City Cottage Living Room

Today,

 since the weather is getting cooler,

 I thought I would start a story on Kris's living room.

As many of you know.....

She's my bidness partner.

We are very successful bidness women.

We have been in bidness now for 7.5 years, 

and have almost gotten out of the  red!!!!!

Kris's goal is to make 25 cents.

I keep offering to pay her, but she insists that I get paid all my money back first.

I like acting like a big money bags.

I keep waving quarters in her face, but she feels I'm being flashy.....

ANYWAY.....

As I said, this story is timely because of the encroaching cold weather.

Her home is all toasty colors.

She is an orange, red and brown kind of a gal.

She is very attuned to her husbands sensitivities, so I was not allowed to go crazy with flowers.

She had me stick to paisleys and stripes.

I have met all my best friends through work.

A million years ago....(or 15, whichever is less....) I got a phone call from Kris.

I did not know her.

She did not know me.

We did not know each other!!!!!

She had seen some of my work in House Beautiful, and lived one town over.

What had struck her the most forcefully, was that I seemed to decorate for people who had children and dogs.

Well!!!!!

SHE HAD  BOTH!!!!!

She ended up hiring me and we slowly became 

friendlier, and

friendlier, and

friendlier!!!!!

This is how her living room looked when I first saw her house.

The Foosball table wasn't in the living room, but everything else was like this.

Check out the fireplace with the bookshelves on either side.

I will now do a side by side so you can see how I did a little architectural tweaking to make the room feel more gracious. 

The brick fireplace stuck into the room, so the previous owners had added those board bookcases to line up with the projection.

Since the wall angles into the bay to the right of the fireplace, the bookcase just kind'a smushed into the wall.

SOOOOOO.....

I had the bookcase ripped out and the wall framed out around the fireplace to create a more traditional detail.

Then I found this beautiful mantel from a company that makes beautiful mantels!!!!

Don't ask me who the company is.....

I CAN'T REMEMBER!!!!!

If Kris and I were to do this room today, we would have wallpapered it.

But this was in the days before I knew her as well as I do now, and I didn't know that she was so easy to brainwash.

So instead of wallpaper, we have covered almost every inch with dog pictures.

I like dogs.

She likes dogs.

Her husband likes dogs.

He's not so sure about so many of them in decorating.

He told her not to bring home any more dog paintings or figurines.

WE DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!!!!!!!

So, here's a picture of more dogs!!!!

Let's get closer.....

There is so much to talk about in this room,

but I'm kinda tired from yesterday.

Being scared for so many hours is exhausting.

The hurricane came through here and we lost power for two hours.

Worrying about not being able to make hot air pop corn has worn me out.

I was on the phone with Amy Chalmers talking about the fabric I was painting for custom pillows in her store when the lights went out and my phone call was dropped.

And then I was all alone in the dark with no popcorn.

I was going to pop it after my conversation with Amy.

SO IT'S HER FAULT!!!!!

Thank goodness for my ipad.

So I chomped on an apple and ready my mystery in the dark.

Anyway, that's my excuse for ending here.

I will continue showing you guys this room later this week.

Latah, Gatah

partying at:

A Cottage Dining Room for Miriam

Miriam's dining chairs left my house this week to go home!!!!!

So.....

4 chairs that were painted and upholstered and pillowed left.....

and  4 chairs that were falling apart and ugly came.....

She got 4 pretty chairs....

and I got 4 pieces of #$%!!!!

What's wrong with this picture?????

So.....

Here's a shot of them in their new home.

For those of you new to my blog....

Or for the older readers who have lost their memory.....

I started helping my niece, Miriam, last year with her new home.

We started in the dining room because she had fantasies of cooking family meals and having folks over for dinner.

I would like to point out here, that so far this year, all I gotten to eat at her house was an apple.

Now don't get me wrong.....

it was a really yummy apple!!!!!

But was it worth all my work???????

NO.NO.NO!!!!!

To recap.....

This is what I started with.....

I changed the chair rail detail to a paneled look.

(Miriam and Ross painted the walls)

I upholstered the walls.

I found the chandelier (with Miriam)

I painted the chandelier.

I made the draperies.

Miriam found a different sideboard, I got her to buy this one.

I painted the side board (Miriam helped.....)

I found the dining table (Miriam went with me)

I found the chairs (Miriam met me at the auction to approve them)

I sat at the auction the next day to bid on the chairs 

(Miriam went to her job).

I painted the chairs.

I upholstered the chairs.

I made the pillows for the back of the chairs.

I found the urn on the table (Miriam was with me)

I went to Micheal's (with Miriam) and got the flowers.

I arranged the flowers.....

And all I got was a lousy apple!!!!

If you want to see the whole process....

Click on diy projects in the menu bar above.

Miriam's dining room makeover is the first item.

Here are more shots of her dining room.

 We still need to find things for the walls.

Miriam and Ross don't understand the wonderfulness of plates.

They are stoopid.

They are stubborn.

They think this is THEIR house.....

I still need to make slip covers for the pair of chairs at the ends of the table.

These chairs came from my grandparents Manhattan apartment and used to be mine.

I gave them to Miriam because I am her best aunt.

Yes I am..... 

This picture came from my bidness partner, Kris.

She is very generous to Miriam and Ross also.

Thanks to Kris, they have furniture in their guest room.

She didn't even get an apple...... 

I must say.....

I did a bang up job on these chairs!!!!!

I have to end now.

My arm and shoulders hurt from patting myself on the back.

Latah, Gatah.....

P.S.

Miriam, I don't want you to feel guilty.

You probably are a bad cook anyway.....

(Actually, she knows that I don't like to eat dinner out.

 So Miriam.....you're off the hook....)

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