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Flea Market Style

The last piece of mail I received before we left our old house were the last two copies of Flea Market Style. What a visual treat!

 

There are so many wonderful ideas in these two magazines that I honestly don't know where to start! I can hardly wait to get into our new house and start decorating. After three nights spent on a cot in my mother's living room, I am more than ready to get into the new house. We get the keys today at 5:15. Hurray!!!! Since it is a rental, I am limited in the changes I can make. We have been given the go ahead to paint if we like and to tear out old carpeting to show the hardwood underneath but that is about it. Everything else is going to take creativity to work with the bare bones of the place. I am so up for the challenge!

Score!

I was at Rubydog's Art House yesterday to pick up some things she had on hold for me and check out what I found...

Does this yell out Audrey Hepburn or what? My good egg is redoing her room in the new house like a black and white movie. Her inspiration is Breakfast at Tiffany's. We have been painting her furniture black and picking up black and white accessories. This phone cost me $5! What a steal! It just screams vintage - it is from the 60's - and still works. It is going to look awesome in her new room!

Thinking about white dishes - love them or hate them?

I never used to like white dishes. They seemed so utilitarian. So plain. But it seems I am changing my mind. I have seen some wonderful photos of white dishes lately and they are calling out to me "Do this at your house!" I found some yesterday at Wonderbuck's for very reasonable prices. All of our dishes seem to be breaking. We've lost 2 bowls and 3 plates in the last few months. I have to admit that my Emile Henri plates and bowls have lived a good long life. I got them over 20 years ago and they do not owe me a thing! What we have now are a mix of various dishes in blue, green and hand me downs. I am going to start picking up white pieces when I see them and one day my dining table and cupboards might look like this!

 
via 50's Housewife

 
via loving.living.small

 
via faded prairie

 
via barn house

What do you think? White? Or not?

Are you house proud?

I have been thinking about this a lot lately. As I have packed box after box after seemingly never ending box, I have thought about each item. Why do we own it? What does it say about me? Is it something to keep or let go?

 
Do you ever ask yourself these questions? Do you ever feel like your life is being consumed by stuff? Lately I do. There are just so many things that we use on a daily basis but, more than that, so much stuff for my art and sewing. These are the hardest things for me to part with. As an artist, I never know when I will have an idea for something and want to pull out (insert essential item here) and create. How can I plan for creativity that hasn’t happened yet?

I have come to the conclusion that in the past few years I have cared less and less about taking care of our house and making it a place of comfort and relaxation. It has become just a stopping place not a resting place. I have been feeling a disconnect within my family lately. Like we are not together as a family but, rather, are just three people sharing one space. I am sure that part of it is due to our house being filled with boxes, my good egg spending every possible minute with friends rather than her parents (can’t really blame her – she is only 15!), my irritability with summer (I am so ready to be back into the routine of the school year) and the crow’s terrifically long hours at work these past 2 months. We simply aren’t spending enough (or any some days) time together.

I want this to change in the new house. I want to get back to the days when I was able to invite people over and feel proud about my home. I have become a decorating blog/website junkie lately. I keep seeing great ideas and bookmarking them. I am getting an image in my mind of how I want the new house to look but, more than that, how I want it to feel. I know that I can't make a lot of changes as we are renting but I know I want it to feel the way I feel when I look at pictures like this:

 

 via the fisherman's cottage

 
via the creek line house

 

via shabby addict who got it via hiya papaya

 
via cottage and home decorating

 
via cottage and home decorating

 
via my house of giggles

I know that I can make this happen. And, in doing so, I know that the way our family lives together will change. The biggest change will be around dinnertime. Finally, after so many years we will have a space for a dining table and will be able to eat dinner together each night. I think that I am looking forward to this most of all. And I am thinking of splurging on some of these to make it just that much more special.

 
via cottage and vine's etsy shop

 

Southern Charm

 

I love these southern doors. They whisper to me of grace and charm. Sweet tea under a gazebo. Crinolines and petticoats. Rocking chairs and porch swings.

I want to bring some of that feeling to our new house. I know it is a rental and our ability to make changes will be limited. How can I make small (inexpensive) changes that will make our new place have the feeling that I want it to have? Also, knowing that we will probably only be there for a year, how can I make changes that I can take with me when we move on? My mind keeps whirring about. I wish I had taken photos of the new space so that I could be planning better but I won't see it again for another 2 weeks. 

My good egg and I have been enjoying planning her new space in the new house. She is wanting a room that feels like she "has walked into a black and white movie". Yesterday we went bargain hunting at our local thrift shops. Score! We got a duvet cover and pillow case for $10!!!! We are still on the hunt for the perfect bedside tables. She wants vintage so we are going to keep looking at the thrift shops until we find just the right thing. Then we will paint it. These are the kinds of inspiration that we are working from:

 

 
 
 
all images courtesy of http://www.housetohome.co.uk/ 

We already have permission to tear up the god awful ugly green carpeting in her room. There is hardwood underneath that looks to be in pretty good shape. We have been repainting all of her current furniture with a glossy black. Yesterday we went to Anthropologie to find new knobs for her vanity. They had some very pretty clear glass ones on sale and they are going to look fabulous!  

