Blogging it up: Dilworth Home Tour 2012

Dilworth's greatest tradition, the Dilworth Home Tour 2012 is getting ramped up and ready to go for this years tour starting Friday September 21st from 6-9pm and Saturday September 22 from 10am until 4pm. A sure sign of the arrival of fall, Dilworth residents spruce up the neighborhood and put our best foot forward to showcase this amazing event.

This years home tour will focus on (9) exceptional homes, from a historic home once slated for demolition to total rebuilds, this years tour is all jazzed up for everyone to enjoy!  Tickets are $20. The bulk of the  proceeds will go to the DCDA (Dilworth Community  Development Association) and 20% of the proceeds will go to Dilworth Cares. This years recipient of Dilworth Cares is the  Charlotte Family Housing.

 Go to www.dilworthonline.org or stop by Dilworth Drug, Black Lion, Park Rd Books,  Paper Skyscraper or T.Reid & Company to pick up your tickets.

Starting TOMORROW,  I will doing a series of blog entries, The Dilworth Home Tour 2012:  WHERE AM I  NOW!! Lucky me, I will be stopping by the homes on the tour to snap some pictures of my favorite parts to share with you!

Send me your best guess as to which home I am at on the tour.  Get your children involved and share with your friends just some of the fun of living in Dilworth!

Lets get this years Dilworth Home Tour started off right "ya'll"

Cheers,

Taylor

{The images above were taken from www.dilworthopnline.org and the photography credit is to Terry Loeb}

Summerour Lamps: A Custom Experience

Summerour Lamps isn't new to the lighting industry. In fact, this Charlotte, NC "West Side" shop, close to Panther Stadium and Uptown,  has been in business for over 40 years. Specializing in everything from custom lamps, chandeliers and repair to lamp shades, Summerour Lamps covers the gamut for everyone's lighting needs.

Since sometime last winter, I have been looking for a funky, fun lamp to use in our master bedroom. This spring,  I finally found a mid century, two toned,  leucite lamp at Slate Interiors for a total steal. The lamp would  have been perfect except that it was missing a shade.  After several months of hunting the perfect tall barrel shade, I gave up and went over to Summerour Lamps to see if they could design something custom.  Lesley Summerour, a bubbely brunete and the creative force in the shop, offered to help me find just the right one!

The standard drum shapes were just to short and wide for my tall, vintage lamp.

So we took some measurements to see what size would work best!

Looks good from here. . .

* Sorry for the fuzzy picture

Not to short, and too big. . .  this one might be just the right size!

I wanted a clean mid-century look, so we went with a slightly off white linen fabric with a skinny border.   There are tons more options and ways to customize the shades.

On the off-chance you need a finial, Summerour Lamps is the place to go!

*Again, please excuse the terrible photography, my iPhone wasnt the best choice in the world.

While I was waiting, I fell for these traditional lamps with updated linen drum shades.

When I came back to pick up the new custom shade, Lesley was busy designing a custom wine bottle chandelier (I believe) with a client.

Problem solved and the shade is everything I could have ever asked for and more!!

Check them out for yourself at:

Summerour Lamps

2220 Thrift Road, Charlotte NC 28208

Business Hours are Monday - Friday 10am til 5pm

Email at Sumlamp@gmail.com or Call 704-332-1897

Cheers to great lighting,

Tay

Kalons & Glidewell: Dentistry with Style

Meet my  long time friend, the talented  Dr. Johanna Kalons and her equally talented parter Dr. Kristi Glidewell. The two met in dental school at  UNC-Chapel Hill  and have been friends ever since. In 2005, they  became business partners,  forming Kalons & Glidewell, DDS PA and setting up shop on the 14th floor of the Charlotte Plaza building.

I was lucky enough to meet Johanna, the stunning beauty in the red, at least 7  years ago in the pool, where she kicked my butt daily after work.  Johanna swam for Wittenberg University in Ohio and trust me it shows. Our friendship developed over long chats on deck, between laps and long kicking sets. Back then Scott and I were still dating, Johanna and Nate were just getting married and we had lots of time to work out and catch up. These days  we are both busy mother's of two and we are lucky to catch each other once a week in the pool, we have maybe have 5 minutes to chat on deck, and we kick 200 yards.

Look who made it to the website. That's me and my dental work. . .we have done lots and lots of work!! 

Not only is she an extraordinary person, Dr. Kalons is an extraordinary dentist. Besides working miracles on my teeth, she treats Scotty and both our monkeys. Even my  Mom drives from Atlanta to see her and I am pretty sure Atlanta has thousands of dentists.

Every room at the practice is equipped with cutting edge technology. They also offer floor to ceiling windows with truly beautiful  views of the Charlotte skyline.

 As if the view alone wasnt entertaining enough, each chair has flat screen monitors. That way I can catch up on the news and the kids can watch Disney.

Princesses have shiny teeth and Sadie definitely want's to be a princess. 

Both Doctors understand the importance of a relaxing environment. . . and this office has to be the most beautifully decorated dental practice ever. Stealing the show is the newly zhuched waiting room in perfectly calming shades of blue and brown.

Check out the drum chandeliers with brass cage accents.

The sunburst mirrors are from Wisteria.

I want every piece of furniture in this waiting room, including this side table from Worlds Away. Want one for yourself? Buy it here Shop Candelabra.com 

I will take two of these. . .Oh, I already own them. Finally!

Did I mention that they are both Top Dentists!

Go to http://www.kalonsandglidewell.com/ to learn more about this dynamic duo.

Kalons & Glidewell DDS PA

201 S. College Street

Suite 1465

Charlotte, NC 28244

704-378-6591

 Cheers,

Tay

This and That Ya'll

Super Cooper decided to start his summer out right . . .He came down ready to hit the pool looking just like this. . .no kidding. ( Excuse our side door disaster area.) 

Scotty & Sadie ended up like that. Family hierarchy is in place.

The sunroom/playroom concept board is under way. Blending three spaces into one line of vision isn't as easy as one would think ya'll.

Just like that the final details are coming together for our living room. Curtain/trim drama was finally put to rest! One floor lamp and a couple of pillows and project living room vamp will be complete.

Stopped by Lucy & Company  long enough to snap a pic of their rock star showroom. This bed is off the chain! Beth is genius like that.

Cheers Ya'll,

Tay

All Bohemian Like That: Cooper's Forever Room

Forget the "Big Boy" room idea, way to short-lived. . . For Cooper's upgrade from his nursery I decided to go with a theme I know he will love forever or at least until he goes to college. . . Wordly. Vintage. Bohemian.

Last year (yes it was that long ago) I fell in love with John Robshaw's Tie Die Coverlet and Shams. So much so,  that I knew I was going to have to start saving some major penny's in order to be able to afford it! Thanks to the lovely lady's at Cottage Chic, I was able to accomplish my most materialistic wants. The blue and white batik pillows were a clearance steal from West Elm. The red geometric bolster from John Robshaw, was not.

To see more of his textiles go to http://www.johnrobshaw.com/

Check out the vintage 70's picture of a three-year old me. On top of the world if I recall. A gift from the artist Hunter Mallory, the picture was mounted and saved for over 30 years. Last year during a studio pow-wow-he pulled it out of the rafters just for me. Tears, I tell you . . .

Sometime this Spring my "Mama" took this amazing vintage batik off  of her wall and threw it in my car.  She can be demanding like that when she wants you to have something. . .and as guilty as I felt for taking it, I know Cooper and I will love it forever. Thanks to Corners at Park Road for framing it in the white lacquered modern frame and making it all mine!

To learn more about batik go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batik

I scored the Indian batik style fabric remnant at Post & Gray in South end for $50.  Next sweet awesome Ruby created the french pleat curtain panels. Kept open they add a touch of class. Even better, when they are shut, look like a fabric wall hanging. I LOVE!

