On the Homefont

I thought I'd give you an update on what we've been up to at our new house & share some plans for our family room.

Above, our yard is finally getting there... The flowers are getting big enough for cutting and my husband built a pretty fence around the property. Life is so much easier without having to worry about our toddler & dog escaping to freedom! (We're waiting for it to gray/ dull a bit with age)

My husband's been working like crazy...And Christian has to do everything his dad does... He has to "help daddy" as he so urgently tells us, so here he is below, shoveling and "making a garden."

Below, our favorite spot to hang is under the maple tree in our two adirondack chairs. The other night, after transplanting an entire truckload of plants from my mom's garden, (thank you mom!!) we put the little one to bed & just sat out in the chairs. It felt so good because we've been running around like crazy and it was awesome to look around & see all that we'd accomplished. Writing this now, I realize we need more of this relaxing time...

Our little guy's having so much fun out there & we have one of those really ugly bright plastic baby pools with the slide in them. He absolutely loves it, which is enough to make me not care about how bad it looks.

Our friends, Amy & Greg, made us this awesome vegetable garden!! (below) Yes, they actually came over & built it & gave us plants & everything. I can't believe how sweet they are & can't wait for those 'maters to grow!! yum! yum!

We've picked the paint color for the outside of our house, the gray below, and hope to get to it in the next couple of weeks.

And finally, my in-laws came this weekend to help again. yay!! My husband & father-in-law removed all the panelling in the basement/ family room, waterproofed it, changed some walls, added new insulation & put in a new drywall ceiling to replace the drop ceiling. We're closing up the walls today with paneling & will be carpeting the floor.

The sofa will go on the left wall:

And the hutch will go on the other, for the TV & toys:

Below is where I'll be putting my office. (The sofa pictured will be reupholstered & going upstairs.)

I think I'll use a table as my desk that can double as an eating & game area: (image from Country Living)

Below is another view of the room. OH SO PRETTY!!! hahahaha We have a woodburning stove that we'd eventually like to replace with an actual fireplace.

I plan to put two cozy chairs & an ottoman in front of it: (image below from Cottage Living)

Below is the cottage by Ruthie Sommers from House Beautiful that I recently posted on. I really fell for the color on the walls & we've already bought the paint. (I went a bit lighter than the actual paint shown but it looks the same- funny how photos work like that.) It looks awesome on the paneling. (It's much brighter than I usually go for but I wanted a fun, casual, bright vibe down there & I'm excited for a change.)

Here's another image from Real Simple, with a similar color scheme. I'm loving all the pops of white:

So, there you have it! I'll post after pics as soon as I get them!!! So, do you have any projects planned for summer??

xoxo,

lauren

Doggone Days of Summer

Well, summer is officially here for us (my husband, a teacher, is DONE FOR THE SUMMER!!!!) Which means we'll be spending lots of time outside & more time with our dog, Ashby.

(above pic from Country Living) A lot of us have dogs & they're like another member of the family. Unfortunately for our pup, when we had our son (about 2 years ago) she got less & less attention. We try, but those kids can be demanding!!! She was THE BABY before he came. She came on every vacation with us and was always in my lap (at 45 pounds!!). Now, she still sleeps with us, but she stays home when we vacation (with a 2 year old we have to stop and eat at restaurants on road trips & we can't leave her in the car) and she's much harder for me to carry because she's gained probably 10 pounds thanks to our son feeding her from his high chair!!! I also just don't have as much time to baby her in general. (Which I actually think she might be pleased about, because as I've said before I'm like that weird little girl Elmyra from Looney Toones with poor Ashby... loving & hugging & squeeeezing her) Anyway, she's such a sweetie & puts up with so much from our 2 year old, so I thought she'd enjoy this post. Here she is (below on the right) with her very best friend, Boudreaux, (an American Bulldog) who also recently became second fiddle to a baby. (oh it hurts to put into words!!!)


One summer in college during my PR internship in Washington, DC (my major in college!) there wasn't enough work for me. So what does a lowly college intern do with no work? She surfs the internet! (i hadn't even heard of blogs at this point in my life or we would've met sooner!! ;) Anyway, I desperately wanted a dog when I graduated, so I began researching all the different breeds, picking my favorites and lusting after ones that were so cute but would shed too much for me. Needless to say, I know a lot about dogs, thanks to that wonderful internship.




