Updates . . .

 An "artist style" kitchen is colorful

with all the modern conveniences.

We love the oak floors which are original

to the house but have been 

completely refinished.

 The large master suite completes a simplistic

look and style with form and function.

This includes built in drawers utilizing space

under the stairway, custom book shelves and

a fully functional window seat complete

with 3 large pull out drawers with hand

crafted seat cushions.      

  

The living room provide winter warmth with a fully functional fireplace, with insert, for maximum comfort. Through the living area, leads way to the entry door  and front porch,

along with the newly renovated first floor,  

3 piece bathroom. Granite

counter tops and a custom

cherry  vanity with 

high end sink and boutique hardware create an intimate 

space.  Glass shower doors and a full shower work well for everyone including your most discerning guests. Each detail of this renovation was intricately

thought out to provide complete  privacy and comfort. 

All mechanics are completely and thoroughly upgraded to the high standards. New furnace, roof, 200 amp electrical and update plumbing provide safe and secure, year round living.    

Dreaming of living in the mountains?

Your dreams could become a reality........ and we have the perfect dream house for you. Did I mention in earlier posts that we have a master suite complete with custom made window seat and bookcases? Did I mention a Porcher whirlpool tub, skylights, speakers in the ceiling of the master bathroom, custom closets, french doors, built in custom made drawers in bedroom, heated ceramic tile floors, custom vanity, separate shower, Marvin windows? Yes, it's all true. But there is more - original red oak floors throughout the entire house. Five panel original doors throughout, original door hardware, french doors separating dining room and living room, and a fireplace with an insert and a custom built mantel and fireplace surround. Our fireplace has kept us warm many a night when we wanted a little extra warmth and the glow of the burning embers and the scent of the logs. hmmmm... I am yearning for winter to see that fire again. Well maybe not today on this cool summer evening but eventually when summer turns to crisp fall days, it "may" enter my mind, but until then we will continue to enjoy our little piece of paradise right here in the mountains of north carolina.

Check out the new photos of our house

An aerial view of our property

One of our favorite little spots - lower level terrace
surrounded by Wisteria, Bee Balm, Day Lilies
and Grapes

Can't you tell that I love this house the way
I paint it up with punches of color?
The clothesline too!

4 bedrooms
3 bathrooms
Upgraded features throughout
$495,000.

Updates on our house for sale

Improvements continue on renovating our
second full bath on the first floor.
It has taken longer than we expected but when it is done you
will see one spectacular space. We have chosen granite counter
tops, vessel sink, full size shower, ceramic tile floors,
high end chrome fixtures including the "on/off" levers
under the cherry wood floating vanity.
This will be so nice that I won't want to move.

Where will I find a place this beautiful?

Along with the reno of the bathroom we completely reconstructed the steps leading to the upstairs with new oak treads stained and painted and removed a door that used to close off the upstairs. It opens wide now and there are no squeaky steps anymore. So awesome.

After our trip to Costa Rica, who know?
we might want to move there.
Any buyers out there?

Beautiful fall days in Saluda

Need I say more?

A bed full of Basil

So, what do I do with all this Basil in my garden?
There are several options for perserving basil; drying, freezing,and making a paste.
I do the freezing and the pesto. I make garlic butter and freeze it in ice cube trays and then transfer it to freezer bags. I use it throughout the year in pasta, soups, stews, rices, etc.
Same thing with the pesto. . . ice cube trays then into plastic bags for use throughout the year.
Freezing basil right out of the garden and into freezer bags works great because after it freezes it breaks off into little pieces that are just right for cooking.

You too can have a garden full of basil right here in Saluda. Our property has plenty of sunshine and plenty of trees.

Update on our house for sale!

YES, our house is still for sale and. . . . . we are willing to negotiate with anyone who may be interested. It's hard to believe after coming back from Chicago that I would still feel like I wanted to continue to try and sell this wonderful house in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Today I went outside and picked a huge bucket of blueberries

from our bushes on the property and yesterday my zucchini

was asking to be picked as well. It is always such a joy this time of year to reap the benefits of the springtime plantings.
All of that nurturing has transformed this 3 acre piece of property into a flowerful & colorful
well taken care of home.
At the time that we purchased our house it was not in a "love affair" with the owner and it didn't have the loving touches that we so eagerly had jumped in to do. It needed some new energy to bring it back to life, so after 14 + years, we are ready to
"pass the torch" so to speak, to some other loving couple. Maybe they can re-purpose that vintage barn and turn it into a studio. . .

just as I have had dreams of doing...
until every day life gets in the way,
or add that greenhouse onto the garden shed or add a guest house in the drying shed. You see? The dreams are still there but our energy has been waning. Plans, you ask? Not yet firmed up but it's likely that we will stay
here in Saluda and continue to grow "Random Arts "instead of 3 acres of manicured gardens.

Yes, my house is for sale...

My house looks so great this time of year... I just love being outside here, looking at all the colors of the azaleas along my driveway and up into the yard. There is color everywhere and everyday it is different. This year I have already created a sun garden near my back door so I can easily get to my sunny veggies and herbs this winter.

Even though I am still here in this house it doesn't stop me from creating new spaces outdoors whether it be a new shade area for my ferns or a sunny spot for a new plant that Jen gave to me; a guara. I have never had this plant before and I am closely watching it's development into a full grown perennial.

In the meantime, we are completing the guest bathroom with new tile, new fixtures and literally a new space... although this bathroom had been here (created when the outhouse was "out") and indoor plumbing became a must!

I just felt that this upgrade would appeal to a wider choice of buyers and it would show how much we really love this place here in the mountains of north carolina.

I am selling the house by owner but if any realtors have a buyer I am willing consider offers
and a realtor commission.

Beauty in the mountains...

