Introducing House Plan Thursday! Coastal Living House Plan SL 593 – whoa!

Coastal Living House Plan SL-593

House Plans. Fred and I have looked at house plans since we’ve met. Matter-of-fact one of our first dates was a home tour… we’ve always loved design, furniture, and great homes… We have an LL Bean bag that is our “filing cabinet”. Fred has safely tucked away so many wonderful house plans that it boggles the mind. Every once in a while we pull it out and dream. Oh, the possibilities! Our affinity for house plans is the reason I’ve decided to make Thursday’s posts all about house plans… I’ll feature a new one each week… there are some great ones out there, and I might as well pass along the oh-so-great-ones to you!

Coastal Living has some fabulous plans. We’ve always loved the magazine, and have loved the cottage style, so there are many choices!

This plan, the SL-593 is larger than most of the ones we have in our stash. I love this layout. It’s smart and efficient. It’s SO worth going to the link below to see the actual house with photos of each room, it gives you a better idea…

Well, let me show you… here’s the first floor. I love how it has a separate guest cottage. Separate, but attached via a nice screened porch. So the master is off to one side and the guest cottage is private yet close by. A win-win for anyone who stays the night! Our current layout has the guest room right next to the master bedroom. There isn’t much privacy, which is OK, but I would prefer my own guest cottage, ha ha…. how sweet is that? I also love the open floor plan. We aren’t formal dining room people. It’s nice to have everything together in one nice open space.

Here’s a glimpse of the second floor. The guest cottage has a little loft area, which is really neat. The upstairs of the house has two bedrooms and a bathroom. I would probably reconfigure that somewhat… we don’t need two guest rooms and a guest cottage. I like the area for storage (much needed). A space for the treadmill, and maybe a room for art? Hmmm… See how fun this is…?

This plan is 2612 square feet. (Which is gigantic for us)… but fun to play with! This is the COTTAGE OF THE YEAR…. click HERE to go directly to this plan, it shows you the finished home, as well as interior shots and it is AH-MAZING!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

The new walkway… pavers have been moved… in progress!

I know! Isn’t he the most gorgeous man? Sweet too! Lucky me! This was hour 500 of pulling up/digging out old pavers, and creating a new pathway to not upset our live oak tree’s sensitive roots… We want that tree to thrive, so this is what “we” must do! I showed you where we started last week in THIS POST. Look at him… smile on his face. How wonderful is that?

I had already raked some leaves into the old pathway just to keep the beast’s feet clean (Charlie/Jack Russell) but you can see where Fred started pulling out old pavers that were put down over ten years ago… To recap: the reason we’re moving this walkway is because the large roots are uprooting the pavers in many areas close to the tree. Upon further investigation I read that it was a bad idea to cut the tree’s roots (or even put down pavers so close to a tree), so we re-routed…

In progress…

Tomorrow… the unveiling, you won’t believe your eyes! Catch you back here then!

In search of the perfect wall light…

Industrial Sconce by Urban Outfitters 

We’ve been searching high and low for the perfect little wall light for our sunroom. The walls are exposed brick, so hardwiring isn’t the best option, we are looking for a plug in wall light. I’ve found several pretty cool ones, all price ranges. The sconce above is an affordable $49 from Urban Outfitters. I like the cool look of the cord. It comes in white and what looks like stainless… I’m thinking about the white right now…

Modern Swing Arm Wall Sconce from the Rhine Collection - Image: LightingDirect.com

The Modern Swing Arm Wall Sconce offers a contemporary twist to a typical reading light… very chic for only $103!

Swing Arm Wall Lamp by Circa Lighting  - Image: CircaLighting.com

You can never go wrong with the lighting at Circa. They have the most gorgeous options! We’re fortunate to live near a Circa Lighting in Charleston, SC, but if you don’t then you’ll be happy to know that they ship… for FREE! The Swing Arm Wall Lamp by Circa Lighting is a classic style with a contemporary edge to it. I like that it has a dimmer so you can leave it on for ambient lighting… and turn it up for task lighting, so you can see what you’re reading!

COUNTERPOISE SWING-ARM WALL SCONCE BRONZE – Image - Restoration Hardware

The Counterpoise Swing-Arm Wall Sconce is another classy option from Restoration Hardware. Classy lighting at this place, and this is no exception. My concern for where I want to put it is that I will hit my head on it when I get up? Hmmm, a consideration!

