Monday, 26 November 2012

Back Into The Swing of Things

 Last week we headed to Nashville with window seat cushions for a client in tow.  They looked great! 
 We had a great few days with family, lots of sweet memories were made.
I hope you all had a wonderful break and I hope today is not too hard as we get into the swing of things.

Thursday, 22 November 2012

Thankful

I hope you all have a wonderful, fulfilling and peaceful Thanksgiving.  I am so thankful for each of you who read H&H, you make every day better.  xx, Marianne

Image Here

Tuesday, 20 November 2012

Our Stair Rail is in!!

Our iron stair rail went in and I wanted to share some pics with you.  I spent a lot of time pouring over images of railings and figuring out just exactly what I wanted.  We worked with Tom Owens of Herndon Ironworks and his railing is truly beautiful.  It's really special to be able to work with true craftspeople on our home and to be able to do things that are a bit outside of the "box."

 {Tom Owens- bottom left- & his team of craftsmen. They are all so good at what they do!!}

For our railing, I wanted something that felt both modern & old at the same time.  It's simple & clean and spare and has a beautiful patina. 



When I visited Herndon IronWorks (literally a mile away from our old house) Tom & I looked around the shop so we could determine the finish I was after. 




We soon found out that I was drawn to the metals that had aged naturally over time vs. any faux aged finishes.  Everything I liked was outside & had weathered to a rusty black. 





To get the finish I wanted, Tom set the new iron for our railing outside & let it weather for a few weeks. 


{We used 1/2 inch square pickets for our rails, seen at the top left of the above photo}


The end of the top rail is a lamb's tongue that gently swirls into a sort of vine around the post:

 
It's the slightest bit of curve & "pretty" & quirk in an otherwise very spare & clean design.  I love little elements like this & it's sort of a microcosm for how I like rooms to feel. 

You might remember that our stairs were originall very steep, and so to make them a bit more manageable for our boys (and us! ;)  CarrMichael Constrution put new stairs in.  I wanted to be able to see the sides of the stairs & to have the drywall go right into the steps themselves without a stringer, so Mike Carr (owner of CarrMichael) made it happen.  Here's what the stairs looked like before:

{Justin, my very sweet little man}

...And here they are now:

{two other sweet ones- Dave & Ashby} 

 The temporary door at the top of the stairs & the wooden horizontal old railings will both be removed & we've got lots of cleaning up to so (walls, woodwork, etc.) but we're on our way!!  I love how the pickets attach directly into the drywall.  The curve into the drywall and are out farther than the stair treads, so they actually make the stairs even wider than before because there's so much more usable space on them. 

I'm so happy with how everything turned out & I really can't thank everyone who was involved enough.  It takes so many hours & brains to really come up with something good & it's definitely worth it!!  To read more about my stair inspiration, click here.




If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Monday, 19 November 2012

Under Construction

 Not only is the office getting a fresh coat of paint......
Our bathroom is also getting a big facelift.  Living in chaos...not so much fun.
I am sure it will all be worth it though once it is done!

Thursday, 15 November 2012

I Already Loved Sue...Then There Was A Lion

Do you watch the show The Middle?  If not you should, it is good.  Just when I thought I could not like these two any more, Sue goes and finds a lion door knocker.

I have to tell you, there are few things I love more for a house than a good knocker and if you have been reading this blog for a while you know I love a lion.  A few years ago I started working with a new client and when I walked up to her door and spied this, I knew we would get along just fine.
She moved, the lion moved with her, I was relieved.  So where is my lion knocker?  That is an excellent question.  I have looked and looked at Scott's, antique stores, etc. but I have never pulled the trigger.  It is time that changed and I think the answer comes from Ebay.  Two I am eying...

 First image ABC, Episode Here