Collections - Vs. Chaos

First, let me apologize for being absent for such a long time....flipping this house has become a full-time job...We are staggering towards the finish line....

That said, I want to talk about collections....vs. chaos.  I am learning first-hand that it can get out of control..these "things" I thought I must have.  Having finished the upper level, we have moved to the lower level, where my studio, work room, and husband's office is.  It looks out on the lovely lake, and is an ideal space for a studio (other than it has carpeting, and I paint).  But, I digress...

Who doesn't collect something?  Whether it's Barbie Dolls (no, I don't) or Books (I do, but have narrowed it down to antique books, and "the classics"..)

 I also love bronzes and bookends....I've narrowed this collection down, but have a difficult time walking away from some "find"

I like to place mirrors behind books in bookcases...These were built ins in our Texas home.  I do so miss built in bookcases.

 Who doesn't love seashells?  I have them all over the house...tucked into bookshelves, on bathroom counters, I can't resist them.

 

 

 I am also a sucker for blue-and-white vases...(this, again, was our Texas house)..That piece of coral in the front has an interesting story; my mother-in-law (soon to be 92) was a great beauty, and still has a wonderful style about her.  During WWII, she was featured in Look Magazine as one of the fifty most beautiful coeds in the country.  She received hundreds of letters from soldiers and sailors at war...one of whom was in the Navy..he sent her this piece of coral (before it was illegal to take coral)..along with a marriage proposal (she turned him down)..
The painting is my work.."Ghost Swimmers".. The silver-leafed candle holders are from the Goodwill - honest...seven dollars...I did the silver leafing.

The hydrangeas drying in the blue-and-white china on our Tennessee mantle (painted the ugly brick Sherwin William's Greek Villa), look so wonderful...sadly, it was such a wet summer, I only got one vase to dry properly)...

I enjoy creating "table scapes".  It's a good idea to have a "tall", 'Medium' and "low" height...I once had a garden in Wisconsin, where I grew the beautiful stargazer lily...now, I am happy to grow a few gladioli, zinnias, and cosmos...(it's been a very wet summer here in Tennessee).  
I began collecting the gold-leafed and red leather-bound classics many years a go...one book every three months (they were expensive, and my husband was a lowly grad student...we were thrilled, when they would arrive)..and we still treasure them.

Candles, did I mention candles?  I seldom burn these, as I haven't found any to replace them....I also collect silver candle sticks, and have been fortunate to have an aunt, who left me lovely, lovely silver, which I don't display in our Tennessee home the way I did in Texas...Hey, you can't have everything out at once, which brings me to the "Collections Vs. Chaos" title. Special occasions are fine for the silver...very special, a lake house is a bit casual for all that silver, but I do love to bring it out for the holidays.

Every thing and every one looks better by candlelight...

 

You know those "built in desks" that were all the thing in kitchens... the ones that became a landing spot for everything...keys, mail, bills, magazines, and all kinds of "stuff"..that made you crazy, trying to keep it from looking cluttered?  Well, I decided in our Tennessee house to reassign it's function...it now houses our tea set, Aunt Lily's gold-leafed pheasant cocktail glasses, and her lovely, Italian tureen...(the Paris sign has followed me around forever)...martinis, anyone?

This is a portrait I did of my grand daughter, Hannah (I once did hand-painted black-and-white photography); and I am wild about family photos, but, now that the house is on the market, down come the family photos, the groupings on the side tables, and most of the ones on my bedside table.  They are wrapped lovingly, and ready to move to our next home..(on the same lake)...I group photos either by frames (as in all silver), color photos with color, black-and-white with black-and-white, you get the idea.

 

So, enjoy your collections, whatever they may be, but don't let them overtake your home...change them out with the seasons, or have special cases to house them (I have a friend, who has over a hundred, antique, glass cake stands...she had beautiful cases made for them...when asked what would happen to them when she died, she said, "that's my children's problem" ...ha!

 

 

 

Finally!!! Someone, or some thing....I am thinking aliens, has been messing with my computer...my friend just got me up-and-running again..Problem is, I am up-and-running with design and flipping a home..more later...this is for whomever/whatever got to me:)

Sundays are for Rest and Gratitude



....and naps



...and gardens..





and picnics





...and giving thanks for beauty and grace





...and prayers for peace





....All of these photos were taken by me, and cannot be reproduced without my permission...please and thankyou...Have a blessed Sunday

A Foggy Day; But There's Progress

Meet Eddy, Daniel, and Larry...my heros..and look, no plumber's cracks...I love these guys..they are the problem solvers, southern gentlemen (as in"Please, Ma'am, may I use the facility?")...and wonderful carpenters..(and, they love Missy). Our deck is now up to code..and I don't have to worry about small children, or medium-sized dogs falling off the upper deck..we also did the railings, but left the lower deck without spindles, as it would be ideal to put a screened-in porch there (not us, the buyers..which buyers?).