One thing I always love to see in people's homes is dsog art, sculpture & accessories, so I thought I'd share a few I found with you. How cute is the poster below?! (from Country Living) It's graphic & fun, and adds a colorful & quirky punch to the space.




The Egyptian dog statue (from Livingetc) below is a big presence in this sparse room. It adds interest. (and, obviously, the homeowners like dogs!!)


Surprisingly, a lot of rooms you see with dog paintings or prints, have a more serious, formal feel. (Or a more serious blue blood feel: Think of Ralph Lauren-type rooms with hunting pics.) In the image below (from houseandhome.ie) I think the dog painting works really well with the scheme of the room but its placement is a bit off for its small size.


Below, from Country Living, I love how this springer spaniel painting is just casually leaning against the wall on the ottoman. It makes the space!



In another Country Living pic (they must love dogs!! :) there are adorable dog embroidered pillows. (I think Lindsay from Everything LEB did a post that included these adorable pillows once.) Love their stately attire!! I found one really similar to these that looks exactly like our dog. (sans hat)



And, in general, I love it when prints are layered casually as in the image below. (Country Living!) This person really loefvs dogs, as she has a pillow, little figurines all over and a door stop under the table.



Below is one of my favorite images (via Simply Natural by Rob Lowe) as much for the room iteself as for the fact that it has a picture of my favorite dog, a German Short-Haired Pointer.



My dad always has a pointer and the one above & below (encoreeditions.com-- awesome prices!!) looks just like Hershey, the one I grew up with. Hershey was the best dog ever and a German Short-haired Pointer is the epitome of "dog" to me.



Below, I also love this tight grouping of breed prints. It's graphic and beautiful and the room has an elegant feel. (via House Beautiful)



So, the great theing about dog art is that generally, it's really affordable! (I'm not talking antique oils though!) Google it online & you'll see. Check out the painting below. They're too cute!!




This hunting painting reproduction (below) is of foxhounds, which are so commonly found in old paintings & prints. (reminding me of those Ralph Lauren hunting rooms)



And Ballard Designs has these great hand-colored prints ($119, below) of almost every dog you can think of!!! (I'm not so keen on the price though, and I think you could find a cheaper print of your dog (like one from encoreeditions.com) & write in pretty cursive around it! ha) But, I do love them. Below is of course, a white & liver spotted German Short-haired pointer who looks like my dad's dog (She was my 17th birthday present, but he couldn't part with her!!) Quaisley. (She's such a crazy cutie!) The painting below by SJ Merwin is of a Welsh Terrier, and looks just like my dad's dog, Bailey. (We got him when I was 12... )(I have included him later, after posting without poor Bails, because my dad left the first comment under 'Anonymous' and brought up Bailey, who I unintentionally left out! :)

This giclee (below) from Ballard Designs has been on my wishlist since before Christian was born. My original plan was to do a dog theme nursery for him with black and white photos of all the dogs my husband & I have had over our lives and then use this adorable canvas. I planned to use a glavanized steel tub like the one in the pic painted turquoise for his stuffed animals. The funny thing is, today, Christian reminds me a lot of the baby in the picture. This may be a theme for Baby 2, so let me know what you think! (again, I wasn't too happy with the price!!)


And finally, if you're anything like me, you love it when you find pictures or paintings that look like your dog. Ashby is a mutt (part Jack Russel, lab and Aussie Cattle Dog) so it's not as easy to find mutt pics as it is to find full breeds. But here are just a few I've found over the years. Here's Miss Ashby:

And here is a painting I found (of her, I'm convinced!!) at Lucketts:




And this drawing looks more like her now that she's put on some weight (wrong sex though! she wouldn't be happy with me if I bought this one.)
A
nd finally, I found an image of this antique oil painting with a pup who looks just like Ashby when we're eating and she's watching. hee heehee


So, go google prints & paintings of your dog. Lots of them really are affordable and with the right frame and location, they could be adorable in your house! Below, is one last pic of Ashby with her boy toy:

(This was when they were still our #1 babies, see the lifevests??!!! hahah)
xoxo,
lauren

$500 Teen Bedroom makeover

Thank you to the Washington Post for selecting this post for Blogwatch June 18, 2009!

I thought I'd share a quick before & after with you. This client's teenage daughter visits him on the weekends & so he wanted to create a bedroom for her in the basement out of a wasted room. (below)

I only had $500 to work with, so I used a bed & little table he already owned. The bed looked similar to the one below, but it was more an "oaky" color... (I probably wouldn't have painted the one below) I had it lacquered in white.

