Thursday, January 19, 2012

Boathouse Progress

Almost ready for the bar...

One more coat of floor paint and baseboard touch-up and then we are ready for the bar.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will fit through the door opening!  We waited to install the french door.  Currently, we have a rough opening and we left the paneling off around the opening so it's not the end of the world if we have to make some adjustments.

The bar will go in the corner under the windows
where the fan and heater are.
These pictures don't completely capture the colors.
Love the dark gray/brown floor with the blue
ceiling.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Dolphin Chalkboard - Some Presents Live in the Present

I'm kicking myself for not taking a before picture of a dolphin wall panel I've been commissioned to paint.  Back in the Summer, DK asked me to paint a wall panel featuring a dolphin as a gift for "his lovely bride". It just wasn't coming together.  The first version was a bulky, unintentionally cartoon-like dolphin jumping out of the water.  It's been sitting in the garage for months (because it just wasn't up to par) as a constant reminder of yet another unfinished project.

Last night a light bulb went off in my head as I made my way through the garage on my way from the boathouse (which I've been painting) into the basement (to clean my paint brushes).  First, I saw the unfinished dolphin panel leaning against the garage wall which immediately made me hasten my pace (What? With too much to do and not enough time, I need to move FASTER).  Second, when I reached the basement, I glanced over and saw the can of black chalkboard paint on the basement shelf.  Why didn't I think of that before?  Many of my silhouette panels feature a black silhouette.  Why not paint the silhouette with chalkboard paint so it can double as a message board?  Third, I cleaned out my boathouse brushes and, instead of calling it a day, I was inspired to try something new.

I grabbed the dolphin panel from the garage, said "bye bye" to the chunky mahi mahi as I painted over him, tweaked the dolphin design into a swimming position (rather than jumping), and added a second dolphin (for more chalkboard message space). I then flipped a new but never used cabinet door handle (from the basement shelf adjacent to the chalkboard paint) upside down to hold the chalk and - voila! - now I can finally give DK his long-awaited dolphin panel.




My lesson - It is important in my daily haste to slow down enough to observe and enjoy.  I will never be one to cruise around in 1st gear but I do need to remind myself to pay more attention as I speed around the track so as to notice the detours that are worth exploring.  Yesterday I was rewarded for my patience (setting the dolphin aside this Summer instead of forcing myself to work on something I wasn't inspired to do at the time).  And I was rewarded for recognizing a detour worth taking. (Dolphin panel, chalkboard paint, and then cabinet door handle). Are you kidding me?  How many times have I missed a series of signs as obvious as that?

Hopefully, DK feels rewarded for his patience too and he is glad he waited for his wife's gift.  Considering his wife is a teacher, I couldn't have planned a more appropriate gift if I tried.

As an added bonus, I made J a new morning checklist chalkboard while I had the supplies out.  She was thrilled with it AND I didn't have to feel like a broken record this morning...brush your teeth and hair.  where are your socks?  did you pack your homework?  where's my kiss and hug?

Monday, January 9, 2012

Warmth

I guess I can't leave the wood stove out of our list of projects this winter - even if we didn't do the work ourselves.  

I almost gave up on a real fire and the toasty heat of our wood stove and I was thinking about installing gas logs instead after we got bad news about the condition of our chimney and the danger of using our old wood stove.  But Wade, the retired AA County fire fighter and sole proprietor of Smokin' Chimneys, came along and now we are back in business.

I know she's not pretty, that big 'ole black hunk of iron sitting in our fireplace opening, but she can take the chill out of the air in our house within an hour and have us parading around barefoot in our shorts when it's below freezing outside.  

With all of the available firewood in this area, it's hard to justify abandoning a functioning wood stove.  Now, all we need is some real winter weather so we can get some payback on our investment in the Black Beauty!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Awnings & Window Boxes

I've been thinking of ways to add more curb appeal to my boring white colonial with black shutters.  Window boxes below the lower level windows have been on my wish list for awhile but what if I also added awnings above the lower windows?

Imagine how this house below would look without the awnings.  Pretty boring, right?  But the awnings scream "someone with style lives here!".


I especially like the idea of black awnings with white accent trim along the scallop.

The window boxes and awnings combined with the ideas I got from the landscape architect in the Fall would make for a much more inviting front yard indeed!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Banquette for Dining Area

Well, my suspicions were confirmed this holiday season.  We have been under constant construction since moving into our house almost 3 years ago, and consequently we don't entertain very often.  But we got back into our entertaining groove lately and, as suspected, our dining area needs some adjusting.  The table and chairs are too close to the peninsula resulting in congestion when people occupy both the dining chairs and the bar stools.

My solution is going to be a banquette.  By pushing the dining table toward the far dining wall and using bench seating along the wall side of the table instead of chairs, we will have a much larger circulation area between the table and peninsula.  Plus, if we ever get around to adding the screened porch off the dining area, the path out to the screened porch will be more open.

View from kitchen over peninsula and into dining area.
Dining table will be against far wall.
The biggest issue...telling Steve he has to move the light fixture above the table - for the third time!

Here's what we have now...
Not much room between stools and chairs.
And photo shows bars stools pushed in - not out.
An added bonus will be a better visual connection between tv room and dining area.
The table will be located where the buffet is now.
I need to finish painting the boathouse before starting on this project, but it's never too early to start planning.  Here are my thoughts so far and some inspiration pictures:

Flanked Bench Seating.  I would like to flank the bench seating with bookshelves or something similar to add storage and serving surfaces.  I'm pondering the configuration of the storage and whether I want drawers, open shelves, cabinets, or a combination.  Here's a picture with flanked bench. http://www.houzz.com/photos/363804/Light-and-airy-kitchen--for-two-cooks-contemporary-kitchen-san-francisco

I like the idea of having a handy surface for serving dishes so they don't have to clutter the table while eating, and a counter height surface on whatever flanks the bench seems like the best solution.  Something like the below picture would work...which makes me think that even something as basic as kitchen cabinets mounted on either side of the bench would work.



Bench Storage.  I definitely want a hinged bench seat for storage.  I found a great tutorial here http://addicted2decorating.com/d-i-y-project-built-in-banquette-seat-with-storage.html.

Upholstery.  I'm not sure if I want both a seat and back cushion or just a seat cushion.  The back cushion seems more comfortable but it will mean making the bench seat deeper which pushes everything away from the wall a little bit more which , in turn, will steal circulation space from between the peninsula and the table.  Something to ponder further...





P.S. - I need better photography equipment and/or take the time to Photoshop my blog photos.  I'm noticing that my photos pale in comparison to my inspiration images!