Welcome August - A Quick Home Tour

Welcome August! I'm so grateful to be back east! So much has happened in the past year - In August last year, we were getting ready for Jeff to have back surgery. In September, just after Jeff's surgery /recovery, he got promoted - to a store here in North Carolina. In October, we had to house hunt, and lucked out finding a new home (within two weeks) in the Triad area. We purchased the home (basically via online from Arizona), and I began the purging and packing process - while Jeff had to report to his new job in North Carolina. In November, the movers arrived, loaded our Arizona rental home, and drove across the country (even in one of the early winter storms). We also closed on the house, and began the process of cleaning and painting (the common areas) before the movers arrived. A few days before Thanksgiving, the movers arrived, and (chaotically) unpacked the truck they unloaded the same day.

Since then, little by little, Jeff and I have transformed this house into our home - updating builder light fixtures, changing switches, refinishing furniture finds, organizing closets + garage, and still purging / donating items no longer fitting our new lifestyle + the energy of our new location, along with also updating the front yard and back deck.

Is the house perfect now? 
Not by any means, but together, we've done a lot, in a little bit of time, and without taking out a loan for any major renovations. How have we done this? By pacing ourselves - taking on projects in phases, a little at a time - and saving some of the larger projects for after living in the space, and living with what we really need, vs. overextending ourselves for what we want. 

Have there been hick-ups along the way? 
You betcha! The first shower Jeff took in this house created a leak downstairs to the (furnished) living room. In April, the dishwasher leaked - so badly, Jeff had to cut the ceiling open downstairs to allow the water to drain out - and aimed a small heater on a ladder to dry it out, before he repaired the ceiling. In May, the hot water heater died (thankfully no burst!), and had to be replaced. 

Best part of the move...
Thankfully, now that we're back east, we've been able to break away with road trips and even a trip down to Florida...

 

Catching up with long time friend, Diane, in Orlando, FL in June...

Yay! Made it to the east-coast beach - even better: in Florida!

 Jeff and Sammi - Graduation Day!

In between home repairs, we've been able to visit with family plus do more traveling: We drove to Atlanta in February - I attended DBC & Atlanta Market Day, while Jeff visited his mom. In March, my mom came up to visit us. In April, I attended High Point Market + the design showhouse. In June, we flew down to Florida for Jeff's niece's graduation, and we took a day trip over to Raleigh. We're planning on Jeff's mom coming up for Thanksgiving, plus my mom and aunt might be coming to visit in October (fingers crossed!) It's so good to be able to see family again...

 Historic Oakwood, Raleigh, NC

 Downtown K-ville, NC

 Architectural Salvage, Greensboro, NC

Living Local
Along with some major travel, I've also gotten to know a little more around my new area: Back in February, we went wine tasting at some local vineyards, and hope to visit more in the fall. I've also visited museums and farmers markets, the Reynolds Gardens in Winston-Salem, toured a historic district in Raleigh - plus check out a few local consignment shops such as the Red Collection in Greensboro, Furniture Emporium in Winston Salem, an architectural salvage shop in Greensboro, and a great Antique-Thrift shop down in High Point. I don't go thrifting here as much as I did in Phoenix - clothing consignment isn't as strong as it was in Scottsdale, so for fashion updates, I have had to turn to online sources such as Tradesy and ThredUp.

East Coast Style
Of course, the 'fun' part of moving, is having new spaces to create, organize, and personalize - pet friendly spaces to live in. I've shared some of the outdoor projects here on the blog, improvements and transformations - now it's time to take a peek inside. I've been sharing the transformations as they've happened over time on Facebook, but not everyone is on Facebook (like my mom or family!! lol) Here is a peek at some of the transformed and settled spaces for Harmon House...

Master Bedroom

 Dressing Room - Accessory Closet

Home Office

Guest Den

 

Entry Hall - Foyer 

Thrift Chair Makeover (Sephora's favorite spot!)

 Painted all doors black - Maintained existing brass hardware...

 

Dining Room

 Summer Style - Living Room

 There is still more we have done and still more to do - such as paint and set Jeff's mancave, a guest room downstairs, eventually remodel the master bathroom, and figure out where the Christmas tree will be this year - but for now (that my summer battle with bronchitis seems be be passing), I hope to inspire you in the next few posts, while sharing some of the details of the transformations that have happened! 

Good-bye July! Welcome August!

Grateful to be back east!

Stay tuned for inspiring transformation details and thanks for stopping by!

