Sunday, September 28, 2014

It's Fall Y'all!


It's fall!


Once I got over the fact that it was time to put the pool away, I could embrace that fall is here.




I sat on the couch each evening this week trying to get some inspiration for my mantel.  
It is the centerpiece and focal point, after all, so it has to be right.
After a couple of tries, this mantel is the winner.



Bill got me the roses a few weeks ago. They were fading fast so I hung them upside down to dry. I gathered up the oldest and crustiest books in the house and two white pumpkins from Tom Thumb. The frame is from a painting that was hanging in the mancave. 






We don't crate the dog when we are at work so she sits on the sofa all day, except when she is sitting in the window barking at the demon squirrel.


The sofa has the weirdest affinity for her dog hair. It will not come off with the vacuum or a brush. I have to sit and use sheet after sheet of a lint roller. I couldn't take it anymore so I made a slipcover during Dancing with the Stars the other night.
 I may end up slipcovering the whole sofa. I don't know.



The terrarium got a white pumpkin instead of the bird that was in there. So simple.





The desk and shelf on the opposite wall got a few touches as well. 
  

The candelabra is from the thrift store and the tureen from an antique store years ago. 




Just a teacher FYI...
Seasons are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence or they are being used in a title -  Fall Festival 2104.
Months of the year and days of the week are capitalized but not seasons.
 Holidays are capitalized.


It makes no sense to me why seasons are not capitalized but it is true. 
That's the English language for you.




I'm wild about the dining room centerpiece. 
The deep, deep brown or black velveteen pumpkins came from Tom Thumb. 
I made the white drop cloth pumpkin with the pin. 
Yikes! It's cute.


I've got more to finish in there and I'll show it off when it's done.
I'm also working on some cuteness in the powder room.
Happy Sunday.
Katie   
Linking with,
Metamorphosis Monday   
A Stroll Thru Life 
The Scoop   
Wow Us Wednesday   
Live Randomly Simple   
From My Front Porch to Yours   
French Country Cottage

Friday, September 26, 2014

Plantation Shutters- 21 Year puzzle Solved

The picture window in the foyer was like an annoying splinter under the skin.
It wasn't a big issue except in the summer.


I tried various things over the years to solve the problem of the big window at the front of the house. Morning sun poured into it, heating up the house during the brutal Texas summers. It always felt like the air conditioner spent the rest of the day cooling the house back down. 


I thought new air conditioning units would fix the problem. 
It helped but it didn't entirely cool during July and August. 
Our energy bill was outrageous during those two months.
The looming expense of trying to cover the huge window was always hanging over my head. This window is actually three smaller windows with an eyebrow at the top.


In our early years in the house we had no money to cover this window and I only needed the covering in the summer.
I love the Mrs. Kravitz like view from this window but I would literally wake up thinking about the problem on hot July mornings. A curtain wouldn't work because I wouldn't be able to get 20 feet high to open a drape. I thought about one of those remote control shades but I figured it would cost a fortune. We priced venetian blinds at Home Depot and Lowes but they had nothing this big. The adjustments were also at the top. During one particularly brutal summer I took a king size sheet and nailed it across the cat walk upstairs to keep the heat out of the game room.



 I actually thought that this was an unsolvable solution and that we would have to live with it. A friend of ours was laid off after many years with a well known company. He decided that he wanted to be self employed and bought a Budget Blinds territory. Mark asked us if we needed blinds. I said the only place that drove me nuts was the big picture window. We talked about a battery operated blind but the battery pack is... at the top. There is no way we are climbing up on a ladder to change a battery. He asked me what I thought of a plantation shutter. I can open the shutters by climbing on an 8 ft. ladder and grabbing the bottom of them. 
After I Googled images of plantation shutters in atrium picture windows, I felt confident it would look good. 
He came over to measure. I was able to pick out the molding and the color.
After a long trip over from China, they are here and installed.



He rented a huge ladder from Home Depot. It was two sided so he and my husband could lift the frame into place. I don't like heights so I was trying not to pay attention but the frame just snapped together and went in with a few screws.


I love that they have molding around the outside.
The window is framed and looks finished.
I'm enjoying it closed for now because I waited 21 years for this. 



Bill is thrilled because he said now he can run naked (neked in Texan) across the catwalk. 
Why, I don't know.



I wasn't compensated for this post by Budget Blinds however we were given the blinds at a little above cost. 



I will recommend the company. 
It wasn't a quick process because this is a custom item coming from China but it was worth the wait.
It wasn't an inexpensive solution either. We have that silly eyebrow and the window is so large. We talked about doing the whole front of the house but we won't for now. 
Three out of the four remaining windows have an eyebrow. It would cost a small fortune. 



I hope this will help keep our heating and cooling bills down a little. In the long run we should see some savings. I'll let you know if we do. 
Google Budget Blinds for a dealer near you. 
Have a fabulous Friday!
Katie   
Linking with,
From My Front Porch to Yours


Tuesday, September 23, 2014

White Dinette for the Patio

Have you ever shopped for something and then decided you had the perfect thing all along? 
I was ready to update our old dinette set on the patio. The green just wasn't doing it for me anymore. I thought about taking it up to get painted at the auto body shop. Bill thought that idea was ridiculous. I was too embarrassed to go by myself but I still think it's a good idea.

 
We were at Home Depot last October and we saw a white table for only $37.00. It was just too good of a deal to pass up. 



