Master Bedroom Inspiration, Black And White

Good morning, since I have been in the middle of  the master bedroom build out and since it has taken so much time to do my thoughts and inspirations for that room are changing right along with it.

As I have mentioned, I want an amazing retreat that is romantic but has some edge and drama to it. Originally my inspiration was for a light calm room and was loosely based off this image:

Why this picture? Well I already have this bed from Z Gallery:

And my color pallet is white and airy, so I took the time to make the night stands from Ikea in the picture as seen here:

Well I thought I had all the pieces for the perfect room, and in theory I did. Let me tell you that when you work in design and work with decorating you see so many ideas and inspirations and there are times when it makes you shift your thinking in a whole new direction all together. Partly spawned by our HGTV/Color Splash makeover coming up on the 23rd of this month, I have been completely thrown for a loop since I don't know what to expect and can't play any part of what will happen in our house. So my master bedroom certainly isn't going to get left in the dust, and that is one room where I still have full control "mua-ha ha!". I want it to have the drama and romance and the edge that I know will be going in the rest of my home and since it is one of the most important rooms to me (and Robert), I'm taking things up a notch;)

Here are my new inspirations for that room:

These are loosely the images that I am mentally working with. The bed and walls may go darker with white curtains, though I'm undecided about the wall color which may stay white. The ikea hacked nightstands will get an ebony wash to darken them up a bit and give them more glam and less of a natural wood hue, unless once I get them in there they don't bother me which does sometimes happen. I will definitely be adding some chains with a DIY chain chandelier idea that's been obsessively rolling around in my mind (unless I can find one for a good price). I have seen only a few of them, and one in particular that's made from old bike chains. This is really the idea that is changing the whole room- a lighting fixture that is edgy and off the wall different. More of that to come later. I will also be painting the doors black in that space, and plan to lighten things up a bit through my curtains, linens, and the light concrete floors.

Can you see it? I can, and I like it!

Designers I Love: Jessica Helgerson

Good afternoon, today I want to do a post on a feature designer who I love. It's kind of funny because though I only recently found out her name, I have saved so many inspirational images from her before I knew that they were all coincidentally from the same designer. If you haven't seen her work before, be sure to check out Jessica Helgerson.

I am drawn to her designs and find them very similar to what we achieved with the new house. She creates a very natural comfortable yet clean and refined space time and time again. I love the use of white interiors mixed with organic elements. I find it has a sense of comfort and livability that you might find in a coastal beach house, or one fit for a family who gather and spend time together in their lived in home. This Portland Oregon based designer puts spaces together that remind me of a California cool that so many of us can only dream about.

Take a look for yourselves and feast your eyes on these spaces meant for a dreamer like me and possibly you too~

Enough said?!

Painting The Outside Of Our House

God morning, I had such a busy and wonderful week. Things are really moving and changing for me professionally and it looks like I will have a couple of new projects to work on. Hence the lack of posts.

Well, today I want to share with you the beginning transformation of our house exterior. We chose new rain gutters in the color"bronze" which will tie in our front door and give us some black accents to work with outside. We chose antique white from Sherwin Williams for the main house paint color and Esspresso Brown from Sherwin Williams for the roof . We removed all the decorative trim from the facade which makes it look less like all the others in the neighborhood and gives it a more clean modern Spanish feel (is that even a style?!)Right now the existing gutters are simply painted in espresso, but they will be changed out once the new ones come in. We also have new windows ordered, and of coarse the front of the house will change with the completion of the addition. The landscaping and drive way will soon change and become circular with modern clean landscaping going across the whole front of the house strategically placed to give the addition a feeling of purpose and to make it look like a normal part of the house. Lastly some new lighting and numbers to finish things off.

Here are some before and after pictures:

Above are some before pictures with the decorative trim and then without it once removed. Notice the mustard color of the house.

Above are some pictures of the house after being painted. Notice the terrace above that started out with orange terra cotta tiles, well that is changing along with everything else. Remember the post that I did here modern back yard terrace ?
Below are some pictures of the terrace now with the tiles removed and the backyard makeover in progress:

We think it is looking pretty good so far. It's amazing what some paint and a little hard work can do for your house and the curb appeal~

HGTV's Color Splash/Twilight Home Make Over....It's A Long One

Good morning, I always love how when you go on vacation and come home you can't see straight because you are too busy catching up. That's exactly what I've been doing.

