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Decorating
All Things Home

hemp sheets & hemp oil

In yesterday’s post, I shared that I just got in a new shipment of antique hemp sheets from Europe and many of you asked what they are.  I’ve talked about them before, but I don’t know if I’ve ever really explained what they are. They are actually sheets, but not like the modern bedsheets we have today.  They are made of three long, narrow pieces of fabric stitched together to make a larger sheet of fabric.  The seams are one of my favorite parts about them.  Some are hand-stitched in the most charming ways. Another thing I love is many of them are marked or monogrammed, so they wouldn’t get mixed when they were laundered. They come in all different weights, from heavy and scratchy to thinner with a tight, flat weave, more like a heavy linen.  My favorite are the latter. They are very hard-wearing, but still feel soft.  Their

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September 24, 2015 23 Comments
All Things Home

Finding Fall Home Tour

Today, my blog is the second-to-the-last stop in the Finding Fall 2015 Home Tour.  There are a lot of amazing homes and decorating ideas that have been shared so far, so be sure to check out the links at the bottom of this post if you’re just jumping in on the tour. If you’re stopping from Unexpected Elegance and are new to my blog, welcome! Before we get into the pictures, I must be a bit transparent for a minute.  Getting ready for this fall home tour was tough for me.  I imagined getting a bunch of beautiful heirloom pumpkins and putting fall touches in every room, but I didn’t realize what a challenge that would be. I have never tried decorating for fall this early and the pumpkin pickings were slim in my neck-of-the-woods.  I drove 45 minutes to a local Wegman’s only to find the tacky orange pumpkins with

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September 18, 2015 23 Comments
All Things Home

Megan’s office makeover | the chalkboard wall

We are so, so close to finishing Megan’s office!  Megan and her husband, JT, came to pick up the furniture from my studio over the weekend.  Moving that wardrobe was quite a job and it was even a little nail-biting seeing if they could get it in the space, but they were able to and it will provide loads of closed-door storage. They also picked up the rug, curtains, armchair, accessories, etc., so they could put them in the room.  (Do you see the adorable antique trashcan that Carrie from Copper & Tin gifted to Megan?)  Kriste and I drove down today to check out the space and work on a few things before the final reveal. If you ever paint a chalkboard wall (or anything in chalkboard paint, for that matter), you should season the surface.  This accomplishes a few things.  First of all, it takes the edge off the black

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September 17, 2015 19 Comments
a slice of life

Basil Pecorino Corn Recipe

I shared this picture of one of our Plated dinners a couple of weeks ago on Instagram and a few people asked for more details on the corn side dish.  This Basil Pecorino Corn was so delicious and easy, that I decided to make it again with the summer’s last corn and share the recipe.   Hello dinner… #platedpic #dinner @plated A photo posted by Marian aka Miss Mustard Seed (@missmustardseed) on Aug 28, 2015 at 3:11pm PDT   Ingredients three ears of corn 1/8 cup grated pecorino cheese 1 T mayonaise 1 clove garlic coarse kosher salt pepper fresh oregano, parsley and basil Cut the kernels off three ears of corn and saute in a pan with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, for about 3-5 minutes or until corn is tender. I always use Kosher salt out of a little salt crock when I cook.  I

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September 15, 2015 10 Comments
All Things Home

living with raw wood floors

Back in November of last year, I had finally worked up the DIY gumption to sand down the oak hardwood floors in the front of our house.  Once the work was all done, I decided to live with raw wood floors for a while. The polyurethane finish I had applied only a few years earlier was peeling off, taking the dark stain along with it.  I could literally peel it up in sheets with my fingers…like cheap nail polish, which might be fun when you’re 13 and bored in algebra, but it’s not fun when you’re an adult and it’s happening to your floor. I knew it would be a miserable, dusty, messy, move-all-of-the-furniture, kind of job, but I talked Jeff into it and we got it done.    I had no idea what finish I was going to apply, so I decided to move the furniture back and wait until

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September 15, 2015 57 Comments
All Things Home

dear reader | to the one who’s afraid of color

Dear reader, I understand this one. You’ve been burned by colors before.  You tried to take a walk on the wild side and ended up wasting a day and a gallon of paint and all so your walls can look like the side of a school bus.  And your disappointed.  So, you have to spend another day and another gallon of paint to get things back to a comfortable, safe beige or white. Or perhaps you were talked into a colorful upholstered piece or a rug and you ended up with buyer’s regret.  And now the only question is which shade of brown… So now, your world is neutral.  Beige, brown and white.  And it’s not because you love neutrals, layered with rich textures, curated with a discerning eye.  It’s because you’re afraid to pick anything else. How can you end up with a home you love when you’re making decisions like that? So,

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September 7, 2015 17 Comments
All Things Home

decorating dilemma | wonky windows & neutral blahs

In this decorating dilemma post, we’re actually dealing with two issues… I know the first one is very common…  getting stuck in the world of neutral blahs.  We’ll circle back to that one in a minute. The second dilemma is a less common, but I’m sure many of you can still relate.  I know I can! You look at a home and fall in love with the cathedral ceilings and the alcove with the arched window.  And then you move in and get settled and realize you have absolutely no clue how you’re going to make window treatments work in that space.  A space that is so unique that you can’t buy off-the-shelf window treatments for it.  So, you’re watching TV with a beam of sunlight coming through that beautiful arch right into your eyes. source unknown So, we’re going to address these two issues in Kim’s space today. Here

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September 3, 2015 25 Comments
All Things Home

Megan’s office makeover | slipcovered armchair

If you saw the Craig’s List wardrobe makeover yesterday, you caught a peek at the slipcovered armchair… As I’ve shared before, sewing is not my very favorite thing ever in the world to do.  I do it out of necessity, thriftiness, and the desire to customize. Such is the case with slipcovers.  Unless I wanted to eat up our entire budget having this chair professionally slipcovered, I needed to do it myself in order to give Megan a cute and comfy armchair for her office. I got it done, but I did drag my feet.  This chair was staring me down for a while.  I told Megan that and she said she was glad it was staring someone else down for a change! I know how that is.  Something languishes in your stash and you know it can be really great, but you just don’t want to deal with it.

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September 2, 2015 24 Comments

I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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