Reeder Redecoration Reeder Re-do
 
Reeder Redecoration
Comments are welcome. We'd really like to know what you think. -Terry Kearns
Blog in chronological order (from beginnig to end)
This starts from the beginning.

How it was Thursday, October 13, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
Sixteen years with no changes. It's nice, until you try to get up from the couch.

We go shopping for the first time Friday, October 14, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
We find sofas galore and incidentally, find "the thing."

We bought a new sectional Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
It had to go. We call the design calvary.

The design calvalry arrives Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
Some designers are better than others but they are all better at it than we are. Did I mention painting the ceiling? Whoa!

The street side view gets a onceover Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
Curb appeal needed. Our beautiful trees make our house look small and ...

To Linda Thursday, October 20, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
It's a fun process and it can be done in D.C.

Links Thursday, October 20, 2005 - Thursday, April 12, 2007
We'll put some links here to places and materials, we find useful

Home inspection by Dan Curl Friday, October 21, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
What's that smell?

New batch of fabrics and experiments Saturday, October 22, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
Gordon brings fabrics. How could so few fabric swatches make me feel so small? We wanted them all but it's probably time to find a rug. We have a plan for our next shopping trip.

We buy the rug, some stools and do another kitchen experiment Sunday, October 23, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
We made pretty quick work of it. Hundreds would look great but you have to settle on something. We used 4 fabric swatches - one we could change later - to focus on the right rug at a decent price. This is a getting serious. To top it off we have our first encounter with a fountain.

Ordering the sofa and chairs, two pictures and panic Monday, October 24, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
Oh boy, we're in deep now. We ordered the sofa and two chairs today and bought two cheap pictures. Panic set in. Is this the look we want? (In layman's terms: Do we really like it?)

Pruning for dollars Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
After 10 hours of pruning we have a bigger, better looking house. The yard doubled in size. The lot is bigger. The view is more breathtaking. Somehow the trees look bigger and better too. I never imagined. The Magnolia Problem produced a whole 'nother idea.

Field drawings for the yard Monday, November 07, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
How much grass seed to buy and how much ditch is needed for a drainpipe.

Carl the architect visits and offers some suggestions Saturday, November 12, 2005 - Thursday, September 13, 2007
We are fortunate to have a tactful architect friend spend the weekend with us. We talked (actually we listened) about lighting, abors, espaliers, and he designed a pediment for our "blank wall." That's the tall wall with the round window. I regret making him think about work during his time off. Well, no I don't.

Prepaing for a shopping trip and lighting experiments Tuesday, November 15, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
We're going shopping on Thursday and we made a list. We experimented with outdoor lighting. The words of the day are "free wood chips."

Our shopping trip is a total failure and yet a total success Thursday, November 17, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
You never know what you are going to get. It all started with a $350 granite top on a $35 table. We ended up with a leather chair, two bookcases, and a buffet!

Shopping trip on Friday, November 18 Friday, November 18, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
It's all a blur. Fountains, antique mall ...

Shopping on Saturday, November 19 Saturday, November 19, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
We start the day moving the white cabinets into the Office. We were saved by "the green strip. Half dead from that, we go shopping again. Overwhelming! How little things make the room. How shopping for them is a marathon. How about that $10 vase from TJ Max.

Shopping on Sunday, November 20, 2005 Sunday, November 20, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
When a designer says, "write this down," the ideas are popping. See how use a dozen cheap nick nacks and a row of Christmas tree lights. How to use a shopping bag as a decorator trick. Discovering a local artist.

Benjamin Moore 4/G 1364 for the Laundry Hall Monday, November 21, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
The hall goes reddish plum / purple. We've already go 6 black frames to go in a group on the wall. Whoa.

"Local" Art Monday, November 21, 2005 - Sunday, December 25, 2005
We raided our kids' portfolios and commissioned a new one from David. Gordon says the best art in most houses is done by the children.

