The new house is coming along nicely. While I think it will always be a work in progress, spaces are starting to come together enough to start showing full before and after tasty goodness 😄. Today it’s the Catwalk! Yes this crazy house has a freaking catwalk, yet another one of the strange delights this house has to offer. The catwalk was a fun space to design. I wanted to make it as functional as possible for our needs (as cheaply as possible) and think I succeeded. I wanted to have lots of seating, extra sleeping spaces for overnight guests, and a reading/meditation area. We are eventually hoping to have art and music events at the house and this will be a prime spot to watch performances in the great room below.
As you can see on the Before pics, the catwalk was largely unusable, full of nasty old carpet with no structure.
The first thing we did was rip out the nasty old carpet. The wood was in good shape so we did a simple whitewash on it to blend it into the whitewash wood on the walls. I had our awesome handyman build platforms for the black French mattresses (Pottery Barn Teen), build shelves against the east wall and paint the old bookshelves and all the new build outs Sherwin Williams Tricorn black. The desk was moved to my art studio and painted white. I saved a ton sewing all my own pillows. I’m not much of a seamstress but they are certainly good enough. I scored the beautiful designer tiger fabric as a remnant on fabricguru.com, the velvet pink on fabric.com. Most of the art and chotchkies we had, a couple pieces (including the tribal black pieces behind the seating area) we found at the local swap meet.
The area is much more useable now, and I love the way it came out. We go up there to just hang out and watch the sunset out the west windows. We had a couple guests sleep up there recently and got a big thumbs up :-).
Much more to come! Follow this blog and don’t miss a thing.
Step by step things are progressing at our new Yucca Valley home. While no one room is completely finished, I’d say we are 83% of the way there indoors, 40% outdoors. Below is a little Before & After Sneak Peak of 4 of the rooms In Progress…(see the first 3 Sneak Peaks HERE) Full room reveals coming soon! SUBSCRIBE to see it all.
LIVING ROOM BEFORE…The vaulted ceilings in this room are about 24′ tall at the apex, with 20′ walls on the low sides, which were visually cut in half by the old red paint and (hello 1980’s!) wallpaper border. The borders were removed and the space was painted in Sherwin William’s Ultra White. It instantly opened the space up and now shows off all the beautiful wood beams (which you’ll see in a future post) and makes the ceilings soar high just as they should.
LIVING ROOM AFTER (IN PROGRESS)
I’m going for an artsy rock n’ roll sort of vibe in here with a Timothy Oulton influence. Eventually the art on the gallery wall will reach all the way to the ceiling. The sofa is new (thanks to a Wayfair “open box” deal) as is the magenta chair (also Wayfair). Everything else we brought with us from the old house. Except Gozer the Gozarian, whom we adopted about 3 months ago. This sweet little frug (part Frenchie, part pug) has claimed the chair for his throne, and we don’t blame him one bit. (Art: The “Black Heart” painting and the little drawing in the red frame are by Sandi Calistro, the Lucian Freud study painting I did in college, the “Satire Lounge” piece is by Kym Bloom, the red Yumiko Kayukowa print came out of a book, and the rest of the art are thrift store finds.
I know it’s hard to see it in the before pic, as there was a huge stair unit there that we had removed and replaced it with a simple loft ladder (there is a sleeping loft over the entry which you’ll see on a future post). The only real changes here was the removal of the odd stair unit and painting the main wall white.
ENTRY AFTER
The red acrylic box was an alley find we brought with us, and the beautiful raku pot I found at Collector’s Corner in Palm Desert for $20. The jack rabbit coat hooks are from Etsy. (And Jiva’s ratty old hat adds the perfect desert touch 🙂
This crazy house is made for entertaining (which we hope to be doing a lot of post-covid) and has a very large great room in addition to the living room. We hope to host art events and small concerts in here eventually. Before, the green color was well, rather awful, and like in the living room cut the tall walls visually in half. We had the green painted over in the white, all the doors and windows black (Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black), and ripped out and replaced the ratty old carpet (Home Depot). (I apologize for the crappy before image, it’s all I have).
THE GREAT ROOM AFTER (IN PROGRESS)
Being that we want to host events in this room, I wanted a lot of open, low seating. I opted for sectional seating so it can be moved around easily. I looked for months for good-looking sectional seating and finally settled on Pottery Barn Teen Cushy Lounge Sectional Set as an affordable option. In a perfect world I’d have the Roche Bobois Mah Jong sectionals, but until someone hands me an extra $30,000 this is a great option at a tenth the price. The vase pair was a local thrift store score ($10 for the pair), all the leopard print pillows are from Etsy. Art: The “Space Whale” photo print I had printed on metal by Costco (it came out great!) with permission from the photographer. (We were married in front of the Space Whale at Burning Man in 2016 so it is a very special piece to us). Everything else we brought with us from the old house. Carousel painting is by Lonnie Hanzon, cat paintings are by me, crow and skull piece by MadTatters.com, and the resin pieces installation by Lauri Lynnxe Murphy. The other piece is a Goodwill find (I do not know the artist’s name).
