florida room details

So, this is the new Florida room:

Here's the entrance from the carport. It's meant to be a mudroom of sorts:

The shelves were built ins. They hold a bowl for keys and generally are full of things we need to take with us when we leave the house. Under the shelves, tw added hooks for bags, jackets, and hats. The bench used to be the coffee table -- I just created a cushion for it. The shoes fit perfectly underneath. We're still looking for the perfect rug.

Heading to the right is the new hanging TV. Our friends Jess & JD bought the wall mount for tw's birthday last year and we finally got it up (I say we, I mean Robb!) 

For now, tw's grandmother's table (usually in the kitchen) is holding all electronic equipment. Eventually, there will be a 60s-ish credenza there for everything to hide in and the wires will be corralled neatly out of sight.

Next is the couch with all new pillows. tw had all the fabric, all I had to do was sew! 

The coffee table was an auction find at least 12 years ago. Both that and the two-tiered "puzzle" table on the side of the couch were found at the same auction house in Ocala - the first auction we ever went to, if I remember correctly.

The chair is a Heywood Wakefield piece we found in Orlando. That door leads to the screened porch. The rug was a phenomenal find from Joss & Main, an online decorator store.

We've added a few things since this was taken, namely the stadium seats tw bought from Shea Stadium before it was torn down. There is LA Dodger art on the wall as well (he's a staunch National League fan, if you can't tell).

Finally, the view from the Florida room into the kitchen. 

We're using my grandmother's garden table for a kitchen table at the moment. And have paint swatches on the wall searching for a tamer green... I'll keep you updated on how that goes. In the end, we really created a great place to relax and are thrilled with the way it turned out!

the florida room transformation

So, I've been a little late with this reveal. So much going on I haven't had time to put a post together. It's not surprising tw wanted to make this room more comfortable since most of our time is spent here. I can't find another picture of the Florida room before its major transformation, mainly because it was not photo-worthy.

Not so good, huh? I promise there were no real furniture pieces you missed. I think the only thing that stayed in the room was the couch. Anyway, here's what eight weeks of work can do for a room:

We started with paint:

Notice the paneling & brick (there's drywall on the back wall too. Fun! Can you tell this was an addition?) Then, tw decided he hated the floor. I really love terrazzo (especially with the Florida heat), but this white-ish terrazzo was stained and we knew from previous experience that no amount of buffing would make the floors look less than dingy white. So we looked at oodles of samples. Tile, wood, carpet. We even considered painting.

Before putting in a floor, I convinced tw to at least ask our carpenter neighbor Robb (contact info upon request. He really was *amazing* to work with) how hard it would be to take out the fake fireplace (yes, it's fake. Notice the non-chimney). Robb came over and estimated it would take three hours. It was out in one and a half, with no real dust to speak of (told you he's amazing).

tw is recycling the fireplace bricks as edging for the new patio he's now working on outside the kitchen. Yay, but now there's a hole in the wall. Just grab more wood, right? Um, not so easy. Since the paneling was original to the 1950s room, it's no longer just milled anywhere. tw searched high and low for this particular pattern (who knew wood had patterns?) until he finally found a mill willing to do enough to replace the wall for a reasonable amount of money. While he researched, found, and waited for it to be shipped from North Carolina, we put in the new floor. Click and lock bamboo. Gorgeous!

We worked for an entire day with Robb to put this in, and he spent the next day cutting the doorframe pieces and placing the trim moulding. Then we prepped for the new wall by ripping out the old one and adding insulation (there was NONE in this room before).

Finally, it came in and he installed it in hours. tw spent the next day painting while I feverishly finished sewing.

We stayed up until 2am putting everything back into the room.

It was a great experience to transform a whole room so completely. Tim & I are looking at houses in St. Pete in need of serious need of renovation, and this project gives me the confidence that I can do this to any house. I'll do a separate post that shows the entire room section by section, since this is already so photo heavy.

kitchen: painted

While it took way longer between coats than we would have liked and there is still some trim work to be done, the kitchen is finally painted. And it is bright.








Results have been mixed amongst friends and family. We weren't so sure ourselves, but it's grown on us tremendously. The color is most beautiful in morning with sunshine streaming in from the kitchen window.