Tolomeo Micro Wall Lamp by Artemide – Image: Lumens.com

Fred and I have long admired the Tolomeo lighting collection, especially the micro wall lamp. Very cool on either side of a bed, but hmmmm, might be neat in the sunroom as well?!

Robert Abbey Bruno Collection Scissor Arm Pharmacy Plug In Wall Light - LampsPlus.com

And finally… the Robert Abbey Bruno Collection Scissor Arm Pharmacy Plug-In Wall Light so very cool!

So many options and we’ve just begun to search! Having Google makes finding just exactly what you want so much easier!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Charleston Photo: Charlie… in his happy place!

Charlie has his own sofa. We moved it near the window when he was a puppy so he could see down the street. Fred and I like to move furniture. Actually move entire rooms (i.e. the dining room is the study and the living room is the dining room, yep, see what I mean, just try to keep up with us)… well, we DID move entire rooms. Now we’re stuck in a situation. WE CAN’T MOVE THE SOFA! Ahhhh, there are worse things that could happen… Charlie is so content staring out the window during the day (half the time with his eyes closed) that we just can’t change it.

Ahhh, what we do for our pets, huh? Have a great weekend and I’ll catch you back here tomorrow!

How to brighten up the front of your house for only $29.98!

American Flag Kit from LOWE’S.… ($29.98)

I’m always talking about how I love an American flag in a painting… makes it pop. Makes it, uh… as American as apple pie… So as I peruse art websites via my computer I am always delighted to find a painting that I love that includes a flag… then I thought… WHY DON’T WE HAVE A FLAG? That same flag that makes the houses “pop” in paintings could do the same for ours… so we headed to Lowe’s (why Lowe’s? Because LOWE’S KNOWS VALUE… hee, couldn’t resist that)! We headed to the flag display, and picked out one that is sewn and not just printed. Nothing wrong with printed, I just like the look of the sewn ones better and they seem to be a little thicker, therefore they should hold up a little longer.

This is the house before the flag…

Recently I mentioned that we installed a gas lantern, well to put the lantern where we wanted it we had to move the enamel house numbers to a different spot… Now that we want to hang a flag, guess where I really wanted it…? Where the numbers were… SO… the numbers got moved yet again so that the flag had it’s own spot. Whew! That was fun!

And this is the TA-DA… house after the flag…

So if you want to brighten up the front of your house and have a few bucks to spare, head to your neighborhood hardware store and pick up an American flag!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Photo: Peonies… gotta love them!

Peonies. My absolute-all-time-without-a-doubt-favorite-in-the-whole-wide-world flower is growing (in Michigan) at my parents house, my sisters house, the neighbors house and no one is cutting them and putting in vases. “WHY??” I asked. Because they’re full of ants… what? I couldn’t just leave a bumper crop of gorgeous pink beauty sitting out on a shrub in the backyard, so we cut a few, put them in a mason jar, it was BEAUTY! Until… the darn ants. Not one, not two, but LOTS of ants… I tried setting the vase in a bowl of water, my thought was that it would make a mote and the ants would croak (I just know the PETA people are going to get me one day, but bugs and I simply cannot coexist. No. Possible. Way. Period.). We plucked ants off the blooms until we couldn’t take it anymore and took them back outside. So what’s the deal? Can YOU bring peonies inside YOUR house? If so what’s your secret? Why the darn ants? I wonder if you cut the blossom before it bloomed if that would work, or are the ants already fast at work? I know the peonies that I’ve gotten from Harris Teeter (grocery store) have been gorgeous and ant free we may not be able to grow peonies here, but we can have them in a vase, hee.

Hey! Want to mention one more thing… H A P P Y  B I R T H D A Y  M A X ! ! Our godson Max is 14 today! Whoa, time flies! Hey, Max… do you remember this photo (ha… taken in 2000) with “Uncle Fred” on the front porch? Good times! You were a cutie then, you’re a cutie now and we love you more than anything, even if you are taller than me now! Have a great birthday! xoxo us

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Let me start of by saying how thankful I am for having such an awesome mom. She’s the coolest of all moms, funny, sweet, loving and strong. Very, very strong. I bet she doesn’t realize that (do you mom?)… Anyone that can get through cancer is a tough cookie, and to go through it with a great attitude is a big accomplishment, as well as being such an inspiration. I think I’m going to start calling my mom “Grace”… she’s got lots of it!

