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

BNOTP/Metamorphosis 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

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Here a Tweak, There a Tweak ...

Many of you are familiar with the transformation of our fireplace/surround that took place a couple of years ago.  It went from this:

to THIS:

Well, a few days ago, I decided to add a couple of coats of Old White chalk paint to it for a subtle change:

I also lightly distressed it:

And then added a few swipes of Gold Leaf Rub 'n Buff to the center scrollie:

Annnnnnd, I decided to paint the slate surround a soft caramel:

Just a little fun tweaking!

While we're here, I have to give a little shout out to the cute PB pillow I added to the parsons chair:

Off in the background, you might notice that I tweaked another piece, as well:



This was once the bird piece that I painted AS Chateaux Grey:

I thought it was missing "something," so I taped a stencil I had to the center, painted it Old White and then added Gold Leaf Rub 'n Buff:

There, that's better:

Your turn to "tweak" something! 

Oh, and just lookie what I found today ... isn't it bee-you-teee-fulllll ?!  Fall is about to explode in blogland:

Thanks for stopping by,

Come play at:

Dittle Dattle/Amaze Me Monday

Savvy Southern Style/WUW

Common Ground/Vintage Inspiration Friday



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OCD + Chalk Paint =

ME ... LOL !! 

Before long, I'm afraid that everything in our home will be covered in this fabulous paint !!  I've now stepped it up a notch by painting a more "permanent" piece in our home ... the built-in dry bar we added in our breakfast area a couple of years ago!  My goal was to make this look like a seperate piece of furniture ... different from the neighboring kitchen cabinets.

BEFORE: 

AFTER:  Yippeeeeee.  Lovin' its new *character* 

One coat of Old White was followed by almost two coats of Chateaux Grey.  Of course, a bit of distressing was in order:

Naturally, I had to switch up the counter a bit, too:



To create my little *faux* menu, I bought an inexpensive piece of black poster board and cut it to fit inside a frame I wasn't using.   I then used my handy dandy chalk ink markers to create a menu:

Soup, anyone?

You may have noticed that I took the glass doors off of the center bump out cabinets.  I love having this as my display area now (I'm on the lookout for fabric or wallpaper to add to the back):

BEFORE:

AFTER:  *Buh-bye* doors!

It's fun being able to pull out a few of my white pieces that have been hidden away behind cabinet doors:

I moved this "lazy Susan" to the top of the cabs:

And, I also added new, inexpensive knobs (from Lowe's):

One last little peek.  I'm still debating what I'll do with the backsplash ... decisions, decisions ....

Thanks for coming on ova!  Have a fabulous day!

And, I'm giving a big blogger "thank you" to Amber and Brad of Shades of Amber for featuring my buffet, which I painted with Old White chalk paint.  What fun that they're hosting a chalk paint party every week now!  Uh oh ... this could be trouble.  Be sure and pay them a visit!  They're also hosting a fabulous chalk paint giveaway!

Don't forget to swing on by these fun linky parties for lots of inspiration:

Dittle Dattle/Amaze Me Monday

BNOTP/Metamorphosis Monday
Shades of Amber/Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Party
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures
Savvy Southern Style/WUW
At the Picket Fence/Inspiration Friday
French Country Cottage/Feathered Nest Friday

Becca

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