Interior Design

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A good idea.

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by the Artist

While the Carpenter deals with the mechanics and the ordering and all the details of our current large project- The Modern Farmhouse- I've been assisting with design decisions when needed. It's been fun to work with the homeowners as they work through the many decisions that are needed to be made for the scope of this project. I am basically "on call" ready to lend a listening ear or do some research for materials.

I think.. no I know that this can be overwhelming with the amount of decisions that come along. Even if you have a good sense of design and know what you like and what you don't like.. it still can be taxing. 

I usually set up a secret board on Pinterest and an Ideabook on Houzz.com. Then send out the invitations to start sharing and gathering styles– flooring, trim, lighting, tile etc. It's collaborative and I like that. I work mostly alone these days.. I no longer have co-workers to bounce ideas off of.. so boards and books and collaborations scratch that itch. I also work on keeping up with the latest housing design trends. Well that is the easy part as I tend to chase shiny objects. Unfortunately my ever changing design perspective has made the Carpenter crazy at times! Well and me too. just alittle.

Why am I sharing this? For those of you that might need that type of help. Perhaps you are leaning towards calling that other builder. Maybe we would be a good fit if you know you need design help, that you know it kind of makes you crazy, and to even think about it makes you break out in a cold sweat. My design assistance for whatever question or decision you may have or will encounter during the entire length of the project is included in the project. No extra cost or fee. It's part of the deal.

And that's a pretty good deal.

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Circling back.

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by the Artist

I seem to be on a white theme these days. Snow and now the resurgence of white in home design. 18 years ago when we renovated our home I embraced white. It seemed appropriate for an East Coast style Cape Cod. We picked white siding and I painted the entire interior "Floral White". That was a lot of white. But it was so refreshing after looking at a dark brown exterior, gray gutted interior and most of all.. old house dirt and debris. It was one dirty dirty project.

We moved into our "brand new to us" pristinely white home. Not only were the walls white but all the doors, millwork and cabinetry and countertops wore white. It was a good choice till I got bit by the color bug. It was a nasty color bug because it left me weakened with the inability to make a single color decision. We had paint swatches of color all over the house. I think I had the Carpenter buy 10 cans of "gold" for the living room alone. I could not decide exactly which gold would be the perfect gold. And it had to be perfect. 

I got bit by that pesky bug at my friend's beautiful new home. She painted it in rich bold colors. Stepping into her home was like stepping into a bowl of Beef Bourguignon. My house was like stepping into a bowl of whipped cream. 

My main stumbling block to making a decision was my very own color rule. Colors are either gray based (rich yet subdued with a hint of gray) or clear based (pure bright color). You could not mix gray based and bright colors in one palatte. (this was my rule at the time) Which did I want? Which would be best for my little Cape Cod? Oh it was awful. Indecision is awful. It's like you just can't pull yourself out of the indecision pit. It has slippery walls and no ladder.

Eventually I broke through and chose a yellow for the kitchen. It was intense. I remember walking outside and looking in the window and thinking as the Carpenter was up on a ladder slaving away... okay that is just a might too too yellow. I lived with it. Never loved it. Add here... that poor long suffering carpenter.

Then I painted the kitchen a historical color cream. Ben Moore Waterbury Cream. Toned down that intense yellow. Better.

Then we moved out to live in one of the spec homes we built to stage it in hopes of finding a buyer. (BTW I was able to pick out the entire spec homes interior color palette in about 15 minutes!) During the time we lived at the spec home we painted the Cape the exact same color palette. It wasn't my first choice but I had to make a decision.

A year ago we were at the Carpenter's cousin's house. His wife has a great sense of design. She painted her living room pure white. I remember thinking... wow white. Why would she paint a room white? A year later... I get it. She was ahead of the trend. She was on point. And she knew to balance her white rooms with rooms of rich bold color. 

