Autumn in the Air

 

     Why is it that I always love changing things for the season, but I am so ready to put it away just a few weeks later? Right now, I love all things fall...but it won't be long before all the colors and pumpkins will be driving me crazy!

 

     It really takes very little to change the look and feel of your home. I found this pillow (I only use one on my sofa) and throw at TJMaxx last weekend for about $35 total. I loved some of the season's pillows at Pottery Barn, but this one has color and texture and was only $19.99.

 

 

     You can see that someone thinks that all things soft and cozy belong to her. It wouldn't make much sense for me to invest much in anything that is within her reach.

 

 

Little bits of fall are tucked all over the house.

Soon, I will add touches of Halloween.

 

If you missed the wreath tutorial,

you can find it here.

 

 

     The bittersweet came in my last bouquet delivered from the area organic farmer. It was very green and the berries were closed. I let it sit for about 2 weeks and they popped open and dried into this beautiful sign of fall.

 

 

I am joining Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life for

Inspire Me Tuesday

 

and

 

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style for

Wow Us Wednesdays

 

A Tale of Two Tables

     I love library tables. They don't take up much space and they often are able to finish the look in a place where nothing else fits. The above picture you have seen before, it is an antique library table that has been sitting in our entry (at the top of the open staircase to the basement) since we moved into this house 8 years ago. The table belonged to my paternal grandparents. It didn't come to me directly from them. It actually was purchased by my in-laws (who collected and sold antiques for many years) at best guess, back in the 70's.

     The table below, is leftover from the "Cottage Look" furniture that I bought for the living room when we moved in. That was a big mistake for me and that furniture lives in the basement now. Did you ever decorate an entire room and while it looked great, it just "wasn't you" and made you uncomfortable? Well, that was my cottage phase for me. Anyway, the table has always been a too light for the furniture we have now, but I worked around it. It is now in the garage and will be in the fall garage sale.

     As of last week, I've made a slight change. At the top of the stairs now sits a different antique library table. You can follow along by looking at the base of the tables in order to see the difference. The table below has been in my in-law's living room for decades. It was purchased by them back in the 70's as well. It belonged to my maternal grandparents! When my in-laws retired over 20 years ago, they told me they wanted me to take one of the tables. I still remember my mom telling me to pick the paternal table, "it is a better table, with a prettier base". I had actually forgotten that the other table was also from our family, but my husband remembered. We have been spending many hours going through my in-laws home. We are having an auction on July 9th and you can't imagine the antiques that are being sold. My grandmother's table is now living at our house, very near the table of my other grandmother.

These tables have both lived long lives and

they have come home to rest. How cool is that?

     We have been so busy that my blogging is still at a slower pace than usual. My dad and my son arrived safely in Florida yesterday. I hope to catch up around here this week. If I've missed something you think I need/want to see, tell me in the comments please.

I'm joining Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday.

Take a moment to stop by and say hello to her!

Where Do You Keep All Those Dishes?

     I really don't like posting this "before" picture. The rest of my house is actually kept neat and organized! Some of you may remember a few months ago I decided to turn a bedroom in the basement into my dish room. This room will never be cute or stylish. We have pulled odds and ends of old furniture that we were going to get rid of to use in here. I did think over the weekend that I'd like to turn my friend Kim @ Savvy Southern Style loose with her paintbrush in here. I know things would look better with a coat of shabby white paint on everything, but I also know that in this room...the paint would get scratched very easily.

     This room started out somewhat organized, but over the months and after many trips thrifting and all those times I asked my husband to "put this in the dish room" after tearing down a tablescape...this is how it looked. Cluttered, messy and simply awful. So, over the past two weekends, we emptied the room, added a fresh coat of paint to the walls and started over.

The walls are now a deep taupe

(almost every room in my house is this color)

and the woodwork has a fresh coat of white paint.

     Remember when I bought my thrifted desk and it came with a hutch I wasn't going to use? It is perfect for holding wine glasses. We thought about hanging it on the wall, but I decided there was less risk with breakage at this level. I love using old crocks to store floral supplies, tubs hold the larger items.

     A large antique crock in the corner holds more floral supplies. An old rocker from my grandparent's house is covered with vintage quilts. See the cute little pretty hanging on the pine cabinet...it was a gift from my pal Jenny @ Jenny Matlock.

The pine cabinet is full of Christmas

things and teapots, cups and pitchers.

     The old cedar-lined wardrobe (ugly thing isn't it) holds all my tablecloths, runners and throw pillows. Large vases and my grandma's china sit on top (the pink cup is an "oops, I forgot to move the tea I was drinking before taking the picture". The old walnut bookcase is nice and sturdy for glasseware. I had a couple shelves I purchased and painted for other locations and didn't like them...up on the wall they go!

     My cedar chest is full of spring and summer dishes and topped with ones I will be using during the winter months. You can see another crock full of florals to the right.

These shelves were from my daughter's dorm room.

They aren't very sturdy, but perfect for ribbons and crafty things.

