Baby, Baby, Baby!

I apologize in advance for deviating from the usual random, lighthearted content in this blog by publishing this particular post. However, as random as I may be, this subject matter has been on my mind. Thusly, I felt it was warranted to let loose here.

As you may have deducted from previous posts, Hubby and I are quite busy...and broke. We have two houses on our plate, one of which is the victim of DIY renovation. We have very little time for ourselves.

With Hubby and I between the two and three-year mark in our marriage, we seem to be getting a constant one-sided pressure...from EVERYONE. I can always predict when someone segues the conversation into the dreaded seven-words. "Are you two planning on having kids?"

Obviously, a question of that nature is quite loaded. Each couple has their own set of challenges and thoughts. To answer such a question is in many forms difficult to provide an answer.

There are many couples couples out there itching to create a family after marriage. However, I believe there are couples who possess other goals beyond the baby fever. For the couples who belong in the latter category, goals and reasons to put the baby-makin' on the back burner can be complicated.

For us, I suppose the short answer of such a multifaceted question is that Hubby and I just don't have that achy, shaky feeling to procreate. Sure, we love kiddos and understand what they bring to a couple, transforming them into a family unit. However, we also understand that they are non-stop work and attention, and complete life transformers. Telling someone that we just don't really care to procreate results in complete dissonance.

We find ourselves wondering if we are the only ones in the world that have kid ambivalence. It's not that we completely despise the thought of children, but we don't really crave the idea either. We have discussed the child-or-not-to-child topic ad nauseam. In fact, our advantage/disadvantage list would be a more extensive version of the list below, but just humor me.

Pros to kids-

1) Funny

2) A unique version of you and your loved one, blended into one cute pint

3) Teaches you patience, love and imagination

4) Carry on your family genes into the world

Cons to kids-

1) Expensive

2) Undeterminable chance of the child souring, even with quality parenting

3) Test of your patience, freedom, and sanity

4) Aren't there too many people in the world already?

I sought help with a good, reliable friend that would be unbiased with this subject matter...the internets. Are we highly unusual people mixed into society's stream? This article, on Cup of Jo's blog seemed to put my mind at ease. The variety of comments below the post, even more so.

For now, I digress. We aren't planning for children. We don't have life lined up the way we'd prefer to if we were to have children. We have many other diverse concerns associated with bringing a life into the world. And most importantly,we don't seem to possess the type of bone-traveling passion that would warrant such a major decision.

[Exception to the rule: Sometimes life throws surprises our way. A child may not be planned but worked its way into your life. Just as I thought 10 years ago, (before meeting Hubby,) I thought I'd never get married, I'm now married and love every minute of it. The same has happened with friends who have not planned for children but have has "surprise" bundles of joy and are converted advocates for kiddos.]

For all of you folks with children (who ask your friends/ family sans children if they will have children,) consider the complexities of life-altering choices. Everyone is different--with different goals, passions, desires, incomes, illnesses (mental or physical), available time, location, or careers--children should be (and are typically) factored into this equation. The equation is very complex, and answering the dreaded seven-word question is mind-boggling.

For those of you who were previously ambivalent with the idea of a planned family, what brought you clarity toward a decision? I'd love to hear from you.

Photos via bigstock.com, sodahead.com, fugly.com.

Cheapskate Organization

Trying to get my "girl cave" organized these days. The indicative evidence of hobby ADD surrounds this room. Paper collections, fabric stacks, yarn, jewelry supplies, painting wares...either tucked out of sight or a victim of a good, swift kick. I have been unable to find what I need, when I need it. The worst part is, I seem to forget what I own. I run out to buy what I need and later discover I already own the damn item! Something had to be done about this.

I feel another Cheapskate Tip coming folks! If you are a pack rat like us, I'd say you have about a 95% chance of finding something you already own that you can use for organizing the other crap in your house. (I reserved the 5% of not finding something you can use, because you most likely have something you can use, but you can't locate it in your home!) 

Enter: IKEA's Flyt cardboard magazine holders! We had purchased many of these because we are magazine hoarders collectors. (I'm seeing a theme here as I type this...We need help.) My thought was...why should they only be used for magazines? 

Use them for yarn organization as they are. I was able to cram an entire moving box of yarn into three magazine holders, and then tuck them away neatly in our vintage tool cart.

Cut the tops down so that they have a straight top. This shorter design allows easy storage and visibility of your art pencils and markers. Score! I can see what and where I'm storing my supplies! 

The great feature about these cardboard magazine organizers is that this project has no bounds. These things can be customized to your decor or personality with paint, decoupage, or freestyle drawing.

Hope that you look at other items in your home for other purposeful uses before tossing it out. Not that I'm advocating hoarding, but you will surely save some money and cut back on wasteful consumption. Happy organizing!

