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~ From Beach to Chic!

Monthly Archives: April 2010

Neighborhoods of Newport House Tour

14 Wednesday Apr 2010

Posted by SOF in House Tours

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Neighborhoods of Newport House Tour, Newport, RI, SMCDS, St. Michael's Country Day School

Seaweed

Have you always wanted to get a peek inside Newport’s private mansions? Now is your chance! Next Sunday, April 25th you can tour 5 of Newport’s most amazing private homes as part of the Neighborhoods of Newport House Tour put together by St. Michael’s Country Day School. The houses included this year are Seaweed, Broadlawns, Sulthorne, Pelham House and Beacon Rock. This would be a fabulous girls day and a great day trip if you are in the RI, CT, or MA area.

Broadlawns Sulthorne

Pelham House

Beacon Rock

Tickets are $35 if purchased by April 22nd or $40 thereafter and can be purchased online. Please note that there are some restrictions on the tour so be sure to read through everything on the web site if you plan on attending. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and boxed lunches are available to order at the time of ticket purchase. Hope to see you there!

Chairloom: Furniture Reinvented

13 Tuesday Apr 2010

Posted by SOF in D.I.Y., Eco-friendly, Furniture

≈ 2 Comments

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Chairloom, finished pieces, Lonny Magazine, mod green pod, Oliveira Textiles, Rubie Green, unfinished pieces

I was flipping (virtually) through the new issue of Lonny Magazine last night when I came across an ad for Chairloom. I believe I had looked at them a long time ago, but had completely forgotten about them (gasp!). This company does pretty much exactly what my sister and I have talked about doing forever as a business which is to buy antiques and redo them in fabulous paints and fabrics to bring them back to life so it was natural that my original reaction was to be completely smitten with all of their work. They have just about every style of antique/vintage furniture you can think of and offer a fabulous array of fabrics including 3 of my favorite organic textile companies-Oliveira Textiles, Rubie Green (on wingback chair above), and Mod Green Pod. What’s also great about them is that they offer both finished pieces and unfinished pieces for which you can provide your own fabric or order fabric through them.

I have done this type of thing for my own home on several occassions. I recovered a wingback chair I paid $35 for my freshman year in college with a great sunbrella (kid-friendly) coral print fabric and an oversized victorian couch that I picked up at a tag sale for $40 when I graduated from college has now been recovered in a fuschia and gold damask fabric by my sister and is in her living room. We were also handed down several pieces of furniture by my husband’s mother and a good upholsterer was able to revamp all of it to fit our family friendly lifestyle. There are two reasons why I love this idea. First, re-doing an older piece of furniture is better than throwing it into a landfill. Second- as cliche as it may sound, they just don’t make furniture like they used to unless you are going to a really skilled craftsman.

If you don’t have the time or aren’t up for digging through antique shops, tag sales, and fabric stores yourself or if you have been searching for something in particular and haven’t been able to find it, I highly encourage you to check out Chairloom. I think the prices are really reasonable and it’s a great way to create a custom look without having to go through a designer if that’s not in your budget.

18th Century Colonial Renovation: Part III

12 Monday Apr 2010

Posted by SOF in Before & After, House Tours

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18th Century Colonial Renovation

The past two months or so of the 18 Century Colonial Renovation we’ve been following has focused on the bones of the house. The electrical, plumbing and ductwork are almost done and the drywall will be going up in 2-3 weeks. The north, south, and west sides of the house have all been reshingled and the new glass back entry door has been installed and is making a huge difference in the amount of light coming into the laundry/mud room and kitchen.
The new window moldings are almost completely installed and are quite lovely compared to the old ones. The plan is for the shingles to remain their natural color and the trim to be painted blue. Stay tuned, and hopefully our next update will have some spaces starting to look a little more like rooms.

Architectural Details: On the Fence

09 Friday Apr 2010

Posted by SOF in garden, Inspiration, Outdoor

≈ 2 Comments

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fences, grand mansions, Home Depot, Lattice Fence, Nottinghame Fence, Walpole Woodworkers

As we all know, you only have one chance to make a first impression. So why do so many people with beautiful homes not pay close attention to the fences that frame their property and are the first thing to greet their guests? For so many of us fences are a necessity to keep a dog or kids in the yard or maybe to keep a neighbor’s dog out, and so it’s easy to just head out to Home Depot and pick up their stock picket fence or call your local fence company and get a cedar stockade fence or dare I even say chainlink fence. But after we pour so much time and effort into the inside of our homes, shouldn’t the fence get equal attention? Even if you live in a little bungalow, having just a little customization to a fence really sets the tone for what people are about to enter into. I’m lucky enough to live in a place that is rich in customized homes from the grand mansions of Bellevue Avenue to the colonial homes of Newport’s Historic Point neighborhood and literally everything in between. Here are a few that caught my eye when cruising around town (I stuck to wood ones only-the stone walls and iron fencing are going to have to be an entirely different post). I am obsessed with the chevron fence (above), and I love the shadow it casts as well. Not only is the pattern great, but it’s not white. A lot of colonial homes match the fence color to the house color which can make even your standard fence look a lot more customized.

