Archive for February, 2011
Some Love
It’s time for our monthly shout out to thank our sponsors for making the other 35+ posts possible and keeping food (and little candy hearts) on the table. And instead of just listing everyone, we like to pick something from each of them that makes us smile/drool/inspired/happy. Not that we’ve been gifted any of these things ourselves (see our no-swag policy here) but we did have fun trolling their sites on a virtual v-day shopping spree of sorts. Here are all of our lovey-dovey finds. And as usual, there’s a little something extra in it for you (you know we heart you guys) so scroll down for some pretty sweet reader discounts. Here’s what we’re loving:
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- Whimsical items, like this carve-able wooden “cupid’s heart” postcard, from House 8810.
- Heady Bed‘s custom design tool (it’s a fun way to a one-of-a-kind upholstered headboard).
- The softer side of Cardboard Safari, which includes these heart-shaped gift boxes.
- The fact that WallQuotes lets you wear your heart on your, er, wall for a change.
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- This love-filled “To Love You” canvas from Z Gallerie. So sweet.
- Design for Less‘ faux crocodile tiles made from recycled leather.
- Lots of modern rug options in fresh colors (like watermelon) from Shades of Light.
- Downloadable DIY guides from The Tile Shop like tile patterns. Hello herringbone.
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- Lisa Leonard‘s love-inspired jewelry (she has more than cupid can shake an arrow at).
- A collection of V-day antiques, like this vintage postcard from Ruby Lane.
- Sister site Ruby Plaza‘s fun finds, like this pink hobnail plate from the 1930s.
- Lots of ways to customize pendants (and score spouse points) with Heart & Stone Jewelry.
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- Customized newlywed pillows, like this ring bearer one, from Freshline Illustration.
- Frame The Date‘s tribute to another lovey occasion- your anniversary.
- Smock Paper‘s eco-friendly letterpress cards that bring style to your sentiments.
- Nursery-ready art from Trendy Peas that says all that really needs to be said.
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- Ali Edwards‘ new hand drawn digital scrapbooking downloads that are ready for V-day.
- Real life home design consultations from real live designers via My Design Guide.
- The signature “Simply Baby” print from Hoot Design Co in girly pinks and oranges.
- Inspiring uses of stencils from Royal Design Studio (this one really has us smitten).
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- The fact that CanvasRox goes beyond photo canvasses and even offers photo jewelry.
- Handmade items from Jenna Lou Designs to warm your heart – and neck.
- Helpful info from Networx‘s users and bloggers, like articles on DIY and color trends.
- Friendship and fun with the love of my life (that means you, Sherry – HAPPY V-DAY!)
And now for the JUICY DISCOUNTS:
- Shades of Light: 10% off using code YHL0215
- WallQuotes.com: 15% off with the code YHL15
- The Tile Shop: 10% off when you use the code YHL10
- Freshline: 10% off any orders with the code YHL10
- Heart & Stone Jewelry: 10% off your purchase with the code YHL10
- My Design Guide: 10% off your purchase with the code YHL10
- Royal Design Studio: 10% off stencils with code YHL10
- Jenna Lou Designs: 10% off your with code YHL10
- CanvasRox: 10% off your with code YHL10
- Frame The Date: 10% off your with code BEMINE
Better Late Than Never?
Oops, I tackled this project about two months ago before we moved (hence all the pics of our old kitchen counters). But I figured I might as well share it in case someone else comes across their own cheap-o cheese plate and wants to update it with some fun patterned paper. Let’s step into the DeLorean for a nice trip back in time…
This little makeover idea was hatched when I laid eyes on this crazy old cheese plate at Goodwill for 40 cents in early December. Yes. Forty cents for the glass dome and the wood base with the ceramic cheese inscription (it was marked as 80 cents and they were having a half-price glassware day). I couldn’t not buy it. But it was definitely crying out for a little love, so I dragged John to the paper aisle in Michael’s (my home away from home) so I could pick up a 79 cent sheet of decorative paper. Which brings the grand total for this entire project to $1.19.
The cheese inscription was cute and retro, but the scary black rat with red eyes was freaking. me. out.
Time for a do-over. First I used a flat head screwdriver to pry up the ceramic cheese inscribed plate that was glued to the wooden base.
Had it not popped off semi-easily I would have made a paper template to the exact size of the ceramic plate and used that to cut a perfectly sized circle out of the sheet of decorative paper. But since it popped right off, I just placed the round ceramic plate on the middle of the decorative paper (so the pattern was centered) and traced the circle shape of the plate onto the paper with a pen. Then I carefully cut it out and was left with a pretty exact looking circle to cover up that funny little cheese inscription once and for all. I glued in place with Aleene’s Tacky Glue. Then I glued the ceramic plate back onto the wooden base using Gorilla Wood Glue.
