Making Plans for Dining Room Curtains

It's time to make plans for curtains in the dining room. The windows have stood naked for far too long. After looking through Country Curtains catalogs and other sources for ready-made ideas, I decided on custom-made curtains for several reasons.

One: the windows feature pretty moldings. It would be a shame to cover them. See?

Two: I have blinds and the header box thingies, which I also like.

Three: I am in love with this fabric, which I've adored since I first caught sight of it at Calico Corners a few years ago:

I think the lighter blue in the background with complement the wall paint color, Opal Silk by Behr, really nicely.

I've contacted a decorator here in my area, and she and I have both texted and talked on the phone. I sent her photos from my Pinterest board, Gorgeous Home, with some ideas of things I like. I'm especially enamored with the idea of finials rather than rods, like so:

{source}

I can't wait to get started!




Link parties:
Make It Pretty Monday
Inspire Me Tuesday
Wow Us Wednesdays
Treasure Hunt Thursday

Autumn Wreaths for the Entry

I am totally craft-challenged, so when something I attempt turns out nicely, I'm really stoked. On Saturday evening, I made these wreaths. I have a double front door, so any decoration has to be doubled.

If I can do it, you can do it. And I say that with utter confidence.

Here's what I did. First, I searched Pinterest to look at some wreaths other (talented, skilled) people have made. Isn't that clever?

Then I searched for a nice template of the letter B. I downloaded it, opened it in Word, and reisized it to a size I thought would look right. Then I printed it off. I traced it onto a closed manila file folder and cut it out. Since the folder was closed (doubled over), this gave me two B's.

I looked through my stash of scrapbooking paper and selected one I liked. I traced the file folder B's onto this paper (stiffer paper makes for easier tracing) and cut them out. Then I glued the pretty B's onto the file-folder B's using Tacky Glue.

I already had the grapevine wreaths, which I used last Christmas. I stripped them of the old silk poinsettias and greenery so I could re-use them. A few weeks ago, I purchased some silk flowers from Michaels to use in autumn arrangements (they were 60% off!), and I decided to use those to make my harvest-themed wreaths. I snipped the stems to manageable lengths and then poked them into the grapevine branches. A few needed a drop of hot glue to stay in place.

After the flowers and leaves were in place, I hot glued the B's, making sure they were level and even with each other.

I bought the ribbon at Michaels, too. All their Christmas ribbon was on sale. This wired ribbon is copper and gold -- more autumn than Christmas -- so it works perfectly. I cut two even lengths, lopped them onto the wreaths, and then hot-glued them to close. I'm no good at bows.

Ta da!

The B looks a tad wonky in this one, but they both look fine in real life.

I have wreaths pinned to both my Holidays board and my Gorgeous Home board. Pop on over for some wreath inspiration of your own!



Linking up with:
A Stroll thru Life
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Make It Pretty Monday
Savvy Southern Style
Green Willow Pond
DIY By Design
From My Front Porch To Yours
The Charm of Home

Finally: Kitchen Lighting Decision!

I say "finally" because Himself and I agreed on it. He has his tastes and I have mine, which often coincide. But in the case of lighting for the kitchen, they most decidedly have not. But hallelujah, we've come to a meeting of the minds. Here's what we've chosen:

The above pendants will go over the cooktop peninsula.

This sconce will go over the sink.

Aren't they pretty? This particular design is called the Kellie II. I love the seeded glass and the Edison bulbs. We both love that these lights are handmade by a company in Maine, The Lamp Goods. And the price is reasonable. I enjoy supporting small business craftspeople whenever I can.

I'm ordering these today. Look for pictures soon after we get them installed!




I'm linking up with:
Metamorphosis Monday
A Stroll Thru Life's Inspire Me Tuesday
Savvy Southern Style

When It Comes to Decor, I'm No Switzerland

As you may (or may not) know, we've been in the throes of redecorating our new house since we moved in a year ago. (To see posts on this, click the New House label on the right.) To that end, I've been perusing magazines, blogs, and Pinterest, as well as pinning like mad to my Gorgeous Home board --

(Aside: You've never seen my Gorgeous Home board on Pinterest? Well, get thee over there! I've got 1,375 pins and counting, people!)

-- and I've discovered one thing: I have definite preferences.

