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Making exterior windows look larger.
I recently pinned the above photo. Not necessarily because I love the exterior of the house, though it is cute, but because I want to point out what those green shutters on the porch are doing to the...
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Board and Batten Siding
I've always been enamored with all things inside the house, so it surprises me that I've been so devoted lately to exteriors. My Outside board on Pinterest started out as a measly little thing, but...
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$15 Ikea Shelf
I recently added this $15 Ikea galvanized shelf to this awkward space next the fridge in our kitchen. II've had my eye on them for a while now, and because they've been out-of-stock at our local Ikea,...
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Orange on the Outside
orange stepsorange doorand anotherJust noticing and appreciating these little bits of orange on the exteriors of white houses.What a warm and happy welcome.[click photos for sources]
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It's time again for the Rockridge Kitchen Tour!
photo credit: Natalie MehtaEvery two years, the planning council in my neighborhood of Oakland, California hosts a kitchen tour featuring 8 to 10 recently remodeled kitchens in our historic craftsman...
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Bay Area Real Estate Sampler
You know how some magazines have a feature where they show gorgeous old houses around the country labeled with impossibly inexpensive list prices?Today's blog post is going to do the exact opposite....
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Our First House
I've always been a huge fan of Spanish Mediterranean/Spanish Revival houses -- and California is particularly chock full of them. Our new house, like many in the Bay Area, was built in the 20s and...
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Finally getting pictures hung.
Well, here I am again after three months away. I'd been giving some serious thought to publishing my last post. But after hanging a few pictures in our room, the light was so pretty I couldn't help...
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Our Vintage Kitchen
Here are a few pics of the kitchen in our new house. Though the layout is awkward, and there is very little counter space and storage, this is still my favorite room. I haven't done a thing to it...
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Extending Counter Space
How clever of these homeowners to use a small amount of space in order add more counter -- either to eat at or work on. Notice how the above counter extends past the the edge of the kitchen onto the...
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Scenes Around the (New) House
Today I am posting little bits of things around the house that make me happy.Let's start with this scene in our living room.Because it's been raining all day and the beautiful California sunshine just...
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Garden-y Things
Like our house, we have a miniature yard. And like our house, I think it's good to have a small yard because it not only means we have less to take care of, I also feel required to think carefully...
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What's that color?
How breathtakingly beautiful is this wall color?You know what it reminds me of?A weimeraner.
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Our little patch of green.
As mentioned in the previous post, the first thing we did to the small garden on the side of the house was build this play house for our twin girls.The garden is on a slope, so below the rocks you see...
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Dining Room Chair Search
One of the things I love about Pinterest is that it is easy to spot commonalities. So when we decided to be grown ups and buy a set of matching dining room chairs, I knew just where to look. All of...
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Create a Living Outdoor Umbrella
This photo got me thinking. I have no idea what kind of trellis is supporting the wisteria vine. (I think it's wisteria.)But I you could easily plant a wisteria or other fast growing vine in a large...
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More of the Dining Room
Here are a few more pictures of the dining room that I didn't include in last post. Here is built-in sideboard shown in previous posts. You might recognize that mirror in the niche from the kitchen...
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Flaws
I came across this photo in my Pinterest feed not to long ago. I was drawn to the room mostly because it has lots of contrast. And white walls. And my favorite natural fiber rug. And while the room...
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California Cooler (Not the Drink)
In my post about vintage kitchen, I mentioned our California Cooler and promised to talk more about it. The California Cooler is the the little door built in to the wall to the left of the sink in the...
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Kitchen Design Discussion
I'd like to point out several interesting design features of this kitchen. The first is that the sink is not located under the window, as is standard. Instead, the sink becomes a focal point by...
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Kitchen Updates
In my original post about the kitchen, this wall was blank other than the small ledge on which the glasses sit. I was going to put up a huge mirror on that wall, but it felt odd to have the glasses...
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TINY: A Story About Living Small - International - Trailer from TINY on Vimeo.I happened upon this documentary this last night. If you are at all curious about small space living -- tiny space living...
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Matchbox Photo Craft
Later this summer, our girls will be going on a trip with their grandparents. We will be separated for eleven days, which is a lot of time when you are 5 years old. And when you are the mother of two...
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Building a Breakfast Bar
The above photos were taken in our kitchen before we moved in. You can see that a good third of the space is completely empty -- and some of that had to be filled with the fridge we had not as yet...
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dot dot dot
I think I need these new pendants from Rejuvenation for my dining roomWhat do you think?Also, this luddite finally joined InstagramYou can follow me here:.ig-b- { display: inline-block; } .ig-b- img {...
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