Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Kim Parker Home

Last week, I picked up Kim Parker Home at the library.  I was really taken with her description of her early working life (in sterile offices) and how she would come home and paint at her kitchen table... (Like a meditation to wash the events of the day away).
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In her book, her rugs and art are styled with her romantic antique finds. (Right up my alley!)




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Kim's website also features her home products and her art.  (In other words:  some really gorgeous pillows, rugs, paintings and tableware.)  


Have a beautiful day!

Monday, March 26, 2012

Ohio Farmhouse

Country Living featured this great Ohio Farmhouse.  She's an antiques dealer, he's a veterinarian and their home reflects them so beautifully.  There's much more on the CL site, but here are a few of my favorite images.




This is my favorite room:  The Chesterfield, wall color, the art and the shorter bookcases - the blue lamp and the two tables - so good!  Don't you love it when design seems so attainable:  the rug is from Home Decorators and they made the pine shelves (the shorter height has got me thinking and planning).




I'd love to be a child going "to the farm" and staying here!  The color and pattern reminds me of Martha Stewart. (Is that a steel ceiling?)



Do you have raised garden beds?  Each spring I get excited about having a garden as bountiful as this one (and with that view!).
  

Ahh, and a little cottage for the adults.  
Such a clever use for a tiny building - the plantings and path draw you right in!

See more (kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, & chickens!) here.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Trunk Love

I have contracted some horrible (Think: "Help me, Mommy!") bacterial respiratory infection, a sprained rib from hacking up a lung for the past two weeks, and (I admit) a sour demeanor (more than usual :) from just not feeling well enough to enjoy, well, life!  I know many of you have been exposed to the same "bug"!  (Yuck, right?!)  I'm thankful my kids and husband are healthy and send so many good wishes for healing to any of you and yours who are just not feeling well.  (Being sick is the pits!)
                                              
On top of being sick, we've had Spring Break and major gorgeous weather.  
Which is great, except I have the energy of a snail and my best friends are Naps and Sofa lately. All in good time, right?  Every time I see this little revamp, though, I am  cheered right up!
I've always treasured this trunk, but it sat on our porch (aka: "in storage") since we moved here.  It was very "golden," difficult to move around, and though it is "mine," it was not very "me."  When our township tore down the "old town hall" in the '80's, the boards were sold to interested residents.  My grandfather (Val) made this trunk from the boards and gave it to me for my high school graduation.
The trunk's potential kept calling and I finally came up with a plan:   A coat of white paint (a few times to get it right); some wheels (expertly added by a sweet husband who knows that "carriage bolts" are best in this application :); 
...and a set of handles (so practical!)  
My obsession with these handles is full blown - I am trying (possibly not successfully) to restrain from putting them everywhere, in every finish!
I  love how the trunk better reflects "me"... and "us," as my kids sit at it to eat their breakfast.  (I know "bad mommy" - they love it though!)  It's so handy to store the throws we are always using to cozy up on the sofa; and when the urge to somersault strikes, the kids can roll it out of the way.  
In an almost completely unrelated note, I took the paneling off that door in the background and painted over the chippy paint.  There's nothing better than a fresh coat of paint to cheer the soul!

Love to you!





Thursday, March 1, 2012

March Right In

We have been having the most mild winter & I have been loving it!  Tomorrow evening we're set to get 3-7 inches of snow and I'm ready to be tucked inside and working on projects.  My kids are asking to go away on vacation.  They might need a DIY break.  
Last weekend, I finally finished putting on the braided trim on this bench.  I checked out all the rope options available and choose laundry line from Wal-Mart (by the clothespins - not in Hardware) because it had a bit more texture than the poly-coated.  It was also cheap!  Another vital requirement!
After cutting the rope in thirds and knotting the three strands together, it was just a matter of braiding them together.  I looped the braided trim around an old hanger and coated the trim outside with Scotch-Guard.  (Thank heavens my kids haven't acclimated themselves to tomato sauce yet - whether or not the Scotch-Guard works hasn't been tested.)

Then, I simply hot-glued the trim right over the upholstery staples. *Ahem* After getting the air compressor and staple gun back out (= making my family nuts) to remove and re-staple ev-er-y side of the upholstery! (I had the staples up way too high and they would have shown.)
The ends were another conundrum altogether.  Some flame throwers, burnt fingers & curse words may have been involved in getting them to "look right".  Which they don't. As evidenced by that lump in the middle.  One day I may just walk into the kitchen to discover the trim all on the floor.
In that case, all necessary curse words have been uttered and I'll move right on to Plan A.550...Or to another project ...like that one waiting in the workroom kitchen.

Have a great weekend!   Will you be "snowed in" this weekend too?