a big thank you...

to my top referrers!
(and, some of my personal favorite blogs as well!)

thank you for having design dump on your blogroll and featuring my projects!

emily a. clark

kirsten krason

laurie turk




joy kelley

jill hinson

mary ann pickett


if you haven't already been to these blogs, do your self a favor and check them out!

custom wallpaper at spoonflower

spoonflower just got a little bit more awesome...they have just introduced CUSTOM wallpaper!

(holli zollinger is always a favorite spoonflower artist of mine, and most of her gorgeous fabrics are now available in wallpaper--yay for us!)

take a look:

thank you spoonflower! 
(just in time for me to start dreaming about where i can use one of these beauties in my new house.)
*they are also offering custom wall decals.

survey results

thank you to everyone who took the time out to fill out my survey!

it was a tremendous help! a special thank you to all of you who commented on the post, to let me know some more details about your thoughts. i REALLY appreciated every single comment!

here are the results:

 **i was SO glad to see this! i thought for sure that people might get freaked out by not having double ovens. you see,  in order to get some more cabinet and counter space, i am opting to forgo double ovens. i would love to get a commercial style range with a nice large oven... after all of the comments, i am also considering getting a microwave/convection oven combo. (great idea! thanks!)

 **perfect. we are putting in both, but the tub is not going to be a swimming pool....just a nice, decent sized jet-less tub.

 **just wondering. i thought it might be a fun idea to sneak one in upstairs somewhere if we had the room. i think we would use it a few times a year, but it could be a fun use of an otherwise "dead" space.

 ** i agree. a must.

 **good choice! that is what we are leaning towards. brick in the south was SO much cheaper than stone, but out here, it is more! so, we are thinking of using stone. i have always loved stone houses.

 **ooo. almost a 3-way tie! i thought we were only going to have room for reach-ins, but after seeing some sketches form the architect, it looks like we might get separate closets! 

 **can i just say that i was MOST surprised by the answers to this question? i TOTALLY feel like home theaters are a little "over", but i thought i was the only one! it is SOOO great to see that others feel the same way i do!

 **well. i totally think that they are a waste of space. but apparently, a lot of you are much better at doing laundry than me! :)

 **yep. hardwood. you can't beat hardwood, in my opinion. i have had tile, stone, laminate and wood, and i have liked wood the best.

**i think we are going to opt for one! i know, i know....totally against the norm, but we have had double sinks in almost every house we have lived in, and we always use the same sink. i would rather have some more storage and only one sink to clean than to get two sinks just because i am "supposed" to.

thanks again for filling out the survey! i am probably going to be doing other post begging your opinions! i have SO many decisions to make in the next few months, and i can't wait to share them with you all.

? what about the results surprised you? anything? were your answers among the majority?

affordable find round up

a few more affordable goodies that i spotted recently:

if you are the only person in america who doesn't have a round mirror in their house, 
now just might be the time to get one!

this glass becca mirror is ridiculously cheap right now...i'm talking under $30 folks.


another great mirror---nearly 4' in diameter, and under $70. that's a lot of bang for your buck!


the jackson mirror is another bargain at just under $50.


anytime i find a good looking mercury glass lamp for under $100, i get excited. this one has such a great shape and is $69.


i'm kinda in love with the color and shape of this dijon ceramic lamp. aren't those little handles cute? only $70...


this grey nailhead x-bench looks WAY more expensive than it's $311 price tag. it is also available in blue and purple.


i thought this $85 golden rings table was whimsical. it would look great perched beside a tailored chair.


although i am not a huge fan of the wood stain on this $229 console, i think it would look a-mazing painted in a glossy white or a charcoal grey. the details are really great--especially the round detail around the ring pull hardware.

how cute is this little ottoman? it would look darling in a little girls room, paired with fuchsia or coral.

happy shopping friends!!

(house update: we are in the process of getting the permits secured, and finalizing plans and working on engineering, which is going to take anywhere from 8-14 days. after that, we will be able to break ground!)
if you haven't filled out my survey, click here! i will be posting results tomorrow.

opinions please!! i need you!

we are trying to decide on a few details in our new house, and i would love to get
YOUR opinions on things! (my husband and i have had some discussions on what
to include on the house, and what to omit...)

will you p-l-e-a-s-e, please  take a minute to fill it out?

click here.

thanks a ton!

house exterior: thinking about shed dormers

when we sent the preliminary floor plan layout to the architect at frank betz, the only direction
we gave him on the exterior was this image:

we really like the look of this house. it feels very classic and simple, and because of the shed dormer, you get that 2 story look, but save money because you don't have to buy siding/brick/stone for the facade of the house. we like the classic, new england vibe that shed dormers give a house. although i like and appreciate all GOOD forms of architecture, i am definitely drawn to classic exteriors. give me columns, painted brick and shakes over timber beams and turrets any day!

here are a few other beauties that feature shed dormers:

bhg

lda architects via houzz

houzz

toth construction

caldwell-cline architects

 pinterst-sorry, couldn't find original source.

postcard from paris home

land of cottage

 (taken by me in bend, oregon)

 (taken by me in bend, oregon)

do you have a favorite house here? i genuinely like them all, but i think my favorites were the one by tooth construction and the one from postcards from paris! of course, the ones in bend are pretty great too...