The Furniture Has Arrived Finally...The New Office Space

 I finally was able to get my furniture I bought while at the Round Top show last March.  (I actually bought one of the pieces in another room last September.  After 3 other shippers flaked on me...one who cashed my deposit and kept it...I finally found a shipper who would/could deliver.  Roll'en Hills Delivery is the company you want to work with if you need shipping from Texas.)  This is my old dining room.  We took out the carpet and put in hardwood floors, took out the chair rail and patched up the walls, added new wider baseboards, new curtains, and a new computer.  We still have to add the fan and get rid of the chandelier, and add some more lighting.  My husband will also install a flat screen tv over his desk if he can figure out how to get cable service in there.

 Here are the after pictures.

 I bought the Graflex camera at the Marburger show.  A few of the cameras my husband had collected, and I bought a few more at the flea market in Wimberly.  Did I tell you my husband is a photographer?

 Trying to make the bookcases look interesting but stay functional is difficult.  I took off book covers and put the books in all different directions.  The really ugly paperbacks I put on a closet bookshelf.

 I camouflaged some ugly books behind this little poster. 

 Others I hid by lining them up in an old locker basket I bought at Wimberly.  I wish I would have bought more.

 Other books worked as book ends and display risers.

 Here is what the shelf looked like in its entirety.

 I found two corbels for $10 each.  I think they made great book ends as well.

 These gears I found at Marburger.  They add interest to the shelf.

 More cameras displayed.

 The Graflex I bought at Marburger.  It is such a great looking camera.  It was the only one I paid very much for and even it wasn't bad.  The other cameras ranged from $5-$20 each. 

The new desk and computer.  We are in process on this side.


Link to Jennifer Rizzo's "Pretty up you plain jane party.

It is Finally Here!

 My antique bookcase is finally here.  I bought it last September and it took this long to get it shipped here.  It was worth it though.   I absolutely love it.  It is so unique that even my daughter who like modern furniture asked to inherit it.  It arrived Thursday morning and I've been working like crazy to get the office, living room and this room all sorted out and styled.  I know that probably doesn't sound like a big job but it was.  I have a ton of dishes I had to stash away plus all the books in the office.  (I only need a new chandelier to finish this room.  I'm looking.)

 I was going to paint the inside first thing but once it got in, it matched the doors from France perfectly so I decided to live with it for awhile.

 And...oh man, it barely fit.  It literally goes from ceiling to floor.  I think it was made for my space.  I wish I knew more about it.  The women I bought it from said it was from a general store but didn't know where or how old it was.  It was made without nails.  The whole thing is doweled together.  The shelves are all adjustable.  the back isn't original.  I actually don't think it had a back because the bottom cabinet is not backed.  It weighs a ton too.  Good thing it is on a concrete floor otherwise it might cause the floor to sag especially since it is full of dishes inside and out.

 I decided to display my black and and white dishes.  I didn't know I had so many.  They were here there and everywhere.  I didn't spend too much time on them because I'm going to change them for Halloween and then fall and then Christmas.  Can't wait.

 And just so you can appreciate the changes, this is what it used to look like before we did the addition.  I think it is much improved.

 And this is what it looked like for far too long since we had to get everything out of the living room and dining room to add the wood floors.  I'm so glad I don't have to live with this mess any more.  We are finally back to order around here...ahhhh.  It feels so good.

Spring Mantle Display

One of the requests from Candice was to work on a mantle display for Spring. We bought some moss, eggs, seed pods, and candles, but almost everything else Candice already had. She did buy the "trophy" cup at Marburger along with the decoration on the left side of the mantle. We also bought some little birds that we glittered with Martha Stewart glitter. I was trying to think of something cool to do in the glass apothecary jars. I was just going to hang the birds on fishing line inside the jar and then thought of adding a branch. We found a great one in the brush pile in the backyard. The birds were easy to paint with glue and cover with glitter. We used 3 different colors of glitter.
Candice's mantle ledge is very small. It's probably about 5 inches deep so the arrangement is a little more aligned/flat than I would like. At some point we will probably redo that whole crown but it will do for now. (I don't think you can tell by the picture but the rock sticks out farther than the mantle does so it just doesn't look right.)

