Thank you for being a friend....

In honor of this post, feel free to click the video below to get ya in the mood!

As I was researching this post, I realized I am not the first blogger to realize The Golden Girls were totally fashionable and that their 80's style is back! Nevertheless, here's my take on the matter:

The Chinese Chippendale Chairs:

These are all the rage and I actually found one in the TRASH in Queens!! I had to give it a fresh coat of paint and reupholster it but still! I'll have to get a picture of it to show you.

Anyway, here's an updated look:

Chippendale Chairs in Nate Berkus' living room:

The Banana Leaf wallpaper - it's original claim to fame was at the Beverly Hills Hotel - but Blanche knocks it out of the park with the matching bedspread!!

I have to admit, I am in LOVE with this wallpaper. It is bold and daring but it's just SO fabulous!  I used this wallpaper for my final project at NYSID for a restaurant design!

This image is from a kitchen in the French Quarter via Elle Decor.  It fits right into the lush landscape down here in New Orleans... I would LOVE to do this to my kitchen! (Once I move the kitchen to the back wall of the house - cause that'll happen!)

This is Nate Berkus' dining room. I love the way it looks with black accents.

And what have we learned so far? A major design influence for Nate Berkus was the Golden Girls!

And how could I not mention the Lanai?! Those lounge chairs are pretty sweet.

Here's an idea:
Update them with black and white striped fabric like this:

And have the banana leaf wallpaper made into fabric for some throw pillows. YES PLEASE!

The Opium Table:

I love the shape of this table.

I actually just scored one of these bad boys on Craigslist! I just need to figure out how I want to refinish it...

Here's an updated version:

Heck I'd even rock this dress minus the shoulder pads!

Hope you enjoyed some Golden Girls love!

Thank you for being my friends!

- BOO

Craigslist Score...

As you all know, I loves me some Craigslist and I plan on sharing any of my deals I come across! Here's the latest:

1960's Hollywood Regency glass/brass cube side table! Um yeah, I came up with that official title - makes it much more expensive sounding right?!

I thought the contrast of the French marble table as a nesting table below was interesting...

Here's a pair similar to mine I found online, unfortunately they were sold already so I was unable to see what they went for.

Here's another version made with Brazillian wood - $3,600 for this guy!

And what, oh what did I pay for mine?!

$20

Boooyaaahhh!!!!

Like I said, I loves me some Craigslist!

- BOO

DIY Outdoor Table...

What's a girl and boy to do with some Heart Pine flooring that's been ripped out of a termite ridden room? Why, make an outdoor table of course! When the two termite rooms had to be completely gutted (to the dirt) the contractor unsurfaced some Heart Pine flooring under the ugly carpet.

Aaahhhh yes... remember this?! 

It was not enough to use in a room but it was enough to make an outdoor dining table! And it was FREE which is always a plus!

The Hubs was all alone on this project - this type of DIY is not my forte! It is a very basic idea though so if you're good with power tools this is not too difficult.

- He first laid out the floor boards and locked them in as if they were flooring and measured how long he wanted the table. Then cut the boards to the size he marked.

- After cutting the boards he locked them together again and drilled in a temporary peice of wood across the boards to make sure they were tight and secure.  

- He then made a square base (out of more saved wood from house).

- The table top and the sqaure base are not even drilled together! Since this is old wood - which equals good wood (not microwaved to dry out faster which is what everything you buy these days is) it can stand on its own. It's HEAVY and solid.

And voila!! Rustic outdoor dining table - of course he made it for someone his height (he's 6'4") so when "normal" people sit at it they look like children! I think he may cut down the legs a couple of inches...

This is a clear shot of how you can see the tongue and grooves of the floorboards!

 We had our first "dinner party" with the table over the weekend...

It was a good excuse for me to use my latest garage sale finds! The plates are so Anthropologie to me and I was able to get 10 of them for only $20! The votive holders are actually Waterford Crystal glasses - 3 for $10!  

Don't you love the beautiful view of our half painted shutters in the back?!

We are both very happy with the way the table came out and more importantly that we'll be sharing great times and good meals with friends and family around it!

- BOO

Useful Tools and Other Advice...

Well, now that the major renovations have been complete.. whew! I took note of tools that were quite useful - not saying I personally used all of these tools - I may have stood back and admired their handiness due to fear of getting injured! 

Five in One Painters Tool:

This little guy does it all!! It's a scraper, putty knife, chisel, pick and paint roll cleaner (squeegee). We bought a couple of these because it was such a high demand tool with so many people working on the house!

Crowbar:

I was surprised how much we needed this. They are very handy and it's FUN to see results when you rip things out and tear down walls!

Sawzall:

The appropriately named Sawzall really does "saw all" - this tool completely scared me for weeks but I noticed the more I peered over my brothers shoulder at everything he was doing, the more comfortable I became around power tools. I actually wanted to saw things by the time it was done!

Another thing I learned that I could not stress more to people before tackling a renovation (especially when you are doing most of it) is to be ORGANIZED!! Unfortunately we probably wasted more money than I'd like to think about from losing things and not having a designated spot for everything. Although I also don't recommend living in a house while it's being renovated!