 

Bekah took the old green table and two chairs to her apartment. I used the other two chairs by the fire pit.



I thought we would have no problem finding white chairs to go with the table. The antique mall had a section of outdoor furniture but they didn't have anything white. We had two little bistro chairs to hold us over until spring. But spring came and there were still no chairs to be found.
Lowes had some but the seats were very bright primary colors. Since my scheme on the deck changes from year to year that wasn't going to work for me.
 A few weeks ago, Rebekah moved to a new apartment with a smaller balcony and the table and chairs wouldn't fit. 
Bill set the table on the curb and it was quickly re-loved by someone else. I should have included a warning about the table top. 



 I decided to spray paint two of the old chairs.
 This project took only two cans each. 
The overspray was ridiculous even though I draped the deck completely.



 So for the price of 4 cans of Rustoluem, we have two brand new looking chairs.



They look adorable. 


They are what I would have bought if I could have found them.



We had the perfect thing all along. 
They just weren't the perfect color. 
Have a great day on this first day of fall!
Katie   

Linking with,
Savvy Southern Style

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Thoughts For A Sunday

"Let the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, 
Oh Lord, my rock and redeemer." Ps. 19:14


I very rarely regret what I didn't say but I very often regret what I did say.
I'll let words slip in anger or frustration only to wish I could take them back or I'll repeat gossip and then feel like a jerk.


"A gentle answer turns away wrath." Prov. 15:1
"Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue, keeps himself out of trouble." Prov. 21:23


I hate the internal flagellation that comes when I wonder why in the world I couldn't keep my mouth shut.
   

"For the lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer the quarreling ceases." Prov. 26:20 

I've been told that sometimes I am bullied. 
I have been thinking about that and through some other things as well. 
I would rather be bullied and walk away than add fuel to a bonfire of vanity.


 I was taught to treat others the way I want to be treated.
It's a simple childhood moto but one that is sometimes hard for me to put into practice.


"Let your speech always be gracious." Col. 4:6 
                         Gracious: 
                         1. courteous, kind, pleasant 
                         2. showing divine grace
synonyms: courteous, polite, civil, chivalrous, well mannered, mannerly, decorous  
My speech is a long way from that.


"As thro life's span we fleeting go,
We should not this forget,
Tis always better not to do,
Things that we will regret."
Roses of Hope.
M.A. Donohue and Co. Chicago

Thoughtfully,
Katie 





Saturday, September 20, 2014

Layering a Bedroom With Color

Jonnie moved back in for a spell last year.
The room was a blank slate when he moved out in May.


I scraped the popcorn from the ceiling, touched up the wall color and bought two white valances from Walmart.
I thought about going with yellow for an accent color but that would require spending money. 
Shopping the house was a better option because I just didn't want to spend any money in here. 
After some contemplation, this vintage painting set the tone for the room. 


Even though it is damaged, I love this painting. 

 The room needed a lamp.



Bill got the lamp for me for my birthday quite a few years ago. We found it at Hobby Lobby. 



In order to bring color to the all white bedding, I brought green accent pillows up from the garden room. The quilt came from my grandmother. I found it in the attic as a teenager and took it to college with me. I believe it is from the 1930s based on the color scheme. 
The final touch is a little needlepoint pillow stitched by my mom. It was a chair cover that got damaged along the edges after so many years of use. I freshened it up by making it into a pillow.



My great grandfather made the bed for my mom when she was a little girl and it's my favorite thing in the house. 


I draped another green quilt from the same era over my garage sale chair.  The tin barn came from the thrift store last year. 
The tea table came from my grandparent's house. The ice cream table tucked underneath belonged to my brothers and I as children.



Bill and I got the armoire at an auction. It is a tad big in here but Bill has vowed that he will never move this piece again. Getting bonked in the head with the bonnet top was probably the last straw so I guess I'll have to hire someone to help me move it if it ever gets relocated.
It has the best storage of anything I've ever seen so it makes up for the fact that this house has terrible linen closets. 
I love the spool organizer with the antique quilts. 
The colors of the different spools mirror the colors on the quilt. 

The antique horse prints were on the gallery wall in the hall coming up the stairs. They didn't get put back up after painting the stairwell.


After 21 years they needed a new locale and this room is perfect. We made the coat rack for the boys when they were little.



The cosmetic case came from a garage sale eons ago. 
I used it (and got made fun of) for many years but I love it. The tin sand pail was a recent antique store find. I've wanted one forever and finally found one at a price I was willing to pay. 


The dresser was my first antique. I took the plunge and painted it white last spring. It has such cute lines and I'm crazy about the way that it recedes into the wall making the room look a little bigger. 
I can't quite figure out which mirror I like best so I'm still playing. 



There you have it. When I decorate a space, I start with a blank canvas and then shop the house for anything in a color scheme. 
I layer it in and then decide when to stop.
The trick is not hiding stuff from yourself when shopping the house. I used to stash stuff everywhere but lately I've worked harder to be a little more intentional and organized about where I'm stashing decor items.


 This room has always been one of my favorite rooms in the house because it has beautiful light throughout the day.
Thanks for stopping in our little guest room. 
Look at my Great Guest Rooms board on Pinterest. 



I love it decorated in shades of green.
Katie 
   
Linking with,

A Stroll Thru Life 
The Scoop   
Inspire Me Monday   
Coastal Charm   
Savvy Southern Style