Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
January 29, 2009
GOT IT; LOVE IT
Got this rug after it went on sale at William Sonoma Home. I unrolled it into our front room and I instantly fell in love with it. It's so plush and it makes the room feel very cozy.
September 07, 2008
June 01, 2008
MOVE OVER MARTHA
A while ago I posted about wanting to learn a thing or two about hostessing from Martha Stewart. I loved the idea of providing postcards and stationary in the guest rooms {although when we have visitors, they rarely have need to send handwritten letters or send postcards from our neck of the woods}. But now...NOW. Kathryn M. Ireland, interior designer, has really piqued my interest in the ways of hostessing. She's relaxed and inclusive. Here's an excerpt from an article in this month's Domino magazine {can you tell I just read it from cover to cover?}
"One of my earliest and most enduring memories is of my mother at her Aga range, stirring a large pot of Bolognese for a cottage full of houseguests. Immediately inclusive, she had a way of making everyone feel comfortable and, most of all, wanted. She allowed a wide margin of error and communicated that anything could be fixed...All this made a big impression on my little soul and laid the foundation form my future as a mother-of-three, Bolognese-stirring houseguest-junkie. I have extra rooms in two homes on two continents and, taking after my mother, my motto is, "fill 'em up!""
This is the kind of hostess I want to be. And it seems that if I were this relaxed, comfortable, spontaneous, and real, Martha couldn't hold a candle to me.
"One of my earliest and most enduring memories is of my mother at her Aga range, stirring a large pot of Bolognese for a cottage full of houseguests. Immediately inclusive, she had a way of making everyone feel comfortable and, most of all, wanted. She allowed a wide margin of error and communicated that anything could be fixed...All this made a big impression on my little soul and laid the foundation form my future as a mother-of-three, Bolognese-stirring houseguest-junkie. I have extra rooms in two homes on two continents and, taking after my mother, my motto is, "fill 'em up!""
This is the kind of hostess I want to be. And it seems that if I were this relaxed, comfortable, spontaneous, and real, Martha couldn't hold a candle to me.
March 03, 2008
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
Nate and I have called the blue cottage "home" for a year now. A YEAR! It seems the older I get the faster time goes by.
It's hard to believe that just a year ago we were living in the basement of our good friend Mike. We took to his futon like love at first site and slept on the blow up mattress {lovingly referred to as "the taco"} for two months straight.
Since moving into the blue cottage we've celebrated Nate's 31st birthday, my 36th, and our second anniversary. We bought our first fake Christmas tree and basted our first Thanksgiving turkey. We've also fried up fish we caught in the lake and taken a canoe out for a paddle. We did landscaping in our back yard thanks to the helping hands of my parents, and witnessed my miraculous professional break-up with the office bully. We built our first snowman, had our first-ever snow day, and celebrated with a teeny weeny snowball fight.
There's lots of little details and memories we've made here and the blue cottage really feels like a part of the family now. Whenever anyone asks me if we have children yet, I always want to explain that the blue cottage is like our child. We worry about it, spend lots of money and time on it, make plans for its future, and we miss it when we're away for a long time. The only thing we don't have to worry about is how to pay for its college education.
Here's to the Blue Cottage. Now, even when we move, this house will forever be referred to as "The Congers' Old Place". We've officially left our mark!
It's hard to believe that just a year ago we were living in the basement of our good friend Mike. We took to his futon like love at first site and slept on the blow up mattress {lovingly referred to as "the taco"} for two months straight.
Since moving into the blue cottage we've celebrated Nate's 31st birthday, my 36th, and our second anniversary. We bought our first fake Christmas tree and basted our first Thanksgiving turkey. We've also fried up fish we caught in the lake and taken a canoe out for a paddle. We did landscaping in our back yard thanks to the helping hands of my parents, and witnessed my miraculous professional break-up with the office bully. We built our first snowman, had our first-ever snow day, and celebrated with a teeny weeny snowball fight.
There's lots of little details and memories we've made here and the blue cottage really feels like a part of the family now. Whenever anyone asks me if we have children yet, I always want to explain that the blue cottage is like our child. We worry about it, spend lots of money and time on it, make plans for its future, and we miss it when we're away for a long time. The only thing we don't have to worry about is how to pay for its college education.
Here's to the Blue Cottage. Now, even when we move, this house will forever be referred to as "The Congers' Old Place". We've officially left our mark!
August 21, 2007
RUGS ARE NOT MY STRENGTH
Okay, I've posed this question probably too often on my blog, but I still need help and input from those of you who have a great eye for design.
