Black is Beautiful AND we got a new rug!

Remember this photo from the treehouse tour of the upstairs?  Well, you've already seen the before-and-afters of both the dining room and the living room, so today I thought I'd give you a quick look inside the half bath project.

The upstairs powder room is located just off the living room, near the front entrance.  You can see it in the photo below; the door is open.

Not much to see here, folks. It's a teeny tiny bathroom that has a sink, a toilet and a linen closet.  And yes; I already told you there is grey carpet on the floor in there.  And yes; I know that is disgusting. But hey...let's just focus on the positive, k?

Talk about a taping nightmare.  What you're looking at here, people, is the ceiling.

As the paint went up I was terrified.  It was a total splotchy mess but it was too late to turn back so forward I marched.  No worries though.  4 coats of black paint later, we were all smiles around here.

Found this vintage painting for $15 and knew it was going to be a hit against those black walls and the celadon zig zag rug from West Elm.

Black and beautiful!  Here she is, friends, and she looks great!

The gold mirrored tray and cute little pill box are vintage and the Sydney Hale Co. candle is a little slice of Heaven that I was gifted from Twig & Willow. I highly recommend the cedarwood + vanilla scent; it is absolutely divine.  Still working on the accessories for this space.

I do love the way the West Elm zig zag rug color ties into the vintage floral artwork.  AND it hides a lot of that horrible grey carpet.  Win! Win!

Here's the view from the bathroom looking out into the living room.  Now of course, it's totally blown out due to all that sunlight bursting through the windows...amateur mistake...but you get the point.

And I know we're talking about the half bath today but how about a little love for our new living room rug too!  I recently ordered this Beaumont Adileh Natural Rug from Rugs USA.  It is so SO lovely.  Even prettier in person.

 I love that it looks like a vintage Persian without the $3500+++ price tag.  We went with the 'natural' color but we were super close to going with the 'spruce blue' which looks really pretty too. Because our entire upstairs area is so neutral and white, the living room really could handle a vibrant rug.  Instead though, we opted to stay with something neutral because, remember, at some point I plan on replacing these sofas and I didn't want to limit myself due to a crazy vibrant rug color.  In this rug, you can see some black & shades of grey, as well as some really faint apricot tones.  So far I am loving it but let me live with her for awhile; I'll do a full review in a few months and let you know how this bargain beauty is holding up. 

In other news, this is happening.  

New and improved garden wall pics coming soon!

The Treehouse :: A living room progress report

Happy Tuesday, everyone.  The time has come for a Camp Cham+Thom living room progress report.  I've hesitated to post pictures because I love things to look "just so" but that's not real life, now is it?  Our home is a work in progress and will probably continue to be so for quite some time.  I'm changing my mind so much these days.  It's probably best that I document my thoughts here, if for no other reason, than to have something to refer back to!

Okay, so as a reminder this is how the living room looked when we rented the space.

We're so grateful for the gorgeous wood floors, all that natural light and the fantastic wood beamed ceiling.  AND we're up in the hills and have an incredible view of the Silverlake Reservoir.

This picture doesn't do it justice one bit and yet it STILL looks gorgeous.

That reservoir is actually calling my name this very second.  It does that sometimes.  Bridgette, get off your bum.  Come down here and exercise...  Yeah Yeah...I'll see you soon, lil' reservoir; very soon.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, before we moved in we removed the funky window mouldings, threw a fresh coat of white paint on everything and took down that eyesore of a television that was  protruding from the wall.

This is a photo I took after we moved in our first few boxes.

I really love our home. You walk through the front door and there's no mistaking it; there's a very Zen feel in here.  The location and the view can't be beat either and I've also really loved having a fireplace again.  There's just something about sitting by a fire that I adore.  It's true. The first day there's even the slightest chill in the air, I want to throw on a log.  I'm a gal who loves to be comfy cozy and warm; so for me, having a fireplace is nearly a necessity.  From the get go, I knew I wanted stacked wood inside the house and was dreaming about it even when we were back in Seattle.  But where oh where to put all that firewood?

Once we got settled, it seemed to me that the empty space to the right of the fireplace was begging to be utilized.  Sadly, we  I do watch a lot of tv and that seemed like the only spot for it.  Now you might be saying, but you just removed a perfectly good tv from that very spot.  Well yes, that's somewhat true BUT... We definitely didn't want a super high mounted television (like the one the previous tenant had) nor for it to be attached to a big silver hinge.  No one needs to watch tv while sitting at the dining room table, people.  Paleeze.

Instead, I thought it would look better if we created a platform for our television to be at eye-level; and for me, it was important aesthetically, for the tv not to be higher than the fireplace mantel.  If it were to go higher, it seemed like it would throw that corner off balance.  Also part of the plan? The tv platform would double as a structure that would hold our firewood and keep things tidy.

