Before & After - Come Sit With Me In My Little White Sitting Room

Get yourself a sedative
this is a LONG post!
Matter of fact, I think it is the 
LONGEST POST
I have ever done.

I don't do a lot of pictures of my house.

It's just not my thing, I guess.

I do pop in little bits and pieces sometimes.

This house had been on the market 
and sitting vacant

for three years before we bought it.

It was the "cleanest" pre-owned home

I had ever seen.

But- it was dated.

AND it was a tri-level.

We rehabbed this house from a

tri level and made it into 
a functioning two story.

It was a long journey and one I won't tell today 

BUT

I will show you bits and pieces of my little

sitting room.
This is my little ESCAPE from life.

This is to the left when you enter the foyer.
It is not a big room
12x13 - I think.

I ended up with rose colored accents
in here by a fluke really.
It started with the leaded glass window
that was damaged 
and came out of another house we rehabbed.

This sitting room used to be a dinette.
Here is what it looked like when we started.
This was taken standing in the same spot.
We removed the door and window and replaced
them with a big bay window.
The wall to the right was solid.
We put in a wood burning and/or gas fireplace.
The fireplace is the centerpiece for this room
and for the dining room on the other side of the wall.

Side-by-Side

The foyer used to be the old kitchen.

Too much to tell in one post...lol

SO- we will just settle on this sitting room!

This is a close up of the bay window area.

The porch you see outside is off the dining room 

that is on the other side of this room.

The wall color is a very light cream.

The chairs I have had for almost 20 years

and I still love them.
I did crackle before crackle was cool~

The little table belonged to Grandmother Clara.
The crocheted topper was a gift from my
cousin Marguerite that visited last year.

Along the other wall is the two way fireplace.
This is solid stone and was carved out of
8 or 9 different stone samples.
It was a model used to show what a fireplace
would look like in the different stones.
When I tried to order one they no longer
made them.
I said what about the model?
They said NOTHING MATCHES..
You don't want THAT!
Yes- Yes- I do.
They gave it to me for a song.
I painted it and it looks great!
Let me tell you -they did a little whining when they
had to off load this thing at the house.
IT WAS HEAVY.

The picture above the fireplace was a
gift from my kids.
The crystal candelabra belonged to
Gramma Hazel.
The lamp in the corner has a cream and rose colored silk shade.
That was in Grandmother Clara's piano room.

Gramma Hazel & Grandmother Clara
were mortal enemies.
It all started with a hat purchased for 
their children's wedding- don't ask.
I love that their things are all intermingled now!
They are probably both spinning in their graves.

The walls look yellow here but in real life
they are a very, very light cream.
The rocks on the hearth 
are from my son & his wife.
One is a huge amethyst and one is petrified wood.

 That little TV is the one I painted white here.
(I know- I know- who paints a TV)
 I escape in here at 3pm to watch
Dr. Phil and blog.
The guest cottage sign is from
Kris @JunkChic Cottage.

The little bookcase was my daughter's discard.
I fixed the back piece and now
it holds my gardening books.
I planned on painting it till I hauled it in here
and noticed that it matched the old window frame.

The doll was made for me by my friend, Ruth.
She was an excellent dollmaker but gave it up
several years ago.
Pouring those molds is hard, heavy work.
She sold at doll shows all over the Midwest.
Her dolls always had the most beautiful faces.
She has her little witch hat on for Halloween.
Sorry- this is taken through her veil 
and so a bit obscured.

This is looking towards the front porch.

This is the same view taken when we 
purchased the home.
As you can see there was no porch there
when we started.
We replaced the windows in the same opening.
and now the sofa sits in front of them.
I will tell you the "sofa story" another time.

Side-by-Side

MyHero actually bought me some roses.
hmmmmm....wonder what's up with him....
That book is one I won 
from Ron @ Uptown Acorn.
His house is featured in the book.
I love it!!!!

Here are some bits and pieces in the room.
The rose art is an original pastel that I have had for several years.

The children by the beach 
is a giclee canvas- a gift
from my kids.

The piece in front of it I found at a shop
several years ago. 
I like that the kids 
are headed in the opposite direction
of the kids in the painting.
That sculpture weighs at least 20 pounds.

The little church is an original (or so I was told)
by Charles Buchanan.

The sculptured marble plate belonged to 
Grandmother Clara.
It was meant to be mine because the image is of
Diana-Goddess of the Hunt.
yep-that's me all right!

Odds-n-ends
Pillows I love

and
Heisen footed bowl-Grandmother Clara
Silver tray-Gramma Hazel
snicker-together forever snicker
yes-I AM evil

Oh-My
I think that's enough for one day.
Don't want to put you on sensory overload.
Oh wait- the piano shawl on the coffee table?
That is from Gramma Hazel, too.
Lucky me.

And just to keep it real.
To the left just inside the opening
is my scanner and printer.
That is NOT pretty-but it  is functional.

Speaking of functional.
I love it when someone climbs up into the 
garage attic FOR me!

Don't fall, MrFunctional MyHero!
I might have a few more jobs for you.....
Notice the suspenders?
Those are to keep his pants up
cuz he is so skinny they are falling off
hahahahhahaha
Hope you all have a great Monday.
As for me?
I'll be hiding after MyHero sees this post.

Lovers OF Louvers Will Love This Project Using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

Well-In the end it looks pretty good

if I do say so myself.

Remember when I painted the little black TV white here?

Well, I picked up a little chest from a thrift store to set it on.

