I Found My Fence On Craigslist!

Twenty-one Blue Spruce trees!  Pardon my absence while I dig twenty-one holes!

Yippeee!  Dirt!

The Glamorous Life for me!

Happy Spring!

Knock! Knock!

Who's there?

Towel holder.

Towel holder who?

Towel holder to display linen towels in the powder room!

He is wearing a new coat of bronze patina...still drying!  I love this one, he is 12" tall and 6" wide.  A formidable valet, no?  If I were to hang it on our  fiberglass front door, well...suffice it to say I won't!  We have an extensive collection of doorknockers to remind us of opportunity knocking! (Can you hear it?)   I will hang the majority of them in the mudroom but you will see others popping up in interesting places!

Ten Things I Hate About My House

First, let me say that I love my home!  In this economy we are truly blessed to have a place to call home.  I know that.  I thank God every day!
There are, however, things the former owners did to this home that make me shake my head. They had the home built and lived here for less than a year before it went into pre-foreclosure.
We were able to buy the home for a decent price.  It is rather large, with 18 foot ceilings in the living room and I love the layout and it has two separate staircases, which I love!
That being said, what were they thinking when it came to decorating?
For example...
Number One...

The first thing I did when we moved in was to slap white paint on the ugly brown brick of this mantel. It is very large at 7' wide and 6' tall.  It cannot be ignored!  To add insult to injury it had a builder's oak (orange) dentil molding mantel that clashed with the brick as well as the English style of the home.  I went to home Depot and bought a lenth of egg and dart moulding and nailed it up and painted it too.   See my beloved andirons?  They won't fit in the firebox.  *sniffle*

Here is an example of my dream mantel...

It could be made of wood and painted to look like limestone!

Number Two...

The true orange-ness of the builder's oak does not show in this photo of the loft railing.  I am at a loss as to how to remedy it.  Perhaps paint? Long, narrow tapestries?  Remove the rail and add a wall and arches?

Number Three

Again, the color doesn't show up very well.  Orange builder's oak trim...abolutely everywhere!

Number Four

Quasi-wood flooring, more orange than it looks here.  I have a million oriental rugs so this won't be too bad until we can lay dark plank flooring.

Number Five

Off center front door.  It is fiberglass and was the color of the oak inside the house.  I want to replace it with a narrow double door.  Get rid of the silly sidelight and the goofy transom on top.  I would love to replace the transom with a Victorian arched spider web transom!

Number Six

The loft area view from inside the front door.  Orange and asymmetrical.  The lights are all being replaced soon, by the way.

Number Seven

Inside the asymmetrical entry.  Please note the cheap nickel door knob. What were they thinking?

Number Eight

Orange closet doors to the coat closet.  I removed the nickel pulls and replaced them with lion doorknockers.  I think I want to paint all the doors gray. (Pardon my Uggs!)

Number Nine

Orange door.  One of many.  Nickel hardware again.  I have many bronze doorknobs to replace these with.  You will LOVE them!  Cherubs, gryphons, angels...

Number Ten

Shiny black  12" tile in all the bathrooms.  ?????

I call it the Tile of Death because it is so darn slippery.  It has GOT to go!

Bonus!

This is the opening between the formal living room and the family room.  It lies under the loft with the orange railing. This view is from the family room. Please note the window type openings on either side of the center entrance.  It looks like the McDonald's drive-thru.  You pay at the first window and drive up to get your food!

I was told they paid extra for this!

Drywall guy is coming in the Spring.  Bye-bye goofy opening!  Hello wall full of paintings!

What about you?  What do you hate about your house?

Maybe we can help each other overcome these obstacles together?

Any advice or experience?

New Leash On Life! Making a House a Home!

Once again, I entered random numbers into the zipcode search at Petfinder.com.
I found not one, but two lovely ladies waiting for a home in Hinsdale, Illinois!
They are sisters and prefer to be together.  Can anyone help?
Here is Coco...

