Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Presenting: the Office

December 30, 2015 at 9:06 am by Claudia

Goodness, I’m so happy with my little corner of our shared office space! Yesterday, I put it all together and except for a piece of that plastic stuff to put under the chair (it doesn’t roll around easily on the carpet) and a bulletin/pin board, I’m open for business.

The days have been dreary and cloudy, so I did the best I could with my picture-taking.

Let’s take a little tour:

12-30 facingthedesk

It’s the classic work triangle. I pictured this in my mind for several months and it’s all come to life beautifully. The desk is the Malm from IKEA. You can place the drawers on the left or the right. I chose the left because I knew I would be moving back and forth between the desk and the work table. The desk has a very large work surface, which was number one on my list of requirements. I do a lot of research when I’m coaching which involves a lot of books and paper and I need space for it all. Part of the impetus for this space was the fact that I was so sick of trying to do that work within the confines of the kitchen table. It was incredibly frustrating.

The chair is also from IKEA – the Lillhöjden in a gray check. How could I resist those ties on the back?

12-30 pinkcabinet

The pink cabinet moved from the hallway into the new space. The girls maintained their perch on the top of the cabinet.

12-30 wallpockets

My birdie wall pockets are hanging on the side of the cabinet.

12-30 cornerminipottery

Framed program from the Broadway production of “Claudia” circa the Forties. Shelf unit full of miniature pottery. Lots of supplies stashed against the wall.

12-30 wickerbasketstorage

The wicker flower basket holds wood trims for mini making.

12-30 glovebox from don

The vintage pink glove box was a birthday gift from Don. He thought it would be a neat bit of storage. It is.

12-30 containers

The pottery holding pens and pencils was a gift from my friend Tina. The framed Friends motto was a gift from Lori, my friend who owns Vignettes in San Diego. And you recognize the Roseville piece, right? It’s the one that arrived in pieces and has been glued back together.

12-30 chair

The other side of the chair.

The desk lamp is Ranarp from IKEA. I have the white version on the table by my chair in the den. It’s a great utility lamp and provides a lot of light.

12-30 slopingceiling

Yes, we have sloping ceilings upstairs – in both rooms. So we have to work around them and every piece of furniture has to be measured within an inch of its life.

12-30 miniaturemaking

The other side of the triangle. This is the sewing machine table that was formerly in the niche in the hallway. When we decided to open up this space by getting rid of the bed, I immediately envisioned it as an extension of the desk. I can move it in to the wall when I don’t want it taking up as much space and I can move it even further out than it is in this picture, as well. The cart is the Råskog Utility Cart from IKEA. It somehow manages to corral almost everything I need when I’m working on the TSP.

I should add that normally the TSP is covered with a remnant of barkcloth so it remains hidden from my husband. I took advantage of his absence and unveiled it for the photos.

The plant is one of my overwintering impatiens.

Don’s guitars in the distance.

12-30 viewfromtheTSP

The view from the other side of the TSP.

12-30 eggcups

The mantel and eggcups have also moved from the hallway niche to this new space. They make me smile. The card with the word Heaven on it was the birthday card from my parents that Don gave to me.

The calendar you see hanging above the desk was a $3 find from Target.

And let’s see who joined me in the office:

12-30 lamb

The lamb with the party hat. Now the space is complete!

If we ever get a sunny day again, I’ll take more photos for you. I promise.

This was done on a budget, of course. Is there any other way? Not for yours truly!

The Malm desk: $159.00
The Lillhöjden chair: $79.99
The Ranarp desk lamp: $39.99
The Råskog Utility Cart: $29.99

Total cost: $308.97

I assembled the chair, lamp, and cart. Don and I assembled the desk – it was definitely a two person job, as was moving the big pieces into the room from the hallway.

To say I’m thrilled is an understatement. I’ve wanted this sort of arrangement for the ten years we’ve lived here. The rest of the room? Still under construction. We moved out my grandmother’s trunk and some other pieces. They are now in our storage space (huzzah!) so we have much more room to play with. Don has to rethink his part of the space. He wants to clear some clutter.

And we’re thinking a vintage loveseat would be really cool in this space. We have all sorts of plans!

I hope you like the new space! Something tells me you’ll be seeing it fairly frequently.

Happy Wednesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: decorating, DIY, Don, Ikea, office 86 Comments

A Little Bit of Everything on Monday

March 9, 2015 at 9:53 am by Claudia

3-9 green chair

I’m going to call this the Storybook Chair. It looks like something that would be in an illustration from Hansel and Gretel  or Heidi  or Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Perhaps someday soon the weather will be warm enough for me to add a couple of layers of protection so those wonderfully chippy areas stay just as they are. No more chipping allowed. In the meantime, this coming week promises warmer temperatures and it’s about time!

