Monday, September 23, 2019

English Cottage Kitchen in Miniature


For some time now, I have been gathering pieces for an English Country
Cottage Kitchen.  At first I though I would add them to a dollhouse, but my collection
has such large pieces that I knew would be too big for the typical dollhouse size
room, so I decided to go with a room box instead.  Here it is, and it's a big one.
It was easy to assemble, and the rest is the fun part ~ decorating.




I put down faux brick flooring, but decided to paint the walls an off white.




The surround of the Aga range is the focal point of the room.




I love this French Market Basket filled with sunflowers.




Copper and the braided garlic.




This little hutch is one of my favorites.




The farmhouse worktable.




The farmhouse sink with storage below, and a plate rack above filled
with daily dishes.

As with any home, miniature or real, it takes a while to settle into a 
a new home.  It's a process that begs the question, what could I use in
this blank spot, etc?  After moving in, I had a thought as to what to do
with all those blank walls?  It's coming soon.  In the meantime, I will
be sorting through my stash, and scouring the marketplace!

Today I am joining:

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a fun week!

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Transitioning into Fall


I promised myself no decorating for fall until September 23rd.  So far I
have been staying the course, yet I also feel like I need to make a smooth
transition between the seasons.  While I still am using a summery gingham,
I have added apple/cinnamon candles and more berries and more apples.




Apples are fall to me.




Still hanging onto to the basket of fruit.




So there you have it.  A simple changing of the seasons tablescape
that has one foot in summer, and one in fall.


Thanks so much for stopping by.  Next week, let the decorating begin!

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley



Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Spa Day for My Garden


The landscapers were here last week to trim and clean out all of
the garden beds.  It was a huge job and took a few men several
days to complete.  I don't know how they stood it during the 
miserable hot and humid weather, but they were cheerful throughout
the whole process.  The window washers come in next, and they will
also power wash the front porch.  Next comes a painter to brighten
up the trim around the door and repaint the post.  Finally,
after that is finished we will install a new front door.  I'll be
so happy when that's done.



We didn't have a freeze last winter, so all of the tropicals are happy and hardy.




On the other side of that large window is my office.
This is an eastern exposure, so the sunshine is bright
in the morning.  Love it!


 

There is a camellia bush in there that you don't notice until the spring.




Here is the end of this wing of the house.  This house was custom built in 1948 by
a lovely woman who somehow thought of everything.  You can see the
mid-century modern elements infused with the colonial ones.  




Those cut outs in the brick are very a mid-century look.



This wing of the house faces the side street.  The large window in the middle
is for the dining room, the one next to it is over the kitchen sink. This is
followed by a side entrance that leads to the breezeway separating the house
from the garage.  

There is a whole other wing of this house on the other side for the 
master bedroom suite.  If I had a drone shot, you could see that the 
whole house is shaped like a widened U form with the patio and the
veranda in the center.  They don't build big ranch houses like this one
anymore.  They are just not cost effective.  Back in 1948, however, the 
war was over and everyone was positive and enthusiastic.  I collect
lots of vintage home design magazines from the 1940's and I can
see a lot of the same design elements used in this home.



Here's a shot of the backyard.  So many tropicals back there.  The ginger is over 
ten feet tall and the cast iron plants are very thick.  Thanks for stopping by!

I sure am glad this project is finished!

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

Friday, September 6, 2019

The Big To Do List


This is the side of our house.  The window with the shutters is in the
living room, and the large picture window is in the dining room.  This 
entire row of azaleas will be trimmed and excess leaves and debris will
be removed.  It has gotten away from us recently and now needs a
bit of TLC.



With temps soaring into the 90's and 100's for weeks now, cleaning up
garden beds has become a monumental task.  In this picture,  you can
see the side entrance through that louvered door leading to the breeze-way.
The azaleas are even bigger now than what you see here, and a volunteer
pecan tree has begun to grow in the midst of them.  The tree no doubt
took root when a squirrel decided to bury his pecan nut right there.  



This is an old photo of the front of our house right after we closed on the property.
We have managed to improve the lawn, and the tropicals on the right are much
larger now. This area will be cleaned up also.


The trim around the front door will get a fresh coat of paint, and the door will be replaced
with a new one.


I want a door like this one.  I think it will be attractive on our
house, and I love all the windows.  Our foyer is very dark, and this
style will bring in lots of light.


Our backyard is an absolute jungle!  Huge beds of ornamental ginger
that stand over ten feet high.  Deep beds of cast iron plants that need to 
have all the dead leaves removed, and the leaf debris removed from the
ground beneath it.  Just an over whelming amount of work to be competed
So my hubby surprised me and spoke to a landscaper.  She gave him an
estimate of what the job will cost, front, back and side yards. We agreed to
her price, and she arrives next week with a team of five men to start
the job, or as she calls it "spa day" for our garden.   I can't wait.  We will
also talk about some new plantings around the front door and get that
area all designed, but will wait until the weather cools off before we tackle
that project.

We are also taking bids to have our electric panel increased in capacity 
that will permit all the equipment needs for the pool and spa.  He
will also give us a quote for a full house generator.  Our next door neighbor
has one and loves it.  If the power should go out, the generator will get the
message and turn itself on.  So, even if we go out of town, and we have a
bad storm and lose power, our generator will automatically click on
to keep everything up and running.

We are getting a new Bosch dishwasher and removing the current
engineered flooring in the kitchen and replacing it with antique
brick.  Where there is still carpeting in the house, it is going to be
pulled out down to the original hardwoods.

Lots of projects, but it's time to get going on making our dreams 
a reality!  Stay tuned.

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley 








LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...