THE BLOG

Holiday Home Tour 2013 – Sneak Peek

By on December 7, 2013 in Christmas Tree, Holiday

A little facebook post on Wednesday has prompted me to dust off this old blog and show you a few of the decorations around my house.  So here is the Holiday Home Tour 2013…come on ovah!  

If you stick around, I will be posting more shots of each space in separate blog posts, but here is a sneak peek of a few of my favorite spaces in our home this year!

FOYER – Every year we fill our antique sleigh with two extra large poinsettias.  Such a fun unexpected impact in the space!

FAMILY ROOM – This year I topped my mantle with fresh magnolia and loads of candles.  I love mixing  the rustic birch candles with fancy silver candelabras.

KITCHEN – Sleigh rides in the backyard…for real!

LIVING ROOM – See how the MK Coastal tray fits in a totally fancy non-nautical space?

HALLWAY – Our Elf on the Shelf is kickin’ back in the village from my grandmother.  Does your snow glow?  Check back to see how I do it.

TREE #1– We have two trees!  My “fancy” tree (as my kids like to call it) is decorated in silver, gold, white & green and finished with dried  hydrangeas. 

TREE #2 – Don’t worry, my kids aren’t deprived…we have a FUN tree too!  Loads of handmade ornaments and even a few from my childhood!

BACK YARD – We even decorate our other fireplace outside!  Do you like the red and green MK Coastal pillows?  Check out our website, and you too could have some in your home.

Well, there you have a sneak peek!  Check back soon for more posts from the rest of our home.  Let the frantic “decorate my house” phone calls begin.  Happy Holidays!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Doodle Time

By on December 2, 2012 in Holiday

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Am I the only one who feels like this holiday decorating is coming quicker every year?  Seriously!  I felt like I was the last person in my neighborhood to get the outside of my house decorated..and it was STILL only November.

But here we are, December 1st, and we were busy getting ready for the next big holiday.  Now before you start wondering if my house is actually decorated yet, I wanted to share with you a quick and easy tip for getting a different type of holiday chore done.    HOLIDAY CARDS!  Well, first step is to multi-task.  I brought mine to a 6:00am hockey practice.  If we HAD to be there that early, might as well be getting something done…right?!?

Depending on how old your kids are, you may remember about 7 years ago when aquadoodles were all the rage?  We had several, and even though my boys don’t play with them anymore, I found a pen in our “junk drawer” (yes, I really do have a junk drawer)  So here it is, my secret weapon, STEP TWO…

Seriously, the BEST way to seal your envelopes!  I know, I know…I’m pretty sure they have something specific  to seal envelopes, but there is something about the shape and size of the Aquadoodle pen that make the job much easier. Oh, and since you might have one of these lying around your house, it’s even better.

Now if I can only get them addressed, stamped, and in the mail!

 

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I’m Thankful For….

By on November 12, 2012 in Centerpieces, Dining Room, Fabric, Fall Projects

BURLAP (among other things of course)  But seriously I am always thankful for a fabulous utility fabric that you can use over and over again.  This year, I started with a simple white linen table cloth and overlaid it with a few yards of beautiful silver sage burlap (in that fab color…still only $3.99 a yard) paired it with a flannel tartan for an elegant fall tablescape.  Did I mention that I didn’t sew ANYTHING?!?  That’s right, a couple of yards of flannel fabric with a built in “cut here” line.

The inspiration for this Thanksgiving table setting came from the Blue Moon Squash I found at Idylwilde Farm last week.  Did you see my post on facebook?  In all honesty, this was to be my first dinner party at our new dining room set (I totally feel like a real grown up now) and I wanted the colors of the decor to match said furniture.  Nailed it!

New Squash Meet New Chair

My “newly retired” mom (congrats Peg O’Toole) is in the process of downsizing again, so I inherited her wedding china as well (see what I mean…total grown up territory!)

And here is a close up of a super simple flower arrangement. Hydrangea & Flowering Kale, are some on my favorites for fall centerpieces!

Don’t forget to add moss around the bottom of the hurricane candles for texture!

I was just so happy with how the whole table came together…and the food, well that’s another story for a different sort of blog!

And are you wondering about the numbered pumpkins?  Truth be told, this isn’t really my Thanksgiving table…in fact, I’m not even hosting this year!  (But don’t totally put it past me to set my table weeks in advance)  This post was inspired by a dinner party I was hosting.  As each of my guests arrived I had them pick a number which corresponded to seat for suppah!  Although some couples actually ended up sitting net to each other, it was a fun way to let fate decide how the night progressed. (And some chairs were clearly more comfy than others).

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

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It’s Do-Ovah Time

By on June 30, 2012 in Bedroom, Bookshelves, Cottage Style, Dining Room, Paint

Do-Ovah’s are my favorite part of the job!  They really educate and motivate my clients to be able to do something creative with their spaces on their own.  I feel like such a proud momma when I hear from them that they completed what we talked about and they love it.  The downside of the Do-Ovah for me is that I don’t always get to see the finished product.  But sometimes, a client finishes it AND sends me proof.  Here are just a few do-ovah’s from the past few months…

DO-OVAH #1 – Concord, MA

This do-ovah was for a client who was moving to the area and had to make all the decisions from several hours away.  She hired me to help out with the kitchen & family room area that had a confusing layout and clearly dated built-ins.

BEFORE

Her style is light and bright cottage feel, and we went through her Pinterest Boards (best design tool eva) to see what ideas she had for the space.  It was not in the budget to rebuild the bookshelves, so we had them painted white and added crown molding at the top to lose the scalloped edge for a less 70’s feel.  The trim around the windows was also painted white and the walls were painted in Benjamin Moore Sliver Sage 506.  They are thrilled with the transformation…now onto the furniutre options.  I hope they keep me posted!

AFTER

DO-OVAH #2 – Acton, MA

This client lives in a beautiful historic home with lots of charm.  They hired me for several rooms in their home, but for their dining room in particular they wanted to give it a whole new look, but didn’t really want to paint.  Um, yeah about that…

BEFORE

Often times people think that if they have the dark woodwork in historic homes they shouldn’t paint it (I’m one of those people)  but here’s the thing, you don’t have to choose light colors to make it look good.  In fact, I think yellow is one of the worst options because it doesn’t enhance the tone of the wood…it competes with it…making it look too orange!  Luckily, my client is someone who will take design risks (YIPPIE!) and didn’t completely pass out when I suggested to paint it PURPLE!

AFTER

Benjamin Moore Kasbah AF-640 to be specific.  The furniture did not change, but doesn’t the room look so much more pulled together?  It’s so soothing!

I love how the beautiful woodwork just pops against the new color.  Seriously, is that door amazing or what?!?

Oh, and speaking of the door, we were also working on the master bedroom and they said they needed a new headboard!   Rather than purchasing a new one, I suggested that they use an extra door and paint it then hang it horizontally…and guess what…they did it!  Doesn’t it look stunning?

Note to self: Do not go up to your son’s Lacrosse coach in front of a bunch of other Mom’s (none of which were his wife / my client)  and say how much you really love how his headboard turned out.  Um, yeah, we got a few funny looks!  I guess that’s just the part of my job…RUMORS!

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