Fairy Princess Bedroom

Alas, the long awaited baby girl arrives.  Not just because she has two older brothers, even farther reaching than that: she was the first granddaughter in the family.  Her mama wanted her room to be all things sweet, pink, and beautiful.  Dreamy!  What would be your dream room for your 3 year old?

 The furniture was Shabby Chic in style, the bedspread Rachel Ashwell covered in roses.

 

 *A wee bit of heaven drifted down from above, a handful of happiness, a heart full of love*

 It's hard to see the lamps because the light was on when I took the picture.  The lamp shade is stitched with little bows and beads.

 My favorite thing in the room was this slip covered chair we designed.  Two different fabrics, a gingham and a floral.  I love the ruffled skirt draping the floor.  Don't you just want to snuggle up and read in this little cozy nook?  There is a tiny little porcelain tea set on the table that Mom was worried would get broken but Elise gently plays with it, it turns out to be one of her favorite past times.

 Can't have our little one falling out of her big girl bed!  There really are no fashionable guard rails out there.

 The panels were made with a dotted swiss fabric and tiny little pom-poms running down the sides.  Little buttons finish off the top of the window treatment.  Our seamstress made a roller shade in gingham fabric with delicate beads catching the light along the bottom edge.

 Fuzzy picture!  A bookshelf with sweet memorabilia and all her books.

Sweet dreams baby girl!

Blessings,

E.W.

Cottage by the Bay

BEFORE

We began this project back in the spring.  We were excited to hear the house was on the water, a sweet cottage by the sea!  The majority of our clients are traditional in decor, but every once in a while we get to do French Country or Shabby Chic.  It was funny how we ended up with this client because a gal who designs kitchens called us and said a doctor friend of her husband's (whom we did his entire orthodontist office) asked who designed his office and he gave him our name and it ended up being MY orthodontist!  Small, funny world.  The project has a few finishing touches left that the carpenter is completing.

These are the before pictures of the space.  The outside kitchen wall moved out 6 feet and the rest of the kitchen/dining/sitting area was gutted.  Because it is an older house, the contractors ran into several architectural issues that took the better part of the hot, hot summer to complete.

Ceiling beams, beadboard on the ceiling and walls, wallpaper borders, tile flooring...all go bye-bye!

 The new kitchen was lavished with marble countertops with all the trimmings.  A 5 foot window sits above the sink letting in lots of sunshine.  The island and hood range were in a painted celadon.
Our color scheme was white, tan, and gray.  We texturized the space with woven baskets, rattan stools, and a banana chair.  Everything was light and airy...motto:  Less is more.
The wood's floor stain was done in Oyster, my most favorite thing in this project!  The client wanted a cork board behind his computer to use as a communication center in the kitchen.

 

A little nook in the kitchen.  I love the burlap-wrapped bottle.

 

 We custom designed the slip covers for the chairs.  This paisley fabric captured all of the colors in these rooms.

 We made these cool lamps with sand, pebbles, and seashells.  You have to be careful NOT to go overboard with a theme.  Too many seashells and it looks overdone and uninteresting.  It would be like repeating the same line over and over and over again, who likes that??  Little touches here and there keeps continuity in the space.

 The drapes were a neat soft burlap texture with a little header framed in tiny shells.

The banana chair donned the paisley fabric and the comfy rocker/swivel chair matched the sofa in stripes and piped in cocoa.  It is hard to see the rug but it has a woven look to it in a soft grayish-green palette. 

NEXT:

BEFORE

BEFORE

We also tackled the bookshelves in his living room, but nothing else in this space.  Most people run into problems with bookshelves feeling like they never quite look right.  Adding texture and different sizes of accessories balances out the whole look. One of our goals was to hide all the electronic equipment.  Our painter came in and changed the dark tan bookshelves to a soft white that matched the rest of the trim.  It brighten up that living area.  Empty shelves waiting for new life to take residence.















Keeping 'like-things' together brings continuity and interest to the bookshelves.  Greenery is great for hiding cords or plugs or speakers.  We are extremely anti-cords!  Now they make these neat battery operated candles that have timers and fragrance which is optimal for a bookshelf where fire from a candle is a no-no!  Again, light colors on most of the accessories and just a splash of color to add some depth like the antique camera.

