The Gilded Barn

Wedding day

2011-11-10T08:32:00.000-08:00

Well we survived our first wedding! lol

Just a few pictures snapped with the Cowboys point and shoot until the photographers photos come in next week.

It rained the day before as we set up and it rained the day after, but the day of......beautiful!!

Caitie and the Cowboy shared several sweet moments as he walked her down the aisle. It was nice to see them both really enjoy the moment!

Food was served on large log rounds cut by Caities Grampa from a tree on their ranch which were set on vintage damask linens.

The Brides baby sister, the Maid of Honour, and the Best Man (who is also the Grooms cousin and these two cutie patooties are dating, hmmmmm.)

It was a beautiful evening and I'll post more when the real pictures come in. But hey! In the meantime did you notice I finally figured out how to get the pictures to display in a larger size? Finally!

I'm seeing Red!

2011-09-30T14:28:00.000-07:00

Working to tidy up some things around here before my daughters shower next month.

I don't know about you but I get in moods where I wake up and find I'm completely obsessed with taking on something that's been nagging at me.

For instance, this dresser that was in a previous post....

I found this beauty sitting in a field on my way home one day. There was a yard sale at the house but this piece was way off to the side by itself. 25 bucks and 5 minutes later it was on it's way home to the Barn. I had intended to paint it but when I got home I ended up just wiping it down with a little stain and it looked so good I decided to leave it as is. So anyway, this area around my dining table has been making me crazy. There's also been a little plain pine bookcase that we've had for over 15 years, and it was just sitting along the wall next to the table but the problem was this wall is 18 feet high so it was so underscale it was so horrible to look at it was litterally hurting my eyes.

So the other day I realized that the little bookcase would fit nicely on top of that buffet. So I painted it red to match it as closely as possible with what I had on hand. Set it on top and moved both pieces up against the big wall.

Pretty good match, I think.

I just stained the back a little darker to give it a little contrast.

A little extra detail just for fun.

Paints are handy on the bottom shelf with canvas's in the drawers below.

I piled some silver on top to give it some extra height.

A few vintage books with a little watercolor from Paris.

And she has such pretty legs too!

I think I can live with this for a while.

I'm linking up to:

Miss Mustard Seed

No Minimalist Here
Redoux

Save the date!

2011-09-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

The kids wanted a barn, up on hill with a vew of a vineyard.....

CHECK! (whew!)

Invitations designed and ordered....

CHECK!

via Pinterest

The perfect dress found and bought....

CHECK!

Everythings falling into place beautifully! Friends and family have stepped in to help in ways I cannot even begin to express enough thanks for. This is going to be a wonderful day for a very deserving couple. November 5th is the date. Praying for warm weather!!

Barncasso? I don't think so

2011-09-06T13:06:00.000-07:00

Well I've discovered a new passion. And it's consuming my every waking thought. Wait make that EVERY thought as I even dreamed about it last night.

Oil Painting.

Sigh.....

My mother has painted since I was little and paints beautifully, although like all true artists she is her own worst critic and says she's "not very good". Ridiculous! Anyhoo, I have many memories of coming home from school and stopping by her little studio room and saying hi and watching her paint. I was always fascinated by the process. The colors mixed on the pallette transfered to canvas to become something to admire. Water drops on fruit that looked real. I loved it all. Yet I never touched a brush. Odd. She never invited me to sit down and try it and I never asked. Funny when I think about it. But for some reason it's become something I've really wanted to do.

Last month the Getty Museum had a Paris exhibit that I was determined to go see. So the Cowboy, being a good sport and never having gone to an art museum before went with me. It was beyond spectacular!!!

Oh, yeah, here's a nice little Dega next to a Van Gogh. Just hanging out.

Breathtaking!!

Here the Cowboy admires a painting by a Dutch artist from 1635 of the biblical story of Joseph and Potapher's wife. 1635!! It's unbelievable. And the depth of color is truly indescribable. And many of the frames are original to the artwork so it's truly awe inspiring to see. We spent probably the most time looking at the Dutch artists. The Cowboy loved Renoir's work. Go figure. At 8:30 in the evening I was dragging him outta there. We covered only 2 out of the 4 buildings and we can't wait to go back.

But that really did me in. While sitting still, staring at a beautiful landscape by Corot I knew I had to start painting. Who knows where it will go. I'm sure there will be many little canvas's painted over, put in drawers, hung in odd little spots in my home for my own pleasure, but who cares. As long as I love it. So far I haven't had the courage to make it past the basic layer of sky, clouds and a little base horizon. I keep going back to rework the clouds. I found a guy on YouTube who does on line lessons who rocks!

Tim Gagnon.

I've really relied on his videos for my cloud work and as soon as the wedding is over I'm going to do his online landscape course.

He seems to have a very easy teaching style and I really like his work.

So my mom donated a bunch of her old oils and I set up shop on a buffet in the dining room so that it's all easily accessible when I have a few minutes to do a little work. I just move the tray and easel to the table and go to work and put it back when I'm done.

Distracting during the day when I'm supposed be doing other things.

But a distraction I can live with.

The Gilded Barn Celebrates!

2011-08-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

Yes, exciting news here at The Barn.

Our middle daughter Caitlin got engaged this Friday!

We are very excited as we love, love, LOVE her fiance. He is a wonderful guy. Kind, hardworking, fun, a great cook (private chef), apprecaites a good bottle of wine, and has a dry yet razor sharp sense of humor. Did I mention we love him?

Her morning started with him stopping by with these flowers at 7:00 am. He told her he had a nice day planned for them and asked her to be ready by 9:00 and then he left.

A quick stop at the bike shop to pick up a few things. He had bikes loaded, (they love to bike, hike all things outdoors and fun) and then off to the market....

The picked up a few things for a little gourmet picnic lunch

and headed off to San Simeon for the day....

The weather was beautiful!

A little bike riding, and then off to Hearst Castle for a tour. Caitie said they got there and saw a sign that said "All Tours SOLD OUT". She said she looked at Tyler and said "Oh no, they're all sold out!" and he just calmly walked up to a representive and said "Excuse me, where do we go for the pre bought tickets?" Yep he had everything under control, lol.

They toured the grounds and loved every minute. She said from here they could see where they had parked on the coast and eaten their picnic lunch.

What an adorable couple! I'm not even Jewish but when I look at them I hear myself say "Oy, what beautiful grandchildren I'll have!"

One of my favorite pictures. A beautiful couple in front of a beautiful building!

After Hearst Castle he took her to a beautiful spot that they love to hike to. It was starting to get dark. At one spot he turned to her and said "wait 2 minutes and then walk straight ahead". When she got to a certain spot that she loves in the hike, she could hear the song "Lucky" by Jason Miraz and Coly Calliet playing and then she could see candle lights, (his mom and dad had gone earlier in the day and lined the path with jars with candles, I KNOW!! SWEET!) She said as she walked further she could see him at the end of the path waiting for her.

She obviously said yes!

Bliss

Shhhhh! Do you hear that? "Oy! Such beautiful grandchildren!"

Little Girl All Grown Up

2011-07-28T22:36:00.000-07:00

I had a nightstand when I was a little girl. Simple, clean lines with one little drawer.

As far back as I can remember it was by my bed. After I moved away from home (too grown up for such a simple piece) it was left in the care of my mom and dad to be used wherever needed. At some point it became the nightstand for my daughters and now that they have all gone and moved out they left it behind (once again abandoned by girls too grown up for such a simple piece).

It's been hanging around my studio (aka kitchen) for some time now patiently waiting it's next assignment. I kept looking at it, wondering what it wanted to be now that it's all grown up. But it just sat there quietly saying nothing.

Yesterday I was working on a piece to be sold which was inspired by Red Hen Home, (do you not just love her style?!) Anyhoo, as I was working away, painting, lettering, waxing.....I heard it. Not too loud at first sort of like a mosquito, "I'd look good in that".

What? I looked up and there in my line of sight was the little nightstand. Oh, so she had made up her mind after all this time. Ok. Her wish was granted.

One part Duck Egg Blue to eight parts Old white. You know the drill by now, Paint, clear wax, dark wax, buff, buff and more buff.

et voilia!

A sweet little french chocolat advertisment from the Graphics Fairy. Merci beau coup!

And another adorable french handle from the bucket of bits and pieces laying around Jamesy's shop

Il est parfait! No? Oui!

I think it looks like something out of a french pastry shop. I love it and now it's new home is in my entry next to the antique headboard bench. (but that's another post)

I'm linking up to

Miss Mustard Seed

What a difference a day makes

2011-07-17T18:03:00.000-07:00

So last weekend my dad Jamesy and I were out doing a little yard sale-ing and I found a great piece!

It was sitting behind a bunch of stuff and covered entirely with pez dispensers. I saw this little cutie and even though it was in some serious need of a bath and a little love it was in great shape. I asked how much and she said 25.00. I offered 15 thinking she'd come back with 20 but instead she smiled and said "Sure".

15 Bucks?! Really? I couldn't get the truck backed up quick enough to get it loaded!

So today when I was drinking my morning coffee I decided today was the day to get it done. So I filled the old drawer handle holes and the Cowboy drilled me some new ones. Jamesy, Antique Hunter Extraordinare, had these beautiful little knobs in a bucket in his shop which he so generously donated.

A little paint, a little wax, a little gold leaf, a little blue/gray in the trim and 4 hours later.........

VOILA!

Nice "old patina" on the top.

A little gold trim that's been worn off after years of use (wink!)

A little extra storage space.

15 bucks and a Sunday well spent!

I'm linking up to....

No Minimalist Here

Between Naps on the Porch

& Faded Charm

The Boudoir (part 1)

2011-06-23T16:32:00.000-07:00

Well my mom aka GG (her newly adopted moniker since becoming a Great Gramma) is helping me get my bedroom painted. Yesterday we were supposed to start and because my schedule has been sort of crazy this week I had to run out to a job I"m working on in the morning and when I got back shortly before noon she had the 3/4's done! What a girl!!

However, when I walked in I was a little surprised at how the color looked up on the walls. I loved the sample but over the whole surface my "Gray Beige" took on a sort of pinky, lavender look. Ick. I really didin't know if it was going to work or not.

Well by this morning I knew it wasn't going to work. So when my mom got here this moring we talked about what to do. We really needed to finish it today. I remembered I had bought a gallon of a deep gray "Shaken Not Stirred" for the pantry so I grabbed it and added a 1/3 of a gallon of pure white to it to tone it down.

Perfect!

Away we went covering over all her hard work, but so worth it. It's now a beautiful soft gray.

I love it!!

It looks really blue in the photo, (I am sooooo not a photographer) but it's not it's really a nice gray. I taped off the panels where I'm going to apply a metallic plaster with a french panel design. You can see the one over the bathtub is ready to go.

Here's my first sample for the panels. The blue area will definitely be toned down with a glaze. I want it more "dirty" looking. And I think I might alter the pattern a little. This is the wall color over the metallic plaster with a gray glaze on the second layer of the stencil. I love the Damask look, it sort of fades in and out as you walk around the room but I'm just not sure I love it. I may make it a little more pronounced with a solid color.

I'm putting several panels around the room. One behind the scale.

and 3 around the bed. Boy it looks blue in this picture. I've got to get better at pictures.

I'll start the panels this weekend.

More to come next week.

10 things I'd love to hear

2011-06-21T08:35:00.000-07:00

"New time change. There will be four more hours in the day and two more days in the week."

"Don't get up, let me get that for you"

"I could give you a facial but your skin looks so good it's sort of a waste of time. Would you like me to rub your feet instead?"

"I have all this old silver I just don't care for. You want it?"

"Let's see you must be what.....a size 4?"

"Mom, could I please have a turn at washing the dishes?"

"Honey the neighbors called and said not to worry it's not OUR chickens that keep tearing up their flower beds"

"You should wear a pair of skinny jeans, you have the perfect body type for them!"

"Hello, my name is Pablo and I am your live in massuse"

"We're going away for a few days. We leave in an hour and you need your passport"

Hey a girl can dream can't she?

Scattered

2011-06-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

The laundry room is slightly on the back burner. My work has suddenly picked up (thank goodness!) so it's been really hectic here and we need the funds to finish it anyway so hopefully we will be framing it up next week. In the meantime I've been moving a few things around and got out my hard working pigs. So for now they're front and center on the island when you walk in the kitchen.

I just love these guys!

Last weekend was filled with work at my in-law's ranch. Cattle to take care of and steers to be made if you know what I mean. Busy day and somewhat messy, (anyone who's done this knows that when cattle get into the shoot it scares the poop out of them.....Litteraly!!!!

This was little "Rico Suave's" first cattle day so he saw a lot! Including a big 4 foot gopher snake that came wandering through as we were trying to get a mama cow into the shoot.

But as always, I'm working on something until we can actually move foward on a project. The Pantry has been driving me crazy and I've been searching high and low for the perfect gray. I decided to paint the walls gray with a white damask pattern so finding just the right gray to go with the black hutch was making me crazy. One of my favorite blogs, a perfect gray, gives a nice list of grays but they're Benjamin Moore colors and our local store just closed so I'm stuck with a limited selection. I kept bringing home sample after sample. I felt like the Goldie Locks of gray. This one's too blue, this one's too brown, this one's too blah.........then I struck gold! Or should I say Gray! Valspar had a beautiful Gray and when I saw the name I fell in love, "Shaken not stirred". How could I resist? I also found the right color for the master bedroom walls. I couldn't decide between gray or taupe and then I found "Gray Beige", nuff said.