On to the Florida room. Yay!

the chair that was a couch

This is the latest acquisition for the house. I have to say it's adorable (but unbelievably heavy!) I didn't really love it when it was first introduced, but it's growing on me. I love the avocado green color with gold glitter flecks and especially the lines, but am not so fond of the plastic nature of the chair (this is not one of the cozy, curl-up chairs I favor for working from home.)

For the last few months we have been endlessly discussing how to set up the Florida room, mainly focusing on a new couch since all of the seating in the room is either a) broken, b) uncomfortable, or c) disfunctional. There is no cohesiveness to the space. We entertain there constantly, so it's an area we really needed to focus on. The room is oddly configured with three doors on three separate walls and a non-working fireplace on the fourth wall. It's a design issue I mentioned when tw showed me the house before he bought it. Back then it was just an observation, now that I live here it's become a dilemma.

I'm discovering there is really no stronger dilemma than how to design for a house that you live in but that ultimately isn't yours. I constantly go back and forth on this. I have known tw for 15 years, and our design style is very similar. So far, he's let me rearrange any pieces I want to create a tableau that appeals to both of us. The breakfast nook is a great example of this:

When I moved in, there was a broken table with no chairs we bought 10 years ago sitting in the space. We carted that to the curb on trash day and I rummaged through the house for something usable to take its place. The table belonged to his grandmother and was just refinished by his uncle. I found it under a blanket in the office. The chairs were headed for Goodwill before I snatched them up, the tablecloths are relics from my grandmother's bridge-playing days, and the art is all Florida-focused (posters found at thrift/antique stores, photos taken by tw) which I found in a pile on the office floor. I framed them in frames also found in the office. This was easy since he already owned most of these things and so I knew he liked them.

The Florida room has been a bigger problem because I know exactly what I want to do in there, but I'm just waiting around for tw to jump on board. We were stuck in the "what next" phase for several months while he contemplated a couch. Then the chair showed up one day out of the blue. True, it's no couch, but it's a sign tw's ready to forge ahead with the rest of the space. We have an Ikea date planned and furniture in mind. Hopefully we'll leave there with a clearer picture -- or maybe even furniture!

This isn't my house, so designing for the long-term is hard. But it is my home & workspace for my growing company. And as one of my best friends said to me when I was feeling blue about packing my life into an attic, "It doesn't matter where you live, your home will always be very you." When helping design the spaces in this house, I am often reminded of those words. I have to say that most days I am blessed that it is just that, not mine but very me.

say it ain't sew

For the first time in a long time, I didn't watch the Gator game. I couldn't bear to sit there and feel frustrated for a fourth week in a row. So I took to my sewing machine to work on a few projects Saturday afternoon instead. This is what I created:


It's my newest bag in a long time. And I LOVE it! I usually make my own patterns based on old bags and the things I want a bag to hold. But this time I followed a pattern called buttercup by Made By Rae. It was very easy to make, thanks especially to the pictures provided in the pattern. I am obsessed with this fabric by the talented Amy Butler. My favorite detail is the oh-so-adorable pleats:


Of course I had to personalize it somehow. I added more pockets to the inside to hold my must-get-to items. I'm not really sure I love the interior fabric, but it's hard when the outside fabric is so BOLD:


Note the magnetic closures on the sides above. I'd never used those before and can't believe how easy it was! Another thing I'd never tried was sewing the bag handle on after completing the bag. I usually hide it within the lining when I sew the inner and outer linings together. But I really love the look of this square:

Unfortunately, the bag is a tad small. The pocket I made for my phone was certainly big enough, but when I added my phone and snapped the bag shut it fell out. :( And my wallet * just* squeezes in. I'll have to make another one after I tweak the pattern a bit to make it larger.

Of course I didn't actually give up on the Gators. I listened to Mick Huber on the radio and tuned in and out as the game got exciting. It was much better for my blood pressure to just listen. I did run into the Florida room to watch the game winning kick by punter-turned-placekicker Chas Henry. How exciting!

Happily, my new bag wasn't the only thing I finished yesterday. I also hemmed a few dress which I'll try to get up in the next day or two.

from armoire to office

As many of you know, I've condensed my personal space considerably in the past two months. Instead of a large craft/office space, I'm down to two pieces of furniture to fit everything! I inherited both sets of grandparents' bedroom furniture, and I'm using my paternal grandparents' set as a craft/office space due to its large size (my maternal grandparents' set is smaller and fussier, so I use it as my bedroom furniture).

The first piece I received from my paternal grandparents was a fabulous 40's armoire. I set out to use it for crafting immediately since it has deep, solid drawers. I stored boxes of supplies and other bulky items in the hanging side (the perfect hiding spot!) When I downsized, I decided to use the hanging space as my temporary office. But piling everything inside did not work! A change was in order. This is what I started out with:

I decided to add three simple shelves to hold all of my financial/important papers, as well as craft and work supplies. Eventually I'll stain and varnish the shelves, but I was desperate for some organized space quickly. Not only was it a simple and cheap solution (rails, boards, clips, and screws were around $20!), I actually have more space than I anticipated. Not bad for 2-hours' work!

the accidental collection

My latest thrift find finally made its way home today. I saw this table while we were down in Tampa Bay for Rays' Opening Day. It was at an adorable furniture store we happened upon accidentally.


It's honestly not my style, with its frilly legs (which are quite wobbly) and extra shelf. I like more classic lines in my furniture. I may very well change the legs out someday. What made me fall in love was the tile top since I have another table almost exactly like it.


I found its sister table at one of my very favorite thrift stores, the Gandy Goodwill in St. Pete. It had just come in off a donation truck. I grabbed it for $15. It remains one of my favorite furniture pieces. So when I found a table so similar to it I was so surprised!

Of course, since I'm so indecisive I decided to wait and think about it. When I couldn't get the table out of my head, I knew I had to have it. We went back the next day only to find out the store was only open three days a week! Knowing I'd be back in a few weeks, I resigned myself to waiting. But when Tim moved out, taking the giant wine rack with him, I knew the table would be perfect in the empty space. I called the store, praying they hadn't sold it in the two previous weeks. It was still there! I bought it over the phone and had them put it in back for me until I could make my way down. My mom was in the area for a conference this week and agreed to pick it up for me.

I've never seen so many different tile leaf designs. Quite unique, isn't it? I'm so thrilled to have it. I wonder if I'll ever find another?

arte de béisbol

I finally got tired of the Rockefeller Center tree pics being up year round but was unsure about what art to use to replace them. Around the same time, Tim found some old Cuban magazines from the 1930s while we were thrifting in Tampa.


Since the covers were all baseball themed, we knew they would be perfect in our living room. We scanned the images into the computer, cleaned them up, printed them for $2 each (!) at the local copy store, and framed them in Ikea frames we found in Orlando. Hung in a straight line on the longest wall of our living room, they really have helped draw the old Florida theme further through the house. Hopefully the next living room project involves replacing the couch!

mood: bored

This is how I feel after spending two days curled up on the couch with piles of blankets and warm clothes because it's too cold to do anything else. Is this really how people up north spend their winters?

keeping busy

Even though I spent a good part of my Winter Break sleeping and relaxing, I was somewhat productive. I finished knitting the scarf I started on our summer trip to Ohio while watching the DVR-ed final season of The Shield. The scarf is bright and warm, but I have to say I'm glad I don't have to wear it just yet (this warm weather is so awesome!!)

Tim and I are slowly working our way through The Wire (we're at the beginning of season 2.) I've got another scarf I've been working on while watching that. I'm using the fine Alpaca yarn Dad got me in Peru, so it's a bit slow going. I'm hoping to finish by the time the series is done, but who knows.

We also spent a good part of the break rearranging the house and finishing off projects. My office has become Tim's office, and my craft room has become ... a studio? I'm not sure what it is, but I have stacks of stuff everywhere. And precious little time to organize everything. My goal is to have purged my unused crafting supplies (you know -- that stuff that looks really neat but just sits there gathering dust for years) by the end of the month. I'm looking forward to paring down. Pics to come when it's all finished.

the best-laid plans...

I have been feeling guilty about this space for a while. I always have ideas about things to write, or I see an unusual image and think about taking a quick picture to add to this space. I love having a place to share thoughts and ideas -- this blog has made me stop and think about so many things I wouldn't have otherwise. When I look back on posts I realize that this has become my scrapbook of sorts. I have never been a consistent scrapbooker or photographer, so the fact that I've been intermittent with this is really no surprise. But I'd really like to be better.

So, my resolution for this year -- my only one, mind you -- is to keep writing. I think this little craft blog will end up morphing into a crafting/teaching/other crazy nonsense-ing blog. I know I'd been struggling with its identity since I went back into the classroom. I don't have time to craft that much with 2 jobs and a still-settling-in live-in relationship that takes previously free time away (in a good way, of course.) I'm hoping to just write whatever comes to mind at least several times a week. It feels good and do-able -- and the camera gets to come out again!

