Our neighbor’s horse…
My Photo Uploads for Today, April 26 Saturday, Apr 26 2008
Inspiration and Photography Flickr, fun, mosaic, photos, shabby 10:36 am
Good Saturday Spring Morning! Saturday, Apr 26 2008
Flora and Fauna and Photography beauty, flowers, iris, nature, Picasa, sepia, spring 10:20 am
Taken with my Canon digital camera; I used the free Picasa photo editing software to do the special effects.
More Hallway Inspiration Saturday, Apr 19 2008
Inspiration art, beautiful, black and white, dreamy, hallway, Inspiration, Photography, Sadie Olive 8:23 pm
Another GREAT shot of the hallway art (I believe some of the frames are from Pottery Barn). Love this and the wire basket, too!
Wow! Be sure to visit Sadie Olive’s blog!
http://lejournal.sadieolive.com/lejournal/
Inspiration for My Hallway Saturday, Apr 19 2008
Uncategorized 7:49 pm
If you have not been to see the Sadie Olive blog, you must surf over there now! Sara is one of the most talented people I have ever “seen” on the web. Her work has been featured in several magazines, and her blog is just amazing!
http://lejournal.sadieolive.com/
I love how she has mixed black and photos with vintage letter prints. I will “borrow” this idea for my own hallway! Wow!
Finishing Touches! Saturday, Apr 12 2008
Uncategorized beauty, contentment, cottage, cottage house, Dining Room, happiness, mantle, shabby, springbreak2008 8:54 pm
“A thing of beauty is a joy forever”
John Keats
I can hardly believe my week of vacation is nearly at an end—it has been an incredible joy to not be on a schedule and to do things around my cottage house. The doxies and Scott have probably seen more of me in the last 7 days than they have in the previous three months! I truly treasure any time I have at home—I feel utter contentment as I sit here enjoying the golden sunlight in the living room from the setting home and listening to Scott and the dogs snore!
Today was very productive and flew by too quickly! I did finish painting the living room as I wrote earlier today, and I am even more thrilled that I went with the Pecan Sandie paint—now the living room and dining room flow seamlessly, and both rooms feel so warm and cozy.
I decided to postpone the final coat on the hallway area—I can easily do that on any Saturday. Instead, I chose to use the afternoon cleaning, rearranging, organizing, and doing other house chores. Scott and I were able to stage the fireplace mantle (also painted in Behr Pecan Sandie)—it is “hanging” on the protruding bricks until we can get it permanently mounted, but I was tired of it hiding in the guest bedroom for the last year. To give it more stability, I stuffed some plain white dishclothes underneath the base or “feet”—it is about an inch short as it is now, and the washclotheshelp stabilize it. Scott pushed and pulled on it, and we feel pretty certain it will not fall off and cause a catastrophe. I am going to get some inexpensive urns and stuff them with dried hydrangeas to disguise the “fix” at the base. 
Once I get it permanently mounted, I would like to hang a mirror above it to balance out the fireplace it. If we ever get the crown moulding redone, we will make sure the carpenter runs moulding across the top of the fireplace as some of the ceiling tiles are sagging ever so slightly over the fireplace, and it is not very attractive! While the mantle is not “flush” and permanently affixed, I am enjoying looking at it and not the plain facade anymore! One other touch I need: I am going to get some plywood and paint it white to act as a fireplace covering to disguise the ugly opening of the fireplace; I would like to affix a rose garland or fluer de lis on the plywood for an extra shabby touch.
Once I cleaned up my painting materials, I put all of the furniture back in their original spots. I did, though, make a few slight changes.
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First, I changed the lamp on the white chest of drawers (I originally had a Target Simply Shabby Chic tole cream roses lamp here)—this “silver” lamp is a $24 Target special, and the beige lampshade was about $12 at Target. These tones pick up on the paint and the silver “1930 style” galvanized steel chairs I bought about a year ago from Sundance. I am sure I paid way too much for these chairs, but I had seen them in a zillion magazine articles, including Jennifer Eggleston’s home article, so I did splurge last summer with my summer school check.