I also finally came up with the perfect finish for my closets in the master bedroom. Old with a little Parisian blue. Love it!

I'm also starting our master bathroom shower this week. This will be given the look of faux stone blocks. Yep it's going to be a busy week.

Not that I don't love my bathtub, but it's going to be so nice to finally have a working shower again. So yes I'm a little scattered with many different projects in the wings and 3 jobs to do this week, but I'm happy with any progress no matter how small.

Whistle while you work

2011-04-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

Yes I'm dreaming away of my soon to be here laundry room. I love the smell of fresh laundry and the sight of sheets hanging on the line.

(picture from Pinterest)

I'm consumed with wall color, window placement, drying racks, ironing board and accessories and all the little details that make a laundry room a place to enjoy.

(picture from Pinterest)

I love this galvanized tub sink by Willow Decor! What a clean, industrial look.

I love the old wood ironing board hanging on the wall here.

(picture from Pinterest)

This pull out one is nice. This room is beautiful. Simple marble counter top over dark cabinets. Nice.

.(picture from Pinterest)

Another lovely room to work in. great lighting, subway tile, farm sink. This has a nice english feel.

.(picture from Pinterest)

But, sigh, this is one I could live in everyday!! All that galvanized metal and zinc. The simple pine shelves. I love working out the details.

.(picture from Pinterest)

Yes lots of details to be worked out.

A Room of it's Own

2011-03-31T19:21:00.000-07:00

We have gone without a laundry room for some time now. Last week I got the check for the sale of a beautiful antique piece of furniture and the first thing the Cowboy said was "Let's put it towards the laundry room!" I second the motion so here we broke ground yesterday!

The layout begins.

This is the view from my office. I am a bit sad that I will lose the beautiful view and the amazing sunsets in the evening, but to not have to walk into another horrible laundry mat ever again.......WORTH IT!

This is the side that backs up to the living room. The doors to our master bedroom are closest to the front of the property (you can see my pretty faux wrought iron doors from the outside here)

then my office just past that, then the opening for the laundry room door will be cut and the water heater will have to be moved.

Yes you can clearly see the water heater hanging about 2 feet to the right of where the door will go. Why is it there you ask? Because I was not home when it was put in. Nope, I made the horrible mistake of thinking it would be put in an out of the way inconspicuious spot. Yep, I was gone and there were two parties involved in the placement, the Cowboy and the plumber. The first party had forgotten I planned the laundry room to go in this spot and the second party couldn't care less.

I'm already planning, dreaming and searching for beautiful pictures. Of course the first one on my list is lovely room with the adorable stand from Show & Tell.

Love it! The other day I saw some amazing laundry rooms on a blog and now I can't remember where I saw them. One was stunning in greys and soft neutrals with zinc counters, oh if only I could remember!

Anyway this is a good start.

My lovely LG's have been sitting in storage for sometime now just patiently waiting to be rescued.

DON'T WORRY KIDS, MOMMY'S COMING TO SAVE YOU!!!

Tattered

2011-03-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

I love needle work. I especially love embroidery and monograms but I also love the needle work called "Tatting". My grandma Juanita on my dad's side was a beautiful artist. She painted in both oils and watercolors. Along with raising 8 children, making jams, pies and all things delicious, she was the queen of rummage sales. I don't know that she ever paid more than a few dollars for anything but she always looked so pulled together and her home was beautiful simplicity before Shabby Chic was in style. She also did beautiful needle work and her tatting was my favorite.

When I was 17, I sat down with her and had her show me how it's done. I loved it! A tiny ball of thread, a simple shuttle, some creative imagination and you were off and running.

Out of all 8 of her kids (4 boys and 4 girls) the only one who learned to Tat was my Uncle Floyd. Go figure. He and I are the last of the Tatters in the family.

He too is an artist, carving tiny humingbirds and flowers out of simple blocks of wood and painting them so that you cannot tell they are not real. He gardens, makes jams and preserves, knits and of course Tats.

I have never gone beyond what is called a "single row" of tatting. However Uncle Floyd Tats double row and can make just about anything. This last weekend I was visiting and before I left I saw he was working on some new Tatting so I asked him to show me how it's done.

He started by laying the lace across his jeans showing me the order of loops and "pico's".

Then he began to show me how to turn each loop to get the pattern I wanted.

As I watched his hands swiftly work the shuttle and thread I was very touched by what I was seeing. These were not "Tatting hands" as one would think of when picturing the art of making lace. These are the hands of a man who has worked hard to raise a family. The hands of a man who worked with his Uncle to keep Bees, who at one time owned and operated a pig farm in Washington state, who later started his own plastering business in Sacramento and became one of the premier plastering companies in the 70's & 80's.
A farmer, a business man, a father, a grandpa........a mans man. Hands that are rough and calloused from still chopping wood for the fire yet those same hands move shuttle and thread to create tiny little laces and trims.

This little piece will find a place in the barn after I sew it to a small towel or pillow case. A sweet little piece of lace from a mans hard workin' hands. Something to cherish.

Tell your friends Pittura is here!!

2011-03-08T09:42:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to announce that the new online magazine Pittura has launched!

This is the brainchild of Mindy Harrell, a fabulous artist and one amazing woman in my opinion. A little over a year ago I was at Mindy's home in Utah and she shared with me her idea of producing this new online magazine directed to the all types of artist not just faux finishers. She asked me to join her in this and over the last year it has been wonderful working with her on this. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to see where the future of Pittura magazine goes!

This is a quarterly magazine and is free! Gotta love that!! Just subscribe to view the full issue. Also be sure to check out the library of pictures of all types of finishes and art in the library at Pittura Platform.

I hope you all enjoy Pittura as much as I have and we appreciate any comments or suggestions you may have to make it even better. And if you would like to advertise in Pittura please contact me directly and I can help you place an ad or video in our next issue this summer.

Enjoy and tell your friends!

I guess it's true what they say.......

2011-02-11T10:17:00.000-08:00

All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten.

Just a reminder of how it's done when the day starts too early to think.

I hate these modern looking coffee makers. Would someone please invent a coffee maker that looks pretty and works contemporary but doesn't look modern? I need a percolator on a timer I guess.

Barn Doors: Door #2

2011-02-01T14:02:00.000-08:00

Well I finally finished the doors in our master bedroom. Like all the other doors we put in these were plain white Home Depot doors to begin with. But let's face it, in this barn, plain white is booooring. So in keeping with the vintage French theme I'm going for in the master bedroom, I decided an aged patina bronze with a faux wrought iron to match would look nice.

The faux wrought iron on the inside matches the finish on the doors, a patina'd bronze. The outside of the doors are still white and the "wrought iron" looks like dark grey iron with flecks of bronze.

I added composites before I did the finish to give a little added interest.

I also added tiny little french scenes in the opening in the composite above each door

Now these are my kind of "Barn" doors!

Barn Doors: Door #1

2011-01-26T16:04:00.000-08:00

The door to the guest bath is done. Here's the before:

And here's the after. Big improvement from plain white in my opinion.

A little faux woodgrain goes a long way. Much richer and goes well with the rest of the room. Anxious for the trim to go up so I can paint the jamb to match.

I added an architecural ornament for a little extra elegance.

Just a little somthin' pretty

The little deadbolt lock above the handle is from London and says "VACANT" or "ENGAGED" . The English are so proper.

"Barn Doors" #2 comin' up!

The Barn Guest Bathroom

2011-01-21T18:23:00.000-08:00

Well I finally tackled the toilet room of our guest bathroom. Originally this room was going to be red. I really wanted a red room somewhere in the house and I thought this one was perfect, but my daughter Cait got tired of waiting and she had leftover brown paint from her room so she just painted it Chocolate brown one day.

I didn't mind, I figured it would be just temporary and I did like to finally see some color in there. But over the last few months the color really grew on me. I liked it. It's a really good deep brown, very rich and warm, so I deciced to make it work. So what to do? I did the ceiling in metallic gold and then keeping with the Italian theme from the entry or sinkroom, I decided on a wainscoat of Sienna marble with a crumbled stone border with a hand painted design.

So out comes the plaster, the glazes, the colors, the brushes, the trowels books for inspiration for the border and most importantly Pandora .com tuned to my favorite station "Pink Martini".

Much better!

Still have to get the base boards down but at least it's looking more finished.

I love it! I'm thinking I'm going to add a tiny (like maybe 1/4 inch) little trim in gold leaf between the marble and stone border. Maybe even along the top of the border too to frame it in. Hmmm, I'll have to keep looking at it for a few days. Even though the edges touch it just feels a little unfinished.

I really had fun with the border. Very relaxed and in the same colors as the marble.

Now, up next the door!

Always remember

2011-01-10T13:35:00.000-08:00

Just a thought

The Table (part 1)

2010-12-17T23:57:00.000-08:00

I know it's be way too long between post. I had a big job in November and on the last day my truck broke down after I left the job. I pulled into a 7-Eleven to get something to drink for the 45 min ride home and when I got back in the truck it was dead as a door nail. It's a long story but after calling AAA and determining the problem might just be needing new batteries (did you know diesels had two batteries? I didn't but I do now, and they're not cheap) I ended up spending 3 1/2 hours sitting in front of a mini mart until the Cowboy could get there and after another hour determine it was more than the batteries so then AAA was called again and we waited for another 2 hours for the tow home. (You know it's really interesting what you see sitting in front of a 7-eleven for 6 1/2 hours).Then within 20 minutes after we got home that evening, the Cowboy came down really sick, and I mean REALLY sick. He's rarely sick and then usually just works through it. Not this time. In bed for a week and half, ended up with phneumonia and boils and is still not fully recovered. And of course both the girls and I all came down with a horrible flu on the same day, (just two days before I was supposed to have art work done for a local art exhibit and none of it was fully done, of course). Then our oldest girl got sick so we picked up little Rico Suave to keep him so his mom could rest and then just when I thought everyone was getting well, they all came down sick again! So it's been just a little overwhelming and nothing much interesting to post other than barf buckets and doctors visits none of which I wanted to photograph and post about.

I've had several of you ask where I've been so that's the story and I'm sorry it's been so long. So today our middle daughters boyfriend, the Chef, came over and made us French Toast for breakfast (I know, he's a dream of a guy) and as I was sitting there eating and chatting with the kids I realized I hadn't posted about my table. It 's not done so this a "part 1" post but here goes.

This wall is in our living room and backs up to the guest bath and the stairway. It's a long wall. We put an old garden door that hangs on a track on the one end to block the entry to the stairway and close off the upstairs. When this door is open the length from the edge of the door to the other end is 10'. I knew I needed a long narrow table that would run the length of the wall. Anything else would look too small. I looked but couldn't find anything that long and the few that even slightly came close was way too expensive. So one day as I'm talking to my mom and dad, GG & Jamesy, telling them my delima, Jamesy of course pipes up and says "Just show me a picture of what you want and I'll make it". So I took a picture of a table that I love that's in one of my clients home. It is a beautiful table. Plain but very well made. I love the way the legs are pegged together. I show it to Jamesy and a few days later, voila! the perfect table!

He tapered the legs and pegged the ends. It's beautiful. He even delivered it, what a guy! I need to distress it and then put a finish on it but I haven't yet decided what to do. I know I want it heavily distressed but I can't decide if I want to stain it a light brown or make it that sort of gray brown color that's so popular like you see in Restoration Hardware.

The first addition to accessorize the table was my grandmas wall sconce light. She had her apartment professionally decorated in the 60's and this was one of the pieces she chose. I never thought too much of it and almost sold it in her estate sale 8 years ago. Thank goodness I didn't! I absolutely love it.

Above it hangs a simple shelf with old books of all types and some silver. You know how I loves me silver! And I am so addicted to the old ratty tatty uncovered books right now! Restoration Hardware was selling them for $29.00 (plus tax and shipping) for a set of 4. Sorry I just couldn't justify that. I just grabbed some old garage sale books and started ripping off the covers.

Love 'em!

I also love hat blocks. These two look great on the end of the table and give the Cowboy a place to rest his hat du jour at the end of the day.

A couple of pictures of little Rico Suave along with hand castings also grace the table. The one on the left is of my oldest daughter, his mother, when she was 5 months old and the one on the right is his when he was just 4 months old.

We all agree it looks like he's going to have big ol' bear paws for hands like his daddy and grampa!

This old greenhouse door we had for a couple of years before we bought the place and was just waiting for the perfect place to put it. I think this is just the spot. It closes off the living room so that the baby can't climb the stairs and also keeps all the heat from the fireplace going upstairs and leaving me cold down stairs.

We bought it and didn't do a darn thing to it. Just hung it up the way we got it. Chipped paint, dings, dents, old drip marks and all.

Someone at one time carved in 1-15-5. No idea what it stands for but there it is.

Underneath the table sits a couple of baskets with toys and this little roadster. I also keep my knitting stuff tucked away in the old suitcase.

I love to knit and I can make some of the best bunny slippers around even if I do say so myself.

So that's it. The go to table in the house. It can double as a bar or a buffet table, but mostly it's the stop gap for books, keys and anything else as we come and go from the house. I absolutely love my table and even more I love the man who so generously made if for me. My dad. Thank you Jamesy.

The beginning of a Studio

2010-11-08T10:32:00.000-08:00

Well yesterday was a lovely day. Long but productive and fun. We set out early as we had to drop of "Rico Suave" the gorgeous little grandson to his home after spending a night with us, but we were on the road shortly after 7 am.

