Happy Friday!
I have not written my blog in SO long! It was a busy summer and fall~~ and now we are on the sunny side of March. Thank you to all my readers who emailed me saying they missed the blog….it warmed my heart. Tutu and I have just been rolling along~~ she is happy every day she wakes up as a Genua dog and I I am happy to see that precious face greet me every morning! So here is 8 months of the life of Kay in a synopsis…….
Last July I went to the Hudson Valley and New York City to celebrate my best friend Beast’s birthday. I had NEVER been to her country home because mother always wanted to stay in the city and shop. Oh my goodness is Hudson Valley stunning!!!! Beast’s home is over 100 Years old and is SO charming. We went to all of her favorite sights and a fabulous restaurant in an historic tavern. I loved every minute! We even went antique shopping!!!!! I was in heaven. Getting the antique settee we found out of the car and into the bedroom in the barn ( where I stayed) was like something out of an I Love Lucy episode…..but we did it! We had dinner at Le Coucou in the city for her birthday…..amazing !!!! I always have the BEST time when I am with her!
In August I went to Snowmass to do a house refresh with my clients from Fort Worth. I stayed in a Fabulous guest room in their house and had the most wonderful time. I had not been to Aspen since I went skiing with mother in 1982. It was magical to get to go back! We had dinners at Angelo’s and Cache Cache……so special !!! My client took videos of the house that I analyzed and did screen shots of the things they wanted to reupholster and replace. I took samples with me and we made all of the decisions while we were there. It worked out perfectly! It was a whirlwind but we got it all done.
In September I helped an existing client finish out her home with her new husband. His daughter interned with me years ago so it was great fun to help them. Just like the Snowmass job….all came together quickly and I delivered almost all before Christmas. That was a feat in itself!!!!!! I love it when dreams can come true!
My commercial job is finally installed complete with the hidden door in the custom bookcase. My incredibly talented artisan here in FW made the bookcase for me~~~it is amazing. He made a matching piece for my client’s turntable and equipment. The world of furniture has not kept up with the renewed joy of listening to records on a turntable….so I had it custom made. Needless to say…my client is to the moon happy with his new office and I am overjoyed that all turned out perfectly.
My niece Lexi ~~ my brother Cove’s oldest of two girls~~ announced she was pregnant with twins this summer! As things moved along and we found out the sex of the twins…..God blessed us with a boy and a girl!!!!!!! Just like me 31 years ago! The girl’s name is Kennedy and the boy’s name is Covert…..named after my brother and father. Of course that brought major tears to my eyes!!!! Lexi really had such an easy pregnancy….until about 31 weeks. Then some high blood pressure started ….and she went into labor at 33 1/2 weeks …….and ON HER birthday!!!!! Now that was not the present she wanted …we were all hoping and praying for them to come later…..but what a gift!!! Covert was 4 lbs 13 oz and Kennedy was 3 lbs 10 oz. Both good size for being so early but of course they had to stay in the NICU. Covert got to come home before two weeks and Kennedy is hopefully coming home on Sunday. Her little body has been growing and developing in the NICU. January 23rd was the big day~~~~ and we are all anticipating baby Kennedy to get to come home with her brother as soon as possible!
I installed the Snowmass job at the end of January….all went fabulous except the carpet was not finished in the house….the master was not done ( yes I still call it a master bedroom~~ can’t get used to primary.) This was a late development ~~ I was not in charge of the carpet and paint….I just picked it out. The closet doors were also not installed. I was so BUMMED!! I had to install the master furniture later by FaceTiming with the Aspen receiver/movers I found ~~ who were wonderful. I had 5 of them on the day of install and three men from here in FW who brought what was reupholstered . We were 95% finished installing the whole house ( all had to be moved out to paint and carpet) by 4:30 in the afternoon. All went like clockwork and men were moving everywhere. I was SOME kind of tired by the end of the day. We even had most of the art hung!!!! I did not get my perfect pictures that I wanted because the carpet men had their equipment in there still and the doors were installed day 2 all day long. But I still got great pictures and was THRILLED with how it turned out.