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For pillows to soften the edges, I put a Ralph Lauren Cold Springs ticking pillow (an Ebay bargain) on one of the silver chairs; on a reproduction vintage style metal laundry basket, I have a couple of pillows covered with Ikea and vintage Euroshams (also Ebay specials!); one of these features a huge floppy ruffle, lace trim, a vintage monogram, and pintucking—it is tattered in places, but I absolutely adore this old sham.
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I also have a glass jar filled with quail eggs (another Jennifer Eggleston inspiration). This was sitting on the bookcase in the room, but I moved it to the dresser where it could be seen more easily.
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I just got some olive colored storage boxes from Ikea—I placed these on top of the china cabinet. The hues look lovely in the room, and the pattern is a little unexpected in here, plus it adds a touch of height to the room. Beautiful storage!
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I will next work on hanging some art and vintage sconces; I will also be on the lookout for some cream colored ironstone pitchers/pieces and shabby mirrors to finish the room. These will be perfect complements to my cream/white china cabinet and china.
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I’d love to find a shabby French style chaise lounge—my friend Jennifer has found one for me on Ebay, and while the price is right, it is not in my budget right now. Hopefully down the road I can afford one and put it in this room to have as a reading area or nook. I’d love to throw some fluffy vintage Euroshams on a chaise and get a cozy blanket for the chaise along with a $10 Ikea silver floor lamp for an “urban cottage” edge.
Overall, I am thrilled with how my dining room has turned out as of today. The new chandelier, the paint on the walls, the white trim, the introduction of new elements into the room—I am so very happy. The white cane-backed chairs that I did have in here will now be going to my mom’s…I had purchased a whitewashed dining room table and these chairs last summer, but the table turned out to be too big for my space. My mom has been wanting to change her look a bit in her dining room, so I decided to just give her the table and chairs because she has done so much for me. I will still be on the lookout for a small table that could be a dining room table without taking up too much space in here. For now, though, I am very happy with how it has evolved as of today.
One other fun little touch today: I took the $2 Ikea silk flowers and put them in my favorite vintage china teacup (got it over 10 years ago somewhere in Blue Ridge). As you can see from the slideshow below, it looks yummy on the vintage desk and adds just the right punch of color against my palette of neutrals (creams, whites, silvers, grays, pale green, khaki).
While some of my home improvement projects changed over the course of the week, I pretty much accomplished everything I set out to do, plus a few other tasks I did not think I would get to in terms of spring cleaning and organization. Of course, there were a few things on my “to do” list that I did not complete, but then again, the “to do” list for fixing up a 1950 house is never finished!
Many thanks to everyone for their kind words of support and encouragement this week! It has been a wonderful week!
I Chose Wisely! Saturday, Apr 12 2008
Painting Behr, Dining Room, paint, Painting, Pecan Sandie, springbreak2008 1:07 pm
I am sitting here enjoying some homemade “Chickpea Italian Stew” (thank you, Scott!) as I write this update as my spring break winds down (sniff!). I am very happy to share with you that the Behr Pecan Sandie turned out to be GORGEOUS in the dining room! I am so happy now I followed my gut feeling or intuition this morning to make the change—it looks just as lovely in the dining room as it does in the living room, and I think the “flow” between the two rooms, which are open to each other, is improved with the continuous color scheme.
The Behr Ocean Pearl looks lovely in the kitchen and amazing in the hallway, but it just felt too “cool” in the dining room. I have absolutely no idea as to why this was, but I have learned from experience to follow my intuition about these things and go with a change if needed rather than trying to “live with” a choice that may not be quite right.
Behr Pecan Sandie (I found this color by watching “Design on a Dime” on HGTV) is the best shade of khaki…it is like the color of brown of hot cocoa that has been lightened by milk. It is a warm, creamy, and soothing shade that is a great neutral backdrop.
I have a few preliminary photos to share—they really don’t do the color justice…you have to see it in person to really see the true colors, but I hope you enjoy. When I get the furniture rearranged and everything back in its place this weekend, I will try to do some additional and hopefully better photos.
I will soon be tackling the hallway and then attempting to mount the vintage fireplace mantle a bit later today. More news later!