Sooooo, this is what we came up with and truly it could not be a more perfect design solution AND it was easy to install.

The plan was to assemble the structure first and then put it in place and secure it to the wall.  BUT... once it was put together we realized that it was a super tight, near impossible, fit.  Turns out our beautiful (old) treehouse has walls that are a bit uneven so we just ended up pushing and wedging the platform until it fit.  It's so snug that we didn't even need to secure it to the wall.  Easiest DIY project ever!  Of course, I would always recommend securing anything top heavy like this to a wall if possible, especially if you live in earthquake country like us.

I must say, it's super functional and actually looks like a built-in.  I'm super happy with it.

Here are some other shots of the progress we've made in the living room.  And I'm still working on my photography skills, folks, so bear with me.

Hello, light, bright & gorgeous lil' treehouse.

Nice to see you, pretty plants in the dining room.  Sometimes more IS more, so we've purchased more greenery and some smaller pots and are going to be adding to our garden wall soon!

The wall opposite the fireplace is a little challenged.  It's just SO huge.  Need to add more art.  More art everywhere.  I know...I know...  But in the meantime, let's all smile at the colorful musings of the lovely Louis Cannizzaro.  Check him out at www.powderfrench.com.  He's a sweetheart and if you don't own his artwork, you should.  You can thank me later.

Woah...  Wait a second.  I forgot to mention that we had a supermodel on set today.  Miss Gracie Jane Pickle...who in this photo is unsure that she wants anything to do with this here photo shoot.  Little one, why must you glare at me so?

I wish I could take the credit for this gorgeous fireplace screen.  Carol (our landlord) picked it up at the Rosebowl.  Look closely and you can almost see an Otomi pattern.  I LOVE it so much.

Like I said before, this side of the room is a wee bit "challenged." Although I've loved my Vanessa de Vargas inspired green campaign dresser (LGN wrote about it here), it may be time to bid it adieu.  OR maybe we can move her downstairs or give her a fresh coat of paint or something.  I dunno.  For a second we toyed with the idea of putting a bar in that little nook but now we've got small kiddos on the brain so that is looking less and less likely.  We're still a little undecided, but we've also talked about getting some type of vintage shelving for over there.  A nice vertical piece with some height to it maybe.  Not sure though.  AND yes...yes...  I know we need more art.  

Oy.  And much better dresser styling.  Keeping it real, people; just keeping it real...

So there you have it, my dears.  The longest picture-packed-post ever.  Our upstairs living space is almost done.  Well, as done as it's going to get for a bit.  

Here's why we're just at "almost":

1. We'd love to replace our sofas as they are actually super uncomfortable.  Biff and I have discussed it and we are quite certain that we've been cursed with bad sofa karma...although we're not sure why.  Also, sadly, Gracie Jane Pickle thinks they are her extra large scratching posts... and as much as I've thought about breaking her legs and tearing out her nails (I know.  I'm a horrible person.) when I wake up to the noise of her scratching in the middle of the night, I just love her too damn much to do so.  Soooo we've resigned to ugly cat scratched corners on these uncomfortable sofas.  I think because of the light color of the sofas though, it's not that super noticeable.  Or maybe I'm just dreaming.  Who knows.  

2. Like I mentioned earlier, we want to change out the green campaign dresser.  We'll see when or if that ever happens. 

3. I am in the process of buying and creating more art for the entire house.  More on that soon.

4. And undoubtedly, a few more pillows, a throw or two and something with a little more height to go on the mantel wouldn't hurt either.  

So you see, we are allllllmost there.  One of these days I'm going to have this place properly photographed by someone who knows what they're doing.  I bet it will make a world of difference. Can't wait!  Must.  Finish.  Projects!!

First though, I better get down to that reservoir and burn some calories.

Have a great night, lovelies.

The Treehouse :: the upstairs

Now that I've shown most of the projects we accomplished at the San Gabriel House, it's time to bring you up-to-date on a few of the more recent goings-on around here.

Cham+Thom Interiors is officially up and running & I've also been working on a ton of personal projects for the casa lately.  Did you see the cute re-do of my flea-market-find last week?  Well, if you looked closely at that post you may've gotten a sneak peak of yet another newly finished project happening in the dining room too.  More on that soon and yes; I know I'm behind schedule but I promise to post pics of the completed garden wall before this Friday!  And if you're following along on Instagram, well then you already know the dining room is looking mighty green and mighty fabulous these days.

So, you've probably heard me refer to our current house as the "treehouse".  I also like to call it Camp Cham+Thom.

It really is lovely.  It's in the hills of Silverlake with a beautiful view of the Reservoir and it truly does feel like a tree house!  We're perched on a hilltop with our main floor balcony, literally, in the trees.  We are one with the birds, the squirrels and lots of other lil' creatures (who I may or may not wish to be friends with).  We all get along for the most part though.  We have boundaries.  Well, usually.

