A Tribute to Our Creator

This post is totally off-topic, but I thought I would give you a peek into my life as a youth pastor's wife. 

Every year, for a week in late June or early July, a middle-of-nowhere farm in Pennsylvania becomes a tent city of tens of thousands.  They are all gathered for one purpose: to celebrate the Creator of the world through music, speakers, and fellowship.  (And you can buy a killer "cheesecake on a stick.")  Just to keep it from being boring, my husband is camping with 14 teenagers and I am staying in a hotel room with two toddlers.  It's going to be a crazy few days.

A real highlight for me was seeing Downhere live this afternoon.  They are one of my very favorite bands, so it was a real treat.  I'll be chasing my boys around the campsite most of my time, there, so I won't get to attend many concerts. 

Unfortunately, I will miss Skillet, since they close the festival on Saturday and it will be too late for my boys.  It's too bad, because my three year old loves Monster, one of their songs from the Awake album.  He likes to "play it" on his miniature drum kit.  I tell you, I'll be in trouble when he is a teenager.  I already have to ask him to turn the music down. 

Here's the video for those who aren't familiar with the band and song. 

The other night, I was tucking him into bed and gave him a kiss goodnight.
"Mommy?"
"Yeah, bud?" 
"Would you sing me a song?"
"Sure.  What would you like me to sing?"
"The Monster Song." 

Ha!  My son doesn't want "Twinkle, Twinkle" or "Jesus Loves Me."  He clearly spends too much time with teenagers.

I have wireless internet (and a beautiful view) at my hotel and some posts prepared, so there will still be new posts going up daily.  I am going to suspend FFF this week, though, since I won't be able to spend the necessary time on it.  It will resume next week when things are back to normal.

It's the Perfect Kitchen, but...

...it's not "me."  You can put me down as the biggest whiner on earth.  I have a big kitchen with tons of storage, nice cabinets, new counters, quality floors, good lighting...and I still want to do a total makeover. 

I have not shared a whole lot about my kitchen, because it's not my taste.  It's all great, but I can't wait to change it.  I would almost prefer a really dated kitchen that is falling apart, so it would have to be a priority!  (Okay, not really.)

Here are some of the things I want to change...

I want this modern kitchen to have the look of an old farmhouse kitchen that will blend better with the rest of our 1940's home.  I want it to be in blues and whites with French Country flair.  I want to be able to display all of my ironstone, blue and white dishes, Bakelite flatware, and antique linens.  (Do I sound like Veruca Salt?  "Daddy, I want another pony.")

I'd also like to remove some of the upper cabinets and replace them with open shelving.  I'm not sure about the color of paint for the cabinets, yet.  I'm thinking of using a color for the base cabinets and white for the uppers, but it's going to depend on the flooring, counters, and wall color. 

My "grand plan" for the counters (and my poor husband) is to find an old barn that is free to anyone who will take it down.  I want (my husband) to use the old barn wood to make plank countertops for me.  Sound crazy?  I think it is, but it just might be crazy brilliant.  Or, it could be crazy stupid.  We'll see.  We do have a nice workshop with a planer and jointer, so we'll be able to get the wood smooth and useable. 

I am going to trade out the antique brass hardware for glass knobs and bin cup pulls. 

I am also planning on removing the over-the-range microwave and (have my husband) build me a custom range hood.  (I hope he's doesn't read this post and get stressed out at my honey-do list!)

The pot rack stays, though.  My mom bought this for me as a housewarming gift and I love it.  I do think a pretty chandelier would look nice here, but I use and love my pot rack, so it stays. 

The framed chalkboard and stool are recent yard sale/antique store finds. 

And in my recent stash of doors I found at a yard sale, there is one that will fit perfectly behind the table to cover the faux wood on the side of the pantry.  The shutter was one I pulled from the basement just for these pictures.  Usually, I'm staring at faux wood grain laminate over my grapefruit in the morning.

My grandmother's hand painted alabaster fruit sits in the antique balance I found at a yard sale for $20.00.  I would love to have fresh fruit sitting out all the time, but I like my fruit cold, so it's always in the fridge. 

Obviously, the table setting is just for the pictures, but this is the dinnerware we use daily.  I purchased it from Ikea about five years ago.  Sadly, I don't think they carry the floral pattern anymore.  My two toddlers were a riot as I was setting the table.  They both sat down and my three year old asked if we were having dinner (at about 10 am.)

