Do I Have Too Much Stuff?

Lately, I have been longing for a less-is-more house,

so my filled-to-the-brim postal sorter may soon be a thing of the past.

I purchased it in the early 90’s to display my merch in my old retail store,

Heart in Hand.

Here it is in our most recent past house — the brick bungalow,

where it served as a humongous TV stand:

In our current house, the Dutch colonial,

it’s on a wall in the dining room, just across from our table.

Here you can see how the dining room is open to our kitchen.

G.O. added a beam where the two rooms meet,

+ my beloved St. Louis bus station sign is hanging there:

The trunks underneath the sorter are filled with fabric + pillow forms + blankets:

While up on top, I’m displaying my small bird house collection:

We bought this chippy blue metal house last Fall:

I think I love chippy red metal just as much as blue.

I bought this small birdhouse in a store about 20 years ago:

My friend gave me the white bird house years ago:

Come Spring, this trio will head outside, for mostly decorative purposes.

As much as I love birds, I kind of hate to attract them

as a murderous cat named Patty lives just next door.

  Meanwhile, the rest of my sorter is full of more of my treasures,

including this sweet, little pitcher that I bought in Soho, NYC:

This lighthouse nightlight was originally our grandparents’,

then our late sister, Kathy, had it for years.

It obviously took a tumble in the past, + G.O. sez he’ll re-glue it for me.

I bought the pair of black urns from Lowe’s a few years back,

+ the faux plants are from IKEA.

I have a yen to put them on our front porch steps — maybe later today.

I love my heavy glass vessel from Pottery Barn, bought years ago;

currently, it displays a collection of old baseballs:

Speaking of baseballs, here’s one signed by the great Brooks Robinson.

(Hall of Fame 3rd baseman for the Baltimore Orioles)

How lucky I am, to have these old golf trophies of my dad’s!

I collect the Guy Wolff pots, + this one is from the late, great Smith + Hawken.

Coincidentally, this pot is resting on my Smith + Hawken garden book!

Well, that’s about it.

I guess you’d never suspect me of wanting to go less-is-more, would you?

We’ll see — stay tuned!

BEFORE, DURING + AFTER BATHROOM PHOTOS

Disclaimer:

I don’t know why, but I typically don’t take lots of before photos,

+ believe me, there have been really horrific ones, like this,

in our main bathroom downstairs:

The befores make the after photos so much more dramatic!

Wow — viva la difference, am I right?

Earlier this week, I forced myself to grab the camera

+ head upstairs for some epic before AND during photo ops.

Let’s start with the bathroom’s tub + shower surround,

which are already finished + are actually afters.

I chose white subway tiles because they are classic + timeless.

My design for the window surround turned out well, I thought, modestly:

I’ve already shared the Sherwin-Williams paint we chose:

Unusual Gray (at the bottom) for the walls,

with Contented (third from top) at 50%, for the ceiling.

Very neutral!  Very pretty!

But as often happens in a room’s during stage, it’s kind of a blah!

What does it need?

I’m not sure, but here’s a start.

These IKEA cabinets in white contrast nicely

with the darker-than-I-thought-they’d-be Unusual Gray walls:

I’ve already shared my love for the tall cabinet’s black legs.

They, combined with the black in our floor tiles,

mean I need to repeat more black, for continuity purposes.

How about a black metal mirror for above the vanity?

I’ve chosen this one, because it’s modern yet rustic at the same time.

Another disclaimer: this was $90-something from Target,

but they’re out of it online,

+ you’ll have to search for it in their stores.

We are going to Target right now, so stay tuned!

QUICK UPDATE:

Trips to 2 different Target stores ensued,

+ we ended up buying this one, which was $35-ish!

Have you shopped for mirrors lately?  That’s a great price!

Now it’s time for G.O. to hang the bathroom door.

Here’s what that looks like, about midway though:

He sez that all this wood stuff is called door casing,

+ it’s taking longer than I’d hoped.

I have to remember that he is a perfectionist, so I shan’t ask him to work faster.

HA!  Most of the time, I don’t!

Here you can see where the finished woodwork will be positioned:

Here’s a wider view, looking to the hallway + bath.

What’s up with that embossed-looking wainscoting — you’re wondering?

Here’s a close up:

It was surely very beautiful when the house was built,

but right now, parts of it are in rough  shape.

