Showing posts with label bedroom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bedroom. Show all posts

Sunday, February 20, 2022

Scottish Tartan Throws for Decorating

Hello friends, how's your mid-February going? Warm... cold... a little of both? Since it's still February and currently 40 degrees today, I guess technically it's okay if I share a little something in the warm/snuggly/cuddly category. I'm talking about Tartan wool throws and blankets. I have several that are vintage, that I use for Thanksgiving and Christmastime decor. I just love anything Tartan plaid and I'm a teensy bit obsessed with all things Burberry or resembling that particular plaid.




Tuesday, December 18, 2018

New House Journal: New Hardwoods and Carpet

This post is probably way more exciting for me personally than for any of you readers, but it's part of my documenting the progress of our new house. When we first walked into the Entry, other than notice the shiny ceilings, was the fact that the formal living and dining rooms were covered in carpet. Now I have nothing against carpet as you will see, but I really wanted hardwood floors this next time around.


Thursday, February 2, 2017

Out of my Comfort(er) Zone

So far in the 2& 1/2 years of living here, I've managed to get away with not showing you our Master Bedroom. There are a few reasons why I've not shared it; here are my excuses...



Friday, August 14, 2015

Pillow Re-cycle, Downsize, Re-Do

That may not make any sense to all of you, but this was a little project that I'd been wanting to do since we moved in last Fall. So do you remember these pillows that I found at the antique mall a couple of years ago? No...? Don't worry if you don't, because they haven't been shown much here on the blog, because...well... they're just too big!



Wednesday, July 10, 2013

The Unseen...

No, that isn't the title to a new horror movie,
although, there have been times when this room looked like
 it might be from that sort of B-Movie set.



It's just the lower level guest room, which isn't used very often, and mostly is the storage room for massive pillow explosions and wayward quilts.



I think that I've considered showing this room once or twice, and maybe I have, but usually it falls in the "off limits" category of blogworthy spaces. Today I was cleaning and fluffing getting ready for the kids who will be here next week, and I realized that I didn't think I'd even shared this old white cupboard that was spiffed up a little to hold some of the overflow of my quilt stash.



Once upon a time it had had doors and a drawer that actually worked. When I found it the doors had been literally ripped off their hinges and the door frame was splintered. The drawer was just a nailed in front, but I didn't care, 'cause I was going to use it for the quilts...or possibly for my booth space "display".




I just added some molding around the edges, painted it out, found some pretty frenchy drawer pulls, then put it to work. These are only about 1/3 of the quilts, the rest are in an old armoire in the family room, where the light is bad. (you haven't seen that one either...)


love this set of old wallpapered hatboxes.









Do these pillows look familiar? Actually, I found these two just last week that match the other set of this great toile. So, now I have four...yippee!!

Old floral still life from the 40's.

I fell in love with this Ralph Lauren yellow floral 12 or 13 years ago and still use it. Some of the sheets and pillow cases are threadbare, but I LOVE. that. fabric. and so it stays. The quilt is one that is a "Flower Basket" pattern put on backwards. Too much pattern makes me dizzy in my old age...


OK, just wandering off the beaten path a little today. I STILL have more of those "unseen" places, give me time, I might get them presentable...maybe...

I'll be joining in with these parties:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
xoxo,

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

The Year that was...2012

I always love putting up the new calender and exchanging it for the old. Fresh and clean with no pen marks, red lettering, strike thrus, or smudges. A blank slate for optimism, hope, and a fresh start. Looking back on the past year is requisite; something that we inevitably do in life. It's a time to reflect on our accomplishments, things that have changed and evolved, but also a time to see where we are heading and taking inventory of our own personal lives.

A header that I made but never used, 
this image just speaks volumes to me about life.

Hallway bath repaint in late January and February.
A start on lightening up my walls and surroundings.


Looking back on this last year I didn't feel like I had accomplished very much. This has been one of those years that even though there have been many good things, over all it's one I would rather not have had to walk through. My New Year's wish, instead of resolutions, is always said with a hopeful and optimistic prayer, that this next year will be a better one than the last...


realistically, that doesn't always happen.



Immediately after the bath refresh came the Living Room RePaint.


What a huge difference in my daily frame of mind.





There's just something about a clean white wall
that visually and emotionally "lightens the load".










Within a week I was on to the Master Bedroom,
and my quest for the perfect shade of "greige".



I had realized that the darker colors I had loved 9 years ago were causing me to feel overpowered and claustrophobic. Sort of like the walls were closing in on me. It all had to go and this was the last bastion of dark and "heavy".


I still wake up everyday feeling the freshness of this change.


With the old darker color I was getting tired of all the dark wood,
 but once the paint was changed, I looked at it differently.








The bedroom RePaint ended the major projects of last year.
It was late Spring when my world needed to refocus.

(a few small projects like the trompe l'oeil print on canvas)



My new slipcovers for the Dining Room chairs were a huge success.
They got to put on a new "dress".
Joy, oh Joy!!!



and then the Dining Room became my "happy place".


June brought one of the highlights of my year;
getting to spend a week with this gal.


and then heading up to St. Louis 
to share a weekend with Elizabeth Maxson,
our dear and precious mutual friend.



After this trip, projects became few and far between,
but I managed to play a little with some fun Fall decor.
My favorite time of the year;
but then I've said that a gazillion times.



But this next photo sums it all up...
this guy.


