A Mountain Retreat

Since it is now officially spring!!!!!

let's leave Florida till next winter and go check out Vermont!!!!

I showed you Connie and Chris's Florida beach-side cottage, 

so now I'll reveal their mountain retreat.

This house is what brought Connie into my life...

(and it's never been the same.......)

She's the reason I own a home in Florida.

She's also the reason I play Words With Friends on my ipad.

The woman's a bad influence on me, I tell ya.....

She heard about me from a client I had in the Boston area.

When she first called me, she and Chris had just bought this home, and  she only wanted to do the living room and kitchen.

I ended up doing everything from the basement to the attic and all the out lying buildings as well.

She had no idea the can of worms she was opening when she made that first phone call.......

Some of you may have seen this house in Traditional Home in 2004.
Some of you may have seen pictures of it bopping around Pinterest.

I need to go back up to Woodstock and take some more pictures.

The ones I have here (other than the magazine shots) were taken by me before I became the stellar photographer that appears before you today.

I'll start with the outside, because that's what you see when you first pull up.

I worked with my trusty architect, Les Brown to transform this house.

He and I have been working together since 1981.

Please.....

don't do the math.....

This first shot is of the side sun porch.

It was an open porch when Les got his hands on it.

He had it enclosed, and now it's one of the most used rooms in the house.

It was framed to hold old fashioned screen door inserts as windows.

In the summer, some of them are changed out to the screens.

This way, the room has a lot of ventilation, but still protects the furniture from rain.

Below is the Magazine shot.

It shows the front of the house.

This was one of the most dramatic changes to how it looked when he and I first saw it.

He added the wrap around porch, which gave it more of an old farm house vibe.

If you want to hire him you can't, he's retired.....

Traditional Home 2004

Connie and I worked with a wonderful landscaper, who suggested planting peonies all along the front of the porch.

 I liked this idea soooooo much, that I did the same thing along the back of my own home by my terrace.

But enough about me.....

let's get back to Connie's house.....

Because she and Chris are old old old, she wanted the house to look like an old folks home with a row of rockers along the front porch.....

To make the house inviting!!!!!

Connie wanted a row of rockers along the front porch!!!!!

That's the gazebo on the pond that you can see down the little hill.

Off the enclosed sun porch Connie installed a brick terrace enclosed inside a fieldstone wall.

This is where she set up her gas grill.

Connie is a big griller, and it's convenient right off the porch, which is right off the kitchen.

The path goes up to an opening in the old existing stone wall on that little hill.

There's a path into the woods.

Not that Connie goes in the woods.

There are snakes (garders) in there, and she be afeared.

Now, if it were spiders, I'd understand.

After all, 

intelligent folks be afeared of spiders,

but snakes are cute!!!!!

Below is a shot of the gazebo.

I will be telling you more about that in days to come.

This is just a teaser.

Here's the second little pond.....

stocked with fish.

The herons love it.

A pretty little stream flows down from the first pond.

Connie had the landscaper transform it.

It was choked with mud and weeds.

Now it flows and is lined with beautiful plants. 

Across the pond is a little guest house.

More on this to come.

Just another teaser!!!!!

Just outside the guest house is the vegetable garden.

It's fenced in to keep critters out.

Raised beds help the old folks in their gardening endeavors.

You don't need to bend as far over to weed.

Connie and Chris have decided to downsize,

so they are putting this gem on the market this spring.

SOOOOOOO.....

if you're looking for a homestead near Woodstock Vermont, check with a local Realtor, I'm sure they'd know alllll about it!!!!!

On that note,

Latah, Gatah

Sharing with:

Alison at the Polo House, Favorites On the First!

A Never-ending Paint Job......

Ho Kay Kampers!!!!!

Let's continue with 

Betsy's Bodacious Behavior in the Bowels of her Basement!!!!!!

Last we met, I had noted that I would be showing off my new paint job on my niece Miriam's 

(and her hubby Ross's...) new/old chifferobe.

WELL.....

My bidness partner, Kris, corrected me, as she is wont to do.....

A chifferobe has an area for hanging and a place for drawers.

This here piece of furniture that I found on Craig's List, just has drawers,

sooooooo.....

It is a linen press.....

OK Kris????? Are you now happy???

(Jesh, everyone's an expert.....)

Well.....

Here she is!!!!

Tada!!!!!

This shot of it, is obviously still in my basement, so the styling and lighting are #$%, but it's too heavy to carry upstairs by myself, and my family is MIA.

And now....

As is my style...

I will show you in exhausting and mind numbingly boring detail how I did this!!!!

I started with it in it's original finish that had turned an unattractive greeny color that is hard to see in the picture.

Sooooo, I am sure some of you will be sharing how I ruined the piece....

Wellllll.....

It's going against a blue wall in a room with white slip-covered furniture, so this incarnation is better for the overall design of the space where it will be living.

So there.....

Here's the before, in the ad on Craig's List.

(remember, the camera lies, the finish sucked....)

Soooo.

I don't know what happened to the tassel!!!!

I think the seller kept it!!!!!

Anyway, 

first I did a test spot on the top to see if the tannins would bleed through the paint,

boy was I happy that they didn't!!!!

Sooooo....

I then painted a coat of old white chalk paint all over this sucka!!!

Then a second coat of Old White...

Then I stood back and scratched my head....

what to do...

what to do....

I saw a chest on a TV show that I liked, (the chest, not the show) so I paused the TV, and ran and got my camera, and took a picture of the picture on the TV!!!

But I didn't want to do all that criss crossing......

Miriam likes color and detail.

Soooooo.....

I whipped out my artist pad and did some doodles..

