Monday, June 11, 2012

Our new Patio: Little Liess's Bar & Grill

We spend so much of our time outside & love having familly meals & parties out there so this year we decided to do a little work on our patio. Here is is "before" (I can't believe I'm showing you this pic!!)....  I think this is from two years ago or maybe three??  (is it sad that the years are starting to blend together??) with the AC unit, some messy gravel& the sawhorse table my husband made (which I loved but just didn't work out because it was so heavy!!! and the wood started rotting eventually..  great for a summer though)  I guess it was a couple of years back because it was before we painted the back of our house & shed.   Anyway, here it was "before"--


{We got the patio set at Lucketts for a steal but it came with ill-fitting cushions...  I immediately replaced them with NEW slightly-less-ill-fitting cushions that will hold us over for a couple of years until we feel like springing for new custom ones.)


We planned to continue the concrete all the way along the back of the house & resurface the old concrete to match the new.  I sketched out these plans of the back bar area with slate counters for the contractor:


Our grill isn't built-in...  It's just the same old grill that we made a custom opening for:


And here it is now:



We loooooove being out here now that it's completed & entertaining is so simple. 

Here's a pic of the non-custom cushions I found online that drive me CRAZY because in order to fit them I had to turn them sideways showing the seems, but that I am totally good with making do with for now because they are such an improvement to the original cushions...



The table is from West Elm & I can't say enough good things about it... (It's pretty, hoses off nicely, is super-strudy and holds up to the birds!!  --- if you know what I mean ;) ;) ..see spot in very front of table..  (I clearly didn't do any cleaning up for these pics- woops!)


The stools & chairs are from Pottery Barn & I'm really happy with them too.  The silver chairs are ooold.  We made a little cubbie for our firewood on the right which I love because it just adds a little interest & warmth..

I can't wait to have some mojitoes with my girls out here:


Eventually we'll paint the bar the same color as the house but for now, while we try to have a chill summer, it's staying as-is.  We also plan on continuing our dwarf holly bushes around this area of the patio too so it looks like it's always been here.

One last before:


And one last after:


We love eating at "Little Liess's Bar & Grill" as the boys have dubbed it!!! ;) ;)  Thanks for checking it out!!

And one pic of the littlest Liess, 3 week old Luke:


{Like me & the rest of my children, red-eye remover was required.}

xoxo, Lauren

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

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Dining Room Reveal

If you have ever seen my dining room you might remember it from a Halloween table.  This was my Hogwart's  Feast table in 2010.
This was last Halloween.  The room was easy to decorate because there wasn't much in it, just a dresser, table, and chairs.  We remodeled on 2008 and this used to be our living room, it became a dining room with no style or money left to redecorate. 

This summer we were so generously gifted some dining room furniture.  So instead of going on vacation we stayed home and remodeled.  Hubs likes to have a project to do so, this past week, he helped me makeover the dining room!

This primitive pie safe became the anchor in the room to hold all the dishes on display.

I also have this arts and crafts style buffet.  I decided to paint it with ASCP Duck Egg Blue.  I have always wanted a buffet in this color.  The color and distressing worked well on this piece.


While I was painting furniture and making curtains; Hubs refinished all drywall, ceiling and walls, and installed the floor.  He has some mad drywall skills.  He applied a "knock down" finish.  We really like this finish and have used it in most of our home.

Here is the entry, which is part of the dining room.

I made the  curtains out of pillow ticking.  It makes great curtains.  I will post about that later this week.

I have everything styled for summer, but I am already planning Fall and Christmas!

  Sherry
  I will join:
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
Metamorphosis Monday  at Between Naps on the Porch 
Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage
Your Cozy Home Party  at Cozy Home Scenes
Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage 
Furniture Feature Friday  at Miss Mustard Seed
Sunday's Best Party  at My 1929 Charmer
Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper
Show Off Your Cottage Monday at The House in the Roses
Mod Mix Monday  at Mod Vintage Life 
Creative Inspirations Party  at Embracing Change

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Home Sweet Home #70

Hello and welcome to Home Sweet Home!  It has been a busy week here.  I have been painting furniture and Hubs has been resurfacing our drywall and installing a new floor.   I was gifted "new to me furniture" from my generous family and I wanted to update the dining room.  This piece of furniture was a buffet with a damaged veneer so, I decided to paint it.

It has a coat of ASCP Duck Egg Blue on it but, I'm still not finished with it.  It still needs a paste wax, some buffing, and distressing.  Progress is happening!  

Now I would like to highlight some of the posts that caught my eye last week at Home Sweet Home.
 Brooke at Creative Country Mom's Garden showed off her Lowe's Creative Ideas Gardener's Challenge.  Loved how this turned out!

