Open House Sunday

Well, the title of this page is deceiving. I have struggled of late to find houses I wanted to share.

So today I am sharing a couple of places on the outside. I have been out and around town a lot lately and these two places really struck a cord with me.

This first one is such a lovely example of mixing modern with traditional.

I love this house! It's kinda all by itself in an iffy part of town - empty lots on either side and run down houses on the rest of the street. But that part of town is changing rapidly and one day it will have neighbors befitting this home. 

 A little closer look.

 This little 1920's apartment complex is so charming. Kind of Melrose place-ish.

 The courtyard comes to life at night. This is close to Paseo so I imagine artists living there.

Probably not, but that's how I pretend it is.

sweet

Early in the week I procured this. I have wanted a potting bench or bakers rack for the back deck forever. This one will do nicely. It needs a paint job. That will have to wait till spring, most likely. 

I can't wait to fill it with plants, flowers and accessories.

This photo is from the listing. I found it on Facebook Marketplace.

I have been searching for the perfect bakers rack for at least a year.

This is the perfect one!

Day Trip

to Guthrie, Oklahoma

 Last weekend I took a little day trip to Guthrie, Oklahoma. This town almost seems as if time has stood still. It was the original Capitol of Oklahoma till 1910. I had always heard the state documents and state seal were stolen in the middle of the night and the move was made. But I just read up on it and apparently an election was held to decide where the capitol should be and Oklahoma City won the election. Although Guthrie was not happy about it. Guthrie is only about 35 minutes north of downtown Oklahoma City but seems a world away. There are many housing developments outside of the town but the downtown of Guthrie and town proper seem to still be in the Victorian age. I had not been there in many years and was surprised to find it much the same. 

There are many Victorian homes in this town and the Victorian downtown still stands.

 This is just one of many amazing Victorian homes in Guthrie.

 But this was my main reason for making the little trip. I'd seen this vintage garden gate on Facebook Marketplace and knew I had to go get it. I have been in desperate need of a new gate. I wanted a wood one but just have not gotten around to building one. I have patched my existing gate many times to get me by and it's on it's last legs. It was never a nice gate to begin with.

I remember the day I bought this house my Mom exclaimed -

"What a nice gate and carport!"

Both things that were just awful. But that's my Mom.

She only sees the good.

The carport has long been gone. Thank goodness. It practically removed itself.

Falling apart a little more after every bad bit of weather.

 Here's the gate setting in it's new home. Now I have to buy poles to install it on and hinges.

Another project. But I got this gate at a good price and I think it's pretty. I will probably paint it and add some metal scroll work to it to make it prettier. The main thing is it's very sturdy and will keep those pesky weenie dogs in their yard!

 Back to Guthrie - Another lovely large home.

  

I'd love to sit on the porch of this one and have a glass of ice tea.

 Now for some photos of downtown. I went in and out some of the antique stores while there.

 Very unusual architecture. It's Victorian but rustic at the same time.

 Look at the details!

 It was hard to get a good photo of this one. The sun was behind it. This town is a mix of Old West and Victorian sensibilities.

 

And finally, I had lunch with a friend last Wednesday - Elaine. She gifted me this lovely scarf.

She knows I have a thing for flamingos. It's almost too pretty to wear. I draped it in the living room for a few days as I like to pretend I live in a place by the ocean during the summer and display flamingos and shells. It's still hot here. But I'll be getting the fall stuff out this week.

Today when I was out watering I thought geez it feels as hot as ever! 

Looked at my phone and it said 91 degrees but feels like 98. Well that would explain it. 

It is still hot.

Fall at The Feathered Nest

One day last week when I should have been doing something constructive - I instead went browsing at one of my favorite shopping spots. The Feathered Nest in Warr Acres near Oklahoma City.

 This place never disappoints. Here is their Facebook page.

Lots of pretty fall displays to get you in the mood for cooler weather.

It's still in the 90's here.

 Love that gray cubbie.

 

 Lots of cream, greige and wood tones in this booth.

 

 

 

I considered buying that little alabaster lamp for my kitchen but in the end left it. It was too yellow.

 I'd never seen this china pattern before. It's Spode. I love that it has dogs on it!

 If I had money to burn this would have come home with me to set a Thanksgiving table!

 That mossy green ribbon really does it for me in this vignette.

A Modern Townhouse

So this is what I worked on last weekend.

My client who lives here and needed help accessorizing her townhouse.

She'd bought most of her furniture already but needs help pulling it all together. 

I'd helped her at the furniture store one day when she came in trying to pull together her dining room wall and buy some lamps.

She came in with some little gold starburst things she bought at Hobby Lobby and wondered how to use them.

She liked them but didn't know what to do.

She had three.

I immediately thought of the starburst mirror we had that would look great with them and suggested she go buy six more of the starbursts. I had her send me a photo of her dining room. It has these cool navy stripes painted on one wall. She wanted something to sparkle and add to the splendor of the room with its baby grand piano.

This was the mockup I did for her in power point at the store. The only program I had to work in at the store other than a floor plan program.

This is the after as I photographed it when visiting her home a couple of weeks ago.

 It did turn out to be just the right thing for her wall. This led to her asking me to come accessorize more of her townhouse. 

Starting with the entry. That's the before.
She likes to shop online because she works full time and does not have time to go around town shopping. So I picked out everything online. Mostly Wayfair. I looked other places but Wayfair had what we needed! Isn't that their slogan?
Wayfair We Got What You NEED!


Here is my mockup done in photoshop of what she should buy to add to the space.
I sent her links to everything and she ordered on Tuesday.
I can't wait to see for real photos.

Living Room Before

 These are living room before. As you can see she has the basics. I helped her with that lamp a couple of weeks ago. She picked everything else.

This is all Lazboy furniture. That sofa reclines but doesn't looks like it does.

 And here are my suggestions for accessories and a cocktail table. She has already ordered the cream colored glider with my approval. She has a new grand baby, so she had to have.

I did several layouts with different tables but these were our favorites. I still don't know which she will go with. She has not decided.

I suggested these shallow gold shelf/boxes for the walls in this room. I've seen these in person and they are really nice. Understated and gets pretty things up on the wall. 

 And this is her Thomasville sideboard from her old traditional home. She is doing everything modern in this house but didn't want to get rid of this. 
I suggested painting it gray and adding a little gold leafing.

The lamps I helped her pick several months ago...bringing some modern onto the traditional piece.

I love having just a splash of gold leaf on the corner like this piece below.

 Or if she wants to play it safer...a gold dipped look.

We'll see if that happens. 

I also did a few things to the baths and the master bedroom. 

And gave lots of suggestions for remodeling the kitchen. The kitchen is very nice but it could be amazing with a little work. 

When I would do presentations to clients at the store I always included accessories in the mood boards. Because accessories make the room. 

I'd be busy cutting and pasting from the internet. It always helped the client visualize how it actually would look in real life.

Today I am having lunch with some of my favorite designers that I used to work with.

We always have a good time together. 

But I'll be back here working after lunch and this coming weekend.

Still hot here but Fall is coming I know it is. Really it is.