Now, on to our home make over news. I know it is a bit of a surprise and it is for us as well. Here's how it all went down. Quite a while ago I entered a contest for HGTV. At the time we were up to our necks in construction (still are, Ha!) and when I read the contest we were a perfect match! It is a contest for Color Splash Miami with David Bromstad and Twilight/Summit Entertainment for the biggest Twilight fans who want a Twilight inspired makeover. I do wish we had been chosen before the house was near complete, but since everything is recycled from our old house we are wide open to the change;) Here was our entry form with personal info edited out. We were among a group of about 4 families and were chosen as the family to win this A-MAZ-ING makeover prize. I don't normally get in to too many details about our life and story but I thought it might help people to understand how we were considered for this makeover in the first place, in spite of our beautiful home that we've been sharing with you along the way.

Tell us why you love Twilight and HGTV, and why YOU deserve this makeover: 

I Now Know That I’m A Cougar, Or Am I?

Let me start by saying, this couldn’t be more PERFECT for us. As everyone knows, I’ve had an obsession with Twilight that was extremely unexpected after I caught a glimpse of if in Las Vegas. Once I got home I watched the full movie and was immediately taken and transported to my fantasy world. Not being much of a reader, I poured through page after page of each and every book in the series, twice!

                I had moments where I thought I might be a looney tune!  I took my books everywhere with me, I watched Twilight nightly to go to sleep with (as opposed to House Hunters International), I waited in line until all hours of the night to get my tickets to the next premier, I went to those damn stores in the mall where I might catch a glimpse of one of the movies characters, and even hatched a plan with my friend to somehow some way figure ourselves in to the LA premier of New Moon when it came out. Fail! I have a daughter who wasn’t in to it and there I was locking my family out of the bathroom so that I could bathe and read my book.  I now know why I was so captivated, and I’m not as crazy as I thought…or at least totally crazy. The series was written so well and the Twilight movie are done in a way that really draws you in. Heck, what woman wouldn’t want a man who’s gorgeous, mysterious, dangerous, wealthy, intelligent, and downright obsessed with me…er Bella.  Apparently I am a bit of a cougar in my old age (wink wink)

                I have seen every one of the movies in the Twilight series more times than I can count, and can’t wait for the next one to come out. Keep in mind that I am a responsible and normal person so I know how this must sound coming from a 30 year old woman who by the way had a life size poster of Edward Cullen in my closet until the day we moved, but there’s a bit of fantasy to it and I think everyone needs that in some way or another. Life is short and often boring, so live well and immerse yourself in to your inner fantasies and make sure to have some zest for life. That’s what Twilight did for me.

Now on to the fun stuff.  I am a huge fan of HGTV and David Bromstad, I am also a huge fan of design overall. I have a blog http://thecubaninmycoffee.blogspot.com where I chronicle everything from ideas and inspirations, to our current remodeling projects, to budget friendly and DIY projects. It’s kind of something I never knew I had in me and now can’t get enough of. HGTV is full of talent, ideas and inspiring designers.  I love the creativity that each show presents. I also LOVE David Bromstad and his design style. He is just adorable and has a quirky personality that comes through in his designs. There are always unexpected elements and visual surprise and the results are breathtaking. I think he would be great for us to work with is exactly what we need- if he’ll have us that is.

I feel that we deserve this makeover because we are a young family who are getting our second chance in life right now. When I met my husband he had been married before and lost his wife to cancer. So it was him and our 2 young daughters. We fell in love and got married and bought ourselves what we thought was our dream home, and it was. We became a family and had a chance to grow together, myself, Robert, Amanda and Isabella…and Lola our dog. Unfortunately, a few years later as business fell, we found ourselves up to our neck with financial responsibilities and had to make the heartbreaking decision to sell our home before it was too late. We moved to a rental a week before Christmas. Around that time my father was diagnosed terminal with cancer. It was a very dark and awful time for us. I know how important it is to have a home and that is wherever you make it. I also know that in hindsight, putting things in perspective, there are far worse things that can happen then needing to sell your big “dream” home. Since all of that happened we’ve been lucky enough to turn a rental house that my husband Robert purchased years ago into our home. It has been a creative outlet for me, an inspiration for us and a blessing in disguise. It was the breath of fresh air that I needed to remember the beauty that is always around us in life even if we may not see it for a moment. 