I've come full circle. They say what goes around comes around. Well white has returned. But it's an improved version of white. I've been highly influenced by the designer and HGTV host Joanna Gaines style https://magnoliamarket.com/. Just take a look and you will understand.

I'm redoing my home to embrace this new white. After the wedding flowers I'm doing for my nephew's upcoming spring wedding, after my furniture sale http://www.applewoodremodelers.com/a-painted-apple/

After. 

And I do love whipping cream.

 

Blue.

by the Artist

I've been noodling on what to write. We're finishing up our large exterior remodel... the Carpenter has been busy working on bids. The weather has been gray and gloomy. No white or real cold yet. We are thankful .. except along with the warmer temps comes rain. And that stops work.

I've been busy gathering gifts to mail to my east coast family. Should have been in the mail by now. I'm not thinking about that! I've decided this year not to fret over anything. There is too much pressure right now. How can a person be merry? I'm working on that.

There is one thing other then gifts I put effort into this time of the year. Decorating. Along with not fretting I've decided to keep it simple. And also to ban red. My sister-in-law says my decorations resemble the movie "Frozen". Hmmm. 

I can't help that I love navy blue. This love affair with blue started when we built the "Blue House" in downtown White Bear Lake. http://www.applewoodremodelers.com/the-blue-house/ That first year I declared "I'm embracing blue"! and have loved it ever since.

This year I bought some beautiful stripped ribbon in navy and white which matches my porch pillows. I thought I was finished decorating but I kept messing around with my front porch. Just hasn't felt right. Till today.

I decided to drive through our old neighborhood where we used to live in the "Blue House." I just love the eclectic cozy homes there. I always admire one home. The homeowner does a lovely job with her decor. Christmas is no exception. It's cozy and artistic and welcoming. She always has a wicker chair by her front door with greenery and candles nestled around.

That's it! I knew just how I was going to finish my front porch! I had "trash picked" an old wicker chair which has been sitting out in the shop. It needs a new seat. It looks like it's from the 1930's. I had planned to paint it navy. 

Well it's now sitting by my front door. Nestled in with candles and a basket of greenery and one of my navy and white porch pillows. Brilliant. I am so happy. I can't help myself. It just gives me a thrill to create a pleasing display. For me.

Oh and that trash picked wicker chair?? It's red. I guess I can break my own rules!

 
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Wax on!

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by the Artist

We've had a beautiful fall for working outside. Upper 60's, no wind and mostly full of sun. Perfect for one of our current projects- an exterior renovation. Would be so great if this weather held till Christmas! Fingers crossed.

We've had a busy summer and fall and believe it will continue well into the snowy months. I'm hoping we get a nice inside project for the crew to stay out of the bitter. Hasn't happened much in recent years. 

I've been busy painting my little accumulated pile of furniture out in the shop. There's been a bit of a learning curve for me. Seems like it should be easy to paint furniture. But I'm using "chalk paint" which in application is different then latex. Because the paint is "chalky" when applied.. it needs to be sealed. With a "little brush." It hasn't been easy. Surprise!

I returned to the only "Annie Sloan stockist" store http://www.mamashappy.com in this end of the cities to buy more clear wax and brushes. I viewed a video on the merits of using a very very expensive wax brush (the professional painter in this house was aghast) as opposed to a clean cotton tee shirt. I bought two. One for the dark wax too. (someone is threatening to take the unopened brush back)

The next day I started waxing with the special brush. It didn't go well. I couldn't get a good rhythm going. Too thin, too thick. With little bits of wax here and there. So here I go again.. two steps back!! 

Thinking maybe the wax was too cold- we keep the shop pretty cool unless working in there- I placed the can in front of our wood stove to heat it up. The fire went out.. and I never got back out to the shop to face my waxy foe.

I've since cleaned the brush. With dish soap. Today I will try again. One of those pricey brushes might be heading back to the store. But sssshhhh don't tell the Carpenter that!

