Truly Darling Home

ahoy

2010-06-21T16:52:00.000-07:00

Start off the first day of summer with a good ol blog giveaway right over here!
Who doesn't love a touch of Thomas Paul.

Picking Artwork

2010-06-15T05:32:00.000-07:00

I have the hardest time picking artwork for my home. And now I'm faced with finding a substantial piece to hang over our bathtub. So much pressure! Here are a few pieces in the running...

bathroom eye candy

2010-06-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

I am finishing up our master bedroom this week! Some eye candy to inspire...

This Laundry Room Makes Me Swoon

2010-06-03T06:54:00.001-07:00

I almost forgot...

2010-04-22T06:17:00.001-07:00

this super cute Ikea tray for $5.99.

IKEA Shopping List

2010-04-21T06:32:00.000-07:00

A. Boxes $11.99 for two.
B. Rug for Olivers room. $12.99
C. Fabric $7.99

A. Pillow $9.99

B. Doors for the bookcase we already have. $35

C. Throw blankets. $7.99

A. Outside umbrella. $9.99!

B. Outdoor seat cushions. $14.99

C. Solar powed pendant lamp. $19.99

A. Cute napkins. $2.49

B. Kitchen table chair. $59.99

C. Kitchen table chair for Oliver. $49.99

The Garage. The List.

2010-03-28T06:25:00.001-07:00

Sell/giveaway stuff on Craigslist.

Organize! Oraganize! Organize!

Paint exsisting peg boards fun color.

Paint floor.

Outline tools just for fun, or maybe set up a tool area for Oliver and outline his tools.

Create a hopscotch on the floor using tape.

Create a chalk board/Cork board control fun area near the door.

lamps

2010-02-19T08:08:00.000-08:00

25. All Together Now

2009-10-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

All Together Now is a great new blog where you can post design dilemmas or help others with their design dilemmas. It's fantastic.

Nikki from Jefferson City needed help on what to do for window treatments in her dining room. View all the details here.

Here is a photo of the dining room..

a design board of what they have planned for the room...
my suggestion board...

A. I would use these curtains from Pottery barn for the dining room. Using 4 panels that skim the ground. They would give the room the punch it needs while still tying in with the red fabric from the chairs.

B. For the kitchen window I think this fabric from HouseFabric.com in a roman shade would be fabulous and for only $10.95 a yard!

C. She didn't mention a new light fixture, but the current one is just awful and my boyfriend Craig(s list) has this in her city for only $20.00! Go here to buy it.

D. Spray paint that chandelier a "oil rubbed bronze" to update it and pow it looks like a million bucks (or a couple hundred but whos counting.)

24. for the love of wingback chairs

2009-10-13T05:32:00.000-07:00

Would somebody please put me out my my misery and buy these two lovelies!?! They are on Craigslist for $50.00 - for both! I want to buy them so badly, but just can't justify having a sitting area in the garage to my husband. If only my house was bigger...

imagine all of the possibilities...or simply scroll down...

24. free paint from Glidden!

2009-10-09T17:35:00.000-07:00

Go get your free qaurt of paint from Glidden here!

I think I'm going to go with a nice classic navy...

22. Porch Lounging

2009-10-07T09:25:00.000-07:00

Oh to have a swinging bed on the porch...

Well dream no longer, Lowes shows you how to make this baby on your own! This is one DIY project that is on my list for next spring!

(now the only question is, will a indoor matress be o.k. outdoors if coverred in outdoor fabric?)

images via 1.PB 2.Coastal Living 3.Lowes

21. What's your decorating style?

2009-10-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

to find out what your style is head on over here!

19. before meet after meet after: footstool

2009-10-04T10:11:00.000-07:00

One last thrift store makeover for the day. Let me introduce $4.95 footstool fred. (I have a thing about naming things I love and I love fred)...

Now fred was in a sad state so I tried to give him a makeover with paint the previous home owner left in the garage (an egg shell) and some cheap fabric I had laying around. Well eggshell was not fred's color. Poor fred...