I’m also thankful for my mother-in-law. I know there are the standard jokes about mother-in-laws being dragon ladies… I lucked out (again) and got a super sweet lady, just like me, hee…

I know some of you no longer have your moms… I’m so sorry, holidays can be so tough. I hope you are able to keep your mom in all your good thoughts. You do know she can still hear you when you talk to her, right? That’s a small comfort…

Lots of you are mom’s… hard work no doubt. Personally, I’m a dog mom. The cards didn’t fall in my favor with the ‘having a kid’ thing, so Mother’s Day has it’s moments for me as well… But I am Charlie’s mom (woof)… and I’m a good dog mom, ha ha… (PSSST, Charlie you’re a lucky dog!)

H A P P Y  M O T H E R’ S  D A Y ! ! !

Come on Charlie, lets go play in the sprinkler! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Vintage Image via: VintageScrapbooking.blogspot.com

Moose Head and Moose Antlers… What’s HOT now!!

White Lacquer Moose Head – Image: Z Gallerie

Have you noticed how hot MOOSE HEADS are becoming? I thought about this for above the fireplace… dark brown walls with a white lacquer moose head, how sharp would that be…? If we didn’t have so much wonderful art I would truly consider it! How about for your home? Is there somewhere a moose head could make a major statement??

Moose Antlers by Restoration Hardware (Image)

Restoration Hardware has some fabulous moose antlers in cast resin. They use antlers that were naturally shed to cast in resin. Great in a library, hmmmm??

Image: Diggs

Carved Wood Moose Head from Diggs… it’s a little pricier, but should be… it’s hand carved wood…

Image: Here

Oooh, and this one takes “night light” to a new level… The “Moo light” Moo Wall Lamp by Trond Svendgard & Ove Rogne

Iron Stag, Restoration Hardware

And one more by Restoration Hardware… this Iron Stag makes quite the statement doesn’t it?

Catch you back here tomorrow!

It’s here… the Restoration catalog, NOW with one devoted to small spaces!

Last year when the massive Restoration Hardware catalog was delivered I slowly devoured it. Dreaming of each and every piece… but  W A I T ! Your home is your castle, right? BUT if you’re home isn’t LITERALLY a castle most of these pieces simply will not fit! This year I’m happy to report there is the big Restoration catalog that is such a pleasure to browse through, as well as a catalog devoted to the Outdoors… and now… one for small spaces, WOHOO Restoration Hardware! Each and every piece is classy without a doubt. These catalogs can easily double as coffee table books!

What?! You didn’t receive a catalog?? If interested, simply click HERE to be directed to Restoration Hardware’s catalog request page!

Here are a few pieces from their “Small Spaces” catalog… just a few… if I added every one that I truly adored you would be scrolling for hours! Here is the LINK to the Small Spaces catalog on their website…

Here’s a blip from their catalog… it’s gorgeous!

I like these pieces and I really like the French Partner’s Desk (top left)… gorgeous! Great job Restoration!

This bed looks too comfy, makes you want to jump right in… I would use a great piece of art instead, but that’s me… lovely!

Ok, check them out and I’ll catch you back here tomorrow!

A gas lantern… like eye candy for your house!

Shortly after Christmas Fred received his gift… a Charleston gas lantern… and let me tell you. This lantern is gorgeous. We absolutely love it. This has been on our list for years, but the installation kept us from actually buying the lantern. Probably 5-7 years ago we seriously contemplated this, but the guy who came out to give us a quote for installation was a) expensive, very expensive  b) didn’t seem too trustworthy  c) didn’t seem like he would try his best to make it right. We went back to Carolina Lanterns in December and got the name of an installation guy (if you’re in the Charleston area, call Tony Burke with Myers Heating and Air, he’s the “gas guy”… phone 843-364-3379, cannot recommend him highly enough!). Tony came out, explained how he was going to install the gas line, and he did the best job possible. Nice guy, reliable, can’t say enough… and the lantern. Whoa! It really makes the house look nice! We bought “the Charleston” lantern, we had our eyes on a smaller one, but Tony recommended the larger one, he said it would really make a statement. He seemed as excited as we were which was really cool. He took before and after pictures. A very exciting day!

Sometimes your house just needs the smallest thing to give it more curb appeal… sometimes just sweeping, and maybe a pretty potted plant or two? The trend now seems to be a different color front door which I really like, I’ve seen some in the neighborhood that I love, the interesting greens, etc… and the brighter wilder colors not so much… but that’s a little thing that makes a big difference! What do YOU do to brighten up your house?? It’s that time of year (well, in Charleston it’s been “that time of year” most of the winter). Catch you back here tomorrow!