Fall Porch

There's no denying it--fall is here!  We are supposed to have glorious weather this week, with cool nights and sunny days around 80 degrees.  This weekend I got my front porch ready for the season.

First off, I needed to redo my DIY vinyl numbers.  After almost two and a half years, they had become brittle and started to flake.  No problem, I just repeated the process.

before

I'm still loving last year's Dollar Tree wreath, so I put it out again, but added a little embellishment with our initial.  I got it at a thrift store a long time ago, and it just happens to be the perfect color for this wreath (you can also see the new and improved numbers).

Because the wreath is made out of foam board, it was easy to poke a couple of holes in a hidden spot underneath the leaves, and use floral wire to attach the A.  Since the wreath is so light, the letter weighed it down on one side, so I anchored it in place with sticky tack.

Add a couple of pumpkins, and my porch is ready for fall.

{Did you see my announcement?  I hope you'll come visit my new blog!}

Another Craigslist Purchase

In the family room, I had a white slipcovered sofa that was a craigslist purchase three years ago.  It's a nice-looking piece, but the slipcover was starting to get raggedy, and honestly, it's not too comfortable.  The cushions are feather-filled, but the seat cushions also have springs, which seem to be bent or something because it's very lumpy.

A few weeks ago I was browsing craigslist, as I often do.  I always search "IKEA", and this time an Ektorp three-seater sofa popped up.  These go really fast on our CL and I figured it would already be gone, but she had just listed it late the night before and I was first in line!  There were others after me who would take it if I didn't.

It was only $125, and I had some money from some ebay sales, so I grabbed it.

The red slipcover works well in the family room, though I do plan to eventually get a new cover.

There are a couple of mysteries about this sofa. I knew it was an older model, and it's definitely well broken-in.  But it is different from my Ektorp sectional and chair, and different from my friend Dixie's two-yr-old  Ektorp sofa.  (It is an Ektorp; the tag says so.)

First, the seat cushions are all foam, and the newer ones have a feather layer.  Second, the seat is deeper; I can sit normally in the new ones with my feet touching the floor, but not this one.  This is not a bad thing; while the new one is comfortable, this one is sink-in comfy-cozy.

I do, however, wonder if a new Ektorp cover is going to fit it.  I haven't tried switching a cushion cover yet, but you can see that the new brown one is wider and thinner than the old red one.

One possibility is that the sectional and sofa cushions are different sizes.  In fact, I just checked and the new sectional cushions are wider than the new chair cushion, so it stands to reason that sectional and sofa could also be different.  But Dixie has confirmed that her sofa cushions feel like my sectional, and not thick and cushy like the red sofa, so there's at least that difference.

Do any of you have an older Ektorp sofa for which you've successfully and recently replaced the cover?  I'm not in a rush to get the new cover, but at some point I'll chat with the IKEA helpline and see what they can tell me.

Oh, a couple of you asked what I was going to do with the spools I got last week.  I didn't have anything specific in mind, and for now they're just in the Coke crate that's on the coffee table.

New Living Room Accents

Back in July, you may recall, I got a new Ikea Ektorp sectional and chair for the living room.  The only problem was the Idemo Light Brown color did not go well with the green accents already in the room.  I removed the green rug, curtains, and pillows.

The furniture was nice, but the room was colorless.

After some thought, I decided to go blue, and the hunt began.

First, I found the Medallion Window Panel at Target.  The background is the same color as the walls, and the design is navy and a lighter blue.  Tip:  they only have the 84" length in the store, but you can order 95" online, which I did.

Then I casually began watching craigslist for a rug, and it wasn't long before the perfect one appeared (I always make sure the item comes from a non-smoking household; the rug's home was also pet- and child-free).  I snatched it up for $25, and it coordinates beautifully.

So far, I only have one pillow.  I ordered it from Ballard's with 15% off and free monogramming.

I did also get some fabric to make a couple more pillows, but haven't got around to that yet.

(It's a little difficult to take good photos of my living room without a flash because of the backlighting, but you get the gist.)

You may wonder what that is on the coffee table; it looks a little strange from afar.

It's my collection of beach glass, rocks, and driftwood from the beach at Lake Ontario on our vacation to Canada.  Love!

