Five Faves for Friday...Guest Bedroom

To continue with the Guest Bedroom theme...

A couple necessities that every guest bedroom should have.

a pop of color with a handmade pillow

an old school-style alarm clock

soy candles in recycled wine bottles

recycled water decanter & glass

a functional lamp for reading

Sources: etsy, IKEA, Biome Lifestyle, West Elm, IKEA

Project...Guest Bedroom

We had a long weekend at The Farmhouse and planned to complete the downstairs guest bedroom that we have been working on for sometime now. Every project seems to have 10 steps within each step. Before painting, we have to prime; before the walls we need to paint the ceiling and the trim; before laying the floor we need to finish painting the doors and door jams and before the floor goes in we need to put up the bead board siding. It's exhausting just thinking about it. So we had four days with each day planned out...

Then we realized that we really needed to address the septic system once and for all (which had flooded from the downstairs shower into the bedroom.) Obviously it didn't make sense to start laying Pergo floors if there was a chance this could happen again...

So, we dug up the pipes to the septic tank and replaced them with new pipes and a clean out closer to the tank. The 75' snake we used to clear it the last time didn't quite make it all the way to the tank from the main clean out.

So enough talk of the CRAP that got in the way of our completed guest bedroom and on to some inspiration and what we hope it turns out once we get back up to complete.

This is the basic look we're going for.

simple ~ farmhouse ~ cozy ~ white ~ rustic ~ natural

I have a hand-me-down oak dresser that I plan to paint white & use as a bedside table.

To keep things simple and functional; I like these IKEA task lights. Brings a nice balance to the all white.

We just purchased a nice bed from a friend that has simple lines and dark wood. Also a nice balance to the white.

The room has one big window along the entire side wall. We'll use simple IKEA white cotton duct curtains. I'm hoping my sweetie is up for making some curtain rods out of galvanized pipes...if not, we'll keep it simple with white to disappear into the wall.

Although oak Pergo floors would not be my first choice, we graciously accepted these "extras" from my brother's gorgeous vacation rental remodel (The Pearl in Muir Beach) and I think they'll be just perfect. 

I love maps and think a guest bedroom is the perfect spot to hang one. I'd like one of Nevada County, Baja or the coast - some of our favorite places to be.

And for a little color and farm inspiration what could be better than a watercolor of a cow?

Or a photograph?

Just to give a little context of where we started this journey, here's the BEFORE picture.

 

Sorry for the terrible pictures, but you get the idea...

GROSS (but with big beautiful windows to a view of the forest acre)!!

I'll be back up to The Farmhouse at the end of March

and can hopefully start to decorate the space.

I can't wait to post the AFTER pictures.

My Top 13 Health & Green Tips for 2013

This topic has been on my mind a lot lately; how do we make ourselves, our homes and the environment healthier. While working on our house we are trying to make the best choices for our family, wallets and the environment. It's definitely a fine line trying to balance all three.

A couple things we've done:

used primer and paint that was being thrown out

(instead of buying new)

purchased a Viking stove on Craigslist

(instead of buying a new stove)

used what was left by the previous owners; including the

basic floor plan, the shed out back that will

be turned into my studio (yay!!) and ripping up carpet

to reveal hardwood fir floors that we'll definitely be keeping

(instead of changing the floor plan or tearing the house down, tearing down the dilapidated shed and rebuilding a studio or ripping out the flooring and installing my dream wide-plank hardwood floors)

used "eco" insulation to install below the floor

(contains more than 99% natural ingredients, is certified to include a minimum of 58% total recycled content and is formaldehyde free)

Gladly taken hand-me-down materials and furniture - a little elbow grease goes a long way and makes a unique space

(instead of purchasing all new materials and furniture)

chipped all of the branches that we limbed - about 20 piles 10' high...that was a ton of work!

(instead of hauling to the dump)

So you might be not be remodeling an old Farmhouse, but there are definitely easy everyday things we can do to make our world a little better. Here are a few to get you thinking...

1. Focus on organic or locally-grown foods.
2. Reduce the amount of meat and dairy in the diet ~  a vegetarian requires 1/4 acre of land/year, while a carnivore requires over an acre.
3. Buy bulk food instead of packaged products.
4. Use re-usable bags for produce and groceries. 
5. Drink more water. Use re-usable water bottles, instead of buying bottled water.
6. Use green household products instead of chemicals. Or make your own (check out this home-made laundry detergent).
7. Wash clothes in cold water (when possible); always rinse with cold. Learn more green laundry tips.
   
8. Save energy. Unplug appliances when not in use, turn off lights when not in the room and if purchasing new appliances buy Energy Star efficient products.
9. Save Water. Take shorter showers. Turn water off while brushing your teeth and fill a dishpan when hand-washing dishes.
10. Reduce paper usage. Pay bills electronically; use washable towels instead of paper towels, order magazines and newspapers digitally and stop junk mail.
11. Compost all waste. Some cool products to make this easier...a compost tumbler and a counter top compost bin.
12. Drive less. Use public transit if it's available, make each trip count, walk or ride a bike when possible and carpool if the option is available.
13. Plant a garden. Not only does this nurture the soul, but it can cut back on your grocery bills and protect the environment by decreasing the amount of pesticides used and transportation pollution created for purchased produce.  Find some inspiration on Tin Roof Farmhouse Pinterst Board: Farm Inspiration.

What do you do in your home and life?

Midweek Inspiration...Vintage Rental Business

This midweek inspiration is for selfish reasons...

to keep my dream alive and me focused!

My cluttered mess of boxes & bags up in my attic

will one day be an organized collection of my rental items.

Until then, I will be inspired by women

that are running successful businesses like Milk Glass Vintage.

What inspires you?

Sunday Still Lifes...bottles

I've been so busy with work, taking InDesign classes and

taking care of my sick husband, that I haven't worked much on my

blog or projects for either house. But I have been on

Pinterest way too much and I've been thinking a bunch about my

collections that I'll be able to pull out of

the attic (or my craft room turned crap room) once we finish the guest bedroom at The Farmhouse.

One item that I have collected over the years

and that make beautiful additions to

table decorations are {bottles}. See what inspires me.

My all time favorite color of old {bottles}.

White candles in clear {bottles} of differing heights make the perfect table decor for an intimate dinner party.

The perfect option for a group that chats late into the night.

I love this simple chic display for a wedding or shower. It could be perfect for a winter or spring event.

I love the single flowers and the table number.

Rustic yet sweet.

This is such a fabulous idea and could be used with

any color scheme. You could use Starbucks jars

which would be just as cute, free and it just wouldn't be right

to alter vintage milk jars.

I absolutely love the bright green flowers with the

rustic wood and cool {bottles}.

Cool for a chic vintage event. Funky yet stylized. You could make it sweet and cottagey with garden roses or super chic with a single bright green ranuncula. You could

use address numbers, paint or stamped hang tags.

For a group that appreciates wine this would be the perfect accent for table numbers. I like the vintage vibe it projects and  think the terra-cotta pot filled with herbs is perfect. This would fit a Wine Country wedding perfectly.

The perfect alter for a spring or summer wedding.

All of the images were pulled from Pinterest and can be found on my new Tin Roof Farmhouse Pinterest site: http://pinterest.com/tinrooffarm/.

Sunday Still Lifes...beach cottage

I've been spending more time at our "beach cottage" lately because I am taking creative classes in the Bay Area (more to come on that later.)

I've neglected our funky little rental because

we've been so focused on The Farmhouse this past year. So, I spent a little time this weekend enjoying all of my collections

around the house.

I hope you enjoy too...

Some of my bottle collection.

Part of our heart rock collection. 

The weight of a zen moment.

One of my favorite ironstone pitchers.

Sand dollars, antlers & tarnished silver...

Cheers!

Midweek Inspiration...new dreams

So many new dreams.

some still developing, some in action...

others floating just in the distance.

via Pinterest

I look forward to sharing some of mine in the months ahead...

What are your new dreams for 2013?

Sunday Still Lifes - Baja Doors

I was just reminiscing with my husband about our trip

to Baja back in 2004. We drove down in an an

old Ford Diesel truck outfitted with a camper and tons of gear.

Traveling to the tip of Baja, up the Sea of Cortez

and beyond. We had an amazing trip and hope to make it back some time in the not too distant future.

In the meantime, here are some shots I took of the doors

around Todos Santos...Enjoy!

Word of the Year - 2013

{ b a l a n c e }

Before I found out about the the

"Word of the Year"

I decided to focus on two words this year to help me focus.

They are

balance & consistency

I need to find a nice balance between work & play

I want to be consistent with my exercise plan

I look forward to balancing my protein intake with 

my love of carbs

I'm trying to drink more water & need to be much more consistent

I want to be more consistent with my blogging

I need to work on balancing my time between our 

"beach cottage" & The Farmhouse

To choose one word to inspire me throughout the year, I'll choose 

{ b a l a n c e }

because I can be completely unbalanced yet super consistent,

but balance should bring more consistency.

What is your word for the year?

Happy 2013!

I want to wish you all a Happy New Year!

The time of year to reflect on the past and

look ahead to the future.

A time for a fresh start or

to realign your values.

I look forward to sharing new inspirations in the New Year...

Festive Forest

I am thrilled to have my vintage christmas tree

and holiday decorations included

in the Rusty Hinge "Festive Forest" blog post.

image by me

Sunday Still Lifes - Holiday Decorations

We've had an amazing time up at The Farmhouse this past week

for a legitimate vacation...Long overdue!

This was our first Christmas spent here and I enjoyed

decorating with the random items that we had around the house.

Since we bought the house in December of last year we had already brought up our vintage green sparkly tabletop tree. At the last minute I grabbed two boxes of my vintage Brite Rite ornaments which made the space very festive. 

Here are a few highlights of our holidays...Enjoy!