Rejuvenating chairs ...

It is officially time for renewal, both inside and out! I loved this chair that I discovered in a client’s backyard garden. If you have a chair with a missing or worn-out cane seat, put it to good use like she did!

Inside her home, we took these
conservative looking chairs ...

and made them boldly elegant.

This chair could have found a home
in a garden like the one above ...

but I loved it in the room of a young client, painted silver with a thick velvet cushion on top. The custom skirt that I designed for her dollhouse table is playful yet sophisticated. Green velvet on top (and at bottom) looks almost like a carpet of grass.

If you are looking for a way to rejuvenate your own look and spirit, check out this May 1st workshop that will be hosted by a couple of inspiring women that I have recently connected with ...


Reinventing Yourself From the Inside Out:
A Life Changing Workshop for Women
Co-hosted by Susan Kanoff, Fashion Coach
and Ginny Williams, Life Coach

Keeping my resolutions ...

There is something about posting resolutions online that is quite motivating. I highly recommend telling a world of strangers (or friends you haven’t met ; ) your goals if you want to be held accountable for working towards them! So this weekend, while I did not get on the treadmill (haven’t gotten around to clearing off the miscellaneous clutter that is piled on top of it) and I still finished off a box of Cheese-its (they were already open ...) I did manage to get started on resolution #4: Tackle at home design projects.



Awhile back, we had to jack up the floor of our sagging four-square Colonial (phase one, reconstruction: totally necessary, but not visually satisfying in the after department). This procedure caused the curved wall (originally lath and plaster) to literally come crashing down. We then had it replastered (twice) to get it right.



Somehow, I have never gotten around to dedicating the time to re-priming and painting the new plaster (it is such a small job, why hire it out?) Since the second plasterer was returning to look at another project in our home (master bedroom : ) I figured I had better get to work on the thoroughly cured wall (it is a good idea to let plaster cure for about three weeks for best results when possible. I am pretty confident that our walls are bone dry).




With constant renovations in progress, we find ourselves moving items from one room to another a lot, so it took about an hour for me to find all of the necessary prep work supplies. I even found the original gallon of paint (Martha Stewart Pebblestone) that I put on the walls awhile ago even though we weren’t officially done with the space (we still need to finish the crown molding, the trim, put down a new hardwood floor and redo the staircase ... ) See why we have a hard time crossing jobs off our to-do list when every project hinges on a big something else??? Not to mention the life-with-kids-fact that usually the boys are running through the house, asking to be fed, and in need of my expert negotiating skills on answering the often asked question “is it my turn yet??” Well this weekend it was my turn to do something!

My hubby took the boys out and I got started on sanding the walls (which required the extra precarious effort of getting on a very tall ladder) and then cleaning up the mess (there was white plaster dust everywhere which I decided to let settle before vacuuming walls, etc.). I am now 100% ready to paint! Since I had a busy day today with real work, etc., I will schedule a little time tomorrow between the bus and a consultation appointment to get the paint on the walls. I will post the end result. I pinkie swear!

Small change ... big difference

This sassy little bench is a huge improvement from ...

its previous forlorn state (what was I thinking??)

Getting ready for company is a great motivator for many of us to freshen up our living spaces. There is nothing like hosting a party for a couple dozen guests to want to start all over again somewhere (or everywhere!) With the holiday season just around the corner, I thought I’d share some great before and afters from my client files that show how easy it is to make a big difference by changing a few things.

The main flaw in this good-size kitchen was a domineering set of outdated cabinets. Newer black appliances stuck out next to the lighter oak of the woodwork. My clients, anticipating a future renovation, wanted to spiff it up in the meantime.

By painting the long line of upper cabinets a light creamy yellow (closer to the wall color) they are not as heavy and boxy-looking as before. The bottom cabinets got a fresh coat of a bright colonial blue (self-priming Aura paint from Benjamin Moore did the trick) which is similar in tone to the black of the dishwasher and oven, helping them recede into the background. Shiny new hardware and a pretty toile fabric at each window helps to update this kitchen from “I am living with this” to “I am loving this.” Even the vintage stove top looks stylish now, as does the red sink (blue, red and yellow are a great, primary color combination).

The homeowner of this family room addition was looking for a pop of color. Her collection of red and blue glassware inspired my suggestion to define the space above the built-in bookcases with a deep, rich red. To get her visually on board, I provided a computer mock-up of the space with the new color ...

Here is the newly painted space which is pretty close to the visual I provided. With Thanksgiving company coming, we did a furniture shop to find the new sofa, chair-and-a-half and ottoman pictured in the after shot above (and at the store below).

A chair-and-a-half is one of my favorite must-have pieces. It is perfect for curling up with a good book or snuggling with a little one to read a story. Two adults could also share the space (if they are in the mood, that is!) I actually have one of these love seats of my own that will be re-invented soon (it has undergone one-too-many transformations into a fort over the past few years). Check back around Christmas (?!?) to see my master bedroom relocation, which is where my favorite chair will be placed (out of harms way!)

Here is my soon-to-be-new master before ...

And here it is just about ready to be insulated ...


A note of warning to all of you out there lusting after old homes ... my husband and I fell in love with this 100-year old fixer upper, I think mostly for the “before and after” potential that we saw in it. If I had my chance to do it again, I would have bought it before having kids (not with 3 toddlers and a baby on the way, again what were we thinking???). Fixing it up with four little ones under foot hasn’t been the we-can-do-it adventure I hoped for! Although when this Cinderella-before-the-ball house is finished, I am sure we will forget all of the blood/sweat/tears/money that we poured into this renovation-without-end. Until then, I will have plenty of before-and-after-content to share with all of you : )