Decorating

Gallery Wall in lieu of kitchen photos

July 23, 2010 by Edie Wadsworth 25 Comments

Our basement at the lakehouse has been officially declared ‘the Mancave’. It has housed many {sweaty} boys this summer and has been sorely neglected—as in, I try my best NOT to ever go down there.

And then there’s the dilemma of where to put all my art and photographs. This house has no walls, remember? Open floor plans have their downside.

Since I’m finally starting to ‘nest’ in this house, I asked Stevie today if it would make him crazy if I started painting the master bedroom.

He said, “Maybe a little.” {And then later seemed legitimately surprised that I wasn’t painting:)}

So, I decided instead to try to hang every painting and photo in the mancave.

And to my sweet surprise, I almost succeeded.
It doesn’t even look like a mancave anymore, save the cowhide rug.

This is what the powers that be call a gallery wall. A whole wall of art.

My question for Stevie is this? Can I paint tomorrow without making you wanna go jump in the lake? Pretty please? With s’mores on top?

And lastly, I’m posting this to try to keep you from sending me anymore hate mail about whether I EVER plan to post pics of the kitchen.

My most treasured internet friends, trust me when I say that I promise you I’m not trying to build suspense here. It’s still NOT DONE. I’m mean, it’s close. And I know you don’t care whether or not the trim is up or the corner shelves are in. But I really want it to be done before I show you the whole thing.

So please accept this post of the gallery wall as my humble attempt at appeasing you for a week or so.

Kinda like bribing your kids with fruit when they want brownies.

The brownies will be done soon. At least that’s what I keep hearing! Thank you so much for your patience and thank you for the oodles of encouragement and kindness you’ve given me. You are my favorite reason to love this space.

ps. I’m making this and this and this today. Can you say yummy?

I think I’m in love

June 19, 2010 by Edie Wadsworth 39 Comments

So, here’s where we stand:
1. The countertops came in on Thursday and they are seven kinds of wonderful. Crisp, clean white quartz (the color ‘snow white’ from Zodiac). I wanted to snuggle up on them and have a sleepover. I missed them during the night. They’re amazing.
2. Before the dust could clear from the installer’s truck leaving, I had snipped fresh hydrangeas from my yard and placed them gingerly on the lovely snow white.
3. My Rohl country bridge faucet is a work of art. Elegant lines, strong sleek construction and simple functionality.
4. My white subway tile backsplash is being installed today and Monday. My open shelves that will span the windows won’t be ready for a week or so and my Dacor hood will be delivered this Friday. OH, and the lighting, which is the absolute most important accessory, is being installed next week. We are so close.
5. I would love to show you more pics but it’s like trying on a prom dress and then remembering that you have tennis shoes on and haven’t washed your hair in three days. The dress is beautiful but the whole package is a little wonky. So, bear with us while we (the kitchen and I) wait for the crucial pieces to fall into place.

Happy Weekend!

Post Edit: Y’all are so funny! So I’m posting one more pic—which shows that my sink is not totally done–out of gratitude for how you make me laugh.
Enjoy this comment from Elizabeth Highsmith, who often makes my day with her kind and generous and witty remarks:

i love you because you used the word wonky
however, lovely that snow white and her pink hydrangeas are, i can’t i just can’t
do it, i cannot fall in love with your new kitchen
for better or worse so help me Jesus I will not cheat on your turquoise kitchen.
amen

p.s can’t wait for the big reveal!

Ok, now that’s IT! No more looking at me in tennis shoes and a prom dress.

The little kitchen that could…..

June 11, 2010 by Edie Wadsworth 33 Comments

If you think you’re tired of waiting on this kitchen, imagine me—cooking a big heaping pile of onions at the exact same time the guys are installing that cabinet over the microwave. Saw dust was flying everywhere and I think the installer could hardly believe I was cooking right in the middle of it all. And I’m sure he could hardly believe I was already putting dishes away when he still had lots of work to do. I’m just a wee bit impatient. Just a tad.

So here’s where we are: lots of finishing work to do, countertops to be installed next week along with sink, dishwasher and hood.

