Stacy's Remodeling Weblog

Our Cozy Home- Remodel Pictures

Stacy — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:07:11 +0000

I finally posted pictures of our house! Here is our downstairs bathroom and awesome kitchen. I especially love the refrigerator (it even has a screen saver for the computerized temperature settings!).

Downstairs bathroom with glass block and stone tile

New appliances, countertop, and refurnished floors

The 20 bottle wine rack

I’m hoping that we’ll be able to open the house for a house warming party soon! You can find more pictures of our home here: http://homesavvi.com/member/stacyc

I’ll be adding more pictures, when I have time to take/upload them.

Would you live in a (literally) tiny house?

Stacy — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:45:03 +0000

Did you know can buy an “entire” house for the price of a luxury car?

This had caught my eye while randomly surfing the web. This house is a mere 96 square feet, just enough for two people.

“This July, Jay Shafer will be taking his tiny house on the road as he travels along the West Coast from the Canadian Border down to the Mexican Border.”

And by coincidence, the “Tumbleweed Tiny House” tour is stopping in Seattle in July. How crazy is that?

Anyways, you can find more information here: http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/.

Here It Goes…

Stacy — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:39:29 +0000

So, the kitchen in my parent’s house will be finally remodeled in the summer. Somehow, the dishwasher broke and water leaked underneath the vinyl floors and the underlying wood. My mom has been wanting to remodel the kitchen for a while, and now seems to be the perfect time. She’s especially excited about replacing the appliances- two of the four stove burners aren’t working, and the oven has barely survived since the ’70s. We’re planning on hiring a contractor who has done work for co-worker, who might also be doing some work on my grandma’s house. It’ll definitely be an undertaking that’ll last for the entire summer. And the planning begins.

Meanwhile, I just moved into a recently remodeled house last weekend with three friends. The owner definitely took care in selecting materials, appliances, and flooring. The finished product looks amazing, and I’m officially in love with the house. Will be posting pictures on HomeSavvi.com soon.

“My Outdoor Space” Contest- Win $150 to Swansons Nursery or Molbaks

Stacy — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:01:40 +0000

New contest for any Seattle outdoor or garden enthusiast:

Tell us how you use your outdoor space and you could win a $150 gift certificate to your choice of Swansons Nursery or Molbaks, a one-year subscription to Better Homes and Gardens, and be published in HomeSavvi’s monthly e-newsletter “Get Savvi”.

Click here or go to http://homesavvi.com/corp/my-great-outdoors/?utm_source=StacyBlog&utm_medium=referringwebsite&utm_campaign=MyGreatOutdoors for details. Contest ends June 17, 2008.

The Joy of Window-Shopping

Stacy — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:09:45 +0000

I love outdoor window-shopping. There’s something about strolling down streets of boutiques, shops, and bakeries that makes life more vibrant. Even through today’s rapids of change, the area’s culture thrives in the raw form of the people and shops that have shaped the area to what it is now. Whether it be Fremont’s free-styled, artistic expression or Pike Place Market’s bustling and colorful displays, it’s amazing to walk around and take a simple glimpse of it all with window-shopping.

While walking down Ballard Ave NW and 20th Ave NW, I noticed three furniture shops whose window displays caught my eye: Greener Lifestyles , Skarbos , and Collective In Ballard. Greener Lifestyles provides comfortable sustainable furniture through organic and eco-friendly materials. Skarbos provides upscale contemporary furniture, while Collective In Ballard focuses on mid to high end vintage furniture which promotes sustainability and offers an alternative to buying new furniture.

Skarbos Contemporary Furniture

YES! Sunny Weather!

Stacy — Thu, 15 May 2008 23:22:21 +0000

Finally, we have some sun! After a week of complete cloudiness, Seattle has reached above 65 degree weather!

This calls for some serious celebration. I’m breaking out the lawn chairs, sunglasses, barbecue, and gardening gloves.

I recently walked to Restoration Hardware in U-Vil (University Village near UW) instantly noticed that blue is definitely the new color for RH’s summer outdoor furniture. Shades of baby and navy blue, and gray-blue accents. Seeing blue as the new summer outdoor living trend is a bit surprising, as blue was the “old black” and green is the “new black”. But I’m honestly loving RH’s new selections. Soothing and relaxing, like sipping a glass of lemonade. Perfect for the 90+ degree weather this Saturday!

Carmel Outdoor Collection

Carmel Chaise

P.S. Did you know Restoration Hardware has checker sets and badminton rackets? That’s awesome.

Wouldn’t it be loverly?

Stacy — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:13:50 +0000

Isn’t this a loverly room? There’s no other word to describe it. I can imagine this place as the room Eliza Doolittle dreamed of, in the beginning scenes of My Fair Lady.

All I want is a room somewhere

Far away from the cold night air

With one enormous chair

Oh, wouldn’t it be loverly

This room was the winning entry in Domino’s Decorating Contest.

Remodeling Parties Gone Wrong

Stacy — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:27:02 +0000

I’ve read an article about remodeling parties gone wrong. At these remodeling parties, the host invites friends for beer, wine, and to knock down walls of their home to make room for remodeling. These sessions have become increasingly popular, due to HGTV, DIY Network, and “Trading Spaces”/”Extreme Makeover”‘s way of making remodeling look like a party, and homeowners looking for cheaper ways to upgrade their homes. While there’s the obvious benefit of saving thousands of dollars, there’s the likely potential for something to go wrong.

For example, one guest at a remodeling party became a bit drunk and hung a drywall backwards. In another case, a host caught his brother-in-law in time before he was about to power saw a wall supporting the house. There’s also the possibility that someone could fall off a roof or hit themselves with a hammer.

Is the trade-off of saving thousands of dollars and safety/possible house damage worth it? Would you rather hire a contractor or have friends help do the work?

Read the article here: http://www.realestatejournal.com/buildimprove/20071001-saranow.html

Finding the Right Color- Online Paint Palette

Stacy — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:34:42 +0000

Sometimes, it’s hard to find the right color to paint a room. First, there’s the challenge of picking the perfect color that matches other rooms throughout the house. Then, having a color that will stay in style for the next five years (yes, chartreuse and rustic orange are definitely out). And last, and potentially the hardest, is choosing a color that’s attractive for a person’s particular taste and preference.

Some people are naturally talented with colors, having that special ability to see beyond the simple hues and tones to mix and match and fit their vision. I’m, unfortunately, not one of those people.

So it’s awesome that there are online resources to help the less “color-savvy”. I’ve read in The News Tribune this past weekend, that there’s a growing number of amateur and expert bloggers who offer paint color advice and thoughts, and even consulting services. Two bloggers, www.colorforyourhome.com and www.hueconsulting.blogspot.com, share their color-matching advice and paint-testing experience online.

I’m planning on moving into a house fairly soon, and would love to do a bit of paint work to the walls to make it feel more at home. Light cremes, whites, and a bit of yellow tone would be great.

If you’d like to read the article from The News Tribune, it can be found at http://www.thenewstribune.com/soundlife/home/story/345105.html.

Places for Inspiration

Stacy — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:37:54 +0000

I’d love to visit the Seattle Design Center. I hear from friends that it’s a breath-taking place (as it rightly should be, being a interior design center). Apparently there are two majestic banisters that lead that leads to the second floor and huge glass windows. A friend is getting married there in July, so I’m looking forward to seeing what all the rave is about.

Another place that I’d like to visit for inspiration is around Belltown (in Seattle, Washington). There are so many unique furniture, painting, and kitchen shops that exploring the area and taking in everything would take at least a day.