My Favorite Fabric

I just can't help it ~ this is my  favorite fabric of all time.I first saw it on Sarah's House where she used it in thefarmhouse mudroom for the drapery and Roman shades. 

source The fabric is by P.Kaufmann and is calledBreeze Tapestry. 

 It's been over a year since I first saw the mudroom episode and I'm still crazy about this fabric. I even ordered myself a small sample piece so I could see it close up and personal, but try as I may, I couldn't think of a place to use it in my own home. Then one day while shopping at Old Time Pottery, I came across a 5-yard remnant piece of the fabric at only $4/yd.  I snatched it up right away, justifying the purchase by telling myself I could make pillows to sell at the store ~ which I did.  The pillows sold almost immediately so there must be a lot of other Sarah Richardson followers out there too. I had a wee bit of the fabric left and decided to make myself some lumbar pillows for my newly repainted dining room chairs.  This is how the fabric looks in my house.

It's a very bright and bold fabric that I'm not sure I could use myself as drapery.  In my small house, it might just blow me out of the room.

So far, I've only used it in these pillows, but I sure would like to find another way to incorporate the fabric into other parts of my living and dining room.  I love it's warm earthy colors and I never tire of looking at it.

I've been toying with the idea of making a slip cover for a living room chair, but for now, it's just an idea for the future when I have more time.  It might be too much in large doses.  What do you think?~Linking with~The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays 

So Ready

Getting down to the last few pieces of furniture to refinish and then I can take a break.

So ready not to have an unfinished piece of furniture sitting in the middle of

my living room.  So ready to get my car back in the garage. So ready to work on

furniture for my house or do absolutely nothing if I choose to.  So ready to hibernate. 

Here are two things I transformed with Caromal Color paints.  As usual, I don't

have before pictures, but this desk was a dark wood that I painted sage green.

After distressing, I applied a coat of their toner, then a mixture of clear

and dark wax, and reapplied the original hardware.

My other transformation is this pair of Christmas trees.  I found them at Goodwill

after Christmas last year and promptly painted them a light green. I can't remember

what their original color was anymore.

  I nearly threw them away several times because I didn't like them green and didn't know what else to do with them.  I found my inspiration for them in these pine cone plates I picked up at a yard sale this summer.

So ~ over the green, I painted them off-white, distressed them and aged them

with a mixture of clear and dark wax.  They were originally headed off to the

store along with the plates and desk, but I think I'm going to keep them.  They

are really starting to grow on me.

I love the mixture of textures in this vignette and the quite colors of off-white and brown.

I don't usually keep the things I buy and refinish no matter how much I like them.

But ~ when I get time this winter to refinish my hutch for the dining room, I

thought they would make a nice Christmas decoration to go with my

brown transfer ware collection.  If only I had time to get my own hutch done

before Christmas, but that is not likely.

Linking with

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Dittle Dattle for Amaze Me Monday

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Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday

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Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday

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The House in the Roses for Show Off Your Cottage Monday
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A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday
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Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

My Fall Table

I started playing around the other day with my odds and ends pieces of twoseparate sets of brown transfer ware and set myself a fall table for two.It's not a totally practical table, but then I was just having fun.I started with my foundation plates that I use in the fall and theonly name I can find on the back of them is Karidesign. 

 Next up is a rust-colored transfer ware pattern called "Athol" by Mellor Taylor & Company.

The top plate is the "Stafford Stage"  pattern by J & G Meakin.

For the tea cup and saucer, I mixed the patterns.

I used some pretty faux fall leaves to dress up the table and set the mood.

My centerpiece are some unusual gourds that I arranged in a vintage tinnestled in yard moss.  I found them at a flea market and wish I couldremember what they are called.  I thought they were very unusual anduniquely pretty.

I love this pretty little butter dish.

