Cure For Cabin Fever

Welcome to our snow-covered Winter wonderland!

See? I told you our dark brown fence
looks great against the snow!

The front of our house looks pretty cozy, too!

People.

I LOVE SNOW!

Still from the movie White Christmas

I WANT TO WASH MY FACE, MY HANDS, MY HAIR IN SNOOOOOW!!!

Sadly, our poor doggies are not so amused:

Disclaimer #1: this is not our snow,
nor is this my Dachsie

Disclaimer #2:  as much as I love snow,

I HATE the sub-zero temps we’re having!

I’M FA-REEZING!

laszlo-photo/flicker

I’m so cold, I’m actually kind of dressed like this, indoors . . .

(where are my gloves?!?)

. . . so I shan’t be crossing our threshold any time soon!

* * * *

SO WHAT’S A GAL TO DO TO AVOID CABIN FEVER, you ask???

Duh.  No cabin fever at my house!

  I’m actually just proceeding as per usual,

  happily continuing my design work on our current project . . .

. . . wishing we were further ahead with this squalor bathroom . . .

. . . + searching for inspiration for said-same, online!

* * * *

This means it’s time for me to share with the class!

Let’s enjoy a little “before” + “after” happiness from

Country Living magazine’s website:

At first glance, the “before” looks pretty hiddy, no?

But wait!  That tub is actually beyond cool (wish we had one!),

+ that floor is yelling, “WORK WITH ME, PEOPLE!”, isn’t it?

Let’s have a look-see at the fantabulous “AFTER”:

YUM!

The gray walls are really rocking the gray in the mosaic tile!

So is the warm cinnamon of the rustic stool/side table!

That wood tone is my absolute favorite, + if this room was mine,

I would repeat it with this window treatment:

http://www.smithandnoble.com

I’d also switch out that naughty light fixture,

no matter how vintage +/or original to the house it is.

No can do.

Let’s hang something like this, instead:

http://www.rejuvenation.com/catalog/products/miles

Or this, if you — like me — just can’t commit to shiny yet:

http://www.rejuvenation.com/catalog/products/miles/configurations/antique-copper-with-8in-opal-drum-shade

And one more thing.

Please note the large framed botanical:

A large, statement piece of artwork like this

really ramps up the style in a bathroom, doesn’t it?

I’m currently searching for said-same

for our squalor bathroom!

Stay tuned!

4 Befores + Afters In My Head

#1

Look what I discovered at the Dutch Colonial just this morning!

  How adorable is that charming little window in the gable?

My steel trap-like mind immediately raced to a ‘before + after’

involving a transformation of this boxy room . . .

B E F O R E

. . . into something far more wonderful, like this one!

A F T E R

Sure, we’d have to vault that ceiling.

Is there a problem, she asks?

G.O. assures me that there IS.

(Stay tuned.)

* * * * * *

#2

More do-able is our next ‘before + after’,

which is actually already underway.

It involves our front porch’s light fixture:

B E F O R E

That Craftsman-style light fixture might look divine in someone’s dining room,

but not so much our front porch.

No worries . . . I’ve already ordered its replacement:

A F T E R

It was on final sale at Pottery Barn when I ordered it a few days ago . . .

. . . but I just checked, + it seems to be sold out already!

So glad that  I (for once) ordered in a timely fashion!

* * * * * * * *

#3

And speaking of our front porch,

here ’tis, in the first weeks after we started our project:

You just KNOW that it wasn’t originally enclosed like this!

Currently, it’s in its mid-demolition mode,

en route to its ‘after’:

Fingers crossed!

Here’s what I’m envisioning:

Houzz.com

Can’t wait!

* * * * * *

#4

And, finally, here’s an ‘after’ which took place on Sunday:

Our new finials have been attached to our garden shed roof!

Love them!

Not loving those plywood doors,

still in their ‘before’ stage!

Once again, stay tuned!