Hacking it Left and Right

I'm sure you have heard of Ikea Hackers. Take an Ikea product and modify/repurpose it into something else. I love this website mainly because of the versatility of Ikea's products. I'm already a lover of repurposing, so that was a given.

Today, I'm going to share with you an Anthro Hacker. You guessed it. I took a top from Anthropologie and I modified it into something else. It was so easy, that I completed the modification in under an hour. We are way overdue for Cheapskate Tip!!!

BEFORE

When I bought the shirt, I thought it was very French nautical. I loved it. But each time I wore it, that knot resting atop my breasts bugged the heck out of me. Also, I started to feel like it was reminiscent of this pukey '80s preppy look....

Blah!

I examined its construction. Something could be done. After all, it was of a super soft knit. It had redeeming qualities. I apologize I do not have tutorial photos of the process. I was all up in its grill trying to figure out what I was going to do. I was prepared to ruin the shirt, actually.

The "knot" portion was basically a tube that slid onto the two pieces of fabric. I slid the little tube off and cut it into two. I played with the two dangling pieces of fabric. After looking at different alternatives, I thought they looked interesting pinned up on the shoulders. I slid the two little tubes onto each side and pinned to each shoulder. All that it took was a little hand sewing and voila! Qu'en pensez-vous?

AFTER

I'd like to see more Anthro Hackers. Share with me any mods made on your semi-beloved Anthropologie clothing.

Anniversary #2 - Cotton

Hubby and I made it to our second wedding anniversary amongst all of the curve balls that were thrown our way since our wedding day. I'd have to say it's nice to be (finally) living together like a married couple should be. Jobs seem to rule our lives, don't they?

Based on the traditional gift-giving chart that is referenced on last year's anniversary post, our second year anniversary gift challenge is....{drumroll}....cotton or straw.

I bought Hubby the silliest underwear I could find (not pictured, gladly!) Hubby bought me some tea towels that made my eyes well up. Anthropologie's embroidered storybook tea towels brought back memories of our wedding. It was perfect!

They fell in love, they got married, they lived happily ever after

Getting Your Wood On

Don't judge a blog title by its figurative realm, you sick people! Not that kind of blog!

I'm talking about the literal meaning of wood. To be more specific, wood paneled walls. I'm guessing after making this clarification, you went from a warm, piqued interest to a cold shiver to the core in a matter of seconds. 

As you may have remembered from one of my past posts, Hubby and I purchased a new mid-century home. The innards of this home possesses wood paneled walls throughout 40% of it. When we first moved in, I was pretty irked by the paneling. But this house is a-m-a-z-i-n-g, otherwise.

I have run into several home decorating "advice" columns where "dated" fixtures of the home--wood paneled walls being one of many--are uncouth. Worse yet, these old retired fixtures may impede with successfully selling your home later on. I agree with tasteful updates, but trends come and go. Why are vintage items that were once thrown away, now sought after today?

With ongoing renovations in our San Antonio bungalow, I did not want to even consider any large projects at this house. The thought of tearing out all of that paneling makes me want to collapse. Besides, this paneling was true 1950s real wood. Not to be confused with the 1970s printed-on wood grain that your neighbor had in his man-cave.

Up close and personal, our wood paneled walls

The next thought that came to mind is to whitewash this stuff, as a means of lightening the room while allowing the wood grain to proudly show.

As I began to research whitewashing techniques for wood paneling online, the finished outcome began to look like lipstick on a pig. Not to be controversial, but if paneling supposedly sucks, why paint it? If you go through the trouble to mask it, just remove it. Additionally, painting paneled walls gives it a country look, and I definitely don't want to bring that look to this killer mid-century home.

Hubby and I started settling in. We plugged in some warm lighting. We purchased a new charcoal sofa and set it up. Suddenly, the paneling started to creep its way into my subconscious on a better level. 'Maybe it's not that that bad,' I thought. There is an abundance of natural lighting in this area too. 'Plain white walls would be blinding in here,' I thought again. And so begins the transformation of loving the wood.

New charcoal sofa snapped the room into shape

As we played around with some items we had, we took note that grays, neutrals and greens look terrific with wood. In fact, we have found a few other pieces of furniture that are different shades of wood, and the mixture of woods add a type of textural interest. While we are coveting the living and dining room having wood paneling, we are most likely going to tear it out of the kitchen and hallway, mainly due to low-lighting in those areas. That will come later...much, much later.

Before and after: Changing generic big box store lighting back to a period-correct vintage light. (Yes, that popcorn ceiling needs to go.)