The view is not the greatest from Paso Robles to Palo Alto but we had a nice time just chatting and enjoying being alone. We stopped part way at a McDonalds for some coffee and something to eat. I'm not a huge fan of McDonalds in fact most fast food places scare me as I know it's some of the most chemically produced food out there, but it was on the way, cheap and the morning was so nice I didn't want to start out the day with having to drive all over to find something else. So Mc Chemicals it was.

As we sat there next to each other sipping our coffee and eating a bite I said how it was too bad that our middle daughter and her boyfriend couldn't make the trip with us as planned. The Cowboy said "yeah, but it's really kinda nice that it's just the two of us today. I'm enjoying just being with you today". I was nibbling on my pre packaged, high cholesterol, high fat, chemically produced breakfast that tasted remarkably like the most delicious hash browns I've ever eaten and suddenly said "Oh! That reminds me, there's the most interesting video on Youtube about the non decomposing hamburgers from Mc Donalds!" The Cowboy said, "What made you think of that?" I said, "Well, we've been together 26 years and we still like hanging out together so nothing much has changed. I'll tell you about the video when we get in the car after we eat."

The Cowboy said "Thanks, I think"

It really is interesting and it certainly makes you think twice about what they put into their food.

I told him all about the video. He agreed it was gross and then said, "Maybe we should have gotten some hamburgers in case we don't have time to stop later at least we know they won't go bad".

Next stop, IKEA!

The land of plenty. Seriously! Everything 5 bucks!

Even though I had strict instructions that this was NOT a buying trip for dishes or candles the Cowboy heads right over to the all white dishes to look around. What kind of message is that? What, is he testing me to see if I can pass it up even if he hangs out there awhile? I holler at him "Hey what are you doing?! I thought no white dishes or candles?" Then I hear myself and realize it must be the Egg Mc Muffin talking because I would NEVER say such a thing. The Cowboy looks at me with a completely startled expression and I say, "Wow, I can't believe I just said that. I must really be on the road to recovery from my white dish addiction." He smirked and said, "Don't worry I'm sure there will be a relapse somewhere along the way"

I just love the way they set up actual rooms to look at. We really liked this closet system for me as I'm still using free standing armoires for now. I told him I loved it but would want to have door made as these are too plain for me. He mumbled something about the doors would end up costing more than the whole unit but at least it got us moving along again.

And here's the shelving we were looking for. I love this stuff. Looks as good as the Williams Sonoma stuff but for a whole lot less. We looked at the tags to see how the price had changed since we had last bought some almost 10 years ago, (not that much really) and we were on our way to the warehouse.

Aisle 1 bin 79. It was a pretty quiet place until we showed up and began the big debate of how many pieces to buy and what we needed to combine with what we had and how we were going to put it together after we cut some of it up. (We just can't seem to do things the easy way) I have to say, after a while we had both drawn diagrams on scrap paper of what we thought we were doing and what we needed and we were both pretty frustrated and when I realized the Cowboy was about to blow a gasket I decided I'd best be nice to the person whose help I really needed so I just said "ok, get whatever you think we need".

I'm not sure why the but the whole thing cracked me up as I turned around so I grabbed my camera and said "Give me that angry look again"

"No, you're going to make fun of me"

"Noooo, I'm going to make fun of both of us (sort of, not really) Come on"

I said "Wait, where's the angry, grouch that was talking to me a minute ago?"

he says, "I'm not Mr. Potato Head so I didn't pack my angry eyes"

Hilarious! He has cousins who are actors in both film and tv and this is best he could do? Oh well, at least he's not wanting to throw everything back on the rack and leave empty handed.

Next are the huge checkout lines. We waited in line for what seemed like forever only to get to the register and find out that we should have read the giant sign above our heads that said, "Debit/Credit Only". Yeah us two knuckleheads had only cash. So we navigated our way to another line and started the waiting process again. The Cowboy mumbled something about wishing he had one of those non decomposing hamburgers right about now.

Finally, out of the building and headed home and I might add without one white dish or one box of white candles. (Seriously they have the best candles and are super cheap but I currently have 3 huge boxes at home stashed away)

We worked for hours, moving, arranging, discussing. But it's coming together. At one point I said I'm so tired and it's almost nine we should stop. He agreed and then said, "Wait! We forgot to set these clocks back in here it's only eight. (I internally groan) "Let's just put a little more together and then stop." Stupid daylight savings time!

But it's starting to look better already. We'll work more on it this week and hopefully have it wrapped up by the weekend but now it's time to sit down and watch the Amazing Race and off to bed.

IKEA here we come!

2010-11-05T10:03:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I have been in desperate need of studio space. Up to this point I've been using a corner section of the kitchen/dining area as a place to work. The problem with this is that I don't have room to keep all my stuff (and I have a lot of stuff!) in the house so a good part of it is kept in a storage container on the property. So what happens is when I'm working at home I end up spending a lot of time looking for things because I can't ever seem to remember if they are inside or outside. Then I run back and forth to the container digging around for what I need usually to end up finding it back inside the house.

Now I don't know how many of you are familiar with the large storage containers used on freight trains, but the Cowboy is addicted to them! I agree they are mouse and water proof but they are ugly and come with an oily odor that I can't stand. Not to mention the doors are extremely heavy and hard to open so I usually end up leaving them slightly open, just pushing them closed enough to look closed which makes the Cowboy furious because "it defeats the purpose". yeah, yeah, I still hate the darn things.

Well this last weekend I was getting ready for a large kitchen cabinet job and so I enlisted the Cowboy to help me organize a little bit and bring in a big work table that used to be in Jamesy's shop when I was growing up. As I'm emptying out things from the container I'm saying things like, "man am I glad to not have to smell this place again" Big eye roll from the Cowboy. "Ugh, I hate this thing!" Another big eye roll. "Good God if I never have to struggle with those God awful doors and hear that hideous creaking sound ever again I will be very happy" An even bigger eye roll accompanied with a scowl. At this point find some mouse droppings in some of my things and say "Seriously?! Mice have been in my stuff?! Great, just great!"

The Cowboy sweetly says, "Um yeah when you don't close the doors you might as well hang a sign up saying come on in and poop all over"

My turn to give a huge eye roll.

So we get things inside. The cowboy removed the old top from the table and laid down a new piece of wood and it's just perfect. But amidst all the madness, the Cowboy turns to me and says, "You know I don't mind your studio being in the house I just don't like to look at a mess. So why don't we go to IKEA, (he now has my full and undivided attention at this point), and get some of those shelves we have in the pantry and I can set you up with storage for everything and then you can hang curtains on the front and I'll cut some of them down and you can have a small counter space and use some of your old silver to hold your brushes and stuff......."

As I stood there with my jaw hanging I realized that he had just laid out the perfect workspace.

Sooooo much better than what I'm looking at now.

With everything scattered from stem to stern.

He even dug out this old chandelier that's been sitting around waiting for a good home and will wire it up this weekend over my main worktable.

So I've had to wait all week but Sunday, IKEA here we come!! Whoooooo Hooooooo!

I'll have pictures of the space in progress next week.

Instant Art

2010-10-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

I have so many frames with nothing inside them. Just pretty frames waiting for pretty pictures but in the meantime they've been piled up on the floor awaiting a home somewhere in the Barn. Well yesterday I could take it no longer. I looked down and saw all the dust that collects around them and decided they had to go up. I picked a wall and just started hanging them up to get them off the ground but as I kept nailing and hanging the more I liked what I saw.

Soon they will all find homes in other rooms but for now they fill the wall and more importantly are off the ground.

I found I especially liked layering frames over other frames

I also moved this little bookcase over underneath to balance it all out. It also gave me a place to set my little Hotel House Phone

Yes it works. I love it. No dial so I figure it must be a little courtesy phone, you know a phone that you would pick up to recieve a call already answered by the front desk. Or maybe it was meant to be picked up and then hit then button a time or two to get the operator to ask for the number you want dialed.

It does tend to sound a little tinny.

Whenever I answer it and it's the Cowboy he'll always say, "Are you on that little phone in the living room?"

"Yes"

"Yeah, I can tell"

No joke, every time.

Exhaustion has set in

2010-09-27T11:54:00.000-07:00

Well the day after the first Home Show I came down sick. Really sick. And just as I was starting to feel better the second Home Show came around so I just finished it yesterday.

I'm pooped!

It wasn't as busy as the firs one but a much higher end of clientele so I'm glad I did it. Day number two I did mostly by myself as my daughter needed to be home with the little Rico Suave grandson. Not too bad. A handful of Emergency packs, lots of water, some Mucinex with an aspirin chaser, a lot of hand sanitizer and all was well.

My house was torn apart from the first go around and then since I was sick it never got put back in order and last night we just threw every thing in the house and called it a night, so I've got a lot to get back in order. But today is just rest and get ready for the week. It's going to be a busy one. Two appointments along with putting my kitchen back together and organizing my studio space in the dining room/kitchen area so today I decided to just visit blog land and relax.

I love visiting all the blogs! So many ideas, such nice thoughts, such positive energy and the most fabulous pictures! I'm feeling better already.

Trying to drum up work

2010-09-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

So not much gilding getting done on the barn lately because work has been so slow. So I decided to do a home show. Never done one before, so I was really nervous, but I have to say it was great.

It was a job to set up but it really came out nice.

My white home depot door that I turned into Patina's Bronze metal with "wrought iron" over the glass was a big hit. The column samples on the left cracked me up. The Cowboy said not to stack them because someone might knock them over. But then people kept throwing trash in them because they were low to the ground! So I went ahead and stacked them up.

I think it was a huge success and hopefully some good jobs will come out of it so that we can have the funds to start Gilding the Barn again!

But today, I'm on the couch. I am pooped!

I WON!!

2010-09-11T07:25:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Corey Amaro of Tongue in Cheek for her antique book give a way to the winners of her writing challenge.

Corey's blog was the first blog I ever laid my eyes on. Before that I had no idea what a blog was so you can imagine how fascinated I was to stumble upon a blog about an American living her life in France along the most beautiful pictures.

She recently posted about an old French book she found titled "The Happy Divorce". You can read about it here along with the winning submissions. And one of those would be me! I still can't believe it!

Thank you again Corey!

Breakfast at the Barn

2010-09-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

We don't get too many morning to leisurely enjoy breakfast. Most mornings it's 5:30 am toast and coffee as the Cowboy heads off to work. So this morning was the perfect day. Still up early so the Cowboy could head over to the coast to catch some waves. (yes the Cowboy surfs, I know it's a crazy world here at the Barn). But a good breakfast just sounded nice.

Potatoes on the grill.

Blueberry muffins fresh out of the oven,

Beautiful eggs patiently waiting

Almost ready, eggs sunny side up for the Cowboy and over hard for me

A little butter for the muffins

Breakfast is served.

Hope you enjoy your day.

The Cowboy thinks he's funny

2010-08-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

The Cowboy is rather serious by nature. Not that he doesn't have a sense of humor, he married me and I'm always giggling about something. But he's certainly no comedian.

I told him soon after we were married that he wasn't funny, he was fun to be with. Two totally different things.

He took great offense to this and has ever since made considerable effort to be considered funny. Sorry it's just not his nature. He's not a joke teller, he doesn't act goofy and would much prefer to watch a western over a comedy show any day. It's just the way he's made. And I like that about him. So because of his "considerable effort" he actually can be quite funny now and then. But as our girls and I agree, it's so much funnier watching him TRY to be funny. So whenever he does actually do or say something funny he immediately follows it up with "See? I'm funny" to which we immediately reply "No but you are fun to be with".

So recently he and I were watching "The Cowboys" on TV. I absolutely love this movie.

Notice the VERY young John Carradine in the back row right of John Wayne? Anyway, I have always just loved this movie, sad but good. (I was going to insert here the YouTube clip of when he makes it so the one little boy gets over his stutter, it's sad but sweet. But it does have some language in it and since my mother reads this blog I thought I would forego that part.)

So as we sat there watching the movie it came to the part early on where he goes into the school house to see if any of the young boys look capable enough for a trail ride. When he enters he informs the teacher that he wants to speak with the boys before school lets out. She asks if he would like to speak to the "young ladies" and he replies "No" to which she says, (and I quote),

"Well, we will acknowledge that it's a man's world and leave you to your business."

I found this statement so archaic and funny. I looked over at the Cowboy and before I could say a word he slightly nodded his head and said "And don't you forget it".

Ok, that made me absolutely HOWL with laughter. I had tears in my eyes I was laughing so hard.

It was hilarious!! He then smiled and said on cue "See? I'm funny"

I wiped the tears from my eyes and said, "No but you are definitely improving. Keep up the good work"

He didn't laugh.

Is it just me?

2010-08-25T11:56:00.000-07:00

I'm a clean person. I dust and vacuum (although without our landscaping around the Barn it should be done almost every day). I bathe everyday and wash my hands often throughout the day so why?

Ick!

Am I the only one who thinks the "Q" in Q-Tip stands for Qomputer Qleaner? Am I the only one who vacuums my keyboard. Am I the only one who if out of compressed air will tilt the keyboard up on end and blow into it until I'm dizzy to try to blow the dust out?

My notebook is six years old (which is about 10 in technology years). So I really have to baby it. You can see it's used a lot, the R, S, T, L, N and E are almost gone. Hey who knew the Wheel of Fortune people were actually right, they are the most commonly used letters

in the English language. Actually the E IS gone. The Cowboy keeps telling me that I need to fix that because when he uses my computer occasionally to get online he can never find the E, lol. I just leave it because I don't need to have letters on the keys since I can type without 'em and that makes him crazy.