The good news is that we're pretty much at the point of tackling weekend projects that we can do without the help of an expert. This, to me, is the fun part! And better for our wallets!

- BOO

Before and After... the little ugly room

Remember this room that I wanted to make into our little dining room? Well, I wanted to show you the progress so far - it still has a long way to go but as Virginia Slims says, you've come a long way baby!

BEFORE:

Just NASTY, NASTY, NASTY!! I will mention that there was a kitchen here that we had to rip out (to be considered a single family home for the bank) and that's why you see all the plumbing loveliness...

The white spaces are where the cabinets were. The plywood sheet is blocking a doorway to the pantry/laundry room.

I originally wanted to rip out both these cabinets but decided to just take out the bottom one. I attempted to do the demo on this alone but once the crowbar started ripping into the sheet rock - I thought I'd leave the job to my brother!

Priming the little ugly room...

The floors in this back room were COMPLETELY uneven so we (my dad) decided to level the floor and then lay down thick sheets of plywood as the flooring.

This picture not only highlights how completely disgusting this room was, it shows how my dad laid strips of wood down - at some points 2" thick and then laid the plywood on top so it would then be level. I hope this is making sense?!

Big bro laying down the plywood... it is definitely a complicated math equation to figure out how to cut the wood and level it - at least for me!

I then painted the plywood with porch and deck paint in a very soft lavender/grey color. I love that if it ever stains I can just go back over with paint and it's as good as new!

AFTER:

It became a guest bedroom after all that dining room planning!!

At least temporarily it is a guest bedroom. We have had guests the past couple of weeks and needed a guest bedroom set up ASAP - and the room next to ours would just be weird to use - you have to walk through it to get to the rest of the house so no privacy.

Other side of room:

 I still need to put up pictures and better window treatments but it's a work in progress...

This is a great example of how I like to add some personality to a space! We are in New Orleans afterall!

The lucky guests who get to sleep in here also get a full bar!

I'll give you a run down of the costs:

• Fancy plywood flooring -                     $ 75
• Porch & Deck Paint -                          $ 25
• Tempurpedic Full Bed - Craigslist -      $140
• Asian Garden Stools - Big Lots -         $20 each (I spray painted them white)
• Fan Chair  - Thrift Store                      $ 60
• Antique Venetian Nesting Tables -       $ A LOT (we splurged on our honeymoon plus I saw them in NYC for $1,000 more than we paid!) 
• Chrome & Marble Bar - CB2              $ 300? can't remember?
• Geometric Wool Rug -                         Inherited
• Glitter Skeleton - Z Gallerie                  $10 - Everyone needs a glitter skeleton right?!
• Chartreuse Green Silk Curtains -           My mommas that I think I get to keep?

All the furniture and accessories listed above we already owned minus the bed.  

The curtains are tacked up for privacy from the laundry room - not sure what we will do permanently but it's a quick fix for now.

 

I am really happy with the way it turned out and nothing is ever permanent in our house so who knows what this room will become next month?!

- BOO

Bywater Home Tour...

This past weekend was the Bywater Home Tour. Seven homes were featured - 3 of which are definitely worth mentioning.

  

(I was really only taking pictures for future ideas so you probably will not see much of some of the homes - just close ups of things I like - sorry!)

The first was an adorable (sometimes I hate that word but really - this place was just adorable!) cottage...

They took two corbels and turned them on their side to make a headboard. Cleva!

OK, this was the showstopper at their home. The house was made from barge board (like ours) and they were able to strip the years of wallpaper and paint off the boards and expose the beauty underneath!!

I wish we could do something like this but our bargeboard is under sheetrock and lath and I am not about to mess with all that!

It reminded me of something you would see in the French Quarter. 

Oh, and their garden was spectacular!

I loved the little details in the yard.

The next home was owned by Pres Kabakoff and Sally Glassman. I mentioned their home before - CLICK HERE to see the professional pictures.

The third, tiniest and my favorite of all was owned by a young architect - I didn't get her name! Oops... Anyway, she took a TINY - maybe 700 square feet - shotgun home and completely opened it up.

Notice in the picture above the built out loft over the kitchen - it is the bedroom. There are stairs in the back to reach it.

Cool light fixture - possible inspiration for a future DIY?!

This is a view to the "loft" over the front door. She has not done anything with this space yet but I don't doubt she will!

This is the loft that she uses as her bedroom. She has used every square inch of her home!

I got major inspiration for our upstairs unfinished attic. She just has the subfloors down and coated them with a couple of coats of polyurethane. Our subfloors are that gross chip board though so we might want to put a nicer layer of plywood over them and then either polyurethane or paint them.

She even stores her things in a beautiful way.

I love how raw it is. she stripped all the frames around the windows and doors and it actually looks really cool. The home definitely has an industrial look to it.

The most inspiring part of her home was that the materials were inexpensive and everything was consistent - so it had a great flow. (every window was stripped, no molding anywhere, unfinished sheetrocked walls, plywood used predominantly - it sounds unattractive I know but it looked fantastic!)

I guess the moral to the shotgun story is keep your home consistent and it will look fabulous! -- Unless your consistency is "dorm room chic"!  :)

- BOO