Curtain Choices

I have found a few samples that I adore from fabrics.com for the curtains in my almost-nearly-there-renovated kitchen. Each are drapery weight, giving a good amount of privacy.

I really like the design in the swatch above. There is a good amount of each black and white in the pattern.

I am not keen on the paisley print, but you just never know.

This one may be a tad dark, I could always choose two prints, one for each window. Since one window gets a good amount of light during dinner cook time.


I really, really, really like this print. Almost like Harlequin feel, which would suit the teal walls and stainless steel accents.

Shanda Kydd

I have found some wonderful Shanda Kydd wallpapers I would like to use for the front of my dresser. (Yes, I know, I am always changing around my plans.) Unfortunately, rolls are packaged double and you must buy both...what an awful way to do business.

But whatever.

I have decided to decoupage fabric or paper to the front instead. Or go with my original plan of painter's tape and Valspar.

Although, I do really like the geometric pattern...

Botanical Textures

I have decided to take 100% cotton curtains, in yellow, and add some botanical textures (thank you Martha!) I haven't decided what plant I want to use as the print...or where I can grab some fabric paint that is priced lower than what I've found. Also, I would like something that has branches, although the ivy I found would be wonderful. From the photo above, you can see the ivy is the darkest and has the most wonderful veins that would look great on a stamping project.
The largest leaf in the far back would be wonderful, except I am not sure that it would cooperate covered in paint. The other plants will be used as a test for pressing and framing.

Now I need to visit Greenbrier County for the curtain rods!

Explosive Colors

I love color. Everything about it. Give me white and I'll give it a new face. Black is too dark for my eyes to see, but as an accent, it always adds a touch of sophistication.

There are not enough colors in this world for me. Mother Nature provides the palette and Lowe's gives me the match!


This is part inspiration for my room and I looove how the yellow accents the purple...perfection!

The picture below is beautiful. Reminds me of the Caribbeans...and how I need to be there!

This picture, and JoLena, is where I am getting my inspiration for my almost-renovated kitchen. Almost, in our house, means it will be done within a year...or so.

I have the wall color (it's tad lighter) and I plan to decorate the windows in a black & white jacquard, or similar black & white print. The marble flooring is already a wonderful black with white veins and the granite is a verde essence.

And I will add a few botanical pictures from Greenbrier for a gallery wall above my kitchen/stove area.

Such a yummy day!

Hmmm...the Bahamas!

I am counting down the minutes until I may leave and go play in the sunshine!

50% Complete

Well...two of the four shelves are up...and I'm lovin' it! The picture above isn't the greatest, but all is well. I love the purple with the green and the copper. The picture really washes out the true colors, since the wall has a wonderful blue undertone to it.

Oh, and my inspo cork is up on the wall too. I guess it is time to break out the sewing machine and get to those curtains I promised B months, months, and months ago!

No really...

Those white glowing things are lamps. Found it on Etsy. Paper. No glue. No pins. They stick together by their shape. I, personally, do not get it.

Another Article

You should also take a look here. The article explains how a woman is beginning to help change the face of fashion, by renovating and personalizing what is already in your wardrobe!

A Story That Should Be Read

Over at Bag Snob they have a very heart-warming story, yes it is about handbags, but this has a bit of a different twist.

Read it here.

Etsy.com

Etsy will always yield interesting results. Tonight it was housewares.

Fierce! Aarrrghhh!

a New Addiction

Who can blame me for choosing copper hardware over brass, antique anything, or silver / nickel? (Nah, that is not dust.)

It is sooooooo pretty! You can see below, how I placed everything in a box and then began spraying. The paint is a beautiful metallic, although the paint is marked easily. I'm not even sure I can part with the box now that it is coated as well!

But like I said, touch-ups will be necessary! ...and soon.

Staples

Sooo many staples!

Now that all the layers are ripped off, I can concentrate on perfecting the frame.

In white. With a hint of blue.

Yak!

My parents would love this...I simply hate it!

(From: http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/)

VB

Victoria Beckham is a style icon. She sees where fashion is going and is the first to show it off. She is so wonderful and chic that is shows through her new line. A very inspiration set, if I do say so myself.

From People.com:

""Dresses are very signature to me, I have always dressed in a very feminine, ladylike manner," Beckham said in a statement. Every style, including this silk pencil dress with a chiffon mirror-embroidered top, comes with a rose-gold back zipper and a removable corset-like inner waistband for improved posture."

From People.com:
""I didn't want to make this challenging," Beckham told WWD. "I want it to be sexy and flattering, but in a way women will find sexy." Showing off a woman's shape in her collection of pencil dresses, Beckham gives this one a sexy V-cut front and broad shoulders for a dramatic but classic shape."

Some inspiration...

\I am enjoying the looking of studs. Lots of them. I love the zebra fabrics. Maybe that is why I could not resist the green zebra from Fabrics.com.

First Steps: Bench Reupholstering

So...the brown velvet bench in my sewing room has to be brightened. And to give you a good idea on what I'm looking for, I have found this picture from Better Home + Garden:



So, I am going to have a lot of work ahead of me. And if I can only get every single staple out of this bench, I may be able to make some sort of progress. I should keep all the staples I pull and count them...it would be in the hundreds!

This is the top layer underneath the bench. The person who did the last upholstery job used a stiff netting material. You can see the areas where the old stuffing is falling through the webbing.

Here, I finally removed the first layer and all the staples with it. This is the part where I flip the bench on its side and rip off the faux welting (which was glued on, a method I may have to consider over handstitiching).



This is after the faux welting was ripped off (and saved for future reference) and also after I took out additional staples and almost ready to rip off the cushion...until I found even more staples!


Here I have flipped it back over onto the legs. I tried taking off the top layer but the buttons are threaded to the bottom of the bench and past the webbing.

Well..tomorrow I take back some veneer shelving. Apparently, it is not a good idea to spray paint anything with a veneer coating...I thought it was a good idea. Instead, B will help me cut shelves to my wanting. And it really is for the better, since Lowe's only carried the veneer style in four foot and three foot lengths. I plan to have two 5' x 12" and two 3'x12". Luckily, it is okay to spray paint metal.

That is the old dresser we are moving out tomorrow!