Next came the highly scientific method of placing a stack of books on the whole thing to keep the paper flat so it would bond nice and tightly to the ceramic tray without wrinkling while the ceramic tray bonded securely to the wooden base at the same time. And why not use a few of our favorite cookbooks since they were nearby?
After a few hours of glue drying time, I removed the books and Mod Podged the top of the paper, so it’s protected with a laminated-esque “seal” that’s 100% non-toxic and water-based (which means it’s ok to display holiday cookies or something). I wouldn’t recommend slicing cheese on it (it’s not that strong), but it would be great for storing pound cake, cupcakes, a bowl full of holiday nuts, etc). And the reason I’ve said holiday twice (even though it feels like Christmas was eons ago) is because the festive red paper just feels so jolly to me. But it should work for the other 11 months of the year for other stuff too.
Like pinecone storage if you’re weird like me.
What? I just thought it looked cute in there.
So that’s the latest oldest little DIY undertaking hiding in our drafts folder that I thought I’d share since it could make a cute gift or project for your own casa. It’s kind of bittersweet because these are probably the very last photos that we’ll publish on YHL with our first house in the background. Sob. Just kidding, we’re way too busy with the new house to cry over the old one. But it’s fun to take this last walk down memory lane and appreciate those purty granite counters one more time. And getting back to my updated cheese platter, I’ve decided it would be the perfect spot to display a stack of pretty bar soap in our hall bathroom when we tackle that room. Someday. For now we’re trying to stay focused on the guest room (and adjoined guest bath). But you know I get easily distracted…
Delorian image found here.
Egads
We just learned that our first overnight guests will be coming at the end of the month… and our guest room currently looks like this:
Not acceptable. Especially since our end-of-the-month guests are my in-laws.
Yep, Sherry’s mom and stepdad are headed from New York to Richmond for some much-anticipated Clara time so we officially have a deadline for making the guest room habitable. We don’t expect to make the room all that we want it to be in a mere two weeks, but we have some basic goals for it:
- Get all of the junk out of there (finally confirm the Habitat for Humanity ReStore pickup & move rest of stuff into the playroom)
- Buy a mattres & boxsping along with a cheap-o bed frame (for the interim at least, we might build a bed frame later),
- Dress said bed with already-owned bedding
- Add shower curtain & other bathroom essentials (towels, new toilet seat cover, etc)
Doing that much will at least make the room functional, since my nightmare would be asking Sherry’s sweet Italian mom and stepdad to sleep on the fold out couch in the office (mental picture: his name is Giacomo LaPadula and hers is Diana DeCesare LaPadula – they’re way too debonair to sleep on a fold out sofa next to our laptops in a room with no doors).
And since we occasionally welcome a challenge (and only crumble under pressure sometimes) we’ll toss out this list of “extra credit”:
- Painting the room
- Putting up curtains
- Adding a nightstand & table lamp
Not that we expect to accomplish all or even any of those extra ones, we just thought we’d toss them out there for fun. Or so you guys can virtually berate console us when we don’t get to them. We’d love for the room to feel nice and polished when they arrive, but really who are we kidding? The room looks like a bifold door convention and Nona and PopPop will probably only be focused on Clara anyways. Either way – wish us luck on our race to guest bedroom-dom!
Psst- We announced this week’s giveaway winners. Click here to see if you’re one of them.
Table Talk
Who doesn’t love 1,909 words about searching for a dining room table? Here we go.
We’ve been on a big round table hunt pretty much ever since we first set foot in our house. See, as soon as we walked into the small-ish formal dining room that fateful night in late fall of 2010 while house-hunting, John said “this room should be the office- and we can add french doors for you.” Sold.
Since we have a pretty huge family (there are at least 12 of us when we get together for birthdays and even casual movie nights or spaghetti dinners) we knew that room would never accommodate a table large enough for more than around six people (which is what we had in our last house, and it just wasn’t enough). Slowly after lots of floor planning and sketching and arguing passionate discussions we decided it would be awesome to knock a huge 5+ foot opening in the wall between the kitchen and the former living room and turn that room into a casual dining room/library off of a nice defined entryway over by the door. Here’s the original house’s floor plan (look at the room labeled “Living Room”):
And here’s a rough future floor plan for reference (now look at the room labeled “Dining Room”):
Note: Click here for a lot more floor plan info and the answer to every possible question you may have in the comment section.
