In Need of a Little Guidance

Two posts in a row, I know, terrifyingly on top of things. But I could use everyone's help with a little dilemma.That sounds dramatic, like I want weigh in on a career change or whether or not I should have kids, but its really very simple: I am torn on what light to put in our front hall. I know, really important shit we are dealing with here.

All the same, if you like pretty things, home decor, or just giving your opinion whenever asked (or not asked), here's your chance.

So right now, our hallway looks like this...

But eventually, the plan is to remove that awful printed grandma-paper (yea for the last of the horrifying paper!) and do something much more sleek. I've been  thinking wainscoting the walls (which is this for those who aren't decor-porn voyeurs or woodsworking geniuses....)

It shouldn't be a difficult project, especially in comparison to making a table! But that might not happen right away. Not sure what color would be painted on top, something neutral like this?

Or some great, brave contrast like this?

I would tend to lean towards the later, especially as I would want the wainscoting to go about 3/4 the way up. 

But anyway, on to the lighting.... 

With that more neutral space in mind (and a mid-century credenza which will either be a dark wood finish or painted some amazing color like green or red), here's my options... 

#1. School House

This is both elegant and retro, which would fit the space well. But it doesn't WOW me the way I would have anticipated, but then again its not installed, so....  $70 from Home Depot, btw. 

Inspiration... 

#2. Natural fibers

      

Its earthy and unique and will probably make a cool pattern on the wall. Its not my immediate favorite of the bunch, but I have a feeling it would be gorgeous and a real eye-catcher when installed. 

$90 from Light in the Box. 

Inspiration... 

#3. Retro Orb

(should be plain white all around - not sure what happened to this pic) 

Pretty popular right now, these are both modern and retro at the same time. Great, simple design with a wow factor and lots of light. $76 from Lowes. Similar option at Ikea for $40. 

Inspiration... 

(Ok, so its not an orb, but its close enough) 

#4. Architectural and Traditional 

A traditional lantern is not lost on me. I like the square, architectural interest with  this one as well as the stunning, glossy black. 

$84 from Lowes. 

Inspiration...

#5. Colorful Industrial 

I love the idea of the bright color up above. I think its a very playful spin on industrial chic. But its very industrial. It would probably be very cute up there, and an eye-catcher, but I'm not convinced yet its the best option. Maybe you, or this inspiration, will convince me further... 

$72 and $40, respectively, both from The Lamp Factory

Inspiration...

#6. Capiz Orb Pendant

To be honest, this may be my favorite. You know the saying about when you should leave your favorite.... (last, its save your favorite for last). 

I like the orb shape - something I'm more drawn to. I like the natural component of the capiz and how it will probably diffuse the light. And I love the architectural detail of the black lines. But does three rights make a another right? Not sure... 

$77 from Lowes. 

Inspiration... 

So there they are, the contenders. Please weigh in! Send me a comment for some sanity that I might be choosing the right one! (White people problems, I know....) 

Hello again!

Its been several months, I know, but we haven't had access to a computer in a while. Why? 

Because our office space looks like this.... 

And our computer is chilling with the front hall credenza...

But I finally broke down and just took a bunch of shitty iPhone pics, because we've had some fun updates around here. 

First of all, about two months ago, we finally decided to tag out the horrible shag carpet that haunted our den. It was orange, covered in dog pee (and human in the carpeted bathroom), and 40+ years old. So it was time to go. We hiked out to Lumber Liquidators and came home with a sagging-trunk load of boxed planks. Within a week, Bill did the whole thing. By himself. 

It looked incredible. For all of 36 hours... 

Then, Bill left his beloved floor, and a storm of sewage wrecked havoc on it. Yes, sewage. About 40 years of sewage spilled out of the open sewage pipe in the half bath. It covered everything before we even had a chance to enjoy it. Another 48 hours and it looked like this again... 

Yes, that's mopped up sewage. 

But the good news is that only two weeks after this travesty, Bill was back to work - no surprise there - and we now have beautiful floor #2. We also have a clean sewer main and a new toilet (to protect us from sewer gremlins crawling up...) 

