Painted Jewelry Case

Last week I had a burst of creative energy and inspiration, so this week I'll be showing you some of the fun projects I worked on! Our home is feeling so cozy and so "us," which is exactly the quality I most want it to have.

DIY Upholstered Side Table

I promise--I'm not going crazy upholstering everything in our house! It just seemed more efficient to conquer both of these jobs together at the same time while I had the supplies out, and I'm so so pleased with their new and improved selves. These two projects have given me lots of hope for future upholstering--but for now, I really am putting away the staple gun away for a while.

This cute little table was a hand-me-down from my parents and as you can see, the woven top was in really rough shape. The bamboo legs, however, while not perfect are sturdy enough and to me, look rustic in a good way. I knew this table would be on our screened porch so the fabric I chose needed to be durable, and preferably in a pattern or a darker shade so that we could put drinks on it without worrying too much about rings or stains.

The fabric I picked (like the velvet I used on the chair) was a remnant and highly discounted. When I saw this funky patterned fabric I fell in love. It's just the look I wanted for this piece. The colors brings a little life back into the table and it looks both modern and a little bohemian.

The process was easy--just me and a staple gun, making sure everything stayed nice and taut as I went along. The fabric is thick and heavy and you can see the extra fabric bunched underneath each corner, but that doesn't bug me. I could have cut some of it away if it had but I decided to leave it as is.

I love a good involved project but sometimes the simplest DIYs really are the best. This one took about 15 minutes, not including the time spent choosing fabric, and I wouldn't change a thing about the end result! This table is going to see lots of icy cold glasses of lemonade this summer, that I know for sure. 

Let's Get To Know One Another: A Word To Describe Your Style

My eclectic china cabinet, currently

We've been really busy running around cleaning, unpacking and arranging for the last few days. It's been so so so much fun but my back could definitely use a break from all the bending and lifting. Thank goodness, my parents arrive tomorrow from D.C. to help over the weekend. And my mother-in-law was here on Saturday helping us get our bedroom together. Have I mentioned how lucky I feel to be a hop-skip-and-a-jump from family? This move to Charlottesville has so many bonuses.

Anyway, it's been really interesting having all of our belongings in one place. Seeing all of our dishes together, for example, the ones I've collected from thrift stores and our simple white wedding dishes and beautifully textured pottery bowls and plates that were given to us as gifts. I had a funny little revelation the other day about these dishes. Our china cabinet has three open shelves with glass doors, which is where I've been putting our nicest, fanciest things. At first, I had only our wine glasses and some white footed soup bowls on the shelves and I thought, "That's so gorgeous and simple, I'll put only glass and white dishes in our china cabinet! It will look streamlined and French and lovely against the dark aged wood of the cabinet!" This was my grand design idea.

But then a few days went by and necessity demanded that I stop reserving the space for only white pieces. My beautiful chartreuse tray and collection of pie dishes needed a home, and so did my hammered silver teapot from Grandma and my blue handmade sugar and creamer set from my college girlfriend and my copper colander. I began tucking each piece into place, and as soon as I strayed from my white only! theme, I breathed out and thought to myself, "Who was I kidding? This is so much better. Eclectic, that's my thing. I wouldn't have it any other way."

So that's it, my "one word" to describe my style. Eclectic. That's not to say that my style is always funky or offbeat, but that it's a mix of tastes and textures and colors and modern and old. I like earthy and antiqued but I also like bright and glossy and the contrast between the two is exciting to me. All white dishes would be lovely in that cabinet, there's no doubt. But that's not quite me. It would be too perfect and planned, not rustic enough, lacking the pizazz and serendipity and mix of styles I so love. My eclectic china cabinet, with its white and glass and old and new and everything in between, it feels just right.

Now it's your turn! You have only one word to describe your style. What'll it be? I can't wait to hear.

Both Functional And Beautiful

I've been thinking so much about kitchens lately--specifically that, of all of the rooms in a home, it's the one that must be equal parts function and beauty. When you love to cook you begin to learn how to move around a kitchen, how to store things, what to keep within reach, what makes for a good design. A functional kitchen is such a big part of feeling comfortable cooking night in and night out. Interestingly, I ended up loving my dainty (a euphemism for minuscule) NYC kitchen because everything was so handy and close by. I could stand at the sink and take a tiny step right to reach the fridge, a tiny step left to get to the stove, reach straight up for spices and olive oil and all of my dishes. Having a shoebox of a kitchen was so much more efficient than you would think. It surprised me in the best possible way! 

