Friday, August 31, 2007

Can you say extra-talented?

With her cute husband, Mario.
This is Adrianne. We met in freshman English class. She had a hot pink tiered miniskirt on (which would actually be in style today) and we have been friends ever since. I could wax rhapsodic on her amazing abilities at friendship, but that's not what we're talking about today. We are talking about her amazing decorating abilities.
She doesn't just have good taste. She doesn't just have a flair for putting things together. She's not only bossy and outspoken, so you know how she really feels about what you want to do to a room.
She's McGyver.

My husband calls her this because apparently McGyver (in every episode) takes gum and a fingernail clipper and can, not only, undo his chained wrists, but also knock out the bad guy and escape from the burning building via a rope swing he's constructed. All using only the gum and the fingernail clipper. Having never watched McGyver, I have to take his word for it.

Adrianne does the same thing with my limited budget, 3 days, 4 kids running around, a can of paint and 2 yards of fabric and my really crappy old sewing machine that I don't know how to use. She's made Roman shades, reupholstered chairs, repainted the gayest looking hutch and built my cute ottoman from scratch . McGyver, see?

So every couple years, I fly her up here (her only payment: a trip to work on my house with me for 3 days) and give her a few rooms, $1000 dollars and she undoes the chained wrists, knocks out the bad guys and escapes from the burning building. Want to see what she did last time she came?

Entry before and after:

Powder room/favorite room in my house before and after:



Kitchen before and after (the first After was blue paint the color of mold, but we fixed that.):




Family room...you can't see the cute shades, but there's the ottoman and she rearranged everything:



Girls' bedroom (you can't see the cute mirror collage above the bed, too bad.):



She has since created this:


He'd better be skilled with a paint brush.

14 comments:

Adrianne said...

You have paid me the highest compliment ever - comparison to McGyver. How come they still don't have reruns of that show on?? I loved it. And thanks for finally posting pics of your bathroom since I didn't get to see it finished.

zeeny said...

I love your bathroom!! Is that fabric or wall paper? Did you paint the wood or stain it? By the way, I'm Barzee's wife if you're wondering. I love your cute blog!

Carie said...

Does Adrianne ever have any interest in visiting KC? My house could use some serious decorating . . . her baby is so cute.
Loved seeing your house pictures, it is gorgeous!!

Paige said...

DO NOT TRY TO STEAL ADRIANNE. She is reserved for special friends like me. Someday I will have to take a picture of my entire house, including the paint, decorating of every bedroom, making a cute bench with a cushion (she used my electric knife to cut it) from a $10 70's record holder, many pillows, and countless window treatments.

I also have a sewing machine I don't know how to use. It's Adrianne's sewing machine and she appreciated that Santa gave her (me) a new one last Christmas. Jessica, your whole house is beautiful and some day I will see it.

Brigitta said...

Wow, what a great friend. I met her once when she was selling her jewelry and you could tell instantly that girls got taste. Love your house and especially that awesome bathroom. Adrianne are you interested in coming to visit us in CA sometime?? I've got plenty of ideas and unfinished projects.

Nortorious said...

Adrianne is also funny and she can even boss Jeff W. One time we paddled around Kauai in kayaks and she screamed at Jeff the whole way so he could feel more at home.

Tiffany said...

WOW! But I'm not surprised! Adrianne is amazing and did a great job. How fun for you two. I'm jealous! And I love the McGyver comparison. Adrianne - I still have the Christmas pillow you made me our freshman year!

Anonymous said...

Props to Adrianne. What a difference a coat of paint can make! The living room transformation is huge - I can't believe how dark it was before. Oh, wait, I think you just forgot to use a flash.

Jessica said...

Uberburber...if you are going to make fun, you can take your comments elsewhere.

NO WAIT, please come back! I love comments of any form.

And the light from the window was confusing my cheap camera. And you can't really see all the rearranging she did. My husband also that one was a dumb before and after.

D-dawg said...

WOW! I need a friend like her. Everything looks great!

Tammy said...

Adrianne Rocks and everyone should just know it and accept it. She can do anything, I am sure of it. We once redecorate my now husband's place, before we lived together because it needed a woman's touch and we had so much fun doing it!

Celia Fae said...

Hello! Not one of you has talked about Adrianne's hot body! This is what happens when I leave for 24 hours. No one gets anything right.

Erika said...

seriously Adrianne - you should find a hobby you're actually good at... kidding., And Jessica - what's the deal with your house being sooo clean in all the photos. Way to make me feel bad about myself today.

Ashley said...

It's easy to see why Adrianne is my favorite partner in crime when it comes to decorating projects. If you think Ade is great on her own - you should see what the two Smart sisters can do together (a.k.a. the house in UT). What I really love is Adrianne's continued phone calls from Argentina where we do decorating consults via telephone. And...she doesn't have nearly 1/10th the resources there as she did her. I would like to propose this as another reason as to why she needs to move back to the motherland.