design challenge

Fall always comes with so many great things, the weather is beautiful and crisp, the leaves start to change, pops of colorful pumpkins, but then there is school, soccer, fall fairs, events, the impending holidays approaching etc., etc. So I am going to help one person who has been wanting to start a project or is having a hard time trying to resolve an issue with a project and just hasn't had the time.  So, to alleviate your design issue and help with your challenge, in such a busy time, I am going to offer free design service to the person with the most interesting painting or design challenge. (please be kind, this is to be one issue, one room, not a whole house or multiple projects, remember I will be doing this free of charge!) All you need to do is comment about something you are having a hard time with or a project that you have been wanting to start or just don't know how to get started. But the rules are- you have to become a follower on my blog and like me on facebook. By doing that you will be entered into the challenge. I will keep it open until Saturday, October 20th. At the end of this time I will pick one winner, from there I will post the challenge. I will then work with that person via email, through pictures, and details of the issue, etc. After we have worked through the details and have resolved the design project I will post a follow up to the challenge.
So whether you are struggling with what shade of green to choose or you just want to update the look of a room but aren't sure where to start, I will help solve your design issue. Let the comments begin!

Decorating with Osage oranges

I love Osage oranges, those crazy big green things that fall from Osage Orange trees, at least in my neck of the woods, here in Pennsylvania. My kids think that they look like big green brains and they are kinda right. They are also known as hedge apples and in the mid-west, where you can also find them, they are sold in grocery stores. I'm not quite sure why though, because you can't eat them. But, I do love them this time of year and I am always looking on the side of the road for them. If you are lucky, you may even be able to stumble across some of them laying on the ground. Now, I don't recommend stealing them off of someones yard but if you happen to find them on the side of the road, out in the middle of nowhere, then I say pick them up! What a hazard they may cause to someone driving- right? So that is how I got mine and they are so fun to decorate with this time of year. Here are a few ways I have them around my house, and best of all, like I said, if you are lucky enough, they are free! 

They make great centerpieces

I had these out like this for a party, they are so fun and colorful.

I threw some out front too mixed in with my mums

Hope you are able to find some in your area. They are perfect for this time of year and would be really fun to decorate with for a Halloween party too. It is great to have such amazing things in nature to enjoy!

bathroom renovation for two lucky girls

I am finally getting around to posting the pictures of my clients bathrooms- they were finished a few months ago. She is so great to work with. There were three bathroom projects in her house, which was a lot of fun, especially her girls bathroom, which was my favorite one of the three. If you want to check out the powder room and the master bath updates click here.

Unfortunately I don't know what I did with the before pictures, but the bathroom had all original vanity, floor, lighting, tub, etc. so it needed a fresher, more updated look. My client has two young girls so we wanted to do something that they could grow with, young, but also a touch of a sophisticated style that will last for years. 

This was one of my favorite things we found, this bright, ruffled flower shower curtain from, Anthropology. It is a great pop of color in the room that matches perfectly with the striped fabric, on the window treatments that we had made from Smith and Noble. 

The tiles we picked are a  marble subway tile and these great glass accents that compliment the marble and pick up the green and gray tones in the marble floor tile as well.

These were also so fun, these dot towels from Anthropology, again they match so well with the shower curtain and window treatments, and they are so cute!

The vanity was picked out with the thought in mind, that the underneath would be so accessible to the girls and a great way for them to store their things in these baskets, from Pottery Barn.

I love this quartz counter top that was used, it has green flecks in it that matches so well with all of the tile and will be so durable for a bathroom with young kids. All of the hardware and lights are a polished chrome that is a nice compliment to the quartz because they both have just a hint of shimmer to them, what girl doesn't love that!

The light green paint on the walls again, make everything light and bright, bringing together the softness of the bathroom without overwhelming it.

The bathroom itself seems bigger, brighter and lighter and I think that the results came out great and definitely a space that will grow with the girls and can be very versatile because of the choices made in the finishes. It was such a fun project!


make sure to check out my design challenge and
also check out some of the other feathered nest Friday ideas at French Country Cottage

Painting kitchen cabinets with ASCP

I got a bit behind on my kitchen painting. This fall has been so busy- especially when you over schedule your Saturday by doing something as crazy as- having your son's birthday party with 14 kids and then later on hosting a neighborhood party, with over 60 people in your house, all in one day- (click here to check out the creative way I displayed the menu) I don't think I can really physically move today! But I have managed to muster up some energy to post the pictures of my kitchen before and after. My long, very time consuming process of painting my cabinets has finally ended and now on to the final touches. Here are the before and after pictures of my kitchen and the pendant lights that will be hung up and some tile choices.

 I started this process with deciding what color I wanted to paint the cabinets, I knew I wanted to use Annie Sloan chalk paint. After I got the color I liked, I highlighted small areas in one of the paint colors,old white, so when I went to go distress them just a little, the color would show through. So I started each cabinet like this below, adding another step in this long process!

