{monday shoes}

for a bohemian mermaid: scalloped t-strap platforms.

oh and i just noticed -- if ever you are invited to celerie's rooftop patio -- maybe go for yellow?

{cash peep toes by lovely people on sale at endless for $77}

{where the city meets the countryside}

the new lonny issue is out today and with the weather perfect in savannah for dining outdoors, i can't get enough of celerie kemble's new york city rooftop patio space (not to mention the central park view from the 27th floor - !).

{all photos from celerie kemble's central park south apartment in the oct/nov 2010 lonny}

{mom, what do you know about plumbing?}

lately we've been hard at work in our master bathroom (finally). and let me tell you, i had no idea how much unglamorous prep work goes into a bathroom remodel before you can even begin to think about tiling. so far we've spent at least four full days and quite a few nights just getting the space ready for the tile. i really had planned on waiting to post anything about it until we were able to start tiling (because who wants to hear about repairing holes in the subfloor or tacking up insulation?).

but then we lived scene two in this commercial.

yeah.. there's nothing like a water geyser in the bathroom wall to provide some excitement on a random wednesday night.

things had actually been coasting along rather smoothly the past few weeks --and let's give us some credit, really since we started this project that is the bungalow-- but things get a little hairy when you introduce a screw to a water line... and how might that happen, you ask??

ok let me back up a little bit - when you start with a blank space like the one above and the goal is to have a custom built, walk-in shower, you have to become best friends with a material called hardie backer board which you have to cut to size to cover the entire area where you plan to tile using special screws to hold it in place. sounds easy enough but what you can't see from the pictures is the fact that it weights a TON because it's made of concrete, so it's heavy and cumbersome and difficult to cut into smaller pieces, and sometimes breaks where you don't want it to or doesn't cut at the angle you needed it, and often crumbles or moves or buckles. thus, causing lots of fussing and yelling and swearing. starting to understand why the prep work takes f o r e v e r ??

and things were going great until last night when one of the screws just grazed a water line (see those bright red pipes on the right side? problem is, you can't when you cover it with hardie board). so in a matter of seconds water was spewing out all over the hardie board & the insulation & the floor & the us & the gh (who, we discovered, is also not a fan of water spewing out of walls, and in sensing the urgency of the situation proceeded to run up and down the stairs, surely in hot pursuit of the off switch to the water line, and for that we thank you, bella).

call in every single beach towel/dish towel/bath towel/bathmat in a very measly attempt to keep water from leaking through the ceiling (which it did anyway, sigh.) while a frantic search begins to figure out how the hell to turn off the water. (come to find out --in case you need to know/note to self -- flip the breaker for the water pump and go to where the water pump actually is and turn the red knob connected to the pump horizontal. advice from the plumber this morning: also turn on the kitchen sink to relieve some of the pressure).

so 25 towels, a bucket, a roll of camo duck tape and a late night phone call to rickythecontractor/bff we were informed of the above steps and finally gained control over the tsunami in the bathroom.

and i can't really handle showing you the aftermath of the floor but let's just say the floor of the sunroom studio (which is directly underneath the master bedroom) had a sizeable puddle/small pond by the time the water stopped.

us: 0 bungalow: 500000

lessons learned: 1-how/when/where to turn off the water to the bungalow & 2-why plumbers make more than attorneys.

on the upside, one of the red pipes feels real special with it's new outfit.

more to come about the clean-up and triumph over the unnatural disaster to hit the bungalow in the [somewhat] late hours of the night on 10.6.10...

{furbish + favorite floral pillows}

do you know about furbish? it's my favorite new store for pillows & home accessories. jamie mears opened up a storefront in raleigh, nc and just recently launched an online store for those of us who aren't local to raleigh. i fell in love with these gorgeous floral pillows made from vintage fabric. funny story about the fabric: it actually had a former life as drapes in a nc sorority house. when the sorority decided to redecorate, jamie somehow got a few yards of it and turned it into pillows -- genius!

i ordered a pair for the bungalow but can't fully decide on the room where they should permanently live. but right now i love them with our green velvet headboard.

