a new me.new year.09

it's that time of year again! making our New Year resolutions. this year i have opt to skip this step of bringing in the New Year. i have learned from past experience that after the first week of posting my list of New Year resolutions on my refrigerator nothing gets accomplished by the end of the year. i have decided to pick one thing i wanted to work on for 09', and that is
STOP PROCRASTINATING (aka, paint my banquette, hanging artwork on the walls, stain the cabinets...etc)... check back to see how my not procrastinating is working out....

art work by Francine Turk

our newest addition and have a very merry heart of a holiday

What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace. -Agnes M. Pharo
(ornament by Oregon artist Margaret Furlong)

love.

today i reveal the truth about love. for months i have tried to get rid of these canisters because they did not fit the decor (i feel they are a bit country). I have tried taking them back but I just didn't have the heart to. For months/years this has been on my mind and I have searched to find something else,but I just keep coming back to these canisters... even though i have tried taking these canisters back many times, to buy a better canister that I feel i will love even more. but your first love will be your only true love... it's not in my heart to just abandon my canister as if I don't love them... that's the thing about love, love will come find you just to remind you of who you are... and so my friends, even though these canisters look a bit country, the perfect marriage has been formed and I am keeping my first love!

days after the stuffing

things at our home has been quite hectic, first the banquette, our antique fixture and now the crown molding, however in the midst of all of this we take a break from our day to day to give thanks that we have each other. i hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. i must say this was the first Thanksgiving that I ate til I just couldn't eat anymore and then I ate some more... while we live in a construction zone, I thought I would post some eye candy...I love the stillness of this bedroom. it invites me to start a fire in the fireplace and curl up with a good book on a cold winter morning. more updates to come on our home. i will post the finished product of the installed molding soon. stay tuned....

a way to my heart

Ladies and gents... as i type we are having crown molding installed. My husband is on a roll and as promised, he feels so good doing it (crossing off things on his list and making his wife happy). Stay tuned because i will definitely share the finished product with you...

let your light shine

okay, i lied, my banquette is not yet painted as promised, but hey I am only one person with a millions ideas and things to do. However, I am crossing off more things off my husband's-to-do-list. This week we finally hang my awesome antique find. I love this light fixture, it reminds me of Morocco with an old world feel. I found this baby at an antique shop in Cocoa Beach, Florida... Below you will is my husband's-to-list. He has quite a way to go before he's finish but I am cheering for him that he will complete these things quickly... because the list continues to grow honey and the faster you mark things off the better you will feel, I promise!

My husband’s To-Do-List
1. Install wood floors in living, dinning and staircase
2. Install new base board
3. Stain kitchen cabinets
4. Purchase chandelier from pottery barn
5. Install chandelier from pottery barn
6. Re-paint front and side door
7. Install crown molding downstairs
8. Get new mirror for downstairs bathroom
9. Install lights above kitchen cabinets
10. Paint inside of coat closet
11. Hang frames along staircase wall
12. Paint outside porch railings and porch floor
13. Install surround sound in living room
14. Hang drapes in bedroom
15. Re-Upholstery bedroom chair
16. Install California closet in master bedroom
17. Get organizers for garage
18. Hang art work in living/dinning room
19. Install brick work on the outside of the house
20. Finish landscape in the font yard
21. Install pavers in the back yard and start landscape
22. Get closet organizers for downstairs coat closet
23. Paint front, kitchen and garage door
24. Hang mother’s antique clock in entry way
25. Change out light fixtures downstairs
26. Get flat screen for kitchenette
27. Install surround sound downstairs
28. Change downstairs fan
29. Change master bedroom fan
30. Install brick on the outside of the house
31. Redo backyard with pavers
32. Install banquette
33. Paint banquette
34. Organize garage

decisions! decisions!

1.
2.
3.
4.
hello my decor101 designers, it has been a few days, but again I have a great excuse... my husband and I were celebrating our first wedding anniversary!!!! we had a lovely time at Marco Island, i recommend it to all... back to business of course... i have been up day and night tossing over the idea of cushions for our new banquette, above are the fabrics I have chosen. I have not decided which one I will use but I will be getting samples of these fabrics to see which one will go with the style I am creating for our home... hopefully my next post will be of the cushions I have chosen and hopefully they will be on my painted banquette (note that I have not yet painted the banquette)... more to come as usual...

day two

well my friends #32 has been accomplished. behold the finished product above. I am quite pleased. I wanted more details but jeff the carpenter advice me to keep it simply, now that I see it completed, i agree. my next step is painting this baby... below is a picture of the type of treatment I would like to apply to this banquette... using antique white (cream) and going over it with a brown or amber glaze...