Shopping list and Flora Dora Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
We visited Flora Dora. We see a master bend silk flowers. We got a big thumbs up on our purple laundry hall. We finally hung the pictures and got much more than we bargain for. We rearranged our bedroom. The office got a tree, a table, and clutter management. David painted his picture. It's all good except we destroyed our in the office UPS.

Testing the ceiling colors Thursday, November 24, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
Benjamin Moore 801 was beautiful but too dark. 795 was lighter but still too dark. Rachel's shirt seemed perfect but we'll have to try it. We tried two more colors. Faux beams anyone?

"The" fabric Thursday, November 24, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
This is the color chart for everything. We take it everywhere and everybody seems to love it. The design itself might be old fashioned but that adds to the eclecticism we're going to have. "Fusion" is the current term. The colors are the important thing though. Everything we do takes these colors into account. It's all about "pulling color" from one place to another, making the eye dance.

Beams ??? Friday, November 25, 2005 - Wednesday, March 22, 2006
I made some beams out of brown paper. Do we do it? How many? What colors? How much work? How much time? You won't find any answers in this article.

The ceiling is blue and we have two more rugs Sunday, November 27, 2005 - Sunday, November 27, 2005
While I painted two coats of "834" on the ceiling JoAnn and Gordon shoped. I thought the ceiling was going to be the big deal, until they came home with the kitchen rug (and other stuff).

We trial the kitchen hardware and it is "good" Sunday, November 27, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
Track light, carpet pads, shades for the fan lights, and the kitchen hardware too.

Jungle Rug! Monday, November 28, 2005 - Wednesday, December 14, 2005
The mission today was to order the jungle rug for the office, but first, Flora Dora again. Then to Atlanta Water Garden where we were close to buying a fountain. We developed a case of funky fountain funk.

Flora Dora flower arrangements arrive and "the chair" Wednesday, November 30, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
We took home four flower arrangements. We picked up "the chair" but we're not feeling too good about it. Our third try at shades for the fan light.

Jungle rug installed and painted bar stools Saturday, December 03, 2005 - Monday, December 05, 2005
It's better than we thought. Advice: just move the furniture out before you lay the rug, really, just plan on moving it on out. I guess we have one room finished. Clutter is driving me nuts as never before.

Is your designer opinionated and an expert at sales? On the experience of working with a designer. Saturday, December 03, 2005 - Thursday, August 23, 2007
If he/she isn't, you'd better get another one.

The red lamps and headboard Wednesday, December 07, 2005 - Thursday, December 08, 2005
We're having chain reaction redecorating. When one place starts looking good, it makes the rest of the look bad. How can we fix up our bedroom on the cheap? It all started with the red lamp. We hang the 8 picture frames.

Sofa off the street, bedroom colors, carpentry ahead. Thursday, December 08, 2005 - Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Gordon spotted a junked sofa on the curb and sent me after it for the legs. We picked three colors to test on the "strong" wall in our bedroom. Two small jobs for real carpenters are two overwhelming jobs for me.

Bedroom paint test, the mirror, and painting Saturday, December 10, 2005 - Saturday, December 10, 2005
We tested three paints. The criss cross mirror arrived but we didn't put it where we expected. There was a much better place. A new picture expanded the bedroom.

Bedroom painting and accessories. Pulling and balacing color almost explained. Monday, December 12, 2005 - Monday, December 12, 2005
I painted, the crew went to HomeGoods.

Upstairs picture hanging, and blue back, a frog on a pedestal. Monday, December 12, 2005 - Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Today we hung pictures and mirrors upstairs in the entrance hall. And a little more ...

Hanging pictures in the bedroom, what they don't show you on Trading Places, and dancing dogs Wednesday, December 14, 2005 - Thursday, December 15, 2005
Bedroom transformation day 1. Clean room decorating. Tricks with picture framing.

Help us solve headboard problem Thursday, December 15, 2005 - Saturday, January 21, 2006
I'm carpentry challenged. How to make a footboard into a headboard? Attach it to the wall? OK, except that it's curved. And, if we get new mattress someday, we may have to lower or raise it.