Here, just changing out a few of the rungs in the center creates an entirely custom look.

I love the curvature of the top rail in this fence that helps it smoothly “step down” the hill it sits on.

The two tiers of pickets in this fence and the finials on each post create added interest.I was surprised to find that Walpole Woodworkers has really expanded their line of fencing and offers a wide selection of fencing with a more customized look. I’m really liking their Lattice Fencewhich would be great in place of your standard gothic fence while still providing a fair amount of privacy.

And their Nottingham Fence is so charming and it just seems to beg for a beautiful rose garden to sit by. It would be perfect for a cottage style home.

Walpole Woodworkers also does custom designs and historical reproductions. I am in love with this custom diamond fence pattern. Unfortunately, my dog would jump right through those diamonds. I have to admit that while I knew Walpole Woodworkers did high quality work, I went to their site to use them as an example of what a limited selection of stock fences there are, but I was really surprised by some of their amazing options now. So the good news is that a more customized look for your yard is very easily accessible. And remember that your home begins at the curb so put that “welcome mat” there.

Studio Ditte Wallpapers

08 Thursday Apr 2010

Posted by SOF in Inspiration, textiles, wallpaper

≈ 1 Comment

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Ribbon Wallpaper, Scrapwood Wallpaper, Studio Ditte

Ok, these wallpapers by Studio Ditte are two of the coolest wallpapers I’ve ever seen. Talk about making a fabulous look that would be painstakingly tedious to achieve into a super simple project. The Scrapwood Wallpaper translates the unique beauty of each piece of scrapwood into wallpaper, and below the Ribbon Wallpaper is literally individual pieces of ribbon sewn together and then the image is transferred onto wallpaper. A-MAZ-ING! There really just aren’t enough words so take your time soaking up the images.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

07 Wednesday Apr 2010

Posted by SOF in Accessories, Bath, Inspiration, Living Room

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Apartment Therapy, Architectural Digest, Miles Redd, mirrors, Southern Living

Walls of mirrors have often had strong connotations of either opulance (think Hall of Mirrors at Versailles) or outdatedness (think 70′s closet doors), but when done right neither word applies. Mirrors are actually one of the greatest tools a designer has and canvasing an entire wall with them makes a truly bold statement. They can add the illusion of greater volume in a small space or add light to a dark room. And they can make an otherwise drab space seem very glamorous. I particularly like them being used in a monotone room. Here are a few examples of mirrors being used to their fullest potential.

Image Sources:  Miles Redd, Architectural Digest, Southern Living, Apartment Therapy

If you like this post, then you might like these:
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Etsy Pick of the Week: Handmade Beach and Garden Chairs

06 Tuesday Apr 2010

Posted by SOF in Etsy Pick of the Week, Furniture, furniture, garden, Outdoor

≈ 2 Comments

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beach chairs, Etsy.com, Gallant & Jones, summer, Trina Turk

Summer will be here before you know it so it’s time to start thinking about what you and your book will be lounging in while you’re basking in the sun whether it be in the backyard or by the beach. I am loving these adjustable garden chairs and beach chairs by Etsy seller Gallant & Jones. Most of their fabrics are reminiscent of fabulous french ticking stripe which I’m a big fan of, but I LOVE the Trina Turk fabric on the garden chair above. But any of them will really add that splash of color you need to brighten your day. The Caligata Garden Chairs have a headrest included and the fabric is removeable, while the Brighton Beach Chair fabric is not. All of the chairs are handmade in Canada of black walnut.
Can’t you just picture these surrounding a firepit? Or lined up on a long deck facing the ocean? I can just pitcure myself lounging in one with a nice cold glass of chardonnay in hand at one of our beach parties. Ahhhh summer, I can’t wait for you to get here.

