Sunday, October 21, 2012

Romancing our homes




Hello  sweet friends!
Does making decor changes to your home ever seem
too overwhelming and you just don't know where to begin?
Well if that's you....how about just beginning with one corner of a room?
Just making small changes when you feel the inspiration
can make a big difference.
Of course we can't change and decorate everything at once,
but if we'll begin small,
we can be on the road to a great start in our homes.
 

Today  I decided to change my bedside end table
into a romantic little dressing table instead.
It gives a look of romance and adds a softness
as well.
I just put a frilly pink curtain on top of the table.
 I had purchased it
from a thrift shop earlier this summer.
I added an old mirror in the center,
and placed an old
 broken piece off of our old weathered adirondack chair on the top of the mirror.
 
I find that when I see an interesting piece of "something or other" from around the house or the garage,
I keep it and set it aside until I am inspired for its new use.
 
 
My recent grocery store  roses  have dried nicely
and I hung them beside the mirror to bring some femininity
 to the roughness of the wood.
 
I added a home-made  heart
 that I cut out, sewed and stuffed
 from a frilly sleeveless top
 which had been hanging around for years.
 
 
I added a gorgeous tea-light or candle-holder
which I purchased at Thanksgiving
at one of my favourite little country decor shops
in Bancroft.
This will bring some warmth and a little glow
before bed.
I love it!
 
 
And then I added just a few of my own  personal touches..
sand dollars  that my brother brought me back from his trip to Florida.
My favourite dream journal from my lovely friend,
I use this journal for home decor ideas and thoughts for gifts, etc.
My  pink covered Bible looks pretty here too.
My husband bought me a new one; a girly one
for our Anniversary this year.
Adding your own touches makes your space more personal...
it doesn't have to be done in a day.
Just add as you feel the inspiration come.
 
 

 
So go ahead and start with some small area of your home,
and work with that.
Once you've done that, you can get inspired for another small area,
and before you know it, you'll be well on your way
to making some big changes that started with small beginnings.
 
My side of the bed feels a little more romantic now.
:)
Hugs!
 
All my heart,
Deborah xo
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 


 


Thursday, October 4, 2012

Stools are for more than sitting on


I just love stools and especially shabby,
roughed up around the edges kind of "stools".
I was so kindly given 3 this year
and I love each one of them!


They really are for much more than just sitting!
A perfect eye-pleaser for plants, and/or
dried flowers, or just about anything you desire.

 
  I love the white one,
but I love the pink as well.
 :)


Love the chippiness to this lime greenish stool too.
They are all quite welcome in our home
and have a personality unique to each one.
Dining room, bedroom...they feel at home anywhere you put them.
And changing whats seated on them..is a big part of the fun!

Thanks for sitting with me awhile.
;)
Lol

Happy decorating!

All my heart,
Deborah xoxo 

 
 

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Romantic & pink


Passionate about pink ...
I adore pops of pink in our home!
It's so soft, so feminine.
These old stools were kindly given to us by my brother-in-law
after his father passed away.
He was left to find homes for some of the things others didn't really want,
and well...guess what?
The stools were one of those "throw away" items.
My hubby saw them while he was over with his sister's husband
and he knew I'd love them,
and make a good home for these babies.

  
I'm so happy that he thought of me
and he brought all three of them home.
This one was a light lime green,
and I chose to paint it pink.
She rests prettily in our bedroom,
now adorned with a lovely Ikea planter
 I bought on our summer holidays.
I added a few white rose candles which
I discovered at a garage sale this summer.


I added Mommas hydrangea's
and now it's complete.


I kept the stool a little shabby,
no need to cover up every inch of its wood.


And there they sit,
faded, feminine and cherished
in our bedroom.
~

Much love,
Deborah xo 
 
 


Sunday, September 9, 2012

Passionate about home decor


When I discovered  "Shabby Chic" 
by the very gifted and lovely
Rachel Ashwell...
I fell in love,
head over feet
 in love.
I've never been a lover of frills or things overly feminine,
but I just fell,
and fell hard for this romantic, natural style.

I also love  hooks  
and places to hang things.
This "shabby chic" style allows you to do this,
and with such  beauty!  


It's easy to create your own pretty little hooked boards.
I just took a board that I had around the shed,
hunted for the pink shade I wanted,
and painted my board.
I painted it quite  shabbily too.
:)
I believe hubby and I had found these hooks in Stratford Ontario
and we bought about 6 of them.
We had them set aside for awhile before I finally decided to make this.


My hubby had some of those cute little screws left
from the window box he made me,
so we used those.
As simple and easy as that,
I have my own "shabby chic" hanger.
I'm planning on putting it in our bedroom,
and I'll post when I've got it hung up.
I'll hang some pretties on it
and then enjoy it every day.
Of course, I'll need some for the living room,
and how about the front hallway?!
And of course, I'd love to use some other shades too!