I decided to try one more time with fred, and am I glad I did! This time I used left over grey paint I had used on the grandfather clock, and Lovely Lattice Lagoon fabric (a must buy!) And I must say fred is looking pretty swell.

18. Shades of Green

2009-10-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

Last weekend on my trip to the thrift store I found this green lamp for a whopping $7.95! I quickly grabbed it along with two other lamps. Walking to the register I was stopped by a lady who said "honey, those are some uuuuugly lamps!" Now perhaps she was right, but never underestimate the power of spray paint!

Here is my first attempt at turning my uuuugly lamp into the perfect shade of green. Fail.

But not to worry a coat of celery green later and I am finally happy with my green (not so) uuuugly lamp. Spray paint is the best thing to come out of a can!

17. Operation Painted Piano

2009-10-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

My free piano from my boyfriend Craig(s list) is almost complete! Heres a look so far...

here is was before:

and here it is after 100 coats of white high gloss enamel paint. I went with white, because it is my go to color and well I was a little chicken. But I did paint the inside of the bench a nice blue, which I will show when it is all completed! Hope you enjoyed the Sunday sneek peak!

16. Lonny - this could be an affair to remember

2009-10-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

Lonny magazine launched today and let me just say, it is everything I hoped with a cherry on top. An online magazine that resmbles my beloved Domino in it's effortless coolness.

Check it out here!

14. Knick knack patty wack

2009-09-28T18:38:00.000-07:00

Went to a thrift store this weekend...here are a few of the knick knacks I found along the way...
(stay tuned for the killer furniture I found! Also some great before and afters and one not so great after.)

Bach statue. He makes me giggle and anything less than $2.00 that makes you giggle is a good buy.

Milk glass vase. $2.95

Silver plated tea thingy.$4.95. Tarn-x is amazing and made it shine like new!

Rocking Chair for baby boy. It just needs a fresh coat of paint. $8.98

Books for baby's daddy. He reads War and Peace out loud while I paint the piano. He considers it helping. :)

13. A 15 minute laundry room makeover

2009-09-23T11:48:00.001-07:00

because who has more than 15 minutes?
and doing laundry is sad enough without it being in an ugly space.

my very sad laundry room:

My metal shelf was cold and unfriendly

so I took a piece of foam board and placed it on top of the metal shelf, grabbed some old fabric I had laying around, and staple staple staple (at bottom of board).

the results of my quick and easy 15 minute project:

"not a total Betty, but a vast improvement!"

12. how to hide your television!

2009-09-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

I have been searching high and low how to hide my t.v.

Had I been a genius I would have thought of this...

Fortunately for me I found a genius who gives a tutorial on how to make this for your home, so you will never have to stare at that black hole in the wall again! Thank you Britt at A Penny Saved!

11. Hooked on felt!

2009-09-18T08:28:00.000-07:00

So after discovering you could make this beautiful pillow with felt I wondered what else is felt capable of, and let me tell you felt is now #2 on my list following spray paint for the go to item!

felt pillow:

felt stockings (so adorable!):

felt rug!:

felt mobile:
felt art:
my imitation of the felt art above:

Oh felt how I love thee:

10.

2009-09-17T06:15:00.000-07:00

A successful day on Craigslist!

* sold our old t.v. stand for $160

* found someone in need of moving boxes and was more than happy to give ours.

* and oh yea got this piano - for free!

well not completely free, I did have to make some of my delicious double chocolate cupcakes to entice a few strong men to come (with pick up truck) to help me haul it home.

My original intent was to paint it a fun color, but now that I have it home I'm not sure if I should just refinish it (or if I'm even capable of that), paint it a fun color, or maybe a classic white or black??? I am open to suggestion and inspiration!

9.

