Monday, December 6, 2010

one room two ways

i just finished up a new model home in dallas, and i came upon a situation that sometimes happens in model home design. 

Breakfast2

the strange thing about model home design is that i don’t see the actual home until the week i go to install it.  i do all of the planning and design based on a set of architectural blueprints.  Most of the time the installation finishes up seamlessly and there are no issues.  Occasionally though, the builder will decide to knock out a wall on site or change up a room, and they’ll forget to let me know about it.  There is usually never an instance where the problem can’t be fixed on site, but it does sometimes present a problem with the furniture that i have selected. 

with this home there was originally a dividing wall show on the plans.  this wall divided the breakfast area and the family room and also had a fireplace in the middle of it.  i drew in where the wall would have been on the photo below.

Kitchen Plan

a few weeks before the install they decided to tear down the dividing wall and put the fireplace in the corner of the family room.  it was definitely a good idea.  taking out the wall really opened up the whole living area.  while i was assuming there would still be a wall in that area, i had planned on using a very narrow table with small bentwood chairs. Kitchen before

once the builder walked through they decided that they wanted a slightly larger table that showed more seating.  so, i headed out to world market and bought a trestle table with two benches.  it worked out perfectly. 

Kitchen after…and here they are side by side.

Kitchen two ways

so which do you like the best?  have you ever run into a similar problem yourself?

Overall Family

{all images  - charm home}

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Sunday, December 5, 2010

[Laundry * Rooms}

okay, I so, I can't stay on one room too long...
While trying to complete Jonas's room, my mind is on another spot in the house...





















my laundry room.
I love so many things in the above photos.
The open cabinetry, the skirted sinks and cabinets, the bead board, the baskets , the metal bins,
the spots to hang kids coats, I could go on and on...
I don't have front loaders, or fancy floors.
I don't even have and interesting sink.
And, I won't be getting any of these things any time soon either.
But I do have an imagination.
So, I'll try to pull off a creative, fun space, that still works well with the rest of the house.

My laundry room sits between the family room, {man cave}, and a walkway to the powder room and basement, {which the kids use for arts & crafts and the computer desk}.

  So, it's has to stay presentable enough that I don't die of embarrassment when someone has to use the bathroom.  It's bad enough I have to send them through the man cave.
So, I'll have to come up with something easy to keep clean, but still interesting.

I know most normal people are decorating for Christmas, I'm done my decorating and dying to get this house completed!

Stay tuned...
I'll have images of a half-finished boy's room soon.

Christmas Decoration

Martha Stewart tree from a few Xmases ago.
Loving the silver birch hand made tree.

Martha's seaside themed tree.
Love red and white decorations this year!


This past weekend has been all about putting up Christmas trees, wrapping presents and getting ready for the silly season.. The best tree I have found this year is the silver birch branch tree I found at Shady Fig, a great south coast florist and gift shop.
I always have a look at Martha Stewart for tree inspiration as well. This year I have 5 more trees to put up in the holiday houses, so I'll need some inspiration! At the beach I usually do something twiggy with shells but this year I might try something different...
Here are some great looking trees and a great wreath made by blogger Belinda Graham at thehappyhomeblog.