Happy Holidays!

Sharing some simple holiday touches.....

fresh evergreen in a vase....

 vintage white tree under cloche.......

 Moss and candlelight.....

 evergreens and ornaments......

 snowflakes on branches and vintage milk glass and candlelight.....

  Hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday season!  

Amy

Fall Decorating Touches

When it comes to decorating for any season or holiday, 

I prefer to add simple touches to my home.

I don't like for things to feel thematic or "literal"

if that is the right way to phrase it.

I added this vintage burlap lamp shade 

with fall color tones in the embroidery.  

Good year round, but when I started to 

added more fall colors, 

the embroidery stood out even more.

 By adding a toss pillows with deep 

jewel tones and a hint of orange,

 it feels more autumn decor.

 I placed a some corn and a few Halloween 

items in the mix....

love the skeleton...fun school art project.

The best part is after the fall holidays,

it takes minimal effort to change things up

to get ready for the next holiday.

Keep it simple...less is more.

Industrial Touch

Selling things at 

Jackson Square Antique Mall in Lagrange, IL

is a lot of fun.  

Every time I go in to bring in new treasures to sell, 

I have to venture around to see what everyone else is selling....

my favorite place to shop.

Some of the merchandising done by the dealers 

is so creative and it keeps me inspired 

and up on the latest trends.  

Now there are a lot of industrial items that are 

popular and I wanted in on the look.  

I love these rusty wheels I found that 

I hung with a nail on my wall in my living room.  

I love how they feel whimsical, modern 

and rustic all at once.  My personal style is very eclectic 

and if yours is too...or if you want it to be....

consider adding a touch of industrial to your home. 

My Son's Room

This is a tour of my son's room.  

He is now in a new room since our renovation and thought I should show the old room first!

At the time....he was really 

into animals.

A painting by his great grandmother

was a special touch above his desk. 

I found a large branch in the yard and used twine and small clothespins to attach little fabric remnants I cut from a discontinued fabric book.  I laid the branch on the drapery brackets and zip tied it.  

 I added this rug for pattern and color....I have a loose color scheme...with an emphasis on yellow, green, turquoise, and orange.

 Added a vintage chair with Target pillow.

  

Got this desk from a garage sale and painted it kelly green...added a vintage desk lamp.

Layered his bedding with a duvet and quilt and pillow from anthroplogie...mixing stripes with polka dots...sorry for blurry photo.

This is a gallery wall featuring his artwork and some scrapbook paper and fabric. Frames are from IKEA.

  

Added a handpainted initial..."E" and spray painted the circles green.

The nightstand is a red spray painted office cart with a vintage lamp and embroidered cloth...

The headboard is decoupaged with maps...garbage pick.

and storage beneath night stand 

for treasures and books.

 This wall mural was painted by my talented friend Jennifer Rizzo.  Added vintage lamps with new shades.

Loved mixing in all the patterns and colors to make this a cheerful space.  

Thanks for visiting!

Fun with Vintage Dishes

I love vintage dishes...

I count them as art pieces.

I love how they add dimension 

and a feeling of variety.

  

I decided to do a random 

floating wall hanging 

in my daughter's room...

it felt less serious and more

whimsical for a little

girl's room.

 To arrange them,I played on the floor first and then started with hammering and stepping back.  I was inspired with lily pads to guide the look I wanted to achieve.

If you are looking to add some variety and one of a kind interest to any room...try this!

Bathroom Tour...Attic Renovation

Here is a tour of what I call a miracle bathroom.  

Renovating in an old home presents many obstacles.  

If you have an endless budget,

 anything could be done, 

but we were trying to work 

around the old house/attic obstacles in a 

natural way to keep cost down.  

One obvious challenge is the 

slanted attic ceiling.  

I had to do smaller double doors to 

get in just so we would not hit the ceiling.  

Then we had to "rehearse" standing at the 

toilet for head clearance.

We were also limited on toilet placement to keep it close

to the house plumbing stack.

In this case, we also had to order a special toilet that

is wall mounted rather than the floor.  

We had to have a cavity behind

the toilet to hide the plumbing. 

We did this because my 

contractor did not want to drill

into the floor joists, making the 

floor structure not as solid, so the plumbing 

sits on top of the floor behind the wall.

From a design standpoint, I added the 

granite ledge to make 

this feature feel like it was on purpose

...a feature and not hiding something. 

 Good lighting is so important and added this 

sconce that had a 

glass shade originally to the toilet side of the bathroom.  

I changed to a regular lamp shade...

also was happy.....got this from a 
lighting store tent sale for $30

 and the shade was $18.

 Next we wrap around to a built in bench...
was thinking it could be storage, 

but set it up this way and 
have kept it like this.  

I still have a preschooler 
so having a place to 

sit rather than the 
toilet is nice to have.

I added a bench cushion

...wrapped the foam with fabric 
like a present

using safety pins on 
the back side

(I can't sew) and some 
accent pillows.
You can use duct tape to cover 
safety pins if you are 
worried they will open 
or scratch the surface

Want to replace with a 
longer/thicker cushion, 

but had this one so using it for now.

 Then I had this little cubbie area for storage.

...so added some shelving.

I want to add a little 

piece of trim

to the front to hide the little ledge. 

 Added  a cute towel hook from World Market....

 For the tub area, I wanted to do a classic feature found in 

bungalows, so did a simple white subway tile

accented by little marble subway tiles.

I had the tiler space the tile so the grout lines would really show up and 

then used a darker grout 
color found in marble.

(I washed the tub before this photo was taken,

 so some of the grout 

looking darker in some spots 

where the grout is still wet.)

 Added a little shampoo niche...

 Another obstacle...had to order this jointed shower rod that is 

paintable hardware from Germany. 

Only thing that would work for a 
shower rod with going 
into a slanted ceiling.
Less expensive than custom glass shower door which I was thinking I would have to do.  
The piece was $12.

Added some sconces on either side of mirror....

 Carved mirror from Home Goods....from India

The vanity was from Home Depot

...came in a dark finish

but I painted it white.  

Could not find a white finish I liked in my price range.

I always tell my clients to look past the finish if the 

size and style is right, 

because it is the easiest thing to alter.

Also added different hardware.

Had a custom one priced like this for $900
...paid $325 for this one.

 Tried to be subtle but repeated the rectangle

 shape in sink, tile, and the 
wall sconce near toilet.

.....Big splurge ....and so worth it was.... 
this skylight.

 You can see how it reflects natural light in the mirror here. 

 This shows you how I had to use the 
double doors to clear the ceiling.

My husband added the stop hinge that 
keeps the door from hitting the vanity.

 Added this area rug for color and comfort...

 Had the tiler put the tiles on a 
running bond/brick pattern on floor.

Love this marble!
Found it at The Tile Shop

 The walls are a linen color...with all the 

in and out of walls and ceiling 

being slanted I wanted to 
blanket the walls and 

ceiling with the same color to keep it simple.

I pulled the color from the tile by 
using my paint fan on top of it.

 Fell in love with this granite
...a remnant from a fabricator.

Loved how it complimented the tile.

Besides the lighting near mirror and toilet, 
I also added a can light to shower area.

 Another obstacle was the bath/shower plumbing
...we added a drop in tub

 because.... once again..... we have the 

plumbing on top of the floor. 

Makes the tub a little higher to 

get into but still comfortable.

I thought this was a better way to do it rather 

than putting the tub on a little platform.

I hope you enjoyed the tour!