Always Looking For Best Places To Showcase My Quilts

 

I realized the quilt I had hanging on the back of my standing post office desk had been there for quite some time.

I decided to find something else to hang there and this was close to me as I had recently finished it.

Yes, if you follow my blog you just saw it.

The size of this one is perfect and I love how it looks with my crocks of yarn.

What Else Happened While I Wasn't Blogging?

 

You may know I LOVE teak furniture. This is a "new to me" piece of furniture.

I discovered marketplace and found it there. It is solid, like new and VERY heavy.

This is what it looks like in our living room.

A Visit With My Friend Gina

Gina now lives a short drive from me so I visited her and her husband Ken today in their new lovely home they designed and had built.

What a wonderful setting for their home.

I also had the pleasure of meeting her husband Ken. He joined us for a delicious lunch she prepared.

She is a very accomplished artist in both clay and fiber. She also combines clay and fiber in a very masterful way.

Their home is very tastefully decorated with her work.

What a gorgeous tray to store her bananas on.

I was in awe of her art and how she displayed it all over their home and even outside.

This is just a small sampling of what I saw.

I Love Our House

As I look at new and used furniture on line etc I see some really lovely pieces for great prices.
Yet there is almost nothing in this house I would consider giving up.

Like this wall unit most every thing in this house has a story and some of the stories take a long time to tell!


Everything is either pieces we collected years ago, our old junk furniture we didn't throw away or family things which have sentimental value rather than monetary value.

Even small things like accessories make me think of where they came from years ago or over 10 years.

About the only things we have purchased recently are a few things people in our community were selling at give away prices.

Yet the house never looks static as I love to move things around, especially accessories.

I have also personalized it with quilts and other accessories I have made. There is at least one thing I created in each picture.

Some of these pictures are what the house looked like a few years ago and some are recent.

To me decorating is an ever evolving activity.
Our home is where we live, work and enjoy sharing it with friends.

I am not telling the stories with words on this post but just sharing some views over the years.

I AM A Collector

Not all my collections are out at the same time.
Some of them are too meaningful to get rid of
I put them away to be resurrected in a new way at a later time.

I have had these houses under my tree for 33 -34 years. They were gifts from my son Greg and daughter in law Julie. Greg found a lady who painted them when they lived in Oregon. The only signature on the bottoms is Amber 1985 or 1986. They had been stored away for years.
This year I decided they would be prefect under this tree. AND THEY ARE!
Front and center is a Quilt Shop.
It is so much fun to come up with new ways of using the things I have and remembering how I acquired them.

Breakfast Area Redo

I bought “new to me” chairs and a table.
You won’t see the table in these pictures as I am using it elsewhere.

I had the chair seats recovered with fabric I already had as the fabric on the chairs did not fit in my decor. All the things you see in this picture were things I already had.

This shows off the new upholstery on one of the chairs. They are much more comfortable that the antique straight chairs I had been using. I am continuing to use the antique table as it is one of my prized possessions partially because of the story about how we acquired it and also because of it's unique base.


I created the table setting with things I already had. I switched my kitchen and dining room dishes. Everything you see in this table setting was already somewhere in this house.
I really enjoy using what I have and finding new ways to put things together.
I am going to enjoy using this area and inviting friends to eat and relax in this new area!

It All Started on eBay

14 years ago I found a beautiful bedroom set on eBay.
I fell in love with the lines of that particular style and brand of furniture.
I never have set out to search for it, but it seems I just happen to find pieces when I am surfing eBay that are affordable.
This buffet with hutch was close to home so I didn’t have to be concerned with having it shipped and the price was right.

It took me longer to figure out where I could use it than it did to figure out what to put in it. I had recently acquired several pieces of cranberry hobnail glass. Of course that was not enough to fill the hutch display so I did what I always do…..I went scavenging through cabinets to find other things that would work with it. I had these white depression glass plates and the aqua sherbets which completed the display. The lower section is perfect for storage.
I love these new to me pieces of Scandinavian furniture with a history. This one is from about 1980. It is in almost perfect condition.

