The Modern Cottage

2012-02-24T15:18:00.003-08:00

n e w i n t h e s h o p

I know I normally do Favorite House Fridays on Friday but I think I need to change it to Wednesdays, any ideas of a title if I switch it to Wednesdays?

My plan is to do a post every Friday of what is new in the shop. It is fun to show you what I worked on during the week and local clients can see what will be in the store Saturday.

I painted this fun desk and chair set. I LOVE this set and I am having a hard time parting with it.

It is seriously one of my favorite pieces.

Here is the side table I brought in from my house, now for sale!

I added a sweet grey chair with chevron fabric.

Find the fabric for sale here.

Erin from Clementine and Olive brought in some chairs and artwork now for sale.

Fun chevron pillow on Victorian bench.

Peacock side table.

Sweet grey side table.

I added paper scallops to the windows, just for a touch whimsy.

New sign on the door!

Come and see me, Saturday 12-4pm 311 S 7th Tacoma, WA 98402.

If I have time while I am at the store tomorrow I will update Shop Modern Cottage with prices and dimensions. Feel free to email me about specific pieces for sale themoderncottage@yahoo.com

2012-02-24T07:39:00.001-08:00

c w p o s t

Hello and happy Friday. Want to see a dresser makeover? I am delighted to be a new contributing writer for Perfectly Imperfect. Shaunna's blog is probably my favorite daily read, so it is fun to be a part of it!

Hop over to her blog and see how I painted this beauty.

Also, this is in the shop. Come and check it out!

2012-02-20T19:56:00.005-08:00

2 5 r a n d o m t h i n g s

Shaunna from Perfectly Imperfect did a 25 things linky party and I missed it, darn, I was just too busy. But tonight I just got out of the bath and I am snuggled up in bed with the laptop so I thought I would do my own list, even if it is not to link up.

Ok so here we go.

1. I never thought I would own a store, it wasn't a dream of mine, it just happened and it is exciting.

2. I would rather have five really great friends than twenty acquaintance-like friends

3.Over the last few years I have learned to appreciate my true friends

4. I miss my high school and college friends I don't see anymore

5. I have a college degree and I still can't spell and I have terrible grammar :)

6. I sort of don't care either

7. I don't like being the center of attention and I hate having my picture taken

8.I have never been on a diet. I don't have the will power

9.I love running {I better not stop running or I might have to go on a diet}

10.I never lost the last 5-8 pounds after having my last baby-who is almost 7 {maybe I should go on a diet}

11.My real hair color is brown but I have been dying it blond for the last 13 years.

11.I found my first grey hair this year {I found it in my brown roots-must keep up on my hair appointments}

12.When I was 8 years old I wanted to dress like Miss Piggy. I thought she was so glamorous

13.My favorite outfit as a 36 year old is cute jeans, black sweater, cheeta flats

14.I am usually dressed in a sweatshirt and yoga pants, both with paint stains on them-or something comfy

{my usual outfit}

15. As soon as I walk in the door of my house I put on comfy clothes

16.My husband and I have the same birthday

17.My kids think that everyone's parents have the same birthday.

18.I feel so lucky to have a great husband and fantastic kids

19.We have never had a professional family portrait. Here is our family picture taken with an iphone

20.I went to college hoping to get a degree in Interior Design but the drafting class I took freaked me out so I changed to Business Administration

21.I wish I would have gotten that design degree instead

22.I watch baking shows with my daughter. Our favorite is Cupcake Wars

23.I don't cook or bake. Not my thing

24.I don't live near my sister or parents and that stinks

25.I redecorate something in my home at least once a week

{I will show you this week what I redecorated today}

I had another great day at the store Saturday. Yesterday I spent the entire day cleaning my house. Today I spent the day with my kids. Tomorrow I will be back at the shop painting!

2012-02-17T16:11:00.000-08:00

s p o t t h e n e w s t u f f i n t h e s t o r e

I spent most of my day today down at the store. I brought new stuff in and needed to rearrange. Honestly I think my favorite thing about having a store is rearranging things every week after I sell big pieces.

I painted an aqua end table and small bistro pedestal table {with the cutes yellow and grey bird fabric-topped off with glass}.

Sweet little green chair.

More large canvas chalkboards.

Canvas art in now in the shop from Place Creative, you will love these, so darling.

The sweetest green end table. Please someone come buy this so I don't take it home and keep it.

A grey cain back arm chair. It would be a great side chair or even at a desk. Or, what about the head of your dining table?

Awesome Victorian bentwood bench in grey and white damask material.

Tomorrow Kennesha from http://restorationhouseinteriors.blogspot.com/ and Devon from http://brideonabike.blogspot.com/ are coming into the shop, I am hoping they will be moving some fun furniture in soon. We need to fill this space up!

2012-02-14T22:33:00.000-08:00

i t h a s b e e n a w h i l e

The last few months have been a busy blur. I have been busy with the holidays, vacation,

then getting the store ready for me to move into and then getting settled in to the store. I realized tonight, as I typed a blog post draft of a guest post I am doing, that I haven't shared a before and after in a while on this blog. I miss it and I promise to be better about sharing them with you from now on.

