Pig's Ear into Silk Purse?

So, we have this property at Bald Head Island.  It's in a great little spot sheltered by live oaks in what they call the maritime forest.  It's about a three minute walk to the ocean and you can hear the waves when it's still.  We bought it at the height of the market hoping to turn it around within a year, make a tidy profit, and invest the profit in a modest cottage.  Well, that turned into a dream deferred.  As you guessed, we are still holding that little plot. We would love to find some partners and build on it so we can at least enjoy it until (??) the market turns around.  We are talking with a builder and some architects and hope to shop a plan soon.  The builder and the architect asked for my vision.. so borrowing from magazines and blogs, it is taking shape. I have no idea if anything will come of it (finding partners may be a tad challenging these days) but nonetheless it is license to dream....

We want a place that is actually a beach house.  Not a Raleigh house transported to the beach.  No fine furnishings, no fancy accoutrements.  A place to relax, put your feet up.  A place for friends and family.... reminiscent of a simpler time.  But with at least one very viewable tv and wireless.  And an icemaker. You get the picture?  If not here are some photos I have been gathering..

I have dozens of photos of kitchens, and if this little project comes to fruition, there will be
lots more posted.  My favorite part of this kitchen is the screen door at the pantry. 

Not too crazy about the tub in the bedroom,
and this room is a tad small, but you get the idea.

Must have a year-round sunporch!

If you have any wonderful beach house photos, please share.  And I will keep you posted on the progress of the pig's ear..

Cheap Color

Before moving on to more substantial pursuits, I found a few more spots of color and fun for the girls' apartment.  Hard to stop-- maybe it's parenting in the absence of the child. Ex loco parentis?  Anyway, its hard to know when enough is enough, but as far as college apartments go, I am sure we long ago passed "enough" and moved into the "excess" arena.  Nonetheless I found a few cheap bright spots.

When I was very young, I figured out that dish towels were a cheap way to lift your spirits. For a while anyway.  These fun spots of color are cheap cheap cheap and I would hang them on my oven handle or elsewhere in my kitchen for seasonal change.  I would pretty much not even use them until the season changed or I got sick of looking at them.  And so I found these bad boys for the yellow, red, green and brights cucina en las montanas.  And I don't know how to make the little mark that goes over the "n"s. These are Vera (scarf maker) from Home Goods. $1.99, thank you.

Add caption

While at Home Goods, I spotted these plates. When I purchased the Fiestaware on ebay in reds, blues, greens, yellows, etc I somehow failed to get dessert/salad plates.  So instead of getting more Fiesta, I decided to buy 10 of these plates for $2.99 each. 

A. is a little sheepish about decorating her apartment with all of her photos (there are about 4 there now) so I decided to go for faux art... 

Sorry for the glare.  This last one is actually, or appears to be, a signed print.  Again, from Home Goods so that really does not seem reasonable.  Both the "painting" on canvas above and the framed print were under $25.  So, done and done, for now at least.  I know, I said that before.

Finally... finished.. at least as far as I'm concerned

Okey dokey.  A little follow up to the apartment saga. I am ready to move on to other horizons.  A little beach time, then I drive up with A., her clothes, and the rest of the accessories and stuff.  I will probably bore you to tears with one more "after" post, and then you (all one of you or whatever..) can heave a little sigh of relief..

miniature flower print

So, A. had different ideas than I did about my roadside scavenge.  She said she did not want to paint the little broken chair glossy black as I had suggested, but wanted to paint it flat rose to bring in a little more color and a little more vintagey feel.  You will see the roadkill on a previous blog... and here is the finished product..

do you notice the missing spindle?  not so much..

A. chose this teeny flower print- again, seeking vintage, to replace the detested cats. (meowww...) It will go on the little vanity stool that is perched under the white enamel topped vintage table. 

