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Decorating

All Things Home

decorating a mantel for fall in the living room

Disclosure: This post on decorating a mantel for fall is sponsored by Walmart.  As always, all words and opinions expressed are honest and my own. I have resigned to the fact that decorating for fall isn’t going to be a priority this year.  Each year, I think I’ll just put out a couple of pumpkins or something, but each year, I’m wooed by the cool temperatures, the crunching of the leaves, and the piles of heirloom pumpkins at the market.  But this year, I have bigger fish to fry.  I have to recover and heal from shoulder surgery. Not wanting to ignore fall altogether, I decided to add a few simple touches to our main living area by decorating our mantel for fall before I’ll be in a sling for a few weeks… The mantel is the obvious focal point of the room, so I dressed it up with a

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All Things Home

studio desk chair & the computer ban

Since I did the office/studio furniture shuffle in February, I’ve been sitting on makeshift desk chairs.  At first, it was a Fench cane chair that worked pretty well, even if it wasn’t the best height or the most comfortable.  But, I could slowly feel the cane seat loosening and it finally punched through (which was awesome for my self-esteem.)  So, in a pinch, I pulled in a dining chair.  It worked fine, but I noticed my back would be aching after a long day at the computer.  I needed a proper desk chair for my studio desk. I looked for months, but I just wasn’t finding what I wanted.  I had to be comfortable, not ridiculously expensive, and I didn’t want it to look like something from the set of Star Trek.  I wanted it to be adjustable, have arms, and the ability to rock. Let me tell you…I looked

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All Things Home

custom seashell art

I decided to do a loose beach theme for the boy’s bathroom because it’s a classic decorating choice.  Also, both of my boys love the beach and have fond memories of family trips to my uncle’s Myrtle Beach condo.  My oldest son would live in the surf while we were there.  I also have a ton of shells that have been collected by me, the boys, my mom, and my Oma.  I have always loved beach-combing and I just keep bringing them home!  So, I have two large bins of shells and I had always planned to do something with them. I’ve thought about making some custom art with some of them and this room makeover was a good excuse to finally do it.  I considered getting some shadow boxes to frame larger shells, but I decided to purchase that had a double mat and a little bit of space

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All Things Home

how to make a custom shower curtain

As I shared in boy’s bathroom refresh, I made a custom shower curtain out of a curtain panel from Calvin’s former room in our PA house.  And, as promised, I’m sharing how I did it! This is one of those sewing projects where you just need to sew a semi-straight line and you’ll be okay. For this project, I used decorator-width fabric, which was 56″ prior to hemming and a , which is 54 x 78″.  This is taller than a standard shower curtain, filling the visual vertical space better (in my opinion.)  It is narrower than a traditional shower curtain, though, so I will make two. One tip – it’s nice to use a fabric for this project that looks good from both sides.  That way, you don’t have to look at the “backside” of the fabric and/or you don’t have to make a liner. Start off by hemming

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All Things Home

boys’ bathroom refresh

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by . As always, all opinions and words are honest and my own. Believe it or not, there are rooms in this house that have been furnished, but are otherwise untouched.  I haven’t painted the trim or walls or intentionally decorated them.  One of those rooms was the boys’ bathroom.  And, it was probably the worst room in the house.  The paint had been slopped on the walls, getting it on all the tub, floor, and all of the fixtures.  The faucets were crusted from 13 years of running without a water softener and the light fixtures were rusted. With some paint, repurposing, new fixtures, and a few new accessories, this bathroom feels like a completely new space.  The best compliment I received was when Marshall looked over my shoulder while I was editing the photos and asked who that bathroom belonged to.  (He hadn’t

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All Things Home

the melodeon

You caught a glimpse of the melodeon I purchased from the old schoolhouse/music hall in yesterday’s post, but it was buried under a bunch of stuff.  Here is where it ended up in our house and how it looks after a good cleaning and polishing with some MMS Milk Paint Hemp Oil. I have been looking for something to go under the master bedroom window since we moved here and I haven’t found anything that hit the nail on the head.  I had a $50 thrift store desk there for a while, but it was more of a place-holder than anything else.  I moved that desk into the sewing room and put the melodeon in its place. (I wrapped some fabric around the seat cushion for now, but I’m going to fix the seat and upholster it.) The style of this piece fits much better with the French wardrobe and

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a slice of life

tips on decorating cakes with flowers

Before we chat about flowers and cakes, two things…  The winner of the mini landscapes is Ann Stuart Cassell!  Congrats!  And yes, for those asking, I will do more of those minis and have more giveaways in the future. Second, a new The Creative Exponent podcast is available – Episode 5: Don’t Wait for Perfect.  You can listen to it HERE. As soon as I put the in my shopping cart, I envisioned a four-layer naked cake decorated with flower sitting on top.  I have long loved that look, specifically done by Courtney of French Country Cottage.  She just has a knack with flowers.  And cakes. I initially started thinking through my cake pans, figuring out how I would make this cake and then I remember the time I baked 5 dozen mini cupcakes the night before the Lucketts Spring Market and realized I should just hire this out to

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All Things Home

green & white summer tablescape

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by .  All opinions and ideas expressed in this post are, as always, honest and my own. Last week, I shared a tutorial for some mini landscape “place cards” and here is the tablescape that goes along with them!  I was challenged by to show vintage style using some of their home products and, given that Walmart hasn’t been my go-to place for vintage style, I had to do a bit of recon before I accepted that challenge! Well, I browsed around Walmart Home and was pleasantly surprised with the wide array of vintage-style pieces that could be found both in the store and online.  I zeroed in on these beautiful .  They definitely “speak vintage” and happened to match my dining room as well as dishes I already owned perfectly.  I have a “dish” thing and I love it when I can integrate new

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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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