Modern Live Edge Side Table – Target Hack
This story of how I created a modern live edge side table has the perfect old meets new plot line. Get ready to feel a flutter deep down in your sentimental soul. This story starts a long time ago in a land not so far away. A huge tree used to stand tall and proud about ten steps away from the front of our house. The diameter at the base of this tree was over 6-feet wide. Had this tree stood sentry over our house for one hundred years? Maybe more? Was it here before cars were mainstream and the county road was paved? I don’t know. I was told…
Decorating with Thimbles in a Modern Way
My mother, who sewed her own wedding dress, is getting a laugh from heaven today. Can you hear it? Despite all of her attempts (and there were many) to teach me any type of sewing because it would be a handy skill to master, I never really took to it. I still have dang it had a stubborn streak and very little patience for detail-oriented work. I definitely have not had the need to pick up a thimble in my adult life, but there’s still time. Therefore, the fact that I’m writing about decorating with thimbles today would be a wee bit laughable to her. The moral of this story? Mom is…
Vintage Handkerchief Art
I own a whole stack of vintage handkerchiefs. These handkerchiefs belonged to my grandpa, my aunt, my grandma and my mom. Have I ever used these handkerchiefs? Nope. Snot going to happen. I mean NOT. Not going to happen. Not because it’s not a good idea. It is. It’s more that some of these handkerchiefs are no longer practical for everyday use due to how delicate they’ve become. But back in the day, did my relatives use these gorgeous handkerchiefs? You bet they did! Handkerchiefs were meant to be used before Kleenex took over the world. No shade to Kleenex or Puffs. I love those ones with lotion. How DO…
Ceiling Fan for the Music Room
As much as it pains me to get rid of gargantuan chandelier from the 1990s (sarcasm alert), it seems to be the most practical choice for our music room. What in the the world would I replace it with? I thought you’d never ask. We would replace the gargantuan chandelier (see below photo) with a ceiling fan. That felt anti-climactic, didn’t it? Wait until you find out I haven’t purchased one yet. Oops. Forget I typed that. A ceiling fan for the music room is not my first choice. It’s probably not my second choice either. But remember, it’s the practical choice. B.O.R.I.N.G. But practical. We have a little problem…
Removing Window Decals
Many home makeovers and renovations involve adding things to a home to give it character or function. I’ve spent the last six months removing things from our Colonial Farmhouse. Stencils, wallpaper and window decals have been the worst offenders. Removing these items has let the home’s existing character shine through. Let’s talk about the fun job of removing window decals. The windows on our living room fireplace wall were adorned with colorful, flowery window decals. Truthfully, I didn’t loathe these window decals. There were so many other things in this home that were much more offensive to the eyes. I also knew there would be a tradeoff when I removed…
Back Staircase Before and After
Our Colonial Farmhouse has a front staircase and a back staircase. The front staircase has gorgeous trim work and is located in the center of our home. The stairs made an appearance in my music room post. Then there is the back staircase. Oh, the back staircase. These stairs are tucked away in a far corner of our home and are a shortcut from the kitchen up to the bedrooms. When we bought the Colonial Farmhouse the back staircase was steep, narrow and ugly. The stairs weren’t inherently ugly. It was more bad bridesmaid dress kind of ugly. However, I saw the potential in those stairs. If fact, it was…
Winter Home Inspiration from New Jersey
One of the reasons I’m enjoying living on the East Coast is that there is a seemingly limitless supply of old home eye candy. You’d think this feast for the eyes would get, well, old, but it hasn’t. Here is some winter home inspiration from New Jersey for your viewing pleasure today. This blue home covered in snow looks like a real-life doll house with that gorgeous white trim all covered in snow. I’m also swooning over the little balcony on the second story. SWOONING. I drive by this home frequently and this isn’t even its best angle. It’s not even the front of the house. This is the left…
Easily Turn an Accent Table into a Decorative Tray
This easy DIY project to turn an accent table into a decorative tray only took me ten years to finish. Ten. Years. If I don’t win the procrastination prize of the day, I’m going to get around to feeling sad later. Don’t overlook old, wobbly accent tables because they no longer function well as accent tables. You know, because of the wobbly part. All you have to do is cut the legs off of the accent table and use the top of the table as a decorative tray. Seriously! A little chip, a little chop. Boom! It is that easy to turn an accent table into a decorative tray. I…
Invisible Picture Wire Saves the Day
Do you ever have one of those “anything is better than nothing” moments? Any seasoning at all would be better than having to eat one more bite of this bland food. A few lunges while I brush my teeth is better than no exercise today! This mint stuck to the bottom of my purse is better than having no mint and bad breath! Using my husband’s deodorant is better than not using any deodorant at all! Added perk – I can enjoy the manly smell of ‘arctic ice’ coming from my armpits all day long. I had one of those “anything is better than nothing” moments as it relates to…
Navy Blue Sunporch Reveal
One of the most charming exterior features of our Colonial Farmhouse is the sunporch. There’s just something about a sunporch that gives an old house some added character. It’s probably all the windows. Here’s a refresher on what the exterior of our Colonial Farmhouse looks like with the sunporch. Ignore the landscaping for now. This is an improvement from when we moved in. From the inside of the house, there is nothing charming about our sunporch. Zip. Zero. Nada. It has cracked windows. The windows that aren’t cracked look like someone let a toddler finger paint with window glazing. Some of the window grids are askew. There are rotting tongue…