All we did in here was paint out the dark oppressive walls and ceiling white, which opened up the space beautifully, and replace the faucets on the sink and tub (which needed to be replaced due to leaking) and added new cabinet knobs. We left the beautiful old vertical wood posts untouched. It has a wonderful spa-like feel now. The light coming through the glass block during the day is marvelous. I did add lots of plants, some brought with us, some new.
The MASTER BATH AFTER (IN PROGRESS)
There is so much more to come! Please subscribe to see it all.
Things are really moving along at the new house! With all the Covid down-time we’re getting a ton done. While no one room is completely finished, I’d say we are 80% of the way there indoors, 25% outdoors. Below is a little Before & After Sneak Peak of 3 of the rooms In Progress…
DINING ROOM BEFORE…this is how it looked when we bought the place. We had the carpet removed, old wallpaper border removed, and the room painted a rich deep Navy Blue. (We splurged on having the full interior painted (all Sherwin Williams, I’m very happy with the outcome) before we moved in and it was worth every penny. I did it all myself in the old house and it was too hard on my body :-). This house is much larger and has very high ceilings, no way I could have done it all myself). I took down the old broken ceiling fan and put up a lovely large green glass chandelier ($235 on Amazon) and added spring green curtains around the entire room (also from Amazon. It was about the same price as buying the fabric myself so a total no-brainer). I’m going for an over-the-top Tony Duquette Maximalism look in here. It still has a ways to go (we need to refinish the wood floor, add a console table on the west wall and do something fun where the sticks are in the ceiling panels and add more art.) The rug, table, chairs and art were all brought with us from the old house.
AFTER (In Progress) Just a sneak peak, much more to come…
MUSIC ROOM BEFORE…this room was a plain white box, originally a garage bay converted into a bedroom with a terrible 3/4 bathroom that we did’nt need. We had the shower stall and toilet removed (leaving the plumbing hook ups (all capped) for future possibilities), had the opening enlarged (you’ll see this on a future post) to let in more light from the only window in the room and provide more storage for music gear and clothes (the room also functions as my husband’s closet, he has more clothes than I do!). Since it’s a music room it has to be at least partially sound-proofed/deadened so we are adding acoustic panels and fabric to most of the walls. My man is nuts for India so I’m going for a sort of Modern Rajasthan Musician vibe in here. There are 32 yards of black velvet and 12 full saris. So glad I invested in a sewing machine! It took me 2 days to get all the curtains sewn. I bought the velvet in bulk from Fabric.com and the sari’s in bulk on Etsy. The teal chair was a thrift store find (Collector’s Corner in Palm Desert, a MUST for great home finds!), the blue stools from Wayfair.com (on sale! Just $45 each), and the vintage wood stool from a local Yucca Valley thrift store for just $12! The rugs were all brought over from the old house. This room is about 70% finished, much more to come!
BEFORE…This room was originally a patio that was enclosed. We had the nasty old carpet removed and the room totally painted out in Ultra White, except the 3 beams which were painted black. We also had new carpeting installed (Home Depot). I wanted things to be very serene in this room with a Leanne Ford vibe so am sticking with a simple color palette, black and white with a touch of color, in this case our trusty old magenta dresser (an alley find I painted years ago) and some fun pink/lavender pillows. The sheepskin rug is from Costco, a GREAT source for sheepskin! This quad rug was just $135 (and the dogs LOVE it :-). The 1″ black cotton robe (meant to emulate a canopy) is from Ravenox. It’s beautiful robe, I highly recommend the company. The vintage hanging lamps on either side of the bed were an Ebay find, $105 for the pair, which I rewired myself. The Roman shades had to be custom ordered because of the odd window size, I found a company through Amazon that did the pair in white linen (to match the curtains I already owned) for $220 shipped. I’m leaving the old fan in place for now, but will likely replace it with a new black one in the future. We did splurge on a new king-size bed but kept our old nightstands which work well in the room. All the pots, pillows and accessories were brought with us from the old house. We did have to install a modular closet unit which you will see on a future post. This room is about 85% finished. More to come!
AFTER (In Progress)…
So much more to come soon! There are 8 more spaces I haven’t shown at all yet, as well as the courtyard front entry and the yard…I’ll post full room reveals as each space is finished, as well as more sneak peaks of the other rooms and DIYs. Please Follow this blog so you don’t miss a thing!
As promised, here is the living room in all it’s Maximalist glory, finally (mostly) complete since buying the house in October 2017. I completed all the painting and wallpaper in a busy two-day whirlwind of back-aching labor, and it was worth it! So happy to have this part finished. There will be a couple small odds and ends to come (like a proper curtain and rod and the main window) but it is for all intents and purposes Fini!
