The Estate of Things

Jesse Carrier designed The Glass House Fit For A Family in the August issue of Elle Decor.

I have fallen hard for this house. This house has a great mix of styles and a sense of youthfulness.  I think it embodies a lot of what the preferred style of most is today which is– a space that has a sense of personality, is liveable, functional and at the same time presents a sense of history or tells a story about the people that dwell there. I read a decent amount of design blogs everyday and I feel like the overall aesthetic represented in this home is what most design pundits are yapping about, including myself.

The Fielden home manages to read modern, casual and liveable for three kids yet houses a French provincial dining table, Chinese porcelain panels and a Chippendale-style breakfront.

Jesse Carrier knocks it out of the park, again. When the couple wants to incorporate family heirlooms that have little relevancy to the architectural style of the house, Carrier edits but manages to incorporate a lot of their family’s inherited treasures.

How much did you love it, a little or a lot? Perhaps you didn’t?

If you are like me, you’ve been waiting for this moment with bated breath for quite some time. It’s finally here - new EP from Sufjan Stevens! It’s brand new today, and is worth checking out. Click over to his bandcamp page to listen to the other new songs and buy them for $5.

To start our weekend, I am off today to get a passport for DC because we are going to the Bahamas in just a few short weeks (this was decided just yesterday)!

This weekend we are staying put at home and I’m thinking I will address an item on my Punch List.

Here are some things you might be interested in,

One family, 30 years via Maquette

Weddings are incredible these days and this one won’t dissapoint, via Cup of Joe

Great interview with stylist Margot Austin, find out how she approaches styling a home

Like me, you probably have a list of things that you’d like to do around your house. Maybe its an upgrade, an organizational task or a redecorating activity. I frequently feel as though my list only grows longer. At times I feel pretty overwhelmed about the list.

So I decided to share my journey of marking things off the list with you. My hope is that because I have an audience I may feel more pressure to get things accomplished. The list is a mix of some larger projects and small organizational jobs and it is not prioritized.

As I complete each task, I’ll be sure to explain it in more detail and show a before and after.

Let’s have a look at the list-

1.  Properly accessorize master bath

2.  Properly accessorize hall bath

3.  Have gas logs installed

4.  Purchase and install new exterior doors

5.  Have gutters installed

6.  Trim overgrown camelias in side yard

7.  Install wooden fence in backyard

8.  Grow grass in the backyard

9.  Install edging around perennial planting beds

10. Find large photograph for hall

11. Purchase new sheets for master

12. Purchase rug for sitting room

13. Reupholster floral club chairs

14. Frame mushroom botanical plate

15. Hang botanical plates in hall bath

16. Organize basement closet

17. Organize outdoor utility room

18. Have pillows made for sofa

19. Have sofa professionally cleaned

20. Purchase accent table for living room

21. Purchase petite chest of drawers for closet

22. Frame DC’s newborn foot prints and hang in hall

23. Find DC a big girl bed

24. Upgrade fixtures in master bath

25. Upgrade shower fixtures in hall bath

26. Get West Elm rug dry cleaned

27. Hang shelf on screen porch, accessorize

28. Have new door constructed for outside utility space

29. Cover basement steps in finish material

30. Have kid’s Thonet chairs stripped (2)

31. Rip out and re-tile master shower floor

32. Finish long Schumacher pillow

I have to admit after I finished making this list, the end product is pretty intimidating. Nothing to do but dive in and take it one step at a time. How does your list look comparatively? Anything look familiar?

You might remember my post about my friend Kristine’s house.  She and her husband Fred are remodeling their kitchen and redecorating their living room.

I’ve been helping Kristine a bit in both of these pursuits.  Kristine has chosen IKEA cabinets in the new Ramsjo door style, which is a shaker/traditional fusion. By electing to install IKEA cabinets she and Fred will save thousands of dollars without having to sacrifice quality.

Here is the space after drywall repair and floor installation,

Kristine completed the demolition herself to save money and when I say “herself”…I mean just her. She rented a dumpster and went at it! She hired a plumber and an electrician to come and terminate the connections and to relocate some of the plumbing and install recessed lighting. For the new floors, Kristine chose  4″ wide white oak which was continued from the kitchen in to the living area, down the hall and in to the master bedroom.

After Kristine and I talked through the layout using a measuring tape, a pencil, a calculator and a little painter’s tape, Kristine got to work and downloaded IKEA’s kitchen design software and begin putting the layout on paper. She and Fred travelled to IKEA and loaded it all up themselves. The couple is lucky enough to have a contractor friend who is experienced in installing IKEA cabinets. 

I have been encouraging Kristine along the way to wrap the island with wood. The reason why–because we (I’m) are shooting for a modern rustic, Southern California aesthetic. Kristine really had her heart set on white cabinets and so in order to warm things and play up the rustic vibe, I have suggested wrapping the living room side of the island in teak or another warm modern wood material. It also acts as a compromise between the natural finished wood cabinets I wanted her to get and the white kitchen she wanted.

Some images to illustrate,

Living Etc

Real Living Australia

Jeffrey Alan Marks, Elle Decor
 

This should set you up nicely for Monday, good solid eye candy.

Ellen Hamilton, my eyes want to devour the rooms you have designed.

gotta be custom, striped dining chairs

I love when a sofa just takes over and when pattern commands in a small space

modern fixture juxtaposed against the traditional railing

this reminds me of Sara Ruffin Costello’s living room that everyone died over, only reinvented, Costello redux?

Welcome to our home, the rest is gonna be awesome, make a statement

where is that rug from? killer dressing room, would it put your outfit to shame?

focus on the mirrored doors and the symmetry

dining is an event every night

gallery walls…yum

I love nostalgia. I love fantasy. I love fiction. Here’s a mix to be the soundtrack to be the fodder for today’s fake trip into the past - a fantasy prom, but this prom happens infinitely and in space. A robot prom that has been inspired by 1990’s R&B.

Neon Trees - Animal (Yes Giantess Remix)

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Gayngs - The Last Prom

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First Rate People - Girls’ Night

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Baths - Plea

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and SNEAK ATTACK - The song is Moon Trip by my band Barbara!
Moon Trip by wearebarbara

Guiding light maybe?

This picture was taken when DC was just a little more than a year old and now she’s two and says words like “Constantinople”, that kid’s vocabulary is ridic!

Our weekend activities will consist of an informal gathering of my husband’s high school friends, so off we go again.

It was a big magazine week for me so I spent my evenings flipping through glossies but I did do my fair share of scouting on the interwebs as always.

I think Jesse Carrier may be a design genius and the house he designed that is featured in Elle Decor this month sealed it.

Congratulations to Jill Rosenwald for getting a holla in this month’s House Beautiful. I bought a pelmet bowl from Jill about a year ago and it still makes me smile.

When I saw this modern entry at Remodelista, I saw my plan come alive. I’m working on renovating a ranch style duplex that was built in the early 1950s. This house has zero appeal at the moment but I’m working on it.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Is the Expedit a workhorse or what? This thing just doesn’t quit.

For times when you can’t quite afford the custom built-ins in the playroom yet.

P.S.

Loving that bead board ceiling!

Friends, I know I already posted about this mirror but then I found it at WS Home too. I read the six reviews posted on QVC, they all love it. They are both iron and 38″ in diameter. The price difference is insane.

High- $350

Celeste mirror, WS Home

Low - $62.40

QVC