{monday shoes}

finally the first cool breezy days here in savannah. in need of transition shoes & these fit the bill. peep toes give a final glimmer of summer's pedicure but the t-strap and retro heel are weighty enough for autumn tweeds and herringbones.

{wear em with colored tights:: kimchi blue t-strap heel at urban outfitters for $48}

beginnings:: {steal magnolias}

two things:

1. have been overflowing with projects & great house finds far exceeding the capacity of the bungalow.

2. have a secret dream of owning my own little store.

so big news:

i signed up to have my very own booth/baby store at steal magnolias here in savannah.

and here's take one on our very first day (today! - for once i am on top of a blog post). collecting, putting together & styling --even in an 8x10 space-- comes together over time but i'm pretty proud of our beginnings.

steal magnolias opened only about six months ago at 800 habersham street. it used to be an old drugstore, so you can imagine the transition from rite aid to antique mall. love the facelift dutch blue paint gave the storefront.

care to see the very beginning of the booth? here it is the day i dropped off my deposit check (about two weeks ago). the owners just had a few pieces to fill the space until i moved in. upon seeing what would soon be my space, the first thing i noticed was the orange paint and the black chair rail, neither of which really went with my aesthetic. dealers are not permitted to paint walls (for understandable reasons) so i came up with another solution...

...a painted drop cloth. my ideal color was a slate gray (i used benjamin moore's deep space -- seen in the bungalow here and here -- i love this color) which would lend an air of sophistication, add dimension to the white walls, and provide a dark yet neutral background--perfect for all of my colorful pieces. the drop cloth also added texture and helped to make a 3 walled booth feel like a cozy and inviting space. (can i just tell you that this project made me feel like i was on an episode of design star??, which--while we're on the subject of my secret dreams--is another one.)

here's the booth after the first load of furniture. a flatweave rug (which is actually the only thing in the booth not for sale as it is on loan from the bungalow until rugs that can be for sale are acquired) covers dated drugstore linoleum tiles.

and here we are after moving things around. added a chartreuse floral panel to layer in some depth, which will hopefully continue to happen as the space continues to evolve. i'm looking for a few heavier pieces to add some weight to the space (right now everything's a little too "leggy") and a few more framed pieces to add to the walls, but other than that, i couldn't be happier with my first go.

am in love with this jade chandelier i refinished myself (would you believer it used to be a dated brass?). and i'm pretty sure kelly wearstler would love this rose gold retro table. also do you recognize the chair? it and the 3 others received a little facelift before their booth debut.

and here's the other side: framed botanicals, cornflower blue baker's rack, vintage sewing box, petite yellow stool with black & white striped fabric, vintage tablecloths, etc... did i mention all of this is for sale?? please pop by for a visit! and tell everyone you know!

and finally, i have to say this could not have come together without the enthusiasm, flexibility, and hard work of my sweet mother. mom, you make even the most tedious projects enjoyable.

{found: dining chairs}

so you know how i said we needed new [to us] dining chairs to go with the farmhouse table.

i found them.

in veranda magazine.

well more like on craigslist. (and all 8 chairs for $100!)

but with a little work --which has so far only consisted of popping out the seats and finding a layer of blue velvet like fabric underneath stained cheap cotton-- i'll have these chairs looking like a magazine photo in no time.

p.s. said chairs are actually sitting on our new screen porch. promise a big post about that project soon!!

