Jane Pollak on Skirted Roundtable

Join us this week when we talk business with Jane Pollak, author of “Soul Proprietor:  101 Lessons From a Lifestyle Entrepreneur.”  Jane’s book is divided into lessons and she is quite inspiring to talk to.   She is full of great ideas and she certainly gave us three plenty of food for thought. 

 

 

 

Jane got her start years ago making these eggs – I’m sure you remember them!  She became so well known for her eggs, she was invited to the White House to take place in the Easter Egg Roll.   From her experiences as an entrepreneur, Jane started another business – teaching others how to do the same thing. 

Her new book is available HERE.  On the Skirted Roundtable website we are giving away her book plus Jane is giving away five free lessons!  So be sure to listen and enter on the Skirted Roundtable – HERE.

An Abilene Remodel

 

Abi-who????    You probably are only familiar with the small Texas town of Abilene through songs – Sheryl Crow wrote one about Abilene.  Buck Owens, Brooks and Dunne, and Trisha Yearwood all sang songs about the town.   Johnny Cash, George Strait and even Bob Dylan also sang about Abilene – in fact a total of 33 songs mention this small town for some reason.  I can’t honestly say if I’ve ever been to Abilene – it’s smack in the middle of nowhere, somewhere between Ft. Worth and Ft. Stockton with a population of 115,000.  Think of the movie Giant with James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor to imagine the terrain.    I think I probably once passed through Abilene when I drove from Austin to Lubbock to visit a college boyfriend.  That was one very long drive.    If you ever do find yourself in Abilene looking for a charming place to stay – consider the Sayles Ranch Guesthouses – which is an enclave of B&Bs located in the Sayles Historic District.  

Recently the owner of the Sayles Ranch Guesthouses, Terry Browder,  contacted me about the newest addition to their accommodations – The Cotton Eye Joe.    Terry completely remodeled this guest house and thought that Cote de Texas readers would enjoy seeing it.  I agree!  I hope you like it as much as I do and find lots of inspiration to use for your own projects.

 

Abilene, Texas – smack in the middle of Texas ( look for the red “A”)   Texas is so big that it takes a day or two of long driving hours  just to leave the state.  The Sayles Ranch Guesthouses make a great stopping place if you are driving out to California or Colorado or New Mexico.

 

 

 

BEFORE:   I think the owner Terry Browder did a great job remodeling this typical small, older house from the 1930s.   The house is only about 1600 sq ft. but with the changes in the raised ceilings and removed walls, the house seems larger now.   Above is how Terry found the living room - carpeted, with a low ceiling and faux fireplace.    The first thing he did was expose all the hardwoods hiding underneath yards of moldy carpet.   Next Terry painted the floors in different patterns.   All the sheetrock also came down.   This room had its ceiling raised to the rafters – and the effect this change made is phenomenal.   The living room looks entirely different now, larger and more architecturally interesting.  

 

 

 

AFTER:   The exact same view!   Here is the main living area today with its painted wood floors and raised ceiling covered in beadboard.  Hard to believe it’s the same space!   The dining room is off to the right – the wall between the two rooms was removed.   I love that root table with the oversized urn on top of it.  Large accessories look so much more “today” than collections of smalls.    And I love the map over the fireplace.   Notice the great lantern – Terry says it is an antique from Belgium that he found in a West Texas store!!!

 

 

 

The sheet rock was removed from the walls exposing the original shiplap wood walls which were they sanded and painted.  I think they look beautiful!  The map of Texas is hanging on a garage door rail which hides the flat screen TV.   I love the cowhide rug and the tufted leather couches.  The house has a western atmosphere for sure – but it’s a very sophisticated western theme.    Notice how Terry put old books in the faux fireplace for added texture and interest.   The windows are covered in wide wood shutters. 

 

 

BEFORE:   The living room from the other side of the room. 

 

 

AFTER:   The same view as above.   Notice how the diagonal pattern painted on the wood floor visually enlarges the space.  I really like that old Prison Rodeo sign.  It is hard to believe, but the Texas Prison System really used to put on rodeos and as little kids, we would go to the Prison Rodeos at the old Houston Coliseum.  I doubt that today the prisons still let the inmates participate in rodeos outside the prison walls.   