These are the colors I mixed together to get the one that I was happy with on the top (click here to see what paint colors I used to get the color.)

I ended up painting 2 coats of paint, then I very lightly distressed the cabinets, allowing some of the wood tone of the cherry to come through  here and there as well as the old white. Finally I waxed them with Annie Sloan clear wax and lightly buffed them.

Here are the final pictures, I am so happy with how they came out. It actually makes our kitchen look brighter and a little bigger. If you want to see how the island was done you can look here and here.

I added a pop of salmon on the bead board in the built- in, which is the same color I have in the dining room walls, off of the kitchen, Wild Flower, which is a Benjamin Moore paint.

One small spot I still have to finish is the side of the cabinet where the fridge is- because magnets won't stick to stainless steel, I painted the side of the cabinet with a magnetic primer and I plan to paint it with the same color as the cabinets, but I won't put the wax on it so it will double as a chalk board and we can put magnets on it.

We had to replace this door to the basement, the previous one had a big cat door in it- this was an extra one in the basement that wasn't in the best shape. So I painted this one and used chalk paint in the panels- the kids love it.

I posted these before,here, these are the pendants that I will have hung up above the island.

I still haven't completely decided on which tile we are going to go with- but I think that we may do the marble one on the right as an accent and perhaps one similar to the one in the middle. I may just go with the same I did at my last house in the kitchen you can check it out here.

I will make sure to get the tile pictures up and the light when we get those done, but I can't promise those will be done any time soon! But I am defiantly glad I went through all the effort to paint the cabinets, it is a great way to update and change the look of your kitchen without breaking the bank!

Make sure to check out my design challenge and also check out the other furniture ideas over at Miss Mustard Seed's  Furniture Friday  

Simple Fall decorating find {from the Dollar store!}

This morning I was out at the dollar store getting supplies for a party I have coming up and I saw these little mini pumpkins and gourds and I thought- why not?

I am sure they would look cute somewhere and who would know that they came from the dollar store and not somewhere that I spent 5 times as much! I also found my $1 bag of moss and I am totally happy with my $3 purchase! 

I love this old  Phillies tin, so I thought that it would make a great spot to put them. I needed some fall color  in my foyer where I have the tins displayed on this old dresser . I had painted the dresser with ASCP, in French Linen, about a year ago and it has been very useful in my foyer.

Who would have thought they couldn't find anything cute in the dollar store to decorate with!

Most favorite things about fall

Fall is my most favorite time of the year. There is just something about the crisp fall air, the smell of burning leaves and pumpkins! Living on the East Coast is especially beautiful in the fall, for so many reasons. I think it is hard to narrow down my top 20 reasons why I love fall so much. I sometimes believe that fall is almost a feeling not just all the bright colors that come with it, there is a sense of home and family. But I have to admit I do absolutely love pumpkins in all shapes and sizes. Anymore they are used in so many different ways, whether decorative or functional, so here are my top most favorite ways to decorate with pumpkins.

OK, of course this is one of my most top favorite ways to display pumpkins, they are so cute and irresistible!
Velvet pumpkins- they are so lush and rich, you just want to squeeze them.

I also love pumpkins or gourds under glass, stack them up, mix them up, they make great centerpieces

 I am always amazed at the clever ways people come up with to decorate pumpkins, who would have thought, old skeleton keys.

BHG

Love this for your house number

BHG

The totally functional

Martha Stewart

Pumpkins and gourds can make great candle holders as well

BHG

I love this!!How fun on a porch for extra lighting for a party, clean out your garage and use what can find

BHG

This is so pretty for a centerpiece

BHG

I love chevron, so here's another reason to love it even more- on pumpkins!

I love the simplicity of this wreath with the mini pumpkins and the contrasting black ribbon against the orange

BHG

However you decorate with pumpkins, make it fun- how could you not with their already bright and varying colors, their different shapes and sizes and bumpy imperfections!

Check out the other 20 favorite posts at The Inspired Room

fall nesting series

This year I am going to attempt to do a fall nesting series, nothing like the 31 day series that I did last year- I still don't know how I did that everyday for 31 days straight! Instead I will be posting ideas, pictures, fun fall  inspirations and linking them up over to the Fall Nesting series on The Inspired Room. I can't promise that they will be everyday but I will try to post as much as I can. Then make sure you go over and check out all the other Fall "nesters" to see what inspiring things they are up to. Happy nesting!

October 2- Favorite things about Fall
October 3 - Simple Fall Find{From the Dollar store!}
October 5- Fall Yarn Wreath
October 7- Fall nesting in my kitchen- painting cabinets!
October 11- client's bathroom renovations for 2 lucky girls
October 13 - Decorating with Osage oranges
October 16- Fall Mantels
October 23- Fall Nesting-staying in the season