Gallery Wall

I am a bit frantic 

preparing my home 

to look it's best for 

an upcoming housewalk event.

Good side...It's like having a party

...things get done that have 

been on my list, 

and so that is what is going on 

in my house now.  

Also reminds me of my college days...

sitting up all night 

writing the paper that was

due the following morning 

when it was assigned weeks before.

Anyway...here is the wall I 

decided to tackle on my list...

This is a game table area

 in my living room.

So I took my 4 year old to IKEA, 

 played house in ALL 

the room settings, 

then 2 hours later(for real), 

I got to play with the frames. 

 I like to lay things out on the 

floor to plan my layout.

I actually had no idea 

what I was going to frame, 

but thought I would 

rummage through the house.

Besides, if I was going to 

buy the frames, I was not going 

to spend any more money.

Then I started to dig 

through things and... 

I came up with this pile...

a watercolor form a local artist,

old wallpaper,

scrap book paper, and 

a sketch/painting by a local artist

 I was looking to bring in some 

blue since I have 

so many autumn colors.

The watercolor leaves painting

was the item to connect the 

dots with my colors

since it has the blue I wanted 

and the room's colors.

I started building my gallery wall 

and assessing as I went along.

I started with this 

sweet wallpaper print.

It came from a book 

of discontinued papers.

 ...taped it to the matting and framed it

 Then came this sketch that 

reminds me of coral.

 Put the first two framed items

 next to each other

to assess and was 

happy so I kept going.

 Then my watercolor that I knew 

would look better with a mat so was 

eager to see it done.

 ...loved it so much more framed

 Then I layered two pieces 

of scrapbook paper.

One felt too plain.

 Lastly, I had this piece 

of discontinued wallpaper...

 but had to play with what part 

of the pattern I liked best.

Then it was time for 

the moment of truth...

hammer and nails....

and here is what I ended up with....

Flash Card Art

Found these old flash cards 

and had to have them....

Opened them up and started to play.....

 Thought some of the illustrations were so sweet...played some more...

 Then I made a decision and looked around my house for a place to hang my flash card art.

I brought one of the cards to Walmart to play with the frames and settled on these black ones...mostly because they were $2 each and I had already splurged on 75 cents for the box of flash cards.

 Then had to keep playing, 

but got back to the task...

 I hung the word "Family" over 

our closet in our hallway,

 and flanked the word with 

vintage silhouette cut outs.

Always Fussing!

I ended my last post about 

the doilies "under the glass" 

by saying I would leave it 

for a few days and decide if I want 

to keep it that way. 

I loved that all the 

doilies disguised fingerprints, 

but it was too busy for me.

I always tell clients to try 

to "live with things" 

for a bit to see if 

something grows on them or not.  

I try to follow my own 

advice when it comes 

to fussing with things.

I do LOVE the doilies, 

but I started to play 

with less of them 

and overlapped 2 of them...

now it is a perfect fit.

I'll try to get to 

the laundry tomorrow!

No more playing with doilies...

it is addicting!  

What do you think about the change?

Under the Glass

 Just put a fresh coat of gold paint on my kitchen table and put place mats down. Then I put my glass top back over the mats.

 Here is the table with nothing... 

which I also like

 Part of my design business is doing real estate staging, which means I help clients get their homes spruced up to put on the market.

I was hired to help some 

clients that are moving 

out of their home where they 

have lived for over 40 years. 

I started to salivate 

as I toured the home...

felt like I was stepping 

back in time.  

They were getting rid of everything.

 I ended up buying almost 

all their 

furniture and accessories...

garages are not for cars...right?

In the stash of "treasures" 

I bought was a box full of doilies.

   

I find them to be impressive that someone

sewed all of these.... 

seeing that I struggle 

with sewing a button.   

Then I thought it might 

be fun to put some 

under the glass 

and made 

a pile of my favorites 

from the box.

 Then I placed them on the table...

love the ones with the orange rims

 ...put the glass back

 I think I'll leave it for a few days and see if I like it enough to keep it this way.

Tablescape

 My home is going to be featured next month on a house walk here in Riverside,IL, so I have been so busy painting, rearranging things, and planning for the event.   My home will be featured alongside other designers and architects that live in my town. 

I am playing with how I want to "style" 

my home for this event.   

Here is how I plan to dress 

my dining table...want it to feel 

like I am hosting some guests.  

 I am going to add a little 

pie under the cloche 

on the day of 

the housewalk.

I have added some 

vintage table linens, 

utensils, and glassware 

at one end. 

 I clipped off some sprigs from the 

yard and added them 

to a contemporary vase.

The oranges tie into the 

colors in my home...I have all 

greens, golds, 

and oranges through out.

 To separate the clusters of accessories, 

I added the wicker tray, 

all with like items....greenery.  

 Here is a close up of the dining rug.

 Later this evening, I took some 

shots to see how things look with a 

touch of candlelight and a 

few apples under 

the glass dome...always playing.

 At the other end of the grouping, 

the appetizer plates, 

cream pitcher and bowel 

all nestled in together.  

I added a silver cake knife 

found at an antique store.

 The table linens are layered 

for added interest.

I know it was a success when my son 

asked if we were having company.

Now to work on the rest of the house...

It's all in the details!!!!