Behind the Scenes with Ballard Designs

I’ve been receiving the Ballard Designs catalog for a decade and shopping their online store for the same amount of time.  The new catalog comes in the mail five times a year and I savor the new and the classic furnishings and accessories inside the pages.  I really love their style, European inspired but always…

Cutting Edge Stencils Giveaway

Hello everyone, time for the giveaway of the week brought you by Cutting Edge Stencils, a fantastic source for contemporary stencils in patterns that include geometrics, botanicals, and much more for both walls and crafts.  More cost effective than wallpaper and so easy to apply!   A beautiful wall stencil will transform your space in a…

Best of November

Hello hello it’s the last month of the year!  Hard to believe, isn’t it?  Time for the monthly roundup of greatest hits from the previous, here are the top ten not to miss posts from November! I painted my old console table a shade of gray; 2.  we posed for the annual family picture; 3. …

Sunday Reading

It’s been pouring down rain the last few days in my town but that’s alright with me since it’s given me a great excuse to stay indoors and finish up all the Christmas decorating!  Some fun and festive scenes will be featured this week but first here are a few articles for your Sunday reading……

French Linen Console

I was feeling sentimental about an old piece of furniture I’ve had for many years and couldn’t get rid of it.  I remember purchasing it when we were first married at Bombay Company and back then I was really into traditional dark wood furniture.  (Actually, I still am!)  Anyway, this old console table sat in…

BOTB 11.25.12 + News!

Greetings all!  The ‘Best of the Blogosphere’ is back highlighting some spectacular spaces and ideas from around the web – Amanda is my fellow scout and together we track down our favorites to be featured twice a month.  Enjoy these inspiring rooms and ideas!  Yes you can have a super stylish and baby friendly community…

Candy Colored Christmas Tree

A few weeks ago, I was invited by Michaels to decorate a tree with their ornaments this year as part of a Dream Tree Challenge.  I’ve shopped my local Michaels for so many years and especially during the holidays, so I readily accepted their invitation! Our family buys a flocked real tree at our local…

Bathroom Countertops Done!

Slowly ever so slowly we’re a makin’ progress on that hall bathroom!  Last week I stained the wood countertops we routed with an ogee edge a couple of weeks ago.  The vessel sink and faucet arrived last week so Matt and I got to work taking the next steps to install the countertops and the…

Fantastic Books by Bloggers!

Hey everyone, how are you doing in this fine Election Day?  Always exciting to see what happens right?   In need of some down time, I settled in for a few hours of relaxation yesterday evening with some really fantastic books published by uber talented bloggers and wanted to give them a much deserved shout out…

Ogee Edge Wood Countertops

We’ve finally turned our attention back to the hallway bathroom remodel that we started last spring with the vanity upgrade.  We’ve lived without a sink and just a plywood top in here for 9 months while I went on the hunt for the right countertop and as a result the bathroom remodel came to a…

Best of October!

Well it’s November my friends and the holidays are underway, let’s do this!  The beginning of a new month deserves a look back so here’s the roundup featuring the top ten not-to-miss posts from October. 1.  We remodeled a kitchen for our local emergency shelter;  2.  five things I’ve learned about styling and shooting great…

Paper Leaves and a Printable

My sister and I shared a room when we were young girls and I wanted pale blue paint and she wanted lavender on the walls so my mom painted the walls a compromise hue she often called “lavender blue”.  I can’t imagine how many paint samples she went through to settle the argument but our…

Upper Lower versus Inner Outer

I was chatting with a friend the other day about her kitchen.  She very much wants to paint most of the honey tone wood cabinets white to freshen the space, but wants a touch of charcoal too to go with her black and white granite countertops.  Her kitchen is a basic U shape design with…

Making Digital Abstract Art

I’ve mentioned before my love of abstract art.  There’s something about swirly masses of color on canvas applied in a random fashion that makes me swoon!  I’ve tried in the past to make my own authentic abstract artwork but after hours of time spent applying brush stokes to canvas, I’ve never been satisfied with the…