I haven't talked about it too much here on this blog, but he's the center of my life. God has placed him there to love, trust, and to take care of me. I like to say that my hubby is the "pole" to my "tether ball". I may be hit and bounce around every which direction, but my guy is always the stable, unmoving, center of my life. Ten years ago I had 3 massive heart attacks and almost died. After that, our lives changed. We both had a wake up call to the important things in life...like waking up every day with those that you love still here. But this year he was the one with health challenges and I was the one that had to be strong for him. He was the one feeling like he was walking on quicksand...and I had to be the one that was immovable and unshakable. 

Without God as my strength, we would have been flailing. 

For several years he'd been having occasional attacks of vertigo, then they started becoming an everyday occurrence that changed everything. He's just never been "sick". Oh, you know occasionally a bout with the flu, but nothing serious. Last summer started a journey to not give up, but to seek God for guidance in a place of uncertainty. Tests, doctors, more tests, more doctors...I know that many of you have been through something similar. If it's not you or your husband, it's our kids or loved ones. It takes everything out of you, but then with God's help, He fills you up with His Spirit, His outlook, His Word. 

Fast forward six months and we've been seeing a specialist in St. Louis for Meniere's Disease. It's a tough one, with no cure (they say). We had no help in our area, only a fatalistic litany of defeat for the future. But we were not going to roll over and play dead with this...we faced it head on and now we are seeing positive results. He's not over it, but he's improving significantly. 

So many of you out there know people that are dealing with this life changing condition. The first thing we did was radically change our diet. no salt. Actually, we had to rethink our whole outlook on eating and how inevitably it defines our health, and then eventually, our life. Meniere's is basically the inner ear deteriorating to the point that fluid cannot be regulated so you feel dizzy, nauseated, like your head is under water (filled with water) and dreadful...most of the time. Can't drive, can't eat, can't walk with confidence...can't think straight. OK, I won't dwell on this, but let me tell you there are options out there that work. You don't have to live with this...it CAN get better. 

As with any illness, or life changing circumstance we've learned that there IS hope. God has a good plan for our lives and He has answers that no man does. not doctors, not ourselves, not our friends...He's the one with the way to make things change.



So if you thought that my posts had changed, well, they had. I had changed. I am changed. Walking through something life altering has a way of changing a person. Hopefully, for the better, but still changed. My Bible Study blog went on "hold", because I couldn't concentrate on much other than getting through each day with my husband. Encouraging him became my priority. But as I said earlier, what I lacked in output, I gained with God's "input". If we let circumstances defeat us, there is no "lesson". I want to learn all the lessons I can from God. Don't ever go through a "problem" without seeking God for something deeper to be given you.

I know this has been long, but now seemed like the time to share it all. If I haven't commented, please know that I haven't meant to slight any of you, there have just been days that I didn't have it in me. Thanks for hanging in there with me. I love you all; you have become such a big part of my life. I'm still here, just different. But still believing for a better year.

My prayer for each of you this year
 is for you to stay strong, seek God, love without limits.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Master Bedroom Paint Reveal

I can safely say that I am no longer embarrassed to share photos of my Master Bedroom. Not only am I not embarrassed, I'm really happy with the way it looks. The new taupe paint really hit the nail on the head. Just what I was hoping for, even though it took me several days of hard work to find it.



It's not too dark, not too light,
just right, as Goldilocks would say!


Now the gold paint doesn't overwhelm the room with color,
but the taupe lets the rest of the color and pattern balance out.
Nothing is overpowering now...


I even like the goldy-brassy accents. 
They highlight the room without clashing.




I changed up my llittle gallery areas, using some "new" old prints.


The pics aren't very good,
I should have been using my tripod.
It's still hard to take good photos in here.




Now my attempt to shake up the space with a sunburst mirror
does what I wanted it to do...look a little modern and stylish.



This area really is my favorite now with the old stacked suitcases
and the little French painted table with hat boxes.






I bought this table about 4 years ago from a good friend
that I shared a space with.


The painted scene has chipped and faded
but if you look closely it still has lots of frenchy charm.


I'll get better photos of this someday
 when I can move it to another place with better lighting.


There's a little balcony off the french door here.









I made the tapestry pillow last Fall and still have a lot of the fabric left. I need one more for my Dining Room church pew. I bought the vanity wicker bench from Pier 1 years ago and painted it out in Expresso. A faux mink throw is the seat cushion.


So just in case you didn't see the before photos here are a couple.


Ohmygosh, get your sunglasses on!


I'm thinking about some kind of valance for the blinds, but I want to make sure it's not so dated as what I had before, something more organic, like a heavy off white linen, maybe in a faux Roman Shade. I'm looking...
I think the best thing to come out of this, besides it's so much lighter and brighter is that I really do love my wood furniture now. Before it was all too dark and dreary in there. Now the furniture has some contrast to the walls not being overpowered by them.

(Paint is Stone Hearth at 125% by Benjamin Moore)
Actually the paint is just a bit darker than it reads in these photos.
I had to lighten them up in my photo editor.

I'll be linking up with these fun parties this week: 

Picture Perfect Room Reveal at Funky Junk
Table Top Tuesday at A Stroll thru Life
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
Tuesdays Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Primp Your Stuff at Primp
What's it Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
Cowgirl Up at Cedar Hill Ranch
Share the Love Wednesday at Very Merry Vintage Style
Open House Party at No Minimalist Here
Thriftin' on a Thursday at Savvy City Farmer
Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home
Simple and Sweet at Rooted in Thyme

Soooo glad this painting is done! 

Also remember the Monday Marketplace runs all week
so it's not too late to link up and feature 
your Etsy and Online Boutique items.
Hope you'll come by to shop too!

Just scroll down to the last post


xoxo,