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Christmas Haus 2016

December 21, 2016 by Cynthia 2 Comments

Vintage, hand blown ornaments.

It’s been a busy year. That is the introduction to my apology for not posting more frequently. I vow to rectify that in the new year.

Although this is my second Christmas, post renovation, I felt more settled in the home this year. More relaxed.

But I digress. I have some holiday pictures to share. Plus, let you know that I am posting on Instagram. As of this moment, I have 13 organic followers. And I am proud of each one of those.

So finally, thank you for continuing to follow my blog and continuing to check back for new posts. I hope the holiday and the new year are good to you and your family. As for me, I am optimistic and have nothing but good, sweet thoughts.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

Clustered with fresh greens, these vintage ornaments look like holly berries.

Old linens.

Tin containers from Round Top filled with fresh garland, pine cones and mason jars with battery operated flickering candles.

The exterior. White picket fences are meant for red bows and fresh garland.

An old bench, a Round Top find with a vintage watering can and some fresh greens.

A Christmas Farmhouse Kitchen.

Fresh greens, a holiday red velvet quilt and a lovely tasseled throw for a lovely Scandinavian style Christmas.

A little cheer for the holiday guest…

Sparkly pine cones on some wire for a festive garland.

Dried hydrangeas with fresh greens make a lovely arrangement.

Fresh greenery arrangement.

Christmas red tucked in many corners.

The master bedroom.

A nook for settling in for a winter’s nap or reading a good book.

A guest room with some holiday cheer.

Handmade stockings from Round Top, many, many years ago.

A stately pose.

Fresh greens against white walls.

Old ironstone and fresh greens.

An Ikea lantern with a battery operated candle for each fence post.

Using old, white chippy cast iron finials to hang grain sack stockings.

A easy chair with a bit of red for the holidays.

A touch of Christmas that is as easy as a white pointsettia

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, Uncategorized Tagged With: antiques, christmas, cottage, country, farmhouse, greenery, greens, holiday, shipslap, white

Non Colour Colour

February 11, 2016 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

I was meandering through Pottery Barn a couple of weeks ago and saw a lovely looking book on their clearance table. So lovely was the cover, I was compelled to pick it up and thumb through it.

This kitchen was featured on the inside cover and later in the book. It sold me. I bought the book.

If I had a tiny, little cottage to get away to, this is the kitchen I would want. Simple. Unfussy. Calm.

I love the way they use the architecture of the old building to play into the aesthetic. I also love the neutral tones of the fixtures and kitchenalia.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: antique, cottage, country, european, kitchen, white

The Tale of the White Cotton Twill Tape

February 1, 2016 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Simple shades for a few dollars form Lowes, simply covered with the twill tape and tied off.

Simple shades for a few dollars from Lowes, simply covered with the twill tape and tied off on the interior.

A lifesaver indeed. I had four lampshades that needed to be replaced. Two were for some vintage boudoir lamps and two were for a pair of wall sconces. All four were in both my bathrooms. I wanted something refreshed, not precious.

I looked online, but finding neutral shades in the right scale at the right price that weren’t 50 shades of boring became a larger task than you would think.

Then I had an epiphany. I had a 100 yard spool of 1 inch wide white cotton twill tape that I had ordered from Amazon by mistake. It occurred to me there may be some DIY synergy if I could somehow find a way to use it to re-purpose the shades I already had. At $29 for the twill tape, it would be incredibly cost effective and maybe, dare I say it…clever.

Judge for yourself.

I hope you find some inspiration.

All the best~

Cindy

Downstairs bathroom - Before. Sconces that weren't in the budget to replace, needed some updating. The shades were full of debris from the renovation and really couldn't be salvaged.

Downstairs bathroom – Before. Sconces that weren’t in the budget to be replaced and needed some updating. The old shades were full of debris from the renovation and really couldn’t be salvaged so I had to come up with something.

After. New shades, an old shelf and my collection of antique apothecary jars.

Still trying to get the hand of proper arrangement. It's an art, for sure and I haven't mastered it yet.

Still trying to get the hang of proper arrangement. It’s an art, for sure and I haven’t mastered it yet.

Oval Scalloped Shade – Before.

Downstairs sink – After. This vintage shade required a bit more work (Thanks, Mom). A few hidden basting stiches to keep the twill tape in place around the curves. It diffuses the light well.

Round Scalloped Shade – Before.

Round Scalloped Shade without it’s original covering.

Upstairs bathroom Before.

After. The lovely scalloped shade was a perfect foil for this treatment. Adds some panache to the vintage white hobnail lamp.

