Who you gonna call?

WARNING: This post is looong!

Yesterday there was this post on Apartment Therapy and it got me thinking.

I am a believer in ghosts and the paranormal because I've seen things, I've heard things. Even if I hadn't had some experiences I've had I don't think I could be like some of the folks who commented and just say "No, ghosts don't exist". It just seems awfully closed minded.

It just makes sense to me that our energy doesn't just die with us, it's gotta go somewhere right?

Some of the most straight-laced people I know have had experiences with the paranormal. My Sister in law went to college at Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL. St. Augustine is reportedly one of the most haunted towns in the country and Flagler College has a reputation for being VERY haunted. My SIL told me that one time, late at night she was walking down a hallway at school and she felt like she was being followed, she turned around and saw a man who she described as being "not from this time" behind her. She said he was in an old fashioned suit. When she did a double take he was gone. Now you don't know her but my SIL is one of the most no nonsense people I know. If she says she saw this, she did.


My Father is a salt of the earth kinda guy. He's a sailor and currently a Merchant Marine working on oil rigs. He wrote psychic, ghosts, tarot cards off as hogwash until he had an encounter about two years ago.

My Dad and my Step-Mom leased a house out in the boonies of Florida for my Step-Mom's catering business. Sometimes they stayed overnight there because it was so far from their house. One night my Dad turned down all the lights, locked all the doors and went to bed. In the middle of the night he got up to use the bathroom and he heard voices downstairs. He went down the stairs and as he got to the very first landing the voices stopped and all the lights were on. This happened two more times that night.

My Step-Mom would feel little hands on the backs of her legs whenever she baked cookies or treats. It got to the point where she would leave a plate out overnight and when she came back they were gone.

They looked into the history of the house and it turns out that at one point it was on a railroad line and during the Tuberculosis outbreak it was turned into a 'resting hospital' which just meant this is where people stayed until they succumbed to the illness.

When I lived in Seattle before, as a teen, My Mother and I moved into a house on North Hill in Des Moines, WA. I didn't find out until years later that North Hill was, and yes I AM aware of how cliche this sounds, an Indian Burial Ground. Turns out Ann and Leslie Rule lived two streets away from where my house was. Leslie wrote about it in one of her books. Apparently the hill itself is haunted, I guess people see demon dogs and white figures. I never saw that but I did see some stuff...

We were the third owners of the house my Mom bought. It was a three bedroom Rambler with one of the bathrooms on the far end away from the bedrooms. One night I got up to use the bathroom and get a drink of water. I went to the far away bathroom because it was mine, I had claimed it and I only used that one.
So, I was in the kitchen drinking the water and I saw the shadow of man walking across the kitchen floor. Without going into explanation of how the house was laid out and why what I saw was impossible, you're just going to have to trust me that this was impossible. There is no way something could've made the shadow I saw without walking right in front of me.

The guest bedroom in that house was always cold, I never went in it. Something about it was off. Lot's of people commented on that room and how weird it felt.

One afternoon I was in the living room doing homework and I looked up and there was, what I can only describe as a cloud, in front of me. It just drifted across the living room and dissipated.

and lastly one morning I got up and found my Mom in the kitchen. She told me she had been up since 4am. She had been asleep and something woke her. She felt a weight on top of her chest and then pounding. She said she tried to scream but couldn't. A few weeks later a Death Certificate came in the mail for the original owner's wife. She had died of a heart attack. My Mom thinks what she felt that night was what the woman must of felt the night she died. Paramedics beating on her chest.


Bear with me, I'm just about halfway through...More tomorrow and please I'd love to hear why you believe or why you DON'T believe!

Updates around the house

I've got a few minor changes around the house I wanted to share. First up is a new lamp I found at my favorite thrift store for $6.99. I told you before I was a lamp tramp, I meant it. I love lamps! This one has an itty-bitty chip on the rim by the bulb but it's in the back and you don't even see it. I've been going back to the store every day since I found it hoping for it's mate but no luck.

Now I love the aqua lamp that was there before but it has it's original wiring and it started buzzing and flickering so I need to rewire it with a new kit and I just haven't gotten around to doing that.

Here's a close up of it. I am in love with the pattern:

I also found something to go above the tv. I had a hanging mobile up there but it never felt right and finally I found these old peacock wall hangings. They seem to be a dime a dozen on ebay. They fit really well there and I was going to paint them (they're dark green with gold highlights) and then couldn't decided on a color so I'm still debating that one.

