MY MASTER BEDROOM COPY CAT Re-Do! FINALLY- HERE IT IS!

Grab your coffee-
This is a long post.

 I LOVE it when the old boy

goes out of town for a bit.

I can move mountains when I am alone.

I can also move beds and other furniture!

So-our bedroom has been the same 
for a long time.

Rather bland.

Nice enough but

it just kind of happened.
I used what I had..

But- As I was going through the

Ballard Catalog a couple of weeks ago

I spied this bedroom and it was my 

INSPIRATION to DO SOMETHING.

So-I almost pushed MyHero out of the house 

to go to his seminar so I could get started.

I had been sewing and stashing stuff 
in my closet

for several days.
I am going to take you WAY BACK 
to when we moved in.
Our bedroom now was the old family room.
We blew out the wall to the right which gave us access to the old garage.
We took part of the garage for our bedroom.
On the other side of the new wall we created
you will find a hall, 
MyHero's office and the laundry room.
Most of you will remember that we made a tri-level
into a functioning two story.
The windows here were all moved to the new garage addition.
Sorry for the grainy old photos-
it was a disposable camera.

When you look at current pictures
that  far window will be in the place
of the small window to the left of our bed.
On the opposite end of that room 
is a fireplace and that
became a small sitting room/study...
which I will show another time.

Here is a little after/before:
Isn't THAT confusing?
This is how it has looked for about 8 or 9 years.
To the right is the entrance to the master bathroom.

I still love the rose painting and though you

 can't tell it here the colors in the painting 
 are not good with this wall color.
I have shuffled that off to another room.

So---What did I do?

Here's the materials I started with~

I wanted to use some toile I had and it was the perfect shade of blue.

See that cording?

Well, it is the STIFFEST cording I have ever worked with.

I bet I broke at least a dozen needles 
because even the EDGE 
where you were supposed to stitch it was 

HARD and stiff.

I might or might not have said a 
couple of naughty words to myself
every time I broke another needle.

After I sewed my little heart out
and had shoved MyHero out the door,

 I stripped the bed and started layering.
It is such a dreary day I had to turn the lamps on.

I can see my pillows are a little wonky here...

I should have done a bit of fluffing before pictures, huh?
Oh, well- you know me-
Keeping it real here.

I painted an old bench that I had and placed it 

at the end of the bed.

The rug is one I had stored for years.

My husband picked it out and it is one he loves.

Aubusson rugs are not my favorite 
but the color is perfect.

While I would love to have a 
hardwood floor in here

it is a poured cement floor -
done to level the 
old family room/garage transition.

New lamps:

Another peek with lamps in place.:

MyHero loves the soft blue color.
It is my early Christmst present to him.
The mirror is a gift from my son.
And he came and hung it for me.
There is 1/8" clearance top and bottom....whew-that was close!

 I hung this sweet little bird on it.
He has just a touch of the same soft blue I used throughout!

The white roses came from MyHero
what has HE been up to, I wonder?
and the vase was made by my friend, Jan,
 that I don't see often enough.

Here is the old ugly dark brown,
 scarred up piece I painted
with Annie Sloan paint.
It holds the TV set and videos.
I need to redrill the holes so the
 handles aren't on there wonky.
I'll get right on that!
This is a soft aqua-ish blue-but-
 the color doesn't come up right.

And- in the corner -this holds some of  the extra pillows at night
Also painted with AS paint and recovered the seat.

Here is the view from MyHero's pillow.
It looks at the cove formed by the bay.
See what I mean about it being a dreary day?

This is the view looking straight out at night.
That is the moon shining off the ice on the bay.

SO-Their you have it!
Side-by-Side
Ballards Design and My CopyCat Redo

Whew!
I'll be off eating bon-bons, 
watching soap operas and
sipping white wine the rest of the day.

uh-huh

IF you believe that- I have some personal stocks
you might want to invest in.
Trust me (or not)~

You Buy One Rug And It Turns The Whole House Upside Down- Just Call Me The Stitch Witch!

My house has been a house of 

subtle earth tones for a long time.

One of the reasons I have stuck to basics

is because we usually live in a house for a few years

and then sell it and move on to another

rehab project.

I always put my personal taste in small things

that I can pack away before showings

and take with me.

Well, I don't know what has happened to me.

I have been longing for a change lately.

