Official Website of Holly West | Crime Fiction Writer

Danielle Steel's Beach Retreat

Estimated to be worth $600-$800 million, author Danielle Steel owns a few wonderful properties. But this is where she most likes to call home:

Click here to see the slide show.

Click here to read the Wall Street Journal article.

Quick Fireplace Makeover

Mick and I spent a couple of hours painting our fireplace over the Memorial Day weekend and gave it a whole new look.

Here's how it looked before:

 

The floating shelf cut the fireplace in the middle and just looked out of place.

Here's what it looks like now:

 

The view from the other side:

Without the shelf, there's nothing to interrupt the flow from floor to ceiling. It's much more dramatic, and I think, more in keeping with the design of the room.

Eventually, all of the walls in the living room will be light colored. At that point, I may decide to paint the fireplace a contrasting color. For now, I'm just glad to have one paint project out of the way.

In the Mood

Yesterday I took a day off from writing and created a mood board for my living room. But before I show you that, here is how the living room currently looks:

My main complaints with the room are that it's too dark, despite all the windows. I love the chocolate brown walls, but I'm ready for a change. Several of the drapes are in tatters due to sun exposure, so they need to be replaced. The floors are scratched up terribly from the pitter-patter of tiny paws, and the fireplace needs a complete makeover. Finally, the room is a little too busy. I'm looking to be more clutter free in the future.

Here is the mood board I created:

Click on the pic to see a larger version.

As you can see, it utilizes most of the stuff we already have, which is important. The main changes are the darker floors, wall color, and the drapes.

But what about those drapes? You'll notice I kept them on the mood board. That's because the drapes behind the sofa are in great shape--I'd really like to keep them if I can find a way to do that and integrate them with the new drapes.

Here's the problem: Those drapes are silk and they were really expensive. Had I known the sun was going to destroy them in less than 10 years, I would have never invested so much money in them. I won't make that mistake again. Unfortunately, due to the height of the windows, whatever I get needs to be custom.

My idea, or perhaps I should say dream, since it's ambitious, is to make the new drapes myself. I'd like to use the tops of the current drapes and then sew sheers to the bottom, kind of like this:

I'd leave the drapes behind the sofa completely intact, so there would be two types of drapes.

I'm still thinking about this, however, because like I said, it's a big project and probably outside of my sewing skills. Even if I make a mistake, however, the current drapes are so torn I won't feel like I wasted them. I just really want to keep my budget on this "makeover" down as much as possible by reusing/recycling what we've already got.

Another thing I'd love to do is cover the fireplace from floor to ceiling with stone tile. I priced it out, however, and it's a little pricey for us at the moment, so I think the first thing we'll do is paint it a light but contrasting color to the walls (which will be white or off-white) and then install the tile when it's more financially sound. I do love the look of that stone though, and it would be so dramatic.

I'll be doing a mood board of the dining area soon since we have an open floor plan and everything needs to be integrated. If only the actual decorating was as cheap (and easy) as the creating a mood board!

Light Me up

We need a new dining room chandelier. The one we currently have is a somewhat ugly, generic, Home Depot model. Three of the bulb holders are permanently broken.

Trouble is, Mick and I have a no-buy agreement for May. That means we aren't buying anything this month except for food and extreme need items. Since the three of the bulb holders still work, the chandelier purchase can be put on hold (and has been for many months).

I could make the argument that I need to get the new chandelier next month when the no-buy agreement ends, but that would be too easy. First, I need to find the perfect one. Second, I have to decide how I want to re-do our entire decor, because...

I have a confession to make. I'm feeling the itch not only for a new chandelier but for a COMPLETE HOME MAKE OVER. It can't be denied that we have a beautiful home, especially at first glance. But the floors need refinishing, the windows need replacing, the carpets need tearing out, and the walls need painting. Oh, and we need new floor to ceiling drapes in the living room (7 at over 142" each. That's a lot of fabric).

That's not all. I want a new master bathroom and a new kitchen.

I'm glad I got that off my chest.