I bought this dresser for the shop and I had it in the back studio waiting for me to work on it when a couple came in looking for a changing table. I had just sold my only wide dresser the day before but I thought I would show them what I had in my studio waiting for a makeover. Thank goodness they could see past the rough state that it was in before I got started.

They chose the blue-grey for this dresser from one I had in the shop {see below-and I sold it last weekend}. I originally found this color when using it as a spray paint for some smaller projects {lamps, frames, ect.}. I had the hardware store match the color for me in a latex satin so I could have a whole gallon in the studio for mulitple projects.

{Winter Grey, Rustoleum source}

{the dresser with the tulips on it is the same color as the dresser I am making over}

I guess I should stop here and talk about my opinion on spray paint. This is sort of a taboo topic for furniture painters. We are not supposed to use spray paint, but I do-sometimes. Honestly for small projects {like chairs, lamps, frames} it doesn't always make sense to buy an expensive gallon or even a quart of paint and if you find a spray paint color you like I say go for it. So, I use it rarely, but I do use it. It is smelly {so I wear a mask} and leaves dust everywhere {so I have drop cloths down}. I also feel that if you use a spray paint on furniture it is a good idea to seal it just like you would a latex paint. I like to use a wipe on poly in satin or gloss depending on the project. So there is my take on spray paint, use it on furniture but don't tell anybody- kidding.

Ok back to my makeover. I didn't prime the piece. I used a deglosser with a rag, sanded the rough edges and painted on thee coats of paint {sanding between coats with a fine grit paper}. I finished it with a wipe on poly and put the original knobs back on.

Oh, shoot I forgot to mention about how I dealt with the peeling veneer situation. I took a hot iron and placed it on the drawer front, heated up the veener and then used a paint scrapper to pull up all of the peeling veneer.This took hours and I got a blister but in the end the dresser fronts were veneer free and ready for paint.

I still have a half a gallon of this paint so I am sure that you will be seeing this color on a few more of my makeovers soon.

I thought I should mention as I am typing this I am sitting in bed with Cooper. Hmm... he might be a sleep now so I can probably sneek out of his room. We are on day two of operation Get Cooper Back To Sleeping In His Own Bed. He has been falling alseep in bed with me and Saint while we watch tv at night but this wasn't working out for any of us. So he is now back in his own bed but I have to lay down with him for 20 minutes until he falls asleep, oh well.

Hmm..what else is going on....

I haven't been eating well or exersising. I either get so busy during the day I don't eat or I grab something not healthy for me. My skin looks terrible and I feel out of shape and bloated {TMI?}. So the last two days I fit in 45 minutes of running, got myself some teethwhitening strips at the store, and I am trying to wear something other than yoga pants {and all of my yoga pants have paint stains} for the rest of the week. Basically I needed to give myself a style intervention, I am working on it. While I am at it I probably should get my roots done soon.

Maybe I should do a before and after for the blog on my style intervention, that might just keep me motivated. What do you think?

I am linking up! It has been a while...miss those linky parties.
http://missmustardseed.com/2012/02/furniture-feature-friday-favorites-a-link-party-6/

http://primitiveandproper.blogspot.com/

2012-02-09T16:25:00.000-08:00

t h e f a m i l y r o o m

I have had numerous emails in the past few weeks from people asking questions about my family room.

This room is absolutely my favorite room in my house, and the most redecorated. As a family, we spend 90% of our time in this room.

Recently I swapped out the leather couches with my white slip-covered couches that were in the living room. What I really wanted was to get rid of the leather couches and get a white slip-covered sectional. But my husband vetoed that and well, he never gives me an opinion on the decorating for our home, so we are keeping the leather couches.

The big reason for the couch swap was comfort. The leather couches are just not comfortable and this is our tv room. The kids were always fighting to sit in the one white chair. Now I have to say I am pretty sure that I will have to wash the covers more often now that they are in this room but I am fine with that.

I added a bench to the art table.

This bench can be pulled out to sit on or use as a side table when you are sitting on the couch.

Camden made a family portrait of us. She made my hair orange with a weird bun-like thing coming off the side. I am not sure where she came up with that because my hair is blond {umm fake blond} and I don't usually have a bun on the side of my head :)

I love the picture anyway.

One more thing, the door is nailed shut. You can't open it, so I went ahead and decorated the door.

{of course I did!}

I sort of want to paint the black shelf white, but shoot, I don't really have the time.

Cooper got a half a shelf to display is Legos. I will give him as many shelves as he wants as he completes more of his creations.

I am also hoping to paint two additional globes with chalkboard paint, one of these days.

I had this green desk in my studio for months. I had planned on selling it at the store but the drawers swelled up from the moisture in the studio and now you can't open them. It makes a cute art table though! A little wax and sanding and the drawers should open fine, but now I sort of want to keep the cutie!

I know I redecorate my home all of the time, it is my hobby and what I love to do. Truly, I am happy with the way I have it now {aside from a wish list of expensive items that I don't think we will be buying} and I don't have much time these days to redecorate while having my store.

I will still continue to show you fun projects around my home as I complete them.

A couple other things about this room.

*The wall color is Willows Gold from Dutch Boy {I love this yellow-gold}

*I make most of my pillows, with the exception of the blue striped, those are from TJ Max

*Couches are from Ikea, they are Ektorp and we have had them for 8 years. I replace the covers once a year.

That is all I can think of about this room, my favorite room.

2012-02-08T14:22:00.000-08:00

q u i c k h e l l o

Hi friends. I wanted to say a quick hello and let you all know what I have been up to this week.

Monday my kids had a day off of school so we spent the day going from park to park and enjoying the sunshine. I reluctantly took a break from working. I had so much to do but I really needed a day off.

Yesterday I got back in the studio painting and I did some buying for the shop.

Today was a day of painting, painting, sanding, and a lot of moving furniture around from my car to the studio.

{what I am working on right now, crazy!}

Oh, I forgot to tell you how the opening went last Saturday! I sold a couple big pieces, a ton of small tables/chairs, and all of my chalkboards. I was so happy to see all of you blog friends that came down to see me.

Thank you all for your continued support. I am getting the hang of this shopgirl thing!

2012-02-03T16:14:00.000-08:00

a c o u p l e n e w t h i n g s i n t h e s h o p

Today I had a productive day, thank goodness. Plus it is amazingly beautiful outside, the sun is shining and it feels like spring. One downer though, I got paint on my favorite pair of jeans. I am usually so good about not dripping on myself. Any tricks to getting paint out? I always joke with my friend Molly that I need to get a big doctors coat to have in the studio so I can still wear cute clothes but cover them with my "furniture doctors coat". This might be weird, maybe this is only funny to me.

Anyway, back to the store.

I sold a dresser today but I also added in a new one. The color is a very light grey almost white. It is the same color that I am doing a couple custom pieces on this week. I will need to get back to you with the exact color {I can't remember} but it is a Martha Stewart paint. I still need to wax it, but it should be ready to go tomorrow.

At one point today I had five people in my shop today. A client and my shop neighbor and her friends and it felt really cramped, so I opened up the shop a bit and made it bigger. Now there is more room to mingle.

I will be at the shop early tomorrow doing last minute touchups and tagging more inventory.

And if you come visit me tomorrow {and I hope you do!} be kind, I am winging this shop girl thing!

2012-02-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

i ' m s o p r o u d o f y o u m o m

I have had some setbacks this week. First Cooper was sick, then Camden sprained her wrist after school yesterday. Last night I took her to emergency care to see the doctor and get an x-ray. We thought she was fine to go to school, so this morning I sent her on her way. But by 10am she was in pain, so I picked her up from the nurses office.

Now I need to be honest. My first instinct was, shoot {or maybe even a bad word :)}- I am opening a store this weekend all by myself, I needed this week to work nonstop and so far every day this week something has come up to take me away from my work. And to be honest, I had a bit of a panic attack. Don't worry, I am fine now and in good spirits. A good talk with my mom and a glass of wine helped.

But what really helped were the words of my nine year old daughter.

I took her down to the store today to grab some of my supplies. I have nothing at home in my studio, everything is now at the store.

We spent a few minutes there and she said to me, " Mom, I am so proud of you. I mean it, really proud of you. This store is beautiful and you did it on your own."

Seriously, my nine year old said this! This taught me a lesson. I am doing this for her {and my son} so I can be home with them if there is an emergency and I don't have to worry about having a boss- I am my boss. So what if I don't get everything done before this weekend!

My daughter is proud of me and that is super cool.

But I ended up getting a few things done today. I made some pillows and painted this sweet rocker.

{bad lighting, photo taken at night}

I love life lessons and all.... but I am hoping everyone is healthy tomorrow so I can get some work done!

2012-02-01T14:05:00.000-08:00

m o r e s h o p p i c t u r e s

This week I think I should call the shop a boutique rather than a shop. When I think of boutique I think small, intimate, lovely. This is what I am trying to create {out of a very very industrial space-pretty tall order}. The other vendors aren't moving in for a while so instead of feeling overwhelmed to fill an entire store by myself, I took the wall of doors in a lot and made the store smaller for now. It can be expanded as I grow.

I am learning so much about being a business/shop owner right now and it can be a bit overwhelming. I had a couple sleepless nights last week and my husband told me I was acting very stressed last Saturday so he took the kids for the afternoon so I could get some stuff done. I know that this is my job, and job's aren't always easy, but I want to manage my stress and enjoy this process. So Monday morning I came into the shop with the idea of making it smaller and more manageable for myself, it isn't going to be perfect {even though I want it to be}. After all, everything is made by me in the store and I am doing this during school hours, so there is only so much I can accomplish in that time period.

