A Few Updates at the Dollhouse

Hello there!  I hope you're having a great summer so far, even though it seems to be passing by so quickly!

Today I wanted to share a few little updates we've managed to get done at over here at The Dollhouse.

Let's start big.  Unbeknownst to you my foyer has been nothing more than a plywood sub floor for some time now.

  I'm elated to report that over the weekend my hubby changed that situation for the better.

Yay!  And I think there's an opportunity for some sort of fun albeit small piece for the wall to the left, so I'll keep you posted when I find my love match. 

Also, if you follow me on Instagram, then you already know that I recently purchased this sketch from a local artist.

and I've incorporated it into this vignette in my family room.  It's getting increasingly hard to find places to put things at my house.  I have no book cases or  mantels and my rooms are narrow so I don't even have side tables in most cases.  It's a struggle for this collector, so I'm layering art where I can.

So what's next you ask?  I've got my sights set on the hall bath.  When we moved in we tore out the old linoleum flooring and the tub surround  and replaced all of that with new white tile. 

Nothing extravagant, but I wanted white tile to brighten up this dark space and make it feel cleaner.  I don't want to spill too many details about my plan for this lackluster space but I'm very excited about moving forward and I think it will be one of my very favorite makeovers at The Dollhouse.  

In the meantime, this 1970's wallpaper is being stripped 

and will be replaced with a Brunschwig & Fils kind of gorgeous.

and that's just the beginning.  Stay tuned, and if you'd like to stay updated with all things The Green Room Interiors, the best place to find me is on Instagram, so please follow along!

The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design Services in Chattanooga, TN.  If  you'd like to discover the joy of living in a well designed home, contact Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

ORC Week 5 - China Cabinet and Chairs Get Zhushed

Welcome to week # 5 of Linda's One Room Challenge Linking Event.  I'm making over the living room/dining room combination in my humble little abode known as Project Dollhouse.  If you'd like to see where it all began and get caught up on my progress up to this point, you can do that here.

Today I have a few makeovers to share with you.  As much as I'd like to get all new everything at my place, the cold hard truth is that just isn't in the budget.  So that means I'm working with a lot of the things I already have, and have had for decades.  One such thing is my corner china cabinet I've had since circa a long time ago.  Like one of the first pieces I bought as a young bride, when I thought it was cool to buy a dining room "set".

Here's the Where's Waldo version of my china cabinet, with my china cabinet playing the part of Waldo

Yes, there it is in the circular mirror in a dining room 3 houses and about 5 years ago. This the only picture I could find and once again, I failed to take a proper "before".

I decided to strip it of its dated arched glass top door leaving the top portion open and then painted the whole thing black.  I also wanted to do something unique with the interior and I found the perfect something in this TJ Maxx wrapping paper. So I Modge-Podged it to the inside of the china cabinet.  I don't have pics of that process because have you ever tried to photograph yourself whilst modge podge-ing paper to the inside of a cabinet?  It can't be done.

Did you know I love anything marbleized?

Brace yourselves: here come the grainy night time iphone pictures. I decided the simplicity of the white pieces inside would be a nice counterpoint to the marbleized paper, but I will probably play around with it some more.

Okay then!  Also underway is a fluff on a set of Chippendale chairs for my dining room table. I even have a proper "before".

They got the old white paint treatment and are currently getting some super groovy fabric thanks to my girl Kimber who can hook you up with the most amazing assortment of swoony fabrics and wallpapers under the sun!

One almost down and 3 to go. 

Hope everyone else if faring well, and I hope to see you back here next Thursday for the reveal of my living room and dining room makeovers!

I plan to post updates each day this week on my Instagram feed.  Follow me!

