~MORE OF OUR ROMANTIC WHITE COTTAGE~

 Today I'm showing you a little more of my La Chaumière de Briarwood now that we have some of our remodeling work completed!

We've finally finished a big chunk of our home makeover and now that the wall we opened up has been trimmed out and painted I thought you might like to see it all together instead of bits and pieces!  Before the wall (on the right) was removed there was nothing to see except a big over-sized TV cabinet and a lot of closed-in space!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this wall opened up and so glad we actually thought about it and planned it out before installing the wood flooring!  Since it was load bearing it took a little bit more time to finish, but well worth the effort.  We now get the north and south sun streaming directly through the windows and so the entire house is lighter and brighter!

One thing you MIGHT find interesting is this...

Almost everything in our home was purchased USED.  

It's true!

Almost everything!

Oh there are new things like ceramic white dishes, candles, lampshades, freshly made pillows, linens, etc., but nearly all the furniture, lamps and complements were purchased second-hand or were pre-owned like in CARS!  In the downstairs area of our home, with the exception of our formal dining table set and the occasional chairs in my den, nearly everything you see was purchased either at tag sales, estate sales, garage sales, auctions or Craig's List.

When my Mr. AGPMan installed the vintage French Doors directly off our entry a couple of years ago I never dreamed one day they'd be visible from the family room.  When the wall was closed up it made for some pretty decorating on the dining room side, but it was very crowded when all my family was over!  Now with the wall removed we have lots of room to move about on both sides!

I took some new shots of the downstairs CAREFULLY omitting our ripped out kitchen (you'd faint if you saw it!).  You can't tell it in the photo above, but I'm standing just outside of our torn-out kitchen.  It's functional, barely tho!  My stove is in place and so is the sink and fridge...but nearly everything else looks like, well...kinda like a war-zone!!!  Even the ceiling is out and the original studs are showing!  It's making me crazy, but we have to live with it like that for now.  Still lots to tear out and when you are do-it-yourselfers you work when you can and then leave the rest until another day.

Lots of another days lately!

Lots more coming, too!  We hope by next year at this time we'll be done!

For Friday, May 11th, I'm linking up with Kerryanne at
Shabby Art Boutique 
for the very first
Shabbilicious Friday!!!
Hop on over there to get some great ideas!  We are sure to be totally inspired!

Hope your day is fab!  I'm off to work!

Love to you...

~VINTAGE FRENCH DOORS MAKE EVERYTHING LOVELY~

~Original Dining Room Opening~

Do you remember this mess?  This picture was taken at the beginning of our formal dining room remodel earlier this year.  I blogged about it here and here in case you want to refresh your memory!

~Mr. Fabulous Doing His Thing~

This room was once our formal living room.  But, as our family has grown we found we were in greater need of a larger dining room where we could share meals together and celebrate lives!  So...my Mr. AGPMan and I decided to shuffle some things around and the ending result made us both very proud.

~Doors In Place~

The last time I blogged about this room the French Doors were going up and the crown molding was being installed.

~All Painted Up~

Here they are finally painted.  The room is almost done now~  I still need to paint my table and finish the chairs and of COURSE I'm wanting to install hardwood floors.  That will come in time..carpet is NOT good to have under a table when you have a family like mine!

~Simply Lovely Now~

The French Doors and recessed ceiling are just what I've always wanted for this room.  The crown molding is gorgeous but I have to say that painting around all those tiny window frames made me NUTS!  Twenty squares of glass and each one had two sides to mask off...UGH.  Not fun!

~Love The Vintage Hardware~

These darling glass knobs were original to the doors.  But...only one side had them!  So...my guy moved the one knob from the back half of the one door to the front of the door that was missing the knob.  Now they match.  Makes sense?  On the back side he installed another set that matches.  Hope to find two fabulous face plates soon!

~Looking Out Into the Entry~

~Nydia Lozano Canvas Print~

My dear friend, Sweet Tea, convinced me to paint the frame out on this gorgeous Lozano Print.  Love it even more now!

Once my tables and chairs are finished I'll post pictures of the entire room! 

Blessings for a lovely day...I'm back into the studio to work!  You all are keeping me hopping!

