Paint...one things that is relatively inexpensive that can change everything.

A portrait Sam painted

If I've learned anything from my artist husband it's all about this thing called saturation. Sam has been working in show biz for the past 20 years, creating sets and props, digitally, for movies, video games and apps. He is also a fine artist. He can paint anything...so when he speaks, I listen.

We are talking about color here...so if it's too saturated that means the color has moved from a natural point to a unnatural state. For example "hot pink" isn't a color you find in nature...or at least not that often and is why it makes you feel a little uneasy when you are in a room painted that color. Sam made us this handy dandy chart. The four colors of green on the left hand side should be used sparingly...maybe paint a small desk or chair this color but not a room. The reason? They are too saturated! In nature we are looking at everything under a light blue/grey/white haze because of the sky....that's why people tend to enjoy less color.

 


 














 It's no secret that I love white. My kitchen is all white, most of my walls are white, etc. so when I told my sister I liked the deep purple room in my mom's house she was surprised. " I didn't think you'd like it since it's so dark."

 It's not that I don't like color, or that I don't like darker shades, I just don't like things that look fake along with most people, they just don't know why they don't like it. Come to find out...the name of the paint is grape, so it's no surprise that the color would resonate with me.

I guess I'm lucky I love white now that we've moved to Ohio I am trying to embrace the natural beauty of the snow and the gleaming white landscape just helps me become one with nature. Ha, ha!! Who am I kidding?? I'm freezing my butt off here...but I have to make the most of it! I can't help singing "California Dreaming" on a day like today but it has warmed up. It's a blistery 12 degrees...up about 18 degrees from yesterday!

So...if you are holed up in the house today...break out the paint!! Oh...I forgot something really important. Buy a good brush!! It is well worth the 15 dollars you will spend and it will take half the time and the results will be so much nicer! 

 I'm going to do a little more writing and give you some super duper tips on how to strip paint from fixtures, door knobs etc. without killing yourself. Believe me I've tried it all and this method is the easiest, cleanest and most effective!! Until then...

The Festivities are over...the tree has been taken down-so now it's back to business-renovation business that is. If you are thinking of buying a fixer upper-stop and read this post first. We've renovated several properties and we learn something new every time so don't go through the rough stuff, let us do that for you!! First thing...Design it before you buy it!! I think this is one of the biggest mistakes a person can make when buying a fixer-upper. You go over your new home with a microscope, looking for cracks in the foundation, faulty wiring and bad plumbing but you never look at it’s “living power”. No, that isn’t some new age philosophy but just a term I’ve coined for this post. “Living Power” means it fits your lifestyle. I love separate rooms for specific occasions but I also like flow. I remember when I walked into our current house for the first time and  I immediately fell in love! I think my realtor was shocked that I liked  it so much but I just knew it was to be mine.

little room off kitchen/back of house

"after" photo taken from the living room into the kitchen

When I walked in the front door I could see all the way to the back of the house. I knew there was potential because I like lots of light and I could bust out a few walls and add lots of natural sunshine. The pic to the left was the "before" of the living room that was separate from the kitchen.  The one on the right was a little room off of the kitchen that was virtually unusable. Here's a BIG tip...just because a wall is load bearing doesn't mean it can't be removed. I don't know why people freak out about removing walls. We've taken out several load bearing walls and if you properly support them, all is well. When we gutted our little 600 square foot duplex in Los Angeles we removed a wall and replaced it with a 200 lb beam in the ceiling. We were told that was overkill...but better over than under!  Now...if you are a super fan of Nicole from rehab addict, like I am, you may be wondering about removing walls yet still preserving the integrity of the house. Here's my take on it. We always keep anything of significance when it comes to mantles, wood work, floors, etc. We try and repair anything and everything we can...but we also have to live in it. I don't regret for a second tearing out the two walls that opened up the kitchen to the living room and the kitchen to the great outdoors! Remember your house needs "living power"! Also...don't rule out an old house because you are afraid of it's inefficiency. You can blow in insulation as well as insulate your attic. Do this prior to finishing your walls because they drill holes about the size of the bottom of a pop can about every 16 inches on all the walls that face the outdoors. You can do this from either the inside or outside and the cost can vary dramatically so shop around. We finished our 3500 square foot place for less than 4-thousand dollars and this included the insulation that expands and looks like giant marshmallows for the kitchen (since it was gutted) and bat insulation for another room that wasn't dry walled. That's it for now! I'm snowed in...so you'll probably hear more from me this week!

Merry Christmas...and put down the solo cup.

As we are nearing the magical day...I know many of you will be attending family get togethers', dinners, parties and such while others may be hosting. For the love of all things merry and bright, please don't bust out the solo cups. Use glasses and plates and maybe even a table cloth...do it up-make it memorable! I just heard on NPR how materialism makes people anxious and depressed while experiences make lasting positive impressions. Make some memories!

 Speaking of impressions...I had the pleasure of attending an amazing party last Saturday. Jason and Nathan have been catering events at their beautifully restored home here in this little tiny town for awhile, but this party was just super duper extraordinarily fantastic! Their tree was huge and dressed in peacock feathers, there were candles and decorations everywhere and the food, oh the glorious food!! There was chicken, beef, ham and shrimp. Potatoes and puddings and veggies and fruit!! I was in heaven and I can honestly tell you-they are THE best hosts ever! I've been to parties in Hollywood, Get togethers in Malibu, Congressional dinners in D.C and I can tell you-no one comes close to my friends right here in Washington Court House, Ohio. This sounds like a commercial...but I'm just hoping to convince you that you can have a fabulous party too-regardless of where you live!

