Fall

Olivia has just joined Pickwick House as an intern for the next two semesters.  She wants to be a wedding planner.  Here we are on site at one of our exterior living room projects just before heading back to the shop to brainstorm a really special upcoming wedding.  {Wearing many hats is part of the job.}  She doesn't seem to mind.  Love having Olivia!

Last Friday afternoon I decided we should take time to 'get inspired', so I took Olivia and my three youngest kiddos to an MSU recital to take in a Rachmaninoff cello sonata and Brahms G minor Piano quartet.  Funny thing was that there was an enforced intermission to go to the basement when tornado sirens went off.   That was an experience!  {I'd like to thank my cousin Ned for letting me know about his viola performance with that quartet.}

Fireplace is Complete!  Just in time for Fall!

Dirt floors are not ideal, but we're really happy to see it progress to this point.  Last week, this area was still a deep, dark pit.  All wiring was recently laid underground and a telephone pole removed that was really messing up the symmetry of the space.

In choosing the outdoor foot print material, things can go really wrong.  We've been seeing a surge in properties using stamped concrete.  The stamped concrete is a cool thing, but I've noticed that a lot of people try to get too creative with finishes and molds that end up looking super-like, well...ugly.

Getting back to this area...I really LOVE the idea, look, and feel of pea gravel for this place, but the practicality of maintaining pea gravel will be a pain for an area this large.  Pea gravel washes away, and if it's not maintained regularly, you'll have bare spots.  So, I selected an aggregate {which is a pea gravel floating in concrete}.  It should give the appearance of a pea gravel.  And just to the right and left of the pad is where Will is going to add some structured soft scaping.  It should frame off the space nicely for our clients.

 

Backside of the new furniture that arrived from Restoration Hardware.  {Leagrave Collection}.   Can't wait to snap pics of a roaring fire here soon.  My clients told me they had a toast by their first fire here two nights ago {at midnight after his late shift}. So cute.

Stay tuned for more progress here.  Happy Friday ya'll!!

xx
sharon