designed: plaster walls

After we finished the floors, we moved on to the walls. This is my first time living in a house with plaster walls, and they crack... a lot... 

I tried hanging a piece of art on the wall right when we moved in and the hole just kept getting bigger and bigger... and then I quit. Turns out I was using the wrong kind of nail. Plaster nails are sharper and another trick I learned is to put a thumbprint of oil ( I used olive oil because its what I had on hand ) on the wall and then a piece of tape over the oil where you want to put the nail. That works pretty well, fyi

Anyway, we hired a handy man to patch all the cracks; the cracks I made and the ones that were already there. Here is our Mr. Fix It working away... it twas a DUSTY DUSTY mess of job. 

 Here are some of the paint colors I'm considering for the inside and outside of the house. For the living and dining rooms I went with Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter on the walls, Benjamin Moore White Dove on the ceiling and Decorators White on the trim. I want to use an inky navy for the front door, and grey for the lower part of the house outside. The greens are possible kitchen colors and the blue is for the bathroom... I think, unless I change my mind again...

That's all for today chickadees. xoxo Lea Hart

designed: hardwood floors

Before we moved in, we decided the carpet had to go. The day the previous tenants moved out, we started pulling up the wall to wall and prayed that the floor would be in decent condition. Here is what the place looked like just after we thew all the old carpet into the porch.

 It was pretty easy to do. The time consuming part was pulling up like a million little staples... but its pretty mindless and with some good tunes and cold beers, its not too bad.

 I swept up and they cleaned up pretty nicely. They were actually in excellent condition! There were 2 small spots that had very minimal water damage, and the boards were simply replaced. Now these puppies are ready to get stripped and stained.

 So, one of the perks of being an Interior Designer, is that we work with the best trades people. Premier Floors is one such gem, and they sent over a crew of guys, the sanded down the whole first floor and called me to come over when it was time to pick a color. I wanted to go dark, but not too dark. I didn't want the floors to look dated in a few years. I also wanted some drama. So I went with the stain on the top right. Rich Walnut. This is our test patch in the Dining Room.

And now... Taaa Daaaa! Don't they look beyond gorgeous?!?!? I love love love them. I think they make the room look so much bigger and richer...and walnutier...
BEHOLD the Living Room

and the Dining Room... pretty much a blank slate...

before...

after... soo muuuuuch better, right? 

Moral of this little story? Fear not the dark stains, because they look freaking awesome. 

xoxo y'all