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Decorating

All Things Home

would you want a blogger to buy your house?

Would you want a blogger (or social media influencer/YouTuber) to buy your house? I had this thought as I’ve been browsing online real estate listings.  One of the questions I’m asked every so often is, “What do the former owners think about what you’ve done to the house?”  And, in the case of both of our homes that I shared online, I don’t know.  I never heard.  But, I have to admit that I wasn’t very sensitive to the idea they would even care when I first started sharing about our PA house on this blog.  I just wrote what I thought about the house with little recognition of the fact that the former owners might read about it and be offended. (Our MN living room when we first moved in.) Criticism in the form of poking fun at something dated, poorly done, or just off the wall is entertaining

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Antiques

shopping for vintage lamps

I tell you what…  If you need a random something to put a smile on your face, go out to an antique store, thrift store, or secondhand shop and look at lamps.  Lamps seem to be one of the places where home decor companies really let loose.  Let’s make beige sofas and brown tables, but lamps?  Let’s make those weird.  Well, you at least find weird lamps in abundance when you’re shopping for vintage lamps! As I’ve been out browsing antique and thrift stores, it’s almost been a fun little Easter egg hunt to spot the lamps that make me smile. I’ve been looking for lamps because I sold almost all of my lamps when we moved.  I kept the architecture salvage lamps that were by the bed in our room… …and a few of the work lamps from my studio… (The clamp lamp is from Etsy shop.) …and one

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Antiques

antique umbrellas & canes | favorite things

I’m sure I’m not the only one who gets an idea about something she wants in her house and dives head-first into making it happen.  Such is the case for me with having an umbrella/cane stand in my foyer and then, naturally, filling it with antique umbrellas and canes.  I don’t have a foyer or an antique stand for umbrellas and canes, but that hasn’t stopped me from picking up a few when I’m out and about and seeing them at reasonable prices. So, my mom and I have been hitting up some of my favorite antique malls and stores around south central PA, western Maryland, and the Northern VA area.  (You can find a post about my favorite “honey holes” from when I lived in this area five years ago HERE and HERE.)  It’s been fun to connect with some of my old buddies from the antique community and

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All Things Home

kitchen inspiration | decorating

As I’m thinking and dreaming about our next house, a room I’m particularly excited about is the kitchen.  So, let me share some kitchen inspiration I’ve been rounding up. We were fortunate to have very nice kitchens in our last two houses.  Both have been a nice size with tons of cabinetry and good counter space.  Here is my PA kitchen (and you can read more about the transformation of that kitchen HERE.) And here was our Minnesota kitchen (you can read more about that makeover HERE)… Buying a home with a nice kitchen is definitely a blessing, but it also felt like a bit of a limitation for someone like me.  I want to customize each space and when you already have nice, hardwood, built-in cabinets, it just makes sense to work with what you have.  We made a ton of upgrades and put our custom stamp on each

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All Things Home

decorating with antique paintbrushes

One of the things I love about old things that are well-used and carry a story, known or unknown, with them, is that their character makes them art in and of themselves.  All of the dings, dents, splatters, imperfections, and the warmth that comes only from time, gives them character and interest and makes them worthy of display.  From the day I walked into my first antique store, I have been drawn to beautiful, everyday things.  And, as a paint enthusiast, it was only natural for me to gravitate towards paint brushes.  This includes other paintbrush-like brushes such as those used for paste, dusting shavings off a desk, or cuttings in a barber shop.  I have seen that antique brushes of this sort have increased in popularity over the years, so I thought I would share a post on decorating with antique paintbrushes. One of my favorite ways of decorating

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Decorating

linen tie-up shades are back!

Do you remember the linen tie-up shades I made for my studio in our Minnesota House?  I made them to cover all of the windows in the sunroom, which we finished as my studio.  It was amazing having all of that light coming through south-facing windows, but it would be very intense and even too much.  These tie-up linen shades filtered the light and were adjustable. My friends at Decor Steals loved the tie-up linen shades and asked if I could design some for them to sell to their customers and my blog readers.  Well, yes!  So, they have sold these shades over the years and are now bringing them by popular demand.  The sale is now live and you can purchase them HERE. Here are a few things I love about these shades… Since they are hung on a tension rod, they can fit a variety of window sizes. 

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All Things Home

more thoughts on letting go | home organizing

As we were selling lots of things to prepare for our move, I wrote a post about letting go.  (You can find that HERE.)  I’ve actually written many posts about selling pieces, home organizing, and an entire series about stuff and our relationship with it.  I’ve realized over the years that we can have a very complicated relationship with our belongings and it’s not always an easy one to understand or articulate.  Why are some things easy to drop off at the thrift store and other things feel so valuable, priceless even, and deeply connected to who we are?  Getting rid of an old pair of tap shoes somehow feels like getting rid of a piece of our history. It’s all way over my head, but I think, in recent years, shows, books, and blogs have been showcasing ideas that make us feel even more like we need to deal

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Decorating

open concept homes – yay or nay?

I’ve seen some online polls and design articles written about open concept homes lately.  Are they on the way out?  Are we ready to have more walls and doors in our homes again? I love this conversation and wanted to jump on board.  I have always been drawn to older homes, which are almost never “open concept.”  Well, I suppose if we’re looking at very old homes we have to make some distinctions.  I mean, the one-room cabin can’t get much more open concept.  But if we’re looking at homes from the last two or three centuries through about 1970, rooms were divided by walls and, in some cases, doors as well.  And I find that appealing. Both of our last two homes were been open concept.  Well, our PA home was a bit of a hybrid.  The living room and dining room in the 1940s part of the home

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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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