FAMILY | Stately Kitsch

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A New Look for Stately Kitsch!

February 11, 2013 — 2 Comments

Hi All! Well we finally decided to go live with the new look for the blog. Mr. S. deserves most of the credit for this one (Thanks Mr. S!). A lot of the work is actually on the back end. So in addition to a new logo and appearance the blog now has responsive design which is really cool and means that it should work well on phones and tablets too (which is 100% Mr. S.)!

The biggest change is probably the new logo. Which took lots of back and forth and I think is quite beautiful. We have also added a white background, which is departure for me but I think it work well for highlighting the content. We also added a colorful border with different patterns that vary (because I need to have my color and pattern somewhere).

I still have a bunch of stuff to add including a new picture of me (in progress), social media links, a links page and most importantly a full house tour. Since the blog with have its 2 year anniversary at the end of the month, I hope to have all of that up and running by then.

Original Design from 2011

We have come a long way in the two years since we started. I hope you enjoy the new look!

And a special thanks to all of my readers who keep me inspired! xoxo

2 Comments

In -Design, ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN, FAMILY

Happy New Year!

January 2, 2013 — 4 Comments

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope everyone had a joyful and restful holiday season!

I can’t believe 2012 is over and it is time to start thinking about 2013 and what lies ahead. This past year has been so full it is hard to imagine what is in store for this year. As you can see I’m starting off the year with a bit of a ramble. I’ve had some time to stew things over in my head, so I thought I would share.

I had some quality downtime over the break. So what did I do with it? We spent a good bit of time as a family and Mr. S. and I actually managed to get some alone time in, including going out to lunch a couple of times by ourselves!

I also managed to start cleaning and organizing the workroom in the basement and Mr. S. worked on a new logo for the blog and is part way through a new layout. I’m pretty excited about that, especially since the current format seems to be literally falling apart.

The other thing I managed to do was to read an entire book, which is a miracle in itself. I chose “Happiness at Home” by Gretchen Rubin. I haven’t read the “Happiness Project” but I thought this sequel might be more my speed. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, much less on actual concrete “home” and more on creating a better home life. A lot of the things she wrote resonated with me. So I’m not quite sure I will be starting a compete Happiness Project, but I am going to try and be more mindful and am considering a few small changes. I like her strategy of making small concrete changes, rather than large gestures that are harder to actually implement and stick to. Has anyone tried their own Happiness Project?

I also worked on some to do lists for the house. I really like making lists, particularly by hand. That way I can add notes, circles, cross things off. Does anyone else still do this?

What came out of my house lists and discussions with Mr. S. is that adding air conditioning by the summer is at the top of the LONG list. Our window units aren’t cutting it and with global climate change air conditioning has become much more of a necessity in these parts. We also have some ongoing space planning issues on the second floor, which have been on hold until we determine the layout for the air conditioning ducts. Our general plan had been to install the unit on the third floor to feed the second and third floor. Our neighbors have this set up and it has provided ample cooling for all three floors of their house. Of course it is never that simple. It will require removing a good portion of the plaster knee walls in the third floor to insulate and then carefully snaking the ducting through the eaves down to the second floor and into the third floor. Well after some thinking about both the second and third floor problems, I think I have come up with a better solution. Our second floor ceilings are 9 1/2′ tall. The plaster ceilings in the master bedroom and the hallway need to be covered/replaced anyway, so why not take some of the ceiling height in the hallway and run the ducts down there? That should provide a straighter and cleaner installation for the air conditioning ducts. Of course that still requires insulating the third floor/roof and installing the base unit up there, but I think it might be a good solution.

As I work this out a little more in my head I will post up some drawings and photos. I also need to get some air conditioning and insulation guys in to take a look. I also need to figure out how to get more power up to the second and third floor without making a total mess of the house.

I also have a list of a LOT of smaller projects. So over the next couple of weeks I will be sharing some of these ideas.

Cheers to a wonderful 2013!

4 Comments

In FAMILY, OUR HOME

Santa Was Here!

December 29, 2012 — Leave a comment

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday! We are fortunate to have seen almost our entire family in the last 5 days and are looking to a couple of quiet days before the start of the year.

I wrote about our Santa visit last year but I thought I would update with this year’s picture.

2012

And here are the previous years…

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

P.S. I want to give a special shout out to my lovely husband, who fixed my wordpress problem! I can finally upload pictures again! Yeah!

Holiday Card 2012

December 21, 2012 — 8 Comments

It is time to finally share our holiday card for this year…

We posed in our normal location (the Living Room) and this year we thought we would show a little bit more of the kids personalities, starting with a certain 3 1/2 year old girl. In the last year I have begun to understand the drama of a little girl. Little boys have their own issues, but the emotions of a 3 year old girl are hard to beat. So when Maisie started making this face a couple of weeks before the photo shoot, I knew that we had to use it. When the day of the photo actually came, she was reluctant to pout in front of the camera, not that she was willing to smile either. Although in the end her brother was actually more difficult. He loves his costumes, but he wasn’t happy with the agreed upon outfit. He wanted to be wearing even more stuff! The surprise of the shoot were the cats, who both came to visit while we were working on it, so we just snapped their pictures, without any treats!

