New counter top LOVE and kitchen remodeling progress

My oldest daughter is graduating in May and there WILL be a party!  In between teaching her various self defense techniques and crying in my tea wondering where the time has gone....I have been 'remodeling' my kitchen.

Ah...my kitchen. The smallest 4x6 patch of real estate in town.  My house was built in 1954, when people didn't live in their kitchens ( I guess...) and it is T I N Y.  Sometime in the 80s some wise homeowner knocked out a wall and at least created the illusion of space....Anyway....none of that is important except to say that I was HATING my kitchen and something really had to change. 

I knew I had to repaint my cabinets, they were looking a little worse for the wear and they were super dark (blech!)  so I decided to paint the uppers off white and the lowers powder blue. Since my cabinets would now be light, my counter top would have to be dark!   

Fearing nothing, I started applying a Lusterstone finish right over the existing counter top.( I am a trained applicator of the following products, so I won't be giving ALL my secrets away).  I just sponged and swirled and trowelled 3 shades : Ebony, Moonstone Gray and Snowflake White. I wanted the finish to have some movement, but not be spongy looking. I ended up with this Lava looking color. Sweet!!!

I added in some mother of pearl mica flakes, mirror chips and some iridescent glitter. (Cause I'm the glitter Queen)
Finally, I applied 2 coats of resin, letting each one dry overnight.
Here's the final look! I am looooooving it!!!!

I painted the walls Sherwin Williams Antique White and added this nifty new valance whipped up by my mom.

My children are wondering when in the heck we are getting the cabinet doors put back on....I have this terrible habit of starting a project and then getting distracted by some life sized  shiny object (like work, or taxes...)   As nothing is as productive as the last minute, I imagine they will be getting hung back up a few hours before the graduation party!



I almost forgot to show y'all....I painted my grandmother's buffet hot pink! After agonizing about what color to paint it, I decided I desperately needed a shot of crazy color, because my walls and floor are going to be all off white.

I chose Sherwin Williams 'Dragon Fruit' and added some fun turquoise knobs. (Some of the original knobs were missing.)   I set up this little breakfast bar, which extends the area of the kitchen. )

I love my kitchen now! Can't wait for the party!

My house: The "Granny Chic" sunroom

The sunroom in my house has been the dining room for the last 8 years because it's actually closer to the kitchen than the dining room. I was looking for a change and got the idea to switch things around a little bit. In doing so, on a budget, I found out I have a little bit of a 'granny chic' thing going on. Not intentional, just a mish- mosh of the last 15 years of my life, and somehow in pulling things together from other rooms, this is what I came up with. What do you think?
I have some work to do, that chandalier is going to have to go. ( I really, really really want THIS ONE)

So honestly, I think the best rooms are the ones with items collected over the years. I call this an 'acquired look'. As much as I salivate over glossy magazine photos, oftentimes they lack life and believability. And so few of us can decorate that way anyway. Here's how I got this look:

I bought those crazy chartreuse velvet chairs at a flea market in Chicago several years ago for 80 bucks each. At the time, chartreuse was UNHEARD of so I basically stole them. They're antique.
This one is my Yorkie Oscar's favorite snorin' spot.
The rocking chair is a little scary to sit in, it's the original recliner I think, but it pretty much only reclines.

I got the black and white striped flat weave rug at BIG LOTS. Yes, BIG LOTS. For 9 bucks. Wonder how long until one of my little canine buddies barfs on it?

The black bench was on clearance at an unfinished furniture store that was going out of business. The pillows were just collected over the years. The most recent is the big foo- foo ball, from Pier 1, and the large black and white bolster was made by my mother and my daughter.
I hope to get a funky loveseat, but until then, this bench will have to do. I stole it from my front entryway, which is now looking a little sad. (Never fails)

The artwork above the fireplace is a unique mix of really- expensive- actual- authentic- art, and my daughter's first grade self portrait. The frame around the self portrait was found at a garage sale. If my house was burning down, I'd ditch the real art and keep the self portrait, just sayin'.


Another garage sale find is this Victorian table, which yes, I painted and distressed.Upon it, I have my collection of Shirley Kramer pottery (the robot head, etc..). Shirley is a local artist whose work I buy, one piece a year at our local art fair.
I also have a sweet collection given to me by my daughter Charlotte: heart shaped rocks that she has collected here and there and everywhere. It's God's little gift to her, as she finds them all the time!

I created this plate collage out of mostly mismatched odd bits I already had. The only thing I 'ran out and bought' was the green plate, which I got on clearance at TJs for 4 bucks. I highly recommend the plate hanging discs, over those awkward wire contraptions.


Every "Granny Chic" room needs a real Granny! That's my mom in her Senior portrait. She still looks just like this, minus the bouffant, lol! (sorry Mom).

I know you can't see this, it's too tiny, but there's a little frame I've carried around with me since 1989 and in it is a photo of a 19 year old me, and my "Gramma Fay". She tragically died 2 years ago and I miss her every day. She was just the coolest grandma and she is really the A #1 person in my life who encouraged me to be ME! Love you Gramma!

