It's the little things: "pillow jewelry"

So you know how sometimes things around your house just begin to look - blah? That's how I felt about throw pillows I have in the master. They are down pillow forms with brown velvet cases from Ikea. They were pretty inexpensive, and because the cases are removable, they are extremely versatile. I originally bought them to go on the sofa. But the dogs took them over and I was constantly brushing dog hair off of them.

About 2 weeks or so after Christmas, I was at Target shopping their seasonal sale items (and by the way, 50% off is not really mind-blowing to me...75% off and I'll likely buy crap just because it's a good deal). I found these two monogram pins in the Christmas clearance section. I don't know why they were Christmas items, but that's ok. I got them for about a buck each. I love monograms, and for that price, I'd find a home for them.

After letting them sit on the kitchen table for a couple of weeks, the thought occurred to me to put these on those brown velvet pillows. Why not?

I think it's just what they needed. Simple, cheap, and cute.

It's the little things: knobs

Sometimes you need a pop of color or just a little refresher for a room, a piece of furniture or your wardrobe. And it can be done easily and without breaking the bank.

I have this gorgeous antique chifferobe that I bought in college. It actually wasn't even for sale, but was a display piece at an antique store. I convinced the owner to sell it to me since it was such a cool piece. For years I used it in the living room as an entertainment center, which worked out well. The TV fit on top of the drawers. The drawers held CDs, DVD, etc. The "door" portion held the VCR, DVD player and stereo. It has since retired to the guest room and houses extra quilts and afghans.

This poor thing has seen better days though, as it's been moved around from house to house and room to room and has become a little wobbly. Drawer bottoms need regluing, joists need fixing. But it's a great piece, and I love it.

So in the interest of sprucing it up, I decided to give it some new knobs. The current knobs are plain wooden ones - simple, effective, but boring.

I checked out Hobby Lobby's selection since they were 50% off and found these cute ceramic knobs with a fun patina look.

After a couple of minutes of switching them out, this is what we now have.

Much more interesting I think. And it adds a small touch of color and interest.

Have you done anything recently to spruce up an old piece?

T minus 40 days until Christmas

Are you ready? I'm still trying to get over the fact that we are halfway through November! And since Thanksgiving is around the corner, this means Christmas decorating will be in full force soon.

 

Ok, so let's talk trees. Everyone has preferences between real and fake

(because I do 11 trees, it's easier to have fake)

(Not only that, but I had a dog one time that would lift his leg and mark the real Christmas tree - can't get too mad - I mean really, it's ok to pee on trees outside but not inside. I can see how that's confusing!)

 

So. How do you prefer to decorate your trees? Do you like themed trees or a hodgepodge of handmade, store bought and childhood ornaments?

 

Christmas lights - are you a fan of multi-colored, white, or a single color?

 

Tree toppers - What do you like to top your tree with? A star? An angel? A bow? Something completely different?

 

For myself, I like to have my main tree be the hodgepodge of ornaments - including some from my childhood, those given to me as gifts/on gifts, ones I've purchased, etc. But all of the other remaining trees are themed. I'll share those with you once they are up and staking out a nice piece of real estate in my house.

 

Speaking of themes, here are some fun ones I found online. All images are courtesy of Pinterest.

 

Silverware for your kitchen tree:

 

 

 

Candy

 

 

 

Coastal

 

 

Americana

 

 

Sock monkeys

 

 

What are your favorites? Have you seen any unusual trees?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Choosing paint colors for your house - a huge question mark

I have a problem. I am terrible at deciding paint colors. I love all colors, yet I like my house to be cohesive. I want to be able to move items from room to room and have them "go." Which is why, since I've lived in this house (purchased in 2004), I've gone with earth tones throughout, whether paint colors, furniture colors or accessories.

Currently, this is the breakdown. Since every room can be seen from the living room, I have all room colors based off of an area rug in my living room. That way there's cohesiveness. I've never been a fan of each room having it's own identity as far as colors are concerned. To me, it makes the entire house seem disjointed. Unless you are Dina. Her entire house is full of color, which I adore. And it works. She has the magic touch.


Here's the breakdown (all of these colors can be found in my area rug):

Living room/foyer/common areas: taupe
Dining room: currant red
Kitchen: taupe with brown glaze treatment
Guest room: butterscotch-ish/dark mustard-ish
Office: (was dark green) now is a very very VERY pale warm gray/beige
Craft room: (doesn't count, nobody sees it but me)
Master: pumpkin/terra cotta

I do have these same colors as accent pieces in other rooms. For example: My taupe living room has currant red sofas. The butterscotch guest room has white bedding with currant red and brown accent pillows. Etc.

In an effort to change things up a bit, I'm trying to not only paint rooms that are just too dark, but trying to maintain the cohesive earthy feel...just lighter.

Office is now a light warm gray/beige (Chocolate Froth by Behr). Here's my question. What if I want a lighter color like that in several rooms? Should I repeat paint colors? Or choose another? Would it be weird to have 3 versions of a warm gray/beige/taupe in the house in different rooms?

I'm just not good at this part. I mean, it would seem kind of boring to have the same taupe or gray all through the house. Yet, wouldn't it be weird to have 4 or 5 variations of it? What would the point in that be?

How did you decide on paint colors? Do you also crave a cohesive feel throughout?

Childrens art and Etsy

There's something pure and inspirational about children's art. While it might consist of simple doodles and drawings, there's such whimsy in it. I love when children are encouraged to be artistic, don't you? More art, less video games please!

Since I don't have children myself, I found a great little Etsy store. The woman who set it up has a daughter who is a buddy artist. Not only that, she is an avid animal lover. Win-win! You send her pictures of your pets, and her daughter will create pet portraits from them. Check out GioPetStudio and support this little artist!

Here's the portrait she made for me. Cute, no?

Blogs with no pics = zero fun

Hi! I've been a busy little bee working around the house - on my master bath, in the yard, some crafty stuff - but I can't get picks to upload. Blogger is frustrating that way. Blogs with no pictures is zero fun and inspirational. I'll be back soon and hope to share some fun things, as well as ask for everyone's opinions on other things.

Thrift store score

I love a cozy quilt, don't you? Even better, a vintage handmade quilt. These are fairly expensive and aren't easy to come by unless you happen upon one at an antique store.

A few months back I was checking out a thrift store and saw this quilt. It has a beautiful star design and is in really good shape, minus the "age stains" that you see, which I should be able to remove. No matter, it was worth the $20 I spent on it (talked down from $35, which would have been a steal anyway)! It's entirely hand stitched. I just love it.