What a Beautiful Time of Year

After many months of snow and cold, I am so happy to welcome spring!  May and June are absolutely beautiful here.

Yesterday I planted my pots. (yes, today my old body is feeling it!) :)

I planted cosmos, petunias, snapdragons and a spike in the middle of each.

I planted these a couple of weeks ago.  They are wave petunias and are already starting to fill in nicely.   (You can see the Arborviteas along the fence.  They were all the same size when I planted them two years ago.  What the heck is with the little guy in the center??)

 I love the adirondack chairs my husband built.  We spend a lot of time sitting in them.

The wave petunias in the boxes on the ladder and the perennials are starting to come back to life in this area.

The creeping thyme between the rocks is really filling in.  Last week I added rocks to the back side of the pond so my husband could get to the pump and filters without ruining any of the plants back there. 

The fish are getting big! 

 We used to have an ugly piece of mesh separating the area for Max to lay down in and the rest of the pond, but he never gives any indication that he'd go in the deep end, so we got rid of it.  We love the look of the pond without it!

He is definitely my favorite part of the backyard! 

 We had dinner out here last night and it was a perfect night!  I'm looking forward to everything blooming and many more nights out here this summer.

Thanks for your visit! 

 Happy Mother's Day!


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VOTE HERE

Pam


I am linking to the following parties:



The Polo House's Favorites on the First Party
 

Click and Improve at the Macaroni Kid Family Travel Expo

Last weekend, our boys were in midtown for the Macaroni Kid Family Travel Expo to spread the word about Click and Improve. It was a great time and we met a lot of parents who were excited by and engaged with our hassle-free approach to home improvement. The kids had fun too: we gave out pet goldfish and helped them put on Click and Improve fake tattoos. A lot of fun was had and we’re looking forward to more events in the coming weeks, including Mommapalooza next weekend. Our friends at Macaroni Kid were nice enough to send over some photos of our booth and the droves of moms and kids that stopped by. Enjoy! 

"Pretty Little Things" Fridays

Life's so hectic & busy that I often forget to slow down enough to appreciate the little things.  And it's the little things- the simple pleasures- that get me excited & make me appreciate my life.  If you've been reading Pure Style Home long enough, you probably know that consistency in blog posts isn't really my thing, but I thought it would be nice to try to post about little simple pleasures on Fridays.  I'm home with my boys on Fridays & only have a few spare minutes to do posts, so I thought "Pretty Little Things" would be a nice way to share a little something good that I've come across during the week or have going on at my house. 

This week, my simple pleasure is being able to bring in massive pink floppy roses from my garden:

{They smell like Heaven!!}

The roses echo the old-fashioned black & white cabbage rose wallpaper in my kitchen nook...  Eating breakfast (mm-mm pancakes!) with the boys and the little white pot of roses on the kitchen table just made me happy.  So simple. So easy. 

What simple pleasure have you indulged in this week?

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Oh bathroom, to renovate or not, that is the question!

They say there is no place like home, but what about your bathroom? Your bathroom is one of the places you spend your time mostly, whether you're brushing your teeth, showering, etc. You want your humble abode to be attractive for guests and visitors, but why not your bathroom? Here are some reasons why you should renovate your bathroom:

More value to your home 

Often times when people are trying to sell their homes, they often do home renovations to improve the value of their home when selling. By doing a bathroom renovation, it not only adds more value to your home, but also makes your home that more attractive to the eye of the customer.

Wide selection of renovations 

If you ever wanted to change up your bathroom, there are multiple styles of bathtubs available. From the standard alcove bathtub to the luxurious platform bathtubs, there is a type of bathtub for everyone!

 "Wow" factor 

Ever walk into your bathroom and feel like "wow, this is boring"? Bathroom renovations specialists Ultimate Bath Systems can help transform your bathroom from boring to amazing. Featuring a wide selection of textures and colours to choose from, your dream bathroom renovation dreams can come true! Want to make your bathroom even more exciting? You can change your plain old countertop with some new marble or granite countertops to make your bathroom even more inviting!

Safety 

Do you have an elderly person living at your home? Do you want your bathtub to be safer? A simple renovation such as a walk-in bathtub can be the solution to these troubles. Featuring slip resistant patterns on all bathtubs, you can be rest assured that anyone at any age can shower with an ease of mind.

Impressing guests 

Whenever you want guests to come over to your home, you want to make them feel the most comfortable and cozy, but what about your bathroom? By doing a bathroom renovation, it not only makes your home that more impressive, but as well more opening to your guests. Imagine yourself hosting a dinner party and one of your guests needs to use the bathroom, suddenly they see a nicely renovated bathroom they are able to use. It makes their experience at your home that much better and they would be amazed at how well you take care of your home.

Overall, there are multiple reasons why one would want to renovate their bathroom. There are also many types of renovations one can do from bathtubs countertops. If you ever wanted to make your home to look even better, start by doing a bathroom renovation today!

