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Decorating

All Things Home

investment pieces for the fickle

Thanks so much for all of your prayers and well-wishes as I heal from having my wisdom teeth removed.  I am just now starting to feel a bit more like myself.  The surgery went well, but my two bottom teeth were impacted and, apparently, a little difficult to remove.  I was on a bunch of medication for pain, swelling and to prevent infection, so I spent several days teetering between sleeping and binge-watching shows on Netflix and Amazon Prime.  I’m still having trouble with chewing, speaking and smiling and I’m pretty sore as well, but I’m making slow improvements. I can type, though! A few days ago, I received an e-mail from one my readers and I decided I would answer the question in a post.   Debbie asked, “How do you decide what to spend $$ on and pieces to invest in if there is the possibility your beloved hunting scene chair

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All Things Home

design ramblings | seasonal decorating

I turned the camera and mic on and then I sat down on the sofa next to Kriste.  “So, what are we going to talk about?”  We sat in silence, thinking.  Sometimes we have topics or pictures lined up to talk about.  Other times, we just press record and hope inspiration strikes.  After a bit of toe-tapping and finger-drumming, Kriste suggests, “What about transitioning your decor from one season to another?”  I thought that was a great suggestion, so that’s what we talked about…How do you approach seasonal decorating?  

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All Things Home

a generous gift & hydrangeas

Well, I’m writing to you today with four less teeth than I had yesterday!  Yep, at 36 years old, I finally had my wisdom teeth removed.  So, I’ve had my mouth stuffed with gauze and a ice pack wrapped around my head (Jacob Marley style) for the better part of the day, but I’m doing okay.  Thanks so much for all of your prayers, well wishes and tips.  You’re all wonderful. I just took another pain pill, so I thought I would slip in a post while I’m feeling relaxed and very happy! So, if you remember when I took a trip to Wisconsin, one of the shops I visited was Harvest Home in Pewaukee.  I was so inspired by the way Brenda, the proprietress, used plants in her home and shop.  She put plants in just about anything, the expected and unexpected.  Baskets, tea cups, gravy boats, buckets and I even spotted a

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All Things Home

decorating the deck

As I’ve shared in previous posts, I’ve been working on the exterior of our home…the gardens and the deck, which is our outdoor living space.  Jeff and I have always talked about having a nice outdoor living space with a fireplace, a covered area, maybe even retractable screens.  Our deck is nowhere close to that dream space.  It’s a simple deck with warped and faded boards, no shade, no fireplace, no bells and no whistles. If we were planning on living in this house long-term, it might be worth doing something about it, but our hope is to move to a home with a bit more property in a few years and we don’t want to put much more money into this house. What I can do, though, is make the existing space look the best it can look.  I can add things that will make it feel more like an outdoor

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All Things Home

design ramblings | does your house match your wardrobe?

I’ve heard it said that, if ever you’re stuck in your decorating choices, you can look to your wardrobe to get a sense of your style.  Do you agree with that?  Kriste and I chat about that subject in this week’s Design Ramblings… Help me out a little here.  Did anyone else dress like the movie Clueless in high school?  Contempo Casual?  Wet Seal? Anyway, I was thinking about this a little more since our conversation and I do think I’m drawn to similar things in what I wear and what I buy for my home.  Just in a general sense. For example, I think my very favorite pair of leather boots (from LL Bean)… …have the same the same feel as the leather sofa in our family room (Pottery Barn). It’s not that they are exactly the same, but they have the same feel…casual, warm, a bit of detail, neutral,

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All Things Home

preserved boxwood intervention

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had been feeling like my house was “preserved boxwooded-out”, so I started swapping some of them out for live plants.  A few readers here on the blog and on Instagram said they felt the same way and I thought I would write a post about it. I know, for me, I added preserved boxwood in lieu of fresh flowers and live greenery.  I wanted to add some life to the space, but didn’t want the upkeep that comes with live plants or the cost that comes with buying flowers each week.  I also am really picky about using fake flowers and greens.  Some of them can look nice, but they rarely look really real.  And, when I think of fake flowers, I immediately make the jump to dust-covered arrangements with frayed fabric petals.  I know that’s totally unfair to really nice “fauxliage”, but

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My House

Summer 2015 Home Tour

Welcome to my Pennsylvania home tour!  We worked hard on our home for almost eleven years and it was a true labor of love and DIY marathon.  We’ve painted, built, repaired, installed, sewed, upholstered, sanded, refinished, ripped out and remodeled just about every corner. Our goal was to balance the function we needed for our busy family with our (mostly my) desire for a beautiful home.  I hope this home tour gives you some inspiration and encouragement to do the same in your home. Let’s start at the front door… This house was a 1 1/2 story, 2300 sq foot, brick cape cod that was built in 1948.  It’s in a two stoplight town in the hills and orchards of south central Pennsylvania.  We’ve spent most our time fixing up the inside of our house, but we’ve been working on the outside of the house over the past year or so.

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All Things Home

Bunny Williams, the Southern Living Idea House, & Me

I learned a long time ago that checking my e-mail can be exciting at times.  Yes, usually it’s sorting through spam and questions and action items, but sometimes it’s an exciting opportunity, proposal or offer.  So, when I got an e-mail entitled “Southern Living, Bunny Williams & Miss Mustard Seed”, it immediately caught my attention.  I thought it might be a “which one of these things doesn’t belong in the title of this e-mail” sort of joke, but it was actually an e-mail asking if I’d like to interview Bunny Williams, the designer of the 2015 Southern Living Idea House in gorgeous Charlottesville, VA. Here’s a peek at the outside… photo via Southern Living I love how it’s styled after an old stone farmhouse and can’t wait to see more of the inside. If you’ve read my blog for a while, you know we love the Charlottesville area and have

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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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