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All Things Home
All Things Home

the antique, hodgepodge potting bench

Don’t you love it when projects come together perfectly? Such is the case with this hodgepodge of a potting bench. We just finished it today and it looks even better than I imagined.  It’s especially exciting, because we already had the workbench in the basement (it was free with the house) and I bought the chicken nesting box without a solid plan on turning it into the top-part of the hutch. This morning, Jeff bought about $40 of pressure treated wood for this project, a couple of 2 x 12’s and 2 x 4’s.   While he was out, I took care of the red overspray marks on the front of the work bench.  It wasn’t a big deal, but they just bugged me. So, I brought out my big-boy sander, the belt sander, and I went to town. I really love how the paint looks distressed, with some of the

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August 18, 2015 33 Comments
All Things Home

step-by-step dresser makeover

Thank you so much for all of the wonderful feedback on my very first MMS Milk Paint “commercial”.  It was so fun to put together and I was proud of it, but your comments were a confirmation, so thanks! The bar has been set for the second one! Today, I thought I would share more about the dresser makeover and how we made the commercial.   I was always planning to paint the dresser in Mustard Seed Yellow, but I only picked out the dress to create the “story” for the commercial the morning we filmed it.  I also decided that day to shoot outside instead of in the studio…another decision that ended up being perfect. The feel would’ve been totally different if it was inside. We’re fortunate to have this amazing old mill right across the parking lot from the studio, so we could literally wheel the dresser over

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August 17, 2015 21 Comments
All Things Home

the transferware jackpot

I know this is going to be an incredible shock to some of you, but I love ironstone and blue transferware.  I would say it’s out of hand, but I do sell far more than I keep, so it’s not totally out of hand.  You can tell the minute you step in my house, though, that it’s a soft spot. So, when Kriste told me she spotted a bunch of blue & white transferware pitchers she thought I would like at a local antique shop, my ears perked up.  She pulled up a picture she snapped of them on her phone.  I knew immediately from the shape and faded blue pattern that they were old and the kind I specifically hunt for.   “How much were they?” “Oh, I don’t know.  About $10-15/each, I think.” I just about fell off my chair. “You bought them all, didn’t you?!?“ Kriste looked

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August 13, 2015 35 Comments
All Things Home

how to sew a zipper closure on a box cushion

We’ve been chatting about sewing lately and I have something to confess.  Zippers terrified me for years.  Well, maybe not terrified, but I thought they were too complicated and I avoided and side-stepped them.  I just made envelope closures on the underside of cushions.  And they’re usually held together by safety pins. Yeah.  If you flip over the cushions of my pretty French bergere chairs in the living room? And I’m saying this in a whisper.  Maybe even just mouthing it… …safety pins.   The French wing chairs in the dining room? Yep. As I’ve said before, I’m not about perfection.  I’m about getting something done.  If a chair needing a zipper is going to prevent me from getting something done, then I’ll figure out another way. I did face my fear of zippers a few years ago and they were surprisingly simple.  Almost to the point of embarrassment. It’s sort of like

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August 12, 2015 14 Comments
All Things Home

megan’s office makeover | part 3 | the plan

After a few weeks of marinating on things, sourcing, kicking around ideas, I have come up with a plan for Megan’s office makeover.  If you missed the first two posts in this series, you can check them out here… part 1 | the before part 2 | the “franken-chair” And now, I’m finally sharing the plan, letting you know the direction we’re heading. Here’s what the office space looked like the day I made my house call.  Please remember that Megan had the door closed and curtains drawn on this room, which was used to dump things in when she cleaned the house for my visit, and I stuck my nose in and then took pictures of it and then posted them on my blog.  (Good friend that I am.) So, Megan is not really in love with anything in this space, but it does have great bones…windows that let in pretty

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August 11, 2015 35 Comments
All Things Home

dear reader | to the one who is scared to sew

This time of reassessing my business and blog has been so rejuvenating for me.  I find myself flooded with ideas, anxious to create, bubbling to write…almost to the point of being overwhelmed by it.  It’s like my ideas are little children who keep interrupting one another and I have to tell them to pipe down and wait their turn.  So, I’m making lots of lists and trying to shape them into a plan of action that does involve time to eat and sleep.  I’m working on it. One of the ideas that keeps surfacing is doing more series on my blog.  Not just individual blog posts, but ones that are strung together by a common topic or tell a story that arcs over several posts.  I have three blog series currently underway – how my business began, the evolution of my house (we’re almost done with that one) and Megan’s

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August 10, 2015 78 Comments
All Things Home

how to make a chair cushion | deck chair makeover

I’ve been working on my deck off and on throughout the spring and summer and it’s finally starting to come together.  I know I’m not going to break any makeover speed records with this project, but that’s life, right?  Spaces take time to come together.  So, there is still more to do, but last week I jumped a big hurtle – I made new chair cushions for the vintage iron armchairs my mom passed along to me and I thought I would share a tutorial on how to make a chair cushion. They really, really needed new chair cushions.  The old ones were deteriorated, mildewed, faded and ripped.  They were beyond cleaning or recovering.  I needed to start from scratch. The chairs are comfortable and in great shape, though, so it was worth the time to make new cushions. I actually tried to find pre-made cushions that were the right size,

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August 8, 2015 26 Comments
All Things Home

if you think a beautiful home is out of your budget…

…it’s not. When I asked for feedback a few weeks ago, some readers brought up how they “miss the days of me decorating on a budget.”  To some, it felt like I’m dangling a home out there that is out of reach unless you’re “rich”. When I read those comments, I wanted to reach through the screen and hug the women who felt that way.  I wanted to apologize for leaving them with the impression that you have to have a lot of money to create a beautiful home.  I wanted to take them on a tour through my home and show them the things I got for free on the side of the road or dug out of an attic or picked up at yard sales or on Craig’s List. And I wanted to look them in the eye and tell them that I know exactly how they feel, because I’ve been in their shoes. As

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August 7, 2015 84 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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