Reclaimed Wood Projects

We are trying to decide on a new dining table for the beach house. While we've been making do with a big oval Queen Anne table, from our old Queen Anne bungalow, it doesn't really "fit" in a contemporary rustic beach house. Don't worry,  we won't throw it into a landfill -- we will donate it to a local charity shop when we replace it. We are considering having something custom made from reclaimed wood.

 Do you just love all the gorgeous things folks are making from reclaimed wood?

Christmas Swedish Advent Star -- A New Variation

I never get tired of folk art, vintage paper, or Christmas! 

Seriously, an heirloom ornament for inspiration, some Christmas carols, an old book and some glue = my happy place.  I first shared how I make woven advent stars from folded strips of vintage paper in this post.

I shared a picture of my dear friend's family heirloom woven star, as well as some history and important copyright information in this post.

Ideas for the Thanksgiving Kid's Table

I will confess that I have never gone overboard decorating for Thanksgiving. Beyond a door wreath and some mums on the porch steps, Thanksgiving decor is usually limited to the tablescape. How about you? Do you decorate the whole house, or keep things pretty simple?  Whenever possible, we kept the kiddos at the big table, but some years there just wasn't space, and having a kid's table gave the cousins a chance to build their own special memories and bonds.

Here are a few ideas and links for decorating kid's tables with treats and activities.

Ideas for Updating Lampshades

Have you priced lampshades lately?  Yikes!  Those things can cost more than lamps!  My husband accidentally knocked a floor lamp over the other day, and I nearly had a heart attack worried about whether the shade was damaged (and it's part of a pair, so replacing one means replacing two).  The lampshade survived the fall, but the incident got me thinking about creative lampshade ideas.  Here are a few:

Many of you saw the wild pants lampshade I did a couple of years ago.

Is it Okay to Mix Paneling Styles?

Have you ever wondered if it is okay to mix paneling styles?  I always remind my clients that designers don't follow "rules" -- they apply design principles and psychology and creativity.

You can mix paneling, but it should be done thoughtfully.

How We Care for our Natural Flagstone Floors

I've talked about our natural flagstone floors at the beach house a few times. Recently I shared a little about how our nephew patched them, and why we chose not to rip them out and replace them.

When we originally bought our beach house, the flagstone floors were pretty dirty.  Actually, they were filthy.

Decorating with Re-Purposed Vintage Lockers

My husband has several banks of old gym lockers in our garage. He bought them at a building supply salvage yard a few years ago to use for tool storage.  They're not working out.  His tools are all the wrong sizes and nothing is fitting quite right. He's offered them to me for the beach house!

At first, I really wanted the lockers for my beach house loft studio.........., but somehow the studio got bumped for an office/ secondary family room..... sigh...., and my studio stuff is still boxed up in an attic room. (which may be turning into another bunk room.... sigh...)...  I think I may still want the lockers, though.

Six Reasons to Buy a Vintage Appliance for your Home

Over the years, I have loved many vintage appliances.  When it comes to making a statement, buying a retro appliance can give you a great return on investment!  Here are six great reasons to consider a vintage appliance for your home.

Beauty. There is no denying that many antique and retro appliances have style and grace. They make a statement.  While a new professional quality stainless appliance also makes a statement, a vintage appliance makes a statement that is unique to your home.

Tips for Finding the Perfect Vintage Stove

We've decided to go all electric at the beach house.

Our propane stove is gorgeous, and we plan to keep it, but it will go to another property we own.  For the beach house, we want to make things really simple, thus going all-electric. Plus, our climate is really hard on propane tanks and valves.

Our Flagstone Floors

It's been a while since I talked about the floors at our beach house.  Some of you may remember that we bought a beach house about three years ago that was full of rot and mold and rat poo.  Because, everybody wants those things, right? I know you're going to be feeling jealous when you see this picture, but don't hate me, okay?  Not everybody can have all this....

It had been a foreclosure that sat empty, then someone had tried to renovate and flip it, but had only gotten as far as taking a sledge hammer to much of the drywall.  Rats had moved in. Moisture was taking it's toll. This house was a big mess. At the time, I thought the floors were kind of terrible, too.

What to Expect from a Home Energy Audit

I recently shared why we decided to get an energy audit for our beach house.   We LOVE our beach house, and being able to share it with our family and our friends, but the west side of the house was cold, not energy efficient, and cost a fortune to heat.  We knew we needed to do something, but we wanted to make sure we made the best use of resources to make improvements.  Sooooo, we had an energy audit done.

This is what you can expect if you are planning to have an energy audit done for your house.

The Three Best Reasons to Have an Energy Audit Done on Your Home

Earlier this year we had an energy audit done on our beach house.  This was pretty much the coolest thing ever!

If you have never had this done, I would encourage you to look into it!   We had three reasons for doing the audit:

Design Secrets for Creating Beautiful Presentations

Do you ever look at beautiful renderings, sketches, and models created by interior designers and think you could never create anything like that?  I'm here to tell you, yes you can!  

Drawing and modeling are learned skills, and anybody can do it.  Most interior designers will have eight or ten art, computer drawing, and graphic design courses under their belt, but you don't necessarily need a million classes to create simple drawings and models for your own projects.

The Secrets to Creating a Beautiful Heritage Gallery Wall

When I was thirteen, I got a new piano teacher.  Once a week, I would go to her home after school, take my lesson, then wait for my mom to get off work and pick me up. While I waited, I would explore her home. I loved her home. It was full of handcrafted items and mementos, all beautifully arranged.  My absolute favorite thing was the heritage gallery in their main hallway.  I loved how all the generations were sort of jumbled together and none of the frames matched, and yet it looked really cohesive. It even contained items that were meaningful, but weren't actually portraits or photographs.

I eventually talked my mom into letting me create a heritage gallery in our dining room.  I studied lots of shelter magazines and gathered up nails and hammer and, of course, lots of pictures.  I gathered some unusual things, too -- like a round copper shadow box that I filled with grains and stuck a little sepia toned school photo of my Dad into.  My mom thought that was a little weird, but she liked it in the end.

That was the beginning of my obsession.  

How to Weave a Rush Seat

A few months ago my beautiful mother-in-law passed away very suddenly.  She had many beautiful pieces of furniture -- mementos of her travels and of a life well lived.... aaaaand she had a few not so beautiful pieces.

In the days before her funeral, her seven children flew out from every corner of the country and began the heart-breaking task of sorting through her belongings. The children took turns selecting items they wanted to keep, then they decided which items to donate and which items to put in the huge dumpster that had been delivered to the house.