Nate and I have decided to focus on finishing one room at a time in the new house. And our attention is now on the great room. I stewed over furniture layout for months but with the help of this genius tool from HGTV, I finally cracked the code. Finally we know what we're going to do and have a plan and a list of things to get {rug, two club chairs, one leather chaise lounge, wooden coffee table...to start}.
We found a super cool old world leather chaise from Horchow that I think will look great on an angle in front of the fireplace and it satiates Nate's taste for leather furniture {if he had it his way EVERYTHING would be leather in our house. Probably even our bedding}. It will add some controversy with the modern lines of the infamous couch.
For smaller chairs I'm thinking something like this or this. But the real conundrum is the rug. Nothing too modern because if we are spending a lot we want to use it for ages. And nothing too light because it's a high traffic area and we don't want to have traffic marks after a week. What about this, this, this or this?
Does anyone have opinions, feedback, constructive criticism?
Nate and I have decided to focus on finishing one room at a time in the new house. And our attention is now on the great room. I stewed over furniture layout for months but with the help of this genius tool from HGTV, I finally cracked the code. Finally we know what we're going to do and have a plan and a list of things to get {rug, two club chairs, one leather chaise lounge, wooden coffee table...to start}.
We found a super cool old world leather chaise from Horchow that I think will look great on an angle in front of the fireplace and it satiates Nate's taste for leather furniture {if he had it his way EVERYTHING would be leather in our house. Probably even our bedding}. It will add some controversy with the modern lines of the infamous couch.
For smaller chairs I'm thinking something like this or this. But the real conundrum is the rug. Nothing too modern because if we are spending a lot we want to use it for ages. And nothing too light because it's a high traffic area and we don't want to have traffic marks after a week. What about this, this, this or this?
Does anyone have opinions, feedback, constructive criticism?
August 10, 2007
HOT SUMMER GOES RETRO COOL
Imagine grilling up some steak, playing some Cat Power, lighting a few citronella candles and just drinking in the milder weather of Spring and Fall out on your patio.
Now imagine having these cute retro spring chairs and gliders available at grandinroad.com. The red is darling.
Our back patio is covered so I could risk getting these beautiful chairs, but if your patio isn't covered you may want to consider wood furniture as an alternative. I can't imagine how hot these would get just sitting in the sun.
Now imagine having these cute retro spring chairs and gliders available at grandinroad.com. The red is darling.
Our back patio is covered so I could risk getting these beautiful chairs, but if your patio isn't covered you may want to consider wood furniture as an alternative. I can't imagine how hot these would get just sitting in the sun.
July 26, 2007
ODE TO AFRICA
May's issue of Domino has a great story about two painters, Phyllipa and David Marrian. They live in Kenya and if they aren't already living my dream by taking residence in such a lovely place, they also have a beautiful home that might be one of the most tranquil spaces I've seen. See for yourself {click on the image to make it bigger}.
July 17, 2007
ILUVIEW!
This is a view of our lake. Oquirrh {pronounced O-ker} Lake. Beyond it you can see the Oquirrh mountain range and, of course, Kennecott copper mine. Kennecott owns the land on which our home and the community of Daybreak is built; they make many of the decisions including that to keep our community energy efficient and planned effectively. Whenever Nate and I refer to this unknown, unseen decision maker, we call him Hank. Hank Kennecott. Sometimes we like Hank and sometimes we despise him.Nate and I took a nice motorcycle ride through Yellow Fork Canyon on Friday night. I needed to decompress. I love the mountains and always feel like I can breath better when I'm in the trees, smelling foliage or a camp fire. I feel the stress getting sucked right out of my lungs every time I exhale. Such a nice feeling to know that reprieve is just 30 minutes away.
NOT BRAVE ENOUGH FOR WALLPAPER
That's right. I think it's fabulous when done right but I'm just too scared that I'll do it wrong. I'll pick the wrong paper or the wrong wall and begin a saga of bad wallpaper layers that will endure the test of time. And somewhere down the line in say, 2030, the current owner of my cute bungalow will curse me for ever covering up the cool fresco texture on my walls and ask the ageless question, "why do people use wallpaper anyway?" Because by then wallpaper will be out of fashion again.Just because I'm a coward to try it myself doesn't mean I don't admire it when done right or done interesting. The current issue of Blueprint has a fun wallpaper story on page 96 called "The Cutting Room" and I was drawn to this photo. I like the idea of adding low hooks to hang handbags and smaller objects. Unfortunately, the lower hooks would likely end up displaying less attractive items on our walls like a frisbee, an orphaned sock or my security badge. It just wouldn't look the same. It's sad that life rarely imitates the art we are drawn to. We try, and may achieve it for a moment, but then you dribble raspberry lemonade on your crisp white blouse or a child sticks a finger right in the middle of your frosted cake and shazam! it's right back to reality.