The Details

We always try to put in some fun details.

1. This year Mr. S. decided that bunny slippers were in order. We actually only bought 1 pair. Since, everyone is shot separately, we passed them around.

2. This is the first year that we didn’t put up the big tree for the shoot. Instead we used the little silver tree that is now sitting on the piano. We also brought in the chair from the Dining Room and the extra side table from the front porch.

3. The painting above the mantel this year is The Treaty of Penn with Indians by Benjamin West, painted in 1772. Benjamin West was from just down the road from here.

4. Mr. S. is reading a vintage copy of Robinson & Crusoe from our book shelf.

5. Maisie is wearing the antenna from her ladybug Halloween costume, while I am trying to fix her costume.

6. On some of the outtakes we are all wearing fake mustaches.

7. The fire in the fireplace use to be fake but we now have gas logs, so it is actually real.

8. The photo is comprised of 7 or 8 photos, put together in Photoshop by my super talented Mr. S. In reality we shoot a couple hundred photos to get the right combination. Here are a few of my favorites:

To see some of our previous cards: 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! I’m off to see if I can get the rest of the coatrack up before family starts arriving.

Cheers!

8 Comments

In -Holiday Cards, FAMILY

Holiday Season Update

December 17, 2012 — Leave a comment

Maisie & Sam (aka Candle #7)

Hello all! I wish I had more to post, but I don’t. I am deeply saddened by the events in Connecticut and spent a lot of the weekend staying close to the kids.I also think I have officially overextended myself. I have a hard time saying ‘no’, although there are some things, especially related to the kids’ school that I always want to make sure get finished and done right. The kids had their Hanukkah play at school last week and it was fabulous! Sam made a great candle #7 and a good time was had by all. We also managed to make some Christmas sugar cookies this weekend, which the kids have been asking to do for a while. They were so blissfully unaware of what happened.

Hallway Progress

In the meantime I have been trying to get the front hall hooks and shelves finished, which has been painstaking slow. When I have a few minutes I run downstairs and put on another coat of stain to all of the parts. I managed to hang the lower piece yesterday and the kids enjoyed filling up the hooks that are up (although I ordered some more to fill out the board). I am really trying to get the top part finished by Friday. We will see if that happens. Fingers crossed! At least now I have all of the parts minus 6 extra hooks which can be installed after the boards are up.

I am sending my love to everyone!

P.S. The holiday cards are in the mail. So I will be posting up the picture and all of the details later this week.

A Memorable Object

November 28, 2012 — 2 Comments

Vintage German Cow Bell now hanging on our Dining Room

I am fresh off the plane from the Midwest and pretty beat. It has been a long couple of days and I am already dreading the pile of work that awaits me. But first I had to hang something up.

I come from a family of farmers (at least on my father’s side); to be more specific, Iowa dairy farmers. I was actually born in NJ and my Midwestern relatives like to make fun of my “NJ” accent (which I like to think has more to do with my fast talking style then my actual accent). However I spent almost every Christmas in the Midwest and have fond memories of watching my grandparents, uncles and aunts milking their herd of Brown Swiss cows. We would stay at the old farmhouse and every morning my grandfather would scoop the cream off the top of the fresh unpasteurized milk to put on his cereal. His well worn hands taking a break from the morning chores.

So when I think of what objects would remind me of my grandparents, I always think of cows. I have put in a request for a Brown Swiss statue or pitcher to add to our Dining Room animal menagerie, but I did bring one thing back with me. When I was 12 we went of a family trip to Europe. While we were there we visited the Black Forrest region in Germany. We picked up a vintage cow bell to bring back for my Grandparents. For years it hung in their kitchen. So it is with pride that I hung it up in our Dining Room (just above my cow bell).

My brother and me on the farm with my Dad and Grandpa

My Mom just scanned this old photo for me. No instagram filters needed!

2 Comments

In FAMILY

Holiday Photo Shoot

November 27, 2012 — 2 Comments

Well we managed to get our holiday photo shoot finished and mostly edited over the weekend. It took the most part of the day (not including editing). Fortunately with a bit of cajoling everything went well.

Our little helper

I don’t think the kids have a future in acting since their attention span is quite short and they kept asking when we could be done.

The Kids in Between Shots

The best participants this year were the kitties! Both stopped in for their shots unprompted (usually their photos involve a fair number of treats).

On a sad note, I am away right now visiting the great state of Iowa attending my Grandfather’s funeral. He lived to be 96, which is pretty impressive. Sharp as a tack until the end. He will be missed!

