The Fireplace Wall

So in our little family room, we have this fireplace.  Don't love.  Don't hate it, but NOT crazy about the sheetroc mantle.  (this is in the builder "what were they thinking?" category.

It started last week as a conversation with the husband:
Me:  "Sweetie...I was thinking...wouldn't it be nice if we did _____".
Dan:  "That does sound interesting, but it won't work because ____".
Me: "Perhaps if we were to ____, it might work.  I know if youmull it over, you'll have a ideas to ______".      
Dan (the next morning): "You know, if we were to do _____, I bet we could get this done next weekend."
Presto!  (Love ya honey!) 

So here's a what I came up with...now Dan has to build it :).

Working on the Master

The master is another completely white room...this one with some odd shapes as it sits outside the circular staircase.  What to do...what to do...

Eventually, I think I am going to wallpaper the round walls, but for now, paint will be my friend.  I am working on a very budget friendly plan.  If you follow me on Pinterest, you can view some of the options.  Christine (the dd) has been prompting me along.  Even Andrew (ds) pointed out the master bedroom is the LEAST inspired of the rooms, having received little to no attention.  In an effort to not listen to a lecture come summer, when they are home, I have my target date of completion.  Here are some of the selections made (custom will follow, eventually).  For now, I am relying on my own things, a few strategic (budget friendly) purchases and a little skill to get me through.

The Floor Plan

Have two of these.  Favorites.

Love this.  Traditional, yet strong.  

Own this (or very similar).  I love these as they are cotton, wear like iron
can be washed repeatedly in bleach!

Adding a little feminine touch.

Loved that these drapes had the sheen, pulled all the colors together
and by the time I'm done with them will look CUSTOM.

Never underestimate the value of well designed piece.  I have two of these
and they fit perfectly on either side of the bed.  I had glass tops custom made
to fit and with the addition of wallpaper under the glass and handles, they
won't LOOK like they came from Ikea (although they did!)

The husband's favorite piece.  A very large, four paneled ebony screen
with mother of pearl inlay.  HUGE thing...measure six feet.

This is NOT the headboard I actually have.  Will post that later, but it is
similar and does have the padded insert.  Will paint this and the mirror
above in a gloss black to balance the screen on the opposite end of the room.

And the Composite.

All my walls

For about 30 years I have had the guilty pleasure of watching the soap opera "All My Children" on the odd sick day from school, day off of work or simply a respite while the babies were napping.  About the same time we pulled out of our home, they also pulled this venerable old soap opera off the air.  What crappy timing.  It's not that I'm some freakish AMC fan or anything, but there is something to be said for the continuity of a television show to make a new place feel like home.  This soap has followed me from home to dorm to sorority to apartment to home through the years and made me feel like any place I can turn on the TV and see the same old crowd, I'm home.

It was a little surreal at first, NOT have television, NOT have internet, NOT have telephone and then, (horrors!) when I did get basic cable to NOT have those familiar people to make me feel welcome on the TV.

Okay....I digress....this is about white walls, not soaps.  And WHAT white walls!  Everywhere I look there are white walls.  AND this house was built with rounded corner walls.  Now, I firmly believe that these rounded corners lasted ONLY as long as it took for interior decorators, and builder's wives to SLAP these contractors into reality and realize we want to PAINT and there is not much that looks worse than masking off those rounded corners to paint the rooms different colors.  Like a really bad episode of Trading Spaces, these rounded corners are just NOT the way to go!!

My darling husband has given me one or two PAIR of doorways that he will re-do in normal square corner so I can paint something other than WHITE.  For today, I started with the pantry.  As I don't have the complete design plan, I can't really paint any major spaces.  As I was about to load in my pantry (never had one of these...firmly believe every home needs one!!!), I realized I didn't want shelf liner, but the shelves were left in terrible condition.  Off to the hardware store for stainblocker (hours of cleaning wasn't getting this gunk off), then glossy creamy paint for the shelves.  AND, since I was in there with drop cloths and tape, why not paint it something fun???

Granny Smith Green.  Love it!  Bright and fun!  Will look great with the turquoise accents I'm envisioning for the kitchen to bring the pool colors into the house!

Can't wait to add more.

Welcome to SoCal!

If you follow my design blog, you know by now that we have relocated the family and the business to the "greater Los Angeles area".  Don't you just love that term???  The definition is meant to encompass Los Angeles and the surrounding towns and cities.  WOW.  Have you looked at a map to realize how expansive that is?

We have moved to a fairly small suburb called Agoura Hills.  We picked it because of the wonderful schools, the smaller town feel and the reasonable proximity the dear husbands job in Santa Monica.  (STILL a 50 minute commute, but.....)  So far so good.  We have been in our new home one week and one day.  I started this blog because as a designer, there is much in this home that I want to share.

When we saw it, we were struck by the the beautiful landscaping, the fully fenced yard, the electric gate (did I mention there were two BOYS in on the decision making process???) and the dear husband's assertion that the house was "perfect...don't need to change a thing". 

So....being the designer, let's walk through the 'don't need to change a thing".  From the affectionately termed Cinnamon carpeting (nee' peach), to the white with 'cinnamon' swirl ceramic tiles, ALL in "pristine" condition, to the medium toned oak cabinetry and balustrade, there are just a few changes I would like to make.

I am not complaining!  Really, I am not.  I know how lucky we are and absolutely thrilled to be living in the same place the dh works.  It's the first time in three years and we couldn't be happier.  This is simply a blog about what I hope is the transformation of a home built in the late 80's with literally NO updates, to a warm, family home!

Let's begin:

We packed up our Portland home....an entire semi of stuff (how did we get SO much stuff!!!)...and moved to ...ahem...not Beverly Hills, but Agoura Hills for new, sunny, drier life.  Join Us?