A rest period and catch up before Christmas Tuesday, December 20, 2005 - Wednesday, December 21, 2005
We hoped to have our sofa and chairs by now; we hoped to have our fabric. Instead we're getting few minutes to breath and do Christmas.

Hiding the wires and lighting the kitchen cabinet Thursday, December 22, 2005 - Thursday, December 22, 2005
New appreciation for electricians: I've always admired how they can work with wires and fixtures without being electrocuted or burning the house down. The real trick is mounting lights on the underside of things with the tiniest screws on earth.

Painting my office and making a new mess Tuesday, December 27, 2005 - Tuesday, December 27, 2005
On the day after Christmas I painted the office, made a another big clutter mess, and ran out of paint right after the paint store closed. So I have to live with the office  mess a day longer than I planned.

How to "redesk" my office and in general make it work and make it look good? Friday, December 30, 2005 - Friday, January 27, 2006
It worked pretty well for me before but it wasn't pretty. I don't want to put any of it back like it was.

One week junk pile Sunday, January 01, 2006 - Sunday, January 01, 2006
It's just like the TV shows: get rid of clutter. We just keep moving our clutter around. As we move it the laws of thermo come into play. The clutter grows. How'd we get all that stuff in the house to begin with?

Jeff figures out how to put legs on the "thing" Saturday, January 07, 2006 - Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Thanks to Jeff Ashworth. He actually knows how to do stuff. He figured out how to put legs on and has the know how to get it done. Actually, I just watched, provided moral support, and ate sawdust while Jeff built it for me. Jeff would ask, Does that look straight?" I'd say, "Perfect."

The sofa, chairs and "fabric" arrive Saturday, January 14, 2006 - Saturday, January 14, 2006
It's a great day. The furniture is better than we expected and fits. It's bigger but we've spent our more than 20 years near the floor in our old sectional. Setting up the furniture triggers a new round of suggestions. A&R Welding enters the picture.

A&R Welding makes a table into a bed bench Tuesday, January 17, 2006 - Tuesday, January 17, 2006
I mentioned A&R Welding in the last article. Today they delivered. A $35 table, Gordon's suggestions, A&R does the job in less than two days.

Headboard problem solved! Saturday, January 21, 2006 - Saturday, January 21, 2006
It's not pretty but it's not very visible either. Nobody will mistake me for a wood craftsman.

Making a pattern for my desk and making the prototype Friday, January 27, 2006 - Thursday, April 23, 2009
Dan Curl asked me to call Gene Riggin about trying to build a desk prototype or pattern. He had some very practical advice. Of course the prototype will probably be the final model. Except, after a week, I'm changing the shape.

Old guitars as art? Saturday, February 04, 2006 - Thursday, February 09, 2006
Even the worst guitar is better than most art. Even the worst sounding guitar is nice to look at. Bad guitar players should keep their guitars on the wall.

Cute carports Saturday, February 04, 2006 - Thursday, March 23, 2006
They just don't build home these days with two car garages. In our neighborhood a decent garage is a big selling point but they are rare. Our puny garage is typical. Maybe we could do a carport.

Making a piano disappear Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - Wednesday, February 15, 2006
How the make the piano receed in to the wall ans cause the room to look bigger.

Sofa, ottoman, wing chair, and VOODOO pillow Thursday, February 16, 2006 - Thursday, February 16, 2006
It's cheaper to buy inexpensive ready-made stuff than it is to make slipcovers or worse - reupholstering. And, you get pieces you want. See the fabric samples too.

The perfect "important" thing for the foyer Thursday, February 16, 2006 - Saturday, February 18, 2006
Actually many "important" things would work. This thing from Mexico via Horizon knocked us out and wasn't expensive. We even moved the kitchen rug into the foyer to compliment it.

Testing colors for the big room, kitchen and porch. Don't try this unless you are gifted or have a professional on hand. Saturday, February 18, 2006 - Sunday, February 19, 2006
Now we're painting upstairs and punching the porch.