Oh and here’s a pic of the future dining room as it looks now (just patiently waiting for a table):
I’m standing in the middle of the room, so here’s an older shot before we spruced up the built ins to show more of the space (the wall on the left is where we’ll bust through to the kitchen and create a giant 6′ wide doorway):
And here’s a shot of the other side of the room (where we’ll add a nice defined entryway so it won’t feel like you’re walking into a dining room):
But back to the dining room table hunt. Long story short long, that room is just a lot more accommodating when it comes to a huge table, but to keep it from feeling too formal and wood-riddled I always pictured a nice round table (which just seems softer and somehow a bit more “friendly” than an angular rectangle). I also have a craving for green leather (or faux leather) parsons chairs (like this, but apple green) so it doesn’t feel too formal and wood-riddled. You know, to try to keep it casual and inviting with lots of different textures playing against each other (maybe even a slightly rustic table pared with bright clean-lined chairs). The goal would be not only a table for big family meals, but for kid crafts and after school projects (hence the kid-proof chairs that are easily wipeable).
But the challenge with something round is that it usually seats 4 people. Rarely you’ll find something that’s around 60″ wide, which seats six people. But our goal was seating for eight. Since we’ll be adding an island in the adjoined (well, it will be once we make that big opening in the wall) kitchen, which will hopefully seat at least four people, that should do the trick. Feel free to do the math with me. 8 + 4 = 12. Oh happy day. But math solves nothing.
Of course that’s a false statement. My dad (the math teacher) will probably want to disown me for it. But I’ve always had a flair for the dramatic, so now that I have your attention (or at least the attention of my dad) I’ll revise my statement. Math is nice, but it doesn’t make a round table that seats eight people materialize out of nowhere. That takes a little legwork.
So I let my fingers do the walking and googled my brains out to determine what sized round table I was in the market for (and taped it off on the floor to make sure it would fit). I learned that a 70″ table should easily accommodate eight people (not in giant arm chairs, but it should work with modesly sized parsons chairs). So then I just had to find a 70″ round table. Easy right? Not easy. But that’s ok. I like a challenge. Here’s what I came up with after lots o’ digging around.
This 60″ round table for $998:
This 70″ one for $1995:
This 48″ round table (which extends to a 72″ oval) from Pottery Barn for $1299:
This 60″ pedestal version on sale for $1499:
Kind of a bummer, right? Everything was either too small (and still in the $998 – $1499 range) or big enough but in the $1300-2K range. Yikes.
So then we hit up a number of thrift stores and antique shops and even the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. But a 70″ round table is a pretty specific thing. So the closest we got to it was a 50″ laminate table that looked like it hailed from a 50′s diner. Not gonna work. We briefly considered DIYing something, but the idea of somehow crafting a round top that large had us both worried that it would be nearly impossible to find one solid 70″ piece of thick-and-not-cheap looking wood to use, so then it would have to be made of planks which just felt sort of cobbled together and not chunky and solid like the table we both envisioned. So sad. Hear the tiny violins playing in the background? Yeah, me too.
Then John’s sister recommended that we hit up The Dump. Pardon the slightly totally offputting name. It’s actually a discount furniture store here in Richmond that runs commercials all the time about their extremely low prices.
So we gave it a shot. And wouldn’t you know it there was a heartstoppingly beautiful rustic yet clean-lined 70″ round table there. And it had a nice non-invasive pedestal base, which was on my “icing on the cake” category. I thought it would be nice to have everyone gathered around it without worrying about table legs that encroach on actual human legs. Not mine because they’re not long enough to have those issues (for which I’m forever resentful since my short stature is always the reason I get assigned the back middle seat in a packed car, which can best be described as slightly more comfortable than sitting on a see-saw for an hour or so). But I do think about our guests’ comfort. And my tall hubby’s. And Clara’s someday. Did I mention my baby is in the 90th percentile for height and I couldn’t be prouder? Literally couldn’t. be. prouder.
Here’s where I’d insert a pic of the beautiful table, but I was too busy falling in love to snap pics. Total brain fart. Sorry! It can best be described as a mix between the top table and the bottom table listed above. It’s rustic and chunky like the bottom table but the base is a bit more like the top table. Sort of.
But the price was $1800. Wop wop. I petted the table. I snuggled up to the base (yes, picture me kneeling under it and embracing the pedestal and sighing). Then from the depths of my sorrows under the table I heard John’s voice from above saying “wait, the $1800 price tag also includes eight chairs.” I swear it was like the voice of an angel. I sprung up from my awkward table embrace, hit my head loudly on the lip of the table, quickly declared that I was fine to everyone within a ten foot radius who was staring at me like I was some sort of weirdo, and then shouted “best news ever!” while fist pumping my way to a standing position. Yes, that really happened.
That news just meant that I would have to sweet talk someone into selling me the table without the chairs (because I was already mentally married to green leather or faux leather parsons chairs and spending $1800 just wasn’t in the budget for us anyway). So I found a sweet lady and asked how much the table was without the chairs. Sweet lady says “they won’t sell it without the chairs.” John gets that uncomfortable look that he gets when he’d rather just walk away but knows that I’m about to make it my personal goal to change this lady’s mind. I followed up with “What if I buy the floor model? Right now. In cash. Well not cash, because I don’t have that on hand. But with a credit card. And we walk away into the night. Will anyone really care if I pay for the table right now and those chairs get snatched up by someone else later?” Compelling argument, right? Sweet lady says “I’ll have to ask my boss but he doesn’t usually split things up that way.”