Now for the news for those that have been following this blog… I have decided to postpone "The Painted Apple" sale till spring. I don't want to wait that long and the Carpenter certainly doesn't. BUT… I don't want to rush the process. I want a nice variety and good price points, I'm honing my painting skills and ability to visualize a piece before I start.. the best color, hardware. I want each piece to be a story. That takes time.

So I look forward to painting as the snow falls lightly outside the shop window. I will play some good music and count my blessings for the opportunity to take this on. That's what dreams are made of right?.

So stay tuned if you care. I will update my progress get the word out in time for the sale.



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thunk.

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by the Artist

I'm in the middle of a painting frenzy. I'm surrounded by a cluster of old now colorful chairs. I'm painting 2-3 hours a day. I get the office work done in the AM then head out to the shop. I've had some help but mostly I paint in solitude. Yesterday I had felt overwhelmed. I have been unable to decide on a sale date. The work is much more intensive then even me (who sees a glass half empty) had considered. 

My hands are feeling it. I don't like to wear gloves so my hands take the brunt of the mixing and clean-up and the motion of painting. So I'm pacing myself. And lathering on tons of hand cream. My hands are starting to resemble Martha Stewart's hands. That isn't necessarily a bad thing.. I admire women who aren't afraid to get in there and work hard. No manicures for this artist.

I have been thinking about how to put my creative stamp on the furniture. I decided being a lover of fonts and lettering.. I would paint some quotes. So yesterday I decided to hand letter my first piece. I had envisioned one of the tables with a circle of words that starts in the center and moves out concentrically. I headed to Pinterest and found an appropriate quote. I then with some fear picked up a slim brush and made the first stroke. (I used to do some hand lettering at one of my graphic design jobs, whenever anybody needed that look)

I am not like the Carpenter. I don't like to measure. I like to just go for it. I'm not risky but I am risky. The lettering was almost complete when I realized that I had repeated a word. The. The. I couldn't hit delete. Dah. You should have seen me streak to the house for a clean wet paper towel. Disaster averted. I now realized that a chalk painted surface is very forgiving. The extra "the" wiped right off! 

I finished this session with some sanding and distressing. I love to use the Carpenter's power hand sander. It works great on the chair seats and anything that you need to extreme distress. I knew the sand pad that I attached was getting old. As it spun around at mach speed it started looking just a wee bit off. It started making a very weird subtle sound. I just kept going.. I am rather risky I said. Well it came off. I should say.. it shot off. I don't know where it went. It was a blur. A thunk. I looked for a hole in the wall. I got a little scared.

I told the Carpenter what happened. He didn't seem too concerned. Said he would clean up the area the sand pad attaches to on the sander. He said I have to be careful with power tools. Hmmm. He is awfully used to me.

 


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Just pick up that brush!

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by the Artist

I started. I didn't want to write about this till I knew it would stick. I'm painting that mountain of furniture in the cabinet shop. I picked a sale date and I'm now painting every chance I get. But.. I do not think the date is realistic for how much work there is to do. I feel rather desparate.

For those of you who do not know… two years ago or so I decided to start a tiny division of Applewood which I named "A Painted Apple". My plan… sell selected pieces of furniture through this website to boost traffic (just being honest here), and scratch a creative itch.

I had no idea what I was getting into. No. Idea. Notta. Nope. I don't know myself very well. I don't like to paint (walls and old furniture mostly). Really. I don't like old furniture. I grew up in a house full of antiques. They smelled. They were ugly (to my youngness) and they were everywhere. I slept in a four poster bird's eye maple rope bed which sagged terribly. I had a "school masters" desk, I had (and this was the worst… a "chamber pot" that featured soaring bluebirds sitting right by my bed and it smelled faintly of ammonia.) It was hideous to me. I have no idea why I didn't remove it from my room. We had "indoor plumbing". I wanted all matching white brand new bedroom furniture. I did not care that my dresser featured hand painted beautiful flowers on the front of the drawers. 