I also did all of the shopping at places like Target and Bed Bath & Beyond and found the accessories at thrift stores. Paint was my friend on this project. My client's daughter requested a pretty, calming "shabby chic" look with a bit of glam. It also had to have a chandelier. I love this glass ball lamp from Ralph Lauren Home but found a MUCH cheaper version from Target.

Her favorite color is turquoise, but I didn't want to overpower the room with it...

I found these fun (and inexpensive!!) jersey knit tie dyed sheets in turquoise:

I went with a comfy white cable knit blanket on the bed and made a couple of pillows in fun turquoise fabrics. I also added flirty feminine details in the bedding like runched white Euroshams & a turquoise accent pillow.

I used white painted for the thrift shop accessories: a shelf, a mirror & some other things and got this great little mini chandelier from Pottery Barn Teen:

So here's one last look at the "Before":

And here's the "After":

Now she has a fun place to stay on the weekends & plans on inviting friends over all the time! (All for less than $500!!)

Hope you enjoyed!!

xoxo,

lauren

Congratulations to my Cousin!!

This morning I got an email in my Blackberry from my dad saying that my cousin Chris was in an article in the Home Section of the Chicago Sun-Times. I was really surprised because he & I had just spoken a couple of weeks ago about his needeing my decorating help on his new place & how much of a "bachelor pad" it was. I wasn't able to open the article quickly in my Blackberry (they can be slow!!) and so I had time to guess about what it might be. I came to the conclusion that it would be about him having gotten a really great price on his new condo, because he looked long & hard and is such a saver. And... I was right!!

Anyway, Chris got an awesome deal & I'm so excited for him so I had to share!! He's such a great guy & deserves this & as we start to decorate his new place, I'll be sure to share pictures!! (ps- He's 25 & single to all the Chicago-area single ladies!! :) --- he'd kill me for saying this though!! hahahha

xoxo,

lauren

You might remember this house...

In June of 2007 I fell in love with Margot Brunelle Fooshee & her husband's Long Island home (no name given!!) featured in House Beautiful. (I'm sure many of you remember it, but sometimes I do posts just as much as an organization/ inspirational tool for myself as for you! :)

Ruthie Sommers, their friend and interior designer helped them create a very "undecorated" feel throughout the home. {There are 2 sides fighting inside of me --- the one side that loves pretty coordinating fabrics & design details and comfortable perfection... and the other side that loves rooms that feel as if there wasn't a decorator involved. To be honest, my own home is more of the latter and most of my client's homes seem to be more of the coordinated type. But more about this later! } The aqua on the walls above are "Blue Seafoam" by Benjamin Moore and were this color when the couple moved into the house. I MUST use this color somewhere in my house!! In the sitting room above, I'm of course loving the white slipcovers & the map, which reminded me so much of a room I'd done at a lakehouse, below. (It's almost a cooler, fresher version of it: the slicovers, the map, the trunk coffee table)

And back to the house of my dreams, the kitchen is so practical and I have to say "cute," with the crab print & the sunny yellow chair. LOVE IT!!!

A door from the kitchen leads to the outdoor shower. (on my wishlist!!!)

The living room (below) is a bit more refined with a graphic black & white Morroccan print rug and graceful furnishings. it still feels young & fresh, however.

The dining room feels a bit more tropical to me and I have to admit, I have a thing for drop leaf tables so I love that one as the buffett that can double as a larger table.

The vignette below is so great!! The silver starburst & drawer pulls juxtaposed againzt the yellow chair & honey dresser--- ahh love it!

I would love to stay in the guest room below. Along with the "Sout Beach" wallpaper, all the fun pops of red just make it so cheery & fun. You get a great view of the wide plank pine floors in this picture too. Aren't they gorgeous??

They used such a mix of styles & colors & it all works so beautifully together.

The master bedroom (below) is a white haven. From the floors, to the walls, to the bed-- it's almost all white.

The image below has been my inspiration for my own bedroom & we're almost there. (ok, No, I don't have gorgeous vaulted ceilings and all that space, so we're going to need to use our imaginations for that part!! :) I love all the white with the shot of warmth & natural that the oak dropleaf table gives it. The black on the lamp and dutch door (how perfect?!!) add some more interest and of course, I usually feel a room should have a shot of greenery and the simple vase of leaves they used does so much in this case.

All photography by Don Freeman.

I hope you enjoyed this house as much as I did!!! have a great day!!

xoxo,

lauren