I’m so excited to share my home with neighbors and friends today!

My dear friend, Christi Kearney, designed a print piece for the tour that shares a bit of the journey you all have shared in as I renovated. Isn’t it lovely? She also designed Brad’s wedding invitations, which are nothing short of charming.

Here’s the write-up from the tour book:

Thanks to Christi and Ashley and Allen and Brad and Natalie and Julie and all my sweet friends who have encouraged me toward sharing this home with others!

Pictures from the tour coming in the next post. Cross my heart.I never say the “hope to die” part. Or the “stick a needle in your eye” part—who really wants that?

xoxo.

… however there was a moment when we thought the best outcome might be that Jesus return and put us out of our wall-paper-hanging misery. Come quickly, Lord. Wallpaper will test your spirit.

For real.

Julie and I started hanging wallpaper around 9 p.m. and wrapped up near midnight. I recommend that if you are going to hang wallpaper you ask your tallest, nicest friend to help you.

I’d like to say it was an awesome experience. The first panel was great. I said to Julie, “I love this. I love wallpaper.” It’s so gratifying, to work the excess glue and bubbles out and see the wall transform. And then we got to the second panel, and the wall sconces and the mirror—that’s when things got tricky (and suddenly less gratifying). Somewhere during the gluing of panel two to the wall I said something along the lines of, “You know I would quit if you weren’t here, right? Like, this is the point I when I’d say to heck with this.”

But instead we pressed on—or papered on—and we love the results.

Here’s the before and after. This thrills my heart to finally post this. You have no idea. Remember this bathroom?

Look at me now. Look at me now. I’m getting paper. (Sorry, Karmin & Chris Brown are running through my head right now.)

The wallpaper in the bathroom is glued to the wall. Thanks to God and Julie.

Feels right to me. Do you approve?

Your front door is a big deal. Profound, I know. My eloquence is blowing your mind this morning, right?

Well, it’s just true. The front door is the cover by which the book is judged. It’s the first impression. It sets the tone for what’s on the other side of the door. It’s a big deal, I say.

When Reagan and Allison called me and asked if I’d stop by for a quick consult I was happy to do so. I was genuinely glad because:

1. I met them in passing just a few days before and they live just a few blocks from me.
2. They were also recruited for the 12th South Home Tour. This is an issue of camaraderie. I like knowing who’s in this with me.
3. Good neighbors are a gift from God. You don’t want to learn this the hard way.

This is their home sweet home.

Here it is: the front door. Reagan and Allison already knew what to do. They knew. Sometimes it’s nice to hear someone else tell you what to do. (Sidenote: Isn’t their grass pretty. Mine is 85% weeds. Not kidding. It’s like a Snapper mower’s worst nightmare. At least weeds are green, too.)

My first piece of advice: Get rid of the storm door. A beautiful door hides behind the ill-fitting storm door. I have a beef with storm doors. They seem unfriendly to me. I find them valuable if your front door is solid and there’s no light coming in. You’ve gotta have light. Otherwise you’ll become a grump. Nobody likes a grump.

Next, paint or stain the sidelight trim to match the finish of the door.  It needs to work together to make a stronger statement.

Those two small changes will make a huge difference.

So they went for it. And here’s the result. They love it.

Feels better doesn’t it? So now all I want to do is think about porches. On my way to work I called Dave & Julie to talk about a thought I was having about their soon-to-be screened-in porch. Like at 7:26 I called to talk about hanging a bed on the porch and framing for it. unsolicited. Just driving and thinking, thinking and driving. I sent Allison a text about outdoor rugs for the porch. It’s porch season y’all—time to up the ante.

In other news, while Allen’s kitchen is getting a makeover, there’s a bit of a facelift happening. A complete change of color to the exterior—the trim is lacking one coat and then I’ll post pictures. Meanwhile, I can’t stop thinking about the front door. I think he should paint it. Maybe an Indian blue?

Now I’m dying for you to email me with your porch woes so we can think of solutions together.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. Be kind. Because you can.

You heard it here first: I’m in (and so is this sweet little house on Bradford). If you’re a Nashvilian and home tours are your thing, I highly recommend our lovely neighborhood tour. Aside from roaming through houses—each with a personality all its own—you’ll get a taste of the local fare. This year area restaurants are catering each home. Get your ticket here!

I’d love to see you, meet you, stroll through the house with you! And, of course, you know I will give you the inside scoop on home tours… as soon as I get the inside scoop. Honestly, I think there are plenty of you who would be perfect volunteers at my house—you know the story of this house as well as me, which brings me to this: thank you. Thank you for following along; thank you for chiming in and participating. It’s been my joy to share this story with you!

Don’t be a stranger—come see the place!

You might remember how this all started. It was all so blah. Or bleh—whichever makes it seem the most ugh. I loved and hated the fireplace.

