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All Things Home
All Things Home

the rug that ties the room together

Well, another layer has been added to our dining room and it’s just perfection!  The braided jute rug that was in the dining room worked because it was neutral, but it was a little bit boring.  If you’ve been with me on this blog long enough, you know that rugs are my nemesis!  It’s so hard to find one that works.  It’s not too loud, not too boring, it’s the right material, colors, patterns, etc.  And, rugs are typically investment pieces, so there is pressure to get the decision right. This rug is from the upcoming (June 2019) Mark Sikes collection for Dash & Albert and it is the perfect solution for my dining room… (I’ll share more about Mark’s collection in another post, but everything is so beautiful.  It’s traditional without being tired and there is lots of blue & white, so it is right up my alley!) Anyway,

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May 28, 2019 87 Comments
All Things Home

cherry blossoms

A couple of weeks ago, I went out on my deck to enjoy some fresh air and I noticed our two cherry trees were in bloom.  I hadn’t noticed it earlier, because they are each growing behind a much larger maple tree that hangs over them.  I immediately went out to the back yard with a pair of garden shears and trimmed off a few blooms. I was tempted to cut some bigger branches and maybe I’ll do that next year, but I wanted to leave as many on the tree, so I can have more cherries. I put the little cuttings in cups of water around the house to enjoy for a couple of days. And, once I saw them in the studio, I knew I had to paint them! So, I took some time to do that, too.  I am trying to use up canvases and boards in

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May 27, 2019 15 Comments
All Things Home

favorite things | ironstone molds

When I shared the ironstone mold I purchased at the flea market over Mother’s Day weekend, I received a few questions about ironstone molds, so I thought I would share more about them.  My collection started a few years ago with, of course, my love for anything ironstone.  That love even led me into buying an ironstone spitoon, which I wouldn’t do again because #1 what do you use that for and #2…ick.  Anyway, I came across an ironstone mold and at first debated buying it.  It had a beautiful design on the inside, but it looked a little clumsy and plain on the outside.  And what would I do with it?  Pitchers and bowls and plates and the like can all be used for something (even if they are mostly used for display.) The one I was debating, though, was a good size to plop a plant in or

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May 22, 2019 43 Comments
All Things Home

repairing a broken stool

I was going to call this post “how to fix loose stools”, but I realized that sounded like an Immodium commercial or something and came up with a different name.  You’re welcome for that. Anyway, moving past the potty humor, I have a thing for antique stools.  They are multi-functional and, since they are hard-working pieces, they are typically worn to perfection.  They are very soulful pieces of furniture in my view. Often times, though, the rungs that connect the legs on stools (and chairs) loosen over time, especially if they’ve been stored in a garage or attic where extreme temperatures can loosen the glue. Fixing this issue is so simple, though!  Just get some wood glue… …and brush it onto the end of the lose rung and the recess it fits into. Push it back in… …and wipe away the excess glue.  In my experience, most of the chairs

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May 20, 2019 16 Comments
All Things Home

a little “spring cleaning” for my indoor plants

Just a quick bit of business first…  We were having some technical glitches with the Personal Retreat Guide for Creatives yesterday, but it’s working now.  If you were having that trouble, you can click HERE, enter your e-mail, click subscribe, and then you’ll get an e-mail to download the guide.  Sorry about that! I noticed last week that some of my house plants were looking a little sad.  It wasn’t that they were unhealthy, but they needed to be cleaned up a little…trimmed, have the dead leaves shaken out, etc.  So, I took a little bit of time to give them a little “spring cleaning”. Both of my indoor gardenia plants were holding onto a bunch of dried out and dead leaves inside their living foliage, so I took each one of them out on the deck and pick them all out.  I was nervous they would look naked after

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May 17, 2019 29 Comments
All Things Home

gold rush purchases

Saturday was Jeff’s birthday and he went out for a special father-son breakfast for some time with our youngest before we spent time together as a family.  On their way home, he saw that there was an antique market happening at the Rochester Fair Grounds.  And, believe it or not, he called and told me about it (no. 1) and then (no. 2) he actually suggested we go there together as a family.  Now, Jeff has always been supportive of my antique habit (unless it involves moving something huge), but he’s not usually one to suggest going to an event, especially with the kids and especially on his birthday. After I checked to make sure he wasn’t joking or ill, I gave an enthusiastic yes. So, we all went to the antique market, which is a small offshoot of the Gold Rush Days that happens in Oronoco and Rochester in

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May 13, 2019 36 Comments
All Things Home

new pulls for my desk

I just can’t leave well enough alone.  That quality is what actually led me into decorating in the first place, so I am thankful for it, but it does mean I’m always looking for ways to customize and/or improve something even when they are perfectly fine as is. Well, one thing I wanted to customize as soon as it was delivered to my house was .  I love the shape, finish, and style of it, but I didn’t like the hardware.  Fortunately, that’s a relatively quick and inexpensive thing to change.  So, I did! Here is what it looked like before… …and here is what it looks like with the new hardware… I chose antiqued brass bin-cup pulls because they still work with the mission-style of the desk, but they look a little softer and less rustic than the original pulls. I bought THIS 10-pack of pulls from Amazon for

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May 9, 2019 74 Comments
All Things Home

studio closet reveal

The studio closet is finally finished!  I cannot express how awesome it is to have all of that functional storage in this space now.  It was one of my goals this year to make my workspaces more functional and that has been accomplished in my studio and home office. Previous Posts: If you missed any previous posts in the studio closet series, including plans and some process pictures of how the closet was built, you can find them here… studio closet: framing and shelves studio closet progress: building the doors studio closet progress: straightening warped doors with turnbuckles studio closet progress: building the 3rd door & adding catches So, this weekend, while everyone else in my family was occupied, I took some time to prime and paint the closet.  I used Smart Prime by Zinsser as the primer and then Benjamin Moore’s Aura in White Dove in an eggshell finish

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May 7, 2019 69 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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