Renovations Begin, North and South

I have to admit, I love to plan and design a new space.  Bet nobody who knows me understands that!  If there are no clients around who want to pay me to renovate their house, I will just buy one and do it myself!

Since I hate the tile in the kitchen, I decided the first project would be a floor cloth which would cover most of the floor.  As many of you know, I use vinyl flooring for my floor cloths, gotten from the dump, of course. 

  

This is how it all starts: cut out the shape and prime the backside of the vinyl.

       






                Here we are in the middle of the project.  Everything is measured out, center field painted and the corners are done.  Coral design, downloaded from the Internet, has been enlarged and traced into the four corners. 
           FYI...145 black squares lined and painted...but who is counting.

Finished floor cloth is in the background, coral field and turquoise corners with orange coral in each corner.  I am pleased. 

The chair in the front comes from the Haywood-Wakefield dining room set from The Blue Anchor.  I think the plastic seat cover is original, needs to be updated and in the correct colors!

Chairs recovered with Sunbrella fabric.  Stain resistant and color fast.  Always a great idea for dining room chairs. 

While I worked at the cottage, Joe Gramm reupholstered  and worked magic on cushions for my Haywood-Wakefield chairs and this little chair which will return to Florida.  The bolsters will go at the end of the couch.  The welting on the cushions is left over fabric from the dining room chairs.  Fabric for the cushions is tablecloths, on sale at Home Goods.  Stain resistant and color fast.  They even were on sale!

Today I went to only one Swap Shop ( that is because only one was open!) and this is what I found for the condo.  8 vintage, etched wine glasses, 4 flutes, also etched vintage, for Prosecco I'm thinking, white canister set whose tops I am going to paint orange, two platters, a towel hanger, a bar measurer (although I don't measure) a cake server and the two candle holders in the background which I am going to fill with beach glass and candles.  Now, really...how can I not go every day?

 Meanwhile, work began on the condo.  First thing to do is get rid of the white carpeting in the bedroom, walk in closet, and the great room.  An improvement already.

Very Yucky!

I found these sconces at a flea market in Idaho last summer and could not resist them.  Did I have a place for them then, no, but they were too good to pass up.  So, Ron (the photographer in the picture) is going to remove the mirror and the light fixture in the powder room, add the wiring for the sconces and when I get down, we will add them.  Cannot wait. 

The team has been hard at work getting the condo painted and ready for the new floors.  The color looks a bit dark in the pictures but I think it will be just perfect when the furniture arrives.

 Master Bedroom:  such a happy room and the views out the balcony door and the windows is fabulous. 

 

The movers come in about two weeks and then the real fun begins.  I am taking the corner cupboard from the Blue Anchor too and will use that for display and storage.  It is getting really exciting, I cannot wait for it to be finished and for company to start coming.  make your reservations early, my "dance card" is filling up!  Seriously, come visit we have a great time all winter. 

 

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Return!

As many of you know I have been going to Florida for the past ten winters always renting a condo.  The condo I was in last year is going on the market and I decided it was time to look into buying one of my own. 
Zillow is an amazing site which allows you to spend hours searching for properties that are available.  After looking for months, I found a one bedroom, 1 1/2 bath unit with an amazing view in Ponce Inlet, just a few minutes from Daytona Beach.  Several friends either live or rent in the community, Harbor Village, and it looked like it might be a good fit for me.

Here is the view from the balcony, facing west, overlooking the Intercoastal...a great sunset and cocktail spot!

I flew down to Florida in July to make sure the condo was a good as I thought and to look at a couple more just to make sure this one was a good fit.

 

 

View of the living room/dining room from the kitchen area. 

Right side of the great room looking into the bedroom.

Front door with the kitchen to the left and the powder room to the right.







Lovely furnishing, right?  Told the owners that I wanted the condo emptied before settlement.

 



The condo has a really large kitchen for its size which was a selling point for me.  I did think about replacing the white appliances but then I decided that a change in the countertops was more important.  Granite is going in, hardware will be changed and updated and I think it will be just fine. 

Master bath:
Really strange setup with a walk-in shower in the picture and a tub, all by itself, on the opposite wall.  Cannot justify making changes here as of yet.  Am sure I will be able to talk myself into redoing this next year.  Already have plans to take out the tub and put in a walk in shower and loosing the shower and making that storage.

 

After a bit of negotiations, the condo was mine the middle of September.  I have found a great contractor who can do just about everything and the next post will show you the progress we have made so far. 
Cannot wait to get there the end of October.  The movers come around the 23rd of this month and then I will either drive or fly down myself.  Then it is time to use up some more of the furniture from my mother and many, many items found at the dumps!