Mama's takin us to the zoo tomorrow....

....and we can stay all day!

I am taking my kids to the zoo tomorrow, I think I may be more excited than they are. Their father dates a woman who is an ACTUAL ZOOKEEPER so they got to do some really cool stuff at the Denver zoo last summer, so just going as a plain old visitor is maybe beneath them now. I've always been crazy about the African animals, my favorite being the zebra.
Tomorrow is also the beginning of spring break and we are on hiatus. Not sure how much blogging I will get in this week so I wanted to do something fun 'til we meet again. In honor of my favorite zoo animal, and one of my favorite design motifs....here's some zebra print eye candy for you. You know there's good zebra print and way way way overkill on the zebra print. I find that just a smidge of zebra will do ya. Here's some visual proof. (and it doesn't have to be black and white either!)
via housebeautiful.com designer Carlton Varney

designer Krista Ewart



via caldwellflake.com

via hmbien.blogspot.com


via aboutlifestyles.info

via omniartedesign.com


OOOOh OOOh!!! It's chevron-ey Zebra! via materialgirlsblog.com

My rules for "Black and White" design

black and white doesn't have to be cold....


Black and white design can be kind of tricky. Too much true black and pure white and nothing else, and you have a very cold and uninviting interior. Black rooms can be wicked awesome to look at, but remember, someone has to live there. Take it from 'she who had black ceilings' for seven years, until two weekends ago. Many of my friends asked me 'why are you painting over that?'. True, it was a very dramatic and mysterious look, especially when entertaining. But also true, very dark and depressing to live with on a daily basis. There were times in the day when we needed flashlights to get to the linen closet. Initially, I may have been revolting against my 80s pastel upbringing, but somewhere along the way I got hooked.
I don't think black and white is going anywhere....it's a timeless and classic combination, which explains why I have been to soooo many black and white weddings in the last 10 years.
I know I love it, I've have had some incarnation of black and white in every house I've lived in. It seems to be a 'go to' for me. I'll never tire of it,but I have learned some tricks to decorating with these two strong colors.
1. Add a green element, by way of houseplants. This cuts the harshness and softens the edges, so to speak. via houseblog.com
2. Inject a shot or red. Red is equal in boldness to black and white, so they are natural companions. via newsdecor.com
3. Use 'off white' instead of white. This adds an element of softness and age.
via Kelley Interior Design Service
4. Let white dominate. Visually only about 25% of the space is taken up by black here. This creates an almost summery kind of lightness that is very pleasing. The addition of wooden accessories softens the mood too. via Elizabeth Anne Designs
5. Introduce the happy medium of gray. I think gray is the new brown, it shouldn't be too difficult to find gray accessories and objects to introduce into your interior. Yellow is a perfect counterpart to gray, add a tiny splash for visual punch. via decorpad.com

6. Try a focal wall in 'almost black'. Sherwin Williams 'Black Fox' is an amazing 'not quite black' color that adds a hint of warmth. via decorpad.com
7. Punctuate with white trim. Wide crown mould and other trims in this room keep the look crisp and formal. The addition of the turquoise chairs and detail on the drapes adds more visual excitement. via decorpad.com


8. Throw in another bright color....like chartreuse....
via apartmenttherapy.com

or green...... designer, Sarah Richardson
or Tiffany blue and hot pink! designer, Judith Balis
9. Try stripes! I love these stripes and I love the way they also go across the front of the desk. Filing this idea away for later! via fauxfabio.com

You're so bold with your white walls!

My mother is making me a quilt for my 40th birthday and I've been trying to figure out what to do with my master bedroom, which currently has cocoa brown Venetian Plaster on the walls and Olive Green and Burgundy bedding. (ugh, so not 'me'. Twas a " Marital Compromise" , no longer an issue).
So, I have this amazing quilt coming my way that is being made out of 11 or 12 different fabrics...black, white, red and aqua with a bit of pale lime green. Can't wait to see it!
I found bedding to coordinate with it at TJ Maxx that is black and white piped in lime. It's very similar to the bedding shown above.
So now the big question is...what to do with the walls...and I'm thinking.....white.

Yes I am.






Last weekend, Mike and I lightly remodeled my master bathroom. Poor Mike. Not only has he put up with the 'downtown Baghdad' themed bathroom for the last 16 months...he also was the one to figure out that the wiring in the bathroom was shot. (Even the lighting was keeping with the deconstructed theme!) The photo above is very similar to what we have going on now. I don't have black and white on the floor, and I have a vanity,not a pedestal...( 'cause this girl has got to do her face in the mornings! ) But we do have icey blue walls, white tile going up the walls, chrome fixtures and a simple pivoting mirror. I'm in love with my bathroom, I can hardly believe the transformation! I am loving all that absence of color and chaos!

As a decorative artist, I don't do a lot of white rooms. I'm starting to think that my home should be a place for my eyes to rest though and I'm really starting to dig this idea.
All of the photos from this posting are courtesy of House Beautiful .com ....here are a few more examples of how bold white can be.