I tend to think with a pencil....

(OK wiseguys, I think with my brain box too.....)

I started seeing something I would like.

Only problem.....

how to draw a nice oval.

Oh yeah,

and how to do the monograms for Ross and Miriam....

Sooooo....

what do you do when you don't know what to do?????

GOOGLE!!!!!

I found a YouTube tutorial here.....

which showed me how to do what I wanted to do just when I wanted to do it!!!

I computed what I wanted in size for my ovals using a high tech gizmo called my brain, and this piece of paper.

And I cut me out an oval!!!!!

Then I had to figure out the fonts.....

Last Tuesday was our annual condominium association meeting.....

I took my ipad to it so I wouldn't get bored.....

as my eyes started to glaze over during the financial reports.....

I started surfing the web for a font I would like!!!!

I found this website....

http://www.fontspace.com/

and I found this font I liked....

http://www.fontspace.com/kimberly-geswein/janda-stylish-script

So, I copied the letters to a word document and resized them to make them  larger.

And then....printed them out.

But...first I had to finish painting the body of the linen press....

I didn't want it just old white, but I wanted it to be a light color because the room it's going in is dark, and this would take up a good chunk of wall.

So I used Chalk Paint color Cream for the second hue, and French Linen for the detail lines.

I painted the drawers, side panels and recessed door panels in the light yellow color.

Then I added some striping to the front legs, the circle at the bottom of the skirt, as well as the little gallery backsplash.

I need to tape things off, as my hands are not steady, and I am clumsy...

Now it was time to paint the ovals and monograms...

I was afeared!!!!!

I taped the ovals and letters to the doors, to see how it would look.....

I like it, so I forged ahead....

First I taped the ovals to the doors and used them to draw an outline around the outside of the thick paper stock.

Then I got out my striping tape, I got it years ago and it can be curved around curves that are curvy.....

It's from Finesse Pinstriping 

and I outlined the oval.....

(what a pain in the butt.....)

And started painting in the lines in French Linen....

Then I carefully pulled off the tape......

And danced around my basement crowing about how brilliant I is!!!!

Here's a closer shot.....

And closer!!!!!

BETSY PAINTED HER FIRST OVAL!!!!!

Then I taped off the drawers for the striping.

I used the smaller pinstriping tape for the outside because it was smaller and allowed for the stripe to be closer to the edge of the drawers.

I was pretty happy with the way the drawers looked after the stripe went on.

I was getting really sick of this piece by this time and didn't want to bother, but I knew it would be worth it.

Now it was time for the letters......

oy oy oy oy oy oy oy oy oy.......

gulp.

I wanted them to be a little darker than the grey of the French Linen, so I mixed some Graphite in with the French Linen and made a darker grey color.

I scribbled all over the backs of the paper with my

 special, super duper number two pencil!!!!!

taped the letters where I wanted them, and traced over the outline with a ballpoint pen.

(I darkened the shot below to show the pencil line, so it made the oval look black.....well it ain't....it be grey....)

Then I had to hand paint in between the lines.....

I am a crappy painter, and needed to use a wet paper towel to clean up my boo boos.

It took me forever!!!!!

Closer shot....

Then it was time for the distressing.....

the part where I have been known to go too far, and can't take it back.....

Still too much, but I'm getting better.

Then it was time for waxing.

(would this never end?????)

I added some mixed dark and natural wax in the corners and some edges, where dirt would naturally collect.....

I was happy with the distressing by the keyhole, I'm finally getting the hang of this thingy.

Here are some of the fabrics from Miriam's living room, so you can see why I painted this piece.

Soooooo.....

I am finished.

Now someone just has to get the damn thing out of my basement!!!!!

On that note.....

Latah, Gatah

Partying at:

  

Betsy's Musings

I've been thinking.....

(oy)

just random thoughts while I go about my homey chores around my abode....

Once again this has to do with laundry and underwear....

But this time it's underwear in general!!!!!

Not just mine....

why 

do women's

not come 

in 

Forest Green?????????

They come in all the pastel colors....

They come in most of the vibrant colors.

Red

Purple

Navy

Ochre

and lets not forget Black....(a dress up staple.....)

soooooooo.......

What's the deal with dark green???????

Maybe it's just me...

But I haven't seen it....

But then.....I am not a big underwear shopper, as I buy my

 Fruit of the Looms on line.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OK...

Next thought....

This is really a helpful life style tip!!!!!

When grocery shopping,

and you've driven to the grocery store,

and you've parked your car,

and it's time to get out and go shop for food,

IT'S REALLY HELPFUL TO UNDO YOUR SEAT BELT!!!!!

The other day I left that step out, and for a second was a little confused about why I was having trouble leaving my car.

The reason I share this stuff with you guys, 

is to make your life easier, if you learn from my vast experience!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now..... I know I've gone over this with you,

but it's worth repeating.

YOU CAN'T MAKE A PHONE CALL WITH THE TV REMOTE!!!!!

I keep trying to dial out with the damn thing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One thing I find very annoying.....

is when I'm watching TV, and the door bell rings,

so I haul my old bum out of the chair to go answer the door.....

AND THERE'S NO ONE THERE!!!!!

It was a door bell on the TV program.

Now admit it!!!!!

YOU'VE HAD THAT HAPPEN!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That's it for today.....

I am really tired.....

I've been painting a chifferobe for my niece Miriam.

I will finish it tomorrow and show it off this weekend!!!!!

Here's a shot of the before.

Now, I know lots of you will like the original finish, but it looks better in the picture than in real life.

That's the way of a lot of things......

just check out Match.com!!!!!

On that note....

Latah, Gatah