OUTDOOR HOLIDAY ENTRYWAY FOR CHRISTMAS

Creating a festive entry for the holidays not only welcomes guests, but it can also spark inspiration for neighborhood holiday decor. When we first moved in to our rented home here in AZ, our block had very few decorations at Christmas - I think we were the only ones. Last year, a few more added lights, and this year, it's so nice to see so many stoops dressed for the season! Each year when I set our holiday entry, I reuse the same core pieces: One lit garland around the doorway, one wreath on the door, two large urns and two lanterns. When it comes to the entrance, I really like symmetry! Since I also have two ledges, I vary what goes on either side of the door or he ledge to change it up a bit. In Florida, I didn't have the space for anything extra, but I'm enjoying the versatility I get to display on our stoop here in AZ. Usually here, I've used black lanterns throughout the seasons, but this year I tried something different: I swapped the two black lanterns for two galvanized lanterns I had inside - and was also actually able to light them. Something else I also love using here in AZ are scarves en lieu of ribbon...

 

To get a longer drape on the urn with the scarf, I tie the scarf around a grapevine wreath at the neck of the urn. The urn is filled mostly with craft paper, and I stabilize the branches - large from Florida and smaller branches with greens from the area - with newspaper towards the neck, and cover with moss.

 

I had some oversized snowflakes, I had used on the stairs in our dining room in FL back in '08, and decided to use them outdoors this year...

 

 

Last year, I had used the large urns away from the door and out on the two ledges, but I found these two mini trees while thrifting to use instead. I just nested them into two painted black containers I had, and covered the container tops with white rock (to look like snow). To give the two trees a little decor, I reused some sparkle snowflakes I use to use on the (inside) tree. I also found two galvanized pails while thrifting last year, which work great to hold my white poinsettias (which really pop against the stone at the entry...

 

The light inside the lantern is a simple single candlestick light, just hot-glued inside the lantern. The lantern I had gotten at HomeGoods back in 2011, and I had used it inside, hanging with rope for my Summer entry. Now, with the candlestick inside, it casts a great shadow on the house...

It's snowing!!

(Don't I wish!)

 

To light the poinsettias, I just tucked some icicle lights I no longer use the window. Net lights (we had to replace this year) get wrapped around two small bushes - and just like the wreath, I used the large snowflakes on them...

 

 

I leave the bark mulch piles & pinecones from the Fall entry, and sprinkle faux snow on them for holiday...

 

The scarves I used on the urns are another thrift find here in AZ - One is  houndstooth and the other is check...

 Below is a peek behind the scenes creating my Christmas Entry - cutting the branches, cleaning the door & sweeping the stoop, running the electrical extensions & hiding them, fluffing the garland + wreath -- and this year, re-lighting the garland with new lights. I use the garage to set a mock-up of what the entry will be and tweak as I set...

Below is last years holiday entry...

 

Holiday Entry 2012

 

Holiday Entry 2012

 

Holiday Entry 2012

 

Holiday Entry 2013

 Hope you're enjoying your holiday season - and some of you will be enjoying a White Christmas! 

Let it snow and thanks for stopping by!

Linking post to:

The DIY Showoff - Holiday Project Parade

DECORATING WITH URNS FOR THE SEASONS

Do you love to change your home decor for the seasons? The foundation to being able to make a big impact from small changes is having a few transitional key pieces. Although very traditional in style and history, one key piece that can gracefully work into almost any space, anytime of the year is an urn. An urn can be small and sit in pairs on your mantle. An urn can be over-sized and sit on pedestals at an entry. An urn can be inside on a table in the foyer, or an urn can be the focal point of your courtyard or garden. As for fillers - urns can carry ferns in spring, hydrangea or coral in the summer, branches in the fall, and a mix of evergreens, ornaments, and pinecones in the winter. For holidays, urns can also be a statement piece to contain flowers for Easter, pumpkins for fall, and oversized ornaments at Christmas. Here are a few ideas for decorating with urns for the seasons or anytime of the year...

 

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Fill an urn with a collection of old books... 

 

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Fill and urn with fruit in the dining room... 

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Fill an urn with treasures from the sea, like coral on the fireplace...

 

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 Fill an urn with glorious hydrangea in summer...

 

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Fill an urn in the Fall with your favorite gourds...

 

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Fill an urn at an entryway with branches in Winter...

 

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Fill an urn with greenery any time of year...

 

Fill an urn for holiday with evergreens, ornaments, and even antler as Matthew Mead did for his new book... Matthew Mead's Holiday All Through The House is available for pre-order via Amazon.com and Amazon.ca.

 

Fiberglass urn at Garden Ridge 

 

Cast stone Medici urns at Home Depot

Large or small, urns can do it all. Urns can be as heavy as cement or iron, great for outdoors, as porous as pottery for the porch, or as light as fiberglass for a pedestal indoors. Urns are easy to find at your local garden center or home decor store.

 

 Read: Aging an urn with paint

And if over time, you still love the shape, but not the finish, urns are easy to patina and paint (I can remember learning and doing this when I did freelance window displays with Rei Diaz at Displayworks in Miami!) 

Do you decorate your home with urns? Inside or out?

Coming up, I'll share more specific inspiration for decorating with urns for Fall, as well as Winter Holiday... 

Happy decorating and thanks for stopping by,