Yes, people; that is a baby rat in my house!  I had gone out for a glass of wine with a girlfriend that night.  Seriously.  I was gone maybe 1 1/2 hours.  It was a Friday.  A hot day.  It was still early and light out when I left so I kept the balcony doors open.  I wasn't gone two hours and Bam! there's a rat in my house.  That's great.  Look at Gracie Jane Pickle.  She has no idea what to even do with this present that has fallen into her lap.  She's an indoor cat.  She only sees this stuff out the window or on the Nature Channel.  She's totally out of her element here.  Instincts?  Nope.  I don't think she has any.  She's like the big guy in The Green Mile.  She would never want to kill that poor thing; why would she kill her new friend?

Sadly, we've encouraged her killer instincts by our uncontrollable giggles and praise, as we watch her swat at her electronic toy mouse (that looks a little too similar to this fella).  So now she's swatting at this little beast (I swear he looked bigger in person) and I find myself screaming for her to stop.  Oh great.  Somehow it becomes my mission to keep the rat alive.

I called Biff and he laughed at me.  I think he expected me to kill it.  What?  HOW???  There may or may not have been some squealing.  By me.  And there may or may not have been a moment when I was standing on the sofa.  When I was squealing.  I texted Biff this picture of me (that's me last year with longer hair) after the fiasco was over and I had successfully SAVED Ratatouille's life.

Like I said.  We are one with nature here at Camp Cham+Thom.

But...I digress.

The house would only be more perfect for us if money were no option and we owned it! Then, of course, we might make a few more costly upgrades, but for now, we're all good.  We know how fortunate we are.  Our good friend is actually the owner and our landlord.  Which is how we came to know of this little slice of awesomeness and it's availability so we could pounce on it!

Here are some of the before photos taken in December 2011.  The house is Spanish built in 1928.  In this first photo I'm standing near the front door, facing to the left.  I turn a little to the right with each of these first few shots so you can get a sense of the whole room.  See those trees!  Like I said...we live in a treehouse!

The living room has a wood-burning fireplace.  Initial thoughts on the space: LOVE IT but what is up with that weird molding around the doors & windows?  Am assuming it was for draperies but why would you have curtains in this room?  No one can see in and the view is AMAZING!


In this photo you can see the dining room over to the right where the saltillo tile flooring begins.  The previous tenant left the tv you see here.  A tv mounted WAY too high in a space this gorgeous?  No thank-you. It had to go.

Here's a closer look at the dining room which steps down into our teensy weensy kitchen.  It's a nice size space and has a peaked/slanted ceiling but again, what's with the weird window framing?  I'm so curious if it was original to the house.  And although I wouldn't have them in the living room, I'm not opposed to window coverings in the dining room; our neighbor has a side door that is close by and there have been more than a few moments of awkward eye contact.  

And back into the main living room again.  Now I'm looking towards a small powder room and the front door.  The railing you see there is to a staircase that leads downstairs to the bedrooms and a full bath.

A quick look at the upstairs powder room.  Yes; that is carpet on the floor.  I know...I know...it's unthinkable, right?  Look.  I know it's not ideal BUT there's so much other goodness going on here that we've somehow gotten over it.

Just forget about the carpeted bathroom.  Instead look at this beyond gorgeous ceiling of ours.  Bathroom Shmathroom.  Like I said, we are so soooo fortunate.

So, these photos show how the upstairs looked when we moved in.  We've been here a year and half now and it feels more and more like home every day.  Things are still a work in progress and we are definitely taking our sweet time but I'm excited to show you what we've done so far.  Check in tomorrow to see that wonky molding come down and watch as the larger pieces of furniture find their place in the design plan.

The San Gabriel House :: the exterior

I have just about gone cukoo crazy with all these before and afters this week.  But I'm not done yet.  Here's another one for you.  

You see, while we were busy renovating the interior and backyard at the San Gabriel house, this happened.  And sadly, yes, those are our overgrown bushes and yes, that is a piece of plywood we were using as a garage door.

Remember I mentioned that we finally hired some help to do the weeding in the backyard?  Well, when they were done back there, they got busy on our pint-sized front yard.  Here's the house in its' still ghetto fabulous state, but it looks way better without all those weeds.

I can't even imagine what our neighbors thought was going on over at our place.  Here we are trying out some paint colors.  And yes; we painted the entire exterior.  BY OURSELVES.

You're probably not going to believe this, but we never did replace that plywood with a proper garage door.  Instead, we decided to let the new homeowners deal with that expense and in the meantime, we got a little crafty. My creative, superstar husband (who was still my boyfriend back then) had the brilliant idea that we should add some decorative molding to the plywood.  Again, our friend Google helped us out.  Do a search for "mid-century garages" and you'll find a ton of cool images.  This one stuck out to us and served as our inspiration.

