This picture posted on Flickr inspired me for the outdoor dining space. Of course, I don’t have enough room for all of those beautiful umbrellas, and Raju might kill me if I paint the side of the house (ala one of those HGTV shows we watched once upon a time, of course, she also cut away part of the deck; damn did her hubby need that margarita maker they won when he came home). So I’m paring down a bit and going with what seems to be leaning more toward a French feel with the red and blue and the Tolix chairs. Either way, it will be better than what it is today.

what it is today: clean slate or barren waste land? cup half full or half empty?

Of course, we’ll need more plants, and brighter colored planters than are in the mock above. Shortcuts – I just wanted some greenery in the picture.

The current plan is to put in the tall, skinny evergreens, similar to the ones in this photo from Florence (center of the pic) in a row down the fence. That should give us some privacy and kill some of the ambient road noise. So I guess we’re bringing a little Italy back in. Maybe I can call this “Euroblend”?

Filed under:
Domestic Life, Florence, Influences, Italy by Courtney

Family and Dining Room

“I wouldn’t call myself much of a planner. I’m more a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants gal, moment to moment, yeah, that’s me.”
– Vivian Ward, Pretty Woman

Even though that line is from a prostitute, it pretty much sums up my views on planning. I hate planning and like to live in the moment, but only when I want to live in the moment. Sometimes I just want to couch potato in the moment…

So this, this is odd, but a good exercise for me. Living with someone else, sharing a house, means I can’t just be me. Sure, I have all these ideas floating around in my head, and I know they’ll turn out. If they don’t, I can always change everything, right?

the Gray room – guest bedroom #1

Getting it all on paper before executing, with the occasional surprise thrown in, does seem to be working. The rooms, while coming along slowly, are coming along, and look just like my vision. Well, the little parts that are complete, anyways. I would say in the past things have only come out like my vision 50/50. So on the plus side, a greater rate of success, on the minus side, not so many happy accidents. I live for happy accidents. They’re what make me, well, happy.

Living Room

Filed under:
Domestic Life, Influences by Courtney

We spent the earlier part of this year searching for a house, then we finally found one, put in an offer, luckily didn’t get that one, found another (which we actually had found previously, but it took us a while to decide it was right), found out someone else had put in an offer, we put in an offer, got in contract, and finally bought a house. Then reality set in – houses cost money. The life we knew was gone. The savings we had was gone; in its place is home equity. Welcome to grown up life, Courtney.

I make this sound bad, when really, it’s great. I wouldn’t trade it for the world; it’s really nice having a place to call home, though it’s taking a while to sink in that it’s ours. It’s a new project on a grander scale than previous projects. Walls to paint, tiles to break, bricks to fix, rooms to decorate. Grown up furniture, guest bedrooms, in-laws visiting. A bar that hides the liquor instead of showcasing it.

But my creations these days are very domestic. A decorated house, a yummy meal, a tomato or a cayenne pepper I grew and used in dinner. I have trouble with that, but I also enjoy that. There’s not enough time to create – art, dinner, a home – and work. Actually, I’m sure there is; I’m just lazy. Or maybe I just have too many ideas and not enough focus.

Ahh, but I’ve finally posted another post. I’ve put images back on Etsy for sale. I can make a resolution now to do better, to promote myself, to set aside time to work on the site, the blog, the art (as I haven’t created anything in 2 years now), exercise, learn new languages — all that stuff I want to do, but never get around to. Instead of resolutions, though, we’ll just see what happens. Resolutions, even made in August, seem to be the thing you break. At least, for me.

Pics of the house, in various states >>>

Filed under:
Domestic Life, General Info, Happy, Observances by Courtney