Welcome to the Porch

Monday, February 8, 2010

Thought I'd take you outside to get a breath of fresh country lake air........Ahhhhhhhhh.....nice.....

When we purchased our lakehouse in 2001, there was a small, very narrow screened porch along the back of the house.  I threw as much furniture as the room would hold back there and we used the outside room each and every time we were at the lake.  We ate our meals out there; we read out there; Chuck trimmed his beard out there; it was the dogs' "time out" room; it was Chuck's "time out" room; it was seriously the most used room in the house.

Well, when we decided to add the new Guest Bedroom onto the house (the one you saw the other day), the architect we hired also suggested we make a mirror addition on the other side of the deck to balance the house out; to make the house a "U" shape basically.  After I quit hearing the "cha-ching; cha-ching" of $$ signs, that's when the lightbulb moment came with Chuck and I, and we just knew it had to be a screened porch.  It would be accessible from the Master Bedroom instead of the Living Room as well as from the Deck.  The more we thought and planned, the more excited we got about the new Porch, more so than the new Guest Bedroom!  We knew it just had to have a wood burning fireplace with lots of stone and cedar with large unobstructed screen windows.  We wanted some way to "close off" the wind in the wintertime, so we found some indoor/outdoor blinds that, when down, can keep the warmth from the fireplace on the Porch in the winter, yet raised, keep a nice breeze coming in all other times.

Here's what we got.  We found the chandelier at Habitat for Humanity in Garland for $75 (HEAVY....); Chuck being an exceptional woodworker, turned each and every one of the cedar posts surrounding the lower half of the porch himself as well as all the cedar work on the walls; we found a guy working out of his garage in Sulphur Springs to do the screens which were a terrific price.  We used stained concrete for the floor; added a Sam's Club Futon for overflow sleeping; we made the tile mosiac coffee table ourselves from broken tile we purchased at a discount tile store & a planter base from Forney; paid WAY too much for the dining table and chairs (Very disappointed with myself on that purchase.....); found the TV armoire at a tent sale off I-30 in Royse City; and picked up the cow hyde rug from Canton at a negotiated price (FYI; you always get your best prices on Sunday).

We placed an inexpensive TV in the armoire; found the ceiling fans at Lowe's on sale; nick naks were found at garage and estate sales.  The French Doors lead into the Master Bedroom.  Chuck found this bizarre stuffed fish sculpture at Canton that personally, I just think is well......bizarre....that he insisted on hanging on the wall by the table & chairs.  Sometimes, ladies, you just have to "give in" on some of the less tasteful stuff he drags home.....My initial plan for the fish sculpture was the wind was going to accidently blow it off the stand he made for it, but he was a step ahead of me on this and screwed it to the wall.  An earthquake wouldn't take that thing off the wall.......

    I do have to admit we don't use the Porch as much as I thought we would.  It's just not as convenient as our other porch was and we tend to forget about it, but I got to tell ya, there's nothing like a nice Spring day sitting on the screened porch with a sweet breeze blowing through, reading a book.  Nothing quite like it.......

Decorating 101: "HALLWAY"

Sunday, February 7, 2010


Did you remember to put the lid down in the bathroom?  Thank you......thats a major pet peeve of mine....

This is is going to be quick and simple.....its just a Hallway afterall.   A couple years ago, I was cruisin' through a decorating magazine at the store waiting on Chuck to pick out his weekly snacks, when I came upon a picture of a wall of pictures that was like nothing I'd seen before.  I whipped out my camera phone and started taking pictures of the magazine spread.  Couldn't get it out of my mind; thought to myself;  "I can do this......"so, being the picture-whore (hope that didn't offend anyone!) that I am,  I opened up my trustee Mac and started going through pictures of family, close friends and neighbors.  Picked my favorites and then started figuring out my game-plan.

Here's how I did this:  Grabbed Chuck and headed to Lowe's.......he never turns down a trip to Lowe's.....picked up several large pieces of MDF wood (the thinnest I could find was 1/4 inch); had him cut them all the same dimensions; spray painted them black; resized and changed the color on all the pictures I had picked out to "Antique" so they were all the same size and tint; printed them off on "canvas" paper; Paper Mache'd them to the painted MDF wood; put a hook on the back and WHALLA...wall art that is too cool!  I love how this turned out and have had more compliments on this than anything....And how easy it is to do!  And the best part; CHEAP!