Parade of Homes: Current Family Room

Slowly but surely I'm going to work my way through this house to finish off the Parade of Homes that I started over two years ago.  So far I've done the living room, and today I'll move to the family room.

Moving from the living room toward the back of the house, opposite the stairway, is a small hallway with the coat closet and the powder room.

Just beyond the little hallway is the family room.  The back of the house gets full western sun, which makes it very warm in the afternoons.  In the summer I keep the blinds closed in the pm, and we went ahead and installed a ceiling fan this year, despite the fact that it's a decorating no-no.  Sometimes practicality wins out (and I don't think it looks too bad anyway).

I have once again used my mad photo-splicing skillz to give you a broader view of the room.

I'm not sure why there is a flag stuck in the vent in the top right of the photo.

We have a gas fireplace; gas doesn't have quite the same ambiance as a crackling wood fire, but you can't beat the convenience of it.  Just flip the switch...no dirty wood on the hearth, no ash to clean out.

As an aside, my family has never been able to figure out which room I'm talking about when I say "family room" or "living room".  I'm not sure why...I've been calling them the same thing since we moved in three years ago, and it just doesn't seem that complicated.  A couple of weeks ago Craig said he figured out how he could remember it:  Family room/Fireplace.  This from a man with a doctorate degree!  Don't worry, he thinks it's funny too.

Almost everything in this room came from either a thrift store, garage sale, or craigslist.  It's funny how looking at things in a new way can give you a new perspective.  I've been kind of dissatisfied with this room for a little while; I guess I was just starting to get bored with it.  But looking at these photos makes me realize that it's not so bad after all!

The Chandelier Which Took Eighteen Months to Finish

A couple of years ago, I started looking for a chandelier for Pinkerbelle’s room.  I wanted it to be small, and I didn’t want to spend much (as usual).  Goodwill and ReStore were busts; for the most part, their offerings were too big, too ugly, and too expensive.  In December 2009, I found what I was looking for at a small church-run thrift shop.  The antique brass chandelier was small (about 12” across), pretty, it worked, and it was only $8…an unheard of price!

I don’t have any before photos, because right about the time I got around to starting the makeover in November 2010, the Great Computer Crash occurred and we lost three weeks’ worth of photos.  This thing is real solid brass (it weighs about 10 lbs), and it had an antique-y patina.  Although it wasn’t the super shiny 1980s brass, for my purposes I wanted to paint it.  I originally went with satin white, but after a paint malfunction back in Nov., I set it aside until last week.

When I went to Home Depot for some paint, I had decided to step it up a bit by using gloss white.  But I  came home with gloss hot pink.  It was a step out of my “safe” zone, but I’m so glad I did it!

 

 

 

I ordered 10 crystals from etsy and added them, although there are eyelets for 34 crystals on this little 12” chandelier if I had wanted to do that many! 

(I used wire to attach them and it doesn’t look that great if you look too closely; Craig says I need to use fishing line.)

 

 

Look at the details!  I wouldn’t have got that with a 1980s relic.

 

 

 

Pinkerbelle loves it as much as I do!

 

Knock-Off Party

 

Welcome!  This party is for those of us with champagne taste, but more talent and resourcefulness than cash.  If you knocked it off, you can link it up.   The party is now open to any home décor catalog/store knock-off.  There are a few basic rules (more details here):

1. the knock-off must be made by you
2. please have a photo of the original item so we can compare
3. please link back to me in your post (why? read this)  If you like, just copy and paste this into your post:  Partying @ Homebody

 

This month, I recreated the Deux Ruban Linen Panel from Ballard Designs.  The 96” panel sells for $89 each.

 

I already had drop cloth drapes in the family room.  While not linen, the color is very similar.  It’s been a couple of years since I put these up, but I think each panel is one 6x9 drop cloth (about $10 each at Lowes).

 

 

I bought 24 yards of black 1½” grosgrain ribbon at 82¢/yd (that was 30% off at Hobby Lobby) and sewed stripes to the bottom of my panel.  I didn’t even take it down; I just set up my sewing machine next to the window.  Procrastinator that I am, I did this at about 4 pm this afternoon, and I’ve only done the one so far.

 

 

I had decided to only do three stripes, instead of Ballard’s four, partly to save a buck because I have another set of these panels to do in the adjoining dining area, which will be another 24 yards.  But now I don’t know; I think that fourth stripe adds a little oomph.  (I also think I need to raise my panels a smidgen so that they are just grazing the floor instead of resting on it.)  Other than that, I like it!

