Just add baby!

Chris and I can't wait to welcome home, Baby Boy Walker.  My due date is August 13th, so he could be here any day now!
Although our house is still under renovation, and things feel a little disheveled, the nursery is all ready!

The bumper pad wasn't ready yet when I took these photos, but here's the fabric...

Thanks for checking in!  Hopefully my next post will have some pictures of sweet baby boy!

An update on the Walker decor...

Here's just a few updated shots of our living room...

 Lately, I'm inspired to take a paint brush to some things in our home...just not sure which first and what color......this includes the coffee table, the marble top top chest, the china cabinet in the dining room, the wing back chairs, and the little footstool in front of the wing backs.  I won't paint all of these...but just thinking about it.
.........someday......after I paint the crib.......and have a baby........and we finish our renovation, I'll get back into some projects like that.

Thanks for checking in!

The progress of a work in progress

Well, it's been seven months since my last post!  Yikes.
If anyone still reads this thing...I have an update on what's been keeping me busy and away from the computer.

Firstly, Chris and I are expected a baby boy in less than a month!  Yay!  Due date is August 13th.

Secondly, although I'm also still decorating on my own, I've been working for another designer, the fabulous, Fran Keenan.  I'm learning a TON from her, and love getting to glean from her wisdom, experience, and talent!  You can see some of her work here in Birmingham Home and Garden and her own homes were featured in Southern Living this past year (I can't find the link for that one) and in Cottage Living a few years back.  She's keeping me busy, and away from the computer.

Thirdly, since April we have been under renovation.  We moved out for three months.  We are still not finished, but since the baby is coming soon and blogging will be pretty low on the totem pole, I thought I should at least show the progress of the project so far.

Our kitchen went from this...

To this...

Now, it looks like this...

We uncovered lots of extra space, but eliminating a staircase down to our wet basement and installing a trap door in the kitchen floor instead.  

(It has not really been styled yet, and still has a box living under the table)

Grey sheet of drywall, that is taped off in blue tape, is sealing us off from the construction that continues in the back half of the house.  This will be a cased opening, just as it was before, which will now take you to a hallway with the laundry room, back door, and master bedroom (with new on-suite bath).

* Cabinets by Cannon Woodworking in Trussville, AL.  

* Countertops by Concrete Farmer in Trusville, AL.  

 So the layout in our dining room went from this...

To this...

(Dining room is full of boxes that we can't empty til the reno is over, and some extra furniture too)

By swagging the chandelier over, we have opened up traffic flow through the house, and given ourselves more living space.  To the left, when the metal filing cabinet (barely shown in picture) goes to its new spot, after reno is complete, there will even be room for a chair and ottoman there!  

The view all the way through...

Thanks for checking in!

 

Landscaping our Home

Creating curb appeal and landscaping our home has been a slow process...(and finding the time to blog about it, has been even slower!).  Chris and I have been chipping away at the landscaping part of things mostly since Spring of 2011.  But we did the most work on it this fall.  There are still a few finishing touches to be done, but I am pleased with the progress.

Here's the journey...

We bought the house in Fall 2009.

 Spring 2010

 Spring 2010

 Winter 2011

(New paint job and woodwork)

Winter 2011

 Spring 2011

Fall 2011...

My goal in landscaping our yard was to make our home feel tucked-in to the landscape and feel like it has been there for a long time (which it has...but the landscape wasn't speaking to that).  Because our house is so high off the ground, it is easy for it to look out of touch with its surroundings...like someone just plopped it down.  So, we bought as many fast growing shrubs as possible, and the largest shrubs we could afford.  We planted the tree on the left corner of our home to provide shade that will give us a cozy cottage feel.  I can't wait to see as the Carolina Jasmine grows up around our porch to bring "green" up, making our home feel "tucked-in". 

Now we just have to wait for everything to grow!!!

Eventually the Taber Azaleas on both sides will grow to cover our foundation completely.  The River Birch tree will be taller than our house and will shade our front window (our bedroom).  The Caroline Jasmine vines will wrap around our columns and arch over our front porch.  The rosemary flanking our steps will grow big and create a fragrant welcoming to our home.  I'm not crazy about the two small Azaleas by the sidewalk, so I think I will move those this spring and replace them with something else.  

A few notes for impatient people like me...

I'm no gardening wizard, but here's what I've noticed at our house:

Knockout roses grow like crazy.  

My rosemary is not growing very fast.  I've heard the more you cut from it the faster it grows, though.    

Carolina Jasmine and pink jasmine grow very fast (but you have to make it very easy for them to climb...I created a trellis of nails and wire on our columns for it to fire, and fishing wire on our light post.  The confederate jasmine that I planted in a few places in our backyard is not growing very fast at all.

I also planted creeping fig on our foundation, it is growing well...but it's having a hard time clinging to our bricks...which is the whole point!  When I bought it, I got mixed advice, but one person said to cut off all existing growth when you plant it, because only the new growth will stick to the walls.  I didn't do this...I think they must have been right.    

By the way, Happy New Year!  

Thanks for checking in!

Kitchen pics coming soon!

I'm sorry for the delay on the final photos of my client's kitchen.  The backsplash tile we selected has been backordered.  The backsplash is getting installed this week, so I'm looking forward to sharing the final product soon.
Thanks for checking in!

KItchen Progress

My clients kitchen is moving right along...

Remember these before shots...

Well, things have been moving right along...

(Don't panic, the fridge will have matching cabinet door fronts on it!)

We've also moved this archway towards the entry way to expand their dining room...

(The above table, chairs, and light fixture may be for sale...email me if you're interested)

And we've gotten the floors refinished in something....not so orange!

I can't wait for this Restoration Hardware table to go in their new, spacious, dining room...

Shameless Plug:  If you live in North Alabama and order something from Restoration Hardware, your furniture will be delivered by the great guys from New Latitude Movers, which is the moving and delivery company where my husband works.

 With this chandelier for a little glitz...

Progress is fun!  

Thanks for checking in!

A little at a time...

As I have journeyed into the world of being a decorator, it's been fun to see how each client relationship can be unique to fit the client's individual needs.

I have one client that found me through my blog.  She is a young newlywed.  My husband and I can relate, that at this stage in life it is tough to budget for a decorator...yet there are so many decisions to make as you start to collect the pieces that you hope will last a life time and also try to figure out the best way to arrange those faithful hand-me-downs.

Every few months she calls me to check in on her and help keep her "punch list" on track.  It's been fun watching her transform her home a little at a time.

Here is the client's home before:

After our first visit:

(new rugs, new sofa, new furniture arrangement, brought these 3 chairs that she already owned into the room to replace the red ones)

Then she found these great grey linen-look drapes from Ikea...

Way to go, girl!  Things are looking great!  Keep on truckin! 

At our last visit we met at the fabric store and selected these fun fabrics for her living area...

From left to right, these selections would be for:

grey cushion:  existing single tufted chair

tiny blue swatch:  existing sofa

cream/blue quatrefoil:  bench cushion

zig zag:  dining room chair seats

suzani:  pair of accent pillows for sofa, slip cover for cube ottoman

 velvet burnout:  center pillow on sofa

I can't wait to see how all these fabric selections look in her home.  She and her mom will be slaving away at making everything themselves.  

Maybe the next stage will be lamps and light fixtures...or some pretty things for the walls?  

If you can relate to this client, I'd love to help you get moving in the right direction in your home!  

I can also do this via email if you are outside of the Birmingham, AL area.   

Thanks for checking in!