Fabric for outdoor chairs

Yes, it's been a long time since I've posted (work is very busy at this time of the year), but I'm back to get some much needed insight from friends and family. Our outdoor lounge chairs need a new look and I was so excited when I found Gallant & Jones today. How fantastic are these fabrics?


Here are pics of our backyard. Which colors would you go with? I'm stuck between the blue, orange and brown.


Which color would you go with? I'm thinking of a mixture of two, but just can't commit!

It's romantic until you're ripping the pool out

This backyard of event planner Walter Hubert, featured in the LA Times, is so lush and romantic. We have a multi-level yard so I was particularly interested in the large bushes that they have overflowing the lower wall. They are just perfect.


And that Eucalyptus tree? So fantastic. And romantic. Imagine it draped with dangling white lights for an evening soiree. Then reality set in pretty quickly. Isn't it a little close to the pool?

This could very quickly turn from a romantic backyard to one filled with strife. "We bought the house for the beautiful tree. Now we're ripping it out and building a whole new pool". Isn't home ownership fun?

Going girly

What is going on? I'm getting soft or something because this outdoor loveseat featured at oh joy caught my interest this morning. Again, I see my grandmother everywhere in this fun piece.


Actually, it's a bit of a coincidence. You see, there is a quaint, rustic, and yet much loved hotel that will soon be shutting it's doors in Cayman. We were there recently for a party and their iron outdoor seating really caught my eye.



In a possible stroke of luck, they recently announced that they are selling all of their furniture. While a bit "frilly", I was thinking that they could be made a bit more modern with a good coat of paint. In particular, I l-o-v-e the alternating round and square tables. And because they are quite heavy, they would work really well on our dock, where we get a lot of breeze.

I'll certainly be keeping my fingers crossed that these might be included in their sale. Wish me luck!

Stylish outdoor rugs

It's difficult to find an outdoor rug that isn't boring or a bit too "busy" for my taste. Ballard Design provides just the right answer with their Celia indoor/outdoor rug, which just happens to be on sale at the moment (bonus!).


We're hoping (emphasis on hoping) that our outdoor space is going to be completed in early 2010. One of these could be a contender for sure. Have you seen any other good outdoor rugs that are worth a peek?

My husband wants a fire pit

I doubt that this is what he had in mind (but a girl can dream).

Photographed by David Prince and featured on Desire to Inspire

Inspiration vs reality: driveway pavers

Throughout our build, I was set on taupe and grey pavers for our driveway. No questions, don't fight it, this was certain. Right. The day that we were scheduled to place our order, I came across this image on the Hanson Hardscape website.


The deep brick color surrounded by green grass was so fresh (to me at least). Gorgeous. With Mr. Big shaking his head in the background, I changed my mind completely and we changed our order completely. I secretly hoped that I wouldn't regret this impulse.

After living with the finished product for a year, we're both really pleased with the last minute change. We went with the Hanson Abbey Road pavers, which combines larger and smaller pavers. It provides an imperfect, but interesting pattern.


Our workers were cursing us throughout the project (talk about a puzzle...), but we ended up with a driveway that we really like. And thank goodness, the brick red color did exactly what we were hoping for.


So there you have it, another "inspiration vs. reality" summary. I've been slow to post them all, but they will begin making their way here once again. And if anyone out there is looking for pavers, we certainly wouldn't hesitate recommending Hanson.

Backyard fun with the camera

One year later

The majority of our landscaping went in exactly one year ago today. It's amazing how it has grown in, so much so that I can't wait to see what another year will do. Our landscapers, Vigoro Nursery, have been wonderful to work with.

Here are the original photos from that day. And here we are today...






It has been a real treat seeing everything come in. There's always something new that surprises us. I'm beginning to learn that there's nothing like enjoying your garden.

Dont' even ask

Over the past few weeks, I've been considering ways to update a slightly outdated golf condo. It's on the course, two levels, and requires a face lift soon. I was pleased to see the following image on Desire to Inspire today.

Designed by Christopher Gaona

Just go ahead and plop me into one of those chairs. This may kick us off in the right direction.

Can you smell the surf wax?

Growing up in Southern California, I woke on endless mornings to the sound of our '49 Ford Woody getting fired up in the garage. My dad's long boards would be perched out the back window with my brothers' short boards hidden beneath. In the blink of an eye, my mom and I would be left behind (with the exhaust) as the boys spent another day searching the perfect wave. Those boys and surfing...what great memories.

There's even a story where my dad pulled over a dump truck traveling down the freeway because he saw a somewhat battered, but salvageable, board peeking out at him. No word of a lie, he refurbished and road that board for years. Talk about love.

When I saw this image, my heart went straight back to my teenage years. I can almost smell the surf wax...

Photo by Francesco Bittichesu

What a wonderful way to honor a pastime.

Lazy summer days

Summer is filled with so much optimism, so it's certainly welcome this year. Although these probably aren't right for our yard, this picnic table and turqouise benches just make me happy.

Image from Coastal Living and featured on Decor8

Is anyone else looking forward to summer? Perhaps it's been all the doom and gloom in the economy...I'm ready for some lighthearted play time. Leave a comment and let me know.

Doesn't every couple have a pool table story?

Since we first thought of building our home, my sweet husband has envisioned a pool table. I (mistakenly) believed that his interest might slowly wane, seeing as we had never once been on a date to play pool nor had he ever met his buddies to play pool. But as time passed, the vision became more steadfast. (Enter perplexed look here)

We eventually decided that the table would go outdoors in our covered "pavilion-type cabana thing". It was a perfect spot...close to the bar, good ventilation in the case cigars appeared, and well away from those that wished to slumber late at night.

You can probably imagine that shipping a pool table across the Caribbean isn't the cheapest endeavor. But even moreso, it's virtually impossible to find an outdoor pool table that doesn't look like a plastic spaceship. When we did, they were $$$.

Eventually I turned to our local second hand market to see if we could test the waters before emptying our wallets. Because the outdoor space will actually be enclosed with doors when not in use (not really so outdoors, is it?), I was particularly interested in this table for $300.


Wow, was it ever worn. The wood and felt were stained and the poor table just looked sad. Mr. Big wasn't so sure and when I suggested that we paint it high gloss white, all of the color drained from his face. Let's just say that I realized how much he really trusts me at that moment. With potential ridiculing from his friends on the line, he agreed to take the thrifty route. This is a recession and all...

Although the outdoor space is not complete, we unveiled the table at his 40th birthday. Must to my relief, it was a huge hit. A few coats of paint and a new grey felt top did the trick. And it has so much more character than the big bulky new options that we had considered.



It has been used quite a bit since then. Apparently it has a very slight tilt in one direction...I was pleased to hear that it's easy to fix (coaster under one leg anyone?). So yes, Mr. Big was correct, it should bring lots of fun memories and conversations.

Just before I finish up, can anyone pick out which pool cues came from my friend and which came from Mr. Big's friend (for his birthday)? Yep, the bunny ear cues with scantily-clad women came from his friends. We're all class around here... :)

There was definitely a designer involved here

It's a 3-day weekend in Cayman and I was trying to figure out if we could find a cool spot for anything like this.

From Danielle at The Style Files

While I don't think we can, I started to look more closely at this layout. It's designed to perfection. From the built in seating, to the protective glass (to block excessive wind when eating at your built in seating no less), to the mirrors reflecting the sea, it's just perfection.

While we don't have this view, the wheels are turning about creating permanent seating. We definitely have the space. Watch out Mr. Big. Your girl is getting motivated again....

Getting inspiration from a new source

One of the best advantages of our homesite is that it faces east. This means that we are regularly treated with gorgeous sunrises. Now, I'm not a morning girl and I grew up on the West Coast...so I always appreciated sunsets. But things are changing. I regularly open one eye at 5:30 to take in the daily spectacular show...and then promptly go back to sleep, storing the image in my memory for half a second.

A friend from school visited recently and she actually took the initiative to get a picture of the sunrise one morning. Why didn't I think of that?!? (Probably because there's zilch going on in my brain at that time of the day).

So just how pretty are these sunrises? I finally dragged my groggy head out of bed to capture one for you all.


So there you have it. This is a standard Cayman morning, which is pretty darn impressive. This whole morning thing might just grow on me. Might.

For family and friends

Okay, okay, I'll stop posting inspiration pics and put a few photos of our place up. I suppose that is what this site was intended for anyway.


This morning we had a lovely 7am walk with Jordan and Mr. Big's dad who is visiting. (Yes, you read that correctly, Mrs. Big was up at 7am on a Saturday...and I wasn't even grumpy. What is this world coming to?) After a few weeks of unusually cold weather (68 degrees!), it was a beautiful morning of clear skies and a slight breeze. Perfect for a few moments to appreciate how the house has taken shape.

But first, Jordan would like to say hello.

Hey mom, could say hi to everyone for me? I'll be extra good if they send their loves.

And show them how I like to find big sticks and run with them these days. Here I come!

So back to the regular broadcasting. The back of the house is taking shape. All of the painting has been completed except for the pavilion. Speaking of the pavilion, the Big Ass Fan has been installed and the ceiling stained dark. Now we're just waiting on the arrival of the doors before the exterior and interior walls will be completed. Mr. Big's barbeque space is taking shape inside and soon the island will be built.

The famous Big Ass Fan. This baby moves A LOT of air.

The walls will be painted white and be textured like stone.
Similar to our front door entrance here.

The barbeque pit with the BigGreen Egg and all.
Same stone used here as our interior stone wall.

In the meantime, our outdoor dining area is getting a lot of use. And surprise, surprise, my favorite Panton chairs have made an appearance outdoors. I'm probably the only one who uses them (or likes them), but hey, it's my house too.

The dock has been stained and is just awaiting the final coat. We've used some of the left over wood from the pavilion ceiling to build storage benches for boating supplies. It will get completed and stained soon.


My grandfather had the best idea for these large walls...allow colorful bouganvilla vines to grow down them. I'm looking forward to starting that and getting a few large pots on the dock. I'm turning into a green fiend!

The rest of the garden is really starting to fill in nicely. It's amazing to see how far the side yard has come in the last seven months since it was planted.

No question that we live in the Caribbean.
The palms are coming in nicely.

The side yard now has more green that brown. A triumph!

Love this full covering used by the landscapers.
Apparently so does Jordan...we regularly find two eyes peaking out at us under this coconut palm.

The back of the garage taking hold.

The landscaping over our unattractive gas tank.

And finally, Mr. Big recently fell in love with this outdoor set. After a fair bit of negotiation, it found it's way home onto our deck. We have been spending lots of time in these chairs lately.


It's nice to end the day enjoying a drink out here. But I must admit, I've had to back off the drinks lately. I don't think Mr. Big's vision of the house included a wife with a beer belly....

Hope you all enjoyed the update!