All posts tagged: decor

The Final Peek: The Guest Room and Outdoors

Published by

Nothing is ever final until it is final, right?  As I wrap up the tour of our previous home, we are also wrapping up the details of an era.  I’m motivated to finish this post because we have accepted an offer!  After nine months of patiently (ok… i’m not sure how patiently, but at least prayerfully) waiting for the right buyer, we suddenly need it ready for move-in in three weeks.  The best part is.. we are on vacation for a week of that.  No problem… 😉 One thing I really miss is being able to say to out of state friends and family is to just pack up and  come visit us!  I would always say it, knowing we could find a place for everyone to sleep!  We wanted a place for guests that would give them privacy, yet still be a part of the family.  We didn’t want a separate guest house, so the entrance to the guest suite is tucked away, down a hall and under the stairs. We love living in the …

Another Peek inside the Big House: Places to Work and Play

Published by

The truly luxurious part of living in a large home is that you have space and storage for everything.  I’m not going to lie here… my office was amazing. Know in your hearts that it was never this tidy.  Never.  But it was so amazing!  Do you see all of that hidden storage?!?!  On the left is a built in desk that I could roll up to and do the real work.  You know… the dreaded paperwork.  That gorgeous antique table is one of the few pieces in the house that we refuse to part with once it sells.  Notice all of that natural light- the perfect place to paint and sketch.  I remember a lot of late nights wrapping at Christmas time when this room was overflowing with gift wrap, boxes and cards. Another perk about this house… his and her offices!  My hubby does most of his work at his work office, so don’t think i’m awful for relegating him to the smaller office.  He loved having his own place at home too. Both …

A Peek Inside the Big House… (A Blog Open House)

Published by

Guess what?  That big beautiful home of ours is still on the market. When we first listed it, our realtor told us that houses in this price range can take 6, 9, even 12 months to sell.  With stars in our eyes and our blinders on, we figured it would take a full 3 months before someone made a quick and generous offer.  I prayed for the family we would hand the keys over to.  I prayed they would love our home as much as we had.  I prayed our sweet neighbors would be blessed with new friendships.  …And i’m still praying those prayers. It seems that listing your house just as everyone is settling into a new school year and then focusing on winter holidays is not optimum timing.  Since we only move every 17 years or so, we are a bit inexperienced with the realities of selling a home.  As the school year is coming to a close, we are getting  a lot more interest.  It dawned on me that I should give you all a …

Welcome to Our Courtyard…

Published by

It’s a bit dark and cloudy here in the desert, with the promise of rain in the forecast.  We’re all waiting to see if it’s actually going to happen.  Cloud cover makes me crave this: I’ll be wired for hours now!  Whoohoo!  Let’s TALK! I have so many little design projects that I want to tackle around the house, but i’m trying to tackle them all at once.  Do you ever do that?  You can imagine how well that is working out.  If you could peek into my brain, it would probably look like my teenage daughter’s bedroom.  (I’ll spare you the picture) When I work with residential design clients, I always encourage them to find one room to start with, rather than tackling everything at once.  I’m not sure why I have trouble doing this in my own home. In an effort to finish at least one project before the holidays kick in, i’ve decided to focus my energy on our entry and courtyard. So welcome to our home… From the front gate, you …

Fall Fever!!!

Published by

It’s Fall!!!  I still can’t believe it!!! I’m sure this is no surprise for those of you who have been digging out your long johns over the past week of crazy cold temps.  But here in the desert, we are pinching ourselves to believe that the hot weather is finally over! Because it is so nice out, I’ve had a bit of “fall” fever.  I’ve scrubbed the back patio, done some replanting in the front of our house and have even purchased some new chairs to enjoy our front courtyard.  Standby for these…  (well… don’t literally stand by…I have at least spread them out all over the front entry…). Hopefully these evergreen Adirondack chairs will serve us well in front of our outdoor fireplace.  I imagine cuddling up here with a warm fuzzy blanket, a glass of red and some great conversations. With a busy weekend ahead, we will see if I manage to get them put together.  Otherwise, I will just consider this my new entry “update” and ask the kids to hop over …