My House is going on the market today!

I know, I know...big news! And it seems like we only just moved in to our little Elsmore.

We're not selling our house for just any house. We're selling it with hopes of buying a super cool, very large post-modern home built in the '80's. I'm still trying not to get my hopes up because there's a good chance we may not get the new home. We have to get an offer on our house first before we can make an offer on the new one. We're signing all the paperwork tonight and our little home should be on the market by tomorrow! I'm nervous, a little sad, excited, and overwhelmed all at once. There's still a ton of work we're hoping to finish up before our first open house this Sunday.

I thought it would be fun to take a look back at my own home and see how much it has changed over the years. I was able to find the old MLS photos from when the homeowners before us bought the home. This is what it looked like then:

The previous owners were a young couple and like Brian and I, not afraid to get their hands dirty! They made a lot of great changes and I'm really thankful for the work they put into the home including painting the exterior, remodeling the kitchen and refinishing the hardwood floors. Some things they did I'm not too sure about was busting up the concrete sidewalk on the side of the home and tha back patio to put gravel in its place. Regardless, the home still looked great. This is what it looked like when we purchased the home two and a half years ago:

 

The home has had many improvements since Brian and I have been living here. I think the greatest improvements have been landscaping the backyard with the addition of a paver walkway back to the garage, painting every room, painting some of the exterior (the blue color is apet peeve of mine and my goal was to paint over all of it but we have since run out of time!), adding the back patio again using the paver squares that were there before, remodeling the bathroom and adding another bedroom in the basement, among other things.

Tomorrow I'll share the most recent photos with you. A lot of things I wanted to do may never come into fruition if the home sells. But that will be o.k. The home has been a great one and it will always be dear to me. And if we don't end up getting the new house, then we'll get another opportunity for the changes I still want to do with this home (finishing the basement and adding a wetbar, finishing the attic space with the addition of another bathroom, creating a nicer back patio with paver stones and adding a second patio in the back corner of the yard, etc)

See you tomorrow! In the meantime, wish us luck. We'll need all the help we can get!

~Laura

Bathroom Transformation in Progress - What do you think?

To continue from yesterday's post on the start of a new bathroom project, I stopped by the job site and a lot  has changed :)

Before I get into the nitty-gritty, I can't resist sharing how beautiful the surroundings are of this home. Extra beautiful on a lovely spring day!

Before:

 



















Now: All cabinetry, soffit and the doorway has been removed.
Drywall replaced and new wiring for the new sconces
The wall with the doorway is now a half wall and a pipe that was discovered in the wall will be made into a decorative column to visually divide the two spaces while allowing it to be more open and feel larger.

A lot of the wallpaper has been removed and the ceilings are down to allow for new wiring and positioning of the new light fixtures.

       

The tub area still has room for improvements but the lowered ceiling over the tub was raised with a new recessed fixture in place. The blue tile will come off eventually ... only to be replaced with more blue tile ;)

Well, that's all for now! Later this week the new tub, heated floors and marble basketweave tile is going in so I'll be sure to keep you updated on the progress. I can't wait to see this one come to LIFE!

The Beginnings of a Beautiful Bathroom

Another bathroom project is currently underway! This one is going to be very classic with a few whimsical twists. As you can see from the before photos it feels very dark and dated. A few of the changes will include white marble, white custom designed cabinetry, gorgeous wallpaper and arabesque tile in the shower surround. A custom shower curtain and sculptural cornice board trimmed in navy velvet will add elegance.

Here's a sneak peak of a few of the materials; fabric, wallpaper and some of the tile:

For the touch of whimsy, we're adding a couple of Amber Alexander prints to the space. I featured her work before on my blog and I am still as much in love with it now as I was then. You can see some of her prints from her Etsy shop HERE

Seriously, how cute are these?!

So now, the BEFORE photos:

Here is a before of the bathroom portion (or phase 1 of the project)

And Phase 2 will be the bedroom:

 

There will be lots of wallpaper and fabric goodness carried into this space as well. So excited to watch this transformation begin! I'm visiting the job site during my lunch break today and will share some updates tomorrow.

Hope you had a fantastic weekend!

Laura Quinn

Showhouse Updates

Remember this room?!

Yep, That's my room for the 2013 Philharmonic Showhouse. But it doesn't look like this anymore....


