Summer Project Ideas~

       

I love Freshening things up during the Summer. Sometimes little projects make the biggest impact!

I needed my sofa to have a serious update! The back cushions were more than tired. By simply replacing them with the middle pillow for $6.00 from Ross, (Secret: it’s a dog bed), and the other two from Target for around $20.00 each,(unfortunately, not on sale), I got a whole new look for under $50.00! The other pillows I had laying around. I was surprised at what a difference it made in the room. It really made it feel so much more airy and bright.

 

        

This next idea, I may have already posted before, but I get a lot of comments on it. I thought I should post it too. So I apologize if this is a re-post.

This is a display for family heirloom letters or keepsakes. I like to think of it like a time capsule. You could add your grandmother’s hankies or gloves. Maybe opera glasses and tickets from the opera. It is a neat way to keep them preserved yet visible to all.

These are letters I saved form my Grandparents and Great-Grandmothers, that I was lucky to have in my life. I wanted to be able to look at them everyday and yet keep them safe. I had them previously displayed in the open and quickly realized that with our busy & sometimes chaotic lives, they needed to be in a safer container or place. This was the perfect solution. Now everyone can enjoy them, talk about them and it makes my family that has passed, feel closer to me.

I hope you take some of these quick tips and come up with your own ideas for something to freshen & brighten your homes this Summer.

I hope all of you are having a GREAT Summer! And as always…Happy Decorating and Happy Summer Projects!

Gentleman’s Tie Organization Tip~

 

My Husband had all the tie hanging organizer hangers; yet, he was still fumbling trying to find the perfect tie and not upset the lot of them. They were either slipping off or it was somewhat difficult for him to sift through them all, to find the perfect tie and color of tie.

So one day, I got a great idea! What If I rolled them into my flat plastic boxes. He could see them all easily and they would be dust free too. They also fit perfectly in the built-in shelves in our closet.

{In the picture below, the tie boxes are above the suit coats and above the shirts on the opposite side.}

          

  

           

I color coded them for easy/quick, early morning, picking and it makes it much easier to see what colors you have or are lacking in. This gives the sometimes boring suit, a color kick!

If your man or you wear ties with matching pockets scarves, you could also coordinate the scarves with the ties to make for a very easy dressing experience.

*This is great for the color challenged or coordinating challenged.

Have fun and trust me… it makes those crazy mornings, or last minute events, a breeze to get ready for!

Happy Organizing~

Old Books With A New Home~

{First I feel I should explain my absence.  I have had a bad bout with my asthma, that I have had since I was three.  This round has been interesting.  The new medication is not working well. Unfortunately, the countless medications in the past may have helped me breathe; but, the side effects were too extreme. So please bare with me as my weekly posts may not be as consistent.}

~ I picked up some great antique books in New Hampshire last summer. I think what made me love them, were their covers, illustrations and inscriptions. Not to mention, the bill for all three was $15.00! I loved that they seemed a little worn or as I like to see them…LOVED.

  

I have a LOVE of old books. I love the way the print in some are imperfect and even crooked. The illustrations are vintage and charming. I feel by surrounding myself in old books, it in many ways makes me feel relaxed and comfortable.  I guess that is probably why beautiful public and private/home libraries are something I never get tired of visiting or designing.

    

                 {“The Rollo Books” by Jacob Abbott, 1855 publication}

I also love using the old/vintage illustrations for art in a room. I usually copy them and then frame them in simple or ornate frames, depending on the design and mood of the room and then you can even add decorative/color coordinating matting too.  They are fantastic in nurseries, I have used them many times in the past. It is a way to bring in “hand-me-down” or family favorites into the home for all to enjoy even without opening up the book.

I also loved the inscriptions in these books. It made me almost sad they were in a store on a shelf and not in a home being cared for and appreciated.

   

         

{This was inside the “Mother Goose’s Nursery Rhyme Book”. Notice it says 1882. You just know that “Baby Paul” probably enjoyed this for a very long time. Now we are lucky enough to have it in our home.}    

{This was in “The Rollo Books”, (Illustration of  the Organ Grinder above, is from this book as well). I just loved the red cover and that some little girl probably read this over and over again.}

I felt this need to bring them home with me and give them a home again. They were chosen as gifts and the receiver's were loved. Now the books are welcomed into my home where they will be loved and cherished  again.  Books are something that outlast us all and can carry on treasured memories and ideals. It gives us an insight to a person’s interests and passions.

          

This 1800’s copy of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was a must buy. I loved the cover and how it shimmered and how the color is still so vivid. They just don’t make books like these anymore. I love having them in my collection.

I am so glad that my boys get to see how books were made, loved and how they really are better than video games. Last weekend my son Preston (11), grabbed a copy of “The Swiss Family Robinson” at an antique store and just stared at it. Then he looked at me and said, “now I know why you love these so much. They make you want to read them”.

I hope you pick up some antique books and put them on your nightstand, desk or favorite reading spot and enjoy. Look at the illustrations and see if they would make that one room that needs a little something now feel welcoming. Antique books make a great gift to the one you love and for many years to come.

Happy Book Hunting and Happy Decorating!

Need Some Simple Spring Tablescape Ideas?

I am always changing my tablescapes. I think it gives a renewed feeling to your home without changing EVERYTHING!

I love going to resale shops and picking up unique salad plates, cups, saucers, etc.  They are usually under $5.00 apiece and they make a HUGE impact on your table. When You have a solid color dinner plate and then a print salad plate it is a fun way to freshen up the table. I also use my white dinner plates and then just add color in the plants or fruit centerpieces. The options are endless!

I have to confess we don’t eat at the table all of the time due to our hectic schedules; but, the table is always ready~

This is our table at home…Always changing!

Great Example of the centerpiece being the color for the table

~Veranda Magazine

The yellow placemats and the burnt orange napkin rings help bring in the beautiful colors of the chairs I found at Pier 1 for this client.

This is an example of using a solid dinner plate and then adding a unique salad plate to spruce of the everyday plates and creates a fresh Spring tablescape. In this tablescape, the nests could also hold place markers too.

~http://c497280.r80.cf2.rackcdn.com/2010/04/placesetting3_thumb.jpg

This is a fun example of mixing chargers, dinner plates & salad plates with then adding fun pink & green accents, to continue the color theme.

Finally, one of my all time favorites…I found this and I loved it so much I pinned it on Pinterest.

I loved the hobnail trimmed glass dinner plates, with the mix-matched tea cup & saucers as the accents. This is a fantastic example of how a collection of flea market or re-sale shopping finds, adds so much to your tablescapes. This makes your parties or everyday tables special & unique. Not to mention, the fantastic idea of the scrabble pieces as the place markers…LOVE IT!!!

{That is another thing you can find at the resale shops and flea markets. The scrabble games and other games are very inexpensive. I have pinned on Pinterest a few crafts with these pieces. This way, it is an inexpensive craft.}

~http://ideas.homelife.com.au/media/images/5/0/3/6/0/503627-1_np.jpg?

           

Check out my Pinterest Boards for more party ideas and dining spaces for further inspiration.

Happy Spring Parties and Happy Decorating~

A Penny For Your Thoughts~

 

“A penny for my thoughts, oh no, I'll sell 'em for a dollar
They're worth so much more after I'm a goner
And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singing
Funny, when you're dead how people start listening”

     ~ “If I Die Young” Band Perry

I heard this song for the first time and I started thinking about my family…

My sister Heather and I have been researching our family history for over a year now.

Me & Heather in 1977~

Heather & Me now~

We found out part of our family came from Ireland, landed in NSW Australia, to leave soon after, to California, possibly for the infamous Gold Rush. Then, they ultimately ended up in the Hawaiian Islands, where five generations continued to live there, & so on…

                 {My Grandmother (Tutu) at age 2}

Then, my memories came flowing back of my two sets of wonderful, doting Grandparents. One set in the Hawaiian Islands & still living.  My Grandparents that lived in Arizona half the year & Colorado the other half. They rest in peace now, at the base of Greenhorn mountain next to their favorite little Catholic Church, in the town of Rye, Colorado that they called home. 

My beautiful Grandparents, in the back row, after my christening in Honolulu October 1973.

Their final resting place, to the lower left, in Rye, Colorado. I Love you & miss you both, more than you know…

My wonderful Great Grandmother’s TWO of them, from Hawaii, that I was lucky enough to have in my life into my late teens.

      

My Great-Grandmother, (Tutu F.), who loved to shop with us, played the ukulele for us while we danced & somehow made everything magical. My Great Grandmother B., Nana, (holding me), who spoiled us with homemade cookies, homemade doll clothes and lots of hugs and colorful stories of old Hawaii.

How do we keep those memories alive for our children? Pictures, stories, letters…

Bridgette (our little Westie), Landen (9) & Preston (11), my boys~

I felt so overwhelmed with the idea that I might forget, so many things, to share with my boys.

The stories of all their childhoods, things they did with me that meant so much, the way my Great Grandmother, Nana, smelled of Estee’ & made the best cinnamon toast, & how my Grandpa always whistled old tunes, when he combed his hair. 

Then, I realized all I can do is share with my boys as much as I can and as often as I can.  Then, somehow those wonderful, caring, beautiful people, I called Grandparents & Great-Grandmothers, will be here with me & my boys.

{The whaling ship’s, Barque Nile, log book, we got to see in person, from my Great-Great-Great Grandfather’s last voyage that he lost his life on; Captain Dennis Kelly}

I started a binder for each of the boys, of things I found online, about all their lives in historical newspapers, pictures, notes, etc.

Then, one day, I gathered all the letters they had written to me , that I had saved from childhood to present. I bundled them together and placed them in my living room, so everyday they are with me…and my boys.

Family is so important. In times where so many things seem uncertain and you are trying to teach your children what’s REALLY important. Family is a great place to start!