 I just wanted to share this picture of Bruce. I think that picture in that frame looks like a stock photo like it was sold with the frame. Both he and Lola are really good about letting me take their pictures.

and lastly I hung up a stained glass transom window that was in my Uncle's old victorian house. This has been with me a long time, usually hanging on the wall but once or twice it's been a lamp.

To Do Update

Finish sewing curtains for both offices
Sand and paint bookcase
Drama light fixture for bedroom
Second lamp for living room
Find Kitchen table
Fix mobile in office
Find speakers for turntable
Get cabinet for printer
Find place for charging dock
Hang Kitchen shelves
Clean Downstairs Rug
Get 2nd CD Cabinet
Solve the above the TV blank wall situation
Do something with the ceiling in the bedroomStair runner
Get art framed


Since I finally found something for the bedroom ceiling I'm pretty much done with this list. A stair runner would be nice but I'm not sure it's going to happen. Getting the art framed is an ongoing process and we're trying to save money and it's not a high priority.

So this will be the Last "To-Do" post for a while.

House Tour Recap June

Lisa 6/7/10

Julie & Andrew 6/14/10

Lynn-Anne 6/21/10

all photos courtesy of homeowner. If you would like to have your home featured please send me an email or submit pictures of your home to the flickr group.

Handmade Friday

Michael Jackson had something the world will most likely never see again. I don't think anyone born after a certain time can really understand what he did to music and pop culture unless you were there, unless you lived it.

In 1984 my husband was at Disney Land with his mother and they saw him, he was there they spent the day chasing him around and trying to hop on the same rides. They never caught up with him but could you imagine?

Today is the one year anniversary of his death and since it's on a Friday I thought I'd find you a little MJ something.

This cute Cassette Tape Clutch is from Sugars Shox Crafts. You can actually customize the cassette if Thriller isn't your favorite album.

Things We Love-Amber's Swan Planter

I found this swan in my parent's basement. I cleaned it up and asked if I could take it. It turned out that it belonged to my great grandma. I love the color and it's one of my favorite things in our house.

-Amber

http://squashcakes.blogspot.com

If you would like a treasured item featured on a "Things We Love" post. Email me or submit your photo to the flickr group.

Drama for the bedroom ceiling. Check.

 Full disclosure: This idea is not mine. I first saw it at Door Sixteen, then in Victoria's new bedroom at Sfgirlbybay. I saw the results that these ladies got and I knew that's the "do something with the bedroom ceiling" I had on my to-do list.

I had attempted to do a really cool thing with brass and pewter contact paper I found. I was going to cut out these great floral-scrolly type shapes and stick it to the ceiling panels but it failed miserably and ended in spilled rubber cement, weak contact paper and double stick tape everywhere. On the bright side, if you get a gift from me this year it will be wrapped in either brass or pewter contact paper!

So I was back at square one and since I already had the Tord Boontje garland decided to go for Anna's idea. Here it is on:

and off:

On/Off:

I'm not sure about the white. B likes it he says it goes with the dresser but I'm not sold. Maybe if the bulb socket were white too but then I don't know what color I would want to paint it...maybe a dark gray?

Moose

I've been working on a project for my husband over the past month or so. Since I found my Ballerina paint by numbers piece I've been on a tear finding other cool paint by number pieces and in my searches I found a vintage kit with an undone Moose (My husband LOVES Moose). All the paint was long ago dried up so using the paints I had a matched the colors from the original kit and went to work.

It took a long time and was tedious work and I vowed to never do it again but it turned out pretty cool. I hung it with two other paint by numbers that I've picked up; Honest Abe and a shipwreck. They're hanging in the vinyl area on the landing.

It's hard to hang art upstairs because of the angles but we both really like how it looks. I've also started breeding bud vases up on the turntable. It started with one and like bunnies they multiplied. Don't know how I feel about it yet...

House Tour-Lynn-Anne

Name: Lynn-anne
Location: charlotte, north carolina
Square Footage: 4500
Years Lived in: 4
Rent or own: own
Describe your style:I think I would describe my style as family friendly, slightly quirky, British country house-y relaxed, and happy.
Blog/Website/Twitter: fergusandme.blogspot.com; lakbdesign.com; @lakbdesign

What's your favorite free/found item? 
an pre civil war american powder horn found in a box of books set out for the trash -- my kids spied the books and politely asked if they could have them, and were surprised to find the powder horn stuffed in there, too.


What's your favorite purchased item?
everything is my favorite when i first purchase it, but right now i love my new madegoods.com capiz shell butterfly chandelier. it's so beautiful. i bought it from oscar, who owns the company, at high point. it's going to be featured by a high-profile retailer shortly. i think i'll still love it when it's not unique any more.