I couldn't resist putting my tasty-as-they-look bing cherries in an ironstone bowl for the pictures.  I love the fruit and vegetables that are available during the summer. 

So, that's my kitchen and that's the plan.  It's going to be a good long while before I'm able to execute my design, but until then, I am so blessed to have a really nice kitchen. 

As a side note, my husband just came back from a mission's trip to the Dominican Republic where he saw true poverty.  Most families there live in a small, one-room house with dirt floors and cardboard walls.  He never throws that in my face when I talk about things I don't like about our home, but it was such a great reminder to me of how blessed I am and that I need to be thankful. 

In the end, it's just stuff, just a room, just a house. 

Hello from Barcelona!

Hi everyone! I´m having an amazing time on my 9 week European tour so far. We´ve been to Galicia, the Picos de Europe in Astoria, Santiago de Compestela, San Sebastian, Bilbao, and now we are in Barcelona (All in Spain). Tomorrow night we are leaving to travel Italy for two weeks. I promise I´ll try and upload photos at one point! But luckily for now the awesome Coco from Cococozy had written an awesome guest post!

COCOCOZY'S FIVE FLEA MARKET TRENDS!

Hi Office Furniture devotees. I'm Coco from COCOCOZY here on guest duty. I want to thank Ashley for having me guest blog while she is on her fabulous journey abroad. I live in Los Angeles (in the Hollywood Hills) to be exact, am not a professional designer but after over two years of blogging about interior design 3-6 times a week, I might be what would be considered a "designaholic" (Can you do that? Just add "aholic" to any word to indicate someone is obsessed with something? Hmmm...please let me know...)

Anyhoooooo...onto my post...here goes.



Was at the Rosebowl Flea Market in Pasadena, CA a few weekends back. Hadn't been to this flea market in about 10 years. It was time. My plan was to get up at 6:00a on Sunday, be at the market by 7:00a, get all of the design scoop with my Cococozy camera and find some great items all by 9a. By 10a, the plan was that I would be home to take dog for a walk (I never take dog for a walk so don't know how this got into the planned schedule but it was) and perhaps be at a breakfast with some friends in Los Angeles by 11:30a. Well...I made it to the flea market by 9:45a...so much for keeping to schedule.

The Rose Bowl Flea Market was packed. Throngs of people trying to find the most interesting items possible. So much to see...so many interesting finds...

With thousands and thousands of items on display, one might think it would be hard to make sense of things...but if you can believe it, in all of that, I did notice a few recurring trends.

TREND 1 - ORANGE



Love these orange wire nesting tables. They were my favorite of the day! I could so see them in my house. Too bad they were at the beginning of our journey through the flea market so I never got back to them.

Orange...whether originally orange or painted orange...orange has been an "it" color for the last few years in decor...and it is certainly a hit color at the flea market.




For no reason at all, I also coveted this orange metal coffee pot from a vendor from Sweden. He wanted $30 for it...I wanted to pay $10. He said "30", I said "10"...he said "Okay $30" and I said "I can pay "10"...and it went on and on. Clearly the deal never worked out!

TREND 2 - COLORED GLASS PENDANT LIGHTS



Lots of these amber, blue or green colored pendant lights. They were reasonably priced. Couldn't seem to get out of the vendors whether they were newly made or recycled pieces. I think they are newly made though to look like 70's kitsch. I had an eye on the small amber one on the left. Thought it would look good in a hallway (not my hallway...but some hallway). The vendor wanted $75...I would have paid $35. Again, no deal.

TREND 3 - CRANES




Lots of bronze crane statues. Don't know what this was about but I saw at least 4 vendors selling tall bronze statues of these birds. One vendor said he got them from the furniture sale of a Las Vegas hotel that was closing. These particular ones were going for $125 each.

TREND 4 - VINTAGE LANTERNS



Saw a million and half vintage Dietz lanterns (kerosene lanterns and railroad lanterns). Cleaned up they could be great at an outdoor living space or if really shined up, even inside in a bay window. I wanted to pay $4...the lady wanted to sell three of them for $20 (they were marked $28 each). No deal there either. Hmmmm....note to self...need to work on negotiating skills.

