A Vine

Oh how I love this exterior photo posted on Greige yesterday.

The vine around the entry is warm and inviting and provides just the right amount of texture and balance.  Oh my, we have an arched entry.   I should investigate the possibilities of incorporating greenery around our front door! 
Spring will be here before you know it! 

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Thanks for stopping by!
Cynthia



 

Dreaming of 2013 Projects!

Preparing for the holidays is such a magical and fun time of year!

Our home is starting to look a lot like Christmas!

As we trim the tree and hang our exterior lights I find myself reflecting over
the last year and of course dreaming of the future. 

(I promise) I'm not going to, but if I could break out a paint brush today I would paint our guest room a similar color to this photo (I'm dreaming a "navy").

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...and I would replace the broken ceiling fan for this jewel.

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Today, I will enjoy the holidays....... but I can't wait to see what the 2013 trends bring!

(Our dining room drapes have arrived once they're installed I will upload the photos.)
Thanks for stopping by!
Cynthia

 

Monday Morning Inspiration!

This weekend the temperature dropped 10 degrees with a little rain.

It made me dream of the fall season with our fireplace burning. 
(For those of you like me, who can't flip a switch to light the fireplace.)
It's time to get those chimneys cleaned and have a new stock of wood in place.... 

 

via

 

via

What's your fall dream?

Have a great week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

Rohl Bridge Faucet

 

The Rohl Bridge Faucet is installed!

 

The kitchen up-do is well underway.  The white laminate counter tops were demolished and replaced with black pearl granite. We added 2x4 polished Carrera Marble to the backsplash. This Rohl faucet was placed over the Kohler undermount sink.

 

  

   

  

A big improvement!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

Remember? 

 

The Kitchen Continues

Our kitchen project is underway.

The Kohler sink has arrived.

 

Even though it's still in the box it's a beauty.

 

Our final selection was the Iron/Tones

33" x 18-3/4" x 9-5/8" top-mount/under-mount Smart Divide® large/medium double-bowl.

Here's the kitchen jewelry... the Bridge Faucet by Rohl.

 



I'm 100% convinced this is the perfect faucet for our kitchen.



 



Remember?  The team will be demolishing this lovely 20 year old white laminate original to our home.

 

 

I'll be posting our progress.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia



Marcus Designs

One of my favorite blogs made me smile this morning.  Nancy Marcus of Marcus Designs posted this fabulous photo of Benjamin Dhong Interiors.  Click over to Nancy's blog to read the entire article. 

The color combinations are amazing in this room.  I've mentioned how we want to add shades of blue in our dining room.  This makes me want to get busy!

Have a great week.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

The Dining Chairs

 

The dining chairs were worth the wait!

 

  Now that the chairs and table have arrived we've been able to enjoy our dining room.  I love the round table it's relaxed, warm and inviting. The chairs are not only beautiful but so comfortable. The fabric color ties in the accents from the lighting and mirror and I couldn't be more pleased on the direction the room is taking. 

 

I'll have to admit I was a little overwhelmed when the items arrived last week.  I had spent so many months changing concepts and changing paint colors before making our final selections.  I know we made the right decision for our family and lifestyle. Once we starting working with Mari Johnson from Back Home everything became easy.  Mari was able to make our dreams a reality and I will be forever grateful.  If you live in Austin or plan on visiting any time soon you should definitely take the time to visit one or both of Mari's stores.

 

Stay tune as we will be continuing to tweak the room with those final touches.
Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

The Dining Table Has Arrived!

I have always wanted a round table. 

Our second table selection has arrived and this one is a keeper!

The table was purchased through Back Home in Austin, Texas.

 

 

We couldn't stand it so we pulled our four kitchen chairs around the table to get the feel.  The table is 60 inches and fills the room nicely.  Keep in mind, 6 large linen chairs will be delivered any day.  As well as the floor to ceiling drapes.  The room will fill up before we know it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia



Nothing but Blue Skys Do I See

Our home is in dire need of artwork! Stopping us from doing so is a complete style divide. Not right or wrong but I tend to be more traditional while Gary appreciates contemporary. For that reason we have minimal art on our walls. When I saw this photo I thought I should keep it for a possible reference point. It’s not the right colors but it has a feel of both traditional with a touch of contemporary. Our future purchases will include soft gray/blues to soften the black & gold. This addition will be a departure from the shades of green gone by. Artwork is such a personal and expensive luxury that we will need to do a lot of homework before making the commitment!

