Pet-Friendly Accomodations

I have two dogs that I haven't told you much about to this point. Sadly, just four months ago, I had three dogs prior to losing my oldest (and my first) greyhound to cancer. Chester was a sweet man, so this post is in honor of him.

Chester "Man" Culp June 1999-December 2010

 

So when I had three dogs in just 1100 square feet, I needed a place to escape the pups. That was hard to do! Not only that, but they were pretty destructive when I first moved in. I hardly ever use my bottom floor (unless it's for a quick run to the bathroom on the way in/out the door), but the dogs were forced to use it to access the patio/yard for their own potty time. With that in mind, I made the guest bedroom The Dog Room. This room has gone through quite a metamorphosis in less than a year, it's been changed numerous times; hopefully, that's all going to change soon. Brewster, Chelsea, you hear that? Mom doesn't need any reasons to change the room yet again!

First, there were the leftovers from my guest room in my previous house. It looked fabulous, but the room was REALLY cramped. There really wasn't any way to get to the doggie door without jumping on the bed and off again.

 

Then, I traded the queen bed in for a day bed. Check out all the floor space! Again, it looked great...for awhile anyway. The dogs ended up really tearing this room apart, the light colors really didn't play well with the mud and dirt from the yard.

The first of many random Brewster appearances 

So after my adorable little anthropologie inspired room turned into dingy, mud stained shreds, I decided it was time for a change. The dogs needed something that didn't show dirt as much (AND I put in artificial turf), and I needed something with less upkeep. At the same time, I had decided to redo my place with a more cohesive feel. I had too many colors and too many themes in 1100 square feet. My favorite all-time color combo is black and white, and this little townhouse was perfect for it. While every room in my house (except the dining room which is really just a variation on the theme) now has black and white with an accent color. I chose yellow for the dog room so I could bring in my bee collection with all its glory!

I took the old Euro shams and quilt from my master bedroom in my previous house (someday I'll post about it so you'll fully understand the "leftovers") and added the grey duvet and an odd collection of pillows. Obviously my favorite being Brewster's portrait in crafty form! I couldn't help but use Andrew Wyeth's "Master Bedroom" as the main art piece here, I've always loved the piece and it speaks to the purpose of the room! Although it's not pictured here, there is an actual dog bed in this room, it basically serves as a wonderful trap with which to trip Mom, or a place to pout. Otherwise, Chelsea claims this as her own most days.

Plenty of fun "vintage" posters featuring dogs exist, but this one was fun, bright, and perfect for what I needed. The bright yellow bee pieces are a collection I've had for years now. Thanks to Target, I was able to throw in great storage cubbies too!

Obviously, I had to redo the bathroom at the same time. While it is still in progress, here's what we have so far.

BEFORE: (Leftovers from the previous house)

AFTER: Black and yellow, black and yellow, black and yellow. Who knew it'd make it on the Top 40?

  

While we're at it, I'm just going to finish off the "bottom" floor. The 1st floor really  just has two other things, the laundry and a small entryway filled with stairs. Well, and a place for keys and my only excuse for purple in the whole house. FYI, the candle isn't dirty, it's just been used...a lot!

Look at that! A whole floor! And you've already seen half of the 2nd floor! Just one and a half more to go. Brew and Chels are pretty worn out from today's tour, but I'm sure they'll be making plenty more appearances soon! 

and Brewster "Bear" and Chelsea "Pretty Girl" Culp

Easy Bake Oven

I am on call today, and I'm overwhelmingly tired due to my own procrastinating at bedtime every night of 2011 so far. Therefore, I am going with the notion of laziness and blogging about the room I was the least involved in designing...my kitchen!

I have a tiny kitchen (in a tiny town house), but it is superbly functional. In fact, I cook as much here as I did in my last house. That means a lot because my last kitchen was at least the size of my current living room. If there's one thing my "tiny" place has taught me, it's that I'm not even certain I WANT all those things I used to dream of--like a big gourmet French country style kitchen. But...on the other hand, I'm sure it wouldn't take much for me to change my tune once again.

My little "Easy Bake Oven" is perfect. It's U-shape makes preparation easy, and it has a surprising amount of both storage and work space for such a small room. The cabinets were already white when I moved in. I have thought about resurfacing them or glazing them, but I always fall back on clean, bright, white cabinets that make the kitchen feel fresh and roomy. I also love the stainless steel appliances (also came with the place)! And those black granite countertops really topped it off for me. They were the inspiration for redoing the countertops in the bathrooms. And my favorite part, as you will see in the last picture, is that a previous owner had great taste in color...

The top of the fridge is great storage space...especially for endless bottles of champagne...and it keeps my cereal out of Chelsea's reach!

My personal magnet collection, brilliantly hidden so only the cook can see! Obviously the sides of my fridge have really helped out with special places for aprons and pot holders.

I added this "flat" pot rack above the window and gained quite a bit of storage space by getting just a few pots out of the cabinets!

I absolutely LOVE these canisters. Just another part of the "bee" collection. Did you spot the bees in the dining room?

One last look. My favorite part of the kitchen, the red ceiling! I love red, especially in kitchens and dining rooms. I was lucky that a previous owner felt the same way. A great way to cheer up the kitchen!

If I weren't on call, I'd be testing out some new recipe to add to this post. I guess the gelato in the freezer and the Diet DP in the fridge will have to do for tonight's late night snack. Anywho, off to finish up a chapter in preparation for Chief's Conference in the AM (you'll hear plenty about this in the future).

Bon appetit!

Eating Spaces

I'm beating the Monday blues with a big splash of just that, BLUE.

