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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

And the basement reveal ...




Before I expose the "real" stuff around the Cottage-in-the-Making ... I'll share more pictures of projects that have been in process for several years. Yes, years. When working with a shoe-string budget ...
it takes patience. That's the part I dislike the most ... waiting. BUT ... in the waiting process (waiting for $ ... waiting for time ... waiting for hubby to complete something I have no idea how to do!) ... by the way did I share with you how much I LOVE THAT MAN. He puts up with a lot ... I'm not kidding you ... a lot. He has taught me how to wait patiently for things ... I've often said ... my husband is PAINFULLY patient.

Sorry ... I digressed.
But you'll get used to me sharing about my hubby --
he is awesome :O)

Sometimes waiting to finish a project allows for creativity! Seriously ... this is a must ... layering a room is crucial. Believe me ... if there's anyone who wants it RIGHT NOW ... it is Gina Miller. I am all about immediate gratification. But "flipping" things (like furniture or a whole room) takes time.

So how do you layer a room?

Start with the bones of your room ...


Structure
(flooring, ceiling, walls, windows)

Lighting
(electrical work might be needed to increase lighting in a dark space
)

Moldings
(base molding, door molding, windows, crown, chair rail, wainscoting, paneling
)

Paint Color
(this takes a long time for me ... it has to be just right! Find something that inspires you
(pottery, fabric, etc.) ... this will keep you focused!

Accessories
(this layer can change w/ taste over time or seasonally :O)


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How do you start? Cut out pictures in magazines (or start an inspirational notebook on-line with http://www.blogger.com/www.houzz.com and focus your attention on those spaces or ideas that trip your trigger! FOCUS! This is where I can fall apart easy ... there are so many wonderful ideas swimming in my head ... I really have to narrow in on what is good for our cute, little cottage and what is doable in the budget!

Okay ... so when we decided to open up the stairs to the basement ... I said to myself, "the stairs need to be amazing!" I know ... weird. But really ... look at homes that are striking to the eye ... they have beautiful trim work ... and that trim work includes stairwells that make you stop and breathe slow!


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Here are a few examples ...

Gast Architects: Projects traditional staircase
traditional staircase design by san francisco architect Gast Architects


Entry Stair Case traditional staircase


a house in a garden traditional staircase


a house in a garden traditional staircase


a house in a garden traditional staircase


stair hall that follows an interior stone wall traditional staircase





Okay ... now I need to take a moment and breathe slow
... breathe slow Gina.
Aren't those inspirational pics lovely? Oh my.


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The picture below became my focus for the project.


No kidding
.


(I apologize that it's a picture of a catalog page from the contractor who made the stairs)


This was it.

Not only did we want to make the basement feel like the main
part of the house ... we wanted the base of the stairs to feel like it
WASN'T
in a basement.
Did we compromise with this design-element in mind?

Yes.

The trade-off was space ...

...in order to achieve the "look" ...
we lost some usable space...

but it was WORTH IT!!!



Remember when I talked about boxed newel posts in yesterday's post? I was fueled to do a little research ... finding out everything about stair case posts ... then I found out how much they cost. Yikes!

Sooooooooo ... plan B went into gear.

I think our final outcome was a close 2nd.











Note to self ... share how I flipped the above
entertainment center into a lovely linen

closet for storage AND it doubles as a wardrobe
for when my mom visits from southern Georgia :O)






Hubby lovingly leveling each sons' artwork in the new playroom/media room :O)


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So this is where I want to stop sharing pics ...
there's a part of me that wants to deceive the reader in thinking
that the playroom/media room is complete BUT it isn't ...
NEWMAN!

It just looks a little ... blah.

Wouldn't a sectional look great in this space?

There are two walls that I
did not

include in my "after" shots ...

they hold the
"wall of toys"

and the
"wall of tv/gaming/media stuff"!

I'll do a "flip" on the two walls that aren't done!

Then I can share with you some of my painting tips ... :O)

And maybe find a great deal on a sectional
from Craigslist.com ... yeah!