 

  The front bedroom – all three bedrooms have walls papered in old Texas deed documents dated from 1890.   Terry was lucky to find a cache of these documents  which have a wonderful patina.   The deeds were written with india ink in archaic script.  Amazing!  Terry updated an old log bed by painting it glossy white. 

 

 

 

BEFORE:  The dining room – exposing the hardwoods underneath the carpet.   This was taken before the sheetrock was removed.   It looks so much better with the shiplap wood walls than with the sheetrock. 

 

 

 

AFTER:   In the dining room, the Victorian furniture is upholstered in an old 1870s quilt bought at a nearby garage sale.  Inside the chairs are upholstered in burlap and monogrammed with the Sayles Ranch Guesthouses initials.  The quilt upholstery is a great idea to copy.

 

 

Another view of the dining room – again, the heavy dark wood furniture was painted white to lighten up the decor.  Notice the table made of a painted white pedestal and oval glass top. 

 

 

BEFORE:  Past the dining room is the very plain kitchen, then the breakfast room. 

 

 

 

 

AFTER:  the kitchen was totally remodeled.  Notice the floor was painted in the traditional quilt pattern called Tumbling Blocks.   What a great idea! 

 

 

The cupboard on the left is an old English piece found at a garage sale and the backsplash is a 150 year old prayer rail from an English church.   By the stove, notice the wall is made out of broken white china.  The hood is made of old tin ceiling tiles.

 

 

 

 

AFTER:  In the small breakfast room, Terry lined the walls with the backs of old books.  The insides of the books went on the shelves and in the fireplace in the living room.  Ingenious.

 

 

 

  In this bedroom, Terry painted the floors in the traditional quilt pattern Pinwheel. 

 

 

  In the master bedroom, an old hooked rug was used to slipcover the iron rails on the canopy bed.  Again, wood furniture was painted white, and the floor was painted in another diagonal pattern. 

 

 

BEFORE:  The bathroom was black and white and pink.

 

 

AFTER:  On the walls, Terry used old tin ceiling tiles that came from an 100 year old grocery store in the little town in Oklahoma where he grew up.   I love how the glass sink tends to disappear. 

 

If you ever find yourself in Abilene, Texas and in need of a charming place to stay, be sure to call Terry Browder of the Sayles Ranch Guesthouses at 325-669-6856.  Ask to stay in the Cotton Eye Joe, although all the guesthouses are just as cute as this one.  To visit their web site, go HERE.

AND, if you have any questions about how Terry did any of the remodeling – email him at terrybrowder@saylesranch.com

 

A special thank you to Terry for sharing the Cotton Eye Joe with us!!

Another Kitchen ala Sally Wheat

Sally Wheat’s Famous Gray Kitchen

Today, we have another kitchen to show that was inspired by Sally Wheat’s  gray kitchen.  When I first posted about Sally’s house a few years ago HERE, I had NO idea how popular she and her house would become with readers.  I also had no clue how many people would actually be inspired into action by Sally!    I will say that most questions and comments about Sally are regarding her kitchen with it’s gray painted cabinets, Shaw’s sink, and marble countertops.  She certainly inspired my own kitchen redo.  After seeing Sally’s kitchen, I was spurned on to finally remodel my own outdated one HERE.   And, remember this:   a few months I showed a kitchen/house remodel HERE whose owner told me she was directly inspired by Sally Wheat’s kitchen. 

The latest Sally Wheat inspired kitchen comes from Sara of the August Fields blog.    Sara’s blog is all about building her new house and when she recently featured her kitchen, she gave credit to Sally Wheat.  To read Sara’s kitchen story go HERE.   I must say that nothing gives me greater pleasure as a blogger than to read about these inspiring kitchen designs.  That these design inspirations would ever even occur certainly never crossed my mind when I started this endeavor over three years ago.  But, it has been a very rewarding aspect of this solitary sport.   So, a huge thank you to all of the readers who have sent in pictures of your kitchens and homes.  Keep them coming!

