Check Her Out - Spring Decorating Made Easy

Today as I was browsing a few blogs I came across a post at Fox Hollow Cottage that was super inspiring!  She not only posted some great DIY decor projects for Spring and Easter, but she also included the tutorials showing us how to do them ourselves :) Love her...





Visit her site for the complete post, more pictures and the tutorials at the link below:





Shannon at Fox Hollow Cottage claims to be a lazy crafter... but from what I see, she is not lazy at all... and in fact she is amazing and rather inspiring.  Thank you Shannon for your beautiful inspiration and sharing your know how with us!

Decorating Trends and Hot Colors

My hubby and I got to visit to one of my favorite malls in Southern California yesterday (Fashion Valley mall in San Diego).  While we were there I visited a home decor store that I love, called "Z Gallerie".  I took my camera along and shot several pictures of the latest decorating trends and some color combinations that are currently very popular.

Aqua, turquoise and Tiffany blue have been popular for quite awhile now.  I've been on the aqua and brown bandwagon myself for a few years.  In fact I'm pretty much obsessed with Aqua!  I can say, without a doubt, that I love it...

Recently I've seen turquoise with white and/or creamy off white becoming very popular.  Here are some great pictures of some of the recent trends in home decor.  


Silver painted finishes, reflective metallic objects and mirrors are huge in almost every style of home decor and interior design right now.


Beautiful accent pieces are to home decorating what jewelry is to fashion.... An absolute must!!!






The use of natural elements and found objects can add tons of character and texture to your decor.  These white coral pieces are stunning on the table.


Nail head trim on furniture can be seen in just about every decor store.  I have yet to have any in my house, but I have found several pieces that I am fond of, including this bench.


I am loving this dining side chair with the large nail heads and slight winged back (fantastic, gorgeous, love love love it, okay, so you get the hint)...


Tufting on chairs, benches, sofas, headboards and ottomans is another decorating trend that I am happy to see make a huge comeback.  I remember growing up with tufted swivel chairs back in the 70's.  By the 80's I thought they were horrible (especially when they were in avocado green or gold... lol.  For those of you that don't remember, avocado green and gold were all the rage in the 70's, even on our appliances.. yuck). Today you can actually find swivel chairs in most furniture stores again.  I didn't think they would ever make a comeback, but they have.  It's amazing to see the trends in furniture design from my childhood repeat themselves again.  However, I must say, the current color trends are a vast (HUGE) improvement!




 This tufted wing-back headboard with nail-head trim is a piece that I would absolutely LOVE to own!  I think this would be a little hard to make on my own as a DIY project, and it is a bit too steep for my pocketbook, so maybe I'll get lucky and win the lottery... hehe.  My master bedroom would be so grateful!


This next tufted headboard is a bit more contemporary.  Not so much my style, but still very pretty.




I really enjoy the way this store is set up.  Having displays of the different color combinations and accessories all together makes it so easy to envision the different styles in your own home.  It also makes for incredibly easy accessorizing for each color scheme.  It reminded me a little of Girranimals (spelling???), a clothing line that used to exist for kids, where you just matched the tags and if the animal on the tags matched up, then the clothes went together.  In this decor store, you just pick the color combination you like, and then choose different pieces off of the wall, as they all look good together... (I hope that made sense).  

This aubergine purple wall with silver and white pieces was stunning in person!  Especially against the dark wood background.  This color combination would also look awesome with dark gray.


Bright pops of color are becoming more and more popular both in home decor and fashion.  I have seen allot of yellow with gray and also yellow with tan recently.  I myself have yet to embrace this, or embrace any of the super bright colors (like intense orange or fuchsia).  I do like some of it when I see it, however it's just not for me.  Not this year anyway!  Next year, you never know.  


I recommend that if you do decide to go with something super bright in your home, that you only use the bright colors on your accent pieces and accessories only.  This way they can be easily changed out with the seasons or whenever you get tired of them.  In fact, I always use neutrals on my primary pieces, and then just rotate out the accessories to give my home a fresh new look.  


Something like this bright yellow is likely just a fad (no offense to those that love it) but it may not last very long... However, if you decide to give it a go and then you do get tired of it,  just remember this : Spray Paint works wonders on accessories and wood furniture to give your items an entirely new look and new life...  And it is a ton cheaper than buying new pieces every time you want a change.  