I love the way the doors look with wallpaper applied in sections.
And this wall with the settee looks perfectly feminine!
HELLO, AND WELCOME TO OUR HOME
I decided to take some curb-side photos of our home. I spent the better part of July 4th planting the flowers in the pots, spraying off and scrubbing our front porch and making it a place I wanted to hang out. It paid off; I've spent more time out on the porch reading, chatting with friends and hanging with Nate. For our West facing porch, 8:30 pm {see: fabulous sunsets} or any time in the morning are the best porching hours.
On a side note: Nate and I saw this fabulously crazy clip of a circa 1980 Brenda Dixon {that's the old Jill Abbott from Y&R if you're a fan} and now we can't help but mimic her when we welcome someone into our home. Thanks Talk Soup!
On a side note: Nate and I saw this fabulously crazy clip of a circa 1980 Brenda Dixon {that's the old Jill Abbott from Y&R if you're a fan} and now we can't help but mimic her when we welcome someone into our home. Thanks Talk Soup!
July 08, 2007
INSPIRED BY NATURAL THINGS
Lately I've been craving natural elements for our house. This Bill Sofield twig occasional table designed for Baker combines some interesting materials and creates a very earthy and whimsical feel.
And then there is this noble stag head carved in wood. This would look fabulous hanging above the fireplace but I have yet to convince Nate that our home won't look like a hunting lodge. Something about horns is warm, unusual and inspiring; they remind me of the years I spent in Missoula, Montana and the weekends I've spent in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
I'm still looking for a good resource for resin or ceramic coral {preferably white or pink} but here are a few accessories that add a bit of the organic to any room. Courtesy of Roost, The Curiosity Shop, Pottery Barn and Well Dressed Home.
And then there is this noble stag head carved in wood. This would look fabulous hanging above the fireplace but I have yet to convince Nate that our home won't look like a hunting lodge. Something about horns is warm, unusual and inspiring; they remind me of the years I spent in Missoula, Montana and the weekends I've spent in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
I'm still looking for a good resource for resin or ceramic coral {preferably white or pink} but here are a few accessories that add a bit of the organic to any room. Courtesy of Roost, The Curiosity Shop, Pottery Barn and Well Dressed Home.
THE COUCH I KNEW IN HEAVEN
Nate swears this couch is my soul mate. It came on Thursday, just hours before we left for Bear Lake. I haven't yet decided where it looks best in our rectangular great room, and I'm a terrible art director so forgive me the quality of the photo...but it's luxurious and extremely comfortable. I wish everyone could have a sit.
July 05, 2007
JULY 4TH ROUNDUP
Nate and I woke pretty early by holiday standards. We showered and went to a 10:30am showing of Transformers. I must admit, I enjoyed this movie tons more then I thought I would. And I haven't been able to get the old-time theme song out of my head since. When I was in highschool, my two youngest brothers used to watch the Transformer cartoon. With only one TV in the house this really imposed on my Days of our Lives addiction. My disdain with the Transformers did not, however, prevent me from memorizing the theme song and secretly singing along while I shot dagger looks at my doe-eyed brothers {who were probably wearing Transformers underoos at the time}. Why didn't they ever make Days of our Lives underwear? I would have worn them!
After the movie, Nate and I went to Rumbi's Island Grill for lunch on the patio. I inadvertantly put a zipfizz in a full cup of carbonated water and created a very impressive volcano, but the BBQ salad was really yummy.
After a quick stop at Lowe's for some geraniums, petunias and orange merigolds, Nate and I headed back to our house where he got our road bikes all ready for riding, hung our skiis and worked on the servers down in our basement {yup, we have a server room in the basement} and I potted the flowers {four big planters for the front steps}, swept out the garage, cleaned up the flower beds and scrubbed down the front porch.
After the work was done, Nate came out on the porch and we sat in our rockers and admired our great curb appeal and welcomed the break in Utah's near 100 degree weather. At 9pm we grabbed our camp chairs {and Nate's fishing pole} and headed over to the lake. It was the perfect time of day. The east mountains were gorgeous and pink and the lake was glass. I relaxed in my chair and watched all the fish jumping to get flies and Nate did a little fishing. Because we are up on a ledge in our community, we could see several fireworks shows happening in the valley.
At home again we put in Modigliani {one of my favorite artists}, starring Andy Garcia, and made it about half way through before we both got too tired. It's so nice to finally get into bed after a day like that. So absolutely comfortable and so absolutely deserved!
