Vintage Ethan Allen Chairs for our Living Room
There has been a change in our living room! Vintage Ethan Allen chairs are now providing cush for our tushes! I’ve been idly on the hunt for high quality chairs for our living room. I wanted chairs that would stand the test of time from a style and quality perspective, but also be comfortable to sit in. Comfort is VERY important around here! I loved the look and function of the recliner chairs I bought for a quick fix in our living room, but I also regretted that purchase. The recliners just didn’t feel sturdy enough to stand the test of everyday, heavy use. That’s the difference between cheaply made and high quality furniture. One…
Halloween Cauldron Centerpiece
Last week I found a mini cast iron cauldron at the thrift store and knew I could turn into a Halloween Cauldron Centerpiece! I didn’t know how I would make this happen, but as it turns out, I predictably resorted to my default Halloween trick. Stick a bat on it. That’s about as Halloween as I get. A Halloween Cauldron Centerpiece is nothing without the cauldron and a mini cauldron works best. My mini cauldron is about 6 inches tall and has a 6-inch diameter. It looks like it is the perfect dimension to cook up a single-serving size of deliciousness over a campfire. Although, I’m just imagining this campfire cooking scenario because I don’t camp. I’m…
Happy List: #186
Hello again! Welcome back to another edition of the Happy List. Guaranteed to be the happiest list you’ll read in the next 2 minutes! Are you enjoying the fall colors in your part of the world? Ours in New Jersey are just about at peak, I’d say. Even the most mundane trip to the grocery store is pretty spectacular right now with the way the leaves are showing off. This week on the blog I shared the entire story of our new Carriage House roof. That’s one project down and a zillion more to go! We’re oddly invigorated to have checked this one off the list though. I also posted a bunch of ideas…
Black Metal Roof for our Carriage House
We recently installed a black metal roof on our Carriage House. Well, not us personally. We finally hired a home improvement job out! Man, that felt good. You know what also feels good? Not falling off a roof. We’re practical that way. We kept our feet firmly planted on the ground for this project that was 14 months in the making! No joke. Almost from the day we took possession of the Colonial Farmhouse we were crossing our fingers that the leaky Carriage House roof would hold out long enough for us to replace it. First, let’s get some terminology out of the way. Before the invention of cars, a Carriage House typically referred to a…
Three Ways to Decorate with an Antique Splitting Wedge
Today I’m going to show you three splitting wedge decor ideas. A splitting wedge for decorating? Seriously? Yes, seriously. You guys know I will decorate with most anything. If you’ve never chopped wood, it’s hard work let me get you up to speed. Splitting wedges come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are used to help split large logs into smaller chunks when an ax alone can’t get the job done. For the purposes of today’s post, I’m decorating with a rusty, weathered diamond splitting wedge. I should clarify that the diamond part of a diamond splitting wedge usually refers to the shape, as it can split wood in four directions. I found the…
Happy List: #185
Hey, hey! After a busy week, I’m sliding into another Friday with relief and gratitude. How about you? This week on the blog I shared two new posts. The first was a centerpiece idea using flowers and a soup tureen. I still have the centerpiece out on my dining table, but I really need to water the plants in it. Oops. The second post was about the makeover I gave to a metal awning. A little spray paint made a huge difference! I hope this week’s posts gave you an idea or two for your home. That’s my goal! Now, here’s the Happy List!DECORATIVE CUTTING BOARD WALL This is a great idea for a DIY project…
Faux Copper Metal Awning
If I can’t have a real copper awning, I’m going to try my best to create a faux copper metal awning. I’m not 100% convinced I nailed it. However, I am 100% convinced that the metal awning over our small side deck looks better than when I embarked on this project. That counts for something, right? For reference, this side deck is right off the porch where we built my favorite shelves of all time for drink storage. Here’s how the metal awning started out. Quite frankly, the metal awning looked and sounded a little worse for wear. By “worse for wear” I mean it was an eyesore, especially after I…
Soup Tureen Fall Centerpiece
I’ll bet you didn’t know a soup tureen fall centerpiece was a thing, did you? Around here it is, especially since I’m always looking for ways to repurpose everyday items into festive decor. I bought myself more grocery store flowers the other day. Ones that will hopefully last longer than a week. (You can read about the first batch I bought and what I did with them in this post.) Clearly, I’m in a “treat myself” kind of mood lately. Flowers seem easier on the hips than ice cream. Then I needed a way to showcase my pretty flowers. I shopped my house and my eye landed on this pumpkin-shaped soup…
Happy List: #184
Hello! I hope your week has been full of unexpected delights! This week on the blog I shared a very junky pumpkin I made from piano wire and a random assortment of other items. I had fun with that project. I also shared our finished deck. We’re so glad to finally be able to check that one off our to-do list. Next week I’ll have an update for you on our small side deck. Yes, we have two decks and I wouldn’t say that means it is double the fun, but it IS double the work! So there’s that. I’m a bundle of realistic expectations today! Now for the main event – this week’s Happy…
Finally, The Deck is Done
Ding dong, our deck with black railing is finally done! I’ve only been waiting months to say that. While house projects sometimes feel like our full time job, they aren’t! That’s why they take a real life amount of time to complete. Although, this deck project took an extraordinarily long time to finish – even for us – due to factors out of our control. As it turns out, there was a pressure-treated lumber shortage in our part of the U.S. due to the work stoppages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. But nobody told us that before we started ripping up the old deck! Oops. We might have put off…
