~AND THE WALL COMES TUMBLING DOWN~

~VICTORIA...AT HOME with WHITE~

A Wonderland of White

It seems whenever I get stumped on a decorating idea or I fail to be moved by what I've found while out shopping (aka: junkin') I turn to the pages of my vintage Victoria Magazines and Books.

~FRESH and CLEAN~

Beautiful Bed

They never fail to inspire me and even today after owning many of them for over twenty years I'm amazed at how spot-on the editors were with their creative layouts and timeless designs.

~MORE FROM VICTORIA'S PAGES~

 Lovely Old Linens

My Mr. AGPMan has been out of town since Monday morning and won't return until this evening.  I've continued to clean things up since our tile removal over the first of the year and of course that means sprucing things up while moving stuff around.  Nothing like freshening up a home while the husby's away!

 ~OUR VINTAGE BUFFET~

He's accustomed to the constant changing of the decor in our La Chaumière de Briarwood and I can assure you he rarely says a word.  I honestly think he's just happy he's not the one who cleans it.  I suppose it's enough for him to be the one responsible for the big stuff...like the removing of old widow seats, doors and walls...

~SWEET OLD CAKE STAND~

One of the big changes coming to our home this year will be the opening up of a wall in our formal dining room.  This room (below) was once our formal living room, but because it was seldom used we opted to turn it into a place where we could gather for family dining.  Our old formal dining room became my Mr. AGPMan's office (no longer large enough for us all) and our existing breakfast room was also too small to seat our growing family...

~OPEN SESAME~

Wall To Be Opened Up

Before our new wood flooring can be installed the opening of this wall must be done first.  It's the last big job my guy must do before we can proceed with our makeover.  Honestly...I'm totally nervous about doing this.  My daughter (whose opinion I trust) isn't for the change, but then I have to remember this is her childhood home and I'm sure seeing things evolve is probably difficult for her.

 ~LEFT WALL to be OPENED UP~

Taken Christmas 2010

The reason we are opening the wall up is because we need a better flow for the 'traffic' in our home.  When we have people over we are forced through our tiny entryway and it gets more than crowded.  My guy is considering the option of installing pocket doors (maybe even another set of French Doors) in the new opening (where the large Armoire is above) but because the wall is weight-bearing he's not sure he's up to the hassle of it all (and neither am I!).  It takes the job to an entirely new level. Anyway, the doorway must be opened up before the flooring is installed or we will have patched-up wood floors to deal with.  Once the wall is opened up and framed out we can decide at a later date if we want to add doors...

Our family room shown above isn't small by any means.  Since the new flooring will be hand-scraped wood there will be no room defining spaces to deal with(i.e. tile, carpeting, etc.).  This will make the den to the dining room flow much smoother and even appear larger.  The Armoire will be removed (gosh...I've had it for 15 years) and our old TV is going BYE BYE! :)  

~PRETTY PINK ROSES~

We will be taking the plunge before long and eventually purchase a new LED flat screen TV.  But...until my husby has time to build a cabinet that can hide the UGLY BLACK THING we will use the TV in his office (where he has two fabulous comfy chairs!).

The roses you see above we left on my desk and I found them early Monday morning after my Mr. AGPMan left for his business trip.  I love how they look in the sun...

Hope your day is proving to be wonderful.  I'm back in my studio working on new product.  My playtime is done for the day!  

Love to you...