The fireplace chase(es) have been torn apart, reassembled, and covered with the C-1-ll cedar wood...just look at that staircase...(doesn't take a whole lot to get me excited)..the gutter guys for the back deck are coming next week, and the our Rob the electric guy will be here on Monday...replacing all exterior, and many interior lights...I am always very cost-effective while still getting "the look".

The lake takes on so many personalities, depending on the season and the weather...we have a local muscrat (spelling?), who ate the seats and carpeting out of our neighbor's boat, but seems to like us..(we have a metal rowboat, how bad can it get?)....

I love living on water, especially, after six or is it seven, long years of drought...that said, I have to visit my much-neglected garden out by the stables (about five miles from us)...between being ill, working on the house, and a deluge of rain, the weeds are winning, but I do have sweet, tiny cantaloupes, honeydews, and "personal" watermelon growing, along with weeds up to my armpits...time to go and see if I can save it.
We have our challenges, but we are blessed to live here.

Fireplaces....The Home and Hearth Syndrome

From nearly the beginning of time - okay, when the cavepeople happened to have a lightening strike, and it hit the entrance to the cave where they were huddling, and some wood happened to be there, and it started a fire, and they thought..."Oh Oh, we're in trouble now"..But, then, they noticed that one of their pet wolves (there's a theory about wolves civilizing humans, but I won't go into that right now), snuggled next to the fire and went to sleep, they thought..Hey, I feel warmer (at least on this side)...I figure some cavewoman tossed some more wood on the fire, stuck a piece of mastodon meat on the end of stick, and barbequing was born.  Theory is, there was a keeper of the coals, (no idea how they transported them, but I did read "Clan of the Cave Bears), and woe be to he or she, who let the fire go out...It was probably a long time and a desperate mother, trying to feed the family, before she...pretty sure it was a she, did the rub two sticks together thing, and "viola" (pretty sure she didn't say, "viola", but who knows.
As time progress, and people, hopefully, did as well, structures were made to keep the hot wood and ashes contained - the first firepit...then, hovels, with a fire in the center, and alot of smoke...(put a hole in the roof, dummy)..
So, I could go on-and-on with this, but it's getting boring (for everyone).
I love fireplaces....I love a real fire, as I sit by the fireplace, a good book, a glass of wine, one of my since dear, departed kitties at my feet, I feel safe, secure and sleepy...

Our Texas home had "rattlesnake limestone"...not really rattles in it, but rather, seashells...Notice the builder put a stone shaped like Texas in the face...Not something I would have done, but that's Texans for you...This was a wood-burning fireplace, and I loved it.
(my painting, "Ghost Swimmers" was in the niche)..I know alot of people have their flat-screened tv over the fireplace, but I feel they compete with one another.  I'd prefer two focal points.

I made a faux, tooled leather cushion (with linen on the other side) for our dear, sweet cat, Gussie, who sadly, went blind, and spent five years on that cushion..so, no fires for us.  When we sold our home, she had died, and we buried her out on the property.  The people who bought the house were having strange things happening with regard to lights coming on at three am in the living room (she passed at three am in the living room), and when they would try to light a fire in the fireplace, it wouldn't draw, light, etc. The woman emailed me and said she felt the presence of a cat, (she had no idea of any of this), and I told her that was just Gussie.  She loves animals, and bless her, said Gussie could stay as long as she likes.

I have to go paint the bathroom...so, I am going to post some of the many fireplaces I have designed...It's one of my favorite things in design to do.

It's cold in Wisconsin and gray, a great deal of the time...saturated, warm colors, and fireplaces are necessary..The top one is a Heatolator, and this "keeping room" fireplace actually has a warming oven in it...the rhombus tile is echoed over the stove in the other end of the kitchen.

My client wanted an old-world, French-influenced fireplace, so I designed the coffered ceiling, and the dry-stack floor-to-ceiling fireplace...

No, you are not seeing double; my client's are tv/sports/fanatics...so, I give them what they want...This fireplace is more "PrairieStyle", as in Frank Lloyd Wright, who is very popular in Wisconsin.

