Coming Soon..... Posts I'm working on

Here it is Wednesday........Prince Spaghetti Day.....(remember that when we were little?) Come to think of it, I think I'll make that for dinner.
I know it has been a couple weeks since I posted, but I have been working on a few posts of some of the projects that we have been working on.

~A New Project

~Update on the Kitchen Reno

~Vacation...... One of the reasons that I haven't posted. We went on Vacation!

Working on getting pictures uploaded and it is taking for ever. Thank you for your patience.

~Jen

Kitchen Reno II

Good Morning~ Today I wanted to post some pictures of our Kitchen Reno part II. I am not going to get too wordy, but I know I like to see pics. Give me pics! So, here they are.

To see the first part of this project, you can check out the Kitchen Reno - Kitchen Demo below.

The first cabinet was hung. Joe started in the corner. He took some time here because it will dictate the rest of the cabinets. MUST BE LEVEL .... and it was.

Fast forward to the rest put in place.

Here is a shot from the dinning room. The lights were on this time and some sunshine.

Different view...

The "cave" is getting lighter and brighter.




The counter tops were installed.





Quartz! We really researched this. It is completely maintenance free.

I have some of my stuff already in the shelves, but that was just to get back to a working kitchen. We were without a kitchen for 9 weeks.





Stay tuned.... more to come.

Happy New Year!!

Well here it is 2010! Happy New Year to you!

As you can see, it has been a while since I have posted. Life's keeps going on and I've been trying to keep up.

The holidays was a whirl-win and we survived 3 successful parties. I love a good party in our house.

My goal for the next little bit is to get caught up on what I've been working on and most importantly......... put a collection of pictures up of the kitchen. I am thrilled with it!

So, sorry about the time off. I will do better.

~Jen

Kitchen Reno... Kitchen Demo

As promised, I said that I would share the adventure of our "The Kitchen Remodel". Let's start with some before pictures of, in my opinion, dark and ugly kitchen. Now don't get me wrong. It works and love the size, but it wasn't pretty and it didn't utilize the space to it's potential. Lot's of waisted space. Did I mention it wasn't pretty? And it was like a cave. And how do you like the orange oak floors?

BEFORE ~

Joe and I are big DIY-ers. We have done everything ourselves in our other homes and plan to do it mostly in this one, but this project is different. This is a major task. There is a lot to consider in a renovation like this.

This time we hire the services of a Professional Kitchen Designer. I knew what I wanted and how I wanted it to look.

We decided to hire a designer because the programs are tough to figure out. Believe me I tried. And let me tell you, we are glad we did. The Kitchen Guy (that's what we'll call him), thought of things we would have never thought of with the day to day workings of a kitchen. He was patient and was able to take our thoughts and choices to create a beautiful kitchen.

It took us 3 weeks to finalize the plan.

Next, Joe wanted to make sure he had enough time to move plumbing and have any repairs done. So, the DEMO starts. Everything came out. The pantry closet was removed.

I will share out Kitchen Adventure as we go from the dark cave-like kitchen to ... Well, you'll have to wait and see.

When a project starts we always think it will take "X" amount of time. Well, with lots of projects over time we have learned it always takes 3 times longer than we expect. So, now when we start, we alot for that.

One BIG Carpet

As decorators we love rugs. They anchor and bring a room together and help create conversation area. They can be subtle or they can really add something to the design. Well, how about this rug? Talk about conversation. With spring here to stay I thought I would share with you Mother Natures Carpet. Enjoy!

Carpet Of Begonias In Brussels


Every two years people can admire the carpet of flowers on the Grand Place in Brussels . This year, 700,000 begonias form the largest tapestry of the Savonnerie the world: a tribute to the French presidency of the European Union.Since 1971, it is the 16th carpet of flowers on the Grand Place in Brussels .



In recent years, the flower carpet has become one of the biggest attractions of Brussels . This year, the flower carpet designed by floral architect Mark Schautteet is inspired by the tapestry of the French Savonnerie, which dates from the 17th century. 700,000 begonias form a colourfum motif on which appears the patron saint Saint-Michel and the iris of the Brussels Region. One hundred volunteers have brought flowers on the Grand Place .



For the floral carpet of flowers to be perfect, the design is fully represented in size on a transparent plastic perforated to create a micro-humid climate which must keep fresh flowers and colorful.


I tried to get the pictures a bit larger, but couldn't. Here is a link to check out larger pictures to see the detail.

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/45149,features,brussels-in-bloom

We've finally moved! Thought it would never happen. Some of you know our story of moving but in short, it took us 3 years to move. YIKES!

We chose a home that was obviously waiting for us. The funny thing is, we were not going to even look at it. My husband and I joked that it was the 2nd ugliest house in the neighborhood. There is a whole story behind that. I'll share that one another time.

This house is nothing what I expected us to buy. I like darker rich color brick. This has light. When you pull up to the house, the garage is presenting. I don't like that. But when we went in, it was different than the other houses that we have looked at. The layout works great for how we live and I look at things for what they can be. So, this was it... the house we've been looking for.
I can't wait to see how the house will change. How the good things will get better and the things I don't like will become better than I can imagine. It's going to be fun.

It's 10 years old and the original owners took very good care of it. But... did absolutely nothing to it. That's what makes it so great. It's Perfect! Being the "Do it Your-selfers" that we are, this might as well been a brand new house.

My most favorite thing to do is anything to our home. I am my best customer. HA! This simple, ordinary house is going to be transformed over time into our beautiful HOME. The changes that will evolve I will share with you and hope to inspire others to create their own beautiful homes. Say tuned to see the changes that we will go through.

The picture above is one I took just before we moved in July '08. This summer we will start to make changes to the outside. Currently we have been making big changes to the inside. Some big and some small. I will share soon. Here is a sneak peak...

Here is the kitchen. No window, basic oak stock cabinets and hunter green laminate counter tops. Very dark and cave like. This is the first area of change that we started this winter.

Subscribe to The Poppy Home to watch to changes and follow what is involved in a renovation.

Welcome...

Welcome to The Poppy Home! Tonight I finally did it. I took a leap and started this blog. I have been wanted to do this as well as a newsletter for my decorating business, but like many things in my life, "everyday life" seems to get in the way. So, why not just bring it all together in one place. I am not just a Decorator. I am a Wife and Mom with craziness everywhere. I must say that I am not sure how this will evolve, but I do know that it will. I ask that you be patient and check back to see how.

I know that I would like to share my favorite things. Decorating ideas, pretty things that I find or make. Recipes, family and friends. Follow business projects with Poppy Lane Designs and our own transformation happening at our New Home.

It's going to be fun.