LET THERE BE LIGHT

Good afternoon!  Welcome to the dark side.  I hope I'm not boring ya'll to tears with house posts.  I'm gonna just go ahead and blame this crazed-nugget on the paint fumes we've been breathing in for the last few weeks.    

Iphone Pic of the day

Walls and ceiling are completely done in our soon to be family room.  Benjamin Moore 'black'.  Trim is in high gloss, oil based black too.  Our wood-slat blinds will also be black.  The floors are currently being sanded.  They will be.....EBONY.  {changin it up a bit, haha}

Iphone pic of before

Now after seeing all that darkness, let me ask you this?  Would you say it's an improvement over this?   At least a shred??  

What are you doing for pre-V-day?  I'm sitting at home with sick little fella.  Trying to comfort him and his bless-ed, rosy-cheeked goodness.  Even in his sickness, he keeps giving me kisses.  I feel so lucky.  

This is John-John on Monday, {pre-sickness} modeling in his first Julie Blackmon shoot. He was so proud.  I will post the final draft once she's done, but it may be a while because she's off to shoot a cover for New York magazine tomorrow.  I was going to go with her, but with fella sick, it's a no-can-do.

From my iphone

Thanks for reading along. 

Pickwick House is a full service design/build company in the heart of the Midwest!  {Springfield, Missouri's Rountree Neighborhood}.  We handle all aspects of residential renovations from small to large projects and are available for full service and consultation design, and/or stylizing from East to West Coast.  Call or email us today.  We may be on location, but we'll get back to you in no time.

 417-459-8988 *sharontaylordesigns@yahoo.com

xx

sharon

...Get Busy Do It

Happy Friday! Here's a before and after of a big chandelier I found...

It's going to be the "glam" in a soft baby's room.

Here's big boy...

He looks to be a serious baby, huh? But he goes really, totally crazy when I sing...

"Get up, get up, get busy do it
Get up and move that body
Get up people now get down to it before the night is over
Get up, get up, get busy do it
I wanna see you party
Get up people now get down to it before the night is over"

Well, it's the weekend and what are you doing? We're seeing lots of cousins and hoping a new baby arrives too. Baby Zelma is due any minute.

Hope you have a trillion good moments with family and friends over the weekend and Holidays!

xx
sharon

Fun Before and After

Happy Saturday! I thought I'd pop in on this rainy weekend day to share our new online Pickwick House holiday bazaar that just went up this week. It's here. It's just a small collection of special things I love that I hope you can enjoy per-using from your own little abode. What things are you up to at home? Here's something I've had going...a before and after. And, yes, I'm so happy to say it's already sold. Even though I wouldn't have minded keeping it for myself. I have a sick chair addiction.

Happy Day. Peace & Joy!

xx
sharon

What to do?

The building is supposed to be finished in a little over two weeks.  In the mean time, I'm busy figuring out what to do with everything...shuffling, and scuffling my feet on things, furniture, and becoming a more organized business girl, which shocks me every now and then, because it won't be long 'til I have a legitimate space. 

I've been picking up furniture to take to the upholsterer, cleaning up messes, and rearranging my house with all the fun, new stuff.  We did a photo shoot of my freshly painted white living room that was stylized with some of the things I'll be carrying in the store.   Hopefully I'll be able to share the pictures soon. 

The first picture above is a piece of furniture before I took hold of it. Pressed wood.  I know.  It's really ugly as is, but I promise you, it's s.i.c.k. how good it turned out after a visit with some lacquer paint.  It's a wet bar cabinet with ambient lighting and an inset mirrored back.  I'll reveal it once I get her in her sweet place.

One thing I'm trying to decide for the store, is what to do with the floor.  It's been stripped down to the concrete, and I originally wanted to leave it all natural concrete and glaze it over with a polish.  Unfortunately, the concrete is not leveled in a lot of places, so it will have to be patched with quick crete, sanded, and most likely painted.  What color though?  The walls will probably be white.  Should I also do a white floor with a black geometric pattern, possibly?  The patterning would most likely be expensive.  So, what would you do?  What color?  I'm all ears.  If you have any inspiration pictures, I'd love to see them, too!

Good day to you all!

xo
sharon

SugarPlums: Logo Reveal + Before & After Project

Hello Dear Ones.  In the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I hope you are taking time to really enjoy the season and treating yourselves and your loved ones with good cheer.  I'll be honest, I'll really hope I don't wake up January 1st, and feel like I've lost the time to really feel the glow and warmth of the season.  While I'm trying to keep the family traditions for my kids, my mind is so full of many decisions right now.  I am not only working my day job, but trying to get my new space off the ground, as well as oversee-ing the renovation process.  Some days are hairy, and can  be painfully slow with a toddler, but I have to say, I am seeing progress...sugarplums, are what I like to call them. 

Mostly, I call them sugarplums because they are "done" and crossed off my list.  That's one of the better feelings in life, isn't it?  I read the latest REAL SIMPLE, that said even making your bed every morning makes you happier.

To start with, is a chair make-over that's been in the works for a good long while now.  Finally getting it together, I did this project in three steps.

`1.  High Gloss Paint...I skipped priming, and boy was I sorry.  I think we did like ten coats all together over the cherry stained wood.

2.  I oxidized some mirrors.  Oxidizing is so easy!  All you need is Muriatic Acid, Gel-like Stripper, and some grey craft paint.  Lowes and Hobby Lobby purchase cost around $20 for materials. I still have plenty of these materials left for doing more oxidizing projects. Oh, and don't forget rubber gloves.   After I oxidized the mirrors outdoors, I took the chair and mirror to the glass shop and had their staffers cut the mirrors to fit just inside the oddly shaped geometric shaped side panels of the chair.  The glass company glued them in for me perfectly!

3.  I have a good friend from college who is an artist/college professor that does upholstering on the side.  She does such a great job and is inexpensive compared to most upholsterers.  Lucky me!

I went with a heavy weight cotton/linen blend and paired it with a black gimp and nickel brushed tacks. 

And, finally, my new logo reveal.  Created by my cousin Laura's husband, Brett Key.  He is a graphic designer by day and a freelancer by night.  He's been so patient with me...because I honestly, sometimes have the hardest time settling on one design.

What do you think? Would love to hear what you think!  What projects are you working on right now.  Do share.

xo and remember to feel the glow of the season!

sharon