There are the minor new house things that pop up from time to time (but these get fixed fairly quickly - thanks Tom!). But I will definitely take the types of problems we have in our new house compared to types of problems that happened at our old house. And, it is nice to be able to plug in electronics that have 3 prongs!
Enough about that - we finally got around to hiring an interior designer and she has been such a pleasure to work with. Emily Ann Jackson of Jackson Interiors grew up in Dallas is uber talented at both interior design and real estate. But stylin' up the place has taken some time... and it sure ain't no HGTV, false reality get your space renovated in 30 minutes type of project...unfortunately. Most of you know how impatient I am - the whole instant gratification thing... So, what happens is...I keep forgetting that HGTV is not reality and Emily keeps reminding me that I am forgetting! I guess we get each other?
Now that we have established that interior design takes time, I have provided some pictures of what the space looks like now. We are very close to the finish line and the pictures would be much better, however the drapes are still not complete. Apparently the drapery lady only works like 3 days a week and I am not even sure if she works that many...cause we have been waiting on these drapes for a long time - the sofa took less time to make!
For before pictures, you will have to look back through various previous posts.
One of the biggest challenges was the TV wall, in particular the size of the TV - we did get the question, "Does your TV have to be that big?" I just stared at her and she quickly realized that the TV wasn't changing - she, of course, had no idea how much I love my Crimson Tide. Also the open floor plan required a consistent style, not matchy matchy as they like to say, but a nice flow throughout the kitchen, dining and living room.
So here is a tour pre - drapery. Imagine ripple fold linen drapes spanning all of the windows from floor to ceiling. Once installed, I will have more control of lighting and can provide better quality photos. Oh yea, and the floors will be cleaner...and don't look too closely at the actual windows either!
This is the view from the kitchen - we only asked that the dining table and the counter stools remain in the space (oh yea, and the TV) - everything else is new.
The sectional is a custom piece of furniture based on a photo we saw on Houzz - we didn't even have a full picture of the sofa, so the sofa lady had to guess at times, but she did an amazing job. When they delivered it, they snapped a lot of pictures so that they could post it to their website...which reminds me, I want to visit their website. It is so comfy and is covered in gray velvet Sunbrella fabric. Sunbrella makes outdoor upholstery material, so it is very durable.
McKinney approves - but even he realizes that the space needs drapes real bad! Two of the three tracks have been installed and ready for the drapes - we only have one half of the final track because the drape lady is apparently using it to make sure that the drapes do not puddle (designy term) but touch the floor.
And probably my favorite of all is the coffee table. This is a custom design made of acrylic with a mirror base - I found those cool yellow casters online which makes the table completely mobile and awesome!
The TV no longer "stands" out as a design dilemma - although it can pivot, tilt and pull out, so in a way it kinda still stands out. The challenge of incorporating the TV into the design was a success. Still have no idea what to put on the shelves, so dont pay attention to that part of the picture -just focus on how the wall is now balanced and the marble is carried to the living room.
McKinney and the Blue Dog - just another example of how unphotogenic our dog is! But, it does look like he was trying his best to do what the Blue Dog is doing. He so cute!
Dining chairs allow us to seat 8 - we also have the table fully extended all the time pretty much to accommodate the chairs.
The rug initially was going to be gray, however I am really happy that we went with the yellow (it is actually more of a subtle lime-ish yellow color and is one of the few times when something being on backorder until October was a good thing...).
You can also see the reflection from the coffee table - optical illusion is that the mirror looks see through - like you can see carpet under the coffee table. But the mirror is not see through - promise. By the way, you cannot clean plastic (if you don't equate acrylic as plastic - you aren't the only one). And, you should not use windex or paper towels - there is a special cleaner for plastic and 100% cotton towels must be used...just in case you ever get asked that question, probably won't. Luckily Emily provided these instructions to us prior to any disasters.
