This is the first floor - the wall between the old house and the addition is gone - very exciting!  You get a sense for the openness but still cozy and intimate feeling this house will have.

Ready? BEGIN!

 OKAY - let's see how we do!  We are changing the little grey house above into the only slightly bigger house below.  We will add a living room and a master bedroom above that. And, of course, a stone fireplace in the living room which you will be able to see from the kitchen.  Very exciting!  Of course, there are hundreds of snags and pitfalls along the way.

Design Principles - notice the fenestration (the way windows and doors are arranged)  We like to see things that line up - we just do - it creates less chaos in our brains.  So it is important to me that there is some rhyme and reason to the way the windows fall left to right and top to bottom.  SO, the top three windows line up on their left and right sides with what is beneath.  Let's see if we end up with that!!  Also the double windows that exist to the left side will hopefully be mirrored on the right. I also wanted the slant in the chimney to fall on the same side as the slant in the roof.  

This little house is very important to me.  I hope to share more photos as it progresses.   

Roses in winter's light

There are often flowers in my home.  In truth, they are either clipped from my garden or from the grocery store.  I am pretty happy with grocery store roses.  A little sugar in a little warm water and then fill the vase with cool water, cut their stems at an angle and clip off as many lower leaves as is necessary to keep the water clean.  The more unhealthy they look the more I cut.  I try to let the flower get the water through a shorter straw - and then they will open.  These are almost past prime but still pretty.  The ruby glass vase is from my days of picking through consignment shops and flea markets and tag sales. 

Bedroom Nook

I am so in love with this love seat!  This little nook in my bedroom formerly held a dresser, dressing table and chair - lots of little things and clutter! Before that I tried a stuffed chair, a lamp and bookshelf, but that looked somehow wrong and not with the symmetry the space seems to beg for.  I wish I had before photos but it never looked quite right and I have been wanting a love seat for the space since we moved here four years ago and I finally found one.  The neutral linen fabric will let me add and change the color I love so much, and the little turned wooden legs are sexy and sophisticated. 

The window treatment is a grass cloth shade softened by creamy sheers and a swag. The little white table has kicked around in my basement - horrible and dented wood and really cheap - for many years, but with two coats of white semigloss paint, it is sooooo cute!

These photos are of a very small house that I just renovated with a partner.  I can only tell you how revolting it was when we bought it.  It was hard to breathe inside because it was filthy and had been locked up tight for quite a while.  But (after environmental testing and building permits in place) we gutted it "down to the sticks" as they say and redid the interiors entirely.  

Stainless steel appliances, granite counters, cherry-stained cabinets and a really sleek little hood over the range makes the kitchen a really lovely area.  The sink is in the island and an overhanging counter top  offers a place to put two stools. The kitchen is open to the living area, so if you are working at the sink you can keep an eye on the kids!

The stairs are especially nice.  We chose to stain the new oak treads the same "bright cherry" stain as the railing (traditionally the treads are the same as the flooring but I wanted to highlight the staircase so we chose a rich cherry).  The new flooring is bamboo - something I have not used before, and I really like how it came out.   

A small area for a table with a small chandelier has a nice set of French doors that lead to the back deck and patio. It is such a cute little house now and I hope the renters are very happy there.

Flowers can make a room

A Certain Slant of Light
There's a certain slant of light,
On winter afternoons,   
Emily Dickinson

An amazing use of words!  Emily Dickinson has always been one of my favorite poets but I do not think her poetry is taught very often anymore.  Anyway, I often think of this poem when I see this wintry slant of light.
 Hanging on the clothes tree are what my sons wore at their Christenings.  You can hardly see the white sweater with the baby blue stripe hiding behind the cream suit.
I painted this room a very light pink.  It was a small, attic room - just guests stayed there now and then - so I indulged my need to decorate a little girl's room knowing I would never have a little girl.  But I loved the pinks and the light brought into the attic by the late afternoon sun. 

When it comes, the landscape listens
Shadows hold their breath; 
Emily Dickinson

Thank you, Emily.