What has been your biggest obstacle in decorating/design?
storage. i'm a magpie.


Is your design style organic or planned?
both. i move things around my own house all the time, but i do usually have a plan. i tweak design clients' rooms when i am back in the home working on something else. i can't help it. i also text clients and friends when i see unusual things that would work perfectly in a particular space . . . i have a pretty encyclopedic memory for things and places. i guess it's a blessing, but maybe not!

What is your favorite spot in the house?
the kitchen. with four kids, i practically live there. also, i planned it very carefully; it's extremely simple as kitchen renovations go (no warming drawer, wine cooler, etc) but it works well and is a lovely place for baking and eating and chatting and playdough and thomas the tank trains . . . .


How has your style changed in the past 5 years?
i am much more willing to embrace old-and-not-perfect things. in fact, i prefer them (i feel guilty every day for the environmental impact of my large american family, and i try to minimize it as much as possible; i almost always buy vintage for clients, and shop first at my fave local consignment shop, southend exchange.)

What is your favorite resource or store? 
in charlotte, southend exchange (online at southendexchange.com), sleepy poet antique mall (full disclosure: i have a space there with a partner, but honestly, i can't go restock without finding some terrific stuff -- it's an absolute vintage treasure trove). trade sources: laville frames for mirrors (louisiana barn boards, recycled), stray dog designs, and roost.


What is your biggest decorating/design pet peeve?
the general lack of imagination and originality that's rife. also, fake plants, especially if they're forming a garden of eden on top of kitchen cabinets . . . . they're not even recyclable.

What has been your favorite design trend?
i love the trend toward vintage and handmade. i grew up in scotland, and that's what we did there. love it, especially as there is no shortage of imagination among people who do vintage and/or handmade.




What is the biggest influence on your design/decorating style?
my personal history -- i grew up in scotland with a dad who was constantly doing amazing gardens and interiors and who exposed me to the best of 1970s design, and a mum who took me to estate auctions and encouraged me to read. my life has been one of two worlds; the us and the uk, and i've lived in lots of different places in both countries. that sort of experience definitely stretches one's frame of reference and develops an appreciation for the different.

What in your home dictates how you design/decorate?
first, the varied light in each room -- almost everyone fails to capture the best light and fails to exploit it to make the space look better. second, i'm always concerned with the purpose and use of each space -- it has to be functional as well as lovely.




What is the simplest thing you have done that has made the biggest impact?
everyone says it, but it's true: paint. pretty lighting is also key.

all photos courtesy of homeowner. If you would like to have your home featured please send me an email or submit pictures of your home to the flickr group.

Handmade Friday

I'm loving this silver mod ring! It's from a vintage jewelry store on Etsy called Elsewind. I love vintage rings and brooches. It feels like you're wearing history or something very close to one-of-a-kind.

Have a great weekend! The Fremont Fair is happening this weekend and so is the new Georgetown Farmer's/Flea Market. So I think we might hit those up.

Things We Love-Opera Glasses

These are antique opera glasses that had been given as a gift to my parents years ago that I've co-opted for myself. Opera glasses became popular in the early 19th century and these were made by a well-known French company called Zingraff. I think I love it so much because not only is it an object of beauty but it conjures up romantic notions in my head of big ball gowns, ornate theaters, and beautifully produced operas.

-Ally

http://www.fromtherightbank.com/

http://twitter.com/rightbankgirl

View Ally's House Tour here

If you would like a treasured item featured on a "Things We Love" post. Email me or submit your photo to the flickr group.

Score!

On Monday I went to my favorite thrift store and found an amazing deal! You may have seen my excited Twitter and Facebook updates about it. 

I browsed the store in my normal fashion, starting with tchotchkes then moving over to furniture. I already felt I had scored in the knick-knack department, or as this store calls it "Bric-a-Brac", I had found a oil cruet, a mod orange/fuchsia/red blanket and this awesome silver plated napkin/letter holder:

Then I moved on to furniture and there it was, piled high with pet carriers and broken electronics and it was $14.99:

It has seen so many better days but a Mid-Century dresser for $14.99? Too good to pass up. It was just me so I had to get help loading in the car. I have a SUV so it fit but stuck out a little, so I tied it off and drove off like I had stolen it! I was so excited.

There's no maker's mark on it just a date of 1963. It smells like a wood I can't identify. It's heady like Mahogany but I'm pretty sure it's not that.

I haven't decided what to do with it paint wise. I'd love to keep it wood but I suppose until I take a sander to it I won't know if that's possible. I think those drawer fronts might be veneer.

A problem I foresee is those top drawers. The inlay is lovely but sanding all that down so it's stainable? That would be a lot of work and a lot of sanding by hand. So the first step is to sand and see where it takes me.

I'd like to stain it it's original color but if that doesn't work out I'm thinking the teal I used for the TV stand or a deep, dark, glossy Navy Blue and paint the trim and oval handles bright white.

We shall see!

Notice the other pieces of furniture there on the left? My basement is starting to look like a store room. I found the bookcase for $6. It needs a good cleaning and sliding doors and on the far left is a side table I got for $2.74! I'm going to sand and stain that.

I gotta get on this stuff!

Thoughts...

I've given this post a lot of thought and went back and forth on whether or not I should post it. I've decided to post it because it does weigh heavily on my mind and I wondered if it did on yours too.

There are two very large, very popular stores owned by the same company that I do not shop at in protest of where/who the owner gives a large amount of his money to. I'm not going to name the company but if you did a little internet sleuthing you could figure it out.

For me, the root of the issue is a human rights issue. I believe that every person is equal and should have the same rights as everyone else no matter what color they are, what gender they are or who they happen to fall in love with. The company(ies) I choose not to give my money to don't share that belief.

I read a lot of blogs and follow a lot of people on Twitter and Facebook and quite a few of the people I follow shop at these stores and ooh and aah over their displays. I don't blame them they are pretty and the stuff they sell is cool but I can't abide by their choices and I try not to let it bother me that it doesn't matter to so many people but it does bother me and sometimes I think less of a person who chooses to shop there.

Occasionally I used to leave a comment on a blog when someone mentioned the store(s), nothing preachy just "I love that store but can't shop there because of where their money goes". Usually the comment went unnoticed but once or twice someone has responded with "Ugh! Can't someone mention unnamed store without a billion people replying about how they give their money to so-and-so??!"

So I stopped leaving comments about it. I figure if it's a big enough issue to someone they most likely already know about it.

On the same note I also make an effort to buy cruelty free products. Sometimes they're more expensive and sometimes you have to make an effort to find them but I find animal testing abhorrent and it's worth my time and effort for some peace of mind.

What do you think? Does politics affect where you shop? Do you boycott any company based on where their profits go?

House Tour-Julie and Andrew

Name: Julie & Andrew Palmer
Location: Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Square Footage: approx 350 sq meters (3700 sq ft)
Years Lived in: Almost one
Rent or own: Own
Describe your style: Clean, modern and a little bit retro
Blog/Website/Twitter: http://oliveandjoy.blogspot.com

What's your favorite free/found item?
A toss up between the Dinosaur Designs (www.dinosaurdesigns.com.au) resin vases and bowls given to me by my family over the years, and the Jonathan Adler vases brought back from New York by my husband's family. They are all the more special because they are gifts.

What's your favorite purchased item?
Our two 1950's dining chairs by Australian designer Grant Featherston. We bought them on Ebay from a seller in Adelaide and had them transported up to Brisbane by Greyhound Bus! We had the reupholstered in a beautiful textured fabric in olive green. I can't imagine parting with them, I love them to death.

What has been your biggest obstacle in decorating/design?
Too much space to furnish. Some would dream of having more space, however sparse spaces do not make a home feel like a home. Over time we are gradually filling up the empty rooms.

Is your design style organic or planned?
Organic, our spaces are always evolving as new items enter our lives.

What is your favorite spot in the house?
Our living room. If the sun is out and I have something to read, there is no place I would rather be. Natural light is so important to me and this room receives beautiful light all day.

How has your style changed in the past 5 years?
I am decorating with more colour than I would have 5 years ago, and I think our style has more 'quirk' now, mostly due to the vintage pieces we have purchased.

What is your favorite resource or store?
Ebay for vintage finds, and Signature Prints (www.signatureprints.com.au) for wonderful Florence Broadhurst fabrics and wallpapers.

What is your biggest decorating/design pet peeve?
I am becoming more appreciative of different styles everyday, even if I wouldn't necessarily furnish my home in a particular style I can still see its merits.

What has been your favorite design trend?
More people embracing vintage furniture and repurposing old wares and a focus on eco-manufacturing of new furniture, fabrics and products.

What is the biggest influence on your design/decorating style?
My training in design, combined with the many, many interior magazines and blogs I read.

