SAS Day and a Dreamy Kitchen

I pretty much fell on this kitchen remodel tonight, and it just had to be shared. It moved me, simply put. See the befores…

Are you prepared for the after?  Yeah well, I wasn’t so I had to check. Here you go.

There’s a couple of reasons I’m so madly in love. #1. The white. You know how much I love white. #2. It actually looks like a realistic home. I’ve never been so in love with a home that had such a great kitchen without 14-foot ceilings and a whole wall full of windows.

It’s such a magazine-worthy kitchen without looking like it has to be in a magazine-size space. I LOVE that. I want to ask…do you think these are 8 or 9 foot ceilings? They’ve gotta be 9, right? Please tell me they’re 8. :)

If you’d like to see more, go visit Jenny Springer Photography. As you can see, she’s basically a photography blog, but she does offer a few design posts--this one being one of them.

Okay! Let’s see what everyone’s been up to! As you can see, I’ve been very busy checking out other people’s homes. Shocker, I know. 

Dear Home Goods,

I’ve thought long and hard about how to approach this issue with you.  I live 98.22 miles away from your closest store.  I’ll give you a moment to consider what that means for me.

Flickr

Basically, I’m tired. Tired of wishing that I could brag to the world about your delightful lighting section, and exhausted at the thought of having to live yet another day without every. single. one. of these lamps.

You see that platform cart below?  If I were shopping in that store, I would gladly move it out of the way. I wouldn’t even consider it a nuisance.  It would be my privilege really.  It would be the least I could do as your humble patron.

KCHblog

I felt compelled to write this letter because there are days when it is just too much to bear. I live in a very populated area.  We would make it worth your while. 

Freckles Chick

Consider this the first stop on my campaign for Home Goods Grand Rapids.  Has a nice ring to it, no?

Forever Yours (and I mean that),

Chris

A Tour!

We went home this weekend to visit one of the loves of my life.  My grandfather.  My grandmother was recently put into a nursing home (heartbreaking), and a visit home is always a good fix for me when I’m feeling sad about their aging.

Of course, another good fix is staying at my mom’s.  While I always knew I was growing up in a beautiful, well-appreciated home, it wasn’t until I became an adult that I appreciated all the work that goes into it.

As soon as we pull into the driveway, the burst of color and the peaceful sound of water fountains greets us. 

It’s virtually impossible to make it from the car to the front door without stopping to take it all in (and feel envious that your potato vines look nothing like that!).

 

Uhhh…that’s just the front.  Who knows what I was thinking when I didn’t take a picture of the entire yard.  Perhaps I was too focused on my mom’s potting shed. Oh, how I want one of these!

She has little “centers” all over the yard.  There’s no fixating on just one area, which I think makes it so fun to walk around and take in.

Another highlight is her patio.  She lights these globe torches at night, making for an incredible night scene as well. 

 

Of course, as you tour the gardens, you’ll spot little hummingbirds, angels, fairies, lady bugs, frogs…you name it.  She’s got an ornamental knack!

Her shade garden.  Ugh.  I WISH I had a shade garden.

I only took a couple of pics of her Florida room.  According to her, it’s still in progress.   I’ll have to wait until my next visit to get more, but I would pay good money to have a room just like this!      

She’s not gonna like me for this, but I have to put a picture of her on here.  You need to see the genius behind it all.  That being said, she’d want me to tell you that those are her old, backup glasses.  She’s waiting for her new ones to come in.  I got your back, mom!

Don’t forget!  The $325 Silhouette Giveaway is still going strong!  It ends Friday, July 2nd.

Winners!!

Hi.  My name is Chris, and I’m a blog abandoner.  (“Hi Chris” says the supportive crowd.)  If it helps at all, I took today off work just to mop my floors.  I ended up going to breakfast and Joann’s with my husband.  I know.  I have issues.

The winner of the FREE Misikko straightener is….

Sawdust and Paper Scraps

 

The winner of the free art piece from Modern Bird Studios is…

Anna at Bananas and Damask Interiors

Thank you to everyone for being so patient with my announcement! Lucky ladies, just send me an e-mail, and I’ll get you connected to the powers that be!  Congratulations!

