decorating with dodi

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Thursday, February 27, 2014

Green, Green, It's Green They Say...

On we go to the dining room. You have seen snippets of it as I have showed you the redecorating taking place but here it is in its St. Pat's finery. Gotta admit, I miss the display space my hutch gave me - I might need a 12 step program to get over this loss!!




I don't usually display any of my bone china collection any more. It kind of seems too dainty for the look I have going now. But, some of my pieces hold a very special meaning for me and they come out from time to time. These cups were given to me by my mom before she passed away. They were part of her collection but she knew how much I always loved them and how much they meant to me. When she could no longer get out to shop for birthdays, she began giving us things of hers that she knew we would cherish! My dad was Irish - and he was in the Air Force. He traveled a lot for his job as a military flight inspector. Every time he came home, he would have something for each of us. Many times my mom's gift would be an addition to her collection and if he could find one with a hint of Ireland, all the better! The cup and saucer on the left and the cream and sugar set are full of shamrocks and the one on the right is a beautiful little Irish cottage with the sweetest thatched roof - I could move right in and never leave! And so, in this case, the small scale of these treasures is totally over looked in favor of their sentiment!



Love this frame. I picked it up at HL for hardly anything a few years ago. It was a custom made frame that for whatever reason was not bought by the customer who ordered it and I got the benefit of that. I use it for almost every holiday just by adding a different background and whatever number or shape may apply. In this case, I added a twisted fabric flower and a calendar stamp. Then, I dangled on a shamrock charm.


This piece is still crying out for another tall something or something on the wall. We're thinking about a wine barrel sign from the "Two Chic Gifting Gals" online boutique - what do you think? I want something in wood tones so that it is neutral and won't fight any of my seasonal colors and I like the idea that it will be round and break up some of the hard lines on other walls in this room.




The dining room is pretty simple. Oh yes, while I was out and about, I got those much needed candles and a few other goodies. Want to get my "decorator's" approval and then I will be share soon but there are already changes in this room. I know you must be on the edge of your seats. Stay tuned.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

So Simple

I told you how I am seeing things through "new eyes". When I had the wall of built-ins added to my dining room many, many years ago, I was all about primitive country. I wanted these things rough and rustic. I can distinctly remember the carpenter asking me over and over if that is what I really wanted. I think it actually pained him to build it as I asked.

Now, if I am honest and I was building these things today, they would look nothing like this! I am much more traditional now. My taste has changed.

And so, when my daughter was giving me some design advice, I thought the first thing she would say was "get rid of those things". It really wouldn't be too hard a fix because a new facade could be added rather easily but no, she surprised me by saying they're fine the way they are. I guess they are now considered eclectic.

But, I wanted a change - even a little change - so I asked her about adding door knobs and got the go ahead. And so, in truly just a matter of 30 minutes we went from this:






to this:






Isn't it funny that when you are "antiquing" something they tell you to sand paint off of the corners and where your hands would have touched it over the years and my piece comes self-antiqued just by virtue of age and use. Now that my "new eyes" are looking at it again, perhaps a new coat of paint is in order - or at the very least, a shot of Fantastic and a good scrubbing! Since I had a full bag of these knobs (they were once on my kitchen cabinets) and a strong electric drill, this was a total freebie project. I know it won't change the world, but it made me happy! Who knows where we'll go next. Stay tuned.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

It's Not Easy Being Green...

In my case, it is! I love green and I love St. Patrick's Day. So....on to the family room:



Seems as if no matter how hard I try, my mantle looks pretty much the same every year. My "little Irish guy" has to be here because he reminds me so much of how Harrison looked in the costume I made him to represent Ireland in his pre-school's international festival. I was just starting to make what we thought his costume should look like when I found this in The Shoppe in Micanopy. It made me feel like we were on the right track - and he looked just like this until his friends convinced him to pull down the green hair that my daughter had pushed up inside his hat so that it would fit a little better. I laugh every time I look at this picture. You can tell by his face how proud he is of himself!











I also still love my Irish subway art. I made this many years ago when subway art was a new thing and you really had to make it. I bought a canvas and stamped on the letters. It wasn't too long after that you could download them all over the Internet and simply print and frame. I have some of those too but I still think the extra work was worth it because this one is my favorite still.




Now that I don't have my baker's rack and hutch for all of my picture displays, I am glad I can still stick a few favorite photos in my tin tile mirror!


