Yet again I'm terribly behind on posting. It happens - life just gets so out of whack sometimes; my husband and I feel completely out of sorts! The past two weeks have been avowed "return to normalcy" weeks, which have been very helpful and I genuinely feel much better mentally and physically. Something about a messy house, a hectic life and no downtime really does me in - talk about MAJOR burnout. Rockin' B had a long summer full of shows and traveling, which I enjoyed very much; however I love being able to spend time at home working on house projects and haunting my favorite thrift stores for housewares and furniture. Working on our house is definitely what I consider "downtime" - I love doing projects and improving/refurbishing things, it really clears my head and gets my creative juices going. After a long summer, I've been able to turn my attention back to my home and the cozy, kitschy world I've managed to carve out for us.
Interior design has long been a passion for me (can one consider crayon-embellished walls a decorative treatment? I started young.) I've been able to take some time to work on my ongoing house projects and collect more fun stuff for the house. I have a weekly schedule of thrift stores and flea markets that I stick to in a fairly strict manner, and it's been paying off this fall. I wanted to post some photos of my projects, so I don't feel like a complete slacker in blog-land.
I've dubbed my decorating style "Atomic Rodeo Queen Meets Deco". Yes, totally serious. Or not so serious. Whatevs!
Our house is a very well-maintained 1920s Craftsman bungalow, with gorgeous original wood trim and doors throughout. We have lovely little leaded-glass bookcases in the living room, and our kitchen is a classic pre-war setup with the original cabinets and cast iron farm sink. I'll be honest, I bought my house for the kitchen. I gasped when I walked in and saw such a well-preserved vintage dreamland! I couldn't believe that someone would preserve it so lovingly, opting to NOT rip out the cabinets and stainless steel countertops. The people I bought it from took such nice care of everything, and it really shows. Thanks Dan and Judy for being so nice to your house for so many years! Ryan and I really appreciate it.
 |
| Here's our awesome kitchen sink and countertops! I've replaced the hardware on the cabinets since this photo was taken... no pics, apologies! |
We haven't made any intense physical changes to the bones of the house, other than ripping up almost all of the carpet to free the hardwood floors underneath. I did take down the monstrous ceiling fan in the dining room and replaced it with a super atomic sputnik chandelier. However, most of what I've done is purely cosmetic - namely painting/decorating. Boy do I LOVE painting. It's one of my favorite things to do, absolutely therapeutic - I LOVE PAINTING! Every room in our house has been repainted, excluding our sad little bathroom (which is on the soon-to-be-remodeled list).
Here's a quick peek at things I've done to the house so far:
- Living room/front door. I decided to paint a giant paint-by-numbers mural on the blank wall by the front door. Before photos are labeled (obvs) and the 2nd photo is the "after".
 |
| Not quite done, just a few more colors to add! |
- Dining room - I removed that horrid ceiling fan, and replaced it with my atomic sputnik chandelier. WHICH I LOVE. Also stenciled the walls to recreate a wallpaper pattern that I LOVE but is very, very beyond my price range - the Navajo pattern by Cavern Home. Everyone walks in and assumes it's wallpaper, but no - just 2 solid weeks of my hand-painting handicraft.
 |
| See our pretty leaded glass bookcases? Fancy! This is taken from the living room looking into the dining room. |
|
|
 |
| Actual dining room. HIDEOUS FAN IS HIDEOUS! |
I would like to point out that the after pictures are a motley mix. The nice, professional looking photo with our goofy mugs sitting pretty is actually from our engagement photo session. It's the only good photo I have of our chandelier and stenciled walls. Oh, and our kitchen clock.
 |
| Sputnik! Such a nice improvement. Also - hubs and I mugging for the camera. Oh, engagement sessions... photo by Dave Evans |
|
|
 |
| This is the wall seen in the second "Before" photo, right next to the door into the hallway. Sweet baby sputnik lamp! |
OK OK - enough of this for today. I will be posting a few more of my projects/rooms tomorrow. I'm going in for a medical procedure of sorts on Friday, so I have to prepare myself all day tomorrow - basically no eating. I will be a cranky-pants person, to say the least. But I have a pretty bedroom to show you! And rehabbed vintage lamps. LAMPS! Stay tuned.