Speaking of being in rough shape, notice our beautiful-but-sad staircase

+ how the wainscoting extends down those stairs!

Back to our upstairs.   Right now, my goal is to find an even grayer gray/green.

I want something more neutral for the upstairs woodwork,

but I don’t want just gray; we’ve got that downstairs.

As always, I shall head to Pinterest first + see what others have chosen.

Stay tuned!

 

Kitchen Windows + Door

Last Christmas we had wreaths like this in every window.

I wanted to hang them on the windows outside this year.

Like this:

Or this:

How charming is that?

G.O. wasn’t on board, sadly, so maybe next year.

Meanwhile, the wreaths do look good on windows inside the house,

don’t you think?

The cute, little trees were from IKEA a few years ago,

+ my favorite Guy Wolff pots were from Smith + Hawken.  RIP

Those sweet red checked curtains started their lives as a bed skirt

from when Martha Stewart still sold stuff at K-Mart.  RIP

Watch here to see a K-Mart commercial starring Martha Stewart.

F U N !

Awwwww!  That cute Dachsie card was sent to me by cousin, Gwen.

Those red light fixtures were from Ballard Designs.

We hung another wreath on our kitchen door:

How adorable!

But now I must ask for your opinions.

We painted all of our interior doors Black Magic by Pittsburgh Paints.

Here’s the door to the powder room:

Here’s our bedroom closet doors:

We just assumed that the kitchen door

would receive its own coat of Black Magic paint someday.

But wait.

My friends were here for brunch a few days ago,

+ they both thought the door looked good, as is!

I had never thought to do that!

Of course, I am now kind of obsessing about it.

See Exhibits A + B:

What do you think?

Black Magic?

Or chippy white?

 

Time will tell, so stay tuned!

RANGE HOOD, PLAN B

Many, if not all, of our Dutch colonial projects

start at Plan A but end up at Plan B, or Plan C, or beyond . . .

Take our range hood.  Please.

The tape marks the size + location of our Plan A,

which we carefully planned + about which I recently blogged.

G.O. was going to build ours with wood, painted white.

Here is our inspiration:

We soon realized that this was a way more complicated

+ time-consuming project than we had anticipated.

Our Plan A quickly switched to Plan B!

Here it is — the Datid range hood from IKEA:

I love those decorative rails very much

+ have long wanted this hood for my own kitchen.

Its cost, $679, was more than we wanted to spend,

but sometimes, these things can’t be helped.

Yes, even though it’s quite perfect,

I still wished to tweak the design just a bit.

Since our kitchen appliances are white with stainless accents,

I asked G.O. to spray paint the body of our new hood white,

leaving the decorative apron + rails stainless.

(Please notice our white + stainless dishwasher in the background.)

  Here is the painting, in progress:

G.O. is using Rust-oleum Appliance Spray Epoxy

from the home center:

I am very anxious to see this final bit of kitchen FINISHED,

at long last.

I’ll keep you all posted, so stay tuned!

November Nesting

So.

If the calendar says November, that means Christmas is coming.

It means I should be doing the following:

Sewing pillows,

painting + stenciling everything in my path,

+ sewing yet more pillows.

 Exhibit A: painting + stenciling.

This coffee table is being re-done in my newest style obsession,

which I am calling Vintage Blanket.

I kind of love it where it’s at right now.

Perhaps I will keep it for myself!  Stay tuned!

But wait.

November on my calendar means merch, yes.

But is also has me yearning to binge eat the following:.

 3-packs of Affy Tapples

Countless containers of pumpkin flavored Greek yogurt.

HA!  JUST kidding about the binge eating!  (Or not.)

Actually, I find myself wanting to NEST.

Time to putter around the interior of one’s house,

after one has neglected said-same house all summer!

First, I have turned my attention to our living room,

more specifically, the windows.

  Look!  I’ve sewn curtains + lots of them!

My beautiful, semi-sheer fabric was once IKEA curtain panels, @$20 per pair.

2 pairs yielded more than enough fabric

for both our living room bay + our dining room bay.

6 window treatments for only $40-ish!

The embroidered stripes + knots are festive, are they not?

They add a little texture + a bit of pattern to our rooms.

