Archives for July 2013

Things as they ought to be…

 

A vintage enamel bucket next to my garden hydrangeas in a milk glass vase.  Classic combo.

A vintage enamel bucket next to my garden hydrangeas in a milk glass vase. Classic combo.

 

I try to make life a little easier these days.  Without time enough in the day to do all the things I want to do requires me to prioritize that which is most important.

As such, I try to find furnishings for my home that need not be changed in order for me to like it.  I want things that I love in their “as found” condition.  I’d be a happy girl if I never picked up a block sander and paintbrush again.  I’d rather spend time admiring something’s prettiness than trying to cajole it into something else.

A couple of months ago, I found a rusty, vintage nine piece wrought iron patio set.  My first order of business was to get it powder coated to pretty up the finish.  But then I thought “no”…let’s not worry about perfection.  Let’s just let it be.

A new outdoor rug, some custom cushions, a few market items from Pottery Barn and we are good to go.

So here you have it.  A summer porch with rusty furniture.  And frankly, I couldn’t be happier.

I hope you find some inspiration.

xoxo.

Always,

Cindy

Rusty and the refined.  Linen pillows, custom cushion make these some very comfortable vintage rocking chairs.

Rusty and the refined. Linen pillows, custom cushion make these some very comfortable vintage rocking chairs.

 

Big blue striped pillows, a lantern filled with sand, shells and citronella and an antique pewter mailbox all feel very coastal.

Big blue striped pillows, a lantern filled with sand, shells and citronella and an antique pewter mailbox all feel very coastal.

 

The stripes in the rug play against the flag stripes, the blue in the pillows play against the blue in the flag.

The stripes in the rug play against the flag stripes, the blue in the pillows play against the blue in the flag.

An vintage camp chair covered with a vintage grain sack that can be used for extra seating and folded up when not in use.

An vintage camp chair covered with a vintage grain sack that can be used for extra seating and folded up when not in use.

 

 

 

One Room or Another…

 

Den.

Before: Den

Side Table/Night Stand in the new Master Bedroom.

After in the same spot: New Side Table/Night Stand in the new Master Bedroom.

The beauty of an old house is that each room can be anything you want it to be.  Just as antiques can be moved from one room or another based on fancy and feeling, rooms can be re-purposed out of whimsy or necessity.  For me, necessity dictated some changes.

I have a special needs dog who often requires care throughout the night.  For the better part of three years, she wakes me up 2 to 4 times during the night.  The original master bedroom was upstairs, so it required me to pick her up and carry her up and down two flights of stairs (she is blind and can not walk down them on her own) which was difficult, not to mention dangerous.

About two years ago, I felt it was better to sleep downstairs in the guest room because it was easier to take my dog outside without having to navigate two flights of stairs.  However, the guest room has no closet and is hardly large enough for decent clothing storage.

The solution was to re-purpose each room downstairs in order to create a master bedroom for myself.  Indeed, it would help me feel less like a guest in temporary quarters as I did, storing my clothes in stacking plastic storage containers.

And so it goes, I had a major antique sale to get rid of the furniture that would not fit in the new arrangements and I set out to re-design each room in a way that was more suitable.

I will share the pictures in future posts, but I thought I would start out be sharing the old and new floor plan along with a sneak peak of the results.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Cindy

A guest room, den, dining room and sitting room.

A guest room, den, dining room and sitting room.

 

A guest room, master bedroom, dining room and den

A guest room, master bedroom, dining room and den