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happy decorating, my friend!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Launch!

Welcome to my first post of my first blog ... ever! Why am I so nervous? It's just a blog? Maybe because I've been reading so many others' that I want this one to be "perfect" ... hmmm ... is that possible? Perfection? Nope.

So here goes ...

My name is Gina ... and I enjoy (okay ... let's get real here) ... I LOVE to decorate. The mere thought of it raises my blood pressure ... gets my heart racing ... gets me PUMPED UP! But what energizes me the most is decorating on a shoe-string budget. Anyone can purchase full-retail price (or save up and buy full-price) but in order to achieve a look that is unique AND low cost ... that's where the fun (and the challenge) begins :O) Seeing the beauty of something that is worn or tarnished and restoring its beauty with a little paint and imagination! Woo Hoo! Now you've got me started ...


So ... maybe I'll just start by sharing some before/after shots of a project that's been happening for several years ...

When we bought this house 5 years ago ... it was move-in ready. So let's define what move-in ready means to Gina ... I really liked the custom-build aspects of the house ... lots of crown molding (I'll share later just how much wood molding does for a house) ... Pella Windows ... hardwood floors ... But as time went on (not much time at all) ... I started to paint ... refresh ... revive and redeem!

Here's a picture of what the foyer used to look like ... you'll notice I have pictures cut out of magazines (those that inspire me the most during a project) and pasted to the wall :O)



Here's what it looks like today ...



What changed? Opening up the stairwell (once a dark, scary, dungeon-feeling space) made the whole foyer feel open, airy and spacious. Plus, the finished basement now feels like the main part of the house ...

I really wanted boxed newels for the posts at the end of the handrails ... I researched these and found that they are VERY expensive (like $600 per post!) yikes! So I did a little digging at The Home Depot and found these (which are better sized for our cute little cottage) for about $40 each! Yeah!

And then there's wainscoting ... do I need to say anything more? If you're going for the cozy cottage feel ... wainscoting is a must. It is a pain to paint (I'll share more about painting tips later) but soooooooooo worth it. We added the wainscoting right under the stairwell going upstairs and it was also installed from ceiling to floor in the stairwell going down to the basement. What a difference.


Here are some other pics ... before ...



and after ...



before ...



and after ...



There's a story behind this floor ... originally when the walls were white and the trim color was olive green ... I really didn't like the floor at all -- it's 20-year-old linoleum that was going to get ripped out soon after the stairwell was opened up. BUT after painting the trim Decorator's White by BENJAMIN MOORE PAINTS and painting the walls White Sand by BENJAMIN MOORE PAINTS ... I fell in love with the floor! I panicked! We had destroyed the floor during construction thinking it was going to be replaced! I quickly researched how to revive this old thing and learned I could scrub much of the marks off ... but learned it would also need to be WAXED occasionally. Oh my. Well, it turns out that the wax makes it look amazing! I'm not kidding you ... everyone that sees the foyer comments on this floor. Pledge's Premium Floor Finish w/ Future Shine is a must for old linoleum floors. Not fun to do ... but when you're working with a shoe-string budget ... something has to give ... I should buy a pair of knee pads!



Hubby (Dan -- I love this man!) installing new door ... you'll notice there was once an upper atrium we chose to remove (hated to lose the natural lighting it allowed in the foyer) but needed to in order to have the exterior trim we wanted for the door. That's another post I can share with you in the future ... the Curbside Appeal of 2008 still in progress :O) Sorry ... I digressed ...

Dan installed a 6-panel door and then ...



we had a our contractor, Kevin, finish it out with beautiful trim work. Nice ...



Amazing trim all the way from the door jam to the ceiling ... good trim makes a house ... you'll hear me say that over and over and over and over ... seriously ... look at magazine pictures (especially Pottery Barn) ... look past the merchandise and really look at the setting ... you'll find it EVERYWHERE ...
chunky trim molding!




and new hardware ...



At my next post ... I'll share how the basement turned out :O) Here's a preview of the construction process ...





Be blessed in your decorating! :O)