TREND 5 - VINYL 1950's DINING CHAIRS




We ran into so many metal and vinyl chairs. They looked like they were ripped right out of the 1950's and placed at the flea market in 2010.



I particularly liked the light yellow set of chairs. I can't remember how much these were...but since my price point was at about $10, I knew I wouldn't be able to afford.

Well that is it from my day of trend sight seeing at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. I definitely regret not getting the orange nesting tables...but other than that, I am happy with how the day went. I left pretty much empty handed with only a dish and four glasses that altogether cost me a total of $18. I enjoyed the day...browsing, dickering and flea market trendspotting.

Ashley, hope you have a great rest of your vacation. Office Furniture readers please stop by COCOCOZY for more fun design finds!

Thanks Coco, and thanks so much to everyone for stopping by even though my posting has been so spuradic!

I Am a Thief...

...maybe not in the traditional sense, but I felt a little like one.  I just bought nine antique doors (several with hardware), an antique table with turned legs and casters, a stack of molding, and a few cabinet doors for $24.50.  Does that count as robbery?

(I call it robbery when the movie theatre charges me $15.00 for a coke and popcorn.)  Here's the thing.  These doors were trash to this guy, so we were both happy with the deal. 

This tall, skinny pair of doors have a perfectly chippy light gray paint and they look great flanking my piano in the living room.  They set me back $1.00 for the pair.  I still need to clean them up and put a coat of poly on, but I couldn't resist sitting them in their new home.

We weren't even sure if we could fit it all into one truck load.  See those legs on the table?  To. Die. For.  I got a sneak peek of some beautiful wood under the black paint, so I think I'm going to strip the top.

Oh, look at those knobs!  I think I ended up with a glass knob set, three brown enamel knob sets, two lock boxes, and one latch.

See the glass knob tucked under there?  It gets even better.  The door has a four paned glass window. 

Oh...chippy gray goodness.  I think this paint is too far gone, so I'll scrape it off and do something else.

There's something so beautiful and simple about a 100+ year old door leaning against a wall.  I can't wait to find homes and projects for all of these doors.

The government has been cracking down on companies for "obscene profits."  Do you think they'll come after me for an obscene good deal? 

I shared this at SNS over at Donna's blog.

Fresh Cupcakes

Before we go into my post for today, I want to thank you all for the wonderful comments on my post about design consultations.  I am really excited at the prospect and I can't wait to get to work on one.  I must admit...I want to work on them all, but there just aren't enough hours in the day.  I'll select one in a few days, so you can still leave a comment if you're interested in a free design consultation by yours truly. 

I found this wonderful antique window at the Lucketts Market for $4.00 and couldn't pass it up.  I'm a sucker for wavy glass.  I didn't take a "before" picture, because it was a crazy weekend, but just image this window without the writing on it.  I decided to experiment with painting on glass and this was the perfect opportunity.

After looking around online for some ideas, I settled on a "Fresh Cupcakes" sign.  I chose a font from MS Word and enlarged it to the desired size for my window.  If you're trying this, you want the painting to be on the inside of the window, not the outside, so tape the lettering on the outside of the window, reading the right way. 

Make sense?  

You want the paint on the inside of the window, so it looks smooth from the outside.  I chose a French blue acrylic paint for the lettering and outlined it with gold leaf. 

I hung it from screw eyes and hemp twine on my dining room window.  I know, I know...I'd love to get rid of the blinds, but I live in a small downtown area and I really need blinds.  I wish I lived on acres of farmland and didn't require them. 

I apologize for not having step-by-step pictures.  I did take a few, but they turned out blurry.  Bummer. 

On a happier note, I am still on a yard sale find high tonight.  I couldn't go out "treasure hunting" this morning, due to a cracked windshield in my van, but I still managed to hit the jackpot on the way home from a graduation party.  I'll tell you all about it and show pictures tomorrow, but I will reveal that it involved getting about ten antique doors for $20.00.  Ridiculous...in the very best possible way. 

I shared this at SNS over at Donna's blog.