2009-09-12T08:40:00.000-07:00

I'm so conflicted at this time of year, I dream of boots, scarfs, mums, and pumpkins but it's 90 degrees outside and my garden is full of pink roses. So is it wrong to post a fall inspiration post before it is officially fall? (well if it's wrong I don't want to be right!)

pretty good

Pottery barn

The Newlywed Diaries

Better Homes and Gardens

apartment therapy

Oh fall I can't wait to continue our love affair in just a little over a week.
p.s. if you are really in the fall spirit go here for some good ol' fashion scarf swapping!

8.

2009-09-10T10:26:00.001-07:00

DIY: pillow with rosette clusters!

you better believe I'm making this baby asap...

Find complete instructions by going here!

or if you are running low on felt and time you could just purchase this grey one here.

7.

2009-09-09T16:32:00.000-07:00

The pair of mid-century chairs

These chairs are just ultra mid century Hollywood glamor. Breathtaking. Seriously Ohio folk only $100 for the pair!

When turning these babies into a treasure I would look towards one person for inspiration- David Jimenez. The man is a genius and Hollywood regency is his expertise!

Does that ottoman look familiar?

6.

2009-09-09T10:47:00.000-07:00

The Ohio Chair and Ottoman

Now this could be a real trash to treasure story for someone who is up to the challenge!

I think the chair would look just darling reupholstered in this fabric by Black and Spiro. I would however do a cleaner look on the back and not tuft it.

As for the ottoman you could recover that in a fun blue or save yourself some time and do what Jenny did over at Little Green Notebook and spray paint it! (Spray paint truly is the answer for most things!)

1. (look familiar)

5.

2009-09-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

If I had a piano like let's say this one...

I would paint it a cheery color and give Oliver piano lessons so he could play me Billy Joel while I made dinner every night.

room designed by Katie Fine photo via Desire to Inspire

4.

2009-09-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

"One man's trash is another man's treasure"

Some trash I found on Craigslist that I think should be purchased and turned into treasure!

Comment me if you want me to do your state or city next!

Washington:

Is this piano not wonderful!?! The best part- it's free! Go now.

Kid's rocker...because everything is cuter small. $18.00. Go now.

Ohio:

can I just say Ohio is a Craigslist gold mine!

This chair and ottoman are only $25.00 for both! Yes I know they seem well ugly but i will show you in my next post what they can be, so trust me and go buy these.

I just love this chair's bones! It really is a beauty. A pair of two for $100.00 right here.

3.

2009-09-09T06:52:00.000-07:00

Oh Jonathan Adler I do love love love your chairs. In particular your Chippendale chair...I would like to adopt six little Chips to display proudly under my dinning room table, however mama can't afford one Chip let alone six at $550 a pop. So I ask is it super ghetto to instead buy six Chiavari chairs also known as the wedding chair? I found this one for a mere $47.50!

2.

2009-09-08T10:31:00.000-07:00

Does Your House Have A Name?

These homes do...

and after watching Gone With The Wind (best movie ever!) I decided our home needed a name as well. And after much thought I have settled on the perfect name...

Aine is Irish (like yours truly) and comes from the goddess of fertility and love and is sometimes associated by the red mare. So this is fitting because I was pregnant when we purchased the house (fertility), it's is a house filled with love, our front door is red, and the home is over 4 years old (red mare).

Macy means Matthew's estate (my husband's name).

Now my home just needs a little curb bling to show off her new name!

1.

2009-09-08T08:35:00.000-07:00

Thank you House Beautiful for these easy 101 house makeovers!

1. Buy something Lucite. One piece will make any style room tastier — it's like adding salt.

2. If a room has three or more pairs of anything, put one half of a pair away. Too many pairs, too stiff.

3. If you have a modern room, make yourself buy one traditional thing, like an old ceramic bowl or brass candlesticks with beeswax candles.

