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All Things Home

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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All Things Home

living with raw wood floors

Back in November of last year, I had finally worked up the DIY gumption to sand down the oak hardwood floors in the front of our house.  Once the work was all done, I decided to live with raw wood floors for a while. The polyurethane finish I had applied only a few years earlier was peeling off, taking the dark stain along with it.  I could literally peel it up in sheets with my fingers…like cheap nail polish, which might be fun when you’re 13 and bored in algebra, but it’s not fun when you’re an adult and it’s happening to your floor. I knew it would be a miserable, dusty, messy, move-all-of-the-furniture, kind of job, but I talked Jeff into it and we got it done.    I had no idea what finish I was going to apply, so I decided to move the furniture back and wait until

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All Things Home

repurposed pram

Do you remember that baby pram I shared last week? Well, now it’s a side table! I spot these pretty carriages/prams regularly while I’m out shopping and they always tug at my heart.  Those wheels, the craftsmanship, the generations of babies that may have been pushed in them.  I almost always have to stop a minute and appreciate them, but I never buy them. The reason is that they aren’t functional at all!  What in the world is the average person going to do with it in their home unless they have a doll collection to display.  I’ve tried to think of practical uses for them, but I’ve never come up with one. A funny little story…  a few years ago, someone gave me a beautiful 1950’s navy blue and chrome pram that was in almost mint condition.   I was so in love with it, but I didn’t know what

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All Things Home

papier mache horse makeover

You may have noticed that I have a bit of a thing for toy/rocking horses… I don’t find them very often (at a price I can afford), but I get very giddy about them when I do. When Kriste and I were shopping for The Market on Chapel Hill earlier this week, I spotted this one…     I loved the wooden legs and I thought the shape was pretty.  I originally thought it was made of plastic, but Kriste pointed out it was papier mache. I didn’t mind at all that it was missing the base.  It reminded me a bit of an antique horse I spotted in Prairie Style magazine…   The red wasn’t working for me, though.  After some amount of debate with myself, I decided to paint over the red in MMS Milk Paint French Enamel.     The paint looked a little too fresh against the

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All Things Home

Workbench Revamp

 Remember the workbench I revamped for Lucketts? I loved how it turned out and have since been on the lookout for humble handmade workbenches that others might overlook. When I was shopping last week, I found this… I dismissed it at first, because it’s a little clumsy, but in the end, the finger-hold handles won me over.  I paid about $100 for it. I added the steel wheels to make it a little taller and more mobile.  I’m keeping this piece for the studio for now and we have just about everything on casters or sliders.  They somehow make the piece look a little softer, even. The top was a little boring and I didn’t want to just paint it, so I added some antique wood lath strips to the top.  These are from the same bundle I used for my potting bench.  I tacked them in with a brad nailer

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All Things Home

new cabinet with old doors

My first year as a vendor at the Lucketts Spring Market was quite the experience.  It started raining Saturday afternoon and didn’t let up until Sunday afternoon.  Everyone was soaked, booths were waterlogged and it was pretty much misery. Sunday afternoon, though, the rain stopped and I had the opportunity to check out some other booths and score some real bargains.  One of those bargains was a pair of glass doors with wood frames and really cool latches.  I paid $40 for the pair. They hung for years in my dining room, flanking the archway that leads to the home office.  (I couldn’t find a better picture of them hanging in the dining room, but you can see them on the right.) When we refinished the floors, took down the curtains and generally lightened things up, I removed the doors and kept them in my basement.  My “rule” is to not keep

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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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