Mother's Day Swiss Ave Home Tour 2013

I can't believe it's already been a year since I last brought you the annual Mother's Day Swiss Ave Home Tour Recap. If you missed my post from last year, you can check it out here.

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At the turn of the century, developer R.S. Munger decided to build the most prestigious residential community in the Southwest. The result was a 140 acre residential area built between 1905 and 1920's. It was a place to showcase the best architects and a place where the city's most affluent residents could entertain dignitaries from around the world.

Each home is unique and built with tons of character. Walking through the neighborhood and exploring these homes, you take a step back in time. Towering trees, sloping lawns, large wrap around porches, and lushly landscaped gardens still show true and distinguish what is called today, the Swiss Avenue Historic District.

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{Mary Ellen Logan Bendsten on 4949 Swiss Ave}

It was a great day spent with the family to celebrate Mother's Day this year. My husband joined us this time around which was a bonus. He's such a trooper. 

We spent the beautiful afternoon checking out 5 out of the 6 homes. I love homes that have just as much beauty on the outside as they have on the inside. Some of the homes we saw have seen better days, but many of the homes we saw, the homeowners have kept the original and historic characteristics preserved with little changes.

The first house we visited was by far my favorite. The paint colors she selected throughout the house flowed beautifully and the owner's taste impeccable. Loved the decor and the flow. Super cozy and definitely my style!!

By far, my favorite part of this home tour had to be the downstairs powder bath. I absolutely love the look of smoked mirrors and the vibe it creates in a small space. Beautifully done!



While exploring the other homes on the tour, there were some interesting things that stood out to me.

{Love the vintage suitcases.}

{This has to be one of the most morbid works of art I've ever seen.}

{Loved the simplicity of their landscape.}

{Trailing Roses}

{Ready for a dip.}

{Love the stencil idea on the ceiling.}

I think after seeing this bathroom, I've seen it all! I can't imagine someone taking a bath in a tub like this. Imagine all the water it would take to fill this sucker up. This was so over the top. A bathroom fit for a king. What do ya'll think? Yay or Nay? 

In the backyard of the last house we went to, this is what we saw. An outdoor fish tank! Can you imagine this. Being invited to an outdoor BBQ, and seeing this? When you think you've seen it all..This right here definitely takes the cake! 

{Little fish. Personally, I feel this is meant to be enjoyed inside.}

{A gardener's dream or what..now that's a greenhouse!}

Love love love going to the Swiss Ave Mother's Day Home Tour and looking forward to next year. It's always so much fun to be able to step inside and enjoy the beauty of each home. The homeowners really open their lives and their homes up to total strangers like me. Hats off to each of you who participate in this wonderful event each year! Thank you for sharing your beautiful homes with us!

Spring has Sprung!

I'm hoping our last cold spell a couple days ago will be our last now with our new flowers and plants sitting purty. The backyard hasn't received too much attention since last year when I posted, Painting, Pillows, and Planting, Oh My.  We haven't focused yet on the landscape around the fence and it was time to start adding some color, and I think we succeeded in that today.

Here are some boring before pictures..nothing to special right?

We get tons of shade back there so I knew we had to pick out some shady plants for a few perennials and then add some annuals. There's still a few open corners that I'd like to fill. I was thinking about adding a few elephant ears, but it would be nice to have some additional color with a few more perennials.

In front of the bench, I decided to add a few stepping stones with the dwarf monkey grass. I've always loved this look and this was a pretty inexpensive way to get the look. We added a beautiful hydrangea bush, fern, and annuals here too.

Again, another beautiful hydrangea bush. It gets a lot of shade on this end, but I'm hoping it will be alright. Another great plant for shade are hostas, which I know will do great in their new home. Caladiums and Impatiens we also included and fertilized real well. Hopefully in a couple months, they'll  be nice a full.

Another fern, hosta, caladiums, and mexican heather in front of the chimenea.

What a difference flowers can make! I'm enjoying the backyard so much more now. 

Have you started your Spring planting? Have a great weekend!

Guest Bedroom Reveal: Before and After

Several months ago, I posted about our Guest Bedroom Redesign. To see more on that, check out here. I loved the look and feel of our guestroom with the light mint walls. All our furniture that didn't work in the rest of our house, worked great in our guestroom.

But with us deciding it was time for a king in our master, we knew we had to make our queen size headboard work in the guestroom. Even though I loved the room as it was, I knew that bed was going to change the whole look and the mint green walls would have to go. The headboard was super masculine and the only way to make it work was to completely revamp! Selling the bed was not an option for us. It was our first big furniture purchase after we married and I know me...I hold sentimental value on everything! Trouble!!

Here are some before pictures. A very feminine room that could stand to be toned down a bit. As Chris would like to call this style, "Granny". I love the "Granny" look, but he..not so much. 

So here was my original game plan on the redesign and what I ended up doing in there. 

1. Sell the white iron bed. I can part with it. I bought the bed frame on Craigslist a year ago. I really hold no sentimental value on it like the other furniture. SOLD. 

2. Repaint the room a  neutral color for now until we repaint it again for a nursery down the road. Decided to go with Restoration Hardware's Flax. It's darker and I wanted a color to help cozy it up a bit. 

3. I have some extra bedding that's sage green which will work with the brown. Just thought about that, so I can save some money there. With the new color, the bedding compliments the room and worked out great. 

4. What will I do with the apple green drawers? I don't really have another place for it?? Not sure it I can part with that piece. No way I could part with that baby! I decided to move it into our office. 

5. The other two white pieces will have to work. I can't part with those either. The white pieces worked really well in the room and popped off the dark walls. 

6. Going to have to rework the accessories and art in there to make it less feminine and simplify. Used what I had and toned down all the foo foo stuff. 

7. Room for a crib down the road?? We'll have to cross that bridge when we get there. Will need to remove a piece from the room when we're ready and likely revamp again:)

8. Spend as little or no money as possible considering our investment in the new mattress and bed frame. Purchased new curtains and that was it! 

Here are some pictures once we put the bed in the room! What a monster.

And here are the after pictures. I like the color, but it sure did darken the room up quite a bit. I love the contrast of the white furniture against the dark walls. The pieces really stand out and pop where before, they just blended in to the walls. My wall unit is great place to display our sentimental pieces we've collected, books, and pictures.

  It feels lived in which to me, that's what makes a home. When a room looks store bought with no personality, it's not a home. The pictures look pretty in the magazines, but realistically, most people don't live that way.

Well, there you have it! Our new guestroom. At least our male visitors now don't have to feel like they slept in their sister's bedroom:) It's a cozy room! We worked with what we had, and it didn't cost much to rework. Just a couple gallons of paint and some new curtains.