• Hoping all you mothers had a wonderful Mother's Day. http://t.co/E0NjVX9m #
• Welcome Lisa K.! #
• See our master bedroom makeover for Leslie & Paul! http://t.co/4BhSdqcP http://t.co/ytXJEeHT #
• I posted 4 photos on Facebook in the album "Bathroom Before & After" http://t.co/P7MhJce9 #
• I am out of town on a Cruise to Alaska and will return to the office after the Memorial Day Holiday. I will have… http://t.co/WQdPdP4X #

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It’s been my experience that the master bedroom is usually one of the last rooms in a house to be decorated.

My clients Leslie and Paul are the perfect example. Married for over 17 years and this is what their master bedroom looked like.

It was a mishmosh of hand me downs, ups and overs. We had been working on the public spaces in their home for two years when suddenly the master became a priority. The reason? They were moving!

We were sad that someone else was going to be enjoying all the work they had been doing over the previous 24 months and now, for the first time ever, we needed to give them a proper master bedroom.

When it comes to selling your house, the master bedroom ranks second only to the kitchen in its importance to getting a house SOLD.

Budget, as always, was important so I was totally excited when I found this duvet king bedding set on overstock.com. My clients have a more contemporary style and they didn’t want anything fancy since they would be taking this to their new house.

This set was perfect because we had used green and blue in the living room and sun room so we could continue that color story into the bedroom without being too obvious. Plus, Paul’s favorite color is blue so I thought he would like this.

Leslie, on the other hand, was not crazy about the bedding when I sent her the link. However, in the two years we have worked together she has come to trust me and she trusted this choice. Plus, the bedding was so stinkin’ cheap that we could buy two sets so we could use the second duvet for a shower curtain, window valance and pillows.

Leslie and Paul painted the bedroom which was such a nice way to create some drama and a WOW factor in this very large room. I also had them rearrange the furniture so we could create a focal wall that would draw people into the space and not stop them like their existing bed placement did.

We removed the bookcases which did nothing but add a lot of clutter to the room. It was a REAL challenge to find any kind of artwork for this room. Time was running out and I had to get creative.

The two pieces above their bed are brown plastic picture frame collages and I bought scrapbook paper that Leslie inserted into the frames. It was a cheap and easy way to create the WOW factor and Leslie was really happy at how easy it was to create such statement pieces.

We made “semi” custom drapes by inserting panels the bedding fabric just under the grommet top of the drapes. We had needed to lengthen them and this was the perfect way to achieve this.

Their house sold in just five weeks! (The house next door took 14 months to sell!) Funny enough, the couple that bought Paul and Leslie’s house are moving from Manhattan and had very little furniture so they asked to buy much of Paul and Leslie’s furniture!  However, they were informed that the master bedroom stuff was NOT for sale. Leslie said now that they FINALLY had a beautiful bedroom she was taking it all to her next house. I LOVE when we have happily-ever-after endings!

Well, this is a different kind of Fantasy Friday.

Usually I find a fabulous inn or B&B to blog about for Fantasy Friday, however, today I’m featuring another kind of fantasy!

I know many people who would LOVE to have granite counter tops but they are just a fantasy. There is just not a buget for granite. Well, my friends, today, the fantasy can become a reality!

I was recently at a client’s home helping them get it staged for resale. As we went room to room, we made a stop in the kitchen. I was telling them what needed to be done in that space when she asked me what I thought of the counter tops.

They were a laminate granite look, nice and neutral. [Above is the photo I took of her counter top]. It was the perfect choice for resale at their price point. So I told her they were perfect. That’s when she told me her little “secret”. She had PAINTED her laminate counter tops with a product she found online. I was SHOCKED! The counters were beautiful! REALLY? She had painted them?? NO WAY!

It was true – so I just HAD to share it with all of you! What a fabulous way to update those nasty counter tops on the cheap!

Here’s her secret: Giani Paint Kits! Giani offers many different kits so you can get just the look you want. They are just $69.95 and each kit covers 35 square feet.

At this link you can see some great before and after photos of ugly duckling counter top transformations.

My client said it really was a very easy process. I think this is a great solution for the outdated laminate counter tops I see in so many homes. With the economy like it is, Giani offers a wonderful, cost-effective alternative to getting the look of granite without spending the money!

I think this is an especially great option for updating a house for resale. Many people WANT granite but a house may not be at a price point that justifies granite counter tops. Now you can get the look without spending the money on granite AND you won’t have to go through the hassle or ripping out counters, redoing the plumbing, etc. LOVE that!

Please post links to your counter top makeovers if you use Giani! I’d love to see them. Happy Friday.

P.S. I have not been paid or received any sort of compensation for this post. I just wanted to share this great product. It’s “designer approved!”

It’s been a while since I’ve had my Fantasy Friday post because I can’t always find places that live up to my standards of “fantasy”. Today, however, I have found a worthy candidate, wouldn’t you say? Best of all, it’s actually for sale! Yes, for just under $3 million this baby could be yours!

This beautiful home located on Spring Island in South Carolina sits on 2.39 acres and has stunning marsh views.

There are four bedrooms, five full baths, five fireplaces, heart pine floors, a copper roof, expansive porches and more!

The heart room dining area looks very Paula Deen to me, don’t you think? Love the transom windows! I wish we had 12 foot ceilings in our house so we could have transoms.

You see it in magazines, in beautiful kitchens and bathrooms. You covet it, knowing your life won’t be complete without that beautiful honed Carrara Marble.

When we decided to remodel our kitchen, {left} I knew I wanted honed Carrara Marble for our island. I love its timeless, classic look.

