Living Room, Painting and a Painting...

A while back I got this fantastic design board from Emily:

And I have been working feverishly to get it going, not without a few bumps in the road - of course.

The painting of forever! There was more trim to paint, crown, and a ceiling. I chose Ashes by Behr for the paint, and used my standard Pure White by Sherwin Williams for the trim. What a difference some white makes!

Wow - can you see how pink the ceiling looks after the trim is painted white? Yuck! So hard to look at!

We added a piece of molding under the existing crown, and left about 1 1/2" of the wall showing between the two, then painted it all white to trick the eye into seeing a lot more molding than was really there.

The nail gun and air compressor were new tools for us. It took a while for me to get over tightly closing my eyes, turning my head, and praying every time he pulled the trigger on the gun. We, umm... I mean Ryan, had a little trouble with the miter saw, getting the cuts to line up flush -  instead of at weird angels with the need for lots of caulk repair.... which we had a few of. Our life lesson here, start on the wall that will be looked at the least, not the most visible wall in the room.  Chalk one up to experience.

Then I worked on the horizontal stripes - I did the same paint color, but a different sheen - eggshell and semi-gloss. I am wondering now if the difference is too slight. Maybe I should repaint with a slightly different shade? What do you think?

When I went to get the great painting she found for over the sofa, the colors were a little different than they looked online. And I was a little hesitant to pull the purchase trigger on that one, not to mention that it wouldn't fit in my car. So I tried to go the cheaper route, and found this one at Garden Ridge:

It wasn't cutting the mustard, so I went back with a friend (thank you Tracy!), who could fit this mambajawamba sized painting in her van, and together we decided on a more graphic, smack you in the face painting, that is really cool!

Here it is:

OK - so Ryan does NOT love this one, and keeps asking me if I am going to take it back - which would involve once again putting out Tracy and her van. But to make things even more complicated - the ZGallerie that was closest to us is shutting their doors this week and moving an hour away! So...keep the painting? it doesn't love the pillows that went with the design - but I can always use those in another room. What do you think?

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Garage Sale Goodie

Our neighborhood had it's semi-annual yard sale a few weeks ago, and even though I chose not to participate in the torture of actually selling things in the yard sale, of course I needed to drive around and look for fabulous pieces of furniture!

I passed about 10 signs directing me to one home that boasted lots of antiques, so I thought, this should be good.  And it was - I found this cool chair!!

The tag on the bottom says it was born in 1974 - is that an antique?  I 'm not sure - but it is really cool.  I have seen a lot of blogging about actually painting upholstered furniture, so I think I might attempt it.  I am planning on using it as a desk chair in the guest room.  I thought about painting it yellow,with maybe black piping?  Or recovering in a graphic black and white?  But recovering will get rid of that neat stitching detail on the back.  What do you think?

Meet Martha! The Queen of Vignettes

We had a really lovely Easter in Kentucky with my in-laws. Here they are on their sweet porch.

Look at all that green! We don't have all that pretty up here in the frozen northern tundra of Chicago quite yet. Their town has a Dogwood and Azalea Trail every year that leads you through the town to look at the beautiful blooms!

Before I even met her I heard that my mother-in-law Martha is known 'round her town as the Martha Stewart of the South, and how fitting that her name is Martha too! Her home is always so lovely, I thought I should feature her with a little peek inside some of the rooms. She started her own blog, so check it out to see more of her beautiful home - Martha's Barefoot Designs .

MIL and FIL are quite the talented team. They have a large collection of storytelling antiques throughout their home. He can refinish any piece of furniture, no matter how battered, scarred or painted. Let's start with the Dining Room.

I love this vignette centerpiece. She has a wonderful talent for making the perfect little collection on any tabletop, bookcase, mantel, etc.

Isn't this a pretty sideboard?

Complete with a little bit of bling, check out these rhinestone stirring spoons...

This pretty hutch in the corner is full of beautiful serving pieces, and at Christmas time holds a wonderful display of Cuthbertson Christmas china.

Doesn't she have such a talent for decorating? I have tried to talk her into starting her own business for a long time. Another room to come later this week...

Here are some highlights from our trip...

Her is my lovely in her Easter best:

And here is the 4-wheeler that my MIL won at a dinner for hunters. If you only knew her, you would how ironically funny this is!

And here is the confection my child whipped up at the church Easter egg hunt:

Yum-o, right? Whew - after about 3 bites I think she was sugared out, thank goodness, or we would have been scraping her off the ceiling about 3am.


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