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Linking with~Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday ~French Country Cottage  for Feather Your Nest Friday~Stuff and Nonsense for Fridays Unfolded

 

My Favorite Piece

Sometimes when you find a piece of furniture at a yard sale or flea marketyou know it's going to be a beauty when refinished.  But sometimes they takeyou totally by surprise ~ this is one of those cases ~ this is my favorite pieceI've ever refinished, and the hardest to part with.I actually remembered to take a few before pictures so you can see the transformation.

Usually I can just paint over the wood, but this time it was marked anddiscolored, so I started with two coats of Caromal Color Reclaim paint in the color Mocha to get a consistent undercoat for distressing.

Look at this lovely detail.

Over the Mocha paint, I applied two to three coats of Reclaim paintin the Off-White color, distressed the piece and then finished it offwith a mixture of clear and dark brown wax.

I forgot to mention I finished the lovely piece sitting on the top of the dresserto match, so that they could be grouped together if the buyer so desires.

A  couple pillows I made to display with the dresser and complete thebrown and off-white color theme.

I bought this sweet dresser over the summer at a nearby yard salefrom a lady named Janet, who said it belonged to her grandmother.When I told her I had finished it and it was on it's way to the store, she saidher Grandmother would be pleased.  I'm glad it will find a homewith another family and live a whole new life for many years to come.Do you ever wonder what stories an old piece of furniture would tellif it could talk?~Linking with
Little Red House for Mosaic Monday~Dittle Dattle for Amaze Me Monday~Boogie Board Cottage for Masterpiece Monday~Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday~The House in the Roses for Show Off Your Cottage Monday 

A New Roof

Last year some branches fell off a dead tree and put a hole in the roof of my green house.Then, last November, the tree trimmers came to take the dead tree down and put afew more holes in the roof.  Of course it wasn't very hard to do since it was one ofthose corrugated plastic roofs.  After being exposed to the elements for a year, I finally got around to putting on a new roof in late September.  It was one of thosejobs you know you just can't put off any longer and must be done before winter.So, to entertain you ~ here is my greenhouse before, during and after.~ Here it was this summer.  You really can't see the damage, but if you lookclosely, you can see some sheets of plywood that I tried to lay over the holes to keep therain out and the side gutter hanging loose.

Here it is in progress.  I have already replaced and painted the fascia board and have taken down the soffit for cleaning.  That's the part you see hanging there.

Here's the old roofing, gutters and plywood that you can see I threw off the roof and so neatly stacked for discard on trash day.

The greenhouse without it's roof.  The gutter you see there laying on the shed roofis always particularly fun to clean out because the resident raccoon thinks itis his personal toilet.

And ~ the new roof from the inside looking out.

Then came the job of washing up the plastic soffit and gutters before they could be put back up.

It took three days for me to do all of this because I'm not particularly fastwhen it comes to carpentry work and I had to wait for a period of timewhen there would be no rain.~ Next, came the job of cleaning out the greenhouse, which was full of odds andends and was extremely dirty from being exposed to the elements.Here's the mess waiting to be cleaned up. 

And how about this mess?  Dirt, cobwebs, spiders, and dog poop.

Well, there was only so much of that mess that I could handle at a time,so I tried to work in there about an hour every evening until I got it all cleaned up.  I started in one corner and worked my way around the room.

Finally done, woodwork cleaned, windows washed, and everything neatly stacked.

The last of the leggy annuals tucked in with the crotons.

Did I mention there are French doors between the greenhouse and shed?Sometimes I wish those French doors were in my house instead so I couldenjoy them more ~ but they do add a nice touch out here.

It's not something I consciously do, but over the years I have picked upbells that I like to hang on my door handles.

Well, the inside is all clean and the windows sparkle again allowing a view of the outside gardens.

And so we've come full turn with winter close on our heels and all Ihave yet to do is rake the leaves and put the gardens to bed.

And ~ find someone to trap the resident raccoon and move him out to the country.
Linking with
A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesdays~Handy Man, Crafty Woman for Wicked Awesome Wednesday~Restore Interiors for Restored it Wednesday~Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday