Hi, I am mom to two boys of my own and two really neat step kids. I have two careers. One as a college of medicine assistant dean the other as a vocalist. I LOVE to decorate in my free time. Over the past 15 years my family and I have worked to restore a 1934 Cape Cod. We're ALMOST finished!! Yeah!!! Whew!

We have done nearly all of the work ourselves from framing, to electrical, to tile and brick work, some plumbing, all of the wallpapering ( NO it is NOT out of style if it's selected correctly, to faux treatments and paint (a bit of marital advice: NEVER paint stripes in a stairway with your spouse...it's worse than wallpapering...trust me on this.
We refinished flooring, have abated lead...we can teach "Old House 101". I sew all of the drapery and soft furnishings...you name it...we pretty much do it ourselves. We even made the coping to go around our swimming pool and the large ornate concrete tiles where we have a fountain wall ( probably won't show up well in the pictures by making our own forms and mixing several thousand pounds of concrete with a 1/2 inch drill. Poor poor drill. My husband was skeptical at first that we could take on that task...but women know we can do ANYTHING!!! The gist of it was that I could not find what I wanted for coping so making it was the only real option. Babes on Budgets roll like that! I'll feature the pool when it is done as well as our Master bed which IS done but well, I haven't taken photos of it yet :. All ties back to having two careers.

Elegant cozy spaces are my niche. I love rooms that look like they have evolved over decades and decades. Rooms that tell a story...have a soul. I am currently battling my patio space which is new and too 'concreteee". I have a plan but will have to figure the plan around a budget...which is another thing I love to challenge myself with. I say that because if you throw enough money at anything you'll get SOMETHING to look okay. The challenge is in making a beautiful room, doing so on a real life budget, and still having a wonderful result. I like setting a budget for a room...typically a meager one, but making the room look like it cost a pretty penny. Even if you're not really on a tight budget it frees resources for other things down the road.
As a "Babe on a Budget", when I can't find a piece of furniture I need I'm known to go to Target by a piece with the right bones and rebuild or re-configure it so that I have what I need when I am done. I did that in my guest house using three Target armoires to make two tall narrow armoires (needed a lot of storage in a small footprint. I covered one with mirrors and gold leafed parts of the other... changed out the hardware and no one is wise to the fact that - A. they came from Target and - B. they are all the same pieces of furniture. I LOVE LOVE LOVE those kinds of challenges! I help friends with their homes and I love the challenge of helping teens and tweens create their own space. It makes me think outside of my traditional mindset and style affinity when I work in funky or modern or minimal styles which force me to use a different eye and approach...I love that! I hope you like my rooms. I'll post my pool area when I get that CONCRETE patio tamed. Best Regards and may ALL of your decorating visions be dreamy.
Always House Stylin' and Yours Truly Always, A Babe on a Budget!!

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