Idea: Embroidery

I have started to buy only white bed linens. However, I need to do something to make them a little more personalized. I have a lot of tears sheets of linens embroidered with monograms, but I want something funkier. I am thinking along the lines of something like “zzzz...” or “good” and “night,” but with more wit and a Kate Spade edge. Any suggestions?

Backyard: We are getting a shed.

When we purchased our house there was a red, rusty metal shed outside our bedroom window. When the previous owner told us it had been hit by lighting twice, tearing it down was first on the list of projects. We have been a year and a half with no spare space for all Nick’s garden tools and whatever other random stuff he thinks he must have. Well next week we are having a new shed built. I think besides the size Nick and I are in agreement on having a shed built similar to the photo above, from Gardensheds.com. Instead of doors, we are going to do a sliding barn door and I think we will skip the shakers. I am really excited to add some more character to the back yard, plus I get more space in the garage for my projects.

Weekend Project: Sideboard Week 3

So here is the sideboard at weekend #3, and it is almost complete. I am not happy with the paint job because there was some oil residue that would not take the paint in some areas even after priming. Also the sprayer wasted too much paint so I used a brush on the doors, which I think was a mistake. I have a feeling that next summer I will be painting the outside again. I painted the outside a few shades darker than the wall color and painted the inside a pink to match the poster above. I still need to finish staging, but I think it works well in our den.
Here is the hardware I picked out from Restoration Hardware for the doors. They are on backorder until September, so I may go to the store and pick something else out since I am impatient to complete this project. Should I go with the glass balls or do nickel instead?

Fun Art.

I am always looking for fun and cheap artwork for our house. Someday we will start a serious art collection, but for now I search Etsy and flea markets for unique items. Here are two great ideas I found in my inspiration folder.


This is from an old House & Garden magazine of a bathroom wallpapered in vintage flower pins. This is a fun unexpected twist to a powder room, but I don’t think Nick will go for it. I need to find away to do this on a smaller scale. I have been collecting pins, so someday I will be able to do something with them.


I love this grouping of photographs of European Cathedral domes. I found a book at Pottery Barn called Visions of Heaven featuring all these images. Placed in a grouping they look like kaleidoscope images, but when you look really closely you can see the architecture and details of each dome. I am planning on frame some from my book and hang in a similar grouping, just not sure where yet.

Outlet Mall Purchase

This weekend I went with a friend down to outlet malls and I got this great Pottery Barn ottoman for $250! It is in perfect condition, which is not always common for outlet purchases. It works perfectly in our den, but just shows how badly we need a new sofa. That will need to be another outlet visit.

Martha Inspiration, Again

Lately I have been finding a lot of inspiration from Martha Stewart. I recently picked up her Colors book and was reminded how simple color can be in a room and still make a lot of impact. I have also been looking through some old Martha Stewart Living magazines for ideas. That is where I found this image of a summer living room (April 2005). I love the mix of neutrals with the blue and green. The room looks so effortless and casual. Leave it to Martha to always show great inspiration.

Weekend Project (week 1)

I have been working hard on getting my bamboo sideboard ready. Over the 4th and yesterday I sanded, patched and primed. Today I purchased the paint for the inside and outside. (The colors will be a surprise). I went to Sherwin Williams to have Martha Stewart colors mixed. I found that the Lowes’ Martha Stewart paint is not as good as the Sherwin Williams. Plus I loved her color mood paint chips at Sherwin. Nick is bringing home the paint sprayer so we can get a coat on the inside today. One more weekend and hopefully it will be complete and ready to move inside.

The Etsy Wall

Here is the progress on the Etsy wall. It looks a lot smaller in the photo than on our bedroom wall. So far everything is from Etsy expect for the Wedding Present concert poster which was a wedding present. (The owl print is also a wedding present from Etsy). I have two more items coming so things will be rearranged once they arrive. It has been so much fun adding new items to the wall. I have one large frame I still need to fill, but I have not found anything for that spot yet. I will post an update once I get more up on the wall.

Inspiration - Martha Stewart

I am working on my dinning room set I purchased at auction earlier this year. I have the sideboard server all sanded and ready for paint. At first I thought I was going to paint it a bright color like the yellow nightstand from Pieces Inc. But now I think I am going to do something more like this Martha Stewart nightstand. Paint the outside a muted color, and then go crazy on the inside. I have not decided on the crazy color yet. I was thinking either turquoise or coral-pink. It will go in our den under my “for like ever” poster so I want it to look good with that poster. Decisions.

Dresser from Pieces, matches my sideboard, but without the mirrors
Nightstand from Martha Stewart

Be my guest.

I have started to redecorate the guest bedroom. So far I have painted the walls. I chose Yellow Narcissus from Martha Stewart. I think it is still a little bright, but it is much better than the blue that was in there before. Next I want to get the carpet pulled up to expose the hardwood floors. After that I will be able to focus on finishing the room with accessories and artwork. Still a work in progress.

I love - Vera Neumann

I have been collecting Vera scarves for about 10 years, after I purchased my first scarf in a thrift store. I now have a collection of about 20 scarves, even though if I really wanted it could be thousands.
I am not sure how many people are aware of Vera Neumann or her wonderful work. She is mainly known for her scarves and linens, but also had licsencing with Mikasa for china, Burlington for bedding, Island Wooster for pottery and Schumacher for wallpaper and fabric (I would love to find a roll of her wallpaper on EBay). She was the first designer to incorporate a logo into her designs – her signature with a ladybug. Someone has reissued her scarves, but you can find some really neat designs on EBay for not a lot of money, but I am sure that will all change as Vera regains popularity.

I have saved my scarves to frame or turn into pillows (only the polyester scarves, not the silk). The colors and patterns are so graphic and colorful. They make great accent items to any room. All photos are from an EBay search.

The ones that got away.

I did not get the chairs. I thought I would pay $100 per chair. Since I will need to buy fabric and pay to get them reupholstered, I did not want to go too high and thought that was reasonable. Well I was out bid. They went for $230 – PER CHAIR! I always knew I had expensive taste. They must have been a famous maker that I did not recognize. (The only markings on the chairs were from the place they were previously reupholstered.) I was going to have them reupholstered in a muted pink twill fabric similar to the sofa from Absolutely Beautiful Things. They would have looked amazing, but I was not about to put $1,000 (including fabric and reupholstering) into two chairs at this point in my life. Oh well, there will be another pair.