Filed Under: Projects, Uncategorized Tagged With: antique, bathroom, cottage, cotton, country, DIY, lamp, lampshades, shades, tape, twill, white

Jingle All the Way…

November 9, 2015 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Time is clicking by and it’s time to get decorating for Christmas. This year is special because it is post renovation and I’m really excited to decorate. Roughly this time last year, my stress level was off the charts because I was packing up and temporarily relocating. So glad that is behind me.

I am sincerely happy to be back in my home.

That said, my mandate is to do as much as possible with what I have on hand or can acquire on a budget. It starts with the porch. I am actually trying to break old habits and not hang a wreath on the front doors as I usually do. So far, that means a simply crafted jingle bell garland using vintage jingle bells and seasonal arrangement in an old sap bucket.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

Red Velvet Ribbon, vintage bells and craft store millinery make a fine welcome.

A sap bucket, artificial greens missed with seasonal greens and an old galvanized tub filled with logs.

A sap bucket, artificial greens mixed with seasonal greens and an old galvanized tub filled with logs.

A happy welcome. Merry Christmas!

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, Uncategorized Tagged With: antique, bells, bucket, christmas, cottage, front, holiday, jingle, mckinney, porch, sap, texas, white, wreath

A House into a Home…

August 4, 2015 by Cynthia 4 Comments

This has been a busy two months. Moving into an unfinished house with construction dust was not what I envisioned at the end of the renovation, even though it’s still not done yet.

To say it has been stressful would be an understatement. Slowly but surely, I am digging out of it. Sometimes with the help of family and friends and sometimes going it alone, each weekend I accomplish something that helps me feel better about all the trouble. Washing and vacuuming every surface, setting up proper bedrooms so sleep can be peaceful, editing collections, figuring what I can do without, working hard not to fill every square inch of storage so there is room to grow, cleaning the outside of the house, removing construction debris that wasn’t removed, having a pop up antique sale, arranging furniture, hanging pictures and just generally setting up house that will be the place I call home.

This weekend, I had the help of one of my most special friends, Vince Maggio. He is the truly undiscovered master of arrangement. He worked on my living/dining area and what a great job he did.

These are iphone pictures, not using my Canon camera, so take that into consideration. These two pictures are just snippets, I’ll do a more comprehensive article when I am closer to finishing with setting up the house.

I hope you find some inspiration.

All the Best,

Cindy

A $65 Craigslist table that was partially stripped. I like it just the way it is. $25 One King’s Lane bamboo directors chairs that match the tone of the table and the linen press. A grouping of vintage nautical print from The Round Top Antique Show placed in floating frames and a variety of other collected pieces.

Antique linen press full of curated items, a comfy couch across from the fireplace (pics of that later, it isn’t finished) and inexpensive IKEA pillow, along with a French ticking stripe pillow from Home Goods all come together to make a beautiful, comfortable place to set a spell and take a load off.

Filed Under: Before 'n After, My Home, Projects, Uncategorized Tagged With: antiques, bamboo directors chairs, comfy, cottag, cottage, cozy, craigslist, ironstone, mckinney, renovation, Round Top, table, texas, white

The One Minute Mile

May 25, 2015 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

The perfect contrast of light and dark

Big things happen in little minutes and that just about describes what will happen in the next 5 days. Floors, cabinets, tiling, plumbing finishing, electrical finishing and painting. And that’s just the inside. The rain has hampered working on the outside but it makes no difference to me. I just want to sleep in my own bed and fall asleep staring at my own ceiling.

Here are the lastest pictures. Everything is in a state of being completed. And then, with a wing, a prayer and a good tail wind, it will all come together.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

Stained new wood (left) against sanded old wood on the right.

Windows that were in another part of the house, reset in the upstairs sitting area

Simple silk shade lamps throughout the house

Kitchen cabinets built around an original feature of the house, the brick chimney

Kitchen cabinets

Newly built kitchen cabinets are lovely. We have used an antique piece as the base for the kitchen sink.

More kitchen cabinets. Note the bun feet instead of a toe kick.

Exterior lighting used for interior lighting.

Barn door hardware to close off my very small office/work space

Stylish and budget friendly, these stock zinc light fixtures picked up at Home Depot

More kitchen cabinets

This wall/door didn’t exist before the renovation, but you would never know that. It looks like it is original to the house.

The interesting angles, windows and walls of an old house

Filed Under: Before 'n After, My Home, Projects, Uncategorized Tagged With: antiques, cabinets, cottage, country, farm house, floors, historic, home, mckinney, paint, renovation, texas, white, wood, zinc

Finishes, Finishes.

May 19, 2015 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

We are in the final stretch. The frenzy to the finish. Twelve days from today, the moving truck will show up so I can (finally) go home.

