Happy Halloween!

I did not decorate much for Halloween this year since I'm still finishing up a bathroom project and the house is a bit messy. All I have is a little banner that says Happy Halloween and of course, my big witches cauldron that contains all the candies to give away. But here are some nice Halloween decor inspirations for next year.




























Images above via Country Living and BHG.

Bathroom Project

After living one year in Marie's Maison, the last major project we're able to do is remodeling this grungy tiny bathroom. Oui, this dark slate dungeon like area was our only bathroom for six months...really, how did I survive??? And now, we're close to completing the makeover and I've taken some sneak peek photos as well.


BATH BEFORE




AFTER - New Vanity Sink




AFTER - J'adore this Hot and Cold faucet



AFTER - added wainscoting beaded board throughout



AFTER - Classic octagon mosaic tiles on the floor mixed with multi-brown mosaic glass.



AFTER - Boiserie ceramic tile reminiscent of the classic beadboard wainscoting which includes a cap molding and baseboard ceramic tile



And the Pièce de résistance (well for mon cheri), is this Hansgrohe shower system with a ceiling mounted rainshower head in oil rubbed bronze.


Can't wait to finally have a clean and crisp bathroom. I will take more photos once it's all completed.

Garage Conversions

It seems to me that due to the current state of the real estate market, homeowners are finding more creative ways and reasons why to stay put in their homes. Instead of buying a larger house, a homeowner can find a space to expand, in my case a garage conversion. We recently added almost 400 sq ft of livable space to our property by converting our detached garage (now called "granny flat"). I'm not completely done, it still needs my decorating touch, but here are some sneak peek photos.


BEFORE



AFTER



BEFORE



AFTER - a 9 x 5 full kitchen



BEFORE



AFTER - a 4 x 5 walk-in shower area



I'm not the only one, here are a few more before and after photos of garage conversions I found through MSN.
























Amazing what a bit of imagination can do. Can't wait to post more photos of my new granny flat.

What's in a Name?

Because of my new blog address, I've been "googling" Marie's Maison curious to see what pops up. Happy to report that no oddball sites are related to the name. In fact, I found a few that are right up my alley.

La Maison De Marie - A Restaurant in Nice, in the South of France. I have actually seen this very nice bistro when I visited Nice six years ago. We did not eat there, but I had a photo of me taken there which I cannot find.






La Maison Des Maries - A B&B in Southwest France, in the Dordogne region. The name literally translates as "the house of the newlyweds" which was built in the 1800's so that newly married couples can spend their first night elsewhere. How cute is that???



Marie Claire Maison - A magazine publication in France. This is one of my favorite magazine and website. Very inspirational if you j'adore french decor!

Beachy Lifestyle

Some days I dream about turning my entire home into a total beach cottage style. But my design ideas are too eclectic, so that will probably stay a dream. So whenever I want to indulge my craving for beach style, I visit this cottage which to my advantage, is actually a shop. "Out of the Blue" is a charming cottage located in Solana Beach (about a 15 minute drive for me). Their items are mostly repurposed and salvaged which is why I love it, and best of all, you get to shop literally in a beachy ambience because as soon as you walk outdoors, it's pure beach sand. Absolutely one of a kind!

Bienvenue Marie's Maison

Bonjour everyone! Welcome to my new blog, Marie's Maison. I decided to discontinue the Marie's Marche' blog since I no longer own a marche'. It's been a hectic summer schedule for me so to simplify, I closed my shop at the Carlsbad Antique Mall. It's alright though because this allowed me to focus on completing my home remodeling project. As previously shared at Marie's Marche', Mon Cheri and I downsized last year from a suburban mcMansion to une petite cottage by the beach. But despite all the sacrifices of living in a smaller, older home, la vie has been magnifique and we have no regrets.

So here I am, excited to share my completed and incomplete projects with you, including a collection of my decorating style which I call french flea market, beach cottage, vintage eclectic mix. I hope you will continue browsing and be as inspired with home styling as I am.


Here's the newly remodeled Marie's Maison painted in Tiffany Blue.











Really j'adore the new color compared to this before photo of the house. As you can see, lots of changes within the year.


Voila! C'est si bon, tout va bien!