Home Decorating 101: "Guest Bath"

Saturday, February 6, 2010


Just head down the hall, first door to the left and don't forget to put the lid down when you're finished; yep.....you've arrived at the Guest Bath.

BEFORE:  This was the previous owners of the house

AFTER: This was after we purchased the house








Since its the weekend, I thought I'd make it simple and and take you on a quick tour of the Guest Bath.....I found a "before" picture of this room so you could see the difference a little color on the walls can make (paying attention, Tom??)....Like I told my long time friend, Tom, when he informed me his entire house was the shade of white, it costs no more to add a little color to that shade of white when having it mixed up.....but what it does add is "warmth".  Maybe its just me, but have you ever walked into a room that you've never been in before and had a sense of "comfort"?  Most likely, it was due to the color on the wall.  I've always leaned toward Ralph Lauren colors which are "earthy", "casual" and "warm".  I love the Ralph Lauren colors,  but I don't like the price of the Ralph Lauren paint, so I just take the paint chip sample and have them mix the RL color with the paint I can afford.  That simple!

Another thing I have found that makes a big statement in the bathroom is to take a decorative curtain all the way to the ceiling.  You can make this easily yourself by purchasing some fabric (don't forget my best friend, Mr. Glue Gun!), measure how far from the ceiling to the floor, add an extra 24 inches to that measurement, cut your fabric, hem it with a 1 inch hem; hang a shower tension rod at the ceiling and whalla.......major statement that says "wow"!  Now, I know you're asking, "But what about the vinyl shower curtain??"....Here's what you do.......Buy 2 vinyl shower curtains at Wal-Mart for $6 a piece and cut one so that it makes up the difference in length from ceiling to floor; either hot glue or sew them together; put a 2nd tension rod "behind" the decorative curtain rod at the ceiling and hang your vinyl shower curtain behind the decorative curtain.  It's very very easy and inexpensive.  You can seriously do this whole thing for around $25.  But what a huge difference it makes!  Don't forget you can always use sheets for fabric if you have a theme you're staying with......

Add a few pieces for the wall from TJ Maxx or Marshalls, and you have a new bathroom.  Everything in this bathroom came from discount stores, including the towels that have an "E" for Etheridge emblem on them....they were made for Embassy Suites and were seconds at a discount outlet store.

I'm also including a picture of my father-in-law's Guest Bath that I redid when we were having to sell his home after he passed away a few years ago.  I think  these before and after pictures really show what a difference the curtains we spoke about above make.

Since tomorrow is still the weekend, I'll give you a tour of the Hallway.  I think you're going to like this.....

Home Decorating 101 - MEDIA ROOM

Friday, October 5, 2010


Ready to watch a little Glenn Beck (no rude comments, please)?  Follow me into the Media Room, kick off your shoes and get comfortable.....

When we bought the house, the folks we bought it from designed this room to be a 50's room.....black & white checkered floor, jukebox, Coca Cola stuff everywhere.....real cool Texas shaped wet bar sink....and the coolest part was this real unique train track that ran around the perimeter near the ceiling.  Unfortunately, the train always stalled out on the tressel......

So we turned it into a Media Room.  We painted those bare white walls (Errrrrrrrrr.....I detest white walls) a deep burgundy, installed carpet to help with the sound, put in indirect lighting, hot glued burgundy velvet curtains and found a kicker deal on the recliners.  Actually, we lived with my father-in-law's old yellow plaid hide-a-bed sofa for a few years until we could afford the media recliners. Chuck was as happy as a tick on a dog when we turned this room into a Media Room cause that allowed him to go purchase the 60" TV of his dreams..........the boy was actually slobbering......it was scary.

Most of the other furniture we already had....we turned the train track into a bookshelf.....hung some of my favorite art (which consists of Hobby Lobby prints, Bombay Outlet oils and a $10 poster I carried on my back all through Europe (am I right, Carla??).  HELPFUL HINT:  If you're looking to frame a favorite print or mirror, do not; I repeat, DO NOT go to a frame shop and order one.  Instead, purchase a pre-made frame from Hobby Lobby (every few weeks they're 50% off) or go to Kirklands, head to the back of the store to the Green Tag section and you'll pick up a HUGE frame for under $20.....Even if you don't need a frame, but you find one that you like thats cheap, BUY IT NOW......you will always find a use for it later.  I have a whole attic full of stuff I don't need....yet.

