The Money Pit: Summer Porch Makeover

It seems like forever and a day since I wrote any posts about this old house, and that's a shame because we've been doing TONS of projects to it over the last few years to spruce it up and make it our own.  Back when we were still house hunting, one of my main requirements was that we have a large porch.  When we decided to buy Matt's parents old house, I was thrilled that it met that criteria with flying colors.  We have a beautiful screened in sleeping porch that actually runs the whole length of our house.  It's one of the best features in the spring, summer, and fall months.  Whenever we are entertaining that's where people tend to congregate.  That's why it's surprising that I've never taken the time to really thoughtfully decorate and create the space.  It's always been an odd, mis-matched grouping of furniture/storage area.  This year I decided to do a whole makeover on our awesome outdoor space, to make it as beautiful as it is functional.  Here's my inspiration.

From top left corner:

1. For seating we've always had random folding chairs that we can pull out, but I spotted these great wooden club chairs at World Market.  The best part is you can change the canvas anytime you want.  I chose red and yellow to match the color scheme, a stylized version of primary colors, and I'll be adding pops of gold here and there.  Image from World Market.


2. A bright turquoise patterned rug will add a pop of color to our concrete floor. Image from rugsUSA.


3. Succulents and greens in fun, eclectic white containers. Image from Accent Decor.


4. Brightly colored tables will bring a pop of yellow.  Spray paint has been my best friend lately, I've been re-vamping tons of furniture pieces with it.  Image from Etsy.


5. I love the palms, black and white stripes, and pops of yellow in this outdoor space. Image from Cottage and Vine.

Ahhhh, so excited.  Can't wait to share our newly decorated space! 

xo - Emily

The Money Pit: A Sea of Zinnias

So as promised the zinnias have bloomed, and despite this brutal heat have continued to spring up.  I think one of my very favorite things about this flower is that each one is truly individual.  Different colors and variations, each one's a little piece of eye candy.  

And here's a few of the other lovely blooms popping up to say hello...

I finally have my own scabiosa's in the garden.  They're some of my favorites!

And as always some cute nuggets, just because...

love, emmy-ray

The Money Pit: In the Garden (Summer 2011)

So I always complain to my husband about people who don't update their blogs, saying things like "why even have a blog", and "how hard is it to just update once a week?".  However low and behold, look who I've turned into, the once a month poster.  My apologies friends.  The good news, it's all due to being incredibly busy with tons of projects, and it's just plain silly not share them here, right?

I'll ease into things with some shots from around the house and in the garden that I took last week.  I really, really love my camera (a Canon Rebel T1i), and often forget how much I like taking pictures just for fun until I get around to snapping some shots.  I'm by no means a photographer, but with the image quality this thing produces it's hard not to "get into it".   

Rose bush in our back yard, and no I didn't alter the colors, they really are just that bright and lovely.

The first zinnia buds of the year.  I grew them from seeds and there's going to be a million of them.  I'll share more pics once they start blooming.

The day lilies are O.O.C. this year, some are almost 5 feet tall.

Matt arriving home from work, and the also gigantic rudbeckia growing next to the garage.

Red asiatic lilies and coneflower buds.

And some gratuitous dog pictures, just because I can't help myself...

Thanks for touring my garden.  What are you growing at your house/apartment this year?

love, emmy-ray

 

The Money Pit: Our Valentines Day House Tour

Matt finds my love of all things holiday "cute".  I have to say that I just can't help myself, I guess it's that part of me that loves to celebrate that get's all excited for those special days each month.  And of course it's another excuse to decorate, which can also be included on my list of favorite things. 

This is a new wreath that I made this year.  It's inspired by conversation hearts.  I wanted to use a fun mix of colors just like the candies, so I ordered some fancy felt from Giant Dwarf.  I embroidered messages onto each heart and filled it with stuffing to give it some dimension.  I wrapped a foam wreath form in yarn, and also created some pom poms.  I couldn't help but add a little sparkle so I glittered some wood beads, and used vintage sequin pink trim for the bow and hanger.

I of course decked out the mantle using some of the red lantern lights we bought for our wedding, and the hearts I used to create a paper mobile last year.  I found some lovely red votive holders on sale for half off at Michaels, and some little heart lights for a dollar at Target.

I think my grandma gave me these little guys many years ago.  They're super kitschy, which is right up my alley.  I put them out every year.

The entry table has a few little valentines features here and there.  However the thing I'm most excited about is the frame I made to hold Christmas cards, which I've hung up for year round use.  I like being able to switch out the photos easily, and having multiple ones of friends and family represented.

Of course Hazel couldn't help but get in on some camera time.

That's it, I hope you enjoyed my little Valentines tour.  

love, emmy-ray

The Money Pit: Our Christmas House

I know, I know, I'm way behind posting something Christmas related, but hey I'm still in the spirit of the holidays so bear with me.  I love decorating for holidays, and not just Christmas, but I didn't go all out this year like I usually do.  Thankfully this year was super busy with jewelry orders, so it didn't leave me too much time to decorate.  However here's a little peek at our Christmas home.

Tiny tree with vintage ornaments.  This was Matt's only Christmas decoration when he was a bachelor.

Ornament and yarn wreath.  I made this puppy a few years ago and I still love it.

Christmas Cards!

In our house the tree isn't just for decoration.  It's a bit cluttered, but in the best way with ornaments in all shapes and sizes that all have memories attached to them.

Here's a few of my favorites:

and this awesome working vintage tree topper that I found last year at a flea market.  Score!

Love, emmy-ray

The Money Pit: Water is not a Homeowner's Best Friend

A few months ago we started smelling a musty aroma coming from the fireplace area.  Thinking it was just the old chimney that needed a good scrubbing of course we ignored it.  One day I went to clean off the mantle and noticed that one of my Hammerpress prints had some waves in it, you know the kind that paper gets when it gets wet and dries.  I went to pull the print down from the mantle and a 6 inch long piece of paint from the wall came along with it.  Much to our dismay there was water coming in from somewhere, the source of which we still haven't exactly uncovered.  So my lovely mantle that I worked so hard on went from looking like this...

to this...

I had tried to decide to repaint the 6 inch rip, as we were having a lot of friends over last weekend for a party.  However instead I ended up ripping a gigantic portion of peeling paint off.  Don't ask me what happened, I think I blacked out.  So what to do?  I came up with a temporary solution..

I stapled up some vintage fabric.  This way until we discover where the damage is coming from we can hide the peeling paint, and also the fabric is washable and of course easily removable.  Wah lah!

love, em

The Money Pit: Homemade Rug

I'm back at it again, re-arranging and decorating, which is one of my favorite things after all.  I decided after we inherited my grandparents dining room table, that I no longer wanted another table in our breakfast nook.  It seemed a little redundant to me for our current lifestyle, that is considering that we never used either table for anything other than storage space for our junk.  

I moved my vintage sectional into the spot, which creates a cozy sitting space.  My next big project is to make a slipcover for it that will help it match the kitchen a little better, probably in a red and white pattern.  However the space felt a little empty.  What was missing?  A rug.  After hours of scouring the internet and finding that what I wanted was going to cost me an arm and a leg I decided to go ahead and make my own using a heavy canvas fabric and fringe I found online.  

I bought a drop cloth at the hardware store to back it with and to give it a little more weight.

The final results (picture red and white patterned couches).

I think Ollie approves.

love, em

The Moneypit: Changes to the Kitchen

We're making some changes to the kitchen and I've been seeking out inspiration.  I want to put a sitting area in our breakfast nook, as we have only used the table that resides there once or twice to eat on, and we now have a complete formal dining room.  Plus whenever we host parties the kitchen is the place where most people like to gather and socialize.  

However I've been having trouble finding a interestingly designed sitting area for a kitchen.  Most are rather generic and boring, so I guess I'm left to my own devices.  But while browsing over at Apartment Therapy I did come across this lovely retro piece of renovation.  Gah, I die!  I'm loving everything about this space:

 

Isn't it adorable?

love, em  

The Money Pit: Cane pattern madness!

Happy Monday lovelies!

We're getting close to being done with all the painting in our home, and last weeks project was the stairwell and upstairs hallway.  Ambitious little home decorator that I am I decided to paint a cane pattern on the walls.  I masked it off with painters "frog tape", no easy task mind you, and got to work.  I chose a lovely chartreuse green color (one of my favorites so far) and finished it up just in time for the open house we had on Saturday night.  Add a spiffy cane chair from bon bon atelier, and a wool striped rug from World Market, and wah-lah, a totally new look for what could be considered one of the formerly most boring parts of the house. 

love, emily

Hallway before...

During taping...

 

...and the final results