Happy New Year everyone.

the end is a new beginning

The nation spent last week focused on changing the direction of American politics. What a historic and exhilarating election day -- definitely the best day of my voting life. It's the end of a Washington era I'm glad to see come to a close.

Alachua County voters also approved a levy that will fund many of the education programs cut or facing the chopping block in our public schools. I spent many hours helping to spread the word, and the 65 percent approval knocked my socks off. While it's not the end of education's money troubles in the state of Florida, it certainly helps ease many concerns about where we'll find money for next year.

The week before that the Rays competed in a bizarre but ultimately disappointing World Series. I was given the chance to go to my first World Series game (and the only series game the Rays won) on Thursday, Oct. 23. When the season began I never thought it would end in such an exciting way -- from worst to first in the AL East! Even though the season didn't end the way I wanted it to, it definitely ushered in a new beginning for the Rays in Tampa Bay.

And the day the Rays lost the pennant coincided with the biggest day in my personal life in some time. Tim moved from his home in Clearwater to Gainesville. To my house, now our house. It's the end of two separate lives and the beginning of lives truly shared. I spent several weeks vacillating between excitement and dread, but it turns out I had nothing to fear. We have come together almost seamlessly -- I am amazed at my ability to adapt to change after living alone for so many years. We look at each other all the time with those silly, giddy grins that come from happy hearts. The decision was definitely right for us.

Change seems to be the theme of the moment. And I am excited -- for my country, my job, my favorite baseball team, and my relationship. New beginnings used to make me nervous. Now, all I have is hope for the future.

so long, farewell

Summer is leaving. The sun is setting earlier. The pine needles are starting to fall. And I finally had to close the windows tonight and pull the jacket out for school tomorrow. This is always a bittersweet time of year. I know I'll still wear shorts for several more weeks, but it's no longer a given. I will have to check the weather forecast first. *sigh* Goodbye summer. I'll miss you.

six weeks

Today is the first day in six weeks that I haven't done anything related to children. Even when I went out of town, I took kid work with me (boxes of it -- literally.)

I spent this glorious free day catching up on books and magazines, working in the yard, and watching my fantasy players tackle the first week of the NFL season (note to self: Atlanta's Michael Turner should be in my line-up every week!) Let's hope this is a sign of better things to come. Maybe I'll finally have enough energy to get to those craft projects dancing in my head?

war and peace

They're back. I got a migraine at a baseball game a few weeks ago -- one of those really, really bad ones that require total silence and darkness to feel even remotely okay. The next day it still wasn't completely gone, which is unusual. Since then my head has been at war with the rest of my body, and I've been battling several headaches a week. It's like living in a constant fog.

Peace has finally come to the garden in the form of rain -- real rain -- several times this week. Peace also comes to mind every time I look at this orchid that finally bloomed last weekend. These certainly rival the beauty of my favorite hibiscus.

Step-by-step guide to making and canning your own jam coming soon -- contingent on headache frequency.

my neighbors must love me

This is what I did with my Saturday.

When I bought my house, the only thing that separated my yard from the busy street I live next to was a line of ligustrum bushes. I hate ligustrum because it smells bad and constantly needs to be pruned, but it does provide a nice buffer from the street noise. My father would come over faithfully twice a year to help trim back the bushes. Then we put up a fence (conveniently exiling the ligustrum to the street side) and I have proceeded to ignore it ever since.

Unfortunately, the ligustrum does not like to be forgotten and has been reminding me of its presence this spring by growing over my fence. It has also decided to share the seemingly immortal Virginia creeper vines that live within its branches by allowing them to grow between the cracks of the fence. If there is one thing I hate more than ligustrum, it's Virginia creeper vines. All summer long I am constantly pulling them off of everything -- the house, the fence, other plants. Those suckers are quick.

So this year I decided to kill two birds with one stone: severely trim back the ligustrum to stop it from growing over the fence and pull out the Virginia creeper vines tied up in its branches. I figured if I took care of it now, it'll save me lots of time and energy this summer. I recruited my father to help by promising to haul away anything he cut. The ligustrum was the easy part. Then we hit the palm tree that hadn't been trimmed since I bought the house and a huge mess of various tangled vines, including some with really sharp thorns. We got through the big stuff before we called it a day. I still need to go back and trim the little branches we missed and pull out the Virginia creeper vines -- yuck.