Long story short, the boss-man agrees to sell us the table for $799 without the chairs after a fair amount of begging/eye-batting (I may have told him that no one will love the table like I will, and as a fellow furniture connoisseur he’d be pleased to know that I vow to give it a great home for years to come). Nope, I didn’t mention the blog or promise a post about The Dump in exchange for a good table price (I’m serious about our no special treatment declaration). But my vow to love the table like my own daughter seemed to work. The moment “ok” escaped his lips I seriously had to resist every urge to hug him while jumping up and down (so I ended up doing some sort of weird handshake/Elaine-from-Seinfeld dance) and then whipped out the ol’ credit card and bought the table before anyone could change their mind. I probably made a face like this while John was in the corner making a face like this:
So that’s how we snagged an authentic solid wood 70″ round table that will seat at least 8 people and will probably host its fair share of holiday and birthday meals for years and possibly even decades to come. Oh and guess what it’s made of. Sheesham. No I didn’t sneeze. That’s really the name of the wood. According to WikiAnswers, “Sheesham (also known as Indian Rosewood) is a fast-growing hardwood, sourced from sustainable, government managed plantations. Being a hard wood, it can be used to make functional furniture that copes with the stresses and strains of everyday use.” Isn’t that nice? Durable is absolutely 100% the goal when it comes to our house in general (we want this place to really get used and loved and filled with family and friends while we unwind and enjoy their company instead of worrying about nicks and scratches.
Oh and speaking of standing-up-to-all-sorts-of-abuse, the top of the table is actually really cool. It’s not jagged, but it’s not 100% smooth either. It’s sort of wavy and hand-carved so if Clara’s one year old cousin comes over and smashes his firetruck onto the surface, a nick would be pretty well hidden among all of the natural peaks and valleys of the tabletop. It’s not too bumpy to rest a glass on or anything, just sort of subtly rippled and irregular. And I love it. Growing up we had one of those super glossy lacquered tabletops that was so pristine that you could see every little hairline scratch in it, so this baby strikes me as the polar opposite in a really really good way.
So that’s 1,909 words about a table that we can’t wait to welcome into our home. Pics to come when Woody arrives within a week or so!
Sherry’s Lamp-Watching Chair
Call me crazy, but I wasn’t really on board with Sherry’s latest “furniture arrangement” when I saw it in the corner of our living room. I know she enjoys lighting as much as the next gal, but a chair dedicated to staring at a lamp seemed like something straight out of Lovely Listing.
Once I looked up I realized that my wife still has most of her marbles (key word: most). She just put the chair there so she could stand on it and tape some paint swatches to the ceiling. Whew. Not so weird after all. Well, she’s still über weird, but for a host of other reasons.
We’ve been debating what to do with those large white ceiling rectangles (between the grey-washed beams) for the past few days. From wallpaper to bold color and everything in between, we’ve pretty much considered it all. Anything dark or too saturated was quickly nixed since we worry that our standard height (8 foot) ceiling just can’t handle it without feeling like it’s closing in on us. And going with an even softer platinum gray than the color on the walls is a nice safe backup idea, but we’d love to do something a bit more fun. Which is when the concept of bringing in something metallic (either paint or even wallpaper) could potentially luxe up the whole room while reflecting lots of light (so the room still feels airy and open). So we grabbed a few swatches from Martha Stewart’s new Precious Metals paint line at Home Depot:
We were both quick to eliminate the two swatches on the left (too dark) and aren’t quite sold on the other two lighter metallic swatches on the right (they actually don’t seem to read as metallic enough from a few feet away, perhaps because they’re on a ceiling and not a wall). Does anyone know a faux finishing technique to create a glossy champagne or eggshell colored metallic ceiling? I know the term faux finish can strike fear in anyone who has ever watched Trading Spaces (me included) but there have to be some good techniques out there… right? Maybe? We’d also love to hear if you have any other metallic paint experience (any specific brands you recommend?) or even if you’ve come across some metallic wallpaper that you love.
As for what we’ll ultimately go with, we promise to spill more details when we actually make a decision and have some progress to share. Maybe it’s smarter to wait to see what we’ll do in the way of art and curtains and then pick up a light tone from one of those things for some subtle fun when you look up. Like a super soft silvery celery color if we go with a green rug or bold curtain panels that include some green…
We’re clearly still in “think on it” mode. But at least we’ve got a good spot to sit down and be alone with our thoughts. And that lamp.
Update: A commenter mentioned a caption contest and it’s so on. Feel free to leave ‘em in the comment section. Here’s the pic again for ya. Captions. Go.
The prize is 500 points and comment o’ the day status. You know you want that. Or do you?
