs, chunky mouldings, recessed panelled doors, the built-ins, the double fireplaces, the deck, the dormer windows in both of the upstair bedrooms, the ...ahhhhh}. If any of the houses I regret not getting it would be "Old Yellow".  An invester came in and fixed her up and flipped her.  Lots of that going on in our neck of the woods.  I don't know how I feel about that, part of me likes it because they improve the neighborhood and the other part, is that maybe nice families get priced out of owning a home so I don't like that part.

I'm so glad that the person who ended up in the home is adding so much curb appeal.  I love all the flowers she has planted all around her yard,  last year when she was in the garden and I was taking the Critters out on a walk I stopped and told her how we fell in love with her house and if I could see inside.  She obliged but I did not have my camera that day so I did not get to take any pictures for you.  I did wish the "flippers" would of stuck with a more of a cottage style kitchen than going with the tan cabinets and granite counters, I think that would of been a better fit for the style of this house. 

I'm wishing I could see a window box up there in the dormer window......

Here is another one that we looked at but it was a LOT of work...and Mr. Incredible was not up for that. Let me take you back in time...

Yes, there was a lot involved....it had a big hole in one of the ceilings...

Here is a picture of the inclosed, shuttered patio, off where the french doors are now....

Here is the front door during the fall sporting a new wreath and address plaque. I think they have done a great job adding curb appeal with the flowers, plants, new shutters and paint.  Here are some photos of her insides when she was on the market.

This was one of my favorite elements of the house..those big beautiful beams and that fireplace with the bookshelves on each side.  They put in hardwood looking laminate floors.

The kitchen needed a lot of work and now it opens up into the living room area.I'm not a big fan of granite, I'd rather have carrera marble or buthcher block but that is just me.  I like an all white kitchen but this one fits the house.  It is very neutral, it will fit with most peoples tastes.

 Looking from the kitchen you see the gorgeous mantel, to the right is the big windows that overlook the front porch and the french doors that now lead to an enclosed backyard.

Here is the walkway leading to the garage.  They added on a second bedroom, a laundry room and another bathroom, it was a 3 bedroom, 1 bath when we looked at it.

This was the original bathroom with two sinks.  They did a great job fixing it up.  New tile floors, new vanity, new faucets. 

Here is one more image of the home, sporting a new white fence around it for some privacy. 

Now to come full circle with my post...I'm completely in LOVE with my house..Old Yellow is the one that still tugs at my heart strings when I walk by...but I'm so happy the new owner is loving her as much as I would of, so that makes me very happy but I think I need to suggest the addition of a window box up on that dormer. 

My Friend Cyndi's House

My friend Cyndi is an interior designer and I LOVE her home.  I think it would be considered California Casual so a few weeks ago I took some pictures her home.  The pictures I shot of her living room came out quite dark and not really good so I'll post pictures of the kitchen  and bathroom which came out decent.

This is the wide-angle shot I got of her kitchen, it was late afternoon and the sun was streaming in.  She was cooking something so scrumtious on her stove, I was begging her to let me stay for dinner, no I would not do that!? You can see a sneak peek at Cyndi over there to the left on the phone. hi Cyndi...we love your style.

Her kitchen isn't completely done, as you can see she is awaiting the front panel of the dishwasher and frig {which you can't see in this picture} and the floors will eventually be hardwood but for now her ingenious husband used a dark stained plywood on the floor.  I found it to be industrial chic looking.  But I love her kitchen and couldn't wait to get shots of it.

You know I'm a big fan of apron front sinks and hope to have one in my own kitchen one of these days. Her sink area overlooks her deck and beyond that is her pool I wouldn't mine that view as I wash dishes.

I like the look of the bare windows without any window coverings on it. The paint is a pewter gray color which I do belive is called Distant Thunder by Dunn Edwards.  Very pretty, very neutral, great with her the black and white color palette.

Her island is painted in a matte black by Dunn Edwards {we LOVE Dunn Edwards Paint} called Cavernous with a black glaze over it.  The counter top is polished carrera marble. I like the two tone look of her kitchen with the bright white painted cabinets called Cloud Nine by Benjamin Moore. The countertops that surround her kitchen are also marble but looks a lot like quartz. 

 A nice pop of color of the citrus in the wooden bowl on the island with her whitewashed iron candlesticks and a bit of greenery with a potted plant.

To the left of the stovetop is the double ovens, most of the appliances are stainless steel.

Here is the stovetop area, I love the mosaic tile design with the smaller square tiles and the surrounding larger subway carrera tiles.  She put her area code numbers above the stove for a unique look. 