After the movie, Nate and I went to Rumbi's Island Grill for lunch on the patio. I inadvertantly put a zipfizz in a full cup of carbonated water and created a very impressive volcano, but the BBQ salad was really yummy.
After a quick stop at Lowe's for some geraniums, petunias and orange merigolds, Nate and I headed back to our house where he got our road bikes all ready for riding, hung our skiis and worked on the servers down in our basement {yup, we have a server room in the basement} and I potted the flowers {four big planters for the front steps}, swept out the garage, cleaned up the flower beds and scrubbed down the front porch.
After the work was done, Nate came out on the porch and we sat in our rockers and admired our great curb appeal and welcomed the break in Utah's near 100 degree weather. At 9pm we grabbed our camp chairs {and Nate's fishing pole} and headed over to the lake. It was the perfect time of day. The east mountains were gorgeous and pink and the lake was glass. I relaxed in my chair and watched all the fish jumping to get flies and Nate did a little fishing. Because we are up on a ledge in our community, we could see several fireworks shows happening in the valley.
At home again we put in Modigliani {one of my favorite artists}, starring Andy Garcia, and made it about half way through before we both got too tired. It's so nice to finally get into bed after a day like that. So absolutely comfortable and so absolutely deserved!
June 05, 2007
RUG RESOURCE
Nate and I still haven't found the right rug for our great room. To recap, the walls are blue with white trim and the floor is a dark walnut. I've tried the usual suspects: Restoration Hardware, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, CB2 and West Elm. I've even tried a few more exquisite options like Madeline Weinrib Atelier. Does anyone have additional resources?
{the room}
I happen to think this Madeline Weinrib Atelier rug in this color would look perfect.
Keep in mind we have this couch on the way and a pair of these side tables.
p.s. Nate isn't in love with the idea of having a pink rug in the livingroom.
{the room}
I happen to think this Madeline Weinrib Atelier rug in this color would look perfect.
Keep in mind we have this couch on the way and a pair of these side tables.
p.s. Nate isn't in love with the idea of having a pink rug in the livingroom.
May 15, 2007
March 26, 2007
DREAM BEDROOM
I am in love with this bedroom. I want it. Everything. I think the bedding alone would send me to the poorhouse.
HOORAY FOR DISCOUNT BEDDING
I stopped in at DownEast Outfitter {my new once-a-week addiction} and found a Pottery Barn quilt and shams at a fabulous discount price. Nate and I have been looking for something to go on our gigantic king bed and this was one of the finalists. So you can imagine my glee when I picked up the quilt for $100 and the shams at $9.99 each.
They remind me a little of the bedding on the cover of March Domino magazine.
They remind me a little of the bedding on the cover of March Domino magazine.
March 23, 2007
COTTAGE KITCHEN
If I lived somewhere light and airy, near the ocean, I'd make sure it looked like this on the inside. Nate, of course, would shrivel up and die with all the girliness!
{image from Coastal Living, Design Assistant}
{image from Coastal Living, Design Assistant}
March 21, 2007
GARBAGE, GIRL!
This morning played out one of the more ridiculous moments of my life. Here are the details.
image from wormulon.net.
Timeline of Events
6:30am: Nate leaves for Novell BrainShare and takes the garbage can to the alley behind our house {as directed by our "welcome to the community" documents}
8:15am: I call BFI {waste management purchased by Allied Waste Services} to explain that a garbage truck will have a time trying to drive down our alley right now because of all the construction.
8:20am: I call the City of South Jordan to explain that a garbage truck will have a time trying to drive down our alley right now because of all the construction {at the recommendation of BFI}
8:30am: The City confirms that during construction our garbage can should, in fact, be left in front of our house.
Break for Explanation
The way houses in our neighborhood sit, you only have garage access through the alley that runs behind the homes. At this point, all finished homes have just topsoil in lieu of actual grass and landscaping since it is still semi-winter in Utah. There are no sidewalks or pathways from the alley to the front of the house so the only way to take the trash can to the front is:
1) to drag it all the way around the block.
2) Drag it through the topsoil {um, it rained lastnight} through two gates, more topsoil, front curb.
End of Explanation
8:35am: Option 2 sounded faster so I threw off my heels, slipped on some flip flops by the back door and started to drag our 2,000 lb garbage can through the mushy, muddy topsoil.
8:35am: Did I fail to mention that the place was crawling with construction workers?
8:45am: Yes, it did take me this long to get the garbage can through the back yard only to find out that I went the wrong way. Only one side of our backyard has a gate that opens up to the front yard. I chose the wrong side.
8:55am: After dragging the garbage can back to the alley I looked at the other gate, leading through the other side of our backyard and on to the front curb. My legs were covered in mud up to my calves and my flip flops were about 3" higher with mud build up. I couldn't bare the thought.