                I would love the opportunity to have HGTV and David Bromstad be a part of our journey and help us get our house one step closer to being our home.        

What aspect of the movies is your inspiration for the design?

I absolutely love the Cullen House specifically. I love that it is set in the woods and has a sort of allure to it. The clean lines and wide open windows are its best features. I love that outside and nature are brought inside through the expansive windows which would be a true dream. I love that there is so much greenery there and that those natural elements offset the modern feel of the home. I also love that the house itself has a mix of textures such as the concrete stairs, the wood paneling, and the glass windows framed in black. I love that from every room you have a view of the forest. The most inspiring room for me is Edward Cullen's room specifically. The ability to open those huge window doors to go right outside would be a dream come true. I am specifically inspired by the scene in Twilight when Edward takes Bella to his house and they leap out of his bedroom window in to the forest. How unexpected to have a house full of vampires living in a glass house;) I guess that's what I like about design, the unexpected. I included a couple of pictures of this as well.



Well, there you have our story in a nut shell. Things have been going well for us, and I am finding inspiration and beauty all around me which I can honestly say was missing for a while. I started this blog as an outlet for my passion and it has evolved in to me doing projects for people and in me loving my home again and our family having a place to call our own. Though, not everything is turned around and there are still all the trials that life throws at you, we are extremely grateful and excited to be a part of this contest. I should know in about a week what things I will be selling, and have some truly amazing designer pieces in here (though you should pick quick since we have friends who are putting dibbs all over stuff). I'll surely keep you posted along the way, and I will also give you updates on all our current house projects which are again in full swing.


P.S. I will have more pictures after the makeover and am not allowed to share a whole lot about it until later on. Here's all I have for now~

We're Back Jack And Ready To Celebrate!!

Hi there, I'm sort of back from vacation and boy do I have some things going on. The house is still moving forward and the trim is actually being painted as we speak. Yaaay! We have the new drawings approved so we hope to cut the new windows for the master bedroom this week which means we would then be able to pour the walls, insert the windows and start with the interior work. We're hoping that everything can be done with in about a month. It does sometimes feel like the project that will never end.

Now, there is something MUCH MUCH MUCH bigger that is currently pressing on our priority list. We won a really amazing prize and are having our whole family room, living room and dinning room completely made over by a huge major TV network who is also partnered with a huge major film production company and it all starts today! I'm waiting for the OK to tell you all the exact details, but for now what I will say is that if anyone our there is a fan of home makeover shows then you will really want to stay tuned here. This is the opportunity of a life time and we just couldn't say no in spite of the fact that we just finished doing those rooms ourselves. Heck, we like to live on the edge and find ourselves to be a bit ca-ra-zay sometimes. I can say that I entered a contest with no thought that we might win, and I also entered it with other rooms in mind that we desperately need finished, but they had other plans and we are completely A-OK with that.

We have a bit of an all day situation today and I am hoping that I can share the details with you tomorrow and am hoping that we won't have to wait until after the makeover to share it but we will give you one little hint:

Not a good enough hint? How about these:

 What this means for you my lovely loyal readers is that I will need to sell most if not all of the things in all those rooms since we have to have it completely cleared and will not be re-using anything for the makeover. We have no storage, ZERO, ZILCH, NADA, and don't want to have to get a large storage unit just to hold on to more furniture. This means I will be selling ALLOT of stuff and if you been keeping up with us we've got some really good stuff in here. Let me better clarify this, we will be selling EVERY THING in those rooms down to the sectional sofas and end tables and rugs. I plan to post them on Craigslist and will probably do some kind of open house as well which I will let you know about. In the mean time though check out past posts to see if you are interested in anything and email me about them here and I will get back to you with prices and info. I will do a post with individual items when we have more time and better pictures.

Wish us luck!