Oops, I see a squidge more junk between F and G and E and R. Where's my Qleaners?

The little heart shape on the left is a worn spot because when I type I rest my left hand on the keyboard but my right hand stays above. Weird. Hey, am I the only one who does that too?

Am I the only one who would rather clean my computer and blog all day instead of bills and office paper work? Is it just me?

I hate to say good bye but she must go

2010-08-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love this piece but sadly it will have to leave the Barn.

I bought it several years ago thinking I would put it in my master bathroom. She is very old and has a gorgeous original black patina. Can't you just see her sitting there with white towels stacked neatly inside those lovely curved front doors? Large apothecary jars sitting on top filled with cotton, Q-tips and epsom salts? And a small wire basket on the lower shelf filled with white soaps?

That was the plan. But somehow when we moved in there wasn't a wall available for her to sit. I've held on to her thinking I would find a spot but the other rooms in the house are just too big and she looks completely out of place. So au revoir my lovely friend, up for sale you go.

What I do when I'm not working on the Barn

2010-08-22T20:06:00.000-07:00

Since I did a post showing how crazy my kitchen aka "Studio" can get because of my line of work and it showed those crazy panels I was working on, I thought I would post the final product.

First the arches where I installed the premade panels:

These were installed 3 separate arches. Then faux "iron" bands were applied to the outer edges and center "seam" with french nail heads hammered in.

Another arch going into the kitchen.

Here's a closeup of one of the panels. This client, (an absolute dream client! Exquisite home, fabulous taste and and a joy to be around) loves very old, rustic and aged looking finishes. So these were done a little more cracked and chipped than normal.

The third arch going into the kitchen from the dining room. At the same time we did the arches we (my daughter and I) did the Aged Tuscan Red Wainscoat around the dining room along with some areas of plaster relief to make it appear that the upper plaster had all fallen off over time. Then we Glazed the entire upper half of the room to give it a more aged look and to soften the design done previously. She had asked for the dining room to be done but I knew these arches would really compliment this room so she said "Let's do it!"

Here's a view of one of the dining room walls.

Is this home not Gorgeous?!!! I have to admit I have used this home as a lot of inspiration for the Barn.

Anyway, that's what I'm doing when I'm not here, I'm doing finishes in other wonderful homes and constantly getting inspired to create beautiful things.

Evolution of a blog

2010-08-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

When I originally started this blog it was simply a way for out of town family and friends to keep up to date on the progression of work on our home. I have found though that it has become something much more.

First of all I never dreamed of having followers. When I added my little "Followers" button I really just thought my family would sign on so when I look at it now and see almost a hundred people following me (and oddly not one of them family, hilarious!) I just can't believe what this blog has come to mean to me. It has sharpened my awareness of my everyday surroundings and single moments. I am starting to carry my camera with me more and find myself filled with regret each time I don't. I am constantly looking at people, places and moments in time and thinking "That would make a great picture!" or "That would be a great post!".

For instance, this last week I drove my parents to Santa Monica for some medical visits and test. When we got there we had some time before we began running from one doctor's office to another so we went to the 3rd street promenade to look around and have some lunch. There was a shoe shine stand there and my dad, aka Jamesy, hopped up to have his loafers spiffed up with a good polish.

As a boy he shined shoes to earn a little money so he really appreciates a good shoe shine.

(this picture was taken with my camera phone shortly before it died because I forgot my charger)

My parents are in their '70s and I am becoming more aware of how precious each moment is with them as life passes us by so quickly. There was a moment as the three of us were sitting in the room waiting for the doctor to come in, there was a huge window with a beautiful view overlooking downtown Santa Monica, El Segundo and Los Angeles. My mom was raised in El Segundo and this is where my parents met and married. At one point my parents stood up and were looking out the window pointing out different things and talking about points of interest. As I sat there looking at them in silhouette in front of that beautiful view, watching them point to different areas and talk about where things "used to be" and how things look now, I realized it was really a touching picture that I missed. 54 years of marriage, homes remodeled, properties bought and sold, a business started and still going strong, two children, five grandchildren, one great grandchild and yet this tiny moment of them standing in a doctor's office together was really sweet.

As my blog evolves into so much more about the house, I thank everyone who reads it and comments. When I sign on and read some of the nice things people have to say it really makes my day. I guess on some small level it gives a sense of validation that what I'm doing is not just crazy existence but meaningful moments enjoyed by people other than just myself and my family.

I have to say, all the positive feed back is really good for my self esteem and I am a firm believer that self esteem is like chocolate and toilet paper......two things you can't have enough of and something you certainly don't ever want to run out of!

It's not always this bad.......well.....

2010-08-07T18:51:00.000-07:00

I have been on a job all week and I have to say I'm tired. Fortunately this is for my favorite client, (beautiful home, fantastic taste, laid back and just a nice person to work with). But today my daughter Olivia and I spent the day making the panels we will be applying to some of the arches in her home and so even though I normally use a corner section of my kitchen for my studio (temporarily), today when I came into the house after running into town it hit me just how crazy hectic it can be to have a "studio" in my home.......

The table gets pulled out and covered in plastic to work on, sample boards laying around to dry (one is still sitting on the little coffee table in front of the settee) and panels have to be hung from the rafters. And this picture doesn't even show the furniture piled in front of the opening into the kitchen to keep the little grandson from crawling in and eating the chips of dried plaster that fall on the floor!

I was laying these outside on a large steel table that belongs to the Cowboy but the wind kept kicking up and blowing them onto the ground. So necessity being the mother of invention I realized if I wrapped a beam with some plastic I could throw them over to dry. So yes this is what I am walking around to make dinner and breakfast in the morning. Two more to go. Olivia will finish them tomorrow for me and we will install Monday and finish the whole dining room Tuesday. I so love what I do but so often as I'm working I have the voice of a Bouncer yelling at me in my head, "HEY, HEY, TAKE IT OUTSIDE!!!" If only I could.

Another artist

2010-08-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

My middle daughter Cait recently grabbed my camera and took some pictures outside of the Barn. I think she may be a budding photographer.

Some grapes just starting to bud

Gotta have a picture of this guy. His is so beautiful. I keep saying I'd love to have him stuffed to put in my kitchen which my girls say is "Totally Gross!" but I can't help it, he's a beauty.

Group shot. We need to get a few more hens as these girls are getting older and not laying like they used to.

This was my favorite. I love how she captured the look of the truck through the old Pomegranate branches. This will someday be my work truck and although it doesn't look like it, it is actually in really good shape structurally. The Cowboy has most of the stuff to restore it and when he does it will be great for me to use for work.

I really like how she tries to capture the unusual.

And of course a self portrait. Not to bad for just playing around, I think.

Three Girls and a Baby

2010-07-29T19:22:00.000-07:00

I am away from the Barn for a few days and wanted to do a post but didn't have anything pertinent to the Barn on my notebook so I decided to post about my girls and my precious little grandson. (It still feels weird to refer to myself as "Gramma" but I have to admit I love it!) I'm sure if I asked their permission they, especially the younger two would have a fit, but since they are not around and they rarely if ever actually read my blog I think I'm safe. So here they are,

My oldest Olivia, is the mother of my sweet, adorable, precious, lovable, squishy, huggable, oops, sorry about that I just get so carried away with this little guy,

Little Ian a week old.

4 months old. When my girls were little I used to kiss their cheeks and little necks and say "If had some butter I would just eat you up!" This little guy is half Hispanic so I about fell over laughing last week when I heard my oldest daughter Olivia, his mother, kissing him and say "If I had some salsa I would just eat you up!"

Six months old getting a bath at gramma's. That's me!!

And of course my two younger girls can't get enough of this little man either.

Everytime he comes through the door we all rush to grab him and saturate him with hugs and kisses. The first time he rolled over you would have thought he had discovered a cure for all world diseases by amount of cheering and applause from us. We're a little worried that he may be in for a rude awakening when he gets older and goes to school and all the women and girls around him don't cheer at his every move.

And here's my two younger girls, Caitlin (the blonde) and Preslea (the brunette). It's hard to get a picture where they aren't mugging for the camera but I love that about them. Always smiling, always ready for a good laugh and always looking out for each other.

They make me smile every time I see them.

And this is the two of them with Caitlin's boyfriend, Tyler. He is such a cutie patootie! The three of them are hilarious together and when Tyler comes over and little Ian is around the first thing he does is pick him put and try to get him to say "Tyler", love that. So far all Ian says is "Mama" and "No" so the race is on as to whose name he'll say first. The Cowboy swears it's going to be "Grampa" but my bet is on "Gramma"!

Hey, a girl can dream.

Four Bowls and Three Little Girls

2010-07-24T10:43:00.000-07:00

My very first job at age 16 was in a small kitchen shop. Not like today's stores such as Williams Sonoma but more of a little boutique shop. This was before big box stores like Bed Bath and Beyond. This was when local people made a profession of what they loved and opened small shops where customer service reigned supreme.

It was "The Shop Around The Corner" of kitchen shops. It was called Charlotte's Web and the owner, Charlotte, was a jewel. I have always loved to bake and cook so this was a dream job for me. One day as I was unpacking the most beautiful bowls, new from Phaltzgraph, (remember them?) I told the owner how much I loved these bowls. The shape, voluptuous yet simple, heavy and sturdy with the simple band around the top dressing up just a little bit. I was in love. And then Charlotte said the most wonderful words had I had ever heard in my long life of 16 years, "Well you know you can set them aside in back and I can just take it out of your check".

Yes, employee lay-a-way. The heavens had opened up. I not only grabbed those bowls and set them in the back I started walking around the store with a careful eye as to what else I'd like to "set in back".

When I moved into my first apartment these bowls were an important part of my kitchen. The small one was just right for one person to mix just about anything. When I got married I found each one served a perfect purpose in my kitchen. The small one for mixing eggs or tuna salad, the next one up quickly became the daily salad bowl, the next one up was for big salads and large batches of cookies and the granddaddy of them all was perfect for making bread, which I did a lot of, and for taking salads to large picnics.

Over the years, even though I was careful I found they took a small beating. Especially as my three girls began to work in the kitchen with me. The other day as I unpacked these bowls and looked at all the chips and even a small hairline crack in one I saw them for the first time for what they really were. Not just beautiful bowls that were old and chipped but instead I saw beautiful pottery that helped me teach 3 girls (now beautiful women) how to cook and bake.

It made me sad to think of all the times I chastised the girls for not being more careful and getting upset each time there was a new chip. Not that I didn't want them to appreciate taking care of things, but when I look at these now I see little hands stirring with a big wooden spoon, slopping batter over the edge. I see eggs getting cracked with a tiny piece of shell dropping in and a sweet little face leaning over the bowl looking inside the bowl wondering what to do. I see sweet, angelic faces so proud as they showed their daddy what they had baked.

How I wish I could go back to do it all over again with them and each time there is a small crack or chip, hug them and tell them it's ok instead of a lecture on being careful.

They've now been assigned the top shelf with their age spots pointed to the wall, but they are still used frequently. When the cowboy is cooking these are the first bowls he reaches for. They really are just right.

When Mrs. Out of Money meets Mr. Creative

2010-07-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

It all started with a plain white bookcase that came out of a friends colonial house. They had it sitting in their driveway, possibly headed for the dump. 25 bucks and 20 minutes later it had a new home at the Gilded Barn. A coat of black paint did wonders! We figured it would be a while before we could have the lower piece made to make it look like a hutch so as you know the Cowboy raised it up on fence post to put in place until we could finish it. Then out of the blue some other friends decide to renovate their kitchen and they were hauling their old oak cabinets to the dump! Hold on! Load 'em up and get 'em to the Barn!

The Cowboy lined them up to see if the upper cabinets would fit. A match made in heaven! (Not many lower cabinets and they are going in Cait's kitchenette upstairs). Ok so next order of business. Tie the pieces together, add feet, remove hardware......

Three cabinets hooked together made the perfect size base for the base of the "hutch"

A couple of coats of spackle to get rid of the seams where the cabinets are joined.

Holes filled where the old hardware was since the knobs will now need to be at the top of the door.

WHAAAAAAT?! Is that a nail gun sitting on top of my vintage linens?!

I leave for a few minutes and the Cowboy gets really creative and cuts one of the cabinets down so that along with another one they can fit perfectly in the corner right up to the old sink. No feet underneath makes it sit lower than the "hutch". Nice work!

The first coat of paint goes on. I'm so excited!!!!!!! A plywood top with a plain trim is added to give me a base to work with to create a thick faux "Carerra Marble" slab.

The Cowboy puts in new shelf liner so that I can start putting things away. I know, he's a regular Renaissance man.

And.......VOILA! A lovely old hutch. I'm hoping to soon be able to enclose the pantry and install the antique swinging doors from an old local pharmacy no longer in business. When it's done this is what you see when you walk in.

You can see how the corner sits back nicely.

Just a little lower. Perfect!

I think the coffee maker will go here along with shelves up above to hold all the white coffee mugs.

So much room!

So much Storage!

Finally out of the boxes and ready for use. And yes I do use every bit of it. Regularly. I refuse to use paper plates and we always use the vintage linen napkins. I love to serve food in pretty dishes even if it's just us for everyday.

Vintage linen napkins washed and folded, ready to be used.

Vintage silverware ready for service next to French bistro water carafes.

A very old French cake pedestal. I guess I'd better bake something.

So nice to see it all and so fun to use!

We estimated that between the cost of the bookcase, the plywood, paint,feet and knobs we spent about 90 dollars. Worth every penny!