There is hardwood elsewhere in the house as well that we are going to expose by tearing out decades old carpet.  We will most likely be painting all the walls white. I like how our artwork pops against white. And, goodness knows, we have a lot of art. Mostly pieces by Sheila Norgate and Maarten Perera with some of my own thrown in.

The landlords have basically given us carte blanche so long as we keep everything clean and presentable. Since the house will either be sold in a year (and I would guess it will be torn down if that happens) or we will continue renting it, we are allowed to do whatever we like. The only catch is that the landlords aren't going to pay for the paint etc to fix it up since they don't know what will happen and don't want to put money into a house that might be torn down 12 months from now. It makes sense to me. And I like that we have more freedom than we have ever had before in a rental. We can really put our stamp on it. My goal is to make it our own while spending the least amount of money possible. Redo on a budget!

Losing Momentum.......Then Finding It Again

 
I am now 12 days into packing up for our move. As with all new projects, I jumped into the packing with verve and gusto. Then around day 10 I looked around and saw that I was surrounded by a mountain of boxes. Lots and lots of boxes. And beyond that more things to sort and pack. It seemed to be a never ending task. I felt tired, exhausted, overwhelmed. And I realized that I had come down with a virus. I had all the symptoms. Reading instead of packing. Sleeping instead of packing. Eating instead of packing. Doing anything instead of packing. I had become a victim of packing ennui.

Have you ever experienced it? It isn't specific to packing. It can attach itself to any activity - like a parasite. And it just sucks all the joy out of doing the activity. It might come when you are quilting or painting or (insert your activity here). It is what hits you when you find yourself doing any other activities you can think of BUT the one that usually brings you joy and pleasure. You have lost your drive, your passion, your enthusiasm, your heart for the activity.

It may sound crazy to hear that moving brings me joy and pleasure but it really does. I love the searching. I love the planning. I love the settling in to the new house. I love making my things work in new and different spaces. I am very excited about this move. I can hardly wait to live in the neighbourhood we are moving to. We lived there 15 years ago when our daughter was born. It is a neighbourhood where you can walk to the store, green grocer, pharmacy, etc in minutes. There are restaurants and coffee shops galore. A person could easily live in the neighbourhood car free and never lack for anything.

So, I let myself have a couple of days to get over the virus. I read. I slept. I ate way too much candy. I drove my husband crazy with my bad moods. I made myself do something the complete opposite of packing. I pulled OUT my school books and did some planning for the new school year. I created worksheets. I read a bunch of different blogs. I got excited about going back to work in September. My fire started to spark again. Once I felt that little spark I forced myself to pack a box. Just one. Lit-- tle--ba--by steps. And you know what? After that, I packed another box and another. And, voila!, my packing ennui is gone.

So, once again, I can say (with a smile on my face no less!) that:

 

Moving, moving, moving....

We are moving....again! This will be our 9th move in 15 years. Call us crazy but we like to move. I love the planning, organizing, setting up, decorating. I love all of it. I don't even mind the packing up. I have become very efficient at it over the years. I check the Craigslist postings like an addict - I am still checking them every day even though we already have the new place! My husband says I have to stop doing it and he is probably right.

We are moving into a house where we are allowed to pretty much do our own thing. It is on the main floor and I won't have to deal with the mold and damp of living in a basement suite. I am making a promise to myself right now: I will never, ever live in a basement suite again!!!!

The house is available for at least a year while it goes through probate. After it goes through probate, it might get sold or it might be kept on as a rental income for the family. We won't know for a year but that is okay. I am just happy to be moving back to the neighbourhood that we want, being within walking distance to my work and very close to the good egg's school. We can also cut down on gas for shopping as it is about 5 minutes walk from where we do our weekly grocery shopping. If we end up having to move again, we will roll with it. After all, moving is one thing our family does very well!

I am hoping to do something like this on one of the living room walls. This is from my aunt's house. I did something similar years ago when I spray painted all my frames black but I never did anything on this kind of scale. This picture only shows about half of the wall. I love how she has incorporated new and old photos together and took the photos from floor to ceiling. So simple but so effective.

 
I also covet the gas pump but would not be able to find something like that here. Plus, this one has a family history attached. It came from the gas station my grandfather owned. My aunt had it refurbished for my uncle who now runs the family gas business.

Front Porches and Rocking Chairs

One day I am going to have a house with a big, wide Southern front porch. I will hang ferns and flowers from the rafters and drink iced tea in the shade.  You don't see a lot of front porches where I live. But here are a few that I found on a neighbourhood walk the other day.

 
This one I love because not only is it a beautiful, big porch but it is a wrap-a-round porch! The house, however, is HUGE! Way too big for me and mine. Something smaller but with this sort of porch would be amazing.

Here's another one...

 

This one is sweet. Smaller and very classic. Probably a bit too classic for me. I like things that are a little bit quirky. Still a nice porch don't you think?

 

 

This one is a bit too new looking for my liking but the porch would be a lovely sipping spot on a hot day!

 
This one is more my style. Smaller, old fashioned and easier to maintain! (Not that I do any of the maintenance. I have my darling crow to do all of that. Thank you honey!)

I love the idea of a house that looks one way outside and then is a surprise when you walk in the door. My ideal house would be an old church or barn but I am very unlikely to find that here in the city and don't want to move out of the city. So, to find a place to live that is above ground (no more basement suites) and in the neighbourhood we want to live in is the plan. A place that we can fill with our own quirky decorating style.

Like this house by Brooklyn Home Company

 
So clean, so crisp! I am in love!!!!! If I had to name my style I would call it rustic modern. A mix of eclectic items that come together to be my style. In the room above, I really like how the table is an old wood slab but the chairs are sleek and modern. I love the juxtaposition of the two. How cool to have a table like this by ReMain Designs...

 
mixed with more traditional furniture like this from South of Market...

 
or like these totally awesome lockers (also from South of Market)

 
or to have rooms like the ones in this AMAZING house tour from Country Living. Do you see the anatomy poster on the wall? Do you see it? I want one!

 
 
Old, new, recycled, refurbished. My idea of a studio. WOW!

 
Something like this for my sewing supplies? Heaven!

 
And this bathroom? Words fail me.

And more photos from more Country Living house tours...they are filled with such creativity.

 
 
We actually own that very same phrenology head! I got it for my dear crow for Christmas this past year. Now to work on setting up a vignette like that!

 
Another awesome, light filled studio. When we own a house, my studio is going to be in the garage. It will have skylights, french doors and be my sanctuary. One day it will happen. I will not have my studio in my living room forever.

 
And this staircase is really neat...it has a cupboard built into the stone wall. How cool is that?

 
Have you noticed a theme of white in all these photos? I seem to have the clean, crisp look of white on the brain lately. I love how paintings and other art work POP on the white background. And I absolutely adore the idea of  mixed and matched white dishes. So much in fact that I have started to look for dishes at thrift shops whenever I happen by them.

It has occurred to me that I am always thinking about how our "someday" house is going to look. Maybe I need to put more effort into making our current house feel more like the home I wish I had. I know that we want to move and will move within the next 5 years but why live in a way that I don't like until then? So, I am going to put some effort into redoing our rooms and creating a space that fills my heart with joy every time I walk in the door.

Where have the days gone?

I haven't written for awhile. I would love to say that I have been very busy with an assortment of exciting events but....really it has just been the regular, ordinary days of my life that have been keeping me from the computer. Here are a few photos from the last couple of weeks. Enjoy!

 

Can you say ironic?
 
 
 

We had some snowy days a couple of weeks ago. Thank goodness the snow is gone now.
 
 
 
 These last two are the blankets and bags (with donated handmade teddies) that I sent off to CraftHope for mothers in Haiti.

Have you heard of Shopbop?

 

Okay, I am officially in love. I have just discovered a new Aussie site called Table Tonic. She has wonderful design and decorating ideas. AND she is from Australia. How can it possibly get better than that?

I get regular emails from Apartment Therapy and they are doing the 2011 Homies Awards. Table Tonic is one of the sites. If you don't know Apartment Therapy, check it out. No really, check it out. Go ahead. Do it now. I'll wait for you. Trust me it will be worth it. Especially the daily house tours. I love, love, love seeing how other people live. I fill my junk mail journal with ideas about how I will decorate my forever house one day. Apartment Therapy is one of my favourite places to get ideas.

Anywho, long story short, Louise (the lady who does Table Tonic) has a post about Shopbop. She is offering a free giveaway of $100 to spend at Shopbop. Wouldn't it be great to win?

I checked it out and, OMG, I am in shoe heaven! They have great other stuff, too - clothing, bags, accessories etc. Plus, their products range in price from the regular person (i.e. me) to the independently wealthy (i.e NOT me!) I know that I will spend hours looking around at the site but the shoes, oh, the shoes...I covet the shoes.

I am a self professed shoe freak. I wish I had the kind of disposable income that would let me buy all the ones that I love AND a closet big enough to store them all. Maybe one day. I mean, stranger things have happened, right? Check these out:

 
This granny boot is amazing. I can see it with so many outfits.

And these make me wish I could handle 3 inch heels. Unfortunately, much as I love heels, 2 inches is my max. They are called Pour La Victoire. Great name.

 
 
And these sandals are equally yummy. But again with heels too high for me. Sigh...

 

I just bought a pair kind of like these except with leather ties that go up your lower leg. Very delicious. Biggest difference? Mine were on sale for $12 and these are $133. Still, if I had that kind of money...OR if I win the $100...I could totally get a pair of shoes from Shopbop. My fingers are crossed!