Love to you~

~SHABBY ROMANTIC CHINA CABINET...Cottage Chic Transformation~

~VINTAGE CHINA CABINET~

Antique Mall Picture
Summer 2009

Last August I shared with you a POST about lots of the amazing finds I found while out doing some secondhand shopping. I fell in love with the vintage china cabinet you see above and wanted it soooo badly. I even snapped a picture of it while it was still in a local antique mall. I had every intention of buying it.... But~the more I mulled it over in my tiny little brain the more OVERPRICED it seemed. The tag read $475.00 and at the time I just couldn't see my way clear to spend almost $500.00 on something that I knew would just SIT UNTOUCHED for months...

And so...sadly I passed purchasing the little beauty and kept my hard earned cash in the bank.

Fast forward to December 10th, 2009.

My hubby and I visited the same Antique Mall while out one day celebrating my birthday. As I turned down the aisle that once held the cabinet I gasped because it was still there... I motioned for my Mr. AGPMan to come close and the price tag read $199.00--- WHAT?

I guess it was marked down because it had been standing in the same place for so long!

Instead of purchasing the china hutch that very minute (STUPID!) I decided to return home and measure for the gazillionth time the space I wanted it to go into. The mall was closing and I figured I'd just call them in the morning and purchase it over the phone...

When I rang the store early the next day I was told the cabinet was SOLD.

(INSERT SILENT SCREAM HERE!!!)

I immediately called my Mr. AGPMan and began to WAIL. I went on and on AND ON about how dumb I'd been and how I was NEVER going to learn, etc. Nothing came out of my mouth but words of REGRET over being so silly and dragging my feet for one day too many.

I heard nothing but silence on the other end of the phone...

And~

"Honey! HonEY! HONNNNNNNEY........... LISTEN TO ME! LISTEN TO MEEEEEEEE.....

I bought the cabinet!"

~SHABBY ROMANTIC WONDERFUL~
Completely Transformed

The story ended up being funny in the end but at the time it wasn't. My guy had just hung up from talking with the Antique Mall when I called them. They immediately phoned him back and said "Good thing you called so early because a woman just called wanting the cabinet!"

~SIMPLY DELIGHTFUL~
Filled Up With Keepsakes

Now...what I didn't expect was my guy purchasing another smaller china cabinet the very same day. This one had ALSO been in the space since the summer months and was also marked down. The one below was already painted and it was HEAVILY distressed (too much for my taste). It had been sprayed with a paint gun (not the best way to paint furniture in my opinion!) and was too chippy for me. He snagged them both for $333.00 (my guy's a wheeler-dealer)! :)

Good things come to those who wait (just don't be like me and almost wait TOOOOO LONG!)...

~SO PETITE & SWEET~
Perfect For Holding Extra Treasures

I love the storage area underneath the hutch. Great for holding extra plates and bowls, etc.

~MATCHING HARDWARE~

I've repainted everything on the cabinet except the front scrolly work. I need Mr. AGPMan to pop out the glass so I can do that and we've been busy...you can see what I mean about it being too chippy for me. I like gentle distressing...

~FRAMING OUT NEW DOORWAY~

Above you see the renovator man himself working on the doorway to the new dining room. He enlarged the opening to accommodate a pair of vintage french doors we found at The RINK (Oklahoma Antique Mall) for $99.00. This was the deal of the YEAR! French Doors are generally very expensive when purchased new (or vintage!).

~MR. AGPMan DOING HIS THING~

Shimming the door jam for a PERFECT FIT!

~VIEW FROM ENTRY~

Eventually the doors will be primed and painted. Right now we are just happy to have them installed and the mess cleaned up. Construction during Christmas made things exciting around here! You can see the larger China Cabinet inside...not sure where in the room it's going to end up yet! We still have crown molding to install and the dropped ceiling (sides) still need to be textured, primed and painted!

~VIEW FROM DINING ROOM~

Hopefully this year we will have hardwood floors installed in this room! Because this space was once a formal living room it is currently carpeted. That WON'T work for my family! Better choice will be a wonderful area rug...

And there you have it! All the things that have kept me and my hubby busy for the past several weeks. Hope you are inspired...

Blessings to you as you make decorating decisions for your own home...Rebecca