My chair reborn in grain sack fabric!

These chairs were my inspiration for my very outdated, in great need of a "face lift" chair.

This is the chair below with a slipcover that I had someone make years ago, very sad! It was a Waverly fabric that I would be happy to never see again, so I was elated to take it off!(I did a previous post on debating what to do with the chair and happy to now show the final pictures!)

Here is the chair without the slipcover, love the blue velvet right?

Well I begged and begged my mother to please try to reupholster it or make a slipcover out of my new favorite, grain sack fabric. After some pleading, she did and I have to say she did an amazing job!!! I painted and lightly distressed the dark wood legs and arms with ASCP in old white, finally showing them off again. I can't take any more credit for the chair, she did all the rest.

I love it!! Looks like a completely new chair and I am in love with the fabric, it is heavier but has such a nice finish. Now maybe I can convince her to tackle my sofa??!

I've posted this on "Feathered Nest Fridays" on French Country Cottage, check out all the other great ideas she has posted on her Friday Linky party! And also over on Jennifer Rizzo's Friday party, and I just came across another great blog where I posted this as well, The Shabby Nest, so many creative people!!

making a bold first impression

This Old House

I have been debating what color to paint my front door- it is the first thing people notice when they come to your house, like a first impression and should make a statement. And of course some say that the color you paint your front door has some kind of meaning behind it. Can't we just slap on some paint that looks good without having it mean something? Now I really feel pressured!
Black is said to be powerful, blue is related to abundance, green is said to have balance, purple evokes energy, and red is supposedly welcoming. Whatever color one picks it should also look good with the rest of your house no matter what meaning it has.

Right now my front door is painted black and is in desperate need of a new paint job. I have been staring at doors when I have been walking and driving around trying to see what colors grace the front doors of my neighbors. I have noticed a few lately that have been pumpkin orange - love that.

This Old House

The orange looks great with the gray shingles but I don't think so much with my red brick home, so I have been thinking either a blue or green,.I would love to go bright and add a burst of green, like in the picture below.

This Old House

 But I think I am still stuck on blue. This has always been one of my favorite front doors

via House of Turquoise via Hiya Papaya

I love the Wythe Blue color that was painted on this front door above, but I had wanted to go just a little brighter. I came across this color a couple times, St. Lucia Teal.

via Turquoise Shed

So I decided to just go for it. As you can see, my door seems hidden and dark. It is a really pretty front door and it needs to be shown off.

These were my final choices, Wythe Blue, St. Lucia Teal and Stratton Blue- all Benjamin Moore. I realized after I had picked the St. Lucia Teal that it must have been meant to be. Those of you who saw my earlier post on my new light that will be going in my foyer, it is almost the exact color as St. Lucia Teal.

 Anyhow, this is my new door which I love- and you will see how nice it looks with my light sitting on the floor.

As for the light, yes, it is still not hung up. You know the saying measure twice, cut once? (in my case hang once) Well we had a minor problem when we went to go hang it and realized that it needs to be moved over so you don't hit your head on it when you walk down the steps- lesson learned.

When the light is hung up it will be a nice transition from the bright color of the teal door to have the color flow inside and there are also touches of the color in the rug in the foyer as well. The door now stands out and looks fun and bright when you see it from outside. With front doors they aren't a huge commitment to paint so why not try a bright bold color for fun.

HGTV

summer fun

I know that this doesn't have anything to do with houses, paint or design but I just thought I would share this picture of my son Finn. It has been a very hot summer here in the northeast and Finn decided he wanted to have some fun in the sprinkler. I grabbed my camera and thought I would take a few pictures of him while he was out trying to cool off. This one was my favorite as it captured that exact moment when he got that first blast of cool water, pure exhilaration, happiness and summer fun! I wish I could bottle up that moment and feeling he had at the time. Everytime I look at this picture it just makes me smile!

Repurposed candle holders

I am so excited about my new lights! Not sure if I should call them upcycling or repurposed? But anyway, I wanted to find something different to put up in my foyer and kitchen and really didn't see much that I liked, or if I did it cost a small fortune. I had seen one in Ballard Designs that I really liked but with everything that we have to do around here in our new "old" house I did not want to spend the money on it. Instead I used the light for my inspiration as I searched around from shop to shop. Below is the light from Ballard Designs, it is their greenhouse light, love it, but didn't love the price.

Ballard Designs

Then I found this in a great shop called, Cottage Home, near where I live. It was actually a candle holder that I thought would look great hanging in my foyer instead. (again, upcycling or repurposed?) 

So, I haven't gotten it up yet but couldn't wait to share how it looks.  I have a great lighting guy who took off the bottom part, which I now can still use to put candles in, and wired the top part for me. I am waiting on a medium sized version to put up at the top of the stairs in my landing so they match. It's a great size, about 20" tall and 12" across the bottom, hard to tell from the picture.

I am employing my father to come hang it up for me over the weekend- can't wait to have it up! I will post a picture when it's done.

I also wanted to find lights for my kitchen to replace the very "colonial" looking, punched tin light that is existing.  I found two of these beautiful candle holders at another local shop named Kaly, and will hopefully have the two of them hung as pendants in the kitchen, over our island (not as easy to hang in an old house with only one existing wire).  

I also have the two metal bases that came with these to use for candle holders as well, so I think all said and done- totally worth the investment of doing all three. And truthfully, I spent a third of the cost on my foyer light then the cost of the greenhouse chandelier from Ballard's. It's great to find unique pieces that inspire you to use for one of a kind pieces.

For other great ideas, go to Jennifer Rizzo's blog to see what creative ideas are on her Friday linky party, I've linked up with this post. Also on, Feathered Nest Friday, on French Country Cottage

Beach inspired

I have just spent the last week at the shore relaxing and soaking up the sun with my family and good friends. There is just something so familiar and nostalgic at the shore, reminds me of all the times I would go as a kid. Although now I find myself  peeking through windows and wondering what coastal inspired decor lurks behind those doors and imagine how amazing it would be to have a place of my own to decorate - to be able to escape and come down to enjoy it when ever I wanted. Here are some of my favorite coastal inspired rooms to dream about.

Coastal Living

I love the striped chairs in this coastal inspired kitchen, the colors of the fabric are perfect for a beach home.

BHG

This room above is simple, but looks so inviting.

Coastal Living

Perfect spot to curl up and read a good book, not such a shabby view!

Coastal Living

Love this room with its sea-inspired colors

BHG

Can't have a beach house without a spot for some good books to read on those lazy days



BHG

Love the orange cane chairs and touches of the shore throughout this room

BHG

Love the wallpaper, this cute bathroom is in Nantucket, where else could you get away with wallpaper like this!

Country Living

Country Living

Little niches and seascapes are a great way to bring the beach inside

Country Living

Love this landing, a great place to display more beach finds

BHG

I love this great outdoor spot, the green metal slider is such a throwback but looks great with all the colorful pillows. I may never get my own place, but it's great to be able to be inspired by the sea.

Favorite new thing.....chevron rug

I have been promising to post some  pictures of our new house for a long time, we have been here 6 weeks today and I have managed to paint a couple of rooms and have a few projects in the works. But I have to say so far this has been my most favorite thing that I have gotten for the house. 

My chevron rugs from Ballard Designs. A while back I did a post on my obsession on chevron and now I am loving my chevron runners. I got 2 that are either side of my island that you see in the picture. That was another one of my finds recently that I got at a consignment shop. It is actually an old buffet that we are going to use as our island and have a piece of marble put on top. To my surprise it was painted with ASCP in Graphite, the same color that I am hoping to paint the old built- in cabinet you see in the background.

The rugs are indoor/outdoor which make them a bit more durable and they are actually pretty soft on the feet. I love the gray and sand color and it matches great with the soft graphite paint color. I am hoping to get this great fabric that has grays, yellows and whites, for my windows to go with the paint and rug. I know this wasn't so fantastic but I will post more. 

Coming up, I will post my next favorite find, which was this great candle holder that I am actually having turned into my foyer light, I will post a picture of the final product but this is what it looked like before I gave it to my lighting guy - can't wait for the final product and have it hanging up!

Happy Mother's Day!

I have been out of my normal routine for the past two months, packing up a house and moving in with my parents for the past 5 1/2 weeks has been quite an adventure. My parents were very tolerant of my husband and I, 2 noisy kids, and a very energetic dog. This Mother's Day I was very happy to spend it in my new house and wake up in my own bed for the first time in many weeks. We are exhausted, yet elated but so happy to be in our new home where we want to be. During the last several weeks I worked on a few projects, painted and revived a few pieces of furniture with some chalk paint. When I get my wits about me and feel a little more back to normal, I will post my projects. I'm so excited how they turned out! And we had a great furniture find that we are converting into an island for our kitchen. I can't say my day has been relaxing but it feels good to at least post something - it has been a very long time! Happy Mother's Day!