9:05am: I dragged the garbage can begrudgingly around the block, trying to kick the mud off my flip flops {it still remained on my feet and legs} and still look feminine in my skirt.
9:05am: Construction workers are all around and still watching me. And laughing.
9:07am: I tip-toe through the house with mud on my feet, into the master bath and into the tub where I rinse off from the knee down.
9:15am: I slip into my heels, jump in the car and curse waste management as I drive by and wave at all the construction workers who have watched the entire process.
Should taking out the garbage really take an hour? {correct answer: NO!}
image from wormulon.net.
Timeline of Events
6:30am: Nate leaves for Novell BrainShare and takes the garbage can to the alley behind our house {as directed by our "welcome to the community" documents}
8:15am: I call BFI {waste management purchased by Allied Waste Services} to explain that a garbage truck will have a time trying to drive down our alley right now because of all the construction.
8:20am: I call the City of South Jordan to explain that a garbage truck will have a time trying to drive down our alley right now because of all the construction {at the recommendation of BFI}
8:30am: The City confirms that during construction our garbage can should, in fact, be left in front of our house.
Break for Explanation
The way houses in our neighborhood sit, you only have garage access through the alley that runs behind the homes. At this point, all finished homes have just topsoil in lieu of actual grass and landscaping since it is still semi-winter in Utah. There are no sidewalks or pathways from the alley to the front of the house so the only way to take the trash can to the front is:
1) to drag it all the way around the block.
2) Drag it through the topsoil {um, it rained lastnight} through two gates, more topsoil, front curb.
End of Explanation
8:35am: Option 2 sounded faster so I threw off my heels, slipped on some flip flops by the back door and started to drag our 2,000 lb garbage can through the mushy, muddy topsoil.
8:35am: Did I fail to mention that the place was crawling with construction workers?
8:45am: Yes, it did take me this long to get the garbage can through the back yard only to find out that I went the wrong way. Only one side of our backyard has a gate that opens up to the front yard. I chose the wrong side.
8:55am: After dragging the garbage can back to the alley I looked at the other gate, leading through the other side of our backyard and on to the front curb. My legs were covered in mud up to my calves and my flip flops were about 3" higher with mud build up. I couldn't bare the thought.
9:05am: I dragged the garbage can begrudgingly around the block, trying to kick the mud off my flip flops {it still remained on my feet and legs} and still look feminine in my skirt.
9:05am: Construction workers are all around and still watching me. And laughing.
9:07am: I tip-toe through the house with mud on my feet, into the master bath and into the tub where I rinse off from the knee down.
9:15am: I slip into my heels, jump in the car and curse waste management as I drive by and wave at all the construction workers who have watched the entire process.
Should taking out the garbage really take an hour? {correct answer: NO!}
March 14, 2007
DRESSER FIXER-UPPER: NEED DIY ADVICE
I've spent a few hours out in the garage sanding down my old dresser for a quick DIY facelift. I started with a spanish colonial, blonde pine dresser and decided a nice dark walnut stain would be a warm touch to an otherwise light room. But after a few coats of stain I noticed that the really blonde areas were staining more golden and not the desired ashy walnut I had envisioned.
My mind has changed a few times in the last few days. I've considered painting it black but worry it will be too drastic against the light blue walls, antique white bed frame and wheat colored carpet. Nate thinks I should try a sand-through technique. He likes the idea of painting the dresser black and then distressing it. I've thought about mimicking the look of an age old dresser by painting it a sunny yellow and then a distressed white or blue and then sanding it to show the layers of paint. The problem is, I'm just not an educated DIY girl and I think I'm in way over my head. Any suggestions or methods are WELCOME since I'm anxious to get this project done so we can put our clothes away.
One thing I'm sure about is that I want to pick up some charming hardware from Anthropologie. At $6 a knob I should be able to get just the right detail for all 8 drawers.
My mind has changed a few times in the last few days. I've considered painting it black but worry it will be too drastic against the light blue walls, antique white bed frame and wheat colored carpet. Nate thinks I should try a sand-through technique. He likes the idea of painting the dresser black and then distressing it. I've thought about mimicking the look of an age old dresser by painting it a sunny yellow and then a distressed white or blue and then sanding it to show the layers of paint. The problem is, I'm just not an educated DIY girl and I think I'm in way over my head. Any suggestions or methods are WELCOME since I'm anxious to get this project done so we can put our clothes away.
One thing I'm sure about is that I want to pick up some charming hardware from Anthropologie. At $6 a knob I should be able to get just the right detail for all 8 drawers.
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