So here is what the shop {boutique} looks like today. I still have a few pieces in the back that I am working on that might be done for the opening.

My son Cooper was home sick today so I took him with me to the shop and he played Lego's for two hours while I worked. I guess two hours of work is better than nothing!

The name on the door is going to be changed this week {Barefoot Collective is the previous tenant}. I was planning on putting white curtains in the windows but I couldn't hang them right {from the street it looked like I was trying to hang sheets in my window, it just looked off} so I decided to take them home and use them in my family room.

I still have to put up a sign in one window. So far this week I moved more into my shop, did my taxes {ugh!}, made pillows for the shop, made wreaths, prepped and painted more furniture, bought more furniture, and I am working on two custom pieces in the studio.

Oh, and the address of the new shop is 311 S 7th Street Tacoma, WA. I will be open from 1-5pm this Saturday so come see me!

I hoped to get inventory posted on Shop Modern Cottage by tomorrow night, but having Cooper home today has thrown my schedule off. If you see something specific in these photos you are interested in, email me and I can give you a price and dimensions tomorrow.

2012-01-28T07:40:00.000-08:00

f a v o r i t e h o u s e f r i d ay

It has been a while since I did a fhf.

I wouldn't say that this style is exactly what I love, but I think they blended the modern with vintage well.

Cool coffee table.

I am not sure about the color tone of these cabinets with the red and blue, it seems off to me, like they don't belong together. I would have either gone really light or really dark on the cabinets to balance it out. Maybe just a different counter then the cabinets would work better, there is just too much going on.

Great floor in the bathroom. But look, there is a light out. Whoops!

What do you think this desk is made out of? Is it wrapped in leather? I can't tell.

I am envious of this closet, my closet is in our upstairs hallway. It is small and terribly lit.

Pretty color on the wall, I love how the blue tone balances out all the brown {you know how I have a fear of "too much brown"}.

I have to say my favorite rooms in this house are the bathrooms.

2012-01-25T14:00:00.000-08:00

i t ' s s t a r t i n g t o l o o k l i k e a s h o p

I made a cute wreath while at the shop today, now I need to make about 5 more of these guys.

{everything you see is for sale, except the rugs, green desk, and white chair}

I left the shop early this afternoon. After taking three loads of furniture from my studio to the shop, unloading them, arranging them, and putting a coat paint on a few pieces in the back room, I needed a break. So I am going to do a quick post for you, go for a run, hit the grocery store and then pick up the kids.

{I still need to add about 4 more layers of paint on my desk, but since it is not for sale, it isn't my priority right now}

I didn't make the curtains for the shop yesterday. My good friend {and neighbor} Kathy brought over a bottle of wine and it was more fun to chat with her than sew the curtains, maybe I will make them tonight.

2012-01-24T16:10:00.000-08:00

t h i n g s a r e c o m i n g a l o n g n i c e l y

Day two of moving into the shop and I didn't get as much done as I did yesterday. I had some errands to run mid-day so I didn't spend that much time there.

I am sort of wondering why I didn't rent a truck and move everything at once, oh well. It is kind of fun moving a few things in, rearranging and then going back home to the studio and loading the car back up.

And I feel kind of proud of myself doing it all on my own.

I am only about 1/4 of the way moved in with finished pieces, and I have at least 6-8 unfinished pieces that I will move in to the storage area.

The green table and white chair are not for sale, they are the only things pictured not for sale. The table will be my desk for custom consultations and I plan on doing most of my work in the shop, even these blog posts. Also, the green table isn't staying green. This is my first coat of paint on it, I am doing a layered paint treatment and then distressing it.

Inventory and prices will be posted mid-week next week {I keep getting emails about this :)} and I know I haven't updated Shop Modern Cottage in a while, I will also update this next week. Right now I am 100% focused on moving in and getting settled. Next week I have custom work and my taxes are due {probably should get on this before next week, not the fun stuff}.

Friday I am painting the wall of doors all white, included the hinges. It looks kind of messy right now.

{random group of chairs I have no where to put them but in a corner}

Tonight I am going to sew the white curtains for the shop and maybe make a pillow or two.

Do you like my daily shop updates? It will be kind of fun to see the transformation of the parking garage into the shop.

2012-01-23T16:56:00.000-08:00

* b e f o r e * s h o p p i c t u r e s

{really really ugly before photos}

The snow has melted and it is a gorgeous sunny day today. I finally got into the shop yesterday and started moving some stuff in. I am moving a little bit at a time because you will see I have a LOT of work a head of me to make this space cozy and cute.

Right now it is like a "before" photo from one of my furniture makeovers.

This is what it looked like when I started this morning.

Basically it looks like a parking garage.

I only need about 500 square feet so I needed to get creative on sectioning off the space. I am doing a combination of drop cloth curtains and doors hinged together to create a smaller space.

I climbed the scaffolding and nailed up the curtains. I am glad this part is done because I hate heights.

