laundry room lusting

Sometimes I get completely overwhelmed when I realize that nearly every crevice of our home is some type of home improvement project. I know I’m supposed to be patient, and do one thing at the time, but that strategy doesn’t work so well with someone like me who has A.D.D.D. (Always Dreaming of Decorating Disorder) I’m all over the place. Lately I’ve been fantasizing about how my productivity in the laundry department might improve if I liked the looks of it. Imagine how much could be accomplished with this set up…

source:  houzz.com

I’d never miss a call, forget to return an email, and could even run for the loo in between switching loads. At our house, part of the problem is that the laundry room location is far away from where my people leave their dirty clothes. Now if the mudroom (I wish!) was close by…now that’s convenient.

source: houzz.com (Main Street Design Build)

If proximity to dirty clothes is a problem that can’t be solved, then how about maximizing the space I do have with laudromat style efficiency (with the exception of pesky quarter slots, of course!)?

source: houzz.com

I could take the average time to wash and dry a load and fold that in half with this rockin’ double duty set up. But at the end of the day–which, as it happens, is often when I’m doing laundry–I can’t relocate my laundry room or load it with excess equipment to ease the pain. So I’m leaning toward some simple paint, shelves, and maybe even some bead board paneling to improve the looks. Something like this would do quite nicely. 

So now laundry room is added to the long list of renovation to do’s around here. Does it ever end? Nah. Can you relate? Please let us know if a new and improved laundry room has changed your life or if you wish it could!

If you want to truly love where you live, please contact me about design services.

drop this valentine hint

Some florists just do more. That’s the reaction I had when these beauties arrived on my doorstep today. From my sweet neighbor, NOT husband.

I mean, honestly, I have never even seen those yellow spiky flowers before. Anyone know what they are? The bouquet is from More Flowers in Denver. Look what they did with the container…so cool.

Drop the More Flowers hint to your sweetie. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner!

chevron on my mind

Chevron, chevron on my mind. Please indulge me while I find… 

a chevron cake for you to eat… 

a spunky cushion for your seat. 

A cozy blanket to keep you warm… 

a sassy wrap dress for your form. 

Zig zag pattern underfoot… 

an awesome dresser for clothes to put. 

A fabric basket to hold your stuff… 

a stylish pillow for you to fluff. 

 A fabulous lamp to keep things bright… 

 I could go on and on all night! But I won’t.

If you want to truly love where you live, please contact me about design services.

porch pretty

Could it have been the 65 degree day here in Denver with gorgeous bright sunshine? All that melting snow has turned my thoughts to porch sitting. There is something about a porch that’s a perfect spot for casual entertaining with good friends or sitting in solitude and peacefully enjoying the outdoor scenery. The best porches have a combination of indoor/outdoor access, great views, creative lighting with ceiling fans or dramatic pendants, cozy furniture that’s not quite outdoor durable, but close. I want it all.

We have a porch. At it’s worst, our porch has looked like this. (I realize revealing this image could be bad for business.)

It’s the old cobbler and his shoeless kids story (except my kids have a lot of shoes, bikes, sports equipment, school projects, etc. and we apparently put them all on this porch! Yikes!) This room does have potential, so sometimes I catch myself dreaming about porches that look like this…

Oh, how I adore that furniture.

Or this… We could have a nice little chat over a glass of wine in those cozy chairs.

The glossy floor and steely trim color on this porch are delish. They probably don’t allow bikes on their porch.

This porch is like hanging out in the swankiest treehouse ever.

My sheer embarrassment about the state of our porch did motivate me to do some porch prettifying last summer. I found some kitschy patio furniture at an estate sale for a steal. It was in great shape and just needed a coat of black spray paint. But the big change was using porch paint to spruce up the floor.
What do you think? Better, no?

Of course I’m not done, and this picture does not show the wall where we hang backpacks, coats, pool towels, and whatever else I can hang on a hook. However, it’s waaaaaay better, and we are motivated to take care of our porch and enjoy it more often. I have plans for more improvements next summer, but I know it will get cold again soon, so I’m not in a hurry. As it is with most projects here, to be continued…

All pretty porch pictures are from House Beautiful or Better Homes and Gardens.

If you want to truly love where you live, please contact me about design services.

home office goes from drab & dreary to bright & cheery

If you’re a visual person, like me, then it’s hard to get down to business in a home office that’s dreary and uninspiring. Your office should be a reflection of you, so you can get to work in a comfortable and motivating environment. My lovely, upbeat, hardworking client used this hallway walk-in closet as a home office for 18 years!

Suffice it to say that there was nothing about my bright, cheerful, put-together client that was mirrored by her office. Our goal was to brighten and lighten the space (but you probably figured that already!). Wallpaper was our jumping off point because we couldn’t remove the paper that was there before. My client has very traditional tastes, and I wanted to honor that, but get her out of her comfort zone just a tad. A simple, clean and graphic pattern was what I had in mind. I was so excited when she said yes to this one.

{Seabrook Wallpaper 21273}

It’s pretty, feminine, bright, fresh; everything her prior office was not! We freshened the desktop and shelves with white paint, and added some office and media cabinetry from Pottery Barn and a sleek desk chair from Crate & Barrel. Now the office is so fresh and lovely I want to work here!

Doesn’t it look so much bigger? Here’s another shot where you can see how my client continued the pink and white color scheme with these cute boxes and magazine files she found on One Kings Lane for organizing her paper work and photos.

To give her eyes a rest from the pattern, I put together a gallery of some of her favorite artwork from around the house, and ta da! She can start off the new year inspired by her surroundings.house, and ta da! She can start off the new year inspired by her surroundings.

If you want to truly love where you live, please contact me about design services.

bathroom remodel

Our hallway bathroom was a blast from the past. True to its 1950′s heritage, it evoked a “love it” or “gag me” reaction from most visitors. For me, it was a little of both. I loved the vintage styling, fun color combo, laundry chute, storage, and half wall for the kids who are too busy to shut the door, yet need their privacy, please.

However, the crumbling plastic turquoise tiles, icky linoleum flooring and rubber trim (a mid-80′s upgrade?!), a tub that left you knee deep in water after a 5 minute shower, and a toilet seat with rust marks that appeared, er, questionable...this all culminated into a dire need to remodel!

Ick, that floor was gross! We took the bathroom right down to the studs. Here’s what we found under the linoleum:

More linoleum! But at least this pattern makes sense with the original yellow and turquoise tile. I’d always wondered about that. I actually kinda like it a little.Our yellow toilet found a happy home, too.

Apparently our curbside toilet disposal was an intriguing opportunity among our neighbors. When it lost its allure as a comfy reading spot, one neighbor actually put it in his pickup and drove off. I guess our trash really is someone else’s treasure.

We’re almost done with the remodel. Here are some sneak peak shots.

{This tile is like a favorite pair of jeans. It goes with anything. Love it!}

Stay tuned for the big reveal which is TBD since my finisher (read: husband) would rather ski than get this project done! Any bathroom doozies in your house? Remodels on the horizon? Do tell.

If you want to truly love where you live, please contact me about design services.

the holiday mullet

Do you secretly wish you were married to Clark Griswold (of “Christmas Vacation” fame) when it comes to Christmas decorations but you’re worried about what your neighbors (or family!) would think? We’ve got the solution for you: the Holiday Mullet. You can have the best of both worlds with Business in the Front and PARTY (or tacky) in the back!

We LOVE cheesy holiday decorations (preferably the retro classic plastic Santa and reindeer) but fear the leers of friends and neighbors who fail to appreciate our tacky holiday fun. Thus, we came up with the Holiday Mullet where you can have a front yard with delicate white twinkle lights and fresh garland and a back yard with all the flash and bling that you really love!

Are you on board? Send us some pics of your Holiday Mullet!

If you want to truly love where you live, please contact me about design services.