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All Things Home

All Things Home

Sarah’s Fireside Room

Do you remember Sarah’s wood stove decorating dilemma that I posted about this summer?  Well, I received an update from Sarah on her progress and her plan, so I thought I would share it with you. Here is the inspiration board Sarah sent me… Here’s how the room looked when I shared it back in August… And here is how it looks now.  She decided to paint the walls in the kitchen and fireside room in a Benjamin Moore color called “Cloud Nine” and it really unified the two spaces.  The rust color wasn’t bad at all, but it looked disconnected from the rest of the space.  The white walls look fresh and are now ready for warm layers to be added. There is brick behind the stove, but they discovered that it doesn’t cover the entire wall, so they are going to install a thin brick wall covering to

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All Things Home

slipcover series | part two | cutting the fabric

Hello, all!  I hope you had a great holiday weekend.  We just got back from visiting Jeff’s family in Raleigh, which is always a fun trip.  I had the chance to meet up with some readers for a day of flea-ing and antiquing and I’ll share all about that in another post. Today, I am continuing the new slipcover series.  You can see part one, the introduction and a tutorial on making custom piping, HERE.  This series is a remake of one I did a few years ago, but my equipment, filming & editing skills and sewing know-how have improved a lot since then, so it was time for an update. In this segment, I show how I cut and lay out the fabric for the slipcover.  I have found it’s helpful to do this all at the same time, so I don’t run out of fabric mid-project, which has

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All Things Home

freestanding kitchen

Just imagine a kitchen without built-in cabinetry and long stretches of counter tops.  That’s a pretty radical idea in the US in this day and age, but, for our next house, that’s exactly what I want. photo via I’ve been thinking about it for a while now…a kitchen that is gutted and furnished with freestanding antiques mixed with some modified or custom-built pieces to make the space functional.  I get giddy at the thought!  Imagine being able to rearrange your kitchen when you get the itch! (Jeff, don’t read that part.) But seriously.  Not only do I love how custom it will look, but also how economical it is. And, I must confess, I have already been quietly keeping pieces that might work for my future freestanding kitchen… I already have an amazing antique counter that would be a great centerpiece and provide loads of storage.  Imagine my shirt counter with

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All Things Home

super market sign | black friday “steal” & giveaway

When I shared my freshly painted custom-built cabinet last week, several of you asked about the “super market” sign and I said I would tell you about in on Friday.  Well, now it’s Friday.  Black Friday, to be more specific.  And the super market sign is the Decor Steals special Black Friday steal-of-the-day! The thing I really like about this sign is that it’s made of metal and the lettering is raised, so it’s a great reproduction of an antique sign.  (I’m always bummed by the ones that are just a flat board with a picture of an old sign glued to it!) This one looks right at home among my antiques. And, since it’s Black Friday, Decor Steals is offering it at an amazing deal – $39.95. Some of you also asked about the metal trug and that is going to be the flash steal today.  This steal will be available at

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All Things Home

milk paint 101 | surface prep

Now, you know what milk paint is (part 1), you’ve mixed it for your project (part 2), and now it’s time to get your piece ready to paint.  This is the part that many people are confused about and where many projects go off the rails.  I’ll be honest in saying that I have contributed to that confusion, I’m sure.  In this day and age where no sanding, priming or prep is the trend, there is an assumption that you don’t ever have to prep anything before painting it. So, can you paint a piece without prepping it?  Yes.  You definitely can.  And I have many times, which is how I’ve contributed to the confusion.  But, I’ve painted enough to know which ones need to be prepped before applying milk paint and which ones don’t. And that’s what we’re going to cover today. So, which ones need to be prepped and

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All Things Home

the $125 farm table

I needed to pick up some supplies for the glitter workshop last week and I could hardly be out and about for the day without stealing a few minutes in an antique store!  So, I meandered through one of my local haunts, hitting some of my favorite vendor’s booths, picking up a few small things.  I wasn’t looking for furniture, but, of course, a piece of furniture found me. I spotted this great counter-height farm table for $125. I knew it had to come home with me.  It was worth the total pain of taking out one of my van seats and unloading it by myself at the studio. Oh, the sacrifices. I also bought this great basket for only $25. I was trolling eBay just the day before for a large French laundry basket, but they were in the $200 range, which was more than I wanted to pay.

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All Things Home

how to sew custom piping | slipcover series part 1

I finally did it.  I’ve been promising to do it for years and I have, at long last, made good. Years ago, I made a six part video slipcover series on how to make a slipcover.  I tried to write posts about it and I always fumbled over the wording and the posts were confusing and long.  Imagine paragraph after paragraph of “with right-sides together, insert piping between pieces of fabric and pin into place along edge of the chair blah-blah-blah-blah…”  It was just way too much to try to explain in words and pictures alone, so I decided to make videos. They were filmed in my crowded craft room, poorly lit and I know it was sometimes hard to see what I was doing.  You can also hear my kiddos in the background.  While those videos have their charm and I will keep the live on my YouTube channel,

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All Things Home

decorating the studio & shop with me in Raleigh

I was home with a sick kid most of last week and, I have to admit, that once I get out of a routine, it’s hard to get back into it.  I was ready to get back in the studio, but I was dragging my feet at the same time.  On Tuesday, though, I had a full day to crank my music, create and take pictures, and my motivation started creeping back in. Sometimes I need to work on things that are totally not a priority in order to get myself going. On Tuesday, that meant rearranging furniture and getting fake snow in my hair and all over myself as I set up our studio tree. It’s the 6.5′ Flocked Alaskan Tree from Christmas Tree Market.  So, here is the story with this tree.  Christmas Tree Market asked if I would be interested in partnering with them last Christmas.  I had just moved into

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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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