I couldn't get to sleep last night {stayed awake until 2am} because I knew I had to climb the scaffolding today and finish hanging the curtains, but it had to be done.

Here is another before shot before I finished hanging the curtains, they continue all the way to the back of the store now.

Another before shot. This is the back of the store that will be our furniture storage area and my painting studio. I will be able to work on at least ten pieces at the same time!

{no clients will see this ugly area}

I finished hanging drop cloth curtains today to section off the store. I talked to the tenant upstairs and she said the space was just under 3000 square feet, crazy!

I bought ten primed doors at Habitat Restore today to hinge together for the front of the store so you won't see my studio or storage space.

Behind the hinged doors will be my new studio space and storage. It is so exciting to have a big space to spread out and paint.

My desk will be here. I am working on that project tomorrow, as well as, finishing hinging all of the doors together.

{ A view of the front door. I have paint everything white and hang white curtains in the door and along the sides of the windows}

I also built a platform today so I can have furniture displayed in the window, flanked by white curtains.

I needed to do this as cheaply as possible, I only have the space free for six months. If after six months we negotiate a longer term lease, I will consider putting more money into nicer fixtures and I will then open the space up more, paint the walls, and have a ton more vendors.

I have to see how the next six months go.

So basically it is really ugly right now, let's face it.

But I have a vision and everyday this month I will share with you my progress and I promise it will turn out lovely.

{view out my shop window of Opera Alley}

It is in a super cute neighborhood. I am excited for the other girls to in move and bring their furniture!

2012-01-19T14:40:00.000-08:00

c a m d e n ' s l o f t

My plan of moving into the new shop this has been derailed. We have been hit with a huge snow and ice storm and I can't even get the car out of the driveway. I am trying to make the best of the situation by tackling some projects around my house that I have been meaning to finish.

One project finally finished - Camden's loft bed.

We have some really funky architecture in our home. I guess it is typical for Victorian homes.

There are nooks and crannies that I have can't figure out what the original purpose was.

An example of this is Camden's closet. I assume that the closet used to have doors that went all way up to the top of the closet, it is pretty obvious that the doors she has on now are a 70's addition.

My bedroom is on the other side of this closet so it is also possible that this was just a large opening to my room, who knows.

Anyway, for the longest time I had baskets up on top of the closet, not knowing what to do with the space.

My mom suggested we make it a loft area. I loved that idea, and my dad built Camden a ladder last time they visited me. I was a little nervous about her playing up there without a rail, so I made one out of a full sized headboard with the legs cut off. I screwed it in tight, right to the closet frame and painted the ladder and rail with the same color as the trim in the room.

Today I painted the walls and ceiling with chalkboard paint {Camden's idea} and it turned out sweet {I have a headache from the fumes}.

{view from the loft}

I still have small things to finish in her room.

I am not a fan of the brass light fixtures or electrical outlets. But I will save these projects for another snow day.

Hopefully, this darn snow will melt so I can get to my shop and start working!

2012-01-16T09:08:00.000-08:00

t a n g e r i n e

I pick up the keys to the shop today! Yah!

This week I am moving in. It will be a bit of a challenge. The kids are off school today and tomorrow, so that leaves me only three days to get everything moved in.

I cleared my schedule of custom work schedule this week so I could concentrate on the move, but next week I have several pieces booked so I would really like to get the majority of moving done in the next few days.

Oh, and it is snowing and my shop is on a hill, this should be interesting.

The color of the building is tangerine {and I actually like it}. It is a corner shop, I am guessing built in the 30's. It has great potential, right now a bit of a diamond in the rough.

I have no doubt in the next month or two this shop is going to be transformed into a fun shopping space.

I am lucky to be joined by a great group of talented ladies and I am so excited about the opportunity.

Because the shop not only has me, but several other vendors, I thought the we should name the building itself. I didn't want The Modern Cottage on the front door when there are so many other furniture shops within this new store. So we are naming the shop/building Tangerine. Easy to remember, since it is the color of the building.

To clarify, I will still be The Modern Cottage Company. Tangerine is just the name of the physical building in which some amazing shops are housed.

Tangerine is also the design color of the year of 2012, so it is perfect.

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Tentatively my open hours are going to be Friday 11am-3pm, and Saturdays 11am-5pm, and I will be available by appointment only, the other days. I will also be moving my studio to the back of the store, so I am going to be painting there M-W 9am-3pm.

All inventory is going to be shot and posted on the Shop Modern Cottage Tab, in the next week.

I am not sure what hours the other vendors will keep, or if they will be by appointment only. I will have a button on the blog as soon as I find out. Also, I am sure there will be a Tangerine FB page soon {I should probably get started on this}.

My first open Friday will either be January 27th or February 3rd. I haven't totally decided yet, I have to see how much work it will be for me to actually move in and get things set up.
{I still have quite a few custom pieces booked in January to finish while moving in to the store}

I will be taking a lot of pictures this week as I move in, so you all can take part in the transformation.

I am super excited!