Last fall we painted the walls Ellie Gray in Duration Paint from Sherwin William's.  (My favorite true grey)  The lamps were found on sale at West Elm for $69 each. The mirror from Ballard Design used to hang vertically in our Master Bedroom. The mahogany dresser dates back to the  late 1800's from Louisiana. Part of Scotty's bachelor furniture, it is a true antique beauty.

Love Ikea for cheap cool storage units that are totally affordable and equally cool! They all end up banged up, so it's better to save the money for the fun stuff!

My old friend James left this replica sculpture on my porch as a gift  for my 26th birthday. It has been in my home ever since and I laugh every single time I see it! The french Perrandello/Jeanne Provost vintage theater print is from Alexander Scott and reminds me of Sean Connery. Nothing could be more masculine.

Meet Fred the Fish. I found him hanging a long time ago at Tradition's for $45. The owner was like "If I take this down, you can't return it."  Whateve's. . .for that price he had a new forever home. More importantly he was the original inspiration for the room and his newsprint coloring has helped me along the way. Every room has to have a starting point!

The wrought iron sleigh bed was my own "big girl" bed and was a gift from my father in High School. Once hunter green, I think it's true calling was Fire Engine Red. . . I had it sprayed high gloss lacquer just to be sure. The linen bed skirt and roman shades were made by Ruby from remnant fabric I found at Post & Gray. The added band and single pleat add structure and balance the bohemian coverlet.

Sure hope he still likes it in 15 years.

Cheers,

Tay

Oh and if you follow this blog, you will remember that sweet Ruby was fighting the fight of her life, Breast Cancer. I just heard that she doing great and while cancer is cancer.  . .she has won this battle. . . and I for one am extremely happy about that!! 

The Misadventures of Cate

Meet our furry family member,  7 year old Basset Hound, Cate Mills Presson. Poor little things has a hard life these days. From the South Carolina farm were she was born to the streets of Dilworth, this dog is manicured, pedicured and bathed more often than I am.

The first time Scotty laid eyes on her he declared her his little baby. Somehow in the midst of trying to establish boundaries, we taught Cate to only come inside when we closed the door, to pee on Scotty's man couch, to chew up everything in sight, to eat only my shoes, to suck the baby's socks clear off their feet, and to stalk my birds like a cat. A bit stubborn maybe, but a job well done we think.

One of my favorite children's books is The Diary of a Wombat. The funny little tale follows a rascally wombat, who only wants to be close to his humans. I picked up the book in South Australia, but as my luck would have it, it can be found here on Amazon.

Because I obviously had nothing better to do, I decided to give my children the day off, and followed our rascally  Basset Hound  around with my iPhone.

THE  MISADVENTURES OF CATE

Sometime around 7:30am.

Been here since breakfast and not even thinking about moving.

9:30am

Thought about it, but decided against it.

1:00 pm

What on earth did I do to deserve being caged in the back yard? This place is for the squirrels.

Sometime around 2:00 pm

Once again I protected my family from the neighbors. I am a super hero.

3:00 pm

The UPS guy  stalked me all the way to the bus stop.

Faced my fears and showed him whose boss.

*Not so tough when she's not standing on the chairs, but not a total wuss either. Score one for the UPS guy. He made it out alive.

The reason I got out of bed in the first place is finally home again!

Sometime around Dinner and back in the bed.

It's about time fool. . .feed me now or I will eat everything you own and leave a present for you in the morning.

9:00 pm

You didn't think this blockade would stop me from rubbing my fur and drool all over your silk curtains did you?

Somehow managed to make myself the size of a teacup poodle and make my way back to my side of the bed. Knocked over some of the baby's stuff and made a pillow. I am so smart.

7:30am This Morning

 Not to wot worry, I will keep this house safe and sound until the public schools uncage you. . .

 

8:00 am This Morning

Why am I out here again? Why is my bed out here? This is not good. Not good at all.

Cheers,

Tay