Our beautiful new tv cabinet and bookcase in the office!

 Progress is moving a little slowly since the last post…..but the work that has been done is amazing!  We have our new tv cabinet in the office 90% installed…..minus about two days worth of electronics installation.  At this point, in my opinion, BIGGER IS BETTER!  Wow!  What a difference 17′ of glossy black cabinetry can make in a space!  Instead of shrinking the space, the floor to ceiling cabinet has truly blown the roof off our room!  It is amazing the lift this cabinet gives to the space.  This is going to house so much of our collection of antique accessories, it is unbelievable!  Plus, it will hold all of the electronics for tv and sound for the entire house, as well as a fax machine AND printer for the office.  I am so excited to be getting this piece in our home.  It truly is a beautiful marriage of form and function.  John McGilvray and his crew have worked tirelessly to complete this, and they have done an amazing job.  The effect that the air conditioning soffit had in the room has been completely eliminated, and this room has started to feel larger, more cozy, and it now has details that are consistent with the rest of the house.

Guys from McGilvray Woodworks working on the cabinet installation. They were perfectionists!

So in addition to the nearly completed cabinet, the ceiling, crown, and base moldings are complete in the office…..so tomorrow, Dan Border and his crew will start putting the finishing touches on ceiling and trim paint.  Hopefully by mid week we will be ready for wallpaper in this room. 

Antique heart pine floors, nearing completion.

Max Wood Floors worked ON SATURDAY to complete the floors in the kitchen and den.  The floors are fantastic, and they did a really great job of fitting them together perfectly.  It really has given these rooms the patina they lacked before.  We have trim work details like shoe molding in both the kitchen and the den to complete.  In the kitchen, the trim work will be a little more difficult since we have to marry a slightly lower new floor to the position of the cabinets.  This can be overcome with new base pieces on the cabinets, and a new molding at the base of the island.  Once again, John McGilvray and his crew will be rescuing us from what could have otherwise been a tricky predicament. 

Kitchen floors are complete.....and just lacking a little trim work

Dan Border and his painting crew are making steady progress.  The upstairs bedrooms are in the process of getting their new colors, and windows still continue to be completed.  They are doing a great job……and delivering a silky smooth finish.  The former “green” bedroom, will still be called the green bedroom…..but the walls have gone from green to cream.  The master bedroom is getting a much more dramatic treatment.  We had a neutral tan tone in the bedroom that was matched to the toile wallpaper behind the bed, and a perfect blend with the carpet.  I wanted to change the color to give us a fresh look, and really wanted to do a lighter color.  What I realized…..as I lived in an empty house for the past two months…..it wasn’t the lightness of the color I disliked.  It was the fact that the color was so blah.  Just beige…..it wasn’t dramatic or exciting, and it really didn’t add anything to the room.  I am not opposed to light wall colors, and we have lots of them in our house, but in the master bedroom, the color just seemed to be flat.  Our solution……GLOSSY NAVY BLUE!  Can’t wait to see this going up tomorrow.  The painters are stealthy, and don’t make a huge mess, and are quite while they are here, so it is sort of difficult sometimes to tell exactly where they have been…unless they are making a major change in wall color, which they have done today.

Another shot of the new bookcase and tv cabinet

 Home Choice continues to disappoint on the window front.  Andy, the guy who has done such an amazing job installing the windows and putting up the window trim is M.I.A.  He was here Wednesday of last week for part of the day, and it is now Tuesday and he is no where to be found and will not return Seth’s (our job foreman) phone calls.  Sounds really professional, right?  In an effort to get our job complete, Seth and Schmid and Rhodes have enlisted the help of John McGilvray to complete the window trim in the house.  There isn’t a lot left to do….just a little bit of molding on the upstairs windows, and about half of the new dining room window.  Seems like Home Choice would want to be finished with this job…..but that doesn’t seem to be the way they operate.   John is anticipating completion tomorrow! 

Another view of the office.....with the new V-Groove fireplace. Mantle should be installed this week!

This week, our goals are to complete painting in the office, finish electrical work and get all recessed lighting installed, get electronics installed in the office, get new counter top in the basement bathroom, get wallpaper installed in the basement bathroom and office, get trim work complete in kitchen and den, and hopefully get painting complete in the upstairs bedrooms.

New bookcase and tv cabinet in process of installation....and a COMPLETELY installed ceiling!

