Day 625's fun ideas

Seeing Jenny's post this morning reminded me how much I like the work of Carrier and Company (and that I haven't posted about it yet). The Forge River house is especially interesting, and filled with fun ideas.


Grass green velvet throw pillows make this mix of blue and white so much more interesting. And I love the pair of mirrors over the sofa -- an unexpected touch that's easy to replicate (though I'm thinking that is one BIG sofa!).


Obviously intended to be a formal space, I love how it's taken down with more informal fabrics, like grain sacks on the upholstery. The curtains are left formal, a fun touch.


An oversized map can make a big statement, for not much money.


I love the coral-colored bottom on the curtains. Again, an easy, budget-friendly touch that makes a great statement.


Another great pair of mirrors, this time over a long console. Even a rustic-looking piece like this can have a place in a semi-formal house.


Love this fabulous ceiling!


Great carpet throughout the house. And I'm loving this green chest and the artwork above it. I'm thinking I could get the look with craft paper and some black paint.


And, of course, I always find a blue bedroom appealing. This one is especially fresh.


Love an interesting bathroom vanity, too!

Day 622's pretties

Loving upholstery with gray stripes this week, like this sofa at Wisteria.


And this cute chair with it's painted-on stripes (from Eddie Ross, who else?).

Happy Weekend!

Day 621's inspiring low-budget makeovers

It seems we're not the only ones into quick, budget-friendly makeovers these days. Check out My Notting Hill's bathroom makeover -- she painted seafoam green tiles a pretty shade of gray.


Rhoda at Southern Hospitality lightened up her dining room with a pretty paint color and added picture frame molding to the bottom of the wall. She details the entire process here.


Jenny at Little Green Notebook dressed up a pair of Ikea bookshelves with a little molding and some paint. I love the way she has her shelves arranged, too. As a side note, have you seen Little Green Notebook yet? It's fabulous. Let's be best friends, Jenny!


And speaking of molding and blogs to love, Nathan at Laurel Street sent me these great pictures of the built-in cabinets he dressed up. I love what he did with his dining room chandelier, too (and don't even get me started on his home office, or what he did with his kitchen appliances).

What sort of quick or budget-friendly makeovers have you done?

Day 620's favorite flowering bush

I realized yesterday while reading this that almost all of my favorite flowers are not flowers at all, but flowering bushes. Forsythia, quince, gardenia, camellia, and hydrangea top the list, and unfortunately, I've only got one of the five in my yard.

Behind our new wood fence is a forsythia bush the size of our SUV, but like I said, it's behind the fence in "the woods" and can't really be seen. After last week's cold snap, I went back there to check on it, and found that it had started blooming and looked a little shocked. The existing blooms had wilted but it still had some green buds, so I cut a few branches and brought them inside to nurse them back to life. In just few days, the buds filled out and now it's blooming nicely.


The bright yellow is so nice and spring-y in our dining room. Now if I can just decide what to put on the walls above my chairs (egg prints? plates?), get a shade that fits my lamp, and remember to order the pulls for the blue chest, we'll be set.

Oh, except for the chandelier. In a perfect world, we'd hang a big, antique lantern or something, but this is the time for quick, cheap fixes, not extravagant purchases. I'm thinking of spray painting it, but -- as usual -- I change my mind daily. The "antique brass" finish doesn't bother me all that much, but it is a little dated in general. I'm thinking matte black might do the trick.

Day 619's color crush

Courtesy of Brunschwig & Fils

Maybe it's the new front door color, but I am loving all things blue. Especially when paired with lots of crisp, delicious white. Southern Accents loves it, too (see here, here, and here).

Photo by Erik Kvalsvik for Southern Accents

Photo by Laurey W. Glenn for Southern Accents

Photo by Pieter Estersohn for Southern Accents

Day 618's weekend recap

Yesterday afternoon, my sister coerced me into skipping my Sunday afternoon nap and heading with her to our favorite local flea market/antique mall. Sister is getting married this summer and is on the hunt for some things to turn her future husband's bachelor pad into a pretty first home for two, and -- for some reason -- thinks I can help. We don't really count on this place for good furniture, but the prices are good, so it's worth a shot.


Sister has always had a thing for old bottles, and we hit the mother load here. I like to have a few on hand for small arrangements, especially when the weather is warm.




