So this is how 'Retirement' looks

[pulltostart]

Today Bethann and Lacey Mae are at the vet's (aka "day spa") for baths.  I figured while they were absent this would be a great time to vacuum, dust and remove fur from the house.  Also a good time to stage the rooms and take some photos of progress to-date.  Keep in mind that no interior painting (except something you will see in the kitchen) has been done.  The color that I plan to use is so close to the existing color, I decided that project had to be a low priority.  I have been painting the exterior of the house and am making good progress, but still have a ways to go.

 

So, here is 'Merritt'.  It's small, but I think I managed to find a place for everything I chose to keep and move with me from Atlanta.  The best part is that it's paid for, and for that I can put up with several deficiencies.

 

First - the living room; before and after.

 

[pulltostart]

My office and "tool world"; before and after

 

[pulltostart]

The guest bedroom and my bedroom

Guest bedroom has the purple bedspread.  Before and after...

 

[pulltostart]

Kitchen and eating area

I played with some color in the kitchen.  The kitchen will eventually need sprucing up, but I am determined to keep a low budget, so color is one option I can exercise.  For now you will have to excuse the painting supplies in the eating area.  There is simply no other spot in the house where I can stash this stuff.  Also, some of the 'Lazy Daisy' china is in the dishwasher, not in the china cabinet.  I'm not even going to admit to what all I hid in the dishwasher in order to stage the kitchen...

 

Before and after.

 

lawrence

 

[rp2813]

Wow Lawrence, you've gotten a lot done and it looks great!  You have so many nice MCM pieces and they work well in your new home.

 

Did I see some buds on your Xmas cacti?  All of mine live outside, and this year for the first time ever they are all in various stages of their bloom cycle during the actual holiday season.    The mother plant is probably 60 to 75 years old and has been a fool-proof reliable performer since I rescued it from a weed patch 30 years ago.  I've taken cuttings from it over the years, and the resulting plants have all been equally vigorous and require little care.  Store bought Xmas cacti we've received as gifts over the years have consistently failed. 

 

[DADoES]

 
Like!

 

[norgeway]

Very nice!

Those kitchen cabinets are wonderful...So many have been painted thru the years...I personally would sentence anyone who painted beautiful pine cabinets or paneling to the electric chair!!LOL

 

[aladude]

Wow, the place looks great. I actually grew up in Mobile. That house looks like it's probably in Midtown? I went to HS in Midtown but we lived in between West Mobile and Spring Hill off Airport. You'll love the proximity to the beach--just a 1 hour drive and you're there.

 

[mrb627]

Like...

What is in that bowl on the kitchen table?

Malcolm

 

[pulltostart]

Ralph - thanks!  The "collection" goes back about 35 years, and a lot of things have been bought and sold over the years.  Regarding the plants, they bloomed like gangbusters about 4 weeks ago, especially the red ones.  There are a few straggling blooms that might open, but I tend to doubt they will.  I don't know if they had a great summer in Atlanta or a great fall in Mobile, or a combination of both.

 

Hans - the cabinets....  I'd like to be able to paint the base cabinets and leave the wall cabinets natural, but there's the issue of that ugly hardware.  It needs to go, and when it's gone it will definitely leave a scar, so I don't know.  I like the knotty pine and am happy that it's still here; just not sure that it can be salvaged.

 

Aladude - I'm at the corner of Cottage Hill and University.  Not the classiest neighborhood in Mobile, but it's growing on me.

 

Malcolm - That's a (cheap) glass bowl from Crate and Barrel, filled with wooden blocks.  I bought a HUGE quantity of these blocks down on Cheshire Bridge many years ago; used what I could and gave the remainder to a friend.  They're about 1 in³ and in all colors.  I bought them simply for the colors.  I love them.

 

lawrence

 

[michaelman2]

Hey Lawrence....this looks fantastic! I had written a note to you in my thread about china. I had forgotten you were moving. Forgive the brain freeze. Again, the photos are really nice! It makes all the difference in the world for a place to feel like home....I think your board with the tools is uber cool! The colors are great as well.

 

[mrb627]

Déjà View...

I seem to recall seeing the cubes in another thread once before...

Malcolm

 

[vacbear58]

Retirement

Lawrence
If this is what retirement looks like then it is looking great! You have done a beautifully tasteful job there and I too love many of your MCM pieces.

Right now I am doing something very similar, although I am about 10 years off retirement, so I am feeling some of the similar pleasures.

I wish you much happiness in your beautiful new home

Al

 

[jerrod6]

Your place looks so.....very comfortable!