I have shared stories of hardship, success, adventure of uncertainty, & wives with children whose husbands passed away too soon. Somehow, things like not getting their favorite toy RIGHT NOW, or how homework everyday is “so unfair”…doesn’t seem so important or unfair anymore.

Now, the stories of whaling in arctic and south pacific oceans seem more, “aweeesome!”, than the latest video game!

So, like the song…” Funny, when you're dead how people start listening”.

So bring out the pictures, the letters, the stories stored away in memories and SHARE!!! That’s what life is all about. Life goes on & so will the memories…

Thank you for letting me share & to you…Happy Sharing~

A New Inspiration for Goose Bumps: “The Bronson Pinchot Project”~

                                      

                                        Courtesy of channelguidemagblog.com

So it’s Saturday afternoon during my boys Spring Break and I am done with housecleaning and have a moment to just RELAX. I decided to see what shows were on and stumbled on a new show on DIY Network called…

The Bronson Pinchot Project

I was ADDICTED!

Just check your local listings for DIY Network and look for your new obsession.  If you are the type of decorator that repurposes old & new, loves “shabby chic” design, then this is for you!

He lives in Harford, PA and found this 1840 Greek Revival home. He took it from Sad to Sumptuous and enhanced it’s TRUE beauty. His two side-kicks Mikey & C.J. are his right hand men. The do all the carpentry work, cutting and pasting of the homes Bronson has collected in town. There are several of them, including a carriage house. it is amazing to see the disrepair they are in and the beauty's they turn out to be.

EXAMPLE of the Inspiration Delight!~ Below, in this picture is a refrigerator…can you find it?

                                                                          courtesy of blog.preservationnation.org

It’s behind the left Bookshelf/Armoire~

He repurposed an old armoire, put it on hinges and when you open it from the right it reveals a fridge. The items he glued down and they are all items that have knick’s and scratches. They are perfect for gluing down, not for collecting anymore. BRILLIANT!

The cooktop is on the right on an old metal table, that was cutout in the middle to accommodate the cooktop. BRILLIANT Again!

This is not the greatest shot, (below),of the floors but they were my favorite part of this particular episode. They were sanded down original floors in this old home. Then, Bronson used a wax that has a white~ish tinge to it, then buffed. It gave it almost a pickled wood look, yet softer, and with the glow of the “Shoji White” walls, it was the perfect marriage!

                                                                              courtesy of actorserver.com

 

                   

                                                                               courtesy of blog.rejuvenation.com

Below, is a Grecian Temple in his back yard of HIS home, that he lives in, that is the main “Ginormahouse” in the show, in a Greek Revival style. So this Temple is feeling right at home.

                                                              courtesy of thevisualvamp.blogspot.com

I watched a marathon of this show and can’t get enough. The way his mind works and the way he puts it all together is just awesome. Not to mention he is funny too!

I suddenly had visions of me moving to PA and becoming a groupie!

                                                                                courtesy of actorserver.com

The cabinet, in the middle of the picture below, is hiding a refrigerator too! All of the modern day conveniences are hidden or obscured as to not take away from the integrity of the home’s age and style. I love this! I think this is nice in non-period homes too. It gets the eye clutter under control, and let’s you appreciate the design & love that went into the room.

                                                                            courtesy of curioussofa.blogspot.com

Can you tell I LOVE THIS SHOW?

You have to swing by DIY Network and catch it before the finale in April. It is a must see!

Here is a link to a youtube video of  The Bronson Pinchot Project~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEw3hxZAlao&feature=player_embedded

Happy “Pinchot” Dreaming & Happy Decorating!~

Home Office Spruce–Up~

The Home Office is a place where SO much happens! At least for our family. At first my husband claimed it, when he was working at home. When he left to work outside the home, it was MINE!!!….Well, and Preston & Landen’s too.

So I had to make the office function for me, my husband and the boys.  I had to get creative and keep it cheap.  I brought in a dresser we had from our old model home to house all the papers, office supplies, mail supplies, and copy machine supplies. It was the perfect addition.

BEFORE~

AFTER~

I brought in an antique table I have had as a desk in our living room, for several years now, and I moved the desk from the office out to the living room. It has been really nice. More space in the living room now and more work space in the office. Not to mention with our laptop and ipads, no need for the big computer. I was able to hide a little bit of the internet workings and family files under the table/desk. It’s less obtrusive this way.

 

You may have noticed we have two entrances to the office. When we built the house it only had the French doors. I asked to add the other door and that door leads to a exit door from our Master Closet. This is also a door to the hallway where we have the powder bathroom. That way we can sneak right to the office from the Master & from the office to the powder bathroom. It has worked out nicely.

 

I also added a little desk I got from my neighbor and that is great for the boys to house their homework supplies and papers as well as the current books they are working on. It opens on top in 2 flaps and has chalkboard paint on the interior. {I actually have a picture of the desk opened in a previous post}. They love it; although, sadly they are outgrowing it.

I love having this space in my home and it is always evolving, much like the rest of my home. But, this is what makes life exciting and FRESH!

Let me know what you think…

Have fun with your Home Office and Happy Decorating!