all images via LakbDesigns' DecoMyPlace page
This house makes me want to live in Vermont {I actually have no idea where, Vermont is just the first place that came into mind} or somewhere else on the East coast, out in the country, and read about a million books. I love how the house is super colorful, but still seems simple and easy to live with. LakbDesigns has a website, and a blog, where you can see some wonderful examples of Lynn-Anne's design work.
Going for a walk, Alice
I do. The last time I bought new bedding, it wasn't even new, it was from an after Christmas sale at the Ballard Goodwill. Trust me, I washed it plenty, and it was still in the package, but you never know. Since then it has been abused, spilled on, washed, spilled on, and not washed...and now it is looking a little worn. Actually, I may never have bought a brand new bedding set for myself in my whole life. Enough about me, let's talk about you.
I have the opportunity share a giveaway with my wonderful readers {that's you!} from Bedding Style. They are celebrating 7 years in business and want to spread the love by giving one lucky blog reader a free designer bedding set. If you haven't heard of Bedding Style, you should, they carry a large variety of brand name bedding at great prices online as well as bathroom accessories, they have great customer service, and all their bedding is high quality...Here are some sets they carry that I am especially fond of:
Marimekko's Lumimarja in Celery
Tommy Hilfiger's Sweethearts Sheets {because they're awesome}
I feel like I have to recommend the Laura Ashley Rowland Blue Quilt set, because it's almost exactly like the one I have now... and if I could pick anything, it would probably be this one...Once I land on something, I don't take to change that easily. I'm like an old redneck with a truck.
There is something attractive about this pink set from Tommy Hilfiger though, in an extra preppy Elle Woods sort of way.
Oh, and I might have to replace my current Marimekko shower curtain with THIS ONE, since it's YELLOW!
To Enter: 1) Visit Bedding Style and pick a favorite item, then name it in a comment below.
2) For a second chance to win, Follow Bedding Style on Twitter or Like Them on Facebook with a link to this giveaway and mention @BeddingStyle or Facebook in your post.
One random winner will win a Bedding Set from Bedding Style.
Contest ends: 5/28/12
Browsing, Alice
Dear Alice, How should I paint my cabinets so that they don't peel or flake? Sincerely, Elise
via Shelterness
Dear Elise, I am not an expert on painting cabinets by any means, but I have done it a few times, so I will share my experience. {There is a really great and detailed tutorial here at Curbly.} When I was working on one particular set of cabinets, they happened to be from Ikea, the pre-finished particle board kind. Ikea told me that they could not be painted, that the paint would just peel off right away, but since I found them in the As-Is section {and they were really cheap}, I got them anyway and went for it. I primed them with Zinsser primer, which sounds like some sort of pharmaceutical product, and smells awful, but it did work really well. They make a special kind of primer specifically for painting over stained wood too, which I have heard good things about.
After priming, I simply painted several coats of semi-gloss paint on the cabinets, letting them dry thoroughly between each coat, and sanding lightly with extra fine sandpaper. That's it. I think that sanding before priming is a good idea, {even if I didn't do it} especially when painting over stained wood. Keep in mind it may take a week or so for the paint to fully cure, and in the meantime it will be more susceptible to scratches and nicks. via the Kitchn {This Apartment Therapy before and after is pretty dramatic too!}
via Design Sponge
It is also a good idea to remove the drawers and doors from the cabinet frames and paint them separately. This will exclude your hardware from being paint-clogged and give you an excuse to change the knobs and pulls out if you want. You can also take the opportunity to strip any existing paint or grime off the hinges and hardware. I always used a brush to paint everything, but a small foam roller might be a better option for really flat surfaces. The bottom line is: sand, prime, paint, sand, paint, sand, paint {repeat as necessary...}, until the job is done. Then, treat those cabinets with extra care until they are cured.
Having some ice cream, Alice
"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." This is week eighteen of the Pancakes & French Fries William Morris Project, happening every thursday in 2012.
This week was a marathon of catch up, little odds and ends that had accumulated around the house were attended to in no glamourous fashion, with no dramatic results. Most of it was routine, like laundry, dishes, and warding off the flu. Because of this, I didn't really tackle a big project. Every so often I will just read through the list of what I have set out to do this year, to see if there is something that I have forgotten about. This usually results in me adding to the list, rather than crossing things off, but this week I actually got a few done. As I was reading through my goals, I read 'Re-upholster leather rocker{or at least mend it and fix sharp parts}' I don't really want to reupholster this chair, because I love the way it looks, but there are a few issues on the arms which I don't see any way of mending other than to re-cover it. I purchased this one from craigslist around the same time as the sofa, because in their most basic form, they look like they could be a matched set. The chair was in significantly worse shape, and had no seat cushion, but it was only about $40, so I didn't care. I found an old mohair cushion at the thrift store, and called it good. The problem with the arms is that there were little leather covered tacks holding things together.