Hibiscus for kitchen, dining, and hall Sunday, February 26, 2006 - Sunday, February 26, 2006
A statement color? A punchy color? A cheerful color? A fun color? Yes, I think. It's made me phototropic: My eyes seem drawn to it. It doesn't just sit there, it gives off a light of its own. P.S. See our purple and yellow porch chairs in progress.

Painting the entry hall and maybe doing stripes Tuesday, March 07, 2006 - Sunday, March 12, 2006
I had big ambitions for the weekend, to paint stripes in the entry hall. First I painted part Tan and part Hibiscus. I was so tired and so intimidated by the thousands of feet perfectly plumb masking tape, we decided to sleep on the new paint before we painted stripes.

Pretty exterior paint Tuesday, March 07, 2006 - Friday, April 07, 2006
We'll have to paint it some day. I like the current paint job but Gordon has us looking at something new - maybe something darker, maybe dark green.

How about painting the floor instead of a rug? Tuesday, March 07, 2006 - Thursday, April 12, 2007
Our entry has a octagon tray ceiling. We could just get a rug. We could make an octagonal rug or we could paint the octagon on the floor.

Stripes finished in the hall and looking "stripey" Sunday, March 12, 2006 - Sunday, March 12, 2006
A mile of masking tape, staring at Hibiscus in a small space, painter errors, tape bleeds. It spanned four days.

The colors we tested, we used and we didn't use for redocorating Thursday, March 16, 2006 - Saturday, October 24, 2009
We've had some many questions about or colors that I decided to collect them all on one page.

How to hang a folding oriental decorative screen on the wall Saturday, March 18, 2006 - Sunday, July 15, 2007
I've been fretting over this for months and finally just did it. This page will probably be at the top of Google for "hang folding screen."

Painting the garage Saturday, April 01, 2006 - Saturday, April 01, 2006
The Lynch's next door are fixing up their backyard. They tore down the deck and are building a stone patio. Our garage is a major eyesore. Gordon says to paint it very dark so it will disappear.

Picking colors for the exterior Saturday, April 01, 2006 - Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Rule 1: It can't be the same color as any house on the street. Rule 2: It has to be a knock out. Rule 3: I'm filled with dread thinking about painting myself because I have to re putty the windows. Many of them are 20 feet above ground.

Shopping on April 7 Friday, April 07, 2006 - Friday, April 07, 2006
An afternoon on the I-85 Access Road to outlets, overstocked places looking for rugs, and as usual, everything else.

An arbor and more pictures of painted houses Saturday, April 08, 2006 - Tuesday, April 11, 2006
We went looking for an arbor on West Wesley and photographed some houses with paint and stone.

Arbor design experiments Monday, April 10, 2006 - Monday, April 10, 2006
How big should the arbor be? Can it curve to match the front door? What material? What size of material? How far from the house?

Bedroom 2 and urns for night stands Thursday, May 04, 2006 - Monday, May 08, 2006

Making mirrors from Reflective Mylar to back the screen Sunday, May 07, 2006 - Thursday, May 14, 2009
We found a damaged screen at Home Good and decided to use it as a headboard.

We painted an oak floor white!!! Thursday, May 11, 2006 - Monday, May 15, 2006
We were speechless when Gordon suggested it. Who in the world would paint an oak floor? We didn't like the carpet any more. So we took it out. The floor needed refinishing anyway. We could spend about $600 to refinish all 185 square feet and have it look like the rest the floors. Or would could spend $50 on a gallon of paint and supplies and have something unusual, special and VERY BRIGHT.

Notebook pages Saturday, May 13, 2006 - Saturday, May 13, 2006
I carried the notebook nearly everywhere, It has the colors, the measurements, prices. It went to Home Depot, Lowes, Briarcliff Paint, ...

We painted another oak floor white, oh my!! Monday, June 05, 2006 - Monday, June 05, 2006
I like painting, I like the results, I'm not bad at it. What's driving me crazy is trashing perfectly good rooms in order to empty out the room I'm painting. When the empty a room on HGTV, they don't show you where they put the furniture.

