Barn Door

Now that the Shuffler children are going from 1 to 2 players, our thoughts have turned toward a further basement renovation. You'll recall that we already renovated half of our basement into our family den. It was perfect for mini Ana Claire.

But now AC is a rambunctious (almost) two-year old that needs space for some big girl toys and the soft play area we have now in the den will be claimed by baby brother for rolling around, chewing and spitting up.

The space we have deemed worthy for this upgrade is across the hall from the den and we'd like to give it a nice wide opening so the two rooms flow a bit better. But this means that a normal door likely won't cut it and I want to reserve the option of shielding the mess room from visitors on occasion.

Enter the barn door. Like this one I saw on Etsy:

That's a fun color. I don't embrace barn doors so lovingly as to have one in my bedroom but I understand their appeal - and cool that this one leads into a pretty bathroom. For my taste, this new play space seems like a good fit for one...especially since the sizing can be flexible.

The photo above is from this Etsy listing which is for the hardware only, but the shop seems to have some cool doors and hardware to choose from...I definitely bookmarked it for the future.

I'm thinking our door might also be a good place for Ana Claire's masterpieces that she's creating on an almost daily basis...at the moment they are a cluttered stack pinned to our fridge but a big door like this one might be a fun display opportunity. All TBD...

What are your thoughts on barn doors? Awesome inside? Best left on barns?

» Click Here to Leave a Comment «

Weekend Loot

I scored some pretty good loot this weekend for the house and finally made a decision that had been vexing me.

Behold the loot:

I have an overwhelming amount of white furniture. And I love it. I think my mom said it reminded her of a mental institution, but she said it with love in her voice.

This little garden stool was not only white and fit my love of Chinoiserie, but it was $40! I KNOW! I just about had a heart attack when I spotted it - threw some elbows to get to it - and then wrestled it into my cart. I protected it all the way to the register (everyone who saw me walk by wanted it - at least in my head they did). And to top it off, I just saw this same stool listed online for $350. Sigh. Nice work, D.

 

This may look like a regular brass chandelier, but I have big plans for it that involve paint and ribbon. Another notch on my Craigslist belt - $30 and the shades were included (shades are expensive - have your priced them?).

And finally, the resolution to a problem that has been vexing me. When you walk in our front door, you are greeted by our mirrored armoire shown here:

It is one of my favorite pieces, so I wanted the vignette that sits atop it to do it justice, but not overwhelm what is already an attractive focal point.

So after weeks of trying all sorts of combinations, I finally found an arrangement that I like.

Behold the vignette, loot included:

I'll have to credit Carter a bit here as I was walking out the door one day to return the lamp and he convinced me to keep it (The conversation was not, "D, I LOOOVE that lamp. Don't you dare return it." It was more, "D, if you return that, I'm just going to hear about it later when you are wallowing in regret. Don't do that to me.") And now it works quite well up here. I had the fish and the decorative balls. But those FAB orange jars are new loot. They are covered in a fresh geometric pattern - exactly what this piece needed.

I'm a happy camper.

p.s. Aforementioned loot was found at HomeGoods...love that place.