However, it was so ugly I kept it covered with 

Gramma Hazel's piano scarf.

Not wonderful but tolerable.

The fringed skirt hid this beaut!

Now, I am not one to paint GOOD wood furniture.

This is NOT a good piece.  It has a cultured wood top.

Anyway, I gave her a ride to the kitchen

using the finest moving technique known to man 

to keep from scratching the floor.

Maybe I could patent that technique and sell it?

Anyway, you can tell the old boy is out of town

because I painted it IN THE KITCHEN.

Up she goes to the top of the kitchen table.

She is perched on little painting triangles from Home Depot.

Here she is after two coats waiting to be waxed.

I might have muttered a couple of 

bad words to myself trying to get paint

in all those louvers-to say NOTHING

of the words I might have muttered

trying to BUFF THE WAX on those things!

While she was waiting to be waxed

SOME ONE "might have" 

spray painted the hardware

in the garage while the old boy was out of town.

Finally, waxed and hardware reinstalled 

she is moved back

to the little sitting room 

where she is used to store

all my loose leaf binders of ideas.

Did I mention I painted inside with 

Annie Sloan's Old Violet

which looks quite blue in this picture.

So, there she sits.waiting for me to light a fire

and watch Downton Abbey...

or any old Robert Redford film.

Do you see that rock down there on the left?

That is a huge piece of Amethyst -

a gift from my son and his wife brought back from their honeymoon.

Isn't it gorgeous?

It was the birthstone of my brother and my father.

A piece I hold dear.

It is full of dazzle in the daylight and so gorgeous.

MamasBoy ALSO brought me a large

piece of petrified rock that sits on the

other side of the fireplace.

As if the rocks in my head aren't enough.....

Speaking of dazzling...

MyHero will be quite be-dazzled when he gets up this morning.

I might, or might not, have

a few new treasures to show him that I found

while he was out of town.

un-huh-

Maybe if you are VERY GOOD 

and promise not to 

run your finger along the edge of the cake

and lick the icing off 

because you think no one will notice-

well, I just might share my 

new finds with YOU, too!

Happy Monday!

Am I the only idjit in the world that loves a Monday?

Christmas In The Sitting Room Part Two

Bear with me for not
visiting as much in the
last day or two...it
has been crazy around here...
or maybe it is just me
that is crazy?
Don't answer that!
Anyway~
Yesterday I showed you the 

sitting room mantle.

This used to be a dinette

when we bought the house.

It is located just inside the

front hall/foyer 

to the left.

There was a door to a 

side stoop which we replaced

with a big bay window.

This looks out onto the side yard

filled with heavy pines and

glimpses of the bay.

Here it is dressed for Christmas.

The leaded glass window is

propped there year round.

It is a "save" from a house

that we rehabbed that had

partially burned.

I noticed after I took this 

picture that the sweet little

vintage looking wreath makes

a large halo around the

angel's head.

Is that cool, or what?

The antique feather tree was

tossed out by my father-in-law

when he cleaned out 

Grandmother Clara's house.

It is marked Germany on the bottom.

My friend, an antique dealer,

told me it is turkey feathers.

I, of course, brought the tree

home to love on.

The ornaments are almost

all original to the tree.

There are at least 15 

of these formed plastic angels.

This little girl bell is marked

Germany, also.

Another German made bell.

Front

Back

I have two of these from

my childhood tree.

Mercury baubles-they look

silver in person but the 

light here makes them gold.

There is beaded garland that

is mercury glass, too.

It was in the box with the 

ornaments.

I love these candles that sit

on the glass topped coffee table.

They keep company with one of 

The  Sugared Santas

that I kept when I divided

the rest of my collection

between the kids.

So...there you have it...

A little peek into my 

sitting room.

I forgot to take a close up of

the doll.  It was made many years

ago by my friend, Ruthie, a 

very talented doll maker.

I love her beautiful face.

That's it, folks....

except for this guy...

Oh- sure! 

He looks innocent enough

but let me tell you-

I can't get away with anything-

he is a blabbermouth.

I hope I don't get coal

in my stocking this year!

Christmas In The Sitting Room Part One

As most of you know,

we completely remodeled this house

when we moved in.

The sitting room now

used to be the dinette.

One of these days I really

must do a post on the 

makeovers we did here.

Anyway,

I put a sculpted stone fireplace

in here-

It is open on both sides,

the other side being the 

dining room.

Above the mantle is a picture

the kids gifted me with

about 15 years ago.

I love the image but not the

brassy finish on the frame.

Annie Sloan Antique White

dry brushed gives it a whole

new look and tones it down.

This sits in the center of the

mantle in the sitting room.

I picked up the colors in the painting

in the faux hydrangeas and candles.

The crystal candelabra came from

Gramma Hazel.  They were part of

her wedding gifts.

I was honored to receive them

when she passed away.

They keep company with two

angel babies that flank the

mantle.

It makes me smile to sit in this

room surrounded by things I love.

These are Martha Stewart

stockings that I got on closeout

about 6 or 7 years ago.

I wish they had more of them.

This is the room with the little

white TV that I painted.

You can read about that here.

This statue is one I love.

It weighs about 30+ pounds

and is beautifully finished.

It is grey and kind of hard to

photograph.

Another glance before you go.

The pictures were taken after dark

so I know they are a bit fuzzy.

Tomorrow- Lord willing and

the creek don't rise,

I will show you the bay window

in here with the antique

feather tree that belonged

to Grandmother Clara.

Now....where did I put the

charger for my camera?

Uh-Oh!!!!!