How do you like me now? ORC Update!

Linda, prompted by Elisa ... is doing a little espionage work to see if we actually have done anything different to our original ORC rooms.

Here's my Round Up
Go Here to check out all the other Rooms 
Made Beautiful during the ORC!

My First ORC... for a young family ... while the pieces are the same in their family room, it is now filled with their love!

My Second ORC ... turning an unused eating area into a Keeping Room for a young family to gather, wait for mom to finish cooking, and read books. The only change they made?  A new puppy!!

My Third ORC, here's where things start to change.

My Office Illusion ... 

What's different ... this illusion was ripped down and here is my NEW reality and it is NO illusion!  Definitely a contender for the April Link Up!

10' X 7' ... remnants of a Dark Room.

All Mine.

My Fourth ORC I joined in the ORC Link Up Party ... 

Our Powder Room.

What's different ... we Moved.  I am now faced with this.  I cannot even call this a Powder Room.  Another Contender for the April ORC Link Up.

I'd like your Opinion ... 

Which one would you like to see me tackle in April?

Powder Bathroom OR my No Illusion Office?
And, YOU can help me Focus!

Plus ... Pick a room and join the Link Up. Here's HOW.
You need some Motivation?  This is It!

Making the World More Beautiful.  One Room at a Time.

Oh, Don't forget to enter to Win
An Affair with a House 
here.

xo,

kim

Gloss. Black. Indeed.

I really hate to complain ... but I was looking forward to a fabulous Monday ... and it all got shot to hell by one phone call this morning.  Oh so sorry, we've had a snag honing your countertops ... so now we cannot be there until tomorrow.

Ugh.  okay.  So I am bringing you my Bright Spot of the Day.

Bright. And. Black.

Gloss.

On my quest to eliminate red brick from the inside of our home, I armed myself with my favorite Gloss Black and turned up the volume on the Basement fireplace.

I will do a full reveal of this room very shortly ... just tweaking a few more things.

However, I know you like a good Before and After Shot.

So just to put things in perspective ... here's where we started:

We did have the drop ceiling removed and now have a plastered ceiling with can lights.  What a difference they made as well.

The Red and Glass clock used to hang in our Mudroom.

I absolutely LOVE the way the gloss also camoflauges 

the tv!

What a little Gloss can do to bring a little life to the show!!

Making the World More Beautiful.  One Room at a Time.

xo,

klm

Back in the Saddle!

Happy New Year! 

I hope everyone was safe and happy and healthy.  This has been quite a little break from blogging, computers ... really everything technical. We got moved in on the 30th and we are living in the land of boxes right now.  Floors are being refinished up in the bedroom area so we are in "Camp Kim" ... twin beds lined in the living room.  

Our family is not used to being so close! 

But We are IN!

And here's a little peak at where we are taking our kitchen ... (which by the way is our living room at this point)!

This is the Before ... 

Because things were so crazy during the Holidays and with our move ... 

I didn't say a proper Thank You.

And I do. Thank you All who continue to come back, check in on things, leave comments and who have become friends.  It has been a fun adventure and I truly look forward to what 2014 has to offer and hope you will continue the ride with me!

Making the World More Beautiful.  One Room at a Time.

xo,

kim

More Gold Diggin' ...

I'm not certain when I bought the Gold Spray Paint.  

But it was waiting for me on my Spray Paint Shelf in the garage.

I have a spray paint shelf.  Don't you?

And now.

I am a Gold Addict. 

Here's what is happening in my little vortex. 

When I moved my Dad to be closer to me last year, 

I happened to find a place for him right near a thrift shop. 

 Karma?  Perhaps.  

Good Stuff ... umm ... yes.

I found this table ... trust me it was gross.  I used a sweater I had on to carry it.

Before you think I am a freak, I am NOT a germaphobe.

In fact, my grandmother's statement,

A teaspoon of dirt a year is required to keep you healthy.

Yes, she believed this.

