Friday, October 29, 2010

Friday Inspiration

I came across this 900sq foot addition to a Vermont cottage in Better Homes & Gardens earlier this week and completely fell in love with the architecture of the space.


It's a beautiful addition to the old stone structure.  I also really love the volume of space on the interior.


There's a great little loft space.  I also love all the white, the wood planking on the ceiling and walls, and (of course!) all the natural light in the space.  That's a pretty rockin' light fixture too.  Just beyond those doors on either side of the fireplace is a great office.


I could definitely move in there.  But my favorite design detail throughout the space is the repeat of the arc.  It's in the barrel vault and half round window at one end.  It's used on the balcony of the ledge and repeated on the fireplace hearth below.  Very graceful.


I think I could make this an AMAZING music room and office space as an addtion to my house.  How about you?

Happy Weekend Everyone!  Hope you have a great costume to wear for Halloween.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

What Have I Made Lately

Pardon me as I take a design break, sort of...

As I've mentioned before I've been a little crazy with the knitting lately.  I like small projects for the instant gratification and in general I'm a pretty impatient knitter.  The goal I've set for myself is to make a sweater.  I'm a little intimidated but excited about the prospect.  I'm sure I'll have to do something else while I'm working on it too to keep me from completely burning out.  In the meantime, here's what I've made lately:

the Republic Hat - took me forever to find buttons for this bad boy.  Does anyone have a good button source?

 All Away Around Cowl - This was my first attempt at making something seamless with a provisional cast on and using a kitchner stitch to finish.  It's not perfect but it worked out okay in the end.

French Press Slippers - one of my most favorite things I've ever made.  These are SO cute and really easy!  They ended up a little big so my Mom got to be the proud owner of the first pair.  I can't wait to make more.

The Clutch You'll Never Want To Give Up - this clutch is mostly done.  I still need to sew on some buttons or make a fabric flower to glam it up a bit.  My Sister has promised to help me make a lining for it too.

Rosie's new Chihuahua Sweater - my first dog sweater knitted in the round.  I modified the pattern a bit to give some shaping to Rosie's slim figure.  And I made sleeves for the first time!  She looks super cute wearing it when the weather's chilly (the girl shivers at anything below 80 degrees)


Cabled Cowl - this cowl turned out nice and I really love the color of the merino/cashmere blend yarn (it's called limoncello)

and last but not least
Fetching - fingerless gloves to keep my too cold hands warm in the house this winter (the Husband thinks I have ice blocks attached to my hands and feet)

Okay, thanks for the diversion.  Back to design tomorrow!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

In Process: A Tiny Master Bath Gets An Upgrade

I thought I'd start showing some of the stuff that I work on, showing the process of how it all comes together.  A little bit of process before the big reveal if you will. 


A few weeks ago I went tile shopping with clients to pull together the palette for their tiny bath and I snapped some pics along the way. 


Here's the countertop too.  (we didn't have a sample with us that day which I don't normally recommend by the way!)

After shopping I sketched up some tile patterns for the master has well as the hall bath for the clients to choose what they liked best.


There are still lots of decisions to be made (plumbing fixtures, paint color, mirrors, accessories, lighting, etc)  but we've made a great start and I can't wait to see it once it's complete.  Now we just have to wait for the demolition (and the installation!) to begin.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Tourist in My Own Town: Hollywood Cemetery


I don't always take advantage off all the interesting things to see and do here in the Richmond area, but when my folks come for a visit I get to play a tourist in my own town.  Last week while they were visiting we decided to check out Hollywood Cemetery.  It's also almost Halloween.  Why not take a walk among the dead!

Hollywood has been used as a burial place as well as a beautiful escape from the city since 1849.  Two US presidents (as well as the president of the confederacy) are buried there.  From this Oregon Hill site you have an incredible view of the James River below.  It was a beautiful day and we decided to walk through the park (you can opt to drive).  One of the first things we saw as we entered the cemetery was this view.


Notice the visitor in the center of the frame?  It's a juvenile bald eagle!  It was HUGE and chasing a squirrel. 


and then stalked a groundhog.  It was Wild Kingdom for a bit.


There are family plots as well as family mausoleums all over the park.  We saw these two almost next to each other.


These were great architectural homages to my own Richardson clan as well as my Cole cousins.  It was nice to see them as neighbors. 

There were all kinds of interesting monuments and headstones in the park.  It was interesting to see what was in vogue at different times.  One style in particular that caught my eye were the nature inspired ones.  They tended to look like tree trunks with other natural embellishments.  They seemed to be very popular in the 1910s-1920s.  This one below from 1912 says "in perfect peace".


