My Gourmet Kitchen

The Before...
  

The After...

I hope you enjoyed watching that project unfold. It was highly satisfying to take it from concept to completion.  Stay tuned for more creativity, inspiration, and joie de vivre!

Couturier Tres Chic

I'm busting out my inner Couturier today...

This summer is the season of the little dress for me. Living in hot and humid Savannah, GA I decided to forgo pants for the season. SO... on this not-so-sunny day I am staying in and sewing a brown linen dress from Cynthia Rowley.

In the thick of the action...

Cynthia Rowley Pattern

Same dress! Someone else's handy work.... from the impressive blog asewnwardrobe.blogspot.com.






Eeek! I'm so excited! I just hope that the fabric I chose will be successful. It definately isn't silky like this one. Hmm... Keep you posted!

A Blissful Bathroom... Finished

We all need a little memory refresher... so here are some "before" pictures of the bathroom... and then I'll reveal the finished product.

And..... After.....

Now isn't that lovely? Storage, lovely lighting, splendid complimentary colors, pops of yellow on a background of blissfully cool green. I sewed the shower curtain myself. Everything else was a wonderful bargain find. My bathroom is now complete!

LOVE

Finals are over.... I have love for the whole world!

How to Make a Cornice Board

Find yourself a louvered door.... and steal a louver! (This was the old door to the closet that I removed.)

Then... Find yourself a handy dandy stapler. Preferably a stapler with a lot of force behind it.

(For people with small or weak hands, I recommend an electric stapler... my husband got the wrong one.)

Screw "legs" into the side of your door...

And then staple thick quilt batting around the whole thing.

Then cover the whole thing in a fabric of your choice. Use your stapler... there's no point in sewing if you don't have to.


If you really want to be fancy, you can sew (or... sssshhh... HOT GLUE) trim to the appropriate edges.







So there's an easy little project that will make you feel amazing and very successful at the end of it. Plus, there's nothing like a crisp cornice board to update a room and make it look modern and chic.

I'm Pro Progress

Sometimes Project Progress isn't as pretty as the other things I post... but it has a charm of its own.

Progress is just chugging along at full speed. Tomorrow we finish completely!! (Or, rather, we had BETTER finish because the photographer is coming on Sunday afternoon to shoot the space.)

In order to prevent the deep pink from reading too brilliantly (too pinky pink) we chose to use a grey primer. This subtly deepens the paint and gives it a very rich textual feeling..... in short, you want to wrap up in it like a snuggie and be happy.

Here you see the first coat of paint in action.... AND my husband kindly assisting with "the high parts" which I can't reach (even with a ladder).... AND the new light!  I showed a picture of it earlier. Now here it is!

We installed color enhancing light bulbs, and they have done wonders to brighten the space. The old bulbs just cast a yellow, filmy glow on everything. It dampened the colors rather than helping them. As my grandmother would say, "It doesn't do you any favors." The new ones warm up the room like a smile.

Speaking of smiling....

David and I have had fun together throughout this process....

But the best part might have been when he hid under the box that contained our new bathroom vanity (sneak peak)... and then looked remarkably like a hermit crab on his way out.






That's all for now!


















Tomorrow... look out for the glass tiled backsplash that I did ALL BY MYSELF!!!

I'll post pictures.

Subsequently, you will be amazed.
(I am ever so proud of myself.)

A Fashion-able Room

Lots of interior design addicts draw inspiration from fashion. In general, I'm opposed to this method... for the simple reason that fashion changes every season, while an interior must stand the test of time for AT LEAST a few years.

All that being said... I can't help being swept away by timeless textiles, delicious color pallets, and certain "moods" conveyed by the fashion world. So here is a fashion image and room which might inspire it. Two words.... YUM-MY!!

And just for kicks and giggles.... how about a simply PERFECT chair and a pair of tres tres chic pendant lights that I love to go ga-ga over whenever I see them.  These two "accessories" would fit the bil quite well.

Black may not be the most "springy" of hues, but it has a timeless elegance which will carry on through any season.

Cheers to all!