LOTS of progress over the past week.  The mess seems to have grown today….but that is part of the progress.  Great strides have been made in the former office space.  The random width V-groove ceiling is completely installed, and the painting is well under way.  We have crown molding now in the office space, and the backboards for the fireplace are installed.  For the backboards of the fireplace, we used 8″ wide V-groove and installed it horizontally.  I think this is going to be a great effect once the mantle is in place.  Still to do is to paint the existing brick gloss black.  John McGilvray of McGilvray Woodworks is responsible for building the beautiful cabinet as well as installing our wood ceilings and mantle.  He has also done a fantastic job on the custom baseboard and crown in the office.

Paul McKee with Audio Video By Design has done an amazing job of getting all the wiring installed for house sound and the new tv….and my favorite new toy, CAMERAS!  We will now be able to see what is going on all over our house from anywhere in the world that we have i-phone service! 

All of the windows are installed, and window trim is nearing completion.  Andy from Home Choice, and all the guys from Schmid and Rhodes are really doing a great job and making sure we are happy with every single detail.  I have been a little disappointed in the window ordering process from Home Choice.  Schmid and Rhodes is taking care of all the errors with the window order so that I do not have to deal with the vendor…..and I am most appreciative of that, but the owner of Home Choice did not listen to our requests, and several mistakes were made that will ultimately cost him money.  There were no divided lights on the functional doors in the office, so those have to be replaced.  Over the front door, the window panes are a different size than the ones on the rest of the front of the house, so those two panels have to be replaced.  Our new dining room window was to be fully stationary, and the panels open…..this isn’t a big deal….just there was no need to have these functional, and now we have to take an extra measure to secure them.  Our screens are fantastic phantom screens that slide from the side, and completely disappear into the window frame when open…..but that was a pricey detail.  We had selected specific places where we thought it would make sense to use them, but we have ended up with them on almost every window….again, an expense we weren’t counting on.  None of these things really make that much of a difference, and the quality of the product is amazing….but a little communication from Home Choice would have been appreciated.  Still….even as I write….no call from the owner apologizing for the mistakes.  My words of advice here…..go over your window order multiple times to look for errors.  Our order appeared to be written correctly, but there were changes made to what we approved that we were never informed about.

Above is our new mantle back board made from horizontal V-Groove paneling…..partially concealed behind a mountain of bookcase parts!

My FAVORITE thing in the renovation thus far is the new dining room window.  Schmid and Rhodes did an AMAZING job of removing brick from the outside of the house to be able to enlarge this window.  I always felt that the dining room window shortened the view of the outside.  We have put a lot of effort over the past few years into making the backyard really special, and it was simply disconnected from the main floor of the house.  The new TALLER window really has made a huge difference, and just pulls you toward it so the backyard becomes a real feature of the main floor. 

Our new dining room window.....partially hidden behind our kitchen appliances!

After living with no floor in the kitchen and den for a month now, the antique heart pine flooring started going down today….and it looks GREAT!  This is what we should have done when we moved in 8 years ago.  I think it is “aging” our house beautifully.  This will be the perfect touch to make us feel like we have always lived here….and that the floors are original. 

The beautiful antique heart pine flooring going down in the den!

The large cabinet in the office should be complete by Monday, and next week, we should be complete with painting in the office.  Counter tops get installed in the office bathroom on Wednesday, and Bill Armstrong….our wallpaper installer, will start hanging the fabric on the walls in the bathroom on Thursday, and work until finished on the grass cloth wallpaper for the office.  Painting should start on the walls in the upstairs bedrooms next week.  We have a move in date set at this point…..TWO WEEKS!  Keep your fingers crossed that we make it.  There are a lot of loose ends to tie up before then, and a whole lot of cleaning….but I think we can do it, if we continue to see progress like was made this week!

Nothing like a refrigerator in the foyer to say "Welcome Home"!

Parquet.....gone

Lots of great progress today!  The first “layer” of parquet was pulled up in the den.  Evidently, the way this product was produced, there was a thin layer of wood over a plywood base……and this thick layer of black tar that joined the two together.  It went down in one piece, but it comes up in two!  Tonight, we have the black tar layer exposed, and tomorrow that should be gone.

We also discovered that part of the soffit in the basement can be removed without totally redoing all the duct work, so we will be able to get draperies in that room now and really add a great deal of softness to the space. 