Of course, none of these things, even the chandelier, will be happening any time soon. I have an ACL surgery to prepare for on June 7 and several weeks of recovery to look forward to after that (actually, it takes 6-9 months to fully recovery, but I'm talking about the immediate recovery after surgery). Plus, there is no money for all this--why do you think we have a no-buy agreement? Oh, there's money maybe for the new windows but hello, where's the fun in that? That's like getting new clothes for Christmas when you were a kid.

Here's what I'd do if I had a fully-functioning knee and wasn't pretending to write a novel: I'd really like to do a dramatic but budget-friendly makeover of several rooms in our house. Do the research, do the work, everything (and blog it, of course). Reuse and recycle everything I can, and use the stuff we already have in new ways. Because that sort of thing really floats my boat.

Since that will have to be put on hold, at least for awhile, I contented myself today with searching on Etsy for unusual lighting I liked:

That will have to do.

Cherry Blossom Bridal Shower

This weekend, I hosted a bridal shower for a dear friend. I chose a cherry blossom theme, and it turned out to be the perfect choice, for a lot of reasons. Here are some pictures from the shower and a few tips and tricks to make your next celebration a little more special.

Pick a Theme
The cherry blossom theme was kind of an accident, but a happy one. When I was looking for invites, I found one with white cherry blossoms and I liked the colors on it. After I ordered them I thought "Hey, this has to be my theme!" I already owned a lot of Asian home accessories, and I immediately knew I could create a beautiful party with this theme.

So that's tip #1: When picking a theme/color scheme, think about the decorative accessories you already own and the colors already present in your home:

In this case, I already owned the vase, Buddha, and fan. I just had to get some faux cherry blossoms to make the display complete. And see all that greenery out the window? It's bamboo. Perfect.

Diving for Rockers

A couple of days ago I was walking Stuart and I came upon the most delightful discovery in a trash heap:

Before I continue, I need to explain something. I find it very hard to pass by old furniture or other possibly useful stuff, even if it's out on the curb ready to be picked up by the trash man. I'm not saying I'd actually get into a dumpster to explore, but if something's just sitting there and it has "good bones," I just might not be able to resist the urge to take it home with me.

Win a $500 Gift Card from Lowes

This might be a low-volume blogging week for me--I haven't decided yet. However, that's no reason why we can't have some fun!

Over at our favorite home decor website, Young House Love, they're celebrating their two-year blog anniversary and this week they're giving away a huge prize--a $500 gift card from Lowes!

I have to admit there are quite a few home improvement projects I'd like to tackle:

Dream projects
1) Remodeled kitchen
2) Remodeled master bath
3) Re-designed fireplace facades in living room & master bedroom
4) Custom office for Mick

Essential projects (Yawn!)
1) Window repair and replacement
2) Refinishing of hardwood floors
3) New carpet in bedrooms

What are some of the projects you'd like to do in your home?

$500 would go a long way in starting some of those projects. Head on over there now and enter the contest. And while you're there, be sure to wish John & Sherry a Happy Blogiversary!

IKEA Heights

This is the funniest thing I've seen in a long, long time:

IKEA Heights from DaveAOK on Vimeo.

This is episode one of four. You can watch the others at IKEA Heights. It's shot at the Burbank, CA IKEA, apparently without the store knowing.

LOVE IT!

IKEA "Expedit"-ion

Change of Pace

We returned home from our trip yesterday, exhausted, but glad to be home. I gave in to the temptation to go to bed early, which resulted in a 2am wake time. I'll have to do better tonight.

Coming home means I have to go back to work, of course. Luckily, I got plenty of inspiration in London to continue writing my novel.

That said, I'm feeling very much like I want to nest today and it has resulted in a web search for some home decor. It's more or less fantasy decor in that I'm really not in the mood to spend any money. However, there's a few things I'd like to put on my wish list:

White Resin Parrots

 
I really, really want these. I'll have to stalk them for awhile to see if they go on sale.

Curved Upholstered Chair

 

I have the perfect place for one of these chairs. Blue is my favorite, but any of them would do.

Cellula Chandelier 

Let's face it. The chances of a piece like this ever entering my home is remote, for a few reasons. First, it's pretty damned expensive. I don't think I could drop that kind of cash on a light. Second, it would require a total re-do of my decor, thus adding to the expense of the already pricey chandelier. Third, Mick would hate it.

Still, I do think it's rather grand.

Thanks for indulging me.