more FAQs

Yay for Friday!!  I've got another round of most frequently asked questions for you...  Like I mentioned before, I'm really not able to keep up with emails & questions these days, (due to work, family & life in general)  so I'll be doing FAQ Roundups to hopefully answer as much as I can. I appreciate your patience!! Thank you!!

Here we go: 

Q: Hello. Love your table. Can you share how the lucite holds up to scratches. if it scratches can they be removed? Special cleaner needed etc? 

A: My lucite table has gotten a beat-down at our house.  Our boys have scratched it to death with toys and it looks pretty terrible after three or four years of abuse.  I have to admit, after I saw that it was getting so badly scratched, I sort of gave up and figured that we'd replace it later.  I keep magazines or a tray and books on the coffee table anyway so it's mostly hidden.  I've also watched my kids fall on it more than once without crying, which is what's kept it in the house for so long.  They also love playing under it and around it because of the clearness.  (Nothing's funnier than watching a newly crawling baby ram his face into it ;) ;)  However, I recently purchased a lucite buffer/ polishing kit (by Novus) and one of these days am going to give it a try.  I'll definitely post to let you know how it goes.  Lucite should be cleaned with a super-soft cloth (never paper towels) and hot soapy water.  Don't ever use a cleaning product like Windex or anything else in a spray bottle that isn't specifically for lucite.  

{Our client's custom porch swing}

Q:  Where did you get the porch swing?

A: We had our client's custom porch swing made by Vintage Porch Swings , who did a beautiful job.

Q: I JUST read your post about not having time to answer all questions, so I get that you might not get to this and no hard feelings! Anyway, I've admired this room for awhile. I'm looking for the right paint color for my room and I'm struggling. I want a cream or white, and then noticed the curtains in this room. Are those the Pottery Barn Velvet in Ivory?

A:  Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you!  The walls in this room are seashell by Benjamin Moore and the curtain panels are custom and made of oyster-colored linen.  

{Our kitchen, when the island was still in-progress}

Q: What type of floors do you have in your home?

A: We used unfinished random width (4"-8") wide plank white oak and had it finished with  gray Woca oil.  We got our floors from Mountain Lumber Co. (specifically, Janel Conforti) who couldn't have been more helpful.  Woca Oil "contains primarily cold pressed vegetable oils and aromatic hardening oils that penetrate into the surface of the wood floor and, as they cure, harden to form a very protective surface that becomes part of the wood floor. This means that normal wear and tear, such as small scratches and indentations, do not show up as much as on a floor with a urethane finish.  The oil finish will also let the wood floor breathe through its surface.." (taken from their website)  I loooove the finish on our floors as it's matte and very natural-looking.  Oils do leave marks on the the floor and it's already started to develop a patina, which is what we're after.  

Anyway, I'm off for the day & have amazing Memorial Day weekend!!!  To check out my last round of FAQs, (including questions about my wall mural on my dining room wall) go here.

                                                                    

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Garden Progress

Our kitchen garden isn't quite finished, but I couldn't resist sharing a few progress pics with you!!  Like I mentioned in my last post about the garden, I'm working with a good childhood friend of mine Danylo Kosovych, who owns Organic Edible Gardens in Arlingon, Virginia, and specializes in creating edible landscaping.

I wanted a space with lots of paths and separate beds so we could really enjoy being in the space and walking through it.  And here's how it's looking so far:

Next week, Danylo will be adding more black compost to the tops of the beds for a more finished look (and because it's good for the plants too ;)  and they'll be cutting all of the bamboo poles (which are for tomatoes) to the same height.

Here's a view of the whole garden and you can see I haven't moved in my second pot yet as I'm debating what to actually put in the pots in the centers of the paths.

The one pot pictured here holds my hydrangea but it needs to go back to my patio so I'll either get more of these or do fruit trees if possible.  (I'd love to do lemons but I'm really terrible with keeping things alive indoors throughout the winter so I'd rather something that can stay out in the winter...  I did see some pretty appletrees yesterday but don't know if they'll outgrow their pots too quickly... guess I should talk to my garden designer ;) ;)

(Ashby girl enjoys a morning jaunt  ;) ;)

I added delphinium yesterday throughout the gardens because I had to get my flower fix and am impatiently awaiting for my veggies to get tall!!  The beds are edged in boxwood (which of course need to grow in) and I've put a bunch of boxwood basil between them to fill them out a bit for this season.  

I'll go over everything that's in there when I can get some better pics next week but I hope you enjoyed this little peek!!  Have a great day!!



If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Happy 1st Birthday to Lou!

One year ago today, this little guy arrived:

He's one of the loves of my life and is just such a happy kid.

This is really what it's all about for me.  (yes, sleeping too ;) ;)

I love my wild little thing!!

Happy Birthday to Luke (Louie/ Lou/ Lulu)  We love  you.



If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Progress Photos of a Client's Cool House

A very sweet client of ours lives in a home that overlooks the most beautiful stretch of woods near the Potomac...  Her builder (many years ago & has since stopped building) designed her incredible home to fit right in with the land.  The views are seriously breathtaking.  

{we recently had the red walls painted a soft cream and replaced recessed lights in the foyer with overscale glass orbs.  The front hallway acts as a gallery where our client displays special pieces they've collected over the years.}

Behind the house is a steep forested hill overlooking a stream.  The first time I saw it was in the Winter and you could see forever into the woods.  It was incredible!!! As you can see from the photos, now it's like being up in a treehouse surrounded by lush green everywhere you look.  We added a cozy little hangout area on the stair landing so our client and her family/friends could enjoy the view:

{Some of the wood in the home including the interior doors was a pink pickled oak while the floors were a red hardwood.  They really clashed and changing the floors wasn't an option so we decided to stain the wood black and paint the trim cream to unify everything.}

Throughout the home we also had all of the window mullions and doors painted black to frame the views and it's made such a difference!!

I love this quiet little writing nook off of the living room... A chair for the desk is being made now:

The photo of her mother is so beautiful...

Anyway, I'm off for the weekend but hope you enjoyed these little peeks into our client's home!!  



If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.