A few more accessories.  Since A., has zillions of photos she has taken in the I Photo file, there seems no need to seek other artwork at this point. So the only expense is framing.  I would like to find a cheaper source, and if I look on ebay I probably can when time permits.  She has at least a dozen black gallery framed photos in her room at home, but these are easy to update with newer photos.  I buy these at Tar-jay or Pottery Barn, preferably on sale.  The artists tape (pictured below) makes the photos easy to install and then change at will. I buy it at Jerry's Arturama (still hard for me to say.. is there really a place named that???). 

peels off with zero residue

Viola!

for over the potty, over course, taken somewhere in Italy where
 clearly their potty's are more
 colorful than ours..

these are bottles of vino, again taken in italia.. 

sorry for the glare... i have limited photography skills.
 this is a photo of K, with all kinds of paint on her face, clearly..

Finding family...

S's birthday

Sunday night we joined the B's for C's birthday dinner.  The B's relocated to Raleigh when C finished law school.  Recently married, he stayed with us for several weeks while he studied for the bar exam and searched for an apartment while his bride accomplished the packing and moving in Vermont. C is a buddy of my son's- a good one!- acquired during their presidential campaign days in 2004. Their moving day coincided with C's birthday, so we hosted his 28th birthday dinner.

Last Thanksgiving we were happy to have the B's join us for dinner- not enough time for them to travel to Atlanta.. and they have joined us for all of our birthday celebrations ever since.  S's birthday is pictured here and C made the cake- lemon- himself.  This year C's birthday celebration coincided with our moving weekend, so when we arrived home we all went to Cantina 18, then to the B's house for yummy almond creme cake with fresh berries, lovingly made by S.

It was getting a little dark at Cantina, but here is the birthday boy on his 29th.

Okay, not the most flattering photo, but he is a cutey. And S is adorable.

Families are hard to keep together and get together. My small family is scattered across the country- Buffalo, NY, Arizona, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Boston.. It is nearly impossible to get us all together.  So I am so glad to have the Bs as part of our extended, surrogate family.  They are a precious addition and celebrations would not be the same without them.

C's second birthday in Raleigh.  We hope for many, many more.

ZZZZZZZZ quarters..

 

M.'s cozy nest..
M. fashioned for herself a comfy, feminine room in creams and white. Her bed was decked with a creamy tucked and pleated comforter from Anthro. She spotted some cool hanging accessories at the Anthro store, so she made some herself from chicken wire and strips of muslin. They are perfect for her room! Later, she hung the "balls" and the white lattice frames over her bed and she was good to go.  Lovely!

P. hanging the ceiling tins we found at the Ivy Cottage.. 

A.'s room coming together.  While she is in NYC at West Side Story, we are helping her get ready to come back to her school home. She is ready, and her room will be too! 

 M and I decided to create a little entry drop off areas for keys, phones, backpacks, etc.  So we used some black metal linking crates that we had from dorm time ($16 from Tar-jay for a set of 6), set them by the front door, added a black mirror that had been left behind in the apartment, a red relish/snack tray from the kitchen to hold said keys/cells and a little framed Vogue cover repro that M had. the witches thing was also left behind from previous tenants and M and A will decide whether they want to keep it... 

More stuff.. coming together

The BIG RED sofa (floor model, Rooms to Go) fit! We were worried we might not be able to use all of the pieces of the sectional but we actually had room to spare. here you see it with some of the bright pillows we had collected.

Before we added the 4 little square black tables
from Ikea ($8 each) that form the coffee table.

Tada! The coffee table assembled and decked with the planter...
now for a plant that does not block the tv....

The anthro bowls find a home on a shelf.. 

Mooo Mooo Moooving Day..

We packed the Subaru, the Tahoe, and a portion of a 16 foot flat bed truck to move A.'s stuff up to school. This, of course, did not include her clothes or any personal items.  I won't bore you with the details but I will show you this photo to give you an idea of how tightly packer we were.  There is no way I could see anything out of my rear view mirror... danger danger.

Here is our progress and how we used some of the little accessories I showed you in earlier posts..

seriously loaded

Blurry?  ah ya.

Perfect for table and chairs M. brought- a bowl of cherries painting I found in our attic.  Retro... 

More to come..

Lovin' Garance Dore

Check it out. http://www.garancedore.fr/en/

Just a quick thumbs up to a really nice little blog. Mostly fashion.  If you want to brush up on your French, it comes in French or English.