A Woman Has a Right To Change Her Mind, Right? Saturday, Apr 12 2008
Painting Dining Room, Painting, springbreak2008 9:15 am
After sleeping on the dining room paint job last night, I awoke with fresh eyes this morning and have decided that while I *LOVE* the Behr Ocean Pearl, I think that the color may be just a tad too cool for the space. I think the flow from the living room to the dining room might work better, too, if I keep both the same color, so I will be putting on a coat of Behr Pecan Sandie in just a few minutes—thankfully, I have an extra can on hand.
I also was inspired by reviewing some of my favorite decorating styles and articles, including this one online—a virtual tour of Jennifer Eggleston’s Texas home. It speaks to the whole look I love–urban cottage farmhouse country with a hint of Swedish. I have a lot of pieces, including the silver chairs, that will work with the space, and Pecan Sandie is a warmer backdrop for the “look”. I also have some Ralph Lauren ticking that I got for nearly nothing on Ebay, and I will mix it in.
As a footnote, I actually worked with Jennifer back in 1996—she was the manager of the Ralph Lauren Home Store at Lennox Mall, and you could not meet a nicer person! I had purchased some RL bedding, and it was the first time I had ever put together a room—thanks to Jennifer’s help, my bedroom looked like a yummy English country home! I still have several of those pieces to this day. Jennifer is an incredibly and creative talented person and super nice to boot! You can see her work featured on HGTV, Southern Living magazine, and Country Living magazine as well as many homes/businesses in Texas.
Sooooooooooooooooo….check back later today for an update and photos!
Paint, Paint, and More Paint! Friday, Apr 11 2008
Painting paint, Painting, spring break 2008 10:58 pm
Today’s painting project took much more time than I anticipated—the dining room priming project! The first delay occurred when I opened my can of tinted primer I had mixed up a few weeks ago and discovered it was more WATER than paint. Needless to say, I was FURIOUS. I will be going back to Home Depot at some point this weekend to either get a refund or another can of paint. I can only hope that the regular can of paint is not as fouled up when I get into it tomorrow—if it is, you might hear a lot of yelling coming from Riverstone Parkway!
Fortunately, I had nearly an entire can left from the kitchen painting project that I used in place of primer, and it seemed to work out pretty well—this particular can of Behr Ocean Pearl had been mixed at 25% darker than the regular tint, so it should match up with the top coat tomorrow (assuming it is not mostly water, either…grrrrrrrrrrrrrr).
The second obstacle was the uneven drywall/plaster/sheetrock. Whoever built the house used “green” wood as the studs, and over time, they have bowed—this “bowing” puts unusual undulations in the drywall in certain places, plus it just was not hung evenly to begin with! You can work around these challenges, but you just have to take more time when painting so that you get even coverage and so that you don’t accidentally paint the trim.
The “cutting in” seemed like it took forever—I think it actually took about an hour and a half, which is a lot of time for a room this size. Once I got to “rolling” the paint, though, things moved a lot more quickly. I started around 4:15, and I did not finished until after 8:00. I am proud, though, that this task is done, plus I finished the last 1/4 of the hallway that I could not previously finish due to the ugly old metal shelf being in my way (which now thankfully, is gone).
As I am looking at the paint right now, it seems more green than it does in the hallway, but I think this is related to the lighting. The Behr Ocean Pearl is a color that I almost dislike at first, but once it is up for a few hours, I love it. I think it is the right color for the dining room—I had thought about using the living room color, Pecan Sandie in here, but it might have been too dark in here for it—I’ll make a final decision in the morning when I resume painting.
I do see that I will not be getting to the laundry room or master bedroom this weekend…those painting projects will have to wait for another day!
Here is tomorrow’s “to do” list:
- Put top coat of paint in the hallway and dining room (Behr Ocean Pearl)
- See if we can possibly mount the vintage fireplace mantle in the living room (I painted it Pecan Sandie today….thought the contrast would look good against the painted white brick).
- Hang a few more pictures in some more “shabby” frames from Fragment Freaks.
- Grade papers and update gradebook
- Work on a few things for National Library Week
- Vaccum/mop/clean floors
- Tidy up master bedroom
- Laundry
I wish I could have one more week for home improvement projects!
