Dreaming of an art studio

I'm dreaming of a larger art studio. I stay awake at night thinking about it. I know I'm blessed to have a studio to begin with, but I can do so much more with a larger one! ;)

It would have amazing walls with great character...Like this...

or this...

or this...

It would be filled with sunlight and have lots of space to decorate and move about.

Although, I do have to say I'm also very intrigued by the more cozy spaces like this...

or this darling "shed"

and I do live in Texas, so of course something like this!! ;) Maybe some day.

Photo credit in order as photos appear: http://www.saintlouisartfair.com, istock, www.zazzle.co.uk, diglloyd.com, Osch Design, The Outpost Inn, www.schulterestorations.com, Texas tiny house

Vintage tin photo gallery

I'm in love!! I adore these frames from www.thepepperkids.com. I think I'll start a collection of vintage frames from all my shopping travels... wood & tin in all varying shades of white.

Then I'll hang them on this wall just off my entry. When we built the lake house, I found salvaged ceiling tin in huge sections. These are the biggest you have ever seen. They are waist high and half the length of this wall, which is about 15 feet long. They were VERY dirty and rusty. I cleaned the panels up and painted them, letting just a little rust peak through to show their age. (You can't see the rust in the photo) Then I topped them off with a pine board painted white to match the trim in my house. I love this vintage wainscoting!

A closer look

There is of course the pottery barn style collection like this (photo from from www.dooce.com)

hmmmm?? Don't you just love an empty canvas!!

or in black (photo from dominomag.com) ...

or the frame less look like this, from photographer Alison Beachem. You can see more of her work at www.photographybyalison.com

What do you think?

lake House Outdoor Kitchen

I surprised my husband for our anniversary and built this outdoor kitchen for him while he was out of town visiting his family in Virginia.

It started as a VERY ROUGH sketch so that I could explain to my dad what I wanted the finished product to look like. We started building the cabinets at my dads house two weeks before my husband left town. Since he was only planning to be gone for 2 1/2 days, we knew there was no way we could finish if we didn't start before he left town. Once the cabinets where transported to the lake house, all we had to do was paint them and install them once the foundation, wall and counter top where installed.

That's me above, making sure the sink faucet was going to fit into the holes we drilled.
"Gosh I look beautiful when I work in the yard."
Can you say July in TEXAS!!?!
Can you say get the hair off my face and neck any way you can?!

The first thing we did was dig a trench for the foundation and poured the concrete pad. We used a concrete mixer to save some time. That's what that weird round thing with legs is in the photo above. After the concrete had set up, we started stacking the cinder blocks and once they were all in position, we poured concrete down the center hole in the blocks and inserted a steel rod called re-bar for reinforcement.

We worked day and night and through the elements to get finished in time for the big surprise...He had NO IDEA we were planning this for him. We even had to pull out an umbrella to cover our concrete work because we got a HUGE rainstorm right in the middle of the day.
It was pretty funny to see us huddled under the umbrella setting concrete. This is a photo of the approaching storm...it got pretty dark for 3 in the afternoon!

After the blocks set up, we poured a concrete counter top and added the rock work on the sides, over the cinder blocks to make it pretty. He hung the painted cabinet doors, installed the sink, faucet, refrigerator and the grill and called it a day! When my husband came home he was so surprised to find this...

The finished product!
We use it all the time for parties and everyday grilling. It's so nice to take just a few steps from my chair to grab a cold drink from the under counter fridge or to flip the burgers on the grill while watching the family jet ski, swim, boat or fish. I made sure we installed a sink so that we can even wash dishes out here. In the cabinets we store everything needed for an outdoor party so it is very convenient and no back and forth to the kitchen for more supplies. Everyone should have one of these in their backyard!

Designer Lake house Secrets

Behind the console in my living room hides one of my best kept secrets...
(hmm, looks like I should have closed that door a lil better when taking this photo)

The secret I've been keeping for years is the ugly a/c intake vent that wasn't about to spoil my decorating fun. As a designer, the details are everything, so when my a/c guy told me this is where the vent would have to go for proper air circulation, I went through the roof!

**Design problem + Designer = Solution... So, during one of my "3 am I can't sleep because I'm decorating in my mind modes", I created a solution to the problem. I built this console out of old chippy window shutters! (Yes, I build furniture too...shhh, don't tell anyone.)
This way the air can still flow through the gaps in the shutters and it doesn't block air from the intake vent. Problem solved!

Another view of the console. Hey wait! What's that little door there?

That's the door to my lil' guys playhouse. I designed the pint size room and door to fit under the stairs. This way they can have a room all their own just off the living and kitchen area and I can keep an eye on them while I'm cooking dinner. LOL!! Like I cook!! Ha! That's the funniest thing I've said all year! ;) (Wait...Do frozen corn dogs count?)

Lake House Entry

Hi all!
Hope you had a great Easter!! God is awesome to send his son Jesus to die for us...and then he rose 3 days later! If that's possible with God, then anything with God is possible!
Never forget that!

On with the lake house tour...

Here's a close up photo of the front entry wall to our lake house. This is the first thing you see as you enter. I painted the diamonds to set the tone for rest of the house... I really wanted something different. (The cabinet top looks warped but it's just the photo...weird)

A side view...notice the beautiful wood ceilings! I love 'em!!!

Just off the front door, I have an old dresser I use as an entry table... the extra storage is nice too! *Side note...I've been married for almost 12 years now and I still display my wedding photos...that must mean I still like him. ;)

I'll post more photos of the lake house tomorrow.

Sweet Lake house

Back in 2000 my husband and I purchased a run down fishing shack and turned it into our dream home. At some point I will post the before photos...they are shocking!

This is the back of our home. The deck faces the lake.

Our dock and boat.

Beer anyone?
This is the view from our deck. We just finished trimming the trees this past weekend (I say "we" but I really mean my husband and my dad.) So the view is even better since I took this photo.

My kitchen:
I love it! Probably my favorite room in the house.

Living/Family room:
I'm in the middle of a drapery change so there are empty drapery rods in the photo...
Decisions, decisions.

Our guest/powder bath:
We actually found this bathtub in the backyard when we bought the house. I sanded and cleaned and painted till I got this! A labor of love.

The master bath:
Well part of it anyway.

Master bedroom:
Updating this room as we speak. Adding new luxurious white bedding, new paint, you name it!
Can't wait to show you the new master when I'm finished! (Btw, the VRBO letters in some of these photos are from the online photos I posted to Vacation Rental By Owner. We used to rent out our lakehouse when were at our other home in the city.)

Our Guest room:
With faux painted logs on the wall. This used to be my sons room (minus this particular bed and bedding) He had a fishing theme. I didn't have the heart to paint over the logs...yet...but I'm getting there. It's really cute in person but I'm ready for a change.

This is the bunk room...I don't know why we call it that since we don't have bunk beds in here, but I guess it's easier to say then "The room with the two red twin beds." ;)
We use this room for overflow guests, which we have allot...something that happens when you live on the water.

I'll post more detailed photos another day of the rooms and designer items I incorporated in the lakehouse as we remodeled and added on. Im in the process of updating some of these rooms. As I do, I will post the new photos. Have a great day!!

Flea market finds!

I was sucked right into this adorable booth because of the clever entry they created...Window screens, rusty tin and old porch columns. ;)

Lovely old & white chippy corbels...these can be used in so many creative ways...Like for shelf supports or hung on the wall as a piece of art, or placed on a piece of furniture to accessorize a room with cottage charm.

Visualize this...

...Or this

...cleaned up, mirrors installed in the screen or window, and then hanging on the wall above this gem!