One last sneak peek

2010-07-13T19:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I just have a few finishing touches to the faux Carerra Marble top and I can reveal it. Here's a small section. I love it!!!!

Yep that's it for now. Tee hee!!!

It's almost done!

2010-07-09T12:16:00.000-07:00

The Cowboy has been working away turning my Black Bookcase into my dream Butler's Pantry Cupboard. I can't believe how wonderful it looks! All that's left is for him to put the little silver knobs on and for me to put the faux carrera marble top on which I will do this weekend.

Here's a peek at what's to come.

One of my favorite ladles from France. Ready for action.

All silver and white on display with just this tiny bit of blue. How could I resist?

Trying to figure out if I can use these beauties somewhere on it. Can't wait to show the finished piece. I'd better get busy.

I passed a yard sale and didn't stop

2010-07-01T16:04:00.000-07:00

I KNOW!! I still can't believe it either.

But I just had to. It's because of my illness, you see. Yes I regret to say I have Linenitus

Linenitus : (Lin-in-eye-tuhs)
Noun: A severe inability to pass up any vintage linen in a desirable state when the cost is obscenely low.

Yes, it's a terrible yet somewhat delightful sickness that whenever you see a beautiful linen item for a dollar or less you just HAVE to buy it! And I'm afraid I have had it for some time now. I must be getting better since I saw the yard sale and didn't even consider pulling over.

I know there's a lot of them, but it's not like they aren't well taken care of. Ok so instead of a puppy I have linens. They are washed, pressed, tagged with a description and neatly stacked ready for use.

Just looking at them makes me feel good. They are so soft and make a table look so pretty.
I may be on the road to recovery but I doubt I'll ever be totally cured. And I'm ok with that.

Is there a 12 step program for people like me?

2010-06-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

And if there is do I want it?

I am on the 2nd round of unpacking and can't believe the amount of stuff I have accumulated!

Honestly, this table was empty after the last time I posted! The box is full of wineglasses, I guess you can't have too many of those. I kept digging out silver, ironstone, linens, cookbooks, you name it I kept pulling it out of the box. At one point I said "Good grief this is bordering on obnoxious! Six silver Champagne buckets is ridiculous! I probably should get rid of some, but then again they make great vases" To which my daughter Cait exclaimed, "Mom you're just an elegant hoarder!" We had quite a laugh at the thought of me being on TLC's Hoarders "The Elegant Series".

The Cowboy hung up my pot rack. Oh how I have missed my pans! He made this for me 15 years ago and when he went to hang it it was three inches short of hitting the studs and because of the weight it HAD to be set into the studs. So off he went, that man of mine, and cut, added a new longer copper pipe and rewelded it to fit the spot. What a guy!

Are any of you wondering what I was thinking putting the phone right there under where the pans would hang? I am. Orgionally it was set to be on the other side of the french doors but I thought it would be handier to have it closer to the kitchen so I had the phone guy move it to the other side of the doors. Now it makes me crazy! What was I thinking? Oh well we'll just move it back at a later time.

Two shelves above the counter hold our everyday dishes. Still trying to figure out where to put the stuff on the counter.

I'm not really happy with the arrangement yet, it feels a little forced but I'll keep working things around until they fit without feeling squished.

Is it possible to have too much silver?

This little silver tray with the cut glass dish and wood cutting board inset was a gift from my mom. She showed up one day after we moved in thrilled that she found it at a garage sale just around the corner from my house for a whopping fifty cents!! The salt cellars where my great gramma's. I just love all the little tiny spoons and pickle forks!

Ceramic TV Dinner trays stacked up in the center, Love these! Wonderful for B-B-Q's, you get the divided plate but classed up a little bit.

The bookcase is already full with ironstone and silver. Some good friends are remodeling their kitchen and so the Cowboy picked up their old oak cabinets. Some will be used for kitchen upstairs in Caitie's small kitchenette but the uppers will be perfect for making this into a large "Hutch". The Cowboy said he will remove the post, add the cabinets and put them on feet and then we can paint it black to match and it will look like an old hutch. I wasn't sure if the tears in my eyes were because my man is so creative or that I'm just getting more storage.

Round three comin' up.

FINALLY!!!

2010-06-07T17:57:00.000-07:00

Well today after 4 years, 4 months and 1 day we finally passed our final inspection and this barn is now recognized through the County as an approved single family dwelling. (insert fireworks here) I can't believe we did it.

Yesterday morning the Cowboy and I went out to his family's ranch (where a lot of our stuff has been in storage) and loaded up a ton of stuff. Mostly kitchen stuff, that's what I've missed the most. So today I have been unpacking, washing, drying and sorting. I have to admit the mice had a lot of fun with my stuff. Nothing ruined. Really good stuff was packed and sealed but some of the dishes, well I'm a little shocked at to where those guys can get to when they want.

In the bottom of one box I unwrapped this wine glass to find it stuffed full.

Paper, cotton, string and a lotta mouse poo...

Some mouse had made a perfect little home for a few winters.

I have to admit I didn't realize just how much stuff I have until I started getting it all out. And I regret to say I'm only about half way through! Most things I have service for 8 and some for 12. Although I do have a couple of sets of silver to serve 20 and one set of plates to serve up to 40. I know, crazy. Even though this house is almost double than our last I can honestly say I'm wondering where it's all going to go. My daughter came in and as I was saying that I think I need to have a garage sale and unload some of this stuff she reminded me that we haven't entertained in 4 years and when I do I'll wish I had it all. Thank goodness for the voice of reason.

I love white ironstone and porcelain dishes!

I love vintage stuff but when I buy new stuff I usually buy at least two of something (when setting a large table I like to have the same dishes at each end so food doesn't have to be passed all the way around). Looking at the pictures doesn't look like too much. I should have taken a picture of the whole kitchen, it was covered!

A few pitchers.

I also love vintage Pyrex for food storage. I really don't like tupperware or plastic dishes in the fridge so I started collecting this stuff years ago. And now that they (whoever "they" are) have figured that it's toxic to microwave in plastic containers I'm really happy to have so much of this. I have a lot more in storage but I have to say I do like that I have a dish for every size leftover.

Ok a girls gotta have cake pedestals! I'd forgotten about a couple of these and am now wondering what others I have that I've forgotten about.

A few glasses and some more white dishes.

Boy did I miss these wine glasses!

And a little silver! Oh how I have missed the silver!! Love, love, love vintage silver!! The waffle maker in the front was my grandmothers. It was a wedding present in 1934 and it still works like a dream.

I also love hotel silver or anything for serving. I found these large plate covers for a quarter a piece at a swapmeet. Came home and found that I had vintage ironstone plates that fit them exactly! What are the chances?

This is one of my favorite pieces. I found the glass bowl at Goodwill for 2 dollars. Then later I found this lamp base and the ceiling attachment for a chandelier and put them together and hung beads from the rings where the chains should attach and Voila! The perfect stand for this bowl. I have used this as a large ice bucket, as a salad bowl and to hold towels. I actually found another bowl a year ago at the swapmeet and am now looking for more parts to make another base then I'll have two.

We also brought home some miscellaneous frames, mirrors and brackets. As I was furiously loading things into the truck the Cowboy kept saying "Don't take anything unless you know where it's going to go". I keep telling him that I have to have everything in the house so that I can see what I've got and figure out where everything is supposed to go. He kept rolling his eyes but I just kept throwing stuff in as fast as I could. When he said "No more, the trucks full" I grabbed some more stuff and kept going. He said "You know that's gotta sit on your lap and it could have a mouse in it". I said "I don't care, if he's still in there when we get home he'll have to help wash and put away". We made it home but the mice were gone.

It's been a busy day all by myself.

Merci, Monsieur Dom Perignon

2010-06-04T15:34:00.000-07:00

I believe it was the French Monk Dom Perignon who was given credit for the invention of the champagne cork. Some say he stole the idea from the Spanish pilgrims who came to France with leather sacks filled with Cork. Nonetheless it was Monsieur Perignon who did in fact come to the conclusion that in order for his Champagne bottles to maintain the essence of their lovely elixir they would need to be sealed with a cork along with a wire basket to ensure a firm hold.

When I found my beautiful kitchen sink on Craigslist, the Cowboy took one look and said, "Cool! It even has the opening for the spray nozzel". I questioned that, (why I don't know as he's almost always right about this kind of stuff), I thought from the picture that it was some sort of metal tag or label of some sort. But he was right. When we picked it up, there it was a nice little hole right below the faucet. Since the faucet I picked out did not require four openings I had this hole that I just kept looking at each day and trying to be careful not to let water run down into so that it would drop under the sink and get things wet. The Cowboy will eventually make a tiny Iron and Copper crest for me that will plug it up but until then I just kept looking at it thinking, "Where can I get a cork that size?" Then it hit me. A Champagne cork should do the trick!

I actually have quite a few laying around as I do loves me champagne and I always throw the corks with their little baskets into a jar or drawer for whatever reason I don't know, but I do. So after a little digging I found this one from Spain. (Only fitting for those purist who truly believe that the Spaniards invented the cork). It fits like a glove!

I also like to use corks to stab the tips of my knives into so when they lay in the drawer they don't mingle with each other and get dull. When I bought two of the little paring knives in France 2 years ago that is how the cashier at dehillerin wrapped them for the trip home and I just decided to keep them that way. Better they not get too homesick.

I'll love my little crest that the Cowboy will eventually bestow on this sweet farm sink but until then I am quite happy with my simple cork.

What do you do with Champagne corks?

Grain sack crazy

2010-06-02T12:14:00.000-07:00

I'm telling you I can't get enough of the "grain sacks"! After my dining chairs were done I just kept looking around to see where else I could use one. And, Voila! I found the perfect place for one even though it's temporary.

This is where our dishwasher will eventually go but until then I have a large ugly trash can sitting in the opening so to hide it I made a grain sack cover. I made it split in the center to make it easy to get in and out. It's just hung up under the counter with 3 upholstery tacks so when we do get the dishwasher it's a simple removal.

I mean, really, so simple and so cute!

Thank you Miss. Mustard Seed!

2010-05-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

For anyone who hasn't seen one of Miss. Mustard Seeds tutorials you've really been missing out. She recently posted one on making vintage "grain sacks". When I saw it I was thrilled. So simple yet I hadn't thought of it before.

I have these two vintage french cane back chairs I bought some time ago.

As you can see they came with some ugly "pleather" seats. One had a small tear which turned into a huge rip so I stripped off the nail heads and used the icky "pleather" to make a pattern from a well washed drop cloth. (some of my favorite fabric to work with!)

Then mixed up some blue and black acrylic until I had the right blue and painted on the stripes

I have an old set of vintage French monograms I bought on ebay so I made a photo copy of the two I wanted to use, then taped them to a window and used a graphite pencil to trace the back of the design. Then laid that down on the fabric where I wanted it and rubbed it onto the fabric. It was really faint but it gave me a layout to work with. Then with a tiny liner brush I painted on the monograms.

Then I gave them a good spray with clear matte spray to make them hold up.

A few carpet tacks and we're in business! I can't believe how good these look and how simple it was.

Thank you Miss Mustard Seed!!

I'm not the only one ready for Spring

2010-05-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

We have been having some crazy weather this year. Eighty degrees this last weekend and then a couple of days ago....rain. Go figure. Our lab Duchess spent most of the day looking out my office doors while I worked at my desk.

It made me sad to watch her sitting there just looking out. But she won't go out in the rain, no way no how.

She's ready for Spring.

The Gilded Barn goes to Italy

2010-05-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

So lately I've been focusing on the gilding of the barn. I previously posted about my guest bath or the half bath and said it was becoming my favorite room in the house. It is broken up into two parts. The entrance, aka the sink room, and then farther in the toilet room. Well when working on the house I just had to have an arch so my brother, Left Brain, worked ever so painstakingly to create a little arch over the sink. I had no idea how much work went into making an arch! Several times I felt bad about how much trouble it was but interestingly never bad enough to say "Oh forget it, just make it a flat ceiling". No way, I needed an arch. And this is why......

I really wanted an "Italian" fresco. And here it is. The pictures don't really show the detail. It's much more aged and distressed than in the pictures.

So when you are washing your hands this is what you are standing under.

A few oranges and a swallowtail soaring overhead in the distance.....

Just the tree tops poking through......

Definitely my favorite room in the house.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall......

2010-05-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

So I finally hung up my plastic mirror I got at Goodwill some time ago. It was a hideous fake gold so I originally painted it white (you know the whole shabby chic thing) but soon got tired of that, so recently I saw a picture in a magazine (can't remember and now can't find it) of a beautiful kitchen with a gorgeous silver and gold Louis IV mirror hanging above the stove and it gave me an idea. If I silver leafed my mirror with a tiny bit of gold I could do the same thing! So Voila!

I LOVE IT!!

I know, I know, it's going to be a pill to keep clean but I just can't help it. It looks so good how can I take it down? Eventually I'll have to when we put in the stove hood but until then.......

I see a step ladder and lots of Windex wipes in my future.

Tall, dark and handsome

2010-04-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

That's how I describe my peppermill

Yep, he's a beauty.

My brother was fortunate enough to be born with both sides of his brain working. He's extremely left brained. He thrives on numbers, databases, stock market and business deals. I on the other hand hate math, do not understand the stock market (and believe me it's not for his lack of trying to explain it to me) don't like the "business" part of my business and sometimes struggle to remember how much I'm supposed to be digging out of my purse when I pull up to the drive up window at Taco Bell. I am definitely more right brained. But when my brother, (we'll call him "Left Brain") is tired of the numbers he goes into his garage and turns out some uber fabulous woodwork. Beautiful custom cabinetry, custom pen and pencils and salt and pepper mills made from exotic woods.