2 Comments

In -Holiday Cards, FAMILY

Happy Thanksgiving

November 24, 2012 — Leave a comment

Happy Thanksgiving from Maisie (and Miss Laura her amazing preschool teacher). I love that some things are just as I remembered them as a kid.

Okay, so Thanksgiving was yesterday, but I wanted to send out a belated Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We had a lovely day with my family including some tasty food including grilled turkey (awesome way to free up the oven) and cornbread and sausage stuffing.

I also just wanted to stay that I am very thankful for all of my readers and clients (and my family and friends)!

Sam’s Thankful Letter.

I am in love with Sam’s creation from Kindergarten. It is amazing what he has already learned in just a couple of months of school! He has announced that he is going to be an artist when he grows up. Needless to say that we are very proud, especially considering that 2 years ago he refused to draw or write at all.

Starting to think about the Hallway Coat Rack

November 7, 2012 — 2 Comments

Hallway Before with undersize Coat Rack (try to ignore the rolled up carpet that needs to go upstairs and the miscellanous house trim sitting on top of the shelf)

Sorry I haven’t posted this week! I hurt my shoulder/back, making everything I do much more difficult. I am hoping that it heals soon!

I feel like I have a million projects started and nothing anywhere closed to finished. I would like to concentrate on our bedroom, but there are a couple of unknown pieces (i.e. future air conditioning and adding additional electric) that have put that on the back burner again. The new carpet is still rolled up in the front hallway. I am hoping to put that in soon so at least I can enjoy something soft on my feet in the morning.

So what is next on the agenda? I decided this week that I NEED to do something about the coat rack in the hallway. I have been trying to come up with a plan for this area for a couple of years now and it never seems to be a priority, but with the cold weather setting in, the number of coats have gone up and our little coat rack isn’t cutting it, never mind that the hooks keep breaking off! I am also looking for a better way to sort mail, besides sitting on the kitchen island.

Old Coat Rack looking really tiny here

Here is my list of requirements:

Zdenka’s Front Hall that I designed last year

1. LOTS of Coat Hooks at 2 Levels (Uppers for the grown ups and longer coats and Lower ones for the kids coats and backpacks). Similar layout to Zdenka’s front hall.

Martha Stewart Basket Rack, DIY

2. Shelves for holding mail baskets (ideally 3 baskets that hold 8 1/2 x 11 paper). I like this shelf from Martha Stewart.

3. The design needs to work with the Victorian feel of our front hallway (dark wood, preferably oak with Victorian brackets)

4. The design can’t stick out more than about 10″, so it doesn’t infringe on the main walking path.

5. I would love a bench, but I don’t think we will have space.

6. Have it done by Thanksgiving!

Martha Stewart Living Solutions Country Bracket with Shelf, $84

The Design:

I was planning on making something from scratch, since I want to maximize the 53″ of width. I have some sketches, but nothing that I was totally in love with. Then I found this shelf in the latest Home Decorators Catalog! It is stylistically almost perfect. The size is a little short though. I am currently considering ordering it, and then tweaking it with a new wider top shelf and then adding a board below to hold the hooks. What do you think? Is it lame not to make it from scratch? The only other downside is that it isn’t oak, so the wood won’t totally match.

Dome Coat Hook from Signature Hardware, $11.95

I have also picked out the coat hooks. I’m obsessed with dome style hooks, because they do a much better job of not pulling on the back of the coat. I found several but I really like this simple design. I plan on mixing these with some more regular hooks, to hold other things.

So stay tuned for more details!

2 Comments

In DIY, FAMILY, INTERIOR PRODUCTS, FURNITURE & FABRICS

Happy Halloween!

November 1, 2012 — 1 Comment

Luke Skywalker & Ladybug Girl

First, I want to send my love to all of my Mid-Atlantic neighbors who are still suffering and have been hurt by Sandy! You are in our thoughts!

We were extremely fortunate and managed to escape unscathed minus a few branches. After a couple of restless days at home life is getting back to normal here. Our elementary school still doesn’t have power but they are going to open today with emergency power, which should be interesting (we put an extra layer of clothes on Sam in case it is cold). Trick or Treating went on as normal in our Borough, although several of the towns around us are holding off until the weekend.

Luke Skywalker practicing with his Lightsaber

The kids picked out their own costumes this year and Maisie even managed to wear one that she already had. So it was an easy year for me! Sam watched the original Star Wars a few weeks ago with Mr. S. before selecting his costume.

Ladybug Girl

Miss Maisie was happy to be Ladybug Girl. She is a big fan of the books and wants to make it clear that she is not JUST a ladybug, but a Ladybug Superhero!

We had a great time visiting the neighbors and the night ended with a sugar high and this morning the kids looked like they had a post sugar hangover. Now we just have to make it through the school Halloween Parade!

I hope everyone enjoyed some Trick or Treating!

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In FAMILY

Archives For FAMILY

The Details

Here is my list of requirements:

The Design:

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