  

     The oak dresser was the first piece of furniture we bought after we got engaged. It was $35 at an auction. It holds napkin rings, candles etc. Silver sits on top. The rocking horse was mine as a child and the dollhouse my dad made for my daughter's 9th birthday. It still feels a bit cluttered in here, but that is because I have too much stuff and keep adding more. At least now it is organized clutter. I have my glass table in the room so I can play with combinations before I carry things up the stairs. Not all of my dishes are kept here. My good china and crystal are upstairs, as are several other sets of dishes that we use frequently. My mom's china is stored in the kitchen in the wet bar. I like the idea of our good china being a bit more protected from collapsing furniture or young grandchildren.

I am joining Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday.

There are some great decorating tips to be found there!

Desk Makeover-Met Monday

     My dad left yesterday to head back to Florida. I did want to show you one of his projects while he was at my house. You may remember the $15 garage sale desk that I posted a few days ago. It had good "bones" but was certainly dated. My dad had never done a Shabby project, but I think he did a great job.

     He started by removing the wooded knobs and sanding the entire desk. Next came 3 coats of white paint.

     It went a bit against his instincts to then sand off some spots in the paint, but he did it. A clear glaze was applied after the rough spots were added.

     I ordered new glass knobs from Anthropologie. My four knobs with shipping cost twice as much as the desk, but they really gave it the look I wanted. The desk is in my daughter's room, which is gradually becoming my office since she is so rarely home.

The knobs are a sea glass color (mint) 

and perfect with the coverlet for the daybed.

     I also wanted to share my new to me bookends. Dad and I went to an area furniture store for their tent sale on Friday. The birds had come unglued from the birdbaths, so I got these for $1. A drop of glue and they are perfect for the corner of my "new" desk. My real bargain (the best I've ever gotten) I will post tomorrow...stay tuned!

I am linking today with Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

 for Met Monday. There are so many great projects listed each week.

I only wish I had time to read them all! Make sure you visit her!

I'm also joining Mary @ Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

I hope you will pop in and say hello to her!

A Message To Live By...Table Top Tuesday

When I was in Michigan in May, just a few days after my mom

died...I saw this plaque and I loved it. Amidst all the sweet,

sad and flowery options, this one made me smile.

I wasn't sure where to put it in my home. I decided I liked

 it on this glass and iron shelf that sits just inside my front door.

The shelf was a thrifty find when a local hotel

was selling all of their furnishings a few years

ago. I only paid $15 for it, and I think it

 is a perfect place to showcase some

of my favorite beachy things.

A seashell from Key West...

A piece of coral...love the texture!

It fits perfectly under our beachy artwork and

on a wall that is a slightly odd shape.

I'm linking with Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday.

Please run on over and check out the other participants today!

Just a Little Show and Tell...Table Top Tuesday

     So many bloggers are really good at sharing all parts of their homes with us. I realized recently that I haven't done as much of that as most of you. I don't know why that is. I guess I'm a little private and very eclectic in my style. I'm one of those "less is more" people, so I don't have every space filled with wonderful things. I also lean a bit more contemporary than many of my fellow bloggers. However, I am adding touches of things I've never used before after seeing so many of your beautiful homes. I also love anything related to the sea, as you might have noticed in my laundry room redo yesterday...there are shells and little bits of "beach" scattered all through my home. I have new furniture mixed with antique family pieces and my only decorating rule is to use things that make me happy.

     Right now, this sterling tray is making me happy. I used it in my tablescape last week and I simply didn't want to put it away. So, I decided to try it on my library table. The table belonged to my grandparents and it sits at the top of the open staircase that leads to our basement. I added my Willow Tree angel, a gift from my parents. You can see she is listening to the sea in her conch shell, a sprig of azalea seemed to soften the look of the candleholders which I purchased a few years ago in Charleston, SC.

     I wanted to show you the rest of the table. Sometimes I use a runner on it, but in general I like it without. The sculpture piece was also purchased in Charleston at the same time as the candlesticks. The pottery vase in the center of the table I just bought at an art show in Florida. I haven't decided what to put in it yet, or if I will leave it as is. I may even move it off this table entirely, not sure yet. I'm thinking that maybe the tall piece should be near the wall with the tray on the opposite end. I need to look at this for a while.

     The vase has a bit of an interesting story. The artisan show in Sarasota was a large one. There were many artists and several of them sold pottery. We actually went the first weekend I was in Florida and truthfully, my heart wasn't in it...but, I needed to get away from the hospital for a while. My sister was also in town at the same time. We both went to the show at different times and met back at the hospital later. She told me she only bought one thing, as shopping just wasn't something we felt like doing. When she said she bought a piece of pottery, I knew what had happened. Out of all of the booths, all of the pottery artists...we picked the same one, the same pattern. Her vase is round, mine is tall...sisters think alike!

     I also wanted to show you my new canister set. MY HUSBAND BOUGHT IT! Now this might not be an unusual thing at your house...but, at mine this is big news. On our way home from Florida we stopped at Cracker Barrel and I stopped briefly at the display that was all beach related. As I headed for the restroom I said to him, "cool canisters on the beach table" just in passing. When I came out of the restroom, he said he bought them. My kitchen really doesn't have blue in it, but because most things in it are coffee/cappuccino related, using a color works. When I asked my husband what made him buy a canister set (I haven't had one for decades) he said he liked it. He liked the way the starfish matched other things in the house. My blog is having an effect on my husband...so strange, but aren't they pretty?

     Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life is our hostess for Table Top Tuesday. Take a moment to visit her, it is a great place to get ideas for little vignettes for your home.