Blog Archives
Our House: Sideboard Finished for Easter
Details can make such a difference in decorating. The other day I showed you the mini E-A-S-T-E-R peat pots that I made and put on top of the sideboard mirror ledge.
Once I had them up there I realized that the sideboard needed a little bit more to finish the look.
What do you think? Here’s the before and after:
I had most click here to read the rest of the story…
With Help From a Reader, this Humble Bench/Table Finds a New Place
Dear Readers, you spoke, (or commented) and I listened.
Well, one of you spoke about something that was bugging me about this vignette, and I listened. A while back, while I was sharing with you some of the things I was doing to lighten up the living room, I showed you some change and progress with this vignette.
First here is what it looked like when I had a lot of black accenting my living room: Read More…
Simple Fall Centerpiece for the Kitchen Island
After I finished with the fall cleaning and adding a some fall décor to some of the rooms, I realized that the kitchen island needed a little something.
The island in the kitchen at ‘Our House’ is the first thing you see when you come into the room, and I usually try to be mindful of that… when it’s not piled high with papers, mail and miscellaneous… ok, so apparently since it’s the first thing you see, it’s the first place to dump… it’s a constant battle to keep it clean.
But for now, here’s a welcoming fall centerpiece I put together: Read On…
Putting it into Words: DIY Tips on Making a Good Vignette… it can be an Odd Balancing Act
Ever have something that you’re good at, but when someone asks you to explain how to do it, you struggle with being able to put it into words?
I’ve struggled with that too, especially several years ago, before I started to decorate for hire. I had natural ability to create but really hadn’t ‘wrapped my mind around’ exactly what it was that made one arrangement or vignette look so much better than the next.
It took me many years of studying, both books, and pictures, plus doing and re-doing many, many arrangements, vignettes and hanging artwork to be able to ‘get it’.
I was constantly asking myself, (yes, out loud sometimes) what did I like or not like about this or that vignette, until I was finally able to put it into words…
So here are a just a couple of tips that on what I’ve learned to make vignettes or arrangements look great.
Our House: DIY Tips on Where to Hang Artwork
I have hung, both at ‘Our House’ and for many clients, lots and lots of artwork, from paintings, prints, plates, plaques, metal ware, just about anything you can imagine. And over the years, I’ve figured out by reading, and doing, what makes it look good and why. Here are a few tip I’ve learned about hanging stuff on the walls:
Don’t hang the artwork too high!!!
I read many years ago, that this was the most common mistake people make in decorating, and I believe it. I’ve walked into homes where you have to ‘crank’ your head up to look at the pictures on the wall.
Instead, think about the stuff you’re hanging on the walls as an extension of the stuff below it.
In the example above, with one of my favorite prints my mom and dad have in their dining room, it’s hung only a couple READ ON…
Our House… Keeping up with the Seasonal Changes
For my birthday this year, my daughter gave me a pair of beautiful mercury glass candle holders…
When she gave them to me, they didn’t have the candles… I found these at Target and guessed on the size, WOW they fit perfectly and I loved the soft blue green color with the mercury glass, and how it mixes the old world look with a contemporary style.
(Funny story… when I was looking at candles at Target, I liked how these looked, READ ON…
Our House… New Season, New Dining Table Vignette
At ‘Our House’ the dining table is the first piece of furniture guests see, when they enter into the house. So for that reason I try, (try, but not always successful) to be diligent about having a beautiful seasonal vignette to welcome people in.
This is what is Read on…
Lightening up the Living Room: How about the Popular Table?
Can you believe it? I haven’t shown you very much of “Our House”, and now I’m already changing it…the “popular” table has once again found a new location. If you recall I had this table in the West bedroom…and that seemed perfect, for the time, but not for this time. Here’s where it used to be:
It really was charming in one of the guest bedrooms in ‘Our House’ but alas, I must be willing to at least try new things… Read on…