We're not rich, folks.....I'm just cheap.  Did you know that you can negotiate financing with most furniture stores?  Most of them will either lower the price or give you 0% interest......you just have to ask.  I ALWAYS ask.....It's about this time Chuck walks away shaking his head.......I think it embarrasses him or something...I get the same look from him when someone compliments his shirt and I enthusiastically tell them it came from Goodwill.....ohhhhh, he hates that.   He's begged me not to tell people his Cadillac Valet T-shirt came from Goodwill..........so don't tell anyone, okay?

Back to the Media Room.....This room had no door and no way to put up a door; but since the house originally only had 2 bedrooms,  we needed to use this room for overflow sleeping when the family was down.  Sooooooo.....out came my faithful glue gun, more velvet material and made a double thick curtain at the doorway that can be pulled shut to provide privacy.

Well, that's about it......I'm showing a picture of Chuck's snack basket cause its a permanent fixture in this room.  The entire bottom drawer of the coffee table is for his TV room snacks......I'm starting to think the boy has a worm or something.......

Home Decorating 101 - KIDS KORNER

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Ready for the Kids Korner?

We have two very girly-girl granddaughters (I know-I know...I'm not "old enough" to be a grandmother....), 5 and 7, who Grandpa Charlie and Lele love to have visit the lakehouse.   We realized early on, they needed their own little "space" to define themselves and work on their amazing artwork.  Before we added the Guest Bedroom you saw yesterday, we had a longer "dead-end" hallway which we used for their "space".  At that time, we had only one granddaughter, Isabella (Bella), and a godchild, Taylor, that visited us quite often.  So, I took some side profile pictures of them, and painted a chalkboard silhouette of Taylor and Bella on the wall for them to chalk around on.  Well, when we added on to the house, that wall had to come down, which meant the chalkboard silhouette had to come down too.  Oh what a painful day that was for me cause I had worked hard painting it and it always brought a smile to my face whenever I walked down the hall.

So, although we didn't have as much space in the hallway after the addition, we did have a slice of space that we turned into their special little corner.  Found this cute little chandelier at Home Depot (it was a REAL bad color....thus the cheap price), spray painted it cream, purchased some hot pink shades from Bombay Outlet, added some faux gems and there you have it; a chandelier fit for our princesses.  The whole thing was maybe $20.

The table was made by Grandpa Charlie for less than $10 and I just painted the top with chalkboard paint (I'm guessing there's at least 10 layers of paint on that thing!)....Helpful Hnt; if you ever do this, be sure to use MDF wood.

The chairs are pretty awesome, aren't they?  You will never believe where I found these.  These were discovered at a Goodwill store in Sulphur Springs; were stained an almost black dark stain; had red velvet attached with upholstery tacks to the backs and seats of both.  Looked like they came out of the  TV show The Monsters.....they were hideous!!  But I loved the shape of the chairs and was able to look past the hideous scary red velvet and snatched them up quickly for $5 each.  Chuck is use to me dragging stuff home from everywhere including people's curbs, but he was really scratching his head on this one.  I love freaking him out that way!

Found the cabinet on the wall at the Bombay Outlet (why oh why did they have to go bankrupt??!!) and just hot glued a little lace on the edge of the shelves to make it interesting.  Accessorized with tea party (and no; this wasn't the anti-Obama Tea Party) cups and saucers, couple little hot pink cowgirl hats, some angel wings and of course, a princess crown........we've had many many fun times right here in this little corner and some very expensive artwork has been created right at this very spot!

Tomorrow......we're headin' down the hall to the Media Room.....

DECORATING 101: "GUEST BEDROOM"

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

It was Unanimous.....well, almost unanimous.......there was the one comment yesterday asking to hear about the trip to the nudist camp.....I guess the stick people picture threw him off (see picture)......but aside from that comment, everyone picked multiple choice #2 - A Tour of the Lakehouse.   So, here we go.....we'll start with Guest Bedroom #1.