4. If you have a traditional room, make yourself buy one modern thing, like a steel table. (Featured in the magazine: Platner Side Table, $662; dwr.com)

5. Paint a white paper lampshade your favorite color — the color you'll never find in the lampshade department.

6. Wallpaper the inside of your bedroom closet. (Featured in the magazine: Butterfly in Jubilant, to the trade; alphaworkshops.org)

7. Use leftover wallpaper to line the drawers of your bedside table.

8. Get rid of all the pieces of furniture you're afraid to sit on or use.

9. Find a tired old bargain brass chandelier at a thrift shop or antiques shop. Spray paint it white. Or a color — if you have courage.

10. Every room needs a little skin: Add a pillow or ottoman in an animal print. Try Eric Cohler's Dinisen for Lee Jofa. (Featured in the magazine: To the trade; leejofa.com. Faux zebra pillow (shown), $423; olystudio.com)

11. Buy a photography or botanical book, take a razor blade, and cut it up. It's not sacred. Put a dozen pages (the more, the better) in matching inexpensive frames, and hang them in a row or a block. Wow.

12. Add a little architecture: Buy wall brackets and hang them above your living room doorways, like keystones. (Featured in the magazine: Carved Wood Bracket #1853, to the trade; decorativecrafts.com)

13. Replace half your family photos with new pictures. Gather them from all around your house and group them in one place where you'll really enjoy them.

14. Buy a big pretty tray — try lacquer. Take all the things on your coffee table and arrange them on the tray for a whole new pulled-together look.

15. Pull apart a set of twin beds and bedside table. Rearrange them in an L-shape, head to head, with the bedside table in the corner.

16. Order an inexpensive big round table and skirt. Use it like your attic: hide all your junk underneath. (Try ballarddesigns.com and splurge on overnight delivery.)

17. Buy flowers for your bedside table instead of your living room. Just a few buds in a small vase. Just for you.

18. Add a long bench to the end of your bed — it will look much more finished.

19. Throw a party and see where your guests move all the chairs. They're telling you something. See if you can't leave your furniture the way they rearranged it.

20. Conquer your fear of flower arranging. Anybody can arrange one type of flower in one color, cut short. Buy twice as many as you think you should — too much of a good thing always works with flowers. Put any extra stems in small glasses.

21. Take a white garden bench and paint it the color of your favorite flower.

22. Put a real rug, not a bathroom rug, in front of your bathroom sink. It will hold up just fine. (Featured in the magazine: Siena Rose, from $54; dashandalbert.com)

23. Rearrange your living room. Instead of one big seating area in the middle of the room, break it up into two smaller, cozier seating areas.

24. Take a wallpaper you've always secretly wanted — but were afraid the pattern was overwhelming. Paper only the wall behind your bed, like a headboard. Or paper the ceiling if the room is small and the paper's light.

25. If you have a full bookcase, remove one shelf of books and treat it like a shadow box.

26. Out of season, stack your leftover wood — artfully — in your fireplace.

27. Instead of one shower curtain, buy two. You'll love the fuller look — and they will keep the floor drier.

28. Pick three or four books with the prettiest dust jackets and display them face-forward on your bookshelves. (Featured in the magazine: Peter Lindbergh: Untitled 116, $120; amazon.com)

29. Open that coffee table book! Instead of displaying the cover, open it wide to your favorite page and let it really take over your coffee table.

30. Buy a large map, poster, or print and cut it into equal parts. Frame all the sections and reassemble them on the wall.

31. Pull apart a big inexpensive mixed bouquet from the supermarket. Group similar flowers and put them in small vases. You'll have some for every room.

32. Instead of buying complete matched sets of towels (something's always missing at the store), buy different shades of one color and mix it up. (Featured in the magazine: Company Cotton Towels, from $5 each; thecompanystore.com)

33. Go on ebay.com and create an instant collection. There are 604 white pitchers for sale at this very moment.

34. Gather all your accessories that are the same color from every room in your house. Don't worry how they relate or what you bought to go with what. Now...group all of them together on a tabletop.