Here is a close up of the glass fronted cabinets flanking the farmhouse sink, she uses a lot of clear glass and some blues and greens, which adds some pops of color. 

To the left of the double ovens is her shelves full of cookbooks, both her and her husband love to cook. To the left is her dutch door, which she says reminds her of Mr. Ed.  I fell in love with it when a I saw it and can't wait until I get mine in, horses always welcome.

To the left and past the laundry room area is a small guest bath.  Let's go take a look. Her color palette flows into this area also with a shot of lavendar in the stripe of the shower curtain.

Beautiful subway tile in the bathtub area with a small ribbon around for some pizazz.

As you can see the subway tile is used as wainscoting and the smaller black tile ribbon runs the perimeter of the room.  I love those lights!!  Those are made of a brushed nickel metal.  The cabinet is painted a glossy black with carrera marble top.  I think she like marble?  Huh?  Hope you enjoyed the tour of my Interior Designer Cyndi's house....I'll have to show you her living room in a future post. 

Tada!! {long post}

I can say our one and only bathroom is 95% done...we have some trim to paint and the door and I have to decide what window covering to go with{don't have enough fabric to cover this window} and most likely will change out the shower curtain depending on that the window covering, maybe bamboo shades.  So let me take you back in time when we first looked at this house to buy, back in 2010...

I was in love with this house the moment I saw it on one of my many "drive bys", but when we got to see inside and I saw the bathroom I was not a fan at all and especially NOT a fan with the this vessel sink..it was so modern which didn't fit with the rest of the cottagish type of house that it is. In my mind if we got the bid that would be one of the first things I would change out as soon as I got the chance.

This picture was the first we ever took of the bathroom so notice the wall color was a decent celedon green...that cabinet...horrible. The drawers were made out of particle board and would fall out if you pulled them too far, the particle board had disengrated.  The tile floor I could of lived with but we ended up replacing it with something I completely am in love with.

A few months ago the toilet started acting up so that led us into starting the bathroom makeover sooner than later, which haulted the yard work which was sort of our aim to focus first on our cottage projects. 

Here is Mr. Incredible deciding how and which design we should go with on the travertine.  Originally I thought I wanted a hexagon ceramic tile, we went to several tile stores in the Orange County area and when I saw this Silver Travertine rectangular stone, I knew immediately this was the one I wanted and he agreed!  We saw a carrera marble tile in one of the stores.

Here is the marble with white grout and looked very similiar to the silver travertine..I liked them both but with the travertine it had some tanish tiles that matched the tub tiles, so it would all tie in. Below is the travertine before grouting.

I liked that it wasn't white, white and wouldn't be a pain to keep clean all the time.  It also had some tiles that were a bit on the tanish side which would tie into the tub area tiles which I had no plan on changing out. 

 Remember my "design board"? You can see the grout table, I thought again about this being the only bathroom and it would get a lot of dirty shoes {soccer players and construction worker} so I didn't want to be a slave to cleaning the floor so I decided against a whiter grout and went with Delorean Gray from Home Depot.  I'm happy with the choice so far.

I think it looks great with the scalloped- crochet -gray- oval bath mat from World Market, I got it for 15% off online using my birthday coupon which was last month.

Originally I wanted to use my daughters shabby chic desk as the vanity but Mr. Incredible talked me out of it.  The desk is curvy and I wanted to get a piece of carrera marble to fit but he suggested I get a vanity that had it all together but I wanted it to look like a piece of furniture so I went online and found the Vanover Carrera top Vanity from Lowes. I'm so glad we went with it because the desk would of been too low especially with some tall people who live in this house {not me}. 

I'm in love with the Victorian goose neck in brushed nickel faucet from Signature Hardware.  LOVE it!  I wanted to use some of the fixtures that came with the house when we moved in, for example the towel bar, toilet paper roll holder, that's why I went with the brushed nickel faucet and what's to not like about her, her curvy lines.  Bliss.

It also matched my Southern Living Canisters.....perfectly.

Speaking of Southern Living...I've been using this tray that goes with my gravy boat to corral my Fleur de Sel soap and lotion from Williams-Sonoma.

Above the new toilet {which I must say I don't like,  I wanted another one but this was Mr. Incredible choice, I wanted one that had a crown molding lid and he wanted a better price.} I lost but I won the most battles in this redo.

The ivy topiary is happy with it...loves the sun it gets through the window, you can see a close up of the beadboard and ledge Mr. Incredible put in, I think it's perfect for our cottage on cullen.