If you like this post, then you might like these:
New Pillows for the Patio
Sinking into a Barrel of Wine Never Looked So Good
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First Birthday Party Ideas

05 Monday Apr 2010

Posted by SOF in Celebrations, D.I.Y., Kids, Tabletop

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Annie's Cheddar Bunnies, birthday parties, carrot wrapped flatware, diy, Make It and Love It, make your own tutu, Martha Stewart, Michael's, Old Navy, Paas Color Snaps, parties, Party Pom Poms

After all the rain last week, we had a beautiful day on Saturday for my daughter’s first birthday party. This was a very homemade birthday. I have not done this much crafting since my wedding when I literally had all my friends working on a different project each night the week before the wedding. I know it’s much easier to pay someone else to do a lot of this stuff, but I get so much gratification from doing it myself because apparently I’m crazy. However, all of these were pretty easy crafts so I would say give one or all of them shot if you like them (but start them as early in advance as you can-I started a week before the party to do what I could). So starting with the invitations, I dressed her up in her 1st birthday outfit and took pictures of her and then picked my favorite one for the invite and had 4 x 6 prints made. I bought colored card stock and cut it in half lengthwise so that it was 4 1/4″ wide by 11″ long. I used glue dots to affix the image to the paper and then trimmed the top. I set up the wording using the column function in a Word document and then printed it on vellum paper. I cut the vellum down to size using scalloped edge scissors and used a 1/16″ hole punch in either corner that I put the flower fixtures through. I discovered the scrap booking department at Michaels’ has an amazing of assortment of useful things I never knew existed.

Here’s a picture of my birthday girl! I found instructions on how to make your own tutu at the Make It and Love It blog. Then I bought a plain white ribbed tank top at Old Navy and added the cupcake detail. For the cupcake wrapper I just pleated the fabric by making even folds and sewing them, and then I shaped and pinned the fabric onto the tank and sewed it on (I am a novice sewer so I still need a lot of practice on manipulating the fabric, but it worked out ok). I hand sewed the ric rac trim on as frosting, just putting a few stitches at either end and in the center. And I added a little cherry on top that I hand sewed on as well.

Because her birthday fell on Easter weekend, I wanted to incorporate a little bit of Easter without going overboard. Luckily bunnies and baskets are cute and springy and perfect for little girls. Here I decorated eggs to read HAPPY BIRTHDAY and nestled them in Easter grass on the mantle. I discovered Paas Color Snaps that made the lettering super easy.

It’s always good to set the bar up outside if you can to keep people flowing both in and out of the house. I bought the Gerber daisies and then filled in with pussy willows and forsythia from the yard. Bowls of jelly beans and Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies for the kids were scattered about. And if you don’t have a metal beverage bucket, I highly recommend getting one. I use mine all the time.

A bunch of spray roses nestled tightly into Carolina’s petite mint julep cup with her name monogrammed on it. If you have sterling or pewter baby cups like this, birthdays are the perfect time to pull them out and use them as little vases.

You may remember my post about where to find Party Pom Poms a few months back. One of our readers shared with me that she had made them using the directions from Martha Stewart. They were really easy to make and much less expensive than buying them, but make sure you have a really good pair of scissors.

As you can see here, my cake decorating skills could use some work, but I am learning with each one. I found the cupcake baskets at Michaels’ and thought they would be adorable for the kids and cupcakes are so much easier for kids anyway. I bought an icing tip for the first time to make the icing look nicer, but I didn’t buy the part that attached the tip to the bottle so for the cake I wasn’t able to use the tip. I highly recommend talking to the people at the store when determining what you need (unlike me). I did go back and get the attachment before doing the cupcake icing and you can probably see the difference.

For the kids’ peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I used cookie cutters to make them in the shape of bunnies, chicks, and eggs. I would recommend cutting the bread out first and then adding the filling because there is a lot of waste so you can make croutons or bread crumbs with the leftovers instead of tossing so much.

Here is the entire buffet. Check out my post last week about the carrot wrapped flatware if you didn’t see it before.

And lastly, the goody buckets. My 3 1/2 year old son and I made the chocolate lollipops. When I was kid, we had a bunny mold and always made them at Easter so I told him we would make them too. It is quite possibly the easiest thing I’ve ever made. We added a piece of egg shaped chalk and some chocolate eggs and nestled them all in Easter grass in a metal jelly bean bucket.

In the end a good time was had by all. It’s amazing the amount of effort we put into things that our children won’t even remember, but when Carolina gets older, I know she’ll appreciate it. Next up, my son wants me to make him a rescue wagon cake for his birthday in June. Better find a cake decorating class now.

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