So when I decided I wanted a pepper mill I told him I wanted something different. Not like the usual. I said "Make me something curvy, like a woman in a dress. Make it sexy"

(Can you hear my right brain talking?)

And since Left Brain knows my love of black he decided to make it out of solid Ebony. I KNOW! I've never seen such a thing. Ces't tres magnafique! It stands 22 inches tall, is smooth and curvy in all the right places. He had to have the Cowboy weld an extension to the center rod to make it work because of it's height.

Isn't it gorgeous? I think so.

I told him I didn't want a salt mill, would never use it so don't bother. He said he couldn't help himself, that it just wasn't right to have one and not the other. He was right. He also gave me some lovely french salt that I had to prepare for the mill. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Let cool

And spoon into that curvy body.

It's absolutely delicious!

Don't they make a sexy couple?

Where we're at now

2010-04-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

So I figured I'd post some pictures of how things are now in the kitchen. We are sort of about half way there and today it just looked kind of nice to me even though it's not done I just woke up feeling very cozy in this room today.

This marble table is used like an island. I was trying to not have chairs around it but they keep showing up because this seems to be where everyone wants to sit. I have to admit it does feel cozy right in the middle there.

Looking back the other way. You can see my sink leaning up against the wall, it will go back in this weekend. The window is a pass through to the pantry. Eventually there will be a freezer on one side and a fridge on the other in place of the white one there.

Look into the kitchen from the dining table. Temporary island and it's sort of ugly from the back but I'll put something in front of it to help hide the ugliness. So much to do still. Wall finish, shelves for dishes to be put up, pot rack still needs to be hung, yep a lot to do still.

I still can't believe this little side table opens up to seat 10, YES 10! We had some family visit recently for dinner and we had 9 around it comfortably. I know we need a bigger or should I say heavier table here but for now it works great.

Looking back from the kitchen / pantry area. Today my dad said he has two chairs that will work great for extra seats around this table. I'm telling you my mom and dad are my best suppliers of gorgeous antique furniture. The stuff they find is unbelievable and then my dad can fix, repair and rebuild anything so I've be a lucky girl I have to say.

Ok this is looking into what will soon be the walk in pantry. The bookcase or cupboard is for my white ironstone but right now it's just holding an assortment of stuff to keep it off the floor.

Looking directly into the pantry. You can see my cute little apron sink. Right now that is my only kitchen sink so you can see the white bucket on the floor to the right of the sink which is what I use to wash dishes in. I set it in the right side of the sink, wash and then rinse on the left. Tight quarters but it gets the job done.

All the way into the pantry now. you can see the pass through window behind the microwave. I had a bunch of these wood shelving units from IKEA set up in our other house and just love 'em. We went to put them in the pantry a couple of weeks ago and found they won't really work without a lot of remodeling so we put in a couple of pieces until we figure out the best way to take care of this. The Cowboy mumbled something about just making a whole new set for me that would fit exactly how I wanted so that my be what we have to do.

And last but not least is my temporary studio aka the big mess. The plan is for this be a nice little setting area with a large bookcase to hold my cookbooks and magazines. A little sofa and a couple of chairs so that you can relax in the kitchen area and read and visit with the cook. But right now it's still the tool drop off, vacuum storage and art studio.

Well that's how it looks for now.

Some before & after stuff

2010-04-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

First of all let me be very clear.....I am not in anyway a photographer! I am trying to learn but it's not easy and as you all know even a good picture just doesn't do it justice. Anyway here's what I've got for now.

Ok first off is my kitchen counters. I'm really happy with these. This a new finish I have learned and am incorporating into my business, Alexander Cook Custom Finishes. If you remember I did my counters in the faux reclaimed wood temporarily until I could do this and once they were done I really liked the brown so I decided to go with a brown "marble".

Deep chocolate with lighter shades throughout, white veins with some gold mica powder to create real gold veins here and there.

These are 3 times stronger than concrete, will not chip, crack or stain and can withstand heat up to 500 degrees! I just went right over my old reclaimed wood finish which if you remember was right over plywood. I'm lovin' these! Just a couple of things to finish, like putting the sink back in and installing the faucet and then a couple of paint touch ups to the base and I'll have final pics.

Ok, now my bed. If you remember I talked about this bed in my post called "Bits & Pieces". This is the Pottery Barn Thomas Bed.

Very nice, cottage looking and it has served us well for 14 years. I was just ready for a change it didn't go along with the new decor of the room. But the Cowboy was right, it's so well made and nice he just didn't want to see it go. And the cost to replace it would not have been cheap, so I had to get creative.

I absolutely love it.

Architecural ornaments glued on really help. And I dont know if you can see it, (again my photo skills are really lacking) but I found some large christmas bead strings and bought them the day after Christmas at half off and glued them into the panels to create a carved look.

I'll work on getting better pictures.

The Night Stands

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these!! My mom and dad, the antique hunters extraordinaire, found these and I sanded them down and gave them a little french blue finish with a coat of brown wax. I love them!

However, I intended to use them by my bed as nightstands but they were just too small. Actually in a smaller room with a smaller bed they'd be perfect but when I put them on each side of the bed they looked out of place so I've split them up and one will go by the tub, (I have a boudoir chair at the upholster's which will sit next to the tub and this table) and the other is in the water closet. It really works well in there.

This way I don't have to put an ugly toilet paper roll holder on the wall, I just store a bunch right in this little open cupboard. The walls have a golden textured finish called Bronze Silk which looks like old worn silk. The blue goes really well in here. Still waiting on baseboards but we'll get to those soon enough.

Now, My Bathroom Sink

The Cowboy and I both are sentimental and like to use old objects. He had acquired an old sink porcelain sink from an old house in the desert that had belonged to his grandparents. We've had it for years waiting to put it somewhere. We decided the Master bath would be perfect as I wanted a faucet that came out of the wall so it would all work together well. However, I didn't want a traditional built in counter. But the space was on an eight foot wall so I wasn't sure where I would find the right piece. Thank goodness for Habitat for Humanity our local Restore store. What I found was was origionally a buffet from a mobile home.

It measured just under eight feet! I couldn't believe it. I had my dad come take a look at it to see if he thought it was sturdy enough. He gave me the thumbs up and helped me haul it home. You can see the hole in the top where my dad cut into it to set the sink.

Then we had these feet that we took off of a couch that we got rid of and I rubbed a stone plaster all over them to get rid of the grooves and then added some ornaments like I used on the bed. The Cowboy install them along the front and I sanded it down, added some blue paint, some gold wax and a graphic to look like an old french painting on the center door. Then I put a faux stone finish on the top and Voilia! A lovely old french sink.

Put the same "Zinc" finish on the handles that I did on the bathtub

I'm really happy with the whole thing.

I'm hoping to get the walls painted soon and a finish on the fireplace right away.

Oh and my office door is up.

It's an old french door that I stained dark and then the Cowboy put it on a double swing hinge, so no handle necessary just give it a push and go on through.

Well that's all for now.

On the grand scale of things...

2010-04-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

I don't know why it takes me so long sometimes to realize I can change things. I've had this doctors scale for years. I like to have it, but I hate the way it looks. It was in the water closet of our master bedroom to keep it out of sight but it had to leave the room! I put it in the bedroom but just couldn't stand looking at it.

Then suddenly it dawns on me....I can fix it! A little black paint, (I love black!!) some french graphics and Voila! a cute vintage french scale.

Much better

I was even able to save the little medical emblem and put it back on the front of the little box next to the weight.

It's so cute I just may be tempted to use it now and then, maybe.

I like to say Atelier but.........

2010-04-09T15:51:00.000-07:00

I dream of a studio to work and create out of. A place where all my products are lined up labels out for easy viewing, all my brushes and tools organized and ready to be used for fun and fabulous things. A giant easel to work on large canvases and a place next to a large window or door to photograph my work.

Sigh.

I spent the morning walking around my house looking for the best source of natural light to photograph my newest countertop overlay samples for my website, shooting quick shots to test the light and ended up shooting in my entryway. After I shot this I realized I needed a stool to sit on to be able to get a steady look through the lens, oh if only I had taken the picture with the blue ice cooler next to the tripod as my place to sit. Yes so luxurious. If I showed you the storage container I am currently using as a studio you'd scream and poke your eyes out.

Someday.

A couple of redo's

2010-03-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been a whole month since my last post! I have been crazy busy but here are a couple of things I've been up to. The first is for a dear friend, she saw a picture of a bed in Restoration Hardware that she just loved but the price was a little over the top for girls on a budget like us so I told her we could do a pretty close recreation and we did. So the Empire Bed pictured above is what she wanted. She had a plain rustic pine bed which was a great base for us to start.

Great bones I thought, it just needed some ornaments and stain. So we looked through my book of ornaments and found some that we thought gave it the same feel as the Restoration Hardware one and then ordered some extras to create our own design and when they came we glued them on with construction adhesive. We bought curtain rod finials at Lowes and screwed them into the top of the post. I based the bed in a red color to deepen the brown stain. Then two coats of my custom "Espresso" mixture that I used on my beams.

I think It came it really nice and my friend loves it. Mission accomplished.

Close up of footboard detailing.

Closeup of head board detailing.

My flash makes the red undercoat really show through but in person you barely see. It really looks dark and rich. The catalog picture shows the bed in front of an old brick wall so next up is to apply an "old brick" finish to the wall behind the bed that should be next month.
And then for myself I finally finished the bookcase or should I say my dish cupboard to hold my white ironstone. I previously posted a picture of the Cowboy setting this in place, and then he installed some fence post to help support it.

This piece turned out to be a little more work than I expected. The layers of old paint were so thick and drippy that I ended up having to strip the crown molding once it was in place, not fun! I pried out the little bars that hold the shelves and used my Drimmel to sand out the little grooves so they would fit back in easier.

Once the prep was done I applied a base coat of black and realized it was going to be a real pill to paint so I just bought some satin black spray paint and sprayed the whole thing. Much easier. And the final result.....

Much better I think. Eventually I want to have a base cabinet built to sit underneath to replace the post so that it looks like a huge hutch, but until then this will definitely work. The Cowboy put two plugs in the back for me so I can put little lamps in it if I like. I'll post a picture of it filled with the ironstone as soon as I get it unpacked.

GASP!! What would the French say?!

2010-02-24T19:49:00.000-08:00

I'm home alone. Not enjoying it because it's been happening way too much lately. The Cowboy is of course gone away to work, bless is hard workin' heart, and the girls are gone with my brother and friends on a snowboarding trip. So here I am alone and hungry.

I head for the kitchen and decide a glass of wine would be nice. I'm tired of drinking wine out of coffee mugs and plastic cups so I decide I'm going to find a glass. I dig around, not in this box, not in that box, must still all be out in storage at the ranch. But then I see it.......glass......a little sparkle, oh this will do! A tiny Mason jam jar. It's cute. I pour, I sip, I set it down on the counter and think......good grief I'm now drinking wine out of a Mason jar, will this madness ever end?

Although it is only 2 buck Chuck.

The Office

2010-02-18T13:07:00.000-08:00

It's official, I am moving into the office, setting it up and getting back to being the organized, efficient person I used to be. First order of business.....hang up the sign.

No door yet but at least I know where I'm headed.

I am done working out of boxes, setting up where ever construction will allow me to be for the moment. I woke up excited, energized, ready to begin the process. An hour into it I could feel the wheels of efficiency slowly grinding to a stall, I could hear the sound of metal on metal, at one point I smelled smoke. I stopped.

In the immortal words of Pooh all I could think was "Oh bother". Maybe a break would help. I checked my email. I checked my blog. I brushed my teeth. I got a drink of water. Took another look to regroup and realized it looked like Office Max walked in and threw up on my desk.

Ok, so took my sweater off, moved a couple of things got chilly so sweater back on. Ok, Music!

Yes, music is helpful.

Sigh, I'm hungry. Maybe I'll be more productive after a tuna sandwich.

Oh bother.

The whole kitchen sink

2010-02-12T18:58:00.000-08:00

Well the kitchen sink is in and it's a beauty. This is the sink I found on our local version of "Craigslist" for $150.00 bucks, can you believe it?!

It weighs a ton!! It's in beautiful shape and I just love it. There's a manufacture date stamp on the bottom of 1953. I would have loved a deep farm apron front sink but the reality is they're expensive, so when I saw this I knew it was perfect for us. A single sink is ok by me, it turned out to be deeper than I expected and the drainboards will definitely come in handy. The Cowboy got it set in place, (no easy feat alone, I was trying to help but the truth is I think I was more in the way than helpful) and then he set down plywood and trimmed it with scrap 1x2 pine we had laying around.

I quickly got it taped off and decided to put the same "reclaimed wood" finish down that I did on the Island counter top right over the plywood.

Midway through it sort of looks like an ugly cow hide or dalmatian but when I start laying down the color it really takes on a realistic look.

Pictures just don't do it justice.

I top it with a high quality varnish used for floors so it really holds up.

The close ups look a lot lighter than it is. But in person it has really nice depth of color.

It's only temporary until I do the faux marble, but today when I got it done I really liked how everything looks so pulled together, it just may stick around awhile. I'm really happy with the more neutral tones going on in here. The cabinets are set in and I just have a few touch ups and then I'll add some cute bun feet to make them look like free standing cabinets.

I also finished my Goodwill mirror.