{first photo from veranda, last photo from decor pad}

{a greyhound birthday}

what's that? today is your birthday, hound?

are you feeling like an old lady now that you are 8 years old?

no more racing for real?

life is good being a retired hound.

and maybe you'll get a present in your signature wrapping paper.

but we know what you really want is a bowl full of cheese. :)

also i should add that for any of you searching for your new best friend, greyhounds make wonderful pets and there are so many hounds looking to be adopted. you would think a greyhound would be high strung and require lots of exercise. but as evidenced by the photos above, greyhounds know when they are retired and are actually just big couch potatoes. read more about them and adopt your hound today.

be my {bungalow guest}

our guest bedroom might be the most finished room of the house.

care to see it from the beginning? here it is with pre-painted beadboard & newly installed window.

dreaming about eventually redoing the floors. with a bit of white paint that is.

and here's the after. or at least the current state. still need curtains. i have to give b credit for the paint color. this was the last one we chose of the main rooms and after i agonized over the rest of the colors, he'd had enough and picked one in under 30 seconds and marched me to the front of the store. oh and it's yarmouth blue by benjamin moore if you're wondering (though the swatch on my computer is no where close to the actual color).

what was a decent size closet before we filled it is on the left. a seafoam green dresser that used to be pea green and i white-washed is on the right and came from the antique tobacco barn in asheville (favorite antique/junk shop ever) and was acquired for my very first apartment in college. also found on the same trip is the blanket chest/trunk at the foot of the bed. if you are ever in asheville, you have to go. and now that i'm listing everything, the chair in the corner was also fruit of that trip and actually was bought with the vanity in the master bedroom now. i never got around to painting it though, so it remains a rather dingy cream color sometimes referred to as shabby chic. hm.

white iron bed is from pottery barn, bedding from a combined home goods, anthropologie, and belk. lamps are from target and eventually i'm hoping to recover the shades.

won't you come for a visit, dear friend?

{photos & friendship}

my little sister recently opened an etsy shop and she takes beautiful photos and makes some of the coolest string bracelets i've ever seen. see more of her work (and buy some too!) in her store: H{art} crafts & photography.

{monday shoes}

do you know about modcloth & their shoes? lots of fall styles under $100 and some of the best names too. the how's the weather boot at $49 might be the best deal of this bunch.

{clockwise from top left: get your kicks wedge for $79, the biscotti flat for $39, just a peek heel for $39, how's the weather boot for $49, sandstone heel for $39, new job heel for $89}

{a draper sideboard: from don to betty}

my new favorite completed project is well overdue for a blog post. found this sixties madmen-esque quatrefoil sideboard in asheville this past spring. for $90 (!!) while hard to tell in the before photo, the wood really isn't that nice, so nothing to lose with a couple coats of paint.

the real gem of this piece though is the storage!

the panels behind the cut-out doors popped out easily. originally thinking about replacing them with mirrored panels to add a bit of glam to the mod design, i have to give credit to my mom who suggested spray painting the panels silver (= much much cheaper than paying to have custom cut mirrored panels)

and here's the final transformation. now if only i could find a way to disguise the loveliness that is the carport behind the sideboard.

storage for vases and silver platters.

p.s. if you're wondering about the process used to refinish this piece, i'll tell you but i don't really recommend it. i have since figured out a much better method (see the end of this post). so perhaps this is more of a lesson in what is not best when painting wood furniture. and it starts with too much sanding. sanding to the point of a very dull finish which translates to wood that laps up a gazillion cans of spray paint --yes spray paint, which in retrospect is not really recommended for wood furniture (especially if sanded to the point of extreme porosity). but see i found this lacquer spray paint which i thought would be perfect to achieve that ideal glossy finish, which it did eventually, but took a long time and numerous coats and sandings in between coats. i did apply a primer spray paint first, but somehow that didn't really seem to alleviate the need for twelve cans (not an exaggeration) of the lacquer spray paint, which also required no less than three trips to a combined home depot, lowes, and michaels.

i will say that the silver panels were a different story, which i will say partially restored my faith in spray painting. i'm not sure if it was due to a different type of spray paint or the fact that i didn't really sand the panels. but lesson learned is that if you are going the spray paint route with wood furniture, just do a very light sanding.

i should mention that streaks and lines are another issue with spray painting. even when applied with light and even coats, the lines are still visible. after getting so frustrated with lines on the top, i finally took a small foam roller and did the lightest of coats of latex semi-gloss just to even everything out.

so a bit of agony to get great results, but overall well worth the trouble.