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All Things Home

All Things Home

Megan’s office makeover | the reveal

It’s finally time to reveal Megan’s office makeover! Kriste and I met Megan, of the blog Mercy in the Middle, through one of our milk paint workshops.  She then volunteered her time to help as we were getting ready for the Lucketts Spring Market earlier this year.  She mentioned wanting some help with her home, so when I decided to start working with design clients, she immediately came to mind as an ideal guinea pig. Of course, she’s a little cuter than a guinea pig. It would take me way too long to recap the entire makeover, but you can catch up by clicking through the links below… part 1 | the before part 2 | the “franken-chair” part 3| the plan part 4 | wall colors & design elements part 5 | the slipcovered desk chair reveal part 6 | the Craig’s List wardrobe part 7 | the Craig’s List wardrobe

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All Things Home

to the market…

I have so much more to share about the pieces that I’m bringing to sell at the Market at Chapel Hill, but the event is next Saturday, so I need to post some pictures before it’s too late!  I am so excited with how the space is coming together.  I found some very interesting and unique pieces and I love how they all play together. One of my favorite pieces is a zinc-topped chippy white table.  It’s one of those pieces that has aged in a perfect, beautiful way.  I just couldn’t pass it up!   I need to take a picture of this piece with the doors closed, but the shelves and “cubbies” inside, as well as the planked back, just need to be shown off!  They were begging me. This is a pine, three door cabinet on little casters.  It wore green paint at some point, but has

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All Things Home

hemp sheets & hemp oil

In yesterday’s post, I shared that I just got in a new shipment of antique hemp sheets from Europe and many of you asked what they are.  I’ve talked about them before, but I don’t know if I’ve ever really explained what they are. They are actually sheets, but not like the modern bedsheets we have today.  They are made of three long, narrow pieces of fabric stitched together to make a larger sheet of fabric.  The seams are one of my favorite parts about them.  Some are hand-stitched in the most charming ways. Another thing I love is many of them are marked or monogrammed, so they wouldn’t get mixed when they were laundered. They come in all different weights, from heavy and scratchy to thinner with a tight, flat weave, more like a heavy linen.  My favorite are the latter. They are very hard-wearing, but still feel soft.  Their

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All Things Home

cleaning & sealing chipping antique pieces

Remember that awesome “cubby” I found a few weeks ago?  I spotted it when I was out shopping once, but I passed it up, because it was a little pricey.  I kept thinking about it, though, and decided if it was still there the next time I stopped in, I would buy it. Well, it was still there and I snapped it up.  (It’s so funny that I get so excited about buying things I’m just going to turn around and sell!) The only problem with this piece is that it was shedding paint everywhere.  If you would just breath near it, flakes would fall off.  I love the “chippy look”, but I don’t want actual chips of paint littering the floor. So, I have a standard way I deal with pieces like this… Before I get into the process, please check the EPA website for safely dealing with lead-based paint

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All Things Home

German Chalkboard & Market Finds

Kriste and were able to squeeze in some shopping earlier this week on the way back from Megan’s house, to stock up for The Market on Chapel Hill.  It’s coming up so fast!  We didn’t find as much stuff as I had hoped for, but I packed the van full today with some amazing finds when my mom and I hit another of my favorite antique stores.  More on that later. When Kriste and I were out, I did find a few cool pieces for the market.  One thing, though, I bought for myself. You know when you see one of those pieces and you know right away that it’s special?  That’s how it was with this. In the back of the store in an unassuming place by the men’s restroom, there was an old, worn chalkboard leaning up against the wall… The chipped paint, wood planked writing surface, chunky frame and warm

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All Things Home

Finding Fall Home Tour

Today, my blog is the second-to-the-last stop in the Finding Fall 2015 Home Tour.  There are a lot of amazing homes and decorating ideas that have been shared so far, so be sure to check out the links at the bottom of this post if you’re just jumping in on the tour. If you’re stopping from Unexpected Elegance and are new to my blog, welcome! Before we get into the pictures, I must be a bit transparent for a minute.  Getting ready for this fall home tour was tough for me.  I imagined getting a bunch of beautiful heirloom pumpkins and putting fall touches in every room, but I didn’t realize what a challenge that would be. I have never tried decorating for fall this early and the pumpkin pickings were slim in my neck-of-the-woods.  I drove 45 minutes to a local Wegman’s only to find the tacky orange pumpkins with

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All Things Home

Megan’s office makeover | the chalkboard wall

We are so, so close to finishing Megan’s office!  Megan and her husband, JT, came to pick up the furniture from my studio over the weekend.  Moving that wardrobe was quite a job and it was even a little nail-biting seeing if they could get it in the space, but they were able to and it will provide loads of closed-door storage. They also picked up the rug, curtains, armchair, accessories, etc., so they could put them in the room.  (Do you see the adorable antique trashcan that Carrie from Copper & Tin gifted to Megan?)  Kriste and I drove down today to check out the space and work on a few things before the final reveal. If you ever paint a chalkboard wall (or anything in chalkboard paint, for that matter), you should season the surface.  This accomplishes a few things.  First of all, it takes the edge off the black

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a slice of life

Basil Pecorino Corn Recipe

I shared this picture of one of our Plated dinners a couple of weeks ago on Instagram and a few people asked for more details on the corn side dish.  This Basil Pecorino Corn was so delicious and easy, that I decided to make it again with the summer’s last corn and share the recipe.   Hello dinner… #platedpic #dinner @plated A photo posted by Marian aka Miss Mustard Seed (@missmustardseed) on Aug 28, 2015 at 3:11pm PDT   Ingredients three ears of corn 1/8 cup grated pecorino cheese 1 T mayonaise 1 clove garlic coarse kosher salt pepper fresh oregano, parsley and basil Cut the kernels off three ears of corn and saute in a pan with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, for about 3-5 minutes or until corn is tender. I always use Kosher salt out of a little salt crock when I cook.  I

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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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