Silver leafed with a band of gold leaf in the center with a final coat of glaze to age it.

It stands about 4 and half feet tall. I recently saw a picture in a magazine where someone had placed a beautiful Silver and gold Louis XVI mirror on the wall behind the stove. That inspired me to redo this piece to look similar and hang it above my stove. I know, it will constantly have to be wiped down but hey, even if it's just for a little while before I move it to another room, it will look unexpected and gorgeous, two of my favorite decorating things.

A cute little room

2010-02-02T10:17:00.000-08:00

My half bath is almost done and ready for decorating.

It is actually my favorite room in the house I think. It's broken into two rooms, the entry, aka the sink room and then the toilet room. You can see the fabric color much better than in my previous post (I think it looked a little purple). My Mom bought the tassel for me and it fits perfectly! I'm going to get more trim and continue it along the bottom, I think it looks a little unfinished the way it is, and then I'll line it to make it pretty on the inside but for now it's up and looks good. We have the lights on a motion sensor so as soon as walk up to the curtain the room is lit up. I really like the convenience of that and that way company is never fumbling for a light switch. The door will be done in a dark wood finish as soon as the trim is on.

Kitchen is coming along ever so nicely. My cabinets are done and I love the final finish. Aged cream, slightly distressed with a little gold wax on the detailing on the door trim.

I put a little gold on this emblem on the sink front too. I'm thinking about adding some more little emblems to the drawer fronts. We found a vintage porcelain sink with drainboards online and will pick it up this weekend. Can you believe it? I am finally getting a real kitchen again!! Don't you just love the marble table in the center? I do! I bought it two years ago to use as the dining table but the Cowboy suggested I use it as a center island instead since we had so much space and I've always wanted a marble top for pastry baking. So we wheeled it in, (in two pieces with a furniture dolly and it was still a job, it weighs a ton!) put in in place and Voilia a perfect island to work around. I'd like for him to make a base to raise it up so that it's counter height but until then it works just fine.

Today's project is this huge mirror. I started applying silver leaf to it last night. I'll finish it up, add a little gold to the inside and then glaze it to age it up a bit. This is going to hang above my stove. I love, love, love how my kitchen is coming along but I still think my little half bath is my favorite. What's your favorite room in your house?

Ok Joy, here you go.....

2010-01-29T18:28:00.000-08:00

I recently sent fellow blogger and artist, Joy Waltmire of savvycityfarmer an email to thank her for her fabulous blog and she replied a little confused as to why my "stuff" has been in storage for four years so I sent her a quick synopsis of my story and she replied that it would make a great blog post, so here it.

(Token picture because I think it's a sin to post anything without a picture and I absolutely love this picture!)

Husband finds property with empty barn he just has to have...
Loving wife (aka me) says ok.....
Talented, artistic couple with huge vision goes to county to do their "due diligence" since structure is 30 years old with expired permits......
County give a big thumbs up with a smile and says "no problem".....
Talented, artistic couple with huge vision buy property and giggle with the excitement at the prospect of what lies ahead......
Escrow closes........
Loving wife boxes up everything but the bare (and I mean bare) bones of necessity to get by and moves into said structure (no insulation, drywall, only concrete floors and no heat except one very worthless antique wood burning stove) to begin the finish process to make it a home.....
County says "Oops, that guy shouldn't have told you that, you need to (a crazy list I wont' bore you with but would equal about $175,000.00 minimum to complete) in order to get this permitted as a home........
Loving wife gets more than beyond angry and begins the process of fighting the County to avoid any of their stupid request.......
Three years later and numerous letters, phone calls and a televised hearing before the board of supervisors......
We win!!!!!!! (and I must add that we did not have to do one single thing they said we would have to! Yep, tenacious is my middle name)
Last year has been spent completing what we originally started and all the while my lovely "stuff" sitting in boxes in storage.
So I am but a mere 2-3 weeks from setting this place up like a real house as we should have our final by then, (the inspector knowing what a nightmare this has been has been a dream and has signed almost everything off he could so that we could move back in a month ago even though not fully permitted)

Ok, there you go, that's my story.

Bits & Pieces

2010-01-27T11:49:00.000-08:00

So a lot of little stuff going on but not anything really to sing about so today I'm posting pictures of some things to come.

My stove did get here the other day so it is sitting in the kitchen area waiting to be hooked up.

That will be nice to have a stove again. Running back and forth to the fifth wheel trailer to use the stove is getting really, really old.

I made the curtain for the entry to the half bath sink room the other night. I just love this fabric! A rich heavy chennile in cocoa brown and gold. I put a Gold trim on the edge it really looks nice but I need a little help hanging it up. I'll get to that this weekend.

I bought this little light in Paris a couple of years ago and just love it. The first time I was in Paris my sister in law, Alanna, bought one for a friend, we didn't think too much of it but then we went to her house and saw it lit up and couldn't believe how cute it was! So on my last trip
Alanna asked for me to pick one up, no problem, they were all over the Rue de Rivoli. But when I got there I couldn't find one anywhere! I searched and searched and finally found two sitting on the floor in the corner of a little store. I snatched them both up right away! I just rewired this last week and it is so cute at night.

Kitchen Cabinets are coming out nicely.

Here's a close up of the piece I attached to the front of the sink cabinet. I will put the last coat of paint on them in just a few minutes, then some gold wax on the doors and some glaze and they'll be done, thank goodness.

This is a picture of the footboard of my bed. This is actually the "Thomas Bed" from Pottery Barn which I've had for 14 years. Very cottage, sort of country. I've always been pretty good about not making the house too feminine for the Cowboy but when we moved in here I knew I wanted our bedroom very French and luxurious. So I was going to get rid of the bed but the Cowboy protested quite loudly, he loved the bed, big, heavy, sturdy, it had to stay. He said, "Do what you want to it but don't replace it". Do what I want to it??? Ok so now to make it look French. I started with filling in all the grooves of the boards that were tongue and groove. Then I found some fabulous huge christmas pearl strings so I bought them the day after Christmas at half off and then glued them into the paneled areas and filled them in with joint compound to make them look like they were carved in. Then added on some architectural ornaments, a couple coats of off white paint, sand the dickens out of it and a little glaze and Voila! A very pretty french bed.

I am really happy with it and will post a picture of the whole thing after I get the duvet made. And I'll post the before and after pictures then too so you can see the difference.

All this work is fun but tiring. My grandson is exhausted from just watching.

Whips, chains and a little wax

2010-01-22T20:10:00.000-08:00

I'm really trying not to take too long between post as we get closer to finishing the construction and the fun part begins (can you say decorate?) but it's been crazy. I took a fall off a ladder a few weeks ago and that had me off my feet for awhile and then a couple of small jobs but now I'm back on track, sort of, and working away on things here on the home front.

So last weekend was the stairs. We bought standard treads at Lowes, brought them home and made them look like the floors. I tell you, a couple of tools and some lamp chain and we're in business.

Then rub in the wax.........

and buff. I found that my little orbital sander place on a terry bar towel was perfect!

and Voila! Beautiful stairs.

Now I have to paint the risers. I'll be painting a pattern on each one but that will have to wait. Right now I'm working on the kitchen Cabinets. I found some on Craigslist that would really fit the space we have but the asking price was $700.00 (not in the budget) so while trying to work out a deal the woman notified me she had an offer for the full price so they were sold. OK, no problem I figured something would come along. But then a few weeks later I get a call from the woman who bought them and wouldn't you know it they decided they weren't right for their space and said if I still wanted them I could have them for $300.00!! Sold!! So the Cowboy and I picked them up and brought them home.

The uppers and pantry will be used elsewhere in the house, but don't these fit great? So.... I had just finished a job where I had redone some kitchen cabinets in a distressed black finish. I love black and the clients kitchen looked so stunning when it was done I decided to paint these black too. Well, I did and then over the past few weeks I kept looking at them and all my other stuff going in the room and decided that black just wouldn't work for these. So today, in the middle of working on woodgraining our doors, I just couldn't take it another minute and I started sanding them down.

My youngest daughter (17) walked in and said, "What's going on?"

Me: "I'm redoing the cabinets"

"But you haven't even put them in"

"I know but black wont work in here"

"So what are you doing"

"Off white, antiqued and distressed"

A huge eye roll and out she goes. I'm used to it. But I have to say I know I'm doing the right thing, I can picture it done and it's more the look I want, a lot of cream and white contrasting with the wood floors, I even glued an architectural ornament to the front of the sink cabinet and love it. I can't wait. When the Cowboy called home and asked what I did today I gave a long list of every little thing leaving out "redoing the kitchen cabinets" a girl can only take so many eye rolls in one day. He won't be home until next weekend so I'll have them done before he gets here. Won't he be surprised! lol

Out with the black and bring on the cream! Besides there will be a lot of black in the pantry.

I'll have them done by the first of the week so I'll post pictures then.

We're getting close........really, we are

2010-01-07T18:00:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a while since my last post but it's been crazy here. Working away on the last final details and then I came down sick, the Cowboy left for work in Southern California and won't be home for 2 weeks and then I fell off of a ladder while on a job last week so I have not been too mobile recently. But today I was able to get a few pictures loaded to post. The living room is the most put together room in the house at this point. Every other room just has stuff thrown in until we pass inspection.

Still so much to do but at least it's starting to feel like home.

Check out my kitchen lights! Can you say "Stinkin' Cute?!!

I just love them. I found the shades in a box at a yard sale, two of them had been painted black so I scrubbed off the black paint and left them unfinished ready for a good tarnish. I cut and bent EMT electrical pipe and then wired them in to the lamp shade and the Cowboy mounted them to the wall. Cute, cute, cute!! And their on a dimmer for great ambiance.

This is the pile of stuff in my kitchen waiting to be put in place after inspection. Crazy, no?

And more stuff...

This is the bookcase that came out of a friends house that will be used to hold my white ironstone dishes. The Cowboy has mounted it to the wall and we will build a cabinet underneath to make it look like a hutch. This is scheduled for a coat of black paint right away.

My half bath is coming along nicely. I still have to paint the arch but the lights are in and the adorable little tiny buffet fits in there perfectly.

My one and only upper cabinet in the kitchen is up. When I got it at a yard sale it was just this plain little cupboard. I had my dad add the top molding, the bottom shelf and trim and then I put a finish on it and Voila! cute upper cabinet.

Well that's it for now. The bathtub is in and it's wonderful!!!!!! I'll have pictures of the finished bedroom / bath soon.

The things you hear on a construction site

2009-12-01T08:09:00.000-08:00

I've heard a lot of different things in the process of working on our house. Things such as "Oh brother!", "Good grief!", "Uh oh", "You want that switch to go where?!", "Are you sure you want it like that?", "Come on you blasted wire, get in there!" and my never ending personal favorite, "I'm not sure you can do that".

But my favorite thing I've heard I have to say was recently as the saws and drills were going I hear, "Ok, I gotta get outta here right now I have a 2:30 pedicure appointment!" Not my girls, not my mother and certainly not moi, no it was my dear 75 year old father hurrying out the door to get his tootsies in top shape!

He may look like a regular contractor but his feet are soft as a baby's bottom!

I think the Amish are on to something

2009-11-25T00:15:00.000-08:00

"Many hands make the load light" I've said it before, but usually with a giggle mocking the somber group from which it's usually said, but this last week as I'm working away on a hundred different things trying to make some sort of order and beauty out of a huge mass of chaos and construction, I looked around to see my dad and brother working away on our electrical, my mother running around installing electrical plug and light switch covers (the crazy, oops I mean lovely woman practically begged to help wax floors so you can see where I get my "I can do it!" attitude from), and my daughters friends waxing away on all the floors and I thought......hmmm, those Amish know what they're talking about, I don't know what we would have done without all the help from our family and friends.

I have to say the floors are STUNNING!!!!!! Even if I do say so myself. They positively glow and every little nick and mark and scratch just makes the floors look even better once a little wax is rubbed in. Along with Genie I have another new best friend.......Clarke buffing machine! I want one!!

this guy finished my floors off to a lovely satiny glow with little effort. It took me a few minutes to get the hang of it, slight pressure up to go right and slight pressure down to go left, but once I had it it really went fast. Yep this one definitely goes on my wish list of power tools.

This is the view looking into the kitchen from the living room and you can see the difference in the floors. The wax really brought out the beauty of the wood and they look exactly like I wanted. Old, used, slightly abused and well loved.

still a construction zone but now a very pretty one.

This is exactly what I was hoping for, a floor that I could not worry about getting some wear and tear. I need a floor that can handle 2 dogs, a bunch of teenagers, muddy riding boots, a niece and nephew, a new grand baby and dirty cowboy boots. I think I got it. The Cowboy is installing the sink in the pantry and you notice the tools spread everywhere. No worries, any marks we now just call it "patina". I love this little apron sink. We found it laying in the weeds in the back yard when we moved in. I can't believe someone just threw it out there and left it.

I also love my little side table that opens up to a very nice roomy dining table. The Cowboy found this little table a few years ago at the local swapmeet. We paid $25.00 for it. The top was in bad shape so I put a faux red leather finish on the top and the edges, then stained the rest of it.

Then my brother made 2 leaves for it so when we open it up....

Voila! A very nice dining table that seats 8 comfortably and 10 if you don't mind being cozy. I also love my mirrors for my living room.

I have 2 of these that I bought probably 2 years ago and they went directly into storage. When the Cowboy brought them inside yesterday I about fell over. I had totally forgotten about them! They're a little plain for my taste so I need to figure out what to do to dress them up a bit but I'll figure it out. Still working on painting the kitchen windows and the huge bookcase to hold my dishes. I'll have those pictures soon.

