I know, I know! I've been MIA for WEEKS! I decided to bring my boys down to Utah for an extended visit with my sister and their cousins. I thought we would be doing tons of cute projects and in the evening I would be blogging about them. As it turns out five and sometimes six kids under the age of five take the full attention and capacities of both my sister and I to manage. We have managed to take them to a play date with our cousin's kids, throw an over the top birthday party for the now five year old, take them to the museum of natural history in Salt Lake, and most impressive of all, not kill any of them.
Here are a few shots I've captures of the kiddos at their most adorable.
I did manage to shoot a few of my favorite parts of my sister's amazing house. Her husband, with her help and occasional help from family members build the house. Phoebe has done an amazing job outfitting and decorating it. Take a look.
I love the architectural detail in the front entry/ living room of their house. What you can't see in this photo because of the lighting is that at the front of vaulted areas of the ceiling are big beautiful dormer windows that let in a ton of natural light.
Here is a shot of the enormous overhead fan. I normally don't care for overhead fans, but in this case it looks like a beautiful, old wood, airplane propeller and it is stunning.
And to go with that wood propeller, did you notice the front door? Burt made that door. Yes, he made it. It is much larger than a standard exterior door and is a beautiful statement from both the inside and the outside of the house.
Also notice all of the molding. There is eight inch molding throughout the house. There is also beautiful custom molding around every door in the house.
These chairs were in my grandmother's house. They were a vintage green color similar to the green of that adorable pillow (which may just mysteriously disappear when I leave.) However, the fabric was rough and wearing out. Phoebe had them re-upholstered in this classic hounds tooth fabric and they look as if they were made for this house.
I had to show you the cool legs with the old casters. I know how we are all just a little bit giddy over pretty furniture legs.
This shot also shows off the banister. Because Burt doesn't just do incredible wood working, he's a welder too. It is made of "off the shelf" steel (you know, just go into your local steel dealer) welded together and finished with a chemical finish that gives it that beautiful aged copper color.
Phoebe, who is an avid thrifter had been looking for a sofa table for quite some time. She even was having me look in Oregon for just the right piece. She was never able to fine exactly what she wanted, so she drew Burt a picture and me made her this. Yes, ladies, it's OK to be jealous, but Phoebe will remind you that all of this custom work also means that she spends an awful lot of evenings alone while her husband is out in his shop.
The awesome vintage furniture continues in Phoebe's boys' room. This is their 'dresser'. They found it in a old shed on the property they built their house on. Phoebe said it was in very sad shape, but after a lot of scrubbing and some paint, her boys had a seriously awesome alternative to a dresser. It holds a ton, has a shallow footprint, and looks AH-mazing!
Across the room another shelf echos the one above the lockers, both of which are filled with vintage items, original art, and special items.
There is so much more awesomeness in Phoebe and Burt's house, but the kids are running around unsupervised outside while I'm writing this post. Heaven only knows what I'll find when I go out there.
I did want to show you one more favorite piece of art in my sister's house. This is a mosaic that my dad did before I was born, so let's say 30-some years ago. He had taken it to a man a few counties over to turn into a stain glass window. The man never got to it, and never got to it, and my mom and dad forgot about it for a long time. 10 years ago while I was living in that county my mom called me and asked me if I could look him and see if he still lived in the same place. He did. I called him, he had the piece tucked carefully away in his workshop after all those years. He told me to come get it in three days. When I showed up this is what he handed me. Isn't it beautiful!
My sister loved it so much, she asked my dad if she could hang it in their house. (Why didn't I think of that? I don't know.) Anyway, it looks like it was made to go in this home that is an amazing showcase of Burt's craftsmanship and Phoebe's unique design style.
If the children don't explode, I'll write try to get a few more pictures of the house and the yard as well as show you the few projects that we have managed to work on here and there.