I'm off to home depot to pick out paint and glaze and then it's off to the fabric store to get cushions made...

day one

of the many items that is on my husband's to-do-list, we are finally accomplishing number 32 (not that 1 through 31 has been completed, but whose keeping track). after many discussions of building this banquette together and how fun it would be to do a project together, or taking a class at home depot to learn how to build this banquette that is in my head, we caved and threw in the towel to seek the help of a carpenter. whom did all of the wood work in the house below (including the floors).


if anyone is interested in hiring this carpenter (we will call him Jeff the carpenter) do a little handy work, contact me (he's located in the Orlando area but he is willing to travel)...

back to day one of the construction zone... I am so excited to see the finish product... stay tune for more on the banquette (and yes, I know the honey oak cabinets has to go).

obsession part 2

okay my friends, i am not letting you guys down on our new found obsession! i was just surfing the net and minding my own business when i came across this bed. Funny, it looks just like the one in Mara Brock-Akil's bedroom. what a big coincident (i promise, wink)! well my friend this bed can be yours as well and you can have your own Mara Brock-Akil look-a-like bedroom from plantationusa.com. more to come... obsess away!

obsession

as you might know by now, i am officially obsessed with Mara Brock-Akil and her style. so much so, that i had to search out items to mirror some of her decor. i found the above picture of this drum table (similar to the one in her bed room) at west elm. i love the copper tones Akil used throughout her home. although i am keeping to my decor style i would like to incorporate more copper tones. enjoy! and more updates with my new found obsession!

understated beauty

the august issue of Domino magazine featured tv producer (producer of girlfriends and the game) Mara Brock Akil's home and I have been inspired every since. not just by her home decor but also her elegant, relaxed style of fashion. every aspect of Akil's decor i love. she has created in her home the same elegance and feel i want for mine. i love how she mixed modern and traditional pieces together. I have been trying to achieve that look in my home and it takes such a long time to find the perfect piece that just looks as though they were meant for each other. i love Akil's use of cooper and golds, so rich yet elegant and calming. i have been bugging my husband if he can make a shoe caddy for me exactly like the one above (fourth picture above, that use to be a mail caddy)... this issue of domino will definitely be in my magazine collection for quite some time or at least until i have mastered the look that Akil so elegantly put together.

i found your picture today

i love this! i think it's great to cluster all of your framed photos in one location to give your walls a clean balance look. i have been collecting picture frames from Pottery Barn to create this look along my staircase. love love love it!

ode to the dinning room

I know it has been a while, but I have a good excuse. I have been working on my business ventures and it has been kicking my butt. Finally, I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Back to what's important, the picture above is long over due and we still have a long way to go in our dinning room. The horrible chandelier has to go...replacing it with this. Next is art work! Then a buffet table, wood floors and lastly the window coverings.... so much to do, so little time... but I promise not to be gone so long without keeping you in the loop...more to come on our renovations....

be back soon!

sorry i have not kept everyone in the loop but I have been extremely busy, but I will be back next week for new discoveries and renovations.

soho style

today i was in one of those moods (i hate mondays type of mood)... so to cheer myself up, i wanted to share with you a few signature pieces that i really like. what can i say, they speak for themselves. personally, i would put all of these pieces in one room (perhaps a sitting room) and pull it all together with a splash of color. maybe a pumpkin orange, a warm apple green or an international klein blue ...i almost forgot to share the good news...our couch (view here) has arrived today and it's all i hope for, atleast until i found the above soho couch. isn't that something, when you search and search for the perfect piece and can't find it ,settling for the next best thing seems to be the next best thing and i will be darned, the perfect piece floats to surface... oh well,in the end i still have a nice beautiful couch...

going to the mattresses

exhibit A
exhibit B
exhibit C
our home is slowly coming together. decorating your home can sometimes be a full time job. the problem is, i know exactly what i want but finding it has been the dilemma. sometimes i wish i knew how to do everthing. i have been searching for the perfect kitchen banquette. although i love exhibit A, it's not very functional for our kitchen area, but it sure is stylish. my husband and i have thought about turning our kitchen area into a little cafe (sofa, coffee table, cappaccino machine...etc) after much measuring and contemplating, we decided it's not going to work and it's time to "go to the matresses." it's time for custom made. i want the detail and look of exhibit B with the back board of exhibit C. so now i am on the search....stay tuned

feeling blue

feeling blue but loving it. i love everything about this room (the amoire, the pictureless frames, the bird print, love it). this is my advice for you this summer, add a very bright exotic print to spice up any room and while your at it, add some color to those white walls....i love bright colors for summer, inside and out. summer is in, enjoy it!

my summer color for 2008 is yellow, it reminds me of a warm laying on the beach eating grapes sipping on a nice glass of lemonade and spraying myself with cucumber lime mist kind of day. what's your summer color and why?

hanging with drew

this is the april issue of domino showing drew barrymore's office (flower films).
can you tell i am in love. i love her style, her sense of who she is and most of all her taste in decor (interior designer ruthie sommers) just check out the purple pumps, and vintage chairs above. enjoy!

modern girl in a modern world

while everything around me moves to the new ages, i always decorate with pieces true to its form and looks elegant in every era. mixing modern, traditional and old world pieces together to get a look that is clean and simple with a little mystery. i say that's the way to do it if you are not a trendsetter or follower for that case. i love this room above, and most of all i love the use of black, anchoring the room and pulling everything together. for ages i have been stuck on clean lines and simplicity. mission accomplished

playing with pink

i am not a pink girl, but when i came across these four amazing rooms, i quickly found my new favorite color. each room is done with a lot of sophication and just a touch of pink. this season just add a splash of color (even if it's pink) to a neutral slate or a neutral print (just like the black and white print above).