It took another hour after cutting to haul all the branches to the curb and cut them to legal pick-up size. My neighbors must shake their heads every time they pass these giant piles I leave by the curb. I already know the yard trash guys hate me.

More garden pictures and a craft update to come. Maybe I'll even get around to that spring training post...

adding improvement

When I drove up to my house for the first time three years ago, there was one thing I hated about it right away. The house announced itself with small brass numbers nailed to the roof line above the front door. They were difficult to find even in the day time and nearly impossible to see at night. It's the first thing I vowed to change. It's an easy enough fix that I never got around to due to never finding house numbers in quite the right style, not knowing where I wanted to put them, as well as outright laziness. Now that I've spent a lot of time landscaping the yard, I feel that the house has found its identity. I decided to attach numbers to my front door, a classic six-panel with just enough space between the middle and bottom panels to fit numbers attractively. While browsing through Lowe's the other day I finally found the perfect numbers in a serif font with a brushed nickel finish.

We were cleaning up Sunday afternoon after doing random outdoor chores when I remembered the house numbers. It probably took us -- okay, Tim -- only 15 minutes to measure, level, and screw in the new numbers (it was actually harder to get the old numbers off the house than to put the new ones up!) The difference was instantaneous. It catches my eye every time I leave the house or come back home. Neighbors and visitors have already commented on the switch. Unfortunately, now I'm starting to see other things that need changing -- porch lights, front door color, trim work... If there's one thing I've learned about home ownership, it's that you're never done improving!

I took a picture of the whole door, but decided against putting my address out there for the whole internet world to see. Maybe once I finish sprucing up the porch area I'll show a picture with the numbers fuzzed out.

organize!

By nature, I am an organized person (check out all 200 skeins of embroidery floss!) I love being able to find things quickly and knowing whether or not I have what I need to complete a project before I start it. I hate stopping mid-stream to go pick up a 59-cent item across town. It disrupts my creative flow.

I knew when I started to avoid the craft room after the holiday season that something was up. The space had been bothering me for a while as it was. Fabric was overflowing in giant plastic tubs, stuff was cluttering every flat surface, and I was having a hard time finding what I needed. When my grandmother passed and my grandfather was moved into a smaller space, I was gifted a beautiful 1940s-era armoire in need of some TLC. Having nowhere else to put it, I placed it in front of my idea wall in the craft room figuring I could always stand for some extra storage where crafts are concerned. However, the armoire was too big for the space and needed some major cleaning. It overwhelmed the room and sat empty. This weekend I broke down and decided to re-organize the craft room so I could finally go in there and not be frustrated and bothered by the mess. I cleaned out the armoire, papered the drawers, and moved it to the closet (which had to be cleared of its contents first.)

Now I've decided to re-purpose most of the room. The good news is I'm finally getting things organized again. The bad news is it's taking me forever since I'm really going through everything trying to decide if I still need it. Lots of purging going on. This is what it looks like now:


I've had to keep the door shut when I'm not in there working on it. So that's the long answer on why I haven't been posting about crafting lately. That should change by the end of this week. I'll share some photos when I finish up. I've been tossing valentine ideas around in my head and I need to get those started pronto!

this year I resolve to...

Here's a 2008 goals list I created in response to a message-board query earlier this week. I think most of these goals are reasonable & reachable.

• Run 15 miles a week by April.
• Travel extensively/live in at least one Latin-American country.
• Figure out how to run my business better/decide if I want to try something else.
• Open an etsy store to sell my handmade wares.
• Finish at least one craft project a week.
• Start a quilt.
  
• Finish remodeling my house.

I'm looking forward to reviewing this list in December and seeing how many of these I actually accomplish. Since I'm publishing this for the world to see, I'm hoping to be guilted into doing at least half of these!

*cough*

This has been what I've been up to for the past week. I've been sick with a sinus infection, which made for a lovely holiday with Tim's family. They were gracious and wonderful, but constant sneezing and coughing can not create great first impressions. I'm finally sleeping again, and the sore throat is gone, but the stuffed-up foggy-headedness just won't go away. Ugg! I've been itching to craft over the last few days but can barely sit up without foggy head pain. Here's hoping to be better by NYE!