Which Would You Choose?

If you watch HGTV's House Hunters International, you'll like the three homes this individual looked at in the beautiful island of Bali.



If you had the same budget, which vacation house would you have chose?

Portland Home

This 1932 English Manor home caught my attention on the internet. It's listed through Windermere for the list price of $2,450,000. Of course, this is completely out of my price range and can be added to the lottery list of homes I'd buy if I won, but it had some great ideas that could be applied to a less expensive home.

It is built by noted Oregon architect Richard Sundeleaf and sits on nearly one acre. It is a great example of the English Manor style with boxwood hedges, stone fireplaces, leaded glass windows, iron work, and peg cedar post and beam



Gothic door entry



Gorgeous post and beam ceiling in the formal living room. The modern artwork and silk drapes add a strong element of color into an otherwise neutral space



Beautiful kitchen with glazed cabinets. Love the oversized light fixture over the breakfast nook table!



The family room is very large and a perfect space for entertaining with space for a pool table, movies, and music. I love the white slipcovered sectional couches and the cowhide coffee table.



The lighting really highlights some great features of the room such as the stone fireplace



One of many hallways...did you notice the incredible doorway?



Another private room and there are couple of things that stand out to me. The darkly painted or stained windows really add a finished look to this room. Also the coped ceiling has an interesting texture to it.



This is one of many guest bedrooms and I absolutely love the bed frame. I'm assuming it's metal but it's designed after a birch tree and it's branches.



Another home office. Its interesting how they chose high contrast elements in the room but its calming as its in the same color palette of brown. The painted ceiling is unexpected but works well in this space.



In an otherwise neutral home, we have a pop of color in this bedroom.



Love the herringbone tile pattern on the bathroom floor!



I'm not sure if they reused a piece of furniture for the vanity, but it's simple design is a good contrast to the ornate chandelier.



Another view of the front of the home and the lovely turret.



The backyard has a courtyard with a simple planting of boxwood, topiaries, and white hydrangeas.



(All images from Windermere)

Garden Sheds

Last weekend my husband and I took the ferry to Whidbey Island and drove to the various vegetable gardens as part of the Whidbey Island Garden Tour. I stopped in my tracks when I came across this little beauty at one of the farms. It's created by Bob Bowling Rustics.



Bob Bowling custom creates sheds, chicken coops, greenhouses, playhouses...you name it! He makes them from reclaimed and recycled material. Below are some other sheds he's created.

















I'm wondering if the greenhouse I admired here, is a Bob Bowling Rustic?



(Images from Bob Bowling Rustics)

I've been remiss

I cringe when I see how long it's been since my last post and I apologize. It's been crazy busy at our house as we're going through the application process for adoption! If you've never adopted before, you'd be surprised what hoops you have to jump through in order to be a parent. I've ordered every certified certificate I can find, written books about our parenting plan (I kid of course, it was only 4 pages), had FBI and state criminal background checks, and submitted financial records (W-2's, pay stubs, and credit reports). Also, in the coming months we'll have several home studies so I feel the pressure to finish projects in our house so as a result I have the dead apple tree chopped down (see future project here) and have a revolving door of electricians, plumbers, and foundation experts in our home. The good news is I feel like we're getting somewhere with our home and with the adoption. The bad news is...there really is no bad news, only good!