Photo shoot: Land, just land

All I had to take pictures of was this stinking gate--and a beautiful Texas sunset!!!  LOL! I love my job.

Photo shoot: Historic Romance

There's a romance to be found in old homes, both big and small, that you just can't find in a new house. The original doors and knobs in this house alone were enough to make me want it.

Photo Shoot: Stunning Kitchen!

Hands down the most beautiful kitchen I have photographed to date.

Project: Front Porch Face-lift

This started with replacing the interior tile on our front porch that our home inspector had a fit about. I have to admit, it was slick as snot on a glass door knob when wet, and I kept a rug on it all the time. Of course that also meant I had to keep heavy objects on all four corners of the rug due to the gentle Texas breeze. I tore the tile up and the hubby replaced it with a skim coat of concrete that I did a faux slate finish on. Then I decided I wanted a more neutral door, which led to new cedar columns. I like the look of the house a lot better now as it has more horizontal flow and less vertical interruption.

Photo Shoot: Big Red Barn

Color: What to do about Brass?

I know the decorating magazines say that brass is on the come back, but I can't be convinced. To me, it will always look, well, cheap. Instead of replacing a perfectly good fan though, consider chalk paint. It sticks to metal as well as it sticks to anything else, and you can always do black or any other color that goes with your decor. In this case, I chose white after replacing the yellowish globes that came with this fan to make the who thing sort of disappear into the white room it was a part of.

Staging: Don't Forget the Closets

I like my closets to be pretty. When possible I even hang a piece of artwork in my closet that makes me happy. When people are selling their homes, they often overlook the closets when sprucing up the house. One tip I always share with my staging clients is to go one step past just tidying up and thinning out their closets to make them look bigger. There are a lot of ways to make a closet that "devil in the details" space that really sells a home, but by far the easiest is putting pretty shelf liner in any built ins. It's cheap, easy, and fast--just stay away from the stick down kind like Contact Paper!

Photo Shoot: Quiet Country Home

Photo Shoot: Elegant Home in Park-like Setting

Staging: A Room Without a View

I have to admit, I am not a fan of rooms without windows--unless they are closets! I love our little house that we are in now, but one thing that I find fault with is the fact that the master bathroom has no window. Luckily, thanks to a friend who was cleaning out her barn, I was able to solve this problem. An old window with the panes replaced with mirror glass or backed by a pretty fabric creates a nice illusion in rooms without views. It took me awhile to find just the right fabric for my antique window, and I now realize I also like the look of the window just by itself. The fabric I found adds a cheerful country note, but without backing, it would work well in a more modern styled home.

Home Improvement: Emotional Appeal

So, we changed out our kitchen sink. There was nothing wrong with the original stainless sink. It looked fine. It was functional. BUT. I grew up on farm with a white porcelain sink. My mom and I washed countless dishes and cleaned innumerable vegetables in that sink. We shared gossip and secrets and knowledge over that sink. A white porcelain sink still brings back memories of summer mornings with the window open, yellow checked curtains blowing in the breeze, and the smell of alfalfa blooming filling the kitchen. This is at least the third white Kohler I have installed in a house. Sometimes we don't change things because of how they look. Sometimes we change them because of how we feel.

Staging Our Rental: The Little Things

We recently put one of our rentals back on the market. Between each tenant, we like to walk through and decide on some upgrades we want to make. This house was in amazing shape when we bought it and only needed small repairs after the first tenant, so we decided to go for some cosmetic upgrades like more contemporary curtains and adding some hardware in the kitchen. We also changed out two of the faucets (kitchen and guest bath) just because the originals looked cheap. I also made sure to take better photos this go round. Small upgrades and good pictures can make a huge difference not only to the quality of tenant, but also to how fast a house rents.

master bedroom curtains before

master bedroom curtains after

living area before

living area after

Photo shoot: Hands down Pretty!!!

This is possibly the prettiest little house I have photographed to date. The front porch is like a welcome home hug, the kitchen looks like a magazine photo, the backyard is right out of a fairy tale, and the view from that second floor balcony is nothing short of breathtaking.

Color Consultation: A Serene Summer Home

By far my favorite use of the knowledge I gained from studying Color Theory and Color Psychology is doing color consultations for people who want to bring personalized color choices into their homes, but aren’t quite sure what colors to choose.  I also love getting to lay out a palette for a whole home! I like putting all of the colors for the home on one page whenever possible so that the client can see the flow of the entire home at a glance.

My advice to anyone wanting to personalize the colors in their environment is to avoid being caught up in whatever happens to be trending right now. Instead, find a trained color consultant to help you out if you aren’t sure of what you want. Just like the clothing that you wear, your home should be a reflection of your unique personality, not something you copy out of a magazine.

Photo Shoot: Sunset at the Olive Farm