the year of the facelift-

Ok- so yes. It is me that is turning 50 this year... but I cannot quite justify a facelift (yet!) but our home certainly can.


When we moved into this newly constructed house in 2001, we painted in harvest gold, cabarnet red, and celery and forest suede greens-) the bold, interesting color palette really helped distract from, what we considered, less than impressive finish work, but we always planned (famous last words) to upgrade the baseboards and moldings, eventually.


So now - eventually is finally here! Time for a new look in this new decade! The dark and celery green (Ralph Lauren Suede & Behr) paint that I received sooooo many compliments on has got to go. At this point, I am not sure about the other colors as I am still pretty happy with them and I think they might work with the new inspiration color!! The new finish work has finally been put on top of the priority list and the furniture owes us nothing -but is in great shape for the yard sale or a donation.


Our needs-

• new floor plan
• new color palette
• new finish work (baseboard/crown molding)
• built in work/shelving
• additional seating

We have chosen the builder, Denis O'Brien (denisobrien@maine.rr.com )of Venture Building in Freeport, Maine and the interior and building designer is Stacey Lodato of SDL designs, also of Freeport. Both Denis and Stacey have already been fabulous throughout the design planning (and redesign, and redesign....)

Option #1- Add more space by breaking through two rear walls and using *50% of the deck space for an additional 100 sq. ft. (we live in a "neighborhood" without much room for additional building space) Since we live in Maine, it would require a full foundation and possibly blasting through the ledge that we live on... $$


Option #2- Utilize existing space, reconfiguring the design, moving and removing windows, extend walls, move pantry, add built in bench & table, and purchase pre-determined furniture pieces that will improve the overall look and feel of the space. Use color palette to give illusion of airy, larger space and dimension between rooms.What to do-what to do?? Denis and Stacey, once again, are the guiding light!


Oh, and I should probably let you in on our shared philosophy regarding the cost of this project. We are big believers that buying an expensive bottle of wine is easy, but finding that great bottle of inexpensive wine- is both challenging and rewarding. therefore, our goal is to get a big bang for our buck, but to be honest, there probably won't be a lot of DIY... frugal, yes. But... handy with a buzz saw- ahhhh... not so much. Wish us luck!

who we are-

We live in Portland, Maine- the most beautiful city in New England.  We are a blended family with 5 children; 2 boys and 3 girls ages 17-30. We are married, engaged, committed and single. We are lawyers, marketing professionals, property managers, writers, contractors, health care providers and students. We are democrats, republicans and independents-Jewish and Catholic. We are blondes, redheads and brunettes... to call us diverse would be an understatement. Nonetheless, we are family.


2010 promises to be the most eventful year in our ever eventful lives. A home renovation, a third college graduation, a 50th birthday, a 10th anniversary and a first wedding should keep us fairly busy and provide, hopefully, some fairly entertaining content for this blog.


Please join us as we make our way into this new decade-filled with hope, optimism, love and gratitude for all we are truly blessed with - health, happiness and family-