A Great Way To End The Week. TGIF

Guess what I just discovered over at My Blue Hydrangea? The Ballards Atoll Mirror is BACK!

Thanks for the heads up, MBH!  And thanks for harassing Ballards about it.  See - a little action does work.  Go check out her site.  She has some great pics of the little mail drop area I was talking about.

Happy Friday everyone!

xoxo

Wall Decals: Do or Don't?

Normally I would say wall decals are a DON'T since I've seen some overdone homes with one too many inspirational quotes, but I am kind of digging them for a nursery.  It is a lot easier to take these off the walls in a few years then to repaint a room.

I had added a monkey decal to my Pottery Barn Kids registry thinking it was cute but not really caring if I received it or not.  But this week at the Charleston Farmers' Market we spied a new booth with similar options for a fraction of the cost.  And the best thing is that they customize any order!

Meet Wallfly. Their "mission is to transform boring walls into inspired and creative wall solutions."  Dalit Goobich is a College of Charleston grad who decided to transform her artist capabilities into a fruitful business.  She is super cute and said she'd be willing to design anything I wanted......surfboards, starfish - you name it.  I also received a 10% off coupon that I'll pass along to you.  Enter Chasfarm for the discount.  With free shipping on anything over $30, it's a no brainer to use her instead of Pottery Barn.  

Large Kitchen or Dining Nook?

Calling all readers (all 5 of you...):  I need your advice.

If you had the option to have a big kitchen with lots of storage and even a recycling area with 3 pullout compartment under-cabinets (this only exists in my head at the moment) and a large farm table delineating the kitchen from the living room 

OR 

A medium/smallish kitchen with a separate dining nook a la the below images, 

Which one would you choose?

Exhibit A:  This is the view of the kitchen looking from the living room.  Those walls will come down

Exhibit B:  We could use this white beam structure to delineate the kitchen (on the left) and the dining nook (on the right)

Kitchen Side: The cabinets/appliances would start from the left and make an L-Shape around the corner to the right

Dining Nook Side:  I envision built in L-shaped upholstered seating along these 2 walls and a table

Kind of like this

But a bit more cozy and styled, like this:

My main concern is not having enough room for the large farm table and living room furniture.  Keep in mind we are having a kid soon so I assume we need a lot of space for "things".  Does that mean kitchen cabinet space or floor space?  Do these questions make you scared for my child?

We are meeting with the cabinet people today so should get a better idea of budget and layout.  I'd love your ideas.  Please comment away.....thanks!

Another Ebay Find I Have to Pass Up

PLEASE someone get this.

I wanted it for the baby's changing table, but it is only 24" wide.  It would last me a month until the baby was dangling off the side (although we're short folk, so maybe I could get away with it for longer....)

Anyway - It looks awesome white or you could paint it in another fun color.  I picture it as a key and mail drop off station just inside your front door.  Add this mirror and a few trays for keys and mail and you're an organized woman.

(UM - WHAT THE FRICK?  I  just went to Ballards to get the link and they no longer carry it!!!  If anyone sees it, please buy it for me.  I did see it at the Ballards outlet in ATL and it was really fragile and easily damaged, but I l-u-v it)

Brimfield Antique Market

I hope none of you are reading this today because you are all at the Brimfield Antique Market in western Mass today thru Sunday.  People come from far and wide to score some great deals at this miles long market.

I went to all 3 summer events last year and loved every minute of it.  I scored great costume jewelry, 2 club chairs, a set of faux bamboo chippendale chairs, an antique riddling rack, 2 cane back chairs......the list goes on.  No wonder I felt like a hoarder during the move!

Save the Date for the 2010 events:

July 13-18
September 7-12

Renovations Before Video

Week 1 of the Duncan St Renovation Project

I hope you guys can see these videos.  I'll post some stills below, too.  The above video is of the 1st floor prior to demo work.



I really wish the previous tenants left that bike. Guess what we found underneath the carpet??

Can you say ORIGINAL HEART PINE WOOD???  I am not sure how they survived Hurricane Hugo in 1989, but they did!  The house was built in 1840 and boy did they do it right back then.

This next video is of the 2nd floor.  Keep in mind that I am no video wizard.  The perspective is way off and the rooms are small so it is hard to get a good angle.  I am also mumbling a narrative to myself in parts, but most of it is about how "gross" everything is.



Things are coming along just great.  We only have to rip out the walls on the 1st level since they found insulation in the walls on the 2nd floor.  And we were convinced that there were no hardwoods on the 1st floor.  What an awesome surprise!  It makes everyone's life a little more difficult working around them (foundation work is needed), but who could throw those gems away?

Color Me Happy

Do you ever choose paint color names based on your mood?  For example, we repainted our living room in "Calm" by Benjamin Moore when I was at my wits end with my job last year.  Granted I ultimately left that job, the paint color succeeded in giving me a sense of peace during those last few months.

We are almost to Charleston and are meeting with the contractors tomorrow.  I am excited to be distracted by a big project and hope to get lost in wood/tile/trim samples for a few weeks.  I've been thinking about wall color and would really like to find a good gray or white called "No Regrets" or "This Too Shall Pass".  For now, I'll settle for my OPI mani/pedi colors.  Today I chose "Privacy Please", although it was a very pale pink that would do no such thing if put to the test.