5 rugs on approval and painting bath 3 Sunday, June 18, 2006 - Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Have a look. I don't have any words right now.

The bedroom hall floor goes white too Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - Wednesday, June 21, 2006
The hall the adjoins the two white floors and the two while tiled baths needed to be white. It was a natural colored oak floor in perfect condition. It seemed wrong to paint it. But it tied everything together. It's like we make another coordinated house in our house. The purple hall is the transition.

We hung a headboard and two new ceiling fans Saturday, July 01, 2006 - Saturday, July 01, 2006
BR #2 is shaping up. I hung the screen as a headboard and a fancy new ceiling fan. BR #4 got a new ceiling fan too. The idea with the fans were to get them closer to the ceiling and compliment the decor. It worked.

Odds and ends: neon fan, plant, sconces Monday, July 24, 2006 - Monday, July 24, 2006
We're doing lots of little details. I think the lamps turned sconces are great.

Rug details for Cheryl Tuesday, July 25, 2006 - Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Lot's of folks like this rug. It's pretty than the pictures. It's from Meyers Carpets in Atlanta.

5 new colors and the back bathroon stripe plans, refinished tub and hall shag rug Thursday, July 27, 2006 - Sunday, August 20, 2006
Today was a color bananza, finishing finishing the exotic bedroom by painting a chair, starting the back bedroom and the back bath.

Painted Windows in the White Bedroom Sunday, August 20, 2006 - Sunday, August 20, 2006
We painted the moving parts of the windows and the fans thought it was too laud so I toned it down.

Time for the last bathroom Sunday, August 20, 2006 - Sunday, August 20, 2006
17 years of baths for 3 kids nearly wore that thing out.

Art for the gray bathroom Wednesday, August 30, 2006 - Tuesday, September 05, 2006
I don't know what got into me. I had to get some color in there fast. I found an image, blew it up, and made it out of scrap wood, old paint, and family photos.

Painting our concrete patio Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - Sunday, March 30, 2008
We never go out there but there is a decorating opportunity anyway. Gordon made us realize our bedroom overlooks a "driveway." It could actually look good and make our bedroom look better.

Painting the porch ceiling Thursday, September 21, 2006 - Friday, September 22, 2006
The ceiling is very high and very white. It seems as if the space takes something out of you. We're painting it blue.

Silver Wave Mirror and Sconces Monday, September 25, 2006 - Tuesday, September 26, 2006
The gray bath is nearly complete now that we've hung the "Silver Wave Mirror" from Pier 1. And, we finally hung some sconces.

Finding and fixing the leak so we can finish the bath Wednesday, October 11, 2006 - Tuesday, November 14, 2006
The dampness (euphemism for leak) in our big bathroom has been there for years. It showed as discolored grout, loose wallpaper, and dimpled sheetrock. Never saw any water though. The Curl Bothers come to the rescue.

Rating the home fix-it, do it yourself, design, flip, and renovation TV showss Wednesday, March 07, 2007 - Wednesday, March 07, 2007
I promised to write about the home related TV shows and the ones I like best. I'll give it a try.

Exterior decorating, fixing the Reeder Circle circle Wednesday, July 04, 2007 - Wednesday, July 04, 2007
The mud puddles and ruts of our circle are big time ugly. I'm trying to make it better.

Christoph Bücheler, landscape architect, comments on decorating the "blank wall" Sunday, March 30, 2008 - Sunday, March 30, 2008
A fortunate coincidence connected me with Christoph Bücheler, a landscape architect from München (Munich, Germany as we say in the south.). I asked him about "the wall."

Great windows in our bathroom Monday, September 29, 2008 - Monday, September 29, 2008
The feeling of an outdoor shower - indoors for 365 day use.

The blank wall is in play again. I found a little arbor on the street Sunday, February 01, 2009 - Sunday, February 01, 2009
High decorative value for the money, not bad at all but certainly improvable.

 
 
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