Recycled Again

Since I have been making some decorating changes in our house this mirror is in it’s third or later incarnation. I painted it to hang about the dresser in the guest room but when we changed the dresser there wasn’t room for it.
Greg put it up on the barn wood wall in the family room over this antique chest. Then some chairs had to be flip flopped to bring in the aqua color. Lastly an aqua bowl full of artichokes was added.
It’s hard to get great pictures as this is not a brightly lit area. 
Another view of our eclectic home!

What Has Been Keeping Me Busy?

The original lights in this cabinet died. I had new lights installed and what a difference. They are LED 6000K strip lights with a dimmer. This photo was taken with the second to lowest level of light….still so much brighter than the previous lights.

At the brightest they make the doors look black as they are so bright. They only look black in the photo. 
I scrounged all over my house for things to put in here. A lot of the things that were in here before didn’t make the cut.
When I would think I needed something of a certain type, color, size or shape and figured I didn’t have anything that would work I’d remember something hidden away I forgot about. It is so much fun to bring some of these things I love out where they can be seen and appreciated. It was interesting to see prices on some things and see how little I paid for them. Years ago I used to go to local country auctions and bought a lot of these things as part of box lots. Some of these things would not have earned  a second glance if you saw them alone, but as a part of a group they work. Some were gifts or family things. Some pieces are cracked or broken but I still love them and I'll bet you can't tell which ones!
The lights are so bright they also light up that dark corner of the living room, an unexpected benefit.

In closing, this is what it looks like when the doors are open.

New ART In The “Parlor”

Like all the rest of my house the “parlor” is very eclectic. You can see a sampling of the variety of styles and ages of furniture. I felt it needed more green so Greg and Nicholas hung Imagine, one of my Ice Tapestries for me.
I added more green last year with two dark green Scandinavian chairs and ottomans.
Although this is the most formal living area in our house the grandchildren have always gravitated to this room since they were very young. Now that they are older they use it to study, play with their game devices and make music.

This is the quilt that previously hung in that spot. The photo was taken before I moved some furniture into this room from another room.
My home is a gallery and all the pieces I hang are for sale.

An Ice Tapestry Or Quilt Can Update An Entire Room

Mystic gave a whole new look to our great room.


All it takes to update a room is one carefully chosen piece of art to enhance and beautify a room.
I decided it was time to make that change in our dining room.
I am so happy I did it.  The response has been overwhelmingly positive.



This Marimekko panel previously hung here.

Your surrounding should make you, your family and your guests comfortable. Select things that are you and simply update them occasionally with something that speaks to you as Mystic did.

I hope this gives you an idea for our own home, apartment or business.

Stage 2 Redecorating The Master, The Rest Of The Story

This is the opposite wall from the one you saw yesterday.

You might be interested in the bedspread and window treatment..
I finally found a large enough bedspread in a color I liked.
BUT….I wanted matching draperies.
What to do? I bought a twin size bedspread that was exactly the same other than size.
I cut off some length, cut it in half and hemmed the edges. Since I only needed side curtains it worked perfectly. It could also work for large windows with larger bedspread sizes.

I also purchased new sheets, blanket and mattress pad for a total new bed dressing. The sheets are lavender and the blanket in deep teal.

You also can see some other objects in this photo. The stain glass window is something I purchased many many years ago and have used in various locations.

The painting over the bed is a layered painting I did. I believe I did 5 layers. It is a very spontaneous piece. I never knew what the brush was going to create until I put the loaded paint brush on the canvas. I also had no idea where I might use it!

I hope this gives you some ideas for your spaces.


A before picture when it was decorated for Christmas.

Stage 1–Redecorating Master

When I do a decorating project I start with what is already there and then I remove and add things.
The first part of this was to add a new bedspread and drapes. I needed something to pull together the color of the new bedspread and drapes, the green chair and …….

this watercolor painting.
The Ice Tapestry "Iris Spring" was the perfect choice.
I am very pleased with the  results so far..
I love it so much that I didn’t want to go to sleep, just stay up and look at it!

