Floor/Kitchen Renovations

Well, it all started when our half bath downstairs flooded.  The toilet leaked and ruined our hardwood floors.  Six weeks later and lots of money spent we had new floors.  It was a stressed strenuous time and, of course, we had to move out of the house for a week.  But it all turned out well.

Phase 1

In addition to the downstairs hardwoods, we decided to go ahead and have our two flights of stairs and upstairs hallway done.  They took up all the carpet in those areas and laid the hardwood.  It looks amazing.  So glad we did this.  Below are a few of the pics. 

Den flooring before renovation at 29 years old

I have also painted the back walls of the built ins in Admiral Blue from Sherwin Williams.  In the pic above and below it's a strawberry red.  It really looks nice now and more up to date.  Sorry for the darkness of the pics.

New finished den flooring

Upstairs looking down from hallway

Phase 2 

This all began when I realized that our kitchen needed some updating.  We had replaced appliances about 14 years ago and probably need to look at replacement of a few of those.  But since they are all stainless, look and operate great, we won’t have to do any of that anytime soon. And our cabinetry still looks fantastic.  It’s solid oak.  Now I know some of you are saying “OAK”!!! Well I have had numerous painters look at them and all say I wouldn’t paint those cabinets as they are solid and look new, so we changed the hardware on them all.  Now they look great! We had the carpenter add bead board behind the kitchen sink along the back side of the cabinet that was originally the oak.  We painted that white. 

Then we decided that we needed to have some storage installed and wasn’t sure what color to paint it.  We decided that the white would go well with our counter tops and the bead board behind the sink, so, the new cabinetry began.  We started with a plate rack I have been wanting for some time.  I have an abundance of white dishes as that is one of my fetishes and have been collecting a long time. They were falling out of my kitchen cabinets and needed a new home.  

Below is the finished plate rack between the bay window seat and the pantry door.

New plate shelving/rack between bay window and pantry

My favorite finishing touch - A little greenery

Below is the picture of the second additional cabinetry install.  We had this master carpenter build and install all of it.  This is was put on a blank kitchen wall.   I could not have been happier.

 

New Plate Rack after completed

New Built In Baking Cabinet before completion

This second install was another plate rack that holds all the rest of my white pieces as shown above and the plate rack holds our daily Mikasa Italian Countryside china plates.  This has freed up space in my cabinet to be able to spread out a little.  It was getting so crowded. You never have enough space in your kitchen, no matter how many cabinets you have. 

The bottoms are the third addition but still part of the second addition.  It is my new baking cabinet.  This bottom cabinet holds all my baking goods such as flour, sugar, etc. I was able to put them in matching jars and arrange them on the shelf, labels to come from Amazon later as they are back ordered.  The bottom two drawers hold dish towels and all the small handheld appliances such as cookie dispensers, cheese graters, etc. But it’s also deep enough to put my food processor in for easy access for baking.

 

New Built in Baking Cabinet with lighting

The cabinet top is wonderful for my mixer and utensils to use to bake.  The top will match the cabinetry that has white quartz on it.  I have still left to order that.  But when it comes in it will tie all the cabinets together.I’m very pleased with how it turned out.  

Phase 3

But now, on to the next project, the pantry.  The carpenter is putting a new French door on the pantry.  He is also replacing the wire shelving with hardwood. I will be painting the closet hopefully this weekend.  It’s not been painted since we moved in the house 29 years ago.  A fresh coat of paint will look great.  I already had organized the pantry with black bins about 4 years ago and the organization was wonderful!  So, won’t be worried about keeping a clean pantry as this method has been awesome.  He will be building the same amount of shelving with one additional lower shelf as I will lose my door shelving that hung over the door.  So that will hold all the smaller additions to the closet.  I am looking forward to having my kitchen back soon!  Hopefully in two weeks!

Part of Phase 2

Before all of this took place I had the electrician come in and replace my under counter lighting with a wall switch.  He also installed the lighting above the new cabinet above with a wall switch as well.  That was a blank wall before starting. It really added a lot to have this done. Plus it has brightened the kitchen up.  The picture below is without overhead lighting on and of course, before I cleaned my cabinets off. Notice the cabinet over the door to the den.  My great Mr. Hubby did that about 10 years ago and has really been valuable for all my cookbook storage.  Another collection fetish that I have.

Kitchen Oak Hutch with new lighting

Oak kitchen cabinets with new lighting

What have you been doing in your space!  I would love to hear your ideas and comment!  Always open for reflection!

Foyer Light Fixture

Today I’m blogging about a new light fixture that we purchased last week from the Pottery Barn Outlet in Morrow, GA.  We have a new store outlet there and it seems to have a lot of furniture, but recently they bought in a lot of other items, such as lighting, rugs, lamps, and huge, huge boxes of other things such as bed linens, throws, down comforters, throw rugs, Christmas stockings, plates, dishes, etc.  

Anyway, my price was originally $249.00 and it was marked down to $149.97.  They had a sale and I got it 50% off of the lowest price for $59.00.  I was so excited because it's lead crystal. I called my hubby to come by and look at it with me.  I’ve learned a long time ago when it comes to electrical its best to have a set of eyes on it that know what they are looking at. 

This was the one he took down.  Look at the 1990 mess.

Here is the dining room light and I think the crystal matches the new hall way light very well.





The one below is in the living room and my foyer sits between the two rooms so I think the new one is a great blend of what I already have up.  Not that they always have to match, but I do like the cohesiveness of the three.


Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!  Go check out the Pottery Barn Outlet in Morrow!!! It's worth the trip.

Kim, Kathy & The Edgy Rug

Several weeks back, I believe it was actually Martin Luther King Day, I went shopping with 2 of my good friends, Kathy and Kim.  We had such a great day and seemed like we so enjoyed each other's company as we always do. We went to Woodstock Market Place.  We had such a great time that we left there at 12:30 and went to lunch and came back to finish, finally leaving around 5:00. 

But the reason for my post was Kim bought a rug at a great price.  It was really cute and looked like a Ballard Design print.  She has put it in her den and we all are crazy about it.  Seems that Kim has had some company for a couple of weeks and just now got around to putting it down.  Received the pics today and I think it's fabulous!  Kathy said it was "edgy".  Great word for a great rug.  See what you think.

 It's not quite as large as the rug that she previously had in the room but she has such pretty hardwood floors it would be a shame to not show some of them.  I love the size and actually prefer this size to the previous rug. 

While I've camped out here in this room, take a moment to notice the two poofs that she has near the fireplace.  I love those especially against the leather ottoman.  Such texture!

She and I found the column against the wall several years ago at Scott's Antique Market, another favorite place we like to wander. 

I just love going to Kim's house, it's not cluttered but very well decorated and put together so nicely in all these beautiful neutral colors. 

Thanks Kim for letting me share your space with blog land!

Please leave a comment on how you love this space, we would both like to hear from you out there. 

My Stash Decorating Closet

For the last week I've been working on a closet that is in my husband's art room where he paints, draws, etc.  (I would use the closet in my sewing room, however, it has my sewing machines in it.)  His closet is a walk in closet and he only hangs his sports coats and suits in there.  So this is where I put my decorating stash.  Yes, I said it "my stash".  Its actually been there for years, but every time you went in you would stumble over my stuff.  So its all organized.  Here is a picture of the finished closet.

I know it must still look cluttered but my look on this end is really organized.  I purchased from Walmart a black 4 shelf rack for 39.99 and pushed it in the outside wall along the back.  I put all my candle holders on the bottom.  Each shelf hold 250 lbs. so it works nicely.  I have a basket for plates and glassware. 

Don't look too closely as I should have painted the closet first.  But on the left wall I have always hung Ziploc bags on nails to contain things like: plate hangers: small easels: lamp parts, I also hang wreaths there that I use with other decorations.  My Christmas decorations have a closet all their own so I don't have to store any of that in here.

This is the top shelf on the back wall and holds a lot of glass ware that I can reach easily.

This is the right  side of the closet as you enter.  It houses his jackets/suite and on the top shelf holds the larger items that are safe on the top shelf.  The closed is angled on this right side so I had to be careful what to put on that shelf that would fit nicely in the eaves of the house roof.

I hope the new year has gotten you excited also about organizing your areas of your home.  It sure does feel a lot better to walk in the closet and create a table setting easier than finding what I was looking for in a box under a box, under a box, you know what I mean.

Happy Organizing!!!

