My Dream House

I don't know if you have been following, but basically everything I post is out of total envy for those folks who own a home and have ridiculously great spaces. We're apartment dwellers in one of the most expensive Cities in the U.S. so I am well aware that having a lux pad in SF, is not written in the stars for us.

BUT that doesn't mean that we can't dream, right? Well, in honor of Home Week here on Sugar and Spice, and searching for my passion and realizing my dreams, I am going to take you on a Dream House Tour of my beautiful house in the clouds. Well, are you ready?

You'd enter through the back into our fabulous mud room (you know because we're casual like that):

source.

Next you'll enter the kitchen:

source.

Which connects to our dining room:

source.

And a living room right in the heart of a forest:

source: Bob O'Connor.

Past the front door and the landing strip:

source.

Up the stairs:

source.

You'd find a sweet little nursery (I am dreaming here folks- baby or no baby- go with me)

source.

Which of course would have a fab library for the little one to grow up and be a genius.

source.

Off the hallway would be a laundry and sewing room:

source.

And then you'd enter the Master Suite:

source.

And of course it'll have a beyond fabulous closet:

source.

And a kick ass bathroom:

source.

Off the bedroom there would be a sweet little balcony to enjoy the sunshine:

source.

Of course there will be a pool:

source: www.haririandhariri.com

With a cabana:

source.

And an equally amazing guest suite:

source.

With mod bath:

source.

Now that you've seen my dream up- get ready for tomorrow when I let you know what home means to me in my much anticipated (of course, I mean anticipated by me only of course), 'Pin It Forward: What home means to me' Post.

So do you spend your days dreaming of your dream home?

We have landed...

Into our mini apartment house tour.

And of course, I had to start with the entrance or landing strip if you will. I had three objectives.

1. Add a super cool hallway mirror.
2. Add a pop of color.
3. Be organized.

My friend Kara and I found a plastic gold mirror at a garage sale one day while on a walk. I didn't even have $$ so she spotted me the 15 bucks to carry this puppy home.

So I started with this:

And using this as inspiration:

I ended up with this:


My inspiration for our living room is gray, white and yellow, so I decided to bring the gray into the hall way with a bit of a twist and used a bit more of a blue gray. I picked up a small paint sample jar of Valspar Lighthouse Shadows (4008-3B) to paint the mirror. Yes, I was a very bad organic blogger- I didn't take the time to use low VOC paint, which I completely regretted later as the smell wafted through the house. You can see how small the paint jar was in this pic. (and my trusty helper- too bad he doesn't have opposable thumbs)


I used the glue gun to secure on the orange embellishment that I bought at a fabric store, and I had enough paint left over to paint an old hat rack to match. Since the small paint jars only come in matte, I spray painted on a sheer gloss to give it a bit of shine.



A magazine rack that we bought from Ikea years ago provides storage for keys, doggie bags, and all the other bits that you empty out of your pocket when you enter your apartment. Plus, it gives us handy storage for our umbrellas- which we've needed a lot this winter. Ideally, we'd have a larger piece, but for now we're using what we got.

I added a few more pops of orange, including a bunch of the colorful scarfs that I wear almost every day, and called it done.

Total project cost: $15 mirror, $5 can of paint, and $4 for spray paint. Total: $24 bucks give or take.

I love the splash of color and I love getting one last glance at the mirror as I leave for work in the morning- I've been known to have tooth paste everywhere.

So what do you think of the orange? Did I accomplish my goal?