Sunday, 16 October 2011

Little Toile Stool & Funny Ad!


I have re-vamped a little stool with paint, tassel fringe and bird toile fabric. I think it turned out really cute and reflects my taste and style.

I originally purchased the material from Ballard Designs on clearance for either some pillows or a to make a new valance for my bay window in the dining room. However, when looking for something to use to upholster this stool, I decided to use
this

Saturday, 15 October 2011

The *Rest* of the Story ...

Since I shared our Fall mantel the other week, it occurred to me that I haven't shown the rest of the great room in quite awhile!  Of course, things have changed a bit in here (I know you're shocked) ... feel free to take a peek around.

Here's the *new* look.  When we added crown molding throughout our home, we REALLY wanted to add it in this room, but, because of the vaulted ceiling, it just wouldn't look right (so they said).  Bummer:


In my lighten and brighten *lollapalooza* that has been taking place in our home this year, I replaced our striped accent chairs with two slipcovered wing chairs that were in another room:


Pillows on sale from Pottery Barn add a splash of Fall colors ... the French pillow is from TJ Maxx:



I placed my old faux fur rug from IKEA on the ottoman for added texture and coziness.  Oh, and I totally copied my buddy, Carrie, at Dittle Dattle and raced to Big Lots to buy two of these rusty/orange pillows after she featured them in her fabulous Fall great room.  Thanks, Carrie:


Leftover fabric that has been sitting in my closet forever is now scrunched up and serving as a base for my coffee table vignette (created with things I already had ... I LOVE free decorating):


Of course, I had to mix in a few feathers:



Here's the Fall mantel a-GAIN (that I recently added one coat of Annie Sloane's Old White chalk paint and distressed a bit):


Another painted piece (AS Old White/Chateaux Grey) has a touch of Fall on top:


A-NOTHER victim of my paint brush ... fun seeing the reflection of the mantel in the mirror:


I picked up these fun envelope prints from Marshalls this summer:


Love the vibrant pumpkin from Pier One (so much so that bought three of them on sale), which is paired with a lamp I recently scored at a consignment shop ... only $19!  I saw a lamp very similar to this one at Home Goods for $49!  And, hey, who says you can't use your remote as part of your vignette!  LOL. 



On each side of our French door, I replaced our humongo prints with smaller ones ... I also scored these mirrored tables this past summer at Tuesday Morning.  And, for an inexpensive touch of Fall, I added burlap bows to the lampshades:



 Yup, another Pier One pumpkin, this one nestled in greenery and feathers, all of which is perched on a small white pedestal:


View from the breakfast area ... it's funny how the afternoon light makes the paint color (Sherwin Williams Restrained Gold) looks so much darker and gold than it truly is ... I plan on continuing the Manchester Tan in this area, as well ... SOMEday:


And, since it's Fall, you *know* what that means in this house ... time for the Fall "Family" tree, which I'll share next time:


Thanks so much for stopping by and have a fabulous weekend!

Come on over and party at these fabulous blogs:

Dittle Dattle/Amaze Me Monday
Liven Things Up/Itz Festival Time
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures
Coastal Charm/Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
A Stroll Thru Life/Tabletop Tuesday
DIY by Design/Fall into Fall Party
Savvy Southern Style/WUW
Savvy Seasons/Autumn Arrives
No Minimalist Here/Open House Party
At the Picket Fence/Inspiration Friday

Wednesday, 12 October 2011

Fun New Home Decorating!

For the past five weeks, I have been helping a friend and client with pulling her new home together for a more cohesive look. I have blogged about this new home in July when they allowed furniture stores and decorators to come in (before they moved in) and use the house as a way to gain more funds for the Advocacy Network for Children. This tour was over and they moved in their own furniture.

Sunday, 9 October 2011

From Baby to Little Girl Room

I have been helping a friend and client with pulling her new home together for a more cohesive look. In their little girls room, which she painted green, I put a huge vinyl tree on the wall, purchased on eBay.
Initially the baby bed and dresser was lost in this very large room. (This is just one tiny corner, below).