I know this post is "off" the beaten path when it comes to home renovations and such but it's the holidays and I also wanted to give you a couple tips on cheap ways to host and decorate. So...here goes. Check your local thrift stores. I bought a thirty piece set of china-not froo-froo, just really nice and simple for 30 dollars. I'm talking thirty plates, thirty dessert plates, thirty tea cups and saucers, etc., etc. Then I went over to the handy dandy dollar store and picked up some glasses. If you are over 30 and you're still using plastic cups you've collected from football games, McDonald promotions, etc.-it's time to part with them. I love you, but it's time. If you need centerpieces you can make them for next to nothing. Use live greenery, and whatever else you have laying around and viola...you've got yourself a fancy table! This little lady cost me about 50 cents, 30 for the vase (goodwill) and the little red stuff...a couple cents.

One of the best things about moving back to your hometown is seeing family that you haven't seen in awhile. I always tried to make it to the reunions but sometimes it just wasn't in the cards. This year I hosted both my mother and father's sides of the family for Christmas.


 I did this for two reason. I wanted to see everyone and I also wanted a deadline for getting the house ready. The last thing I did was stain the hallway floors on the second floor.







 I did a thing called pickling-it's a white wash that I love but was almost the death of me. I first did our bedroom floors...sanding and stripping a hundred years of grime and paint off the wood, then per my usual, I applied a clear coat of sealer-mistake, bad mistake.  My beautiful white floors turned yellow!! I found out later that when "pickling" you have to let them cure for 4 weeks before putting down polyurethane. I had to go back and re-sand and stain the floors.  My bad, won't happen again...and these hallways will not see poly for another couple weeks.

Ok...it's Christmas Eve...so I'm going to quit writing start getting ready for the festivities. No party here tonight...going to my mom's, it's tradition and it's only a ten minute drive-beats the 4 hour plane ride!!! Merry Christmas!

Today is the beginning of a new blog. I wrote my first entry months ago but decided I would be just too overwhelmed with all of the projects that I had in my bag to start writing, so I saved it for a later date-thus, today.

You can go to my first blog entry if you'd like a little background on me and my family but if not...here's a little synopsis. My husband, son and I just moved to my hometown of about 20-thousand people in rural Ohio, after living in Los Angeles. Ok-the sound of that may make some of you cringe but we've made it work and we've had a good time doing it! All of my family live here and the real estate is  reallllllllyyyyyyyy cheap!! Speaking of real estate-that's a good segueway into our latest adventure-renovating a 120 year old Victorian! Most of my writings will be real estate related. How to find it...how to fix it or how to give it some umph!! We have renovated several properties and I hope to give you advice on what to DIY and what to hire out. I've also sold real estate and I do believe I've found the golden ticket when it comes to buying cheap. That's a lesson in and of itself...but I digress. The pictures listed here are some "before" photos and in the future I'll be breaking down each room, what we did to it, how much it costs, some tips and tricks to making it fabulous all while encouraging you to keep at your own project!
I am an old house enthusiast as well as a modern design maven. I love the juxtaposition of old and new but I  I could also see myself living in a super barren high rise on the beach with concrete floors and glass...glass, everywhere glass! Actually, in a previous life my office was exactly that-modern, stark, bright and oh so beautiful!! It sat on the board walk of Venice Beach, CA and every morning I'd get my coffee and sit at my desk watching the dolphins. It was glorious!! The picture below was taken from the "upper" deck. I can't find any pictures of the interior...but it was cool. If you've ever visited Venice Beach, serene,would not be one of the words you would use to describe it-crazy is a better adjective but high atop my office, all of the madness below was never seen. Ok...enough reminiscing! Welcome!! Come back soon-I'll be getting down to business!

Today I begin. Another blog, another day, another dollar. I'm sitting in a very cool coffee shop in Ft. Collins, CO sipping my Americano, trying to enjoy the calm, you know, the calm before the storm .

Six months ago my husband was abruptly laid off. We were living in Los Angeles, CA yet we had been contemplating a move ever since we adopted our nine year old son, Michael a year prior.

Crazy Hair Day!!!!

His biological siblings live in Ohio, so we thought we'd start heading East...we just didn't know it would come so soon. If you know me, you are aware that I'm a gypsy. I've moved around 15 times, living in at least a half dozen cities all over the U.S. so it will come as no surprise, we stopped off in Colorado.
 
 I couldn't just go to Ohio right out of the shoot? How much fun would that be? Actually, we thought about relocating there permanently but then, changed our minds. Don't get me wrong, it has been such a treat being in this beautiful state but the call of cheap real estate and my entire family....immediate and extended, beckoned, so we answered the call.  My husband, Sam's parents live here...and they have been a tremendous help with Michael and just a great support system so leaving isn't easy.

But...I got this picture last night....

Yes, a picture of some yucky looking hardwood floors. To some this is nothing, to me...it's a dream come true!! 5 days ago, one of our tenants moved out of our duplex located in the historic neighborhood of German Village, Columbus, Ohio, and my brother in law hit the ground running, tearing up old linoleum floors, in hopes of striking gold. Hardwood, that is. So...this little find is going to save us about a 1000 dollars in tile, yippie!!

So, what does this have to do with anything? Well, next week we leave Colorado, the following week we begin the process of recreating our lives! Dramatic, huh? After being away from home, a little town of about 20-thousand, I'm returning and we are going to renovate a rental property, sell it, then use the money to renovate a 120 year old property. Crazy...yes. Doable-yes.

I'll be talking about life in general, all of the things we learn while renovating and moving from a city of 12-million to a little town of 20-thousand, thus the caption, Recreating life, love and home.