35. Buy a big modern shallow bowl, fill it with photos, and put it on your coffee table. An instant conversation starter.

36. Hang longish pictures in the dead spaces over doors. Pick strong images you can see from far away.

37. Split up the pair of lamps on either side of your sofa. Buy a floor lamp for your sofa, and use the pair in different corners of your room. (Featured in the magazine: Amazon Lamp, $129; Cresswell Lighting: 800-688-2579)

38. Paint the inside of your kitchen cabinets a color that sets off your dishes and glasses. Everything will look cleaner and more finished.

39. Take your jewelry out of the box. Put all your bracelets together in a big bowl and drape all your necklaces together over a bust. It worked for Coco Chanel.

40. Tired of the same-old-same-old matte-finish walls? Roll on a topcoat of Ralph Lauren's Candlelight paint and they'll have a soft new glow. (Featured in the magazine: Candlelight topcoat, $40 per gallon; RalphLaurenHome.com)

41. Use your best silver and glasses every day. What are you saving them for?(Featured in the magazine: Audubon sterling silver 4-piece place setting, $640; tiffany.com)

42. Put a table next to your tub. You wouldn't have a sofa or chair without a table, would you?

43. Change your house numbers. (Featured in the magazine: Classic House Number, $9.99 each; dwr.com)

44. Change every light switch in your house to a dimmer. Including the bathrooms. Now add a dimmer to every lamp.

45. Remove three things from every room in your house. You'll feel liberated.

46. Invest in a set of matched wooden hangers for your closet. You will feel like the most organized person in the world. (Featured in the magazine: Premium walnut hardwood hangers, from $13 each; containerstore.com)

47. Paint just the front edges (the "piping") of your bookshelves. Or tack on a fabric trim.

48. Hang small pictures at the corners where bookshelves meet.

49. Remove all the pictures scattered around one room and rehang them on one wall, together — "salon style."

50. Tack nailheads on a plain, inexpensive ottoman.

51. Create your own lantern: Fill a bamboo or wood birdcage with LED pillar candles of different heights.

52. Install battery-powered lights in all your closets. You don't need an electrician or a carpenter!

53. If you always buy white candles, next time buy black.

54. If your kitchen is cramped, remove your upper cabinets and install open shelving. Just as much storage space, but without the bulk.

55. Hang two large mirrors on opposite walls. You won't recognize the space. (Featured in the magazine: Large Lily mirror in white, $1725; olystudio.com)

56. Make a slipcover for your headboard, even if it's wood. Ever consider shocking pink?

57. Love the frame but hate the picture? Dump the picture and have a piece of new "antique" mirror cut to fit it.

58. Paint the ceiling of a white room a pale, pale blue or gray. It will feel as if there's no ceiling at all.

59. If you have a room with a low ceiling, put up striped wallpaper or curtains — it will feel a foot taller. (Featured in the magazine: St. Charles Stripe wallpaper in blue on white, $49 per roll; thibautdesign.com)

60. Iron your bed linens with scented water.

61. For your entry hall, paint an aluminum flower container and fill it with lots of umbrellas, all the same color.

62. Decorate under a console table. Dress up all that empty space with big inexpensive objects in dramatic shapes. Or put an ottoman there; who ever has enough seating?

63. Add a deep-colored silk lampshade to your living room. Red, turquoise — it's like buying jewelry. (Featured in the magazine: Empire Shade in Rose, $153; justshadesny.com)

64. Replace your ten-ton coffee table with two ceramic Chinese garden seats. Or a big ottoman with room for everything and your feet, too. (Featured in the magazine: Garden Stool, $395; plantationla.com)

65. Change your heavy curtains for sheers. Your room will still look soft, but much more modern.

66. Cover the books in your bookcase with white or brown kraft paper, and write the titles on the jackets with a fountain pen in a really personal handwriting.

67. Turn a tabletop into a drinks table. Choose liquor bottles for their shapes and labels, then buy lots of glasses and an ice bucket. Do everything in one color: Picture blue bottles and glasses on a blue tray.

