The Carriage House Remodel is Done – Sunday Morning Coffee

I shared some photos of our Carriage House a few weeks ago. But today, for Sunday Morning Coffee, I get to share the entire Carriage House because the remodel is done!

The Carriage House space has been used for many things over its lifetime. I cannot believe the transformation into a gorgeous entertaining space!

Volume 18

Thanks for joining me for Sunday morning coffee. Today I am sharing my weekly thoughts about entertaining, decor, crafts, and recipes, and our finished Carriage House remodel!

A Little Bit About Me

Finishing the Remodel of the Carriage House

I love remodeling projects. The funny thing is that I feel silly calling this the Carriage House remodel. I mean, if you think about it, all I did was clean it out, paint, replace some lighting and decorate.

It feels a tiny bit like I should have done more “renovating”. Maybe I will call it a refresh.

But do you know what the most important part is about remodeling (or refreshing)?

Finishing it.

It’s crossing off the punch list and closing the door knowing that you are actually done!

A month ago when I shared the beautiful photos of the Carriage House I was far from done.

In fact, only half of it was done.

How to Finish a Room

I have a method I use when I finish a room. I style each area and use a lot of stuff. I style with accessories such as mirrors, art, vintage pieces, architectural pieces, candles, and anything else I can find in my house. Then, as Coco Chanel once said, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.”

Taking things off is so important. Sometimes I may take off three items. Other times it may be twenty. All I know is that I know when an area is done because it has the look I have been striving for. And that means it is well styled but not overdone.

Thanks Coco for the advice.

In this photo, I left the leaves on the carpet on purpose. That is because I wanted you all to know that the flower arranging area is a work area. It’s just a hint that I will be arranging a lot of flowers here this year!

This view in this photo makes my heart happy. I couldn’t love it any more and everything in here is just magical!

The gorgeous chandelier in this photo is new, as in not vintage. It is from Lamps Plus. Isn’t it incredible?

I would love to add some sheer drapes in this window but that might be what I call an “after project”. Besides, even though this space is done, no room in our home is ever completely done! Right?

The white table and chairs are from Round Top, the sconces are from the Rose Bowl Flea Market, and the awesome wooden cabinet with marble top is from my friends at Through the Porthole. I painted the mirror with milk paint and you can learn all about it on my blog post titled My Favorite DIY Mirror.

The ceiling in the Carriage House is amazing. It is really tall and the rafters create so much interest. I love it!

Below is the table I bought from the Anthropologie store in Carmel. It’s a french table from the 1800’s and I love the shelf. I have wanted a table like this for so long so I could store all of my crocks. At first, the table shelf was full of crocks, but I used some of them as vases for the peonies and tulips on the table.

For more about my vintage crocks collection, read my blog post Why I Love to Collect Vintage Crocks.

I love using crocks for everything when it comes to styling.

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This French Flower Stand is one of my favorites. It is what I use to store my faux flowers. Every flower arranging area needs faux and real flowers! This piece is vintage, but I found very similar flower stands and they are listed at the bottom of the post called A New Space for Flower Design.

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This is another great view of how the room flows from the flower arranging area to the dining area. I love that the counter and french table can both be used for food and a bar when dining in here. Or they can both be used when arranging flowers!

What is a Carriage House?

I get asked all of the time, “What is a Carriage House?“.

A carriage house, also often called a coach house, is a building separate from a main home that was originally built to store horse-drawn carriages and it’s equipment. Most Carriage Houses have sliding doors door where the horses would pull in, drop off the carriage, and head out the back door.

Our Carriage House has sliding doors in the front and the back. This summer we will have dinner in here with all of the doors open.

Around Our Home in the Garden

I spent so much time gardening this week.

It is so relaxing and rewarding and fun. And yet, I just can’t figure out why I don’t do it more often.

Now that I am almost done, it is time to sit back and enjoy the roses. Right?

This week I moved an old cabinet out of the Carriage House and converted it into a Potting Bench.