The vanity in our master bath was custom made by our cabinet guy, Ken Wheeler and we tiled that and the tub area with a beautiful aspen green 2 x 2 matte tile. We especially love the heated tiles in the floor. It really doesnt get better than this. I dreamed about this bathroom and taking long soaks in the tub for years until it became a reality. We did most of the work ourselves but had some help with the floor tile and the drywall. Obviously we couldn't hang the drywall on the 16 foot high ceilings.
Make this your dream home, in the mountains of North Carolina.

Looking inside. . .

Taking a look inside means something different to everyone but as we look to sell our house inside definitely means.... inside... our house. This room is completion of a visualization that I had for years both in my mind and on paper. The window seats that line the window wall was something that both of us decided would be the perfect setting with the wall of nature on the "outside". The window seat wall and book shelves were custom made by a local cabinet maker, Ken Wheeler. Ken actually did almost all the work on our cabinetry including the built in drawers in the bedroom and the vanity in the master bath and all
of custom cabinets in the kitchen and utility room. We designed
the fireplace surround and
Ken built that for us as well. Now that I think of it we have a huge amount of custom cabinetry in this house. He also built custom
closet doors in the master to match the style of the window seats.
I love those drawers in that room. They are so big that you don't
need a dresser or a linen closet. It holds everything including
some of "extra" fabrics.The French doors lead from the bedroom
into the master bath and another wall of windows to the
outdoors adjacent to the Porcher Whirlpool tub. Skylights
light the room during the day and the ceiling fan brings in
cool breezes at night. Isn't it wonderful? That heated tile
floor is awesome in the winter. With all that said, why am I moving?
Yes, everything in the house is done really really well with the best
craftsmanship. That goes for the outside as well, but sometimes one
just needs a change. Not sure what that means but for me it means
a change of place, a change of scenes and possibly a studio. Although our
upstairs is huge with 3 bedrooms, I can't quite bring myself to make that
area "my space". Paul has done a good job of claiming most of it
and that's just fine for me. His space is filled with what he loves to do,
it works well for him.
For now I am here, but looking to make some changes although it does not mean leaving or abandoning Random Arts. A little insurance for all you might help alleviate that concern, and that is the inside information that we are creating & designing our new T-Shirts and aprons. It looks like the mid August should be the release. Check back with us for a little look at what we have done.

Each day I become more and more in love with the place that I live. Do I really want to move? Not sure, not sure, not sure but inside I know it is the right thing. We have spent so much time and energy turning this frog of a place into a prince. I can tell you each board, each nail, each screw, each tenth of inch that each piece of siding was placed and each piece of oak flooring and how it was positioned and how we agonized over each wall, and each window. should I go on?

A place to reflect

We are quite fortunate to have 2 wide open porch spaces for relaxing, entertaining or dining attached to our house here in Saluda. The weather in western north carolina is pleasant enough almost all year to enjoy either the bright afternoon sun to warm us in December on the front porch or early mornings with coffee right outside the kitchen on the back porch. The cool mountain breezes provide just the right amount of comfort to diffuse the afternoon sun in the summer. Over the years we replicated the original railing piece by piece by planing, sanding, priming and painting each individual stile on both porches. We wanted to stay in keeping with the craftsman style the way it was built in the 20's. For some time, we had this expansive 30 foot front porch without a rail which was quite intimidating for our guests. Even though it was only 10 feet or so down to the ground it was sort of scary not having a railing there, but we were not going to compromise the integrity of the house and buy some "random" pre-built railing system that "just didn't go with the house". So piece by piece it became reality and the final results are amazing. The pine floor on the front porch is original to the house although it took some "beefing" up of the floor joices underneath to create additional stability, and some blood, sweat and tears to sand, prime and paint to seal it against the elements. Looks great now and some of that original character comes through loud and clear adding the vintage look that we love.

sweet sweet summer

Soon the crepe myrtle along the front porch railing will burst open with beautiful magenta flowers casting a muted hue onto the porch floor. The porch swing allows us to gently rock away the stress of the day. I made several colorful throw pillows of greens and pinks for added comfort and Paul's wind chimes from around the world catch the gently breeze. The best thing about the porch is that it's as long as the house and seats a large group for a gathering of local artists. The ceiling fan provides extra breezes on the warmest of days in mid summer while the cool evenings and setting sun lure us onto the porch at twilight. Even when the temps creep up into the high 80's occasionally here in the mountains, we can always be sure to enjoy cool and comfortable sleepytime dreams.

Beauty in every step. . .

There in the background you can see the working barn built in the 1920's when the house was built. Inside are 4 stalls that were used by the goats and sheep who roamed the property. We had a field day with that old manure when we cleaned "that" out. Still today, our gardens flourish because of it! Old wooden steps inside the barn lead to the upper level which is a wide open space surrounded by only the trees and sounds of nature. We had hoped to transform the barn to a working studio/living area however the years passed and although our idea is still a good one, time is not something we have a lot of these days. I could always imagine taking our teachers into the barn to retreat for the evening during their weekend teaching events at the shop. A glass of wine on little porch, looking out over the trees, only to be secluded, rested, refreshed and re-energized for another day of teaching... ahhhhh.
Notice the stone path in the foreground as it meanders around a large maple tree. Along the path are plantings of hydrangea, hostas, ivy, astilbe,l enten rose, azalea, laurels and dogwoods.
A small shady spot with 2 brightly painted adirondak chairs welcome an afternoon rest. Just another "outdoor" room to enjoy the many beautiful seasons here in the mountains on Western North Carolina.
So, now you have another little peek of the beauty in n my little mountain retreat in Saluda. Maybe after all this thoughtful contemplation about this sweet little space of mine, I might change my mind and decide to stay. Hmmmmmmm......Until then we are progressing with the sale.