Re-Open in Chesnee, SC

As many of you know, I'm living part-time in Las Vegas and the other part in Chesnee, South Carolina. I've just re-opened Regeneration Interiors in South Carolina. I have one very excited "project" I'm working on. My Aunt has purchased a beautiful mid-century home and I'm helping her with some of the details. It's very exciting to be able to help her out, and even more exciting to be able to see this beautiful home come back to life!

I will still be traveling back and forth to Vegas to be with my honey, but will be taking on clients in the GSP (Greenville/Spartanburg) area in hopes of transitioning here more full-time.

Since most of a designers "advertising" comes by word-of-mouth, I'm happy to give references and testimonials from my former clients. I'm excited about my new opportunities and look forward to what GSP has to offer!

Y'all give me a call!

"The" Nursery

Many of us dream of what our baby's room will look like, even before we are expecting. That space where you'll bring your baby home to, and where you'll spend countless sleepless nights soothing her; it has to be perfection! "The" nursery... just the sound of the words conjure up wonderful images in our minds. Well, when the nursery you're dreaming of is for your grandchild, it's even more special. (I wasn't completely onboard with being a Grammie in the beginning, but let me say, it has definitely become my biggest excitement).

Beachy Chairs on the front porch

My daughter lives near the coast in North Carolina and her home has a comfortable beach-inspired feel. She is very adamant that the beach "theme" not be too literal, so she uses cotton fabrics, slip-covered furnishings and painted finishes. She sprinkles in touches of beach with a vase of seashells or an abstract painting of an ocean. She also likes nautical inspired clothing like Vineyard Vines, it's more of a preppy, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard kind of feel, rather than tropical or west-coast. So, her decor is more beach cottage feeling, than beachy... I'm not sure this is coming across, but a picture is worth a thousand words, right? 

So, taking these things into consideration, I set out to design the best nursery for "Clementine" (code name since they aren't telling anyone the name yet), but one that also functions for the parents and that flows with the feel of the rest of the house. Painted furniture, wicker and other natural materials, and lots of comfy, easy, cotton fabrics. 

we used gift tags to label the contents of the baskets.

They had a buffet that they were using in a guest room as a dresser, but it had doors instead of drawers on the sides, so we removed the doors and replace them with baskets to make it more functional, and we love the final result. 

Boat Cradle built by my dad with blanket crocheted by my mom.

She wanted a white crib and we found one that has a bead board detail, which is very cottage feeling. Since they had an upholstered and slipcovered rocker, recliner in the living room, they opted for a wicker chair in the nursery. With it's smaller scale and natural fibers, the same as the baskets in the dresser, it was the perfect choice. 

 A designer friend of mine had a small table she had rescued from a client who was throwing it out and we painted it to go next to the chair. We found a wicker lamp that works well with the other woven natural materials and it looks great in the space.

Then we added in details...

Changing pad attached on dresser, easily removed when she gets older.

You can see additional photos on my Facebook page and on Pinterest.

I used patterned scrapbooking papers to make her initials,
and then bejeweled them to make them sparkle.

I chose sheets to go with the quilt that reminded me of mens
shirts from Vineyard Vines.

We used more gift tags to organize the clothing by size
in the closet.

the gift tags and matching
clothes pins were invaluable
for organizing and hanging the clothes;
they look great too!

This little oar was adorable, but my son-in-law added these
glass knobs in the same colors to make it a coat rack.

On the Move.... AGAIN

Well folks, it's been 6 months and our lease here is up and we're moving... again! We are moving across Vegas to Henderson to be closer to my dear hubby's office and the airport. We've also realized that living in a tri-level townhouse is not ideal for us. What we thought would be no big deal, turns out that it is kind of a pain to forget your keys in the bedroom and realize it when you get two stories down to the garage, or when you have to carry groceries up all of those stairs. So, we're getting a single level apartment on a golf course.

We also have realized that we aren't "rental furniture" people. We've found that the cost of rent for 2.5 years is quite a bit more than we would spend to purchase the furniture we'd love to have. We are glad we tried it, because we actually learned things that we can and can't live with and without. I'd definitely recommend short-term rental if you aren't sure what kind of furniture you like or to try out a style that you think you might like before sinking lots of money into purchasing. 

What we learned about our tastes and needs: 

*we don't have to have a king sized bed and because apartment bedrooms are usually smaller, we would be more comfortable with a queen and could use the extra space.

*we don't like solid headboards. Perry sleeps with one arm over his head and has developed a habit of putting his hand through the rungs of the headboard. We didn't realize this was a big deal, but after having an upholstered headboard, his sleep has definitely been affected.

*while we love the clean lines and look of a modern sofa, we definitely like the comfort level of a more traditional style and we definitely prefer leather to fabric.