Oh, I was warned that “it’s a soft stone” and that it should not be used but I did my homework. I’m a designer, it’s what I do. Carrara marble is used in train stations for flooring, so really, how “soft” could it be? And, after all, it IS MARBLE, right?

We’ve had a good, long chance to live with the honed Carrara, so I thought I would tell you the truth about it.

THE SET UP: We do not have children. It’s just my hubby and me, so our counters are treated pretty nicely. We take care of things and give care to the things we have. No monster trucks or kids walking on our island. We do have friends and family over but even then things are treated with care.

THE TRUTH ABOUT HONED CARRARA: It’s like a super model – it looks great in a magazine but doesn’t look as good in real life AND it’s HIGH maintenance. I love it and I hate it. If you want what I call a “Stepford Kitchen” – all perfect and fabulous – forget honed Carrara. It will never be perfect – not when it’s installed and certainly not after you’ve lived with it.

As you can see from the photo on the right, Carrara gets this splotchy, fogging and discoloration. You get spots but you have no idea how they got there or what you did that caused it. The lighting has to be just right to see this and my friend Cyndi, photographer extraordinaire had a hard time getting these photos for me. However, if you are a perfectionist, this stuff will drive you crazy.

Here are closeups of a couple of our spots. Not sure what caused them:

Our island wasn’t a month old before we had our first {and so far only} “pit”. A bit of the soft stone somehow managed to escape the rest of the slab, leaving us with a small hole. The scratches and discoloration came quickly as well.

When you see the beautiful kitchen spreads in shelter magazines with their fabulous Carrara, you’re only getting part of the truth. That’s why I’m sharing this blog.

I can’t even imagine what the counter would look like if we had a family of children, pets and chaos. We treat this island counter with kid gloves and you see how it looks.

I use the island for some food prep, but typically it’s for salads or cookies. Yes, a bottle of wine or snacks get set out but I make sure nothing that will scratch it – yet we have scratches. I’m blaming hubby – LOL!

The only way we could “get rid” of these spots and discoloration is to have it honed all over again . . . but that would not prevent them from happening all over again. It is the nature of the beast.

I “knew” of Carrara’s fickle nature having done research on it. I decided to embrace the imperfections. They add character, right? That’s what I tell myself. It’s the same with the butcher block tops that we used on the perimeter counters.  My kitchen is not about perfection . . . however, the spots and the discoloration {well, it’s more of a fogging or clouding} do bug me. It looks like I have not wiped up the counter tops and that’s not the case.

Sealing the Carrara is easy {we spread the liquid over the counter, let it sit for a minute or two and then wipe away the excess}. However, it doesn’t seem to stop the spots.

So, there you have it. A full confession. I hope that if you are considering honed Carrara for your home this will be helpful. You’ve been warned and you have seen the true nature of Carrara in a kitchen where it is well treated.

If I had to do it all over again, knowing what I know now, would I use Carrara? Umm, no, I’m sorry to say I would not. While I try to embrace the character, at least 2-3 years in, it doesn’t much look like charater, it’s just spotty. I would probably select a quartz that had the look of a Carrara.

Perhaps with a few more years, the character will begin to show. I’m thankful that for the most part the issues I have with my honed Carrara aren’t really seen by others but I know it’s there and that bugs me. It was an expensive part of our kitchen and while I don’t want perfection, this is a bit much.

Maybe in another three years I’ll do a follow up and let you know how the character is coming along.

A few weeks ago I wrote about reclaiming space in our house for a new loft. Our goal was to create a space for my hubby’s keyboard and my water row machine.

While it’s a tough space to photograph, my friend Cyndi, photographer extraordinaire, was able to snap a couple of pictures that captures this quirky little room.

This loft has been entirely furnished with things we
already had with the exception of the little sofa (see photo near bottom of post) which my sister got for a steal at the thrift store for just $7 and it’s from IKEA! I need to get a slipcover for it but other wise, we’re good in this room.

My hubby is a member of Ducks Unlimited so the loft decor is largely pieces and parts that we had no room to use. He will go up there to read. I’d like to say I’m up there every day using the water rower, but that would not be accurate, LOL!

You can see the sloped pitch of the ceiling, so while the room does not have a ton of head space, it was more than worth the money to reclaim the space because it really is a nice amount of space that used to be pretty much wasted.

Over the holidays we had family stay with us and their kids LOVED this space. They closed the new barn-style doors and had a good ole time up there watching their morning cartoons. (We moved my water rower which has wheels and his guitar. Just too tempting for kids.)

We liked it because they were close enough that we could just yell up from the great room to check on them but we could visit or watch TV without the distraction of the little ones. Overall, a win-win!

(Photo looking up at the loft from the great room. Close enough to keep an eye on the kids while the adults are talking, playing games or watching TV downstairs.)

It’s my birthday.

I am trying to be upbeat and happy about it but, sadly, it’s the one day a year that I can almost guarantee that I will be melancholy and weepy.

I don’t know what it is, why I am so sad. I have a wonderful life. God has blessed me far beyond anything I could imagine. I do work that I love, have a great husband and family, great house etc. Yet when my birthday rolls around, I get into a mood. I felt it coming on in the last day or two. Creeping, creeping, creeping.

Do any of you feel this way on your birthday?

The 70 degree days we’ve been having here on the North Coast has brought the arrival of spring sooner than most years – and we love that!

A few weeks back I planted my paper white bulbs into a gravely bed of stone in several different containers. I was hoping to find a way to prevent the stems from going every which way once they flower. {Failed on that end – the tall, lanky green stems still bowed here, there and everywhere!}

I used the paper whites as the centerpiece of my mantel spring arrangement. I didn’t buy anything – just pulled pieces and parts from around the house and in my upstairs accessories storage room.