home exterior: October 2010

Happy haunting!

'Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world.
~William Shakespeare

'Tis is the night..

Happy haunting and gathering....

Victoria

Pictures by V. Zlotkowski

Happy Halloween!

From our ghostly home to yours!

A happy Halloween weekend to you all!
xx
Victoria

All pictures and decorations by V.Zlotkowski

Artful inspiration

I just found this painting by August Macke so inspiring ...

That I recreated it at home in a corner of my dining room...

Artwork by August Macke via google image, photography by V.Zlotkowski.

It's Show and Tell Friday again! Thanks to all of you for joining in and also thanks to all of you that just come to visit all the wonderful blogs each week! This week I'm sharing this adorable stacking teapot/teacup that was a gift awhile ago from one of my blog readers! I keep it sitting out on my end table in my living room so I can enjoy it! If you are joining in on Show and Tell Friday,

Get Wamrth and Beauty Living Room Designs with Hardwood Floors

I love a simple and natural living room designs, designing a simple house can be start from choosing the materials of the floors, one of the best choice on floor plan is the hardwood floor. Hardwood floors are popular and it is easy care and cleaning, great style coupled with durability and as always, they’re natural and safe for the environment. They are extremely good and have some great benefits as well as being impressive to look at as well. Hardwood can also improve the warmth and the beauty of the living room. If you take proper care of your hardwood floors, they will last for years and years. A lot of homeowners make the choice of using hardwood floors in their home compared to using traditional carpets or other material’s flooring.

In order to get a natural but modern look of the hardwood floor, you can choose a hardwood with tile style, a hardwood that designed in a special style so the hardwood looks like a tile. Its can reflects the traditionally warm aesthetics and high-performance, making them the favorite choice of homeowners, its also can

enabling a unique antique look once the floor is installed.

Now we need to know about the various hardwood floorings available in the market.

The original form of hardwood flooring is the solid wood where strips, parquets and planks of solid wood are available. But laying them is a tough job and there is no chance that you can do it yourself. It is very hardy and if maintained with just a little bit of care, it can last generations.

But people avoid original hardwood flooring because of its cost and difficulty in laying. So they go for engineered wood. Engineered wood is wood and not wood at the same time. It is layers of wood veneer fused together. Good quality wood and bad quality wood are used in manufacture of this material and hence the lower cost. Other advantages are that you can get many designs and textures and these floorings are especially engineered to withstand different weather conditions, chemicals, temperatures and humidity.

Among the toughest of the engineered hardwood floors are the ones where planks of hardwood are given an acrylic coating. This coating makes them resistance to scratches. So the surface stays intact for a long time. So this flooring is very useful for areas with high footfall. Hardwood flooring is also available in two types – the pre-finished and unfinished types. The pre-finished type of hardwood flooring is easy to lay and you can even do it yourself with proper tools.

A treat for you...

Over on my product review page you can meet one of my newest sponsors and see some of her beautiful items! She is also hosting a giveaway and offering discounted shipping! Click here to see!

Dining chairs - before and after

After a few hours of work on my dining chairs they have a fresh face....It took the better part of the day to cut fabric and to staple it on to the frames. I used some batting to give a bit more support to the seat and now they are done! Strict orders have been given to mind the 'new' chairs, since they will be used at every meal...

And the bench had been done yesterday by me, trying out my skills and being quite happy with the results...

Now all I need is a manicure...
PS: And just click at House and Living above to see my recent acquisitions on Etsy and Ebay.

All handiwork and pictures by V.Zlotkowski.

A bench makeover

Beginning with the bench belonging to our dining chair set I worked Sunday afternoon to re-upholster the old and ripped fabric.
I replaced it with a wonderful fabric I found at my local fabric store. Having only to spend the money for 3/4 of a yard, the project cost me $35.00. Not counting the staples... And it took about 1 hour from start to finish.
The bench looked before pretty much like the chair and has been waiting for the right moment in the attic to be brought back to life.

All I needed was a staple gun with 3/4'' staples, scissors and a hammer to reinforce the staples a bit.

Notice the apple pie which my husband served to sustain me...

The green fabric hanging over the back of the bench will be used tomorrow to re-upholster all six dining chairs. Now I have confidence enough that it will work out, the bench was tricky, the fabric rather thick and not easy to stretch over the bench. My daughter was a great help.

I am really happy with the results...looking good with wallpaper and the curtains.

The chairs will hopefully be done by tomorrow.....

PS: And just click at House and Living above to see my recent acquisitions on Etsy and Ebay.

All pictures taken be V.Zlotkowski

Green Bedroom Decor for Small Bedroom Designs

Green is a fresh color that can be applied in any interior painting, make the interior looks gorgeous and cozy decorating ideas. A green color on bedroom designs can be well combined with white and natural wicker. Its a dreamy bedroom design.

NH Lakefront Cottage Renovation

One of our recently completed projects is the renovation of a lakefront cottage on Pleasant Lake, New London, New Hampshire.

The property was subdivided and had originally had two cabins on it. A cabin on “The Point” was torn down to open up the lake view from the other cottage. Some of its materials were salvaged for use in the main cottage renovation.

The new cottage serves as a three-season entertainment area for family and friends with lakeside access and wonderful seasonal views.

Master Planning of the lot for a future primary residence was also completed, accounting for CSPA lot coverage, setbacks and storm water management.

Photos by Great Island Photography, LLC

Adore on Friday

The new Australian online magazine 'Adore' is a great addition to the online magazine family. Fresh and easy designs, many fabulous low budget solutions. Absolutely adorable!

Have a great weekend everybody! And do not forget to check out my latest home project found at House and Living! Just click above!

Victoria

Show and Tell Friday!

Welcome to Show and Tell Friday! Thank you to all of you that join in every week!
Today I'm sharing my little garden birdbath that I've had for a very long time! I'v moved this thing to 3 different homes! It's has a crack which I tried to repair and didn't but I still love it! I have a plan to do a china mosaic in the bowl but it's been years that I've had that on my list and it's still not

Today I love

Light filled rooms. As the days get shorter and the sun doesn't shine these long summer hours anymore I appreciate light filled rooms even more.
I have been exploring artist spaces, these ones fit right in.
In Toronto a painter accustomed to crashing in his studio created an airy artistic haven with both working and living quarters for a more balanced and polished picture. Kent Monkman's
industrial style work and living space connects all the dots.

Modern living room in the Infiniski Manifesto House, Curacavi, Chile. James & Mau Architectura

This last image is a home in California. Build originally by the late architect David Boone for himself, it is now the private residence and work space for Primo Orpilla and Verda Alexander of Studio O & A.

Pictures from dwell magazine