What in your home dictates how you design/decorate?
Our cats! Their sharp claws often makes us re-think which fabric we use or the furniture we buy. Such as buying leather dining chairs rather than fabric. They thought our first sofa was a scratching pole, little devils. They are much better now they are older, thank goodness.

What is the simplest thing you have done that has made the biggest impact?
Fabric is the easiest way to add impact on the cheap. I love graphic, geometric prints. I upholstered three long canvas' in fabric and placed them behind our entertainment unit. It helps take the focus from the tv and can easily be changed when we get bored with the design.

all photos courtesy of homeowner. If you would like to have your home featured please send me an email or submit pictures of your home to the flickr group.

Handmade Friday

I'm guessing most of you have heard of Hindsvik the vintage etsy shop...if not then check it out asap! I'm not sure how they acquire all these amazing things but they do and they offer them to us!

Have a great weekend! I've got my hands on a Diana Edelweiss camera and I'll be taking pictures all weekend.

Things We Love

This vintage elephant toy we found on eBay definitely makes me smile every time I see him! I love his big eyes and muted colors, and that he's a little worn around the edges – which I take to mean he was well-loved by his previous owner!

We found this little guy while searching for additions to our elephant valentine collection, which Matthew started before we even met. He loves them for their super-charming references to various elephant traits: "I'm out to get ya 'cause I can't forget ya", "I've got a trunk-full of love for you", and the like. Plus, a lot of them have neat mechanical elements. Not a bad way to let your sweetheart know how you feel! (In fact, my first valentine to Matthew is part of the collection.)

-Sandy

www.treatzone.com

www.treatzone.etsy.com

Check out Sandy and Matthew's House Tour 

Dansk Redux

So I did something scandalous...This may be blasphemous to most but I spray painted a Dansk candle holder.

It's been sitting in a cabinet for a long time and of course I don't have the right slender, tiny candles for it. I had picked up some great bright green spray paint the other day and now I've got something that I'll keep out and get more use out of even as a decorative object.

This is what it looked like before:

(this is not my picture, I failed to take a before shot and this picture come from Mascara Jones' Etsy shop)

and here is the after:

What do you think? I love it!

To Do

Finish sewing curtains for both offices
Sand and paint bookcase
Drama light fixture for bedroom
Second lamp for living room
Find Kitchen table
Fix mobile in office
Find speakers for turntable
Get cabinet for printer
Find place for charging dock
Hang Kitchen shelves
Clean Downstairs Rug
Get 2nd CD Cabinet
Solve the above the TV blank wall situation

Stair runner
Get art framed
Do something with the ceiling in the bedroom

I believe I know what I'm going to do with the bedroom ceiling...I just have to find exactly what I'm looking for...stay tuned for that one

House Tour-Lisa

Name: Lisa
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Surfaces: 88 sq. meters (947 sq ft) apartment & 25 sq. meters (269 sq ft) is my room
Years lived in: 6 months
Rent or own: rent with two friends
Describe your style: happy and colourful with white base
Blog / website / Twitter: www.pinkfriday.blogg.se
www.styleroom.se/users/misskittykat

What's your favorite free / found item?
Most items I paid for, but many of them are so cheap they are almost considered as free. I trade stuff with other bloggers and get stuff friends have made. So I would have to say I like all the owls people given me :)


What is your favorite purchased item?
My clothing cabinet I painted and put wallpaper on. It turned out great!

What has been your biggest obstacle in decorating/design?
I move all the time and do not have first-hand leases or owns the apartments, otherwise I would have put colors on every wall! I would make something crazy. I would love to live in a cobhouse with organic forms.


What is your favorite place in the house?
My bed, I like to lay and draw there and read. I'm kind of lazy...

How has your style changed over the last 5 years?
I used to have a more Indian and 70´s style but now I have plenty of things I have done myself so I consider it to be more of a "Lisa style". I also used to hate white but now I quite like it.


What is your favorite resource or store?
All kinds of second hand shops that goes to charity. Great value and the money goes to people who really needs it.

What is your biggest decorating/design pet peeve?
Leather sofas! Yuck! There are just a very few I can consider quite nice but most of them are horrible!


What has been your favorite design trend?
Anything that is fun and colourful I like. The rest I'm not too bothered about.

What is the biggest influence on your design / decorating style?
Well I guess everything around me has an impact on me but I choose to do it in my own way.


What is the easiest thing you've done that have made the most impact?
Repainting stuff is so easy and it really gives the room a different space and atmosphere.

all photos courtesy of homeowner. If you would like to have your home featured please send me an email or submit pictures of your home to the flickr group.