 

Sally Wheat’s gray kitchen.  The color, Benjamin Moore Fieldstone seems to be a favorite with so many readers.  I get asked over and over again – what color did Sally use on her cabinets?  Also – many people love her open upper cabinets with their carved brackets.   In both kitchens directly inspired by Sally, they each copied these cabinets.  Also, many people love her pendant lighting which she purchased at BROWN. 

 

 

When it came to remodeling my own kitchen, I used gray on the cabinets – but a much lighter gray which was custom mixed so I don’t know the name of it!!!   Also, I used Calacutta Ora marble instead of Carrara.   I copied Sally’s Shaw’s sink and I used a polished nickel bridge faucet.   I was also inspired by Sally’s window and so I replaced mine with this beautiful casement window, which much made a huge difference.

 

The First Sally Wheat Inspired Kitchen:

BEFORE:  This is a before picture of a kitchen in Houston that was inspired by Sally Wheat’s. 

 

 

AFTER:  This homeowner chose black granite instead of white marble, but she modeled her upper cabinets after Sally’s.  Also, she used a farm sink and the same type of bin hardware as Sally.  Notice the brackets on the bar mimic Sally’s own overhead cabinets.   The subway tile backsplash is also like Sally’s as is the style of cabinetry.     The pendant lighting was another Wheat inspiration.   I’ve heard through the grapevine that this house is going to be featured in a magazine!!!!  To read all about this redo, go HERE.

 

 

The Second Sally Wheat Inspired Kitchen:

The August Fields Kitchen, inspired by Sally Wheat

Here is Sara’s new kitchen.  As you can see, she chose white marble – not Carrara, which Sara explains is now really a gray marble.  I agree!  That’s why I used Calacutta Ora.   Sara used  White Italian marble with walnut on her island.  In this picture – one of the pendant lights is missing as you can tell.  These pictures were taken right after they moved in.   On her blog, Sara says that originally she wanted black soapstone countertops with white cabinets.  That was until she read the blog about Sally Wheat’s kitchen – that’s when she totally changed her design plans for her kitchen.  

 

 

Sara used a beveled white subway tile for her backsplash, which I just love.   And she used the exact same gray on her countertops that Sally Wheat did:  Benjamin Moore Fieldstone.   The gray on the walls is Benjamin Moore Vapor Trails.    Be sure to notice the ceiling!!  I love the beams.  NOTE:  Under the microwave is a little pass-through door to Sara’s schoolroom.   As the mother of 5 young children – she home schools them.  The schoolroom is adorable – with black and white vinyl tile floor.  

 

 

  Here is a picture of her upper cabinets – with the extra thick shelves.  These really look exactly like Sally’s cabinets because Sara took a picture of them to her carpenter so he could copy them.

 

 

 

 

Another view of her upper cabinets.  I love her cabinets and I love the pendant lighting.

 

 

 I really like her island with the columns on the corners.   And, there is another sink here too. 

 

 

A close up of Sara’s farm sink – it has such a pretty apron.  I love her bridge faucet too.  I think the bridge faucets are my favorites.

 

 

Sara added a cute wood hood for her cooktop.  The hardware is from Restoration Hardware.  I wish I had used this hardware myself. 

 

 

Sara used the Kenmore pro refrigerator and freezer pair and then pushed them next to each other.  By using a stock trim kit, it looks like it is all one unit!   

 

 

Looking from the family room and breakfast room into the kitchen.   There is a brick veneer on this side of the countertop.  This large table was custom made and it seats 12 – new chairs are coming. 

 

 

Looking past the breakfast room into the family room. 

 

 

Sara has five little ones and she  home schools them all (except the baby!)    Look what she put into her house – a drinking fountain!!! Isn’t this the best idea?  She said she has already saved a bundle on paper cups.    The schoolroom is right behind the kitchen – across from where the fountain is. 

 

Thank you Sara so much for sharing your beautiful new house with us.  To read all about her kitchen, go HERE.   Remember, Cote de Texas welcomes pictures of all redos, renos, remodels, and even new houses!!