I've entered the "study-hall" phase!

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 Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

Bookshelf Inspiration

You know when that fun feeling rushes over you when you see something that sparks a moment of clarity or inspiration!  I felt that way when I viewed this small china hutch filled with all white items.  I especially appreciate how this desiger placed the art work on the hutch.  I will have check I may not have the depth to do the same, but it's worth investigating!  Here's to FUN FEELINGS!

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The kitchen Rohl faucet and Kohler sink have been ordered!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

ROHL Bridge Faucet

There is a bevy of decisions to make with updating our kitchen, which is why we haven't pulled the trigger until now.  Last week I spent my time focusing on the sink and faucet.  Once I found this Bridge Faucet by Rohl the waiting is finally over.

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Here's an example of the faucet installed in a beautiful kitchen.

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...and another...

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The piece is timeless and will compliment our classic design feel.

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Stay tune for updates!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

I'm Loving this Urn

This dining room caught my eye.  For one, I see some similarities to our dining room design. I especially fell in love with the amazing black urn! I don't know where I would have space to house something that grand but it certainly would be a consideration! Yum!

 

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This week I will be visiting two Kohler showrooms to make final decisions

for our kitchen faucet and sink.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

The Front Door

Yeah.  I pulled the trigger and started working on our interior front door.  I sanded and then applied two coats of Kitz primer. Photographed below is the door with a second coat of paint applied.  I selected the color Flint, offered by Restoration Hardware.  This was the 5th and final  interior door to match the living/kitchen area.  I will continue this week to layer additional paint until it's well covered. I love and enjoy the small projects.  We are quite pleased and now want a rug and are thinking about what material to replace the original flooring with.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore

After many trials and tribulations the verdict came-in to paint our ceilings in Revere Pewter at 50% the original color.  I think I would have opted for the darker color if our ceilings were taller than 9 feet, but once we sampled the original Revere Pewter it caused you to feel closed in.  

It blends nicely with the adjoining rooms and complements the tile and fireplace bricks.

More importantly I am thrilled to have completed another difficult decision and this project is well underway.
Thanks for stopping by!

 Cynthia

Dining Table

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our ordered dining table.  We found out this week that it should be delivered early September.

The table design is a distressed black mahogany with a classic 'criss cross' base.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

The Dining Room Renovation Continues....

  The mirror has arrived and been hung!

 I fell in love with this mirror the first time I saw it.

It's from Uttermost, purchased through Back Home in Austin, TX.

  

The table should be arriving soon!

Happy Independence Day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia



To kick off our dining room make-over I wanted to share our new light fixture.  

The wall mirror has arrived and will be hung next!



Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

It's Yummy

Once the dining room direction changed it became clear that our recently painted living room & kitchen had to change too.  If you recall I originally painted the walls in the living, hallway and kitchen in Pumice a light gray by Restoration Hardware.  After living with the color for several months, I realized during the evening hours the color appeared blue causing a cold feeling.  Also, you know how one decorating edit can cause a domino effect! 

 During a recent visit to Jennie's home we spent our time reviewing colors.  She was looking for a true gray/beige.  Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore was a color that stood out above the others.  As we evaluated each color Jennie pointed out which colors had a green, pink, purple or blue hue to the base.  We agreed Revere Pewter was true neutral.  I have since researched the color further and found it's one of BM's most favorite colors.  It's also included on Candace Olson's go-to color among her selected color palette.

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I immediately sampled the color on our walls, Gary's response was, "yummy".  I have decided to paint the living, kitchen, hallway and utility walls in Revere Pewter.

Here are examples of the yummy Revere Pewter.

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We think you should try Revere Pewter too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

Dining Room Recap

If you remember once the first table was purchased it was returned. The experience provided us an opportunity to visualize a different design direction. Our transformation is now underway.  The slate paint will stay but the color palette will be filled with black, gray, gold, ivories with touches of blue.

