Entryway: Mudroom Storage, Bench, Umbrella stand, Light fixture

Tom and I have not figured out the entryway yet. The entryway was one of the things that I loved the most about our house when we bought it. In these old houses with no space, it is rare to have a spacious entryway, and ours was very nice and inviting on first look. Note that the term spacious is relative. :) Beadboard paneling covers the walls, and extends about 60% of the way from the floor to the ceiling. The only problem is that it is not actually beadboard. Instead, it is plywood with lines cut in it to resemble beadboard. Partly because we have no storage space in our house and partly because I love the look, I have been wanting to put a mudroom-type cabinet on the right side of the entryway. I would also like to put a low storage bench with hooks above near the doorway (diagrams and pictures to follow at a later date). Here are a few examples of styles that I like. The dimensions would need to be scaled to fit our space, and this piece of furniture would be white. We will also need a schoolhouse-style light fixture to hang in the center of the space. Plain white? Or to add some color?









The remainder of the open wall space would have white beadboard wainscoting, and we like the idea of painting the top of the walls a bright green (see Ralph Lauren ad above). We go back and forth on the color. I have no clue if the green will coordinate well with the rest of our colors...but I almost like it so much that I could stand a bit of visual dissonance. We will see.

We need an umbrella stand, cubbies for shoes, and a seat. The two options that I like for seating are either a leather settee (LOVE the Anthropologie Battersea Sofette in toffee leather, below) or a bench made from an old headboard.

Krinkles

have nothing to do with furniture...but a little to do with decorating.

So I know that I am probably the last person in the world to discover Patience Brewster's Krinkles, but I did, and I LOVE them. Sooooo cute! I am coveting her cake and cookie plates in white and gold.



Tom and I need to start our own Christmas traditions and collections. I am thinking that her Christmas stockings, reindeer, ornaments and a nativity set are excellent possibilities. :)

Living Room and Guest Bathroom: Rug, Coffee Table, Chair, Ladder, and Medicine Cabinet

I have had a very difficult time finding rugs for our house. We have hardwoods throughout, so rugs are a must -- both for protecting floors from scratches and for protecting our cold feet. :) I saw this rug in a Horchow catalog this week, and Tom and I both liked it. When I looked it up online it was 50% off...and just like that we have ordered our very first rug for the house.



On Friday I went to work for 2 hours and then took vacation for the rest of the day to head to San Marcos, Texas with my friend, Sunitha, to check out the massive outlet mall there. I have to say that the mall is quite impressive. They pretty much have every store that you can think of. While Sunitha did some shopping for clothes and shoes I hit up the Restoration Hardware outlet. This store gets items that have been discontinued, floor models, and catalog orders that have been returned. I found the Buster chair that I have been wanting (picture below).



We actually wanted 2 chairs for the living room...but the other one that they had in stock had been a floor model and was pretty beat up. The one we grabbed looked brand new, so we definitely lucked out. I ordered one of the Buster ottomans (see picture in post from Nov 21st) from RH online -- their Friends and Family sale was this weekend. That should arrive sometime in January. I also picked up the RH Estate coffee table at the outlet. I don't think that they even sell this in their retail stores anymore, so I was glad to have found one. It, too, looked un-used.




I also found a wooden ladder for the living room. I want to use it for hanging throw blankets. We have an assortment of Notre Dame sweatshirt blankets and other snuggly warm ones that become very necessary when the temperatures dip in December with our lack of house insulation. I could not find a picture of the actual ladder (and ours is in storage until after the house painting), but this one that I saw on a Flickr site is similar to it.



Some time ago I found these RH Cartwright cabinets (the tall and wall-mount varieties) for sale on Craigslist for about 25% of the normal retail cost. A couple in our neighborhood bought a house that had them and they thought the pieces took up too much of the space in their tiny bathroom. We were very happy to get them out of their way.



Other than a few small scratches, they are in great shape and work really well in our guest bathroom. I have been looking for similar fabulous deals on some of the other coordinating pieces. I found the matching large medicine cabinet at the outlet mall and picked it up. Now I just need a low and wide piece of furniture that has a usable top surface, as we have no counter space with our white pedestal sink. I also have visions of replacing the stand-up shower in the guest bathroom with something more fitting the style of the house. But that will have to be the subject of a future effort. :)



Overall, the 5 hours (round-trip) of driving with 2 hours spent looking through a single store was definitely worth it. Plus, I got to spent the day laughing with a great friend -- thanks Sunitha! A huge thank you goes out to Tom, who spent the following day patiently making his own trip to San Marcos to pick up the chair (which would not fit in my car with our other finds). You're the best babe!

End Room: Walls, Furniture & Decor

I am considering painting our 3rd bedroom a light orange. We need to infuse a bit of color, but I do not want it to be very dark. Pale orange for the walls with white furniture -- that is the tentative plan.





I bought the above picture from Z-Gallerie for the wall when they were having their Thanksgiving sale. It seems like a good thing to have around as a daily reminder.

Some things in this world are just excellent. And this lovely lamp that I bought from Anthropologie the other day is one of these things. It makes me smile every time I see the picture. Love it! I plan on getting a red lamp shade for it once it arrives in the mail. It makes me think of Alice in Wonderland.

Here is a pottery barn desk that I like. I think I will wait to get one though. The guy who is making our dining room furniture made the one below it. If the pantry and bar come out well, maybe he can make one for me in white. His prices so far have been pretty good. You can get what you want, and for about 60% of the price of designer shops.

Middle Room: Bed and Walls

The planning for Nelson House Renovations 2009/2010 goes on. Tom took the week of Thanksgiving off work, and he patiently met with many contractors to get quotes on our house projects. We have made a few decisions. The roofers will begin installing our new shingles next week (barring any inclement weather). We have narrowed down our list of painters, and we are still looking to get a few more quotes from carpenters for the beadboard, wainscoting, moulding and bookcase projects.


I ordered the above headboard from Anthropologie last night. I have been looking for a bed frame made out of reclaimed wood or bleached wood. I like the lighter look of it. This one has a grey upholstered backing (which looks more purple than reality in the photo), and I first noticed it some time ago. When I saw that it was on sale for 50% off, we decided that it would look great in the middle room (a.k.a. the Guest Room).

I also ordered the creme-colored Cirrus bedding from Anthropologie (pictures below).


The idea is to put up white, paneled wainscoting around the whole room, paint the top part of the wall a dark grey-brown...and then hang a crystal chandelier in the center for illumination. :) Here is one example of a possibility for the paint color.



I would like the wainscoting to go about 60% of the way up the wall, and be wide, white boards. I am having a hard time finding a representative photo...but here are two that show the type of paneling (the 2nd is from PB Kids).




The furniture and accessories will be the color of drift-wood. For example, I am loving this mirror from Anthropologie and these lamps from Jayson Home and Garden. Need to find a good alternative to these $500+ lamps, so send me a note if you know of some good ones in a similar style.




I would like to have someone make us an armoire to match the light wood of the headboard -- this Pottery Barn armoire is a great style.



Alternatively, I also love this armoire (seen in Country Living). Looks great in light wood, and would be very nice to customize the inside storage.