I decided to go with subway tile so this is truly gonna be an all white kitchen. I can hardly wait. Actually, I’m not really waiting. I’m using this kitchen almost to its’ fullest already. I’m probably a pain to work with but let’s go: snap, snap. Get it done already!

and I FINALLY decided on knobs. Knobs can drive a girl insane. There are so many choices. I’ve looked at hundreds and hundreds of knobs. I finally settled on this 1 1/4 inch antique brass knob from The Lion’s Head. They are simple and clean and classic and exactly the color I was looking for. And my installer is happy that they are knobs and not pulls.

This whole process has been worse and at the same time not as bad as I thought it’d be. My new frig came and didn’t work but they finally got it fixed.

My hood came with a huge dent in it and had to be reordered from California. My pantry cabinet came with no shelves. All my plumbing and electrical have had to be redone. In short, my sanity is hanging on a wet spaghetti noodle. But I realize it’s all just a brief inconvenience and soon I’ll having a wonderfully functional, beautiful kitchen. In the meantime, the workers will just have to put up with my homeade jelly-making, onion-sauteing self until this is all done. I hope it makes ’em hurry.

In non-kitchen news, the girls and I are putting together a 500 piece puzzle on the rainy days and I’m re-reading G.K Chesterton’s Orthodoxy. I like to call him my favorite catholic (but really my favorite catholics are my wonderful catholic friends like Sue and Kim and Donia—who is coming to visit soon, btw!). He was an English writer and christian apologist in the early 1900’s and is often referenced by C.S. Lewis. He was a brilliant man which explains why I only understand about half the book my second (or third?) time through. But oh, is it worth a read. Just be patient and plow through it and you won’t be disappointed. Above mention catholic friends, who saw me reading Chesterton at swim practice, promptly made fun of my ‘summer reading’. Sorry, I don’t do chick lit and I will continue to have the night stand of a 40 year old seminarian!

Chesterton has a beautiful and refreshing way of seeing the world. And it has been just what the dr ordered during this trying remodel. He speaks of rationalists, who point to the mere repetition of things in the world as a sign of deadness; ie, the sun rising, the tides crashing, the monotony of life–day in, day out. He says,

The recurrences of the universe rose to the maddening rhythm of an incantation, and I began to see the idea….It might be true that the sun rises regularly because he never gets tired of rising. His routine might be due, not to lifelessness, but to a rush of life. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again.” For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It’s possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike, it may be that God makes every daisy seperately, because He has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. The repetition in nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be the theatrical ENCORE of heaven.

See, you should read it. Hope your weekend is filled with good books and plenty of good food and smooches!

Kitchen Dilemma

May 4, 2010 by Edie Wadsworth 53 Comments

I’m sitting on my new deck watching the geese and egrets fly by and the lake water ripple, drinking a wonderful cup of coffee as I type this. I still haven’t shaken the feeling that I’m on vacation—in Hilton Head—with no definite endpoint for my return ‘home’. The only downside to living your entire life like your on vacation is that I seem to have lost my skills for meal planning. Dinner sneaks up on me—-because really, who wants to spend their vacation at the grocery store? And take out in this town is a poor choice for long term eating. Which brings me to my kitchen.

My new kitchen is all ordered and will likely be installed in 2-3 weeks. I ordered four cabinet doors before I settled on a color. After almost ordering 3 different cabinet colors, two different door styles and 2 different counter tops, I finally settled on one color, one door style, and one countertop. I know, boring right? I’ll just have to add spice in other ways. I wanted clean lines and simplicity because of the openness of the floor plan. Besides my IKEA farm sink, I think I’m most excited about my 48″ Dacor stove and hood. {Honey, I promise I’ll cook more when I get my stove}. I had several inspiration kitchens but the one I leaned most heavily on was this one in April’s issue of Southern living. My cabinet color is very similar and my countertops are white quartz. I also took plenty of inspiration from Erica’s kitchens in Coastal Living but eventually decided against the blue island that I was sure I wanted. I’m still deciding between the small 1 inch iridescent tile and regular subway tile for the backsplash. I settled on open cabinetry for the back wall on either side of the hood even though I sacrificed some wall cabinets for open shelves that will likely span across the windows too.