I opted for only a single panel at each window,

as I thought the standard 2 pairs looked too puffy + granny’s house.

The single panel just looked better to me.

It allows lots of light to stream in (big priority for me),

+ we can still see outside.

Thankfully, it also handles my other concern — privacy,

both during the day + night time.  Yay us.

But wait.  What!?

Somebody’s forgotten to hem her curtains!

OOPS.

Fingers crossed I won’t procrastinate too much + do some hemming, stat.

Stay tuned!

 

Do + Don’t Curtains

We’ve happily lived in our Dutch colonial since last October,

although I wasn’t all that happy about that stupid sheet

covering our bedroom window.

I’ve looked + looked, but I just couldn’t find the perfect curtains!

Until Sunday.  Yes, Sunday.

We broke our “no IKEA on the weekend” rule + came home with these:

The minute I saw that print, I was smitten, as was G.O.!

Prints are a thing, + I’ve been wanting to add more in our decor.

So.  Mission accomplished, am I right?

But wait.  Not so fast.

I wanted them hung really high, like high above the woodwork.

How could I not?  I saw this on Pinterest!

Oh, dear.  As I often do, I failed to give G.O. the heads up about this rule.

Oops.

.

Luckily for me, that same Pinterest  has dozens of photos:

HGTV Dream House

Ms. Career Girl

Wait.  Not so fast.

On a whim, I popped in one of our living room cafe curtains:

I like them because we can’t see our neighbor’s messy yard,

nor can he see us, + yet, there’s still plenty of natural light.

What I really wanna know is: are they hopelessly granny?

You’d tell me, wouldn’t you?

I shall stay tuned + wait for your recommendations.

I Love Botanical Stuff!

Show of hands!

Who, like me, subscribes to Elle Decor magazine?

I’m not always a yooge fan, but each issue always contains 1 or 2 good houses,

like this one owned by this adorable family:

Check out those cool glasses frames on the guy!

Coincidentally, we went frames shopping for G.O. yesterday!

That was conflict free.  Not.

But stay tuned — I really like the frames I insisted that he get.

Meanwhile, I digress.

Let’s go back to inside this house in Elle Decor:

Can I get a yay or nay for that espalier wallpaper?

I LOVE IT!

Espalier is a Frenchie word for training a tree to grow horizontally,

usually on a wall or a fence.

My plans include our having an espaliered tree in our yard.

Someday.

Back to the Elle Decor house.

Check out yet more botanical happiness:

Our Elle Decor family has this very print of alium flowers!

Theirs is hanging on the wall above their freestanding tub.

This photo above, however, is from the Shabby Creek Cottage blog.

Pretty!

In closing, we went to IKEA the other day,

+ they had artificial alium blooms for sale, @ $8-ish.

Did you get some, Kay? — I hear you asking?

Sadly, no.  I feared G.O. would get a little cranky.

He doesn’t understand!

.No worries, though — look what I found on etsy!

These silkies look a lot better than the plastic ones from IKEA.

Go here:  www.etsy.com/shop/HeavenlyHomeFlowers

I think it’s high time I make a morale boosting purchase.

Ch Ch Changes With My Old Postal Sorter

Yesterdee we were as bizzy as 2 beez.

We moved my huge postal sorter from our current living room,

where it loyally served as a media center + display piece:

Now it’s parked in our Dutch colonial’s dining room,

where it is being pressed into service

as a home office + display piece:

Wait.  What?

You exchanged the sorter’s original base

with our beloved pine farmhouse table? you ask?

Has the world gone mad?

No — the table works best for my home office hopes + dreams.

See?  It provides space for sitting + working.

I may or may not keep that vintage rolling stool there.

Stay tuned.

But where will you dine? you might be asking now.

Please.

We’ll park it on the couch, as always — HA!

But seriously.  If we do have guests,

we’ll enjoy our meals on this round table that we already had:

Does it not look like it was made for that window bay?

I think so!

Isn’t it great when a plan comes together?

Let have one more look-see.

Please notice my vintage blue library ladder,

which is very groovy, too:

Its pretty pale blue plays very nicely

with the pale blue of our ceiling, don’tcha think?

Now let’s look just a tad bit beyond —

into our adjoining living room.

There’s our new chair from IKEA:

It’s their gray chenille  EKENA chair:

Its combination of traditional + modern style

fits very nicely in our décor.

Plus, that chenille fabric should wear like iron.

Its tweedy gray color not only complements our décor —

it will not show any black pet hair!

We’re placing yet another vintage sorter of mine

on that blank wall behind the chair:

I can’t wait to fill its shelves + cubbies with all my books + ‘stuff’!

Fingers crossed we can move it today!

Stay tuned, of course,

but first, just one more look:

There’s my old easel, displaying my oil painting

of my sister, Kathy, + our late friend, Cindee.

I painted this back in my graduate school era (’78)

at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville.

TY, as always, for viewing!

THE BICKERSONS GO REFRIGERATOR SHOPPING

Yesterday we went to IKEA + scored some amazing bargains for our kitchen.

You’ll just have to take my word for it, though,

because just like “ALL the professional bloggers”,

I left my camera at home.

Oh, dear.  Let’s try to move on.

Check this out:

NUTID S23 White counter depth refrigerator

Regular: $1,899.00 / Clearance: $699

WHOA!!!  I know!!!  I still can’t believe it!!!

1. A mere $699 . . . AND . . . 2. counter depth . . . AND . . . 

. . . 3. the Kay-coveted WHITE!!!!???

Plus, 4. it does not say IKEA on it,

+ 5. it does have the acceptable (stainless) handles —

not those cheapie-looking white plastic ones.

I’ve got my standards.

“But why white?” you ask?

Stainless is what we have now, but I wanted to be different.

If you really must know, here’s why I went over to the white side:

Yesh, that’s my designer lady crush, Sarah Richardson,

.who, in one of her most recent projects,

 chose white kitchen appliances.

Sadly, I am not Sarah,

nor is G.O. anything like Tommy (Sarah’s main gay):

LOVE him!

Nope.  G.O. nixed the idea of the white appliances!

The humanity!

 I’m kind of glad that I forgot the camera,

because the Bickersons in the IKEA kitchen department

wasn’t such a pretty picture, after all.

* * * *

He protested, as he does, + I just listened stared at him.

I then marched over to Mr. IKEA Man

+ asked if, at that price,

the (3 remaining) white refrigerators would be soon be gone.

When he said “today”, that was that — for me, anyway.

OMiGosh!

G.O. color-shamed me,

right there in front of Mr. IKEA Man! —

 saying that “everybody on HGTV wants stainless + granite!!!”

I, of course, was mortified + refused to engage.

At this moment, however, Mr. IKEA Man,

who’s probably heard it all, at least a bazillion times,

brightly offered this patented conflict diffuser:

“I always tell people that, if they want white,

they should get white!”

I couldn’t agree more . . .

. . . aaaaaand they’re delivering our white refrigerator tomorrow.

Thanks, Mr. IKEA Man.

Oh, + IKEA, too, for offering these at such a deep discount.

Kitchen Cab Progress!

Despite my being MIA, blog-wise,

we’ve had a lot of progress over at the Dutch colonial!

See for yourself!

Here’s our IKEA kitchen, just a few days ago:

Boxes, boxes + more boxes!

Here’s our IKEA kitchen today:

White IKEA Lidingo cabinets on the window wall

with an oak** IKEA Lixtorp island.

I’d always planned on a white kitchen

with a **black island, like this one, from Houzz:

I mean, who wouldn’t?!

However, at the last moment (meaning IN the store!), I changed my mind.

Surprise!!!

I can hear you now.

 “But Kay!  We despised oak in the 80’s + 90’s!”

Why, yes, we did, but things change!

Here’s how:

Reason 1. I wanted to be different

(which is the same reason I want white appliances, too

— but more on that later.).

Reason 2. Aren’t we seeing a lot more natural wood out there?

Reason 3. It had to be oak.

Our Dutch colonial came with tons of it!

Part of it’s been stripped already, + it’s really gorgeous!

I like it natural,

but I s’poze I’ll see about staining it a nice, medium brown

so that it plays nicely with our island.

On the other side of our kitchen we have more Lidingo whites.

Our Lixtorp island contains the following:

1.  a 24″ base with a drawer + microwave cubby

2. an 18″ base with drawers.

All the green tape on the wall marks the range hood location.

What type of range hood (+ range, for that matter)

 will be another last-minute decision.

Stay tuned!