The decision is in!

2009-11-05T20:41:00.000-08:00

Well after much deliberation, discussion, test samples and numerous trips in and out of the room looking at the color in different light, we (actually I) have chosen a color for the pine floors.

I know it's not a huge color change but I really wanted the floors to just look old, weathered and dare I say, a little dirty? And to me this is it. The wax will be here next Wednesday so I have informed our daughters that they are recruited in full as of Wednesday until the floors are done. We are down to just a little bit left to put down, half of the living room, my office and the stairs, so we should be done by tomorrow. What a job it has been! My arms and legs ache from all the nailing. I'd be really excited if I wasn't so exhausted.

And check out my kitchen!!! The red ceiling is gone and the floor is in and it looks lovely. I have to get to those old windows this weekend,that is the last little bit of red to go. To the right of the wood burning stove will be the working kitchen to the left will be the walk in pantry (yet to be built and sort of a tiny kitchen in it's self with storage, display shelves for dishes and a sink). The dining table will sit to the right as soon as you go through the opening.

And the master bedroom is coming along nicely too.

I'm pining away for my new floors

2009-11-02T20:02:00.000-08:00

The floors are going in and they are stunning!!

Plain pine planks, Lumber Liquidators, $1.13 a square foot! I want them to look old and used but soft and nicely aged. Not yellow but more to the brown or grayish brown side. Not ruined but rustic. Am I asking for too much? I don't think so. The upstairs, which is both of the girls bedrooms, are done and ready for waxing.

Tonight we finished the kitchen so tomorrow we start down the hallway and head towards the master bedroom.

This nailer is da bomb! My brother loaned it to us and I can't imagine doing this without it. It pays to have a general contractor in the family. But man is my arm tired tonight! Preslea, our 16 year old helped out all day and then I took over for her when she went to work at 3:30. Three hours and my arm was tired! I'm glad she's coming back tomorrow for the morning shift again.And check out my kitchen ceiling! No red!! Just beautiful cream walls and ceiling with dark beams. I love it! Preslea and my neice Aleah zipped around the room on the scissor lift taking down all the masking paper. Tomorrow I'll post a picture of the room in full with the floor done. Have I mentioned I love it?

I dream of Genie

2009-10-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

That's the Genie GS-1930 that is. Yep, I love this baby! I have spent the last 5 days zipping around my kitchen cleaning the ceiling so it is ready to paint and then re staining the beams, and it would have been a nightmare without it! (by the way, notice the huge stack of planks behind the Genie? That's a fraction of my pine plank flooring that got delivered this week! Oh, I can't wait!!!)It was a little more wobbly than I expected when I was extended up to the peak but I got somewhat used to it, sort of. I found I kept locking my knees and would work really stiff because it had so much wiggle to it so today I am sooooo sore from head, or should I say neck to toe. It was a job to get in the house. A makeshift ramp and some tight maneuvering and it was in. However getting it out was more difficult. It came off the ramp off center and the next thing I knew it was stuck in place with the back end on the ramp and the front wheels hanging off and spinning but going nowhere. OY! What's a girl to do?

So I called the Cowboy, (he couldn't come home this weekend he had to stay in the Bay Area for work) and asked him how to get the truck into 4 wheel drive. Just what every man wants to hear from his wife, an exasperated "Hi honey, how do I get your truck into 4 wheel drive?!" Well I found a strap to hook to the bumper and hitched it to the Genie and with a little pull it was back on solid ground back in the front yard waiting to be picked up. I'm gonna miss her, it was a long week but my beams look beautiful and the ceiling is ready for a coat of cream paint.They look black but they are really a true Espresso Brown. I mixed 3 parts Walnut to 1 part black with a little glaze to help it go on smoothly. I love 'em!

Now onto the existing vintage kitchen windows and the bookcase I'll be using to hold my white ironstone dishes. Another busy week!

I can feel the warmth!

2009-10-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

So it's getting closer each day!! The fireplaces have been installed and they look fabulous!

I have to say the installers probably thought I was a crazy woman as I kept coming in saying over and over how beautiful they looked and how happy I was to see them finally be put in. I think at one point I actually shrieked and clapped my hands but I'm not sure, it's all a blur right now but I do remember them looking at me really funny.

And then came insulation and then........DRYWALL!!! Ok I have to admit it, these guys in the picture, I'm actually pretty certain they think I'm Koo Koo for Cocoa Puffs. After being gone working for a week I came back to see this... my living room drywalled. Real walls, white, no bare studs, no icky spider webs and brown wood, real walls ready for painting. It brought tears to my eyes, seriously. They turned around looking at me I'm sure wondering who this crazy woman was wondering in, crying and saying repeatedly, "Thank you! Thank you!" I soon realized they didn't speak much english so I then said "Muy Bonita! Muy Bonita!" They still had this look on their faces like "What's with this broad?" Then my daughters boyfriend who speaks spanish came in and translated my joy for me. I dont' know what he said but they nodded their heads and went back to work so they must have realized I wasn't totally insane or of any danger.

The entry to my half bath is on it's way to being just what I wanted.

Today the scissor lift arrived! Fun AND functional. So tomorrow this room gets the ceiling cleaned and ready for paint the beams stained. Going to busy day!

Rub a dub, dub, I likes me tub

2009-09-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

bath¹ (bth, bäth)n. pl.

1. baths (bz, bäz, bths, bäths)

a. The act of soaking or cleansing the body, as in water or steam.

b. The water used for cleansing the body.

What is it about a bath that is so amazingly wonderful and luxurious? I mean, it's just water for Pete's sake, with maybe a little Epsom salt, some essential oils, a glass of wine or champagne close by and a good book. Just thinking about it makes me woozy. And in a few short weeks I think I will finally be able to take a bath in the tub I have been holding onto for 30 years.

I know, 30 years, I agree it's ridiculous but it's the best I could do. When I moved to the Central Coast (30 years ago) I found this claw foot tub behind the old workshop/barn on the property. My dad was going to get rid of it but I begged to keep it. "It doesn't even have any feet" he said. I love claw foot tubs and just knew someday I would get to use it, so we struck a deal. If I could find the feet I could keep it. I was 15 and determined so I dug around the place until I found all four feet. The tub was mine!

My dad set it up on the back patio and they kept it for almost 20 years until the Cowboy and I remodeled our last place and thought we would use it. We picked it up but one thing led to another and into storage it went waiting for it's proper home. Well it's finally made it but it had to have just the right finish on it to go into our master bedroom. I wanted it to look like old zinc. So I added some emblems to the end and each side to give a regal feel and then a little paint here and there and it's perfect. The feet have been silver leafed are sitting inside the tub awaiting to be put in place.
Next to a glass of Champagne.

Another day, another pile of dirt, dog hair and concrete

2009-08-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

Well, things are moving along little by little. Even amidst the constant haze of dust and dirt I can see, ever so slightly sometimes, the tiny but bright light at the end of the tunnel of this project. This last weekend consisted of cutting lines in the concrete in the living room to run lines for electrical outlets in the floor. First the holes were drilled for the plug boxes...

This seems to be a daily design theme in my home right now . I am really ready for a change.

I was unable to take any pictures of the lines getting cut out since my hands were full with holding the hose on the saw blade with one hand and trying to vacuum up all the water with the other hand. When we finished I looked down to see just how glamorous this job really is.

We had 30 minutes to get cleaned up and out the door to get to a wedding, so I snapped a quick picture to remember this blessed event.

Just when I think I can't stand another day I get a quiet reminder as to why we love it here so much. This is an early morning sunrise from our front gate looking at the large horse ranch across from us. Actually that is how I got into this mess to begin with.

When my husband came home with a flyer and told me about the property for sale, I looked it over, said "oh, that's nice" and threw it out. The next morning we left early to go to some garage sales and with a cup of coffee in hand we ended up at the front gate looking into this place. I stood firm, really I did. I said no and explained all the good reasons I had. But he's slick, that cowboy of mine and sweet and somewhat charming too. From that day on, anytime I went to go somewhere early in the morning or late in the afternoon he'd hop up and say, "oh, let me drive you and we can get a cup of coffee". The next thing I'd know I would somehow always end up sitting at the gate to the property. He wooed me, that man of mine. He showed me glorious sunrises with the smell of fresh cut alfalfa in the air and the soft, far off sound of sprinklers watering the pastures. He showed me heart stopping sunsets and talked about the dinners we would have on the patio with family and friends, sipping wine and watching the sun set.(a pink sunset seen from standing at our kitchen door)

I still said no but I felt bad for him. He really loved this place. So when he suggested we hop the fence and peek through the windows of the existing barn I thought, what could it hurt? I still said no but he's smart. He knew just what to say. How I could design the floor plan just the way I wanted, (I did kind of like that idea). And how I could have a garden, (ok, that was something that really appealed to me). And how I could finally have chickens, (now we're talkin'! I've always wanted chickens!) Then he hit went in for the kill. He said I could turn the whole open beam area into my dream kitchen. 810 square feet of kitchen and dining area designed exactly as I wanted it, (BE STILL MY HEART! "Ok, what do we have to do to buy this place?!!") When we got home I dug through the trash and found the wadded up flyer he had brought home and we made the call to the owner. (sunset from the living room french doors) Within 3 months we were moving in.

And you felt bad for him when I convinced him to move a little itty bitty ol' wall just 4 feet.

Seriously, Trash to Treasure!

2009-07-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, so many of you know I'm not putting in traditional cabinets into our kitchen, I know I am a crazy woman, (see previous post) anyway I have been scouring for different pieces to redo and use all free standing pieces instead of the usual hum drum cabinetry. A few months ago my mom and dad found a neat little cabinet for ten bucks. I bought it but the wiseguy wouldn't let me take it without the top even though it was junk. I was annoyed but brought it home and used it as a table to work on other projects for the house.
I finished the cabinet and put it into storage, (more on that later) and figured I'd find a good top somewhere. Well I kept looking at that ugly laminate countertop and figured I should be able to do something with it. I mean afterall, I am a decorative artist, people pay me to transform things so why not this sad piece?

Well yesterday I decided a wood top would really finish the cabinet off nicely. So I got out my bag of tricks. I mixed, I slathered, I brushed, I manipulated and played around until I had something I thought would work. Then I put the color on and Voila! A very nice "old wood" counter top. Looks and feels like the real thing. I am so happy with it I still can't believe how good it looks.

I've also finished the "Crown" for over my bathtub.

This is half of a round window frame that I added an ornament to and then properly aged and distressed the whole thing. This frame was also something that some guy forced me to take at a garage sale. I had already bought a bunch of stuff and I saw the two half pieces hanging up on a wall in his garage. I asked him what they were and he grabbed them and and said "oh those are for a round window and I'll never get to it so take them". I said no but he insisted so I did.

Well that'll teach me to whine when forced to take something for free! Ok now on to the claw foot tub!

The beginning

2009-06-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

Well we are finally moving forward to finish our home. Doug is flying home for four days, (he's been working in Oregon since January), to do some final construction so we can move forward with the final necessities of insulation, drywall and flooring. EXCITING!

Sunrise view from the front of our house. The mornings are so beautiful here, even with the power lines spanning our front yard.

First order of business once we moved in was to steam clean the concrete floors and rip out the existing old kitchen.
This is the first floor when we moved in. This was one open space.Where the furniture is sitting is where the stairs and half bath will eventually go. The windows at the end will be replaced with french doors.This is a view of the living room looking into the kitchen.
Looking into what will soon be the kitchen and dining area. The orgional makeshift kitchen was to the left and the bathroom (in the center) will be ripped out to make room for the kitchen. The above loft will be taken out too. The beams will be stained brown and the ceiling will be painted off white.
The original kitchen. What can I say? Ok I'll say it, GAG! We cleaned up this little area set up a temporary sink and stove to get by but this will be where the walk in pantry goes.

The building begins. Cait helps her dad build a set of stairs to the second story. This was the first wall to go up in the place and it would eventually hold the half bath under the stairs. After a few weeks I realized that I wanted to layout the half bath differently but in order to do that, this wall would need to be moved four feet out. I know, I know, I'm a crazy woman. I asked he said "No". I pleaded he said "No". I begged he said "No". So then I talked on and on for countless hours and days about how amazing the bathroom would look if it was done and how I would decorate it and what colors I wanted to do and what accessories would make it stunning and..........he moved the wall. What can I say, I love him.

This is the back of the house. You can see the old windows have been replace with new windows and french doors. Eventually the upstairs window (this area is a bedroom) will be replaced with a set of french doors too and a small balcony.

More to come soon.

Victory!

2008-12-26T12:34:00.000-08:00

Well we finally did it! We have our permit to move forward and turn this crap shack of a barn (pardon my French) into a home.

We thought we had done our homework before we bought this place but we now know that when the County Building & Planning says "No problem" what they really mean is "No problem for us but we can't guarantee that for you". Shortly after applying for our permit we were informed, contrary to what they previously told us, that we would have to make many unnecessary and expensive alterations to the property and structure one of them being the need to raise the entire 3800 sq ft structure 3 feet above ground. And the fight was on! So after a long and exhausting battle I can proudly yet somewhat feebly say "We won!" No septic replacement, no energy calcs, no floor framing plan, no internal fire sprinklers, no replacing the roof and exterior cedar shingles and no raising this behemoth above ground!

Now the real work begins. I'll be uploading pictures from start to finish so everyone can experience the insanity with us.