The wait is over! Finally...my front door reveal!

I guess I could've put this up a few weeks ago, but I wanted to get the whole front of the house done before I revealed the front door. I painted it a few weeks ago and then (slowly) the rest of the front came together. The awning went up, I spray painted the mailbox and the house number sign black, and Jason finished the shutters. Once we painted those and put them up I decided it was time to show you!

So you'll remember that the front of the house looked like this...

It was pretty plain Jane with a white door and forest green accents. I was SOOOOOO sick of that look so now the front looks like this....

Don't you love it?! See the front door? Oh wait, I'm sneaky...I saved that till last. So what color do you think I went with? What do you think would look the best with my cute new black awning, dark grey shutters and white house? And, by the way, did you notice the cute topiary cut-outs that my husband created in the shutters? I love a talented guy like that!

So the wait is over! I chose Benjmain Moore's Yellow Rain Coat and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it so much! It makes me happy when skies are grey...

See the cute topiaries?

And, finally, the "Hello" on the bottom of my door.

Did you guess right? I'm so glad I chose this color rather than the green, and I can't wait until February when winter is really depressing but I have this beautiful, happy yellow door!

Thanks for hanging in there with me while I got it all done! I'll be posting Fall pictures soon with all of my mums and pumpkins planted up in the front pots. I can't wait for that!

-Stacy

I might move...

Did you happen to see this house on apartment therapy?

Well, I'm CRAZY in love with leopard print everything. Every house needs some leopard print. A pillow, a rug, a chair, a sheet, a towel...SOMETHING! This house is in Chicago and I am going to need to go knock on their door and tell them that they are rockstars. Leopard print rockstars from heaven. No, I couldn't go this far, but I completely admire the people who did. If it were in my neighborhood I'd have to walk by it everyday. With my pet leopard. Just kidding. Do they have pet leopards? I want one.

What do you think? Cool or crazy?

Stacy

My modern (dream) life.

If you've looked at my home under the Stacy's House tab on our homepage, you have probably gotten a good sense of my decorating style. I generally do a mix of Traditional pieces with French Country and some whimsy thrown in too. Over the years my style has evolved from stuff I didn't necessarily love to only having things in my home that I absolutely love. I have gotten rid of a lot in the past few years in order to simplify my life. I always try to pass my stuff along to friends who I know like it, save a little for my daughter when she has her own place, and donate it to the local thrift store. I finally like my style and have settled into a look that makes me feel comfortable and glad to be at home. I've tried to make it inviting to other people too and I consider it the biggest compliment when people tell me that my home feels "cozy." Who doesn't want to be cozy? I have a friend who went through some stressful times in her life and would come to my house to take a nap on my couch. I'm completely serious! I would be in the kitchen cooking and going about my business and she'd be laying on my couch napping. It made me feel good that she felt comfortable enough at my house to do that.

I have matured over the past five years or so in terms of my style. Considering I'm entering my 40's soon, it's about time! It's been hard for me to get rid of STUFF because I always associated STUFF with cozy and charming. I've let that myth go for good. I'm trying to embrace organization, simple living and a more sparse environment. I will never master this and that is a fact. During this "evolution" I have started to appreciate modern decor more than ever. In my younger days I considered it too cold and sterile. Now I consider it organized and conducive to easy living. I would consider trading my cozy home decor if I could have each and every one of the chairs I am about to show you in a more modern home.

I would need to have the Eames Molded Plywood chair in red. More than one would be appreciated. I find them really comfortable and at around $500, they should be!

The Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman are classics. In a modern sort of way. I remember going to a friend's house when I was a kid and they had one. I thought it was the ugliest thing I had ever seen but I loved lounging in it. At, roughly, $4000.00 I will never have one of these unless I find one on a curb for free someplace. Highly doubtful!

I may need to settle for the Kartell Louis Ghost Chair. I can find one for about $400 and it would fit in well with my current style. Though I love these chairs mixed in with more modern home styles.

Then, of course, there is the womb chair and ottoman. I love it in orange. My modern life would be all white with orange pops of color. Orange is one of those colors I gravitate too. I don't want to wear it, but I wouldn't mind living with it. These run about $700 so there is a possibility that I could see one in my future. I have no idea where I would put it, but I would never get out of it once I found a place for it to live.