My current kitchen isn't horribly un-functional but it isn't terrific. A lot of the material choices--white countertops, weird pinkish tile flooring, flat paint on the walls--are really hard to keep looking clean, which is a big part of function. Even if I scrub and scrub it's a difficult kitchen to make spotless. But I'm glad I've had this experience because it's taught me a lot about what I don't want my someday-kitchen to be like.

So, a functional kitchen is important. But beauty, at least for me, has just as big a role to play. A kitchen must feel good to be in. Pretty things should be displayed, and good natural light is a huge bonus. Art should hang in the kitchen, a soft, colorful rug should be on the floor. You should love your dishes and maybe have a few open shelves for showing off your favorite ones. 

I've slowly been growing my collection of what I think of as "beautiful kitchen things." A lot of them were wedding gifts, which we still don't have here with us but they're being moved out of storage very soon and we'll be reunited with everything when we relocate.* A lot of my own additions were found at thrift shops, or they were DIY projects, or hand-me-downs. (Examples: my vintage wire basket, DIY Cook's Illustrated art, these yellow and ivory dessert plates.) It makes me happy to fill my kitchen with eclectic, vintage, pretty things!

Anyway, at the estate sale I went to last week, I found a few more pieces to add to my "beautiful kitchen things" collection. 

This miniature copper and brass footed colander stole my heart the moment I saw it (in all of its grimy glory). I knew it just needed a good cleaning to look its best again, and I'm all about a nice aged patina anyway. I can imagine it sitting on a shelf next to bright white dishes and using it to rinse strawberries. It's adorable, right?

And I couldn't resist these pink glasses. I passed them by on my first round but came back because I kept thinking about them. I've been so attracted to colored glass lately. You better believe that come summertime, my first batch of iced tea will be served up in these beauties. I only wish I had four!

I'd love to hear from you--how do you keep your kitchen both functional and beautiful? What does your dream kitchen look like? What sorts of things fill your shelves?

*I hope to share more news on that soon! It's been killing me to keep such exciting news bottled up inside!

I'm Headed To An Estate Sale!

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The first one I've ever been to! I know they can be hit or miss but I'm hopeful. I saw some photographs online of a few of the pieces that will be for sale and I have my eye on some brass dancing ladies. I'm also keeping a look out for ironstone and vintage dressers.

Here's to bargain hunting and secondhand beauties!

DIY Milk Paint Table Makeover

I completed this table makeover about a week ago and I love it a little more every day! My husband and I are both very pleased with it. It's amazing what a difference a little DIY work can do on furniture that has seen better days!

This table was a hand-me-down from my parents (and I think it was a hand-me-down for them too) so it has been through a lot of use over the years. I especially disliked all of the white discoloration and heat spots that had stubbornly imprinted themselves into the finish. But the table is sturdy and has a nice design, with three separate leaves (one of which is in storage so I'll have to paint it later) and the curved legs and the warm wood. 

Since the base of the table is in good condition and because the wood in that area is warm and pretty, I decided just to paint the top. I'm a big fan of contrast between wood and paint and I think the two-tone look I was able to achieve is unusual and unexpected, which I like.

So--the project itself. I used Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint for the first time and it blew me away. It's an amazing product. It comes as a powder so you add water until you get the consistency you're after. I also added the MMS Bonding Agent because I didn't want any chipping or flaking, and because by adding it I was able to skip the priming/sanding/striping that I so dislike. I simply cleaned the wood and began painting. 

I chose to use Ironstone, the pure white color in the MMS Milk Paint line. Because the wood was fairly dark and the paint was light, I did have to apply about 5 or 6 coats which I've read is typical for Ironstone. I didn't mind though because with each coat I came a little bit closer to the lovely opaque white I was after.

So the milk paint was a success and a pleasure to work with. But the real revelation in this project was the completely amazing, transforming power of Miss Mustard Seed's Antiquing Wax, which I applied on top of the paint. This is an incredible product. After I had applied 6 coats of the milk paint, the finish was nice but was lacking something. It was a little bit too uniform (I had heard that milk paint has a lot of color variation and for whatever reason I wasn't getting that) and a bit too flat and chalky. The white was also pretty bright and it didn't have the worn-in antique-y look I was going for. The Ironstone is beautiful but it was such a brilliant contrast to the wood and it was a little shocking.

Horrible lighting, but this is how the antiquing wax looks in contrast to the milk paint on its own

Right before applying the wax I gave the whole table a quick sand with a sanding sponge to smooth out the paint. I also lightly distressed the corners and edges to let the wood underneath show a little. I didn't want to overdo this step but it did help to make it table look aged.

