De-Summer-izing the House

Hello everyone!

 

I hope everyone who has been in the path of Hurricane Issac is doing OK.  It has been sad to see all the flooding and property damage caused by it so far.  We were spared the wind and torrential rains that were originally thought to come our way, but have been left with hot, humid, sticky weather now.  Yuck!

 

Now that September is near, I decided it was time to part with some of my summer flowers in the house.  I moved a few things around (nothing new, right?) and pulled out some more masculine accents to de-summer-ize my house.  That's my own made-up word.  Ha!

 

I'm still expecting a few things that I ordered, so things may change again after they arrive, but here is what I've done so far. 

 

 

 

 

I painted my blue wire basket, black! 

 



 

I have a different pillow planned for this chair after it arrives. I will place this one in another spot.

 

 

 

I just received this new jute pouf from Joss & Main!  Lordy, it was bigger than I thought.  I didn't use it where I was originally planning.  So it ended up here. 

 

 

I know.....here is the kitchen.....again!  This is my LAST change!  I moved my black vintage stool to the end of the cabinet and I'll show you a few other changes I did in this room soon. 

 

Hint..... 

If you look v.e.r.y closely you can see a clamp light on my curtain rod.  Yep!  Love how it looks at night.  More on that soon.



 



 

So, basically, if you haven't been able to figure it out by now,  I've been adding more pops of black in my decor.  This should help warm up the spaces for the cooler months coming.

 

Are you making changes with your decor (other than Fall decorations) to prepare for cooler months?

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

~ Kelly~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 



Flea Market Style Magazine

Hello everyone!

 

Have you seen the new Flea Market Style Magazine yet?  The new Winter edition is out on newsstands now.  I have purchased all of these magazines in the past and this one did not disappoint! 

 

 

 

My favorite article is the one featuring this farmhouse.

 

 

Isn't it charming?  You would never know it is actually only 7 yrs old!

 

Here is the outside porch.

 

 

And the kitchen........

 

 

 

Love it!

 

Well, I don't won't to give all of it away.  So go check it out!  There are lots of  pictures with great inspiration for using those flea market finds that we all love so much.

 

Also,  I wanted to share this link with you if you're interested in ordering this e-book on Autumn Porch Decorating.

 

 

 

Just click HERE if you would like more information about ordering it.  It's only $6.97.  Both my sister and I have our Fall decorations featured in it too!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

~ Kelly ~



Over Sized Clocks

Hello everyone!

 

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. We've been keeping our eye on Hurricane Isaac and now hear that it is going west of us instead of directly towards us.  That is good news except now it is headed right for New Orleans. Hope everyone stays safe that is in the path of this storm!

 

I've been doing a little rearranging of things around the house (again).  I thought I'd share my new mantel decor or rather lack thereof.  I've simplified even more, but am very happy with the results.

 

I love over sized clocks.  I have a couple already, but none were in a very prominent spot in the house.  I changed that today. 

 

  This clock used to be in my upstairs hallway.  It is residing over the fireplace until I get this one that I ordered from Joss and Main.

 

It won't be here for several more weeks, but I wanted to go ahead and see how a clock would look above the fireplace by using another one that I already had.  I like it!  So, it will stay here until my new one arrives.  The new one is around the same size too.   So, my upstairs hallway is a little bare right now.  Ha!

 

 



 

So, for now.......here it is.  Less little stuff on the mantel and more impact with a large piece.  Plus, we never have to ask "What time is it?" anymore!  Ha!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

~ Kelly ~

Linking to:  Tweak it Tuesday 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Weekend Wishes

Hello everyone!

 

Just stopping in to wish everyone a relaxing carefree weekend.  This will be the quiet before the storm.  Hurricane Isaac is in our path for next week.  Hopefully, all our friends in FL will be okay.  Enjoy this dry weekend because next week will be very different!

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

~ Kelly ~

 

 

 



Union Jack Pillow

Hello everyone!

 

 

In addition to the union jack bench that I blogged about here, I have this union jack pillow.  I bought it from Drop Cloth Designs.  I have an affinity for using drop cloth in my home, so having a union jack pillow made out of it was an even better combination!

 

I loved how it was packaged when it arrived too.

 

 

It was wrapped in tissue paper and tied with twine.  A personal thank you card was included as well.  I thought the name card was very unique by using a paint swatch card too.  I love details like that!

 

Here is what it looked like just out of the box.

 

 

It is very soft and well made.  I like that it's washable too.

 

I placed it on my chair in the family room.

 

 

So, if you want one, or another style of pillow made from drop cloth, go check out this website.  Linda Braden makes these and also has a great blog called It All Started With Paint. 

 

Linda, I love it!  I'm sure I'll be ordering from you again in the future.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

~ Kelly ~



Utensil Wall Art

Hello everyone! 

I don't know why it is, but lately I've been making changes to my kitchen.  Not on purpose..... it just happened to be where some of my new stuff ended up.  Maybe it's because of moving my checked draperies in here.  Whatever the reason, I wanted to share a few more changes. 

Yesterday, my husband and I had a fun day of shopping and eating out while our youngest was in school.  He went to one store and I went to another and then we met back up together.  That way, we both got to shop where we wanted to!  Ha! 

I found this amazing wall art from Home Goods (of all places).  I kept looking at it and liking it, but wasn't sure if I wanted to buy it.  It's the grey script wall hanging with a fork shape on it.

