September 1st...It's Fall To Me! Fall Tour

Living room gets a hint of fall.

Whether a rebellious red leaf who falls early has been spotted or September the first arrives, I declare it Fall!! And you know what that means!! Time for Fall tips and tours. Viewing other people's houses and their Autumn decor always sets me on fire to get mine done, too. After several months away from the blog, I decided that September 1 would be my target date to get back in the saddle and "giddy up" by crackie, I'm here. Only my dining and living areas are decorated. Didn't want to freak out all the neighbors quite yet!



After removing the leaf from my oval table, I "lost" a chair (until Thanksgiving) and am enjoying the coziness of the round set up. I also added drapery panels and "lost" the toile swags for a little update.

THIS IS THE BEFORE THE FALL UPDATE.

The picture below is the AFTER...just a few adjustments here and there. I did, however, break my cardinal rule of Fall decorating...by bringing out the pumpkins BEFORE October...it's usually fall leaves until the end of September..but, oh, well...  

This centerpiece is a McCarty Cotton Row vase with assorted feathers and berries.
I also added placemats...am having horrible computer issues and can't seem
to load the whole dining room shot...ugh.

Small sideboard got the look, too!
Those lampshades are one of my best finds EVER!
When lit, the black velvet leaves show through the front silk panels...
$2.50 each at Ross.

A recently purchased iron birdcage has many possibilities
for the upcoming seasons. Right now it's a candle holder.

Friendly Village china prepares for the upcoming fall
and winter months.

The coffee bar which houses not only all my
coffee supplies, but also part of my nesting
hen collection only got a few berry sprays.

Pitcher and bowls got the treatment with bittersweet vine and leaves.





My "collections" lend themselves to the fall months.
Pine needle  and woven baskets.

Tiny pine needle baskets.

Redware collection...love the colors.


Below is my salt glaze pottery collection.



Buckrun Pottery houses Cream Brulee candle and is surrounded by
little nutmeg McCarty birds.

 At the risk of losing every picture I post...I am going to add a few more with NO comments. Each time I comment, I lose the picture above and below. I have been at this for about 4 hours over the last 2 days.
Computer issues drive me around the bend! My apologies!



Will try one more time...Buckrun pottery bowl and McCarty bunny on coffee table.



Bittersweet vines and branches are such a reminder of fall.




I LOVE this table that I got on an online yardsale.




Pottery Barn basket (that I got on sale)..with fabric pumpkins that I made years ago.

 This has been such a trial...I have no idea what's wrong with Blogger (or it could be the blogger..me)!
I wanted to show you what I have done...not to brag...not to say..."Look at what I did!" but to encourage you to enjoy the moment...to not worry if it's too early to decorate...to not listen to the "it's not time to decorate" naysayers. I love every season. I enjoy letting my home reflect that. Most of my decor has been
gathered over time or made by me. (For the first 25 years of marriage EVERYTHING was made by me.)

 As I age, I find special joy in savoring the little moments life offers. Fall is one of those moments. Just as your children won't stay little forever...neither will you be able to recapture "the moment".

Re-models That Pay!

As I was reading through October 2012 Money magazine, something caught my eye. I'd like to share it with you. It was one of those expanded advertisements by Chase Credit Cards. In it, a graph (I love graphs!) showed the investment return on certain re-modeling projects around the home.

Let me preface this post with saying that the graph comes from Remodeling Magazine. So the source may have a vested interest in these statements. Also, I read Money magazine with very open eyes...they are the ones who when giving advice to people who are looking for jobs give such advice as "You should dress as well as your superiors and better than your peers if you want to stand out." (Kathi Burns, author of 18 Essential Elements for Women and The Effortless Guide to Men's Style.) Then she lets the hammer down and suggests a handbag by Kenneth Cole for $150, pumps for $200, and a sheath dress suit for $250. The total of those three items is more than the total of half the clothes in my closet. I assume she is speaking to upper level management in the corporate world and not those of us who slug it out in the real world.