68. Pile all your rugs in one place. Now start all over and put them someplace new: Move the bedroom rug to the living room, and vice versa.

69. Buy handfuls of jewellike beads at a craft store. Put them in a big glass apothecary jar or footed vase.

70. Tired of your red coral? Spray it black!

71. Have a long leopard runner made for your hallway. Or get one ready-made: Leopard runner, $595; gumps.com)

72. Buy a sweet (or sexy) folding screen, put your sofa in front of it, and hang pictures from the screen — pretend it's a wall.

73. Instead of centering one big piece of art over your bed, hang one really small piece of art. It will have even more impact.

74. Bring your favorite piece of outdoor furniture indoors. (Featured in the magazine: Café table, $780; marston-and-langinger.com)

75. Put a hint of color in your trim. Instead of white, paint it the wall color cut in half with white.

76. Upgrade your desk: Buy two dozen of one color pencil and fill your pencil cup. (Featured in the magazine: Faux Shagreen Pencil Set in Orange, $30; dransfieldandross.biz)

77. Trim your window frames with grosgrain ribbon. A glue gun will do it.

78. Buy all the inexpensive mirrors you find at yard sales, paint all the frames one color, and hang them together.

79. Paint your front door a new color: How about Farrow & Ball Minster Green or Pitch Blue? 33 per .75 liter (exterior eggshell finish); farrow-ball.com)

80. Mix fresh herbs into your flower arrangement, instead of florist filler

81. Buy a pair of sconces that take candles. No need to hire an electrician, and the prettiest light you'll ever have in a room. (Featured in the magazine: Sconce, $275 each or $550 per pair; roomsandgardens.com)

82. Have mirrors cut to fit inside your window frames. Your room will sparkle.

83. Arrange your flowers in anything but a vase: Go through your pantry and find a pitcher, a tureen, a mug, a teacup.

84. Take the doors off a closet, tuck a dresser into it, and frame it with curtain panels.

85. Gather up your family photos. Group your black and white ones only with other black and white ones. The same for your color ones. They look sloppy when they mingle.

86. Move your sofa and coffee table away from the fireplace. Try two club chairs with a big ottoman between them. Much cozier.

87. Change just two knobs on a chest of drawers for a look that's really special and personal. (Featured in the magazine: Rose quartz knob, from $26; doorjewels.com)

88. Hang a mirror in your outdoor room.

89. Buy some inexpensive bamboo side chairs, spray them a yummy color, scatter them around your living room. Cheaper than cashmere throws, and much more useful.

90. Create "wainscoting" by painting the bottom third of your wall a different, slightly darker color.

91. Buy a shocking pink or acid green throw. They're neutrals. You'll see.

92. Love your table but tired of cleaning (and cleaning) the clear glass top? Change it to milk glass or mirror. Or paint the underside.

93. Does your big round table just not look right? It needs something tall in the middle, or it will always look restless.

94. Rearrange your fireplace mantel. Instead of one candlestick at each end, mass lots of them on one side. Remember: Odd numbers make the best arrangements.

95. Hang a picture on a mirror.

96. Get your sofa off the wall. Pull it into the center of the room with a long table or desk behind it, a lamp, books. Accessorize!

97. Find a really charming child's chair and tuck it next to your fireplace.

98. Get rid of your ancient, clumsy stereo equipment. Buy an iPod and a dock. It's all the sound you need. (Featured in the magazine: Bose SoundDock Portable Digital Music System, $399; bose.com)

99. Find a wallpaper with flowers or big paisley teardrops, cut them out, and paste them on your walls your own way.

100. Rearrange your bedroom: Center your bed in front of a big window, framing the headboard. Now the sun won't wake you up any more.

101. And when all else fails: Buy something purple. Anything! A pillow, a throw, a bunch of flowers. Nothing wakes up a room like a little purple.