 

 Passionately yours,
Deborah xo
  

  

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Dreams of white dishes and shelves


Hello everyone!
I want to let you in on a secret....
I'm a lover of white.
Should I sshhhhhh
or shut it out from the rooftops?!  
I'm going to do the latter today ok?!
:)


First of all, I  love shelving...
almost any kind of shelving catches my eye.
On this kitchen shelf, I  used  to keep my cookbooks (above) ....
until I received an  inspiration  
to put them in a new home,
and make the shelf available for another  love.
 In a previous post I showed you my new recipe helps home.
Here it is...and it's working out fine!


My  vintage coke crate  holds them perfectly
and proudly.
So, what to do with the empty shelf nearby?
White dishes, of course!!

   I adore  open shelving  and
white dishes.
I realized ...I  have a shelf..
so why not make it happen,
using what I have!
If you're like me, you drool over open shelving
and white dishes!
I don't have a lot of shelving but
why not use  what I have  to 
display what I have. 


I played around with  ways to display  them first.
It's the little girl in me :)


 In the  midst  of all this creating and playing,
another idea arrived in my mind.
So I set about making that happen too.


 I  adore  old wood,
and barnboard  and such,
and I love the look of
hooks on wood.
I found some old wood in our garage,
saved from other projects, and I shopped for some 
hooks (even hook-shopping takes some time..which ones do I choose?) ;)
and started to work.
Here's how it ended or should I say begins!



   I asked my hubby to drill it into the top of my wall above the shelf
and overhang .
Easy!
I hung my white ikea cups
and...

  Added a few  antique-ish  touches
(garage-sale finds~2 old mixers)

 
more white stuff
that's right on hand when I need it...
 and one happy girl!

 
So there you have it!
1)  A place to hang mugs and have close at hand.
2) A few bowls and serving bowls right at my touch
and looking pretty too.
3) A strainer near by and handy
4) Wooden spoons ready for use
5) A real milk bottle with lavender to scent my kitchen
6)And one happy girl who  realized a dream
and made it happen with an old board, some hooks,
a handy hubby with a drill,
and an  inspiration  and  a love for whites in her home.

Do you have a shelf somewhere
that's just waiting for a little makeover?!

I'll be back soon to chat about  hooks!
Toodles!

Lovingly,
Deborah xo
     

     

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Reflections of a style

Perhaps you may see a  reflection  here
of a style you like...
I hope so.  
:) 
A garage-sale find~this mirror is!
I didn't change a thing about it.
My hubby brought it home last summer and I loved it immediately.
A couple dollars and a cozy spot on our mantel.
I adore shabby-chic
and lots of white throughout our home.
Pops of colour bloom
 surrounded by white ....

Lovingly,
Deborah xo  

   

 

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Duck egg washed desk


Hi there!
I've been busy with a few projects,
but I'll get back to you on the shelf re-do okay?
It's not quite ready yet.
:)
I decided to quickly refresh my desk
with a coat of Annie Sloan chalk paint.
My hubby found this one on the road-side
and snatched it up.
I had duck egg on hand
and it's the colour I wanted for this job.
A nice change to my drawers only.

  
I removed the hardware pulls on the drawers,
wiped the wood down,
and painted with my dear Annie Sloan chalk paint.
I gave them a coat of clear wax, (Annie's)
and when dry,
simply placed the drawers back in.
I love the look of wood and chalk paint together!


 Working with Annie Sloan chalk paint
is so easy!
I love that you skip the preparation stages
and get right to the good stuff.


 So there...I have a refreshed desk,
and it was very easy 
and not time-consuming

.
How about you?
Have you ever tried Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint,
and if so, 
do you have a favourite colour?
~

Deborah xo


Tuesday, July 17, 2012

A new home for my kitchen helps


I've been holding onto this treasure of a box
since last summers'
garage sales.
My hubby had spotted this vintage coke box
and bought it for us.
I tell you, he has "the eye" for these things.
:)
I didn't know whether I wanted to use it 
in the living room as a magazine holder,
or on the wall as a display shelf.
So I set it aside.
Today was the day....inspiration hit me!

   
Introducing my new recipe book holder!
I love it!
It's the perfect size
to hold my treasures.

I had them on my kitchen shelf
but decided to change things up on there
(if you stick with me, I'll show you that in my next post).


It's not too big,
not too small,
just right
(sounds like "The Three Bears story")
lol


And I have to say I love this wooden bowl
with the handle all in one.
It's holding my Momma's dried hydrangeas she so lovingly gives me every summer.
We stopped at a few garage sales while out of town on holidays last week.
Yes, you heard me right,
the "thrill of the hunt for treasures"
doesn't necessarily seize
while on vacation.
We found this in the beautiful, Niagara-on-the-lake
for...
I'm almost blushing to say...
.25 cents.


Now my cookbooks are in a pretty box,
and they're right there "in my face"
ready to grab when I need them!


I'm happy,
and if I may say...
so proud!
:)
My next post will be on the shelf
that used to hold these cookbooks.
Make sure to come back ok?!
Have a great day and thanks so much for visiting!

Love,
Deborah xo