This is a "before" fireplace..my client didn't like the stark white..it is also a two-sided fireplace, which I love..the other side faces into the kitchen.  I had slipcovers made for the sofas, white and washable, and I glazed the room (yes, I do specialty finishes)...We changed out some art and accessories, and it took on a whole, new feel.

I still do specialty finishes, but no longer go out on scaffolding, holding glazing brushes in my toes...glazed 1,000 sq. feet. of this living room. Gah!

And The Beat(ing) of Hammers and Saws and Rain on the Roof Goes On



This is Missy, taking in all the hammering, buzzing of saws, shouting, and loving every moment...very heady stuff...
She's in love with Eddy, the job foreman for our renovation of our deck, chimney chase (double deck, two chases), new flashing, new gutters, deck railing and spindles brought up-to-code...and Eddy loves her...heck, my husband and I love Eddy, who is a genius..

The c-1-ll cedar has replaced the fireplace chase on both the upper and lower decks...The deck railings and the spindles are being brought up-to-code (when the house was built, code wasn't addressed as far as the deck was concerned...now, it is going to be wonderful...and safe). This may not seem to be exciting to ya'll, but let me tell you, when this place is painted (Sherwin Williams "Urban Putty", and the deck will be painted Sherwin Williams "Smoketree") we will be done with the exterior...
All of the flashing is being installed or replaced, new gutters and downspouts, new exterior lighting, and "viola"..a beautiful, upgraded lakehouse.










The trees on the property are so lovely in Spring, and the lake changes with the seasons..Flipping this house is a bit emotional, as we've become attached to it, but, we have plans...right on the same lake..hmmmmm.
It is Sunday, and we've taken a break from the scraping of wallcovering, scrubbing, painting, and swearing...The rain has stopped, and all is peaceful...Until tomorrow...

It's Easier to Do Other People's Homes

I seem to be experiencing "Technical Difficulties", but undaunted, I blog on...

We have begun the renovation in full force...7am, the workment arrive...I introduce them to our dog, "Lil Missy", aka "Mistletoe", so she won't be barking at them everytime she looks out the window, and sees them working.

This is her "Glamour Shot"...We rescued her last October, and she's brought such joy into our lives...

At first, the construction guys were a bit concerned, seeing a pittbull (okay, boxer/pitt mix) coming at them (I did make sure she was on a leash, so as not to terrify them)..after she licked them half to death, they figured out she wasn't a threat.

The house is grey, dark, and uninviting...This was taken (obviously) when the leaves were off the trees...We have since added mulch, and have picked the new color...Sherwin Williams "Urban Putty"...Presented it to the Architectural Review fellow..he didn't see a problem...I'd be surprised if he did, as there is a house down the road that it lime green ..gah.

The deck will have new railings (bringing it to code), and will be Sherwin Williams "Smoke Tree"...all the weeds are gone, but with all the rain, we have a bumper crop of mushrooms, and not the good kind..

The lower level has my studio, a small office, and this wonderful, wood burning stove...it does get cold here on the Cumberland Plateau...We are not doing much to it, other than a fresh coat of white...

The God-Awful, ditzy, outdated wallcovering is finally off the little (I call it the "submariner's bathroom", as it is so small)..My husband, Robert, has scraped, scrubbed, sanded, and now, is putting on the "Kilz", as some of the glue would otherwise seep through..Can't wait to get the Sherwin Williams "Koi Pond" on the walls - photos to follow..there is hope!

We've decided to keep the red door and sidelights..I am taking down the carriage lanterns, and since they are so corroded, sanding them, and painting them black.

This is the view from our deck...and the reason we adore this house..it changes with the lighting, the seasons, and every morning, I open my curtains in the living room, and thank God for this view...and this day...

The views alone make all the construction, painting, scraping, sewing of window treatments, scrubbing, and all the other things it takes to bring this house back to life...

In contrast, we lived for seven years with a terrible drought in Texas...Dust and Deer Poop...This is my recently dear-departed Raisenette Funicello Buttafuco (he head-butted things), communing with the deer...I miss my kitty (he was seventeen), and I miss my deer...the 107 degree temps, the deer poo, the fireants, the scorpions...not so much.

My friends, who have a gazillion, lovely blue hydrangea bushes were kind enough to let me take as many as I liked..and dry them...sadly, all these after they dried, fit in one vase..I'd like more, but don't want to be greedy...okay, I want to be greedy.

Soooo, tomorrow, I hope to assail you with two, countem, two freshly-painted bathrooms....aren't you excited?  No...?  I am...and so it Missy...

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