A. has been telling me that everyone in NYC wears cut off jean shorts.. "jorts" as she calls them.  I scoffed. NYC is supposed to be a fashion capital.. jorts? Really?  She has also been through about 3 pairs of sneakers from places like Urban Outfitters and American Apparel this summer in the city.  She wears them to dance class and all around the city.  Sneakers?  eh? Well her choice of apparel has been confirmed by Garance Dore.  Garance takes her own photos. These are from.. NYC, of course..

the sneakers.. 

the jorts.. 

the look

Supreme Voyeurism

People who love houses as I do are essentially voyeurs.  By looking at decorating and design magazines, visiting real estate open houses (stalking, some would say) and scouring the local real estate listings, I get to take a peek into the lives of others, how they arrange their stuff, how they live, and to glean ideas about how I can change my own environment.  Mostly, I do little to change my own environment, but am the first to volunteer or say yes when called upon to help someone remodel, renovate, redo, revise ( I gladly said yes to a friend this morning. Start up date: next week). So, THE SELBY is made to order for people like me. (www.theselby.com)  Blogger Todd Selby has quite the thing going with some 35,000 visitors to his site in 2008.  He shoots the residences of interesting people (guess that excludes "everyday" ellie). He is a photographer, sets up his own shoots, lights them himself, and has an enormous online gallery of fascinating people.  Check out this article.. from the New York Times last Sunday..   (The Rich and Boring Need Not Apply by William Van Meter).  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/fashion/01SELBY.html

The shots are presented gallery style and show broad sweeps as well as details.

Literally, a window to the world through the eyes of a gutsy photographer..  Take a peek.. but watch out you could be in Selby land for hours..

http://www.theselby.com/

By the Roadside...

I have passed by stuff left for the trash man a 1000 times, but inspired by Evie in her quest to reuse, recyle, and refresh found objects, I decided to pick up this chair two doors down from me.  It was a speedy, fervent event. Me: hoping not to be seen.  I'll get over it.  The chair is far from amazing, but since I am in shabby chic apartment decorating mode, I thought I would run it by A, my daughter and occupant of her first college apartment and see what she thinks.  Since she has some black and cream stuff going on in her room (and who knows if this will even fit..) I thought I would paint it black.  I will probably try to go the lazy way and spray paint it, although from past experience I know this can be messy and drippy.  You will see in the second photo that one of the spindles is broken. I asked P, Mr. Reluctant Fixer, if he thought the spindle could be replaced.  He sort of shrugged and said why not just saw it off and no one will notice. Besides, it's just for a college apartment.  I am not convinced it cannot be fixed, but for the sake of expediency, we can just go that way.. So here is the chair with its boo-boo...

Accessories on the Cheap..

Bowls from Anthropologie

Well, these were not originally "cheap" but we found them half price.  At the time we thought they had a lot of the Fiestaware colors we would use with the bowls.  As it turns out, the colors are close enough for country music... not an exact match. In any event, they may be too nice for cereal and put to better use in a decorative capacity. Each one is different.

Little straw suitcases. Total investment: $3

These little munchkin suitcases reminded me of the cases I used to carry around my Muffy dolls in. The largest is about a foot wide.  I found them at the flea market for $1 and $2.  I'm thinking since Muffies are no longer in anyone's picture, that maybe they could be put to use on a desk for writing utensils, spare check books, assorted desky kinds of things. Or, maybe in a bathroom to stow cosmetics.  Or maybe to keep pieces of jewelry in on a shelf.  Dunno.  Ideas?

from Michael's.. in the half-price aisle.. 

About the size of slim shoeboxes, I was attracted to the way these boxes open and close.  They have a lid that sort of folds over and clamps the box.  These were around $4 each- one is smaller then the other two.

Utility?  again, maybe desktop, maybe stowing jewelry, odds and ends of stuff, feminine hygiene products (who actually says that) in the bathroom...

     Frame from Pier 1

  Thought perhaps this would be interesting with the cream/black ticking thing we have going on in the bedroom of the college apartment.

We shall see.  I am already hearing complaints that everything looks like it "goes together" too well.. Ahhh we shall see...

Bedroom- over the bed..

Okay, the bed is sort of low profile so I thought it would be fun to give a little emphasis to the bed with a sort of semi-headboard look.  I bought two of these from a place in Wilmington that is wonderful. I could have bought a zillion things there.  There are three different buildings.. full of great finds.
These are from old tin ceilings and are about 22 x 22.  They also had them in a smaller size.  They come in all kinds of colors- cream, soft peach, charcoal, aqua, teal, lime, etc.  I love them.