 

Your turn!

I’m going to leave this open until Sunday night, but will do a highlight post on Friday.

Parade of Homes: Current Living Room

As of April 30, we have lived in this house for three years. Of the eleven homes we’ve lived in, there’s only one that we’ve lived in longer than this one.  In the past we’ve always been pretty quick about painting and decorating, I guess because we knew if we waited we’d probably move before we got anything done.  We will be in this house for the foreseeable future, and while we have most of the rooms painted, that’s about as far as it’s gone.  I don’t have much on the walls, and I don’t even have any family photos out. 

It has occurred to me that I never really finished the parade of homes, as I only showed the builder model of the house we’re in now.  I’ve been waiting for it to be “done”, but since that’s not happening, I’m just going to get on with the parade.  If you’d like to start at the beginning, I have chronicled all ten of our previous homes in a series:  Parade of Homes.

We had this house built, but it’s just a plain boxy builder home.  In addition, the living areas are not large.  You can see from the floor plan that the family room is about 14x14 and the living room is about 15x14.  I’m not complaining; I love my house, but trying to figure out how to make it look pretty and still be functional is eluding me.

 

Part of the problem is that every picture I see of a room that I like, whether it’s online, in a magazine, or in a catalog, has significantly different bones than my room.  I have yet to see a anyone do a makeover feature of a small square room with no architectural details and wall to wall carpeting.  I was lucky enough to get 9ft ceilings, but magazine rooms, even the “boring, boxy” ones, have soaring 10-12ft ceilings.  They have hardwood floors and huge windows.  They have crown molding and 6” baseboards.  They are considered small if any one dimension is less than 20ft.  In magazine terms, my living room would be a nice walk-in closet.

Here is my living room right now, enhanced by my totally awesome photo splicing technique:

 

These photos are older, so a few accent pieces have changed, but not the main furniture.  This will give you the full tour of the room and an idea of the size.

 

 

Points I feel obligated to make:

• I know the current drapes (top photo) are too short.  They were on clearance and I’m trying them out; if I keep them I’ll add some fabric to make them longer (but I’m probably going to go back to my dropcloth drapes)
• the furniture is really too large for the room, but I will be replacing it this summer because it’s full of holes.  I’ve almost saved up enough to buy the Ikea Ektorp sectional and chair, which are smaller in scale
• this room functions as the TV room, so while unfortunate, the placement of the armoire is necessary, as is having enough seating for the whole family
• it’s hard to tell, but the room is in fact painted in the top two photos (Benjamin Moore Natural Linen)

You might also be interested to see the consultation I won from Layla Palmer of The Lettered Cottage a couple years ago, and her ideas for this room.

Whimsical Easter Tree

The inspiration for this project comes from my childhood memories of Easter.  My mom made a little Easter tree every year with forsythia from our yard and egg nests that she had made with colored eggshells, ribbon, and chicks.  The fragile eggshell nests were saved from year to year; I’m amazed that they lasted more than a year or two. 

How she did it with real eggshells, I don’t know, because I tried at least 6 times and could not crack an egg neatly down the middle to save my life.  After having a big breakfast of eggs, I decided I’d just have to use the plastic ones.  Much easier, if not quite as elegant. 




This project required plastic eggs, 3/8” ribbon, chicks, nesting material, a glue gun, and some kind of branches.  My color scheme of pink, orange, and white was dictated by the ribbon in the $1 bin at Michaels.  I also got a package of 15 tiny chicks for under $2 on sale.





Start by cutting a length of ribbon about 5” long and tacking with hot glue to opposite sides of the eggshell to form a loop.





Attach more ribbon horizontally around the top edge of the eggshell, covering the edges of the loop.





When you get all the way around, cut the ribbon so it overlaps the original edge by about 1/2”.  Fold that 1/2” over and glue it to itself to form a 1/4” tab.  Glue the tab down over the original raw edge.





This will give you a nice finished edge.




Tuck some moss or Easter grass into the egg, add a chick, then hang it on your branches.  I used my faux-sythia.




Voila!  A cutie-pie Easter tree!




Keep an egg carton to store your nests in for next year.