Mad Men

Does anyone else watch Mad Men? I tape it... err DVR it...and I saw the last episode last night and noticed the same sink in the advertising office is actually the sink in my kitchen! I've been trying all day to find a picture of it online but I can't. If you find one please send it my way!

Beer Beer Beer

Any of you have a man cave in your house? My boyfriend has turned the basement into his hangout. I just saw these great fixtures at barlite.com and there MUST be somewhere I can incorporate this into his space!

I'm back!

Sometimes life really gets in the way! Just as I was getting used to this blogging thing, my personal life ran into quite a few snags. We chose to live in a city because of the close proximity to highways and conveniences, not to mention lower housing prices, but we have to remember that having these things means having a larger population, which in turn creates the potential for more crime. Well, we got to experience that early in September when one night my car was stolen right from my driveway. I have since gotten it back, but September was really stressful. We've been finishing up some of the work on the house (details and pictures to come in a near future post) so our budget is strained as it is, so I can't tell you how freaked out I was about having to buy a new car. Luckily not only did I get it back but it was generally unharmed.

On top of the car thing, we had to deal with a flooded kitchen-and-dripping-ceiling-of-basement last week when our washing machine died. I'm all ears for any advice on good front loaders to buy!

I'm actually taking today off from work as a mental health day just to really get our life back in order, but before I get into all that I thought I'd share some ideas I have for sprucing up our master bedroom. The only picture I have of the room is from when we first moved in so I'll share that -






The furniture in this room has been moved around a bunch of times since the picture, the bedding is totally different, we have new windows and new curtains, and we have a wrought iron headboard now. We're going with wood blinds when we finish the windows because we have a nice mahogany ceiling fan. But basically, you get the point of the color in the room. I'm thinking of creating some sort of focal wall on the one to the left of the bed and I have to decide if I want to go with wall art or wallpaper. Have you tried either one? I'm worried the wall art will look too cheap and worried the wallpaper will look too "wallpaper". I'm thinking of a wall decal I saw on etsy...in red or brown...



or this fabulous Graham & Brown Wallpaper...



It's so hard to decide! I want to go sort of earthy because we have a fabulous world map print on the wall and our bedding is now this...


The brown and wood tones look great with the red but the room is just so dark right now with the black furniture...which I love, so I'm looking for ways to just put some oomph into the space. I have a feeling I'll be working on this more than all the cleaning that has to be done today!

Bear with me...

My life has gotten a little hectic lately so I'm taking a short hiatus from blogging. I'll be back when things are a little less crazy!

Eyesore of the Month

I spend my days as a city planner and I’m really interested in all the aspects of architecture and urban design that go with the job. What a community or neighborhood looks like really affects the social and psychological well being of a person.

Have you ever heard of James Howard Kunstler? He’s a constructive critic of America as it stands. I want to share his Eyesore of the Month website with you… you might see some familiar places on it. I did!

This is a building...the January 2009 Eyesore of the Month...that I pass by almost every day… and I couldn’t agree more. I don’t know what was up with design in the sixties!

Finally!

Here in New England it's finally feeling like summer... even though it took until August to get here! It's in the 90s AND IT IS NOT RAINING! Yesterday we went to one of the best restaurants in Providence... India ...sat outside for brunch and great sangria! And we learned they make food specifically for doggies and have hooks at their sidewalk seats for their leashes. Talk about dog friendly!

Admire and Inspire: Chloe Loveseat

I'm in love! I'm keeping this find on my list. I'm looking around for a future loveseat purchase for my living room, and I just love the lines of the arms and the tufted back of the Macy's Velvet Metro Living Chloe set.

Project Potential: Urban Oasis

It’s really hard to stay within budget or stay away from things you love when you’re into design – whether fashion or interiors. With all the work we’ve been doing on our house and other financial constraints, I’ve been trying to limit purchases to ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. It’s sad. My purse feels neglected! And for a while, I was doing really well, because I was able to focus on other things. My parents ripped down wallpaper to paint their bedroom so I had a chance to spend THEIR money on THEIR house…so fun!

But…. you must know how hard it is. We’re always looking for that perfect accessory and I think they always show up the week all the bills are due. I always have my projects in mind, even when I say I have no money in the budget. Our yard has ZERO curb appeal so in the back of my mind I’m always thinking of plants, landscaping, and other materials to use in our yard. And early this summer, I saw this trellis at a local store we have called Ocean State Job Lot and it’s been on my mind.



I loved the simple yet “different” design from regular old lattice trellis. I didn’t buy it, thinking of all the other projects vying for my cash…and even asked the boy his thoughts on if it’s easy to make trellis with lattice. He quickly replied that we had enough projects on our hands and he’s so right, so I left it at that. But the Job Lot find kept coming back to me for this little area of our backyard:




Right now it’s sort of where we store anything… it’s this little concrete pad along the fence. But as you can see our neighbor’s house is really super close to the fence… and this is where his wood pile goes in the winter and in the summer it’s where he hangs clothes to dry. It’s kind of funny this summer because he always hangs out clothes and an hour later it pours!

The trellis was sold out at my local store, so a little birdie told me to contact the company to see if it was in stock in any other location. Whether it is a good thing or a bad thing I found out the trellis was in stock at the location right near my work! Needless to say… I broke down one day and bought TWO. I wanted to use four, to cover the two sections of fence, but I’m wondering how it will work with the two… one centered on each section of fence, painted black. I’m thinking of putting hooks on them for flower pots or solar lanterns.

(Pictures from ivillage, www.mastergardenproducts.com,www.edzayas.com/cancelada.htm)

There are so many choices out there and ways to create a prettier space!





And maybe… to offset the look of the two… I will add some large pot gardens. Perennials? Edible gardens? Large evergreens? Here are some ideas for the planters(images from simplyplanter.com, www.landscapeforms.com, www.bevoworks.com, www.ikea.com)....








What do you think? Are the two enough or should I go for four pieces? Have any good ideas for the planters? Leave a comment with your advice!

What's with the peacock?

Last January we stumbled upon the never-been-updated 50s ranch that we now call home. Look closely at the picture and you can see the aluminum storm door at the front entry looked like this...



The massive bird suddenly became the mascot of the house, and jokingly we named our new home "Casa de Peacock".

Here's a sample of what inside the living room looked like before we moved in. The gorgeous hardwoods all over the house had been covered with carpets. Water was seeping through that broken peacock storm door and rotted the floors in the entry way, hidden behind a light-blocking, boring door.



We bought it because it was great structurally and the perfect size. Everything pretty much needed updating in the house... and some of it still does. But that list never ends! To name just a few things we tackled before we moved in we replaced the roof, the electrical service and all the outlets, finished the floors, painted the walls, windows, doors, and replaced some windows. This is the living room after some of the renovations:




Stay tuned for more on our house adventures. Right now we are undertaking exterior renovations, and the precious peacock has been removed from its perch!

Welcome

Hello, world. Welcome to Casa de Peacock - but look around, because I'm not sure yet where this blog will take you! I hope to use this blog to talk about some of my passions - especially real estate, home decorating, urban design, and life in general.