The dining room, which as you will see later, is all on the 2nd floor in a large open area adjacent to the living room. I adore these anthropologie curtains and rug that my Mom gave me for my last house, and I couldn't part with them. However, the curtains used to blend in with the walls and just seemed to disappear. No longer! My peacock blue walls make the room a welcoming, blues beating retreat!

Before: 
Drab disappearing curtains (too short for the old curtain rod already in place and chairs that really made the room seem even smaller.

After:

A BIG pop of color on the walls makes those beautiful curtains stand out, my great grandmother's chairs made for plenty more room for diners, and those new blue cushions (and comfy pillows on every chair) added that extra little "oomph!".

And the details:

Old fake books were replaced with bright colored glass bottles. There's a lot of color here, but it all plays off the awesome anthropologie rug/curtains. The floral arrangements didn't change, but I highlight them because they are still a personal fave!

I do my own floral arrangements!

Happy entertaining everyone, I know this dining room is sure looking to host a spring ladies' soiree now!

Design Week on DrBCulp.com

I love to decorate homes. If I had more free time, I'd spend it all dreaming of ways to decorate. Thank you Mom for the decorating/project gene. Too bad she didn't pass along the patience gene as well. While I very much enjoy designing spaces, I really don't enjoy the actual process, at all. According to my contractors, this is a pretty normal trait. However, I think I take it to a whole new level. Not that I'm proud of this by any means! I just don't have enough patience to make it through major remodeling projects. Although I have to say, I think a lot of that lack of patience stems from surgical residency schedules. I'm not at home (in what should be a peaceful, quiet environment) enough to handle it being a mess when I'm here. That's why I hire help for cleaning the house, I want to come home to something clean and put together. I don't want to feel like there's more work or less relaxation waiting for me at home.

With that said, my BIG remodeling project is finished, finito! Finally! However, lucky readers, you'll have to wait until the end of the week to see it's fabulous results. In light of the rest of the remodeling being almost complete as well, I thought I'd start off with just a small glimpse of what I've done to my fabulous Oak Lawn townhouse.

Enjoy! More of the remodeling/redecorating I've done will be the subject of all my blog posts this week. Comment as much as you wish!

Splurge vs Steal: Spa Day

Today I treated myself to a belated birthday present, a splurge on a spa "getaway". While I had really been looking to truly getaway (out of Dallas) for the weekend to enjoy such an experience, my "last minute" traveling didn't pan out.  I had an amazing massage, a fantastic facial, and a mani/pedi. Unfortunately, my nail colors didn't quite turn out as fabulous as I had hoped they would, but overall the experience was delightful. My favorite part of the day was my AWESOME massage therapist, who provided excellent conversation and one of the best massages I've had in some time. I say this because I am usually very perturbed by conversation interrupting my attempts at relaxation, yet today, I couldn't break myself away.

This wasn't my first splurge on a spa day. My mom treated me to my first spa experience when I was in high school. That one set the bar pretty high. Mom treated us to a massage and a facial at Disney's Grand Floridian Spa--a little moment in heaven, needless to say. We followed that up with another visit a couple years later, and I've also visited the spa at the Saratoga Springs Resort on Disney property as well. I haven't done many spa days on vacation otherwise, although I did treat myself to a day at the spa when I visited the Loew's Don CeSar Resort in St. Pete Beach last May--the spa had a spectacular ocean view. On the other hand, I was rather well-versed in Lubbock's day spas by the time I finished school there. Between my mom and I, I'm sure we haven't missed a spa in Amarillo. In Dallas, I've experienced just two day spas (there are PLENTY I'd LIKE to experience). But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy a nice "a la carte" service now and again.

So after splurging on the Revive and Restore package at Exhale Spa (a grand total of $310), and a little added peel, I thought I'd share with you how I afford more than just the celebratory spa day. The Revive and Restore package includes a 60-minute massage, 60-minute facial, and a manicure and pedicure. Just as any good "deal" goes, there are things you give up to save a little cash including the "unlimited use of all spa facilities" that comes with day spa packages. However, I can say that I've only ONCE showered at a spa, and only ONCE used a spa's steam room, so I've never really capitalized on those extra benefits anyhow.

Spa Day on the Cheap

50-minute massage + aromatherapy at Massage Envy $59
If you don't have a Massage Envy near you, check around your local day spas to see who may be running discounts on spa services.

60-minute facial at The Aveda Institute $40
The Aveda Institute is a great place, all the benefits of Aveda products and style with half the price. You should be informed BEFORE you go that students perform your services. (As a resident I obviously don't mind.) If you don't have an Aveda Institute near you, check your local cosmetology school for deeply discounted spa services.

Manicure and pedicure (with hot stones) at La Nail Spa $50
Even my mani/pedi didn't include hot stones today, but this one does! Don't be afraid to venture out of your usual mani/pedi "go-to" place for a new experience.

Grand Total: $149 (less than half of what my spa splurge cost me)

With that in mind, I do have to travel between each service rather than wait in the relaxation area at the day spa and sip on hot tea. But for this spa package, it's a roundtrip (from home and back) total of 11.6 miles for the whole experience--only 1/3 a gallon of gas in my new hybrid! Well worth the savings, I'd say!

Thank you Exhale Spa for a such a fabulous celebratory gift to myself! Until another such occasion arises, I'll be frequenting my usual places to get a little slice of heaven without paying like the devil!

Please note, I'm not officially "endorsing" any of the above spas/salons in Dallas, I have simply listed them as examples (and because I'm familiar with them). Feel free to comment with recommendations!