My trip to New York/ Hudson Valley deserves it’s own blog….I will cover all of those details later. Here are some pictures of the life of Kay for the last 8 months. Enjoy and have a super weekend. It is COLD here….I am tired of wearing warm shoes. Kitten heel weather is returning next week! Whoop Whoop!!!!!
Take care,
Kay
My first night in the Hudson Valley. Dinner was at Stissing House. Fabulous!!!! And I was even on cloud nine to be with Beast even though my hair was frizzy!!!!
The next day our first stop was at Edith Warton’s house. I was enthralled with the ENTIRE house!!!!
The gardens were as amazing as the home. Just dreamy!
We spent the day on her birthday going to museums all around the Met~~~~ which was sadly closed that day. The flowers along 5th Ave were amazing!
Birthday dinner at Le Coucou. I of course was thrilled to sit next to the antique Louis Philippe mirror. Dinner was delicious!!!!
I installed some incredible draperies in this nursery of one of my second generation clients in September. The Clarence House fabric we used made my heart sing REALLY big! Sorry the botom of the draperies are still tied when I took this picture…the installer always does that for a few days so they can settle properly. The baby came early the next day!!!!!! I joked that baby Charlotte was waiting for her draperies to be installed!! Mother and baby are perfect!
The executive lounge at my commercial job. We reupholstered the 4 chairs in a yummy Osborne & Little fabric and added the rug from Abrash. It really transformed the room!
This office was two rooms originally. We tore down the wall seperating them and refinished the floors. The talented wood flooring man from Vintage Floors came up with the idea to do a herringbone design to join the two previous floors….they were not exactly going in the same direction because the room is curved. I was able to keep the slate detail entact in both areas. We could not find a chair for the conference table that he liked….so I had them made. I found the antique table at Country French Interiors~~~ my client loves the addition of an antique piece where possible. It was the perfect size! All of the rugs came from Abrash. The desk was his before I started the project.
The office looking the other direction.
The custom bookcase with the hiddn door for the closet being installed. I was holding my breath the whole time…..this was VERY tricky!
The custom turntable piece installed. It functions perfectly as well as being handsome.
I also worked on a refresh in a client’s house in Fort Worth this summer/fall. I rearranged furniture ALL over the house. We added these roman shades in the living room in a fabric from Casamance. I love the way it turned out!
The family room in this house got all new furniture keeping only the former cocktail table. The sofa is done in a Brochier antique velvet and the swivel chairs in a fabric from Pierre Frey. The ottomans are leather. The vintage rug came from Abrash. So warm and cozy!
Lexi and the twins!!!!!!!!!
Covert. Make me melt!!!
Kennedy. Precious baby girl. I can’t wait for her to get to come home!
The living room in Snowmass. We reupholstered the lounge chairs in a fabric from Clarke & Clarke, the rug is from Lee Jofa, and the chaise is from Kravet done in Metaphores fabric. The sofa and cocktail table were existing. The room is TOTALLY dog friendly for their three dogs who travel everywhere with my clients. The rug is made from pet yarn and we had throws made with a washable outdoor fabric from Link.
In the dining room we added a new rug from Kravet that is also dog friendly. The host & hostess chairs are done in a fabric from Lizzo. The side chairs were all touched up in Fort Worth and traveled back.
This Pierre Frey fabric transformed these game chairs from fine to Fabulous!!! They were a solid leather before.
Riley found a baby picture of Tutu!!!!! OH MY GOODNESS does this make me melt into a puddle!! So her birthday is in July when we were celebrating anyway because we got her on July 4th!
I got Tutu blessed for the third time at church. This time there was even a horse that got blessed!!!
The family room of the house that I helped finisih with my former client and her new husband. The chaise and the bench in front of the fireplace were not delivered at the time of this picture. When I delivered those she was working on a project in the room and had the floor covered and paint supplies out~~~ not a photo opt moment!