• I do not care for neutrals, neutrals, everywhere. That look is too sterile for me. I prefer color.
• The industrial look. Yuck. And I'm sorry, but to my way of thinking, "industrial farmhouse" is a totally made-up thing.
• Gray, grey, and greige? Maybe in small doses. But everywhere? No, thank you.
• "Carefully edited"? Again, no, thank you. I like lots of interesting and beautiful things. More is better. Always. (Unless it's clutter. Which tends to happen around here. But that's another matter entirely.)
• Modern is not moi.
• If it's trendy, I'm suspicious. Like the antler craze of late. (Another aside: I grew up gazing at taxidermied deer heads on the walls of my grandparents' house. I'd rather not see animal parts on my own walls.)
• I don't need a big sign in the kitchen imploring me to EAT. I do enough of that already.

So here's the thing: I can pin all I want and tear out magazine pages and all that, but I still have problems making it happen in my own home. Part of that is my pocketbook. I can't run out and buy what I want. Perhaps that's good because I'm forced to take my time and think about things. But it's also frustrating. I'm still working in the kitchen with ONE overhead light because Himself and I can't agree on lighting.

I mean, come ON.

Any advice would be appreciated. In other words, HELP!






Link Parties:
A Stroll Thru Life

Considering Kitchen Lighting

One of these things we're updating in our kitchen renovation is the lighting. We've already changed out the fixture in the breakfast area. It was a large ceiling fan/light combo, which we relocated to the master bedroom. I know chandeliers in the bedroom are all the rage right now, but I like a good ceiling fan. I live in the Deep South, and I appreciate the cool breath of air a ceiling fan gives over the sparkly bling of a bedroom chandy -- which I can't see at night, anyhow.

Himself and I were not charmed by other lighting choices in the kitchen, either. There was an awful track light over the stove, which had been questionably rigged, and a personality-less box light over the sink. The latter was at least hidden by a rectangle of wood, but still. When Himself removed the soffit boxes, the rectangle looked awkward. So down it came and the light as well.

A peek of the rectangular board AND the old soffit boxes.

So now I am looking for lights to go over the stove and the sink. I'm considering either pendant lights or a linear chandelier (billiard/island fixture). The latter would be over the stove only, so if I go that route, I would find a pendant light that complemented the stove light for over the sink. If I opt for pendant lights only, then I need to decide whether to have two or three over the stove.

I've pinned several options to my Gorgeous Home Pinterest board. The latest eye-catching options are near the top, and several more appear down lower. I'm especially intrigued with the offerings from The Lamp Goods (see there website HERE). Here's one from my board:

And I also love the delicate shell exterior of this:

For the stove lighting, here are a couple of linear chandeliers:

Kitchen lighting decisions are important not just for aesthetic reasons, but also practical reasons. Which will give the best light for cooking? How will light fall on the stove? If the fixtures are not just so, I'll have to deal with unbalanced light over the stove. I've done this before and it's annoying. I want to avoid that.

What are your thoughts/advice? I'm open to all!




Party hearty!
May Before and After at Thrifty Decor Chick
Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife
The Inspiration Board at Homework
Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life
Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Be Inspired at Common Ground

Thoughts on Renovations: Two Camps

Himself and I have different opinions on, well, many, many, many things. We are the personification of "opposites attract." And this truth has been much in evidence in the last few months as we go about renovating and sprucing up our new-to-us house.

I believe I may have shared this is as a mention in another post, but it deserves its own post for this reason: people get in big fights about how to go about renovations/redecoration.

Camp One (where Himself has parked his Winnebago)

AKA The "One Room at a Time" Philosophy

The name sums it up. Address one room at a time. Paint the walls, woodwork, whatever else needs to be painted. Change out the lighting. Consider flooring options and window treatments. Buy new furniture (oh, how I wish!) or wave a magic wand over what you've got. Arrange said furniture. Replace or paint outlet covers and switch plates. Hang your artwork. Put in other finishing touches.

Ta da! Room complete and perfect.

I get it. I really do. I just don't do it. And here's why.

Camp Two (my favorite spot)

AKA "Do what I can when I can vs. waiting around"

I don't always have the funds to do everything in one go, so I'd rather do what I can. If we can buy some paint and paint a room, let's do it. If I have to wait to replace the chandelier, that's fine. At least the room will sport a new and lovelier coat of paint. If all the doors in the house have to be painted (ahem), which will take a while, why not buy new doorknobs to replace the old, peeling, brassy gold ones? At least the doors will look better after only a couple of hours of work. If I want to slap a texture on the bathroom walls to cover the yucky, peeling, almost-30-year-old, dark green wallpaper but I won't have time to paint until a bit later, at least the wallpaper will be gone.

And why should my fantastic claw foot bathtub languish on the patio under the deck just because we're not ready to do the entire master bath? I'm about to take a sledgehammer to the horrid, uncomfortable, shallow "Roman" bathtub that's now collecting dust just to get rid of it myself.