We had another cabinet in the bathroom that I got on the side of the road, {it was from Target} but when I put it up, it looked too bulky then I was going to have one made our of old window I saw on my pinterest{I have a friend who makes great stuff out of old stuff, he redid my farmhouse table} but while browsing his shop the vender next to him at this little glass-doored wood cabinet.  I thought it would warm up the space a bit so I asked for it for my birthday.  Yes..I don't want diamonds or fancy jewelry, give me stuff for my house, that makes this girl happy.

Ok...let's talk paint colors, I vacillated between a gray, greige, greenish blue, or taupe. I ended up choosing Silver Fox by Dunn Edwards which is a grayish, greenish-blue.  I might change it out down the road to more of a grayish green or taupe.  The beadboard is painted Cottage White, so fitting right? So there you have it. We started this DIYer bathroom in December and now we are in April with it almost done.  Doing the happy dance...one project down...5 million to go. Ha!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wanted: Dutch Door

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 I've dreamed about a dutch door here, reminesed about it here and even wished about in a playhouse.  It just says beachy cottage to me when I see one, especially if the top half is open as if waiting for a neighbor to pop on by and say "hello". 

                                                   image from country home

This one out of old barn wood in an old stone building has the perfect patina, aged beautifully by the weather.

 

I think a bright painted  door would be perfect as pop of color, especially if the rest of the home is painted a neutral like white, grey or tan or even the new combo gredge (grey and beige).

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What about a stained wood door, this one would be perfect on a home on the lake or maybe a craftsman house.

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Wow!!  I love the brick in this picture..swoon..and that black painted door, so sharp.

 What about this look with a natural stone floor and a glossy black door?

Loving the rounded shape of this door..perfect on a Tudor home...so storybook cottagish.

Here is another black painted door with raised paneling on the bottom half and window panes on top...

I love this lime green door with the 12 window panes in them and the cottage garden leading up to it.

On a robin's egg blue painted clapboard house, a white door is perfect, especially with a place to sit and a view of a flower garden.

I wish I had a back entry with a mud room to pull this look off!!  I love that bench with brick floor and the white dutch door.  Lots of homes in my neighboorhood have that door but they aren't dutch doors.

I love yellow!!  It is such a happy color!!  This great door with no panes and the used brick....sweet lemonade!

Aren't these leaded glass panes...so beautiful....and that french blue ain't half bad either.  

What about Turqoise and a lemon tree by the front dutch door and a bird bath!!!  See that little shell planter by the lemon tree I used to have one years ago that I got in Mexico when I was in my early twenties...I miss that planter, I think the shells got broken when we moved, so it got thrown out.

I think the geometric panes in this dutch door and the side lights are interesting, very modern looking.

This door was really wide from an antique store is in Carpenteria, our favorite family vacation spot. I asked the owner wanted if she wanted to sell it but I knew her answer would be no, I don't blame her it is a gorgeous door. 

Classic and beautiful!!   That's all I have to say about that..{reminds me of the Forrest Gump line}

This dutch door so very simple...

Off the kitchen would be a perfect place.....Now...where should.... I.....put......

                                       MINE!!!!     FOUND!  Hello Dutch Door....

Yep, I've been combing ebay and craigslist for a few months now.  The stars must of all aligned and lo and behold I was able to nab one for a great price.  It was quite the drive to get it, it was located in Hollywood.  But to me so worth the drive.  Now...I have decisions to make....do I put it at the front door...or the kitchen door?  What color do a paint it?  I have a Jack Russel who is a major jumper....so if I put it in a the front door and leave the top half open, will she scale the door and jump out..of should I put in in the back off the kitchen and hope she doesn't break a leg jumping out it's a long way down...because of the steps or do I fatten her up so she can't jump so high?  Hmmmmmm...lots to think about.  Doing the happy dance!

Note:  all images off Pinterest or otherwise  referenced

Dr. Seuss's birthday...

Every year our school celebrates this wonderful, creative talent in Literature...when I taught  Kindergarten I would always read Green Eggs and Ham on St. Patricks Day and cook Green Eggs and Spam { this was when I was teaching in Hawai'i}.  That was one of my favorite of all of  Dr. Seuess's  books but there are so many...The Grinch, Horton Hears a Who, The Cat and the Hat and so many more.  To celebrate his birthday here are some cakes {cupcakes} I found to help celebrate....

                                                      The Lorax Cake

 

                                                      The Cupcake

                                               Thing 1 and Thing 2 Cupcakes

                                      the DR. SEUSS Cake..