Does it help if I show you a picture of a charming kitchen?  What about a gorgeous bedroom?  It’s all I’ve got.  Well, that and cramped hands from painting so much.  Soon, my dears.  Soon.

How I Met My House

AnNicole is having a party!  Well, she HAD a party.  Thanks to my husband taking the computer to work for the past two days, I’m late.  Again.

I actually met my house back in 1991--13 years before I moved into it.  Does this look familiar?  I saw Father of the Bride, and I remember being glued to the movie screen. I was only a senior in high school, but I knew at that moment that I had met my house love of my life. 

Several years passed by, but the house remained.  It--or some form of it--had to be mine.  Budget constraints (hate those) prevented me from an exact replica, but I’m pretty darn pleased with what I got.

 I got a little less square footage than Steve Martin, but I guess I made up for it with lawn to mow.  And mow.

I’ve had so much fun at Suburban Cottage going through all the stories of how everyone met their homes.  Go check it out!

Father of the Bride house courtesy of Hooked on Houses.  LOVE her blog! :)

Window Box Tour

I know.  I’ve posted about window boxes before.  I just can’t help myself!  I’m in love with them, but I simply can’t bring myself (or my wallet) to pay the hefty prices I’ve seen them for.

It seems like window boxes are such “the norm” in other countries or other parts of the nation for that matter, but I wish they were used more around me.  I think they can make a world of difference for any home.

Notice the before and after of this home.  The charm is there, but just not at its full potential.  Notice the after!  Okay, so the dog helps. :)

My favorite part about window boxes is that they look incredible on the smallest of homes right up to some more grand scale lookers.  Look at these!

Are you ready for my point to this post (other than the beauty tour)?  I’m going to bite the bullet and build my own.  I want it to look like the ones below.

I’m not really sure why you’re laughing so hard, but I think I can do it.  I’m going out to buy the wood this week.  Anyone have any advice you want to offer me if you’ve built one? 

I’ll either come back next week with a post about my brilliant carpentry or about my lack of 4 fingers on one hand.  We’ll see.

See you tomorrow for Show and Share Day!!  Can’t wait to see what you’ve all been up to!

Links to the pictures…

http://www.newworldeconomics.com/archives/2009/101109.html

http://www.deborahsilver.com/blog/?tag=window-boxes

http://www.hooksandlattice.com/windowboxes.html

http://blissfullydomestic.com/2009/beautiful-fall-gardens

Green, O' Green

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I thought I'd share some green inspiration.  HGTV's "green" home kitchen is one of my all time favorites.  I love the way it's set up for entertaining.  Don't even get me started on the butler's pantry behind it!

Speaking of butler's pantries....

I love every inch of this picture.  The green drapes are my favorite!

At this point, I imagine you know how much I drool over organized spaces.  Of course, it always helps when they implement a whole bunch o' green in there!

When my yard grows up, it wants to look just like this.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Images courtesy of

HGTV

decorpad

flickr

Staring at Stairs

My friend Beth is having a big ol’ party.  We’re talking “call the cops and get these hoodlums outta here” party.  Okay, fine.  I regret to inform you that I’m just not cool enough to be invited to one of those parties.  I’m also going out on a limb to say Beth isn’t cool enough to throw one of them.  However, we DO both love staircases!  So as soon as she spread the word about her staircase party,  I was alllllll over it.

Generally speaking, you’re bound to step on a half-eaten Barbie doll or a sharp piece of a Bionicle.  Somehow I got lucky on this day, and I was spared. 

The stairwell is the first piece of house that greets my guest, so I knew it had to be something I liked.  Of course, what my husband isn’t aware of is that this is a nice, beautiful, blank pallet for some wainscoting.  Soon, dear.  Soon…

And lastly, the reality. Look closely, and you’ll find a sleeping bag (oops. wait…looks like two are there), a lightsaber (never know when one might come in handy), and possibly a gorilla hand?  Like you don’t have a gorilla hand on your landing.

Wanna see my dream staircase?  Seriously.  I have dreams about it.

Notice:  No gorilla hand on the landing.