Monday, April 16, 2012

Pull it Together!

How many times have you walked through your home wishing you could give it a fresh look? Do you have a room that frustrates you? No money in the budget for new stuff?

Don't worry you can pull it together and end up with a space you really love! Here are three steps to get you started.

1.  Look around. Really look.  It is easy to walk past a room or area and not even see it anymore. Is the space functioning the way you want it to? Define it's purpose.

2. Clean it up! Are there cobwebs, dust bunnies and piles of stuff? By giving your space a good cleaning you will instantly feel better about it.

3. Remove distracting items. It's weird but we keep items we can't stand! Take away the things you don't love. Okay, I understand if it's your sofa or main piece of furniture and has to stay.

Now that you have defined the purpose, cleaned it up and taken away those ugly, distracting items... You are ready to move on.

We are going to use my sofa table as an example. This is a "before" photo. The beautiful planter with the antlers used to have pears in it. The pears are long gone, a picture was turned sideways and it was dusty and boring. This is a perfect example of walking by something and just not seeing it anymore.

 Step one: Look around

Step two: Clean it up

Step three: Remove distractions

  Now you're ready for phase two. This is the fun part!

1. Shop and gather. Shop your own home. Walk through your house and pull a few items you love from other areas.

These are the items I found.

 2. Try it out. Now that you've gathered your items give it a test run. You could start with the largest item in the center and go from there.



3. Edit. Stand back and take a look. Do you love it? Is something not right? Try editing. Take something away and see how you like it.




4. Stop. Sometimes you have to know when enough is enough! There has to be a stopping point or this could go on all day. At least for me!

I ended up with the photo on the right. I took away the throw and the candles in front of the hurricane filled with corks. Can you see it? (I wonder who drinks all that wine...) Then added back the striped vase. It's just behind the huge dictionary. Added some antlers and a few smaller candles.


That's it. My finished space. Now that you're feeling outrageously inspired... go. Pull it together!

Do you have any great decorating tips or tricks? Share. The rest of us would love to hear them!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Grain Sacks. Linen. Rusty-Crusty Iron.

Three of my favorite things.

Projects seem to be a constant activity around here. It's hard to resist a gorgeous bolt of white linen or yards and yards of antique hemp linen. The project factor has been ramped up with the Home and Garden Show at Monticello right around the corner.

Would you like to see a few of these projects?

I thought so.

First up is a chair that had good lines but really bad upholstery. It has been given new life with my very favorite fabric of all fabrics.

Antique hemp linen straight from Europe. It's almost painful making that first cut into this precious fabric. I love this chair and am having a hard time parting with it.


Jute felt right for the back.




What should I show you next...

How about this ottoman slip covered in white linen.



Here is a sweet pillow using the same white linen.



Group shot.


Today's project is making a cushion for this gorgeous garden bench.
The patina on her is perfectly rusty, crusty and chippy.




Pictures will be posted soon!

These are just a few of the projects underway. I will post more as we get closer to the show.

The Home and Garden Show starts April 6. The vendors are so talented and are working hard to create a gorgeous show for you. If you are in the Portland area or planning a road trip, come and see us!

Click
here
for more information.

Thanks for looking!
Laurie

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Table Love

It's hard to resist a great table. Industrial, farm, round.

Let's have a look...

This one is called a Flatiron dining table and is from Restoration Hardware.

How about a concrete top... 


Love this beefy beauty from Pottery Barn...

Round tables can free up precious space and help with traffic flow in a tight area.
This is the French Urn Pedestal from Restoration Hardware.

This is my dining room as shown in this post. 
The round pedestal table works great in the space.

Love the detail on these legs...


Another round...

What is your preferred table style? Round, square, rectangle, pub...
So many choices!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Seeing Orange

or·ange - (awr-inj)

a color between yellow and red in the spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 590 and 610 nm; reddish yellow.
 
Orange is an easy color to love. Vibrant and cheerful. 
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 What color are you seeing today...

Laurie