The last time I had any BLUE in my house was

in the 80's when I had 

COUNTRY BLUE.

Remember those years?

Anyway,

Lately I have been crushing on 

LIGHT ROBIN'S EGG BLUE.

So, when I saw this rug in Home Goods

I was smitten.

This came home with me along with two runners
that matched.
This is now the anchor under the dinette table.

Well, as you know,
one thing leads to another--at least for me.
Now the dining room needed something to pick 
up the blue in there.
I had taken the curtains down for summer
because I like bare windows when there is no need
for privacy.

But with winter coming I needed something to 
warm those windows up.
Holy Schmoley!
Decisions-Decisions-Decisions-
I love florals and have not had them 
for a very long time.
MyHero thinks he doesn't like florals
so the house is pretty much floral free.
But the dining room?
Well-when I saw this Waverly material
(and it's an old one) called Robin Egg
I knew I had to tote it home.
I waited until Sunday when they had a huge sale
and got it for 1/2 price 
plus I had a coupon for $50. off.
I won't embarrass myself by telling you 
how little I paid
for this material.
I got all they had -just over 7 yards.

Now the trick is-this has to blend with the 
rug that is already under the dining room table.
Blue is NOT an easy color to introduce 
(at least for me).
But, hold your bathroom break-
I like the way it picks up that rusty color in the rug
which is otherwise lost in the big picture of things.

 Whew!  I think it is gonna work.
But, before I put the pedal to the medal
scissors to the fabric,
I pin  the bolt in place and look at it.
And I look at it..
and I look at it.
Should I?
Does it?
How will it..........

It is so odd to look at pattern when 
you have not had pattern in a long time.

Why is it so much easier 
to pick patterns and textures
and accessories for everyone else?
Oh-yeah- It's because I have to 
LIVE with these choices!

So, hemming and hawing
 I did what any weirdo would do...
I took some photos and mailed them to my
good friend and confident and voice of reason
PERSONAL CONSULTANT.
 I won't name her here but she knows who she is.
She said-
Love it-Go For It!

Ahhhh--there it is!
Someone besides me thought it was okay.

What else did I find?
Throws and some fabric for pillows-

The bottom right is the upholstery on the dining room chairs.
That has to stay.
The fabric has that same rosy tone and this also
goes nicely with the rug in there.

Oh- and I found a couple of lumbar pillows 
in the exact shade of robin's egg blue
for the leather chairs.

So--today---
Lord willing 
and the sewing machine 
doesn't seize up
I will be stitching my little heart out.
I hope to have results to show you a 
FINAL REVEAL
by the end of the week.

And just so you know...
I did NOT shop here for accessories!

source

You all have a GREAT TUESDAY!

Can You Keep A Secret?

Now, I want an honest answer here.

How many of you 

SNEAK THINGS INTO THE HOUSE?

C'mon....Come clean!

Speaking of COMING CLEAN-

(see how cleverly I worked that in)

I have been CLEANING CLOSETS!

Yes! I  have!

Look!

source

Oh!  Wait! THAT IS NOT MY CLOSET!

~sigh~

Instead I will show you

the front hall closet  below. 

As you can see, I donated a bed full of stuff .

Now it looks like the picture on the far right.

I did good, huh?

So, what's the secret you want to know?

Well, I may have cleaned my closet out

and donated a bunch of stuff

but THESE dishes followed me home.

Not the red ones but ALL the white ones.

I mixed the red ones in to 

confuse SOMEONE!  shhhhhh

They are hiding on the bench 

behind the dining room table

AND can only be seen when you walk to the 

far end of the dining room.

Lucky for me MyHero rarely leaves his chair!

Uh-huh!

I need to find a more secure hiding 
spot soon though- any ideas?
I am running out of cupboard space.

Now-FESS UP-Where do YOU hide things?

Cuz I KNOW you do!!!!!

A Wee Bit 'O Spring In The Front Hall

I was so busy yesterday with some 

projects that I almost forgot to take

pictures for a post this morning.

But, never fear, I can always

come up with something.

So-here you have it-

SOMETHING!

Something Springy and lovely

in the front hall.

Sorry- I  know it is a tad out of focus-

Kind of like my eyes in the morning.

The bottom has an Irish greeting

for St. Patrick's Day.