Kerala home plan elevation and floor plan - 3236 Sq FT

Kerala home plan elevation and floor plan - 3236 Sq FT

Total area of the house - 3236 sq ft
Total cost of construction - 40 lakhs
Owner - Mr. Kunhali Korakkaam Parambath
Location - Manakkadave, Calicut
Designer - Shukoor C Manapat, Lloyds, Calicut







Shukoor C Manapat
Lloyds
Architecture/Planning/Interiors
Second Floor
Marina Residency, YMCA Cross Raod
Calicut
Mobile # 9847981035

Design Consultations & Design Star

I get a lot of e-mail with design or technical questions about furniture or room makeovers and have even had a few people suggest I offer design consultations.  I have thought about it, but I really felt like I work best when I can physically feel a space, but maybe I'm wrong. 

Wanna be my guinea pig?  I am offering a free full room consultation for one of my readers, so I can test some things out.  I have no idea what the consultation will look like, but we'll find out together.  I promise that I will give your room a lot of attention and thought. 

So, if you're interested, simply leave a comment letting me know which room you need some help with and what the main challege is.  If I choose your room, you will have to provide pictures, measurements, what you have to work with, and what your skills and budget are.  You will also need to answer some questions about your style and space, so I can put together a design that will fit you, your family, and your budget.

Fun, fun, fun.

So, onto the next thing on my mind.  I think we've all had that thought...wouldn't it be fun to have your own design show?  Come on...we've all explained to an imaginary camera why we're pin-fitting a chair with a drop cloth, right?  Am I alone in this?  Anyway, when it comes down to it, I do not have any desire to have my own show, but it's still fun to dream about.  Well, I think this season of Design Star has totally squashed any joy in even dreaming about the prospect. 

Have you been watching?

The amazing Candace Olsen, who can do no wrong when it comes to interior design, has openly made fun of some of the designs on the show.  Wouldn't you just die?  The usually sweet and friendly Vern Yip, from Trading Spaces and Deserving Design, comes off as unnecessarily mean to the contestants, especially to those who were voicing their concerns about their team dynamic in the guy/girl challenge.  There was one designer with...let's just say a very strong personality.  She basically pancaked anyone who got in her way and celebrated it. 

Now, I understand that you need to have a thick skin in certain fields and any profession in the arts requires that.  That said, I was really disappointed when the judges said that interpersonal skills did not play into this competition at all.  Excuse me?  You're going to send someone with a steam roller personality into the homes of HGTV viewers to makeover their rooms?  I think it's foolish to dismiss the fact that someone cannot work well in a team, while actually encouraging the other designers to dish it out.  That may make for dramatic television, but who wants to work with a jerk? 

I saw that these contestants are not only asked to show their design talent, but they are also expected to be petty, rude, back-biting, and pushy. No thanks.  I'll just stick with writing a blog and I'll daydream about something else. 

What have you thought of the show so far?  Would you want to compete?

Furniture Feature Friday - Feature & Link Party

"Hello" to all of my furniture loving friends.  I'm so sorry I stood you up last week, but you know how it is when you're on vacation.  It's hard to keep track of the days of the week without your usual events to keep you straight. 

So, onto my favorite from a couple of weeks ago.  I'm always a sucker for a good makeover, but this week, my very favorite link was a favorite piece.  Jojeana from Secret Garden Cottage shared her favorite hutch with us and it's easy to see why she loves it. 

It has a perfect time-worn look, loads of storage, and great display space.  I also love the way she has it accessorized.  Ironstone...sigh.  Love it!

And she has mastered mixing things that are aged and have patina without it looking dirty, dumpy, and just old.  Her home looks fresh, comfortable, and even surprisingly modern with the white and neutral color scheme.  Oh!  And have you see her kitchen and amazing island?

Seeing her kitchen makes me eager to get my hands on my kitchen but no money + no time = no new kitchen for Miss Mustard Seed.  Well, I can just visit Jojeana's kitchen to get my fix until I can work on mine. 

Can't wait to see your latest and greatest furniture posts!

Here are the rules for this get together...

1.) Your post has to be about furniture.  Please, please, please...just furniture.  If you find your link has been deleted, it's not because I'm mean, it's because your post was not about furniture.  You can share makeovers, awesome finds, favorite pieces, furniture arrangements, or even pieces on your wish list!  Built-in furniture like kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities qualify as furniture.  

2.) Post a permalink, not the link to your blog.

3.) The link party closes Friday at midnight PST and I will choose my favorite(s) and feature their project on next week's FFF.