A New Rug: Men, Kids, Dogs and Nice Things Don’t Mix

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beige family room, Carpet, dogs, family room, German Shepherd, gray, grey, husband, ideas, kids, nutcrackers, rug, ruined, ruining, transitional, writing on furniture

Good news: after the kids and dogs did all the damage they could to our family room area rug, we got a new one! After I did the post Fifty Shades of Grey, I inspired myself. There are two rooms on our first floor that could use my attention, but our family room really needed a new rug asap! The nice thing about grey is that it is a neutral – the new neutral – and can blend where you wouldn’t think it could.

I actually didn’t buy the rug for this room, but am using it here for now:

Patterned Stained Floors

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border, diamond, diy, family crest, floor inspiration, floor patterns, hardwood, harlequin, how to stain a pattern onto your floors, inlaid, inlaid wood floors, medallion, patterns, Stained Concrete, stained floor, stained floor patterns, wood floor

I think I have a DIY ADD (Do-It-Yourself Attention & Daylight Deficient). There are only so many hours in the week month that I can work on house projects, but my mind is running constantly – and there are SO many projects and rooms that I want to do … with the list growing 😉 (Plus, I’m not one to pull the trigger unless I’ve thoroughly researched the possibilities.)

You may remember the stained harlequin floor from the post I did profiling a designer’s apartment… I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. (The interior shutters from that post went on “THE List” too, but I haven’t been able to shop fabrics.) I thought the stained diamond pattern on the hardwood floors would look wonderful in my kitchen or foyer.

Heck, while I’m researching, why not see if there are other stain patterns for wood floors that would be nice too because the first and second floors of our house (minus the orangerie) are hardwood. What was out there was a mixed bag of nuts:

Designer Rooms: A Peach Dining Room and a Tiffany Blue Boudoir

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antique chandeliers, antique sconces, blue bedroom, Blue Room, cool paint colors, coral room, coral room inspiration, designer bedroom, flea market design, high-end bedroom, how to add designer touches, Kelee Katillac, luxury blue bedroom, luxury dining room, neoclassic, panel molding, panel molding inspiration, peach room, sconce, warm paint colors, window treatment ideas

Good news and bad news. Good news is I have a new favorite paint color: a pinkish peach. It is delish. The bad news? I was looking for a cool color! I realized I have a lot of warm colors in our house, so I think I need to change a room or two on our first floor.

But peach…it’s just scrumptious! On Friday, I did a post on part of interior designer Kelee Kadillac’s apartment, but only showed you a portion of her apartment because it was quite a bit to take in. Here is the rest, starting with her yummy dining room:

Orange and pink is a “hot” color combination right now.

Designer’s Apartment Filled with DIY Inspiration

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blue and yellow living room, blue living room, diamond pattern stained floors, diy, DIY shutters, gold stick lamp, harlequin pattern, high end design, high end living room, how to add panel molding, interior designer's living room, Kelee Katillac, luxury apartment, Luxury interior design, mirrored furniture, Moulding, panel molding, paneled walls, raw amethyst quartz, upholstered doors, upholstered walls, yellow living room

Interior designer Kelee Katillac and her partner, architectural interior designer Steve Heiffus, recently collaborated on a 1915 apartment that showcased and married their skills. It seemed that the project was a success and both were happy with the result, which is good, because they are more than just partners – they are husband and wife – and they live in this apartment!

I wanted to show you this apartment because it is full of the DIY potential and inspiration. Even if this style is not yours, there are things that Kelee has done that are wildly creative and can be used in different applications.

I could just die over these floors!! This was the first thing that drew me to the apartment; I have been dreaming about doing this stain treatment to a floor (maybe our foyer or our kitchen??) in our house…having never done it before, though, I am slightly nervous about messing up! I’ve never even painted the harlequin pattern before…yikes! So, it may be a long time before I muster the courage, but there is one little entry area that I could try it that if I messed up, I could sand the floors and re-stain them…ugh…

Today’s Tasteful Take on a Historic House

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Barry Dixon, Baton Rouge, courtyard, designer, DIY outdoor drapes, drop cloth, Elway Hall, floor plan, French, historic house, historical renovation, House tour, interior design, interior designer, Italian chandelier, Ivy, library, neoclassical, painters drop clothes, Parsons desk, Target, Thomas O'Brien, toile, traditional, Travertine, Ty Larkins, West Elm

Historical renovation is something I am passionate about because of my love for the architectural features. In my “About Me” section. I referenced almost buying a beautiful, historic house named Elway Hall, but it was just too far away from my office and I would have spent a minimum of 3 hours in the car a day. Two interior designers ended up buying the house that I had to begrudgingly pass on; it seems that interior designers frequently take the challenge of older homes head on without thinking twice.

House Beautiful profiled one such designer…

50 Shades of Grey

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50 shades of gray, 50 shades of grey, Dining room, gray, gray bathrooms, gray bedroom, gray bedroom ideas, gray curtains, gray living room, gray living room ideas, gray living room walls, gray office, Gray paint, gray paint colors, Gray room, grey, grey bathroom ideas, grey bathrooms, grey bedroom, Grey paint, Grey room, Living room, mushroom gray, slate gray, slate grey

Although I haven’t read the book, I thought I’d show you my version of 50 shades of grey – 50 shades of grey paint 🙂 Grey rooms can fit into any style: romantic, minimalist, modern, traditional, sophisticated and rustic. Grey, though, can be a tricky hue to get right as it can be tinged with different hues.

There are cool greys, which are mixed with blue, that read more of a more slate-grey, and warm greys, which are mixed with yellow, that read more of a mushroom-grey. From the pictures below, you will see examples of each, which may help you in determining your preference.

Courtney Cox’s Modern Malibu Manse

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étagère, Bourgeois Bohème, Celebrity home, Celebrity homes, Charles Pollock, Christain Liaigre, Courtney Cox, Elle Decor, Haenisch, Hans Wegner, Harland Miller, Hermès, Intérieurs, Kent Williams, Malibu, Massimo, Matt Palmer, Matthew Heller, Michael Kovac, Minotti, Paul McCobb, Rug Company, Trip Haenisch, Vitali

Courtney Cox recently moved from a house that she adored because it was level with a public beach and she couldn’t even go for a walk without pictures being taken. The home, designed by famed architect John Lautner, was “futuristic”, “modern” and, according to Cox, “the most amazing place I’ve ever lived in.” (See bottom for details on the house.) But, the silver-lining in all this is that she got to buy and renovate a new home!

According to Elle Decor, before becoming an actress, Courtney Cox wanted to become an architect. Hmm…that sounds familiar (Brad Pitt). Difference being, she actually took college courses in the architecture before pursuing acting. She has been very involved in every home and this project was no different. She held weekly, 3 hour meetings with the architect, Michael Kovac, who was referred by Laura Dern, and her designer (and friend), Trip Haenisch.

The team took this house, which they were not allowed to demolish:

Cents and Sensibility: How to Make a Penny Floor

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A Detailed House, Floors made out of coins, Floors made out of pennies, How to make a nickel floor, How to make a penny floor, Nickel floor, Penny floor, Portland Press Herald, Standard Grill

With two little ones running around the house, I am always picking things up off the floor. I am amazed, though, by the sheer number of coins! Granted, we play “store” a lot, which involves a cash register, spare change, and my youngest setting up “shop” where ever I am… no matter what I’m doing, working or not! They have piggy banks that they love to fill, so why are the coins spread cavalierly on the floor?

I tell myself it’s good for me – like exercise – and picking them up is the equivalent of toe touches, but not even an Army Drill Sargent would put someone through this 😉 Now my thought process is that I’m just going to start cementing them down, so I will eventually end up with these floors:

Bathroom Floors of River Rock

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A Detailed House, Bathroom ideas, Beadboard bathroom, Beige tile ideas, Black and white tile ideas, Black bathroom, Candice Olson, Coastal Living, Divine Design, DIY river rock, Gray stone floor, Green bathroom, Green marble, High end bathrooms, luxurious bathrooms, Modern bathroom, Mosiac in floor, Pebble floor, Retro bathroom, River rock counter, River rock floor, River rock rug, River rock shower, River rock wall, Rustic bathroom, Seashell tile, Seychelles, Shell floor, skirted sink, Soli, Tan tile ideas, Unusual bathroom, White bathroom, white bathrooms

You may or may not have noticed in my last post a comment thread between me and a reader about her shower. She is updating her bathroom and had a few questions, so I wanted to show her some pictures to (hopefully) give her some ideas 🙂

Right now, I’m going to address the flooring, as she is contemplating river rock. When people hear river rock, sometimes an image is conjured up based upon past usage of the material, where it was too dark, rustic, etc.

Times have changed and this perception is no longer true, given the right application and color scheme. River rock can look sleek, modern, luxurious, traditional, spa-like, rustic (without being heavy-handed and in a tasteful way), feminine, masculine – you name it! I saw an episode of Divine Design with Candice Olson and she used an inset of river rock in an upscale bathroom that was absolutely luxurious! I, unfortunately, couldn’t find a picture of it! Drats!!!

This is such a great example of using river rock in a crisp, classic black and white bathroom.

White river rock floor.

How chic is this bathroom?