welcome

this house has been such a work in progress.  fun.  but, a lot of work.  we bought the house in august of 2005.  i was about 6 months pregnant with bellz.  we ripped out all of the carpet.  had the plaster re-done... on & on & on with the messy expensive stuff that nobody even really notices.  it was worth it, for sure.  but, for quite awhile we were operating out of one bedroom, the kitchen & bathroom; with a newborn.  :(  difficult.  i thought i'd start documenting.. as the progress progresses along.  :)

i always use a 28-90mm lens.  mainly because that's what's on it.  i take almost every picture you see with a kid on my leg, or both, or a diaper bag over the shoulder.. you get the idea.  so, for this mini-tour, i decided to use the macro super-wide lens.  i have a small house.  a little over 12oo sq. ft..  so, this lens works perfect for capturing the entire space.  i have to decorate my porch soon!  maybe next year.
welcome to our faux foyer.  the walls are painted beach stone.  i was given the wood shelf/coat hanger by my bff's mom.  it was dark wood, & has a star cut out in the middle that i fell in love with.  i painted the shelf with the left over wall paint to fall into the background.  the hooks are always full.  we have the hanging basket for mail, misc., a lint roller!  & i always keep my dad's "enlisted" coat there, the dog leash, camera bag, ergo carrier for the girls (we always have one here & one in the car).  on the shelf are 2 paintings done by byron's grandmother, roes.  the boy looks just like byron & everyone thinks it's of him.  but, it was actually painted a few years before he was born.  it was from a picture of a boy she took on a trip to mexico.  we love them both.  the long print was a find from my mom.  i think she picked it up at a garage sale.  i normally don't do prints.  but it works!  the color of the frame is beautiful with the wall color.  & the color of the flowers match the spanish tile color above the mantel.  the bench was in my mother's tea room.  it's exactly as it was.  the color matches the walls & the skirt matches the plaid in the lady in the paintings head scarf.  it's eery how closely!  the half round table was in the byron's apartment building's basement.  nobody claimed it, i fell in love, spray painted it 24k gold, the rest is history.   the rug was a garage sale find.  i love this rug on so many levels.  it really deserves it's own post.

arranging the corner like this really defined this lost corner in the elongated family room.  & made an insta-faux-foyer, a la blondie-lox.
the armoire was a craigslist find.  that's where it do my work.  i'll open it up for you sometime.  i can't believe how much i fit in there!  

i love the speakers.  they were my parents & are the most beautiful speakers ever.  i adore the fabric!  & of course, our papendick.  
i'm wondering if i should make a change to the living/dining room.  i'm thinking about changing the reds to a deep kelly green.  anyway.  we'll see about that.  until then, this is how it looks.  small.  just right.  playroom. lounge.  conversation hub. craft area. movie central. cheers. i love this room.
byron's parents brought him back a boomerang from one of their travels & we've formed a tradition of hanging it above the front door, to keep us coming back.  the mable tables were bought at pixie 9 vintage shop about 5 years ago; a gift from byron.  :)  the tall lamp was my grandmother's.  the short lamp is actually a hanging lamp that we have upside down.  we got it at a garage sale (my mom's friend's sale) it was still in it's original packaging from the seventies!  it's hilarious.  it's in complete mint condition!  to the left is the rotating gallery wall.  ;)  i painted the matte 24k gold & the frames with the left over wall paint from above the fireplace.  too bad you can't really see the szostalo hanging to the right.  it's great.  but, that deserves it's own post, too.  

& finally,.. above the mantel: use picture lights!  it changes everything.  everything.
i just took the curtain rods down & hung the sheers by individual window with tension rods.  it shows the woodwork better.  i still have to take the hardware down.

yeah, that's right.  i separate my books by color.  i can't ever go back.

thanks for coming along on the tour.

more to come.