Stop and smell the roses

Not exactly a design post today, just a reminder to enjoy the little things because you never know what the next moment will bring.

A friend of mine passed away on Friday and she lived a super concentrated life over the last two years knowing she had a limited time to soak it all up.

I'm off to  the "festivities" as she would call them. 

I hope you find something small and beautiful that makes you smile today.

Unpacking, birthdays, and a project

I am still unpacking from the move while preparing for two birthday parties and little/big projects that I feel compelled to do now.

I have spent an inordinate amount of time hanging pictures and

curtains. Someday the white walls and horrible mini blinds will go.

I have a bank of four identical windows in the family room, behind the sofa and across from the TV.

They currently have white mini blinds but will be getting these bamboo shades as soon as I finish lining them with blackout lining.

 It is a process that is easy but I have been working on the floor-ouch. First you remove the string from the rings.

I cut the lining to size and using Fabri-tac "hem" the edges, then flip it over and glue in sections sclicing a tiny slit for each ring to pop through.

I thin the Fabri-tac with acetone and use a paint brush to apply a thin, irregular coat to the lining. Once it is dry you restring the shade and hang it.

I have so much work ahead of me in this house including the birthday party for my littlest on Saturday. She is two today and I am off to enjoy my day with her.

Where does your art come from?

Most of the artwork in my home comes from my grandmother's long career as an artist and art teacher.

 A few pieces are from other sources.

None of it is mass produced like this abstract from Ballard. While I like it I would never buy it.

I really like this bold floral from Pier One yet I don't think I could bring myself to hang it in my home. I really believe that an authentic decor needs original artwork. The closest thing to a mass produced print I own is a collection of antique architectural  and fox hunting prints that I have found on ebay.

It turns out to be a very affordable method to incorporate unique (or nearly unique) art in your home.

Stuff like this makes me cringe.

And this...

and this. My apologies to the artists but I just don't like them.

This Dee McCleskey pastel was recently featured in a local gallery. I'm sure it was more than $129.

Cathy Henrdon acrylic

I'd rather have one original painting than an entire house of mass produced art.

Do you agree?

Or do you think I am a snarky art snob?

homegrown furniture



Yesterday was a beautiful day for a drive through the Virginia countryside. We drove to Madison, Va about 25 miles north of Charlottesville.

The drive was for the purpose of picking up

 my almost 2 year old's birthday present at E. A. Clore and Sons furniture.

This youth chair is her "big girl chair" and while I could wax sentimental here, I'll just keep it to the facts.

The chair is wonderful and satisfies my aversion to plastic furniture.

It is made right here in Virginia at a most charming little factory in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains.

Even the people that work there are charming.

The furniture is heirloom quality and I hope it sees many a future generation in our family.
You won't find any sleek lucite consoles here but I wanted something other than that and Fisher-Price just wouldn't do.

Here is a bit of info gleaned from the E. A. Clore and Sons site.

E. A. Clore Sons is a family owned business that has been in the Clore family since Moses Clore began making furniture in Madison, VA in 1830.

E. A. Clore Sons was listed by Family Business in the Summer 2008 issue as the 43rd oldest family company in the United States.


The Clore family has continuously produced handsome and enduring furniture in the Early American tradition since 1830. The knowledge and skills needed in making our handcrafted furniture has been passed down with pride from generation to generation. Each piece of Clore furniture is crafted to remain beautiful for years to come using techniques such as mortice-and-tenon construction and dovetailed drawers.

I love buying locally and I am just thrilled with the chair.

Lilly "chairlooms"

Read about these marvelous goodies HERE.

If you are a Lilly lover, like me you'll be drooling with excitement over this stuff.

On Paint

The past week has been a bedroom painting scramble in anticipation of our moving truck full of belonging arriving.

Above, is a before picture of my master bedroom. Can you blame me for wanting to paint it?

This is the almost finished product. The crappy venetian blinds are going away soon and furniture, instead of ladders,will fill the space.

This is actually about the paint.

I used Sherwin-Williams Superpaint in my room and the clerk at S-W promised me that two coats would cover that blood colored accent wall.

Much to my surprise, it did.

I recently used the same Superpaint in my guest bath...

but it only had to cover builder's off white walls.

Yesterday and the day before were spent painting my color-fatigued teens room's.

Much to my chagrin they both insited on having their rooms painted a bright white.

My daughter's room was that builder color with badly scuffed walls and trim.

I decided to save a little cash and went to Lowe's. I chose Valspar Super Premium flat Ultra White that promised "thick one coat coverage".

My already nearly white room required two coats.

That is a blurry before picture of my 16 year-old son's room.

It's very lavender.

This "thick one coat coverage" took actually three coats to cover and after days and days of painting and extra coat seemed like the judge added ten more years to our sentence.

The S-W Superpaint was about $41 a gallon and the Valspar was about $25 a gallon.

I would have gladly spent the money to avoid having to do so many coats of paint and I think we would have ended up using less anyways.

The moral is that, in this case, you get what you pay for.

My tax refund fantasy

Just for fun, I put together a few things that I might spend a tax refund on if I had one and was totally impractical.

The first thing that came to mind was Brunshwig and Fils "Le Lac". I'd want enough for curtains in my formal living room or about 15 yards at approximately $6000.

I realize that there are finer chandeliers out there but I like this $1400 one from Ballard, darnnit.

These dining Chairs by Ralph Lauren, $1398 each from Horchow.

Phillip Jeffries silk wallcovering for my formal dining room. No price listed.

You know what that means.

I'd also love an aubusson rug that would cost more than anyone's tax refund.

Enough with fantasy-- I'm off to paint a room before the movers get here.