A couple weeks ago, Heidi from Our Labor of Love trekked to our little town all the way from the ATL.  We wanted some photos before we moved out of our house and on to the next chapter of our lives.  This house is a patchwork of a structure with faulty plumbing and creaky floors, but it has nurtured us like a mother through many of the most beautiful and a few of the most difficult times in our lives.  It has seen us through one marriage, two childbirths, several small oven fires, one uncaged salamander and countless memories made.  It is the place where two people have joined together to build a life, a family and, of course, a home and it will forever be special to our little family, so it was important that we be photographed here, in our natural habitat.  We wanted to capture life as we know it, right now.  Heidi got that and we are over the moon about the photos she captured that day.  Here’s a peek…

I want a vintage fridge, you want a vintage fridge.  We all want a vintage fridge.  But damn they’re pricey.  This past year, WestElm began carrying SMEG refrigerators and really brought the trend home.  For a mere two grand, you can have one of these (tiny little) beauties in one of ten lovely color choices.  I like pastel green…

I love the look of the SMEG, but the small size bothers me.  I just don’t know about being able to fit everything I need for a family of four into it AND it’s going to swim in any standard kitchen cubby created for a regular fridge.  So, of course, I have my eyes set on something a little more authentic (read: expensive).  I am after one of these refurbished beauties from AntiqueAppliances.com :

This particular piece is sold, but the average cost to have one of these restored is about $3000-$4000, which also seems to be the going rate for most full size reproductions.  I’ll put my lust for a vintage or vintage inspired fridge on hold until we are in need of a new fridge and then let the fun (aka negotiations) begin.  But enough about me and my wants.  This whole vintage fridge fire was resparked when my client professed her vintage fridge love and lack of vintage fridge budget.  Well, I’m in the business of making my client’s happy, so the storm (in my brain) began.  After scouring Craigslist and coming across one very stinky vintage fridge at auction, I decided that a DIY was in order.  So I had to break it down.  What was behind this whole vintage fridge trend and why?  I came up with this:

There are three main elements to a vintage fridge that make it cool…

1. The shape.  Those rounded edges are crucial.
2. The color.  There are currently no contemporary refrigerators (that aren’t reproductions) readily available in colors.
3. The logo, which often consists of groovy 50s fonts with a chrome finish to boot.

With those three things, I set out to make all my client’s vintage fridge dreams come true.  But first, I need a fridge.  We had a few requirements… We knew we weren’t going to find rounded edges, but we decided the shape should be as simple as possible.  No side by side refrigerators need apply.  Next, my client preferred no handles or very discreet ones.  Last, it had to have a smooth front.  So we started on Craigslist and found plenty of viable candidates.  Although she ended up buying one at a big box store due to efficiency, dependability, and shipping concerns, I recommend purchasing one on Craigslist if you find one that suits your requirements and you have a way to pick it up.  Her fridge is en route, so the next step is painting.  We have decided on a minty green (like the SMEG above).  Possible Benjamin Moore colors include Nottingham Green (left) and Italian Ice Green (right)…

Choosing the color is the easy part.  Figuring out how to get paint to stick to a refrigerator is not so simple.  I’ve read lots of tutorials, but they are mostly people who painted with chalkboard paint, which is a different beast all together.  There is appliance paint readily available if you want your fridge to be black, white or almond.  We do not.  Another good suggestion I found was to take your fridge to an auto body shop.  I’ve had a table lacquered at MAACO and it was a relatively successful experience, so if you have an extra couple hundred dollars, a way to get it there AND they have the color you want, I say go for it.  If that’s not a viable option, then spray painting is another good route.  I have heard that Rustoleum’s Painter’s Touch Ultra Cover 2X works for painting refrigerators, but since this doesn’t come in the color we need, I continued my search and eventually called my beloved Benjamin Moore rep.  (If you are in the Columbia area and do not already go to E.D.’s Benjamin Moore on Devine Street then you really MUST.  Pete is the bomb.com)  So he said to look up a product called XIM.  Turns out this stuff is legit.  It’s a heavy duty primer that enables you to paint basically anything.  After a couple coats of XIM Bonder, we will layer over our Benjamin Moore color in a gloss finish.  Once this is done, it’s on to the third and final element of a vintage fridge – the logo.  I searched to the ends of the internets for a large vintage metal FRIGIDAIRE decal.  No luck.  However, I got on Etsy and found several vintage decals that are pretty saweet…

I LOVE the print on this one and it’s almost a foot long, which is perfect.  The bigger, the better.  That’s what I say.

We haven’t decided on one yet, but when we do, the plan is to sand it a bit and then paint it with a chrome finish if needed.  We will paint any handles and edging with the same chrome finish.  I heard good things about this stuff:

Mostly from the below message board post (the urgency of which made me laugh out loud.)

