Back in LA we had my snuff bottle collection displayed on an acrylic tray on our coffee table. This worked fairly well since the table was large and our space could accommodate it. And of course Bryan was not mobile yet so we didn't have to worry about his little hands. Now that he is into grabbing and throwing everything, the snuff bottles, as well as anything else breakable go up and/or away.... Read more
First off, thank you for all the compliments on the kitchen floor. It was by far one of the biggest DIY projects I've taken on and I'm so glad it was such a success. But you didn't think the kitchen was complete, did you? Next on the docket is adding the island, creating a cushion for the window seat, doing some shades at the windows, and then figuring out some sort of table to go at the breakfast... Read more
We've been waiting for our new front door for what seemed like forever. If you recall, the front of our house used to look like this, with faux shutters next to the door, covered up side lites and a solid metal door. No fun.You can see from the photo above that the side lites were on the inside but not the outside!Well, the front door came in probably 2 months ago. After some issues with the door... Read more
Stephen! Please provide me with your email address (you can email me at jessadavis at gmail.com) so that I can get you in touch with Cutting Edge Stencils to receive your prize! Great selection of the herringbone - I can't wait to see your table redo! Read more
Oh, late January. The resort collections are everywhere, taunting me, while the weather stays stubbornly dreary (and, in some cases, downright frigid). The fall/winter clothes in my closet, which in September seemed so alluring, so covered-up, so...grown-up, are now tired reminders of the pale skin and static hair they are designed to protect.My sister and I decided to beat the midwinter... Read more
This post may strike some as trivial, but to me, a house doesn't really become a home until you've really ironed out the details and all of your belongings have also found a home. Up until last week we were getting by with our paper towels just sitting on the counter. Like this. But we really have limited counter space (at least until the island arrives) and I wanted to get them up and out of... Read more
Well, you saw my final product yesterday and today you get to take it on yourself. Cutting Edge Stencils is offering one lucky reader a free stencil of their choosing. I know I had a super hard time selecting the stencil for our floor because they had so many great designs out there. Oh, and did I mention that their how-to videosare super helpful. I definitely recommend watching them before you... Read more
Well, I know some of you have seen some photos of the kitchen floor via facebook and instagram, but I have yet to do a full on blog post about the process and final result. And I know it is eagerly awaited. After some serious overcommitment and some resulting stress-induced sickness (and a toddler with two ear infections) I've come back up for air and made time for a few blog updates. So here... Read more
One of my favorite finds recently has been our dining room chandelier. It's from Jonathan Adlerand is one that I'd been eyeing for a while and had pinned to our house pinboard. Well, I'm on this great mom's email list in our town and people are always selling stuff, giving stuff away and offering valuable information up. Someone had bought this chandelier for her living room but it turned out to... Read more
Sometimes I think one of the trickiest things about dressing well when raising kids is their -- for lack of a better term -- capacity for destruction (sartorially-speaking). My list is long and growing: the Thomas Pink shirtdress, purchased in London and worn everywhere, forever stained when I leaked through it while nursing LittleMan before work one morning; the Marc Jacobs aviator sunglasses... Read more
Well, the kitchen floor got started last week. I was hoping to actually complete it as well but a cold slowed me down. So today I'm stenciling (wish me luck). But I thought I'd show you the progress from last week. The floor was a light grey basecoat originally.To add a bit more contrast between the base and the stencil and to give it more of a weathered look I did a charcoal gray glaze over... Read more
So remember back before Bryan was born? I'd done a little concept boardfor his room and Scott liked it so much that he wanted me to do one for every room in the house (and the end product was pretty much on par with what the board looked like, so now he's definitely hooked) . Now, concept boards for existing spaces are easier said than done. It's always nice to have clean uncluttered images of all... Read more