Since her daughter was ready to transition from a baby bed into a larger one, I

Week 25 ~ Diamonds In The Rough!

Diamonds In The Rough! is my weekly feature, where I show you the treasures that I find from garage sales, thrift stores and antique stores.
This week was light in treasured finds until one particular sale. I will show you that at the end of my post. On to the treasures...


This globe is missing the base, but imagine this with part of the bottom cut away and made into a hanging light for a

Saturday, 8 October 2011

A walk on the Wild Side!

A friend and client of mine has a new home that I have blogged about HERE. Originally, I showed you the house when it was staged for a tour. That tour is OVER and they moved all that 'stuff' out and now what you will see is all their personal furniture and decor.

She asked for my assistance in pulling her house together. In the living room, she had purchased new leather furniture. She already

Our Fall Dining Room ...

Happy Saturday !!  For those who may have missed my guest post yesterday at A Stroll Thru Life, I thought I'd post it here as well so that I could share our Fall dining room.

So, please, come on in (you may click on pics to enlarge)...


Since painting all of the furniture in this room earlier this Spring BM White Dove (followed by distressing, sanding and glazing), I decided to do this year's Fall tablescape in mainly neutral tones, but with a few pops of color here and there.  I also added several mercury pieces because I'm loving the look of that right now, too:


You can see that I've incorporated quite a few elements ... pumpkins ... books ... silver/mercury ... raffia ... burlap runner and antlers.  Some of these cute pumpkins USED to be orange.  Rather than buy white pumpkins (as they can be unnecessarily expensive), I simply painted a few cheapie orange ones Annie Sloane's Old White chalk paint! 


My hurricanes hold munchkin pumpkins, acorns and pinecones, along with tapered candles that I placed in candlestick holders (Dollar Tree) to add height:


And, do you want a fun and inexpensive solution to not having to look at glass hurricanes that get *cloudy* from the sun (despite cleaning them once a week!) ... just throw a few book pages (or scrapbook paper) in there, and, voila ... no more cloudiness!  (Of course, either take them out when lighting the candles or just use battery operated tapers, which I need find!)  And, how ironic that the chapter of the book I picked up to rip a few pages from is appropriately titled "The Pilgrim's Progress" ...


As for our table settings ... the silver chargers are from Old Time Pottery, the cream dinner plates are from Wal-Mart, and turkey salad plates are from Home Goods (last year):


Over on our sideboard, I layered a French print with a beautiful mustard floral, just to add more Fall-ish pop of color ... it also ties in with the oversized pillows on the chairs that flank the sideboard:



I love to mix in a few seashells with the "Fall-ness" ... have to stay true to my coastal living!


And, on the shelves, I nestled a mercury pumpkin on raffia.  FYI:  they sell these fabulous pumpkins at Tuesday Morning, too, for only $9.99!  That's wonderful compared to Pottery Barn, where they are $24 for the smallest!


My plate wall remains unchanged ... still have the twine wrapped around select plates, having added a leaf and old photo for Fall.


And, one last thing ... just for fun, let's look at what my dining room looked like a few years ago (pre-blogging)!  From that:


To this!  Quite a difference, isn't it ?!  LOL. 


Now, if I could just put my new blingie chandelier together (which is STILL sitting in the box) !!

I'm linking up to:

BNOTP/Metamorphosis Monday
Dittle Dattle/Amaze Me Monday
Coastal Charm/Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
A Stroll Thru Life/Tabletop Tuesday
The Stories of A to Z/Tutorials and Tips
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesdays Treasures
Savvy Southern Style/WUW
DIY by Design/Fall into Fall
No Minimalist Here/Open House Party
Savvy Seasons/Autumn Arrives Party
2805/Potpourri Party
At the Picket Fence/Inspiration Friday
Colours Dekor/Of Spooks and Sparkles
Decor to Adore/Fall in Love
Kristen's Creations/Share Your Creations
Thrifty Decor Chick/Before and After Party

Have a fabulous day,