*we prefer dining chairs that are comfy and make you want to linger around the table after a meal for good conversation or just for drinks or reading the paper, so fully upholstered chairs with arms are the best for our needs.

*last but certainly not least, we must have a comfortable mattress! We rented a mid-range mattress/boxspring set when we first got here, but we purchased a higher-end, pillow-top mattress. 

All of these things, we didn't know were important, turns out that they really are! So, I've spent a little over a week purchasing furniture. I bought some custom pieces and some "off the rack" pieces, but I'm hoping the entire look comes together.

Temporary Digs....

Entryway:
This piece I purchased, and it serves a really needed function.
The baskets house all of the dog supplies and a place to drop
keys, purses, etc. There is just this and a coat closet on this floor.

Well, if you know me, you'd think that every place I live is temporary, since we never stay anywhere for very long... but when I found out Perry was taking a job back in Vegas, I knew I couldn't make this "home" again. And, as you know if you follow my blog, we bought the house in South Carolina and moved all of our earthly belonging there and came to Vegas with just our clothes and a few personal things.

We will probably be in Vegas for about three years, maybe longer, but no shorter and we've definitely lived shorter amounts of time in other places and bought homes there and put down very shallow roots, but I'm getting older and it's getting harder and harder to do that. Not to mention, trying to find a place that would hold all of the things we had and have a place for everything... yuck, it's just miserable. There's always something that doesn't fit. Or there's that one space that just needs something that we didn't have... no more!

Guest Room:
The bedding, lamps and accessories in the
guest room I brought from the other house, just
rented a
 bed and nightstands .

Guest Bath:
The accessories in this room were left from
the yardsale too, I just bought the shower curtain
 and towels to match.

So traveling light has it's advantages, and definitely knowing that when it's time to move on to the next adventure, all we have to do is throw our clothes in the trunk and drive away is awesome, but it doesn't make our space feel very comfortable. We have rental furniture from Cort that serves every need, i.e. beds, dressers, sofa, table and chairs. Just the basics, mind you, nothing more, but then that's what we wanted, right?

Living Room:
The art and accessories in this room make it feel like home.
The coffee-table books add a homey feel and I love having
interesting photo books to share with guests.

I loved these pictures in a movie I saw
so when I saw them at Home Goods, I had to
have them! They just make the Dining
Area.

I don't have to tell you this, and it doesn't take a professional designer to know it, but it's the accessories and the soft furnishings that make a house a home... so what about keeping the belongings to a minimum and the whole traveling light thing? Well, I think I found a good balance with this place, I bought accessories, but kept them to a minimum and didn't spend much by shopping at Home Goods, Pier 1, and even Barnes & Noble.

Before we left SLC, we had a yardsale, and there were quite a few accessories that didn't sell, so I brought them in the car. Because I have an obsession for lamps and had a lamp "graveyard" in my basement in SLC, I didn't have to buy lamps for the bedrooms and I even had a giant one for the living room that I think works beautifully.

The main thing here is that we don't have anything extra. We have empty closets and cupboards because we have just the necessities when it comes to everything. (4 plates, 4 glasses, flatware for 4 settings, etc.) I've had to be creative in cooking without my kitchen full of small appliances and every different kind and size of pot and pan, but I'm getting along and it feels so freeing to have no extra clutter around me, and to also know that those things I love and hold dear are safely in my home in SC and I can go there whenever I want to and feel at home, away from "temporary home"!

My Secret Recipe?

Where we started...

Kitchens are always the most difficult part of a remodel. When we started this project we weren't expecting a total gut job. We thought we were going to be able to use the cabinets, however, it didn't take long to realize that we were going to have to get rid of everything and start from scratch. As you can see in this photo, the washer and dryer were located in the kitchen and the refrigerator is "floating" on the opposite wall. I decided to relocate the fridge, but the washer and dryer had to remain in the kitchen, here's how it all went down...

"gut job"

When we started ripping out the kitchen, we found that there was an old water heater in the corner cabinet and the exhaust vent over the stove wasn't even connected. We found electrical wiring that was "hidden" in the soffits and we knew it had been the right decision to pull everything out and get a clear look at the skeleton of the kitchen.

Once we had everything out I decided that it was the best time to relocate the stove, fridge and add a dishwasher. The things that you can't see is all new plumbing and electrical in addition to the new window, the only thing that stayed in the room was the paneling, it just got painted.

There was a small closet in the hallway and, initially, I intended to move the washer and dryer to that closet and increase the size of the kitchen, however, after carefully thinking about storage needs in the house, it was obvious that the house needed all the storage space possible and since there wasn't anywhere to get more storage, the laundry was going to have to stay in the kitchen. The only way to make it take less space was to bring in a stackable unit.