Those are my disclaimers.

 However, I did find the graph below rather sensible and interesting.

Several years ago, I requested that our bathroom be remodeled. It was enshrined in Hunter green "marble"...full shower, whirlpool tub with surround, and double vanity. Horrors! I had lived with it for 13 years and thought "enough was enough". The hubster gave me X dollars to spend (" and not one cent over").

 I began the treasure hunt of my life. (That's what living on two teachers' salaries does to you.)

Back to the above graph, do you see a bathroom remodel's return? 

62.2%!

Almost as much as a major kitchen remodel.

I say all that to say this...even in tough economic times, it can be done.

 I went to the high end bath shops and really looked at what I "wanted"...

NOT what I could pay for in that particular store.

Then I went online...I shopped other stores and considered shipping and freight.

THEN I went straight to Ebay and found exactly what I had seen in the store and only searched for

Buy It Now options with NO shipping.

 (Make sure the seller has excellent ratings.)

Long story short...we did our own painting, we bought undermount porcelain sinks (which saved us a lot)

and did not reconfigure the plumbing.

We got skilled but reasonably priced plumbers, etc. and I ended up several hundred dollars UNDER budget. Enough to buy nice lighting, towels, cabinet hardware and fixtures. 

It can be done.

 It's much easier to have lots of money, but it's not nearly as satisfying.

Sometimes Old is Better

Every once in awhile, something about decorating just clicks with me. It's like the light bulbs you see go off over someone's head in a cartoon.

While straightening up in my guest bathroom the other day, I had one of those moments. To the right of the double vanity in the room is a small wall. It needed some art and I had bought two inexpensive prints several years ago. They filled in the void but they were never exactly what I wanted.

Recently, I was given two very old oriental prints and promptly cleaned the glass and the frames and popped on a price tag. While I was cleaning the bathroom, it occurred to me that the colors in the two oriental prints were perfect for this  area!

Home they came and settled into their new space quite nicely.

I like to mix new and old.

Updating certain elements of a room

and then introducing something with some wear and tear

always makes a room feel homey.

This rather new apothecary jar is filled with sea glass that catches the light and matches the colors in the oriental prints.

Notice, how the jar is set on a lacy vintage glass square.

Again, using the old with the new.

In another bath, I use brushed nickel fixtures, new pottery and have added new "spa" towels.

 A very old picture with wavy glass tops off the tub area, thus adding something "old".

I won these beautiful needlepoint pictures (dated 1943 on back) on Ebay.

These are also in the same bath. You can see the nickel outlet below them.

On the flip side of this coin, sometimes I take very new frames and mats and make them look "older".

In the picture above, I painted the frame with spray automotive paint (dark bronze), popped out the picture and the mat. I covered the mat with tissue paper and painted the white scrolls.

I found a free vintage print online and put it in.

This toned down the gold frame and the very new looking mat.

I say, sometimes, old IS better!

Little Fabric Stool...From Blah to Bling!

Sometimes things just line up correctly and viola!

You are in love!

That's me this morning. Look at what was "born" last night!!

The idea for her began in the thrift store. I brought her home and she patiently sat during all my knee surgery trauma. The idea fluttered by every once in a while, then became more dragonfly like...then like a wasp dive bombing...I couldn't ignore her anymore...I had to change her from a ugly duckling into a swan!

(My ideas start out gently and go full throttle quickly.)

Poor girl...she had seen better days...I hope.

We all deserve better than this...

Out comes "you know who"...in Old White.

One coat (and that wasn't a very thorough one)...but it is what it is.

Little re-cover...

with fabric that Sister picked up for me in Alabama...

Pre-distress......Better, but NOT perfect....

Distressed but not distraught.... she needs some fabric bling...

What to do , what to do....here comes the wasp...

Rolled and twirled flowers and burlap leaves...(and I have the hot glue blisters to prove it)...

those cuties aren't quite as easy as they look...)

I am in love....yep, I most assuredly am!

Love being the Fairy godmother,