I love to add varying heights to my arrangements in this case books helped to do that. The different mosses and seed pods add texture and interest. Beige potpourri with little blue stones in it are in the other jar.

You can read Candice's take on things here.
We have a great time together working on projects. I love spending time with my children working on things for their homes. Steph and Larry just bought a home so I'm sure we will be working on projects together soon. Although I will have to stretch myself to do retro style. (I've seen the outside of her house but have yet to get inside and start the possibilities rolling in my head.) In the meantime, I'm working on possibilities for my husband's home office. There is a lot to be done before the furniture arrives.

Candice had a great book club party at her house right after I left. I would have loved to have been there but we had fun planning it together and it looked magical. I wish she would have had the time to take more pictures. It's hard to be the decorator, hostess, cook, and photographer. Check it out. I think you will be inspired. (If only the weather would warm up a little here so I could do something like that here. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will be good Friday night for my adult flashlight easter egg hunt.)

The Most Recent Project At Candice's House

This is the kid's home work computer area (along with the kitchen table). Candice wanted to come up with something interesting to use and create interest above the desk. We bought this desk at Round Top 6 months ago. (We love that place in case you haven't noticed.)

We looked for wooden crates to create a grid but never found what we were looking for or if we did, it was too expensive. So, Candice found some locker baskets at Marburger that were flat enough to create a shelf. (Some locker baskets have very slanted sides. Candice has a collection of "S" letters and we found another great one at the Bar "W" field that we added to this wall.

I laid out the arrangement on the floor and took a picture with my phone to remember how everything was supposed to go. I'm a wing it kind of girl and didn't want to bother with putting it on newspaper tracing the outlines of each object and then putting the paper on the wall as a pattern. Mark and I hung everything after getting Candice's approval.

We filled the locker baskets with: 1) rolls of tickets with 3 printers blocks with each of the kids first initials. (There is even an "S" in there for the latest Stingham due in July.) The "5" stands for the # of people they will have in their family soon. 2) has a red polka dot tea pot being used as a pencil holder. 3) has a clock face, a gumball machine, and a carnival type mask. 4) has some Hardy Boy vintage books with Grant's pinewood derby car on top. Simple but fun and it will be easy to change the whole look by changing what is in the locker baskets.
The other project was to decorate the mantel for Spring. No easter rabbits were used so it could stay up longer. I'll post pictures soon.

Round Top 2011 #2

This is one of the camera's I didn't buy. I now glad I didn't too because Brett had some that he found after I came home and I also found some that were a lot less expensive at Wimberly. (A monthly flea market they have the first Saturday of every month in Wimberly. I don't have any pictures but it was very fun.)
An industrial table I bought to use as my husband's desk. (I took this picture on my phone so it isn't great.)
A large camera I did buy. I will use these as display pieces on top of the book cases, I think. My husband does photography.
And two of these bookcases are coming home too. The shelves are recycled 100 year old oak. I also bought one of those antique glass candy jars, some small gears, some locker baskets (1 old and 3 reproductions from Pottery Barn outlet), an old tray used for collecting maple sap in the 1800's (I want to use it as a magnet board), some more piano player music rolls (too inexpensive to pass up), a big printers block with the #6, a pillow made out of an old bus sign (think subway sign), and a few other odds and ends. Candice and I had lots of fun. The hard part is trying to check everything out before buying. We are always afraid we will buy something and then find something we like better or less expense somewhere down the line.

I went prepared with inspiration pictures, a diagram of room layout and room measurements, my tape measure in hand, and then tried to stay open to possibilities and stay within my budget. We took pictures and emailed them back to my husband getting his input as well.

I want to take out the chair rail, paint the room, change the lighting and window treatments, and maybe take up the carpet and put in hardwood floor to match the rest of our house. I'm not sure that is in the budget but would hate to get the room all done and the bookcases filled and arranged and then decide to redo the floors. I want to do some kind of unusual treatment on a focal wall. I have a list of possibilities. Since this room is our old dining room just off my living room space, I will probably repaint that room too. I like change.