The leather 'caps' have slowly fallen off, leaving behind sharp little tacks that will cut your hands or arms without mercy if you rub them the wrong way. Rather than deal with the split in the leather, or reduce the thickness of the mohair cushion {which throws the center of gravity off just enough to make an energetic rock treacherous} I took a hammer to all the sharp little tacks and bent them over. No more scratches. Until the leather starts peeling away from the arms like Major Arnold Toht's face in Raiders of the Lost Ark, I will leave well enough alone.
After I did this, I realized that all of the loose cushions in the living room were rather in need of a good vacuuming. So, I just did it right then. It took about 10 minutes to vacuum the sofa, two chairs and the rug for good measure. I did all the throw pillows too. I feel better about them even if nobody else can tell.
I also did some slow secret work on the yellow bathroom, but since it's not all done yet, I won't show you the whole thing. {I will tell you it involves a trip to ikea, a trip to Lowes, two mirrors, 3 coats of stain, 3 coats of finish, clear paintable caulk and 800 grit sandpaper.} I still have a little more woodworking and staining to do, as well as some crafty leather work. But, I have been making progress on the room. Just for fun, if you don't follow Bohemian Hellhole on Facebook, here's a sneak peek that I posted last week.
In much less exciting news, we procured a free family room sofa, which adds one more piece to the puzzle of what to with the space. After we moved the piano downstairs, the room seemed almost more depressing, with all the household castoffs just waiting for some order or purpose. So, one sofa down, a couple chairs and a rug to go, and we are on the road to a usable family room!
Finally, I cleaned out the upper shelf in our bedroom closet, moving all our empty computer boxes and other strange items down to the storage room, freeing up space for hats and dvds. The closet floor got a purge too, making room for a shoe basket and laundry hamper.
After six months of living in a bedroom with no curtains or window coverings, I finally hung up curtains.
Moving furniture around, Alice
 See the other weeks of The William Morris Project Here! |
via Jenny Vorwaller
Laser Beam Mustang by Scott Parry
Papa Mixed Tape {or Side A} by Phoebe CarpenterEells via elSage Designs
I am kind of leaning towards this yellow and hot pink combination. One of our plants has a hot pink pot that it lives in, {the pot came from the side of the road, with a gnome in it} and I had put it in the bathroom to get it out of the way as I worked on the cedar chest in the living room. Yesterday I walked by and decided that it was a pretty good look, wood paneling, yellow counter, hot pink accents....I will see how it goes. In keeping with that theme, here are some art pieces that would work in the room. I may have to make something of my own, since I can't be running around buying art willy nilly, but it helps to have some ideas to start with.
Waiting for the bread to rise, Alice
Just in case you were looking for parenting tips...these are my gift to you.
Having pancakes, because it's Tuesday, Alice
I love this apartment in Silver Lake. It is inhabited by one of Apartment Therapy's managing editors, self described as 'Former art director turned design and technology blogger, full-time nerd'. He has a wonderful blog, and exceptional gifting in 'putting it all together' in way that seems effortless, yet unattainable. It seems that all the cool kids live in Silver Lake now, perhaps because of Barbara Bestor's book{which, by the way I lent out to someone, and I can't remember who. If you have it, can I borrow it back for a bit?}, or the culture surrounding it. Maybe artists and musicians and other creative types just tend to be attracted to the same location? I have no idea. I doubt my neighborhood will ever be an epicenter of culture, but I'll do my best to draw people in!
And, what about that crazy office light? I want one.
Making more bagels, Alice
Dear Alice, What kind of sink is this, and where can I find one?
Sincerely, Sunshine
via Birch and Bird
Dear Sunshine,
I think this sink goes by many names, from simply 'trough sink' to 'vintage industrial school sink', and many others in between. Google is very fickle about these things. While one search might yield one sink, another may yield 10. Anyway, I have loved these sinks as long as I can remember, and the best place to find them on a budget is your local salvage yard.
I know the ReStore in Seattle routinely has similar sinks, since they often carry items from school remodels and other old buildings. You can try craigslist too, but honestly, be prepared to search daily, and obsessively. I know such sinks are out there, but you must be diligent to snag one for yourself.
via The Princess and the Frog Blog
If that sounds like way too much work, you can shell out some cash and buy a new one from Home Depot, made by Kohler. It's called the Brockway Sink. They come in black with a white enameled inside, but you can always paint the outside something fun. The two faucet sink will run you around $1100. There is also a three faucet option.
via Kohler
Good luck, and happy bathroom remodeling!
Sewing a handbag, because I needed a new one, Alice
"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." This is week seventeen of the Pancakes & French Fries William Morris Project, happening every thursday in 2012.
Part of having things be beautiful, for me, is to be able to look at them and not immediately think of what needs to be done. Part of having useful things {as I've said before} is to USE them. {possibly the most obvious reason why Hoarders is such an unpleasant show. It is neither useful or beautiful.} After last weeks sewing purge, I was really motivated to use up some fabric by actually sewing it into things for people. I did manage one baby blanket for a friend, and was working on a second when my machine started breaking needles like there was no tomorrow. 8 needles in about 5 minutes. There must be something wrong with the alignment of my machine, but I have no idea what. I still can't figure out what changed during the course of sewing one and a half blankets. I guess scheduling a tune-up is on the list of things to do! So, since I couldn't finish all my machine sewing projects, I decided to tackle a hand sewing job that I have been putting of for well over 10 years.
At first I didn't even consider it something to be done, I was just going to leave it alone. I'll start at the beginning.
I once had a beautiful Rottweiler named Ripley. He was a giant. At three months old, when I went to pick him up, he was more the size of a full grown lab. He threw up the whole car ride home, and never got over his motion sickness. Every time we had to go somewhere in the car, he lost his lunch. He also was able to manufacture what I called 'icicle drool', when he was really interested in what you had to eat, he would just look at you, and slowly, giant icicle sized drool would form and hang there... It was pretty impressive, but gross. Ripley was wonderful, despite his ridiculous size, and had very odd habits. This is where I'll connect the dots, promise.
I received a gift of handmade Indian curtains, and hung them in my bedroom windows. They were just long panels, with no pocket of any sort, so I just hung them over the curtain rods that were original to my 1899 house. They were lovely. The beaded fringe was perfect, they were fancy, and simple all at the same time. What more could you want? Ripley wanted to eat the beads.
One night while I was sleeping, Ripley very carefully ate the bottom row of beads off one of the panels. I will never figure out how he did this without damaging the fabric, or pulling the curtains down, but he did. Each bead and tassel was neatly removed, leaving behind a few threads of proof that something was even there in the first place. I couldn't believe it. Luckily, I had received 3 panels, and swapped the spare out for the damaged one. Apparently the beads didn't agree with Ripley, because he left the remaining curtains alone after that.
{this is a photo of what the beads should look like}
Fast forward about ten years, and I was using the same panels in the same way, just hanging them over curtain rods vertically, so that the beads were at the top and bottom {the odd one was still packed away in the linen closet}. We moved to this house, where the windows are short and wide, and I decided to use the same panels, horizontally. Wonderful! The only flaw in the plan was that I needed to use all three panels, which meant that Ripley's snack curtain would be out in the open, beads on one side only. I still kind of thought I would leave it alone.
Then I changed my mind, and bought some beads. They sat on my counter for a month, daring me to match the craftsmanship of the original creators. 63 little tassels, 126 beaded points, and all by hand. I set to work, counting out 8 beads, making a point, then 8 more, 126 times.
Then I proceeded to attach them to the panel. After two hours of hunching over my dining room table, my back burning and my eyes starting to fall out, I felt like Buddy the Elf making toys. I would never make it as beader of linens. Against my every wish, I stopped working on the panel before it was done, and resigned myself to complete it another day.
The progress is a step in the right direction, I used almost all the beads I purchased, and in the end I think it will be hard for anyone else to tell the difference. {that is, unless I totally screw up the tassels...}
Making breakfast, Alice
See the other weeks of The William Morris Project Here! |
all via Bill Sharp
I found Bill Sharp by accident while looking for information about a flour mill to fit on my Champion Juicer. {consequently, the Champion Juicer painting is my favorite...} I immediately liked the relaxed style of Bill's work, the use of color, and the familiar subjects. I also liked the architectural element most of his work includes. It appears as though he is also an Oregon resident, although I can't claim to know for sure.
Just waking up, Alice
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