Four windows were pulled out and replaced…..at least positioned in place and secured.  There is lots of trim work that has to be done at this point, but at least the new windows are in two of the bedrooms. 

Paint on the door details continues to move slowly, but the result is fantastic, and we are really pleased with the look. 

Marble fireplace covered for protection

January might not be the best month to change out windows

First stages for window removal.....take off the trim

Foyer chest all wrapped up for safe keeping

 Another great day today!  Schmid and Rhodes is doing a really great job, and they are being so careful with our house……even in its current state.  Every day when I come home, my desk is uncovered, and the floor swept. 

The floor came completely up in the den today, we got a real head start on wiring for house sound and for security cameras on the outside of the house, and the old tv cabinet in the office got removed.  The rain definitely slowed the window installation process, but they did a lot of prep work in taking off trim on the windows so more will be ready to change out tomorrow.

Down to the subfloor in the den

We will be able to move this duct up to get a flat ceiling in the new media room

TV cabinet.....gone

One of the new windows....notice there is no "crank" All you have to do is raise the lever and push the window open

Push out handle.....ready to open

Easy to open!

The start of wiring......

Finish samples for the new tv cabinet/bookcase. The body will be the antique black with wood stained trim, and the back will be the antique white v-groove

My former office.....now a giant chunk of square footage we don't need

So after 7 years, our home, Casa Real was ready for a little facelift.  Thanks to a horrible hail storm in April of 2011, we ended up with a long list of things that needed to be done.  The major projects were to replace all the windows and exterior doors, as well as the slate roof.  Our contractors, Schmid and Rhodes in Knoxville, TN, asked us if we would clear out some of our “stuff” to make the process a little easier for them…..and we thought that was a fantastic idea in order to provide the most protection for our artwork and antiques.  It also opened the door for the list of things that needed to be done. 

The Den….all empty

 The list grew, as most projects do, and now includes the following:

*Reconfigure the former office and create a media room, office, and entertainment area that services the pool

*Create a new storage and display piece for the new media room that will house part of our collection of antique accessories as well as new components for television and sound

*Create an updated mantle and overmantle for the new media room

*Eliminate the horrid track lighting in the office, and in so doing, create a sensible lighting plan, and install a new wooden ceiling

*Replace the marble floor in the kitchen….which continues to crack despite our efforts to correct it….with antique heart pine, and while in the process, replace the parquet floor in the den with the same flooring; thus unifying the entire main floor.

*Replace interior door hardware with lever handles appropriate to the style of the house, and add detail to the door painting

*Fresh paint colors for the green guest room, master bedroom, and laundry room

There are probably other things that will pop up along the way, but this is the bulk of the list.  My goal is to document the project as it goes along, and provide before, during, and after photos of the work. 

Our goal is to give our home a fresh look.  As a designer, it is easy for me to look at a client’s home in a fresh light.  Since I am so attached to this place, and spend so much time here…..it is really hard to do that with my own home.  The repair work forced us to remove the majority of our “stuff” and it is giving us an opportunity to “re-think” exactly how we want spaces to function, and to really look at how things can be put together differently.  We are adding some new pieces into the mix as we go along, mainly with the goal of creating more storage space for a growing collection of antique accessories. 

Foyer into dining room

One of the first things we did was to remove all of the artwork and accessory pieces.  We packed many of them, but there were two bathrooms that were getting no work at all other than fresh paint on the doors and trim….plus the new door hardware.  A few weeks before we started on the major project, we had those areas completed, so we could start packing them with “stuff”.  Next, the movers came and packed up what was left and we carefully moved everything to a climate contolled storage facility.  Then, up came the rugs which have gone out for cleaning and any needed repairs, and finally, Prestige Cleaners came to get all the draperies to get them back into tip top shape and to store them for us until we are ready for installation.  The process took time, but it was a well organized plan, and we worked on it a little bit each day for about a week, it became a manageable task that way, and it did get completed.

The above photo is of the upstairs hall bath filled with paintings and lamps.  It is best to store paintings vertically, and when you can, put them back to back and front to front.  This really helps minimize frame damage from hooks and wires rubbing on the finished part of another piece. 