Overall, it looks like this.
~Erin Go Bragh~
I am adding this after someone
commented they had to look it up.
You know what THAT means
 someone that is 
NOT IRISH reads my blog!!
Whoo Hooo
Anyway-
Erin Go Bragh means
Ireland Forever

MyHero said he thinks it looks like a 

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENT

I told him THAT COULD BE arranged!.

And YOU know what I mean by that!

Cleaning Up The MESS In The Basement

Start Drooling!

click on photo for link
Don't you love it?
Me!Too!
Too bad it belongs to someone else.
Let's talk reality here!

Our basement is divided into three sections.

One side is a media room and gathering place.

I will show you that another time.

Another section is a small kitchenette

created from the materials from 

 the old kitchen when we remodeled this house.

  This hangs above the old kitchen sink.

The door reflected in the mirror opens to

the utility room holding furnace and water heater.

Now the THIRD space is the one I always hide.

But I am coming clean here.

It's been a MESS down there.

Seriously.

I just couldn't take it another minute.

After lunch I headed down and opened the doors to 

THIS.

Disheartening, huh?

Whenever I ask SOMEONE who shall remain nameless MyHero

to carry something downstairs for me 

it gets DUMPED 

on the floor just inside the door.

Some day I am gonna just dump 

his underwear on the floor

after doing laundry just for fun.

Well, I have HAD ENOUGH so

I start sorting and cleaning and storing.

 I had the bright idea to screen things off.

I whipped up some drop cloth curtains 

and strung them from the rafters to create "rooms".

Behind this curtain is another area screened off for

Christmas stuff.  I don't DARE tell you how many

Christmas totes I have back here.

You would think I was lying anyway.

Oh- SO much better.

The sailboat curtains screens off the paint section.

Remember this is the unfinished part of the basement.

Not perfect but so much better.

Whew- What a lot of work.
I climb the steps feeling tired but relieved 

that the job is done.

I get a Diet Coke and head out the back door to

gaze at the water glad that there are no more

messes hanging over my head.

Or are there?

What the......................?????

Romantic Porch Re-Do From Mess To Magic

Okay-

HERE SHE IS!
You've heard of the 
Magic of Disney?
Well-This is the
Magic of Diana!

NOW you can

BE MY GUEST-BE MY GUEST

PUT MY SERVICE TO THE TEST

Remember yesterday?

The side porch of the dining room 

started out like this!

You can read about that HERE

(it's yesterday's post)

As soon as I had my first cup o coffee

I painted the wood seat cutouts.

Look at those little suckers all lined up

and waiting for me.

I spray painted them white

and will make special pads for them later.

Meanwhile I have some pillows I made

MANY YEARS ago.

I  STILL love this fabric.

I started with this

Then, I started layering using

Wedding China  and  part of 

Grandmother Clara's silver set.

The porch gets shade early morning

but by 10:30 the sun hits full force.

I continued layering

and added plants and my big birdcage

in the corner.

Here Comes The Sun

(another song to run through your head)

I added the cherub that reminds me of my

sweet little granddaughter Anna Bella.

She would be eight this month.

Where HAVE the years gone? 

The angel has a broken wing-

imperfect like life-but still beautiful.

It is looking so much better.

I still need some sort of all weather rug

but the big stuff is done.

The MESS and the MAGIC

Now-Come on down to my house, baby-

Come on down and we will play.

(another old song-I am getting as bad as 

Suzan over at Simply Vintageous....

she's a "trip" all by herself-she has songs

running thru her head like I do...yes...yes...

she IS blond)

Anyway- I'm ready for you now!

I'll even bake before you get here.

What time will you be here?

I want to make sure I am not

sitting around in my nightgown-

Trouble With Water On The Bay

Well, folks,

I might be gone for a day

or two.
Look what we woke up to~

Looks like they will be ripping up

the ceiling of the lower

little sitting room.

There is a guest bathroom

off the old master bedroom

upstairs and a 2nd bathroom

just above this room that 

are joined back to back.

Where is the water coming from?

Anyone'$ gue$$.

If you look closely you can see

one big DRIP falling.

There were $everal drip$-

tru$t me...

Being a husband means grabbing

the good lasagna pan that I like....

Cute, huh?

Anyone want to come over for lasagna?

Anyone?

Anyone?

anyone?

I will be back when this me$$ is cleaned up...

This is really gonna cut into my

$tarbuck$ budget!