Finished Chair Seats

I bought these 100 year old walnut chairs at an auction about 40 years ago.
13 years ago we put a clear coat finish on them and upholstered the seats.
We didn’t replace the original bases for the seats and recently 2 of them broke through the bottoms. We removed the fabric and had new bases made about a year ago.
I just finished putting them back together with the same gorgeous fabric.

I had replaced the fabric on two of them but ran out of staples.
Yesterday I finished replacing the covers on the remaining 4 of them.
Happy to be able to check off one more item on my TO DO list.

I Have A New Room

Thanks to Kim’s furniture arranging skills and my finishing touches.

This is the sitting area/lounge for guests if I only have one room of guests.
So it you are coming you will have access to this area to relax or get some work done.
The colors are not true and that is because of my limited photography skills!

Changing Up Seldom Inn’s Entrance

I think this is much more welcoming that the previous entrance decor.
A friend had bought this at our community sale last year and decided she didn’t need it and I was pleased with the bargain I got. It had different cushions that were like new but they didn’t go with my colors so I got new cushions that actually cost more than what I paid for the table and two chairs.
I hope you will come and sit a spell when you are outside.

What’s Been Happening Today?

I think it is about time to get Mr. Bunny gourd out of the cupboard or Easter will be here and gone and he’ll still be in hiding.
Never one to share negative happenings I will have to say my IT company did an awesome job getting my computer back where it was when I messed up EVERYTHING while cleaning the keyboard with a paintbrush.
You may or may not know I have joined Facebook Anonymous. I think they want me to come back as they are sending me links to people I should friend. This includes just about everyone who I have ever had a conversation with, the nurses at a large medical facility,  a Dr. who I once saw, just about anyone who I do or have done business with, anyone with a name similar to the last name of one of my friends, anyone on my contacts list, or anyone of my friends family.

This picture as taken the very first time my friend Robbie Porter Payne came over to visit.
While I was writing this my neighbors came over and checked all through my garage and assured me the 3-4 foot long snake that was in my garage when I opened the door earlier is no longer there since I left the door open for him to escape. How lucky am I to have such great neighbors.
Since I didn’t want to go out in the garage and meet the snake I accomplished a lot of things on my To Do list!

You may or may not remember when I was looking for the CC? Well I guess the bunnies have been standing guard.
So it is a great day even without talking about the beautiful weather today.  Of course lunch was out on the screened porch and that should make my middle child happy as he says it is not a lanai!

No, not on the lanai. Fine dining at La Cuisine a while ago.
So lots of Happily Ever After Stories today.
If you are wondering why I am posting all these photos that seem to have no connection, they all were taken today’s date but in different years.

Merry Christmas Y’all

I have done minimal decorating here this year. I’d like to share all the vignettes with you.

This is how we say it in the south!

I hadn’t thought of this as a Christmas decoration when I filled the jar with limes, but with the simple addition of a Christmas decoration it is one.

With all the gold metallic fabric in this triptych of 3 small images it was hard to get a realistic photo of it. Trust me, it is lovely.

Christmas in a corner

I keep Red and Blue Santa the rooms width apart as they seem to be having a discussion of who is the REAL Santa!

Is this Flamingo Tree a Christmas tree? Some would say yes and some would say no.
So don’t forget to say “Merry Christmas Y’all” to all you meet!

I Opened The Door And Whoosh….

There was a flock of flamingoes that must have heard about this sanctuary and my tree is full!

Here is a close up of some of them. I never realized how many varieties of flamingos there are.

Another close up. I wonder how long flamingo season is in Florida? I am sure they will stay to meet my friends and family!

They Are Flying In From All Over

This one flew in from Hilton Head Island. How do I know, the ribbon told me so!

Can’t you just hear that Hawaiian music while she does the hula?

What happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas.