What Did You Miss in February?

I have to just take this moment to say how amazed I am that after only about 6 weeks in the blogosphere, Hooked on Houses has already attracted nearly 10,000 visitors. Wow. I really thought my mother might be my only reader, so I don’t take a single one of you for granted! I thank you, and my mother thanks you.

I truly appreciate all of you who have stopped by, and especially those who come often and leave comments. It’s been so much fun getting to know you. I recently read another blogger’s plea for comments from her readers, telling them that their participation is really the only “pay” she receives for all of the time and effort she puts into her site, and I have to agree.

Your comments, which are creative, interesting, informative, supportive, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, are what keep me going. So keep ‘em coming! There’s no need to lurk–we’re all friends here. We want to hear from you!

February was my first full month as a blogger, and it was a doozy. Here are the highlights so you can see if you missed anything. Now’s the time to catch up because there’s a lot more fun stuff coming in March!

We were intrigued by some interesting products and ideas for the home:

• “Woofers”
• The ’50s vision of a waterproof future
• Decorative decals for toilet tanks and washing machines that look like ostrich eggs.
• The portable stereo cart from the 1950s
• Skyline Blinds
• Artistic glass range hoods 

We toured some fabulous famous and historic homes:

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• Coco Chanel’s 31 Rue Cambon Apartment (photo of her sitting room above).
• A 1908 house in the Compton Heights neighborhood of St. Louis.
• Frank Lloyd Wright’s William P. Boswell house in Indian Hill, Ohio.
• Cobble Court, a French-Norman estate (grand hall shown at top of this post).
• Mark Twain’s Tiffany-decorated mansion in Hartford, Connecticut.
• Stokesay Court, the English estate used in the film “Atonement.”
• Eddie Murphy’s ginormous $20 million home in Brentwood, California. 
• Heath Ledger’s $25,000/month Soho loft.
• The Futuro House, which is out of this world!

 We oohed and ahhed over some amazing Before & Afters:

• The Nester transformed the exterior of her home in the post Curb Appeal.
• The couple from This Young House gave two old brick fireplaces new looks.
• Aja “the super shopper” wowed us with her kitchen makeover (pictured here).

We talked about stainless-steel appliances:

• Check out the poll results: Are Stainless-Steel Appliances on the Way Out?
• We learned about a Cheaper Way to Get the Stainless-Steel Look.

We talked about our love of crown molding, too:

• The gallery of rooms with crown molding is one of our most viewed posts ever!
• If you’re up for a diy project, check out How to Hang Crown Molding.

We were excited to hear from two of our favorite authors:

• I interviewed Daniel McGinn, author of House Lust, and gave away two copies of his book.
• Sarah Susanka, author of the bestselling “Not So Big House” series, had some inspiring things to say in an exclusive post for Hooked on Houses readers.

And there was a lot more fun stuff I hope you didn’t miss, like:

• A photo gallery of Staircases That Would Make Scarlett Swoon.
• Photos of kitchens from the 1950s in all their pink and aqua glory.
• Proof that money can’t buy style in Just Say No: Rooms That Need Rehab.
• Decorating inspiration for the bedroom: a Parisian Sanctuary.
• How can we forget A Rainbow of Books–which some of you loved, and some hated! Read the debate in the comments and add your own opinion to the mix.

If this wasn’t enough for you, check out what you missed in January!