Shazam!

All that being said, I do see the wisdom of doing big things all at one time. That only makes sense. And when we had the popcorn ceilings removed, we did the entire downstairs at once. We didn't go one room at a time then.

Himself and I are not trust fund babies. So cash is always a consideration. And we do a LOT of the work ourselves. But I am impatient. I love this house, and I am chomping at the bit to make it ours. To develop a style of my own (sadly lacking in the past). To create a home that's unique, gracious, welcoming, and warm.

And I want to do what I can to make progress quickly.

So where do you (and your beloved) fall on this issue? Any tips you can share? I'd appreciate any ammunition to strengthen my position! :-)




Party hearty!
Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife
The Inspiration Board at Homework
Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life
Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Be Inspired at Common Ground

Big Changes in the Kitchen

For the past two weekends, Himself and I have been busy in the kitchen. Repainting, that is. When we bought this house last August, the kitchen was so glum. Dark cabinets, original (YES!) wallpaper, vinyl flooring, and dark stained trim. Our very first project was painting the kitchen cabinets, which you can read about HERE and HERE.

Two weeks ago, we had the popcorn texture removed from all the ceilings downstairs. I wrote a check for that since it was not a project we wanted to tackle ourselves. We know our limits. Before the workers began, though, Himself took the opportunity to remove the soffit boxes above the kitchen cabinets. He carefully removed the cabinet trim I'd already painted, thankfully.

No soffits!

Once the ceilings were done, we started on the kitchen walls and trim. The ceiling contractor applied a texture to my kitchen walls, which saved me having to do it. Himself and I are partial to yellow kitchens; also we wanted a nice sunny color to brighten up the space. After testing out a few colors on posterboard, we went with SW's Humble Gold. It's not as bright as the photos below might suggest. I cut in and Himself rolled. It only took one coat! Then we primed all the woodwork, including the paneling below the chair rail. This took one weekend.

The next weekend, we started painting. Sadly, it is taking two coats of SW's Dover White -- and in many places three -- to cover all that dark stain. So we're not quite finished. But the difference is simply amazing! The kitchen and breakfast area are so much brighter now!

See the dark stain peeking through?

We are thrilled. At least I am. It takes something like the Red Sox winning the World Series to evoke a feeling of thrill in Himself.

But of course I've kept something up my sleeve. I plan to paint the pantry door another color, like perhaps ASCP Duck Egg Blue or something similar. Or perhaps milk paint. Why bother Himself with such a teensy detail like that (and give him the opportunity to say no)? And wouldn't a glass door knob be perfect, too? I'm also planning to cover the louvers with a piece of burlap or the like, with maybe a stenciled design. . .  A bumblebee or something else from The Graphics Fairy seems just lovely.

Just don't tell Himself, okay?




Linking up with:
Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House
Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life
What We Accomplished Wednesday at Green Willow Pond
Be Inspired at Common Ground
Before & After Wednesdays at The Dedicated House
May Before and After at Thrifty Decor Chick

New Dining Room Chandelier Reveal!

After weeks of waiting and miraculously not nagging on my part, Himself graciously hung the new dining room chandelier this two weekends ago. Hooray! The contemporary monstrosity is gone!

Here she is. The rest of the room is not ready to reveal, so you only get a peek.

You may wonder where I got my inspiration. And if you knew me in person, you'd definitely ask. I have no innate sense of style. And I would answer: Debra at Common Ground, a blog I follow. I saw her dining room chandelier in her Christmas home tour and was knocked out by how fabulous it is. So I sent her an email, to which she kindly replied. She gave me the name of the store where they bought the chandy 11 years ago. I perused the store's website, got the names of some of the manufacturers they carry, and quickly realized that Quorum International looked promising. I popped over to the Quorum website, and in a matter of moments -- I kid you not -- I found MY chandelier.

It's 6037-6-70 in Persian White. Just look at that detail!

Himself, who is not in on the chippy, painty, lived-in look (which I adore), was skeptical. "Is it supposed to look like this?" he asked. Like what? "All dinged up like this," said he. Yes, it is. I love it. He merely grunted.

But because of his great love for me, he hung it up wonderfully and kept his thoughts mostly to himself.

Not a fantastic photo, I know. I'm still learning the ins and outs of my new camera. I've already gotten numerous compliments. And she looks gorgeous from the street after dark.

Another project completed in the new house!




Linking up with:
Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style
What We Accomplished at Green Willow Pond
Home and Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life
Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll thru Life
Be Inspired at Common Ground
Inspiration Gallery at The Golden Sycamore
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage