What Is It ...

So, one of the items on my "to do" list this year is to go through my bazillion pictures and either delete them or save them to a thumb drive so that I'm not suffocating my "C" drive anymore!

As I was doing so, I came across this picture of our dry bar from Fall 2010 ... notice the warm and darker colors splashed around ... the "tuscan" feel ... the "wine" vignette ... the warm, maple cabinets.  Back then, I could've never imagined wanting a lighter color palette.

Especially using almost ALL lighter pieces ... such as this:

or, this:

nor, could I have *ever* imagined picking up a paint brush and using these on my cabinets!

Or, removing glass cabinets to expose open shelves:

And, adding a cute, little "moo":

And, this:

All, to achieve ... this!

One thing that won't ever change is my love for adding feathers:

Nor, creating fun vignettes (and using my cheese knives from PB whenever I can):

Quite a change, isn't it, from this:

To this:

What is it in our brains that causes our decorating tastes to change?!  If you come up with the answer, please don't let me know because I kinda like the color palette my brain is enjoying right now!  :)

PS: While you are thinking about the answer, I'd love it if you'd look over on my right sidebar and "follow" me through the "Linky Follower" option that I just added ... I'm sad that I may lose some of you once once Google Friend Connect does its thing next month.

Happy Saturday, friends! 

Read More

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

Read More

Please pass the potatoes ....

May I just say you guys are the best!  You really know how to make a new gal feel welcome here in blogland.  I've loved reading all of your thoughtful comments, of which I do not deserve!  Thank you!  And, I have to give a special "shout out" to Cindy at Cottage Instincts (for highlighting my humble guest "loo" redo), Beth at The Stories of A to Z (for sharing my fireplace/mantle tranformation) and Kim at My Domestic Bliss (for mentioning, and relating to, my admission of my ADD (Attention Decorating Disorder)! 

If you feel like staying for a bit, I'd love to show you our breakfast area, highlighting a few changes we made to it.  As always, feel free to enlarge the pics by clicking on them.

BEFORE: Imagine a big ol' red wall (RL Stadium Red) ... try (AND try) as we did, nothing seemed to work.  ANYthing we put there seemed to get swallowed by the tall wall with vaulted ceiling.  And, as the kitchen cabinets share the same wall (I'll take you there soon), symmetry and balance went by the wayside, which drove me ker-azy!  Sorry this isn't a better pic:

AFTER:  Welcome dry bar (magically built by our friend, Paul)!  We're super pleased with how it turned out ... love how it fills the space.  We wanted it to have a few different features than the kitchen cabs, so we chose rope-accented molding, legs and feet ... a metallic backsplash ... black countertop and glass accent doors.  I love that the center cab is shorter and bumps out (Paul's idea).

We really enjoy the convenience of the wine cooler ... Chardonnay? Shiraz? Champagne? Sparkling Cider? What can I get ya'?

I did a not-so-great job of adding the metallic backsplash (from Lowe's), hoping for a bit of pizazz.  And, when the budget allows, we plan on changing out the counter to Golden Beach granite, which would then match our kitchen countertops:

I cannot tell you how much I've loved having the extra storage, too !!

Aside from the dry bar, we traded the blinds and panels for roman shades (done in a whimsical polk dot fabric) to add a bit of fun coordination to the cornice (both treatments were done by my great friend and neighbor, Christy). 

I recently grabbed this accent table at Kirklands, which I'm still "futzing" with:

And, lastly, I'm lovin' the oversized lazy susan I recently scored at Tuesday Morning ... really like how it resembles the top of a wine barrel and is the perfect fit for our kitchen table. I'm testing out my Southern Living tray on there (which I filled with faux grapes, wine corks and wine glasses, one of which is filled with a small votive *melted* candle).

Well, that's all for now ... it's almost time for football and a hot bowl of white chicken chili, topped with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and Scoops ... yummy !! 

Stay warm and be safe if you are one of the many surrounded by snow and icy roads !!

I'm linking up with:

Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch

Make Your Monday at Twice Remembered

Made It Monday @ Persimmon Porch

Toot your Horn Tuesday @ A Silly Little Sparrow

Do It Yourself Day at A Soft Place to Land

Make it Yours Day at My Backyard Eden

Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special

Read More