Father's Day

When I think of all the things my Dad did for me over the years. I think of the furniture he made me. I wanted a Barbie house (I was thinking the plastic kind from the store seen on TV).  He made me a bookcase with a roof stained to match the rest of the living room furniture. I loved it, no one had a six story doll house. It grew with me becoming a bookcase, now my mom uses it to store her yarns.  He made me a hope chest that I used as a window seat and stored all the treasures Grandma gave and now sits at the end of the bed as seating to take off my shoes and holds my linens.  He made me a bookcase/entertainment center for my stereo when I was in my teens. Mom uses it now for her shoes. Dad made me two laminated bookcases and two rolling storage cubes that match for my home office.  They went to my first apartment in college and now they are in my home office at my house. When I moved  into my house in Arizona he made me three big bookcases in a classic style painted white and trailered them from Michigan to Arizona, along with some other furniture I wanted. Mom and I always joke that Dad makes things to weigh a ton but last a hundred years. I do know that I've treasured the things he made me over the years.

Art

Art

Decorating with art doesn't mean you have to use expensive one of a kind pieces of art.

This entry has an original painting titled "Horse head" It was created using multimedia of tea and watercolors by my good friend, Jessica Albrecht.

Support your local artist and buy art from art shows, small galleries usually co-ops, art institutes, etc.

Decorative art can be as simple as vacation photos in simple black frames. This type of art personalizes your space.

The above photo is an example using Sedona Arizona photos from past family vacations in simple black frames over the TV entertainment center.

You can also use vacation photos with family photos. The above photo uses photos taken during a trip I took to Italy in high school and my grandparents' wedding photo. These

photos go together in the fact that my grandfather was from Italy. I'm very proud of my Italian heritage and love Italy.

If you're somewhat crafty here are a few do it yourself art ideas which can also make good gifts:

1.  Frame scrapbook paper. Scrapbook paper and/or fabric comes in some modern prints a collection of three in a row or four (two rows of two columns) is an example of a simple modern art collection.

2.  Make your own modern art collection.  Start with a blank canvas.  Use styrofoam cups, plates, paper towel roll, anything that is round and disposable dipped in paint to make circles on your canvas.  Use several colors that are already in your room.  If you drip, spatter, or have blobs it's ok it gives it character.

3.  Monogram canvases over your bed. Take two or three smaller canvases. Paint stripes (use blue painter tape and tape canvas angled, vertical or horizontal) or stencil pattern to the whole canvas and let dry.  Next stencil letters in a different color or shade to the canvases.

4.  Make an embossed canvas. Take a blank canvas and sketch out a pattern. Trace the pattern with Elmer's glue and let dry.  Next, paint over the whole canvas.  Use a color that is in the room. (I suggest painting outside unless you live in Arizona.  In June it's too hot and everything dries too quickly.  You may not get the effect you want.)

Laundry Room

Laundry Room

The above drawing is the floor plan for a laundry room that is 11' x 10'-6". It has a built in ironing board that fits in-between the studs and is covered by a cabinet door. There is also a shelf with a hanging bar to the right of the washer and dryer.  The room is painted a light sage color. All hardware and faucets are nickel finish that coordinates nicely with the warm tones of the wood cabinets. The counter top is a solid surface material that picks out the green and blue in the room. The neutral tone tile flooring is continued throughout the house. A laundry room is not just for washing clothes, but also a place for extra storage for paper products, small appliances, kitchen gadgets, and other dishes not used on a daily basis. It takes the place of the butler panty in the modern day house.

This laundry room takes advantage of the high 12' ceilings, with storage that goes almost to the ceiling. A library ladder helps to get to the higher shelves, while wine shelves break up the wall of shelves and add interest along with storage. The LG steam washer and dryer sit on matching LG storage drawers. Two horizontal frosted glass pull up door cabinets give a modern touch to this room and a lazy susan is used to take advantage of the corner space.

The laundry room has a porcelain utility sink with an movable spray faucet. This is great for soaking or washing delicates. This laundry room has several special features hidden in a 24" wide 24" deep cabinet. One is a hidden cat litter box. The cabinet opens to be able to change the litter box. There is a smaller opening for the cat to get in and out. This is nice for a cat that likes privacy (like mine who glares if you go into the laundry room when he's in the litter box) and an owner that does not want to see the litter box. The second neat feature is the drying racks for sweaters that pull out from the cabinet. Each rack is a mesh material stretched over a metal rod and secured by Velcro. The metal rod is attached to a wood frame that has drawer slides. The third feature is the use of several pull out shelves for storing crock pots, electric fryer, etc.

Jack and Jill Bath

Jack and Jill Bath

Above is an example of a Jack and Jill Bath that consists of two spaces: the sink area which has pocket doors on each side leading to bedrooms and the bath/toilet room.

The sink area has glass subway tile for the backsplash and boarder and a quartz countertop.  It also has white above-mount sinks with wall mount faucets in brushed nickel. Nickel mission style lights complement the faucets as well as the bar hardware in nickel on the white cabinets.  White wood trimmed mirrors complement the sinks and cabinets. The cabinets for each child contain a set of drawers, a sink cabinet that has a pull out step in the kick space, and a pull out hamper. The counter space is divided by a cabinet that sits on the counter that has three drawers and a cabinet door with shelves.

The bath area has white tile with glass subway tile as a striped accent. The shower has a fixed and movable shower head in nickel. A white linen closet is next to the tub with pull out shelves. The toilet has a metal shelf above it for towels. The shelf is moveable up and down and has hooks below.

All bath accents are in a nickel finish. The bath decor is neutral with a green accent. This is good idea if a brother and sister have to share or if a child and the guest bedroom share the bath. It also will grow with the children to adulthood.

Fireplaces

For part of the country fireplaces are a sources of heat as well as atmosphere, where many homes use fireplaces simply to add ambiance to a room. Fireplaces can be wood burning, gas or electric. You can also have a wood stove versus a fireplace. I grew up in Michigan with a wood burner in the living room. My Dad could heat the whole downstairs of our home with just the heat from the wood stove.  It kept those cold winter days cozy or took away the chill in late fall or early spring.

Below is a CAD drawing of a fireplace with built-ins; elevations, plan view and section. This is an example of a see-through fireplace, it divides the living and dining room with built-ins on each side.  

The kitchens are usually the heart of the house were everyone congregates, so why not add a nice fireplace. Gas fireplaces are a nice touch in the kitchen to warm the room on cold mornings or chilly nights and many have remote controls.

Scared of color? Think you will get tired of a color, say in your bedroom. Try an accent wall. Below is an example of a blue accent wall. The wall highlights the bed and the bedding bringing in different shades of  blue and white.



If in a year or so you get tired of the color and want a change you just have one wall you have to paint. This is also a great way for renters to incorporate color and make their apartment more personal.



Here is an example of painting one wall in a great room. It gives the room a warm intimate feeling without painting the whole entry, kitchen, dining and living room but ties all  four area together.

This kitchen is a good example of using vertical and horizontal cabinets. It also portrays that varying heights gives the kitchen interest.  I did this design at Great Spaces for a client that wanted a modern look using zebra wood doors and frosted glass with stainless steel accents.

This kitchen also used several neat storage accessories.  Rev-A-Shelf Mixer/Appliance Lift Mechanism

Pull out trash and recycle Hardware from Blum



Pull out drawers from Blum