sneak peak

Joel Dewberry's Antler Damask

Just ordered today!!  I'm so pumped for this to arrive in the mail.  If only online shopping allowed for instant gratification...  Who would have though hubbs would go for pink?

Striped

The living room at Hunter Drive has been giving me the blahs.  I know we need a full makeover complete with new curtains, pillow shams, rug and more contemporary lighting.  Since I plan to make the curtains and pillows myself it will take some time before things are "fixed".  On Sunday, in the middle of Hurricane Irene, I just couldn't take it anymore.  During a lull in the storm, I jumped in the car and drove to Home Depot (sorry Lowes, I had a gift card) where I purchased some paint and tape to stripe an accent wall in the living room.  I had been following a couple of tutorials on Green Street Blog and Young House Love, which were the inspiration for this project.  I think we're off to a good start! 

Grown-ups live here

Before

Beer signs are fun...and they belong in a bar.  They may also be appropriate on the wall in a bachelor pad.  Unfortunately, Hunter Drive does not have a bar, bachelor area or man cave that would provide a proper home for the beer drinking paraphernalia that my husband has collected over the years.  I've been slowly moving our menagerie of beer signs to the basement stairway because hey, grown-ups live here.

The last sign to go is our beloved Narragansett beer girl, who presides over the kitchen table.  I figured moving her would be a struggle and I would have to come up with something really great and pretty inexpensive to take her place.

After

During a local summer sidewalk sale I found printed fruit from the US Department of Agriculture Yearbook from the early 1900's (facebook for fruit).  Each page was around $12 each and I found 8 that looked terrific together.  They were just pages ripped out of a book and kind of an odd shape for a typical frame, so I got lucky re-using four cheap document frames that I had purchased for $3.99 at Walgreens back in college.  Wouldn't ya know, I found 4 more of the exact same frames on amazon for the same price!  Best of all, the "mat" is just the back cardboard flipped around.  Pretty good huh?

Movin' on Up!

Facade of Hunter Drive

Hunter Drive is a three bedroom ranch that is the perfect size for our family of three (me, hubby and our dog Wally).  Since move in day, New Years 2009, we've been working on house projects non-stop.  At first I did a lot of complaining...ok, major complaining, about doing the work ourselves.  While I've always been crafty, I just didn't grow up in the type of household where you laid your own wood floor and installed your own windows (yes, we've since done both).  Now, almost 3 years later, I feel we can take on any house project, even a second story addition!

While we certainly wont build up by ourselves, we are interested in doing as much of the work as possible to keep to our budget.  We're in a good location with a great yard so I'm hoping we can add enough space to make Hunter Drive a place that a family can grow into.  With a ranch, there are so many addition options and I'm determined to avoid a flat colonial at all costs.  Here are some of my favorite facades:

A renovation in Hingham, MA with a before that looks just like Hunter Drive

A ranch renovation in Arlington Heights, IL

Can you see it?  I think its all about the front porch and an interesting roof line.  I'm sure an architect would come up with a number of other alternatives as well.  I can't wait till we get started on this!

Neutral Nursery

I recently joined One Kings Lane, a discount designer site for the home.  And I have to say, where has this been all my life?? 

While many of the items on the site are above my price range (even with the discounts offered), I was pleased to see that there were many home accessories that are absolutely affordable.  The gorgeous yellow pom pom throw in the inspiration board below is currently on sale this week for only $39.99!  

A couple posts ago I mentioned the idea of converting our office into a nursery.  With perfect grey walls, canary yellow and white accents would look fantastic.  I know that yellow and grey is by no means a new combination for home decor, wedding colors, etc. but I haven't seen much of it for a nursery.  I can just imagine a long list of DIY projects starting up: fun yellow print curtains and a quilt, martha stewart's tissue paper pom poms hanging in a corner, a knit pouf for a foot stool.  Could all this be done in 9 months?  

    

Dining Dreams

The biggest bummer at Hunter Drive is the lack of a dining room.  Our "eat in kitchen" really allows us to have just one couple over at a time for dinner, which doesn't cut it for an entertainer like me.  With our plans for a some day second story, I've been saving ideas and looks I love for a functional, stylish but not too formal eating space.

The current living room would make for a generous dining area and I love the idea of adding some bookcases to make the space cozy.  I love the way these book cases are used to organize and add color to the white walls.

via pearl street interiors

I think this look would be totally doable in our future dining room.  This is the window I have in mind...

taken by my iphone

Besides needing a better camera to document Hunter Drive, its pretty clear that my existing living room is suffering from the beige on beige syndrome.  All the more reason to start planning for the dining room now!