It has taken me two years to decide to move forward. And I have to admit.. the Carpenter's threats to put the furniture out on the curb spurred me on, along with the unexpected demise of my car (I need the funds). And.. I don't quit anything that I start. You can ask the Carpenter about that.

My main issue with painting the furniture was I did not have a vision for it. I could not see it finished. I didn't want to copy anyone else. I was paralyzed with possibility. Three things helped me over this huge creative block. I ran across a blog called The Weathered Door. http://www.theweathereddoor.com/before-and-after I just loved the colors. They resonated with me. I thought.. I can do this. And second. This past weekend after trial and error with subpar wax.. I drove to "Mama's Happy" http://www.mamashappy.com and bought good wax and "studied" the chalk painted (a painting technique very popular right now) furniture that was for sale. I was making it harder then it needed to be. And three… support.  Some good friends and family are picking up a brush to help in the trenches. I can do this.  

Yesterday I had made real progress for the first time. I got paint on five pieces. First coat. I filled my brush with a color called "Gambol Gold" which I had researched. It has been one of Sherwin Williams most popular golds. I can see why. It made me sing. Inside. Not out loud. 

I want to finish this post and get out to the shop to paint! This is a miracle. Is it enough of a miracle to make the sale date? Not sure. Right now it's a secret sale. In my heart. If I pull this off you will be the first to know. Pinky swear.

 

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Tuning in.

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by the Artist

I love the show "Flipping Out" on Bravo. Mostly because I get to see how Jeff Lewis the owner relates to his employees, and how he manages multiple projects at the same time. I particularly love Jenni his main assistant. I admire her sass and how she handles the subcontractors and clients. The show for me is more about human interactions then the end product. 

Recently I watched an episode where Jeff and crew were updating a home's interior from the walls (remodeling) to the furniture (interior design). Towards the end of the project Jeff realized that the homeowner wasn't happy with how the project was turning out. But his wife was very happy. 

I suddenly saw behind the obvious of the episode. I couldn't believe that it had gone that far in the project. Who wasn't really listening? Did they sit down and talk prior to the project start? Or did they all just get caught up in the momentum of the process. Jeff and his crew were syncing with the wife on all the design decisions. But the husband wasn't and had checked out of the process. And it appeared that no one took the time to ask him what was going on– they knew he was unhappy but didn't deal with the elephant in the room. Yet. At least this is how it appeared from how the situation was presented. 

I thought about this. What if this happened to us? I would feel terrible. What did I miss? It made me pause. It confirmed to me that we always need to "know" our customers before any larger project begins. To have a clear understanding of what they like, don't like, what their "style" or lack thereof is, what their dreams are for their home. We do this. I do this before I offer a single suggestion, sketch or wall color.

The issue on this episode was resolved. An honest conversation ensued where Jeff and the wife admitted that they had neglected including the husband in on the decisions, and had ignored his apparent unhappiness. And the husband was honest about how he had been feeling– that he felt like a stranger in a home he no longer knew– all his favorite things gone–replaced by sleek contemporary. From that point things improved. The husband was given the voice to choose what he wanted. And ironically in being given the freedom to choose he came around to embrace the newly designed interior, along with a comfy chair for his office!

So here's to starting off right. Staying in communication and always checking in, and mostly.. listening.



goodbye tiny camper...

by the Artist

Last night I watched our tiny 5th wheel drive away. I felt sad. Even though we made the decision to sell it in order to buy a bit larger and bit newer rv… I still felt sad. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted my very own "playhouse".. well this was my playhouse. It certainly fit the criteria. It was 19' long with no slide! Cozy. We bought it back in 2006 quite used and not very loved. I gave it new life. 

I covered the window valances with an updated fabric, sewed curtains and the loft privacy curtain, from striped canvas curtain panels from Target. (I asked the Carpenter if we could replace the countertops, flooring and carpet- they were all a lovely shade of mauve. I wanted to update the cabinet hardware too. This didn't happen.) I decided to embrace the mauve and pale pink countertops by introducing navy blues, reds, burgundy's and hints of gold.