In truth, the house is a bit of a war zone right now. A lot going on, many trades working at once.

Here are a few pictures that show the walls being painted and the ceiling ships lap left exactly as it was when it was put up some 80 years ago.

To the finish line…

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

Old rim locks for the interior doors.

Hallway painted with an old window side light turned into a transom to allow natural light into the hallway.

The front bedroom.

Front bedroom with an antique piece that I have permanently affixed to the wall that will work as a closet and storage.

The original plank ceiling. Sealed with a simple finish that brings out the natural luster in this old pine that was probably 100 years old when it was installed.

It was quite the hunting trip to find old four panel farm house doors for the house. Certainly no easy task.

Filed Under: Before 'n After, My Home, Projects, Uncategorized Tagged With: antique, cottage, country, house, old, renovation, ships lap, white

Down the hall and around the corner…

April 19, 2015 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

My first response walking into the house this week: Holy Toledo! We are making visible progress. This simple cottage gets more interesting with each layer of construction completed. The walls are going up and it helps the house take shape.

Every square inch that is possible to build out, has been built out. It means that we have to build around architectural features like roof pitches and stairwells. Almost from the minute you walk through the great room to the rest of the house, every hall you go down and every turn you make leads you to something quirky and cozy. I look forward to using all these nooks to create small treasures of respite.

Updated pictures below.

I hope you find inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

XOXO

The Kitchen.

Master Bedroom.

Bedroom (formerly the garage)

Closet in Bedroom (formerly the garage)

Guest Bedroom

Guest Bedroom.

Filed Under: Before 'n After, My Home, Projects Tagged With: antiques, cottage, country, historic, mckinney, renovation, texas, walls, white, wood

The Physicality of the Space

February 9, 2015 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

-- Download The Physicality of the Space as PDF --

The physical feel of each room is starting to take shape. This is meaningful because we are working with the existing foot print to carve out additional rooms; not by adding square footage to the foot print.

You can look at scaled drawings and imagine it in your mind, but neither of those things give you a real sense of the space. Walls are going up, windows are being added and storage is being built in and all of these thing are starting to help me understand the physicality of each room.

It’s fair to say, this will be a cozy cottage with small but well appointed rooms. Every room is getting a closet, plus some additional built in storage squired away because I am losing my garage for storage and I have to make up for it somewhere else.

Nothing illustrates this more than the master suite. We have a bedroom, sitting area, bathroom, dressing area, closet and some generic storage.

Since the master area occupies the entire second story, it will become a true retreat. I made the decision to build out an additional 120 square feet, the question becomes what is the best way to use the space. They did some additional framing, but before we can do more, I need to decide what the configuration should be. With some guidance from my contractor, I have settled on using it for closet space, storage space and a dressing area. Picture and diagram below. Other framing updates follow.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Cindy

xoxo

Always

Filed Under: Before 'n After, My Home, Projects, Uncategorized Tagged With: a, antique, cottage, district, fireplace, historic, mckinney, old home, remodel, renovation, texas, white

My One Renovation Splurge…

January 2, 2015 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Let’s face it. My renovation is largely budget driven when you consider that 70% of the budget will be spent on things you can’t see like electrical, plumbing, HVAC, etc. So when it came to finishes, we had to keep things simple and economical so no high end splurges on anything.

One area, though, I absolutely insisted on a splurge are my kitchen appliances. So much so, I am purchasing them myself and not running the cost through an already strapped budget.

I settled on the AGA suite of appliances: range, fridge and dishwasher. My decision really centered around the range. I had a list of must haves and for the most part, the AGA Legacy Series of ranges checked of every box on the list:

5 burners
dual fuel
two ovens
vintage look/feel
the proper finish option

Regarding the finish, it was important to have a finish on the appliances that melted in with the aesthetic. Since I am creating a great room that makes the kitchen, dining room and living room into one area, I really didn’t want to go the trendy stainless steel route. The high contrast that the stainless steel finish would create between the appliances, antiques pieces, kitchen cabinets and furniture would fight the harmony I am trying to create so I have chosen an antique white finish for all three pieces.

Fortunately, AGA was also having a year end special whereby if you purchase the stove and fridge, they tossed in the dishwasher for free.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

Antique white finish, two ovens and five burners.

Broiler.

Two ovens and a broiler; convection heat.

French Doors and bottom freezer.

Full size deli drawer and filtered water dispenser.

Simple styling with integrated, hidden controls.

Filed Under: Discoveries, Uncategorized Tagged With: AGA, antique, appliances, broiler, cottage, dishwasher, dual, fuel, kitchen, oven, range, refrigerator, remodel, renovation, stove, white

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