I have received so many e-mails regarding my home. People have either read my interview with HGTV or have seen pictures I posted last month. A lot of you have asked to see "Before" pictures of my home and others have just wanted to see more pictures.
I must warn you that this home as beautiful as it is now, had prior owners who neglected it terribly. It is a 4,000 square foot Tudor Estate set on over an acre. We purchased it almost two and a half years ago and it took us three months to gut it before we moved in. I hope you enjoy all the pictures, there are a LOT of them! Be warned, some of the before pictures are scary...
When I walked in to this room, which I knew would be our Master Bedroom, the first thing I couldn't understand is why there was what looked like a prison window. It was all the way at the top of the room and completely off-centered. That had to go! 
Another view of the room which was a mother-in-law suite.
To the right you can see a pony wall. In that area was a kitchen as part of the suite.
Another view. I love a challenge and could see so much potential for this home.
This is after we cleaned up and painted. I loved having a clean slate to work with.
As you can see we got rid of the "prison window" and added two 3' x 4' foot windows.
We added a lot of recessed lighting and of course, a chandelier over the bed which I love. Since this picture was taken we replaced the curtains with some that are more lush and full.
I love my antique vanity. I bought it at an antique store in Ventura, but what I love even more than that, is the French Carved Headboard I picked up at a garage sale for $10.00.
I am a treasure hunter and love to shop at Flea Markets, Antique Stores, Online Auctions, Boutiques, Garage Sales & Architectural Salvage Stores. I picked up this antique settee for $75.00, painted it and re-upholstered it. It's now one of my favorite pieces. The mirror and the Baroque shelf to the right are also some of my favorite pieces.
This is an antique Federal Cabinet that I picked up at a small thrift store for $85.00. I had to refinish it and paint it, but it fits in perfectly in this small niche of our bedroom.
This was my BEST find to date. My Husband, kids and I went to a quaint little city called Fillmore. Every time we go there we have the same three shops we go to. This frame, which is almost five feet tall and was already painted this gorgeous color was a mere $17.00. I then took it down the street to our local glass store and they placed the mirror in and now it's a beautiful focal point.
A Pretty antique cabinet I purchased from Craigslist for $45.00.
This was the Kitchen. It was a long galley style which made no sense for the size of the home. We gutted this room and turned it in to the Dining Room. There is a Butlers Pantry attached to it.
Another view of what was the Kitchen...
Now our Dining Room.
Since this photo was taken we have actually replaced the chairs pictured with beautiful French cane chairs that I purchased on Craigslist .
Another view of the Dining Room. This was an old vintage stereo cabinet that we turned in to a sideboard/buffet.
This Fireplace is at the back end of the room.
I used an old diamond pane window as wall art to add some interest to the room and flanked it with sconces. I love the chandelier, it adds a lot of romance to the room.
This was the Game Room. Believe it or not, it's now our KITCHEN! It was horrible and filthy. Like I said, this home was really neglected and needed some vision. The 70's style bar was one of the first things to go. Actually so was that wall. We ended up opening it up to what is now the Dining Room to give better flow between the rooms.
Another view. I knew I wanted this to be the Kitchen, not only becuase of it's size which is 15' x 30', but because it looks out in to the backyard.My Husband built this gorgeous surround around the stove for about $150.0o. He is very talented! To have this built custom would have cost us around $4,000.
All of the counters are marble. I LOVE them! The kitchen only cost us about $22,000 and remember it was a game room so we had to bring in plumbing, electrical, lighting, gas, not to mention that we put in new floors, cabinets and appliances. It's good I have a background in Interior Design and Decorating. I really had to do some major space planning in this room. The center island is just four stock cabinets from Lowes that my Husband cut down and attached. The total cost was $400.00.This is the wall that we opened up where the Bar was. Now it flows right in to the new Dining Room.
I have an obsession for collecting antique and vintage footed bowls, dishes and compotes. I thought that since these two are on the kitchen island, the bell I placed at the top added a whimsical touch!
To add a more custom look to the Kitchen since all of the cabinets were just stock cabinets, we bought four of these posts and added two on either side of the sink and across the Kitchen on either sides of the stove. They cost us about $30.00 and make the room feel much more expensive than it is. You can really achieve a high quality look and feel if you just get creative.
This was one of the three guest bathrooms, and was the worst one. Look how bizarre the placement of the sink is? The whole set up made no sense.
We knocked that whole thing out and put in this beautiful double sink vanity that we purchased on Ebay.
This was what the Living Room looked like. I felt like I walked in to an apartment building. You had to walk on either side of this wall that was placed right in the center, so when you walked through the front door you literally were staring at a wall with a fountain on it, yes a fountain!
There it is, the fountain! Which is now outside in the courtyard.
Another view of the room. I like things very symetrical and this wall drove me nuts! It cut off half of the view in to the Family Room. That had to go...
As you can see the center wall where the fountain was is GONE!!! We added pony walls on each side and columns for an added architectural detail. This completely opened up the space. We also painted the ceilings white to give the room more light.
I love the original leaded glass windows. They are so beautiful.Nice and bright white vaulted ceilings. I love them!!!
A pretty side table in the foyer.
This chandelier is hanging in the Foyer.This is one of the NEW symetrical walls that we built.
This is the other one. In between them we put in French pocket doors to seperate the Living Room and Family Room.
Another antique Federal Cabinet and French Cane Chairs, all purchased online. The French door leads in to the Dining Room.
The gorgeous French Sofa was purchased at one of my favorite local Boutiques and the coffee table was purchased at a garage sale for $10.00. The amazing antique carved Italian side tables are hand-painted with a beautiful Italian scene. Talk about a steal, I picked up the pair for $125.00.A Demilune table that is in our Foyer.
This is the front of our home. The architectural style is an English Tudor.
This is a view of the driveway which is semi-circular. It has double gates and is extremely private. That is one of the things we love most about the property and that the home is situated directly in the center which gives us a large front and rear yard.
I LOVE the guard house. It's so charming and it's something I would expect to see in an old home in the country not in a home just outside of Los Angeles.
My sweet Daugher in the garden.
I love when the flowers are in bloom. Roses are my favorite, especially the miniature ones.
This was a Boutique Sale that I held last year in my front yard. I had local vendors come and set up there booths and we had so much fun. It's something I would like to do again, if I can find the time.
Off in the distance is our Koi Pond. I love the vaulted structure that is over it. What a pretty thing to look at every day. I love the petite iron gate that we put around the pool. It adds a decorative English touch while still providing safety for the kids. The backyard is pretty much an embarrassment. We just haven't had the time to landscape it, but I can envision the whole thing. Topiairies around the four gates to the pool area, low boxwood hedges, paths, tons of flowers, oh how I long for that day... It's good to have to wait some times. It teaches you patience and gives you something to look forward to...Our pretty Koi.
I love the sound of the waterfalls. It doesn't get much more peaceful than this!
As you can see, We are quite cautious when it comes to our children's safety. The Koi pond is also gated and the children's play area to the left is gated as well. We eventually plan on growing some greenery against the length of this gate.
I thought you all would enjoy this part. We put in a fiberglass pool last summer. So the first step was for them to dig this hole.
Then a huge crane came and had to back it in to the property to the backyard.
In this picture it is going over our Guest House, that was scary!
But pretty cool too!Look how high they had to go. It looks like a UFO. Our neighbors were out and in amazement. It's not everyday you see a flying pool.
Finally in place. The kids couldn't wait to go in. As you can see, our Daughter didn't.
Getting ready for concrete.
Almost finished!
And it's completed!!!
I hope that you enjoyed this post and that I answered all the questions I have been receiving...
My good friend Barbie is going to be a Vendor at the San Francisco International Gift Fair. She will be located in the "Vintage" section of the show and will be featuring her gorgeous selection of vintage Furniture and Accessories. She was sweet enough to offer to include my Pillow Collection in her booth, so that a large scale of Retail Boutiques from around the world will be able to view them and place orders.
Do I have AMAZING friends or what?
Barbie's items are so gorgeous and I recently featured her in one of my posts. You can click on the link to see some of her beautiful items: http://agardentoremember.blogspot.com/2009/07/day-at-rose-bowl.html
Here is what they are saying about the show...
If you are in the area or are planning on going to the show, all of the information you need is listed below.