I will have to continue to live in a modern world in my dreams. My house was built in 1941 and I have tried to be loyal to keeping it's charm and character in place. Maybe our NEXT house will be modern. If there is a NEXT house...but for now I'm quite happy here.

Stacy

How does your garden grow?

Since Summer is now in full bloom, I thought I'd share some pictures of my flowers and yard. We have a bit of a project coming up in the backyard but I'll save that for later. For now, though, I'll show you what IS looking good, urban and charming. I will refrain from showing you the super shabby areas of our yard...because shabby in a yard does not equal charming!

I love how the front of the house looks when things are really lush in the summer. We'll soon be changing the shutters, awning, and a few other things. I'm hoping it will look even better when we get these things done.



My front pots are looking gorgeous this year! I love them. When we first moved in I had about 5 really good years of flowers and then I lost my touch. I think I just lost interest for a while. This year I decided to really concentrate on getting back to making up beautiful, lush plantings. I'm so happy they turned out good...it makes me happy!

This is the only pot of flowers that I bought already put together. Mostly because my local garden store was having a half off sale and I got it for $17! It is PACKED with stuff. See that little sticker to the left of the picture on my door? That's to let the firemen know how many animals they will need to rescue in case of a fire. Leave me to burn, but you better get my animals out safe!

My Coleus is loving the heat, rain, cold, heat, storms, rain, cold this year. I'm telling you...this summer is very odd in terms of weather. I am not complaining though. The yards are looking lush and I haven't had to use my air conditioning as much!

Here's some more Coleus. Do you notice that I tuck little surprises into all of my pots? I am a big fan of adding things that people don't expect. Roosters, gnomes, birds, and lots of other fun things. People always notice and take the idea for their pots too. I'm flattered! Tuck some fun things into your pots this summer and see if people notice!

Our Magnolia bush is growing like a weed this summer! I always look forward to Spring when the blooms come out because the smell is like heaven, but I think the leaves are beautiful too.

The wild rose bush has bloomed and when we walk out our side door all we smell is the wonderful, soft scent of roses. I have been known to sit on the side step on breezy days just to take in the smell.

You know those little roses that people bring you as a gift when they come to your house? The ones you get at the grocery store? My friend Elisabeth brought me these about 12 years ago and I planted them outside. I had no idea that they would work, but they did! They come back every single year without me doing a thing.

Here's one of the lavendar plants we've had for about 6 years. Some of them died over the winter because of all the cold and snow...I was really disappointed, but we went to the farmer's market and got more. Hopefully this winter won't be so harsh because we've always had great luck with our lavendar.

This is an area back by the garage that I'm really quite fond of. I wish my whole yard looked like this. It feels like an English garden. I cannot, however, have a ton of plants in the backyard. Why, you ask? We have a 53 pound black lab mix named Tinkerbell who is not so fairy like in the garden. She is part pitbull so we call her our PITBULL IN A CHINA SHOP. She's is the sweetest girl ever, but she doesn't have the same regard for my garden as I do.

I got this birdbath fountain for half off a couple of years ago and it's one of my favorite things in the garden. It is not running yet because we need to get electric wired into the outside of our garage. It will happen eventually....

Here are my Cosmos and a few Zinnias. I made the mistake of planting them too close together last year. They were still pretty, but I learned my lesson. They started wrapping around each other and were almost impossible to cut. I mostly use them to bring in and put in vases. I will take more pictures when they are in full bloom. Have you had cosmos before? If you haven't, try them. They do great in sunny spots and are so pretty and delicate...again, English garden looking.

I'm going to be honest and tell you all that I am not a huge fan of cheesy whirly-gigs. That's what I call these. My husband's parents made this for me so it is very dear to my heart. I have it up all summer and have learned to love it. It's a bright spot in my garden and I love the sound of it when it's windy out.

Here are a few more of my yard decorations. I get a new thing (or two) every summer that I love. I know I have more hiding in my garage and they will slowly be added to my yard too. I never want it to look junky so sometimes I vary what gets put out.

Last, but not least, is my outdoor cat. All of my real cats are indoor cats so I needed one for outside too. He sits at my front door and greets visitors. What? I sound like I'm losing it? Oh, my friends, I lost my mind a LONG time ago!

Hope you enjoyed the tour! Do tell...how does your garden grow this summer?

Happy weeding!

Stacy