Trim Paint Project Update, Spring Break 2008! Friday, Apr 11 2008
Spring Break Projects 2008 cottage, home improvement, Painting, spring break 2008, trim 11:36 am
I am proud to say that I finished the “trim paint project” last night shortly after 10:00 PM! Yes! I put the second coat of paint on last evening—for this “top” coat, I used Behr semi-gloss in Ultra Pure White. Overall, I am extremely pleased with how this paint project turned out—you have no idea how happy it makes me to look around the dining room and living room and not see the ugly heart pine door trim! Here is what I painted:
- One large doorway leading from the dining room into the living room (and vice-versa)
- Doorway and door jam of master bedroom
- Doorway leading into the kitchen/hallway area (and vice-versa)
- Doorway leading from kitchen into living room (and vice-versa)
- Doorway and door leading into the entry room
- Doorway frame of door leading from living room into the screened in porch area (I was too lazy to do the door itself, but the curtains hide it, so it can wait for now! )
- Dining room closet doorway (this room was once the main bedroom I think). I need to do something about the ugly door, but it will have to wait as I already exhausted my door budget earlier in the winter.
My photos really don’t do it justice, but I hope you enjoy the slideshow I created above. Now I need to clean up a bit, and then I will take on priming the rest of my hallway and the entire dining room in Behr Ocean Pearl (tinted 25% darker than the regular formula). It looks much better in person, and I worked really hard to fill in all the nooks and crannies—I was able to fill in the majority of the “gaps” and little “dings” that are part of the wood.
I have been a little behind on painting because a good bit of Wednesday was spent helping my mom move furniture around her house and then doing some “spring cleaning” here. We did move my late grandmother’s dresser down here and put it into the guest bedroom which already housed the matching chest of drawers. I am hoping to sand both pieces lightly this summer and then do a paint job in which I paint it white with distressed touches of pale gray—sort of a French/Swedish look. We also got rid of a hideous metal shelf the previous owners left along with several cans of nasty paint, so now the end of my hallways that leads to the laundry room is free and clear!
I had hoped to work on repainting the laundry room and doing my master bedroom, but I just don’t think I will get to it. We’ll see, though—I might take on the master bedroom because the laundry room, while smaller, will need more work—the trim, the door, and the ceiling will all need painting, and I will need to get a canvas big enough to cover the floor so that I don’t ruin my linoleum.
At some point in the next few weeks, I will be getting my great-grandmother’s old chiffarobe from my mom—when that happens, I will take pics and do a post with the story behind why I love this old chiffarobe so much (aside from the fact it belonged to my great-grandmother). I will put it at the end of the hallway and house my towels and bed linens in it—I want to get some of the yummy Gianna Rose vanilla pear drawer liners for it, too. This piece will go at the end of the hallway adjacent to the laundry room.
Thursday was more of a “fun day”—Scott and I had lunch at Olive Garden where I ate entirely too much salad, soup, and breadsticks!!! YUM! We then went by where he works to pick up his check since he has been on vacation this week; we then stopped by Belk (the old Parisians) at Town Center and did a little bit of minor shopping. My find of the day was this super cute Tommy Hilfiler tote bag/purse that is a patchwork of summer madras prints—it was on sale for $30! Yes! Sadly, though, I was unable to score any cute flip-flops, a staple of my spring and summer wardrobe. It seems all the ones I like were sold out in size 6!
I will take a quick afternoon nap (I have no idea how I will function without these when I go back to work next week) in a bit, and then I will tackle the hallway and dining room later today. I also have a few other decorative projects I hope to complete this evening and will write more about those later. I hope to get everything done by lunchtime tomorrow so that I have time to do a few work related tasks I need to complete before Monday morning as I want Sunday to be restful and relaxing!
I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful spring weather today—it looks like a major storm system is heading this way, and I sincerely hope we do not have any hail, lightning strikes, strong winds, or tornadoes! Chris Holcomb of WXIA does not feel we will have any tornadoes, but as warm as it is, you can’t rule out anything in Georgia during the spring when one of these systems rolls through. However, he is saying as of noon that we could have strong thunderstorms and large hail—ugh! Everyone should stay weather aware later today—hope everyone stays safe and sound and that none of us have any severe weather!