BEFORE
This is what the living looked like when we moved in, sans the previous owner’s furniture.
Hello my beauties…I have neglected you, I admit it, and I apologize. Life has been, well, intense and fascinating! What’s been going on? Well next month will mark my 1-year Tattoo “Graduation” Anniversary! I am happily putting art on people’s skin at Preying Mantis Tattoo in Lakewood, Colorado with a bunch of great guys. (…and still painting of course 🙂 You can see what I’ve been creating at http://www.vlasicstudio.com, just click the “Tattoos” link. I have a few openings so message me to book your tattoo! In other news, We spent a week in my favorite city, NYC, a few weeks ago to meet some of my hubby’s long-lost relatives (Ancestry.com, we thank you for hooking us up with our fabulous “new” cousins!) It was a great trip, and we’d move there in a heartbeat if we could…This weekend finds us with a multitude of hounds in the house, ten in total, (we are still dog-sitting, 4 years and counting!) and having lots of furry fun.
But what about the “Fabulous Finds” you ask? Well 2017 has thus far been a treasure trove of amazing from my favorite thrift store and more. Here are a few of the highlights so far this year…
Manolo Blahnik slides, Goodwill, $7.99, Marc Jacobs key holder, $1.99, lace-textured Botkier bag $8.99, and a Furla “Candy Bag” for $30 at Buffalo Exchange.
3 Beautiful Bangles from Goodwill, left to right J Crew, Tory Burch and Kate Spade, $1.99 each.
Burberry translucent blouse, $28 from the Buffalo Exchange outlet.
Vintage Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress, Goodwill $8.99.
Stuart Weitzman blue suede envelope bag, $6.99 at Goodwill.
What amazing finds have you scored lately? Id love to hear about it in the Comments section…
It was an amazing day of shopping at our favorite thrift store! I swear, if there is something I want and I am patient, it will eventually show up at the thrift store…I’ve been wanting one of these Sapiens bookshelves for a couple years now. They retail for $225 (plus $36 shipping) on Amazon. Today at the thrift store there it was, for $12. I was so excited I’m sure they all thought I was nuts 😉 We also scored a lovely hand-made 100% wool rug for the hall, something else we’ve been looking for, $10. In the ladies section I was thrilled to snap up 2 pairs of ‘7 for all Mankind’ jeans, a pair of Rock and Republic jeans (all $6 each), a Haute Hippe $300 silk blouse for $4.99, a pretty pink merino wool sweater from Bloomingdales ($3.99) and a big lovely silk Brooks Brothers scarf for $1.99. Woo hoo! What a great day. Holiday miracle shopping! I am one happy camper.
What fabulous finds have you scored recently? I’d love to hear about it in the comments section.
I’ve been having a blast trolling for labels at the thrift store this Summer! Last week I scored a gorgeous Tadashi gown ($8.99), 2 silk Nanette Lepore tops ($4.99 each), a Diane Von Furstenberg cocktail dress ($8.99), and 2 pairs of Tori Burch flats ($6.99 each)! How do I pay for all my thrifting fun you ask? Well I sell many of my finds on Ebay to support my habit. I’ve added the links to the pictures below.
It’s time for another edition of Fabulous Finds! I’ve unearthed more delightful treasures from my favorite thrift store over the last couple of weeks. First off is this lovely pair of gold metallic heels in very good condition from Dolce and Gabbana! For $8.99! Yee haw, what a steal. Since I already possess a beautiful pair of gold metallic heels (Jimmy Choo! But that’s for another exciting episode 😉 I am selling this pair on ebay to help pay for my other treasures. You can see the listing here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/121657032070?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
Next up are these super-fun metallic gunmetal-color rubber heels by Vivienne Westwood. They are so funky, I love them! And surprisingly very comfortable. Only $9.95!
Last but not least is this darling silver rain coat from Nanette Lepore. So cute, and a mere $8.99! This new addition to my wardrobe is getting lots of use with all the rain we’ve been having lately…
I’d love to hear about your great designer thrifting finds! Tell me about them in the “Reply/Leave a Comment” section.
I love these big decorative vases from Z Gallerie. I found them at my favorite Goodwill this week, and they look great in the living room. They are in new condition, and still have the original price tags on the bottom ($49.99 each). I snapped them up for $14.99 each. Yay!
One of last week’s spectacular finds at my favorite Goodwill is this awesome pair of Roberto Cavalli Jeans in perfect condition for only $4.99! Perfect for the floral trend this Spring.
I also scored these gorgeous and glamorous Badgley Mishka sparkly T-strap platform heels, looking like they have maybe been worn once! Grabbed these at auction on http://www.shopgoodwill.com for $19 including shipping! Yippee! I love these shoes!
What amazing finds have you scored lately? I’d love to hear about it in the Reply/Leave a Comment section.
  
the Year of Living Fabulously 