My main dilemma at this point is that I really want to paint the few walls in the kitchen a different color than the living room. (a much lighter whitish color that would be too light for the living room). As you can see, that will be somewhat difficult to do without coming up with a creative way to transition. I’ve thought of a framed chalk board— to be used for menu writing. I’ve also wondered if putting drapes on that window and hanging the rod to the ceiling which would obscure a marked paint transition. And I know the railing is still bothering you but for now, stay on task and let’s discuss this pesky transition. What would you do?
And why, you ask, do I still feel like I’m in Hilton Head?
I don’t know if it’s the plethora of sunsets I get to enjoy…..

or the plethora of beautiful plants in my yard. My azaleas are in full bloom and are simply gorgeous. Now if I could only get my cooking mojo back…..

p.s. those rocks are a jumbled mess because I keep running over them with my ginormous SUV. I think I need a vacation car.

Chalk Walls and Quirky

March 4, 2010 by Edie Wadsworth 37 Comments

I was over at Nester’s today, visiting like I always do(virtually, of course), and she’s talking about chalk boards. I wasn’t even gonna post today but how can a woman who has 3 chalk WALLS in her house not post about them? I may have an inner 8 year old doodler in me that refused to grow up but what’s not to love about chalk walls? Chalk walls are inspiring and beckon you to sit and write a while. I have a hallway of chalk walls between my kitchen and dining room….

and an entire chalk wall in my craft room. It’s perfect because when the littles grow weary of crafting, they can craft on the chalk wall instead. And for teens, it’s the perfect place to smatter graffiti. The chalk walls in my house are well used. And I’m gonna go ahead and blame my dust problem on chalk. I’m sure the surfaces in my house would be completely spic and span were it not for all the chalk dust flying around. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

{oh and by the way, my friend Jessica sent me the most wonderful L-O-V-E banner a while back and now it hangs on the craft room chalk wall. Isn’t it perfect?]

And all that got me to thinking about whether or not I’m quirky. People have called me quirky before. I’m sure I’ve called myself quirky. So I went on a little jaunt around my house looking for oddities. For things that would make people call a person quirky. You might be interested in what I found.

Exhibit A:

My kitchen cabinets are turquoise. The most wonderful cheerful joyous shade of bluish green that I’ve ever seen. I painted them one year ago and I love them today more than ever. I’m certain that my cooking has taken a more joyful turn.

Exhibit B:

After attending to thirteen years of post graduate education , I quit my job and homeschool my children in my garage. {Everytime I say that it reminds of Chris Farley and his ‘living in a van down by the river’ motivational speech.} Granted, it’s painted and cozy and inspiring but it’s still a garage. Irony of all ironies: I feel very unqualified to be doing this.

Exhibit C:

And oddly enough, in aforementioned schoolroom, there is no chalkboard or chalk wall. There is however, a sofa.

Exhibit D

My friend Shawna pointed out to me when she was here this summer for Taylor’s Graduation Party that I have dressers everywhere…….

except in the bedrooms.

I guess I’m gonna have to go ahead and plead guilty to quirky.

Visit Nester for more chalk surfaces than you ever seen in one place.

Girls’ Bedroom Metamorphosis and a little Christmas Cheer

November 30, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 81 Comments

This is what I see now when I walk out of my bedroom door. The little girls’ bedroom—freshly painted and freshened up. It makes me wanna dance a jig. Or to quote Pioneer Woman, it ‘makes my skirt fly up’. And it’s every girls’ favorite color: tiffany blue. I know, I know–I’m teaching ’em early. I’m not sure what I love best, the tiffany blue walls, the currant-red beds, or the very large vintage multi-colored lights. Oh, or the vintage butterfly prints. I can’t decide. I love it all.

Here’s what you can do in a week with $150, a wonderful inspiration photo and numerous cups of the best coffee ever. I saw this amazing guest bedroom {first featured in Domino magazine} on the Little Green Notebook blog—and fell in love instantly.