15. THE IVY COTTAGE

3020-3030-3100 Market Street • Wilmington, NC 28403

Website: threecottages.com
910-815-0907
Monday-Friday 10-5,
Saturday 10-6, Sunday 1-5,
Call for Summer hours.

Living Room accessory..

Chosen from the little neighborhood boutique, Home Goods up in Brier Creek for a big $29.99, for the colors.  It will go somewhere in the living room if it meets with A and M's approval..

PLANTER?  or whatever. it has all the right colors.. 

Apartment Bedroom.. The photos that I failed to post.. remember, I am learning..

these are the pillows that Ralph's shop made to go with the black and white ticking duvet..

And above is one of the euro shams that Ralph made.  It is corded with black and white ticking and made from some cream twill that I have had for years. Amanda W made some dining chair back covers for me years ago from the twill. You may not be able to see that it is corded.. but it is. They look so huge. The flange on the shams is padded, so they are very big and cozy. I hope they don't drown the spindle bed..

To the right is a photo of  the shower curtain made from leftover ticking.  Since A did not want the matchy matchy thing going on, I chose a rather girly patterned print with a bit of a retro feel for the top part of the shower curtain in it.  The little flower bunches have red and yellow green, so I picked up a $5 shower liner and rings in the green at everyone's fav boutique, Tar-jay.  Okay so I posted the photo but it is at the TOP. So, I am learning.

Old dressing table stool recovered with --KITTIES. My friend Elizabeth R would like these. She is a kitty person.  SO, the kitties are to add a little more funkiness to the mix while keeping with the b/w neutral tones.  We plan to do a little wall stenciling on one wall in a sort of bronze color in the bedroom, which you will see more of later.. hopefully.. unless we completely collapse.. And the picture to the right, which somehow just deposited itself right there (full page maybe?) is a 1940's kitchen table with a metal enameled top. The top pulls out to expand the space, on either side. A will use this as a desk.. it has a little matching table that was once used also in a kitchen that will live a new happy life in A's room as a side table with a lamp on it...

Pulling pieces together...

So, I went to see Draperies by Townes today.  He used to be wayyyy up at the Mill Outlet Village and mercifully has moved to Peace Street near (bonus) the Krispie Kreme and also near J's apt. J is my wonderful son who seldom lets me IN his apartment because I am always wanting to clean it and declutter it and rearrange it. I digress. Ralph is a hoot and a half- he is funny and acerbic and just a whole bunch of fun to visit.  I always stay longer than I planned.  Grover is always standing at one of the tables cutting something out and is ultra-courteous in a pleasant counter-point to Ralph's sassy. Ralph was out running errands when I went by today but I was told he would decline to be photographed anyway... anyway, last week he made A's ticking stripe duvet cover.  Again, she wants a bedroom that does not look like it came out of a K Mart bag, is not matchy-matchy- and is funky and vintage-y looking.  So we pulled grandma's double spindle bed out of storage and I got busy.

Here is one of the two Euro shams Ralph and Grover, and co. made.

The apartment..

Back to the apartment, thought I would share the first building block, a humongous red "pleather" or something sectional sofa from Rooms to Go, purchased on the cheap as a floor model and the last red one left, apparently.  Why red?  I guess because they can. The girls have no other commitments to furniture or color scheme, so when you are young, why not be exuberant?   So red it is.  They are not sure they will be able to use all of the pieces that come with this set, but they will fit what they can, store what they cannot.  Here is a photo, I hope, if I can figure out how to do this... I could not find a photo in red because, as I said it is discontinued. Also, this is only 5 pieces-- I think they have more pieces than that.. maybe 6 or 7.. Anyway, the color scheme for the living room will be ... COLORFUL!  red, bright yellow, sort of a parakeet green, and turquoise.. and orange.  This little color scheme came from some gorgeous bowls purchased from Anthropologie in a sort of melange of vibrant colors.  The girls decided to use Fiesta ware in various colors with the bowls.. many of the colors listed below.  Hence, the vibrant scheme.