I might be in her corner.

So ... it takes a lot to make me squirm.

This blackness, it made me squirm.

I did it for you ... and me ... to show the potential!

Even the Glass was "smoked"

And then as I prep my home and mind for Fall.

A little Gold Action in my Family Room.

Because as much as I strive for simplicity.

I want more.

I want more.

And find happiness in Spray Painted Gold!

Making the World More Beautiful.  One Room at a Time.

xo,

kim

The Four B's ...

Country Living Magazine contacted me to share what they have been up to for their 2013 ShowHouse.  You have probably seen some of the ramp up for their Real House Makeover lead by Designer Emily Henderson.

Kind of fun that we bloggers are contacted by different companies in regard to design trends or happenings in the Design World in hopes that we might help them promote their particular product or project.

I always try to read them and consider my options ... write or don't write.  
And, honestly, I usually don't write.

Well this little tid-bit from Country Living seemed appropriate.
 Beautifully appropriate I might add!

And here are the Four B's 

Things I love ... 

and love to share ...

Bungalows

This little Bungalow was left standing full of water and virtually destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. 

Benevolence 

Country Living stepped in to help this homeowner get this place back into shape.

BrightStar

Well, who wouldn't love Emily Henderson to bounce her vivacious style into their "new" home!

Here's a look at some of the transformation ... and I'd like to point out some of the design elements that I try to use with my clients and these are PERFECT examples!

Before look at the dark wood/beam ceiling.  

Sometimes people are afraid of painting pretty wood. 

Well, FEAR NO MORE!

The Fourth B ... 

BALANCE.

Many times balance and symmetry are thought about as in "the same thing on both sides". 

A Mirror Image.

NO, NO ... look at the BALANCE created by the tripod lamp and the fig.

This is Perfectly Creative Balance.

This Kitchen is so fun and notice the paint going all the way up! 

Such a perfect way to make a space feel larger and sunnier.

Again in the Bedroom ... Paint all the way UP!  

Balance again in the Bedroom. 

Bold UP.

Calm DOWN.

This bathroom is so Bungalow Good!

An example here of the clean white space with a terrifically bold floor.  

I am a big fan of Big Punch in Small spaces.

Also giving the Balance Example.  

Bold Floor.

Quiet Ceiling.

Not only did I adore what Emily and the Country Living Team did with this Bungalow and lucky homeowner, but found the implementation and lessons to be well worth sharing!

You can read more details here or when the new CL hits the stands next week!

It's Wednesday ... I think I will strive for Balance today ... what are you up to?

Making the World More Beautiful.  One Room at a Time.

xo,

kim

Orange and Emerald ...

The chair brings the Orange.  Nature brings the Emerald!

This chair literally fell together!  I love it when this happens ... it was a no-thought come together of the best kind!

Hopefully you remember the day I found the skin ... one of those purchases that I truly had no idea where it was going to be used.  Just knew it needed to be mine!

Once I made the decision to use the leather on my chair, I wasn't entirely sure what fabric I wanted on the pillows to complement my chair.  And I wasn't pressed to make a decision which is always a good thing!

And this happened.

The blue/white print is from an old Lilly Skirt that I had in a pile to go to GoodWill.  I loved that skirt, it was getting a little short!  I just glanced over one day while doing the laundry and decided it needed to be a funky little pillow!

I call it Preppy Zebra!

I also didn't want to lose the "spirit of the skirt" so I left the little brass button and pocket!

Then the crazy popular Chiang Mai Dragon fabric.  I was in my upholsterer's workroom one afternoon a couple of weeks ago and saw this:

Well, I stopped in my tracks ... this is beautiful ... what a lucky person bringing this home.  Ha Ha, fooled me!  It was already used and done.  This sofa was in for a little facelift of it's own to become leather.  

Well ... hmmm ... what are you doing with the fabric when you pull it off?  I asked.

Um, can I have a piece?

Well ... sure ... and here it is my "vintage" fabric pillow.  

Couldn't be happier!!

My throw is a vintage Kantha quilt ... it is so soft and HUGE!  Was purchased to use on our hammock.  But now it is the true traveling blanket!

Yes, the chair will reside in my Illusion Office ... but if I could, I would leave it right here in the grass ... isn't it lovely?

Murphy gives a nod of approval ... the chair brought him out into the heat for a few minutes ... then he disappeared back under the deck into the rocks!  Poor Guy, the heat is really killing him.

Last week brought together my ya ya's and their families.  My Family.  We have been spending a week together every summer for 17 years.  We each come away relaxed, loved, and re-juiced for the next year!  

I have been blessed by their friendship, thank you my dear friends!

Thank you for hanging in with me and continuing to check in! 

Making the World more Beautiful.  One Room at a Time.

xo,

kim

Our Home ... The Kitchen!

Happy Tuesday ... This was supposed to go up yesterday ... I have had some major Computer issues that I believe are thankfully fixed!  On a good note, I think Spring has finally come to New England ... daffodils are bursting from the ground and the trees are budding!

Last Monday  I took you into our Bedroom and promised a peek into our Closet and Bathroom.  I have changed direction, I get to do that ... right?  I had a little Palm Beach inspiration that needs some time to get right ... so I am taking you to the kitchen!

When we bought this house, almost 6 years ago, we gutted the kitchen, eating area, dining room and family room.  It was a typical Colonial with lots of small rooms and we wanted a little more open feeling!

Here is how it started:

The Kitchen was actually pretty okay ... but tiny ... you know how Real Estate photos make things look bigger than they are?  The kitchen window looked out over the back yard.

Before (Real Estate Photo):

The eating area looked over the front drive and was very small and almost secluded feeling.  There was a little "walkway" outside this window ... and we pushed the walls out to gain an extra 150 square feet! ... Plus the garage door opened to this outdoor porch, we wanted it to open into the kitchen.

Eating Area Before (Real Estate Photo):

Off to the side was the Family Room ... with doors out to the screened in porch.  We blew out those doors and closed in the porch for our sunroom ... you'll have to wait to see that!

Family Room, Before (Real Estate Photo):

Clients ask me all the time how they should start if they have a blank slate.  There seems to be a rule that you start with the floor or rug first.  Maybe.  Start with something you love.  A piece of fabric, a piece of furniture, a vase or a piece of Art.

Our whole room was built around our Antique French Advertisement Poster.

The Two chairs I had just brought home from Brimfield.

Here's how it looked with no kitchen and  no family room!  Walls fixed, drywalled and painted.  New Doors (where the window over the kitchen sink used to be) and

Our Girl.

We actually "flipped" the kitchen, so above is where our new eating area is, and to the right, the old "secluded" boxy eating area became the kitchen!

The photo above also shows our table which was really an outdoor table with a skirt ... The dogs loved playing hide and seek here!

I cannot tell you how much dog hair accumulated here ... YUK!!

Copper Farm Sink and Copper Faucet ... and yes, two dishwashers.  These two appliances saved our marriage!!  With four kids and three dogs, these babies run day and night!!

I chose brushed nickel hardware to tie in the ovens and the stove top.  And made the conscious choice to let the copper sink and faucet stand alone.

We added the corbel and wall detail for a "separation" and just some fun to give the house a little more personality!  

And just recently we added one of my custom tables out of reclaimed pine.  No more doggies trying to tip the table and playing "fort"!!

Up Close detail of the table with a painted base ... 

I had the slipcovers made using some stamped linen panels I bought at Scott's in Atlanta.  The two other chairs were from an old dining set that I painted and recovered in zebra.  I am really feeling the need to now paint them gray/white and give them a burlap or linen seat cover.  Things are always changing here!

This area, especially, gets a lot of wear and tear ... so we are always tweaking!
Thanks for stopping back by to visit! 

xo,

kim