 As I look at this window, I have decided that it is definitely time to look for some "Irish" green candles - not liking the chartreuse ones here at all. I am heading out tomorrow and it looks like new candles in several colors will be at the top of my list. Stay tuned.

Love It When It Happens!

Call it serendipity or call it a happy coincidence. I would love to say I planned it all - and maybe, in a way, I did because I have been "at this decorating thing" for so many years that I guess sometimes I just go by instinct. But, all that being said, I don't think that was the case here.

First, I posted about how the paint color that I had picked out (Toasted Almond) came out reading as green in my dining room. Then, I knew I wanted almost white in the kitchen but a few shades warmer so that it didn't look like I was trying to match the white of the cupboards.Well, the kitchen paint (Woodrow Wilson White) still reads a bit off what I expected and if the dining room had turned out the color I thought it would, these two room would have no delineation. I like looking through the house and seeing similar shades of the same color family but still enough of a difference that you know you are in a different room.



From this direction it kind of looks like the LR and kitchen are the same color. Go figure. This is the only room that was SUPPOSED to be green. It has been around awhile but was some one of the variations Martha Stewart had to her "sage" grouping. As I look at it with my "new" eyes, I am thinking this will be my next project.
 


I have also posted about how I wasn't all that in love with the mirror over the love seat at the end of the dining room. And, that we are doing this room by just trying to "shop" our house and not spend more $$$ so I was overjoyed when, at a recent football game, my son-in-law said he had something in his truck my daughter had sent (she stayed home with the two youngest because the weather was a bit "iffy"). Much to my delight, it was two black wrought iron sconces that she had tired of. She said they were for either side of the mirror and she said to hang them a bit low to mimic the shape of the back of the seat. She also said to use two very tall off white candles but I haven't had a chance to buy them yet. Anyhow, once I got them hung - and by the way, don't you just love it when you try to hang things at exactly the same height and discover that when they were made their little "keyholes" were put in in different places - but, I digress.




In any case, these are just what the doctor ordered! They mimic the wrought iron of the floor lamp and the new chandelier and give the grounding to that spot that was needed. Serendipity or is my daughter one heck of a decorator? I'll go with the second as she just started her new design business and has already been contracted to do  a number of houses as well as a popular doctor's office here in town. Couldn't be more proud and figure I better get all the advice I can from her while I can still afford her -haha!

There are still some things to be added and tweaked. Definitely need something on the wall over the jelly cupboard. I have a birthday right around the corner - hint, hint! Stay tuned. 

Monday, February 24, 2014

Such a SAD Day!

Oh my goodness! I so didn't expect to feel the sadness and sense of loss that I felt. Today, the crib came down. The very same crib that we bought exactly 18 years ago. It was purchased soon after we learned that our first grand child was on the way and has been in the same spot for all of those years and snuggled all 7 of our grand children to sleep many, many times!

We were over the moon when Todd called and broke the news of the impending birth to us. This was the first grand child and grand niece on both sides of the family. This was going to be a much loved child - so much so that we crammed the largest number of people into the ultrasound room that  the imaging center had ever had. So, it was a no-brainer that Nana and Papa wanted their house decked out with all things baby so the little princess could come to visit us often and feel right at home. Even better when we found a beautiful Jenny Lind style crib. I wasted no time decking it out!

Fast forward 18 years. The princess that crib was purchased for is ready to graduate from high school and 6 of her cousins have felt the same love in that room over all of these years. My girls always said that their kids slept better here than in their own beds. That may have been an exaggeration, but they did sleep well and always wanted to spend the night here - still do.

After the last grand child moved into a bed at her own house, I knew changes were probably in the air, but I managed to hold them off over a year. Presley slept in the crib a time or two here even though she had a big girl bed at home but it made me feel bad so I came up with a compromise. I took the front side off of the crib and made it a toddler bed. She slept in it once and after that, she was ready for the real thing.

And so, with all of the other furniture moving going on around here, I decided it was time! I had a pie safe without a home so I figured I would give it a go.


So here is the crib as it has been the last year or so.


Here is the much too large armoire in the other corner of the room. I knew it didn't really go here, but there was no other place for it and it holds so MUCH STUFF!


Down it comes - sob, sob!