Every time we camped I would bring decor items from our house, even towels to match my color palette. I loved to create our home away from home on a budget. It was challenging and it was fun! 

We enjoyed our camping vacations for 10 summers and falls in that tiny house on wheels. We made do and then some. I burned scented candles (to get rid of the winter dryer sheet odor-which keeps mice out) and brought in little table lights. (I have overdone it with outside canopy lights… this past summer I had so many lights going it was a beacon for about 10 miles out for all bugs in the area… was a long night swatting the lovelies who decided to spend the night in our camper. Nothing like waking up with squashed bugs on the pillow!)

But this summer the Carpenter and I realized that we needed an easier set-up and a larger space. (our snack manager can not jump up on the bed or sofa anymore and we had no floorspace for her to sleep).

So a couple of weekends back I removed all our stuff, deep cleaned and staged for sale photos. We had that tiny used camper sold within 24 hours with a bid war to boot! We were simply amazed. The Carpenter said it was because of the size- easy to tow a boat and the price. I knew better.. it was the staging. I just know it. I've never seen a camper staged like a model home. And of all things.. stage an old tiny camper?? Crazy. Call me crazy. It worked.

Tomorrow we head to look at a potential camper to buy. I look forward to making it home. It's a bit bigger and a bit newer. The snack manager will have room to spread out, we will not have to use the table area for a bed… it will be a very good thing. 

I look forward to the challenge ahead. It won't be quite the same challenge and I will sort of miss that… but it will be fun to make it ours. 

Don't ever think staging doesn't help sell. Or that there is no value in that. It does.

PS We sold our fishing boat too. I told the Carpenter that if it hadn't sold I would have been happy to "stage" it for him. A pack of beer, some fishing poles placed just so. I'm kind of disappointed I didn't get a chance to do this!

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Here to help.

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by the Artist

The end of last week the Carpenter and I met with customers whom we are doing a kitchen remodel for, at our local tile shop to assist in picking floor and backsplash tile. They brought along a sample of their countertop and a floor tile sample they had found previously. 

Before heading to the store we met first at their home, so I could meet the homeowners for the first time and get a feel for their "style". We looked at the floor and countertop tile samples they had already, and discussed what their design goals were for their kitchen. I also looked at some magazine kitchen samples the homeowner had found. We also talked about the foyer flooring that connects with the kitchen and how to "marry" the two floors, keeping in mind that the foyer floor will be replaced in the future.

On route to the store.. I was studying the chosen countertop sample and decided on a color to look for based on that– a different color then the homeowners had picked. They liked their first pick but were concerned it matched too closely to the old foyer tile.

Once in the store I knew exactly what I wanted and we found a handsome warm gray textured tile quickly. It is made up of random widths of mostly vertical pieces with one large more square area. (If you haven't been to a tile store lately.. you've got to go see the beautiful faux wood tiles and the new monochromatic what I call textured plank tiles. So beautiful!)

We then found a gorgeous glass subway tile in a warm brown with olive undertones. Again picking up a vein of color in the "chosen" countertop sample. We then picked grout color for the floor and subway tiles and we were good to go! The last item to check off needing my help will be the wall color.  

When we were setting the order up, (the Carpenter till needs to measure and order quantities).. I noticed that the homeowners were excited about the choices and how it all came together. They seemed relieved. Seeing that made me very happy. When I help with design decisions.. I want the customer to feel what I'm feeling, to be excited about their project. I also am relieved myself that I was able to successfully assist them. 

The homeowners said more then once.. "we just get so overwhelmed with what to choose". It's scary because you don't know what it will look like till you see it finished. So there definitely has to be a trust factor between a homeowner and the designer. You see that played out all the time on HGTV.

You too can get my design assistance if you sign on a project with Applewood. It is included in the project proposal. No need to feel overwhelmed during a project. Yes there are many decisions to be made. We can help lessen the pressure to make the right choices.