More than once I recommended busting up the fireplace. I believe I called it obtrusive and obnoxious. And, yes, I really thought it would be a good idea to take a chisel and sledge hammer to this old stone. Thankfully, nobody paid attention to my this-fireplace-makes-me-crazy rants. I blame it on first-house syndrome, you know, the it’s-my-first-house-I-think-it-should-be-perfect syndrome. I also blame the selective use of high-gloss paint. (See below). 

Starting Point: It’s a classic 1940s bungalow fireplace.

Pardon the mess. As you can see, I always took the time to remove the scattered debris before taking photos. I like to think I was just keeping it real.

The furnace was killing me. Brad (contractor) saw potential while I carried on with my bust-the-whole-thing-out-this-looks-like-a-grandma rant. Somewhere in the process we came up with the idea for cutting doors into the space.

That’s better. The doors made it feel and look a hundred times better—so did a coat of flat paint. Flat paint is a double-edged sword. More on that later.

Those doors are one of favorite elements of the house. Somewhere along the way I ran across this tile and it occurred to me that this would be the perfect tile to tie the fireplace and doors together.

All it needs is grout. Grout is all it needs.

Here it is, with today’s version of the ever-evolving mantle decor.

Thanks for reading. Have a lovely spring-that-feels-like-summer day.

When I bought my mess of a house almost two years ago I remember hoping that somewhere under all the walls that would be ripped out and rearranged, that anywhere there might be just a tiny bit of brick. I wanted to peel back a layer of drywall or section of icky paneling and find a strip, a sliver, just a smidge of brick. Of course, I had these grandiose dreams of brick because of pictures like this:

Source

Clinton Street Baking Company

sfgirlbybay

Better Homes & Gardens

I recall the day Brad let me know he & the demo guys found some brick. You might have thought—if you were a stranger watching me receive the trail of text messages—that I had won the lottery or bumped into Adam Levine while crossing the street. I was that happy at the prospect of it all.

Even if only a sliver of brick like this:

greigedesign.blogspot.com

Pinterest

Not so much. This is what my house handed me: Brick with gloppy mortar hidden in the middle of a wall that would soon be torn out to open up the kitchen. And, that was the end of that. No interior brick for me. Some dreams die a quick death.

Nearly two years later I’m standing in Allen’s kitchen helping him decide on a cabinet layout when he says, “I think there’s brick under this wall.” Really? “There’s brick in the basement right below us that’s in pretty good shape.” Guess what was hiding under Allen’s drywall.

People dream of this. I dream of this…

Could it look any better?

Hello, demo.

The hard part (making selections) is over and the rest is like clockwork: floors, cabinets, counters. I’m eager to see this kitchen come together over the next few weeks!

aj

I’m helping Allen (neighbor/friend/outstanding real estate agent) with a few projects around his house, first and foremost the revamping of his kitchen. Allen sent this picture my way with a note asking me to check out the tile. I like that tile. I like the whole thing. Well, for good reason: this kitchen belongs to Tommy Smythe, you know, Tommy Smythe from Sarah’s House. He’s brilliant. Of course, we like this kitchen.

Many times I’ve stared at this kitchen as a source of inspiration. There’s so much to notice, so many details. I have such an appreciation for this particular work. As Charles Eames said, “The details are not the details. They make the design.”

Let’s take note of the details–I mean, design.Black and White

This kitchen is beautifully balanced, don’t you think? I like the dark lower cabinets and white upper cabinets.  The dark-painted window frames/muntins and door create interest make the space less stark. And, it’s nice to see windows with different patterns.  Rather than going busy and distracting, the herringbone pattern draws the appropriate amount of attention to the floor, which is a really nice compliment to the dark cabinets.

Styling

I can’t think of anything that would look better there than that antique, mildly rustic table. It brings a bit of warmth and comfort to the mix.

Cabinets

Cabinets that climb to the ceiling tend to make a room feel bigger. Notice the glass doors: they aren’t everywhere, just used on the wall near a door. Glass doors create a sense of visual space. Using glass doors by the door establishes continuity and creates a sense of airiness in along that wall. So, if you’re thinking of using glass cabinets, use them wisely: place them well and fill them with lovely things. My rule is to go all white or all color. I have very little middle ground in my life.

Okay, let’s notice a few more details:

• the wine rack–the one that isn’t above the refrigerator–because your eye follows it from floor to ceiling (or ceiling to floor) it creates a sense of height, which is really nice
• the built-in workspace/desk with a small bench that keeps the space open
• the pulls on the cabinet drawers
• the taxidermy above the pantry door
• the light fixture you might or might not have chosen but manages to pull it all together and to the center as good light fixtures should

And, finally, the stainless sink and counter space is a nice break from marble.

All credit is due: Tommy Smythe (Design) // Michael Graydon (Photos)

Isn’t this a classy and comfortable kitchen? What’s your favorite detail?