So one afternoon, Biff did THIS.  Bam!  In my book, that man is seriously brilliant.

We painted the exterior of the house and as I mentioned in an earlier post, we also painted the aluminum window casings.  Scroll up and look at the before photo.  The black on the windows makes a huge difference.  Even though it was an enormous pain in the ass, it was cost effective and looked great.  

The San Gabriel reno taught me so much about myself.  I'm physically stronger than I ever believed and can handle more stress that I thought was humanly possible.  AND I love gardening!  Who knew?  

May I have a drum roll please?  Ta daaaaah!!  Here she is all cleaned up pretty.  I love the way the black mulch tied in with the window casings, house trim and garage molding.

I remember the day I took this photo.  The sun was just starting to go down and Biff and I had been working on the house all day.  We were so exhausted yet so excited.  Within a month, we had placed the house on the market.  It sold 6 days later.

A sweet family moved in...a husband and wife with two children and one on the way.  We've only driven by once since we moved.  We were over on that side of town and just couldn't help ourselves.  It was nice to see that they've been taking care of our little front yard.  And of course, they replaced that plywood garage door.  I imagine they've made some other upgrades inside the house too; hopefully they put in a sprinkler system in the backyard.  Watering back there was a total nightmare.  
Selling the San Gabriel house was a necessity and in a time when people were sitting on real estate for months, we know how fortunate we were to have made such a quick sale.  Moving from there broke my heart though.  Biff and I fell in love while fixing up that lil' disaster of a home; we created something amazing there and I like to say it's all that spackle and paint that is going to hold us together forever.  

Are you in love with where you live?  And if so, what is it about your home that you love so much? 

The San Gabriel House :: the backyard

Gardening is still on the brain today but instead of focusing on my new garden wall project like I should be, I'm wandering down memory lane again; this time, I'm obsessing over the dramatic before and afters of the San Gabriel house backyard.  See for yourself.  Oh...and try not to judge.

When I met Biff, the backyard looked like this.

Good Lord... Thank God we met and were friends first, because in a dating scenario, I'm not sure this type of yard is something I could've gotten past.  It's just sooooo bad, right?

Biff was digging up the back yard all by HIMSELF like a crazy person.  You can see in the second photo above, that he was making a raised 'bed'. When he wasn't working, he was digging.  Pure madness.  I finally convinced him that he needed some help and we hired a couple of young guys to weed the back yard and help with the planter.  So it went from what you see up top there...

To this.

Still awful, but much better.

All that digging worked; we had a huge planter bed that was sectioned off using railroad ties.  The idea was to have colorful greenery and plants in most of the raised bed with a small section saved for a garden.  We wanted sod for the grassy area, a clean and BLUE pool and knew that eventually we needed some sort of cover for the pool's pump and other components too.

In this photo we've just begun planting.  And you can see here that we've also painted a mossy green color on the cinder blocks surrounding the house.  We couldn't afford to replace the wall itself so this was the next best thing.  We couldn't believe how much of a difference it ultimately made.

The pool went from this scary monstrosity...


To this creepy crawly slime bucket.


Here I began to have hope though...


And when this happened, well, I almost died from happiness.  That pool was blue for miles and my heart was so full of joy I'm surprised it didn't explode right then and there.


The day the sod arrived was a good day too.

I've never been happier to wake up at 5am and work my butt off.

We worked SO hard... And it looked SO great.  We were quite proud of ourselves.

The kids were happy about it too.  Here we are jumping for joy! :)
And here's how the backyard looked when we sold the house.  Success!

Holy ground cover over-growth!  It looks like a certain "someone" was a little impatient and wanted instant gratification so that certain someone "may" have planted the ground cover a wee too close together.  Oopsy.

And before I forget, you've got to see the patio that leads out to this backyard space.  I wish I had a photo of how it looked in its' original state of disgust.  The photo below though, is how it looked shortly after I met Biff and I am telling you, a TON of progress had already been made (you can see another angle of all the yard overgrowth here too).  When he bought the house this was an enclosed patio.  Yep.  An enclosed patio with a fire pit. Say whaaaaat???


This is another great before and after. In addition to removing the roof and walls, we painted the beams black and the brick walls white.  We also continued the moss green color we used in the back yard on the cinder block walls. A pressure cleaner helped too, as did a lot of scrubbing on our hands and knees.  This porch was just off of the kitchen and den areas of the house and quickly became one of our favorite spots; we roasted s'mores with the kids and had countless dinners under the stars with friends.  And here's how the patio looked when we moved.

Divine!!  This backyard and patio makeover goes to show that absolutely anything is possible. Wait till you see what we did to the front of the house... :)