We will be buying the new vanity shortly as well so we can finish up that space and have a truly functioning half bath! 

In other house news, we were sick and tired of finding little poop presents on the kitchen floor when we got home, so we installed a beautiful new fence to keep little man in, and the terds out! 

Hello beautiful new fence! Goodbye kitchen poops!

_

We've also started tackling some of the furniture around here - finally painting and staining the coffee table we've had for like 9 months...

Oh, and Bill, his dad and brother Jon BUILT a dining room table! They BUILT IT!!! In a day!!! I left for work and came back that evening and in our garage was a brand new, BEAUTIFUL and huge dining room table!! 

There they are, the brilliant craftsman themselves!

Its all sanded and ready to go - we just need to stain it! 

Because we have this gorgeous new piece, I've quickly made the dining room my next project. Two weekends ago, I tore down all the wallpaper (before and afters to be shared shortly!) and this weekend the paint is going up! So, ideally, my next post will be sharing a mostly finished dining room! 

We interrupt this broadcast for a very important message...

I know I said the next post I did would be more house updates, but we have something much more important to share!

Meet Oxford! - the newest member of our family!

That's right, we adopted a dog this weekend! We had been looking at dogs online for about a month and came to realize that its a pretty competitive process - one dog we were interested in had 100 applications in on her! So when we inquired on Oxford and heard there was another family in before us, we figured that's the last we'd hear about him.

But on Sunday at 6pm, we got a call telling us that the other family's current pup didn't get along with Oxford so they passed! So we hopped in the car, drove 30 minutes away and met Oxford. He warmed up to us right away and we to him and it didn't take long for us to realize he was going to be the perfect fit for our family.

And boy has he been a good pup!

Not to mention super smart and playful...

Home Inspiration

Its been a while, I know, but we've been spending every extra minute on house projects - projects I'll be sharing soon. But today I'm feeling under the weather and so I'm taking this opportunity to share a little inspiration for the new house. Right now we've been in mainly de-carpet-and-wallpapering mode so decorating seems pretty far off, but its ok to dream and plan, right? 

Inspiration for the new house... 

Living room

Clean, neutral surroundings with natural wood elements and fibers plus blue velvet and gold accents. That's my convoluted plan 

Dining Room

Green and grey! We plan on painting the walls a grey (maybe lighter than this one here), painting farmhouse chairs in emerald green and adding these curtains... 

Kitchen

The kitchen will likely have many phases. Right now we are keeping the current blue and yellow tile and gold range cover so whatever we do needs to work with that. Right now we are planning a lot of white cabinets, concrete countertops (a DIY project) and some new, orb pendent lights. Oh, and deep shades of blue everywhere... 

Master Suite 

We have some taupe-y looking walls and lots of white, including a new white four-poster I will share with everyone soon. So, while I want to keep our room clean and serene, it needs some personality too. Maybe something earthy and dark or red and bold. Not sure yet, but here's the current inspiration... 

The bathroom is currently dealing with its pinkness with a lot of white and clean, new "marble" floors. A lot of people who have had to keep the pink have balanced it out with black and white, which is our plan. We just need to paint some horizontal black stripes (like below) to finish things off in there for a while. 

Guest rooms

I can't say I really have a plan for any of the guest rooms right now, or even the guest bath. But I do know I eventually want twin beds in the smaller room and the larger guest room to rock out in some bold colors - something the rest of the house will probably lack. 

Some current inspiration... 

Family room 

This room is also pretty far off so I can't say I have a plan for it either. But I'm feeling like it will be more modern, masculine with hints of traditionally girly colors, like coral. 

Ok, that one is a tad ornate and old world for me, but the color scheme and stone walls are working for me. 

Love the dark and simple lines with punches of coral color

Maybe go a little more Mediterranean? Either way, love to colors. 

LOVE this room! Maybe use greenery for punches of color instead! 

Downstairs bath

I've been thinking lately about saving some of our money and keeping the crazy fuchsia toilet and vanity downstairs. With the right flooring and accents, we might be able to work the fuchsia to our advantage. 

Like this but, well, a bathroom... 

And that's all for now, folks! 

New update photos coming soon - I promise!