The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design Services in Chattanooga, TN.  If you'd like to discover the joy of living in a well designed home, contact Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com 

One Room Challenge Week 4 - Brass & Glass Pagoda Chandelier Makeover

Okay so I missed posting my progress last week.  Rest assured that even though I didn't get a chance to post everything that went down over here, I have been making sweet progress in my living room/dining room makeovers. That DOES NOT mean that I still don't have major concerns about getting the room to full completion on time.  I'm at the mercy of my upholsterer for a few things and he's pretty covered up right now.

In any case I'm going to put my worries aside and share a little progress I've made in the dining room.  And there's a DIY involved that meets two major requirements.  It's quick and easy.

So I have your attention now?  Meet my circa 1970 something brass and glass chandelier that was practically free at my Habitat for Humanity store.

I'm sure it's no secret why I was drawn to this fixture. (Hint: It starts with a "p" and rhymes with "lagoda.")  Of course I love that! But what I wasn't crazy about was the highly lacquered brass finish. I wanted something warmer and softer, but still gold.

I'm sure you already know where we're going with this.

After removing the glass I quickly and not so carefully applied rub n buff to all brass parts that I could see well enough without my reading glasses on.

I'll give you that the change at this point is subtle.  But we're not done yet. I thought it might be fun to update the glass by doing an antique mirror finish on the glass panels.  I've seen a number of tutorials on Pinterest and then again on Little Green Notebook.  

So I laid the glass panels face side down on a tarp and sprinkled them with a mixture of water and vinegar.  I didn't measure how much of each.

Then I sprayed them with this stuff (found on the shelves of my local Wal-Mart)

See how the vinegar/water solution lays on top of the glass?  Just grab a paper towel and blot/lightly wipe it off. 

As a final step I  sprayed on a coat of black to "age" those bare spots.

And then it was just a matter of reassembling the chandelier.

And all put back together and lit up.

Told you it was quick and easy!!

Thanks for checking in on my progress! 

And 2 weeks to go!! Yikes! (x 2)

The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design Services in Chattanooga, TN.  If you'd like to discover the joy of living in a well designed home, contact Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

One Room Challenge - The Current State of Things and the Direction

Welcome to this week's drama installment of The One Room Challenge.  If you're new to this thing called the Internet then here's the story.  Linda came up with the idea to have a group of bloggers participate in an online room makeover one week at a time for 6 consecutive Wednesdays and Thursdays sharing our progress (or lack thereof) each week and culminating in a big reveal on the last installment.  I'm tired just thinking about it.

My chosen room is my living room/dining room combo at my own little abode known as Project Dollhouse.  I'm happy to report that some progress has been made on some major design elements. Like the floor. We have one now.

And paint on the walls.  Want to know what color it is?  If only I knew.  I originally painted it Benjamin Moore's Symphony Blue (after I painted 1 coat of Farrow & Ball's Brinjal) and it was a little too intense.  Like being trapped in an oil painting.  So I added a little of this and a little of that of the leftover paint I had and this is what I got. I would describe it as navy teal, or marine blue.  It's darker than it appears in these images, as is the floor.

I also pulled the Craigslist green velvet sofa out of storage so here's a gander at that.

Classic tuxedo with brass nailheads.  The craigslist gods were smiling on me that day.  My iphone photos do not accurately capture the brilliance that is this sofa.

So, where am I going from here?  In the end I'd like to have a space that feels collected, colorful, layered, and mostly classic with a sense of age - but still feels like right now.

Some rooms that are inspiring me:

Are you still with me?  

The obligatory mood boards:

I created these mood boards months ago so naturally a few things have changed. Or more than a few things.  But I think overall it will have the same feel and color palette.

Makeovers start next week - sneak peeks on my Instagram.  Follow me!

The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design Services to happy homeowners in Chattanooga, TN.  If you'd like to discover the joy of living in a well designed home, contact Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

One Room Challenge Link-up: Project Dollhouse Living Room/Dining Room

Goodness that's a long name for a post title!    As you have surely gathered, I'm going to attempt to do my long neglected living room and dining room here at Project Dollhouse.  And you would think with all of the great ideas I got from my people during the Pimp My Dollhouse series that I would have a clear plan at this point. Almost.  The truth is there were so many great renditions of these rooms that I've decided to take my favorite ideas from each plan, run them through the design blender, and create my own little concoction.