Today was the first full day of work, and most of what happened was protection for the surfaces we were not changing.  The upholstered walls in the dining room were covered, floors were covered, and the few pieces of furniture we were able to leave in the house were covered with foam board to protect them.  This will be an exciting process, at least for Bobby and me, and I hope that you enjoy reading about our newest adventure.

The Foyer

The living room

Read the entire article at http://www.traditionalhome.com/design_decorating/howwelive/farmhouse-style-renovation_ss1.html

Lemon cone centerpiece

Traditions are a huge part of my family Christmas celebration.  My mother and I have made a Williamsburg style cone arrangement every year since we visited Williamsburg when I was 10.  This is an easy and versatile centerpiece, and a great Christmas Eve tradition.  To start with, you need the green painted wooden cone that is available from Colonial Williamsburg.  We have the 10″ one, which seems to be the perfect size.  We never can remember how much fruit it takes to do this, and this year, we fell a little short….but part of the point of this is that there are no mistakes with this decoration.  We used 20 fresh lemons for this and several bunches of fresh holly from the yard.  In about 10 minutes, we made this decoration.  All you have to do is position the lemons on the nails that are included on the cone, and fill in the spaces with holly.  Sometimes, we use this as a table centerpiece, but this year, it stayed on the kitchen counter.  We ran short about 10 lemons….and the back side is without fruit.  This is a perfect example of how a little error in judgement actually worked out ok.  The position of the arrangement doesn’t allow you to see the back side, so it would have been a waste to have the lemons there.  This same arrangement can be done with oranges, apples, or a mixture of fruit.  It is so easy and quick to do, and will last about a week in a cooler spot in the house. 

Back of fruit cone

Sofa after new pillows

An easy way to really freshen a room is to update a few decorative pillows.  I always encourage investing in quality pieces of furniture that will stand the test of time.  When it comes to upholstery, I want to use materials that will be durable as well as beautiful.  Our den sofa was custom built for us about 17 years ago.  It is a classic English arm sofa with small turned legs on the front edge, and upholstered in black suede.  Through the years….with daily use….the suede has softened into a buttery leather with suedey areas still visible.  It has a great patina, and is still in perfect condition.  The decorative pillows were not so well for the wear.  We added a new rug to the den a couple of years ago, and never updated the pillows.  The ones we had worked, but they weren’t great.  We had a pair of pillows made from an old Turkish rug, and a pair of pillows in a Kirk Brummel velvet plaid with tassel trim.  The colors were dark on the black sofa, and it really needed brightening up.  My solution, Christopher Hyland’s silk tiger velvet on two giant pillows and a pair of kidney pillows in Brunschwig and Fils Savonnerie Velvet fabric with a Lee Jofa tassel fringe.  We did a simple construction on the pillows so they didn’t get too fancy.  Just pleated corners and no trim on the tiger velvet; and the same pleated corner detail on the others, combined with the simple gold tassel fringe.  The gold of the tiger velvet pops the gold in the Oushak carpet right out.  This was a great update to the room, gave a fresh look, and was quick and easy to do. 

Sofa before new pillows

Completed Deck Railing with Decorative Screen at Bottom

Rail Cap Detail

Plinth for Lantern on Deck Rail

For the perfect deck railing, you should consider how the deck will be used.  Most decks are used for entertaining, and that involves drinks and food.  Sometimes there is not enough seating space for guests on a deck, so the rail is a great extra spot for guests to sit drinks and small plates. 

Make the top of the deck rail nice and wide.  We used a 2×6 with a routed bottom detail and a rounded top edge.  It is positioned on top of a 2×4 plain.  Our deck railing is made from 4×4 material, so the 2″ pieces together equal the thickness of the rest of the deck material.  It has a nice solid look; provides a place to put a drink or small plate, and feels substantial enough so that guests won’t feel like they are going to fall off.

I like the concept of porch lights looking like candle lanterns that have just been set on the railing.  To achieve this look, we added a 12×12 piece centered on top of the hand rail.  It got the same top and bottom details to make it consistent with the rest of the cap rail.  We drilled the center of it for wiring, and placed a custom lantern from McLean Lighting Works on top of that.  This is their Arts and Crafts lantern, which we felt had the same artistic design as a simple old French farmhouse lantern would have.  The base of the lantern is attached to the plinth, and the top is removable for changing bulbs.  Since the lantern was custom, we had the option of making the candles varying heights.  This is a great touch which adds a sense of real candles to the lanterns.