A Chandelier Theme

I recently had a new idea for the dining room, and that would be this chandelier decal from Blik. I thought it would be fun. After I ordered it, I was looking online for black-and-white damask curtains (so maybe I wouldn't have to make them) and came across these from Target. They look elegant, but when you look closer, you realize they have little chandeliers on them! I was thrilled to not have to make dining room curtains, plus they match the decal.

The Other Side of the Foyer

The twig hat rack from Pottery Barn came in this week. I think it complements the twigs in the foyer wallpaper nicely. It's also the same color as the handrail on the stairs, so it actually looks like I kind of know what I'm doing as far as decorating goes. On the wall is more homemade artwork. I got some twigs in the yard to mimic the twig theme. I then added some pieces of leftover wallpaper to it. The only thing I might add to it is an umbrella stand.

Homemade Art Fail

I had these big plans to put nine squares of styrofoam covered with cute scrapbook paper and ribbon on the dining room wall. Except when I started making them, they looked like crap. Like, not professional at all. I would take a picture of how awful they are but I don't really feel like it right now. So instead I'll show you Plan #2. Instead of nine types of scrapbook paper, I narrowed it down to three and put them in 12 x 12 shadow frames. I like how it turned out. And nine might have actually been too busy looking.

Living Room Furniture

This furniture is from the Candise Olsen collection at Norwalk. And it is soooo comfy. Especially compared to the old secondhand couch that we've been sitting on. There were several different leg/skirt options. I almost went with the more modern leg, but I decided that I really like the turned leg. It's definitely more traditional but I think it goes well with the house. And as an added bonus, the color of the leg we picked out goes well with the piano. Which I was going to paint, but now I'm not, so that if I decide to change my accent colors in 10 years I won't be stuck with a red piano.

Completed Feature Wall

The feature wall in the foyer is complete. The furniture piece is a bombé chest from Crate & Barrel. The lamp and mirror are from Ikea. I also got an antique calling card tray from England on eBay. That way if you come to call when I'm not here, the butler will allow you to leave your card on this tray.

I originally intended this lamp for my dresser in the bedroom. So I may need to get another one next time I'm there.

I still have some more work to do in the foyer. I need to touch up the paint, buy a hat rack and make some artwork.

Crazy Awesome or Just Crazy?

When I saw this candelabra at At Home in Homewood (how's that for repetition?), I had to have it. Because the turquoise color is the exact color of my second accent color in the living room. But so far I don't really have a good place to put it. My upright piano is so high that the candelabra is really close to the ceiling. (I have thought about asking Heinz to cut part of it off in the middle and to weld it back together.) Or maybe I'll just wait until we get a sofa table and it will look good on there. Or I might just keep it where it is.

Bedroom Wallpaper

The bedroom wallpaper was put up today. I LOVE it. It matched the wall color perfectly. I was afraid it would be too busy, but I don't think it is. Even Heinz said he likes it more than he thought he would. There's quite a bit of wallpaper left over, so maybe I could use it for a background for some artwork elsewhere in the room. After the wallpaper lady was done, Heinz put up the new sconces. There are matching ones in the master bathroom vanity as well.



This is a reproduction retro phone I got for the bedroom. Sure it's a little inconvenient because you can't lay in bed and pick up the receiver, but the point is it looks good, right?!

Kitchen Curtains, Finally!

My mom is an amazing seamstress. While I was visiting her last week, she made my kitchen curtains for me. I helped out a little and took notes. The one above the bay window is one long continuous valance. We made them one and a quarter times the width of the window so it would have a little bit of gather but not too much. And I'm pretty amazed at how the red bouquets are perfectly spaced out over the width of the windows.

Behold the Feature Wall!

This is going to take some getting used to. I love it, but it sure is different than what was before! The bedroom wall has not been wallpapered because I didn't buy enough wallpaper. Hopefully that can get done next week.

Finished Half-Bath

The red-and-gold lampshades and towel really class up the joint.

More Homemade Kitchen Artwork

This project needs a bit of work. I made it just last night. The frame is a $10 shadow box frame from Ikea. I covered the mat with leftover kitchen curtain fabric (photos coming soon once I get the bay window rod). I then attempted to attach or hang some copper cookie cutters from my mom, who got them from her mom. I didn't want to hot glue them because I didn't want to ruin them. I put tacks in the mat with tape on that to try to keep them on there. Next I might try some of that yellow tacky stuff that you can put stuff on the walls with. Any other ideas that wouldn't hurt the cookie cutters?

My Husband Is a Man of Many Talents

See this outlet? Looks ordinary, yes? But the thing is that it didn't used to be there. Heinz put it in the foyer where the feature wall is going to be so that I can plug in a lamp there. He did it last night after work even though he was really tired. Oh yeah, and it really works! Bonus: I now have a piece of the wall to take in to the paint store to have matched up for some touch-ups I need to do. Because the can labeled "foyer" and a new can of the supposed color don't match. What do you think the paint people would say if I told them I cut a piece of the wall out so I could match it up?