It sounds a little involved though.  I may opt for some automotive spray paint.  I’ll update you on our final decision once I post the whole finished project.

Happy Humpday kids.

Today is kind of being a terd at this point.  I am struggling and feeling a bit like I’m sucking at everything right now.  So, I’m taking a little escape.  I recently heard about airbnb.com and I’ve been having fun looking at apartments to rent all across the world and dreaming about when I can finally return to my mother land.  My body is here, but my mind is in Aix-en-Provence on Rue Jacques de la Roque in a charming light filled flat…

Welp.  It’s Monday again.  I’m trying to get back in the swing of things and get stuff done after an emotional roller coaster of a weekend.  I was so worried that we were going to lose our opportunity to live in a fabulous place we found in Greenville.  In fact, Friday evening, I had convinced myself that there wasn’t a chance- we just didn’t find it fast enough- we weren’t first in line and it wasn’t going to work out.  Twenty-four hours and a trip to Greenville later, it was ours (at least for a year or two)  So, naturally, I’m mentally placing all of our furniture and artwork and wondering/worrying about how to make someone else’s home feel like our own, while knowing that the homeowners have every intention of returning to it two years from now.  What can be changed?  What can’t?  This is all unchartered territory for me and I certainly don’t want to offend them because they are absolutely lovely people.  We’re actually a little sad that they’re leaving town because we want to hang with them!  But, anyway, any suggestions on making a rental feel like home without making TOO many changes??

I plan on posting some pictures of the new space, but not until we move in, out of respect for the owners.  Move in date is tentatively set for July 1st, so stay tuned!!  In the meantime, I’m thinking about the spaces and working out some things in my mind and there’s no reason why I can’t use words instead of pictures.  The space I keep coming back to is the living room.  It’s very long.  There is a fireplace on of the long walls, but I don’t think it’s centered.  There are windows on either side of the fireplace.  I love the idea of creating different lounging/entertaining spaces within one room and wanted to share some of my favorite furniture layout inspiration for the living room…

This layout is similar to the space in question.  Fireplace in the middle, windows on each side, seating oriented perpendicular to the fireplace with a coffee table in the middle.  This is the arrangement my mind first went to when I walked in the living room.  It’s my default to left brain thinking that usually elbows it’s way to the front first.

I love that this is a little more organic and feels very open and light, despite all the saturated colors.  This is achieved with leggy furniture and not using a rug, which grounds a space.  I love this salon style arrangement and think with my chair fetish, it could totally be achieved.  Eff you, left brain.  No symmetry here.

This particular room reminded me of the space because of the fireplace on the right and the windows on the far wall.  This is the situation with the new living room.  The new space is a bit wider than this one and probably twice as long, so the arrangement above would be good for the half of the space with the fireplace. I am totally OBSESSED with the idea of using a chaise, daybed, or long bench as a divider between two arrangements.

AND since there is space for two arrangements, how beautiful would a huge skirted table be?  So it would be similar to the arrangement with the sofa, coffee table and chaise and then in front of the chaise would be a huge table with a giant plant on it or urn or stacks of books and a few of my chairs (I have a chair problem).  I love the thought of this and think it would be a great landing spot for entertaining since we will be hosting functions for my husband’s associates relatively often.

I also love the idea of doing a seating area and then a game table.  When family comes to visit, we play games.  Additionally, with the advent of iPads, etc., it is easy to set up shop in any quiet nook in the house.  Also, if there are adults hanging out, the kids need a great spot for coloring and the like.  The skirted table above and the game table could easily be combined into one idea.  The skirt could be taken off when we weren’t entertaining.

Here’s another sprawling space with a chaise in the middle.  LOVE this.  And the size and window placement here is very similar to the new space.

I also really like the thought of keeping it spare for a modern feel.  It’s a big space, so I could float the furniture, throw in some modern elements and have a very fresh and mod feel.

Right now, our furniture lines the walls.  We have only a couple floating items and I yearn to float some furniture, so although the “line the walls” technique is tempting, I think I’m going to want some floaters.

Seeing this arrangement makes me want to kick my left brain to the curb and create a sexy, bohemian space great for lounging and hookah smoking (tobacco, of course).  However, the hubs whole brain is left and I just don’t think he’s gonna go for it.  I’ll keep this one in my back pocket for my someday studio.

Ahh!  There is so much I want to share with you all.  I am bursting with inspiration and excitement and nerves and BLAHH!  I cannot settle down enough to focus ’cause I found the most perfect house in Greenville and it’s for rent.  I emailed the owner and I’m waiting.  And if you know me, you know I hate waiting.  It’s been less than 24 hours since I sent the email, but it feels like it’s been 17 days and I’m about to burst.  I want to share, but I’m afraid to screw up the rental juju or something, so I’m trying to stay positive but also convince myself that we didn’t get it because I don’t want to be heartbroken.  Breathe.  I hate waiting.  I mean who doesn’t get email straight to their phone these days?  Surely, they’ve seen my email.  (well two emails… and the hubs sent one too) I hope they don’t think I’m crazy.  They probably do. Damnit.  Breathe.  Okay, I have a request.  I need you guys to send positive juju vibrations our way.  Visualize us in a two story wood shingled home on a hill.  And then say a prayer.  Or five.  Thank you.

Now that that’s out of the way, I wanted to share an artist that I am currently obsessing over.  I have noticed some of his stuff before on One King’s Lane, but it wasn’t until I saw this one that I had to take the plunge and acquire some of his work for myself:

How awesome is this?  Sailors and flowers.  Together?  Yes, please.  Check out some of his other pieces OKL is offering…

Amazing, right?  After I looked at all the Ben Giles OKL had to offer, I skirted over to Ben Giles website and turns out boyfriend’s talent knows no bounds.  He does video art, drawings, paintings, collages.  And they are ALL amazing.

I recognized this flowers piece from somewhere, but I can’t place where.  I know that some space I’ve seen in a magazine or book had a very similar piece framed in plexiglass.  I can’t place it.  This will drive me nuttay.

And look at what he did with these pallets?  Sorry, Ben Giles, I’m totally hacking this for some inexpensive artwork to go in a client’s home.

Seriously.  Stop it Ben Giles.  You are a freak.  How can one person be. so. good.  But can you see the English influence?  I would have to say all those beautiful floral inspired jobs couldn’t have been created by a non Englishman.

Have a good weekend, guys and please keep us in your rental juju vibrations!

It’s late, but I gots ta tell y’all what I’ve been thinkin’.  So, two days ago, I was getting my daily reads in and I saw this picture over at i suwannee …

A mirrored subway tile backsplash.  Who is the genius behind this?  I must know and am currently still trying to figure out.  But in my search, I found a few other amazing mirror clad back splashes…

And just like that, I’m hooked.  More, more.. I want more.  So after a few minutes of thinking and coming to the conclusion that mirrored tile was probably a fortune, a light bulb went off.  What if I used small craft mirrors?  And the search began.  In no time, I found these…

Perfect.  And the best part?  No grout or hiring a handy man.  Just glue ‘em on up there.  I was so excited to find them and then I realized, wait, someone will have to cut the pieces to fit around windows, etc.  That probably takes a special tool, right?  Wrong…

After my post yesterday and seeing this in Matchbook…

I went on a Juju hat mission.  (For those of you not in the know, the Juju hat is the pink feathered thing on the wall.)  Juju hats are African headdresses worn by celebrants during royal court affairs.  Aside from their intended purpose, they make for beautifully striking wall decor and they have become increasingly popular in recent years among the decorator types.  Unfortunately, they are a wee bit on the pricey side ranging from $300 and up depending on the size and coloration.  Here are some more shots of the Juju in action…

I have been keeping my eyes open for something to go over MK’s bed in her master and I kind of think the Juju would be perfection, but paying six hundos is out of the question.  So, I did a little research and found some Juju DIYs.  (Don’t you love saying that?  Juju.  Juju!  Juju, dahling) This one is great with clear instructions and a source that seems to be the go to for feathers.  The results are beautiful…

via Love Meagan

This one from Vintage Farm Furniture is also good.  I like how they created a shallow cone for the feathers to mimic that of an actual Juju.  Both of these bloggers used strung rooster feathers from the same website and it turns out feathers are still kind of pricey.  Luckily, color is out of the question for MK so that narrows it down and keeps it a little less expensive, because otherwise, I would be going straight for these guys:

They’re $233 per 1/4 lb compared to the undyed versions used in both the tutorials, which cost only $45 per 1/4 lb.  It seems to take about a 1/2 lb to make one Juju (Juju Juju Juju), so the project still costs around $100, which would probably make it one of the pricier DIYs I’ve come across but it definitely beats the $300-$1000 price tag on the real Jujus.  At any rate, I kept digging.  Juju.  Mostly because I thought I could find a cheaper feather source for making Jujus.  I’ve yet to find one, but I did find a Juju tutorial via DesignSponge that uses yarn instead of feathers.  The results are quite beautiful, but definitely a craftier look than I want.

I’ll keep searching for some inexpensive rooster feathers and get back to you if I find them.  For now, I’m off to convince my client that putting a huge African feather hat above her bed is a fabulous idea.  Juju, my little lovelies!  Wish me luck!  Hopefully the Juju juju is in my favor today.