 The left bookshelf is wider than the right so it required even more accessories.  Because this house is on the water we added a touch of nautical to our accessories.  The picture isn't big enough but we have a large picnic type basket on the fireplace hearth that holds the electronic equipment.  The ivy pot hides a bunch of cords and the picture frame hides a speaker.

We decorated a few tables in the living room too.  We wanted some texture on the dark furniture, so we place a tweedy runner, some old books, and a rock lamp.

This is a fall arrangement we did on his sofa table.

The owner had one end table that was too big and dark for the space.  We found these awesome chests and made in new table (it still has the ticket on it-opps).

So sad this project has come to an end, it has been a joy to work with this client and such a fun project to work on!

Faithfully Yours,

E.W.

Boys Who Read

I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal by Thomas Spence titled, How to Raise Boys Who Read. I am encouraged to read something in the newspaper that is on target with classical education.  He wrote:

"Education was once understood as training for freedom. Not merely the transmission of information, education entailed the formation of manners and taste. Aristotle thought we should be raised "so as both to delight in and to be pained by the things that we ought; this is the right education."

"Plato before him," writes C. S. Lewis, "had said the same. The little human animal will not at first have the right responses. It must be trained to feel pleasure, liking, disgust, and hatred at those things which really are pleasant, likeable, disgusting, and hateful."

The secret to raising boys who read, I submit, is pretty simple—keep electronic media, especially video games and recreational Internet, under control (that is to say, almost completely absent). Then fill your shelves with good books."

It goes along with the hard work of parenting.  The other day my youngest was complaining about listening to classical music.  "WHY DO WE HAVE TO LISTEN TO THIS?" My eloquent, early-morning response was, 'because it is beautiful, because it cultivates your taste for things that are beautiful, and because I like it!   There's more...we are going to the symphony to hear Beethoven."  "WHY?  I don't want to go," said child replies.  I can neither confirm nor deny that one or both of us had flared nostrils and a raised eyebrow (okay the eyebrow was certainly me).  "Son, you are going and you are going to put on a happy face and not another gloomy comment!"   I am happy to report that said son survived the show and left with a smile on his face.  Baby steps, it's all I am sayin!   

Train up a child in the way he should go...Whatever is pure, whatever is lovely...think of such things.

My boys won't grab a book as their first choice during free time but they will if one is placed gently in their hands and they are encouraged to give it a whirl.  Most times out of ten they are glad they engaged in the written word.  Same goes with music, art, and food, yes try a bite, just a bite.  Baby steps, we all need them to propel ourselves on the journey. 

Faithfully Yours,

E.W.

Hey Jude

Delighted my eyes fell upon this verse today and it grabbed hold of my heart...

...keep yourselves in the love of God...

From the little book of Jude verses 20, 21, 24-25 are an encouragement for us all.

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.  Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.

O how I love it when He calls me beloved!  Live close to Him with total commitment and courageous abandon.  Carry this with you today, slip it onto a piece of paper and tuck it in your pocket.

His Beloved,

E.W.

Kartoshka

My grandparents were from Poland.  They didn't speak English when they arrived here in American as children.  My grandmom had 11 brothers and sisters (is that accurate Mom?).  She has some great stories about her childhood.  I can remember growing up and my Gramps would make homemade potato chips, donuts, grape juice, and potato sticks called kartoshka (pronounced ka-tuch-key).  It is simply boiled potatoes that you mash.  You roll them into sticks and sprinkle them with garlic salt and bake them till golden brown.  To celebrate a fond memory and snack, we had a Kartoshka party.

 Be prepared for lots of flour in the air, love too, but tons of flour!

 My Mama's hands laboring in love.

My sweet girl and her girlyfriend.

 These are the faces I captured for my Norman Rockwell moment.  Gotta take what you can get, ya know what I'm sayin!?

 My adopted sister, isn't she cute?

 My adopted son, he loves strawberry yogurt and bacon, he's so easy!

 Our host in his silver studded vest and white blazer, it's all the rage in Kartoshka Land.

I am convinced that teenage boys have lost their minds and can not drum up a normal smile unless caught completely off guard.  I realize I forgot to take a picture of the finished product.  They were snarfed down so fast that you either grabbed one or were left wanting.  I think the 3 pounds of potatoes made 5 cookie trays of the potato sticks.  And yes, they were as good as I remembered!

Faithfully Yours,

E.W.