Which is kind of funny because I think the cabinet was originally a potting bench.

I am not sure why it took me six years to figure that out. I just love that I can now garden in one place! I planted about 15 pots but I have a lot more to do.

But first I have to figure out what the heck is eating my basil! I think it is the Japanese beetles. I ordered some Neem oil and I will mix it with dish soap and cayenne pepper and see if this natural remedy works!

Wish me luck.

If you want to see the BEFORE photos of the Carriage House, go to the The Carriage House Reveal.

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A Tip For Your Home

Natural Remedies for Garden Pests

There are so many things you can do to help your garden grow. I use natural fertilizers (and fish emulsion!) but my latest battle is with garden pests. As I mentioned, Japanese beetles are eating my basil!

I have two options I use when I have a problem in my garden. First, I google the problem. Often you will find photos of the same problem you are having with a solution. If you can’t figure it out, take a leaf with the “evidence” to your local nursery and they will likely be able to help you with the problem.

But here’s the thing. Be sure you go natural. Her are some links fo natural flower fertilizer, bug repellant, mildew treatment, weed killer, and more.

• Homemade Garden Remedies
• 8 Natural & Homemade Insecticides
• Natural remedies for Pest Management

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Reflections on the Week

This week was such a wonderful week! I am working on a big project and made so much progress! Plus, I shared our outdoor kitchen, my new potting bench, the beautiful home of my friend KariAnne at Thistlewood Farms, and the paper clay pot I made.

I also shared lots of progress in the Carriage House, including the not so attractive mirror I painted with milk paint, and my new flower arranging area!

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My Favorite Things

In the Office and Bedroom

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Blogs I Love to Follow

• Lucy at Craftberry Bush
• Annie at Zevy Joy
• Jackie at Finding Lovely

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Things I Love Under $32

Here are some of my Favorites that are all a bargain!

I just ordered the ceramic rose plates and now I can say that I own all of these items!

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Good Things From Martha

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One Healthy Tip

Track Your Sleep

I am still working on my sleeping habits and my son Michael has me on a regimen that appears to be working. I own an Apple Watch and he suggested I download an app called Pillow.

It’s free and it tracks your sleep. Pillow calculates your light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep. Each night you get a percentage score (out of 100) which tells you how well you slept overall. My best session was a 90% and my worst was a 48%. My average sleep is ok/good and so far I don’t have any BAD nights sleep. Someday I might need to learn not to set my alarm to post my Instagram. I would like have a higher score if I got rid of that habit!

I am now consciously aware of my sleep. Which means I am in bed earlier every single night! I mean who wants the wrath of their youngest son, right?

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What’s Ahead

Things are really busy right now and we have another fun week planned. I made a DIY Wooden Cake Stand that you are going to love and have another Milk Paint Project to share with you! I am celebrating Peonies on Thursday with some other bloggers and sharing How to Mix New with Vintage in a remodel. I am also sharing some Summer BBQ Ideas for Memorial Day and one of my Favorite Places to Entertain at Our Home.

I think next week is going to be very fun at My 100 Year Old Home.

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Catch up on Sunday Morning Coffee

• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 17 – Sharing Joy and Thankfulness
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 16 – Summer Entertaining
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 15 – Projects at Home
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 14 – How to Get Ready for Summer Days
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 13 – The Best DIY Projects
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 12 – Just Do It Yourself
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 11 – Creative Inspiration
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 10 – Inside the Life of a Blogger
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 9 – Live Your Best Life
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 8 – Living Green
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 7 – Why I Love to Entertain
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 6 – February is All About Living Beautifully
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 5 – Our Beach House in Ventura, CA
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 4 – The Story of My 100 Year Old Home
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 3 – I Think I Might Be Martha’s Biggest Fan
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 2 – A Tribute to My Mom
• Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 1 – How Chip and Joanna Influenced My Life

Links to the Items Shown in This Post

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