Anyway, here is what these rooms looked like waaaaaay back when we bought the house.  We won't say how long ago that was.

And, just like in the Pimp My Dollhouse Series, I will be incorporating some things I already have

What you can you expect over the next 6 weeks? There will be furniture makeovers, a lighting diy, and big ole' serving of indecisiveness/self doubt. The usual!

Hope you will follow along for the next 6 Thursdays! And if you just can't wait until next week for an update, the best place to find me is Instagram, so follow along!

Thinking Ahead for The One Room Challenge

Are you planning to link up to Linda's next One Room Challenge event?  It kicks off on April 3, and for 6 consecutive Thursdays the blogosphere with be up to its elbows in progress reports and DIY victories.  If you didn't get a chance to participate in the last ORC Link party, I highly recommend it.  Participating in The One Room Challenge is truly the most exhilarating, stressful, and exciting things I've done since I started blogging.

If you check in on my blog from time to time then you already know that my house (aka Project Dollhouse) is a work in progress.  We're doing mostly cosmetic changes, but even these types of projects can be costly and time consuming.   I have to admit that the One Room Challenge has been instrumental in bringing a few of my rooms to completion.

In the first ORC I made over my family room.

And in the second One Room Challenge I made over my sweet little kitchen:

So what do I have my sights set on for this round of the ORC?  My living room and dining room. They're open to each other and so this ORC will be a 2-fer.

This shot was taken before we even moved in.  We are still enjoying those plywood sub floors only now this space is cluttered with moving boxes filled with all the stuff that goes into these rooms once they get done. It's the perfect candidate for an ORC intervention.

And here's a teeny tiny sneak peak. There will be blue walls.  Don't hate because I painted.  Look at the plywood sub floors.  There is plenty left to do to bring this project to completion.

So who's with me?  Will you be linking up for the next One Room Challenge?  It will be upon us sooner than you think!!

The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design Services to happy homeowners in Chattanooga, TN.  If you'd like to discover the joy of living in a well designed home, contact Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

Top 5 Items for Styling (that you already have)

And so yet another week of way way way below normal temps are expected around here for the majority of this week.  And that means lots of time spent indoors. And that means lots of opportunity to really study your decor and maybe start to think you want to change things up a bit.  This happens to you, I'm sure!  And maybe you don't want to go out and buy a bunch of new stuff to get a new look at home.  Not to worry!  Here are my top 5 items that you already own that you can use to freshen up your place.

1. Bottles.  I love to decorate with bottles.  See photo of my kitchen below.

Would you believe there are 4 bottles in just this photo?  Limoncello bottle on bottom shelf, small blue bottle on middle shelf, blue wine bottle on windowsill, and wine bottle behind fruit on countertop. More bottles have been added since this photo too.

Wine bottles also make good vases

and candleholders

2.  Books.  We all have them.  They're great for adding texture and for propping things upon.

In my kitchen I used a small collection of cookbooks to style my kitchen counter (and more bottles if you look to the far left in this photo).

In the photo above, I used books to add some height and texture to my bust planter.

And I used a collection of books to style my skirted table.

3.  Candlesticks.  I like a mismatched set placed in front of a mirror for maximum impact.

Image above from Pinterest

4.  Bowls.  Of something.  It helps if its a cute bowl and you put something cool in it.

Image from Pinterest

Like a bowl of photographs or a big bowl of sea shells.

5.  Mirrors.  I love them and I'm always looking for ways to work in another mirror.  Layering is the answer.  Behold.

3 images above found on Pinterest

And there you have it!  What's your go-to styling item that you like to use?

The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design Services to happy homeowners in Chattanooga, TN.  If you'd like to experience the joy of living in a well designed home, contact Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

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