I decided to go with all white appliances since the washer and dryer didn't come in stainless. Since the appliances were white, I went with dark wood cabinets and dark countertops to enhance the contrast. Because I was on a very tight budget to do this kitchen that I hadn't even planned to do, I used stock cabinets, laminate countertops and vinyl flooring. Not only was the budget small because of all of the other things we had to do, but also because our purpose for buying this house was to get a good deal and keep the costs low.

I bought appliances that were on clearance (last years models) and was able to get a higher quality appliances on my budget. Also, by buying white appliances I saved about 10-15% of the stainless prices, and they function exactly the same. I bought my kitchen sink at the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store for 1/3rd of the price it was at retail. By painting the paneling instead of ripping it all out, not only saved money, it also saved time.

The vinyl flooring that was in the kitchen was in good condition and was fairly new, and we intended to keep it, however, the construction we did took a toll on the floor and in the end, I decided to replace it. I opted for a vinyl tile for the cost and also because ceramic tile would have added nearly an inch of height difference between the floors in the adjoining areas.

After

Ultimately, function is the most important aspect to kitchen design and this kitchen is very functional for it's size. The main thing lacking was a pantry and there was just no where to put more storage space. Fortunately, my dad gave me an armoire he wasn't using anymore and it was the perfect solution to form and function! Some things just came together and worked out for good, and others were carefully planned, but in the end, I'm very happy with the outcome.

"Pantry"

And, absolutely none of it could have happened without my great family who were there so many days working so hard to make this project come together!

For me, this was a great recipe that came together in a very "tasty" way!

Master Bedroom

For those of you who have seen my previous houses, you'll recognize everything about this room, except for the room itself. The main reason we bought the house in SC was to move our furniture one last time, so this time I designed the house to go with the furniture we already had.

As we were preparing to move, I made mental room plans with the furnishings and spaces in mind and only moved the things that I knew I had a place for. We had a much larger home in Salt Lake, but we knew we had to downsize and keep only the things we truly loved.

We chose very soft cream paint and I love the soothing feel of the space. We replaced the interior doors with white six-panel doors with high-gloss white paint. I definitely recommend the high-gloss for trim, it is so much easier to wipe clean and it makes such a great statement against any color of wall.

I'm not sure I can say anything about this makeover that the photos can't tell...

Before

Before

Primer goes on

All Primered Up

New Closet Interior Before Floors Were Done

My Latest Project or "Ginny's House"

Have you ever seen the show "Sarah's House" on HGTV? She buys a house and then remodels it one room at a time to make it her own. Well, I love that show and have done a very mini (at least budget-wise) one of those projects of my own.

Perry and I decided that moving all of our things was getting pretty tiring and we needed to find a home-base and start traveling lighter. (we've had 13 addresses in just over 11 years) So we bought the house he'd grown up in and moved all of our things to South Carolina and moved to Vegas only what we could take in our cars and rented a furnished townhome.

We knew the house in SC was going to be a real project because it had been neglected for some time and had been vacant for several years. But we were not prepared for just how much it would take to make it our own. We have been so blessed with family and friends who have helped along the way, and other than having the floors redone, we haven't had to pay for any labor. (I told you it was a blessing!) Our budget was blown the second day when we realized we'd have to gut the entire kitchen and replace all of the windows immediately.

We've replaced all of the windows, interior and exterior doors, lighting, electrical sockets and switches, thermostats and plumbing. We had to gut the kitchen and replace all the appliances and have gutted a 1/2 bath and took a closet out of the full bath to create a shower, thus making the 1/2 a 3/4 bath!

Every room has been painted, ceilings, walls and trim and the carpet removed and hardwoods stripped and refinished. We also had to clear a jungle out of the yard just to get near the house and even replaced the mailbox! The punch list keeps getting shorter and shorter and is now less than one page on a steno pad. We started on October 9th and even though we are not completely done, it is fully functional now.

This is just the first round of changes to be done to the house, I, unlike Sarah Richardson, have a limited budget and limited time to put into the job and my family has spent so much of their time working, we all need a break, maybe we will start again next spring. In the meantime, I'll share with you some of my favorite projects so far.

Let me say that the best part of this entire endeavor has been doing the work (sometimes really nasty work) with my Mom & Dad, Aunt Pat and Uncle Ray, Lauren, Aunt Judy & Uncle Del, Margaret Dunn, Aunt Ma, Uncle Melvin, Charles, Robert, Woody & Josh, Tyler and, of course, Perry. Aunt Pat kept reminding me, when it felt overwhelming, that we were just making memories and boy did we! I can't walk in a single room in this house that I don't see all of them there!

Before

The outside before and after shots, shown here, are from last month. We took down the mismatched shutters and replaced them with all matching ones.

The closed in front porch will be coming off so we can have a rocking chair front porch like a true southern house. And in the spring we hope to do some beautiful and much needed landscaping!

During...

The weather has been so yucky, I don't have more updated photos, but stay tuned, more to come!