Is this the most awesome looking cake you've ever seen?  OH things you'll see on this cake...there is so many details.  Had to share..some talented people out there on the internet....Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!!

 

Gong Hey Fat Choy!

                               {image from my Pinterest board}

Happy Chinese New Year!   It is the year of the Snake...while searching for images on the web lots of snake eyes were peering at me.  I get the ibee jebees looking at Snakes.  I thought the image above was so colorful and pretty. Those cupcakes look like a work of art, I don't know if I could eat one...oh who am I kidding I love cupcakes!  Well I won't be making any cupcakes for our dinner tonight but I'll be making a Shoyu Seasame Chicken, White Sticky Rice and stir-fry veggies with Fortune cookies.   Do you celebrate Chinese New Year?  What is on your menu and what are some of your traditions?  You can see here , here, here and here....how we have celebrated in our home in the past.  We {not Mr. Incredible so much} love to eat Chinese Food and it gives me a great excuse to put in on the menu.  Well, I'm off to break out my wok.

 

 

It has been YEARS In the Making...seriously

I have always been interested in home decor for as long as I can remember.  My mother always had a knack for Country Style decorating as well as my aunt and cousin...so I guess it is in the genes. 

This big ol' binder with all of my clippings from magazines and catalogs that I created years ago.  Nowadays I use my Pinterest design boards to guide my "design eye".  What I've noticed throughout time my taste as not changed all that much.  I have always loved a romantic-country-beach style.  What also has stayed the course is my LOVE of the color blue...it has vacillated between the shades of blue but blue has held my heart for a long time.  Sometimes I'd pair it with yellow or red and now lots of white.  I see green creeping in as well but always blue weather it be chambray, jean, robins egg or turqouise.

As you can see this is sort of where my blog title came from {the title of my binder}...each room in the house as a it's own tab and section with plastic sleaves in each section so I can just tear out a picture from a magazine or catalog and slip it inside.  I can also keep paint chips and receipts in it.

Here is the bathroom section....

I bought the exact sconce called the Clara Sconce from PB on the top left hand corner, we used it in the bathroom of our other home.  It is too small for our current bathroom so I'll reuse it in another area..I love it too much to get rid of it.  The sconce that came with the house is the one we'll use...I don't LOVE it but I don't dislike it either. It will tie into the carrera marble nicely.  I have always been attracted to small wooden cabinets, I think they are charming.  I'm recycling one I found on the side of the road for our bathroom.

Sea Glass {tiles} are something that I really like but was afraid it might be too trendy, I wanted something that has been time-tested.  I'm sure Sea Glass will make an appearence in the new bathroom but not as a tile backsplash or counter. 

Here is my Binder Bathroom Design section.  As you can see in the picture on the right side, shuttered windows and beadboard wainstcoting...yep..I think it is timeless and perfect in a cottage like ours.  When we looked at our current home, before buying the master bedroom's windows all had shutters on the windows but when the house actually when up for the sale the band had them removed {along with the pergola}, I was bummed about that.  I had shutters in my room as a little girl.  Our nursery for our girls had shutters....so keep a few around on my mantel as a nod to my love of shutters.  I'm planning on using the fabric as a curtain in there instead of shutters.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to paint the wall more of a taupe, a silver gray or griege.   We went with a silvery blue...but I thought it was more of a greenish gray...the light is deceiving.   It may get a redo....but not now.  I do hope to have it all ready for it's FULL reveal by next week.  We still need to hang some things and it's been rainy here in So Cal, not too great for taking pictures.   So what do you think?  What do you do when you hone in your "design eye"  to decide how and what you want to do when you need to give a facelift or a total gut job on a room in your house?  What sources do you use? How do you locate those resources? Do you use a designer?  Inquiring minds want to know.

 

Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek of the facelift we did on the main and ONLY bathroom we have in our tiny 1,300 square foot Cottage...I'm really happy with how things are turning out.  We have to do a few more odd and end things, like sealing the floor, hanging the cabinet and taking out the shower doors and reglazing the tub. 

Cheers to A New Year and a New Bathroom...

Our dining room table set for our New Years Eve dinner...this was last years...a bit different, still a little bit sparkly and white.  Loving the juxtaposition of the rustic burlap and glittery bits and bobs. 