Our first mission with the house was to tackle the awful lighting fixtures that are all over the house. The basic hardware store and colonial lighting made the wood paneling look plain icky. After scouting and finding some period-correct vintage lighting fixtures, it was amazing what transformation took place. We managed to find lots of vintage fixtures, but have not connected them all yet. More photos are forthcoming.

So I will leave it at this: Do you know how rare it is to find a home with original, non-painted wood surfaces? Although I will agree that painting wood white tends to brighten up a room, I also believe that wood brings its own vibe too. We just need to understand what kind of partner it needs to shine. Might I also add the caveat that wood paneling comes in many forms (boiserie, wainscoting, beadboard, flat paneling,) and should stay in its respective age-appropriate home.

If you have lived through the 1980s, it's likely that you now cringe at the fashion we once wore at that time. Yet, it's back full throttle on the fashion runways. Just as 80s fashion is the hottest thing since sliced bread, I surely have faith that wood paneled walls will too, come back in style. In fact, there are other believers out there. I found numerous resources and forums where folks are researching mid-century color palettes to bring out the original features of the home (read: pink tile, paneled walls, turquoise sinks.) I have actually found a few articles out there that mention that wood paneling is back in style given the retro craze.

If we embrace and understand our history, we might just come to love, maybe even enhance some features of our home that are initially under-appreciated. Through understanding the history, we can better pair it with other fabrics, textures and colors to accentuate, rather than punish original features.

Lastly, the take-home key point on wood paneling is...Lighting and color pairing are key components to living with (and loving) paneled walls!

Here are some inspirational woody interiors from the nets:

via midcenturia.com

via mid-century-home.com

via takesunset.com

via apartmenttherapy.com

This, That or the Other???

As major collectors of Art Deco, Art Nouveau and anything uniquely old and quirky, decorating our new 1956 home has been challenging yet fun. It's a completely different aesthetic. Imagine riding a stagecoach on the Autobahn. Not that I'm saying the stagecoach wouldn't be a cool portal for transportation, but it sure would be out of place. Same thing happens when you take gobs of early-century antiques and place it all over a mid-century home. It holds up the task of decorating, but just doesn't always look right.

Hubby has the theory that if you make a few modifications to the stagecoach, it should hold up just fine on the Autobahn. In other words, we will move all of our belongings to the mid-century home and see what might blend in, and what might be destined for the estate sale. I tend to agree that Art Deco design is compatible with Mid-Century design, and that "eclectic" is a lighthearted method of decorating...

Case in point: Here we compare a deco sofa against an atomic sofa. Pretty similar, right? Again, different aesthetic, but the lines are simple.

Deco-style sofa

Danish modern sofa

Another consideration are tchotchkes. They were plentiful (yet looked really neat) in our 1920s home. Hubby and I had many discussions whether or not to bring all the tchotchkes to our new home. As you might infer, mid-century design is typically minimal, with emphasis on the design of the home and the furniture. Tchotchkes will act as a strobe light in your face. You won't focus on a damn thing.

But again, Hubby the modifier believes that if we take it all, we can get a better feel for whether we can decorate differently. This had my head gears rotating. I thought, "if you give the tchotchkes structure, maybe we can make it work!"

Case in point: Here are a few examples where major collectors and mid-century lovin' collide. You will notice a theme of structured placement.

Mid-century odds and ends specifically placed on shelves

Ms. Lucia Eames was quite fond of tchotchkes! Note her designated place for each one on the table, and the tiki grouping untouchably behind the seating area.

Obviously, not all of our antique furniture will work out for us. The new home is expansive and some of our old furniture looked out of scale and dwarfed in some of the rooms. Some of the furniture we had brought over looked just "okay." I have always been a fan of eclectic design. I will make as much of what we already own work for us, by golly!

Here are just a few examples of eclectic design that I'm loving. A happy marriage of early and mid-century. Humor and seriousness. Structure and chaos.

Home Addict

We did it again. We have another baby. We bought a new house, (actually, it's an old house). We are living in this beautiful mid-century modern home by weekday, and by weekend, we are back at the home renovations with the 1920s stucco bungalow.

We originally intended to stay in our cool little stucco 1925 home when renovations began about five years ago (read about our journey here, here and here,) however, changes in our jobs have brought us to another city.

Once renovations and finishing touches are complete, to market it will go. Makes me sad...I miss our renovated kitchen that was tailored to my culinary whims. This house was so fun to decorate, too.

It's like sending our child off to college. You take care of it for so long, make improvements and watch it grow into something so beautiful before your eyes...and then you have to let it go. Facts of life, I suppose.

I will keep you informed as we head into this butt-kicking journey. One thing's for sure...that pendant light in our new mid-century home has to go! (Here's where it all begins...again.)

(All photos via Art and Facts)