Yesterday found me outside digging out the gutter extensions at the back of the house from the three feet of snow in which they were buried, which led to the realization that they were filled with ice. That led to several trips back and forth with a kettle of boiling water, which I poured into each extension to melt the ice.

It took a long time. I also grabbed our trusty roof rake and raked some of the snow off the kitchen roof. (After last winter’s adventures with both a rented roof rake, as well as Tina & Noble’s roof rake, we decided to invest in one this year.)

It felt good to be outside doing something other than shoveling. The hint of warmth (this is all relative, of course) in the air was just what I needed.

What else? I washed the slipcover that is on the sofa in the den. Then I spent quite a while wrestling the cushions back in the slipcover, cursing the whole time. I guess I was pretty vocal, as Don finally came to my rescue.

And we watched My Favorite Year  (a gem of a movie) and finished off the 3rd season of House of Cards. Since some of you have yet to watch it, I’ll hold off on any detailed opinion. Don and I have discussed it in great detail, as you can imagine, and we both feel that it wasn’t as good as the previous two seasons. Still good – but not as good. That’s all I’ll say for now.

3-9 P&P sched

Don stood by the Doily Swag Lamp the other day and said: “I really like this.” He’s said that before, but this time he was more specific. He likes the doilies; the airiness that comes from the surface of a crocheted doily, the way the light shines through it.

I put this particular project together three years ago. But Don’s like that. He’ll suddenly ‘see’ something that’s been around for a while as if it’s for the first time. That, in turn, helps me to see it with fresh eyes. Thanks, Don!

I don’t know if you can tell, but the blackboard is now being used to write the times that Dame Scout has taken care of her ‘business.’ Because sometimes, if certain business hasn’t been taken care of, one of us has to get up in the middle of the night to ensure that an accident doesn’t happen. It’s what you do with an older dog, isn’t it? We did it with Riley, too.

She’s a good girl. We don’t ever want her to feel stressed about that sort of thing, though it’s inevitable at times. We just try to make sure that it happens as little as possible.

This time change is throwing me off! I’m getting to my post a bit later than normal. Sorry for the delay, my friends.

Carolyn Marie is the winner of a copy of The Swimmer. Congratulations! I’ve just sent you an email.

By the way. Don got a spammy email from me today and some of you did, too. I think it’s the same idiots that hacked my email in December. They tend to store the list and use it again. Sorry for the inconvenience. Nevertheless, I’ve changed my passwords, just in case.

Of course, it goes without saying, DON’T CLICK ON THE LINK.

Happy Monday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: antiques, DIY, Don, Scout, winter 27 Comments

Who, What, Where: Dollhouse Potting Shed

February 6, 2015 at 8:31 am by Claudia

In the category of better late than never, the last room in the Who, What, Where series is being featured today. The Potting Shed. Or Potting Room. Or Garden Room. I’m not sure what I’ll finally end up calling it.

This room is a little tower room at the top of the house that sat empty and unused for most of the five years I’ve had the dollhouse. One day, Don suggested something about a garden at the top of the house and bingo! The lightbulb went on and I started dreaming about a little hideaway at the top of the house where Caroline could go to plunge her hands in some dirt.

Gardening in the City.

2-6 DH Potshed 1

Walls: painted and aged by me; Floor: made out of beadboard wallpaper, painted by me.

Crate: made by Weston Miniature/Etsy; Flowers: from my stash; Watering Can: Miniatures.com; Sink: bashed together from a sink/vanity I had in my stash that was out of scale. I took it apart and used just the sink and added legs; Pitcher (in sink): a gift from Jayne; Stool: from miniatures.com, painted and aged by me; Trug: a gift from Barbara; Cherub on wall: from my stash, painted and aged by me.

2-6 DH Potshed 2

Posters on wall: found online and printed out by me; Garden Tools in the corner: found at Chautauqua Miniatures.

2-6 DH Potshed 3

Poster on wall: found online, printed out on card stock by me; Potting Bench: made by me from two shutters in my stash and newel posts also in my stash which were cut down; Pots: miniatures.com; Potting Soil: miniatures.com; Trowel: Weston Miniature; Graniteware pot: a gift from Karen; Seed packets: printables found online.

2-6 DH Potshed 4

Skylight: added by me. I ordered a window from miniatures.com, created an opening with a keyhole saw and inserted the window. It made all the difference in the space.

 

 

I’ll highlight the outside soon, as well as the roof garden when I get it finished.

Happy Friday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Tagged With: dolhouse, miniaturesFiled Under: decorating, DIY 34 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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