See it over there?  Anyway, it turns out that it was missing the rod to hang it with.  I was holding it up and giving it a "once over" and heard a woman say that she had that too.  She looked at the price and said that was a deal!  She said she bought hers at a high end furniture boutique for $80!  Gulp!  Now, I would've never paid that much for it, but it did make me feel better about the price that Home Goods was selling it for.  It was only $25.  She explained how it was hung so I figured I could duplicate that without a problem.  This was the only one of it's kind in the store so I decided to grab it!  This was not at the usual Home Goods that I shop at either. 

Here's a closer look.

It's made of fabric.

So, after I hung it.  Everything else around it needed to be changed.  The whole domino effect began.  I'm sure you know what I mean.

I once had large cow canvases hung by the window, but it looked too cluttered with my new wall art.  Down they came, and other things put in their place. 

White serving dishes and a bread board  accent the grey cabinet.

 

Black and white graphic art accents the opposite side of the window.

My olive bucket moved to the center of the table and filled with flowers.

All of these changes just because of some new wall art.  Crazy huh?  It has really become a nice focal point to the room.  I'm happy that I stumbled upon it and felt like I found something unique for a reasonable price. 

Have you ever purchased something that started an entire domino effect in your home?

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Linking to: Wow-Us-Wednesday

 



Old France

Hello everyone!

Do you love the look of the French countryside?  I know I do.  I like to find things for my home that look like they came from there.  Now, I'm no international traveler and live on a modest budget, so I can't afford to travel around to find all the best of the best (if you know what I mean). So, when I come across something that is a good bargain and has the look that I'm going for, I jump on it! 

For example, I finally found one of those elusive vintage olive buckets.  I had trouble finding them locally, but when Decor Steals was offering them (and they are the real deal) for a good price, I snatched one up!  Here it is in my kitchen.

I like it with nothing in it.  Just plain and simple.

I'm sure I will have fun using it in different places around the house (empty or full).  For now, it fills a spot in the kitchen and I feel like it "belongs" there.

Oh yes, and another inexpensive way to get that french look is to paint numbers on your baskets.   I did that here in my kitchen and this one in my sitting room.  Cost?  Zero dollars! 

Also, from Decor Steals, I received a wire basket with terra cotta pots.  I decided not to use them together though.  I removed the pots and placed my topiaries in them.

I like how they look old.  Then I used the basket in the dining room to corral my vintage seltzer bottles.

I guess I need one more to fill in the gap! 

I'll have to keep my eyes open for another blue or clear one. I like the look of seltzer bottles in a grouping.

So, those are few of the items I'm using in my home to bring that french countryside  feeling to it.

Also, speaking of country french.......have you seen the new Country French magazine out on newsstands now?  I saw it at Barnes & Noble.  I was happy to see most of the homes were shown using neutral softer colors than years ago.  They also incorporated some industrial touches to the rooms.  Go check it out! 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~



Touches of Lavender

Hello everyone!

I've mentioned, before, how I love shades of lavender in my home. I like how it looks  mixed with grey and white and even shades of beige. It also looks nice with light blue.  I have brought in a few more touches of lavender in different spots in my home.  I'm really liking the softness of it and its feminine quality. 

In my family room, I added a few faux lilac stems to these vintage blue bottles.

In my sitting room, I've added some more lilac stems to a fern in a basket.

In my foyer, I couldn't resist adding a small aubergine velvet pillow to the bench.

In my kitchen, a lavender towel and more lilacs.

I can't help but love the soft colors and romantic style it brings without being too

"frou frou".

Do you have a certain color palette that you're drawn to?

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

 



Outdoor Candle Sconce

Hello everyone!

I noticed, the other day, that the candle sconce in my kitchen wasn't really "working for me anymore".  You know that feeling?  So, I decided to find another place for it.  I could easily have stored it in my basement (along with all the other cast-offs), but felt compelled to use it somewhere instead.  I think I found the perfect place.

Here it is in my kitchen.

And here is where it ended up instead.

I used to have this black iron decorative piece here.

There was nothing wrong with that.  I just decided I liked the sconce there better.

I have a battery operated candle in there right now, but could easily see a real candle burning at night too.  It would be pretty.  Except, I would be checking on it every 5 minutes for safety reasons.  Ha!

Anyway, it's just a tiny change that I like for the moment. 

By the way, do you notice one fern is bigger than the other?  That's because ferns like shade.  The one on the left gets less sun, so it is thriving!  The one on the right is next to the porch railing and gets blasted with late afternoon sun. It is doing well, but I'm sure he's a little jealous of his brother right now.  Ha!

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~



A Day in Pictures

Hello everyone!

Hope everyone had a good weekend.  It was such a busy week, last week, that I have enjoyed getting some rest!

I went outside to see what I could find to pick in our garden.  Found a lot of goodies today!

A few of the tomatoes will need to go in the window to continue ripening.

While outside in the garden, my dog, Max, was playing with his football.

Isn't he hilarious? This is his favorite thing in the world!

 Here he is panting after playing so hard.

We love to watch him play. He will play until he exhausts himself.

I captured the sun streaming in the windows and took a few close-up pictures around the house.  Trying to learn more about the settings on my new camera.

Fern on coffee table

Vignette in sitting room

Flowers on dining table

So what have you been doing this weekend? 

Hope you found time to rest and relax.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~