I left my heart in California

Homesick. Missing some of my favorite things about my hometown hills of Northern California.
Wondering how I can work these into my home decorating...colors, textures, images???


Yosemite.

Sacramento

Lake Tahoe

Poor Red's BBQ in Diamond Springs

Old Folsom

Santa Cruz

Placerville

La Grange, Old Bridge

Sacramento, Cal state fair

Sutter's Mill,Coloma

Progress on the house

BEFORE- what the dining looked like when we bought the house.

Progress-

Before- Living room

Progress-

Progress....

We closed on the house last Thursday and started the renovating. after many trips to Home Depot and a lot of late nights; we're on our way to making it our home. Here are a few before and progress pics...

I primed and painted the cabinets in Creamy mushroom and the walls in Agave. Have not yet begun to redo the counters or put in the appliances.

Also, I haven't decided yet how to tackle the travesty above the cabinets. Still, it's better than it was!


The attached dining/breakfast nook was also in red ( what I thought was paint was actually 2 layers of painted over walllpaper!)

I painted it the same Agave color as the adjoining kitchen.

This week I will be priming and painting the bottom part of the walls, the doors and trim in Ultra white.

The living room was a bold golden yellow. The fireplace and bookcases are in desperate need of a cleaning and a fresh coat of white paint.

Now, the main color is Creamy Mushroom and the accent wall is Agave. We wanted to keep the color pallet the same, since it flows into the dining room/kitchen. The fireplace and bookcases still need a good cleaning and fresh coat of white paint. You can see most of the floor has been pulled up,too.

Gray and yellow

I have been in love with the gray and yellow combo since last year when I used it in my dining room at my last house. It's popularity has grown since then and why not? What's not to love? The softness, the drama..... I'm thinking in my new house, I will have a guest bedroom in this color combo with hints of Turquoise.

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New Orleans

Some photos I took of where I live. New Orleans, Louisiana.

DIY Cobblestone

Found this awesome concrete cobblestone maker at Lowe's for only $15.00. I talked my husband into using it to create a walkway to the front door. It will take some work ripping up the existing concrete path, but it'll be worth it.

Source: centsationalgirl.com via Cleo on Pinterest

I also want to use it to make a lovely little path in the backyard from the deck to the fountain and flower garden. probably wait until spring to start on this project tho.

Inspiration

I have been collecting all kinds of wonderful photo inspirations for our new home. Here are some of my favorites.
Colors for living room-

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Kitchen-

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Bedding-

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Laundry room-

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Bath=

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Oct 14th...Clsoing day!

1 month until move!

We've had the inspection done on the house , so we'll just be waiting until closing next month. Meanwhile, I've been working on furniture projects. The turquoise dresser (turned credenza) is almost finished, Sierra's nightstand is next and I just purchased another vintage chair for redo. Lots to keep me busy until we move!
Here's a pic of the house.

Turquoise upcycled dresser

I found this big, abused dresser at the thrift store for $25.00 My husband mad a horrified face when I brought it home, but I saw the potential. After sanding, gutting the bottom drawers and priming, I went to Home Depot for paint. Martha Stewart has good size testers, so I choose a beautiful Turquoise. I distressed it a bit after painting and so far, I'm loving it. We headed back to Home Depot for some paneling for the bottom shelf and backing. I still need to paint the bottom shelf and add the backing it here is a before and during......

Before & After- Side table

From doggie chew toy to shabby-chic side table! Scored this lil' gem at a thrift store for $5. I failed to realize the damage until I got home. Oh, well...nothing a little sanding, filling and paint can't fix.

See what I mean? I think the previous owners had a teething puppy.

 Still in progress. I'm going to add another coat and distress the edges more. Again, I will be able to show the furniture in-use once we move. Until then, it's my ugly patio as a background.
Back to my projects!
-Cleo

Before & After- Nightstand and Mirrors

On a recent trip to the local Goodwill, I picked up a pair of nightstands and two ugly little plastic mirrors. I immediately knew what I wanted to do with both. The mirrors would be updated for my daughters Paris themed room and the others would be bedside tables for the hubby and I. Less than $20 and voila!

 I sanded, primed and painted it white then added knobs from World Market. Still not happy so, I bought some beautiful paper for the shelf and am on the hunt for a colorful knob. Hopefully, it'll be done this week.

The two little mirrors just need a few sprays of bold pink!

I can't wait to add after photos of my revamped items after we've moved. Alas, everything is getting packed.
Oh, did I mention we're buying our first house!