Home is Where the Boat Is had the most wonderful Memorial Day picnic! 

Ann at Whimsy by the Sea created some pallet art that I adored!  You guys know how I love coastal!

Melissa at Daisy Mae Belle showed off a little kitchen scale she found that I loved!

Thank you to all who join me at Home Sweet Home!   It is wonderful to have you here! 
Sherry
I will join these ladies today:
Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground 
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home
Home and Garden Thursday  at A Delightsome Life 
Creative Things Thursday  at The Vintage Farmhouse
Say G'day Saturday  at Natasha in Oz
Open House Thursday  at No Minimalist Here
  Guidelines for Home Sweet Home Party:
Attention: To link up with inlinkz you must have a permalink back to this party in your post or they will not allow you to link.  
Link up anything in your home or garden.  I love seeing neat shops too!
My button is on my sidebar for the party, if you want to use it.   If you are new here I hope you will become a follower. Please don't link up more than two posts.  No Etsy link ups or direct advertising, please.  Please visit some of the other blogs and get some great inspiration.  Thanks.:)
Now let's see your beautiful homes!

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Stenciling on Furniture and Some DIY

A little remodeling is taking place at our house this week.  We had some of the furniture backed up to one another and pushed out of the way and I walked by this secretary and did a double take.

 There is an original stencil marking this piece on the back.  I didn't know it was there.  I suppose this was a manufactured piece and this was just a way to mark it.  It probably dates from the 1900's. Did anyone know that they marked American furniture in this way?  I don't know much about it but, thought it was neat, since these stencils are showing up  every where.  

So, I have some wonderful new furniture that is "new" to me and all I wanted in my old living room (which is now my dining room) was a new floor, BUT Hubs, who is a weekend warrior (which now, in our older age, is more like a week long warrior on "staycation") has my dining room looking like this..... 
.....I went and got some new Swiffer dusters.....and Swiffer wet mopy things.......I hope it helps.
Sherry
Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage 
Furniture Feature Friday  at Miss Mustard Seed

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Little White Chair

Do you have a little piece of furniture that needs a makeover?  I had this little chair and I knew what potential it had but, I just hadn't gotten around to painting it.  Hubs and I have taken a "staycation" this year and we are doing a few projects around the house.  So, finally this little chair got it's makeover.

And, I knew my little white chair was going to be photogenic.

The chair is painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White.
My peppermint tea is in a Ralph Lauren cup and I do drink it while editing these photos.
Sherry
 I will link this to:
A Return to Loveliness  at A Delightsome Life
Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage
Tea Cup Tuesday at Martha's Favorites
Tea Cup Tuesday at Artful Affirmations
Your Cozy Home Party  at Cozy Home Scenes
Table Top Tuesday  at A Stroll Thru Life
White Wednesday  at Faded Charm
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Monday, June 4, 2012

Hydrangea Time

After Luke was born (2 weeks ago today) I pretty much hibernated inside the house & in our back yard for a week or so- snuggling & trying to keep him fed.  Then one day as we were heading out, I noticed that our hydrangea had bloomed without me noticing.  Like crazy:


...So of course I had to take a few inside...


I love the old-fashioned appeal of hydrangea...  My grandma used to have a ton of limelights at her summer cottage.   I had just enough time to cut a few and am heading out today to grab more...


The thing I love about hydrangea is that there are so many I don't feel guilty for picking them...


I have all different colors (guess our soil PH is pretty inconsistent)...


I love the blue...


Here's a picture of Christian taken 2 years ago bringing a bunch in...


...They (both him & the flowers) were much smaller back then.   I never thought the hydrangea would get taller than me!!

my timer's up- baby's crying- so i'm out  but i cannot thank you all enough for all the well wishes and notes...  your friendship means so much to me.


xoxo, Lauren

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

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Windowsill Ferns

I have seen this "flower arrangement" before and have always wanted to try it.  The ferns are still really pretty and I decided to give it a try.

It is something that is so simple and charming with the vintage bottles.   I washed the window and then pushed the screen up for these shots and then I went back to the window after checking the pictures on the computer and I accused my 7 year-old of opening the window.  Amazing how clean the window was, it didn't even look like it was there!  Note to self: put cleaning the rest of the windows on the to do list this week!
Sherry
  I will join:
Metamorphosis Monday  at Between Naps on the Porch 
Its So Very Creative  at Its So Very, Cheri
Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage
Your Cozy Home Party
  at Cozy Home Scenes
Show off Your Cottage Monday  at The House in the Roses  
Seasonal Sundays  at The Tablescaper
Sunday's Best Party  at My 1929 Charmer