Maison Luxe is back.

A favorite Seattle home and design shop is back in action after a move to new digs.

You can visit here HERE and check our her blog HERE.

She's still unpacking, but it's all coming together. Great space, huh?

Lording over me.

Before we fixed up the kitchen, we had this weird, unused little area near the back of the house. We used to keep Rickey's dog bed and his food there. Well, even with the kitchen mostly done we still have that weird unused area. Until I decide what exactly to do with this area, I've parked my Craigslist-find chair there for now so we have a place to sit. Rickey seems to think that this means his bed has just been upgraded. Here he is lording over me as I begin to cook dinner. Look at his lazy ass! He's now begging for food from a blue throne. Fucker.

Anyway, about this area. Thoughts? I am thinking built-in bench with extra storage. The man of the house wants it to be more like a booth with two little built-in benches on either side and a little table in between. He wants to read the paper and drink his coffee near the window.

Ideas?


The wall color is actually The Right White from Restoration Hardware. It just looks yellow-ish because I can't seem to take a decent photo these days.

Best episode and best recap ever.

Even if you don't watch those monsters on Real Housewives of New York, you must read THIS recap by the brilliantly funny SGM. Seriously.


And read news about this insane woman HERE.

Belize Trip Review - Tori and Jeff Mcleod - March 2009

Oh my goodness, where do I begin?! We loved our stay at the Jungle Dome so much I am not sure I can put it into words. From the moment that we got to the airport, we were treated so kindly. David was waiting for us when we arrived at the airport. He took us for a nice lunch and filled us with a wealth of knowledge on our ride to the hotel. As soon as we got there, Karen arranged a horse back riding adventure and David offered to lead our night jungle walk. We enjoyed both of these very much.



We did the Black Hole drop the next day which was breathtaking. Although I had never rapelled before, I felt very safe with the guides. Everything went so smoothly. The following day, we did the zip lining and cave tubing. Both of these adventures were great. My only regret is that we did not have more time at the Jungle Dome for more adventures. We usually spend most of our vacations diving at different locations because we love to dive. We did love the first half of our vacation diving around Ambergris and the Blue Hole, but I can honestly say that I enjoyed the second half more staying at the Jungle Dome.



The meals were very good, especially breakfast with the fresh fruit and eggs! We love the different juices and were all eager to see what type of fresh juice we would have with each meal. The family style dining was so nice, because it gave us any opportunity to meet and interact with the other guests. That really added to the experience. The parrots and toucans in the surrounding trees was an added bonus.



We just wanted to take a moment to tell you how much we enjoyed ourselves and to praise the staff. Karen was very friendly and efficient. She kept everyone on schedule for all of our activities and made sure things ran smoothly. We enjoyed getting to know her. The cleaning staff did a wonderful job, because our rooms were immaculate. The grounds were so beautifully maintained and the pool was spotless.

David is just an inspiration to us. I cannot believe he has just learned English in the past few years. We were so impressed with his kindness and eagerness to share his knowledge of his country. He was waiting by the gate for the guests when we returned from our trips offering cold drinks. You could not have a better employee! We believe he truly is a wonderful person.



Thanks you so much for arranging this wonderful (best ever!!) vacation for us. We will recommend this spot to all our friends and family and hope to return ourselves. Our children are 6 and 8 and are wondering when they can come. I think that sounds like a good reason to come back.



Sincerely,

Tori and Jeff McLeod

Washstands.

I got a few questions from people asking where to find sinks/washstands like the ones pictured here.

You can find some HERE (altough pricey), or you can try HERE (also pricey).

If anyone else knows where to find something like this under $1500, please leave links below.

Pamplemousse.

Delphine Krakoff, wife of Coach CEO Reed Krakoff, runs THIS design shop. Several of the homes featured were their own. I think he makes more money flipping townhomes than he does at CEO of Coach. But I'm not jealous.

Bathrooms.

So, Big Jim, Seattle's Favorite Plumber, and David Bethlahmy, owner of The Periodic Table (a construction firm so nice he has letterpress business cards, for the love of God!) came to Chateau Falling Apart (my house) today. They walked through all the plumbing fixes we need in the basement, plus looked at our two bathrooms that desperately need repair.

David told me I could easily spend $40k on my upstairs bathroom.

That's more than my kitchen! No way. I just refuse to believe this. I mean, I am sure I could spend that much, but I have no plans to do so.

Anyway... here we go again. We have to do something to that bathroom, just not $40k of something. (I mean, we need that money to buy potatoes and other supplies for the great depression.) So, I need to figure out what exactly I want to do and get more people in here for bids. 

So, here are inspriation photos I am parking here to show my better half. If you have ideas, thoughts, rants, loves/hates about bathrooms, let's hear 'em. Did you recently remodel? Any tips or tricks? Did you do it yourself? Do you have any bathroom pet peeves? 

You know how I love an all-white room.

Too craftsman-y for me. But I do like the sinks. 

During the kitchen update, I got a lot of push from people to do a tile border. I don't like unnecessarily complicating tile. But if I had to go fussy, this would work. Pretty. Still not me, though. Although I may go marble again for the counters because marble makes me h-a-p-p-y.

Love the floor tile. Although my bathroom is not roomy enough for this get-up. 

Still.. love the white-room-ish-ness of it all. 

Thought I liked the floor tile, but I think I just changed my mind. 

That chair + that table = pure porn. 

We're ripping out that godforsaken tub and putting a shower in where the toilet was. We're going to have to do some sort of glass shower-door action. Maybe like this, kinda sorta. But what do you guys think of these showers? What are these called? Rain showers? I do not like. It just feels like God is peeing on your head. Water drips down your face, etc etc. Yuck. Let me know what you guys think. 

Those floors! The tub! Pure joy. 

Note to self: Do not uplight the toilet. Just don't.

Sexy paint color, yes. Sexy copper plumbing, yes. Hipster light, not so much. 

Awesome floors, check. This is a happening bathroom. 

I think I need wood floors in my bathroom.

This is a mirror story, right here. If we bump out the door-side wall as David the Letterpress Business Card Contractor suggests, I can get more counterspace, which is a good thing, and I can have sink in a cabinet (vs the pedestal I have now) and I can hide my tampons and whatnot underneath and then I won't need a medicine cabinet and then I can have a real mirror, maybe an antique mirror, and that would be lovely. 

This sink is sick. Love it.