Then I began to apply the antiquing wax. I rubbed it in slowly at first, nervous to be putting such a dark-colored wax on top of white paint, but as I began to see how beautiful and natural it looked I gained confidence. This wax gave me the most gorgeous finish! As I rubbed it in the wax seeped into the cracks and crevices and imperfections in the table, giving it a really authentically aged look. I applied it with a paint brush and then used a cotton cloth to lightly rub it in and wipe off the excess. I found that by using slightly different strokes and amounts of pressure as I wiped the wax away I could get beautiful color variations, from lighter cream to deeper mocha. And while the surface feels smooth and sealed and moisturized, visually, there are many different textures that appeared when I used the wax. It's really amazing stuff. In an hour, I had achieved the patina of one hundred years.

This crackly texture is amazing! It feels smooth, but looks scruffy and rough, and I love that.

Honestly, I'm not sure I'll ever go back to brushing regular latex paint on furniture again. I think I'll still use spray paint because it's just so useful and practical for certain projects, but already I'm feeling very loyal to milk paint and the furniture waxes that Miss Mustard Seed has created. I see a lot of milk paint projects in my future!

A Dressing Room-Inspired Bedroom

I've been daydreaming about bedroom designs lately (you know me--I really have the decorating fever these days!) and I've decided I love the look of bedrooms that have a dressing room sort of feel. I think this style looks incredibly elegant and sophisticated yet also so inviting and cozy. I've come across several ways to achieve this look and I thought I'd share some of my ideas with you!

Adding a freestanding clothes rack to the corner of your bedroom really gives off that gorgeous "dressing room" vibe. Of course, most of your clothes would be tucked away in dresser drawers or on closet shelves and this rack would be saved for everyday basics, or seasonal items, or perhaps a collection of scarves and handbags. An added bonus is that a rack can stretch your closet space if you happen to have a small one. In my apartment in New York my bedroom didn't have a closet at all, so I used the closet in the living room and supplemented with a freestanding rack in my room. I rotated in clothes based on the season and kept a lot of my favorite pieces, like my cropped wool blazer, hanging year round. Clothes can really be beautiful, so why not display them and keep them handy?

Tra-ra coat stand

To add even more glamour to a clothes stand you can rest an oversized mirror right next to it on the floor. I've had this idea for a while. My parents gave us a huge, antique gold mirror when they downsized (it looks a lot like the one below) and when we retrieve it from storage I plan to use it in our bedroom as a full-length mirror. Because why not? Hanging it in a place like the dining room is lovely and classic, of course, but using it to get dressed each morning sounds even better. Who wouldn't feel beautiful gazing into this mirror?

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When I saw this next photo, I ooh-ed and aah-ed for a minute over the combination of mirror and clothes rack. How chic! I love the white walls too, but would probably swap in a rich-colored oriental rug for some warmth and earthy coziness.

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Here's another take on the same idea. What a perfect place to get dressed in the morning!

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Finally, to really achieve that "dressing room" flavor in your bedroom you will need a vanity table. This one below really strikes my fancy because it's just a long console table with a mirror propped on top. Simple and beautiful and functional.

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So what do you think? Do you like the idea of a dressing room-inspired bedroom? One thing I should add is that this is a bit of a feminine look, so I'll have to check in with the man of the house and see what his take is. Perhaps half of the freestanding rack could be for his clothes, which would add a masculine touch to the room? Vanity tables can also tend to look overly "girly" but that's not my style anyway. So we'll see. I'm very excited to try some of these ideas in our next bedroom!

Useful Or Beautiful

Image Source via Etsy

I've realized something about the kind of thrift/consignment/antique shops I love most for finding interesting, inexpensive, one-of-a-kind pieces for my home. I've been to so many over the last few years--in New York, here in Alabama, in Washington, D.C.--and it can be easy to be swept into the shops that look the prettiest. The ones that have cute window displays and look more like a boutique than a secondhand store. And these places can certainly be terrific. In fact, for clothes and shoes and bags, these kinds of thrift stores are preferable. (If you ever need recommendations on places to find secondhand clothes in New York, ask me!)

But when it comes to thrift shopping for the home, the places I love the most--the ones that I've found hold the most buried treasure for the greatest value--are the ones that aren't so cute. The ones that are a little dusty and not so organized, the ones where you really have to look to find something worth buying. The kind where you come away with only one or two things but also the knowledge that you got the best that shop had to offer on that day. After sifting through the junk for an hour, it feels pretty great to be rewarded with a little gem.

I've found that this kind of thrift-shopping takes some patience and practice, however, so I thought I'd share a few little tips that I've picked up over time. I'm going to use this little silver-plated footed tray--which I recently got for less than five dollars in a highly disorganized and quite dusty shop--as my example.

