From Pass-Through Aquarium to Fireplace

/
From Pass-Through Aquarium to Fireplace

Here's something you don't see much of... when we moved into our home we were surprised by something in our bedroom - a hole in the wall! When we toured the home there was a dresser in the middle of a wall. When that dresser was moved there were wood paneled doors about halfway up the wall. I opened them and found a shelf with electric outlets and a water faucet. It turns out, there had once been a pass-through aquarium between the living room and bedroom! You can see it in a pic from the original home listing from 2004.

Read More

Cat Scratch Fever (How to Fix Scratches in Wood Floors)

/
Cat Scratch Fever (How to Fix Scratches in Wood Floors)

Frank. That's our cat. He's such a love and quite possibly the best.cat.ever. No really. He's awesome. He doesn't tear toilet paper up, he loves to snuggle, he lets you know when he needs his litter cleaned (seriously) and he's pretty low maintenance. His fault? He scratches the heck out of my floors. He's your typical cat in that the littlest noise scares him and he reacts by running away. In the process he scratches up the floor. 

Read More

DIY Stacked Crown Moulding End Caps

/
DIY Stacked Crown Moulding End Caps

Ah...terminating crown moulding - the design nuisance those of us with partial or split walls have to deal with. In most rooms crown terminates into itself because of the square/rectangular nature of the space. In rooms that have a fireplace, varying wall height or, like in my master bath, a split in the wall, you are left with 3 options: a hanging return, a corbel return or a finial return.

Read More

When Good Projects Go Bad

/
When Good Projects Go Bad

It's been FOREVER since I've had a DIY post and I'm so sad that my first one back is a fail. As in major fail. Let's take a walk down memory lane.

After doing the kitchen and dining room I decided to wrap one other little project - the powder bath. It's a really ugly little space. It has great floors (extra from my bath remodel) but other than that, it's terrible. 

Read More

Hopping On To Sign Off​

/

Bonjour mes amies! I meant to write this last week but couldn't seem to find the time. I am in Europe with my daughter, mom, sister and niece until July 4th. Our first stop was 2 days in Paris. My niece has never been so we decided to come for a couple of days. The main trip, though, is to the UK/Ireland. My daughter is a bit obsessed with all things British so we ended up going on a girls trip. For those who love travel, I will be posting pics on my Instagram! For now, enjoy our kick butt view from our hotel (and my beautiful daughter). I have my first commercial design consult on the 7th but after that, I will be back to blog about the powder room remodel!!

image.jpg

Small But Mighty: 100 Powder Rooms That Make a Statement

/
Small But Mighty: 100 Powder Rooms That Make a Statement

I have a confession: I love bathrooms. Ever since I was a little girl I've always been fascinated by bathroom design. My mom and grandmother constantly tell stories that focus on me being in a restaurant and immediately having to get up to go to the restroom. That wouldn't be much of a story except that when I came back to the table, I would always comment on the way the restroom was decorated. If we went to a new place, you can bet I scoped out the bathroom. Now fast forward a few decades and my daughter does the same thing. The exact.same.thing. I guess I've passed on the torch to the next generation. 

Read More

The Dining Room Reveal

/
The Dining Room Reveal

Wow. That's all I can say about the crazy amount of rain we have received in the Austin area in the last few weeks. Downtown Austin was even under water at certain points. Yesterday we had 3, yes 3, different tornado warnings in our small town. Luckily, nothing came from them but wow. Just wow.

Another thing that has been happening the last few weeks is the completion of the dining room. I started the remodel years ago, but just did a little here and there over the years. How did it look when we bought it?

Read More

The Dining Room Update: Cane Chair Redo

/
The Dining Room Update: Cane Chair Redo

A funny thing happened last December. I was this close to finishing my dining room and bam! I changed directions and started working on the kitchen. I had a good reason. The island is between the kitchen and dining room and until it was finished, the whole space was undone. So, I switched gears and knocked out my kitchen. After all the dust settled, I decided it was time to finally finish the dining room. Since there were a few steps in this process, I decided to break it up into segments (so I don't overload you). One of those steps was new seating. 

Read More