My little tinsel tree with "fun-size" turqouise mercury glass ornaments took center stage as it sat in a bed of buttons.  This years Menu consisted of Cornish Game Hens stuffed with Wild Rice, honey-orange glazed carrots, cresent rolls with Martenelli's Sparkling Cider served in my new "Red-Neck" wine glassess, from Sam's Club!  I saw them at my local Hallmark Store last summer and thought they were so cute...when I went back to finally get them they were all gone. I was bummed but was so happy when I saw them at Sams Club at under $20....in the cart they went.

Yes...they are looking a little white...I guess they could of been browned up a bit more...they were tasty, never the less. Which brings me to the second part of my post title... As we rang in the NEW YEAR we also decided to do our FIRST ever, in the NEW house a DIY project.  Our one and only bathroom!

Here are some inspiration photos I found on the internet to help guide my our vision on what we want our main bath to look like. Our house was built in the 50's and we are the third owner.  Our bathroom has a tri-split personality complete with Space Saucer heat/light lamp and sea glass vessel bowl with chinese style vanity.  It is so mixed up, it does not know what era it belongs in....We {meaning I'll be the designer for this project and Mr. Incredible will do the grunt work or labor} will bring it into the Cottage style that goes with the rest of the house and of course my style.  Here are some of my ideas that I have for the space....

We will be using beadboard wainscotting all around with a ledge to put fun little items on display. 

I think using an old distressed dresser for a vanity is a really cool idea....

WOWZA!!  That is one elegant bathroom...a little too rich for my blood!  But dang is that gorgeous and unique using those mirrored vanities.  When I see those mirrored vanities all I see is an endless clean up of fingerprints.

Now, this is little bit more what I had in mind....Using an old sideboard/credenza and outfitting it with a carrera marble top.....that chandy ain't too bad either.  The mirror a little too pink for me but a beauty.

Yep...I'm loving the look of the dresser turned into bathroom vanity with crystal knobs and nickel faucet. 

Now here is a sideboard turned into a bathroom vanity, don't you love that rich deep mahagony color?  From For the Love of a House Blog..I love her style and what her and her husband has done to their Farmhouse. 

In the end, being that I'm on a shoestring budget and don't have a "sky is the limit" budget to do the bathroom of my dreams, we ended up ordering the vanity in the last picture up above from Lowes.  Which gave me the furniture look I'm after and the carrera marble top I really wanted.  It had great reviews on this piece. When I called to order it we had to have it shipped from an out of state Lowes because they haven't been able to keep them in stock. The girl who took my order said, "they were really popular" so I think that is a good sign that I will be happy with the piece.  For a little under $800.00 it fit my miniscule budget and the furiture-look I was after and don't forget the white carrera marble that is so popular right now.  Cheers to happy, healthy and prosperous 2013 to all my blogger followers, and to a new and improved Bathroom in my Cottage on Cullen. Can't wait to show you the before and after... 

 

 

 

 

the inside of Roger's Gardens 2012

Is this not a gorgeous mantel....I love all the woodwork detailing on it.  I'm so sorry the pictures are going to be a bit dark, most of the inside is not near  windows to capture the light while I was taking pictures.

I really would of liked to take home this chippy boat full of shells to put some plants in it and have it on my porch or maybe a vintage-looking Santa inside with a boatload of gifts under the our tree. 

Speaking of trees at Roger's Gardens, each tree is in a room with a theme.  They have several room and several trees.  As always I'm always attracted to the glittery ones.....

or Under the Sea Ones..this tree was upside down {Madison has a Sealife tree in her room.maybe we should turn hers upside down this year...Hi ya Mary! 

This tree had a Toy Theme going on down to it's rusty toy cars at the bottom to the....

to the wooden toy boat at the top.  I LOVE that boat too...wouldn't it look great on my mantel?

Here is a Scandanavian tree with it's cute little knitted stockings with a paper garland and paper star at top...

I thought this was the cutest tree there!!!  It had the Woodsy Friends Theme going on with pinecones, mushrooms, feathers and nests...

This cute little Hedgehog wishing you a Happy Winter...

glamed and glittered up birdhouse made out of birch bark {my favorite kind of tree}...I loved this tree the best!

Owls are really popular these days as you can see some on the table for purchase to add to the outdoor decor along with some spotty mushrooms ornaments, they were super cute.

Would this not be great for a Travel birthday themed party.....or a going away party...Hot Air Balloons suspended from the ceiling...

All kinds of different lanterns also hanging from the rafters in another room. I love going to this "one of kind shop", the stylists are so wonderfully creative and I gleam so many ideas that I can take and incorporate into my own home.  Sometimes I manage to bring home a trinket or two....remember this post?

 

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