It was very peaceful.  Well, except for the renovations in the presidental area.  We didn't get to see James Monroe or John Tyler.  Poor James Monroe...He was actually moved here after the cemetery opened to give the place some cache and spur tourists to visit.  He's been helping to draw a crowd for over 150 years now. 


It really was peaceful.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Friday Inspiration

So I'm still playing catch up from my busy/fun week but I wanted to post a little something.  It's been awhile since I've had a Friday Inspiration so today this is what I've been thinking about:

cottage living via little green notebook

Light Filled Spaces!!  Though I love our sweet little house in the woods I dream about sun drenched rooms.  The example above is a pretty great one.  It has all those windows, a perfect muted palette and a great mix of pieces (the painted chest and floors, the great print on the wingback chairs, the lovely long panels that call back to the sofa, and that amazing portrait on top of that rustic cabinet)  I want to be there instead of my dark office in front on a computer all day.  Happy Friday everyone.  I hope you can catch a little sun on this lovely fall day. 

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

a perfect gift

So I've been completely blog free for a few days while my parents were in town.  I have a LOT to get caught up on but first I wanted to show everyone the super sweet and super chic clutch that my Sister made for me for my birthday. 

Isn't it the cutest little bag.  I've been looking for a little clutch that I could carry out when I didn't want to have a big bag o' stuff with me and this fits the bill perfectly.


I love the lining on the inside that creates divider for my phone, ipod, etc.  (yes I carry both because I can't bring myself to pay for fancy phone charges!)  There's supposed to be a matching change purse coming my way too.  That will make it completely perfect.


It's the perfect size to grab and go!  Thanks Sister!!  I LOVE it!! 

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Pickin' Punkins


 We didn't see the Great Pumpkin, but my Sweet Husband and I did have a great afternoon yesterday celebrating our two year anniversary.  We spent the afternoon at the Ashland Berry Farm.  We rode the wagon out the far end of the pumpkin patch (or the Back Forty as the Husband likes to call it) and picked out all of our favorites. 


The deal at the farm is that you can take as many pumpkins as you can carry three steps for $20.  Luckily I have a big strong husband that can carry a lot of pumpkins. 


It ended up being a very hot day so we took refuge in the shade while we waited to catch the tractor back.




After picking picking pumpkins the Husband made a stop by the Hanover Arts and Activities Center so that we could stand in the spot where we said I Do. 


It was a good day.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Two


Happy 2nd Anniversary to my Sweet Husband.  It was a perfect October Sunday two years ago that we said I Do.


I'm so lucky to celebrate 2 with you.  Love, love..

photos by allie hasson photography

Monday, October 11, 2010

Can This Be Made Fabulous? - the foot

Do you remember this dresser:


Well, as with most things around here it has taken longer than I originally thought to get it painted.  The work has finally been done but before I make the big reveal I thought I'd show you a funny little detail that emerged after the first few coats of paint.


It has TWO toes with nails on each foot that looks a bit crude and creepy all at the same time.  There's an almost human quality to it in person.  It makes me laugh every time I see them.  It definitely adds an unexpected layer of character to the piece.  Probably not something I would have chosen but now that I have it I love it.  So what do you think?  Fun?  Creepy?  Disturbing?  I give it two toes up.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Procrastination Prevention: a reveal and the next thing on my list

As an update to my previous post about my (unfinished) gallery wall I wanted to redeem myself to say that I did it!!  I finally framed and hung those last few pieces.



Woo Hoo!!


Since shame and public humiliation seems to be the thing that works for me I'm going to move on to the next thing on the list - my office. The Husband and I actually share an office.  It's a small space but seems to be working in that we each have our own area to work and our stuff is there.  It's not pretty.  It's kind of a wreck actually.  When we got married almost two years ago I moved into the Husband's house full of stuff with my own house full of stuff.  It was a lot of stuff for a not so big house.  We both purged A LOT of things and we were still left with piles-o-things.  The way we handled it was to make every other room in the house livable but pile everything "extra" into either the office or the guest room.  For a long while you couldn't even see the floor in here.  It's taken a long time but you can now see (most? some?) of the floor.


What I want to focus on today though is the wall over my desk.  It's screaming out for some shelves.  Shelves would be so nice and go a long way to help us both manage our clutter and the piles-o-stuff that seem to be always sitting around.

my side of the desk

 the Husband's side of the desk




That's my dream anyway.  It's been the plan to install those shelves since almost the day I officially moved in.  I had the work counters installed almost immediately when we got married.  The shelves were to be installed next.  I could never make up my mind though about what kind of support brackets to use.  I could never manage to get to the lumbar yard to buy the shelving material.  Blah, blah, two years.  Two Years, people!!  Now that I have put my secret shame out there I hope that this all will quickly resolve itself.  Shame me at will.  I need the motivation.


Anyone else hungry for a banana?
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...