From the Hinsdale Humane Society, Hinsdale, Illinois:   "Name: Coco Description: Labrador Retriever - yellow Gender: Female (Spayed) Age: 3 years, 6 months Details: MEET YOUR MATCH description: Orange - Busy Bee. What's better than one nice, sweet, obedient Labrador? Two! Coco is hoping to be adopted into a home with her canine companion, Lady. They are both very nice dogs that will be welcome additions to the lucky family that adopts them. Coco has been approved for placement with children 8 years of age or older. Her adoption fee is $100. You can adopt both Lady and Coco for only $150!"

Pet ID: 311 • Spayed/Neutered • House trained • Primary color: Yellow, Tan, Blond or Fawn

Here is her lovely sister, Lady

From the Hinsdale Humane Society, Hinsdale, Illinois: "Name: Lady Description: Labrador Retriever - black Gender: Female (Spayed) Age: 3 years, 7 months Details: MEET YOUR MATCH description: Orange - Busy Bee. What's better than one nice, sweet, obedient Labrador? Two! Lady is hoping to be adopted into a home with her canine companion, Coco. They are both very nice dogs that will be welcome additions to the lucky family that adopts them. Lady has been approved for placement with children 8 years of age or older. Her adoption fee is $100. You can adopt both Lady and Coco for only $150!"

Pet ID: 310 • Spayed/Neutered • House trained • Primary color: Black


Remember, even if you cannot help directly you can click on the link to donate to their care.  You can forward this message far and wide because you just never know!  
Again, these dogs are DYING while they wait for us to find the perfect time to give a pet a home.  The time, my friends, is NOW!
Further, there are people (like myself) who are willing to drive these pets across the country to their new home, so distance is never a problem!


Will you help?


These ladies need exercise and a warm, loving home.  Look how sad they are.
As a bonus they will give you the exercise you need to live a long, healthy life and lots and lots of unconditional love!
Shelters, no matter how lovely, are no fun.  Help them.  Please.

Hinsdale Humane Society, Hinsdale, IL

• 630/323-5630

With Love and Hope,

Andie

Skip To My Ormolu!

I just came back from a treasure hunt in the garage and look what I found!  I think I have all I need for my bed project!  I bought all this bronze ormolu on ebay several years ago and forgot about it!

This is my favorite.  It is about 12" wide and long.  I think with a crown above it, it would be perfect for the headboard!

Close-up.  These are about 6" long.

Very large drawer pulls...9" long.  If I remove the pull it would look lovely mounted...somewhere!

I have two of these, about 10" long.  Unfortunately, they both face the same direction.

I love these classic French ormolu! They are 9" long... I can use them just about anywhere!

These ormolu are about 12" long.  Can you see the musical instruments?

Sorry for the poor quality.  I love a good cartouche, though.  How about you?  These are each approximately 6" wide and 4" tall!  They, too, could go anywhere!

A closer look...

I just LOVE these lions!  About 20" long...where can they go?

These gryphons need a place to go.  Hm.  They are 12" long and 6" wide.  Maybe I could make a large trumeau mirror?

I have three of these.  they are actually doorknob plate thingies.  About 12" tall.  What could I use them for, I wonder?

Close-up of the cherub detail...

I have soooo many more but I ran out of light to photograph them. Door knobs and pulls, many, many backplates, lion heads with rings... I suppose I could use my big girl camera instead of my cellphone.

Maybe tomorrow!

So, any ideas on how to use these?

Bouncing Ideas Off the Bed!

This is the bed I chose with your help.  It was delivered today!  Yay! Very simple lines.  I removed the stainless steel rings around the top of the posts. I was merely going to paint it grey and move on.  However, 

my friend, Richard, over at My Historic House,  made an excellent point.  This is the guest room.  It should be special!

Why yes, that Louis XVI cheval mirror was found on Craigslist for $25!

I really like the way the finials look on this settee...

One for each bedpost?  Toned down, of course.

The shape of the headboard and footboard reminds me of the trumeau mirrors I love so much...

This color? Or...

this color?

Say "when"!  LOL!

I have cherubs, angels and other ormolu to use on the bed...

Gilded?

The hook screws in the back, very simple to remove!

Maybe just Rub N' Buff?

Gilded for the footboard!

I think I may paint cherubs on the headboard in the Old Master's style...

Ponder, ponder, ponder...

Care to bounce with me?