And the room as it is now. I know 2 tall pieces look a little silly, but I do like how much larger the room feels. Have I told you I have a lot of stuff? I just can't bring myself to get rid of a piece that can hold so much! Bad enough that my dining room hutch is out the door. This is just one of our guest rooms after all and when it is filled, it is filled with family. They know me and don't judge - at least not too harshly. I am going on record as saying I know it may be a decorating faux pas but I am O.K. with that. For now it will work just fine. Besides the fact, one trauma a day is enough! I don't think it is the crib that I miss as much as the babies. They are growing up much too fast. How can I stop it? Stay tuned.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Shall We Move Along?

O.K. I got another room cleaned up so it is safe to move along. On we go to the kitchen.



Another one of the "napkin" plate creations the girls and I made many years ago. I found the "Lucky Brew" download somewhere on someones blog but can't begin to remember where!


 Still love this cross stitch that Becky made back in 1985! It was done for an international festival at her middle school and, much to her surprise, she actually enjoyed doing it!
 

Another all-time favorite of mine is the metal pitcher Jennie gave me for my birthday a few years ago. I use it whenever I can. And "yeah" to Yankee Candle for getting on the St. Pat's bandwagon. Now I need their newest St. Pat's candle ring.



After I moved the PB basket that has been here for so long over to the baker's rack, I was left with a fairly unattractive area of kitchen counter. It needed to be covered by something so I moved the old carpenter's box and filled it with St. Pat's essentials - coasters, straws, pasta, extra plates, etc.


Of course that left this area a bit blank. I stuck in the wine glasses - quite frankly, they are too tall to fit in any of my cupboards - and a few other leftovers but this area is definitely on my "re-do" list!


The side of the new SS frig is the only part that will hold magnets, so I fill it with all those sweet faces. Love to walk into the kitchen and see them smiling at me! (Not so happy to see those fingerprints, but I really only see them when I post a pic. Maybe that is why they continue to be there!)


And here we are back at the baker's rack. It has been tweaked a bit since you first saw it. I am a symmetrical kind of gal and it was off a bit - better now.

So that is it for that room. Next post we will move to the next - providing I get it cleaned before then! Stay tuned.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

The Wearin' O' the Green

Wow! I can't believe how long it has taken me to paint my dining room and kitchen! Don't know if it is because I am slowing down or because there was just a LOT of stuff to be done. If you remember, we added crown molding in the dining room. That all had to be caulked and sanded before painting-as well as the shelves that were added. Then, LOTS of taping off to do before painting the walls.

Of course, once the new molding was a bright, shiny white, the crown molding in the kitchen was looking a bit dull, so that begged to be re-caulked and painted. The kitchen always looks like it won't be hard because there aren't many "full" walls, but it seems that quite the opposite is true. Because there are so many built-ins, there is so much more detail to paint around-give me big ole' plain walls any day!

In any case, while I was doing all of this, I was smart enough not to try to take down Valentine's Day and put up St. Pat's-although I will admit that I was mighty tempted. So glad I waited as there was so much dust from all of the sanding that a really good cleaning was in order before starting decorating. Must admit that I am not quite done with that "really good cleaning" but, the living room is ready so I will start our tour there.

I love St. Pat's Day but most of my decorating consists of "green" as there is not a lot of nice stuff available-mostly just party things. Occasionally I will find something in Home Goods or a gift boutique and when I do, I snatch it up!



I always love a holiday where I can figure out a way to use my typewriter!


The couch table is decorated mostly with green glass except for the leprechaun's hat that the girls and I made from clay flower pots many years ago-and it is sitting on a tall candle stick this year- and a framed download of the Irish prayer.




















And now for a little tease. You can see the new kitchen color and where the baker's rack finally came to rest-it has tried a few places before settling here-and, quite honestly, if I could think of something else to put here, it would be moving once again. I have to keep reminding myself that this is supposed to be a re-do and "the cheap" or I would be out shopping right now!


Still working on the new kitchen decor. Finding I am going to want to get rid of most of the old colored accessories and keep things in natural tones. I will need to find some fabric to recover bar stool seats, new pieces for the walls, etc.-but, all in good time. I am still wrapping my brain around the wall color-Woodrow Wilson white by Valspar. I think I like it. I KNOW I don't want to repaint it any time soon so I am talking myself into LOVING it! We shall see. Stay tuned.