2012-01-14T08:31:00.000-08:00

i ' m h o m e

{and someone left me a surprise on my porch!}

I am back from our 5 day family vacation in California and it was fantastic. This was our first family vacation where we weren't visiting family or on other people's schedules. It was great.

I couldn't have made it through the whole trip without these shoes. I wore them almost everyday.

{I bought them here and they are Coach and cost me around $15 and they were new, I totally scored}

I spend so much time in yoga pants and sweats at home and while working. I tried to step it up a notch on vacation and be comfy and cute at the same time.

Last night as we were lugging our bags up our front porch I stumbled upon these cuties! Someone left these fun kid size adirondack chairs {for the shop-but still!}. I adore these chairs, and I can't wait to find out who left them {I have a feeling I know who}.

This weekend I am going to prime and paint a sleeping nook in my daughters room with chalk board paint {pictures coming soon if I actually complete the task}.

Monday I get the keys to the new store and start moving in. It might be a slow move in. The kids don't have school until Wednesday and there is snow in the forecast. I am really hoping for no snow so I can get the shop organized in the next two weeks and open soon!

2012-01-08T11:38:00.000-08:00

b e f o r e i g o

As you know I am heading off to California for the week so I won't be posting for a few days. But I wanted to leave you with a few projects that I finished over the weekend.

I want to make some paper heart garland for the shop. I think I will do something similar for one of the window displays {probably not hearts} and out of book pages.

{also, I haven't figured out how to use my new camera yet}

{nice smudge on the mirror :)}

I definitely want to make some star garland for the kids play area, but I want to use a totally fun, modern, and unexpected for a kids area. I was thinking of a houndstooth paper in a large print. Now I just need to find it.

{source}

Something like this with out of fun paper.

I pinned this paper rose tree a few weeks ago. I think it will be fun in the shop.

{source}

Here is my version.

If I get around to it, I will do some custom valentines to hang from some of the branches.

Also, I talked to Kennesha at http://restorationhouseinteriors.blogspot.com/ and she is going to be a vendor at the shop, yah! So now we have Erin from http://clementineandolive.blogspot.com/ , me, and Kennesha.

There is a possibility of a few other vendors joining in.

Did I tell you the space is 2000 square feet? Yes, we have a lot of room for fun furniture. We are also planning on having painting classes, and possibly girls night out craft nights.

One last thing {I need to go pack, I haven't done this yet!}

I took an old door out of Camden's playroom and hung it on one of the doors to my office. It isn't a working door, I basically secured it from the backside so you can't actually open it.

There is a good reason though.

My plan is to put shelves all the way down the backside for more office storage.

I still need paint it the same color as the trim.

2012-01-06T14:06:00.000-08:00

w r a p - u p o f m y w e e k

{and i finally got my camera, yah!}

This week has been a bit nutty, I decided to do a million projects because the kids went back to school and it was quiet, next week we are going to Disneyland, and the following week I move into my new shop.

Next week is probably not the best week to go on a family vacation since I have so much going on, but what the heck, I am going to go have fun!

I will miss this little guy but he will be home safe with our housesitter while we are gone.

{warning these photos were taken with an iphone}

In addition to my custom work, I finished painting some mirrors and finally got the chalkboards done for the shop. I have had so many people ask me when I was going to be done with these, and I finally finished!

They will be crammed into my studio space until I can move into the shop.

Since the studio space has been taken over with finished pieces I have had no where else to paint other than my basement, urgh. Let me just say that with three cats and this is where the litter box is, the basement is the smelliest place in my house and I am not a fan of working in there. Plus every time I need a tool I have to walk out of the basement, out of my home and to the studio out back and climb over all of my furniture to hunt for it.

Did I say I was glad to be moving my daily painting to the shop?!

{picture below taken with the new camera!}

I also painted a mirror for over my fireplace, found four matching ladder back chairs for my dining room and painted them with ASCP, Old White.

The old coffee table went to live with Jennah.

Jennah if you are reading this I am glad you like this table!

I like the way the new coffee table looks. I found these great pillar candles at TJ Max that are real wax on the outside and run on batteries, brilliant!

So that is my week!

2012-01-03T14:37:00.000-08:00

t u c k e r ' s b a s k e t

My kitten Tucker has a new favorite spot to hang out.

He was constantly sleeping on top of the buffet. I think he likes to be up high and look out the window for birds and squirrels.

I thought he needed a basket.

{can you spot his ears?}

This week I am working only on custom pieces, and next week I am going on work break {giving myself a rest before moving into the shop and after the crazy holiday season}.

I went to look at the shop again today and I am super excited! The space needs work. It is a big raw space but I with a little love it will be great and I am so excited to get all of my finished pieces out of my studio and basement and reclaim my home.

I haven't posted much this week because Camden {my sweet 9 year old} dropped my camera last week when we went to the Nutcracker, and the old stinky camera broke. But a new one is on the way and I am waiting to show you some projects with my brand new fancy schmancy camera {as soon as I get it}.

Thank goodness, it is about time I have some decent pictures for you all.

Speaking of the blog, do any of you know a good blog designer? I am am thinking about changing things up on the blog and I just don't have the time right now to sit down and do it.

Suggestions would be great!

2011-12-29T08:50:00.000-08:00

f a v o r i t e h o u s e f r i d a y

{one day early}

and......best rooms of fhf 2011

I have my day booked up tomorrow so I thought I thought I would share my fhf pick one day early.

listing here

Now, this home isn't making huge design statements. In fact, it looks like it was probably professionally staged-too clean, and minimal furniture {but eclectic mix to appeal to a broad group of buyers}.
What do you think, staged?

*fhf favorites from this home are*
-the bathroom, this is a dream bathroom to me, it gets an OMG from me {I desperately want to add some color in there though}
-white walls and unpainted wood {even though if I moved in, the first thing I would do is probably paint all the wood}
-the kitchen is clean and pretty {unlike mine at the moment}, but what I really like are the chairs in the kitchen nook
-I like the grey-brown carpet, totally kid and pet proof. We have creamy white carpet that we put in our upstairs one year ago and it is already not looking so great {but I do have two kids and three cats}
-Sweet little playroom in the kids room, super cute door.

And now.....my picks for best rooms of fhf 2011

Chevron Entry
post here

Love This Table
post here

Yes Dining Room
post here

Red Table Dining Room
post

Fresh Living Room
post here

Vacation Home Living Room
{I wish!}
post here

Modern Cottage Living Rooms
post here

Rustic Living Room
post here

Farmhouse Kitchen
post here

The Floors, The Ceiling!
post here

Dream Kitchen
post here

Kids Rooms
post here

Organized Playroom
{I need this}
post here

Sweet and Simple
{I don't think kids actually play here}
post here

Reading Room
post here

Favorite Exterior
post here

I had fun going back to look at these homes, some I hadn't looked at since I posted them.
2011 had some pretty great houses for sale, can't wait to see what comes up for sale in 2012

2011-12-28T11:48:00.000-08:00

w a l l c l o c k s

{the bigger, the better}

I get a lot of emails about my entry wall clock. I scored this clock at the Goodwill, at least three years ago. This is probably in the top three of favorite things I have found at a thrift store. It was new in the box, so I grabbed this baby before anyone else could buy it, paid for it and hung it first thing when I got home.

I know that this clock originally was sold at Target. I looked online and at the store and I haven't been able to find this exact clock anywhere.

But there are so many great clocks out there, that will give you a similar look.

Here are some of my favorites.

Simon Wall Clock

buy here

{my favorite by far, I want this clock!}

Harrington Wall Clock
buy here

Grandiose Wall Clock
buy here

{this clock is huge in person 42 X 42}

Lille Tin Wall Clock

buy here

Cafe Wall Clock
buy here

Paris Hotel
buy here

Bold Paris
buy here

You could also make a large wall clock, by buying a clock kit and using a square or round table top, painting the numbers, or gluing on wood/metal numbers.
That would be cute, right?!
I wish I had time to do this project, but maybe in the next few months I will attempt it.
Has anyone done this? Send us a link so we can see!

2011-12-27T08:48:00.000-08:00

c h e c k i n g i n

{and a table for sale?}

First off, I wanted to say thank you, thank you for your sweet comments on the last post. I think from now on I am going to try to add a little more of my life on this blog and not just decorating and furniture redos.

We had a great holiday here, but to be honest I am kind of relieved it is done and now we can relax.

I am totally over going shopping, being around crowds, and eating and drinking too much.

I am in detox mode this week.

Today I am heading up to Seattle to go to the Nutcracker with Camden while the boys stay home. Since I will be gone most of the day, I got up early to snap some shots of what I have been up to the last few days.

{that is why the shots are kind of dark, sorry!}

I have been moving tables around again, shocker! I will do a whole post on this next week but here is the lowdown.

It am moving tables around again because:

1. I needed a bigger table in my kitchen for all of my sewing, crafts {I need to spread out}.

2. The kids outgrew the little kids table and chairs/bench in our family room. I am very sad about this. I knew this day would come. But the good news is that I am taking the kids table and chairs/bench to the new shop and it will either be for sale or as a play table for kids while mommies shop.

{Square oak table from kitchen moved into family room and painted. Also, you can see I am in the process of deciding on fabric for new pillows and Cooper has taken over the new table with his legos}

3. The big black table in the dining nook was too big for the space and now is in the kitchen. I bought a trestle table and I am in the process of painting it white and finding four matching chairs.

So, as I was moving all of these tables around and painting, I painted a coffee table for the shop. I wanted it to look fresh and beachy, so I decided on using the same color as my coffee table {BM, Covington Blue}.

This morning at seven I set it up to photograph it to post for sale, but now I like it! The scale is much better. {I should never stage things in my own home, I always want to keep the pieces!}

So.....if someone wants to buy my old coffee table {the big blue one with chunky legs}, I might switch them out.

I haven't decided which will be for sale. If I keep the newly painted one, I will add casters to the bottom to raise it up a bit.

Hmmm... which should I keep?

2011-12-23T07:27:00.000-08:00

y o u a r e w h e r e y o u b e l o n g

I have been writing and rewriting this post in my head for a while. I didn't really know where to start, and truth is, I don't talk that much about myself here on this blog. Yes, every once in while, I will let it be known that I had a crazy week and I took on too much. But I don't share with you all my extreme joy, worries, frustration, and sometimes envy. So I am going to let it all out in one post.

source

To be honest, I just don't always feel comfortable talking about myself, and I think, am I going to want to delete this post tomorrow?

I will start with my feelings on the blog.

I am so appreciative of the readers that consistently read this blog. I look back on a year ago and this little blog has come a long way. The readers, comments, and sweet emails really keep me going and want to continue with this everyday.

There is also a hard part {maybe just for me} to having a blog. Is it just me or does it seem like the "big bloggers" all seem to know each other? I get envious of this. I am not sure why. Truth is, I use this blog to connect with you and as a way to show my work. I do not have sponsors, nor do I have the time to devote to doing a unique blog post everyday. I am trying to just to keep up with my everyday life and my painting. So when these little thoughts creep in and get me down, I have to think to myself, "I am given only what I can handle and I am given a lot, so get over your negative thoughts Alison!"

With that, it will be fun to see where this little blog goes over the next year. Even if it is just to see how many different times I rearrange my living room in 2012.

Now my business.

I sort of fell into this business. It really has always been a passion of mine to paint furniture.

A few years ago, I went back to work. I felt it was time, the kids were three and six, and I had an opportunity at the agency I worked at pre-kids. It was great to get up everyday, wear something other than yoga pants, commute with my husband, and have extra income.

But I was really sad working outside of my home. I hated getting the kids up early and bringing them to daycare in the dark. I worked an hour away from home, and I never got to go to school events. But once I went back to work, I felt stuck. We needed my income.

Then about two years ago I had an accident. I cut the top of my foot on a glass hurricane {I dropped it on my foot}, ended up with two types of infection, and I cut through a ligament. I spent three days in the hospital, came close to losing my foot {or even leg}, a month in physical therapy to use my foot again, and two months of IV antibiotic treatment daily at the hospital. During all of this I had to give up working. If it wasn't for the accident I would still be working outside of the home, maybe not at that job but some job. The accident let me be honest with myself and my husband. I hated working so far from my kids.

But I need to work. My family needs my income. It is really hard to live on one salary these days. I painted a few pieces and sold them, and thought "I can do this!" So I started The Modern Cottage Company.

source

I started selling right out of my living room. Keeping my house clean for people coming over was too hard, so I set up shop in my studio. This was working fine except I was growing and needed more work space and space to store inventory. That is when I considered selling at an antique store. The day I was going to go sign the lease on my booth I got a call from Spaceworks Tacoma, the day! Spaceworks is an organization that gives artists and small businesses a six month, rent free lease on a space to fill empty store fronts. It helps the artists and it helps the city from having empty storefronts. I applied for this a year before I got the call, and I actually forgot about my application.

source

So I have six months to see if I can make this little business work outside my home. Can I actually do this? I am about to find out.

It is really really scary because, other than custom pieces I haven't made any money in the last two months while stockpiling for shop. I haven't posted or sold anything for sale since mid-October. I am hoping {and I do lots of praying} that I can pull off running a shop, I have six months to try! I believe I was planted here and I need to give my best shot.

source

Looking back every turn in my life has led me to something good, even when it didn't seem like it at the time. So going forward I know that even if this doesn't work out, it will lead me to where I need to be.

source

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday.

2011-12-21T08:36:00.000-08:00

l o v e o r h a t e i t

I was searching for a fhf house today and I came across this listing. I was about to pass by it because, well, you can see from the pictures that it is a bit eccentric, eclectic, wacky. I kept coming back to this house and wanting to look at the pictures again.

Look past some of the wackiness and there are some real jewels in this home.

First of all, I love the outside, so traditional. If I was bold enough I would paint our house all white.
{It would be hard for me to convince Saint to paint the house white}

Then you step into the foyer.

The mix of traditional, with modern, and primitives....fantastic.

Cool wallpaper too.

There are so many elements going on here. But it you took out some the furniture {just not my thing, except maybe the console table and chaise, I could work with those} and just looked at the color palette, I could move in.

This is my favorite room in the house {or maybe the entryway is....I can't decide}

Not much to discuss in the kitchen. I have to say I hate the bistro table as an island, it looks like it came out of Pizza Hut {sorry!}

Pretty much the only thing I like in this room is the couch and chair. Oh, and the windows, great windows.

Bonus to this home...there is a large garden, a barn, and a carriage house.

So what do you think? Love it or hate it? Look at the pictures again. I will be moving in and decorating this house in my head all day.