This photograph was the inspiration for a new table we've ordered.

  Our table will be finished in black but the base is very similar in style. 

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Also a mirror has been ordered finished in a pewter, silver with accents of gold. 

It will hang on the one full wall in our new dining room!

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Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

Everythings Bigger in Texas

 As we were leaving our house last weekend to take a walk we see this furry fellow running down our driveway.  I'm not really sure what kind of spider (tarantula) this is...but it was pretty photogenic.  It was a good size maybe 2 inches across.  It ran down the driveway and turned up the sidewalk before disappearing into the yard.   It's my belief we wouldn't have seen this before installing our exterior lighting. 

YIKES!  What else is lurking in our yard!

I've finished repainting our living room and will be starting on the ceiling this weekend.

I can't wait to share the new direction with you! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

More On Exterior Lighting...

We original thought we wanted to light up our trees from the ground up.  After discussing our design concept with our electrician Brandon he suggested serveral different options. 

We selected the option to showcase the house instead of focusing on the landscape. 

All our exterior lighing was installed in the soffit to shine down on the Texas stone.

We are more than pleased with the results.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia



The Chandelier

The kitchen received a little bling!

The chandelier is finally hung.

We hope your having a wonderful and safe Memorial Day.

We spent our time visiting with friends, family and PAINTING.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

The Lantern Has been Moved!

To the entryway and has finally found a home!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia



Happy...

Mother's Day to all the mothers...

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Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia



This Chair Caught My Eye....

After looking through the April Interior Design Magazine

I started researching a line of furniture.

When I found this beauty through ABC Home.

To report from last week the dining table has been removed

and the lighting will be installed tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

Our First Chandelier

I'm excited I ALMOST have a chandelier! 

Once we hang the light over the kitchen table we will add the crystals.

We hope your having a great week.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

Why wait for Christmas?

Several of you have asked for the Orange-Almond Drop cookie recipe.

I would love to share this recipe I found in a Special Interest Publication from Better Homes and Gardens.

Prep. 40 minutes. Bake 9 minutes per batch.

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

1 tablespoon finely shredded orange peel

1/2 cup orange juice

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup chopped almonds

Orange Butter Frosting (following)

1.  Preheat oven to 375F.  If desired, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper;  set aside.

2.  Beat butter on medium speed for 30 seconds.  Add sugar, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; beat until combined.  Beat in eggs.  Beat in the 1 tablespoon orange peel and orange juice (mixture will look curdled).  Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer.  Stir in any remaining flour and the almonds.  Drop dough by slightly rounded teaspoons onto prepared cookie sheet.

3.  Bake in reheated oven for 9 to 10 minutes or until very lightly browned.  Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool.  Frost cooled cookies with Orange Butter Frosting.  If desired, garnish with candied orange peel.  Makes about 50.

Orange Butter Frosting:

In a mixing bowl beat 1/3 cup softened butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds.  Gradually add 1 cup sifted powdered sugar.  Slowly beat in 2 tablespoons orange juice and 1 teaspoon vanilla.  Gradually beat in 3 1/2 cups additional powdered sugar.  Beat in enough orange juice to make a frosting of spreading consistency.  Stir in 1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel.

To store:

Place cookies in layers separated by waxed paper in an airtight container; cover.  Store at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze unfrosted cookies up to 3 months.  Thaw cookies, frost.

Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

Oh NO!

The dining room table we ordered ARRIVED....

It's NOT the table of our dreams after all.

It's beautiful but we quickly realized we would like a more formal, darker and traditional table.  We are also wanting to add a little drama to the room.  Our direction won't work with this table it is too light in wood and too casual.  The exercise wasn't a complete loss it did provide us a nod to the 60 inch round table for the space.

(For the record, I really liked the base of this table from Restoration Hardware.)

I can't believe I'm sharing this with you but we are going to move the lantern ONE more time.

It's next destination is the entryway. Cross your fingers, it could be WONDERFUL!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia

The Garage Makeover

The garage has been a project we've put off for several years. After throwing away, recycling and donating, we had the walls, floor, door and trim repainted.

We are pleased with the cleanliness and organization. 

The work has been well worth the effort.

Have a great week.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia