Exterior Paint Color: Valspar Fire Orange + Fired Earth

Valspar Fire Orange

Valspar Fired Earth

Please note the source of these paint chip images is Valspar's Colorbuzz blog, which can be found at http://colorbuzz.valsparblog.com  *a fun site to explore if you are in a bind for color inspiration, however I came up with my colors the old-fashioned way: going to Lowes with Callie Dog!

Yes, these are the exterior colors of the house.  They are a bit bright, but I want it that way.  The Fire Orange reminds me of Arizona, while the Fired Earth helps to tone it down a bit...

These are from the Valspar line, specifically Duramax...Lowe's paint ROCKS.  This is the second time we've used it, and it rocks!!  

I think it makes a nice statement against all those nice trees!  Also, much better than unpainted concrete as seen in the "before" pictures.  Notice the CB2 pendant hanging in the window (master bedroom).  When the hard work is all done I will have more time for the "fun", design-centric posts.  Watch for my CB2 product reviews...!

**No, I don't get paid for this...it is all me.  Just trying to share my passion for design with other like-minded folks online.  If there is such a thing as like-minded folks when it comes to me.  

Product Review: Evora Cork Floors

Okay, so here's the deal.  The house had a mixture of flooring:

• Oak Flooring throughout the main portion of the home.  We had to pull up a couple boards of this stuff, and it is NOT the crap you buy at the store.  These floors are solid oak BOARDS (probably reclaimed wood from a nearby pickle company after they went from wood to more modern containment systems).  It's almost an inch thick!!!  Although it was not refinished once in the 20+ years during its existence as a wood floor, this is solid material we would be crazy to replace.  It stays.
• Really busy linoleum in the kitchen/pantry/laundry.  It was probably cute in a "kitschy" way, but seeing its poor condition now, it is hands-down on its way out the door.  Sorry linoleum!
• Mismatched carpeting in the bedrooms.  Yuck.  I bet there was all sorts of skin flakes from the last inhabitants embedded deep is this stuff!  Gross!!  My stance on flooring is if you cannot wash it, it's gonna get gross over time.  I will stick to rugs and sheepskin.

Obviously, we wanted to keep the super awesome oak flooring, and ditch the gross linoleum and carpets. We choose a nice travertine for the kitchen (not sure what to do in the smaller areas such as bathrooms, pantry, laundry).  We would have gone for a matching wood floor in the bedrooms, but didn't feel we could match the current flooring within a certain budget.  We decided to go for:  CORK!!!  Specifically Evora Cork Flooring via Build Direct.

WELL...we ordered enough for all the bedrooms, loft, and stairs to get it at a discount price.  BUT, this stuff is SERIOUSLY hard to put down yourself.  Either we don't know what we are doing, or this material is just not well designed.  We've only done little A's room, and already have wasted about 15 sq ft due to pieces chipping, breaking, and not clicking properly. 

Don't get me wrong, the stuff is absolutely BEAUTIFUL once you get it down.  But it is a pain.  I guess that's the price you pay for beauty

Well, either way...if it really gives us more problems (i.e. we waste so much of it we fall SHORT) I am giving Build Direct a call to weigh my options (geez, I hope it doesn't come to that!)  I am sure I'm not the only one getting frustrated with this.  

Like I said, it is amazing when you can lay it down right.  Little A's room is a light Tiffany Blue color.  It looks gorgeous with this flooring!  Lucky brat!  All she needs is some kiddie-sized Bertoia chairs!!  I heard RoomServiceStore.com carries these; if I am lucky enough to get these, I will certainly do a post on them!

Halloween: A trip to the Pumpkin Patch!

Yes, I know it is way after Halloween, but this post is really for my parents; here is my little baby A at the pumpkin patch on Halloween.  We did not bring home a pumpkin (because we already had one!), but went for the experience.  It was fun for a certain little girl.  Like her parka?  Don't worry, the trim is faux fur  :-)

Before Pics: Ugly Country House

Good Morning!  I have some grotesque "before" pictures to share today!  These were taken around the beginning of September (2010).  Since then, my husband and I have made much progress; I will continue posting WIP and current photos as I find the time  ;-)

See the ugliness of the exterior?  Putrid, right?  A house fit to burn!  Unfortunately, the previous owners (built this themselves!!) in their later years, so alot of the work (as you can see, this house is NOT painted) was not finished.  In addition, the house was definitely neglected until we came along...ready for the challange!  This house DOES have a bright side!  It is about 2600 sq ft (great running space for the pets and toddler), has a GREAT deck (which we will revamp within the year), huge kitchen, big bedrooms, and even a little storage nook which we will turn into a playroom/hideout for our daughter (every little kid's dream, right?)  The house sits on 3-5 acres of land (no...nobody really knows since the papers from long ago don't seem to be accurate).  A little creek runs on the property, and it came with a HUGE barn...not the cute, red-and-white kind, but the huge metal variety which we hope to improve someday.  I will save the barn "before" and "after" pics for that someday...

The interior doesn't fare much better than the exterior.  These three are of the main/living room, kitchen (500 sq ft!!!), and upper loft (my favorite!)


Oh by the way, the sheetrook patch job in the main room is something we put in ourselves!  Since then, there has been much, much more sheetrock work my husband has done.  Some areas of the house didn't have any sheetrock, others were torn down, etc...


This is Callie Dog.  She is here to make you feel better after being put through the torture of the "before" pictures:

She enjoys not listening, bum-licking, being outside, being on the bed when daddy is not looking, bum-licking on the bed when daddy can't see, and wiggling her butt.

I have my *fingers crossed* to find more time to post my house updates...soon!  They will also make up for the gross "before" pics in today's post.  

Avocado Flowers?

Welcome to my first post (to anyone out there reading this, otherwise, to myself).  Although my blog is mainly dedicated to my total home renovation & love for all things modern + vintage, every once in a while I will have a completely non-sensical, unrelated post...er, and made-up words. 

This is a "tester", as this is my first time blogging (yay!!  Broke my blog cherry!)  While transferring pictures from my camera, I ran across this crazy avocado flower I took a while back...yes, I am one of those people who packs on months of pics before unloading the camera.  Hopefully, this blog will encourage more frequent backing up of the camera.

Yes, I enjoy playing with, and photographing, my food.  My food photos vary from elaborate meals to the more off-beat subjects - such as this avocado flower.

By the way, my favorite made-up word is "irregardless".  I find it amusing this word has made its way into the average corporate staff meeting.  HA!