We liked this "gentleman's chest." It had some signs of wear and tear, but that's how we like it. With a hanging bar on one side and drawers on the other, it'd be the perfect piece to have around when merging two closets into one.


She's scoped out a spot in the living room that is just begging for a cute little chest and mirror. We liked the size of this one, but were turned off by the odd paint job. Black and redish-purple spray paint? Why? For just $100, it would be worth it to paint it a different color and strip the hardware (like this one).


Some things just defy explanation. People are making lamps out of big, old bottles left and right, but filling them with silk flowers was new to me. Though, from the looks of the flowers, they'd been in there for quite a while, so maybe this person was a little ahead of her time on the bottle lamps. For $35 they were quite a steal, but we were a little perplexed about how we would remove the flowers (and how they got in there in the first place).


Like I said, I wouldn't rely on this place for big-ticket items, but it's always filled with little pretties. I had a long mental wish list as we browsed the aisles, but, in the end, stuck to my self-imposed $10 limit and just brought home this little milk glass urn (which I think will look so cute with a tiny maidenhair fern inside!) and old copy of Wuthering Heights with a pretty green fabric cover.

If any of you local gals are in the mood to browse, you can find the Bama Flea Mall (terrible name, I know!) at 1605 Ashville Road in Leeds (just 15 or so minutes from town going east on I-20).

Day 615's pretty

Photo by Van Chaplin for Southern Living

Last Friday, it rained the entire day. Flooded. On Sunday, we woke up to a couple of inches of snowfall, followed by a couple of very, very cold days. Today it's sunny and gorgeous and warm -- and should stay that way through the week. Bring on Spring!

Happy Weekend!

Day 614's shop crush: Bungalow Classic

With all of the excitement over the Eddie Ross shopping trip, I completely forgot to tell you about the rest of the weekend in Atlanta. I spent Saturday with two fun co-workers as we hit up some of the great interior shops in town, making friends with owners, passing out business cards, and scouting for story ideas (not a bad work day, I don't think!).

One of my favorites was Bungalow Classic. I've been wanting to visit since it was published in Cottage Living, and was glad to finally get the chance. I know I've said this before, but I wanted to just move right in! And let me tell you, I would have been well accommodated. There was gorgeous upholstery (most of it linen), fabulous lighting, great case goods, plenty of interesting books and accessories, beautiful bedding, and unique antique pieces, all of it thoughtfully chosen and carefully placed. Even the little office nook for placing custom orders was adorable with its skirted linen table. See for yourself:













If you're ever in Atlanta, it's definitely worth a visit. It's in the hip Westside area of town, also home to Star Provisions, Terra Cottage (funny story about that one later), and B. Braithwaite.

Bungalow Classic
1197 Howell Mill Road
Atlanta, Georgia 30318

Day 612: online shopping fun

Photo by Howard L. Puckett for Southern Accents

I don't think there's a better way to spend a Saturday than to wander around a flea market or antique mall hunting the find of the century. Unfortunately, every Saturday doesn't lend itself to this idle behavior (thank goodness for our bank statement), and sometimes the urge hits me mid-week (like today). Enter my favorite Etsy shops. Here's what I'm loving today.



Adorable pink milk glass cream and sugar set at Olive Vintage.


Gorgeous onyx marble bookends at High Street Market.


Unusual faux bamboo ceramic bowl, which she suggests turning over to use as a cake stand -- lovely! It looks a lot like McCoy to me, but apparently isn't marked. Also at High Street Market.


Love this framed medallion at Blue Bell Bazaar.


Cool little mail holder, also at Blue Bell Bazaar. The pile on my desk would look so much better filed neatly here.


And surely you've seen Eddie Ross' new shop. It's filled with beautiful vintage finds (like this pretty ironstone sugar and creamer) for the table, all cleaned up and given the Eddie seal of approval. Pretty much a husband's one-stop shopping site!

Day 611

Photo by John Kernick for House Beautiful

Monday already?! There's not much to report here. We got a couple of inches of snow yesterday, but had unfortunately left our camera at a friend's house on Friday afternoon and now it's almost all melted away. It did make for a relaxing, cozy Sunday though -- perfect for starting the week!

(This bedroom doesn't have anything to do with anything, except that I love that Dash & Albert rug, and spotted some of those antique Chinese screens at Scott's in January and think they are kind of cool.)