bedroom inspiration

modern bedroom design by new york interior designer Susan Kennedy Design

it's perfect... and close to what I might even be able to do in my own space..

my latest taxidermy project..

I bought a very badly done taxidermy deer head for 5 bucks at a garage sale. Bad enough I didn't want to put it up on my wall-even in the basement. The ears were separating, there was cardboard nailed to it's back, the horns are .....odd.

So, I decided to make it an art project....

Before....

Nose was worn off...

Then I used primer and two cans of spray paint and it became this...

It's a grey, with white and black specks that sort of resemble stone.

It's drying now, then I will decided what else to do to him....

Basement inspiration

we are re doing our basement. It's a walkout, and big- we have a bar area, a tv area and a 9 ft long pool table down there. It's paneled in all its 1970's glory- and the paneling isn't going anywhere. I don't even plan to paint it. Here are some inspiration pictures so you have an idea of where I'm going....

a rustic living room. ( I don't know where this pic came from- probably southern living)

Billy Reid stores- Nashville.

SO, you can see, I am going for a rustic, masculine look- semi traditional because that's the style of the gigantic pool table. Lots of wood, taxidermy, etc... it's going to be a fine line between cool old dude stuff and country crap. I hope I don't cross it...

Da Yoopers Tourist trap BIG chair

Da Yoopers Tourist trap, originally uploaded by thefarmersdaughter.

I can't even get away from chairs on a road trip...

one last hurrah....

the boy at the Mackinac bridge , originally uploaded by thefarmersdaughter.

The boy and I did a late summer road trip..... here he is, trying to find the "edge of Michigan"

Outdoor stairs

I have a hill behind my house, going down it is the only way to get from the upper yard to the lower yard. It needs to be safe, but it also needs to be attractive- as you can see it-clearly-from the living room. Also, when it rains, it becomes a raging waterfall.

I am considering putting in stone flagstone steps- like the idea pics above. With a slight curve (pulling the stairs away from the house) they should direct the ragine torrents of rain water away from the basement. Larger stones should be safe to walk down- for both the boy and the old dog.

This just might be a fall project.

I just got a new car ....

so I'm going on a week long road trip.

have a happy end of summer!

so we bought a new (to us) car yesterday

My old 2001 Focus is a great car. A wonderful car. A car that has 138,000 miles on it. It's in great shape and still runs really well, but I don't think we should rely on two cars that have over 300,000 miles between them as primary transport. So, we started looking at newer cars (we are keeping my focus and that will become the Mr.s transport. )

I found this....

This isn't the car I bought

but it is like the car I bought...

We got a 2006 vibe. with less than 19,000 miles on it. In Graphite blue with a black interior. Mine has some pin stripes on it and the one above doesn't. It's really nice.

I drove it all over today. I will drive it all over tomorrow. Then, I will drive it all over next week.

YEA!

more kids room ideas

If I seem to focus on kids rooms, it's because I have one. And, like almost every mother, it seems to be the bain of my existence. He doesn't have enough space. He doesn't have enough storage. He likes so many things, so many DIFFERENT things, that nothing seems to go together. Add that up and throw in a dash of hand me down furniture and you have me windows shopping for new kids room ideas daily......

I don't know where this came from- probably a kids furniture sight. I like the light wood and the color combo.

what a great reading nook....

building up might be the only choice for us in his room...

ok, so not a kids room, this is from Ikea 2011 catalog. But, it's great and could be a kids room...

lake and sand

lake and sand , originally uploaded by thefarmersdaughter.

we stayed at home this week for our vacation. In addition to doing some serious building and electrical work in the basement, and some very needed gutter work on the house- we also went to the beach!

Living room inspiration

James Braund

I love the wood in this room, the pop of green and that sofa!

I love the leather sofa and the white brick fireplace and all the windows...

again, I love the white fireplace and the wood floors...

oh, look. Another white fireplace. wood. Green. I think that I have a style showing up here.

See, fall and winter is coming soon and I have to do something with the living room. I like the greenish tan on the walls, and the sofa I can't do much about... but I can change the fireplace wall if I wanted to. It's brick- but not good brick. It's tan and brown and kinda nasty. Plus, in a year or two it's going to be gone. SO- now is the time to experiment and I believe it's going to be with white paint!

Let's all have a more responsible home!

At what point did the house become more about the future tenant than the current resident? It's hard to trace the moment, but let's hope it’s passed. Because for too long, home design has been hijacked by the allure of resale value. Maybe now we can begin again to think of our houses not as investments but as homes." — Allison Arieff

New york times

With 1.6 million properties in forclosure in the first part of 2010, I hope that the trend of upgrading just for upgradings sake is over.

I can't tell you how much I hate granite countertops and stainless steel appliances in every single house. Not to burst your housing boom bubble- not every kitchen needs those upgrades. Not everyone likes those upgrades. I happen to love my white appliances and butcherblock countertops-they look fantastic in my kitchen AND work well for me. 

The more people start to listen to themselves- what THEY want and need- and less to HGTV and real estate agents they'll be happier AND have less debt.

It's always the babies fault...

Personal style...

I've been going on and on about houses for so long, I forgot all about myself... but with fall closing on us fast (hard to think about that though when it's 90 outside) I have started thinking about new clothes and personal style for the fall/winter season..... first though, transitional items for fall..... all these items are from the Sundance Catalog

light and airy, but with a darker color and a longer length. Perfect for fall.

I love silver jewelry that isn't pretentious or dainty.

darker wash jeans. Straight or bootcut-no slim for me! It's also not popular in the area I live in so no social pressure at all to change my mind.

shoes and boots from Timberland Boot Company. I love these laceups and these boots have been dancing through my thoughts since I first saw them.

Larger, crossbody tote bag for daytime...

This is the style of dressing that I feel more comfortable in, that works for me. It's taken me a LONG time to figure this out-not go chasing after every  trend.

Knowing your own style and being confident enough to wear it means that you won't be buying every last trend that comes (and goes) in the stores. That you can actually afford to buy nicer pieces-better leathers-because you aren't buying a ton of clothes that might never make it out of your closet again. You will be making clothing choices that work for you-not the retail stores. And, better yet, you won't be hauling bag after bag of your poor choices to the thrift store after each season.

You have to give them a fighting chance...

For those of you who don't want a deer head on the wall...

From Z gallerie.... 199.95 plus a 20 dollar handling fee...... but it's cool.....

Jeffery Gordon Smith

If I could hire any landscape architect, it would be Jeffery Gordon Smith

hands down. If you can't see from these pics go to his site. It's beautiful.

The grasses, the raised beds, the pavers. They are all perfect. And that clapboard house...... I covet it all.