After the carpet was replaced, walls painted, and new track lighting installed, it now looks a little less Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory and a little more Fresh 'n Clean:

But you would already know that if you Liked my Facebook page :)  It's so much easier to post updates on there! (Who has time to write a blog these days? I know I'm struggling to keep up!)
What you wouldn't know is my inspiration for my room.

Here is a little taste of what I'm going to incorporate:

Source: lh6.googleusercontent.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: designcaller.blogspot.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: ahouseinthehills.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: lonny.com via Laura on Pinterest

Source: loftandcottage.blogspot.com via Laura on Pinterest

Stay tuned for next week. I'll have more updates on the Showhouse, as well as a bathroom reveal I can't wait to show you.

Have a great weekend everyone! This is where I'll be spending mine:

~Laura

2013 Dayton Home & Garden Show

Whew! What a weekend! This past weekend I setup for the Home & Garden Show, attended the show for 2 days, and managed to get everything moved out before this mini-blizzard hit. The show was lots of fun and I think a success for my business with meeting new potential clients.

Here are some photos of my space that I created. I know the photos aren't the greatest since I took them with my phone, but they're all I have! This year's theme was "It's Elemental" so each of the designers designed their rooms around a different element. Can you guess what mine was?! I chose wood.

Here are the other Designers' rooms:

Designed by Monica Harris from Home Comfort Furniture Gallery

Designed by Beth Spegal of House Dressing & Marlene Orendorf of Orendorf Interiors

By Diane Konicki of DK Interiors

Designed by Ashley Powell of Luken Interiors

Designed by Deb DeCurtains of Acorn Studios

Designed by Molly Williams of Ivy Designs

By Nancy Gentry from Your Space Your Sanctuary

What do you think? Which ones do you like?

Dayton Home and Garden Show

 First of all, I'd like to say hi and welcome to my new followers! My blog hits have also been insane lately so maybe my blog does better when I don't post things? What does that say about me!? haha

This weekend is the Dayton Home & Garden Show and this is my 4th year in a row that I'm participating. It's always a fun show to do because the people there are always in a good mood looking for new ideas and inspiration for their homes. It's the perfect time of year for it too because people get antsy for change after a long winter! Every year it seems I make at least one good contact that still uses my services to this day.

To learn more about the show you can go here.

I'm setting up for my space tonight and I don't want to give too much away, but I'll let you in on a few of the items I'm using ;)

I'll be using this beautiful mirror from Uttermost: (I'm picking it up today and still haven't seen it in person yet.....I've still been obsessing about it though and thinking about where I'm going to put it in my house after the show!! - that's the really fun part!)

And I'll be using a fireplace with stacked wood like this one.........

And two of these sconces:

These sconces are handmade in Vermont and are even prettier in person! I'll be using these in the upcoming Showhouse as well.

O.k., that's all I'm giving away for now. You will just have to come to the show where you can vote for your favorite room design (if you're in the Dayton area!), or wait until Monday when I'll share my photos from the event.




I've been trying to do daily posts on my Facebook page, so if you're not following me yet, you can always like my page here. (hint hint!)  I currently have 198 Likes so I need some help getting to 200! :)


Have a great week!


~Laura

I promise I'm still alive!

Hello readers (and even a few new followers - welcome! I hope to get to know you better)! I miss you guys! Even though I've been on a little vacation from posting, I promise I've still be staying up-to-date reading my favorite blogs. I will get back to posting soon! Things have been crazy for me since the new year. Just to catch you up to speed:

I went back to my non-design full-time job and have recently been promoted to Director of Marketing! It's pretty exciting for me and I honestly love the company (Coldwell Banker Heritage Realtors in Dayton, Ohio). I'm also thinking about going back to school (most likely in the fall) for an MBA with a concentration in marketing. I've been accepted to the University of Dayton and am meeting with an adviser for a different school tomorrow.

I still have my business and have been busier than ever! I honestly don't know how I keep up with everything (well, I haven't kept up with my blog so there's one area I'm falling behind!) but I've never been happier. My house is complete chaos right now (I'm so not even kidding....it looks like a furniture/accessories store threw up in my living room. Stuff is everywhere for the upcoming Home & Garden Show and Oakwood Showhouse!!)I'm hoping to get some photos of recent projects posted soon. Until then, Like my Facebook page where I have been posting daily updates!

I hope to back on here soon and I have some changes and improvements I'd like to do.

Until then it's back to the grind and me continuing to learn there's only so many hours in a day and only so much can get done in each of them :)

xo Laura