Visit to Queen of Hearts Antiques and Interiors

My husband and his best friend went to Bainbridge, GA on Friday for the

Rattlesnake Roundup.  Doesn't that sound like fun?  NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!

So that was a big incentive to have a "Girls Weekend".  Several of us spent the night with my best friend and played cards to the wee hours.  We got up Saturday morning and went to Queen of Hearts Antiques and Interiors in Alpharetta and Buford.  Yes, two antique stores in one day!  Plus visited my daughter's new home in Cumming.  Followed by dinner at Cheeky's Mexican in Avalon.

 

It was a great day with a lot of shopping.  We dreamed of the chocolate brownies at the house, so cards and brownies were in our thoughts as we headed home.  We had such a grand time together. 

We'll have to make it a bigger party next time and invite more friends!

I thought I would share a few of my purchases of the day especially since I got such good buys.

This was a steal at $28.00 from Pottery Barn. I used it last evening for an appetizer

and put cheeses, pears, and grapes on it.  Beautiful! You can't really tell how long it is but I would say 16 inches approximately

This deal was a new little garden tray that was finished so nicely I had to have it for my

spring table in the kitchen.  I'll have fun filling it up.

These are both beautiful and useful.  I collect the creamy white dishes and these will go great with what I already have.  They were not marked as a cream and sugar, but I purchased them to us as a pitcher and just put spoons in them.  I loved them and they had to come home with me.

 These German plates are Royal Copenhagen and my friend paid $100.00 each for her set of 5 back in the 70s.  These were in a half price booth for $19.00 each, so my $8.00 each was a STEAL.

Here is one of our friends who traveled with us.  She is from Texas and we thought this old burlap bag from Texas was kind of funny!  Marty was a great sport.

Below is the card showing the stores and their locations. I know they would appreciate a visit to check them out.  It was a great time and all the ladies that traveled with us agreed.  We have the Marietta store in mind for our next trip.  Stay tuned to our travels to come!

English/French Country vs. Cottage Table

I wanted to tell everyone in blog land about my new table that truly wasn’t expensive but such a great find.  I was having lunch with my sister in Douglasville, GA when we went to this shop 4^th Time Around.  You can find it on Facebook and they have some very interesting old pieces and new items.  The sweet lady at the shop told me this was an antique from the 1930-40s and was called an antique Spindle Spool Table maybe Victorian?  Well it had been washed with white paint and looked chippy in the finish.  It had to come home with me!  I love it. 

Look at the detail. I think it's so pretty.  I had never seen a table like this one in all of my history of antique shopping.  I'm sure it's not that rare, but for $125.00 I thought it was a true steal.

 It replaced a Ballard’s side table that was narrow and had magazine storage in the bottom.  That table was moved to my sewing room.  I love this new spindle spool table.  It is so intricate and looks so great in my den.  It has a larger table top and could be used as a card table.  It allows for my pottery jug lamp to sit nicely there and also holds a lot more on top than the old table.  Plus I can up my Longaberger baskets stacked underneath for storage of my grandchildren’s puzzles and magazines.

My question to you is do you know or have any of this type furniture.  Please leave a comment below I would love to hear from you. 

Also, I think it definitely fits in my cottage/English country den.  Don’t you? 

Christmas at the Baggarlys 2017

My daughter has a new home in Cumming, Georgia and moved in several months ago.  I didn't post her Thanksgiving pics but she hosted all our family and her husband's family for Thanksgiving and it was simply beautiful.  She did a great job. Now on to Christmas.  Please keep in mind she will grow in her decorations in years to come but for now she is using what she has.  She and her family lived in a condo for about 12 years before being able to move to this spacious home.  So with that said, her decorations are limited but beautiful. 

 This is her dining room hutch, you can't tell but it's painted the most beautiful blue.  I love her nativity scene that she has placed here.  The Reason for the Season.

 She has a gray sofa and has place some plaid pillows on their and since her colors for her house are grays, creams and navy. Love this Pottery Barn pillow that came from her condo.  The black on it mixes well with the navy, red green and blue plaid pillows.

 Here's another shot of her dining room table.  I think the tree variations are pretty and simple.  Notice how she mixed the same plaid and the navy ticking placemats together.  Great combination of fabric choices.

 Love this sweet kitchen tablescape.  The merry and bright is adorable. 

 Again, she has pulled the same plaid into the kitchen area.  I'm a firm believer in this along with bows used on wreaths need to be the same all the way through your decorating.  There are some instances you can get always with using a mixture of ribbon but one choice always works.

 This little table goes between her two cream sofas in the sitting room but during Christmas she used it to display her children's photography from Richard's Studio in Tyrone, GA where she has always had their Santa pictures and childhood pics made of her two children.  I love this and such a FAMILY thing.

Finally the Christmas tree. In this picture the tree replaces her second cream sofa that moved to her bedroom until after Christmas. The picture doesn't do the tree justice as its a little dark, but this tree is simply beautiful. The burlap tree skirt is monogrammed. She used burlap streamers/garland throughout the tree. She also has used some gorgeous sliver blue and cream ornaments that she purchased last year from Frontgate along with some burlap poinsettas. We have given each of our children an ornament every year since they have been married, including our grandsons. All her family ornaments she has used on the children's trees in another part of the house.

I think she did a fantastic job and can't wait until next year to see how she decorates outside! So proud of our daughter.

2016 Western Gourmet Party

As I write this post on a Sunday afternoon, we just returned from Sunday School this morning and I thought it would be a nice picture of introduction for my post today.  I have a country pew from an old church that my husband purchased about 25 years ago.  It’s been placed everywhere but now is in our den.  I though since it was Sunday I would dress it up to look like a western Sunday go to meeting pew.  Especially since I will be sending it in a few weeks to my daughter’s new home in Cumming.  But that’s another post for later. 

Also, there are a lot of pics here so please be patient with me as we stroll along......

I also thought I would show you some western pics to continue to set the western mood that we took while traveling this past February to Dallas, Texas!  This is in the stockyard at Ft. Worth Stockyards and the cattle drive there that we watched.  It was very amazing to see the types of cattle herded through there.

 

While there I considered purchasing some cowboy boots for myself (always wanted a pair of red ones) but decided I might better wait.

Now to my post…

In looking at a website for some cowboy boots I ran across King Ranch Saddle Shop at www.krsaddleshop.com and thought it would be great to create a post about a western theme in our home and present it to you guys for viewing.  And by the way, you can visit King Ranch on Pinterest.  

Then I realized it might fun to post a western event of something that really occurred in our home.  That was last fall 2016 when we hosted our monthly gourmet club.  I did a western theme and even though the western decorations were all over our home, we had some really good pictures and tablescapes that I wanted to share with you

Because we had a large number attending I had 4 tables that I had to prepare.  Here is a pic of our dining room dressed for our western dinner.  I used tin plates from the dollar store as chargers and put a red checked table cloth on the table.  I thought it turned out really well with my husband’s booths and hat.

There are even a few poker chips on the table for a quick game!  A few of them are some my husband has collected from antique stores.  Gives that vintage feel.

This is the table on the porch and here I used my husband's Daisy Rifle on top of a blue checked tablecloth all bunched up, with my grandson's cowboy boots and hat. 

 On the rock patio near the outdoor fireplace I used burlap runner with a chalkboard strip on it, along with another of my grandson's cowboy hats.  Also I used an old rusty iron pot that belonged to my Big Daddy's (It was used to make lye soap back in the 1920s).  Also I have an old black kettle used on the open fire. We live on Carnes Road and there used to be an old plantation on our property.  The wagon wheel that is in the background was one that we found on this property along with a hatchet.  These were found when we were digging up flower beds here and there in the back yard.  Pretty cool huh?

 The fireplace has a burlap wreath on it with a toy guy in the middle with a kerchief tied on it.  The banner says "Kiss A Cowboy". 

And... that's just what we did!

I loved the pics taken in front of the outdoor fireplace of couples that were enjoying our western party! 

In the kitchen I set up the three tiered Pottery Barn tray with mason drinking jars, a red kerchief and silverware for everyone to pick up on their way to their table.  And you can't have a western party without sunflowers.

The deck was donned with an additional drinking station.  The antique washbowl held ice.



And, as the night wore on the lights came on so we enjoyed the evening even more with our friends.

Hope you enjoyed my post today.  Please share your comments as I love to host parties and create new tables capes.  Always looking for new ideas.