Author Bio: Michael is a freelance blogger and contributor at Expert Notion. During his free time he likes to surf the internet, browsing forums and checking out blogs that intrigues his mind.

Sneakity Peeks from Last Week's Install

Our client's living room installation last week turned out beautifully & I thought I'd share a few details.  The spool chairs are covered in my "Squircles" in Oatmeal/ Fresh Blue.  (It's a custom coloway we had done for our client on the oatmeal groundcloth so she wouldn't have to worry about white.)  And you can just spy the teensiest bit of the curtains that we had done in my Happikat in Fresh Blue.   We paired the more traditional spool chair with a Saarinen side table for a fresh mix.   

We had the custom mortise and tenon coffee table built by one of our favorite companies to work with, The Lorimer Workshop, and it is INCREDIBLE.  (I want it.)  You can't really tell from this photo but the legs are splayed and hand carved.  The finish is perfection.  It sits atop a vintage hemp dhurrie that's layered over seagrass.

We had fun with the pillows by John Robshaw and I'm gaga over the needlework design on the edges of the orange & pink pillow:

Like I mentioned last week, we're waiting on a couple of backordered wall lamps so when I have final pics of the whole room, I'll be sure to share!  (To view the 'before' of this room, click here.)

And a personal update:
I'm just about 9 months pregnant (due Saturday or Wednesday...  they gave us 2 dates at different times- go figure )  & am hanging in there & feeling pretty good.   (At least in the mornings ;)  I have this crazy urge to get our house "just right" which I honestly haven't really had since we first moved in and went gangbusters on it .  (I was also pregnant then.)  My poor husband painted our lower level for me last week & we organized it to death, which feels amazing.  I'll share pics when I can but it's so refreshing to have everything in its place.  (I'm not gonna lie, you can't even really walk into the back of my laundry room storage area though ;) 

I'm trying to tie up loose ends at work & am really excited to get to enjoy our new baby.   When our last baby was born (Justin) it just flew too quickly and I worked way more than I planned, so I'm going to try really hard this time to just focus on my kids & on the baby for a while before going back.  I've been spending as much time as possible with my boys because I know how nutty it'll be with our new little one & I want to give them as much attention as I can now.  I'm off for the day but will keep you posted!!




If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.  We are booking for July.

Home Improvement Secrets

As a Learning Investor I was initially concerned with the lack of investment property and home improvement assistance available to help you, get the best bang for buck out of any home improvements. Hence this Article, the purpose is to help people get home improvement benefits by the most cost effective way possible( BEST BANG FOR BUCKS ). After constant research and trial and error, there was a simple formula to follow, to get your property up to scratch....

(a) get it valued for investment
(b) sell for the best price possible
(c) get the highest rent possible

An adage that should always be kept at the front of your mind when deciding on Home Improvement repairs is that “eyes sell” any real-estate agent worth his weight will tell you that 90% of a sale is by eyes and heart. If you make the property visually pleasing you will succeed with your goals. Now the best way to go about this is to make repairs by using what I call the cost/return method. simply put you weigh the cost up against the return and should be looking at better than a 200% return on your little home improvement investment.

The best possible and fastest way to get this return is to put in an effort , hopefully you have some handy man skills and can attack the problem using your own labor . This will definitely give you the best return. So heres the SECRET.

1. Make Sure all cupboards are neat and open and close properly
2. Make sure the garden is tidy
3. make sure the front of the property is tidy
4. Clean oven, bathroom and toilets.
5. Fix anything that is loose or untidy

Last but not least the most agreed upon method of improving your values is to paint, paint, paint that’s right while not a secret itself the thought does mean work but it will give you the best return for dollars available.

How To make the job professional, the best way be professional is to get professional advise go down to the local paint center get some hardy advice buying mid range stuff including what the paint shop recommends paint wise.

To make the job faster and easier you can simply get an exact match of the paint by taking down a thumbnail size chip to the paint shop and they will analyze and give you an exact match this will allow you to paint over the old paint in one coat.

Please remember to remove the old chips and cobwebs. Many professional painters use sugar soap to remove the irregularities.

By following the above secret rules you will improve your property in leaps and bounds without spending too much money and this will in turn increase the value and return from your property. 

Little Houses & The RTMC Playhouse Project

There's something about kids' playhouses that I'm crazy about. I used to looooooove my treehouse when I was a little girl & I spent hours up there making it perfect.  Today in our own backyard play"shed," I love seeing my boys (4 and 2) so entertained & excited.

image via patrickahearn.com

I've been in touch with a local housing nonprofit organization, Rebuilding Together Montgomery County, for the past year or so about an amazing fundraising event  taking place this May.  RTMC is auctioning off 8 one-of-a-kind playhouses & the money raised will go towards the organization, which provides free home repairs to low-income homeowners in Montgomery County.  They focus on helping those with disabilities, making homes safer for seniors (fall prevention) and they place a huge emphasis on serving our veterans.  RTMC strives to help others maintain homeownership and helps keep its families warm, safe and independent.  They've recruited 8 builders/remodelers to construct playhouses in a variety of themes to be auctioned off (& display through the month of May in Bethesda)  on May 31st.  

aplaceimagined.blogspot.com

There are photos of the 8 houses being auctioned online (you can even bid online) but they're exterior photos of the houses sitting on their display sites in Bethesda, so I thought it would be fun to take a look at a bunch of other playhouses that are installed in permanent spots & also check out some interiors.  Above, I love the cedar house & its wavy roofline.  It's nestled under a willow tree, which is perfection!!