I must first tell you that Liz does not pay full price for anything.  If I can make it myself, I will.  I negotiate on price for everything; I borrow ideas from magazines; been known to take pictures from my cell phone of pictures inside magazines so I won't have to purchase the magazine and lastly, draw out my idea and beg Chuck to make it in his woodworking shop.

GUEST BEDROOM:
Now, a little history on this room.  When we first purchased our Lakehouse in 2001, it only had two bedrooms and this wasn't one of them.  After owning the house for about 3-4 years, we decided to add a large Guest Bedroom and a large Screen Porch.  This added about 500 square feet making the house about 3000 square feet total.  We were about 2/3 of the way complete with the add-on when we had to "fire" the contractor.   Errrrrrrrrrrr...........I was the only one in the neighborhood who trusted this dude and I had such high hopes for him.  It's very difficult in East Texas to find good competent, INSURED contractors that show up each day, don't blow you off to go fishing, and have all their teeth.  So we finished the job ourselves.....

I looked high and low for a king sized black 4-poster bed.....Now days, you can find them everywhere, but six years ago, they were no where to be found.  I believe I single handedly brought black 4-poster beds into the decorating world.  Found this beautiful bed in a small town in Arkansas, with a beacon of light from Heaven shining down on it.......meant to be mine!  I've always wanted a black/white toile theme and this was the perfect room to do it in.  I found the linens at Target (on SALE, of course!) and decided to make the curtains, canopy and bedskirt myself.  My favorite fabric store is in Dallas called The Fabric Yard and purchased this beautiful lacy fabric for about $2.00 a yard there.  A STEAL!  I've never been known for my sewing abilities (I had to take Home Ec twice cause I "paid" a girl to make my Home Ec dress....got caught), so I tend to use my best friend, hot glue, to hem most everything in our house.

We purchased stock cabinets from Lowe's and made the long window seat on the wall of windows.  Attached some molding to it, covered the backside of it with toile wallpaper, upholstered a cushion out of Target sheets, threw several coats of paint on it and whalla........It is a perfect place to put the granddaughters' books and toys in baskets as well as sit and relax looking at the lake.

The black dressing table was found at an antique auction in Sulphur Springs.  It originally was brown and, for some reason, much lower; too low.  We won the bid at $125, sanded it down, painted it black and Chuck made perfectly matching leg extensions to bring the height up to where it should be.  One of the end tables to the bed also was purchased at this auction for $40 and painted to match.  It's an old piano cabinet.  Found the stool at a furniture store closeout, then painted and reupholstered with sheets to match.  The three wicker baskets at the foot of the bed were purchased to hold the granddaughters' barbies and toys.

Now, the hardest thing in the room was picking the wall color.  I will never forget my brother-in-law, Brady's comment when he first saw the color.  I believe his exact words were "Baby Poop Green".  He has since worked his way back into my favor......lucky for him......but  I totally disregarded his comment because, well......afterall, he is a man, what does he know about paint color??   I actually took a pillow case to a store in Dallas some of you will remember, Gabberts, and asked one of their decorators what color I should use on the wall and he picked this color for me.  This is a perfect solution if you just can't decide, and it's FREE.

I hand painted the wording on the wall with the help of my overhead projetor, reupholstered an old screen porch wicker sofa (again with sheets) and that about did it for this room.  Added some merchandising around the room from garage and estate sales to complete the look.  Two of my favorite finds was the dog bed made out of a chair with red gingham fabric that I picked up at the chuch bizarre this past December and a picture frame with a plate and spoon from the Queen Elizabeth at an estate sale for $4.00.
I hope I haven't bored you too much with this little walk through of our Large Guest Bedroom......I truly enjoy decorating and love sharing my thoughts with you as well as receiving your ideas!

Tomorrow......we'll see our Granddaughters Play Area........

Oh What to Blog About.........

Tuesday, February 2, 2010


I've been dying to Blog this week, but just didn't know what to Blog about...........so, I've decided to give you a multiple choice and let you choose.  So, here we go.....

1)  Something creepy about my toes......my Dad is to blame.

2)  Home Decorating.  One of my Blogger friends asked me to do a home tour of our lakehouse on my Blog....

3)  Murphy's filthy habit......

4)  My skin cancer photos.....(did you just throw-up in your mouth??)

5)  Nothing.  We're sick of your Blogging......

Okay my Bloggites, time to vote!