Solution Examples

When we bought our current home about seven years ago, it had parquet flooring*. You may not be familiar with parquet because it was only very popular in the seventies, along with wood paneling and avocado appliances. So let me say that this particular hardwood floor was, um, so say it politely, Uglier Than Sin! It was kinda like a 4" wooden tile, except in a little circle pattern. It reminded me of an old basketball court, if they even had those... Let's just say we weren't all that excited about our expansive and dated hardwood floor.

We loved the house, though. Looking back it was probably the chocolate chip cookies the realtor was baking as we walked through the open house. It may be cliche, but it works. If ever you want to show off your house, just bake cookies as guests arrive. They'll love your home, and not even know why!

But I do digress...

I had a problem. We were steadily moving into the 21st century and my floor was stuck with John Travolta in his white polyester. To make matters worse, the floor took up the largest chunk of my home. My kitchen, dining room and foyer was one aged parquet glob. To replace the stuff would cost more than a large SUV.

Solution: Paint. My husband thought I was insane, as he usually does when I present him with solutions. "You don't paint hardwood floors!" he said. Then again, considering his options were to embrace the 70's craze or the price of an island in the carribean, he gave me the go-ahead. Porch n' Floor paint from Home Depot was the secret. I used the colors from my china as the inspiration. You might not already know, Home Depot can match paint to anything you bring to them (pretty handy when you choose a shoe, or a picture of a baby giraffe, like I did for the nursery).

Since my son was 5 months old, and I didn't have anything else to do, I made a checkerboard pattern diagonally across the floor. Me and Painter's Tape became best friends. Two coats of Polyurathane and all my patience later, we had a unique conversation piece that lasted six years. Recently I decided we needed another update and I gave my parquet another color infusion and a whole new new look.

I know one day, after I win the lottery, we'll spend our Escalade money and replace the entire kitchen. We've already picked out the aged cherry floors we want to go to with the new cabinets and stainless steel appliances. My kitchen will, no doubt, be awesome. I know, then, I'll be just a little sad. What will I paint then?!

*Not all parquet is ugly, in fact, it can be quite beautiful if done right and not forty years old.
If you're curious, check this out... http://www.pavexparquet.com/

Understand this is design BY you, for YOU

I have spent many, too many hours in front of the TV watching design show after design show. All too many hours with a laptop on my lap, scanning over all the do's and don'ts about design. Can you say, overwhelming?! Mostly I think, "how does that stuff apply to me?" I don't know about you, but I truly don't want my home to look like a showroom floor. I'd rather it to look like my home.

Don't get me wrong. I think that all that stuff is great. There is some beautiful stuff out there. Examples of Interior Design are really fun to watch. Impressive, too. But when all is said and done, does it help you choose a color for your front bathroom? Does it fill you with confidence walking up and down the aisles at Ethan Allan? Are you everso experienced when standing in front of the paint chips at Home Depot?

I think it's a great idea to have one person, (namely me) who happens to have a natural "eye" for design, help another person (namely you) achieve the look you want in your home, using a personal style. Nothing more elaborate than that. What do you think?

Introductions

Hello from cyberspace, and welcome to my world.

I have the most amazing venture. I hope you'll be interested to learn. But first let me introduce myself. This being my first blog, and all...

I am a stay at home mother of two boys, four and six. Before I chose that line of work, I was in the computer biz, and before that some administration work. I have been married for 12 years ~to the Same Man *sigh*. I live in the Bay Area. I'd tell you where I live but it's absolutely wonderful, and you'd want to live here and our freeways are all crowded up enough, thank you.

It used to be that I would make up answers, just to have something to say. I soon found out that people stopped believing me when I said stuff to fill in spaces, so I learned to know what I'm talking about, or find out the answers before I opened my mouth.

So now I have become a "Why Don't you Just ... " girl. I have answers for stuff. I have a need to provide answers. A little problem for me, sometimes. I can't just let it go, you see? You have a question, I will find the answer. It's a gift/curse thing I got going.

I love my home. I love making homes for others. I have an eye for things. People say I'm good at it, too. I truly believe I've found a way to help lots of people across the country turn the place they live into their home.

Mkay. 'nuff about me. I'll be blogging more soon.