This Victorian cottage below is adorable.  I wouldn't want a pink house in my backyard (I've got boys) but I just love how the roses are growing up the cottage and the curvy garden path that leads to it:

{image via pinterest}

OK, this next one is Heaven...

A rooftop deack?!!!  loooove!!

{image via pinterest}

And I kind of want this one (below) to be my real house:

modern-shed.com  (I think this one might be for grown-ups but I had to include it because I'm so in love with it.)

Even the interiors of kids' playhouses can be amazing... 

http://pitsinauhaa.blogspot.com/2009/08/leikkimokki.html

How cute is this?!:

http://dittesmigogmit.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-07-05T22%3A02%3A00%2B02%3A00

And seriously???.....

wow.  cottageprettythings.tumblr.com

Ok, these might be better than most kitchens!!

wickerandstitch.blogspot.com.au

Here's a shed version where the family converted a standard shed into a playhouse like we did... 

{I'm actually not sure if this is for kids or for a very girly gardener...  The boots look kind of big.  So cute though.}

And the next playhouse has 2 floors.  Here's the kitchen on the first floor:

bellacupcakes.blogspot.co.nz

And here's the upstairs little loft!!!:

bellacupcakes.blogspot.co.nz

Would love to nap there!!!

And finally, here's a look at our playhouse (shed).  From the outside it looks like a normal shed:

{can you please imagine it with lots of pretty landscaping around it?? we're still in the middle of that ;)

But inside, it's the "fun" shed:

I covered the floors with an outdoor area rug from overstock.com and we've filled it with our nature finds & old bottles & "kitchen goods" (ie empty cans ;)

We made the botanical prints above out of plants in our yard, which we photocopied & labeled. 

The boys feed me when I hang out in there on the bench... It's usuallya meal of olive oil and leaves...

Here's where I've been flopping lately:

My boys are actually pretty calm when they play in the playhouse (a big change for them) and they'll even cuddle with me and we look up at the ceiling at our globe & sing songs...

Lately we've been pretending the playhouse is a pirate ship.  We were out there during a rain storm last week & it was perfect. 

...Anyway, our playshed is one of my favorite things we've done at our house & we actually spend a good amount quality family time playing there.  (It also converts into a bar during adult parties where we stack the kitchen shelves with beverages & load it up with coolers ;) ;) I can't recommend doing one of these enough if you can.

And finally, here's a look at a few of the sheds that are being auctioned off....  (in case you've got the perfect spot for one!! ;)

The epitome of the "playhouse"-

{I love this one and the window baskets are so sweet!!  The door is beautiful.}

And check out the General Store:

{This one is actually being donated to Walter ReedNational Military Medical Center & you can help.}

A bunch of them are incredible & very themed:

{I can imagine clematis growing up this one}

My boys would FLIP over this Lighthouse:

...Anyway, to view all 8 of the playhouses up for auction, click here.

The event is for such a good cause & there are so many ways you can help, even if you're not local: 

* Check out their website at www.rebuilding-hope.org<http://www.rebuilding-hope.org> and pass it on to your friends and family, especially if you're local.  (Don't forget about your schools, congregations, neighborhood parks, and civic groups - anyone can bid on a playhouse!)

*Twitter about it!  Every little bit helps!

* Shop at Bloomingdales in Chevy Chase on May 12th...  They are hosting an in-store campaign, where Rebuilding Together will receive 10% of your purchase total as a donation from Bloomingdales if you request a duplicate receipt and drop it in the Playhouse Collection Box. (This is a pretty easy one if you're local!! :)

* Purchase a raffle ticket for a chance at a gift basket valued at over $5000 and still climbing! Tickets are $10 or 3/$25, and you can place your order online and RTMC will mail you ticket stubs. The drawing will be held the night of the event, and you need not be present to win. For a complete listing of the items included in the basket, check out the website.

* You can make an online dontaion.  Again, every little bit helps! Rebuilding Together has designated one of the playhouses (The General Store I showed you) as a community fundraiser. Their goal is to raise $15,000, at which point, they will give the house to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for their playground. DONATE HERE

* Join them on May 31st for the Live Auction & Reception in the plaza at The Shops at Wisconsin Place. All details can be found online, but tickets are $75, and it includes music, open bar with beer/wine, heavy appetizers and desserts, the raffle drawing, and of course, the playhouse auction!

Again, here's a link to the website & if you have some time, please try to pass it on: RTMC PLAYHOUSE PROJECT

Good luck to the playhouse project!!


If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.