First, you have to be able to picture it another context (in other words, imagine how it would look outside of the disorganized shop) and envision how you'll use it at home. I knew this footed tray would look perfect on my nightstand. It's the right size to hold a few little things, the feminine, glamorous style works well with my cut-glass antique lamp, and it has a unique shape that you don't often see. I also love the scalloped edging and the hammered metal look. It's just different and it's my taste and I knew it would be both beautiful and functional in our home.

Very often, you have to also use your imagination. This tray didn't need anything other than a good scrubbing, but more frequently my thrift finds need a paint job or some other big transformation to bring them to life. You should have a sense of how you'll be changing the piece to fit your style before you leave the store.

And finally, can the piece work in multiple settings? For now, I'm loving my little silver tray on my nightstand and think it's ideal for holding my wedding rings and my watch and some lip balm. But I may not always want it there and before buying something, I make sure it could work in a few different ways. I could easily use this in a bathroom to hold bobby pins or lipstick, on a dresser for my jewelry, or even on the edge of a sink for some fancy soaps.

One of the best aspects of thrift shopping, I think, is the imperfectness of it all. I love the patina on this tray, and I love that it's not exactly symmetrical (one corner is slightly bent). I love that you're so much more likely to find old things, handmade things, things that no one else in the world has but you.

Are you a thrift shopper? Do you think these tips are helpful? I'd love to know.

A Day Trip To Seaside

Yesterday over breakfast my husband remembered that he has today off from work, and he proposed we take a little trip. Of course I jumped on the idea! There are a few places within fairly close driving distance that we've been wanting to see, and one of them is Seaside, Florida. It's only about two hours due South, it's another one of those fascinating New Urbanist communities, and it just seems like an absolutely adorable, quaint, Florida town (thanks Dad, for the recommendation!).

So we're setting off early this morning to Seaside for a day trip! We plan to go to some antique shops along the way, eat seafood for lunch and dinner, and breathe in the crisp fall air coming off the ocean. Seaside is also known for being a very artistic community so we may pop into one of its many art galleries. And perhaps a bike ride along the beach? We'll have to see how much we can fit into one day.

I hope you have a beautiful weekend!

p.s. Do you recognize the town from this movie?

Embracing Patterns

I really love and gravitate toward neutrals. White, ivory, earthy greens and antique golds and oil-rubbed bronze. I believe that if the furniture and art and other decor are interesting enough, an all-neutral space can certainly be pulled off. Neutral rooms are calming and soft and feel natural.

But I also think it's fun to add in splashes of color, and fun textures and materials like metals, or old, antique wood. Most recently, I've began to embrace patterns and I love how they have mixed into our eclectic style. Here are some snapshots from around our living room.

This tribal blanket is incredibly soft and I think it pops against the ivory chair. The pattern feels both modern and ancient to me. I love that.

This tray is perfect for keeping a few things organized on our coffee table, such as books and coasters, and I think the black on white pattern is so fresh and sophisticated.

I wanted a funky pot for this aloe plant that I got at the farmer's market. Orange is normally not a color I love (not a bit!) but this particular orange is more of a coral, and it's offset by the ivory and the antique "crackle" look.

We got this black and white striped throw when we first moved here. It's classic yet contemporary, and it looks nice against the tray, too.

Too much of this toile would not be good--the French country style is lovely but can be a little overpowering if taken too far. But when I rest this little handmade pillow against my metal Tolix chair, which sits by my 1936 piano, the result is a happy mix of rustic and industrial, antique and retro.

Tell me about the patterns in your home! Do you love neutrals, or do colors make you happy? I'd love to hear.

Antique Family Linens

We received the most lovely belated wedding gift a few weeks ago. At the last minute, my mom's cousin and her husband couldn't make it to our wedding, and so when we saw them a few weeks ago up in Newport they gave us the gift they'd chosen for us. I opened the gift with my mom before we left for the airport, and I was so touched by the specialness of the things inside.

These antique linens are family heirlooms. They were handmade by either my great-grandmother or my great-great-grandmother on my mom's side. And they're exquisite--look at the details in the photo above! I can't even imagine the time and love that must have been poured into the making of these.

I'm thinking of having the round linen framed. The tablecloth seems sturdy enough to be used, but the other one is so delicate that I think I'd be afraid it would get damaged if I kept it out. It's so gorgeous and I think that framing it would allow us to see it often and enjoy it for years to come.

Such a beautiful and meaningful gift, don't you think? Especially for this gal who goes wild for antiques and family heirlooms and old treasures!