Jenny did a copy cat design of this room, giving tips on how to get the look for much less. And though her tips were extremely helpful, I settled on an even cheaper/less authentic version than her copy cat version. But it turned out beautiful and my girls love their new ‘grown-up’ bedroom. And if you don’t already read Jenny’s blog, you should. You’ll love it and her and you’ll learn stuff.

Domino guest bedroom

I started this project by painting the beds. These are actually bunk beds that I ‘debunked’ many years ago. I also previously painted, distressed and glazed them about 8 years ago.

In the Domino guest room photo, those upholstered beds can be found at Target online—and I LOVE those beds. But alas, painting our existing beds red was not a bad alternative. I chose ‘Currant Red’ from Benjamin Moore and after sanding the beds twice {to remove the previous finish} I painted them in semi-gloss with two coats of paint. I actually used Behr Paint and Primer and just had them look up the Benjamin Moore color in their computer. I adore this paint—it’s thick and luscious and goes on like butt-ah! And as someone who paints things frequently, I say that with a fair amount of personal experience.

I then used this little rub and buff product {from Hobby Lobby} to give them a more antiqued look. I used my fingers to rub it on and then used a damp cloth to wipe most of it off. It’s kind of subtle but I like the beds much better with this addition. The color is called Spanish Copper.

By the way, I painted the beds in the room. I just put butcher paper on the floor underneath them went to work. It’s a little tricky to paint the very bottom of the bed posts but it can be done.

Next, I started on the walls. I chose ‘Robin’s Nest’ from Benjamin Moore and again had the paint mixed at Home Depot using Behr Paint and Primer {did I say thank you to my friend The Nester for this tip? I owe you a debt of gratitude}. This paint goes on so well that it covered in one coat on these walls!! And those letters on the wall that spell GRACIE—-those must stay forever. When I tried removing them, sheetrock began to peel as well—so I just painted right over them—again. My painter Rick—whose number I have on speed dial—helped me with the 20 foot ceilings in this room. And my somewhat-afraid-of-heights-self was thankful.

I then took Jenny’s advice and printed these vintage butterfly prints from Village Printables and framed them in my $6.99 frames from Ross {a lot better than the $625 each for the prints in the Domino room}. They are exactly the perfect complement to this room and it reminds me of the metamorphasis that will all-too-soon take place in these little girls. I want to cherish the days while I have them.

Scooter, our 4 year old Maltese, sleeps with the girls so we found him a coordinating dog bed–which will, I hope, prevent him from rubbing his dirty paws all over these white quilts {Target–shabby chic collection}. The zebra print pillows are also from Target {$14 on sale} and are a fine and enormously cheaper substitute to the beautiful IKAT pillows on the Domino guest room beds ($240 each I think). I also just happened to be moving this winerack—which I’ve been using as a nightstand—out of my bedroom, so I moved it in here because it was just the right size and shape. Any ideas for what we could store in there, aside from wine bottles of course?!

I then finished it off with a beautiful Christmas cactus, some pine garland and the big-bulb Christmas lights.

This room has the softest glow at night and is the perfect spot to snuggle up with some good reading and our Advent devotionals. I have to take turns sitting on each little one’s bed {“you were on her bed last night”} and have to make sure to give each one the same amount of kisses. I will hold on to that as long as possible!

So there it is: the sort of grown up little girls room—where butterfly kisses and tooth fairy visits are still welcome! But pink is not.

I should also mention that moving the beds toward the center of the room has been a huge advantage. The girls can easily make their own beds. And for now, they LOVE the job.

Before After

What I still need to do:

1. Add a brass-type rub onto the side table/winerack.

2. Find a cheap black and white striped rug.

3. Keep Scooter’s grubby paws off those white quilts.

4. Tackle the very messy closet.

5. Find the perfect ‘thing/s’ to store in the winerack.

6. Read a million more pages together—before they get tired of me.

You can see more photos on my flickr photostream.

Thanks a million to Jenny for making this room seem possible for the average mom.

Oh and come visit me at Blissfully Domestic today where I’m posting my sweater stocking tutorial.

I listened to this episode on Issues Etc—on Luther and Calvin and how you know you have true faith–while working on this project. It’s well worth a listen!

p.s. I’m adding this project to Kimba’s DIY day. Visit the most fantastic DIY’ers here.