ZGallerie.com does offer online shopping on their site and also you can request a catalog.  Their tagline is Stylish Home Decor & Chic Furniture at Affordable Prices.  No I don't get paid to promote them, I just enjoy their stuff and thought I would share it with you all :) Some of their furniture prices are a little steep for me, but they do have great stuff and some of their accessories are reasonably priced...  So if you like what you see, give them a visit.

Until next time,
Happy decorating!

Outdoor Chandelier Ideas

There is something so romantic and charming about outdoor chandeliers.  Whether electrified or candle holders they both add a ton of ambiance to any space!  Chandeliers are great light sources and can be used hanging from the trees, from a gazebo or from an awning.

You can often find inexpensive vintage brass or gold color chandeliers at thrift stores and garage sales.  They ususally run only between $5 to $20.  Just spray paint your chandelier whatever color you like and add a swag light cord, for easy plug in.  If you don't want to attempt electrical, you can easily remove the electrical sockets from the fixture and use it as a candle chandelier.

This chandelier adds such a beautiful romantic and sparkling centerpiece to this wedding gazebo.






Here is another beautiful chandelier hanging from a tree.  There are additional white lights dripping down from the branches.  This is a stunning idea for a wedding reception or any romantic outdoor occasion!


Being that our house is fairly new, our backyard is currently all dirt... When we finally get our patio and some landscaping I hope to incorporate an outdoor chandelier over our dining table.

Blessings,


  

Cold Season is Kicking my Butt! Helpful Hints Anyone?

The house is a mess, there are dishes in the sink and I can't find the energy to do anything!  Okay, so I am a bit under the weather... I have no energy whatsoever!  I have a major sore throat, am sneezing, coughing and have a bunch of green junk coming out of my nose and I feel like there is a golf ball in my chest that I need to cough up (yuck, sorry for the graphic details) but those details are currently my reality.  Last week my hubby was sick and this week it is my turn... I don't mean to be a negative ninny, but right now... Uhg... I feel like crud!

I know this has nothing to do with my normal decorating blog... except that I can't decorate when I feel this way!  In fact, it is hard to even think feeling so cruddy.  So I am looking for advice or suggestions as to what to do to make this cold go away faster?

I am taking expectorant and cough meds, along with vitamin C and zinc.  Last night I gargled with warm salt water (which by the way is disgusting), but it supposedly helps get rid of  a sore throat.  As of this morning, it hasn't worked yet.  What, if anything do you all know to work that might help me get over this thing faster?  Any suggestions, remedies, old wives tales, etc... anything that might help me would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you for your help.
Blessings,


Vintage Mirror Collecting - Flea Market Finds

Happy first day of March :)  Wasn't it was just Christmas?  It sure seems like it...  It's amazing how fast time seems to goes by!!!

This past weekend my hubby and I went to the flea market and hit a few garage sales...  It was so much fun!!!  I am working on collecting a variety of vintage and antique mirrors. They are all different shapes and sizes.  I am planning to do collected mirror wall up our stairwell.  I found a couple of mirrors at our local flea market, one at an antique store and another at a thrift store.  Below is a picture of the pieces I have collected so far.  All together I paid a total of $78 for everything you see in this picture.  Considering the round mirror was $32 at an antique store, it was only $46 for all of the other items combined.  When this project is done it will look like I spent several hundreds of dollars on it, but it is actually being done on a major budget!  I still need to find a few more pieces.  Then I will paint and and distress the frames so they will all have a cohesive look.  I think I will be using an antique white color on them all.  The top left mirror is currently taped off and painted with Rustoleum Heirloom White.  I think it is what I will be using on all of them. I have not yet removed the tape/paper from the mirror because I going to distress and glaze it a bit first.  It will be awhile before the entire job is complete, but I am excited to get going on it.

Also in this picture are some small old gesso frames with vintage art and a giant ornate spoon.  The gold color of the old syrocco spoon is a bit cheesy, but once I've painted it antique white and distressed it, I think it will be beautiful.  I'm not sure yet as to where I will use the spoon like wall hanging... but possibly in my guest bathroom with cute rolled up wash cloths and body lotion and soaps for guests.  Walking around the flea market seeing all sorts of interesting objects my brain overflows with tons of possibilities of what to do with each of them.  I just wish I could complete each project as fast as I think of it :)




Here are a few pictures of collected vintage mirror walls that I came across for inspiration -

 (via: Someday Crafts)

(via: Country Living)

(via: Vintage Revivals)

Well, I suppose I should go and get some housework done...  Then I can get back to decorating.

Until next time...
Blessings,