The Estate Of Things

The Brick House

Betsy — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:00:01 +0000

Sarah and I had a long phone call tonight. It was really nice to chat with her! It’s hard to be so far from my loved ones. Thank you Sarah!

While we were chatting, she was telling me about some fantastic blogs that she has been inspired by and some illustration tools that she is interested in for planning out her renovations. Below are some images from one that came up in the conversation. I spent a little time looking at it. I pretty immediately felt good about what she has going on in the home tour section of her blog, but I’m also impressed at her Google Sketchup skillzzzz. She IS crazypants. (and that I love). Are any of you guys out there using internet based illustration tools for your plans? We’d love to know what you are using.

I am just gonna copy this lady’s format here in hopes that some of you read my blog but haven’t seen hers yet. I feel very happy when people do that with my images because I understand that this is a good thing (Google says so)! Check out the Tour section of The Brick House.

A Fancy Barn

Betsy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:00:08 +0000

Why don’t I live in a converted barn like Corey and Krista? It’s even in Orange County, CA. I don’t really picture myself being in Orange County when I picture myself living in a converted barn, I’m a little partial to the countryside of North Carolina. But still - this place is pretty radical.

Immediately I want to change the floors. But that wall o’ wood panels is beautiful and the corrugated plastic along the wall between the windows is interesting. Big nod to the yellow dining chairs too!!!

Just a dash

Sarah — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:14:02 +0000

When I cook, I use exact measurements and it annoys my husband Dan because he free forms a bit more when he cooks.

The recipe for this room…

Add some texture to your existing white mixture, stir. After thoroughly mixed, add a dash of rainbow.

Image via Lighthouse Locations

Dude. Black Brick & Speakerboxx

Betsy — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:00:24 +0000

I wanna eat this, multi-textured tile BLACKSPLASH from the Heath Ceramics website. Great. I want my boyfriends to have it. (sans horizontal cabinetry)

I also want my boyfriends to stack up a bunch of mis-matched vintage stereo speakers and line them up against a wall. I recall a time when Urban Outfitters had speakers all over their stores. I really loved the resulting aesthetic. I was just reminded of this by one of the blogs in my reader that I most love. There’s Something Hiding in Here.

Okay, just one more. We’ve talked about chalkboards and chalkboard paint quite a bit here at TEOT. Perhaps we’ve talked about it enough…. after this. Cause, I’m making up fantasies about what my boyfriends’ homes could be like, and I imagine that at least one of them should have a room that is fully painted as a chalkboard (like the boy from 500 Days of Summer). Then I can draw on it in my PJs when I go for sleepovers.

Bathroom Remodel

Sarah — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:00:51 +0000

This bathroom remodel took place at a rental house in Southern Pines, NC, the same house with the painted stair runner posted about here.

I don’t have a true before and after for you because I didn’t make it over to the house with my camera before it had already been demolished.

There’s a different approach in renovating a rental property. Generally, I like to keep things neutral and keep a tight budget in mind which is why you see a lot of off the shelf fixtures. I don’t want to push the design envelope because I know that most of the people in my area probably won’t appreciate it, the painted stair runner blew a lot of minds but in a good way.

I’m not trying to sell this property, I’m really just trying to maintain it or remodel it to a level that will set it apart and guarantee higher rent.

Here’s a picture of the bathroom after it had been gutted.

Here’s what we did:

Stripped everything out except for the shower. It stayed because it was tiled with neutral mocha brown tiles. I regret leaving the shower now, I think we should’ve gone ahead and re-tiled the shower. If we would’ve done that, I would’ve certainly used white subway tiles.
New plumbing
New wiring
New toilet, Lowe’s
New pedestal sink, Lowe’s
New faucet, Overstock
New mirror, Lowe’s
Sconces, CSN Lighting
New floor tile, Marjorca
Added wainscotting
New valve trim, showerhead, local plumbing supply

Here’s what the bathroom looks like now

I think it turned out great!

Everywhere: a Bougie Racket

Betsy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:00:38 +0000

Recent blog perusing led me to a new trend of decor involving vintage tennis rackets. I may come around, but for now I’m feeling a little feisty. These could double for applying your bashful blush on your way out the door to the tennies….

Meanwhile, I also stumbled upon this lady (who I think could be my friend). She wrote a post on her blog explaining BOBO (which is relevant to vintage tennis rackets as decor) and referencing the Unhappy Hipster that Sarah recently turned me on to. I found her through a google alert cause she embedded a song by my new band, Barbara. The same Kid CuDi cover that I shared for the weekend.. She embedded it with a generous compliment. Thanks Joy. Check her out. She’s got mP3’s for days.

Saturday at the Flea

Sarah — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:00:01 +0000

Traveling to the flea market at the NC Fairgrounds in Raleigh on Saturday yielded these,

a set of 4 Thonet chairs for children, I’m not sure what I’m going to do with these yet because I don’t really have room for 4!

The purchase power fizzled out after that but we did meet a friendly vendor named Gene Foust. One of the pieces Gene had was this lovely antique glider. It was $50.00.

Gene specializes in antique gliders and he restores them. Gene has a permanent space at Lot #421. If you’re in the market for an old glider contact Gene about what he’s got in stock, he can be reached at 336-327-9309.

A lot of records were thumbed through…

And we saw some Pollack-esque paintings

The Freakin Weekend

Betsy — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:44:05 +0000

I’m really looking forward to working on my apartment, hanging some cabinet hardware and maybe some curtains…. !! What are you gonna do? Perhaps while you’re taking a break, you could give this song a listen!

Barbara - Pursuit of Happiness (Kid CuDi cover)

Blog It Forward: what inspires us

Sarah — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:30:54 +0000

An inspiration post, our contribution to the blog it forward chain created by Victoria at sfgirlbybay. Thanks Victoria for your time, here’s a little of our time.

There seems to be an endless amount of people out there doing something inspirational. Some we’ve been fortunate enough to run across and so many more that we have yet to see.

We are inspired daily. Here are just some of the sources that inspire us.

What gets Sarah’s juices flowing…

Photographs of people.

Beach Studios

DC and Anna Colman, age 9

Coastal Living

My mother in 1977, my mother outside of the Paris Market in Savannah in 2010

Elle Decor

my brother in law

Lisa Congdon

Our photo wall in the hallway

a new acquisition of mine, Photobooth by Babbette Hines

Bloggies, blogger, blogs…Ofcourse I would be remiss if I didn’t devote a little time to all those out there who are inspiring me on a daily basis. Without you sometimes I would be bored but most of the time just distracted.

Dinner & A Movie postings at From Me To You, Jamie makes me want to cook. Thats some serious inspiration, ask most people I know and they’ll tell you I don’t cook. Food aside, the rest of From Me to You is a visual feast of Jamie’s photography work and pretty darn inspiring. I haven’t made any of the dishes yet but it is a very attainable goal of mine. Jamie don’t ever stop doing what you do.

My favorite dinner combo to date is the Arugula & Goat Cheese Ravioli AND Revolutionary Road.

Boundless interior inspiration from Desire to Inspire, here’s a little smidgen of what is going on this week…

Jenny’s DIY projects at Little Green Notebook

Photo play with Photoshop at Swedish blog En bulle ur ugnen

design work life, Illustration, packaging and typeface oh my!

Outdoor spaces

What gets Betsy…

Sheer Mania
At times, inspiration washes over me with an inertia. It requires no effort and I am indulged in every direction. It is in these moments that I feel I am at my most creative. Motivated. Unstoppable. In these moments I think. I think. I think. and I write. I think and write about the following.

Beautiful Rooms
I’m inspired by beautiful rooms (especially when they have big gypsy dogs lying around in them). I love looking at magazines and also cruising the other blogs to see what the rest of the world is doing. Culling images and thought processes from other bloggers makes me want to make my home a beautiful and meaningful place to live. I’m still working on making my new home beautiful. Here’s some pics from the last one.

Vast Landscapes
Besides beautiful rooms, I’m inspired by a large view in my face. I snap at them with my camera sometimes and then play with them on my iPhone apps. No picture ever does a vast landscape justice. I’ve seen mountains that will break your heart.

Family, Friends & Loved Ones
These people meet me on planes that inspire introspection and inspiration. I’m grateful for them eternally.

Color and Pattern
These are the driving forces in decision-making when it comes to my own choices for making my home a beautiful place to live. I have love affairs with colors and patterns, sometime brief and fleeting, sometime deep and long-lasting.

Travel
I love to hit the road. Before I moved to LA, I was working with my Dad to fix up a 1968 Vintage Shasta Camper Trailer. My goal was to turn it into a traveling gypsy adventure (working my internet based job from it). I don’t require a camper for travel of course, but I am inspired by the thought of the lifestyle!

Music
I’m moved to the core by music, inspired to say the least. I choose to share the video below because I’ve watched it one hundred million times these past few weeks, but also because I’m inspired by the subject matter. I tear through a lot of music, you can catch my musical inspirations on my AudioMuffin Twitter page: twitter.com/bootsy42

Yours Truly Presents: The Morning Benders “Excuses” from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

Yeah!

Here’s a list of the other bloggers that are writing on the subject of inspiration today,

Sheets at Toast

Sarah — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:00:44 +0000

Toast’s Spring/Summer catalog revealed itself in my inbox this week. I took note of these cross stitched sheets